Feb. 9, 2009

Weiss Lake Lodge home to colossal crappie

By Roy Mitchell

CENTRE — Images of the crappie have been spied on city hall signs, municipal water towers, and stuffed on the walls of numerous local convenience stores and restaurants for decades, here in the “Crappie Capital of the World.” Even diminutive deposits of inch-long crappie fingerlings pouring into the waters of Weiss Lake garner front page news.

Crappie images of all styles and sizes may indeed seem ubiquitous around these parts, but there's a new one on Cedar Bluff Road in Centre that surely dwarfs all the rest.

Set to open next week, the Weiss Lake Lodge features a super-sized crappie statue that is sure to add to the novelty of a newly-bustling area in north Centre. (Other recent enhancements include the new Gadsden State-Cherokee campus and the Centre Softball Complex.)

Owner Jerry Culberson said the idea for purchasing the 800-pound fiberglass statue and concrete base sprang from a visit he made to a local park while on a fishing trip to Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee.

“They have a fiberglass crappie on display there that was installed in the 70's,” he said.

Later, when Culberson purchased the property in Centre to build the lodge, he envisioned not just a motel, but one that “had to do with Cherokee County, Centre, and the 'Crappie Capital of the World.'”

Culberson said he couldn't think of anything else that would capture the area's tourism-like feel better than a huge, fiberglass fish. So, in the summer of 2008, with the help of a cordial game warden, Culberson made a few telephone calls and learned the name of the company that produced the Tennessee statue. Shortly thereafter, he made a purchase of his own.

The company that supplies much of North America with such monstrous fiberglass curiosities is called FAST Corporation (www.fastkorp.com). FASTCorp specializes in fiberglass oddities of all shapes and sizes, from 54-foot baseballs to Paul Bunyan statues to shark pool slides. The company prides itself on meticulous precision and statue longevity.

“When we first make a mold, someone spends four to eight weeks carving the figure out of foam, usually with a fillet knife,” said FASTCorp spokesman Darren Schauf. “It's a tedious process. The sculptors just chip away until they get what they need. There are statues out there that are as old as our plant, and we started in the mid-70's.”

FASTCorp hauled Culberson's crappie on an open trailer all the way from their plant in Wisconsin.

“I was told a lot of pictures were taken by folks along the way to Centre,” said Culberson.

After its arrival, the statue sat protected in storage until it was installed in mid-January. It soon began turning heads on Highway 9.

Culberson plans to place a plaque at the base of the statue with information about Weiss Lake. Despite the angling theme, Culberson insists that the Weiss Lake Lodge won't just cater to fishermen.

Culberson said his own fishing experiences at other lakes have taken him to many motels, and he used his experiences to create a facility fishermen, in particular, would find convenient.

“Traveling to fishing tournaments, I know a lot of what motels do not have for fishermen,” he said. “We took in mind visitors to the college for tournaments, conferences, concerts, and other events, but we will still make the fishermen happy.”

Consequently, Culberson's new motel includes amenities that he hopes will keep fishermen coming back.

“We have a large parking lot with 30 special 40-foot-long spaces for vehicle and boat trailer parking and recharging batteries,” he said. “The entire property is fenced for security with video camera surveillance on all outside areas.”

Operations at the Weiss Lake Lodge will be a family affair. Jerry's son, B.J., will serve as general manager and Jerry's bother, Mike, will be the on-site facility manager. Room rates start at $60 a night for double occupancy.

Weiss Lake Lodge may attract business with its reasonable rates, but Culberson insists that his new lodge is – pardon the pun – not just another crappy motel. There's certainly nothing fishy about some of the lodge's amenities. They include eight Angler's Special rooms, 32-inch flat screen TVs in all rooms, an in-ground swimming pool with privacy fence, and a pavilion for outside activities. Long-term plans include a fish-cleaning area and cabins behind the motel.

“A nice place, even if I do say so myself,” said Culberson.

Culberson said the colossal crappie has yet to be named. He hopes to receive community in-put for an appropriate moniker for his new attention-getting landmark. Culberson also plans to further attract the focus of lodge passersby at certain times of the year.

“We're going to decorate it for the seasons,” he said. “When we give directions to the Weiss Lake Lodge, we will simply tell people to look for the big fish on Highway 9.”