COLUMBIA, S.C. – On Wednesday, March 5, professional anglers from the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour used their “off day” before PowerStop Brakes Stage 3 at Lake Murray to give back to the community in two meaningful ways: creating new fish habitat and improving bass fishing conditions in Lake Murray as a part of the Minn Kota Habitat Restoration Project Supported by Humminbird and Kubota and visiting with students at Piney Woods Elementary School.

In conjunction with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), the Habitat Restoration event at Lake Murray brought together nine MLF pros, local volunteers and students from six bass fishing teams across the state Wednesday morning.

Despite a downpour that threatened to impede the event, the stormy weather didn’t dampen spirits as volunteers constructed nine MossBack Fish Habitat 40-inch Conservation Cubes, 12 MossBack Root Wads, and 15 MossBack Reed Mat structures, which were then deployed at three unique locations on Lake Murray. These newly created habitats will improve bass fishing conditions, which is a crucial part of the mission of the MLF Fisheries Management Division (FMD) – to sustain healthy fish populations for future generations of anglers. MLF Bass Pro Tour pros in attendance included Justin Cooper, Gary Klein, Bobby Lane, Jeremy Lawyer, Skeet Reese, Mark Rose, Fred Roumbanis, Greg Vinson and David Walker.

Students from the USC Gamecock Bass Fishing team, Mid-Carolina Fishing Team, Chapin Youth Bassmasters, Aiken County Anglers, Eagle Eye Anglers and Gilbert Bass Anglers worked side-by-side with MLF pros and staff from the SCDNR to build and deploy the essential structures. Kubota tractors provided by Carolina Power Equipment helped transport the habitat materials, ensuring the project ran smoothly despite the challenging weather.

Thanks to MLF sponsors, numerous student volunteers walked away with exciting giveaway items, including Abu Garcia rods and reels, a signed MLF angler jersey, bait packs and MLF hats.

“We had a blast, and it was so cool to have all these bass teams show up – in the rain – to help us build these structures,” Reese said. “The students were excited to learn about conservation, and why it’s important to protect our fisheries. It was awesome to work alongside them to benefit the fishery and create some new honey holes for these anglers to fish in the future.”

The second half of the day saw MLF pros head to Piney Woods Elementary School in Chapin, where they met with excited fourth graders to discuss the importance of conservation and fishing. MLF pros Jared Lintner, Brent Chapman and Mark Daniels Jr., along with MLF Competition Official Brian Poppe, spoke to students about what it means to be a professional angler and shared their personal fishing stories. The students were eager to share fishing stories of their own and ask questions, and they were amused to learn that Poppe got to assess penalties and put the adult pros in “time out” for fish landing violations.

The pros also demonstrated how MLF works to protect fish populations, including how fish are weighed on the boat in the Bass Pro Tour and immediately returned to their natural habitats.

“We love being able to give back to the communities we visit on the Bass Pro Tour,” Lintner said. “The fourth graders at Piney Woods were so excited to meet professional anglers and learn about protecting our fisheries. Someone visited my class to talk about fishing 35 years ago, and I still remember it to this day. It’s great to have the opportunity to make that same kind of impact on these kids.”

As the Bass Pro Tour kicks off its third stage, hosted by the Capital City/Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism Board , the pros and community members involved in Wednesday’s events left a lasting legacy – not only enhancing the lake’s fishery but also inspiring young minds to value and protect the natural resources around them.

For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.