Apex Community Park Gets New Fishing Pier

RALEIGH, N.C. – Anglers in western Wake County have a new place to cast their lines after the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, along with Apex Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department, constructed a new fishing pier at Apex Community Park last month.

The pier, which provides barrier-free access to Pine Lake, extends 59 feet into the lake and ends with an 80-foot long T-section. Alternating high-low handrails, some of which are angled, provide easy access for anglers confined to wheelchairs while permanent benches installed along the pier give other anglers a chance to sit. A new concrete sidewalk and abutment connect the pier to the existing asphalt trail that circles the lake, providing a paved surface for wheelchairs from the universally accessible parking area onto the pier.

A fish feeder located near the pier maximizes fishing opportunities by clustering fish and providing a supplementary food source for the fish, which allows them to grow bigger, faster. In addition, Commission personnel stock the 45+acre lake once each month with 1,500 catchable-sized channel catfish from April until September. Other fish found in the lake include largemouth bass, crappie and several sunfish species.

The universally accessible pier was pre-constructed at the Dan River Work Farm by inmates at the Caswell County Prison through a cooperative construction program between the Wildlife Commission and the Department of Corrections. Commission personnel transported the eight pier sections from the work farm to Pine Lake and assembled them to form a complete pier — a process that was much quicker and easier than building the pier on site, which is how Commission personnel constructed fishing piers previously.

“In the past, it would take us two to three weeks to build a fishing pier onsite,” said Bobby Glenn Kimbrell, a fisheries technician with the Commission’s Division of Inland Fisheries. “Now, working with the Caswell County inmates, we can have a pier constructed offsite, and then transport and assemble the pier in less than five days.”

Apex Community Park received the new fishing pier through the Wildlife Commission’s Community Fishing Program, which enhances urban fishing opportunities statewide through cost-sharing agreements with local parks. Community Fishing Program cooperators pay only 25 percent of costs for program amenities, which may include monthly fish stockings, fish feeders, fish attractors and fishing piers.

Fishing on Pine Lake is allowed from sunrise until dusk when the Apex Community Park is open. For anglers 16 and older, a North Carolina fishing license is required. Additional fees to fish Pine Lake vary. The town of Apex allows Apex residents to fish Pine Lake at no charge, but non-residents must get a photo ID from the Apex Community Center and pay an annual fee based on age.

Anglers can purchase fishing licenses at www.ncwildlife.org or 1-888-2HUNTFISH (1-888-248-6834). For more information about fishing at Pine Lake, call (919) 249-3402.

Anglers can purchase fishing licenses here or call 1-888-2HUNTFISH (1-888-248-6834). For more information about fishing at Pine Lake, call (919) 249-3402.

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