TPWD 1972 F-3-R-19 #1449: Region III-B Fisheries Studies: Fisheries Management Recommendations, Job No. 15

JOB PROGRESS REPORT As Required By FEDERAL AID IN FISHERIES RESTORATION ACT TEXAS Federal Aid Project No. F—3—R—l9 REGION III—B FISHERIES STUDIES Job No. 15: Fisheries Management Recommendations Project Leader: Joe E. Toole Assistant Project Leader: Danny Bodeker James U. Cross Executive Director Texas Parks and Wildlife Department “ Austin, Texas Fred G. Lowman Roy T. Huffman Branch Head, Wildlife Restoration Director, Current Operations April 17, 1972 ABSTRACT A preliminary meeting was held in Palestine on March 25, 1971, between Parks and Wildlife Biologists, Game Management Officers and Supervisory personnel for the discussion of proposed regulation changes in the regulatory authority areas. Inland Fisheries, Region III-B, includes counties in three regulatory areas. North— east Texas Area, Southeast Texas Area, and the Trinity—Brazos Area. Several changes were made in the Statewide fisheries regulations applicable to regulatory authority counties within Region III-B: 1. Commercial netting on Sam Rayburn Reservoir is on contract bid basis only. 2. A size limit of 11 inches has been placed on all channel catfish. 3. Snagging fish has been deemed illegal. 4. All trotlines must bear a legible tag indicating the owner and the date the line was set. Management recommendations derived from the 1970 segment field data include: 1. Continued contract netting on Sam Rayburn Reservoir. 2. No additional stocking of game fish in Sam Rayburn Reservoir. 3. A fall water draw—down on Dam "B" Reservoir for vegetation control. 4. No additional stocking of game fish in Dam "B" Reservoir. 5. Continued channel catfish stocking program on Lake Murvaul. 6. No commercial netting of any type on Lake Murvaul. 7. No additional stocking of threadfin shad is recommended. 8. Commercial netting be allowed on Lake Striker on a contract bid basis. 9. Additional stocking of game fish is not recommended for Lake Striker 10. No additional stocking of game fish on Toledo Bend Reservoir. 11. No additional stocking of game fish on Caddo Lake. 12. Commercial netting be closed on Lake O'the Pines, for protection of flathead catfish and other game species. 13. Chemical control of water hyacinths on Toledo Bend Reservoir and Caddo Lake, where economically feasible. JOB PROGRESS REPORT State Texas Name: Region Ill—B Fisheries Studies Project No. F—3-R—19 Job No. 15 Title: Fisheries Management Recommendations WWW Period Covered: February 1, 1971, to January 31, 1972. OBJECTIVES: To determine in Region III—B waters, the need for: Changes in fish harvest regulations. Fish Population control. Stocking of game fish species. Noxious vegetation control. Emergency measures needed to correct un affecting fish. 9 UT-LVLONH predictable events adversely PROCEDURES: 1!! Field data from quarterly surveys in Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Toledo Bend Reservoir, Murvaul Reservoir, B. A. Steinhagen Reservoir, Lake Striker, Caddo Lake, and Lake O'the Pines were analyzed to formulate needs for fishery regulations. a. b. Pr0posed fishery regulations were presented at public hearings in reg authority counties within Region Ill—B. h of the above listed reservoirs this segment. nes were utilized in making fish collections. Experimental nets used in these collections were 150 feet in length and 8 feet in depth, with square mesh ranging from 1 inch to 3, and 1/2—inch increments every 25 feet. One l6wfoot nylon bag seine with l/A—inch mesh and a 32-foot bag seine with 3/8—inch mesh was used in seining collections. Quarterly surveys were made on see Experimental gill nets and bag sei Each of the candidate waters in this study contain established game fish pop— ulations. Criteria for making stocking recommendations consist primarily of food availability and degrees of reproduction. Where field sampling indicates little or no reproduction, the normal stocking recommendations will be 100 bass fry or 50 bass fingerlings and 25 channel catfish per acre. Of course in large reservoirs such as Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend, this rate cannot be feasibly maintained. visual observations of aquatic vegetation a. In conjunction with the surveys, were made and recorded to determine those areas infested with noxious plants detrimental to fishermen access and usage. b. Control recommendations for such areas of noxious vegetation were made if feasible. FINDINGS: A preliminary meeting was held in Palestine on March 25, 1971, between Texas Parks and Wildlife Biologists, Game Management Officers, and Supervisory personnel for the discussion of proposed regulation changes in the regulatory authority areas. Inland Fisheries Region III—B includes counties in 3 regulatory authority areas: Northeast Texas Area, Southeast Texas Area and the Trinity—Brazos Area. reservoirs included in this study. collected from all waters in 1971. Caddo Lake to fishermen. No additional stocking of game fish is recommended for Caddo Lake and seining collections reflect adequate reproduction. J. B. 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Based on these data no additional stocking is recommended. It is also recommended that continued commercial netting on Dam ”B" be allowed only under State contract as pres- ent regulations provide. Lake 0' the Pines Total percentage of all game fish species from Lake 0' the Pines data was low, due to a large number of gizzard shad netted, as indicated in Table 4. Netting data collected this segment indicates good representation of largemouth bass, black and white crappie, flathead and channel catfish (See Table 4). The black and white crappie demonstrated excellent growth rates as their average weight was 1.31 and 1.68 pounds respectively. Lake 0' the Pines contains a large spotted bass population, even though the net— ting results are low, fisherman success indicates a large population. Threadfin and gizzard shad reproduction was found to be excellent as all age groups were collected. Good reproduction was found in all major game fish with the exception of channel catfish. Reproduction of this species is questionable, but prior stockings in 1967, through 1970, have increased the population significantly. With these data, further stocking of all game fish is not recommended. Lake Murvaul Lake Murvaul remains as one of the top bass lakes in the State. Creel census data indicates that 254 fishermen caught bass weighing in excess of 6 pounds, the largest bass recorded for 1971, was 9 pounds 9 ounces. Reproduction of bass is excellent as many young—of—the—year were collected in the seining collections. Netting data, in Table 5, indicates a good representation of all game fish. Reproduction was found in all species except channel catfish, but supplemental stocking of 6 to 8—inch fingerlings each year has provided a large catfish population. Total rough fish percentages in Murvaul have increased due to the large number of adult gizzard shad netted this segment. No additional stocking of game fish is recommended for 1972, with the exception of channel catfish. It is recommended that the Panola County Water District continue their rearing—stocking program. Sam Rayburn Reservoir Game fish percentages decreased slightly this segment in the netting data totals, as shown in Table 6. This was attributed to the high number of gizzard shad netted.