MDC works with partners to improve fish habitat at Table Rock and Bull Shoals reservoirs

 

Missouri Department of Conservation staff a
re currently working on improving fish habitat at Table Rock
and Bull Shoals reservoirs by dropping trees
 (pictured above) at select sites around these lakes.

Brush piles will serve as fish attractors.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Creating a spot that attracts fish is a great way to attract anglers.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is refurbishing existing underwater fish habitat brush piles throughout Table Rock and Bull Shoals reservoirs and establishing habitat at new sites in these two popular lakes. This work is being funded with a grant MDC received from Bass Pro Shops to replenish and establish fish habitat sites at Table Rock and Bull Shoals.

The origins of the habitat improvement project currently underway at Table Rock and Bull Shoals can be traced back to the National Fish Habitat Initiative (NFHI), a project that went from 2007-2013 and involved MDC, Bass Pro Shops, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and many other partners. This project resulted in the establishment of 2,024 fish habitat structures at Table Rock and 193 in Bull Shoals.

The grant MDC received from Bass Pro Shops in 2022 is to refurbish 645 of the brush piles on Table Rock and 35 sites on Bull Shoals to ensure that they remain viable fish attractor locations. An underwater brush pile serves multiple roles for fish: It can provide nursery habitat and protective cover for some young fish, as well as attracting larger, predatory sportfish species such as crappie and bass. This conglomeration of fish, in turn, translates into great fishing spots for anglers.

“Table Rock and Bull Shoals are aging reservoirs and much of the woody structure in these lakes is deteriorating,” said MDC Fisheries Management Biologist Shane Bush, who manages Table Rock Lake. “Fish habitat projects like this one and the NFHI project allow MDC to be proactive in helping to maintain the quality fish populations these reservoirs have and ensure that fishing remains great for anglers in the future.”

The current project began in November 2022 and will continue through December of this year. So far, 371 brush piles have been rebuilt and 19 new brush piles have been established at Table Rock. At Bull Shoals, 27 brush piles have been rebuilt and six new brush piles have been added.

The GPS locations for these sites can be found on the MDC website at https://mdc.mo.gov/fishing/where-fish.  Other fishing information can be found at mdc.mo.gov.

MDC improving fish habitat at Norfork and Bull Shoals lakes

More than 100 tree bundles to be sunk at select locations on reservoirs.

WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Good fishing begins with good habitat. Increasing angling enjoyment is the primary objective of a habitat improvement project currently underway on the Missouri portions of Bull Shoals and Norfork lakes. This project – which is a cooperative effort of the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), Bass Pro Shops, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation – is designed to increase the number of fish habitat structures in the Missouri portions of these popular fishing destinations in the south-central part of the state.

MDC manages the fisheries of both of these U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoirs. The periodic fluctuation of lake levels, which are part of power generation and flood control operational procedures at these reservoirs, hinder aquatic vegetation from becoming established. Also, existing fish habitat at Bull Shoals and Norfork is deteriorating. Thus, there’s a need for new habitat structures that will attract various species of sportfish for anglers.

The project’s goal is to install at least 115 structures for both lakes combined. Each structure consists of four to eight eastern red cedar trees grouped together. Structures extend perpendicular to the shoreline at water depths of 10-30 feet in coves and 20-40 feet in the main lake areas. Elongated structures are used because these shapes blend angler accessibility and sportfish use with the constraints of a fluctuating water level throughout the year.

To date, 21 structures have been placed in Norfork Lake and 49 structures have been put in the Theodosia Arm of Bull Shoals Lake. MDC Fisheries staff is currently working in the Big Creek Arm of Bull Shoals Lake and also plans work in the following areas of Bull Shoals Lake: Shoal Creek Arm, Elbow Creek Arm, Horseshoe Bend, Mincy, and Highway K. Regular updates will be made to online maps after each area has been completed. Any placement of fish habitat structures by the public is prohibited without written authorization from the Corps of Engineers.

Anglers will be able to find the GPS coordinates of structure locations through MDC’s MO Fishing App, the MO Fishing Interactive Map, or by contacting MDC’s Ozark Regional Office in West Plains at 417-256-7161. Once the structures are in place, shore-line signage describing the project will also be at some of the structure locations.