“…we’ve all been out there working side by side—along with kids and grandkids. We have a lot of fun doing the work, and it builds great camaraderie.”

Beyond the obvious tangible results of the projects that bass clubs work together on, clubs benefit from spending time together putting “hands to the plow.”

By Jeff Samsel

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Setting the hook into a stout-feeling largemouth, an angler grins a little wider than normal. The tree his worm was bouncing beside when this fish struck was there due to the angler’s own efforts. He and another bass club member, along with a technician from the state game and fish management agency, had downed this tree and several others as part of an effort to enhance fish habitat in the lake.

Beyond the undeniable fun of pulling a fish from cover he had placed—not unlike the thrill of a flyfisherman catching a trout on a fly he has tied—the angler enjoys knowing that the fish are using his habitat enhancements. Shoreline development and aging have diminished natural offerings to fish on this lake, and biologists believed that cutting and cabling shoreline trees would benefit the lake’s gamefish. Volunteer labor from two bass clubs in the area made the project possible. This angler feels a little more connected to the lake than he did prior to the club workdays. He also became closer friends with a couple club members.

Anglers generally join bass clubs due to a desire to fish in tournaments, whether for the chance to try out a variety of lakes, to learn from other anglers, for the fellowship with other bass fishermen or simply for the competition. Therefore, it makes sense that conducting tournaments is the primary function of virtually all bass clubs. However, bass fishing enthusiasts typically enjoy spending time together away from the competitive-fishing arena, and one of the best vehicles for that type of fellowship is a club project of some sort.

Bass Habitat Natural projects for bass clubs are management efforts that benefit local lakes or rivers, often carried out in cooperation with state game management agencies and the municipalities that own and operate waterways. Projects centered around local bass waters might include creating or enhancing fish habitat, helping with survey work or assisting with special projects such as stocking forage fish.

As an example, Georgia’s Lake Oconee Bass Masters have been heavily involved in habitat-improvement work on their namesake lake since the club’s inception six years ago. The club’s mission statement includes the purpose: “to offer our state conservation department our organized moral and political support and encouragement.” However, the club also has added their physical support.

The Lake Oconee Bass Masters have worked together with the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division and Georgia Power Corporation, which owns and operates Lake Oconee, to improve the lake’s fish habitat in a number of ways. Efforts have included planting aquatic grass, erecting barriers to protect the newly established grass, placing various types of man-made fish attractors in the lake and planting cypress trees in the water and natural cover along the banks.

The club’s physical efforts actually provided double benefit to Lake Oconee and its fish populations. Their volunteer labor served as a match to help the club and the Georgia WRD attain a $10,000 grant through the Fish America Foundation, which allowed for significant habitat-improvement work, according to WRD biologist Scott Robinson.

“They are a great bunch to work with,” said Robinson, who has worked closely with the club. The WRD provides technical advice on the projects that would provide the most benefit to the habitat and in turn the fishery, along with sharing in manpower and providing some of the tools and materials required to complete various tasks.

Benefits of the work have gone well beyond the actual benefit to the fish, according to Wayne Barr, one of the club’s founders, “We have retirees in our club and kids as well. Our youngest member is 16 years old, and we’ve all been out there working side by side—along with kids and grandkids. We have a lot of fun doing the work, and it builds great camaraderie,” Barr said.

Barr also noted that while the Lake Oconee Bass Masters’ efforts certainly are designed to benefit the lake’s bass population and enhance fishing opportunities, most of the efforts also will provide better habitat for bluegills, crappie and assorted non-game species. “Lakes lose habitat as they age, so we are trying to replace some of that and keep our lake in good shape,” he said.

Improving Access Not all projects involve enhancing bass habitat. Lake managers often can use help with maintenance of access points or creation of facilities to provide better fishing access. A club project can be as simple as spending a day picking up trash at day-use areas around a lake or mowing and cutting brush in a city park, where simple improvements to access would allow more local citizens to fish when they come to the park. Larger projects might include building fishing docks, improving parking areas or clearing trails that connect fishing access points around a lake.

Regional fisheries biologists, city park directors and recreation coordinators for power companies that own and operate reservoirs can all point toward specific projects they need assistance with and can help bass clubs find their role.

Rodeo Days With angler numbers leveling off or declining in many states, a terrific area for bass club involvement is with a children’s fishing event or fishing rodeo, as these fun days are often called. Special events that are organized to provide easy access to abundant fish and are publicized locally to appeal to non-fishing families, fishing rodeos often attract good numbers of youngsters who otherwise might not get the opportunity to fish.

Fishing rodeos have become very popular in recent years, and many states have regional event coordinators or have put into place some sort of statewide program for helping local volunteers organize such projects. Game and fish agencies often can secure exclusive access to small waters for special events and may even be able to stock catfish, trout or some other kind of fish right before an event. They need volunteers to organize events, solicit local sponsorships and, most importantly, to actually run the rodeos.

In many communities, annual events are already in place and have become local traditions, and all a club needs to do is provide extra hands on the day of the rodeo. No matter how well established a fishing rodeo is, more volunteers are always needed to help rig lines, undo snags and unhook fish. Parents who don’t fish always need help with seemingly simple tasks, and it’s important not only to tie hooks on but to teach the parents how to tie fishing knots, so they can return on another day to take their children fishing.

Dedicate fishermen also can accomplish a great deal as volunteers simply by roaming the banks and kneeling beside groups of young anglers and their families and answering questions. Some parents would gladly take their children fishing if they knew of areas where they could find easy access and might catch fish. Many children just need a bit of encouragement from someone who has been fishing for many years.

Two Are Better Than One A final thing worth noting is that bass clubs can gain a lot of strength toward accomplishing projects by joining forces with other clubs. Often, a club member knows a couple of active members of a club in a nearby town. By uniting efforts, those clubs can pool resources, and members from both clubs benefit in the long run. More importantly, the bass, other citizens who rely on improved bank access in parks and children who otherwise might not learn about fishing benefit when clubs unite to accomplish  a task.

More often than not, projects are cooperative, whether between two clubs or a club and one or more other entities. Projects commonly require one group’s labor, another’s tools and another’s funds or some combination of resources from multiple agencies and organizations. Therefore, someone in a club who has good leadership skills should be assigned as the point person to work  with other involved parties and then coordinate club members and available resources.

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