No one wants to jump off a dock, run a jet ski, a boat, a paddle board, or kayak into one of these. Multiple fish attractors recently "washed up" near a boathouse in Windward Shores (see photo).
Using old Christmas trees, or manmade material such as PVC pipe to create fish attractors is not uncommon. Ensuring that these structures do not pose a safety issue to recreational users is an issue. For this reason, we discourage any and all fish attractors to be placed in Lake Gaston.
While Dominion Energy owns the shoreline and the lake floor, the appropriate State Agencies (NC Wildlife Resource Commission & VA Dept. Wildlife Resources) have responsibility for management of the fishery. Dominion will not give permission to any individual or group to place fish attractors in Lake Gaston. They recognize that this is a potential safety issue for recreational users. They will refer these requests to the state agencies.
The Lake Gaston Association (LGA) is opposed to the placement of fish attractors due to the mentioned safety concerns. We have asked that NC and VA agencies deny any requests to place fish attractors in Lake Gaston. We realize that in certain special circumstances state agencies or their partners may deploy fish attractors for research purposes and that these will be placed in adequate depth, secured, and identified with a buoy.
Lake Gaston recreational users all share a common interest for safe use of the lake. For this reason and the safety of all, we discourage the practice of deploying fish attractors.
Love snakes? Hate snakes? Would you like to learn more about the snakes of Lake Gaston and how to tell the difference between a venomous and non-venomous one? The guest speaker at the LGA's Annual Membership meeting was Carter Ricks. Carter is from Halifax, NC, and has had a passion for reptiles and amphibians since a young age. He has a bachelor's degree from NC State University in Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, with a concentration in Wildlife Biology. He is currently a master's student at Western Carolina University, hoping to receive a degree in Biology this summer, with a concentration in Evolutionary Ecology. He has been a member of the NC Herpetological Society for several years and his presentation focused on copperheads, cottonmouths/water moccasins, and the species often mistaken for them, highlighting the traits that can be used to tell them apart. He also went over some other species that live around the lake that people could encounter (black snakes, green snakes, etc.), explained why snakes are ecologically important and helpful to people, plus dispelled some myths (rattlesnakes in the area, etc.).
The business portion of the meeting runs until the 18:20 minute mark, which is when the snake presentation begins.
POWER IN NUMBERS! At their Monday May 6th County Commissioners meeting it was announced that county support for the volunteer fire departments and a fire district tax increase are now off the table for the upcoming fiscal year (24-25).
The LGA along with numerous taxpayers voiced opposition to the defund proposal at the meeting. We appreciate all the support in opposition to the proposal and are proud of the service our volunteer firefighters provide our community.
Support from the Water Safety Council and the 911 Task Force was greatly appreciated.
Lake Gaston Association Business Members should be on the lookout in the coming weeks for new window decals being delivered either in person by an LGA Board member, or by mail.
Gus's Diner's Assistant Manager Morris and Tina, one of their fantastic servers, proudly display our new LGA Business Member decal. Gus's Diner is one of our newest members and is located in the Food Lion shopping center. LGA Marketing & Membership Chairman Brian Goldsworthy can attest that "the food is fantastic!"
We thank all of our business members who realize without the lake, most of us probably wouldn’t be here.
The LGA is pleased to announce that the April 3, 2024, Membership Meeting with Jessica Baumann from NC State was recorded and is available for viewing on the LGA YouTube Channel by clicking on the link below. This is a new feature for members of the LGA and the Lake Gaston community who are not able to attend our monthly meetings. This is our first effort and realize that the audio might be a little difficult for some to hear, but turning up the volume on your device should help. We welcome your feedback on this new feature and hope you find value in the effort! Make sure to subscribe to the LGA YouTube Channel to show your support and click on the bell icon to enable notifications when new videos are posted.
