TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida B.A.S.S. Nation plans to present a special gift to Gov. Rick Scott for his support of fishing, hatcheries and tournaments in Florida.
“We heard that Gov. Scott is a big supporter of fishing and fishermen’s rights in the state of Florida, so we wanted to show our support to him,” said Eamon Bolton, Florida B.A.S.S. Nation (FBN) conservation director. The FBN’s gift for the governor is a fishing jersey with Scott’s name and the B.A.S.S. logo on it.
Gov. Scott has been invited to fish in an FBN tournament and the jersey will be presented to him at the tournament or during a special presentation by Tom Champeau, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) freshwater fisheries director in Tallahassee.
“He wants to participate in one of our fishing tournaments if his schedule allows,” said Bolton. “He has fished in some tournaments in the past and loves both saltwater and freshwater fishing.”
Bolton showed the jersey to Champeau during the FWC annual meeting, June 12-13. “I was there regarding my program that I created called ReBaits," said Bolton. ReBaits is a program that recycles soft plastic lures to keep the discards out of the water.
The FWC commissioners approved the recycling program, in which the FWC will work with the FBN to set up collection bins for used soft plastic baits at all launch ramps in Florida. The program is still in the planning stages with no starting date set yet.
“We hope to have something in writing within the next month or two,” said Bolton.