Capt. Tim Ramsey
It’s good to be back. Fall fishing in South Jersey was the worst I’ve seen in years. All the fish were happy staying at least three miles offshore, which made things pretty sporty for my 22 Skeeter. So, three days after the “Year of the Leper” ended, I showed up with the boat in tow.
Bottom line up front, I have to thank my friends Ivan (General Manager) and Willy (Assistant Manager) at Calusa Island Marina. Unless you own a dock, rent someone else’s lift, rent an empty rack (who does that?), or can park a boat on a trailer at home, finding a place to keep your boat is a bear. Everywhere was full. A couple storage facilities near the airport had spaces, but what a Charlie-foxtrot. Trailering through those places can be like trying to pull an olive from the bottom of a jar without touching the others, using only your pinky. Up early, go one way to get the boat, other way to the ramp, launch, fish, recover, and then what? No county ramps have wash facilities or engine flush hoses. Now figure that out. Want the engine hot to flush correctly? Crack that nut. Use the car wash? No. Most are too tight to swing a trailer around. Water at a storage facility? Also no. Pull it to the house? Total pain. Rabbit ears? Don’t forget to rinse the trailer. Then negotiate traffic back to the storage lot. What about theft and pilferage protection? Any gates, drainage ditches, moving trucks, tight spaces, or lots of backing? Dark again? How long did that process take from start to finish? Ugh.
Rack storage was out of the question. I didn’t want to separate the boat from the trailer, pay two bills, and be subjected to the forklift time schedule. Having been on the rack there for years, I contacted Calusa Island to see if there was space to park the trailer in the yard. The guys said they would find some for me. Park there, launch there, store the boat there. Awesome. Problem solved. Thanks again guys!
By the way, the fishing was great.