As noted several times, Gov. Sonny Perdue's Go Fish Georgia campaign was directly responsible for luring the Forrest Wood Cup to Lake Lanier in Georgia.
Fishing-license sales in the state had declined significantly, the tours largely skipped over Georgia while Alabama, Arkansas and the Carolinas saw the bulk of action, and Georgia just wasn't rated as a top fishing destination. In fact, its anglers tended to travel outside the state much more often than out-of-state anglers came to visit.
The Go Fish campaign aimed to change that, and alongside the quest for PR and exposure, it invested in infrastructure, like the $1 million Lake Lanier project that included a mega-ramp and weigh-in amphitheater.
As one would expect, Perdue has been questioned – even mocked – for the campaign. Soon after it launched, the nation dipped into recession and state budgets tightened. Perdue didn't back down though, and this week's Cup has brought renewed attention to Lanier – a lake that's easily one of the top spotted-bass fisheries in the nation.
Dan Chapman of the Atlanta Journal Constitution authored a news piece yesterday that digs even deeper into the economic impact of fishing. He looks at the $400,000 the state spent to lure the Cup here, the Go Fish campaign as a whole, and what the Cup's economic impact is expected to be.
To read Chapman's article, click here.
