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Caddo Lake 2009 Survey Report media download(PDF 607.8 KB)

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Caddo Lake - 2009 Survey Report

Prepared by Timothy J. Bister and Michael W. Brice
Inland Fisheries Division
District 3-A, Marshall, Texas

This is the authors' summary from a 32-page report. For a copy of the complete report, use the download link in the sidebar.

Fish populations in Caddo Lake (Texas side only) were surveyed in 2009 using electrofishing and trap netting and in 2010 using gill netting. An angler creel survey was conducted from June 2009 through May 2010. This report summarizes the results of the surveys and contains a management plan for the reservoir based on those findings.

Reservoir Description

Caddo Lake is a 27,472-acre lake (12,712 acres in Texas) on Big Cypress Creek located in the Cypress Creek Basin approximately 20 miles northeast of Marshall, Texas in Harrison and Marion Counties, and Caddo Parish, Louisiana. Habitat features consisted of Bald Cypress wetlands and a complex aquatic plant community, including the invasive species giant salvinia, water hyacinth and hydrilla. Flooding during fall 2009 delayed electrofishing and trap netting surveys. The lake level was still approximately 3 feet above full pool at the time of fall sampling, which likely resulted in poor success for fish sampling.

Management History

Important sport fish include largemouth bass, bluegill, redear sunfish, and crappie. The management plan from the 2005 survey report included the need for nuisance aquatic vegetation monitoring, unified fish harvest regulations between Texas and Louisiana, largemouth bass supplemental stocking, and the need to keep stakeholders informed of fisheries issues related to Caddo Lake. Largemouth bass were managed with a 14- to 18-inch slot-length limit on the Texas side of the lake. Efforts to control nuisance aquatic plants on the lake continue.

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-35 Statewide Freshwater Fisheries Monitoring and Management Program



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