GALLERY: FMD completes fourth habitat restoration of 2022 on Lake Bryan in Texas

The Major League Fishing Fisheries Management Division in partnership with Berkley Labs completed its fourth Minn Kota habitat restoration project of 2022 last week with the support of Humminbird. This project was on Lake Bryan in Bryan, Texas, and was a collaboration with local anglers, Texas Parks and Wildlife and Bryan Texas Utilities Department (BTUD).

The project included the deployment of MossBack Fish Habitat products including 14 40-inch Conservation Cubes, 12 Spawning Beds, 21 Trophy Tree XLs, and 21 Safe Haven XLs. In addition to the MossBack product, BTUD provided 33 concrete trash receptacles to be used as catfish spawning habitat. Lowe’s of Bryan, Texas, donated 100 cinder blocks to weigh down the MossBack structures and pea gravel to fill the spawning bed trays. The crew deployed the extra 44 cinder blocks as a cinder block reef once all the MossBacks were in place.

Texas Parks and Wildlife provided their brand-new habitat barge to aid in the deployment of the habitat, built by local angler volunteers, BTU, TPWD and MLF staff. The two-day project was a shining example of TPWD’s commitment to angler, industry and agency collaborative projects. Over the next several years MLF Fisheries Management Division expects this project to show an improvement in catfish, crappie, largemouth bass and bluegill spawning survival, adult population density and catchability.

The FMD is currently planning two habitat projects for the beginning of 2023 and looks forward to announcing them very soon. For GPS locations of this project, visit TPWD or BTU websites in the coming weeks.