Joe Pool Lake
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Joe Pool Lake is a fresh water impoundment located in the southern part of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in North Texas (USA). The lake encompasses parts of Tarrant, Dallas and Ellis counties. The lake measures 7,740 acres (31.3 km²) with a conservation storage capacity of 176,900 acre feet (218,000,000 m³). With a maximum depth of 52 feet (16 m) the lake drains an area of 232 square miles (601 km²).
Joe Pool Lake was named after Joe Pool, a congressman from the Oak Cliff area of Dallas who represented this district from 1963 until his death in 1968. Pool was highly influential in passage of legislation and funding of the lake.
Construction of the lake started in 1985 after the dam (536 feet (163 m) tall) was completed in December of the same year. Impoundment of water began in January 1986 and the lake was filled by June 1989.
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[edit] Parks and recreation
Joe Pool Lake includes a number of parks, paved boat ramps and parking lots, public swimming areas, a public marina as well a second marina located inside Cedar Hill State Park.
[edit] Britton Park
- Location:
Seeton Road on the southwest shore of Joe Pool Lake.
- Fees:
$5 per day vehicle
- Hours:
6 a.m. - 10 p.m. March - October 28 Closed - October 29 through February 25 Open - weekends in October
- Amenities:
Boat ramp Parking lot Restroom
[edit] Loyd Park
- Location:
3401 Ragland Road Grand Prairie, Texas 75052 Phone: (817) 467-2104 Fax: (817) 467-4931
- Fees:
$10 per vehicle up to six people $12 Campsites per night (campsites limited to 2 vehicles, 8 people) $100/night One bedroom cabin $125/night Two bedroom cabin
- Hours:
24/7/356
- Amenities:
791 acre (320 ha) park offers campers of all types a tranquil, natural tree-filled setting. Boat Ramp Hiking Trails Restrooms Overnight Campgrounds Picnic Areas Cabins
[edit] Lynn Creek Park
- Location:
Lake Ridge Parkway just north of Lynn Creek Marina on Joe Pool Lake.
- Fees:
$10 per vehicle daily fee Call 817-467-2104 for reservations
- Hours:
6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily March through October
- Amenities:
784 acres (3.2 km²) restrooms, showers, two boat ramps with eight lanes, a swimming beach, and a concession stand. almost 100 picnic sites, group picnic pavilions, sand volleyball courts and an amphitheater.
[edit] Cedar Hill State Park
- Location:
1570 F.M. 1382 Cedar Hill, Texas 75104 (972) 291-3900
- Fees:
Adult: $5.00 per person Children 12 & Under: Free Campsites: Regular (Developed): $15.00 per night Primitive: $7.00 per night
- Hours:
24/7/356
- Amenities:
784 acres (3.17 km²)
- Camping:
Features 355 mostly wooded campsites with a shade shelter over some of the picnic tables. Mountain Biking, Bird Watching, Picknicking, Joe Pool Marina, Fishing.
[edit] Lynn Creek Marina
A marina and restaurant located on the north side of the lake, just off Lake Ridge Parkway near the Lynn Creek Park entrance. The Lynn Creek Marina has more than 500 wet slips for fishing, pleasure and sail boats. The marina does a brisk business in boat rentals and has an indoor-outdoor fishing area where non-boaters can fish for $5 for 12 hours ($3 for children and seniors). Next door to the marina, the popular Oasis restaurant features open air dining and live weekend entertainment over the lake's waters.
[edit] Tangle Ridge Golf Course
One of the state's top public championship courses, Tangle Ridge Golf Club was designed by Jeff Brauer of GolfScapes in Arlington, Texas. It was recently ranked as the "12th best golf course" in the state of Texas by Golf Digest. The layout has the feel of the Texas Hill Country with dramatic elevation changes, gently rolling hills and sand bunkers guarding every hole. Tangle Ridge caters to every level of player with each hole varying in length, bunkering and style - offering a new direction, a new choice, a new experience every time you play. Visit the Tangle Ridge Golf Website complete course information, rates, classes, etc.
[edit] Water Resources
Joe Pool lake is mostly fed by Mountain Creek and Walnut Creek and drains north into Mountain Creek leading into Mountain Creek Lake. Joe Pool Lake is one of the few lakes in Texas that actually drains to the north. Joe Pool lake impounds water in two arms formed by Mountain Creek and Walnut Creek. The Mountain Creek Water Shed is in the Upper Trinity River Basin and has a length of 37 miles (60 km) and a total drainage area of 304 square miles (787 km²).
Currently (2005) Joe Pool Lake serves as a reservoir for the City of Midlothian for their public water supply. Several other entities have water interests in Joe Pool Lake, but are not currently using the water resources. The City of Midlothian has a water intake structure in the southeast leg of the lake. They consume water at a daily rate anywhere from 1 million US gallons (3.8 million L) in the winter months to 9 million US gallons (34.1 million L) in the summer months. The Trinity River Authority of Texas also has a water intake structure in Cedar Hill State Park, but it currently not in use.
[edit] Fishing
[edit] Fishing Regulations
Largemouth bass — Three per day, all at least 18 inches (46 cm) long. All others same as statewide.
[edit] Stocking History:
Florida bass — 1981, 1984, 1986, 1987
Channel catfish — 1986
Comments:
Joe Pool lake opened with tremendous fishing pressure owing to the fact it lies within 30 miles (48 km) of four million people. Restrictive limits were put in place to protect the fish from overharvest and fishing has remained good to this point.
[edit] Lake Records
| Species | Weight | Length | Angler |
| Largemouth bass | 10.76 pounds (4.88 kg) | 24.75 inches (62.87 cm) | Jeff S. Wisdom |
| White crappie | 2.59 pounds (1.17 kg) | 16.75 inches (42.55 cm) | George T. Hearn |
| Green sunfish | 0.65 pounds (0.29 kg) | 10 inches (25.4 cm) | Richard A. Collins |
| White bass | 0.83 pounds (0.38 kg) | 12.5 inches (31.75 cm) | Gary D. Clayton |
[edit] Fishing tips
Marked brush piles offer habitat in the lower end of the reservoir which are often good for both bass and crappie. Crappie fishing is also good under the bridges on both arms of the lake. In the Walnut Creek arm, the old creek channel is a good place to look for bass.
[edit] Fishing quality
Largemouth bass: 3 of 5
Catfish: 2 of 5
Crappie: 3 of 5
Sunfish: 2 of 5
[edit] Facilities
The TRA maintains excellent day use and overnight public recreation facilities. The only free boat ramp on the lake is at Britton Park on the upper end of the Mountain Creek Arm, although it is $5 to park. Cedar Hill State Park (214/291-3900) on the east side of the lake has the second most campsites of any facility in the state park system. It also has lighted fishing piers, boat ramps and group shelters. Local anglers complain that state park gates do not open until 8 a.m. daily.
[edit] Fishing reports
Fishing reports for Joe Pool lake can be found at the Texas Parks and Wildlife website here: [1]
[edit] Joe Pool Lake Archaeological Project
Several archaeological investigations have been carried out in the Joe Pool Lake project area since 1977. The first phase of study, conducted between 1977 and 1979, identified 42 archaeological and historical sites in the vicinity of the then proposed Lakeview Lake, since renamed Joe Pool. The study was conducted by archaeologists from Southern Methodist University and was funded by the federal government through the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District. Archaeological properties identified at that time included small, briefly occupied camps of prehistoric hunter/gatherers, several larger reoccupied prehistoric camps, a small prehistoric village, an ante-bellum plantation, several large post-Civil War farmsteads, and a number of late nineteenth century farmsteads with standing buildings.
Archaeological investigations in the Joe Pool Lake area have involved both conservation and rescue archaeology. The extensive architectural and archaeological deposits at the John Wesley Penn farmstead, for example, were investigated and documented. Similar conservation oriented investigations were conducted at five other historic sites located on major lake shore parks. The Cobb- Pool site, on the other hand, received major rescue archaeology efforts to recover important information from this Late Prehistoric small village settlement. Four other prehistoric and seven other historic sites also received rescue archaeology operations directed at identifying important remains and recovering data useful for fulfilling the questions outlined in the research design presented earlier. All of these studies have been funded by the U.S. Corps of Engineers (Fort Worth District), the primary sponsor behind the construction of Joe Pool Lake. From these investigations, we have gained a few more insights into the history and prehistory of the Mountain Creek area. Excavations of historic farmsteads have indicated that many mid- and late nineteenth century families lived in well constructed, frame dwellings. Log buildings were not as common as once believed. Both Dallas and Fort Worth attracted sawmills along the Trinity River bottomlands and sawn lumber was available to most families by the 1850s.
The artifacts recovered from excavations of the yard areas around dwellings have also provided us with some insights into family life and household possessions. Home canning using the glass fruit jar indicates a break from older traditional foodways by the turn-of-the-century (i.e., 1900). Animal bones indicate a strong reliance on beef rather than on the more traditional pork. Both of these pieces of evidence support the dominance of a Midwestern orientation of foodways that diverges from most Texas counties to the south. The plain white ceramic tablewares and the low consumption of bottle glass for the same period, on the other hand, both correspond more closely with Southern traditions. One message is clear from these studies. Both human adaptations (culture and technology) and the natural environment have changed tremendously over the last 12,000 years. From the evidence of the earliest sites found that were occupied some 6,000 years ago, up to the first American settlers about 140 years ago, the Mountain Creek area has been affected by nature's relentless fluctuations. The archaeological investigations sponsored by the United States Army Corps of Engineers at Joe Pool have provided a few brief glimpses into the rich record of human history and prehistory of this area. Time's march never ceases and in another thousand years, future generations may be equally interested in our own society and its archaeological remains.
For more information and to view the entire investigation please see [2].
[edit] References
- Tangle Ridge Golf Club
- Army Corp of Engineers Joe Pool lake
- Areas of Outdoor Interest
- Lynn Creek Marina
- Handbook of Texas Online
- SMU Archaeological and Historical Investigations of Joe Pool lake
- Cabins at Loyd Park on Joe Pool lake
