TPWD 1996 F-30-R #1819: Survey Report for the Brazos River, 1994

STATEWIDE FRESHWATER FISHERIES MUNITORING AND MANAGEMENT PRDGRAH FEDERAL AID IN SPORT FISH RESTDRATION ACT PROJECT F-SD-R Survey Repcrt fer the Braacs River, 1994 K. K. Sellers District Management Superviscr Inland Fisheries Divisicn District 2-3, Wacc, Texas and Districts 1—H, 2—D, E—F, and 2-E Abilene, Fcrt Wcrth, Wichita Falls, and Bryan, Texas Andrew Sanscm Executive Directcr Texas Parks and Wildlife Department 4200 Smith Schccl Read Austin, Texas 78744 Philip P. Durccher Directer cf Inland Fisheries January 31, 1996 INTRODUCTION The Brazos River mainstream begins in Stonewall County and flows approximately 840 miles to the Gulf of Mexico at Brazosport in Brazoria County (Figure 1). The Brazos River drainage area is an estimated 42,800 square miles and annual run-off exceeds 5 million acre feet. The river crosses most physiographic regions of Texas, including: High Plains, West Texas Lower Rolling Plains, West Texas Cross Timbers, Grand Prairie, and Gulf Coast Plains (Kingston 1992). llppeLBrazosRiver: Stonewall County to Parker County (Figure 2). The watershed is generally rangeland with heavily wooded hills and valleys and flat cleared areas for agricultural use (Miertschin et al 1989). This section of the river receives inflows from the Salt Fork, Double Mountain Fork, Clear Fork, and North Fork. Public access and recreational opportunities are limited above Possum Kingdom Lake. The uppermost mainstream reservoir is Possum Kingdom Lake (17,700 acres) in Palo Pinto County. The reservoir provides flood control, recreation, and hydropower production and the dam is 688 river~mi1es from the Texas Gulf Coast. Flows below the reservoir depend on flood prevention and hydropower release schedules. Approximately 1-mile of river is accessible to the public immediately below the Possum Kingdom Lake Dam and at major highway crossings further downstream. This portion of stream provides excellent recreational opportunities for canoeing and for angling. The river is clear and shallow with alternating sand bars, gravel outcroppings, and shallow pools. Water from the upper watershed has little value for municipal or industrial use because of a high salt content. Middleflrazosclliver: Parker County to Falls County (Figure 3). This portion of the watershed consists of rocky, timbered hills and large expanses of flat land used for agriculture. The streambed is shallow and clear with numerous sand and gravel bars and shallow pools. River banks vary from rocky cliffs and boulders to high sand banks. Lake Granbury (8,700 acres) is located in Hood County; the dam is 543 river-miles from the coast. This reservoir is primarily used for flood control, recreation, and a municipal water supply. About 6'? river- miles downstream, Lake Whitney (23,560 acres) is bordered by Hill and Bosque Counties; the dam is 442 river-miles from the coast. This impoundment is used for flood control, recreation, and hydropower production. An estimated 40 river-miles below Lake Whitney is Lake Brazos, a 109-acre reservoir within the City of Waco in McLennan County. The reservoir is impounded by a low-water hydraulic dam (400 river—miles from the coast) used for flood control. The last barrier to upstream fish migrations , except during flood events, is at Marlin Falls in Falls County (347 river-miles from the coast). The falls include a lowuwater dam with a drop of about 4-5 feet in the streambed. Major tributaries to the middle portion of the Brazos River include Squaw Creek and the Paluxy River in Hood County , the Nolan River in Hill County, and Aquilla Creek and the North, South, and Middle Bosque Rivers in McLennan County. Public access and angling opportunities are good along most of the 2 middle Brazos River area with numerous highway crossings, boat ramps, parks, and commercial campgrounds. Canoeing is also popular below Lake Whitney. Past pollution problems have included dairy and cattle feed-lot runoff, pesticide contamination, illegal industrial discharge, illegal sand and gravel dredging operations, illegal discharge of sediment from nearby sand and gravel pits, and illegal construction within the river bottom. Although there is a considerable amount of industrial development in the Waco area, no long—term problems are known to exist. LoseeLBrazosRixer: Falls County to the Gulf of Mexico (Figure 4), approximately 347 miles of stream. The lower portion of the Brazos River passes through post oak savannah and coastal prairie from Falls county to Brazosport (Brazoria County) on the Texas Gulf Coast. Major tributaries include the Leon River and Little River (Robertson County), Yegua Creek (Burleson County), the Navasota River (Washington County), and Allen's Creek (Austin County). The topography in this portion of the watershed is mostly rolling hills and flat sand and clay fields and timbered areas. Land uses are primarily agricultural, residential, and industrial. Most industry is in the lower portion of the watershed. In the lower portion of the drainage near the coast, potential sources of pollution are mostly industrial, particularly from the Dow Chemical complex in Brazoria County. Overall, public access in the lower Brazos River is limited by shallow water depth and private ownership of land adjacent to the river. Most access is located at highway crossings or near municipalities. Fish species stocked in the Brazos River are shown in Table l and fish harvest regulations are shown in Table 2. Other management activities have been mostly limited to pollution monitoring and documentation, flow recommendations, and comments on environ mental impacts of proposed projects associated with existing reservoirs. METHODS o Sampling access and stream characteristics dictated suitability of sampling methods for each site- Fish collections were made by: seining at 8 sites on the upper, 6 sites on the middle, and 5 sites on the lower Brazos River; electrofishing at 6 sites on the middle and 5 sites on the lower Brazos River; hoop netting at 3 sites on the upper and 5 sites on the middle Brazos River; and gill netting at 5 sites on the middle Brazos River. Catch rate (CPUE) for seining was recorded as the total number of each species per foot seined at each site; CPUE for electrofishing was recorded as total number of each species captured per hour of actual electrofishing time; CPUE for hoop netting was recorded as total number of each species caught in one net set overnight; and CPUE for gill netting was recorded as total number of each species caught in one not set overnight . Sampling equipment and techniques were according to TPWD (1993). O D O O O O 3 Sampling statistics for fish collections included CPUE, proportional stock density (PSD), relative stock density (RSD), and relative weight (Wr). Calculations of structural indices were calculated on selected species according to Anderson and Gutreuter (1983) and Childress (1989). Age and growth procedures were implemented on selected species according to procedures shown in TPWD (1993)- Otoliths were used to age largemouth bass, spotted bass, and white crappie; scales were used to age white bass and striped bass; and pectoral spines were used to age blue, channel, and flathead catfish. Flow data were obtained from US Geological Survey (USGS) records (USGS 1995). The nearest USGS station upstream from actual sampling sites was used to estimate flows for each site where data were available. Sampling stations, followed by USGS station numbers (in parentheses), were as follows: U-l (08080500), U-2 (08082000), U95 (03032500), 0-3 (03033000), 0—? (03033300), M-l (03090300), Ma (03091000), 34-4 (03093100), M-S (03093500), Mus (03093290), L—2 (03103700), L—S (031115000), and L—d (03113050). Water quality data were taken for upper and middle Brazos River stations from USGS records at the same stations used for flow estimates where data were available. Lower Brazos River sites were actual measurements from samples obtained during surveys; samples were analyzed using a Hach DREL water analysis kit. Habitat estimates were made at 5 sites on the middle Brazos River. Techniques were those shown in TPWD (1993). In addition, the entire river from the Gulf of Mexico to Seymour, Texas, was videotaped to assist in identifying accessible sampling stations and in evaluating habitat characteristics. Freshwater mussels were collected in conjunction with other river survey activities. Samples were forwarded to Robert G. Howells, TPWD, for species identification. RESULTS River Basin Summaries o Catch rates of fish species collected at upper, middle, and lower Brazos River sampling sites are shown in Table 3, 4, and 5. o A checklist of all fish species collected during 1994 surveys of the Brazos River are shown in Table 6. o A summary of age and growth results for selected fish species is presented in Table T. o Flow characteristics for the upper Brazos River are shown in Figure 5, the middle Brazos River in Figures 6 and 7, and the lower Brazos River in Figure 8. Depth profiles and related data from middle Brazos River surveys are shown in Figures 9 and 10. o Water quality data from the upper, middle, and lower Brazos River are presented in Table 8. o Habitat estimates from on-site surveys on the middle Brazos River are presented in Table 9. o A checklist of freshwater mussel species collected from all sites is presented in Table 10. Summary from Fish Species Collections Channel, blue and tlathead catfishes o Catch rates of selected sizes and structural indices (PSI), RSI)”, and RSD,,,) for catfishes collected by all methods in 1994 are presented in Table 11. largemouth and spotted bass o Catch rates of selected sizes and structural indices (PSD and RSDH) for largemouth bass and spotted bass collected by all methods in 1994 are presented in Table 12. o Results of electrophoretic analyses of largemouth bass collected in 1994 are presented in Table 13. White bass and white crappie o Catch rates of selected sizes and structural indices (PSD and R813“) of white bass and white crappie collected by all methods are presented in Table 14. 6 LITERATURE CITED Anderson, R. 0. , and S. J. Gutreuter, 1983. Length, weight, and associated structural indices. Pages 283—300 in L. A. Nielsen and D. C. Johnson, editors. Fisheries Techniques. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland. Childress, W. M. 1989. Standard weight curves defined from Texas length and weight data. Inland Fisheries Data Series No. 11. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Inland Fisheries Division. Austin, Texas. Kingston, Mike 1992. Texas Almanac (1992—1993). Gulf Publishing Company. Houston, Texas. Miertschin, 1., and P. Price. 1989. Use attainability analysis of upper segment 1206 of the Brazos River. James Miertschin and Associates, Inc.. Austin, Texas. TPWD (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department) 1993. Inland fishery assessment procedures manual. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Inland Fisheries Division. Austin, Texas. USGS (U S Geological Survey) 1995. Water resources data for Texas water year 1994. Volume 2. U S Geological Survey Water Data Report TX-94—2. Austin, Texas. I Table 1. Checklist of fish species stocked by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in mainstream locations on the Brazos River, Texas, from 1965 through 1994. Stocking Location Lake Lake Lake Lake Possum Possum Kingdom Species Brazos Whitney Granbury Kingdom Tailrace Threadfin shad X Rainbow trout X Blue catfish X X Channel catfish X X X X Striped bass X X X X Smallmouth bass X X X largemouth bass X X X Florida largemouth X X X bass 8 Table 2. Sportfish harvest regulations for the Brazos River, Texas, 1994. Minimum Species Daily bag limit Possession limit Size limit (inches) Catfish (blue and channel) 25 50 12 Flathead catfish 5 10 18 Striped bass 5 15 18 White bass 25 50 10 Smallmouth basslt2 5 10 14 Largemouth basslfl 5 10 14 Spotted bass1 5 10 12 Crappie (black and white) 25 50 10 Rainbow trout 5 10 None 1) Daily bag and possession limits apply to the total aggregate of smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, and spotted bass. 2) The minimum size limit of smallmouth bass in Lake Whitney is 18 inches. 3) The minimum size limit of largemouth bass in Lake Granbury is 16 inches. 9 Table 3. Summary of catch rates by seining (total feet seined and number collected), and hoop netting (number per net) at all sampling sites on the upper section of the Brazos River in June, July, and August, 1994. Sampling efforts are shown in parentheses. Site Species Seining Hoop Nets U-l (75 ft) Red shiner 2 Plains minnow 65 Plains killifish 3 Western mosquitofish 9 U-2 (80 ft) Red River pupfish 480 Plains killifish 5 U-3 (75 ft) Plains minnow 380 Red River pupfish 16 Plains killifish 1 Western mosquitofish 6 U-4 (50 ft) Common carp 1 Plains minnow 399 Red River pupfish 3 Western mosquitofish 10 [1-5 (30 ft) Common carp 1 Plains minnow 58 River carpsucker l Plains killifish 3 Western mosquitofish 10