Bonham City Reservoir 2008 Survey Report (PDF 370.5 KB)
If you have difficulty accessing the information in this document, contact the TPWD Inland Fisheries Division for assistance.
Bonham City Reservoir - 2008 Survey Report
Prepared by Bruce Hysmith and John H. Moczygemba
Inland Fisheries Division
District 2-A,
Pottsboro, Texas
This is the authors' summary from a 21-page report. For a copy of the complete report, use the download link in the sidebar.
Fish populations in Bonham City Reservoir were surveyed in 2008 using an electrofisher and trap nets and in 2009 using gill nets. Habitat was surveyed in 2004. This report summarizes the results of the surveys and contains a management plan for the reservoir based on those findings.
Reservoir Description
Bonham City Reservoir, a 1,020-acre impoundment on Timber Creek a tributary to Bois d’Arc Creek which is tributary to Red River in Fannin County Texas. Mean water level was 563 ft-msl, only 2 feet below conservation level (565 ft-msl) from June 2005 until May 2009. The reservoir has high nutrient productivity. Habitat features consisted of bulkhead, rip-rap, and native submerged and emergent aquatic vegetation.
Management History
Important sport fish include blue and channel catfish, largemouth bass, and black and white crappie. The management plan for the 2004 survey report included supplemental sampling for blue and channel catfish and largemouth bass. In 1969 and 1994, 51,634 advanced channel catfish fingerlings were stocked. In 1978 25,486 blue catfish were stocked and from 1996 through 1998 309,430 Florida largemouth bass fingerlings were stocked.
Fish Community
- Prey species: Electrofishing catch rate of gizzard shad was high. The relative abundance of prey-size gizzard shad (≤7-inches) was high and much improved from 2004. Threadfin shad catch remains high. Bluegill catch rate remained excellent.
- Catfishes: Gill net catch rate of blue catfish was modest and indicated very little change over the past eight years. All of the sample population was legal size and in good condition. Growth was slow and there was no recruitment. Gill net catch rate of channel catfish was good, but has declined over the previous eight years. Most of the sample population was legal size and in good condition. Growth was slow, but there was recruitment.
- Largemouth bass: Electrofishing catch rate of largemouth bass was excellent. Most of the sample population was sublegal, growth was slow, but the bass were in good condition and recruitment was high.
- Crappie: Trap net catch rate of white crappie was very low and has declined over the past four years. Condition was excellent for most individuals. The trap net catch rate of black crappie was also low, but exceeded white crappie and was consistent with previous years. Condition was excellent for most individuals.
Management Strategies
- Based on current information, Bonham City Reservoir should continue to be managed with existing fish harvest regulations.
- Stock blue catfish fingerlings annually from 2009 through 2011.
- Conduct supplemental trap netting in the fall of 2010 to monitor the crappie population.
- Notify controlling authority of excessive terrestrial growth on dam.
- Conduct general monitoring with electrofisher, trap nets, and gill nets in 2012-2013.
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