sports

• outdoors with Lou Rodia

Make Old Bridge into a Fishing Pier

Some day . there will be a fishing pier on North, Wildwoed Boulevard • Hopefully the machinery has been put into place and, can be kept oiled and operating until the powers that be give approval to a plan to retain portions of the old bridge to be used as a fishing pier after the new bridge and causeway are built The precedent for retaining portions of bridges for fishing piers has already been set The county has had two bridge-piers for , years. One is on the west bank of the channel across from what is now Sykes Marina, (formerly known as the Driftwood Marina) When the new Great

' t ' Channel bridge was built. 1 the thep" board of < • freeholders supported a 1 move to retain a portion of { the old bridge for a fishing i pier. Unfortunately. . not t enough of that bridge was i retained, but what was ; kept is in use a lot during I the summer season THE COUNTY'S second < venture into retaining a i bridge and making it into a fishing pier came on Stone Harbor Boulevard. It was learned that the county had the responsibility for the old railroad bridge whfch was on the right of way which took the tracks into Stope Harbor When the railroad was abandoned, the tracks were removed and the old I. i V1! ■ | \

was left across the channel at Scotch Bonnet. soon became a place to go and to crab and fish. It was dangerous. There were wide gaps between the railroad ties and children and grown-ups alike ran the risk of injury At some point it was r deemed necessary to correct the hazardous condition. The county was able to gain another needed facility because the decision was made to keep the bridge as a fishing pier, instead of tearing it down IN THE CASE of the Scotch Bonnet bridge, county workmen did the work at a minimal cost. Since the bridge was made into a pier, thousands of people have utilized it. Hie bridge is now- a placfe to fish for winter fioun^iers in the early season and later on in the season, as a place to go crabbing. This bridge has provided countless hours of recreation for people of all ages. Again, a little foresight provided a much needed facility. For years, Florida has recognized the need for I fishing facilities other than | for boat-oriented anglers. Bridges in Florida are built to accommodate anglers with wide walkways and traffic regulations which protect the pedestrian fisherman from the traffic In the years when the Florida Keys were being connected by a modem causeway which bypassed the old road and its many bridges. <* old facilities were left to the fishermen. Walkways were built by Florida on many of the causeway bridges to the Keys. Fishermen^are I welcomed to use the facilities' Buses even stop along the way to drop off and pick up anglers. OCEAN CITY. Md.. has a causeway not unlike that going to Ocean City, N.J. The major difference is wide walkways along the entire causeway. Fishermen soon latched onto the bridge. It became a favorite spot for fishing. Soon, it became apparent that there was a problem of safety for the pedestrians The first impulse was to follow, the lead as set by states like New Jersey, whidi bans fishing. But . wiser heads prevailed when it was recognized that the bridge in use by fishermen was a major fishing attraction. Instead of banning fishing, tourist and resident anglers alike were encouraged to use the bridge for fishing. It is advertised by the city as a place to fish. And, to protect the fishermen, a chain link fence has been erected from one end of the bridge to the other on both sides of the causeway to separate

the anglers and the traffic When the bridge over Indian River Inlet was replaced, the State of Delaware left part of the . sp%n to be used as a fishing pier. In the long run, it proved cheaper to keep this, and most of the other bridges which have been kept as fishing piers. Remember that someone has to foot the bill to rip out the old bridge.^Most bridges will stay in use for many, many years without major repairs once traffic is taken off the spans. A unique application of bridge construction was applied when the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel was built. The designers recognized that ■ much of the bridge and causeway complex would utilize material which would be fabricated with equipment which would be dismantled after the bridge was completed. Unless some material was stockpiled conveniently, it would take years to rebuild the equipment to make the material to repair the bridge if a big ship went through it. When the original contracts were let. extra material was constructed. A pier was erected on one of the islands with the extra pilings and decking. It was turned into a fishing pier which is used successfully by thousands of anglers each year. Few of them know that the pier will remain in existence forever, if no big ship or natural disaster destroys a portion of the span. Meanwhile, a recreational facility has been created and is in use as a tourist attraction. Over the years, this area has lost lots of opportunity to keep bridges for use as fishing piers. One of the facilities which was lost was the old trolley causeway which linked Ocean City with Atlantic City. Some of that link could have been retained. At present, the railroad bridge which links the mainland with West Wildwood is another natural which could be utilized for recreation We lost portions of the old George Redding Bridge when the new one was I built. We io6t portions of I the old railroad bridge which went into Anglesaea. The time was not ripe then and no one can be I faulted for the I06S. But, - * from now on, the need for the old spans becomes i more acute as time goes 1 on. We should make sure j that every bridge that is i replaced with a new span is i kept in total or in part for 1 recreation. t Why is it so imporf tant??? First and e foremost, there are large

segments of our resident and visitor population who need recreational . opportunity. Many cannot fish on boats or on jetties because of age, infirmities or inclination. Some can't fish on boats because they are prone to sea sickness. . Others can't because of the costStill others can't go when the party and charter boats are running because of work pressures or scheduling difficulties Kids can enjoy an outing on a fishing peir. Pier fishing can be adjusted to suit the time needs of the individual. Weather-plays a big part, too. Lots of days when it is not fit to fish from boats. ■ bridge-piers would allow fishing for lots of anglers. Surprisingly enough, most of the people we talk to, anglers included, do not recognize just how good the fishing and/or crabbing can be around all of the county's bridges. Even now when practically all other fishing has wound down, anglers could harvest a bumper crop of blackfish which love to hang around bridges and feed on the shellfish which cling to the pilings and abutments. At night, the lights from the bridges draw bait and in turn, weakfish -and

bluefish come around all summer and well into the fall. Fluke, too, can be caught around the bridges as well, as sea bass, kingfish, crabs, occasional porgies and blowfish* Winter flounders also show up in cold weather until the warm water drives them out into the ocean. Occasional striped bass, sharks, and a wide array of semi-tropical fish make their appearance around the bridges from time to time. Unfortunately, it is not legal to fish from the present bridges. If we could save the North Wildwood span this opportunity will be afforded to us all. Assemblyman Guy Muziani has picked up the ball He's working on getting acceptance for the Bridgefishing pier plan on North . Wildwood Boplevard. There has been interest shown in the project. So far, no real opposition has been mounted. If you're supportive, contact Assemblyman Muziani's office and tell him so You can also urge the Freeholders to get behind - the project. We could use another good place to fish on the Jersey Cape.

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RIO GRANDE ARfTlY & NAVY 6oing Out Of Business SALE Old Pricos Drastically Slashed! Village Shops Rio Grande 886-6868 (Formerly Marlyn Manor) NWTpoST OFFK?HDI Cape May County ALMANAC ' DECEMBER j

MOON PHASES/POSITIONS TTi* Moon 'a affect on the Tide it created when clooest to Earth (in perigee) and when in direct alignment with Sun a earth (/ull 6 new moon phatet) On and about theae datei. low pressure ay item j and /or strong winds (depending upon direction J may I result in flooding, and extremely low tides Moo. Phases Fan Mow 0 Last Quarter 15 New Mm - 22 First Quarter » ■ Perigee U TIDE TABLE Computed for Cape May City ■ beachfront, for other areas, see Correction Times , » N.DATE HIGH LOW ; sjb. a.m. * — ..m. ; I Sat 2:07- 2:23 6:16- 1 39 2 Son 3:03- 1:18 9:12- 9:27 9 3 Moo S S7- 4:14 10:02-10:10 r 4 Tue 4:44— 5:03 10:47-10:52 5 Wed 5:29- 5:48 11:32-11:35 C Thu 6:09- 6:30 -12:18 7 Fri 6:47— 7:10 12:14- 1:03 J 8 Sol 7:34- 7:50 12:55- 1:45 » « SOD 8:01- 8:21 1:27- 2:27 10 Mao 8:42- 9:16 2:17- 3:09 U Ttie 9:34-10:0 2:50- 3.52 12 Wed 10:15— -10:56 3:42- 4:27 13 Thu 11:10-11:57 4:33- 5 28 14 Fri — I2:0f 5:34- 6 26 15 Sat 12:55- 1:06 6:47- 7:29 16 Sus 1:55- 2:06 7:56- 6:29 17 Moo 2:56- 3:14 9:04- 9:25 16 Tue 3:57- 4:19 10:03-10:16 > 19 Wed 4:55- 5:19 10:56-11:06 > 30 1bu 5:46- 6:10 11:53-11 56 11 Fri 4:20- 6:56 -12 46 IS. 22 Sat 7.23- 7:46 12:Si- 1:36 23 Sun 8:06- 8:22 1:40- 2:23 >4 Moo 0:52- 9:19 2:27- 3:09 25 TUe 9:27-10:06 2:11- 3:50 36 Wed 10:25-10:54 3:55- 4:32 27 H>u 11:10-11:41 4:41- 5:14 21 Fri 11:55- S:»- t:0B 29 . Sal 12:29—12:42 9:42- 1:52 30 Sua 1:17— 1.X 7:24- 7:46 11 Moo 2:07- 2:24 6:24- 8:27 _ VmaaBHrnmawM Y %

CORRECTION TIMES Compute approximate times of high 6 low water for your area by adding or subtracting the following number of minutes for each tide phase in the Tide Table LOW HIGH Great Egg Harbor inlet Minus 12 plus 10 Ocean Pity (9th St. Bridge) pita 35 plus 22 Carson Inlet (bridge) plus 21 plus 7 Sea Isle City ii . uTi.rr. Tfaoro Bridge i plus 66 plus 43 Sea Isle City Beach * minus 3 minus 21 Townsend Inlet plus 21 plus 4 Seven Mile Beach plus 15 0 Stone Harbor (Great Channel Bridge) plus 43 plus 40 Hereford Inlet (Angleaee) pills 19 9 Wildwood Beach Minus 2 minus 17 Weat Wildwood (Grassy Channel bridge) pita 46 plus 43 Cap e May Harbor plus | minus 4 Five Fathom Bank ptus 11 plus 1 Cape May Point plus 46 * pita 34 McCrieSboal pita M plus 21 Delaware Bay Bayshore Channel | (Bay-Canal Junction) l pkaSl plus X 1 Miami Beach t pins 75 plus 71 I Deaaia Crack Entrance ! plus M pha 94 Brandywtne Shoal Light I P»"77 pha 52 <