They say many hands make light work and those hands were still working to perfect a new trail at Forests for the World Sunday morning as a group of fishing enthusiasts officially opened a new addition to Shane Lake.
Members of the 13th Prince George Scouts and Third Prince George West Beavers moved pieces of wood, clipped branches and hauled rocks to add the finishing touches to the the lake's brand new dock.
A project two years in the making, the Polar Coachman Fly Fishing Club had a great deal of help in getting the new feature on the west side of the lake in place.
"The community support has been great," said 14-year club member Bob Graham. "Anybody who heard of it thought it was a worthwhile project."
The new fishing platform, located midway along the west shore of Shane Lake, was installed May 22 and is expected to provide far better access to the water's fish supply.
"The existing dock was built before they were stocking the lake with fish so there was no thought as to locating it where the fish were," Graham explained about the original dock in the shallow water of the lake's northeast side. "So we thought let's build it closer to where the fish hang out, which we knew from having fished the lake from belly boats."
Originally, the new platform was part of a larger project the club was working on to install an aeration system in the lake to keep the fish alive over the winter. However, financial limitations and the city's unease over having a diesel generator and tank in the park meant the work was scaled back to just the dock.
Built by Omenica Fabricating, the project - expected to cost $16,000 - received funding from Integris Credit Union, Canfor, Sinclar Enterprises, the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund and Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC.
Firefighters with the BC Forest Service also provided some muscle during the platform's on-site construction, Graham noted.
To celebrate the dock's opening, Tourism Prince George and the the FWFS were on site Sunday afternoon with fishing rods for visitors to try their hand at catching some of the newly released rainbow trout. The tourism agency rents fishing rods and tackle boxes for free from its First Avenue visitors centre.
Graham said the club wanted to have the dock - which is now city property - in Forests for the World because of the area's popularity.
"One big positive feature is the location - being in the city and handy for people. The park itself gets a tremendous number of people that come here and use it," he said.
The Polar Coachman Fly Fishing Club is also hoping to work with the B.C. Forest Service to install another dock at Tory Lake this year.
