A Fishing Tale at Zylstra Lake Preserve

It’s fishing season and the dam at Zylstra Lake Preserve is open for catch and release. Although fishing enthusiasts will generally find a largemouth bass on the end of their fishing line, other non-natives lurking below the water’s surface include bluegill sunfish, pumpkinseed sunfish, brown bullhead catfish, as well as a native reticulate sculpin.

On opening day Land Bank field assistant, Jacob Wagner, met father/son fishing duo, Josh and Finn Levasheff . While the trio talked “all things fish” the subject of used fishing line came up. Monofilament fishing line is not biodegradable and, if left lying around, can pose a strangulation hazard for wildlife. A simple and great solution for responsibly disposing of used line is using a fishing line bin. Josh and Finn thought that was a great project and the two anglers built three units for Zylstra Lake. Here’s a pic of Finn with his fine handiwork. Thank you, Josh and Finn, for being great stewards of our public lands!