Pier Rehab

[smerchly]

And we have a go !  Hopefully , we will walk the piers again ....and drop a line !   A few days ago I visited the piers with coffee/doughnut in hand and saw about 20 people go out to the fence on the west pier , cameras and notepads in hand . On the east side a large part of the parking lot nearest the yacht club was closed off . It looks like they may begin repairs there and progress to the end of the pier . It will be busy and fishing will be squeezed tight on that side ....can you say zzzzoooo ?

    On the west side the Legion will be torn down and the Lincoln Fabrics building will be undergoing some major renos.  Parking spots may become scarce for visitors (with fishing rods).  Hopefully,  in about 2 years  we will have some spots to fish , with free parking . Here's the latest scoop......

https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news-story/8917639-tendering-process-opens-for-port-dalhousie-piers/

[Fish Farmer]

Sad the legion is being torn down, is the legion moving Smerch?

Great news about the pier.

[smerchly]

From what I read FF ,  a larger building will be built with the Legion being part of it .  Hopefully there are enough members to sustain it .

[smerchly]

 During my teen years we spent many summer days at "Michigan " beach ...all sand right up to the inner lighthouse ...even had a french fry stand there . Giant sand piles lined the harbour near the beach ....great memories of that nice beach . Then along came the trucks , dumping huge boulders into the lake , thanks to public money ....then the docks .  Sad day for the "ordinary" public that loved that beach .

 We know that $$$  talks as Drifter said , and I don't blame the marina for posting the no fishing signs ....careless anglers were tossing lures and hooking the boats , including the boat covers, tarps, etc. That's why they shut down shore fishing .  When the boats are out I don't see any problem with ice fishing ( it may be illegal to stop )  ?...  unless there are property thefts or garbage .  All marinas could be off limits for ice fishing if they push it  .....

[Snags]

Re:  The Channel Rehab

Well they have a barge down there right now with a backhoe on it ... not sure what for.

Also past few days the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has had a truck and a boat down there.  It appears they have some cages throughout from what I could see, obviously eel traps.

Re:  Ice Fishing

As far as ice fishing the marina ... they could easily close it off.  Unless someone wants to invest in a lawyer, I would expect the marina to be closed to ice fishing as well.  They have various cables and riggings that run under the water/ice, so it is easy enough to hide behind that or that the docks are unstable until they get in there in the spring since the lake ice pushes the plastic pontoons (or whatever they are) out from under the wooden docks making them unstable.

Re:  Development of the Area

The city will try to find a way to make money, but in the end it will be a screw job of all sorts and the city will be out.  This city is loaded with leeches when it comes to the politics and how they do their job.  Especially with the city taking over the ownership of the piers once the work is completed, we can expect some local tax hikes in another 30ish years since that was when the last major overhaul was completed on the piers, when they will need to sink more money into them.  However looking at how people behave down there now, I can see the channel being shut down to fishing completely and we are the only ones to be blamed.  Between the garbage, the trespassing, and the "au du salmon" in the fall ... would not surprise me.  Once the condos are built, I highly doubt they want to hear the boorish insults between the shore fishermen and the boaters when it comes to lead chucking, or even the shore fishermen when there is the need to cast 150 plus yards from each side to ensure a solid tangle of lines happens in the middle.

At the end of the day, the money will talk, as will special interest groups regardless of what the masses think or feel.

[smerchly]

Thanks for the info Snags .  I have fished Port for over 60 years  and fishing  has changed with the introduction of salmon . We caught the odd trout , pickerel or pike but mostly carp , drum ,eels ,cats,  and some pan fish,  and in the spring ...tons of smelt and alewives (shiners) . The water was putrid !  All kinds of "crap" !

We will have to be diligent to keep fishing spots available . Anglers do help businesses in our city by spending money on tackle , sporting goods and other small business like coffee shops .  It's a tough job teaching some people to use garbage pails or take their trash home ...some do not have the intelligence to comprehend that , so maybe we can "show" them how it's done . The main problem will be parking  during the pier rehab and building replacements . That also includes Rennie Park .  As for boating ..... we could see  a lot more this fall/winter ! 

[Mike Pike]

Thanks for posting that, Smerch, and it's interesting to read the comments from everyone.

It sounds like it's gonna take 3 or 4 years for all the work to be completed and there is anxiety over what the fishing access is going to look like.  I'm probably anxious about that too, since fishing spots have been disappearing over the years, particularly in urban areas.

Here in Hamilton, there has been a huge development of our waterfront and there are tons more places to fish, thankfully.  However, Pier 8 on the waterfront is going to being redeveloped now with a park, condo, etc.  I'm hopeful that there will still be free parking, access for fishing, etc, too.

It's funny, when you look at the artists renderings of the various proposals by the companies who were bidding for the project, you see dog walkers, couples walking hand in hand, cyclists, etc.  NOwhere do you see fisherman dunking worms!  It seems we're just not in the plans...  

 

[Snags]

I was down there this AM ... they have a barge with a digger on it and a small drilling rig.  Looks like they will be doing some testing on the soil/bottom as the rig is way too small to be handle any proper drilling where they would be putting down anything on the bigger side.  Also the Department of Oceans and Fisheries was down there once again checking all their eel traps.

 

Safe wager this will be a part of the information packet to the potential bidders on the rehabilitation project.  Probably looking at depths and soil style conditions before they hit something firm and stable.

[smerchly]

I think the sandy bottom goes down a long way ..... both sides of the channel are all sand bottoms so they may have to put steel posts many feet into the sand or a lot of large rocks to hold the steel sheets (if that's what they're using) It will be interesting to see  how they do it .

 I hope the eel traps do the job ...maybe some type of sonar noise would chase them away .....

Thanks for the update(s) Snags .