For the past few seasons, Lake Erie has “bloomed,” but not in a positive sort of way. Instead of seeing all sorts of game fish and desirable forage species expanding in the lake, anglers have witnessed dramatic blooms of blue-green algae.

People’s Choice Award open to public voting via Facebook
BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. — Wildlife Forever is proud to announce the winners of the 2010 State-Fish Art Contest. A distinguished panel of wildlife artists and honorary judges selected 110 winners from a field of thousands to be “the best of the best” in their states and grade categories.

If you can’t find them, then they’re not there. That’s the conclusion that some observers came to after a fruitless six-week quest to find Asian carp in rivers, tributaries and shipping canals that feed into Lake Michigan at Chicago.

High court refuses to keep Chicago’s shipping canals closed
It was two strikes and you’re out for Michigan as the U.S. Supreme Court has refused that state’s second request for an injunction to close two navigational locks at Chicago that might allow Asian carp entry into the Great Lakes.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Recent cold weather has delayed largemouth bass spawning, says a University of Florida expert whose research suggests anglers should enjoy the opportunity for easy catches, despite naysayers.

Predators or competitors?
Cormorants eat fish – a lot of them. An adult cormorant will eat about a pound of fish per day, more when they are feeding young in the nest.

Free State-Fish Art Contest curriculum available for schools, anglers visiting classrooms
BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. — Wildlife Forever is pleased to announce the completion of the new “Fish On!” State-Fish Art Contest, CD-ROM curriculum. Free copies are available to students, teachers, anglers and anyone interested in youth aquatic-conservation education.

Nonprofit group reports firsthand from field, dodges scores of jumping Asian carp on Illinois River
Wildlife Forever is one group leading the charge against invasive species posing a threat to the fertile fields and fisheries of the United States. Wildlife Forever President and CEO Doug Grann recently reported back from the front lines of one such battleground: the Illinois River, beleaguered by an overabundance of Asian silver carp.

Bass forage production
Shad are the dominant forage for a variety of sport fish – principally black bass, but also walleyes, striped bass, white bass and even catfish – in many U.S. waters. Maximizing sport-fish production often depends on shad populations.

What works in small lakes may not work in major reservoirs
Fishery managers often fertilize ponds to produce more pounds of fish. With good habitat and harvest management, the greater biomass of fish can quickly be turned into big bass. Why not get a bigger bag of fertilizer and produce more and bigger bass in lakes and reservoirs?

Genetic sampling provides a better way to monitor the silver king
Skyward leaps, violent head-shaking, gill-rattling temper tantrums and those magnificent tail-walking tirades define the tarpon attraction. Combining the brute force of an NFL linebacker with the grace of an Olympic gymnast, Megalops atlanticus brings a game that anglers and fishery managers are equally passionate about preserving.

Wilmington Offshore Fisheries Enhancement Structure: The secret is out about North Carolina’s largest artificial reef
While the secret has been kept fairly well for a few years, the information of consistently good catches of kings and numerous other species of fish has leaked, and quite a few fishermen are learning about a huge artificial reef just east of the Cape Fear Sea Buoy off Southport, N.C.

TBF members encouraged to contact state legislature
Take a ruler and measure how many jigs are in your tackle boxes that have the lead portion (along the longest axis of the lead itself) measuring less than 1 inch. If Senate Bill 110 in New Hampshire were to pass, you would have to throw them all away.

FLW Outdoors donates more than $40,000 for conservation, enhancement of fisheries through Wal-Mart FLW Tour in 2005
Tour-level professional bass fishing keeps offering anglers and fans more excitement every year: TV cameras, fat paychecks, and proven and emerging legends of the sport, to name just a few of the components. But the true stars of the big show are the fish themselves, and FLW Outdoors made strides in 2005 to help protect that valuable resource.

Construction of new sport-fishing facility supported by FLW Outdoors donation
Arkansas’ Lake Hamilton is one of the most popular sport-fishing lakes in the state. The lake’s bass population includes largemouths, spotted bass and even a few smallmouths. Hamilton is so popular, in fact, that it hosts roughly 100 bass-fishing tournaments per year.

Maryland biologists seek to understand survival rates in stocked fish
As demonstrated by the incredible catches at the Chevy Open, the Potomac River is one of the nation’s finest bass fisheries. The Potomac yielded a near-record catch of 1,706 bass weighing 3,917 pounds, 2 ounces on the first day of competition. The only tournament in Wal-Mart FLW Tour history to yield more bass was the 2004 stop on Lake Champlain, which produced over 1,800 fish.

FLW Outdoors invests in project to enhance bank fishing at Wheeler Lake
In the fast-paced world of pro bass fishing, where speedy boats are as prevalent as the will to win, pedestrian anglers can sometimes be overlooked. However, this shore-casting contingent will be the focus of a fisheries-enhancement project at Wheeler Lake that has FLW Outdoors literally putting money into the bank.

FLW Outdoors donation helps place PVC fish attractors in Beaver Lake; new wristband program adds nearly $2,000 to cause
“Build it, and they will come.” This familiar saying could be the catch phrase for an ongoing fishery-enhancement project – paid for through FLW Outdoors donations – that has placed scores of fish attractors in northwest Arkansas’ Beaver Lake.

Renovation of pond No. 7 to benefit local youth
You hear the old wisdom all the time: Introduce a child to the outdoors, or take a kid fishing. Nearly all anglers can remember when they were introduced to the excitement of fishing. Young people in the Monroe, La., area will have more opportunities to experience the enjoyment of fishing thanks to the renovation of a pond at the Monroe Fish Hatchery.

FLW Outdoors donation to help revegetate Lake Toho
As unlikely as it may seem, the series of hurricanes that cut a swath of destruction across Florida in 2004 actually had a positive impact on at least part of the state: areas of Lake Tohopekaliga and other bodies of water in the Kissimmee chain of lakes. After clearing muck and exotic plants from this area, a donation from FLW Outdoors will help revegetate the fishery with native plant species.

Exploring the life cycle of a lake
Though no one necessarily wants to face it, the loss of productivity in reservoirs and lakes comes as naturally as day turns to night.

$5,000 donation to help introduce new fish habitats to site of 2004 Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship
A donation from FLW Outdoors will help make a championship fishery in Alabama even better.

$5,000 will help Plattsburgh, N.Y., purchase public boat launch
Lake Champlain has proved itself one of the most bountiful bass fisheries encountered by FLW Outdoors anglers in recent years, offering up copious quantities of smallies and tournament weight records to boot.

$5,000 to buffer habitat-protecting island
Island No. 4 among the Patterson Islands chain on Kentucky Lake isn’t exactly a destination for an “island getaway.” It is, however, the destination of a $5,000 donation from FLW Outdoors aimed at keeping the island from getting away.

FLW Outdoors donation to purchase PVC fish attractors
There’s a new housing development in the works at Arkansas’ Beaver Lake, but waterfront property owners need not speculate about new neighbors. The new homes are of the underwater variety – in the form of PVC fish shelters – and the intended residents are bass as well as other species of game fish.