New West Linn fishing dock now open for use

New West Linn fishing dock now open for use

WEST LINN -- Local anglers now have a new place to cast their fishing lines in West Linn.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has announced the opening of a new fishing dock along the Willamette River between the West Linn-Oregon City Arch Bridge and the West Linn Paper Company.
Jeff Boechler, watershed manager of ODFW’s North Willamette Watershed District, said since the area is known for attracting sturgeons, coho salmon and warm-water fish, he anticipates the new dock getting plenty of use.
“Availability of bank fishing opportunities on the lower Willamette is extremely limited,” he said. “Most of the angling on that river occurs from a boat and bank anglers are restricted to a limited number of parks we have along the river. So this is going to be pretty important piece for people who like to fish in the area.”
The new dock is located on the west shore of the Willamette and can be reached via a path bordering Territorial Road. A ship ladder leads to the eight-foot wide, 350-foot long landing.
Boechler said the project took about two years to complete and cost $250,000. The dock was paid for by a combination of taxes collected from Oregon anglers when they buy fishing licenses, fundraising from the Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation, funding from West Linn's parks and recreation department, the West Linn paper company and other groups.
Boechler said he's glad the dock was built to adhere to “fish-friendly standards.”
“There’s grading on it instead of a solid surface, so if light pass through it doesn’t attract predator fish underneath it,” he said. “It’s just a much better dock than what we had there before.”
What was there before was a 400-foot wooden pier that needed to be replaced, Boechler said.
“Over time, that old wood structure just deteriorated,” he said. “It took a beating during the 1996 floods and it had gotten to the point where it was really unsafe for people to be using it.”
He added that the new dock gives fishing enthusiasts another opportunity to fish close to the coast after The Wall in Oregon City was eventually closed off to anglers last year.
However, the amount of people who fish at the new dock may be limited to the because of on-going renovations to the nearby Arch Bridge. Boechler said parking close to the dock may not be an option for many.
“At least for the next two years, that area isn’t going to have the levels of parking that it would have normally because of all the construction vehicles and work being done,” he said. "But given the quality of the dock and construction, hopefully it will be around for another 50 years or more for anglers to use,” he said.

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Posted in: fishing sport