Committed to conservation

FLW Outdoors donates more than $40,000 for conservation, enhancement of fisheries through Wal-Mart FLW Tour in 2005

Alabama state officials prepare for the children's fishing event by placing a net around the perimeter of the angling area. The enclosed, underwater space was stocked with catfish. (Photo by Ken Thomas)

By Patrick Baker and Brett Carlson

Tour-level professional bass fishing keeps offering anglers and fans more excitement every year: outstanding competition with nail-biting weigh-ins, TV cameras, fat paychecks, proven and emerging legends of the sport, and scenic fishing locations, to name just some of the components.

But the true stars of the big show are the fish themselves, the central element of the sport for the pros and millions of people who fish each year. In an effort to conserve and enhance that valuable resource, FLW Outdoors donated $41,434 through the FishAmerica Foundation to benefit the fisheries along the seven stops of the 2005 Wal-Mart FLW Tour.

Lake Okeechobee

As it has done for years, the FLW Tour kicked off its season on Lake Okeechobee in January at Clewiston, Fla. The Big O was one of several fisheries impacted by the series of hurricanes that ripped through the Sunshine State in 2004, and FLW Outdoors’ 2005 donation of $5,000 to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will help restore Lake Okeechobee habitat damaged by the storms.

In February the FLW Tour again visited a Florida fishery affected by hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne – Lake Toho. The $5,000 donation was used to re-establish native aquatic vegetation for adequate fish and wildlife habitat on a 127-acre area of the central Florida lake following the city of Kissimmee’s removal of several layers of muck.

Adriene Landrum, a biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said: "We had a successful drawdown last year and removed the exotics from the area. The next step is to reintroduce the native vegetation before the exotics return.

March saw the FLW Tour visiting the Ouachita River near Monroe, La. FLW Outdoors also rolled out a new fund-raising program – in conjunction with FAF and corporate sponsor Castrol – through which wristbands were sold for a minimum donation of $1 to benefit local fisheries-enhancement projects. A total donation of $6,090, including the wristband proceeds plus $5,000, was used to renovate a pond at the Monroe Fish Hatchery.

"The pond is used for a variety of kids’ activities including fishing tournaments and clinics," said Robert Gough, program manager of hatcheries with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. "The reinforcement of the levee will provide a fishable area for the kids and educators."

In April the FLW Tour made its annual trek to Beaver Lake near Rogers, Ark., for the Wal-Mart Open, and FLW Outdoors donated $6,700, including proceeds from wristband sales, to place 15 to 20 PVC fish shelters in the fishery. Since 1998, FLW Outdoors has donated more than $60,000 to restore fish habitat in Beaver Lake.

Ron Moore, district fisheries biologist for the Arkansas Fish and Game Commission, said of the PVC-pipe shelters: "It works so well because it is a permanent structure and it’s so easy to assemble. It’s a complex structure that provides cover for the smaller fish … (then) larger fish will come in search of any easy meal."


The FLW Tour’s May stop at Wheeler Lake near Rogersville, Ala., yielded the standard $5,000 donation plus another $472 from wristband sales. The money benefited shore anglers at Joe Wheeler State Park by submerging habitat in the form of treetops and pallets.

Northwest Alabama Parks District Superintendent Tim Haney said: "I have a lot of shoreline fishermen. Through the donation, we can make available a project that’s going to bring fish in to the bank fishermen."

Potomac River

FLW Outdoors was able to donate $5,640 to a bass-tagging study on the Potomac River in the wake of the FLW Tour’s Chevy Open, which was held in La Plata, Md., in June.

The goal of the project is to maximize stocking efficiency by determining survival rates as a function of size. The tagged bass will also be used to verify aging procedures, which will lead to better estimates of growth and mortality.

Lake Hamilton

During the seventh and final event of the 2005 FLW Tour in July, the Forrest L. Wood Championship on Lake Hamilton near Hot Springs, Ark., a $6,332 donation was made to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission to help pay for a 1,600-square-foot building that will be located adjacent to Hamilton’s busiest boat ramp and include a tournament weigh-in stage, aerated holding tanks, a weigh-in table, a live-release trailer, an information center and restrooms.

Colton Dennis, black-bass biologist with the commission, said the multiuse station will be instrumental in bass conservation efforts on Lake Hamilton and "to educate these anglers on how to better recycle their fish."

FishAmerica received an additional $1,200 worth of donations through wristband sales outside of the five Family Fun Zone events, held at FLW Tour weigh-ins, where the wristbands were offered this year. The extra money will be used to fund fisheries-enhancement projects throughout the country.

In 2000, FLW Outdoors announced its partnership with the FishAmerica Foundation, the conservation arm of the American Sportfishing Association. Since then, FLW Outdoors has directly donated about $250,000 and helped to generate more than $1 million for local conservation projects.

For more information or to get tournament results for the FLW stop by the main site at www.reeltimeanglers.com