I'm thinking about car camping there at Lake Somerville tomorrow night either at the Birch Creek (Yaupon?) or Nails Creek unit. Which one is better for bank fishing from close walking distance from my campsite?

Fished cedar creek , nails, and attempted to walk to Newmans Bottom. First stop cedar which was rolling pretty good same as Nails. About 4-5 days out and no extra rain and should be good. Water was covering road a long ways away from the parking lot at Newmans Bottom. May be 4-5 days before they even open the road. No fish but the kids enjoyed playing in the mud and watching the carp splash all over the place.

carp make me want to vomit.

Birch creek is a good hike back around the inlet behind the bathroom. Cedar creek comes real close to the Nails Creek park camping ground and might be fish-able by then. Nails creek is a pretty good hike as well from the camping areas. I think the challenge is going to be the flood water and not so much the hike

FishyTX, My neighbor saw alot of stranded fish in the grass yesterday at one of the creeks at Sommerville. Alot of carp, shad, and whites. He said there were hundreds of buzzards in the trees just waiting for them to die. I can only imagine how many whites made it up the creeks.

I was at the steps after work yesterday. I saw alot of fish being caught. I caught 5 big ones. The fish are beginning to do their spawn rolls in the water. Good luck if you go.

And why is that exactly?
If you know how to prepare carp/buffalo the proper way, it can be tasty.
Europeans sell/consume it very often.

The floods coincided with the spawning of the buffalo but the flood water receded too quickly because the lake was so low and that left all those fish stranded and stressed only to die in massive numbers. The buzzards will have a feast of gigantic proportions and we a stinky mess for weeks to come.. lake level is 237.6 as of 3:00 pm Tuesday and still rising.. Thursdays Kayak trip is gonna be great!

It is the fishermen of modern America that have created the "trash fish" mentality that besieges the carp and other rough fish. I personally have not consumed either but I don't eat much fish anyway.. I think what you have revealed is what happens when there is so much of anything that it's value is diminished compared to things of limited supply. I have always wondered what a side by side blind taste test would reveal about rough fish as compared to the coveted game fish.

Ben, I prepare and eat both game fish and carp/buffalo. They do taste differently but different is not always bad. We cut the carp/buffalo up in pieces and keep it in water with vinegar for a few hours, then condiment it and put it in the fridge for 12 hours or so. We put everything in a tray with fresh vegetables and other herbs and bake it in the oven (on medium to low heat). When it comes out it tastes really good with garlic,some Eastern-European polenta and sour-cream
It is true that you have to be more careful with the bones, but if the fish is pretty big is not a problem (although, younger carp/buffalo taste better than the old ones)

Forgot to mention that in eastern Europe fisherman also make soup out of the carp head (believe it or not). See:
Fish head soup

hey h.l.s...me and my brother would love to join you on the kayak trip thurs.ive been fishing the creeks and hiking the trails for years. have been checking out your videos.ive been wanting to try kayakin for awhile now.so we will both be rooookies,but have done some white water rafting etc.im sure we have some learning to do,but would love to give it a shot with yall...besides the normal fishing gear and water,is there anything,that we should bring along? ive called nails state park and we will be renting there yaks,at the boat ramp.what time do you plan on departing?sounds like alot fun looking foward to meeting up with some fellow tffrs

Ben, give me a shout Friday am.(check your PM box) I'll be heading out fairly early with Tommie. I bought a fancy, smancy depthfinder and need to give it a workout Friday. I'll have a tow rope if you want to ride that way to some spots (Or jump aboard and stow that Yak at a spot.) I plan on looking into Jardell and Birch Friday as well as hitting various other spots.

If the level is at pool or better, then may try cruising up the Yegua in the Tunnel hull.

Let us know how the water level is up into the channel leading into the Yegua.

Will there still be a a fish fry get together this Sat. at Nails?

All, thanks for the report you provide. I just learn about fishing at Summerville last year. I fished from the Birch state park. Don' catch that many each time I went there. But I had lots of fun. When yall talking about Birch, are you referring to Birch state park?

I learned about Irwing Bridge last year, but last year there is no water. This is how I got to know Birch state park.

Still need to learn where is Yegua and Newmans bottom...

When I was referring to Birch I was talking about Birch creek. Right behind Yaupon campsite restrooms. You'll need a boat of some sort.

HL&S posted directions on how to get to the locations you mentioned in this thread a few pages prior to this one.

I hit the steps today and caught 19. Out of those 19, only four were males. The female egg sacks are about to bust they are so ready. A wsmall push on their belly and eggs come flying out.