NEWS RELEASE

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

November 2, 1999

CONTACT: Jim Sweatman (407) 317-7329 or Joy M. Hill (352) 732-1225

URBAN FISHING IS ABOUT TO GET EASIER

Fishing in the greater Orlando area is about to get easier and better for urban anglers. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) announced Tuesday the selection of the Fish Orlando! Fab Five - five lakes that will be intensely managed to provide quality fishing opportunities for residents and tourists alike.

The Fab Five are Starke Lake, Turkey Lake, Cane-Marsha Park, Kirkman Pond and Clear Lake, all conveniently located in the greater Orlando area. Fab Five lakes will get improvements such as fishing piers, fish feeders, fish attractors and aeration systems, habitat enhancement projects and beneficial vegetation, stocked fish, easier access and special events to give everyone a chance to get out and go fishing.

The goal is to make it as easy as possible to go fishing with a good chance of catching quality bass, bluegill, catfish, black crappie and hybrid stripers in the greater Orlando area - with or without a boat! Funding is already in place for many of the projects.

"We are really excited about the partnerships we've formed with the cities of Orlando and Ocoee, and Orange County, to help make these five special lakes easy to fish and worth the effort," said Jim Sweatman, Fish Orlando! coordinator for the FWC.

The Fab Five are part of the FWC's Fish Orlando! program and were selected from eight candidate lakes after successful meetings with potential local governmental partners. Fab Five lakes were selected based upon several criteria including good bank fishing potential, good overall fishing potential, and cooperative partners.

With millions of visitors each year, an expanding resident population, and many excellent lakes for fishing, the greater Orlando area is a natural for a program like Fish Orlando!, whose goal is to bring quality fishing to families. Those families can be residents or tourists who are looking for an alternative to theme parks and other traditional tourist attractions.

In addition to providing excellent fishing opportunities at convenient lakes, Fish Orlando! programs, such as the Big Catch Event held last April at Barnett Park, are held throughout the year to teach new anglers how to fish and to encourage veteran anglers to cast a line a little more often.