Bassmaster Classic to Bring Together Leading Experts on Fisheries Management
Mike Bolton 02.21.12
Three of the nation’s foremost experts on fisheries management will headline the renewal of a conservation summit as part of this weekend’s Bassmaster Classic in the Shreveport, La..
Federation Nation conservation directors, state fisheries managers, and other fisheries management specialists will attend the event the event that will run Friday through Sunday.
Saturday’s workshop will feature Dr. Mike Allen from the University of Florida, Dr. David Philipp from the University of Illinois, and Gene Gilliland from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation,.
The group is expected to take a close look at many topics including fishing for bedding bass, tournament mortality numbers, catch-and-release impacts on bass growth and advances in techniques and lures including the controversial Alabama Rig.
On Friday the group will hear about legislative updates and news from individual conservation directors.
Gordon Robertson, vice-president of the American Sportfishing Association, and Chris Horton, mid-states coordinator for the Assembly of State Caucuses, will discuss federal and state legislation related to fisheries, as well as offer insights about working with legislators and getting involved politically.
Allen and Dr. Mike Netherland from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will also discuss aquatic vegetation management and related issues, including the likelihood that herbicide application changes the behavior of fish.
Mike Bolton, 56, served as the outdoors writer for the Birmingham News for 25 years until his retirement in 2009. He won the AP Sweepstakes Award for best sports story in Alabama on eight occasions and his stories on the Cahaba River were nominated for a Pulitizer Prize. He has also contributed to Sporting Classics, Bassmaster Magazine, Buckmasters Magazine and other national pubications.
