Mainstreet Daily News
The search for publicly accessible fishing piers, jetties and bridges is a click away thanks to a Florida Fishing Pier Finder launched by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
The main map shows all fishing piers, jetties, bridges, and fingers cataloged throughout Florida. And when a user enters a county or city, the program zooms in to reveal where public fishing sites are.
In Alachua County, the finder lists five places with a link to directions to the fishing spots, what agency manages the location, and the name of the body of water where the fishing activity will take place.
Those include: Earl P. Powers Park on Newnan’s Lake, Lake Alto Preserve in Waldo, Lindsey-Phillips Park in Hawthorne on Johnson Lake, the fishing pier on Lake Lochloosa in Hawthorne, and the Lochloosa Park in Hawthorne.
The locations are color coded with fishing piers in green being the most prevalent spots for publicly accessible fishing experiences.
Users can also select a city name to find any spots in a specific town. Visit MyFWC.com/PierFinder to search for a location.
Some fishable structures extend a few feet into the water, while others extend 2,000 or more feet into the Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic Ocean. A majority of these structures are free to use.
For those fishing piers where a fee is required, almost all have a pier license that covers anglers, resident and non-resident, that fish on the pier.
“I am thrilled with the FWC’s new Florida Fishing Pier Finder,” said FWC Commissioner Gary Lester. “This innovative platform helps anglers find areas where they can enjoy the diverse fishing opportunities found here in Florida, the Fishing Capital of the World. Providing shore-based anglers with easy-to-use location information for fishing piers, bridges and jetties increases access options and possibilities for new and experienced anglers.”
The Florida Fishing Pier Finder was created through funding from the federal Sport Fish Restoration program, which collects taxes from purchases of fishing equipment and motorboat fuel to fund projects that provide enhanced fishing opportunities. Learn more at MyFWC.com/SFR.
