Found a spot off of the West side of Lake Somerville I wanted to try for ducks next season. The 22-23 public land map booklet says you can only access this area by water but as far as I can tell, the area is cut off from any accessible body of water. Has anyone else been here?

Shhhhhhhh. Remember the rule on Somerville duck hunting. We don't talk about duck hunting Somerville.

Flag Pond is only legally accessible via the canal that you can see that runs from Nails creek to the south east shore of it. The high-water events of recent years have resulted in a lot of sediment filling in the canal and filling in the mouth of Nails creek at the lake. It's now pretty much only reachable when the lake is at or close to full.

Gotta look closer. There is a water canal between the lake and flag pond.

Just so you know, it is open to anyone with a boat who is brave enough to get back there - no walk ins.

Flag Pond archive footage.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1dj6ok?start=96

Here is the canal in question. And where it is filled in headed toward Flag Pond.

The photo was taken on Dec. 8, 2021.

Unless we get a lot more water there is no way that you can access flag pond this year. At full pool it's hard to get back there without a shallow draft mud boat or kayak, the lake is currently 5 ft low.

TexAgs OB get-together with shovels this summer and let's dig out the access. I'll bring beer and fend off the gators. Everyone else bring waders and shovels.

Does anyone know the history or details of the lease that allows the private hunting club to enter from private property? I had always heard they were given a 50 year lease as part of the deal when the state/ COE took over flag pond. If that was 1967, then that should have ended by now.

I always figured, them hunting, was a good thing, because the state couldn't shut down the hunting, as long as they were hunting it. The state park employees give the vibe that they'd prefer it be a birdwatchers only location if it was up to them. Tommy Snow was a friend of hunters but Im not so sure about the new guys.

I wouldn't be surprised, if there comes a day, where a fight has to be made to maintain hunter access.

A number of years ago I packed up my fly gear and hiked from Nails creek parking lot to Flag pond....only when I got there it was DRY. So much for that long walk back and forth.

COE does not put much effort into anything out there. And it became worse 4 years ago. Anyone who has been hunting it for a number of years and been to a draw knows where the birds like to be and why you cannot hunt there. Lots of area to lounge, and not enough food make for tough hunting. Some of the best years were low water, but food and cover plays a huge part.

Not near worth the effort. Save your time and find somewhere else to hunt.

GulpJuiceFingers said:

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Not near worth the effort. Save your time and find somewhere else to hunt.

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I have probably shot over your boat or yak in the early morning.

Unless the lake is over pool by at least 1.5ft, you're gonna have a very difficult time accessing flag pond even if you were taking a kayak. It is boat access only. You would have to get through the silted up mouth of Nails first, then wind your way back there, then make it through the ditch that is only inches deep when the lake is a pool. Currently, you can't even launch a boat at the majority of all the boat ramps because the water is so low. When it does have water, it's worth the trouble and that's all I'll say.

In regards to making it more accessible, TPWD says they own that section and not COE. The local Delta Waterfowl chapter was making it a point to work on improving access, trying to find who was responsible for it and what it would take to make improvements. Of course they want to make it difficult for everyone and there is no easy way to do it. Now is the time to do it with the low water. All that stuff has been dry since the summer and its mostly sand up there.

It looks like there's a levy at the end of the creek that would be the main access point into the pond. Anyone know about this?

Might not be too low after today….

you aint gonna shoot any of them even if they do show up

Probably shootin' holes in the sky like everyone else out there.

You would need an air boat to get in there and get over the levy, unless water is ver my high. I haven't hunted there in 5 years since my dad passed but it used to be GREAT hunting. I believe the Carmine Hunting Club owns the land that backs up to it. My dad knew most on the club which is how we were able to access it. Man, what I would give to be hunting back there again . Most of my childhood was duck hunting there. Going to cry myself to sleep now.

Yes there is a levee at the end of the ditch. You would have to carry or winch a boat over it, and it is not a small levee. Most people, if they can even get to the levee, park there, cross the levee and walk in form there. There are some ridiculous rules about not being able to walk down the levee with your gun, even it it was unloaded and cased, because the levee is part of the state park trailway. That was from an encounter with the state park police, not the GW. And they will park their truck down off the levee and watch, or so they used to. So those laws are not directly listed anywhere with the APH map booklet. We were told if we could cross the levee right there at the ditch with our guns, but then had to walk in the water with them if we wanted to travel anywhere else on the pond. TPWD seems like they could care less about the public hunting over there as they do ZERO maintenance to help the hunters with access anywhere.

And the reverse is true for Neumann's Bottom, you MUST hunt out of a boat!

water turkey said:

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I want to see the painting of the downhill side of the levee with everyone dive-rolling into the boat as the bow plunges under water. IYKYK

OnlyForNow said:

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And the reverse is true for Neumann's Bottom, you MUST hunt out of a boat!

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Don't forget the COE walk in area, where all hunting must be done from the bank. Cluster F!

Isn't it illegal to duck hunt the creeks off Someville. That is what the GW told me.

CS78 said:

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OnlyForNow said:

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And the reverse is true for Neumann's Bottom, you MUST hunt out of a boat!

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Don't forget the COE walk in area, where all hunting must be done from the bank. Cluster F!

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Brings back memories from the 90s.

Dang you're old.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt/public/annual_public_hunting/resources/711_1121.pdf

Wise

And edit to add it was the late 90s.

Haha, right before I got there.

Yes, they don't want people hauling arse around a creek bend into the middle of someone's spread.

Ive always been paranoid of meeting an airboat face to face in one of those bends.

It's listed somewhere but its not legal to hunt the creek channels themselves. TPWD basically said they own everything between the 2 state parks on the NW corner of the lake. That's how they allow the hunting. If you're unclear on the regulations, you can call the office at nails creek SP and they will explain it all. They posted the rules on their FB page as well.