Bass fishing a highschool sport-National finals at Carlyle Lake in May 2009

[bassmansports]

Bass fishing is now a High School sport. The national finals will be at Carlyle Lake this May 2009. I received this email from the Illinois DNR.



IHSA Bass Fishing Finals
Last year, the Illinois High School Association decided to add bass fishing to its list of 35 authorized sports and activities. This decision made Illinois the first state in the nation to sanction bass fishing as a high school sport. The 2008-09 high school bass fishing season started in October of 2008 and will be concluding with the sectional tournament in April. The first official high school bass fishing state finals in the nation will be held at Carlyle Lake on May 8 - 9, 2009. May 2009 also has been designated High School Bass Fishing Month.  Nearby Eldon Hazlet State Recreation Area has cabins and camping options available.   

Upcoming Sporting Clay Tournament
Illinois hunters and shooters take note - the World Shooting and Recreation Complex (WSRC) in Sparta will be hosting the Remington World Cup Challenge on May 21 - 24, 2009. Advanced registration for this event is suggested and all shooters must be members of the National Sporting Clays Association. The WSRC has two sporting clay courses consisting of 15 stations each that will be used during the tournament. The WSRC is a premier destination for recreational vehicle enthusiasts, offering scenic camping areas as well as standard sites with electricity, water and sewer.

Illinois' Third Annual Earth Day In the Parks
Earth Day in the Parks is an event that promotes stewardship of our natural resources by Illinois school children. In April each year, students and their teachers from throughout Illinois come to participating Illinois state parks to take part in natural resources stewardship activities such as: planting native trees and wildflowers; building and installing bird nesting boxes; removing invasive exotic plant species; and constructing woodland ponds. Earth Day in the Parks is sponsored by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources in cooperation with the Illinois Conservation Foundation.

You can take part in Earth Day on April 22th yourself! Why not take your family camping in one of Illinois' wonderful state parks and pass on your appreciation for nature to the next generation? If you don't feel like "roughing it", a number of Illinois Getaways also are available to meet a variety of needs.
Our mailing address is:

Illinois Department of Natural Resources
One Natural Resources Way
Office of Public Services
Springfield, IL 62702-1271

Our telephone:
217-782-7454

Copyright (C) 2008 Illinois Department of Natural Resources All rights reserved.

[Jr. Bassmaster]

I'll be fishing in the state tourney. I'm excited but havent heard to many good things about Carlyle.

[bass1cpr]

  Carlyle is a good lake if the wind isn't blowing from the north or south. It can get really nasty with wind. It lies north and south and is somewhat of a natural wind tunnel. But the lake has got good fish in it.