PHOTO BY KANYAN KLEIN
MossBack Fish Habitat has been a key partner in these projects for the past three years , providing recycled PVC materials that are plasticizer free and extremely effective at holding fish . But these have to be weighed so that they sink , which requires a large amount of concrete and cinder blocks . So we must find community partners that can support the projects by providing those materials . The past two seasons , local Lowe ’ s Home Improvement stores have been a huge supporter , providing cinder blocks for all our projects .
MossBack Fish Habitat provides key materials for FMD habitat projects .
sharing research with state biologists
Planning for the season ahead also includes working with the scientific community to assess fisheries . In 2024 , the Bass Pro Tour will visit six new fisheries in the regular season and another for REDCREST . This means meeting with at least seven biologists and providing them access to our state database .
Our partnerships with local biologists are a two-way street . While they offer us information on the fisheries prior to events , SCORETRACKER ® provides an unbelievable amount of information relevant to them that we can share afterward . With the BPT returning to the every-fish-counts format in 2024 , we should see more fish catches and thus even more data . State biologists will receive a data set following their event that will include species , weight , time , GPS location , habitat type and depth range in five-foot increments for every bass caught — likely more than 1,500 at
PHOTO BY KANYAN KLEIN
Volunteers and MLF pros work together to build habitat for placement in local lakes .
each tournament . Fisheries like Toledo Bend that straddle two states will allow us to share data with both ( in that case , Louisiana and Texas ).
As a biologist and fan , this is the fun part . We get to engage the managers of fisheries like the Chowan River , where few professional events have ever been held , and hear the challenges unique to that fishery . Breaking down those challenges — or , say , the great history of Dale Hollow — create many of the best stories for the Fisheries Management
Division page of MajorLeagueFishing . com . Additionally , the 2024 schedule will feature two repeat locations — the Kissimmee Chain for General Tires Heavy Hitters ( May 18-23 ) and the St . Lawrence River for Stage 7 ( Aug . 6-11 ). These repeat fisheries allow us to create comparison data that can be used in scientific presentations or further refine minimum scorable weights in the future . Last season , I spent a lot of time analyzing data from the Kissimmee Chain in anticipation of a five-fish limit . Based on that research , I determined that the minimum scorable weight had a greater impact on the total number of scorable bass caught during an event than the format ( five fish vs . every fish counts ). We will see if that holds true after a fourth visit to the fishery .
The work for 2024 is just beginning within the MLF FMD , and we anticipate a season full of successful partnerships , collaborations and scientific discussions . We continue to strive for ways to improve our fisheries resources , engage anglers in stewardship and improve the lives of the fish we all love to catch .
DECEMBER-JANUARY 2024 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 11