PHOTO COURTESY PRADCO
Companies Lending a Hand
Many companies throughout the U.S. have used their
resources during this difficult time to make life a little easier for
those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among them is
Lucas Oil, which has begun offering hand sanitizer in 64-ounce
refill bottles.
According to the company, Lucas hand sanitizer is produced
with 80 percent ethyl alcohol and includes glycerin
additives to “keep your hands from feeling dry and cracked.”
It’s available at eckartsupply.com and distributors nationwide.
Likewise, PRADCO Outdoor Brands shifted part of its production
process to making PPEs and hand sanitizer to give to
hospitals, clinics and nursing homes. PRADCO, which owns
YUM (producing the hand sanitizer), is crafting its PPE frames
(shown below) and face shields under the BOOYAH name in a
collaborative effort with Baptist Health in Fort Smith, Ark.
Covercraft, which specializes in vehicle and watercraft covers,
already had the non-woven specialty fabrics to lend a helping
hand in the fight. The company announced on April 2 that it
would begin immediately shipping orders for personal protective
equipment for hospitals and first responders. Clay Callan, president
and chief operating officer of Covercraft, says the company
has the capacity to produce “hundreds of thousands of units” and
that “we felt it was our duty to step in and help our country in this
time of need.”
Toyota, in addition to providing $2.5 million in grants for
nonprofits via the Toyota USA Foundation, is also using its
resources to produce protective equipment for medical professionals.
Toyota’s TILT Lab specializes in using 3-D printers,
lasers, augmented reality technology and the like to shift (or
“tilt”) conventional thinking and produce prototypes of new
concepts. The lab is now focusing its efforts on producing personal
protective equipment using its lasers and 3-D printing
equipment. By mid-April, Toyota had shipped 56,600 face
masks, with a goal of fabricating and donating 500,000 commercial-grade
face shields through June.
Potential Expansion of U.S. Fishing and
Hunting Opportunities
In early April, U.S. Secretary of the Interior David
L. Bernhardt proposed the largest expansion of fishing
and hunting opportunities in the history of the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The proposal,
which has yet to come to a resolution, would
open 97 National Wildlife Refuges, nine National
Fish Hatcheries and about 2.3 million acres of public
land for hunting and fishing opportunities. In
2019, the federal government added 1.4 million
acres of hunting and fishing opportunities.
The U.S. Department of the Interior hopes to
have the new measures finalized in time for the
2020-21 hunting season. Should the new plan be
accepted, a total of 399 units of the National
Wildlife Refuge System will be open to hunting
opportunities as well as 331 for fishing, not including
the nine units of the National Fish Hatchery
System.
ain’t life grand?
Grand Lake is
already one of
Oklahoma’s premier
fishing lakes, and
it’s about to get
a whole lot
better.
In late
April, the Oklahoma
Department of Wildlife
Conservation (ODWC)
began stocking the lake
Grand
Lake
with Florida-strain largemouth
bass, beginning
with 400 pure Floridastrain
fish in the 10- to 12-
inch range. Not long after
that, it introduced another
850 in the 12- to 14-inch
range with several dozen 6
pounds or better to follow.
Revised 2020 Schedule
There’s plenty
of evidence to suggest
that the
Florida-strain
largemouth can thrive
in Grand Lake, as
the state has already
introduced the fish in
other more southerly
Oklahoma fisheries. In
2013, the ODWC stocked
2.22 million fry and fingerling
Florida-strain bass in
44 lakes, and many of the
largest bass to be caught
from those waters have
had some Florida-strain
genetics.
The ODWC has been
spawning Florida-strain
largemouth bass at its
Durant Fish Hatchery
since 2000.
FLW is committed to giving anglers the best
schedule it possibly can coming out of the COVID-19
pandemic shutdown. The 2020 schedule has been
revised for all circuits with new dates and venues
through the remainder of the year. Be sure to visit flwfishing.com for
scheduling information for the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit, Toyota
Series, Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine, Abu
Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI and FLW High School Fishing
presented by Favorite Fishing.
JUNE-JULY 2020 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING.COM | FLWFISHING.COM 15