BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — DECKED, which designs and manufactures innovative tool boxes, pickup truck storage and accessories, has partnered with B.A.S.S. and Toyota to create the ultimate angler truck. After hitting Bassmaster Elite Series events throughout the country, this DECKED-outfitted 2022 Toyota Tundra will be donated to a worthy nonprofit organization after the season. Plus, one lucky fan will have a chance to win a new 2022 Toyota Tundra rigged-out with a DECKED System.

Enthusiastic fans attending Elite Series events will get an opportunity to explore an all-new Tundra equipped with the DECKED Drawer System and a host of custom add-ons that make it perfect for delving into outdoor adventure. While there, fans can scan a special code to be the first to find out when the sweepstakes is launched later this year. The next opportunity to see the DECKED Toyota Tundra will be at the Simms Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork May 19-22 in Quitman, Texas.

“We’re a company of people who love the outdoors, and everyone on our team does everything we can to make our customers’ lives better,” said Greg Randolph, DECKED vice president of marketing. “Whether you hunt, fish, camp or bike, the ability to store, organize, protect and secure your gear is essential.

“DECKED is excited to be at Bassmaster tournaments to meet real people already using our products and to reach a new audience of fans.”

The Idaho-based brand is best known for its Tool Box and modular Drawer System, which is 100% American-made. The Drawer System is made from 100% recycled materials. Once assembled, the DECKED Drawer System is easily installed and removed with no drilling or other alteration of the truck bed.

“The DECKED Drawer System allows me to be organized and ready at all times,” said Bassmaster Elite Series pro Scott Martin. “Keeping my tackle, tools and important items safe and secure in my tuck with the DECKED System is one of the most important tools as a professional fisherman. I can’t imagine having a truck without a DECKED System. Every truck owner needs this in their truck.”

In addition to Martin, DECKED also currently partners with Bassmaster Classic champion and former Bassmaster Angler of the Year Mike Iaconelli.

Follow along on Bassmaster.com for more information on the DECKED storage system’s easy installation and a deep-dive into accessory options to keep all of your gear organized and secure, a tour of their new manufacturing facility in Defiance, Ohio, check out the new shallow tool box later this summer and discover how Iaconelli makes the most of his DECKED accessories while on the road.

More details on the Toyota Tundra giveaway and Tundra donation to a nonprofit organization will be released as the season progresses. Read more

The Tippy Dam boating access site located along the Manistee River, off Dilling Road in Brethren, is open, following a vehicle being partially submerged in the river Tuesday morning.

Just before 6 a.m., an angler was backing their boat into the Tippy Dam boating access site. Due to a mechanical issue, the driver could not stop the vehicle, which then backed into the river and partially submerged.

A passerby assisted the driver by using a tow strap to remove the vehicle from the river, which was taken away by a tow truck.

The scene was cleared by a conservation officer around 7:30 a.m. No injuries were reported.

The driver’s name is not being released.

Volunteers are needed in Cheboygan County now through early June to stand guard as mature lake sturgeon head upstream to their spawning sites along the Black River.

The Black Lake Chapter of Sturgeon for Tomorrow is working in partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and tribes to protect the fish from being illegally harvested during the six-week spawning season.

Sgt. Mark DePew, who leads DNR Law Enforcement Division’s efforts on the river, said, “Joining efforts in this alliance helps to preserve this endangered species when they are most vulnerable. By working together, we can double the efforts, making a greater impact on conservation and preservation efforts.”

The lake sturgeon, which can weigh up to 200 pounds and live to be 100 years old, is listed as a threatened species in Michigan, with any sport fishing being closely regulated. Read more

Twelve fish habitat conservation projects in streams and lakes across the state will share close to $1.8 million in Fisheries Habitat Grants administered by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The projects, supported by an additional $1.6 million in matching partner contributions, will rehabilitate and protect valuable fish habitat that provides the foundation for Michigan’s world-class fisheries. Four of the funded projects are identified by the DNR as priority habitat conservation projects. Read more

If you’re at a Great Lakes port this season, you might see one of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ large fisheries research vessels conducting annual fish surveys.

The public is encouraged to visit the vessels when in port and talk with the crews about their work. To ensure the safety of all, anglers and boaters are asked to give research vessels and their deployed sampling gear plenty of space when on the water.

“The staff on these vessels are working on a wide variety of studies to better understand Great Lakes fish communities, population sizes and habitats,” said Gary Whelan, DNR fisheries research manager. “Their work and the knowledge gained are essential to supporting current and future fisheries management.”

The vessels are based out of Marquette, Alpena, Charlevoix and Harrison Township harbors.

Lake Huron

Read more

It may not be as good as you think

SPRINGFIELD, Va., April 18, 2022 – There’s been a lot of pain at the pump lately with gas prices. The Biden administration’s April 12 move to give a waiver from the Clean Air Act to allow the sale of gasoline containing 15% ethanol (E15) during the summer months is intended to lower costs and stretch the nation’s fuel supply. However, Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) says the unintended consequence of the waiver could inadvertently put a harmful fuel prohibited for use in recreational vessels into your boat’s gas tank.

BoatUS notes recreational vessels are never compatible with E15 (15% ethanol). It is not permitted by federal law to use E15 fuel in boats (as well as motorcycles, off-road vehicles and power equipment), voids the engine warranty, and it has been proven to cause damage to marine engines. It also causes engines to run hotter and contains less energy than E10. Recreational vessel engines may only use gasoline containing no more than 10% ethanol (E10). Read more

A new study begins this month on Saginaw Bay, using acoustic transmitters that will be implanted in walleye to help researchers with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Michigan State University and several partner agencies obtain data about where the fish spawn.

Fish in such telemetry projects have acoustic transmitters affixed to them. Each transmitter then beeps a fish-specific code every few minutes. Acoustic receivers deployed in Lake Huron decode the tag beeps and log when fish tags are detected. The network of acoustic receivers in Saginaw Bay includes receivers in the mouths of rivers to listen for tagged fish moving to spawning grounds and receivers in Saginaw Bay to determine where walleye may be spawning.

Having a better understanding of relative sources of natural reproduction for walleye will help fishery managers determine which rivers and reefs to protect and, when needed, where to invest in actions that enhance and improve fish habitat.

Volunteer charter boat operations are assisting in the study by collecting the walleye hook and line in May while the fish from all spawning sources are mixed post-spawn, but before any leave the bay. Then when the fish return for spawning next spring, their locations will be logged in the receivers. There are at least 15 rivers and five offshore reefs that are likely sources of walleye spawning. Read more

— Frank Sargeant
Frankmako1@gmail.com

Johnny Morris is a classic American success story, starting out in his 20’s selling a little tackle out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield. Missouri in 1972.

Today, the company he built, based mostly on the Bass Pro Shops logo, has a value of about $6.5 billion and employs over 40,000.

It owns not only 152 Bass Pro Shops superstores nationwide and in Canada but also 50 Cabela’s stores as well as White River Marine Group, parent company of Tracker, Ranger, Triton, Mako and other well-known boating brands sold at hundreds of dealerships around the nation.

And Morris has done an amazing amount of good with the money he and his team have earned. Just this month, as reported in yesterday’s TOW, he donated an added $1.5 million generated by the Bass Pro Shops World’s Fishing Fair and Concert in Springfield, Missouri

As with a number of other high-profile outdoors companies these days, the Bass Pro Shops empire has done its best to support the fish, wildlife and the outdoors fans that have made success possible. It all comes back to Johnny Morris, who has made a lifelong commitment to conservation.

The company has an ongoing effort to seek out and support worthwhile causes—see details here: https://about.basspro.com/community/support.

(In full disclosure, I worked for Outdoor World Television, a part of Bass Pro Shops, for eight years in the early 2000’s.)

More fishing news below… Read more

VERNAL — Several agencies are asking for anglers to keep any lake trout under 25 inches that are caught at Flaming Gorge Reservoir, in an effort to improve the health of the fishery. Several fishing tournaments will be held to incentivize anglers to help in this effort.

Currently, the popular reservoir in northeastern Utah — known for producing some of the largest lake trout in the U.S. — has too many small lake trout in it. In Flaming Gorge, lake trout larger than 25 inches primarily consume kokanee salmon and rainbow trout. If the abundant population of smaller lake trout (under 25 inches) is not reduced, there could be impacts on the salmon and rainbow trout populations, as well as fewer fish to feed the trophy lake trout.

“In the 1990s, an 8-year-old lake trout was about 30 inches long,” Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Flaming Gorge Lead Fisheries Biologist Ryan Mosley said. “Today, an 8-year-old fish is about 23 inches long. On top of the decreased length, the number of small lake trout in the reservoir has increased, and we’re concerned the situation is going to get worse. We’re managing for a balanced fishery of predators and prey, and currently, there are too many predators. Reducing the number of small lake trout now will mean healthier lake trout in the future, while also increasing the survival of trout and salmon that are highly sought after by anglers. They’re already growing slower and unless we can ‘thin the herd,’ it will only get worse.” Read more