110-acre lagoon complex produces two 9-pound bass this year, LDWF says
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries focuses the majority of its time and effort on the marquee bodies of water that have helped earn the state its “Sportsman’s Paradise” nickname.
But that doesn’t mean small, urban lakes don’t produce big results, too.
Even though City Park Lake is right in the backyard of many New Orleans residents, it still offers an amazing fishing opportunity, according to a press release.
LDWF started stocking City Park waters in 1999, and since 2009, more than 18,000 bluegill fingerlings, 200 channel catfish fingerlings and 250 Florida bass pre-spawn adults have been stocked.
Although Hurricane Katrina hampered improvement efforts, lots of progress had already been made even before that storm hit.
“Since the storm, we’ve regained those improvements and created arguably the best urban fishing system in the nation, if not the world,” said Randy Pausina, LDWF assistant secretary. “Water quality in the lagoons, a problem for decades, is now better than ever thanks to our restoration efforts.”
Earlier this month, TIm Zissis set a City Park record with a 9.05-pound bass, the second 9-pounder to come out of the complex this year, the release states.
Post-Katrina, LDWF installed a water monitoring system funded by federal grants, which monitors both water flow and salinity to improve fisheries habitat and stock. Additional projects include water circulation improvements, herbicide treatments of invasive aquatic plant species and the construction of additional habitat by using recycled Christmas trees to create artificial fishing reefs, according to the release.
In addition to stocking efforts, LDWF is also involved in many cooperative projects to improve the City Park lagoons as well as the Bayou St. John fishery, the system which feeds water to the City Park lakes.
For an angler’s guide to City Park Lake produced by the LDWF, click here.
