The new fishing platform is installed and ready for anyone looking to cast off at Heritage Park along Barrie's waterfront.
The Kempenfelt, Barrie-Huronia and Barrie Rotary clubs unveiled the new 24-by-40-foot fishing platform Thursday afternoon. It's located at the east end of the park.
The platform, which has been in the works since 2018, was made possible by many community fundraising events such as the Barrie Fall Fishing Festival, Kids Fishing Day, and the Retro Fun Run and Walk.
John Foster, who's a member of the Rotary Club of Barrie-Huronia, was the first person to cast a line into Kempenfelt Bay from the platform. He said the project was a long time coming.
“The initial thought was in 2004 by two individuals at the Kempenfelt club and we had the Fall Fishing Festival in 2010 and since then we have been raising money to go towards building this platform,” Foster told BarrieToday.
“We wanted to build something that would be environmentally friendly, and so this is a cantilever dock, meaning it hangs over, so we didn’t go into the water," he added. "(Environmental) regulations wouldn’t allow that and that's fine with us. We want to protect the lake’s health.”
Along with being more accessible to people with mobility issues, Foster said the platform is in a prime fishing spot in that area of the bay and is handy for the annual fishing festival, which makes its return this year.
“The festival is a nine-day event at the end of September, so this dock will be in great use then,” said Foster.
Before that event, however, will be the Rotary Kids Fishing Day on Sunday, June 26 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Heritage Park. There will be free fishing rods, bait, lunch and entertainment. Participants must register by Friday, June 24 and can do so here.
