Ryan Willauer caught his first fish on Friday, but the tog slipped off his line while he was reeling it in and fell back into the waters of the Great Egg Harbor Inlet.
It didn’t matter. Willauer was still enjoying himself while savoring the picturesque views of the bay from the fishing pier next to the Ocean City-Longport Bridge.
Willauer and other anglers, though, would like to see some improvements with the pier itself to spruce up its deteriorated appearance.
“It is a great location, but it looks like it could use a facelift. But it’s not horrible,” Willauer said.
Recognizing that a makeover is needed, the county agency that operates the Ocean City-Longport Bridge is planning to give the fishing pier an overhaul to make it more inviting to anglers and visitors.
The pier's concrete deck stretches for 500 feet.Kevin Lare, executive director of the Cape May County Bridge Commission, said the cost of the project is estimated at around $500,000. The commission is finalizing plans for the project and hopes to complete it before next summer after awarding the construction contract, he noted.
“These updates/repairs will provide an even more suitable area for all of the patrons who make use of the pier year-round and further provides wholesome, free recreational opportunities. The upgrades will prove especially beneficial to the aesthetic and practical use of the pier,” Lare said in an email Friday.
Upgrades for the pier will include new railings, new concrete benches, new trash receptacles, new fish clean-out stations, repairs to the concrete deck surface and the joints and a new trash enclosure with a new fence. Updated electrical conduit and wiring will also be added, Lare said.
“We are working towards getting this project advertised by the end of this year, with a goal of completion before summer 2025,” he said. “We are in the final stages of finalizing the scope of work with our engineer to make sure all avenues and concerns are addressed. Some additional items have come up as of late and we want to make sure that work was added to the scope as well.”
The deteriorated benches and railings will be replaced by new ones.Currently, the wood railings that run the length of the pier appear rotted in places, benches have holes in them, trash cans are deteriorated and even the concrete deck is dingy.
The fishing pier was created when the new Ocean City-Longport Bridge opened in 2002. A 500-foot section of the demolished old bridge was saved on the Egg Harbor Township side of the Great Egg Harbor Inlet for the pier.
During the busy summer tourism season, the pier is popular with anglers as well as sightseers who savor the panoramic views of the bay, marshlands and wildlife unfolding for miles.
Willauer, who lives in Pottstown, Pa., was visiting the pier for the second time Friday. He has been spending some time at the shore with his brother, Dan Willauer, who lives in Somers Point.
Willauer was encouraged to hear of the bridge commission’s plans to give the pier a makeover.
“I think anything they can do is a benefit for fishermen and the public,” he said.
Warren Vibora fishes about two or three times a week at the pier.Another angler, Warren Vibora, of Galloway Township, said he fishes at the pier about two or three times a week for tog, sea bass and whatever else he can catch for dinner.
As part of the improvements, Vibora would like to see the pier’s lighting to be fixed and also hopes that a sink with running water will be added.
Although the offseason crowds aren’t nearly as big as the number of visitors in the summer, the pier still remains popular with anglers in the fall and winter, Vibora said.
“They’re not just locals. I’ve seen cars from New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware,” he said of the out-of-state license plates in the pier’s parking lot.
The fishing pier is next to the Ocean City-Longport Bridge to the left.
