Posted by AKO on 2002 PM:

Ronkonkoma Stump Project

We are finally done with the Stump Project atLake Ronkonkoma. For those of you who have not fished Lake Ronkonkoma, it is a 240 acre impoundment. It is Long Islands largest lake. Fo various reasons the lake has declined as a fishery for some time. I am sure many can remember some big fish coming from the lake and #'s as well. This project IS an onging project(There is a FIVE year permit to improve the habitat.) This summer we wil be planting willow trees around the lake as well. The project has over 600 man hoours invested into the success of this project! I wanted to thank some of the people that were involved, Mark Capozzola "who led LIB members through the design and construction of the stump strutures." I am not affilited with LIB but, to say they as a whole club were incredible to say the least! MANY HANDS, lots of sweat, and a couple of crushed fingers with the cinder blocks. Oh well.... it GOT DONE! Also.... NEW YORK STATE DEC, New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs, Long Island Bassmasters, Suffolk County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation, and the State Department of Transportation.

The project was made possible with donations from local businesses. North Shore Express carting Co. of Sound Beach transported the stumps to the lake. Barrasso and Sons Mason Supply of Islip Terrace provided concrete blocks to sink the stumps. The Lakeland Volunteer Fire Department supplied a pumper truck and crew to keep te beach wet to minimize flying sand, and emergency medical technicians in case there was an emergency.

" For those who could help and DID, THANK YOU! For those who wanted to and coouldn't make it, you were MISSED but, this is ongoing! 5 year permit!......and for those of you who COULD have lended a hand for an HOUR OR SO, AND CHOSE NOT TOO------SHAME ON YOU!!!!!

Hey Mark, anytime you need a hand, I am HERE!

Posted by NO LUCK on 2002 AM:

Good job to all involved...hopefully all the planning that is going into the lake will give us all a great return...

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Posted by theole34 on 2002 AM:

i spoke with mark on the phone tonight. he is so happy that the stumps are in. the end of stage 1. seems that there are many more plans on the block. way to go guys.

thanks you from me!!

way to make a great lake better!!

robbie

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Posted by JOHN G on 2002 AM:

Andy, with the help of dedicated people such as yourself, Ronk will become a better fishery again....great job!!

JOHN G

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Posted by Scott C on 2002 AM:

Andrew.....please keep me posted as we discussed..... I cant be pulling 5'ers out of there with a clear conscience knowing I didnt at least sweat a bit with the rest of you.........



Nice work man !!



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Posted by "Wild Bill" on 2002 AM:

Thumbs upNewsday has a pic

in Wednesday's copy showing a copter dropping stumps into the drink. Cool !! Great work guys !! Thanks to all involved !!

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Posted by theole34 on 2002 AM:

NEWSDAY ARTICLE and PICS

ronko stump project pictures from newsday stock site



Absent Bass Receive a Fishy Solution
By Daphne Sashin
Staff Writer

December 18, 2002

In fishing circles, it's known as the Dead Sea. Lake Ronkonkoma, Long Island's largest freshwater lake, is a place where in the peak of bass season, an angler could pass 10 hours and never feel a tug on the line.

For men like Mark Capozzola, who structure their lives around their fishing, a place like that can get to be, well, depressing.

"It's no good,” said Capozzola, a member of the Bassmasters, a local anglers club that sponsored a bass-catching tournament on the lake last summer in which no one caught a single fish.

Capozzola watched with glee yesterday morning as a Blackhawk helicopter from the New York Army National Guard airlifted bundles of hardwood tree stumps and dumped them into about 15 feet of dark blue water, a step anglers hope will be the key to the lake's turnaround.

The stumps are intended to draw baitfish and bass to particular spots in the lake, said Charles Guthrie, regional fisheries manager for the state Department of Environmental Conservation's Bureau of Fisheries, which coordinated the project. The bureau is funded through the sale of state recreational fishing licenses.

"Fish like things to hide in,” Guthrie said. The artificial reefs will provide places for fish to feed, rest and hide, and, in turn, make it easier for fishermen to find them. Lake Ronkonkoma, he said, "doesn't have any good, obvious structures,” such as trees or weed beds along the shoreline.

Over time, algae will grow on the stumps, diversifying the lake's food chain and conceivably fueling a bigger population of game fish, DEC aquatic biologist Gregory Kozlowski said.

Lake Ronkonkoma County Park and the state Boat Ramp were closed for the day while the helicopter made circles through the chilly wind, dangling packages of logs that Capozzola and other volunteers had wired together, nailed to cement blocks to keep from floating and tethered with white rope to the bottom of the aircraft.

Over five hours, the helicopter submerged about 150 stumps, which were provided by the state Department of Transportation from land cleared earlier this year to extend the Long Island Expressway's service roads.

The event had been scheduled at least once before and canceled due to bad weather.

About 15 DEC officials and anglers watched from inside a meetinghouse at Islip Town Beach.

"I can feel that six-pound large mouth on my line right now,” said Ira Minkon, a financial planner from Bohemia who described himself as someone who would "rather fish than breathe.” He watched silently for a moment, nodding his head as if in reverence as the aircraft hovered about 200 feet from the shore, then plunged the wood over a cluster of white and red buoys marking the first of eight drop sites throughout the 243-acre lake.
Copyright © 2002, Newsday, Inc.

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Posted by AKO on 2002 PM:

quote:

"I can feel that six-pound large mouth on my line right now,” said Ira Minkon

Really What exactly does that feel like Ira?

quote:

Ira Minkon, a financial planner from Bohemia who described himself as someone who would "rather fish than breathe.”

If you know Ira like I do, you would know that if he had breathed anything like he fishes, he would die a quick death by ,SUFFOCATION! Still my bud though! What he lacks in fishing prowess he makes up as a human being! Glad you could make it, Mink!

Posted by Scott C on 2002 PM:

Robbie......sweet pics Thanks !

Cant wait to bring the old Humminbird there soon !

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Posted by thefishingline on 2002 PM:

Here is the official DEC press release and pics
http://www.thefishingline.com/lake1.htm

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Posted by CUS on 2002 AM:

That is an unbelievable project... congratulations on completing the first phase.

I sent the story to our local NYS Dept. of Drainage and Sanitation to see if they would want to do something similar in Onondaga Lake (Syracuse, NY).

Congratulations to all involved!!

cus