TPWD 1954 F-4-R-1 #77: Inventory of Species Present in Possum Kingdom Lake, Palo Pinto County, Texas

IR STATE Texas PROJECT not F-EuR—l, Job Bag PERIOD June E, 1953 _ May 31, 1955 .-.__- Segment Completion Report by Leonard D. Lamb Project Leader Robert N. Hambric Assistant Project Leader TITLE Inventory of Species Present in Possum Kingdom Lake, Palo Pinto County, Texas, OBJECTIVES To determine the species present and their relative abundance as well as to ‘determine the ecological factnrs influencing their distribution. HISTORY OF LAKE Possum Kingdom Reservoir, completed in l9hl, is located on the Brazos Riv— er a few miles west of Graford, Texas, and approximately 245 miles upstream from Whitney Demo Portions of the reservoir lie in Palo Pinto, Stephens and Young Counm ties and one small arm enters Jack County when the lake is full. The reservoir is owned and operated by the Brazos River Conservation and Reclamation District for the purpose of hydroelectric power, irrigation and municipal uses. Large rains filled the entire basin in six days following the closure of the dam in l9hl. The lake was closed to fishing during the first year of its life. PHYSICAL CEARdCTERESTICS Possum Kingdom is a clearwwater lake impounding 19,991 surface acres when the water is at spillway level, (elevo l,OOO ft” above sea level). It has a total storage capacity of 733,800 acre feats The lake is approximately 67 miles long and has a 310 mile shorelines it is a narrow winding lake with an irregular shoreline, characterised by gently sloping valleys in some areas and limestone bluffs in oth~ area The iake bottom is composed of partly sandy farm land as well as grazing land containing some treeso There was little if any timber removed from the reser~ voir as it was flooded before clearing operations could begino Possum Kingdom Dam controls a drainage area of 23,0h8 square miles drained by the Brazos River and its tributariesfl The soils are of the West Gross Timbers primarily of the Windthropt — Nimrod groupe The above area is characterised by sandy soil with some outcrops of heavy dark soil of the Danton _ San Saba Sandso Vegetation is composed chiefly of post oak, black jack, mesquite, cedar, pecan and bunch grassesa Seventeen and one— half percent of the drainage area is farming land and the remainder is used for graningo Possum Kingdom Lake is subject to rather rapid fluctuation in the water lev- el due to periodic draw downs for irrigation and manufacturing of electricityo The exact effect that the fluctuating water level has had upon the fish life of the lake is not certain at this dateo Aquatic vegetation does not create a problem in the lake. level of water during the past three years h ” weeds to grow on the exposed lake shore. When the lake refilled d and fall of 1953 most of the vegetation The fish population of the lake . . c y the use of gill nets and minnow seines. Part of the sets were made with gill ne feet long with square mesh ‘° ‘ ' l nets included the ion if any, of each fish. . -. . . l . d growth studies. checklist of fishes .. Kingdom Lake. gth, weight, sex, Two sei the lake. 1953 netted 6’ - g seven species. 28, l95h found 88 O specimens representing l0 species. May 28, 195a were probably introdcce The Rio Grande tetras found d by bait fishermen. Their ability to survive in - the lake during the winter months is questionable. Tabula ' - lections are found in Table 2. RESULTS OF EETTING COLLECTIONS Ninety gill net sets were made on the Lake from July-1953 until yielding 1516 specimens. dame fish composed 31% of the catch andwhi most abundant game f“ t ish taken. Gissard shad were the most abundant species netted and accounted for almoe. of the entire catch. A comparison of the data rep- resenting game fish and rough fish species is recorded in Table 3 May l95h, te base were the a The length, weight and c nets are given in Table 4. the number caught and e 5. Corresponding informati " . , lS res lOfl 18 listed in Table 6 except the catch is represented by weight and the percent column shows the percent of the total weight of that month’s catch for each speCies The number of gill nets shows the fre quency of capture of each s of not set an h to month. Table 7 d the seasons- DISCUSSION Possum Kingdom Lake is one of the more popular fishing lakes in Texas and draws a considerable portion of the fishermen from West Texas and the Plains Reg— ion where good fishing water is scarce. It is common knowledge that the lake afford~ ed excellent fishing during the first few years of its life. For three or four years preceding the start of this program, fishing (especially bass fishing) became pro~ gressively less productive. The water level dropped lower and lower until July of 1953 when the water level was approximately 35 ft. below the spillway outlet. There was apparently no direct adverse effect upon fish during that period due to an abun~ dance of water left in the lake. However, a large concentration of forage fish, including shad and blacktail minnows, was developed in the lake during the years of low water level which also coincided with the poor fishhg period. Observations of the local fishermen indicate there may have been some praying upon the nest of game fish by the large schools of shad and spottail minnows ever present in their spawn- ing areas. It is expected that such an abundance of forage fish might curtail the movements of the game species resulting in a poor harvest by the fishermen. Large rains resulted in a rise of the water level in July 1953 and addition— al rains filled the lake in a few months. Much land area that had been exposed for a long time, as well as the vegetation growing on it was covered with water. An ex“ cellent bass catch the following spring may have been the result of the extensive rise in water level and expansion of the lake area. In an effort to reduce the surplus of forage fish in the lake, a proclama« tion allowing commercial exploitation of minnows wasenacted in February 195h. It is hoped that the removal of surplus minnows from the lake, together with the expanded lake area and the natural run of minnows up the flowing streams will be sufficient to alleviate the problem of surplus forage fish in the lake. An accidental stocking of white bass in the lake occured in about 19h9. They have multiplied and grown rapidly and have furnished excellent fishing the past two years. The abundance of white bass now found in the lake may also help control the over supply of shad and minnows thus helping to produce better catches of black bass. An extensive rough fish removal program has been active for the past three or four years. Hundreds of tons of carp, buffalo, carpsucker, shad and gar have been re- moved from the water by state contract fishermen using gill nets, barrel nets and drag seines. Several striped mullet have been caught in the commercial fishermen's nets. One specimen weighed nine pounds after it had been dressed and frozen. The mullet were probably introduced as young fish by bait fishermen several years ago. The success of reproduction by the species in the lake has not yet been established. Information on the success of the fish spawns during the past years is not available, but the present study indicates a very successful.bass:pawn for the spring of l95h. An abundance of food in the lake and an adequate growth of protective vege~ tation should encourage survival and growth of fry. Table 8 records the fish stock~ ed in the lake since lQhS. Lack of biolOgical information and reports of a decline in fish harvest from the lake resulted in the instigation of this project. Data resulting from the work indicates that additional information can be obtained by prolonging the study. Data collected from representative seine and net stations is included in the following data sheets and is typical of the data collected from all such stations. SUMMARY Possum Kingdom is a clear water lake located on the Brazos River a few miles west of Graford, Texas. The reservoir impounds almost 20,000 surface acres, backs up the river foroT miles and has a 3l0 mile shoreline. It issnbe ject to fairly rapid water fluctuations. Ninety gill net sets on the lake caught 1516 fish which weighed a total of 1&9? pounds. Nineteen species were represented. Rough fish constituted 76% by weight and 69% by number of the fish taken. Shad were the most abundant fish netted and accounted for h8% of the total fish caught. White bass were the most abundant game fish taken, representing 8% of the total catch. Two seine collections yielded 942 fish representing 12 species. The plains red shiner represented 53% of the total specimens collected. Largemouth bass fry accounted for ll%% of the collection. The Rio Grande tetra and striped mullet were probably introduced by bait fishermen. Data resulting from the project indicate that additional information can be obtained by prolonging the study. Data collected from representative net and seine stations and typical of data collected from all stations areincluded. Table l. Checklist of Fish Species from Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas, 1953w195h. Common Name Scientific Name Spotted Gar Lepisosteus productus Longnose Gar Lepisosteus osseus Gizzard Shad Dorosoma cepedianum Rio Grande Tetra Astyanax fasciatus Smallmouth Buffalo Ictiobus bubalus River Garpsucker Carpiodes carpio German Carp Cyprinus carpio Ribbon Shiner NotrOpis fumeus Red Shiner {redhorse) Notropis lutrensis Blacktail Shiner (spottail) Notropis venustus Parrot Minnow Pimephales vigilax Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus Yellow Cat (flathead eat Pilodictus olivaris Mesquitofish Gembusia affinis Striped Mullet Mugil cephalus White bass (sand bass) Morons chrysops Largemouth black bass Micropterus salmoides Wermouth bass Chaenobryttus coronarius Bluegill (bream) Lepomis macrochirus Redear Sunfish Lepomis microlophus Green sunfish Lepomis cyanellus Yellowbeliy Sunfish Lepomis auritus White crappie Pomoxis annularis Logperch Percina caprodes Drum Aplodinotus grunniens Table 2. Results of Seining Collections b Kingdom Lake, Texas, 1953 - 195h Species Micropterus salmoides Lepomis macrochirus Lepomis microlophus Lepomis cyanellus Notropis venustus NotrOpis lutrensis Notropis umbratilis Notropis fumeus Pimephales Vigilax Gambusia affinis Astyanax fasciatus Garpiodes carpio Total Jaly 19, 1953 21 23 62 I May 28, 195A 880 Total 108 30 201 501 16 62 18 9H2 y Number of Each Species; Possum % of Total 11.t5 3.17 0.10 0.10 21.33 53°17 0.10 1.69 6.78 1.81 0.20 0.10 100.00 Table 3. A Comparison of the Game and Rough Species Caught in Gill Nets from Possum Kingdom Lake,5 Texas, Total Number of Specimens Caught Total Weight of Specimens Caught Average Weight Per Specimen Total Weight of Rough Fish Total Weight of Game Fish Total Number of Rough Fish Total Number of Game Fish Average Weight Per Rough Fish Average Weight Per Game Fish Percent Rough Fish (by weight) Percent Game Fish (by weight) Percent Rough Fish (by number) Percent Game Fish (by number) % » Drum and Catfish included in game fish. 1953 " 195u.t 1,516 1,h97.u5 0-99 1,1s3.81 353.6u 1,0h5 M71 1.09 0.75 76.38 23.62 68.9h 31.06 mm.m mm.msmm.m mes ommimsa ems wamtsma aw as.e mm.m ms.s-wo.a mes oas-sm has smm-saa ms tenants see: mm.s so.m-oe.s woe maa-mm ems mealama m smashes anaesueaae mm.s we.m-mm.s as meagms saw mmH-moa mm seesssm assesses" sm.m Hm.m-mm.m mm masses wee asa-moa s sneessa assess mm.m Om.m-so.a ems mmemimaa Hem mmslmma mm seem assessassaM Hm.m ma.m;mw.o mam Hmm-osa mam momiama ems seem see we.m we.m-ws.m mean mmoaimmoa mos mos-mos a Assamese assesseev snaase_ mm.a om.m-mm.H see maom-oma mmm m®s-oam as senseso assuageW mm.m mw.maos.m ems smaa-wma omm mmmsema as seen sameness. 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