FishRook
VIDALIA — Concordia Parish is a fisherman’s paradise. It is a land of oxbows, old river channels and bayous. Vidalia mayor Buz Craft said he sees the quality fishing found in the parish as an economic development tool.
A former professional fisherman, Craft competed in the Fishing League Worldwide before he ran out of time to fish. Now, he is making an effort to bring Major League Fishing back to the region with help from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
Craft’s plan is to have the LDWF stock Lake St. John, Lake Bruin, Lake Concordia and Black River Lake each with 100,000 fingerlings of Florida strain largemouth bass. This stocking would take place each year and would improve the quality of fishing, he said.
“When you put 100,000 fingerlings in a lake, many of those will be caught before they reach their big size,” Craft said. “You put that many fish in the lake and many will survive. In three years, you could have 300,000…
