# Sandbridge (LIP) Monday 6/17



## Bigfaithmitch (May 4, 2008)

Fished the pier yesterday from 6:30 until 2:30. Tide was low when I go there, a few people fishing. Small and medium roundhead caught on fish bites, a few small spots also. Kept a spot on a pin rig all day with no takers. On the heaver used spot several skates and one good size ray.








the flip flop is sized 13 btw. 

Also there was a sign saying the pier is closed today and tomorrow for some reason. 

The normal complaints at low tide there as no water to speak of... when and if the summer spots get there you can expect the end of the pier to be full of pin fisherman, heavers, 1 hour tourist fisherman and people "pan" fishing. So take a happy pill before you get there. 

You know not to start a war. . . but we complain about the city not caring about fisherman but think about it. . .I paid $7.00 to fish and fished 8 hours, while I was there at least 10 to 12 tourist type people who came, paid $7.00 fished for 30 minutes to and hour and a half then left. Happy and sunburned because they are in vacation and caught a 4 inch spot or sand perch. So even as we whine and complain the Pier is still making money and will even if the water is 2 feet deep at the end as long as the rental house has two Wal-mart rods and a tackle box with bottom rigs for the Vacationers. (my 2 cent's worth)


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## lil red jeep (Aug 17, 2007)

I agree with your point Mitch that the city is making money on the 30 minute fishermen who catch a few and leave and call it a successful vacation. There was a time, and not all that long ago however that the LIP was a fishing destination. Not just a little chunk of wood out in the middle of the beach that sticks a few feet out into the water, but a real place where avid fishermen came to have a go at anything from abundant Cobia, to Kings, to the ever popular red drum. Some are still caught, but no where near at the numbers that used to be produced there. I remember as a younger man I could catch fish in the shore break on that pier, on the west side of the pier shack! So you are right, the city is making money off of people fishing, but not making much off of avid fishermen, at least not any more.

We have one of the nicest Marine Science museums around, and in my opinion its head and shoulders better than the NC museum in Manteo, but they sure have us trumped with Jennettes pier. If Virginia Beach put a pier anywhere near that quality in the location of LIP, and tied it in with the Marine Science museum, they would make a fortune. Money not just off of the fishing that would be done, but from every facet of the pier. Far be it from me, a non-Virginia Beach resident to tell them how to spend their money. After all, one man lobbing chunks of campaign money should benefit with his Cavalier Hotel getting refurbished well ahead of the masses of tourists who would benefit from 18 million dollars getting spent on that pier.


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## sudshunter (Jan 20, 2008)

lil red jeep said:


> I agree with your point Mitch that the city is making money on the 30 minute fishermen who catch a few and leave and call it a successful vacation. There was a time, and not all that long ago however that the LIP was a fishing destination. Not just a little chunk of wood out in the middle of the beach that sticks a few feet out into the water, but a real place where avid fishermen came to have a go at anything from abundant Cobia, to Kings, to the ever popular red drum. Some are still caught, but no where near at the numbers that used to be produced there. I remember as a younger man I could catch fish in the shore break on that pier, on the west side of the pier shack! So you are right, the city is making money off of people fishing, but not making much off of avid fishermen, at least not any more.
> 
> We have one of the nicest Marine Science museums around, and in my opinion its head and shoulders better than the NC museum in Manteo, but they sure have us trumped with Jennettes pier. If Virginia Beach put a pier anywhere near that quality in the location of LIP, and tied it in with the Marine Science museum, they would make a fortune. Money not just off of the fishing that would be done, but from every facet of the pier. Far be it from me, a non-Virginia Beach resident to tell them how to spend their money. After all, one man lobbing chunks of campaign money should benefit with his Cavalier Hotel getting refurbished well ahead of the masses of tourists who would benefit from 18 million dollars getting spent on that pier.


 sad but true !!!! if the city was going to put up 18 million on a pier,you can bet your bottom dollar it would be at the ocean front snd not in the sandbridge area,not enough tourist in sandbridge. but being realistic we wont never have to worry about the city putting up any money for a pier. just aint going to happen !!!!!


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## Juan_EZ (Apr 10, 2006)

correct me if i'm wrong but the city ov VA Beach doesn't own LIP... and therefore will not fork over any money to fix/ upgrade it. it does belong to the Army Corps of Engineers. from what i'm being told, is that the Army corps does not intend to upgrade it anytime soon.


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## lil red jeep (Aug 17, 2007)

I've heard the same thing for years, but every time a storm damages the pier it's Va. Beach repairing it and not the Corps. So I really don't know for sure. Someone told me once the pier had been used many years ago to drive military vehicles out to awaiting vessels to take other places, in which case the pier being owned federally makes sense. No question the sand shoaling around the pier is at the hands of Va. Beach so maybe they can dredge around it!


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## dropinbrix (Jul 10, 2011)

Heres a response I got from someone in Virginia Beach when I sent an email about extending the pier last week.


Thank you for your email below regarding the Little Island Park Fishing Pier.

The pier is temporarily closed to repair minor damage sustained from the recently-completed beach replenishment project. We expect the repairs to be completed by today/Wednesday or tomorrow/Thursday at the latest.

We currently do not have any firm plans to extend the pier. We did attempt to secure funding from VMRC years ago to assist with extending the pier, but our request for funding was generally denied, even though a small amount of funding was eventually provided that assisted with accessibility improvements when we renovated the pier and pier walkway a few years ago. The beach replenishment projects at the Resort and in the Sandbridge Area are funded from other sources where any repairs and/or renovations/extensions to the pier are funded from Parks and Recreation Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Funding, and with 265 Parks and Park Facilities in our City Park System, we have a long list of high-priority projects to fund near-term.

Thank you again for your email.

Rick Rowe
Parks and Natural Areas Coordinator
Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation

Parks and Natural Areas Office | 2289 Lynnhaven Parkway | Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Phone 757-385-1120 | Fax 757-471-2330 | [email protected] | VBgov.com/parks

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Find us on Facebook: Facebook.com/VBParksRec
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## Aristokles (Mar 5, 2013)

In other words..."The pier is LOW-priority, if it's on the list at all." No surprise. They should drop the usage fees for fishing.


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## Smittroc (May 1, 2009)

yeah so what ARE they doing with the money then?? hmm


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## dropinbrix (Jul 10, 2011)

Heres a reply I got from Lee Tolliver when I told him maybe he should make a little noise on the subject.


there have been several attempts made to convince parks and rec, and the top city officials, to extend the pier with a T on the end to make it a destination pier and all have failed.....they could even get some funding from the VMRC license fund, but didn't want to share admission prices with the VMRC to pay any of it back.....it likely would be a good idea for several of the regulars at the pier to head to a city council meeting and bring it to their attention


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