Lake Houston - 2022 Survey Report

Prepared by Dylan Kwak, and Niki Ragan-Harbison
Inland Fisheries Division - College Station/Houston District

This is the authors' summary from a 38-page report. For a copy of the complete report, use the download link in the sidebar.

Fish populations in Lake Houston were surveyed in 2022 using electrofishing and trap netting and in 2023 using gill netting. Anglers were surveyed from March 2023 through May 2023 with a creel survey. Historical data are presented with the 2022-2023 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. Habitat features consisted of standing timber, rocks, native and invasive submerged aquatic plants.

Management History

All sport fishes at Lake Houston are regulated under statewide length and bag limits. Important sport fish include White Bass, Largemouth Bass, White Crappie, Black Crappie, Blue Catfish, and Channel Catfish. Primary productivity and habitat have been limited and impacted by silt loading. 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. Aside from efforts to increase habitat the management plan from the 2018 survey report included stocking Florida Largemouth Bass to continuously increase the Florida genetics within the reservoir. Florida Largemouth Bass were stocked in 2018 and 2020, and Lone Star Bass in 2022 and 2023.

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 remains an important segment of the Lake Houston fishery, comprising 32.3% of all angling effort.
• White Bass: Thirty White Bass were captured in 2022-2023 which is an increase from 2018-2019 were only 20 fish were captured. Poor spring flows, spawning habitat, sedimentation, and sampling locations impacted the data. Past creel surveys recorded directed angling effort toward temperate bass species, but none was documented in 2013-2014, 2019 or Spring 2023.
• Largemouth Bass: Genetic analysis indicates the percentage of pure Florida Largemouth Bass in Lake Houston has improved with recent stockings, however, overall Largemouth Bass abundance decreased. Anglers seeking Largemouth Bass made up 7.7% of all directed angling effort.
• Crappie: Both Black Crappie and White Crappie are present in Lake Houston. The percentage of anglers seeking crappie, total crappie harvest and trap net catch decreased in 2023 compared to 2019.

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, by TPWD.
• TPWD will assist the City of Houston and the Coastal Water Authority with their control efforts whenever possible.
• If there are improvements to the habitat and water quality Florida Largemouth Bass genetics will be increased by stocking Lone Star Bass, which are 2nd generation offspring of pure Florida strain ShareLunker Largemouth Bass.
• Additional Largemouth Bass genetic information will be gained by working with marinas and tournament anglers to collect samples of fish 4 pounds or larger.
• A river above creel, targeting river access points will be used to determine the presence or absence of a White Bass targeted fishery to support the need for additional White Bass sampling and management efforts.

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