TPWD 1958 F-3-R-5 #361: Basic Survey and Inventory of Fish Species in the Neches River and its Watershed from its Source in Van Zandt County to its Mouth in Sabine Lake on the Gulf of Mexico

JOB COMPLETION REPORT State of TEXAS Project No. F335 Name: Fisheries Investigation and Surveys of waters of Region g-B. Job No. B-ll _ Title: Basic Survey and Inventory of Fish Species in the Neches River and its watershed from its Source in r-r--—-—-———-—-—w———u—-fl—u——_m__._n__________mm Van Zandt County to its Mouth in Sabine Lake on the Gulf of Nexico. Period Covered: June l 1956 through November 30 1957 fl_______________________dL_n___w__________Ii_n____nL__nuIl___u_____ ABSTRACT: A basic survey and inventory of fish species present was conducted on the Hashes River watershed from its source in Van Zandt County to its mouth at Sabine lake. There was a total of 66 species collected during this period. The soils found in the area are light colored, acid sandy loams and sends and clays in the uplands and darker colored soils in the bottom lands and along the coast. Native vegetation oonsists mostly of pines and various hardwoods. There are sparse amounts of aquatic vegetation. Water analysis shows the waters to be slightly acid. Industrial pollution is quite evident on the lower section of the river and a small temporary incident was encountw ered upstream. There is a good population of commercial type fishes and a fair popu» lation of sport fishes. Recommendations are made for an investigation and possible stocking of Dam "B" Reservoir with white bass (Roccus crysops). In addition an eval» uation of the fishing laws in regulatory counties of Jasper and Tyler is recommended. OBJECTIVES: To gather fundamental data on the above waters in regard to their physical, chemical and biological aspects. To determine the distribution of the fish speeies present, their relative abundance and the ecological factors influencing their diam tribution. PROCEDURE:= There were two methods of specimen collecting employed in making this study. Seining was by far the most common method of collecting. Onewquerter ineh mesh, 26 by 6 foot bag seine and either cotton or nylon common sense minnow seines were usedj depending upon the area to be covered and the depth of the water. Generally from one to four drags were all that was required to make a good collection. Experimental type gill nets of l to 3- inch bar mesh were used in the more open, deeper waters and the sloughs of the river. Also this means of collecting was used in the lakes on the river and its drainage. All seined specimens were preserved in ten percent formalin and brought to the laboratory for identification. Specimens from gill nets were identified, counted and weighed in the field. A record was kept of the length and weight of each game fish species and important commercial species. The coefficients of condition were determined on these species. (Table l). Ecological data taken at each station includes water and air temperatures, weather conditions, surrounding vegetation types (whether timber, grassland etc.) brief description of the stream, turbidity (measured in inches of light penetration) and color of the water. Chemical analysis of the water includes pH, methal orange alkalinity, chlorides and on several occasions dissolved oxygen. Water samples were usually analysed in the laboratory unless the time interval was too great, then they were run in the field. Dissolved oxygen samples were fixed on the spot and determined later. RIVER DESCRIPTION: The Neches River Valley lies between the Sabine River Basin to the east and the Trinity River Basin on the west. The river originates in Van handt County and flows in a generally southeastern direction approximately hl6 miles through 15 counties and empties into the Gulf of Mexico by way of sabine Lake. The watershed at the mouth of the river is 10,129 square miles. The average annual runoff, according to the Texas Board of Water Engineers, is 6,5h8,00 acre feet, thereby making the Nachos the largest river entirely within the state. The Red and Sabine Rivers are both larger but they are interstate rivers. The most important tributary of the flashes River is the Angelina River which was surveyed and reported under F3Rh, Job BwlO. Another important tributary is Pine Island Bayou at river mile 30.0. At about river mile 37 there is a saltmwater barrier across the river which prevents tidal waters from backing further upstream. The barrier is constructed of corrugated type steel plates stood upright at a height to permit the freshwater coming downstream to flow over the top but is high enough to prevent the rising tidewaters to pollute the freshwater. The City of Beaumont takes water from above the barrier and it flows by means of canals to the city treating plant. IMPOUNDMENTS: A major impoundment on the flashes River is Dam ”B" Reservoir {river mile ll3.7) which has a capacity of 9h,200 acre feet at top of normal pool. The surface area is 13,700 acres. Its average depth is only 6.8 feet which gives large areas for fish production. The water is stored and released during periods of drought for irrigam tion purposes downstream. During severe droughts this cesuses the lake to recede to the river bed which causes a heavy concentration of fish in the river. The lakes receding allows the lakebed to dry out and permits vegetation to grow which in most cases is a heavy growth of cocklebur. The result of this is a very fertile lake and fish in good condition. Impoundments on the watershed include Lake Ioni near Slocum, a 106 surface acre club lake on Ioni Creek, and Lost Prairie Lake near Palestine. This a 100 surface acre club lake. Eason Club Lake is an overflow lake in the Nachos bottom west of Lufkin. It is only 10 surface acres in size, half of which is marshland. Lying southwest of Tyler is Big Eddie, a 100 surface acre natural lake on the main river. It is actually just a stretch of the river that widens out for about a half of a The Nachos River passes through two soil areas - the East Texas Timber Country and the Gulf Coast Prairie. The soils found in the East Texas Timber Country are generally light colored, acid sandy looms and sends in the uplands, and darker colored acid sandy looms and clays in the bottom lands. In the Gulf Coast Prairie area the soils are dark colored, black to grey clays and some sand looms which are acid. motive vegetation in the uplands include lublolly and shortleef pine and various hardwoods such as oak, gum and hickory. In the lowlands hardwoods are prevalent with much cypress in the lower reaches of the river. Most of the land is used for timber and pasture with some truck crops. The coastal areas support rice and cotton crops. There is considerable oil to be found along Pine Island Bayou and then there is the industrial area around Beaumont which depend upon the river for water. Isolated to moderate growths of aquatic vegetation were found along the shores and banks of the waters of this drainage. These include black willow (Salim ni re), button brush (Cephalanthus), cypress (Taxodiumz, saw grass (Zizaniopsismilaceai, cattails (T pha gp;s, various sedges (C eraceae), smartweed {Polygonum , ponweed, 5 s (Potamogeton , duck potato (Saggittaria p. , lotus (Nelumboj, parrot feather (fiffiigphya l 5 u lum sp. , d ckweed (Lemna sp.§ , and various algaes including Shara sp. and filamentous algae. FINDINGS: A total of 70 collections was made on the Neches Drainage. These collections yielded 66 species representing 17 families. In addition there were 69 water analyses made on these waters. WATER QUALITY: Routine water analyses were made at nearly every collection station in order to determine the water quality (Table 2). In all, 69 analyses were made on the Nachos Drainage during this study. The turbidity of the river was considered to be moderate to very turbid based on light penetration as follows: very turbid 0" m 6” penetration, moderate 7" a 12", slight 13" - 2h”, clear 25” and deeper. This turbid condition can be contributed to good plankton blooms, dark stains from runoff and suspended solids due to runoff. In areas that were springwfed the water was clear. Water surface temperatures varied from a low of 620F. in April to a high of 900 F. in September. As expected the areas near springs were cooler in the summer months. The range of pH varied widely, from below 6.0 (at that time our indicators only went to 6.0) to 9.h. However, the majority ranged from 6.h to 7.2 and averaged approximately 6.6. The extremely low pH's were found in Black Creek and Little Pine Island Bayou in which area there is oil production. The high pH, 9.h, was found at Big Eddie which was temporarily polluted with domestic sewage. The total chloride content varied h. from 21.28 ppm to 1063.8 ppm above the saltwater barrier. Below the barrier chlorides ran up to 3191 ppm. The methal orange alkalinity varied about the same as the pH, ranging from 9 ppm up to #25 ppm with most of the water in the to to 80 ppm range. Only 21 dissolved oxygen test were run and they ranged from l.h to 7.0 ppm. Collecting Stations: A total of 59 collecting stations made up of 35 seining and 2h gill net stations was established. Most of the seining stations were visited twice during the survey. Table 3 gives the locations of each station. These stations were located at road crossings on the upper stretches of the river where collections were made by car. The lower stretches, being more navigable by boat, provided stations closer tOgether. Species Present: A total of 66 species representing 17 families was collected in the waters of the Neches River. This yield was from 69 collections. Table h lists each species phyloge— netically and gives the stations at which it was collected and the number collected at each station. The specific names are from Hubbs, A CHECKLlST OF TEXAS FRESHWATER FISHES, dated February 1957. The following annotated checklist treats each species separately. Besides the usual sport species there are two species of fish in the Neches System that should receive special consideration. These are the smallmouth buffalo (Photo 9) and gizzard shad. The buffalo has a good commercial potential and there seems to be a good supply of gizzard shad which would be a good forage fish for a species such as the white bass. “WWW I. Family PETROMYZONTIDAE - lampreys l. Ichthyomyzon castaneus - chestnut lamprey u only one specimen of this species was found and it was at Big Eddie on the upper Neches. It was free swimming at the time of capture in a gill net. II. Family LEPISOSTEIDAE -oGars 2. Lepisosteus spatula.- alligator gar - there were thirteen alligator gars collected, ranging in size from less than two inches to over five feet in length. The larger ones were found in the lower reaches of the river below the saltwater barrier. The small specimens were collected in Dam "B” Reservoir Big Eddie and in the stretch of river between. 3. L. platostomus - shortness gar — only two specimens of shortness gar were found and they were in the vicinity of State Highway 103 bridge, Houstonw Angelina Counties. h. L. productus - spotted gar - this is the most widespread and numerous of the gars in the Neches System. They were collected in fifteen of the twenty four gill net collections. "\Jl 5. I. csseus — longnose gar w the longnose gar is fine gassed is: widcsgrgai and ahL 1nda nt of+ he gar species in the Eeches System. iIE. Family AMIIDAE Bowfin 6. Amie salve — Bowfin - the oowfin is comparatively rs as it was found only on five occasions. The total number on -ahle am is misleading with regards to population in that one collection yielded 3OLf ry of tlis species. The other four were adults and founu fairly far apart. EV. FM” ily C"”PEIDAE ~ Earrings 7. Dorosoma cepedianum - gizssrd shad _ the gissard shed is quite srev al at in the larger waters of the lower Neches River, Dam "B” Reserwoir and Big fEddie. It is one of the most widespread species found, both in number as and in distribution. V} Family ESOCIDAE - Pickerels 8. Esox americanus - grass pickerel - the grass pickerel was found only in t-e spring when the river had flooded the grassy banks and bar ditches. It was also collected in Lake Ioni and Lost Prairie Lake by nets. Both of these lakes have grassy vegetation. Vi. Family CATASTOMIDAE w Suckers and buffalofishes 9. Ictiobus cyprinellus - bigmouth buffalo a only two specimens of this fish were found. Big Eddie was the location of one and it weighed three and ones half pounds. Eason Club Lake yielded the other. 10. I. bubalus - smallmouth buffalo — the smallmouth uuffalo is an important fish :in the Neches System. because of both its distribution and sir.s. It was collected most often by netting, principally in the larger mesh of experimenw tal nets. This species has a good commercial prospect. ll. Carpiodes carpio w river carpsucker « this fish was most commonly found in Dam "B” Reservoir with a few found in the lower reaches of the river. fhey were generally of a small size. IE. Mosostoma poecilurum u blacktail redhorse - the b1.acktail redhorse is rare in the Neches. Big Eddie yielded two by netting and on.e was ccllsct ed by seining. l3. Minytrema melanops - spotted sucker . the spotted sucker was found excite ively in lakes. Dam "B” has the largest numt er and Lake Ioni and Big End di had good numbers. Id. grimyzon sucetta - lake chubsucker - two lakes contai.n the only huhsuckers found. Lake Ioni yielded forty specimens and Lost Prairie Lak.e yielded forty-thr% VII. Family CYPRINIDAE - Shiners and minnows 15. 16. 17. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 21+. 25. 26. Cyprinus carpio - carp n carp were found around the lakes a Big Eddie and Dam "B” and in the vicinity of SH 103 where the river was backed up into the woods. Notemigonus crysoleucas — golden shiner - these forage fish were not too common and they were found only in the spring and of small sizes. Opsopoeodus emiliae - pugnose minnow w the pugnose minnows collected were widely separated and only a few in numbers. Hybopsis aestivalis - speckled chub - this was a rare species collected being found only twice in the stretch of the river from Dam "B” to the saltwater barrier. Notropis fumeus — ribbon shiner _ this is one of the more widespread members of this genus. Not too many specimens were collected although. Its dism tribution is from the upper middle reaches down to Dam ”E". E. brazosensis - Brazos River shiner = US 79 crossing in Cherokee County was the only place this species was found. It was the dominant species in the collection at that station. E. blennius - river Shiner u this is another rare species in the flashes. They were found in small pools in the upper reaches of the river. EL_potteri - chub shiner — this species is quite numerous and widespread but found almost exclusively in the spring collections. They are found the entire length of the river down to the salt water barrier. §;_sabinae - longnose Shiner n longnose shiners were found in late summer generally along the middle stretch of the river. They were not too numerous. N. amnis - pallid shiner - comparatively large numbers of pallid shiners were found exclusively in the spring at three locations along the middle stretch of the river. E; venustus — spottail shiner n this is by far the most important.bait minnow in the Nachos River. It was found in more locations and in larger numbers than any other species of this family. N. lutrensis - redhorse shiner m this species is second only to the spottail shiner in numbers and is fourth in distribution. It too: is an important commercial bait minnow. N. deliciosus - sand shiner - the sand shiner ranks second only to E. wenustus fBa distribution and is high in numbers also. E; atrocaudalis m blackspot shiner n nearly all of these fish were collected! in the spring and in the upper half of the river. They are not too numerous or widely distributed. 29. ELLYOIucellus - mimic shiner - this fish was found in only four locations and all in quite waters or pools. 30. §;_maculatus - taillight shiner - four times this fish was found and only in small numbers. It was found in the spring whenthe river was out of banks. 31. Hybognathus placita - plains minnow - this is a fairly rare species being found only twice with a total on only seven specimens collected. 32. ”Pimephales vigilax - parrot minnow - another important bait minnow is this species which is third in distribution and numbers of this family. It was found throughout the Neches System. VIII. Family AMEIURIDAE - Freshwater catfishes 33. Ictalurus punctatus - channel catfish - the channel catfish is almost exclusively a lake fish. Two specimens were found in the flooded lowlands near SH 103, Big Eddie yielded one specimen and a good population exist in Dam "B", Lake Ioni and Lost Prairie Lake. 3%. I; furcatus — blue catfish - Lost Prairie Lake has the only population of blue cats. Those collected weighed approximately 3% pounds a piece. 35. I;_melas - black bullhead - only four specimens of blacks were collected in the river proper. Unfortunately both Lost Prairie and Lake Ioni have heavy infestations of this fish. 36. I. natalis - yellow bullhead - there were four specimens at two widely separated areas of this species. 37. gylodictus olivaris - flathead catfish - though only two small Ops were collected at two locations it is believed there are numerous large ones in the river and lakes of the Nachos System. IX. Family CYPRINODONTIDAE - Killifishes and topminnows. 38. Fundulus pulvereus - bayou killifish - Just one fish of this species was found and it was in Pine Island Bayou which has a fairly high chloride content. 39. F; chrysotus - redspot topminnow - this species was not found too often, mostly in quite waters with high chloride content. . #0. F. notatus - blackstripe topminnow — this is the second most widespread species in all the Neches System. A good number was found in nearly all collections. #1. Cyprinodon variegatus - variegated cyprinodon w the only place this fish was found in the Neches River was below the saltwater barrier and the lower stretches of Pine Island Bayou. X. Family POECILIIDAE - Mosquitofishes #2. Gambusia affinis - gambusia - as might be expected the gambusia is the most common fish in the Neches System. XI. Family APHREDODERIDAE - Pirate perch h3. Aphredoderus sayanus - pirate perch - the pirate perch was found at only two locations in the spring. XII. Family MUGILIDAE - Mallets as. Mugil cephalus - striped mullet - the farthest upstream that mullet were found was below Dam "B". The other collection was near Beaumont. XIII. Family ATHERINIDAE ~ Silversides h5. Menidia beryllina - tidewater silversides — great numbers of these silver~ sides were collected by seining below the saltwater barrier. #6. Labidesthes sicculus - brook silversides ~ brook silversides are pretty well evenly distributed throughout the middle section on the river, the tributaries of Pine Island Bayou and the Bayou proper. XIV. Family CENTRARCHIDAE - Black basses and sunfishes #7. Micropterus punctulatus - spotted base a the majority of the 206 spotted bass collected were fry and fingerlings which indicated a good spawn. Dam "B" has a fairly good even distribution of the larger fish. #8. M. salmoides - largemouth bass - this popular sport fish was found by netting * in small numbers in Big Eddie, Dam "B", Lake Ioni, Lost Prairie Lake and the river below the saltwater barrier. The majority of those collected by seine came from Dam "B". Others occurred throughout the river. h9. Chaenobryttus gulosus e warmouth - most of these fish were collected in Lake Ioni and Lost Prairie. 50. Lepomis cyanellus - green sunfish — only two fry of this species was collected at BB 103 crossing. 51. L.punctatus — spotted sunfish - this is one of the most important of the sunfishes in the Neches River. It is second in distribution among the suns fishes. 52. L. microlophus - redear sunfish — this much desired species was picked up mostly in nets principally in Lost Prairie Lake with_an occasional one in other netting collections down the river. 53. £:_macrochirus u bluegill sunfish - as could well be predicted the bluegill is the most common species of this family. It is owerpopulated in Lake Ioni and Lost Prairie Lake. 5h. L. auritus - yelloWbelly sunfish - yellowbelly sunfish is a rare species. Three were dound below SH 103 and one in Lost Prairie. 55. L;_megalotis - longear sunfish - this species can be considered rare in the river with a great number found in Lake Ioni. 56. Pomoxis annularis - white crappie - the most numbers of "white perch" found was in Dam "B". Lake Ioni and Big Eddie have quite a few and they occurred only occasionally in the remainder of the river. 57. P. nigromaculatus - black crappie - black crappie appeared in larger numbers but in fewer places than the white. Lake Ioni had more blacks also. 58. Centrarchus maculatus - flier - the flier appeared only twice in the spring in the upper stretch of the river. A total of 16 was taken. XV. Family PERCIDAE - Perches and darters 59. Hadropterus maculatus - blackside darter - only three small specimens were collected and they were all collected along the Anderson County stretch of the river. ' 60. H. shumardi - river darter - only a few were collected in the upper half of the river where the stream is more shallow and swift. 61. Ammocrypta vivax - Arkansas sand shiner - this is the most common species of this group. It was found all through the river above the saltwater barrier. It was found almost exclusively in late summer. 62. Etheostoma chlorosomum - bluntnose darter — one specimen was found southwest of Jacksonville. 63. E; gracilie - slough darter - this fish is more widespread but not as numerous as g; vivax and was found almost exclusively in the spring. 6h. E. lepidum - greenthroat darter - seven specimens were found in the upper end of Dam "B" which was the only location. XVI. Family SCIAENIDAE - Croakers, drums and weakfishes 65. Aplodinotus grunniens - freshwater drum - the majority of the drum were collected in Big Eddie with the remainder being caught in Dam "B" and below the saltwater barrier. XVII. Family GOBIIDaE - GObys 66. Microgdbius gulosu§__- clown goby — these gOby were collected in two loose tions both above and below the saltwater barrier. POLLUTION: One important source of pollution on the Neches River is the East Texas Pulp and Paper Company near Evadale. This papermill releases its effluent into a swampy l0. area near Lake Bayou. The BOD is reduced very little before the effluent reaches Lake Bayou. Water analyses show that dissolved oxygen runs as low as more parts per million. After the water leaves Lake Bayou it enters the Nachos River and durm ing low water periods tidal action backs water up as far as the saltwater barrier. The dark color and strong odor of this effluent is a source of many complaints to the flame and Fish Commission. Although dead fish have not been found in the Neches River the color and odor of the water make it undesirable for.recreational use. Lake Bayou is in such a condition that only gars are able to exist in the waters. Another source of pollution is on the Angelina River which flows into Dam "B” Reservoir and discolors it. This is the effluent from the Southland Paper Mill which was reported in the Angelina River report. Some of the tributary streams emptying into Pine Island Bayou from the oil fields of Hardin County are very black or dark in color and have high chloride contents there~ by making them also undesirable for recreational uses. A temporary source of pollution was at Big Eddie when the City of Tyler was allow~ ing their sewage to empty into the river at this point while repairs were being made on their sewage treatment plant. This resulted in a wary heavy plankton bloom and apparently did no damage to fish populations. This was only a temporary condition and a check two months later indicated the water was normal again. PROPOSED RESERVOIRS: The River and Harbor Act of 19t5 provides for the construction of an earthen dam and appurtenant structure for flood control, hydroelectric power and conservation. The project is located on the Meshes River lhfi miles above its mouth and 15.9 miles above the confluence of the Angelina River. This is to be known as Dam "A”. As of June 1956 plans and specifications had not been initiated. This same act also provides for a dam of the same type and purpose at river mile l60.h and 3h.3 miles above the mouth of the Angelina River. This dam site is approxim mately 3 miles west of Rockland and about two miles above US 69 crossing. This is to be known as Rockland Reservoir. This reservoir would have an area of l265500 surface acres at flood control level. Progress is at the same status as Dam "A". If either of these reservoirs become a reality it would greatly increase the fisheries of East Texas. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIGNS: 1. It can be concluded that most of the waters of the Nechee River are of a quality to support a normal fish life. 2. The waters of the lower half of the Neches can support a good commercial fisheries within the limits of the law. 3. The fish population present supports a fair sport fishery. h. There is a large population of forage fish available.