COLUMBIA, S.C. – While Group A finished its qualifying round at the Bass Pro Tour event at Lake Murray, BPT anglers Greg Vinson, Kelly Jordon and Michael Neal joined the MLF Fisheries Management Division in partnership with Berkley Labs and MLF emcee Steven “Lurch” Scott at Greenwood Lake for the second Minn Kota Habitat Restoration Project of 2023.
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has been collaborating with Greenwood County Lake Management since 2019 to improve habitat on Greenwood. Their previous permit allowed for the deployment of 300-plus individual structures at 19 sites. The GCLM team continued the project by purchasing 225 structures and provided them to registered dock owners throughout Greenwood Lake.
The MLF FMD partnered with SCDNR and GCLM to provide the next phase of this project in 2023. The project provided the partnership with 99 MossBack Fish Habitat products, including 14 40-inch Conservation Cubes, 31 20-inch root wads, 27 60-inch Trophy Tree XL, 27 60-inch Safe Haven XL, and cinder block adaptors to make the product easy to deploy. The retail value of the habitat donated for this project is $26,200.
The three MLF angler volunteers met MLF FMD Director Steven Bardin, SCDNR Fisheries Chief Ross Self, Assistant Chief Lynn Quattro, Region 1 Biologist Amy Breedlove Chastain, SCDNR staff and GCLM staff at Lake Greenwood State Park. The volunteers built part of the MossBack habitats and deployed them under the courtesy fishing pier. SCDNR and GCLM are awaiting permitting approval to deploy the remaining structures this summer. Once complete, the new habitat areas will be added to the current fish attractor map found on the SCDNR website.
“I really appreciate the SCDNR and GCLM providing MossBack products to dock owners, that’s a unique program that needs to catch on nationally and I’m proud to be part of the team that’s here today ensuring the habitat work on Lake Greenwood continues,” said Vinson.
The next habitat restoration project will take place April 25 on Louisiana’s Lake Claiborne during the Hitters event.
