fastest way from Orwood to Midred Island orchard

[troutnut]

I took FisherCurtis's advice, and rented a boat storage garage from Orwoods, effective 4-1-07. I can't WAIT! Lynne sure was helpful and made it easy.

I used to launch from Russo's or B&W, depending on where I was going to fish.

I have never fished or boated this end of the delta, farthest I have ever gone was North end of Lower Jones Tract.

How long will it take and which is fastest way to south end of Mildred with the least 5mph water?

gonna be great to have my garage back! I'll probably save $200 a month in washing the bird poop off my vehicles!

[Gator]

Hey Troutnut - The fastest way would be a straight line!!

Sorry - couldn't resist - I am gonna grab my map and tell ya!

[Gator]

Go north from Orwood. Under the bridge - right left right left right left into Old River - stay right and you will pass below Little Mandeville - go right after you pass Little Mandeville then run about 1/2 mile - hang a right again - you are at the top of Mildred - hope this gets you where you are lookin for - if not, get a FishnMaps Map - it has Mildred listed - or get a Hook N Line map - both will get you there!

[troutnut]

I have the maps, they just don't show fast water VS. slow water. I made the mistake of launching once at Honker Cut Marina, by the time I putt-putted thru all no wake zones around Tiki Lagun, Turner Cut, then avoiding the rest of the dog and pony show with the cruiser wakes, dodging jet skiers and wake boats, I needed to shave again!
I just can't see how many no wake zones there are, so I don't know how early to leave in the morning to hit the tide.

[kopper_bass]

Troutnut,
Don't ever listen to Gator - he'll get you lost everytime - har! har!
I launch from Orwood all the time to head over to Mildreds. Here is what you want/need to know.

1) As you immediately leave Orwood Resort, you gotta decide to go right towards Disco, or left into Rock Slough. GO LEFT! Orwood is a 5mph at this point whichever way you go, but once you go under the bridge, you are all clear from there. Going right towards Disco puts you into 2 more 5MPH which you are wanting to avoid.

2) zigzag thru rock slough at your running speed, until you come out at Holland Cut Resort and hit Old River. Now from here, if you could go "straight as the crow flies" you would be smack in the middle of Mildred, but you can't.

3A) Go left, heading up Old River towards Franks Tract and then take a right just before Little Mandeville. ZigZag thru that and bear right as you hook into Connection Slough. This brings you out into the top of Mildred with no additional 5MPH zones.
-or-
3B) Go right out of Rock Slough, heading south on Old River. Wind around until you come back to the Railroad bridge. Cut left up alongside the bridge until you intersect Middle River at Bullfrog. Turn left at bullfrog and head up Middle River. It will bring you right into the bottom of Mildreds - again with no additional 5MPH zones.

I know these routes may look longer on the map, but trust me, if you go right out of Orwood, you hit 2 zones that slow you down vs. going left you can be on full plane all the way from Orwood without ever hitting a single 5MPH zone.

Good luck and probably see ya out there fishing my hole ...doh!

Fish On!

Kopper_Bass

[Guest]

Beavis,

If you don't know then I ain't tellin! STAY OFF MY WATER!

[troutnut]

I'm hoping to see a bunch more bikini babes over this way too. Not many over at Russo's. Bunch of old hags at B&W.

[Dan McKenzie]

to be totally honest I stop launching there late april/early may, it is more like a zoo than a marina, most of the time there isn't even a place to tie up to, all the skier/wakeboarders sit inside the marina with their tunes blasting drinking their fruity drinks. there is also a group that hangs out near the pipes/train tressle, they've built rails to do their wake board tricks on. it'll be a mess, wait and see for yourself.

[kopper_bass]

Oh for sure you will Troutnut!

Just go out early on Sat. or Sun. fishing, then after enjoying the great bite, head back in at around 2-3pm, dock your boat far to the outside, go up to the shack and get a beer or two from the fridge and then sit on your boat and watch the show!

bikini babes will be everywhere, and you'll get to see some fun launching incidents too!

BEER, COMEDY and BIKINI BABES! - what more could you want?

[spotfin]

why not just launch out of holland marina? I never have but want to try so I don't have to drive the boat so far from orwood to mildred. Has anyone launched out of holland? Is it ok?

thanks

[Dan McKenzie]

i use holland riverside a lot, it is a crap ramp, expanded metal over wood, similar to sunset harbor. but it is servicable. for me it is the closest ramp to mildred (10 minutes) and no 5 mph zones in your way.

[kopper_bass]

spotfin,
Yeah, holland is great to launch from because it has very little traffic. Our club launches from there, and then we camp in the field below with bathroom and a shower offered too.

There's only 2 small reasons why i tend to launch from Orwood;
1) Holland does have steeper ramps and narrow lanes, so launching by yourself is a little more tricky.
2) just take longer to drive all the way out there. The road out to holland is windy and narrow. I was rushing once in the dark to get there and almost drove my truck, boat and all into rock slough. Oops!

Give it a try though - its not bad at all.

Kopper_Bass

[Ken C.]

Holland with a light tow vehicle and heavy boat = tires slippng on the wet steel! I've seen more than once where the guy had to be towed up the ramp because the tires wouldn't grab. It's not too bad though but the ramps are narrow so if you are good at backing and have a full-sized truck or SUV you should be alright. Even better if you have 4WD!

[troutnut]

FREE launching with boat storage at Orwood's ! That was the kicker for me.

I live in Fairfield, I kept the boat in the garage and trailered it over every time, paid $10-15 to launch (depending on where) plus another $8.25 for the bridge, and because my driveway has an evil slope and short garage door, I used to spend 10 minutes getting the boat out of the garage and to the street.

I think I can launch and retrieve the boat with my minivan at Orwoods, so I won't have to drive the Suburban, and that gets twice as good of mileage and I only have to drive 1/4 mile from the storage to the ramp.

Thanks for all the help guys!