Santa Cruz Muni Wharf

I am not an expert of the area by any means, but anytime I fished the kelp beds around the Boardwalk area I launched form the Santa Cruz Harbor and paddled out to the kept beds, but only after checking tides and weather first. It was a bit of a paddle but one I enjoyed.

I am not an expert of the area by any means, but anytime I fished the kelp beds around the Boardwalk area I launched form the Santa Cruz Harbor and paddled out to the kept beds, but only after checking tides and weather first. It was a bit of a paddle but one I enjoyed.

There is also a public launch site on the wharf. You need to haul the boat down some steps to get to it. There are sometimes sea lions there, too.

There is also a public launch site on the wharf. You need to haul the boat down some steps to get to it. There are sometimes sea lions there, too.

On the Municipal wharf? Who do you see to use it or where is it? Can a 14+foot boat be taken down the stairs?

There is also a public launch site on the wharf. You need to haul the boat down some steps to get to it. There are sometimes sea lions there, too.

On the Municipal wharf? Who do you see to use it or where is it? Can a 14+foot boat be taken down the stairs?

I don't believe there is any need for permission. It's public access. There are actually two of them, both on the east side of the wharf. The stairs are fairly wide, so it shouldn't be a problem dragging a 14 foot boat down them. Allen has used that as a launching site, so maybe he will comment on it.

The easiest launch is from the boat ramp in the harbor.  Makes for a longer paddle to the kelp beds around the lighthouse and beyond but you don't have to contend with all the problems mentioned earlier.

If you take Seabright Ave. southward you hit Atlantic avenue.  Make a left and follow Atlantic and it will take you down a hill to the harbor.  Keep going and you will eventually get to the small metal, floating ramp that's just before you reach the bridge going overhead.  The meters are about 20 minutes for every quarter so you need a bundle of coins.

I'm fairly new and primarily launched from here before I found this web site.  But my buddy and I fished the kelp beds quite a bit with less than great success, even with live anchovies.   Probably just my lack of skill, but I've heard others says its pretty fished out near the harbor.  (I'm sure I'd do better here after lessons with Scallen.) It's also harder to get in deep water out of Santa Cruz because you have to go further out and be mindful of the midday wind that can make the return more a chore.  The power boats come in full steam to the harbor and only cut the power at the entrance, so as you approach, if its choppy, it's easy to have their wakes dumping water in your cockpit.

I have found Monterey, off Del Monte beach to be a much more productive area.  Went out with Alien after finding NorCal. You can easily get into 180 feet of water and there seems to be more and a very wide variety of fish.  You return to a wide open beach so even if the water got rough you don't have to negotiate any rocks or jettys.  It's a great place for newbies to start.

Only thing is pulling your kayak across the beach can be a chore.  The regular hard wheels don't work--just sink in the sand. First time out I dragged the kayak down to the water with my PaddleBoy cart.  On the return, I'd limited on rockfish and one ling and decided I'd be back and skip Santa Cruz.  So I gave in and bought a Roleez cart right there at Monterey Kayak.  It's way easy to get acrose the sand with that.

Public docks at  SC wharf are taken out each Winter to protect them from big surf.

allen

The easiest launch is from the boat ramp in the harbor.  Makes for a longer paddle to the kelp beds around the lighthouse and beyond but you don't have to contend with all the problems mentioned earlier.

If you take Seabright Ave. southward you hit Atlantic avenue.  Make a left and follow Atlantic and it will take you down a hill to the harbor.  Keep going and you will eventually get to the small metal, floating ramp that's just before you reach the bridge going overhead.  The meters are about 20 minutes for every quarter so you need a bundle of coins.

I'm fairly new and primarily launched from here before I found this web site.  But my buddy and I fished the kelp beds quite a bit with less than great success, even with live anchovies.   Probably just my lack of skill, but I've heard others says its pretty fished out near the harbor.  (I'm sure I'd do better here after lessons with Scallen.) It's also harder to get in deep water out of Santa Cruz because you have to go further out and be mindful of the midday wind that can make the return more a chore.  The power boats come in full steam to the harbor and only cut the power at the entrance, so as you approach, if its choppy, it's easy to have their wakes dumping water in your cockpit.

I have found Monterey, off Del Monte beach to be a much more productive area.  Went out with Alien after finding NorCal. You can easily get into 180 feet of water and there seems to be more and a very wide variety of fish.  You return to a wide open beach so even if the water got rough you don't have to negotiate any rocks or jettys.  It's a great place for newbies to start.

Only thing is pulling your kayak across the beach can be a chore.  The regular hard wheels don't work--just sink in the sand. First time out I dragged the kayak down to the water with my PaddleBoy cart.  On the return, I'd limited on rockfish and one ling and decided I'd be back and skip Santa Cruz.  So I gave in and bought a Roleez cart right there at Monterey Kayak.  It's way easy to get acrose the sand with that.

Thanks for the info. I have spearfished off the beach there before and did quite well. I was hoping to find a place to do some fishing before work as I start at noon in San Jose. I will def hit Del Monte on the weekends though! Thanks for jogging my memory. Hope to see you on the water someday.

Monetery State Beach at Delmonte (MBK) is, as Marmite said, teh best place for the beginners: easy launch and landing, short trip to good fishing, easy parking (one fee for all day--no coins and meters), loks of folk around in case fo trouble, and generally good conditions.

In fact, now that I think of it, I need to go there more 

The easiest launch is from the boat ramp in the harbor.  Makes for a longer paddle to the kelp beds around the lighthouse and beyond but you don't have to contend with all the problems mentioned earlier.

If you take Seabright Ave. southward you hit Atlantic avenue.  Make a left and follow Atlantic and it will take you down a hill to the harbor.  Keep going and you will eventually get to the small metal, floating ramp that's just before you reach the bridge going overhead.  The meters are about 20 minutes for every quarter so you need a bundle of coins.

I usually launch from the other side of the harbor. From Seabright, turn left on Murray, right on Lake, and turn right into the driveway after the Kayak Connection. I have an annual permit, which saves a lot of hassle. I think the daily rate is around 6 dollars. There are usually harbor district folks walking around the lot to collect money, or you can go into the harbor office above the parking lot. Once you're parked, you can leave the car there all day and not worry about meters. There is a large launching ramp there. There are also restrooms and some restaurants that you can walk to from the parking area.

Isn'tteh boat launch BEFORE Kayak Connection? Or is this a different launch. Also--what's an annual permit cost and where can I get one if I find the price right?

When I've gone early in am the parking lot you refer to was often busy with vehicles and boat trailers as they launced them at the ramp.  The ramp on the other side is quiet and usually I'm the only one there at 5-6 AM. You can load up your kayak and launch at your own pace.  Several party boats leave from that area but the passengers usually park before the boat ramp and I've always been able to park right near the ramp itself.  But if Allen's correct, the ramp may be gone in the winter months.

I was talking about the floating docks at the SC Wharf, which are pulled out of the water for Winter.

The harbor has a "small boat hand launch only" ramp on the West side of the lower harbor, down towards the UCSC docks.  This is really the best public place to launch kayaks.

The regular boat ramp is $$$, though you can often get away with not paying.  It's crowded and busy often.

The small boat ramp on the other side of the harbor is the place harbor prefers we launch. 

If you do not want to buy a permit or pay a meter, you can unload your stuff and drive back to the street (Atlantic, I think) and park up there for the day (near Aldo's Restaurant). 

Hope this helps

Allen

Allen,

Where can I find the info on a permit?

Search the site for "Natural Bridges". Especially in the "Places to launch/land" forum.

Scott

Search the site for "Natural Bridges". Especially in the "Places to launch/land" forum.

K. That's couterintuitive though: its illegal to launch kayaks at Natural Bridges and more SC beaches so I'd never think to search on that topic to look for info on a permit