Bob Maindelle | For the Kileen Daily Herald October 2, 2022

I reach out to John Tibbs, our Waco Region Inland Fisheries Supervisor, routinely to try to keep my finger on the pulse of what the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is planning for the benefit our two local reservoirs — Belton and Stillhouse Hollow lakes.

As I did so recently, Tibbs shared, “Texas BASS Nation applied for a conservation grant from the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame and was successful, getting $5,000 of support to purchase additional habitat to augment existing habitat complexes placed last year.”

I dug a bit further to find out exactly how this came about, what the project would entail and the timeline for the effort.

Back in early August of this year, the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame chose four projects to support with grant money from a host of applications it had received from across the nation.

BFHOF announced at that time: “For the third consecutive year, the Board of Directors of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame announces that the Hall has awarded four conservation grants to contribute to themission of celebrating, promoting and preserving the sport of bass fishing. The awardees were selected through a highly competitive process, and they represent a diverse group of deserving projects.

“Each year we continue to be impressed by the seriousness and dedication of our applicants,” said Bass Fishing Hall of Fame President John Mazurkiewicz. “We all agree that habitat restoration and management, and other conservation efforts, remain the bedrock of our sport and are critical to bass fishing’s future. These grants are one means of giving back to the wider community.”

The four projects BFHOF chose included a habitat restoration project on Tims Ford Reservoir in Tennessee, provision of a mobile fish care trailer for high school bass clubs in Alabama, a cypress tree planting project on Lake Barkley in Kentucky, and the habitat improvement project on Belton Lake.

“Once again we are proud to incentivize and reward the substantial sweat equity that these entities will produce,” said Board member Gene Gilliland, who also serves as the Bass Anglers Sportsmen’s Society Conservation Director. “It was difficult to choose the best four, but we’re confident that this group represents the best of the best. As time goes on, we hope that our efforts will become even more inclusive and substantial.” Gilliland and Board member Casey Shedd with the American Fishing Tackle Company spearheaded the BFHOF conservation grant selection process.

According to the grant application, “This project will replace fish habitat that has been lost to natural reservoir aging processes. Specifically, Texas B.A.S.S. Nation worked with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the US Army Corp of Engineers, and the Brazos River Authority to create four new fish habitat sites and will use the provided fund to further enhance artificial fish habitat at these same sites.”

In other words, the $5,000 grant will be used to expand the coverage of the four habitat complexes which were emplaced back in September 2021.

On Sept. 18, 2021, a number of individuals and organizations came together to emplace four large, artificial reefs into Lake Belton for both fish and anglers to use.

According to Tibbs, this was one of the largest collaborative projects TPWD had done to date in this district.

The reefs give cover-loving species like bass, crappie, and sunfish places to hide in and ambush prey from. In lakes like Belton Lake, where natural forms of cover are somewhat sparse and declining, such man-made structures attract and consolidate fish.

When asked about the design of the reefs, Tibbs stated back in 2021: “We constructed and placed Georgia Cubes, which are a 4-foot-by-4-foot-by-4-foot frame of 1½-inch Schedule 40 PVC with 100 feet of flexible black perforated PVC drainage pipe contained within. We assembled and placed 60 Mossback Trophy Trees, 24 Mossback Safe Havens and two Mossback Conservation Cubes.

The budget for the 2021 effort stood at around $14,000, with $9,000 of that contributed by Tin Cup Whiskey, and the balance by the Brazos River Authority.

I interviewed Dave Terre, State Conservation Director for the Texas B.A.S.S. Nation organization. Terre is the person who pursued the Belton Lake grant applications in 2021 and in 2022.

Terre’s career in the Inland Fisheries division of TPWD spanned a total of 35 years. Terre started as a technician in TPWD’s Abilene operation and worked his way up to the Chief of Fisheries Management and Research, a billet he held from 2007 until his retirement in 2020.

Much of Terre’s career was invested in our Hill Country reservoirs, including Belton and Stillhouse Hollow.

Following his retirement, Terre was invited to join Texas B.A.S.S. Nation. As the state conservation director, a volunteer position, Terre works to connect and involve anglers with conservation of our natural resources.

When asked why he focused his grant-writing efforts on Belton Laek, Terre shared that he is a passionate tournament and recreational, multi-species angler. At one time Terre held the title of B.A.S.S. state champion for the state of Texas.

He further explained that Belton Lake is a favorite among Central Texas bass anglers, but as reservoirs tend to do as they age, Belton has seen some siltation and the loss of much of the wood cover that existed after its creation in the 1950s.

Such reservoirs are prime candidates for habitat improvement. Hence, Terre saw both the need the reservoir had and the interest anglers have in it and was able to bring to bear the resources of individuals, private businesses, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Brazos River Authority and local bass clubs to work together to improve the reservoir for the future.

Finally, when asked about the timing of placing supplemental habitat into Belton Lake, Terre said his best guess would be sometime between January and March of 2023.

In addition to the $5,000 sought from BFHOF, Terre is also vying for an additional $2,000 from the Friends of Reservoirs Foundation. He hopes to get final word about that application by mid-October.

Then, understanding the sum total of the budget he will have to work with, he will go about organizing and coordinating the actual placement of the purchased structures, relying heavily on the members of the Cen-Tex Bass Hunters club and the Texas Anglers Bass Club, both of which are chapter affiliates of the Friends of Reservoirs Foundation.

I will be following this effort and will keep Killeen Daily Herald readers apprised of progress on this beneficial habitat improvement project.