Shabby pier hooks anglers

LYNN – The fishing’s great off the pier extending from Lynn into the Saugus River, said Dennis Petersen, but the Revere resident said the wooden structure needs work.A wood plank is missing from a section where anglers dip their lines, and trash is piled on a section of the pier. A dirt path from a parking lot just off the Lynnway parallels the river before leading to the pier.”It’s good fishing – a guy caught a 42-inch striped bass a couple of weeks ago,” Petersen said.The best time to catch stripers is morning or evening and, Petersen said, “always when there’s high tide.” He has fished the pier for the last two years and watched it deteriorate with the missing board and other damage posing danger, he said, to children who accompany their parents onto the pier to fish.The pier draws fishermen, but improvements to the structure have lagged behind work on other parts of the waterfront. The Blossom Street extension boat landing now houses the commuter ferry terminal and Seaport Marina has seen an upgrade in its floats and gangways.Mohamad Bezdi of Revere decided to try his luck on the pier after spotting people buy fishing equipment at the Lynnway Walmart. He bought a rod but did not have much luck casting off the pier on Wednesday.The Morocco native said he fished in his North African homeland, especially in the summer, and said he will rely on advice from other pier-goers to improve his fishing skills. Lawrence resident Steven Rodriguez said he travels to Lynn for salt-water fishing, but said two hours fishing off the pier on Wednesday left him empty-handed.”I’ll come back,” he vowed.