LEXINGTON, N.C. (March 2, 2012) — The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission placed 20 fish attractors into Lake Thom-a-Lex in February to enhance habitat and improve fishing opportunities in the 650-acre reservoir, which is located in Davidson County. 

Fisheries technician Keith Hendrickson, along with other agency staff, placed 20 Mossback fish attractors throughout the lake on Feb. 1, sinking several near the fishing piers, which should help anglers fishing from the bank and piers catch more fish. Fish attractors are marked by white buoys with orange stripes. 

GPS coordinates for the fish attractors are:

                   Latitude                    Longitude

 Unlike Christmas trees or other woody structure often used as fish attractors, Mossback fish attractors are made of plastic so they won’t decompose and, Hendrickson added, they should last for years. 

“Artificial structures are not a new thing to Thom-a-Lex,” Hendrickson said. “The lake was the first in the state to get fish attractors like this, placed by the Commission about 20 years ago.”  

Lake Thom-a-Lex has an excellent largemouth bass fishery and good fisheries for crappie, according to Hendrickson. Anglers also report good catches of channel catfish and panfish, such as bluegill and redbreast sunfish. The Commission stocks hybrid striped bass (Bodie bass) annually to provide an additional fishery in the reservoir.  

The Commission worked with Davidson County Parks and Recreation to complete the project, which was funded through the Sport Fish Restoration Program.  

Lake Thom-a-Lex is open from sunrise to sunset, seven days a week. Anglers must check in at the office and purchase a permit before fishing from a boat or the fishing pier. For more information on Lake Thom-a-Lex, visit Davidson County Parks and Recreation. 

For more information on fishing in public, inland waters, visit www.ncwildlife.org/fishing.