Fishing at Ft. Wilderness? Grumpymom73 Please!

[PrincessAtta]

Looking for reviews and advice please...

Interested in cane fishing at FWC, understand it happens near the Bike Barn. Would like to know anyone's experience with cane fishing here or at POR. Also interested in transportation info to and from WL. Have been advised that we can take bus from WL to Bike Barn, fish, then take orange bus back to Pioneer Hall, boat back to WL. Would like to know timing issues between that and taking boat from WL, bus to bike barn, bus to Pioneer Hall, boat to WL.

Thanks in advance, and cross posting to Transportation.

 

[catalexander]

I'm not familiar with cane fishing at the bike barn... although there is a large pond right there.

I know that the only Fishing allowed in Bay Lake is by the official "Fishing Excursions"... even if you rent a boat, you can not take your own rod/reel for catch & release.

You could take a bus, but IMO, the boats would be just as easy, and it's a nice little ride. I believe the boats on the R side of the dock are the RESORT launches, and they only go to the Resorts. The one on the Left is the Magic Kingdom launch... you could actually catch that one from WL and get off at the first stop, which would be FW before it travels on to the MK.

To get to WL by bus you will need to board the Settlement Bus (will take you up towards the marina/Pioneer Hall area), then transfer to the WL bus.

You might also want to post this on the Camping Board, as I'm sure you'll get a reliable response there for both of your questions.

 

[PrincessAtta]

bumpy

 

[PrincessAtta]

Thank you catalexander!

Anyone else?

 

[Grumpymom73]

Yes, you can pole fish at FW. They rent them at the Bike Barn. You can drop a line in the pond/lake right behind the Bike Barn or in any of the creeks that run through FW. Last time we camped our site backed up to the creek and my son caught a fish right from our campsite. My son does this everytime we go. I won't say he has caught something everytime, but he usually has good luck.

As for the buses/boat question that's harder. It really depends on whether you arrive just after a bus has pulled out or if you luck out and one is pulling in. I have found that the buses do run quite often. As as side note if you are running low on time you can walk the distance between the Bike Barn and Pioneer Hall. We have done it many times. I won't lie and say it's a short walk, but it's not that long. There are bus stops all along the way if you decide it's too much.

Good luck and I hope you catch some fish!

 

[firsttimemom]

We did this at POR last week (we were staying at WL and the concierge did not tell us it was available at FW- boo to them!). I believe it was $4.50 for a half hour including a cup of worms. There was a LOT of algae and tiny clover-like leaves covering the water. We went one afternoon and DD caught a sunfish. The next morning we went back bcs DS wanted to catch one but after 2 hours all we did was go through a lot of worms bcs the fish would take them right off the hooks.

It's a nice setting there and the CMs were very nice.

Good luck!

 

[PrincessAtta]

Thank you both!

Grumpymom73, you may be able to answer this one. So we're driving up on Sunday, seeing Hoop at 7:15. I have a 4yo who wants to go fishing and we're thinking we'll surprise him if time allows.

If we take the boat from the WL, we could take the bus (Orange?) to the 900stop and fish. Then, if I understand the system, we could take the bus back to Pioneer Hall, but it will go through the entire FW loop, correct? I'm thinking that's at least 20 minutes and probably packed with people heading to Pioneer. So the option would be to walk (half mile?) back, probably a leisurely 10 minute walk. Safe with three kids?

Thanks again.