Texas Fishing Suffers

The low water levels this spring in many North Texas reservoirs have had a significant effect on fish and anglers.

Most residents are well aware of the sweltering heat in the Lone Star State. The record high temperatures combined with an increase in population are causing some big problems for North Texas. Many of the core reservoirs, as well as recreational bodies of water, are far below what they should be. Lake Benbrook is about 20 percent below normal and Lake Granbury is to 50 percent below what it is supposed to be. The low water can cause problems for fish and wildlife affecting their habitat.

“With the water receding down you expose a certain amount of shoreline where aquatic plants like to grow, if the water is down for any extended period of time those plants can die off. So in a lake where the water levels tend to fluctuate you find less vegetation along the shoreline. There are some fish species that use that fringing shoreline habitat for spawning or mating, and when that habitat moves the plants are killed and that affects their capability to reproduce,” said Dr. James Grover professor of Biology at UT Arlington.

Extreme water loss, as well as a decreases in overall water quality, are just a few of the problems out lakes face.

“We’re not getting any input of precipitation while in this drought and we have evaporation. Without any fresh water input you get accumulation of various substances that can lower water quality,” said Dr. Matt Walsh professor of Biology at UT Arlington.

One thing that many experts agree on is that large amounts of water loss without any inflow tend to cause water quality to drop.

“So you have persistent evaporation of water, usually the reason is because you don’t have inflow of water coming in, and you have a constant withdrawal of water from either evaporation or drinking water. What that does is it tends to concentrate whatever is in the water, and that can lead to higher concentrations of things that are harmful,” Dr. Grover said.

These decreases in water quality can affect the fish that make the reservoir their home. This creates greater risk for those who would like to consume the fish within our area lakes as well.

“Regionally water quality has been an issue; there are a couple of lakes like Lake Worth that are catch and release only. They have restrictions on eating the fish because of the water quality these days,” said Jason Owen lake manager at Benbrook reservoir.

For many anglers the ability to get their boat in the water is the biggest problem of all. Lake Benbrook and Granbury have boat ramps that are all dried up, and at Lake Granbury many boats are high in the air where they use to float on the water with ease.

“There are very few spots that I can drop my boat in with the water being the way it is, and when I try to fish from the bank I spend a lot of my time getting hung up on all the stumps,” said Austin McCoy an angler at Lake Benbrook.

Without being able to launch a boat the local economy, that depends on the fishing tourism, suffers as well. Businesses that specialize in fishing equipment, such as bait shops and crappie houses, find themselves with fewer customers than they are accustomed to. Surrounding businesses that provide day to day goods such as gasoline, and food are also affected.

“At this point it’s an issue of access more than anything. With the lower water levels we’ve only got one or two boat ramps that are open. So being able to launch a boat and actually getting out there and hit the spots can have a pretty big impact. You lose not only the visitation here to the lake but also to the surrounding community. They don’t come buy gas in Benbrook or they don’t go and get groceries at the Wal-Mart down the street there is this kind of ripple effect,” Owen said.

With the livelihood of so many depending on these lakes, one begins to wonder is there anything that can be done to prevent them from drying up.

“I think the straightforward thing we need is more rain, but it’s not something that humans are readily capable of producing. Given the way climate is changing I’m not all that optimistic that lake levels will increase in the near future. Apparently drought conditions will be the new standard for reservoirs in North Texas,” Dr. Walsh said.

The issue of conservation is a subject in which some are divided. In order for the population to keep growing like it has been, local residents will have to learn to conserve water or find better ways to use the water they do have.

“The choices we make about power generation matter as well, some generating systems use more water than others. As far as water conservation efforts go they’re something we haven’t really thought of much and haven’t implemented until recently. We have to think seriously about that but we also have to think seriously about the kinds of agriculture we practice,” Dr. Grover said.

Conservation is something that we North Texans will have to start taking more seriously in the future. Many would like to preserve the lakes from a purely recreational standpoint.

“I want to be able to take my kids and grandkids out fishing on the lake. I want to be able to take them camping and hiking just as my grandfather used to do with me. If we don’t start doing a better job of keeping the lakes full there won’t be any lake to go to anymore,” said Neal Tawater local angler at Lake Benbrook.

Texas has seen many years and it will see many more, but if we want to keep on doing the things that are fore fathers and mothers did we’ll have to change the way we look at water. We also have to consider the impacts on wildlife and the surrounding communities going forward. For many, a favorite pastime growing up is fishing with the family and that seems like something we shouldn’t let go of so easily.