McDaniel Lake is a 300 acres (1.2 km²) source of water for the city of Springfield, Missouri

Springfield, Missouri

Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of...

 currently owned and operated by City Utilities of Springfield as their public water source. Despite being 5 miles (8 km) north of the city limits, the Springfield Police Department has primary jurisdiction over the lake, shorelines and corresponding city-owned land (the utility is fully owned by the City of Springfield).

Recreational activities

McDaniel Lake is considered a "restricted" lake meaning boating, floating, swimming and docks are not allowed on the water surface. Fishing, however is allowed and encouraged off of the 50 yards (45.7 m) concrete bridge running west to east over the lake at one of its smaller sections.

Lake creation and etymology

McDaniel Lake was created by impounding the Little Sac River in 1929, making it one of the oldest man-made dams in the area, with the dam at Fellows Lake being built in 1957. The McDaniel Lake dam was raised to increase lake-water storage in 1992, making it more visible from the solitary bridge.

Fishing and accessibility

The lake is only accessible by vehicle at two points: one being Farm Roads 145/151 and a second at a smaller crossing on Farm Road 159. Both roads contain large bridges from which people can fish off of, though the Farm Road 145/151 bridge is popularized as being a better fishing location.

The lake boasts a variable amount of species of fish including carp

Carp

Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...

, small mouth bass and large mouth bass, white bass

White bass

The white bass or sand bass The white bass or sand bass The white bass or sand bass (MoroneIt is the state fish of Oklahoma.- Range :White bass are distributed widely across the United States, particularly in the midwest. They are very abundant in Pennsylvania and the area around Lake Erie...

, channel catfish

Channel catfish

Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States they are the most fished catfish species with approximately 8...

 and several sunfish

Sunfish

-Saltwater fishes:*Molidae, family of Ocean Sunfishes*Opah, family Lampridae; two species-Freshwater fishes:* Pygmy sunfish, six members of the genus Elassoma* Centrarchidae, a perciform family of about 27 species...

. The lake itself is quickly gathering attention as being a top site in Southwest Missouri for fishing due to its serenity and peacefulness.

Criminal activities

The bridge on Farm Road 145/151 generated national attention when a 5-year-old girl was thrown over the side of the bridge into the cooling fall waters by an unidentified man on September 5, 2006. Greene County Sheriff Deputies were called to the lake at 5:30 a.m. after three fishermen heard a splash and saw a man speed away from the bridge. Two of the fishermen dove into the water to rescue the girl with success. Earlier in the day the girl's mother had called authorities after she and the girl's babysitter had discovered that the young child had gone missing.