On Friday, the department began placing fish habitats in the upper mile of the lake.

A press release said periods of heavy hydropower generation below the dam leaves “trout vulnerable to swift currents and (limits) fishing access for wade and bank fishermen.”

Newly installed structures in the lake will include boulder clusters, which should provide trout areas to rest and feed and provide anglers with more accessible fish habitats during periods of generation.

The project will be in conjuction with a drawdown of Lake Taneycomo requested by Empire District Electric Co., which will enable improvements to be constructed on Powersite Dam.

The department “plans to utilize this drawdown period to use large equipment near the lake to place the boulder clusters,” the release said.

Conservation officials will be at the project site to monitor the work and answer any questions from the public.

The department will use machinery to move the boulders into place, however, fishing will still be permitted in areas near where the work is being done.

The project is expected to conclude by the following Friday, Nov. 4.

The project is part of the Table Rock Lake National Fish Habitat Initiative, which is designed to maintain and improve fish habitats in Table Rock Lake and Lake Taneycomo.

This project is a joint effort of the Missouri Department of Conservation, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Bass Pro Shops, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other organizations.

It is designed to be a pilot project for a broader national program focused on habitat protection and restoration in reservoirs throughout the country.Tyler Francke

Visit mdc.mo.gov for more information on Missouri fishing.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

Game Fish Bundles The new game fish habitat bundles the Shafer and Freeman Lakes Environmental Conservation Corp. (SFLECC) is placing in the lakes will provide shelter for bass, wall-eyed pike, and other game fish. SFLECC executive director Daryl Johns is shown lowering a bundle into Lake Freeman. The bundles are made from tree branches and weighted with anchor blocks. Photo providedIn its continuing efforts to improve the survivability of game fish stocks in Lakes Freeman and Shafer, the Shafer and Freeman Lakes Environmental Conservation Corporation (SFLECC) has begun constructing and planting wooden fish habitat bundles in Lake Freeman. The bundles are designed to provide deep water cover for small game fish; thus providing places for the fish to hide from larger predators, to find food, to grow, and to reproduce. The bundles have the same function as weed beds and reefs. They are constructed of tree branches and bound together into 3 ft. high by 6 foot long bundles. The bundles are then attached to anchoring blocks and dropped into water 10 ft. or more deep.

“Ironically, we are constructing the habitat bundles out of materials that are among the same types of hazardous debris materials that our trash crew removes from the lakes each spring and summer, SFLECC executive director Darryl Johns said. “In the future we hope to recycle some of the wood collected from lake surfaces into construction of more fish habitat bundles, rather than burning it or hauling it to a landfill. The branch wood that we use for the bundles is less costly than using man made materials like plastics, rubber, or metals, and it does not pollute the water as it degrades. Through the wood bundles we think that we have found a cost effective, environmentally friendly way to help increase the game fish population in the Lakes.”

Initially SFLECC has secured permission from the Indiana DNR to place groups of three bundles at six different locations on Lake Freeman. SFLECC is supplying the materials and labor. Local bass fishing clubs are helping to identify the locations. The new game fish habitat bundles will supplement 22 igloo-like fish pods that SFLECC placed in Lake Freeman in 2009. “The 22 pods were placed in shallow water. They work, but cost too much to use in large numbers,” Johns said.

SFLECC is initially placing habitat bundles in Lake Freeman because that lake has less natural habitat to support game fish. There are fewer bays and natural weed beds on Freeman than on Lake Shafer. Both lakes are manmade and part of the Tippecanoe River system. As such, their bottom characteristics are different than bottoms of natural lakes. The scouring action of currents, periodic lake drawdowns, and floods makes it difficult for plant life to catch on.

SFLECC is also eying possible locations on Lake Shafer to plant more habitat bundles. See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

The new structures will supplement the periodic fish stockings in the Lakes that is paid for by SFLECC, the IDNR, the Lake Shafer Welfare Association and local bass clubs. According to Merle Peterson, SFLECC board president, “We were once concerned that we might be losing some of the stocked fish in the lakes through the dams. However, the preliminary data from our two-yearold fish tagging, and tracking program indicates that the number of game fish that make their way through the Norway and Oakdale dams and down into the lower Tippecanoe River is negligible. The loss of fish from the lakes into the Tippy is not as great as we feared. That tells us that the money we spend on fish stocking and habitat improvement is worthwhile.”