With all the pressure our lake is getting it's time that the local communities and state agencies get serious about lake control and management. I have said this before and will continue to nag at our local governments to put the controls in place to make our lake even better than it is today. To me this says our two surrounding communities must get involved from the highest levels to manage this great resource. We need a group formed to communicate and make recommendation to the state and local agencies that fit the needs of our lake and enhance the fishing, a group that has access to the local mayors, city fathers that are dedicated to the good, and will be guaranteed the positive ear of the of our leaders.
The only tax revenue these communities can count on is the fishing industry producing visitors, hence producing tax revenue from hotels, restaurants, and the like. If the lake goes downhill it will affect this tax income and the result will be more revenue loss to these communities. What I believe is this:
1. We need a restocking program that puts a minimum of 250,000 fingerling bass in the lake every year.
2. A fully dedicated DNR resource that for at least 10 months a year checks creel levels, licenses, and proper size enforcement of the keeper bass limits.
3. We need to change the limit per boat to no more than 10 bass being kept in any one day regardless of the number of people in the boat.
4. The size limit needs to be moved to a slot limit that enhances the spawning process, and produces better and healthier bass.
5. The tournaments coming to our communities need to meet strict enforcement of how their tournaments are run; they should be paying a tournament fee to the local community where their event is being held. They should be forced to have available water tubs and aeration to make all best effort to keep fish alive during the weigh in process. Certain times of the year we should be controlling the event times and numbers of kept bass to help insure their safety during the hot months. With 5 bass per angler going to 3 per angler in the heat. The tournament fee should be used to help place this type of equipment where needed to help ensure the process. Tournament anglers should all have working live wells and have the best interest of our lake be forced upon their participants. They should also be managed for the number of hours and time limits with staggering weigh in times to accommodate more than one tournament using the same ramp and equipment to manage the health of the fish.
6. Out-of-state fishing licenses are extremely cheap compared to other states, we should raise these prices and use the money to better enhance our state wide fishing and game management. If the state won't raise the prices then the 2 communities should charge and out-of-state license fee, so any outsider coming here pays to help us manage the cost of a great fishery. The fisherman coming here are good solid middle class and above, and another $50 dollar yearly fee to fish inside the local lake community area would not deter their coming to Guntersville. I believe if they knew the money was being used to improve fishing they would gladly pay it!
7. Lastly our communities should control the spraying of the grass on our lake to protect the fishing and boating industry. No company or group or individual should be allowed to destroy the bass environment like they just did in Roseberry Creek. This killing of the creek grass is as big a tragedy and destruction as those individuals keeping short fish to eat. This is the slaying of bass in a different light; they have just ruined the best spawning grounds on the lake. There should be laws and controls that never allow this to happen again, this is personal gain and politics at work and it is sickening!
It is my objective to make this the best lake in the country, these ideas are just a few of the ways we can start the process.