Bass Fishing News Articles, Reports & Tips - Page 77

By DAVID RAINER
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

While perusing social media during this seemingly endless summer, I kept seeing photos of slab crappie that were coming from the Alabama River.

Wait, I thought those slabs were caught in the spring when the crappie are spawning or in the fall when the weather and water temperatures have considerably cooled.

Turns out, these anglers were taking advantage of the latest technology to defy the common theory that big crappie are hard to catch during the dog days of summer, which appear set to last into October this year.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) TrophyCatch program, now in Season 7, has awarded prizes for the catch and release of more than 9,000 largemouth bass since the program began in 2012. To date, 7,303 Lunker Club, 1,751 Trophy Club, and 66 Hall of Fame fish make up the milestone.

Sixty-seven members of the Shoals Youth Bassmasters out of 121 on the roster fished the final tournament of their 2019 season on Pickwick Lake September 21. A nice morning welcomed the young anglers but the cool air did not last long before giving way to hot finish by 11 AM.

Whether in business or in life, the chance for a new beginning is very rare. It’s even more uncommon that you get that chance with a group you already know and trust. For the greatest tournament angler in the history of our sport, that unique position is a reality. When the 2020 Bass Pro Tour kicks off, the deck of angling legend Kevin Van Dam’s Nitro will be fully rigged up with Lew’s rods and reels.

TVA is working with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to promote fishing of Asian carp to reduce populations of this invasive species in the Valley’s reservoirs.

TVA is working in collaboration with the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency (TWRA) and other organizations to stop the spread of Asian carp. Through public awareness, emphasis on commercial fishing and hosting the occasional bowfishing tournament, TWRA hopes to control these invasive fish currently living in some Valley waterways.

TVA and TWRA are joining forces to create fish habitat in the Valley’s reservoir system by adapting an innovative technology originally created to help regenerate coral reefs in salt water.

Once upon a time, the lakebeds of the newly flooded Tennessee Valley reservoirs were rife with habitat—small trees, stumps, plants and crops were available for fish to swim to, through and around, and for microorganisms, algae and macroinvertebrates to make homes in and on. Hence, a healthy food web was created and maintained for many years.

“Over time, the reservoirs are aging and all of the vegetation and the cover for fish that were in the reservoirs when we flooded them are not there now,” explains Shannon O’Quinn, senior water resources specialist at TVA.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) 2019-2020 High School Fishing Program offers high school fishing clubs or teams the opportunity to apply for the Florida Sport Fish Restoration R3 Fishing Grant. This grant program is focused on recruiting new anglers, retaining active anglers and reactivating lapsed anglers to ensure the future of fishing in Florida.

Anything and everything fishing related will be on display and up for grabs when the River City Antique Tackle Show returns to the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Decatur Riverfront later this month. The event attracts collectors from across the southeastern United States and beyond who bring thousands of antique fishing items dating back to the mid 1800s to display and sell over two days in Decatur, Ala.

An inside guide for successful warm-water fishing in the Tennessee Valley

TVA prides itself on keeping its reservoir waters healthy, oxygenated and viable enough to support a variety of wildlife.

That includes a variety of sport fish, including black bass, black crappie, channel catfish and spotted, largemouth and smallmouth bass
These fish are ranked by reservoir on a scale from 20 (poor) to 60 (excellent).

The Shoals Youth Bassmasters youth anglers, fishing the next to last club tournament of the 2019 season, went head-to-head in the three age divisions on Wilson Lake out of the Lock Six ramp on August 31, 2019.

The fishing temperature was cool at 7 AM but ended hot by the 11 AM weigh-in time for the fifty-four youth competing. Club director Richard Laxson noted that most of the youth anglers caught fish in the tournament.