Body
Kansas City, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and partners added 75 sunken brush piles to Smithville Lake for fish habitat on March 20. This project is a collaboration between MDC, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and Clay County Parks, Recreation, and Historic Sites .
Brush piles were placed on the east side of the lake, north of Route W, on the northeast side of the waterfowl refuge zone. That’s where MDC had the former Trimble Wildlife Area before the lake was built.
Creating new fish habitat required several personnel, some heavy equipment, large boats, and four barges. Crews cut down unwanted trees on public land and hauled them to a shore loading area. The trees were placed on barges, tied down, weighed down, and sunk at various locations offshore.
Brush piles provide refuges for juvenile fish and bait fish. They also attract sport fish like bass and crappie. GPS locations of brush piles will be available to anglers on MDC’s MO Fishing app.
For information about the MO Fishing app or to download it, visit http://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZJZ. For information about Smithville Lake, visit http://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZWJ.
