Comanche Creek Reservoir - 2022 Survey Report

Prepared by John Tibbs and Michael S. Baird
Inland Fisheries Division - Waco District

This is the authors' summary from a 19-page report. For a copy of the complete report, use the download link in the sidebar.

Fish populations in Comanche Creek Reservoir (formerly Squaw Creek Reservoir) were surveyed in 2022 with an exploratory angler creel program, in which Luminant partners distributed creel cards to all anglers entering the park for a four-day period in October 2022, and another four-day period during March 2023. This report summarizes the results of the surveys and contains a management plan for the reservoir based on those findings.

Reservoir Description

Comanche Creek Reservoir is a 3,272-acre impoundment located on Comanche Creek in Hood and Somervell Counties. Comanche Creek Reservoir has a conservation pool elevation of 775 feet above mean sea level, a mean depth of 46 feet and maximum depth of 135 feet. Habitat consisted of natural shoreline, submerged timber, and scattered stands of cattail. Water level has been within two feet of conservation pool since July 2019.

Management History

Important sport fish include Largemouth Bass and Channel Catfish. Palmetto Bass have been stocked privately into the emergency shutdown reservoir for biological control of shad populations but are rarely observed in surveys. None were documented during the angler creel. The reservoir was closed to the public from 2001 to 2010 following security concerns following 9/11, and no fisheries work was conducted during that time. Electrofishing was discontinued after the fall 2010 survey due to excessively high conductivity resulting in poor catch rates. Gill net data was used to monitor Largemouth Bass and Channel Catfish populations in 2011, 2015 and 2019. Although Channel Catfish were generally well-represented in these surveys, gill netting was not an appropriate means to collect black bass, and netting efforts were also hampered by Tilapia bycatch (i.e., 32.4 fish/nn in 2019). Due to these issues, the 2019 management report opted to use angler creel data for all future monitoring of the sportfish populations. The reservoir was closed to the public again from early 2020 to 10/1/2022 due to Covid-19. Beginning in October 2022, an exploratory creel program was set-up with Luminant partners to collect information on angler preferences, effort, catch rates and species morphometrics. Other recent management efforts include maintaining aquatic invasive species (AIS) signage and educating constituents about the threat of AIS, especially Zebra Mussels, whenever possible..

Fish Community

• Channel Catfish: The Channel Catfish population consists primarily of fish less than 20” in length. It provides a high-quality angling opportunity with boat angler catch rates exceeding 1.6/h. About 28% of fishing effort was directed at Channel Catfish exclusively.
• Largemouth Bass: Anglers spent over 13 h/acre seeking Largemouth Bass. Approximately 99% of all bass caught were released. About 42% of all anglers at Comanche Creek Reservoir fished for Largemouth Bass.
• Tilapia: Anglers spent 4.1 h/acre seeking Tilapia. Virtually all Tilapia that were caught were harvested. About 13% of all anglers at Comanche Creek Reservoir fished for Tilapia.

Management Strategies

• Continue collecting data on Largemouth Bass and Channel Catfish with a creel during 2026 and 2027 and continue AIS activities as requested or needed by appropriate partners.
• Access and vegetation surveys will be conducted in 2026 pending new construction or other changes to the reservoir or its single access point.

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