Conservation Quick-Hits
COLORADO: Despite the
popularity of smallmouth
bass and northern pike as
sport fishing targets, they
happen to be nonnative
species in the Yampa River. As a result,
Colorado Parks and Wildlife implemented
the Elkhead Reservoir Fishing Classic,
and the tournament, which aims to reduce
populations of both species through har-
vesting tournament catches, just complet-
ed its fourth-annual iteration, tallying totals
of 492 smallies and 419 pike removed
from the river system. In its existence, the
tournament has resulted in the removal of
around 1,186 northern pike and 2,524
smallmouth bass.
KANSAS: Thanks to an
innovative early spawning
hatchery program imple-
mented by the Kansas
Department of Wildlife,
Parks and Tourism over the last 10 years,
the Kansas bass population is absolutely
thriving. The program, which essentially
tweaks environmental factors for brood
fish still in hatcheries so they spawn earlier
than if in the wild, has been showing
increasingly impressive results in Kansas’
bass fisheries. The offspring that are
released are larger than lake-spawned
bass, and therefore better able to survive
through winter.
MISSOURI: The Missouri
Department of Conservation
began its Urban Fishing
Program 50 years ago as
an effort to provide quality
fishing experiences for St. Louis-area
anglers. During fall and winter, the MDC
will release a number of massive rainbow
trout – potentially in the 10-pound range –
as a special 50th anniversary treat for area
anglers looking for trophy trout.
NESSE
Asian Carp: The Battle Rages On
The fight against the territorial expansion of Asian carp in U.S. waters is one that is
being waged on many fronts, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has
fired the latest shot with a pledge of $8 million to go toward the construction of a barrier
near Joliet, Ill., on the Chicago Area Waterway System. The project is a step in the right
direction to prevent Asian carp from expanding into the Great Lakes.
On Nov. 1, it was made public that recent samples from waters connected to Lake
Michigan indicated positive results for invasive carp environmental DNA, though no live
Asian carp were actually found during the sampling. If they get a foothold in the Great
Lakes, invasive carp could have a massively negative impact on the ecosystem and the
multi-billion-dollar fishing and boating industry in the region.
Kentucky-Barkley Efforts
With Asian carp still present in Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, stopping their prolif-
eration remains a top priority. In early November, with the help of $25 million secured by
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to combat the spread of Asian carp, a bio-
acoustic fish fence (BAFF) was commissioned below Barkley Dam as part of a three-year,
$7 million trial to find ways to help deter the invasive fish from continuing to move
upstream.
The BAFF emits noises, bubbles and lights that will hopefully repel Asian carp and
keep them from entering the lock. The commissioning of the fence is the beginning of a
trial run that, if successful, could spur similar bio-acoustic technology to be implemented
in other bodies of water impacted by Asian carp.
16
Jerry McKinnis
Passes Away at 82
The bass fishing community lost a true
legend on Nov. 3, 2019 with the passing of
Jerry McKinnis.
McKinnis, who was a former co-owner
of B.A.S.S., an author, a television host
and a pioneer of professional tournament
fishing, was instrumental in the growth of
the popularity of the sport of fishing and
the education of the fishing public. That
included his popular TV show “The Fishin’
Hole,” which aired for more than four
decades and was a favorite source of
information and entertainment for anglers
everywhere. McKinnis also worked along-
side late FLW Chairman Irwin Jacobs and
FLW’s first president and CEO Charlie
Hoover to broadcast the FLW Tour in its
early years.
A bass fishing hall-of-famer and a true
trailblazer, McKinnis’ passing is a loss for
the entire fishing community.
FLWFISHING.COM I WINTER 2020