# SSFH Trinity River at Liberty 1/20/14



## RAMROD1 (May 4, 2012)

Well not a slow day today! Wife said I did a great job of keeping bait on her hook as she almost limited out!







At the SSFH with hooks in the water at 2 left at 5:30. 
All caught on tight lines with CJ's in about 16 foot of water.

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## FISHROADIE (Apr 2, 2010)

Nice haul.


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## WGA1 (Mar 1, 2012)

Wow! The cats must have moved up river because it was a very poor day at Wallisville today.


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## alanmacias541 (Feb 4, 2013)

what's your guiding fee? Awesome job


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## RAMROD1 (May 4, 2012)

Guide fee is free!
Boat launch fee is a killer!
I can't take much credit here I only caught around 13 Nd the wife caught the rest. It was a great evening on the water. 
Glad we didn't go to Lake Houston today now.

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## RAMROD1 (May 4, 2012)

Two others just like this fresh one made our meal tonight!

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## RAMROD1 (May 4, 2012)

One think I forgot to mention. About 1/3 of these cat had been attacked. I mean freshly attacked as in still bleeding, I wonder if there was some flatheads patrolling my area? Any thoughts on this?

Should have taken some pictures but some had tail fins split and abrasions half way up the body others had dorsal fins messed up, and so on I mean just a bunch of beaten up fish.

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## P (Nov 18, 2012)

*attact*

yea probably flat heads not sure wat the big gar r doing . r u close to the 90 bridge or down around the bluff ? I have been fishing off a sand bar in romayor and not even a bump.


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## RAMROD1 (May 4, 2012)

No not close at all and haven't seen any gar lately.

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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Could be a gator!!!


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## RAMROD1 (May 4, 2012)

I have seen a few around the area but not lately, guess the cool weather has them inactive. There wasn't any thing I could really call a tooth mark.

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## WGA1 (Mar 1, 2012)

When I stay on the river for a few days I use a modified crab trap to keep catfish alive in. One morning I saw a river otter swimming around my cage. Didn't think much about it until later on when I saw the cage about twenty yards away from where it had been and the door was pryed open. Dang otter got my fish. So maybe otters were trying to get them...dunno.


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## Gatorbait#1 (Feb 12, 2014)

RAMROD1 said:


> Well not a slow day today! Wife said I did a great job of keeping bait on her hook as she almost limited out!
> View attachment 1052793
> 
> At the SSFH with hooks in the water at 2 left at 5:30.
> ...


I think I saw you out there. My wife and kids were with me, I had my bluetic hound out there and he wouldn't shut up. There is some good fishing up there if you know where to go. Your SSFH is safe with me. I had to pull my buddy out of that boat ramp, I think his ruts are still there. My F-350 didn't have too many problems but it sank right down to the concrete and pulled my center console out.


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## RAMROD1 (May 4, 2012)

If there was a blue and white bean bag in front with my wife in it then it was me.

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## Gatorbait#1 (Feb 12, 2014)

You had a jeep and a flat bottom? You put in on the other side of the bridge by the columns? I saw you put in and was jealous lol, I don't think i can launch my boat with my super heavy truck over there, so I was fishing on the bank and getting my lines crossed over and tangled from the other folks who showed up with all their children lol. Time to invest in an aluminum flat bottom


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## redexpress (Apr 5, 2010)

I went to the ramp today after noon just looking. Saw where there had been some heavy equipment there removing sand. Ran into 2 City of Liberty employees. They said that's where they get sand when they need some for a project. Asked them to pleeease take all of it. They weren't aware of the "Endless Saga of the Hwy90 Boat Ramp". Just a coinicident they needed some sand.


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## WGA1 (Mar 1, 2012)

Oh well, I sure was hpoing today would be the day but since the county works 4/10s I don't guess its going to happen for this weekend.


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## Tee (Jan 2, 2014)

So, we're not the only ones benefiting from the ramp being in good condition.


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## chrisww1971 (Jan 5, 2014)

So it sounds like the wife put a whoopin on ya!!! Lol 
That's some of the best eating fish that swims fresh water. 
Good job!


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## RAMROD1 (May 4, 2012)

*********#1 said:


> You had a jeep and a flat bottom? You put in on the other side of the bridge by the columns? I saw you put in and was jealous lol, I don't think i can launch my boat with my super heavy truck over there, so I was fishing on the bank and getting my lines crossed over and tangled from the other folks who showed up with all their children lol. Time to invest in an aluminum flat bottom


Yep that was me!
Sure am missing my Jeep! The other ins-co is trying to stick it to me so it may be a while before I can get another one.

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## WGA1 (Mar 1, 2012)

> I went to the ramp today after noon just looking. Saw where there had been some heavy equipment there removing sand. Ran into 2 City of Liberty employees. They said that's where they get sand when they need some for a project. Asked them to pleeease take all of it. They weren't aware of the "Endless Saga of the Hwy90 Boat Ramp". Just a coinicident they needed some sand.


I went Saturday and launched. Its really sorry and I mean really sorry for them to have the equipment there and not just go ahead and clean it down to the water.


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## redexpress (Apr 5, 2010)

Yes it is. The city says their Grad-all doesn't have enough reach. I'll keep an eye on it and call McCarty if something doesn't happen soon.
I don't think any of them really care.


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## RAMROD1 (May 4, 2012)

Stopped by there tonight after getting back from Livingston and it still looks the same!

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## Garagedoorguy (Mar 9, 2011)

What is ssfh?


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## redexpress (Apr 5, 2010)

super secret fishing hole


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## RAMROD1 (May 4, 2012)

redexpress said:


> super secret fishing hole


This is correct!

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## redexpress (Apr 5, 2010)

don't tell anybody else!


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## Tee (Jan 2, 2014)

Guys, any update(s) on our ramp ?
Did anyone stop by in the past day or two ?
Thanks


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## Gatorbait#1 (Feb 12, 2014)

My friend got a $250 fine for driving on the sand to launch his boat


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## WGA1 (Mar 1, 2012)

> My friend got a $250 fine for driving on the sand to launch his boat


seriously??? What department...COL, TPW?


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## RAMROD1 (May 4, 2012)

You have got to be kidding me!

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## RAMROD1 (May 4, 2012)

WGA1 said:


> seriously??? What department...COL, TPW?


Yea this is what I would like to know! 
This is ridiculous! They won't clean the ramp off but will ticket you for launching off the sand! I would fight it!

I would also like to know his court date maybe we could make a showing for it.

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## cykojoe (Dec 1, 2009)

Nice!


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## WGA1 (Mar 1, 2012)

If this is indeed true then I would guess it's TPW. There is some law in place prohibiting driving vehicles and atv's in river beds in Texas. It was designed for the dry beds in west texas, not really for sandbars but I guess there is no exemption for it. I don't know what kind of low life officer of the law would actually write a ticket for this situation though. I am eager to hear the whole story.


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## Gatorbait#1 (Feb 12, 2014)

Yeah, he got in trouble for driving on the sand. Apparently you are not allowed to drive on the sand bars. Do ya'll remember the huge ruts down there? Those were his, so he launched off the sand and got popped. I am not sure what department issued the citation, he was telling me about it a few days ago. I will find out the whole story from him when I see him, I didn't dig too deep into it, Liberty County has ceased to amaze me with some of their actions.


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## redexpress (Apr 5, 2010)

Emailed today to Liberty City Manager:

Mr. Broz:

I was in your office about 2 weeks ago talking about the condition of the boat ramp on the Trinity River at Hwy90. My understanding was that there is an inter-agency agreement between the city and county that allows the county to clean the boat ramp for the city. I also understood that you were going to send Mike McCarty an email requesting the county to clean the ramp. I talked to Mike's administrative assistant this afternoon to ask when they had planned to clean the ramp. She said they have not received an email from you requesting them to clean the ramp. 
Could you please check on the email status and get back to me?
Additionally, there are reports of at least one person being ticketed by law enforcement for driving on the sand to launch their boat. This certainly does the image of our town no favors.

Respectfully
xxxx


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## WGA1 (Mar 1, 2012)

We as American citizens are being saddled with more and more laws every year. I knew about this law but never in a million years thought it would actually be enforced on one of these muddy river sandbars. Any rational normal thinking person understands that those ruts in the sand will have absolutley no impact on the hydrology of the river or any native plant species. One flood and all the ruts mean nothing...heck even one day of a hard blowing wind fills in some ruts with sand. 

Give tickets for driving on a sandbar but I bet not even one ticket has ever been given to any of the trashy people that go out there on the sandbars and leave mounds of beer cans, baby diapers, fast food packaging, glass bottles, and any other piece of litter that you can think of. I don't know, there is probably some angle that I am not considering and could be explained by a TPW biologist...maybe its just for asthetics, who knows. Maybe its very, very, very important to have a nice smooth sandbar under all that trash that is so easily overlooked.


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## WGA1 (Mar 1, 2012)

Good job redexpress, I'm so fed up with all governmental departments. From city to county to state to federal and all the rest in between. It's amazing that the county knows full well about the ramp but insists upon waiting for some magical email from the city.


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## rkerhs409 (Aug 15, 2006)

He!! they can't even fix the guard rail by the bypass that has been damaged for about 3 weeks now.


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## fillet (Dec 2, 2010)

I stopped by on the way home this evening and the ramp hasn't changed. The sad part is all the mud is off the ramp and you could back a boat to the water if they would not have left a big ***** hole in the middle of the ramp. It might have been the plan go dig a hole so they try and back around it then we can get some revenue fining fisherman for going around it. It probably would not have mattered the jack wagon defender of the sand would have probably written a ticket for driving on the sand covering the ramp.


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## P (Nov 18, 2012)

The easiest thing to do would be to find some property on the river and come up with a ramp of some sort that every one who pitched in could use . The aggravation alone is not worth it . Looking at the ramp , looks like you would need a long boom hoe to get it cleaned out if they went as far as they could I think there would be a big pile of sand at the end that couldn't be reached . I was told that if you launched your boat and then parked back above the vegetation line until you went to get it out that was ok I wonder if that has changed ?


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## redexpress (Apr 5, 2010)

P said:


> The easiest thing to do would be to find some property on the river and come up with a ramp of some sort that every one who pitched in could use . The aggravation alone is not worth it . Looking at the ramp , looks like you would need a long boom hoe to get it cleaned out if they went as far as they could I think there would be a big pile of sand at the end that couldn't be reached . I was told that if you launched your boat and then parked back above the vegetation line until you went to get it out that was ok I wonder if that has changed ?


In one of my earlier posts I said that Mike McCarty told me there were plans for a ramp at Lake Grenada. At the time I thought he may have misunderstood about where the new ramp was going to be built. But...I have heard that the Lake Grenada homeowners association has talked about building a ramp on a vacant lot on the river. The person that told me this said they have talked about it for years and I shouldn't hold my breath waiting for it.


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## fillet (Dec 2, 2010)

If we keep harrassing the city and the county we could probably get a good deal on the existing ramp they might be ready to sell at a good price.


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## Gatorbait#1 (Feb 12, 2014)

Update on the ticket. I called my buddy yesterday to find out who had ticketed him. He told me he had received a warning from a GW. The GW told him that if he were to be caught on the sand in his truck again he COULD be ticketed, and it was a $250 ticket.


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## WGA1 (Mar 1, 2012)

Hmmm, I have not met the new GW in the area yet. I wonder how strict he will be about using ATVs to pull trailers down to the water and launch off sandbars. That has been my plan. Now I find out that we have a by the book GW.


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## P (Nov 18, 2012)

I heard that the last time the county cleaned the ramp with the grade all they got water in the transmission and wont do it no more. I wonder if there are any other counties on the trinity with no ramp it just does not add up it seems like they have a reason to keep people out of the trinity chambers and polk have a good bit of people that come to there counties and spend money just for fishing the state or county (you and me) would pay for the ramp but a lot of businesses would benefit once there was a nice ramp and word spread . I don't think any thing will be done until the right one wants it .


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## redexpress (Apr 5, 2010)

From memory...I think the recently departed Game Warden Danny Diaz organized a cleaning of the Liberty ramp. Must have been 5-10 years ago. 
I haven't heard from Broz or McCarty yet.
I did mention to Broz that folks using the ramp might spend a dollar or two in Liberty. He understands the multiplying effect of money spending. 
I don't think there is any conspiracy to keep the ramp closed. There just isn't enough light being shined on it to get it to the top of anyone's "to do" list. I'll give Broz a reasonable amount of time to respond to my email before using other means to shine light on the issue. 
There was someone at the ramp today, dark blue Ford launched a john boat. Y'all be careful where you launch. It ain't worth $250.


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## WGA1 (Mar 1, 2012)

I wouldn't mind having GW Diaz back. A lot of people may not have liked Diaz but I doubt he would have been threatening to write tickets for launching a boat on the sandbar considering the situation. I never had a problem with the guy we got along well. I may try calling TxDot tomorrow. They were cleaning it off before the city took it over but they got mad about people complaining. They didn't do a great job but at least it got done eventually. Maybe if I asked nicely, but I doubt it. 

To be honest I really don't think this is going to get done and if it does the river will eventually rise again and we are back to square one. Back when I was trying to contact McCarty I specified to the lady secretary that I had property and a house upriver that was only accessible by boat so the ramp was of vital importance. In my unanswered emails to McCarty I also specified those details as well as sending him a photo of my house. None of that seemed to matter. I thought it may help capitalize on the importance of the ramp as means to a fishing destination by many anglers and other unrealized uses. Nothing has mattered and it really is dumbfounding to me.

The really annoying thing about it is it's really not that bad. It would take so little to clean it off with the right equipment. In years past I have seen it much much worse. Many years ago I recall the river stayed up between 20 - 30 feet all winter. It rose and fell and rose and fell but generally stayed high. Then when all settled down I thought there would be no way that ramp would ever get cleaned. It was buried in mud up to where the vegetation is. It took a while but TxDot finally cleaned it off. TxDot would only clean it up to the point that the wheels of the equipment touched the water, but at least you could launch with a four wheel drive back then. I guess all we can do is keep trying. Maybe they are waiting to get through the spring rains and then clean it off for the summer. Heck I don't know.


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## Tee (Jan 2, 2014)

This is probably the hottest topic on the forum since December. It really matters to a lot of folks.


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## RAMROD1 (May 4, 2012)

Do you think we could put something on Shine All 9? Maybe on the Bulletin Board or the Trading Post, a petition maybe?

I know there are a lot more anglers that use the ramp who are not members here. Thoughts?

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## Fishin' Soldier (Dec 25, 2007)

SSFH? Super Sandy Fruitless Hope?

I hope that ramp gets fixed. I will assist with any petition and or emails or letters if need be.


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## WGA1 (Mar 1, 2012)

> Do you think we could put something on Shine All 9


Don't know for sure. I contacted KSHN back in December about it. They showed no interest, nor did the Vindicator.


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## WGA1 (Mar 1, 2012)

Went ahead and gave TxDot a call. They won't do anything, nothing, ever again...they are done.


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## P (Nov 18, 2012)

wonder if they would sell it for a dollar ? Who actually owns it ? Who ever it is seems like they would like to be rid of the hassle . I guess you cant buy state property I wonder ?


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## redexpress (Apr 5, 2010)

I'll try to remember to stop by city hall next week, or at least call, and see if Broz got my email. 
Email for Gary Broz: [email protected]
Email for Mike McCarty: [email protected] 
As a citizen of Liberty it disappoints me that what seems to be such a simple task is so difficult to get accomplished. I'm not one of those citizens that complains on the 'net that everything in Liberty is bad. I live here by choice, and could live wherever I want. I do know, or think I know, that the budget is quite "tight" and manpower is always an issue. But, Broz acted like it was no big deal to write McCarty an email and actually turned to his computer as we spoke like he was about to do that. 
Like everyone else I'm mad about it, but more disappointed. 
And yeah, I've got a Diaz story too!


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## 4xsthefun (Jul 16, 2010)

*ramp*

I'd like to see the ramp fixed to, would be more than glad to sign a petition.


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## RAMROD1 (May 4, 2012)

Sent an email to both of these addresses.

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## RAMROD1 (May 4, 2012)

I have yet to receive a reply to either email.

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## WGA1 (Mar 1, 2012)

Don't hold your breath waiting. I suspect Broz may return your email...McCarty couldn't care less from what I have experienced. If I had to guess it seems to me they are hoping we will all lose our steam and eventually just go away.


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## Tee (Jan 2, 2014)

Anyone have an idea on the estimated cost of renting the grade all equipment required to fix the ramp?
Perhaps if we offered to cover part of the cost it would get these folks moving.
Count me in on this option.


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