TPWD 1954 F-4-R-1 #47: Creel Census of Lake Whitney, Texas

STATE Texas. . PROJECT N0» F*_+Rclme0wa+2__ PERIOD June _ .9. 1953'“ May 31: 195E Segment Completion Report by Leonard D. Lamb Project Leader Robert N. Hambric Assistant Project Leader TITLE Creel Census of Lake Whitney, Texas. OBJECTIVES To estimate the total catch by species and to obtain data regarding the growth rate and relative abundance of each species in the catch INTRODUCTION .More people are enjoying the sport of fishing today than has ever been known before. Many of the anglers are concentrating their efforts on the large artificial impoundments of the Southwest. Good management of the lakes is somewhat dependent upon Valid records of their production. At present there is insufficient data res garding the crops of harvestable fish that are being produced. A creel census pro- ject was begun on Lake Whitney in order to obtain such information. Lake Whitney is located on the Brazos River in Hill and Bosque Counties, Texas. The Whitney Dam and Reservoir was constructed and is operated by the Corps of Army Engineers as a multiple purpose project for the control of floods, the development of hydroelectric power and for recreational purposes and other uses. Construction of the dam was started May 12, l9h7. Constructors of the close are section was begun in May 1950 and completed in December of that year. During that period about 590 surface acres of water were impOunded. The gates of the dam were closed December 10, 1951 which permitted the power pool to commence filling. By June 1959 the lake was approximately halfmfilled with water about ?0 ft. deep near the dam. Several thousand acre feet of water were discharged from the lake in the fall of l952 which concentrated the fish in the flooded river channel and the basin near the dam. The fishing public was somewhat alarmed about the large harvest of small base during the period of comparatively low water. There was considerable agitation at that time to have the lake closed to fishing for one year. But the advice of fisha arias biologists was followed and fishing remahed legal. By allowing the surplus bass to be caught, probable stunting and outbreaks of parasitism were prevented. The latter productivity of the impoundment indicates that no harm was done by leaving it open to heavy fishing pressure. The reservoir refilled to approximately one—half of its capacity by_June l953. ProgressiVe rises expanded the lake area until the normal capacity of 15,800 surface acres was attained in May 1954. 1‘1.) Lake Whitney is a clear water lake about 37 miles long with a shoreline of approximately 190 miles at normal lake level (520 feet above sea level.) The max— imum depth is 95 feet. About onemthird of the lake area is 20~e5 feet deep and one—third is only 10 feet deep or less. The shoreline is irregular and extends far up many of the drainage tributaries in which most of the original timber still stands. There are a number of protected areas that anglers can fish when strong winds form rough water on the main body of the lake. CREEL CENSUS METHODS This paper reports the results of a l0 months creel census beginning in August of l953 and ending in May lQSM. Approximately sin daya poi Tenth were used in work~ ing four of the largest fishing camps on the lake. One census clerk was left at each of the four camps to record data from all fishermen using that camp. Information take on included the numbercf each species caught, their standard lengths, total hours fished, type of fishing and the kind of baits used. The weights of each species were determined by weight _ length data obtained from a netting operation worked on the lake during the same period of Study. The total fish harvest was calculated by using known creel census data times the number of fishermen using the lake as re~ corded by automatic traffic counters operated by the Corps of Engineers. Spot checks determined the percentage of visitors that were actually fishing the lake. FISH HARVEST Almost one million anglers fished the lake during the ten—month period covered by this study. Table 1 records the number of fishermen u .ng the lake each month and the results of their angling efforts. The harvest fishing pressure occured in April when l67,462 fishermen used the lake. The largest harvest was creeled in March when 306,035 pounds of fish were caught. Table 2 shows a breakdown of the data into spe— cies caught per month, the number of each species checked, their average weight and the percentage of the month*s catch they represent. January is not represented in the table due to the small amount of cred census data gathered that month. The products of Table 2 represent a larger number of cred census cards than were used to obtain data in Table l. Some of the cards contained incomplete data and therefore couldrot be used in compiling information for Table l. White crappie were the most abundant species caught, representing slightly more than onemthird of the entire harvest. Largemouth black base were next, accounting for a little less than one-third of the total catch. Black crappie totaled about lie of the catch. For information on the remaining species, see Table 2. Calculating the total production for a lake is sometimes difficult. Automat— ic traffic counters on the lake roads and spot checks to determine the percentage of visitors that were actually fishing the lake were a great help in the present study. As the lake was expanding in area during most of the ten months covered by the study, it was deemed necessary to break the fish harvest into month intervals. The mean sur— face acres of water in the lake as well as the number of calculated fishermen for each month were obtained from the Fort Worth office of the Corps of Army Engineers. Production of the lake was calculated by use of the information mentioned above based on the average catch per angler as obtained from the creel census crews by personal contact with the fishermen. Table 3 shows the mean surface acres of water in the lake each month and the pounds of fish harvested per surface acre during that month. It also shows the total harvest per acre for the ten month period. The lake was quite productive, furnishing 118.89 pounds of fish per surface acre, of which practically all were game fish. The data gathered during this period indicates that additional information may be obtain~ ed by continuing the study. mam: A" a r a tenementh creel census was run on Lake Whitney, Tessa. impoundment which had just reached its last month of the census. _ The lake is a new normal capacity of watcce.$fi®fast during the Almost one million anglers fished the lake and more than two thousand of them were contacted personally for fishing data. .nwm Una .omm :H umpowaaoo mama on» go mmwnmbm am no Ummmn mumc hpmsnmh * :mmfimwm.fi mma.oma ommbfimm mmofimom 0mm.mmm wom.uu mmm.:m Huo.:u o:o.ow omH“:mH ooa.mma pawsmo swam.nq.pmm mMH,H:m.m 0mm.oom ::m.m©: mommm:: u:o,mom moo.aoa mmn.om www.mOH moo.amfl mmw.mmm How.omm m pcmsmo nmfl .oz.pmm mmm.oom oumnaja m@:.mwa nmm.m:fi immfimOH mma.o: Hmu.:: mmo.mm mom.om 0mm.:OH omm.ow mxwg no mgmfi q¢.pmm mw.m mfl.m mm.m ma.m mm.m mm.m 0:.H uo.m ma.m :m.m mm.: mmm Mom . . . nmfim.oz.m>a mggm mxmm :u.m mo.m :m.m Jm.m :m.m No.0 H:.m om.o OH.m “.9mv amm . . . mcfinmfim.m>« fimm.o 9mm.) :m:.o oam.o mm©.o o::.o nmm.o :Jm.o mmo.o :nu.o _omo.o . psomlnmz pom swam waw.m Hmm mam mmwa um: mum. mm mom mmm . moo mfim psmsmo . nmflm .oz Hmo.HH mo:m omwa .mwam :ow mm: mad mmn m:w 5mm mom cmnmfim .pmndmz .02 oxa on ma oma m:m mma Hm umpompcoo mpmamnd .02 .nmm *.Gwh .omm .>oz .poo .p mm I “Pd mmnmmm:wmwwm:. .111IIIIIIIummHs111iuIIiaIIIIIIIIiIIIIIaIIIIqssummmwwlunuilululuunni :mma- mmma mmxma “awqpfinx mxmq mvpmo mamcmo Hmwno scam damn mo coapwafinme .H magma . mmaw amwmmww mama may m Mmam was w Mwm. ma. w: we». ma. Ha 3mm. mm.ha wmmm ”mam mm .wmw ¢J.wrm mam mmmr mwem mmg m 99m. wa.fi aw wan. mm. m mam. mm.m: mag mmmfl mmw_ om.wmm mad mmw, cam. wm.a 4M .Hmm hm. w mmma ww.wm wmm mmmm 5%mm .mmw:MA omfiwa,fi wag. mm. w kw». .30. a Ohm. m~.: om Ammfl fi%.w ”w.mm .m cam mmxo cm. W mm.m am. M m. mm. A mom. on. m th. oo.w mm “mmM ammm .1m.mm QQH flm . mmmw ”mmm __mefima.mmfi mmm mmm. wh.ma hm mmmm kwmw am.mmm w a Hmma mmgw am. m mmm. md. m Jam. am.da Hmm mmmfl .www H. eoww mafl mmmq mmm, am. : :fim. mm.wH mam mmmm n$wm _ wwm 09H me mwm mm. M mam. mm. H m ma. mx.mfl ow mmwm .msm .mwfi p w 5m am .mfi. 5% .fifiwfi . .mm fl .wfi. 5m .wm.m% _ pm 35 ”ma 3% am _ mamaaw_ mamm_Mumm )amw%gmm mmfifimw. Ewan ,_nmwm»mu_mmmnaamm ‘nmwwmmm mmwm¢%m. anaIsIIiIIIIIIIIIa1IIIIiIIaIII1iIIiiiIIIIInsiIIIIiIIIII:ItIIIIai1IIimwiialtitullll||1liulatllttm _ . =. . . ! wnmwmfi aw wmwkmumh mam wamemw whmhmhfi . 9%MMQQNW aw MgMfi Mm mmwwumflmww wmflmmkmhm MMMHNMW WHWNQMHM wmw 30mm nmwmm. mam. am. mw wmwe mm.m mmw wmma mm.mw m m mmm am.:m aamm mam. mw.m mmw ppm. ww.0m wmmm Mammmw Mmumm awn m.9 m awaafi waex_ Wm mmmfi mmqw m» mad. wm.om mam caa.a am. m mmm. hw.om mmw m.mm ”mm mama a: m mama mm, m mm mmx. mmawm wafl mam. om.mm mmm omw. mm M Ha Ham" ma.:m mam ammm "www 00». ma m ma omo.fi mg.fi mm wa. amnmw mwm mww. hm,mm wmm mmw. wwgfi am fimm. wn.wm mam mmrm "hmm mmwa am. a mmfi.w o¢.H m mm». seam ow awm. oo.ma mw Jam. mm.m w: w¢w om mm mam wm M .mmm mafia mm.m H wgm. ma.mm m mm. mm.m H me a Hm. am am mmmm ammm wmw. mgig ma 3mm, mm.m mm Nmm. we.ma mm 0mm. pm.m m gem. mm. om mmfi mmmfl “mam . ems. imm a MN .m. ngw mw mag. wo.om mam Hmm. mw.m om www. mm.m: mm¢ mmmm .wmw. «no. :w.fi Hm rmm a». m Hma mfl.m baa mam. mm.¢m 33w mma. mw.fi mm mww. mm pa mmm mmmm..mmm _ m .cm. ea. m Mum. b¢.m mm omm. mmwmh m.“ pom. .m .mw mmmm .mmm 9pm. w ,am .yw. fl fimw .9: m .om awn w .om .93 ¢ .mm .#m w .cm ”mkfl .WP% .mha .mkm .whm .WEfi , wawhmm .IIII:r1IIa1IIIIIIiIIi1IiII1i1ItIInIIiI1iIsIIIIIIIIIIIIccIaIci:IIIIlIIIIIaIItIliIIrIuIIrIIIIrI1iIII:arullualtaiiullnllliln. wmwm awwwwmw mwmmmmu mwmmwhw mamm.wmuwmmm mmmm Mommm mmwummm . mfiwnm Hmmmmnu Mumfim muwam “a mmumpmmm_ apnoammnma 5;. . ammfinmmmfl hwflMfiw .mMflHHnR_ mMmH.»wmquwmm mdowhmw mn¥_hn.wmfimmemem magma mmaunflz HO - w wmm uflmefi.m®mnmfifi nhwaamm .wmwamnm mahmm mammmu Hmwhu.fim&m.mwmm we mnmwvmdnnya um mafifiw Table 3a flurfaae AGTQE 9f Watér (Mean far Mmflthi anfl the Pmundg of Figh Egrvestad fram Lake Whitney, August 1953 w7May 195h%i ‘guguafi 19§3 Segtamber 1953 fictmbar l953 Ravambgr l953 fifififimbfif l9§3 January 195% February 195h Mafmh 195g fiETil 195% %'” Thfi laka level thrfiflghflut fihfi fienmmanfih perifia was subjaetea t0 an almmgt can» fiimmamfi bufi mat necaaflarily ataady rififia