Picture courtesy of the Somervell County Water District

The big opening day day for Wheeler Branch Reservoir, near Glen Rose, was Thursday, September 1.

Everyone is urged to sample the Walleye and Smallmouth fishing. I will give a $10.00 gift certificate for Academy to the person sending me the picture of the largest Walleye caught.

Fifteen non-gas powered trailered boats are the maximum allowed for the long-awaited event. Canoes and kayaks are exempt from the 15 boat limit.

The lake opens with a long set of rules. Click here. Since the lake has a long history of controversy the local law as well as TPWD enforcement folks will be on the alert for misbehavior. Note: Access and boat launch fees. No beer or liquor of any kind on the property. No gas motors. Only rod and reel fishing. State fishing license required. Restricted areas marked by buoys.

If you were too late for a boating reservation there is a beautiful fishing pier built with your TPWD matching funds. TPWD has used the lake as an experimental lab, stocking it with many species of fish. In addition to the usual mix the lake is stocked with millions of Walleye fry and small mouth bass fingerlings.

Please post your results.

The lake is 80 feet deep at the dam. It was formed by damming a long deep canyon. The launch area is on the park end of the lake , a long paddle from the dam area.

I will be there Saturday.

pm me your telephone number and we will try our hardest to get a picture for you , maybe even a smallmouth.

you can have a gas powered motor . you just cant use it. unless u need it to load on trailer. I'll be there on sat

What about a kayak that has a trolling motor on it? Would they consider that being in the same class as a no gas powered boat?

If that was the case; bass boats w/ trolling motors couldn't use them. I plan on bringing my canoe out w/ a trolling motor.

ok, Smithaven and fish killer here is the first day report,arrived early at 0730 so i thought, boats all ready on the water, paid 28 dollars for me and boat and my kid. first fish i caught was 11 inch smallmouth. Caught 15 bass and the largest went about 4 pounds,ended up catching one more smallie that went about a pound and a half No walleye for us or anyone else i talk to. largest fish that i was told about went about 6 pounds.All and all ever thing was in great shape from the ramps to the restrooms. Only problem that i noticed was there is a pole at the end of the ramp about 20 feet or so in the water, just dont hit it with your boat and you should be fine, good luck everone.

off the water already??


Good report! What kind of cover does the lake have? Can you cover the whole lake in a day?

fish killer check your pms.

28 dollars to catch smallmouth and largemouth? Ill take the Devil's river please! And why no gas powered boats? is it kayaks only? Or cover the whole lake with a trolling motor? Better bring your extra batteries!

i guess if you look at it this way, you dont run the big motor, which is a 200 in my case .That would come out to about 8 gallons of gas, not hard to do in a larger boat. we fished 5.5 hours and still had plenty of power left. i had to try it at least one time.

What did ya try to catch the walleye with?

We had a good day. Our count was 30 fish with two being Smallmouth the rest were LMB. Unfortunately no Walleye. Our biggest fish were about 4 lbs and when we found the fish they were usually stacked up. Crank baits were good early and Shakey heads produced all day. The water is really clear and we covered the lake easily with my 101 Minn Kota and had plenty of battery power left at 2:30 when the heat finally got to much. I will definately go back when it cools off and hope for some Walleye in cooler water.

http://www.scwd.com/?page_id=9

here is the website.

I'll be there in 11 hours!