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$2M in Lake Michigan projects for Fish Habitat viewed as job growth

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Christopher Meyers, Director of Planning for City of Gary, (left) and Joel Baldwin, project manager with Hitchcock Design Group, talk about the dredging work at the Marquette Lagoon that will soon begin following a press conference at Marquette Park in the Miller section of Gary, Ind. Friday October 7, 2011. | Stephanie Dowell~Sun-Times Media

At a glance

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative action plan, developed by the EPA with 15 other federal agencies in 2010, calls for aggressive efforts to address five priorities:

Clean up toxics and areas of concern

Combat invasive species

Promote near-shore health by protecting watersheds from polluted run-off

Restore wetlands and other habitats

Track progress, education and work with strategic partners

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GARY — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Friday announced a $1 million grant from its Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to the Regional Development Authority for a job-creating dredging project of the Marquette Park lagoon.

The EPA also awarded $994,350 to the U.S. Geological Survey to expand fish and bird monitoring along the Great Lakes’ beaches to fight botulism and other contaminants damaging wildlife. About 20 percent of that money, and 20 jobs, will come to Gary next year.

Just a few yards away from the Lake Michigan’s southern shore, in a serene part of the massive park, dignitaries gathered beneath shade trees to hear of the awards and what they will mean for the area.

Meanwhile, workers with heavy machinery continued the $28 million, RDA-funded facelift of the park nearby, including the popular Marquette Park Pavilion.

The grant to the RDA will go toward dredging the lagoon and using the soil to firm up the lagoon’s shoreline, said Cameron Davis, EPA senior adviser on the Great Lakes. Erosion and other natural forces have pounded the lagoon.

“It’s an area of concern that needs most of our help,” Davis said, adding the project will improve fish and wildlife habitats around the lagoon.

To get the money the RDA and its contractor, Ohio-based Los Alamos Technical Associates, had to agree to hire up to 20 unemployed residents to do the work. The work will include dredging soil from the bottom of the lagoon to expand the fish habitat and relocating that soil to the shoreline and other areas.

The U.S. Geological Survey also had to agree to hire 20 local employees to land its share of the federal money. The work will include collecting different animal species, including carcasses, to determine if botulism was the cause of the deaths.

“This $1 million is our tax dollars being put to good use,” said U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Merrillville. “This is an example of how our tax money can be wisely spent and put to use to put citizens to work.”

Christopher Meyers, Gary’s planning director, said the city would work closely with Los Alamos to ensure the company hires locally.

“There is the great environmental benefit, but, ultimately, it’s about creating jobs and helping the local economy,” Meyers said.Michael Gonzalez

Boat Docks: Man-made Fish Attractors

Boat docks and old piers situated relatively close to deep water are very appealing to largemouths, particularly on reservoirs where aquatic vegetation is sparse.

Aquatic vegetation such as hydrilla, milfoil and coontail will year-in and year-out produce big stringers of bass on lakes across the United States. But by no means is that to say “grass” is the only thing that’ll hold viable concentrations of largemouths.

Shoreline structures will harbor good numbers of fish, too. This holds especially true on reservoirs that don’t have much aquatic vegetation, which in Texas includes many of our older, silted-in impoundments as well as those reservoirs geographically situated in areas that are not conducive vegetation growth.

Some of the more obvious forms of shoreline structure are boat houses, piers and docks. And truth be known, they are also some of the best.

Try as you may to find fish on other forms of structure like creeks, rivers, points and humps. If boat docks are available in substantial number on a lake where vegetation is sparse, that’s invariably where most of the bass are going to be caught and, where many of the tournaments are going to be won.

Now don’t be mislead, here. Not all docks are going to hold concentrations of bass. Some are naturally better than others, be it due to location, construction, size, age or a combination of the four.

Where a dock is located on a reservoir can a make a big difference in whether it will hold bass or not. It has been been my experience that structures built in the backs of creeks on top of shallow flats are the most reliable during the spring months. This this true mainly because they provide the fish some security for spawning.

Once spring gives way to summer, however, shallow docks lose some of their magic. Bass like to hang out close to deep water during the summer months, thus explaining why docks built in the mouths of creeks on mainlake and secondary points are usually the most productive. The ideal dock could be one situated in 8-10 feet of water along the edge of deep creek channel.

Another element to consider about boat docks is the manner in which they are assembled.

We do a lot of fishing around docks on Midwest impoundments during the summer months, and those “stationary” docks built on buried pilings are almost always more productive than those that float. The reason is that the pilings provide the fish with obstacles to relate to or hold against, which in turn means more targets to chunk at.

The size of an individual dock doesn’t make much difference when is comes to attracting bass, but it can sure have some influence on how many fish will be present.

As a rule, larger docks with several stalls will harbor more bass than one-boat units. Obviously, these types of docks will have more pilings beneath the surface for the bass to relate to, which means more good places to put a lure. Plus, the larger docks naturally provide the fish with more shade.

The age of the dock can also be critical. It has been my experience that older, more weathered docks tend to hold more bass than do new ones. These tend to have more algae growing on the framework, which in turn attracts bait fish. Older docks also are apt to have more brushpiles submerged around them. Dock owners often sink brushpiles to attract concentrations of crappie, but they act as bass hotels as well.

Some other telltale signs of a productive dock are lights, chairs and maybe a rod holder or two. These are all good indicators that someone fishes off the dock with regularity, which means there is more than likely going to be plenty of submerged brush in the area.

When I’m practicing for a tournament on an unfamiliar reservoir that has a good number of boat docks, I usually don’t spend near as much time looking for bass around docks as I do looking for brush. Find the brush and the bass will be there, sooner or later.

Depthfinders and LCR units definitely come in handy for locating structure. But when it comes to turning up brushpiles around boat docks, they aren’t of much use to me.

Probably the single-most effective technique I’ve found for finding brush around docks is the Carolina-rig. Not only does it allow me to probe an area thoroughly, but it enables me to do it quickly.

Once I locate some brush, then I’ll switch to a Texas-rigged plastic worm or Stanley jig/craw combo. My preferred worm in this case is a red shad, junebug or black/redflake Zoom Dead Ringer plastic worm or maybe a four-inch Big Critter Craw. A deep or medium-diving crankbait like the Norman Deep Little N is another option around docks. See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

In summary, boat docks are man-made fish attractors. However, not all of them are going to hold bass consistently during the course of the year. The best summer docks are typically located adjacent to deeper, cooler water and they’ll have an abundance of brush submerged around them.

Find these docks and fish them correctly and you’ll invariably catch more bass, especially on reservoirs where they are available in abundance and grass is relatively scarce.

Ohio Division of Wildlife sinks some spools to create fish attractors

Sinking Spools for Shoreline Succes

Division’s work aims to help shore anglers

CORTLAND, OH- Northeast Ohio has some excellent fishing available to anglers, but some of the better fishing lakes are sometimes the larger lakes. For anglers without a boat, this presents a problem since some of the best fishing spots are not accessible or are heavily pressured. So where is an angler supposed to go if they want to fill their stringers without launching a boat?
            Spool being placed at Mosquito ReservoirThis past week, the Ohio Division of Wildlife placed fish attractors in a popular shore fishing spot atMosquito Reservoir (Trumbull County). “From ice out to ice up, there’s always someone fishing along that stretch of shoreline. We hope our work will improve the fishing along there,” said Matt Wolfe, Fisheries Biologist, who oversees this project for the Ohio Division of Wildlife. Plastic spools weighed down with stone were placed near the rip-rap break wall outside of the State Park Boat launch on the south side of the lake. Spools were placed along the outside and inside edges of both the Northern and Southern sections of the break wall. In total, 50 spools were placed in anywhere from seven to 14-feet of water. More importantly though, “the spools were placed within easy casting distance for anglers who fish this area,” added Wolfe.
            The goal of this project is to introduce these fish attractors into the waters of Northeastern Ohio to recruit the next generation of anglers and retain the anglers who already enjoy the sport of fishing. A downloadable Google Earth file containing all of the structure placements throughout Northeast Ohio is available by contacting the Wildlife District Three office at (330) 644-2293.Written by: ODNR Division of Wildlife.
See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

Drink a beer, help fish in Bear Creek

http://www.outtherecolorado.com/Wildlife-nature/Drink-a-beer-help-fish-in-Bear-Creek.html#ixzz1YdCghX7s

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See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

The “tree army” installs wooden spawn boxes for fish

The US Army Corps of Engineers will host National Public Lands Day events at various lakes throughout the Pittsburgh District. In 2010, more than 500 volunteers came to 15 of 16 Pittsburgh District recreation projects and provided 2,179 hours of work valued at nearly $47,000. National Public Lands Day keeps the promise of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the “tree army” that worked from 1933-1942 to preserve and protect America’s natural heritage.

A local event at Mahoning Creek Lake will be held Sept. 24. This year the goal is to accomplish the building and placement of some fish habitat spawning boxes in the lake. If time permits, shore line clean-up will be done. Volunteers are asked to meet at 9:30 a.m. at the Milton Loop Campground pavilion, on Route 839, two miles north of Dayton.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

The project will be to build wooden spawn boxes and then taking them by boat to place them in the lake. Event will take place rain or shine. Questions may be directed to Park Ranger Grover Pegg 412-719-9227.

Anglers to be honoured for support for salmon renewal

Larry Peterson and Nick Strussi met through their shared love of fishing.

When they came together in the late 1990s to help protect fish habitat during construction of the Island Highway through the Comox Valley, they became a formidable force Continue reading “Anglers to be honoured for support for salmon renewal”

Missouri Department of Conservation Fish study could help future anglers

 

test4Francis Skalicky, Missouri Department of Conservation

Francis Skalicky, Missouri Department of Conservation

Fish gotta’ swim…

Long before that became a memorable song lyric in the popular musical “Showboat,” it was a well-known fundamental of a fish’s life cycle. Continue reading “Missouri Department of Conservation Fish study could help future anglers”

Scientists Monitor Caney Fork Fish Habitat

Press Release from Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, TN, Sept. 1, 2011:

A group of fisheries scientists from Tennessee Tech University are busy monitoring the health of the Caney Fork River by pumping electricity into the water.

Though water and electricity are not usually a good mix, the combination is one of the best methods for collecting fish and determining their health Continue reading “Scientists Monitor Caney Fork Fish Habitat”

Oregon Governor’s Fund Awards More Than $480,000 For 2012 Restoration Projects

Oregon Governor’s Fund for the Environment Awards More Than $480,000 in Grants, Announces New Grants Available For 2012 Restoration Projects

PORTLAND, Ore. – On Thursday, August 25th in Portland, Oregon, Governor John Kitzhaber will award $481,690 in thirteen grants to aid farmers, landowners, and local governments for being stewards of our natural resources.

The grants are funded by the Oregon Governor’s Fund for the Environment Continue reading “Oregon Governor’s Fund Awards More Than $480,000 For 2012 Restoration Projects”

River Maine is getting a makeover under The Environmental River Enhancement Programme


As a boy, I often listened to old anglers’ stories about the might of the River Maine and its yield of catches before my time.

They’d tell of how it used to burst its banks and flood half the town and how salmon used to go tearing upstream Continue reading “River Maine is getting a makeover under The Environmental River Enhancement Programme”

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