On Monday, Henry and Benton Counties partnered together to stock Kentucky Lake with 300,000 Florida Bass at Paris Landing State Park.
Today, May 26, and Saturday, June 5, thousands more Florida Bass will be stocked at Eva Beach in Benton County. And Humphreys County has also joined the project.
Benton County Mayor Brett Lashlee said 200,000 fish will be stocked at Eva Beach boat ramp at 1 p.m. to finish the Benton County creeks that were stocked last year. Also selected creeks in Humphreys County are being added this year.
And on Saturday, June 5, 2021, also at 1 p.m. at the Eva Beach boat ramp, 100,000 more fish will be stocked in Benton County creeks as result of Benton County Bass Revival.
Henry and Benton Counties invested a combined $75,000: $50,000 from Henry and $25,000 from Benton. The effort is a result of a multifaceted approach to battling Asian Carp and offsetting the impact it made on the fishery.
Henry County Commissioner Drew Williams said, “The purpose of this is to help the quality of the fishery. These fish will breed with the northern strain of bass that we have and make a heartier species in the area.”
Tennessee Fish and Wildlife officers were on hand to certify the fish.
“This is year two of this project,” according to Paris-Henry County Chamber CEO Travis McLeese. “There are a lot of moving pieces and partners involved to make this possible. We are very fortunate to be able to make these types of investments and to have the leadership team in place to execute projects like this.”
A recent two-day national fishing tournament with 50 participants registered a $70,000 economic impact. The owner of the tournament applauded the efforts that have been taken and noted that the fish seem healthier and the weights recorded have increased from previous years.
The project was initiated by former Henry County Mayor Brent Greer, Bob Cathey, and Charlie Ingram.
