Downloads:

Lake Somerville 2008 Survey Report media download(PDF 447.7 KB)

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

 

Lake Somerville - 2008 Survey Report

Prepared by Jeff Henson and Mark Webb
Inland Fisheries Division
District 3-E, Bryan, Texas

This is the authors' summary from a 24-page report. For a copy of the complete report, use the download link in the sidebar.

Fish populations in Lake Somerville were surveyed in 2008 using electrofishing and trap netting and in 2009 using gill netting. This report summarizes the results of the surveys and contains a management plan for the reservoir based on those findings.

Reservoir Description

Lake Somerville is an 11,456-acre flood control reservoir constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Yegua Creek in Burleson, Lee, and Washington Counties, Texas. Principle tributaries are Middle Yegua, West Yegua, and Nails Creeks. Lake Somerville has a drainage area of approximately 1,006 square miles and a shoreline length of 104 miles.

Management History

Important sport fish include white bass, palmetto bass, largemouth bass, crappie, and blue and channel catfish. The management plan from 2005 included annual gill netting and annual stockings of palmetto bass. In June 2008, 296,657 Florida largemouth bass were stocked. During the 2008-2009 ShareLunker season, an angler contributed a largemouth bass weighing 13.6 pounds, the first contribution to the program from Lake Somerville and a new water body record for the lake. Crappie and catfish populations have been monitored every four years. A new lake record blue catfish was caught in spring 2009. Hydrilla was present along with native plants; however, we have received no complaints from recreational users regarding aquatic plants.

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-30-R-34 Statewide Freshwater Fisheries Monitoring and Management Program



Related Links: