Kings Mountain Point Anglers Cast Lines Off New Universally Accessible Fishing Pier

RALEIGH, N.C. – Montgomery County anglers fishing on Badin Lake now have a more accessible location to cast their lines, thanks to the cooperative efforts of the U.S. Forest Service and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

A universally accessible fishing pier at the Kings Mountain Point Recreation site in the Uwharrie National Forest was completed last week, providing barrier-free fishing opportunities for anglers of all abilities.

The floating pier extends 76 feet into the cove with a T-section at the end that measures 64 feet by 12 feet. The main part of the pier has benches and high and low handrail sections that allow easy access for fishermen confined to wheelchairs.

To make access to the pier easier for disabled anglers, the Forest Service created universally accessible parking and paved walkways leading to the pier. In addition to this new pier, there are three smaller, universally accessible piers available at other locations along the point.

Other universally accessible amenities at the recreation site include a paved hiking trail, a pavilion with electrical outlets and grills, a recreation field, restrooms and 34 picnic sites with tables and grills, said Deborah Walker, district ranger for the U.S. Forest Service.

This summer, Commission personnel will install new fish attractors, made of brushy, hardwood trees, under the pier and around the pier’s buoys to congregate fish for better angling opportunities.

Anglers casting a line from the new pier can expect to catch a wide variety of fish, including channel catfish, blue catfish, sunfishes, white bass, largemouth bass, white perch, black and white crappie and even the occasional striper.

“Right now, both largemouth bass and white bass are active in the cove, and crappie are headed into the brush,” said Keith Hendrickson, fisheries development crew leader, who supervised the pier’s construction. “If the crappie can’t be caught out in the brush near the buoys, try fishing all the way up under the pier or on the shaded side of the pier.”

This new pier is the second one constructed at this site and provides twice the usable fishing area. The first pier, built in 1989, had begun to deteriorate and was no longer safe for public use. Forest Service staff contacted Commission personnel about building a new pier to complement its recreation site, which opened in October 2006.

Within a week, the new pier was standing where the old one had been falling. The turn around time for pier construction, normally one month, took only days because of an agreement the Commission has with the Dan River Prison Work Farm. Inmates at the work farm partially constructed the pier; it was then transported to the recreation area where Commission and Forest Service personnel completed the construction.

“The Commission worked closely with the U.S. Forest Service in ironing out the details for constructing and maintaining the new pier along with the associated recreation site,” Hendrickson said. “Commission engineers worked diligently to come up with a design that will meet all federal Americans with Disabilities guidelines as well as the needs of fishermen of all ages and capabilities.”

The site is open to the public from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., 7 days a week, year-round. For more information about the Kings Mountain Point Recreation site, contact the Uwharrie National Forest, (910) 576-6391, or visit its Web site, www.cs.unca.edu/nfsnc/recreation/uwharrie.

For more information about fishing in North Carolina’s public, inland waters, visit the fishing section.