MAIN ROADS has put a stop to the tradition of dropping a fishing line under the old Freo traffic bridge.
Although a wooden walkway still spans a couple of the bridge piles, maintenance workers have taken away the last stretch which connected it to concrete support structures in the middle of the river.
The concrete slabs are popular with fishers as there’s enough room to put their tackle down and about a dozen can fit on there with ease.
Fifty years ago the city’s Italian community pioneered fishing from the slabs, their bamboo fishing rods flicking the tackle far enough to catch huge tailor, and since then there’s almost always someone there trying to reel in a mulloway, skippy or even a salmon.
• Is this the end of the line for fishing under the old Freo traffic bridge, asks Ian Gill, where the walkway comes to an abrupt end. Photo by Trilokesh Chanmugam
Vandals
Local resident Ian Gill said when he spoke to workers, they initially said the walkway would come back when they’d finished, but later changed their minds because they were worried vandals would undermine their work reinforcing the bridge.
Mr Gill says despite Main Roads’ efforts to restrict access, at least one hardy fisher hasn’t been deterred.
“An old guy who drives a white Mercedes abseils down from the footpath and hangs his pots,” Mr Gill told the Herald.
“He scrapes mussels from the side of the piles for berley”
• Fishers have been known to drop in a quick line on the way home from work.
Mr Gill is disappointed access to the site has been cut off.
“People fishing or prawning, young couples just watching the sunset, artists…anyone should be able to go out there,” Mr Gill says.
Local fisher Liam Keesing is not happy: “WTF why would they do that?” he texted the Chook.
Mr Keesing says the traffic bridge is one of the better river fishing spots for people without a boat, and he doesn’t think it’s dangerous.
A worker on site, who didn’t want to be named, said the walkway wasn’t meant for public use anyway: “That’s actually an access platform for Main Roads to do their maintenance,” he told the Herald.
Main Roads said they’d get back with a comment.
by TRILOKESH CHANMUGAM
