Friends Of Douglas Lake

09/16/2026

Hey Friends! The sun is coming up a little later and the water level on Douglas Lake is dropping fast! That means it's almost time for us to get to work on our 2026/2027 fish habitat projects.

In the coming weeks we will be sharing our plans for a large scale project. To accomplish our goals for this project we will need your help.

We will be contacting all of our existing Volunteers over the next several weeks. So if you have already signed up, be on the lookout for a call from us.

If you have not signed up yet, and you want to get involved and contribute to the future of our lake - sign up today. Follow the link to our website and click on Volunteer. It's all there.

www.friendsofdouglaslake.com

Stay tuned. Lots of exciting news is on the way soon!

07/01/2026

We would like to thank our friend Amy Shrader for posting this awesome video about our organization. She did a great job putting together this informative reel. If you would like meet Buddy and Mark to learn more about Friends Of Douglas Lake, come by our booth at the Jefferson County Fair next week!

https://youtu.be/HW00YICH-sc?si=I-DgfCsjVSfLgY4b

06/30/2026

Buddy and I will be making an appearance at the Jefferson County Fair on Saturday July 11, 2026. Please stop by our booth to meet us, learn more about Friends Of Douglas Lake, our mission, and our plans for 2026/2027.

04/11/2026

Hello friends! It's been a minute. Just a quick post to let you know we just finished another shallow water project on private property. Our volunteer land owners have been so generous and accommodating. We have installed hundreds of donated Christmas trees all over the lake. By repurposing these trees we have created many "fish nurseries" to help young of the year fish to survive the first year of life. This habitat helps increase the fish population overall, whick as you know, is our goal.

We want to thank our good friend, and co-host of Woods & Waters Toby Cameron for helping complete this project. You can learn more about Toby on his page - https://www.facebook.com/share/1B1BELWnHj/?mibextid=wwXIfr

We are working on some exciting new projects for the fall of 2026. We will need our Volunteer team to help us. So if you have not signed up yet, and you want to get involved with our mission, go to our website and click the link.

03/27/2026

Buddy and I have been very busy since our last post. We have placed many more brush piles and other types of fish habitat in Douglas Lake. The water continues to rise as it does every year at this time. And that means our time to get our work done for the spring of 2026 is coming to end. But our work does not stop there! We will be doing appearances at various shows, festivals and events throughout the spring and summer to share our message and grow our organization. We will also be working with our partners at the TVA and the TWRA, along with private land owners, to develop bigger and better habitat projects for the fall of 2026. So stay tuned, we will have lots of exciting information to share over the coming weeks and months.

03/06/2026

We have reached 100 Followers!

The support we have received from our community and region has been oustanding. And we appreciate it more than words can express.

We have many exciting projects and events on the way for the 2026-2027 season. We will continue to share our work with all of you here on our FB page and on our You Tube channel.

02/23/2026

We wanted to take a minute to recognize, and thank, our FODL Team. With their help, guidance and cooperation we are able to accomplish our goals. So we when you see a TWRA or TVA worker or officer, please thank them for helping us and for protecting Douglas Lake and the rest of our region.

From left to right: Buddy Bumpus (co-founder FODL), Russ Young (TWRA), Alan Beach (TWRA), Steve Hixon (TWRA), Mark Gromlovits (co-founder FODL), John Hammonds (TWRA), Darrell Henshaw (Bucks n Bass).

Not in the photo unfortunately: Mike Nelson (Bucks n Bass), shannon O'Quinn (TVA) and Toby Cameron (FODL pro staff).

02/20/2026

Buddy and I were fortunate to meet another generous land owner that gave us permission to place some brush piles.

We always look for gravel beds, points, drop offs, ledges, and feeder creeks or springs to place habitat in or near by. If we find one or two of these key elements we are happy. To find them all in one spot is rare. And that was the case in this location.

We placed 25 trees across this secondary point, adjacent to the feeder creek at an ideal elevation for the young of the year fish to use as a "nursery".

We will be visiting these brush piles and others we have placed over the spring and summer. We hope to capture under water video to show the small fish thriving and surviving as a result of this effort.

Remember, you can do this too. One small tree placed around your dock will creat a micro eco system that the fish will use and benefit from. If you need our help or advice, reach out to us. We will be glad to help.

02/14/2026

We took advantage of a break in the winter weather to put in a few more brush piles this week.

Private land owners have answered our call for permission to create new fish habitat on their property. And we are super grateful to all that have reached out to us. We will do our very best to get as many projects in this year as we can.

Buddy and I worked with some new friends last week to install brush piles on a rocky creek channel edge with gravel beds above it. This is going to be a great "fish nursery" in the coming months, and for years to come.

We are currently working on several large potential reef projects with private land owners. We hope to share our plans within the next few months. Very exciting stuff! So stay tuned!

02/03/2026

We appreciate the support of our friends at Fanchers Campground. You are like family to us and we know you share our passion for the lake, which is clear through your family legacy. It is with support from friends like the Fanchers family that we will reach our goals and make Douglas Lake the premier fishing destination it once was and can be again.

Here at Fanchers, we provide a place for fishermen and fish to stay comfortably. 🎣🐟

We’ve seen firsthand the habitat work happening on Douglas Lake—reef balls, old Christmas trees, and brush piles all being used to create nurseries and provide cover for young fish.

It’s exciting to see TWRA partner with Friends of Douglas Lake to continue enhancing fish habitats and strengthening the lake’s fishery for generations to come. As a family-owned business on the lake, we truly appreciate the care and stewardship being poured into this special resource.

We also look forward to expanding our existing fish habitat on our land as opportunities arise. A healthy lake benefits everyone—from anglers to families making memories on the water.

📰 Read the full news story:
https://www.wvlt.tv/2026/01/26/twra-partners-with-nonprofit-enhance-fish-habitats-douglas-lake/

👉 Learn more about Friends of Douglas Lake and how to get involved:
https://www.friendsofdouglaslake.com