Lake Houston - 2018 Survey Report

Prepared by Mark Webb and Niki Ragan
Inland Fisheries Division - College Station/Houston District

This is the authors' summary from a 36-page report. For a copy of the complete report, use the download link in the sidebar.

Fish populations in Lake Houston were surveyed in 2018 using electrofishing and trap netting and in 2019 using gill netting. Anglers were surveyed from March 2019 through May 2019 with a creel survey. Historical data are presented with the 2018-2019 data for comparison. 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 10,160-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 several years, Palmetto Bass were stocked annually, but stockings were discontinued in 1999. Poor shallow-water habitat has limited abundance of many sport fish species, particularly Largemouth Bass. Silt loading from improper sand and gravel mining techniques in the West Fork of the San Jacinto River, upstream of the reservoir, is the primary cause of the shallow-water habitat losses. Efforts to mitigate the sedimentation include solar water circulators, native vegetation restoration, legislative action to better regulate sand and gravel mining, and dredging to mitigate the effects of Hurricane Harvey.

Fish Community

• Prey species: Gizzard and Threadfin Shad, Bluegill, Longear Sunfish, and Inland Silversides were the predominant prey species in Lake Houston. Prey species abundance was adequate to support sport fish.
• Catfishes: Blue and Channel Catfish were both present in Lake Houston, and both provided fisheries. Catfish angling was an important segment of the Lake Houston fishery, comprising 20% of all angling effort.
• White Bass: Gill net catches of White Bass had declined in past years, likely due to poor spring inflows needed for spawning, but increased with higher spring inflows in 2019. Past creel surveys recorded directed angling effort toward temperate bass species, but none was documented in 2013-2014 or in Spring 2019.
• Largemouth Bass: Genetic analysis indicates the percentage of pure Florida Largemouth Bass in Lake Houston has improved with recent stockings. Anglers seeking Largemouth Bass made up 11% of all directed angling effort.
• Crappie: Both Black Crappie and White Crappie occur in Lake Houston, but White Crappie were more abundant. The percentage of anglers seeking crappie and total crappie harvest increased over the last 4 years, while trap net catch has decreased since the 2013 sample.

Management Strategies

• Statewide length and bag limits will continue to be used to regulate sport fish harvest.
• Cooperative efforts with the City of Houston and the Lake Houston Sports and Recreation Foundation (LHSRF) will continue to address water quality and habitat issues.
• Exotic vegetation will continue to be monitored, and TPWD will assist the City of Houston and the Coastal Water Authority with their control efforts whenever possible.

Performance Report as required by Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act Texas Federal Aid Project F-221-M-5 Inland Fisheries Division Monitoring and Management Program