Commercial fishermen concerned about lack of access to Lake Hancock

POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — “This is where I spent my life, my childhood,” said Jojo Groene from his fishing boat on Lake Hancock.

He proudly tells the story of how his family, going back generations, commercially fished on Lake Hancock, using a makeshift dirt boat ramp on the north side of the lake to access it.

“It’s going to be sad not coming back to this honestly. I’ve come through this canal right here I couldn’t tell you how many times,” said Groene.

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This month, Groene said he was shocked when access to the boat ramp was cut off due to road construction on Winter Lake Road.

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is doing the road construction on Winter Lake Road.

According to an FDOT spokesperson, the access to the makeshift boat ramp will be permanently closed for “safety reasons” with a new guardrail.

The spokesperson pointed out the ramp was an unofficial access point that was subject to erosion without sufficient areas to park or pull in and out of the property.

“It was such a shock because we use it. It’s been in my family. It’s sentimental to us. To the county and the state, it’s just an old crappy dirt boat ramp,” he said.

Groene said he and a few dozen other fishermen catch millions of pounds of tilapia, an invasive species to Florida, every year out of Lake Hancock and sell it to markets.

He explained conditions are better for fishing on the north side of the 4,500-acre lake, one of Polk County’s largest.

The water is warmer and less prone to drought-related issues.

Boaters must now use the only other publicly-accessible boat ramp on Lake Hancock, on the south side.

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It could take some boats 45 minutes to traverse the lake from there, according to Groene.

“It’s gonna be bad. A lot of times it’s timing. It’s all about getting out here fast and getting to the market fast,” said Groene.

The county opened the south side Lake Hancock boat ramp in summer 2020 after receiving “numerous complaints concerning illegal dumping, erosion caused by vehicle traffic and safety concerns for residents that used the right of way for launching boats on Winter Lake Road at the bridge on the north side of Lake Hancock,” Polk County communications director Mianne Nelson wrote in an email to News Channel 8.

The county does not anticipate building another boat ramp but will continue to monitor the ramp’s use over time, Nelson said.

Nelson also pointed out county staff has never seen the parking lot of the new ramp full.

However, until this month, boaters and fishermen were able to launch from another boat ramp.

Groene has concerns about backup at the ramp as the weather gets warmer and more people and fishermen try to access the lake.

“It’s disheartening that the state and the county won’t put their local fishermen up on a pedestal so to say and ask our opinion of the matter and how it’s gonna affect us,” he said.

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