Pacemaker Fishing Forum

I took my kayak out there the other day, and had a minor emergency. I managed to get my trolling motor stuck in some shallow vegetation, and my motor came off the transom. Took a bit of time getting the motor back on without taking on water in the back of the Nucanoe. It was getting closed to sun down, and I had to hustle to get back to the launch area before they closed the gate on me.

When I got there, the guy that closes the gate was there yelling that he would close the gate in 10 minutes. There were a few other kayakers packing up and I managed to get my stuff loaded on to the truck in time.  I did not have enough time to safely strap everything in, but I did manage to move my stuff beyond the gate and avoid being locked in. The county employee just walked around acting like jerk, and he watched a young girl struggle to get her kayak to her car. You could tell she was feeling a bit panicked in fear that her car would get locked in.

He then shut the gate, walked up to a Loudoun police officer and let him know that he locked 3 cars in the parking lot. They both sat there and laughed about it.

It sucks that our tax dollars pay these guys. It makes me wonder what would have happened if I got stuck out there. It's not like either of them checked to see if everyone was alright or needed a hand.

I don't make a habit of staying out on the water too late. The only other time that I was out on the water that late was at Fountain Head and the staff there was very professional. They came down to ask me if I was alright, or if I needed a hand loading my boat on my trailer. The guy at Beaver Dam sat there and watched a young lady struggle to carry her kayak, and seemingly took pride in locking people in the parking lot.

What if the people in those 3 cars needed assistance? Did they even bother to check? Nope, they locked the gates and drove away.

If you head out to Beaver Dam, be sure to give yourself plenty of time to load your vehicle back up before dark. The county employees seem to get a kick out of locking your car behind the gate.

Last edited by gonefishing (May-24-16 9:47AM)