APRIL 30, 2009 ISSUE
Banner Elk’s Wildcat Lake Now Stocked With 5,000 Fish
A truck from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission in Marion delivered 5,000 small bluegill to Banner Elk’s Wildcat Lake on Friday, April 23. Photos submitted
Banner Elk’s Wildcat Lake not only has a full supply of water, it is now home to 5,000 small bluegill.
A truck from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission in Marion delivered the newest denizens of the deep on Friday, April 23, quickly draining a tank of one- to six-inch newcomers. Marine biologist David Goodfred noted that the largest of the new bluegill were old enough to spawn this year, beginning the cycle of life that will feed the next fish to arrive at the lake next year.
The lake and adjacent Tufts Park will officially open on Saturday, May 23, according to the Edgar Tufts Memorial Association, owners of the lake. An opening ceremony at 10:00 a.m. will be followed by a free hot dog lunch for any area visitors. Lifeguards will be present for any swimmers brave enough to challenge the cold waters.
Large mouth bass of approximately the same size will be delivered next spring, Goodfred said, and the primary food supply for the bass will be the tiny bluegill that establish themselves this year.
Bluegills will eat aquatic insects “and almost anything in the way of plant matter,” Goodfred said, and will multiply rapidly. The grasses and small shrubs that grew up in the lakebed while the lake was drained and the dam was being rebuilt are ideal habitat for the bluegill, Goodfred noted.
If all goes according to schedule, spring 2011 should see the first trout being added to the lake. Brook, rainbow and brown trout are expected to be stocked, as the lake becomes an official state trout impoundment, according to district fisheries biologist Jacob Rash of the Marion wildlife office. Although bass and bluegill were the fish remaining when the lake was drained several years ago, fisheries biologists visited the lake and determined that it was “perfect for trout.”
Bass, bluegill and trout should co-exist without any problem, and will mean that the fun of hooking the easily-caught bluegill by children and will be matched by sportsmen interested in the challenges of trout fishing.
Fishing licenses are required by the state.
For more information, call Jim Swinkola at 828-898-5465.
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