Fishing at Lake Somerville Texas
If you are looking for a great place to go fishing, Lake Somerville Texas is it! With multiple parks, 2 marinas, beaches, even restaurants and grocery stores within driving distance, Lake Somerville has everything you need, including fish!
I am a city boy from Houston, but have lived here for over 6 years, sadly, when you are this close to the water, you tend to take it for granted, but, just before I moved here, I drove from Houston and fished almost every weekend! So, if you are coming here from Houston, Austin, or wherever, make sure to bring your friends, a video camera, and your best fishin’ hat. Before you come, make sure you register here and tell us you are on the way, that way, I can tell the fish your comin’, just kidding, but you can share your stories here with others. If you have ome video, you can share that too! So, come on, there are plenty of fish for everybody!
My favorite park is Birch Creek Park, there is a boat ramp, and, it is a State Park, meaning, even if you do not have a fishing license, you can bank fish or go to the pier, where they even have a nice place to clean your fish. Birch Creek Park also has some nice camp sites, and you can bring your horse as well! Soon, I will be adding info on the various parks, their websites and phone numbers, etc. So, make sure that you leave a comment and tell us all about it! Have fun!
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Fishing Tips for Beginners:When are the fish biting?
Even though I have been fishing, probably over one hundred times since I was a kid, I consider myself a beginner. I have to admit, I went fishing, but I wasn’t there to catch fish, I was there for the fun of hanging out with friends, and the party that often followed, so, I am posting these things to help myself as well as any other “beginner”. This information is available at the Texas Parks & Wildlife website, I am posting bits here, just to help you find the rest of it there. I hope they don’t mind. Visit that website, there are many tips, and much valuable information available there, it is a great website!
Fishing Basics
When are the fish biting?
Early morning and evening are good times to fish.
If you’re looking for a particular fish, here are the months that these freshwater fish are easiest to catch:
- CATFISH: Mid-April to mid-October. June and July
- CRAPPIE: March to May
- LARGEMOUTH BASS: March to June
- STRIPED BASS: All year…especially November to February and June to September
- SUNFISH: May to June
- TROUT: November to December and mid-February to mid-April
- WALLEYE: Mid-Feruary to mid April
- WHITE BASS: Mid-March to May
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2009 Fishing Reports: Jan – December 30
Fishing and Water Level Reports for Lake Somerville
Just to save you some time, here are the fishing reports from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, you can follow that link to check for new ones, but here are the reports for the year so far.
December 30, 2009 Water murky; 58 degrees; 0.01′ high. Black bass are good on silver spinnerbaits. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are good on silver spinnerbaits. Crappie are fair on minnows and green tube jigs. Channel and blue catfish are slow. Yellow catfish are slow.
December 23, 2009 Water murky; 59 degrees; 0.11′ high. Black bass are good on silver spinnerbaits. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are good on silver spinnerbaits. Crappie are fair on minnows and green tube jigs. Channel and blue catfish are slow. Yellow catfish are slow.
December 16, 2009 Water murky; 61 degrees; 0.80′ high. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue catfish are good on juglines baited with cut shad and perch. Yellow catfish are slow.
December 9, 2009 Water murky; 62 degrees; 1.47′ high. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue catfish are good on juglines baited with cut shad and perch. Yellow catfish are slow.
December 2, 2009 Water murky; 65 degrees; 0.31′ high. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are good on minnows and green/black jigs. Channel and blue catfish are good on chicken livers. Yellow catfish are good on minnows.
November 25, 2009 Water murky; 65 degrees; 0.64′ high. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are good on minnows and green/black jigs. Channel and blue catfish are good on chicken livers. Yellow catfish to 25 pounds are good on minnows.
November 18, 2009 Water murky; 65 degrees; 0.41′ high. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are very good on minnows and green/black jigs. Channel and blue catfish are very good on stinkbait, liver, and cheesebait. Yellow catfish are slow.
November 11, 2009 Water murky; 65 degrees; 1.14′ high. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are very good on minnows and green/black jigs. Channel and blue catfish are very good on stinkbait, liver, and cheesebait. Yellow catfish are slow.
November 4, 2009 Water murky; 65 degrees; 2.34′ high. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue catfish are slow. Yellow catfish are slow.
October 28, 2009 Water murky; 70 degrees; 0.72′ high. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue catfish are slow. Yellow catfish are slow.
October 21, 2009 Water murky; 73 degrees; 0.30′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are good on minnows at night. Crappie are fair on minnows and blue tube jigs. Channel and blue catfish are good on minnows, nightcrawlers, and stinkbait. Yellow catfish are slow.
October 14, 2009 Water murky; 74 degrees; 0.68′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are good on minnows at night. Crappie are fair on minnows and blue tube jigs. Channel and blue catfish are good on minnows, nightcrawlers, and stinkbait. Yellow catfish are slow.
October 7, 2009 Water murky; 80 degrees; 1.98′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs at the marina. Channel and blue catfish are good on punchbait, shrimp, and liver. Yellow catfish are slow.
September 30, 2009 Water murky; 80 degrees; 2.80′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs at the marina. Channel and blue catfish are good on punchbait, shrimp, and liver. Yellow catfish are slow.
September 23, 2009 Water murky; 85 degrees; 2.99′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are fair on spinnerbaits and Rat-L-Traps. White bass are slow. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. Perch are good on worms. Channel and blue catfish are fair on stinkbait and shrimp. Yellow catfish are slow.
September 16, 2009 Water murky; 86 degrees; 3.48′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are fair on spinnerbaits and Rat-L-Traps. White bass are slow. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. Perch are good on worms. Channel and blue catfish are fair on stinkbait and shrimp. Yellow catfish are slow.
September 9, 2009 Water murky; 89 degrees; 3.97′ low. Black bass are good but small on crappie jigs. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are slow. Perch are excellent on worms. Channel and blue catfish are excellent on cut shad. Yellow catfish are slow.
September 2, 2009 Water murky; 89 degrees; 3.84′ low. Black bass are good but small on crappie jigs. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are slow. Perch are excellent on worms. Channel and blue catfish are excellent on cut shad. Yellow catfish are slow.
August 26, 2009 Water murky; 91 degrees; 3.74′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are slow. Perch are excellent on worms. Channel and blue catfish are excellent on trotlines and juglines baited with cut shad. Yellow catfish are slow.
August 19, 2009 Water murky; 91 degrees; 3.59′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are slow. Perch are excellent on worms. Channel and blue catfish are excellent on trotlines and juglines baited with cut shad. Yellow catfish are slow.
August 12, 2009 Water murky; 91 degrees; 3.51′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue catfish are excellent on nightcrawlers, minnows, and shad. Yellow catfish are slow.
August 5, 2009 Water murky; 91 degrees; 3.34′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue catfish are excellent on nightcrawlers, minnows, and shad. Yellow catfish are slow.
July 29, 2009 Water murky; 91 degrees; 3.23′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue catfish are fair on dead shad, live minnows, and nightcrawlers in the weeds in 2 feet. Yellow catfish are slow.
July 22, 2009 Water murky; 91 degrees; 3.15′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue catfish are fair on dead shad, live minnows, and nightcrawlers in the weeds in 2 feet. Yellow catfish are slow.
July 15, 2009 Water murky; 90 degrees; 2.96′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are fair on minnows early. Channel and blue catfish are slow. Yellow catfish are slow.
July 8, 2009 Water murky; 90 degrees; 2.77′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are fair on minnows early. Channel and blue catfish are slow. Yellow catfish are slow.
July 1, 2009 Water murky; 86 degrees; 2.50′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are fair trolling slab spoons near the dam. White bass are fair trolling slab spoons near the dam. Crappie are fair on minnows. Channel and blue catfish are fair on punchbait, and on juglines baited with cut shad. Yellow catfish are slow.
June 24, 2009 Water murky; 85 degrees; 1.81′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are fair trolling slab spoons near the dam. White bass are fair trolling slab spoons near the dam. Crappie are fair on minnows. Channel and blue catfish are fair on punchbait, and on juglines baited with cut shad. Yellow catfish are slow.
June 17, 2009 Water stained; 80 degrees; 1.36′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are fair on Rat-L-Traps and crankbaits. Crappie are good on minnows. Channel and blue catfish are good on nightcrawlers and stinkbait. Yellow catfish are slow.
June 10, 2009 Water murky; 78 degrees; 0.86′ low. Black bass are fair on Rat-L-Traps and minnows. Hybrid striper are good on crawfish and super spoons. White bass are good on crawfish and super spoons. Crappie are good on minnows, black/chartreuse jigs with red heads, and super shad jigs. Channel and blue catfish are good on punchbait and SureShot in 2 feet. Yellow catfish are slow.
June 3, 2009 Water murky; 79 degrees; 1.04′ low. Black bass are good but small on watermelon and pumpkinseed soft plastic worms. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are fair trolling Rat-L-Traps and spoons near the dam. Crappie are good but small on minnows and jigs. Channel and blue catfish are good on punchbait off the banks. Yellow catfish are slow.
May 27, 2009 Water murky; 78 degrees; 0.93′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are good on live shad off points. White bass are good on live shad off points. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue catfish are fair on dead shad. Yellow catfish are slow.
May 20, 2009 Water murky; 78 degrees; 0.86′ low. Black bass are fair on Rat-L-Traps and minnows. Hybrid striper are good on crawfish and super spoons. White bass are good on crawfish and super spoons. Crappie are good on minnows, black/chartreuse jigs with red heads, and super shad jigs. Channel and blue catfish are good on punchbait and SureShot in 2 feet. Yellow catfish are slow.
May 13, 2009 Water murky; 78 degrees; 0.71′ low. Black bass are fair on Rat-L-Traps and minnows. Hybrid striper are good on crawfish and super spoons. White bass are good on crawfish and super spoons. Crappie are good on minnows, black/chartreuse jigs with red heads, and super shad jigs. Channel and blue catfish are good on Sure Shot punchbait in 2 feet. Yellow catfish are slow.
May 6, 2009 Water clear; 0.70′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue catfish are fair on dead shad along the banks in 2 feet. Yellow catfish are slow.
April 29, 2009 Water clear; 0.70′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are good on minnows. White bass are good on minnows. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue catfish are good on shrimp. Yellow catfish are slow.
April 22, 2009 Water clear; 3.31′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are fair on minnows and shad. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue catfish are slow. Yellow catfish are slow.
April 15, 2009 Water clear; 3.34′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are good on minnows. White bass are good on minnows. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue catfish are good on shrimp. Yellow catfish are slow.
April 8, 2009 Water clear; 3.28′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are good on minnows. White bass are good on minnows. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue catfish are good on shrimp. Yellow catfish are slow.
April 1. 2009 Water clear; 3.21′ low. Black bass are fair on minnows. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are fair on minnows and slabs. Crappie are very good on minnows and jigs. Channel and blue catfish are fair on shrimp and chicken livers in the evenings. Yellow catfish are slow.
March 25, 2009 Water clear; 3.28′ low. Black bass are fair on minnows. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are fair on minnows and slabs. Crappie are very good on minnows and jigs. Channel and blue catfish are fair on shrimp and chicken livers in the evenings. Yellow catfish are slow.
March 18, 2009 Water stained; 3.26′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Channel and blue catfish are slow. Yellow catfish are slow.
March 11, 2009 Water clear; 3.38′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Channel and blue catfish are slow. Yellow catfish are slow.
March 4, 2009 Water fairly clear; 3.36′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are excellent on minnows, and on green/black jigs. Channel and blue catfish are fair on stinkbait. Yellow catfish are slow.
February 25, 2009 Water fairly clear; 3.24′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are excellent on minnows, and on green/black jigs. Channel and blue catfish are fair on stinkbait. Yellow catfish are slow.
February 18, 2009 Water fairly clear; 3.17′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are excellent on minnows, and on tube jigs with red heads and green skirts. Channel and blue catfish are fair on nightcrawlers and minnows. Yellow catfish are slow.
February 11, 2009 Water fairly clear; 3.11’ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are excellent on minnows, and on tube jigs with red heads and green skirts. Channel and blue catfish are fair on nightcrawlers and minnows. Yellow catfish are slow.
February 4, 2009 Water fairly clear; 3.12′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are good on minnows and green/black tube jigs. Channel and blue catfish are slow. Yellow catfish are slow.
January 28, 2009 Water fairly clear; 3.07′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are good on minnows and green/black tube jigs. Channel and blue catfish are slow. Yellow catfish are slow.
January 21, 2009 Water fairly clear; 3.01′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are fair on minnows and green and black tube jigs. Channel and blue catfish are good on stinkbait. Yellow catfish are slow.
January 14, 2009 Water fairly clear; 2.95′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are fair on minnows and green and black tube jigs. Channel and blue catfish are good on stinkbait. Yellow catfish are slow.
January 7, 2009 Water fairly clear; 2.90′ low. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are fair on minnows and green and black tube jigs. Channel and blue catfish are excellent on bloodbait. Yellow catfish are slow.
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Sabrina and Walde go Fishing
This is my first fishing story, during a two week period, my daughter Sabrina and her other half, Walde, came to America from Germany for a visit. Yes, I am an American, a native Texan, but my daughter and Walde are both Germans, I too lived there for almost 10 years. Here is where it gets good, this is where the idea for this website come from, it is a long story, but I will be as brief as I can.
In Germany, fishing is just one of those things that the average person is just not allowed to do. It takes going to a bunch of classes and paying some crazy fees, so, when my kids came to visit last time, in 2006, Walde wanted to go fishing, I was floored! So, myself being a “not-so-good” fisherman, remember, I lived in Germany for a long time, was tasked to teach Walde how to fish! Well, he bought himself a $20 Zebco, complete with tackle, and off we went.
I have to tell you, when I first came back from Germany, I fished quite a bit with a buddy, but never really knew what I was doing! Fishing is also what helped convince me to move to Somerville, so, the desire was there, but after years of not catching anything, I lost interest.
Walde, on that first trip to Texas, didn’t catch a fish, we only tried a few times, due to the limited time, but that did not phase him! When my kids came back, from 18 Feb-5 March, Walde brought his fishin’ pole with him! I have to admit, that $20 Zebco, and fishing, must have meant something to him! I was inspired!
So, the first day we went out, Sabrina, Walde and myself, three of us, with ONE fishing pole, and a container of dead worms, I didn’t expect too much, I thought it would be like last time, I had not even thought about the fact that this young man had carried a $20 Zebco, over 10,000 miles, back and forth from Germany! He was determined to catch a fish! The first day, was a learning experience, for all of us. We watched what the other people were using for bait, we watched where they fished, but, only having those dead worms, and some other tiny little lures that came with that $20 Zebco, he caught nothing, but, he now knew what kind of bait to get.
The second day, armed with some little minnow looking rubber things, that is what was catching them the day before, we went back, and geuss what, while I was on a bathroom break, he caught one! A black Crappie! He even filleted it himself!
Now that there was proof that there were actually fish in that lake, Sabrina and I both had to get fishin’ poles! We bought a bunch of those little rubber minnows, we baught real minnows, and God only knows what, we were all hooked! We went fishing several more times, but, all we did was watch everyone else catch fish! Thats ok, next time the kids come back, there will be one $20 Zebco with over 20,000 miles, one with over 10,000 miles, and mine, that by then should have seen many a fish! This is the reason for this website! I need to learn how to fish, and what better way, since building websites is my thing, it gives me a new tool to help me learn!
So, for those of you that get pestered by a fat guy with a video camera, don’t worry, just tell me your story, and I will put it here!
I know, you are wondering where a picture of my daughter is, well, she was the one with the camera! Don’t worry, she will be in an article soon, I have another story or two left!
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Texas Fishing
This is not in Somerville, but it is Texas and it is fishing, a great video, and these guys actually catch fish!
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