Bartow, Florida
Funded in FY2022 through the FishAmerica Foundation.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) strives to create equal opportunities for fishing and recreation throughout the state. In 2021, FWC’s Division of Freshwater Fisheries Management began a new partnership with the City of Bartow to create greater urban fishing opportunities in Polk County, Florida. Mary Holland Park is a suburban recreation area located in Bartow, FL. The park boasts four small lakes, a large walking trail, children’s playground, and several youth soccer fields. Affectionately termed “The Gem of Bartow” by residents of the small city, the park provides multiuse recreational opportunities in an urban setting.
The lakes of Mary Holland Park are reclaimed phosphate pits, with steeply sloping shorelines and depths upwards of 25 ft. The unique nature of phosphate pit lakes creates excellent fishing opportunities, limited only by the access to deeper sections of the lake. Due to the steep slope of the bank, limited submersed and emergent vegetation is able to establish in these systems. The lack of nearshore plant communities makes bank angling extremely challenging. Fish in these systems tend to congregate offshore, in deeper waters outside of shoreline casting distance. For this project, FWC will create better fishing opportunities and increase angler success by installing fish attractors along the shoreline of two lakes in the park. A total of 100 fish attractors will be distributed across seven sites. The installation of fish attractors will create nearshore habitat that can congregate fish, provide structure, and shelter, and improve angler success.
Text provided by Florida FWC.