Highlands Reservoir - 2015 Survey Report

Prepared by Niki Ragan, Alice Best and Mark Webb
Inland Fisheries Division – College Station-Houston District

This is the authors' summary from a 20-page report. For a copy of the complete report, use the download link in the sidebar.

Fish populations in Highlands Reservoir were surveyed in 2015 using electrofishing and trap netting and in 2016 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

Highlands Reservoir is a 1,437-acre impoundment and canal system located on Goose Creek in the San Jacinto River Basin. The reservoir is located approximately 1 mile upstream from McNair, Texas and two miles north of Interstate Highway 10 in east central Harris County. The reservoir is owned by the San Jacinto River Authority and has a normal capacity of about 3,800 acre-feet. The twelve-foot-high Highlands Reservoir Dam has a crest length of 37,000 feet; it was constructed by the Federal Works Agency in 1943. The reservoir is used for local water supply. Highlands Reservoir has moderate productivity. Habitat features consist of standing timber, riprap, and non-native vegetation.

Management History

Highlands Reservoir was opened to the public in 2015; therefore, no previous fisheries data had been collected. Previous management strategies were solely for water supply.

Fish Community

• Prey species: Threadfin Shad and to a lesser extent, Gizzard Shad, were both present in the reservoir. Longear Sunfish were moderately abundant providing an additional prey item to predator species. Several other sunfish species, including Bluegill, Green Sunfish, Redear Sunfish, and Warmouth were all present at low densities.
• Catfishes: Channel Catfish and Blue Catfish were both present in the reservoir. Initial survey results suggest Blue Catfish are more abundant.
• Temperate basses: Initial survey results suggested Yellow Bass and White Bass were present at low densities within the reservoir.
• Largemouth Bass: Few Largemouth Bass were collected.
• White Crappie: White Crappie were highly abundant with 88% being stock sized or larger.

Management Strategies

The primary goal is to continue to characterize the reservoir’s habitat and fish populations through surveys and to improve the fishery by continuing to stock Florida Largemouth Bass when hatchery production allows. Efforts will be made to inform the public about the negative impacts of aquatic invasive species. Standard monitoring surveys (trap net, gill net, electrofishing, habitat, and access) will be conducted again in 2019-2020 with additional vegetation surveys being conducted in 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019.

Performance Report as required by Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act Texas Federal Aid Project F-221-M-6 Inland Fisheries Division Monitoring and Management Program