Meeting Tonight Likely to set Date for Renewal of Fishing at Medard Park

A meeting tonight will decide when fishing and boating resume at Eastern Hillsborough County’s most popular park for fishing and boating.

A public meeting, sponsored by Hillsborough County and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), will take place tonight at an open meeting at Turkey Creek Recreation Center, 5936 Connell Road, Plant City.

A meeting on the issue last month drew around 25 fishermen, fishing guides and longtime local residents. Out of that meeting came a focus group of seven local fishing enthusiasts tasked with coming up with recommendations.

The focus group recommended fishing at the reservoir on Dec. 31 with a catch-and-release policy for one year. Boating will resume at the park one the same date. The group also recommended the adoption of a Fish Management Agreement between the county and the FWC.

The FWC would monitor the health of the reservoir’s fish during the year of catch-and-release fishing with, among other things, electro-fishing tests. The test stuns fish in a small area by passing electricity through two metal rods in the water. Scientists then study the fish that come to the surface.

The Fish Management Agreement would also make it easier to adopt new regulations for the reservoir if any issues arise in the future. “It would take much longer to make changes without that agreement,” said Jeff Mauch, a general manager with the county’s Parks, Recreation & Conservation Department.

 “I think the recommendations will be accepted at the Nov. 15 meeting. Everyone is antsy to get back in the water,” Mauch said.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District drained the 800-acre reservoir in 2009 to do repair work on a dam. Native fish like were transported to area ponds as the pond drained. Other exotic species, like plecostomus catfish and tilapia, were allowed to die off.  

Dam repair work was . Earlier this year, Florida Fish and Wildlife placed 300,000 baby largemouth bass, sun bass, crappie and catfish in the reservoir.

Florida Fish and Wildlife had wanted a two-year ban on fishing in the reservoir to allow the fish to grow.

For more information, the public can contact Mauch at 813-987-6284.

NOTE: Edward Medard Park extends along 1,284 acres owned by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD), where a water control structure and reservoir offer along the Alafia River. In 1972, under an agreement with the District, Hillsborough County developed this site as one of its largest and most popular regional parks.