Hi, my name is Chuck Hart and as of January 1st I have the honor of serving our community as CWL Lake management chairman. I have lived and fished here for 18 years. I have great respect and appreciation for our lake and community. I encourage anyone not involved in a committee of some sort to do so.
I have two goals in mind for this year. I want to do everything possible to control our algae bloom and promote safety on the lake. We are working hard on this subject and we will have more information on our long term plan soon. I also would like to get children and adults involved in a free fishing club. This topic was brought up by myself and the co chairman Tom Pinkowski Sr. at the February meeting. We will have more details soon.
The Club’s primary function is to provide informational programs and events that will allow CWL members to take advantage of the fantastic fishing opportunities that exist in Candlewick Lake. The Mission of the club would be as follows. Continuous improvement of Candlewick lake eco-system and getting our children involved so it can thrive forever. Most meetings could feature a guest speaker from CWL who covers tackle selection, rigging methods, and techniques that have proven to be successful. Members and guests will have the opportunity to ask questions, report on current fishing conditions, exchange ideas, and swap fish stories. Members are encouraged to participate in club Tournaments, fishing outings, special “how to” clinics. Membership is made up of anglers, both male and female whose fishing skills range from beginner to expert. New area residents and children can learn from experienced members. This would be a non-profit club and any fundraising or donations would go to kid’s tournament prizes and trophies.
Pam and Joe Cangelosi have been doing a fantastic job of coordinating the Fathers Day kids fishing tournament and that will not change. I would like to thank Gordy Gotsch for introducing Eagle Scout Jacob Timm to Lake Management last December. Jacob did a fantastic job building fish habitats for our lake. His project was signed off and complete allowing him to graduate from Eagle Scouts. Ice fishing has been very good this year and spring is around the corner. We recently had our 3rd annual ice fishing tournament consisting of 9 teams. A few teams backed out because of the amount of snow we received. Needless to say the event went on but it was very difficult to walk on the lake let alone pulling a shack behind you. Four wheel ATVs could not be driven on the snow because the snow was so deep that they would bottom out causing them to lose traction.
Here are the results from the tournament. First place and big fish went to (center two in the bottom picture) Dean Becker and Rick Franta with 8lbs and 15 oz. The big fish (crappie, blue gill and perch) was a 12 inch perch caught by Dean Becker. Second place went to George Eby and Casey Schible with 8lbs and 5 oz (far right in the bottom picture). Third place went to Chuck Hart and Bill Bursing with 8lbs. Thank you Jim Brefieid for helping with the weigh in. Most fish weighed in were 8-9 inch blue gill with a few 10 inchers as well. Thank you to all that participated.
(look below for the tournament pictures)