Holiday trees turn into fish breeding ground in lake
The Christmas trees sat piled on a small barge docked on Lake Conroe, each attached by a string to a concrete block. Some still looked fresh, showing off their natural green color. Others were orange, as if they had been sitting in the sun for months.
Discarded and stashed since the holidays ended, they were destined to sleep with the fishes, in hopes of creating new fish habitats.
San Jacinto River Authority employees Shane Simpson and Michael Biehle this week guided the barge to a designated area in the 20,000-acre lake in Montgomery County. One by one, Simpson grabbed a tree and Biehle a block, and together they hoisted the holiday staples into the water for a new use: There the trees will form an artificial reef, creating a breeding ground for fish ... and for fishermen, a potential hot spot.
It’s a two-fold effort that helps with the environment and allows people to enjoy the recreational side of the lake, said Dylan Kwak, natural resource specialist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife, which works with the authority on the project.
“We’re trying to make an oasis in the barren environment in the bottom (of the lake), just building off of what’s there,” Kwak said.
The river authority restarted the program in 2020 and had been collecting about 60 to 90 trees a year, said Dave Sidney, operations manager for SJRA’S Lake Conroe Division. The division oversees the lake — maintaining the water quality, wildlife management, boating safety and invasive species management.
This year, about 120 trees were collected throughout December and January. “As the word spreads, its getting more and more popular,” Sidney said.
Back at the lake, about five employees from the two organizations rotated loading about 16 trees onto a small barge, attaching concrete blocks to them and driving two minutes out to the drop-off spot.
Simpson and Biehle placed another load onto the barge before heading toward the drop-off location, near the agency’s main office, just south of the lake. Sidney followed behind in another boat.
Attached to the back of the boat Sidney piloted was a device designed to find fish and underwater structures. He pointed to another device near the steering wheel, which looks like a GPS navigator.
“There’s a big cluster (of trees) right there,” Sidney said, pointing to what looks like someone smeared blue, red and yellow all over the screen of the device. He also pointed at small dots, which he said are fish.
Five species roam the lake. The most sought after is the largemouth bass. Other fish include catfish, crappie, hybrid striped bass and bluegill.
The goal of the artificial reef program is to find places on the lake that have little to no habitat for fish, Sidney said. The trees mimic some of the lost natural wood to provide a suitable habitat for all Lake Conroe fish species, officials said.
The trees will begin to break down over time, which is why the drive is held every year, Kwak said. They have a second life of sorts of about one to two years underwater.
The areas where habitats are created by the trees will be marked on a map, he said. Coordinates will be posted by the river authority and the state agency’s website so anglers can use them to go out and fish.
The payoff of the program could be seen easily, Sidney said.
“We’ve seen a lot of anglers coming in and out all day,” he said. “It’s a really beneficial program for the community.” Kwak agrees.
“The fishing out here on Lake Conroe, we’ve got reports that it’s some of the best its been in a long time,” Kwak said. “In fact, vegetation is coming around and the habitat is really good.”
Partnerships with organizations like the river authority make programs like this easy, said Kwak. The state agency has similar partnerships around the Bryan-college Station area, around local community lakes as well as city park lakes, he said.
Seeing pictures posted on Facebook of people catching fish is Kwak’s favorite thing about the program, he said. “A success story (is) anglers coming out and ... having a great day fishing around this habitat,” Kwak said. And it’s especially heartening when anglers “can go out with their kids and catch fish.”