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Lake Houston 2010 Survey Report media download(PDF 187 KB)

If you have difficulty accessing the information in this document, contact the TPWD Inland Fisheries Division for assistance.

 

Lake Houston - 2010 Survey Report

Prepared by Mark Webb and Michael S. Gore
Inland Fisheries Division
District 3-E, Bryan, Texas

This is the authors' summary from a 27-page report. For a copy of the complete report, use the download link in the sidebar.

Fish populations in Lake Houston were surveyed in 2010 using electrofishing and in 2011 using gill netting. Anglers were surveyed from June 2010 through May 2011 with a roving creel survey. This report summarizes the results of the surveys and contains a management plan for the reservoir based on those findings.

Reservoir Description

Lake Houston is a 12,240-acre reservoir constructed on the San Jacinto River by the City of Houston in 1954 to provide water for municipal and industrial purposes. Its location within the Houston metropolitan area results in heavy recreational use.

Management History

All sport fisheries at Lake Houston are regulated under statewide length and bag limits. For a number of years palmetto bass were stocked annually, but stockings were discontinued in 1999. Poor quality shallow-water habitat has limited survival of many sport fish species, particularly largemouth bass. Silt loading from improper sand and gravel mining techniques in the West Fork San Jacinto River is the primary cause of the shallow-water habitat losses. Efforts to mitigate the sedimentation including solar water circulators, native vegetation restoration, and legislative action to better regulate sand and gravel mining are underway.

Fish Community

Management Strategies

Sport Fish Restoration Logo

Performance Report as required by Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act Texas Federal Aid Project F-221-M-1 Statewide Freshwater Fisheries Monitoring and Management Program



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