Lake Cumberland debris being cleared for prestigous fishing tourney

By CHRIS HARRIS, CJ Staff Writer
Commonwealth Journal

March 24, 2008 07:25 am

— The Burnside community wants to put on its best face for a national fishing tournament making its way to Lake Cumberland in early April.
The only problem: There’s already plenty of objects floating on the lake’s surface.
Dona Howard of the Burnside Tourism Commission, which helped lure the prestigious Fishers of Men National Championship Series to Pulaski County this year, was concerned about the amount of floating debris on the lake. She reported having received several complaints from boaters about floating pieces of driftwood.
“I just have concerns about the impression the lake is going to make,” said Howard, regarding the expected influx of anglers. Between 170-190 boats are projected to be on the lake for the fishing tournament, operated by “a nonprofit, nondenominational ministry whose mission is to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to fishermen and their families through competitive and professionally-ran fishing tournaments,” according to the Web site, www.fomntt.com.
According to Tom Hale, operations manager for eastern Kentucky with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, there’s actually less debris on the lake than is common for this time of year because of the lower lake elevation, taken down to ease pressure on the vulnerable Wolf Creek Dam. The lake isn’t high enough to pick up all the debris collected on the shoreline and carry it out into the water as it is most seasons when the lake begins to rise, said Hale.
But Howard believes the area’s recent rainy weather has created a problem nonetheless.
“I have gone to Conley Bottom (a marina in Wayne County) to launch because there’s so much debris in and around the whole Burnside area of the lake,” she said. “When you have a season like most everyone has had here, with the perception that the lake is down and there’s a huge problem, it really isn’t going to make a good impression. People are going to try to be fishing and will be like, ‘The lake is a mess.’”
Thus efforts are underway to get things cleaned up in time for the tournament, which will be held April 3-5. The tournament boats will launch from General Burnside Island.
Hale said that Howard called and asked if the Corps could use the “Pride of the Cumberland” boat to clean up the area around the ramp. The vessel, designed to collect lake debris and run it through a wood chipper, either to spit back out onto the shore or to put back into the lake, runs regularly anyway, but with the tournament coming up, the duties of the “Pride of the Cumberland” become even more crucial.
“If we can help in any way, we’re glad to. We want to support the community,” said Hale. “We try to get the worst spots around public use areas where (debris) might interfere with boat launching, and once those are taken care of, we get out and look at other parts of lake.”
The Corps has used the “Pride of the Cumberland” since 2005 to assist in lake maintenance efforts. Hale said his group uses the boat usually four days a week, starting once debris begins to become a problem and keeping the vessel’s ventures going until the threat is gone.
Though the chipped wood decomposes quickly on the shore, Hale said, it can also be used to add biomass to the lake.
“Lake Cumberland is a pretty clean lake,” said Hale. “When they were working to fill it up, it took all the vegetation out, so (adding biomass) is good for the fish habitat. We didn’t have a whole lot because of the conditions.”
This year, the Corps is applying instruments on the boat designed to pick up debris on the shoreline before it gets floated back out in the water. He said this is a lake-wide effort, not just focused in Burnside.
The Fishers of Men Tournament draws anglers from 55 divisions spread out over 27 states. Awards include a $100,000 total purse and a 2008 Triton TR-20X fishing boat for First Place. The tournament is the championship event for this series.
Howard says things are going well leading up to the tournament from a preparation and promotion standpoint, and that “everything is in place.”

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