PALM
BAY -- When the fish are biting, Roxie and Wayne Swanson frequently cast their net and lines from Castaway Point.
They're
thrilled with the completion of a second fishing pier there and with plans for a fish-cleaning station on the north pier,
which cost $4,000 to repair its hurricane damage.
The new pier's cost of about $80,000 came from the city's Parks and Recreation Department and a grant from the Florida
Inland Navigation District.
"That's a popular site, so we added a second pier," said Steve Riser, city parks director.
Roxie Swanson and her husband use their net to catch baitfish, snook and trout. Last season, her husband caught a 45-inch
snook off the pier, and a friend caught a 55-inch tarpon.
"The north pier gets really crowded when the fishing's good," she said. "We also like to watch the dolphins and manatees.
This is a beautiful spot."
Twenty-year Palm Bay resident Ben Haydock agreed the site is beautiful, but he's uncertain about the new pier.
"I like to fish here, and fishing was much better before the pier was built," he said.
But, Haydock said, the pier is "great for people who don't fish." And he looks forward to the new cleaning area.
Riser said that should be finished by the end of the year.
