Austin officials want to ban boardwalk fishing

Written by LSON staff

Austin officials have proposed banning fishing from the city’s $28.1 million boardwalk along Lady Bird Lake and fining violators up to $500.

The parks department is pushing for a fishing ban on the wooden boardwalk, because officials fear anglers might hook passers-by while casting.

Assistant director Kim McNeeley told the Austin American-Statesman the department doesn’t have figures on how many people might be fishing from the boardwalk. No complaints or reports of injuries have been filed since the boardwalk opened in June. But officials believe the measure is a necessary precaution, she said.

The fishing ban proposal will be the subject of a public hearing before the City Council later this month.