Displaying items by tag: tennessee river trash

Professional angler Ish Monroe removes yet another bag of trash and a broken chair piece to take back to shore during a cleanup ahead of this weekend’s Bassmaster tournament on Fort Loudoun Lake.  Ben Pounds/Hellbender Press

Ahead of marquee Knoxville lake showdown, pro anglers fish trash for fish on

KNOXVILLE — The 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk will be in Knoxville March 24 through 26 with competition on the Tennessee River lakes of Fort Loudoun and Tellico. 

Ahead of the competition a crowd of volunteers, including several competitive anglers, were out working in the humblest way. They picked up garbage from the banks of Fort Loudoun in the Louisville area. 

The pros were joined by people associated with Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful and Yamaha Rightwaters, all of whom banded together to gather Fort Loudoun Lake’s garbage on Tuesday, March 21. They walked along an exposed shoreline, grabbing garbage both large and small. Among the larger recovered items were a traffic safety barrel, a broken chair and the ruins of an old boat.

This cleanup wasn’t just for the sake of preparing for the the tournament. It also represented a desire to conserve the river’s wildlife for its own sake.