Club's fisherees fund park improvements for all

The Cedar Rapids Bassmasters' strong partnership with the Pleasant Creek State Recreation Area has resulted in a modern pavilion and fish cleaning station that benefit all park users.

“They have been really good friends and partners, completing projects that we could not have done otherwise,” said park manager Joan Zubrod.

The pavilion will be the headquarters Sunday for the fishing club's 29th annual ice fisheree, the proceeds of which will continue to benefit users of the popular recreation area near Palo.

For years it was just a picnic shelter that stood open to the elements near the launching ramp on the south side of Pleasant Creek Lake.

Then the local Bassmasters club members, through their labor and proceeds from the fisherees, transformed it into an enclosed, electrified pavilion suitable for family reunions and wedding receptions, Zubrod said.

“That's really our only lodge. Since the upgrade, it has been a source of revenue for the park and a great resource for the general public,” she said.

It's been popular for reunions and receptions in part because the park and the lake provide hours of recreation for children, Zubrod said.

Just last fall, club members rejuvenated the park's fish-cleaning station, which had been rendered inoperable by misuse or vandalism.

The station features a 7.5 horsepower electric grinder, like a giant garbage disposal, for processing fish waste. The park replaced it the first time it burned out, but could not afford to do so the second time. “It sat unused all last summer,” Zubrod said.

The Bassmasters, with help from Acme and Janda electric companies in Cedar Rapids, completed a total repair and redesign of the facility, with a rebuilt control panel and overload protection.

“We now have a safer, more convenient and better functioning fish cleaning station,” said Zubrod.

The club's objective, according to president Thad Takes, is to promote fishing and to improve opportunities for Eastern Iowa anglers.

“We are all pretty much catch and release, but we think the fish cleaning station will enhance the enjoyment of many other Pleasant Creek anglers. We just hope they don't clean many bass in it,” Takes said.

The fisheree runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The biggest fish in each of several species will earn merchandise prizes valued at $100, and a drawing will be held for the $500 grand prize.