GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – When the Wal-Mart FLW Tour returns to Bentonville, Ark., April 12 for the Wal-Mart Open, Beaver Lake anglers will benefit from a $5,000 pledge to the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation for construction and placement of artificial habitat.
The donation is part of partnership between the FLW Tour, the world’s foremost professional bass fishing series, and FishAmerica Foundation, the conservation arm of the American Sportfishing Association, that will provide $35,000 to benefit fisheries on the 2000 FLW Tour schedule.
Last year, the FLW Tour along with Mann’s Bait and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Sportfish Restoration Program contributed $30,000 for construction and placement of approximately 60 artificial reefs on Beaver Lake. In 1998, a donation by the FLW Tour funded placement of 10 reefs near a newly constructed handicap-accessible fishing pier in Prairie Creek. This year’s donation will fund an additional 10 reefs constructed out of PVC plastic to be placed in relatively barren areas of the lake. The areas will be marked with buoys to help guide anglers to the sites.
“Through its unprecedented continuing support of this habitat enhancement program, the Wal-Mart FLW Tour has demonstrated its firm commitment to the future of fishing at Beaver Lake,” said Tom Marshall, managing director of FishAmerica. “It is a tremendous honor for FishAmerica to work with such an environmentally-responsible organization.”
The use of PVC plastic pipe will give the new reefs longevity compared to traditional artificial habitat constructed out of discarded Christmas trees and lumber, which degrade with time. Unlike traditional reefs, the plastic habitat also poses little risk to passing boats due to the flexibility of its 8-foot tall cylindrical branches. At normal lake elevations, the structures will be safely located in about 20 feet of water.
Artificial habitat such as that being deployed in Beaver Lake provides shelter for microorganisms, which are the primary food of small forage fish. These fish in turn attract game fish such as largemouth bass, black crappie, catfish and other species. The habitat also serves as a refuge for game fish fry.
“The primary benefit is getting the fish and the fishermen together,” says Ralph Fourt, district fisheries biologist for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. “By providing an attachment point for nutrients and microorganisms, the structures will also increase the overall productivity of the lake.”
Other fisheries receiving help from the FLW Tour and FishAmerica are Lake Okeechobee in Florida, the Pascagoula River in Mississippi, Lake Murray in South Carolina, the Mississippi River in Tennessee, Pickwick Lake in Alabama and the Red River in Louisiana.
“As an industry leader, we are proud to take this extra step toward the preservation of our nation’s fisheries,” says Charlie Hoover, chief executive officer of Operation Bass Inc., the organization responsible for running the Wal-Mart FLW Tour. “These irreplaceable natural resources provide habitat for largemouth bass and a host of other wildlife species. They also benefit local communities and millions of outdoor enthusiasts nationwide.”
In the past 17 years, FishAmerica has received donations from fishing tournaments, tackle manufacturers, boat and engine companies, and individuals that enabled it to fund nearly 600 fishery enhancement projects in 50 states and Canada. FishAmerica grant recipients have donated more than 1 million volunteer hours to improve fisheries.
For more information about the FishAmerica Foundation, visit the American Sportfishing Association’s Web site at www.asafishing.org.