Every action has an equal, opposite reaction.
If you believe this physical law, then the impetus behind a recent $10,000 donation from FLW Outdoors to benefit the Lake Champlain fishery in northern New York should make perfect sense.
During the week of FLW Outdoors’ Forrest Wood Open on Lake Champlain, the bass-fishing organization presented a $10,000 check to civic leaders in Plattsburgh, N.Y., as a sort of “thank you” for providing such a beautiful and bountiful lake for the tournament. Through the FishAmerica Foundation, the conservation arm of the American Sportfishing Assocation, FLW Outdoors gave something back to the community.
At a June 21 press conference in Plattsburgh on the edge of the lake, FLW Outdoors President Charlie Hoover said, “Lake Champlain is probably the best smallmouth fishery in the United States, and it’s probably the best-kept secret, too.”
Throughout the week, professional anglers had echoed Hoover’s sentiments, many saying the bass fishing on Champlain was the best they’d ever seen. FLW Outdoors tournament weight records for bass catches were shattered during the Forrest Wood Open.
The “thank you’s” at the afternoon press conference were dealt both directions, however. Local leaders said they didn’t want Lake Champlain to remain a well-kept secret, and they implored tournament organizers to consider the town of Plattsburgh again in the future as a host site for bass-fishing tournaments.
Daniel Stewart, mayor of Plattsburgh, said: “Everybody’s been talking about the economic impact. The economic impact is immeasurable.”
According to Hoover, estimates for 2002 indicate that an FLW tournament of the magnitude of the Forrest Wood Open can inject a cool $2.4 million into the host area’s local economy. At least 350 anglers spend about a week in the community, and they spend a lot of money while they are there.
Carolyn Harding, visitor and convention bureau director for the local chamber of commerce, said anglers “spend way more than the average tourist.” She said a rough estimate is that each angler spends about $200 a day.
“It’s a tremendous bonus for our area,” Harding said.
Stewart pointed out the “added bonus of letting the family see this area,” a lakeside town with enough aesthetic magnetism to likely draw several families back for vacations and recreational fishing trips.
“We’re delighted to have FLW here,” the mayor said.
Dr. Randy Stoloff, chairman of Plattsburgh’s waterfront commission, said it is important for the city of Plattsburgh to improve its lake-access facilities, not only for local residents but also for visiting anglers like those who ventured north for the Forrest Wood Open.
Plans are tentatively being considered to construct more boat ramps and possibly a convention center on the shore of Lake Champlain inside the city limits. During the June 19-22 tournament, anglers launched their boats from a remote site several miles outside of Plattsburgh.
On the final two days of the tournament, per FLW Tour style, fish were weighed in at the local Wal-Mart before being released back into the lake. Because of limited lake access in town, the fish traveled a considerable distance before heading back to their aquatic home – making the process slightly more difficult.
Tom Marshall, executive director of FishAmerica Foundation, said the $10,000 donation from FLW Outdoors will be used in a variety of ways: $5,000 will go toward construction of a new boat ramp in Plattsburgh; $4,000 will be used to enhance fisheries resources along the Saranac River, which runs into Lake Champlain; and $1,000 will be used to help build a weigh station in Plattsburgh.
FLW Outdoors donates $5,000 for fishery conservation or a related cause at each tournament stop along its lucrative Wal-Mart FLW Tour and its Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit. But on June 21, the third day of the renowned Forrest Wood Open, the organization upped the ante to $10,000.
It wasn’t until near the end of the press conference that Hoover announced, to the delight of local leaders, that FLW Outdoors intended to double its usual donation. Though the $10,000 will not cover the cost of building a new boat ramp, he said the gesture represents “a strong start” and will hopefully provide initiative to other regional organizations to chip in more money.
The donation doesn’t represent a gamble on whether a lakeside town can generate the funds necessary to embark upon a major waterfront development project; it represents a bass-fishing organization investing in the future of sport fishing.
With as many high-profile anglers singing the praises of Lake Champlain as were heard during the 2002 Forrest Wood Open, even money says FLW Outdoors will return to the great fishery in upstate New York.