Donations from several bass tournaments will help pay the costs of stocking 200,000 largemouth bass a year in the Markland Pool of the Ohio River for the next 3 years.
"We would like to thank B&J Marine in Louisville, Ky., Dixie Marine in Fairfield, Ohio and Early Times Bourbon, along with the tournament anglers, for making these donations," said Ryan Oster, fisheries program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.
B&J Marine and Early Times together donated $3,000, while Dixie Marine will donate $10,000 a year for the next 3 years. The donations will make up a significant portion of the cost of rearing and releasing the largemouth bass that will be stocked in the Ohio.
"We are trying to help out the river as much as we can," said Dana Robertson, tournament coordinator for B&J Marine. "We held a derby tournament on the river and we gave a portion of the entry fee toward this effort. We wanted to make sure the donation went toward the largemouth-bass stocking."
Largemouth bass reproduction on the Ohio is often poor due to a variety of factors. The river lacks spawning habitat for the bass to breed and nursery areas for newly born bass to find sanctuary. The river level often fluctuates and deposits a great deal of sediment during high-water periods that can smother the eggs of bass.
"The goal of the study is to see if stocking hatchery-reared largemouth bass can improve angler catch rates in the Ohio River," Oster said. "The feasibility of this study will be examined in the Markland Pool over the next 5 years."
Sixteen embayments and backwater areas between Markland and Mehdahl dams will be stocked this month with 2-inch largemouth bass. Anglers fishing this section of the river should notice an improvement in fishing for bass 12 inches or longer in the next 3 to 4 years.
"I've been fishing the river since 1967," said Bruce Cunagin, GM of Dixie Marine. "The river used to be a fantastic place to fish – we would catch 50 to 60 bass a day. The stockings will definitely help the river. Fishermen will spread the fish out when they move them from one pool to another."
Dixie Marine donated $25 of each entry fee for its Adopt-A-Bass tournament, which is held each July.
"This donation is a great way for tournament anglers and fisheries biologists to work collectively to help improve the largemouth bass fishing on the Ohio River," Oster said.
The Gallatin County Bass Club of the Kentucky Bass Federation will provide logistical support for the stockings.
