Well I have to start off this report with an apology that I haven't written this report already. But, as with a lot of things, this got away from me. Unreal that it's 2009. My son just turned a year old on February 12 and I'm thinking he's about ready to go fishing with me. Last year we ended up with a great fishing tournament but with only 7 teams and 6 boats. Not a bad day on the water, everyone caught a limit of fish and had a great time.

Randy Johnson and his son Scott fishing out of the little green boat named "Catfish" tied Bill Hunkapiller and guest Scott Peterman for the lead with both teams weighting in 4 fish at 4 lbs and 10 ounces. Young Eugene Lee won Big Fish for the adult category beating all the adults with the largest fish. Henry Newlin wins Youth Big Fish. Both anglers did a great job and it's great to see young kids getting into fishing on our lake. In fact as part of encouraging kids to fish, I am doing away with any tournament fee for kids under 18 years of age. The fee of $25 will only apply to adults. All fishing tournament money goes directly towards improving our fishing, i.e. stocking of bait fish. Of course we will always accept donations and you can even add additional money in your BLHA yearly membership specifically for the "bait fish fund."

We're setting up dates for tournaments for 2009. Currently I am planning the following tournaments.

• Saturday April 11 – 7am-Noon
• Saturday May 23 – 7am-Noon
• Saturday June 20 – 5pm-8:30pm

We are moving in the right direction as far as bass removal and growing larger bass. Our fish are less stunted, getting a little heavier and not starving as much. We are still not where we need to be to have a healthy balance of predators and prey in the lake. Last year I was able to harvest 498 bass from Lake Berkeley. I know that seems like a lot but our biologist's state we need to remove 3 to 4 times as many bass. We were also able to stock another round of about 25,000 shad in the lake. Biologists who looked at our lake have recommended we pull another 1,500 bass from the lake and continue to remove bass to maintain a healthy population. We will continue to remove bass under 16" in size to help alleviate the overpopulation of bass and I encourage everyone who fishes to keep bass under 16". They taste great and also make great fertilizer if you are a gardener. Catch and release works as long as you don't get into our situation where we have a lake with too many bass and not enough food.

In addition, we have requested quotes from a couple of lake biologists to reduce the population through electronic fishing methods. I myself have built an electronic fishing device that I may be using as well depending on success levels during my testing. Another idea posed was to allow a small local fishing club (6-10 boats) to fish the lake during our tournaments (3 a year) to help with the removal of bass. I have mixed emotions about this option. One, I adamantly oppose allowing others to fish our lake, as I am concerned it will generate more trespassing problems, liability issues, and generally takes our private lake and makes it less private. On the other hand, properly supervised and controlled with the new boat ramp gate, it would generate revenue for lake maintenance, reduce the bass overpopulation and reduce cost to membership. Perhaps getting a Boy Scout group out where we could allow the scouts to get their fishing merit badge would be a better option. With that said, I would love to hear from you, in writing, as to your opinion of this option and any others. Please email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and let me know your thoughts. Truth be told, I see both sides of the story and wonder if a BLHA electronic fishing device where we could remove bass as needed under the direction of a lake biologist along with the removal of bass from our tournaments could get us to 1,500 bass removed this year and then maintenance of 1,000 bass a year. Lots of discussion here and I will compile all written responses and provide to BLHA and our fishing club for discussion.

I have to say I am sorry to see the old bait shack, a.k.a. City Hall, torn down and reduced to rubble. It's a rather stark view from my deck to what was a nice wooded lot and is now red clay and construction equipment. I'm sure we'll have a beautiful City Hall, but as with a lot of the older homes in our city, and our old bait shop, out with the old and in with the new. I'm not sure how I feel about that either. Regardless I'd like to get a group of fisherman to meet in the new bait shack on a regular basis to discuss fishing, lake maintenance, etc. with BLHA Board of Directors.

2009 is upon us, and I should be on the water in mid- March hitting the bass. If you get out, remember CATCH AND CONSUME all bass under 16". We need to cull down our numbers and grow some larger bass. Good luck, be safe and tight lines.