Working to preserve our lakes and their legacy for generations
Story by Paul South
Submitted Photos
For anyone who’s ever wet a line on the Coosa, landing a big bass is the dream. The odds for hooking a trophy fish will improve in a few years, thanks to the work of local boat dealers, private businesses and Auburn University in an initiative called Restock Alabama. Some 50,000 Northern Strain largemouth bass have been added to the fish population.
Lee Holmes, whose family has owned Sylacauga Marine for 64 years, spearheaded the initiative.
Restock Alabama began its work three years ago at Sylacauga Marine, where the Holmes family, several avid anglers and Auburn researchers began to talk about how to improve fishing on the river and its companion lakes.
“We really thought we should be working toward making our lakes better,” Holmes said. “We’re not saying that the lakes aren’t good right now, because they are some of the best in the world. We just want to make them better than they are.”
For Holmes and that core group, it was about more than boosting the fish population. It’s about sustainability for future generations.
The Holmes family may have the oldest marine dealership in the South, he said. “We’re all getting older,” said the 63-year-old Holmes. “We’ve all got kids, and we’ve all got . grandkids. “We just want (businesses and the high quality of life on the river) to continue. We just want to run businesses and continue to make money off the Coosa River; tournaments and people just going fishing and having fun catching fish. Just to sustain the Coosa to do what it has done for us over my lifetime.”
Tournament anglers helped lead the Restock Alabama charge.
“As tournament fishermen, we knew we could do better at taking care of our fish, that we could do better sustaining the lake by doing some restocking,” Holmes said.
The anglers and boat dealers teamed up with the Alabama Department of Natural Resources and Phil Boozer at America’s First Credit Union to start. America’s First contributed $5,000 in seed money for the five-year Logan Martin Lake restocking project.
“If you do it five (years), our biologist said you make a big difference,” Holmes said. “If you do it one, you don’t know if you’re making much of a difference or not.”
According to its website (restockalabama.com), the organization is a “community-driven nonprofit focusing on restocking bass in Alabama waters. The Coosa is first on the organization’s agenda. But long term, Restock wants to build bass populations in all of the state’s waterways with a long-term goal of creating a statewide network of restoration efforts.
“This isn’t about one business or one person,” according to the website. “This is about the entire community coming together to protect what we love – our waters, our fish and our future.”
Restock Alabama has no paid employees. Every dollar raised goes to the restocking effort. The organization works with certified fisheries and marine biologists to ensure safe and effective fish population building practices.
In year one, the project released 20,000 fish at a cost of about $17,000, all donated by the original core group.
“Nobody has taken one dollar of Restock money and spent it for anything other than a fish,” Holmes said. “That’s all we spend it on. Every dollar buys a fish”
Other boat dealers – the Lumpkin family at Buck’s Island Marine, Ken Hollis at Airport Marine and Steve Navarre at Wetumpka Marine Electronics – joined the Holmes family effort, along with White River Marine Group and every tournament trail in Alabama to support Restock. Now at tournaments on the trails, each team contributes $10 for Restock at every tournament.
For Holmes, it was an easy sell.
“That worked. All those guys wanted to do it. I did not have to argue with a single one. Now, every tournament trail you can think of in Alabama is collecting that $10 per team for Restock at every tournament.”
High school tournament trails soon followed suit, collecting $5 per team. Now, tournament trails from above Birmingham to south of Montgomery contribute to Restock Alabama.
Major boat brands, Ranger, Triton and Nitro have also joined the effort, contributing $10,000. America’s First has continued to make annual contributions. This year, the organization has raised $45,000.
“We doubled our fish that we were able to put into the lake this year, and we’ll do it again next year,” Holmes said. “That got us up from 20,000 fish to 50,000 in year two. Next year, we’ll do 100,000 fish. American Sport Fish and Auburn contributed fish and expertise.
American Sport Fish, a hatchery that provided the minnows, also made a donation, contributing $11,000 worth of free fish, Holmes said. The company’s hatcheries are located in Alabama and Texas and is one of the largest producers of freshwater fish in the Southeast.
“They’re guiding us down the path of what we should be doing,” Holmes said of American Sport Fish and Auburn University. “That’s why we put in Northern Strain Largemouth.”
Unlike Florida Strain Largemouth, the Northern Strain bass grow faster and thrive in colder waters. Reaching a maximum weight of six to 10 pounds, the fish are aggressive and can thrive in a wide range of habitat, making them a good fit for the Coosa and its lakes. Alabama’s rivers and lakes have long been home to the Northern Strain. There are advantages to hatchery-raised fish.
“It has a lot better genetics in it than one you can get out of the lake that was raised at the lake,” Holmes said. “These are raised to be five-star athletes … and to change Logan Martin into a five-star athlete fish lake.”
Restock Alabama has plans for the entire Coosa River.
“We’re going to do a fish release in conjunction with the City of Gadsden and the Coosa River Team Trail in the fall,” Holmes said. “We’re going to stock Neely Henry again in the fall. We don’t know the number of fish, or the amount of money yet, but we’re going to do a significant stocking there in the fall,” Holmes said.
Lay Lake is benefitting, too. “We’re going to do another one in conjunction with Airport Marine on Lay Lake in the fall. We’re just getting this thing started.”
Restock Alabama is drawing attention statewide. The nonprofit has been contacted by interested parties near the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and Huntsville-area lakes.
“This thing is exploding,” Holmes said.
Homes described the anticipated impact of the Restock Alabama effort. “I think it’s going to change the size that fish are weighing in. It may be three to four years before they start showing.”
Holmes hopes that one day, Logan Martin and other Alabama lakes will mirror Lay Lake, long regarded as the best bass fishing lake on the Coosa.
“To this day, Lay Lake is still the premier big fish lake on the Coosa River. It truly is,” Holmes said. “You’ve got to have at least 25 pounds to win a tournament down there. I think you will see Logan Martin go into that category when what we’re doing starts taking effect. It’s also going to give people a better opportunity to just catch fish.”
He added, “At worst, we fed all the fish that were in there – 50,000 minnows the other day – at best 30 to 40 percent of those minnows survive, and we’ve got way bigger numbers of our fish in the future. Either way, you won’t do anything but make it better.”
Beyond trophy fish and bass tournament titles, Restock Alabama is about preserving Alabama lakes and rivers for future generations – a legacy of love of the water and fishing.
Holmes remembers the first fish he ever caught while crappie fishing with his Dad on the Coosa. “I never let go of the pole. I’ve tournament fished all my life. I’ve play-fished all my life. Most of my life, I was on the Coosa River. We just all love the Coosa. My family has made a living on it.
“I just don’t want it to end after I’m gone. I want it here for my son to enjoy and my grandson to enjoy. I want everyone to continue to do what we’ve always done.” l
Editor’s Note: For more information, or to donate to Restock Alabama, visit restockalabama.com.
