Lewisville Reservoir - 2007 Survey Report

Prepared by Thomas Hungerford and Raphael Brock
Inland Fisheries Division
District 2-D, Fort Worth, 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 Lewisville Reservoir were surveyed in 2007 using electrofishing, and trap nets and in 2008 using gill nets. This report summarizes the results of the surveys and contains a management plan for the reservoir based on those findings.

Reservoir Description

Lewisville Reservoir is a 29,592-acre impoundment constructed on the Elm Fork of the Trinity River by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1954 to provide flood control, municipal and industrial water, and recreation. The lower end of Lewisville Reservoir is surrounded by urban development and is 25 miles northwest of Dallas, Texas in Denton County. The upper end of the reservoir is experiencing rapid development as well. The reservoir contains 640,986 acre-feet of water at conservation elevation (522 ft. mean sea level), has a mean depth of 21.7 feet, and has a maximum depth of 67.0 feet. Angler and boat access is adequate. There is one handicap specific facility on the reservoir. At the time of sampling the fishery habitat was primarily nondescript, gravel shorelines, and standing timber. Lewisville Reservoir has been part of the TPWD Habitat Improvement Initiative since 1998; however, because of water level fluctuations there has been limited success. Mitigation efforts are under way to restore 123 acres of standing timber in the Hickory Creek arm of the reservoir. The habitat was clear cut in 2006 by a land developer when a prolonged drought exposed the lake bed.

Management History

Important sport fish include largemouth bass, white crappie, white bass, palmetto bass, and blue and channel catfish. All species are managed with statewide regulations. Palmetto bass are stocked annually at a rate of 5 fish per acre. A ShareLunker largemouth bass was caught at Lewisville in November of 2005. ShareLunker largemouth bass were stocked in the spring of 2006. Florida largemouth bass were stocked in 2006 and 2007.

Fish Community

• Prey species: Gizzard and threadfin shad are in great abundance in the reservoir. Bluegill and longear sunfish are also very abundant as prey but few fish over 6 inches are available for anglers.
• Catfishes: The blue catfish population continues to be good while the relative abundance of channel catfish declined since previous surveys. No flathead catfish were sampled during annual gill netting.
• Temperate basses: White bass catch rates nearly doubled from the previous two surveys. Palmetto bass catch rates slightly increased over the previous survey. Five year classes of palmetto bass were collected in 2008.
• Black basses: The spotted bass population has remained relatively stable from previous surveys with the size distribution being good. The largemouth bass population has dramatically increased in abundance from the previous surveys, likely due to major water level increase coupled with a stocking of Florida largemouth bass. Size distribution is skewed towards smaller fish.
• Crappie: The white crappie population declined over previous surveys. Black crappie relative abundance increased since the previous survey with mostly sub-stock fish collected.

Management Strategies

• Stock palmetto bass at a rate of 5/acre annually.
• Conduct annual creel survey in 2011-2012.
• Assist USACE and LAERF with habitat mitigation project regarding habitat loss in winter of 2006.
• General monitoring with gill netting will be conducted every two years.
• Electrofishing and trap netting surveys will be conducted in 2011-2012, when the next report will be written.

Performance Report as required by Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act Texas Federal Aid Project F-30-R-33 Statewide Freshwater Fisheries Monitoring and Management Program