Cedar Creek Reservoir (Texas)

Basic Information

The lake has a drainage area over 1,000 square miles (2,600 km²). The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department maintains three islands, totalling 160 acres (65 ha), as a wildlife management area for aquatic birds. The lake is owned by the Tarrant Regional Water District, and supplies water to Fort Worth and other cities and water districts in Tarrant and Johnson Counties. Construction on the lake began in 1961, and was completed in 1965.

Settlements

Towns on or near the lake include Kemp, Mabank, Gun Barrel City, Payne Springs, Enchanted Oaks, Eustace, Caney City, Malakoff, Star Harbor, Trinidad, Tool, and Seven Points. Its proximity to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex makes it a popular weekend getaway.

Creeks and rivers

Cedar Creek Reservoir was built on Cedar Creek, a tributary to the Trinity River. The dam is at the south end of the lake in the town of Malakoff. The spillway on the west side of the lake lets water into a canal to the Trinity River. Other major creeks that contribute to the inflow are Caney Creek, Clear Creek, and King's Creek.

Fishing

The predominant fish species of Cedar Creek Lake are blue catfish, channel catfish, flathead catfish, largemouth bass, white bass, hybrid striped bass, and crappie. The best fishing areas for largemouth bass are in the southern portion of the lake, where the water is clearer, especially the southern third of the lake in the large coves and inlets on Texas rig worms and top waters. Docks are a main place to catch the large bass. Always use Texas rigged worms, frogs , buzzbaits ,and crainkbaits. Jigs are a huge plus at the docks.Grass beds can also be found in the southern end producing plenty of largemouth bass. spinner baits and worms The lake's record largemouth bass weighed 14.65 pounds (6.52 kg). Catfish can be found everywhere, with more blues than channels. Fishing is particularly good in the spring and into summer. Due to the many smaller streams, creeks, and run-offs flowing into the lake, running jug lines in the channels of the many coves using goldfish, shad, and small sunfish makes for very good blue catfish and flathead (yellow) catfish fishing grounds.

History

Cedar Creek Lake is a fourth water source for Tarrant Regional Water District's water supply. Its normal system capacity is 322.00 ft (98.15 m) above sea level. When the lake gets over that point, gates from the spillway are opened, releasing water; 2005 and 2006 were dry years, sending the lake to a record low on December 12, 2006. The lake fell to 8.04 ft (2.45 m) below normal, at 313.96 ft (95.7 m). This passed the old record of 6.22 ft (2 m) low set on May 8, 1981. That afternoon, the lake received over 4 in (102 mm) of rain, causing the lake to rise about 6 in (152 mm). This was the first significant rainfall since April 2006. It was the big turning point for the drought in North Texas, as more rain continued through the month. By January 1, the lake was only a little over 6 feet (2 m) low. Huge rainstorms throughout January brought the lake to only 2 feet (0.6 m) low. A bit of a break came in February, as mainly snow and ice added to the lake rising. By March 31, 2007, the lake was at 322.12 ft (98.18 m) and the flood gates were open for the first time since April 20, 2005. Lake Benbrook, Lake Worth, and Lake Arlington also filled up in these rains. Later on, Richland-Chambers Reservoir filled up all the way, then Eagle Mountain, and then on June 30, 2007, Lake Bridgeport was full for the first time since May 15, 2001, more than six years since the flood gates had been open. It was a milestone for Tarrant regional water district having all seven of their lakes full. On the night of July 5, more than 5 in (127 mm) of rain fell, sending Cedar Creek lake from a half foot (15 cm) over to 1.5 feet (45 cm) over, beating the old 1.47 ft (0 m) set in November 2001.