PHOTO BY RACHEL DUBROVIN redcrest 2023 : lake norman in north carolinA
At the Bass Pro Tour ’ s annual championship event , REDCREST 2023 on Lake Norman , we completed the Minn Kota Habitat Restoration Project supported by the KVD Foundation and MossBack Fish Habitat . The project started with a $ 5,000 donation from BPT pro Kevin VanDam ’ s KVD Foundation , which was matched by MossBack to provide $ 10,000 in artificial habitat products .
This marked the second year in a row that VanDam and the KVD Foundation purchased habitat for the REDCREST host reservoir . The legendary angler has become a leader in conservation efforts , and his continued support for habitat restoration is an inspiration .
During the REDCREST expo , the habitat was used as a teaching tool for local Boy Scouts , who earned a Fish and Wildlife Merit Badge . The habitat was then presented to the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission and deployed into Lake Norman after the event . Lake Norman needs new habitat due to years of vegetation loss , and the added ambush structure should benefit largemouth bass desperate to compete with invasive Alabama bass . stage three : lake greenwood in south carolina
A few weeks after REDCREST , the Bass Pro Tour visited South Carolina for Stage Three . While the anglers were competing on Lake Murray , the FMD and Minn Kota completed our second project of the year on nearby Lake Greenwood . For the second season in a row , Mercury Marine and MossBack Fish Habitat joined us to complete the Minn Kota Habitat Restoration Project .
REDCREST 2023 was highlighted by habitat construction projects with local Boy Scouts .
PHOTO COURTESY MAJOR BASS
MLF pro Micheal Neal and FMD fisheries biologist Steven Bardin construct MossBack habitat .
Lake Greenwood made for an ideal candidate since the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources already had a standing permit with Greenwood County Lake Management and is amid a four-year restoration phase for the reservoir . The state had previously deployed over 300 MossBack structures in 19 sites and purchased 225 additional structures that were given to registered dock owners on the lake .
Lake Greenwood made for an ideal candidate since the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources already had a standing permit with Greenwood County Lake Management .
Our project featured a two-part deployment . First , BPT anglers Greg Vinson , Kelly Jordon and Michael Neal , as well as MLF emcee Steven “ Lurch ” Scott , joined the SCDNR and GCLM teams to deploy habitat at the Lake Greenwood State Park . Placing habitat around fishing piers that lacked structure served as a way to improve shoreline angler access and fish-catch success . The second part of our deployment was performed by SCDNR once the GCLM approved new deployment areas within the reservoir . In total , 99 new MossBack structures were added to Lake Greenwood in 2023 .
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2023 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 11