Boat launch

Whats the best (deepest, protected) launch area on the East side? Either public or private that has some parking.

Liberty Beach (public) or Hunter’s Point (private).

Liberty has a small cove to protect from the main lake and Hunters has a man made rock wall.

Is it possible to fish from shore or wade out on either side of the Harbor at Liberty Beach? I’ve never been that far north of the East side of the lake.

Bass Pundit wrote:

Is it possible to fish from shore or wade out on either side of the Harbor at Liberty Beach?

It’s pretty shallow in between the harbor and the main lake where it drops off into deeper water. My thoughts would be that it’s possible.

You can probably fish the rock wall on the old liberty beach bar side. Usually see some smallies in the area within casting distance.

gim wrote:

It’s pretty shallow in between the harbor and the main lake

One reason I’d pass on Liberty if you have a big boat. It’s just Ok when the lake is up. If it’s low like it has been and any kind of wind blowing in there, it sucks. If you hit bottom you have a good chance of hitting rock.

Hunters Point and Fishers would be the best east side options for larger boats IMO.

-J.

I’ve always used Fishers when coming over from Cloquet with my Tyee. Not a ton of parking but never had any issues getting a spot and the ramp is decently protected for loading.

Jon Jordan wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>gim wrote:</div>
It’s pretty shallow in between the harbor and the main lake

One reason I’d pass on Liberty if you have a big boat. It’s just Ok when the lake is up. If it’s low like it has been and any kind of wind blowing in there, it sucks. If you hit bottom you have a good chance of hitting rock.

Hunters Point and Fishers would be the best east side options for larger boats IMO.

-J.

A buddy of mine launches his 22ft Hughes Craft at liberty, even when it was real low two summers ago. It’s deep enough.

22 ft Hewscraft probably drafts less water than a 18 ft Ranger. Anyway, Liberty does not make my best of list for east side ramps. For sure 0% chance I’ll use it on a weekend. (And my cabin is like a 3/4 mile from the ramp…)

-J.

It’s a 18′ Ranger. Where do you launch Jon?

Agate bay would work just fine too. I have a 19′ nitro, a buddy has a 20′ nitro, plenty of people around the resort have 620 or 621s none of us have issues. The north ramp is steeper, we use the south ramp just to have a lower grade.

If my memory is any good, did Agate Bay do some dredging just before this ice season?

No issues launching at liberty with a 20 foot ranger. Like John said it can get busy at times and the cove can become a real cluster if someone doesn’t know what they are doing. Depth wise it is probably fine 95 percent of the time however. Guys launch big boats there all the time.
Parking at private launches on the east side is usually the bigger issue as many don’t have wide open parking lots next to the launch because the highway kind of cuts them off. So you may have to take a short walk from the truck. Fishers Hunters The warf if still open have not launched their in a while are all fine depth wise.

OG Net_Man wrote:

If my memory is any good, did Agate Bay do some dredging just before this ice season?

Not sure about this season, but a couple seasons ago they did dredge out the end of the harbor after the ice season, they hauled out 30 some dump truck loads. The piles are over on the other side of the road in the fishhouse storage area.

OG Net_Man wrote:

If my memory is any good, did Agate Bay do some dredging just before this ice season?

I decided to review where I obtained my info from and yes, my memory had failed me. I have no knowledge of recent dredging.