Boaters Beware of Luna Pier Harbor Club

[rockafed]

Just a word of caution to boaters on Lake Erie. The Luna Pier Harbor Club located in Luna Pier, Michigan does not adequately maintane their channel to Lake Erie, despite the fact that they own their own dredge.:bash: We have fished out of Luna Pier for the past 8 years. This year we had to move our boat to a marina in Ohio because there was at times only 2 feet:rant: of water in the channel from the Luna Pier Harbor club to Lake Erie. Many boats were hitting the bottom of the channel with their props and stalling out the big in-board motors. One large boat even got stuck on a sand bar in the channel. The capt of the boat had to get out and try to physically move the boat to deeper water. Atleast 20 boats or more (ourselves included) have left or are leaving due to these water depth problems. The marina is trying to fill the vacant spots by advertising slip fees for half the price. If your boat is over 20 feet dont go to Luna Pier Harbor Club.

[higherpowered]

It sounds to me like you may be blaming this marina for something that is entirely out of their control. I am not familiar with exactly where this marina is, but Lake Erie certainly experiences a phenomenon that I haven't seen on Lakes Huron or Michigan. I don't fish Erie much anymore, but when I used to live in Perrysburg Ohio I used to fish Breast Bay at least 4 days a week. That is....assuming I could get out of the marina. I kept my boat in a slip at State Line Marine in Michigan, and primarily fished Michigan waters. Everybody at that marina used a weights and pulley system in their slips so their boats could raise and lower with the big fluctuations in water level that the area sees. All it would take is a day of heavy west wind, or a couple days of moderate west wind, and all that water would blow over to the East side of Lake Erie. I went out fishing very early one morning, no problem motoring out the channel and onto the bay, but a good west wind was blowing when we left. When we headed back in around 2 in the afternoon my buddy and I had to use the boat paddle and net handle to "push" our way through the muck and back into the slip. It was a nightmare, and NOT a fun way to end what was an otherwise enjoyable fishing trip. I've also seen people not use the weights and pulleys set-up and they would get to the marina thinking they were heading out for a fun day on the water, only to find their boat 'hanging' in the slip with little or no water underneath it and HUGE stress being put on the cleats. :yikes: When that water blows out there is no amount of dredging that is going to help the situation. It never would have. I think they experience the same kind of thing over by Cleveland when there is a consistent Easterly blow. It was certainly one of the deciding factors for what kind of fishing I was going to do when I moved back to Michigan. I got back into fishing Huron and Michigan for Salmon, and left that 'problem' behind. Please excuse me if I am way off base and you are sure this isn't the circumstance at the Luna Pier Harbor Club, but my own personal experiences make me wonder if they are truly at fault.

[BFG]

Travel 7 miles up I-75 to Bolles Harbor....nary an issue there....but stay between the buoys ALL the way out into the lake....

You think that the area is shallow by the Harbor Club? Try launching at the DNR launch 300 yards further down the "creek".....

Forget it with a west wind....


BFG

[SabikiRig]

Rockafed,

Just becuase they possess their own equipment does not mean that they can dredge anytime they like.

THEY NEED A PERMIT FROM THE MICHIGAN DEQ.

Have they applied for one?

http://www.deq.state.mi.us/ciwpis/

We always see a drop in water levels in the fall. As highpowered said there is not much dredging would do.