LAKE SOMERVILLE, Texas — Chandler Macek considers himself an outdoorsman.
He has a love for fishing and being out on the waters of Lake Somerville, but that’s been hard with the extreme drought the Brazos Valley has experienced over the summer.
“We been coming out here since I was knee-high — we do a little fishing when we can," Macek said.
"By far this year and last year’s water levels have been pitiful.”
Over the course of the summer, lake levels for the state park have steadily continued to decline from the normal 238 feet park goers are used to.
Park superintendent John Rorie says this isn’t the lowest the lake has been.
“The lowest we’ve been was back in 2011-2012 — we were eight feet low," Rorie said.
"right now we are about 233, so five feet low.”
Being five feet low, Macek says he felt it himself while he was out on the water.
“We got stuck probably three times," Macek said.
"We had to get out and get a little jump start the boat to get moving, but somebody in an outboard or a bigger boat would be calling for a tow for sure.”
To save any mishaps out on the water, Rorie shares tips on how to be out on the lake worry-free.
“I would advise smaller watercraft, like smaller flat-bottom boats — john boats are pretty good and kayaks and canoes," Rorie said.
"The larger boats I would be a bit more careful. It's harder to get access in and out of the lake.”
