© August 6, 2007
OREGON INLET, N.C.
Ron Holman held his fishing rod tightly as his line was pulled by a powerful Oregon Inlet current streaming under the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge.
"There's big fish out here," the Ashland, Ky., angler said as he reeled up an 8-inch bluefish, wiggled the hook out of its mouth and threw it back. "We've come down for probably 10 years now. Every time we come, we come out to this bridge."
Holman, who has caught a number of fish larger than 20 inches off the catwalk, is one of many who regularly visit the narrow, fenced concrete walkways that run just beneath both sides of the Bonner Bridge's south end. Many of the anglers bring buckets, coolers, beach chairs and umbrellas, and settle in for a few hours to fish in the green water of the inlet.
Apparently, some also bring wire cutters to make it easier to get under the bridge.
 |
The drowning last month of a man who had climbed through the fence to fish off a column cap below the catwalk highlighted the potential risks of straying from the walkway.
Numerous places on the fence along the fishing catwalks on both sides are cut open or bent; some are patched, some are held together with fishing line and some are gaping holes. On the north end of the east catwalk, the fence is entirely peeled from the frame, leaving a large opening where a person could step down - or fall - on top of a huge cement bridge piling.
Holman's wife, Deborah, said they make sure the fence where they fish looks secure.
"You really have to watch," she said.
A part of the fence on the east catwalk, in fact, did break in September 2004, sending the fisherman who was leaning against it into the inlet. He was rescued by another fisherman.
The bridge and the walkways suffer from corrosion and deterioration. A replacement bridge is expected to be built by 2013.
Sterling Baker, division maintenance engineer with the state Department of Transportation, said the fence has been weakened by salty conditions as well as vandals. In a few weeks, he said, the entire fence will be replaced with an aluminum one. The $45,000 project will take as long as six weeks to complete.
The Transportation Department also will put up signs that say fishing is prohibited from the bridge except off the catwalks.
"DOT is asking the public not to cut the fence," Baker said.
On a recent sunny morning, fishing rods were propped up along the top rail of the nearly waist-high fence. Some fishermen braced the rod ends in the fence that runs along the road side of the bridge, allowing them to tend to other business while waiting for fish to take the bait.
John Shepard, a Harrisonburg, Va., resident, said the bridge catwalk is considered a good spot to hook drum, croaker, spot, flounder, sheepshead, striped bass and sea bass.
Over the years he has been visiting, he has noticed more garbage left behind on the catwalk and more damage to the fence. Before he sets down his gear, he said, he looks for a place where the fence is intact and is solidly in place.
"It's pretty rude of people who come do that," he said. "They have no concern for the next person."
Catherine Kozak, (252) 441-1711, cate.kozak@pilotonline.comBlogged with Flock
No comments:
Post a Comment