# springmaid 6-14



## ncfisherman45 (Feb 9, 2013)

my family is here in myrtle beach for our yearly vacation. went to springmaid to fish today and they are charging 5.00 to park. what has happened to this pier? their getting a little money hungry. wasn't going to pay to fish and park that's beyond me... fished the beach instead.. wont be going back to springmaid anymore...that's for sure.. I have been told that a lot have people have quit going there..i can see why now...


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## arich_5 (Jul 1, 2011)

Most piers are getting like that. Apache and Cherry Grove are both pay to park also. Piers aren't as popular as they used to be so they have to charge more to make money and keep the doors open.


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## beady (Oct 25, 2008)

seen them out with those $5.00 to park signs...not good.....go down road to Garden City Pier free parking.......


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## ncfisherman45 (Feb 9, 2013)

I called there and was told if you didn't have a season pass or a guest staying at the resort they charge 5.00 for parking.. their gonna lose a lot of business because of this. some people don't fish enough to justify buying the pass and im not gonna pay 5.00 to park when I come to the beach.. surf fishing for me for now on.. money hungry crooks...


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## RjTheMetalhead (Dec 3, 2011)

Well... it might finally run off some of the punk surfer boys.

Sucks for those who don't have an annual pass.
Garden City might be the only pier left that doesn't charge for parking... those two bars are why they can. 

I got my sticker for my truck, #0007


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## ncfisherman45 (Feb 9, 2013)

springmaid has a bar too rj. and there food prices are high as you know what. fishing supplies are too. just being greedy that's all.. draining the tourist dry....


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## RjTheMetalhead (Dec 3, 2011)

ncfisherman45 said:


> springmaid has a bar too rj. and there food prices are high as you know what. fishing supplies are too. just being greedy that's all.. draining the tourist dry....


Yes they do, and they have a drive by liquor window.
They might sell 1/2 the alcohol in a week that GC sells in a night or two. 

I can fish for free at Garden City. I go maybe 4 or 5 times a year. I do not like that pier for a few reasons. 

Bleeding the tourist dry is what Myrtle Beach is all about. I don't eat much at the pier and certainly don't buy much tackle from them.
Just fish and go home.

The $5 parking will run plenty of people off I'm sure... but how long before every pier does that? 
You didn't even tell us if you caught anything either... just came on to bitch about $5 parking at a tourist trap hellhole of a pier. opcorn:


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## irishfireman333 (Jul 27, 2013)

Bahahaha


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## RoccoS (May 4, 2014)

Considering other piers charge 8 or 9 dollars to park, the 5 seems reasonable to me. A lot of the reasoning behind it is that the surfers as well as other people continue to take up all the pier parking and are not using any of Springmaid's facilities. Personally, I love it, as it gives us season pass holders a place to park!! I guess if you don't like it.......go somewhere else!! I have fished almost all the local piers, and I think Springmaid by far does the best job....keep it up!!


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## Danman (Dec 13, 2007)

" punk surfer boys"..Oh boy! I sense a bitterness of young people in that description..


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## RoccoS (May 4, 2014)

Oddly enough I know the guy that wrote that post and he is only 20 himself. However, he conducts himself in a mature way on the pier. Considering I was there yesterday and some of those "punks" were sitting under the pier smoking pot with young kids and families around, I understand the frustration. As always, a few bad ones have to ruin it for everyone else.


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## Davey72 (Jul 16, 2012)

Been fishing at this pier for 25 years, was just there two weeks ago. So now its $5 to park and another $7 if your local to fish?? I go there maybe 9 times a year never considered a season pass just don't fish enough. King fishing is dead and now only 50 Spots per person plus charging more. This is not a good idea, it used to be fun going to the pier before it became a tourist haven.


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## Eattheflounder (Apr 24, 2011)

I see it a little bit differently. Paying $5.00 to park stinks and makes me not want to spend my money there so much. How many new piers do you see going in? How many piers have we lost in NC and SC that don't get rebuilt? Piers are not a high profit use of real estate. If they were "greedy" they would do other things with the parking lot as well as the pier. They have to figure out a way to cover their costs. They have hotel guests that are paying for rooms and they need to offer them parking first. They have more people wanting to use the pier and the beach as well. There are not enough parking spaces for all of the people that want them. The pier is hard to make profitable. It is a great attraction for the resort and that is where they make their money. They let the rest of us fish there to help make the pier profitable. Five dollars for parking, times how many cars for non guests fishing on the pier or visiting the beach? Compared to the dollars flowing into the resort, that is nothing. They have too much demand for the lot and they have to find some way to manage that. If they charge $5.00 it helps decide how important it is to the users. Not far into the future we are going to have even fewer piers. They do not make enough money to easily justify them or people would be putting up new piers. Anyone running a pier is far from greedy. There are easier ways to make money with the same land. Does paying $5.00 to park piss me off? Sure it does. 
If I consider the alternatives (not having any pier or parking available) I would rather have the $5.00 parking. It is easy to call other people greedy or evil when they have what we want and will not let us use it as we want at a price we want to pay. In another thread a few months ago someone said that they were being "ripped off" by having to pay $9.00 to fish at one of the piers and that they would only fish in the surf in the future. I just shook my head. Fishing in the surf is a good option, but it is what it is. When the smaller piers at MB go down in a storm they probably will not be rebuilt. There is not enough money in a pier to make it worth it for the business owner. The land used for parking lots has a more valuable use. I am glad there is a parking lot. I am guessing in October the parking will be free again.

ETF


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## BubbaHoTep (May 26, 2008)

Eattheflounder said:


> I see it a little bit differently. Paying $5.00 to park stinks and makes me not want to spend my money there so much. *How many new piers do you see going in? How many piers have we lost in NC and SC that don't get rebuilt? Piers are not a high profit use of real estate. *If they were "greedy" they would do other things with the parking lot as well as the pier. They have to figure out a way to cover their costs. *They have hotel guests that are paying for rooms and they need to offer them parking first. *They have more people wanting to use the pier and the beach as well. There are not enough parking spaces for all of the people that want them. The pier is hard to make profitable. It is a great attraction for the resort and that is where they make their money. They let the rest of us fish there to help make the pier profitable. Five dollars for parking, times how many cars for non guests fishing on the pier or visiting the beach? Compared to the dollars flowing into the resort, that is nothing. They have too much demand for the lot and they have to find some way to manage that. If they charge $5.00 it helps decide how important it is to the users. *Not far into the future we are going to have even fewer piers. They do not make enough money to easily justify them or people would be putting up new piers. Anyone running a pier is far from greedy. There are easier ways to make money with the same land.* Does paying $5.00 to park piss me off? Sure it does.
> If I consider the alternatives (not having any pier or parking available) I would rather have the $5.00 parking. It is easy to call other people greedy or evil when they have what we want and will not let us use it as we want at a price we want to pay. In another thread a few months ago someone said that they were being "ripped off" by having to pay $9.00 to fish at one of the piers and that they would only fish in the surf in the future. I just shook my head. Fishing in the surf is a good option, but it is what it is. When the smaller piers at MB go down in a storm they probably will not be rebuilt. *There is not enough money in a pier to make it worth it for the business owner. *The land used for parking lots has a more valuable use. I am glad there is a parking lot. I am guessing in October the parking will be free again.
> 
> ETF


+1

I've said it many times: the next time a hurricane comes through there and wipes out piers, let's just see how many get rebuilt.

A recent thread from the NC board: http://www.pierandsurf.com/fishing-forum/showthread.php?107537-Jennettes-pier-could-go-up-for-sale
(See particularly Garboman's post on that thread #6)


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## ncfisherman45 (Feb 9, 2013)

did anyone know that springmaid pier is classified as a non-profit organization.. it is not a stand alone pier business either..500 room resort with conference center.. they make plenty of money there.. the 5.00 parking is nothing but greed period... now a lot of the piers in nc are stand alone and privately owned piers and I could understand them charging to park. the grand strand piers are in a tourist area.. lets milk the tourist for all we can motto..


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## RjTheMetalhead (Dec 3, 2011)

The free parking was being used, and abused, by people that did not contribute much to the resort in the resorts eyes.
Surfers, local beachgoers and so on.... and i went to school with some of those punks. One of those surfers tried to lynch a boy couple years back lol.
Word is there will be 25 resevred parking spots in the front lot for season pass holders, but we will see.

Are they greedy... you bet your ass they are. Would cost you 2 grand to stay there in the summer for a week. They just got a new managment company that is trying to maximize profit.

Found out 2nd Avenue doesn't charge to park so go there. I havent been on that pier in years, and couldnt care much to go back.

Kingfishing is ****ing dead everywhere. I go out there to bull**** touristz and get some sun... pray the last king gets snagged in his ass as he turns away from MB. If i want to seriously catch a king i go on a boat...

Oh and here is a picture of a trout evelyn caught this morning in the suds, as this thread is devoid of actual fishing..


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## js1172 (Jun 5, 2012)

have someone drop ya off, simple!
js


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## RoccoS (May 4, 2014)

Well put ETF....


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## cocky (Jun 21, 2010)

So people actually come to myrtle beach to surf?


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## Loner (Sep 9, 2009)

....$5.00????......ya'll come on Up here to Wdrightsville bch.....$2.50 and hour to park........IF U CAN FIND A SPACE!!!


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## Scooter2001 (Nov 2, 2009)

cocky said:


> So people actually come to myrtle beach to surf?


One of the best surfers on the East Coast resides on the Grand Strand, Cam Richards, google him.


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## cocky (Jun 21, 2010)

Nah, I'm just saying. I've been going down there for years and have never really seen any waves big enough to surf on. But I'm no surfer, so I could be missing something.


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## Davey72 (Jul 16, 2012)

Time to buy a boat... dust off the surf rods too.


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## arich_5 (Jul 1, 2011)

They surf all the time around the piers. Something about the structure helps produce rideable waves. A kid went missing last year at Cherry Grove while surfing.


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