SHORELINES

29 a p c s hor e l i n e s.c om | 2015 Vol :3 during winter drawdown. "We hope this water willow takes root and spreads," said Josh Yerby, leader of the Aquatic Vegetation Management program at Alabama Power. "It will provide an excellent fish habitat for all aquatic organisms, starting at the bottom of the food chain. This should in turn attract larger organisms all the way up to bluegill and largemouth bass." Yerby said water willow has the added benefits of stabilizing shoreline and preventing erosion in Smith Lake, which has relatively little aquatic vegetation. "We realize the actual area covered by these plantings is small, but we hope it is successful and we can continue to do this for years to come," Yerby said. Some 100 miles to the northeast, Alabama Power's Mike Clelland led volunteer efforts to build and sink more than 130 fish attraction devices (FAD) in Weiss Lake. Alabama Power partnered with the Weiss Lake Improvement Association and the fishing team from Cherokee County High in nearby Centre. "One of our goals at Alabama Power in our stewardship programs is to reach out more and more to these student organizations, to get them involved and teach them about conservation," said Clelland, coordinator of the company's Renew Our Rivers clean up effort. Lane Pentecost, an 11th-grader on the fishing team, was well-aware of the issues at 54-year-old Weiss Lake. "Back when they first filled the lake up, the fish had a lot of cover out here," Pentecost said. "It's been so long, all of it's just rotted away. Most fish out here don't have cover to get under." "Cover" consisted mostly of tree stumps, which are now gone. With no place to hide, tiny fish at the bottom of the food chain are overconsumed by larger fish and birds before they have a chance to grow to catchable sizes. "Now we're putting these FADs down to replace the stumps and give the little-bitty fish a place to hide," said Richard Green, a volunteer. The students and volunteers from the Weiss Lake Improvement Association made the FADS by cementing bamboo stalks in cinder blocks, then toting them on board two Alabama Power boats. They were placed strategically in different part of the lake. GPS coordinates were recorded and are posted on apcshorelines.com and the Weiss Lake webpage at alabamapower.com so anglers can fish on top of them. "Weiss Lake is known as the 'Crappie Capital of the World,' but these devices will attract and hold bass, bluegill and catfish as well," said fishing guide Lee Pitts as he took a break from loading FADs with hand trucks. "This is really helpful to all species in the lake." Fishing guide Mark Collins said he hopes he will see more efforts from Alabama Power to help fish in coming years. "Hopefully, this will turn to an annual deal; we may try to get it going twice a year if we can," said Collins, who also is with the Weiss Lake Improvement Association. "We had a lot of interest seeing this happen on the lake. We didn't have to hunt people around here to volunteer. They came to us." – GILBERT NICHOLSON Above: Photo by wynTer Byrd — Water willow is a native plant that was transplanted from the Coosa River to Smith Lake.

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