Visiting Lake Houston

[Tsigoloeg]

I was in the general region of Atascocita this afternoon with my wife. I decided to check out Lake Houston, maybe see if there were some plants close by the shore that would be a cheap addition to my tanks. I consulted my Key Map and the only place I could see that looked like public access was a place called Andy Anderson Park. This is down on the east side of the lake south of FM 1960.

So we get there...and all we see is a tiny vacant overgrown field with a bunch of trash (including a pair of discarded boxer shorts underwear) and broken glass. I got out of the truck (left it running with my wife in it), walked down to the water and observed a dead dog bobbing on the shoreline, the gas bloat from it's corpse pushing indescribable stuff out various openings in it's ends. That was all I needed to see.

I only saw the sign that said "Andy Anderson Memorial Park Disabled Veterans Society" (or similar words) in the rearview mirror when leaving. If I was a friend of Andy Anderson I think I'd be severely pissed that this was some intention of a memorial to him.

Will someone please tell me if this is what I can typically expect to find at "Lake" Houston, or if there is some other place I should go to check it out? It takes me over an hour to get here from where I live on the opposite side of the universe. Is there any other place someone might recommend (that is closer to Katy than to Humble)?

[guppymax]

Re: Visiting Lake Houston

Why don't you join the Houston Livebearers Association on their visit to the Sheldon Lake Resevoir Environmental Learning Center on February 24th? The HLA and other fish clubs organize various safaris througout the year.

max

[Mzungu]

Re: Visiting Lake Houston

I'm not sure about Lake Houston (I've actually been wondering about the same thing - would like to see if I could find some plants) and I'm sorry for your horrible experience, by the way. But I've found various plants around Buffalo Bayou, which is a lot closer to you.  :)

[ROB281]

Re: Visiting Lake Houston

damn, never been, and now I'm not sure if I'd want to.  Sure I've seen trash before but a dead dog :sick:

[Tiapan]

Re: Visiting Lake Houston

yeah thats pretty bad. i found some stuff when i went mostly driftwood (big pieces but i was gonna soak those for a while to get as much stuff out as possible, saw some trash but the dog thats pretty bad.

[guppymax]

Re: Visiting Lake Houston

Is Buffalo Bayou clean and pristine free of invasive plants and fish? My house is dirty does anyone have a cleaner house I can live in? Where are you going to go?

Here is a link:

http://texaspva.org/programs/andersonpark.htm

max

[Tsigoloeg]

Re: Visiting Lake Houston

Man, I need to do something to my web browser to refresh this site's pages. I come to visit and everything looks the same, says only 1 reply to this thread yet there are 5, and tonight is the first time I've seen the HAS meeting announcement but it's been up since the 14th??

Max, thanks for the web link to the park. It is somewhat nicer to know that the man actually knows the park is run down, but just can't do anything about it currently.

I'm spoiled because I grew up in Minnesota, and our family has a cabin on a beautiful lake, I would literally spend 8 hours walking through the shallows collecting plants, fish and inverts to watch in my aquaria.

I live right next to Bray's Bayou, I've been down there a couple times. I was surprised at the diversity of aquatic/wetlands life I saw (2 species of turtle, 1 snake, 3 fish, 1 crayfish), unfortunately the only native plant I recognized was pennywort (aside from rushes). I'm pretty sure the other stuff was alligator weed and parrot feather. But there are live mussels in the water, that can't be a bad sign, right?

The only fish I see are tilapia, skeeterfish and one other that I haven't caught in my trap yet. They are small (1-2") grayish-tan with black patterned spots/broken stripes. Their bodies are shaped more like a flagfish or sheepshead cyprinodont. I was really hoping they might be pygmy banded sunfish...anybody know what they likely might be?

[Mzungu]

Re: Visiting Lake Houston

What is a skeeterfish? Not sure I've heard that term before.

So, you've ruled out sheepshead minnow, or could it possibly be a sheepshead? Remember anything else about the fish?

[Mzungu]

Re: Visiting Lake Houston

:doh:  Mosquito fish, never mind!

[Tsigoloeg]

Re: Visiting Lake Houston

I can't rule anything out since I haven't actually seen one up close. But from the picture of the sheepshead minnow, the stripes are not that abundant on whatever it is I'm seeing. Is it actually a freshwater fish? And flagfish aren't in our range according to my book. I've been going off of Mark Klym's listing of Texas non-game freshwater fishes, but don't have photos of all of them in my books, plus it doesn't help that I haven't been able to capture one. I guess I need to get busy with a net.

[Mzungu]

Re: Visiting Lake Houston

As far as I know it's a freshwater fish. Flagfish are mostly in Florida. I'm curious now!

[Tsigoloeg]

Re: Visiting Lake Houston

I will try and remember to post back if/when I actually get a close-up look at the fish; it will probably be next week at the earliest to allow the ground to firm up, and the water to clear up and recede a bit (assuming the rain doesn't resume like it has the past couple weeks).

Are there any specific areas you can recommend in terms of visits to Buffalo Bayou, or anywhere else for that matter, meaning where is good safe public access? What plants did you find there? etc.

[Tsigoloeg]

Re: Visiting Lake Houston

An entire week of passive trapping and not a single fish caught (although one crayfish). It's been very overcast as well so I haven't even seen the fish I was describing. From reading some of my references, I would say the fish isn't a pygmy banded sunfish because they were described as loners/solitary and I'm seeing multiple individuals.

I've also found the carcasses of 2 plecos now. It almost looks as if they were washed up on the banks during high water after the recent rains and got caught there. So I guess that makes 4 fish species seen...

So, no one has any help as to where else to go?

[guppymax]

Re: Visiting Lake Houston

I don't believe anyone in Houston knows more about what is in the bayous and where than TPWD.

max

[Tsigoloeg]

Re: Visiting Lake Houston

Are there any specific areas you can recommend in terms of visits to Buffalo Bayou, or anywhere else for that matter, meaning where is good safe public access? What plants did you find there? etc.