Family Fishing Waters

FishAmerica Family Fishing Waters program seeks to create a fishing opportunity “within a short bicycle ride of every child”. These projects restore or create family fishing opportunities in local communities. Family Fishing Waters grants range between $4,000 and $15,000 with an average grant of $8,500.

Projects

Autauga County, Alabama. The Tukabatchee Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America received $6,828 to enhance fish populations and sportfishing opportunities in Lake Mildred, a 10-acre impoundment approximately eight miles north of Prattville, Alabama. They installed a fish feeder to improve fishing success and volunteers planted newly-graded shorelines to prevent erosion.

Cascade, Idaho. Cascade High School received $15,000 to improve water quality, restore two acres of fisheries habitat, and enhance the educational potential of Fischer Pond, a two-acre pond along the North Fork of the Payette River. The school’s Advance Biology class installed a pipeline system to circulate water between the Payette River and Fischer Pond. Outside of the FishAmerica grant, they constructed an educational viewing area to allow the community to observe resident sportfish in their natural environment.

Dickinson, North Dakota. The City of Dickinson and the Southwest Anglers Association received $10,000 to enhance an urban fishery at one of the best places for family fishing in the area. Dickinson is located just sixty miles north of Montana in southwestern North Dakota, an arid area with limited water-based recreational opportunities. This urban fishery is managed primarily as a youth fishery with a boat ramp and a handicap-accessible fishing pier. The lake is used for school fishing programs. They excavated approximately 100,000 cubic yards of silt from the 22-acre lake and stabilized one mile of shoreline using riprap that provided habitat for smallmouth bass and bluegill.

Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The Pennyrile Resource Conservation and Development Council received $10,000 to restore fisheries habitat and improve water quality in Jeffers Bend Lake. Jeffers Bend Lake provides a reliable fishing resource for group and individual activities throughout the year, including annual Kids Fishing events, 4-H functions, Boy Scout outings, and private school trips. They installed an aerator maintain appropriate oxygen levels and improve water quality.

Lincoln County, Kentucky. The Cedar Creek Sportsman Club received $6,000 to construct fish habitat and attractors in the new 784-acre Cedar Creek Lake. Cedar Creek Lake supports largemouth bass, bluegill, redear sunfish, crappie, and channel catfish. The state-owned, public lake has a fishing pier and several bank access sites for family fishing opportunities.

Lyon County, Kentucky. The Twin Lakes Crappie Club received $4,000 to construct and place artificial habitat made from wooden stakes and discarded trees in Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. The artificial habitat provides cover and habitat for largemouth bass, white bass, crappie, and bluegill. With better habitat, fisheries populations will improve and create better fishing opportunities for anglers.

McAlester, Oklahoma. The Nichols Marine Vision for the Preservation of Fishing received $5,000 to restore fisheries habitat and water quality in Lake Eufaula. Eufaula Lake is Oklahoma's largest man-made lake with more than 600 miles of shoreline and is the 15th largest in the United States.The lake boasts many recreational opportunities and outstanding fishing for crappie, sand bass, catfish, blackfish, and striped bass. The disappearance of cover for fish fry contributed to declining fish populations. Volunteers planted water willow along 9,000 feet of shoreline devoid of vegetation. The water willow not only provides nursery habitat for fish but will also decrease shoreline erosion when fully established.

Midway, Utah. The Wasatch Mountain State Park received $7,500 to restore fisheries habitat and improve water quality in a family fishing pond. This pond is the only community fishing pond in the more than 3,000 square miles in surrounding Wasatch and Summit counties. The park hosts an annual Free Fishing Day event and provides a tackle loaner site for the community at the pond.

Novato, California. The City of Novato received $10,000 to install an aeration system in the 11-acre, urban Scottsdale Pond. The aeration system will increase dissolved oxygen levels and prevent fish kills during the summer months. The aeration system will allow for year-round fishing and improve bass, channel catfish, sunfish, and trout populations. Scottsdale Pond is a popular fishing spot for local children because it is close to residential areas and schools.

Prattville, Alabama. The Tukabatchee Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America received $6,828 to improve fisheries habitat and sportfishing opportunities in Lake Mildred, a 10-acre impoundment.

San Jose, California. South Bay Fishing in the City received $10,000 to purchase and install an aeration system in Lake Cunningham. The aeration system will increase dissolved oxygen levels and prevent fish kills during the summer months. The aeration system will allow for year-round fishing and improve channel catfish, sunfish, and rainbow trout populations. Lake Cunningham is a 50-acre man-made lake in a park accessible by car, public transportation and on foot. Lake Cunningham is a popular fishing spot for local children because it is close to residential areas and schools.

South Sioux City, Nebraska. The South Sioux City Community Foundation received $7,500 to restore the 34-acre Crystal Cove Lake, an urban family fishing area. The lake is home to largemouth bass and bluegill and is stocked with channel catfish and rainbow trout. The lake is popular for family fishing for easy access including a fishing pier. The fisheries habitat and water quality in Crystal Cove Lake has deteriorated from siltation caused by many past Missouri River floods. As part of the $1.5 million Crystal Cover Revitalization Project, they stabilized the shoreline of Crystal Cove Lake.

Tuckerton, New Jersey. The New Jersey Conservation Officers Association received $7,600 to restore three ponds, totaling 25 acres, at Pinelands High School. The ponds provide an urban fishery for the local community of Little Egg Harbor and are used for the school’s fishing education program. Unfortunately, neglect had left the shorelines littered with trash and the ponds covered by purple loosestrife, an invasive plant. Local students and community volunteers removed the trash and debris during two weekend events. High school students built and installed platforms along the shoreline to enhance fishing opportunities for disable children and other citizens.