TPWD 1957 F-4-R-4 #273: Basic Survey and Inventory of Fish Species in the Trinity River Watershed

JOB COMPLETION REPORT State of TEXAS Project No. FHRh Name: Fisheries Investigations and Surveys of the Waters of Region h—B. Job No. B—l? Title: Basic Survey and Inventory of Fish Species in the Trinity River Watershed Lying in the Following Counties: Parker, Tarrant, Dallas, Rockwell, Kaufman, Van Zandt, Johnson, Leon, Ellis, Nav- arro, Henderson, Freestone, Anderson, Houston, Trini.ty, Madison, Walker, San Jacinto, Polk, Liberty and Chambers. Period Covered: November l, 1955 - October 31, 1957 ABSTRACT: A basic survey and inventory of the fish species present was conducted on that part of the Trinity River Watershed lying within Region h-B. The streams and lakes below Lake Bridgeport, Lake Grapevine, Garza—Little Elm Lake, and Lake Lavon were included in this survey. There have been a total of fifty-seven species collected from this watershed during the progress of the work since 1953 and twenty-nine of these species were taken during this investigation. The extremes in water level fluctuation ranged from no flow during the l955-56 segment to fifty—seven days of flood during the 1956-57 segment. This flooding served to flush out the stream channels and remove debris that had accumulated during the period when there was little or no flow. An increase in the population concentration in the Dallas—Fort Worth area has placed a strain on the sewage disposal facilities. This, together with inadequately 5 treated industrial wastes and salt water from oil production, constitutes a serious pol- lution problem that greatly limits the fish production. OBJECTIVES: To gather fundamental data on the above waters in regard to their physical, chemical, and biological aspects. To determine the distribution of fish species present, their relative abundance, and the ecological factors influencing their distribution. Fish collections were made at 39 seine stations and 9 net stations (Figure l) on the Trinity River Watershed The seine collections were made by means of small mesh seines. Net collections were made by means of gill nets of mesh sizes varying from.one inch to three inches square measure. The collections made during the l955 1956 segment were limited to the river and a few major tributaries since the smaller tributaries were dry during this period. The net station on the Trinity River near Moss Bluff was aban— doned during the l956-l957 segment because of high water and gill net collections in the 9 small lakes were substituted for seine collections on streams since the heavy rains made Seining impracticable. u Emcee a. 3&2 .1 mama zqumutmb main mas/figs b or: .st Wynne?“ . I :12 91:3. waxes“ mm m .0 MW .mnxrm owgarmh 50.234 EPU Seine collections were preserved in formalin and transported to the laboratory for identification and examination. Net collections were identified in the field and weight, length, sexual development and other data was recorded. Ecological data was recorded for each seine or net station and included: stream width, stream depth, bottom.type, cover, vegetation, relative turbidity and land use. (Tables 1 and 2) Water quality was determined by chemical analysis of the Trinity River Water at two sample stations Operated by the U. S. Geological Survey whose records were made available for this report. These stations are located at Romayor and Moss Bluff. (Figure 1) PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: The Watershed of the Trinity River is roughly triangular in shape. It extends from the Red River to the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of #55 miles with a maximum width of 131 miles. The drainage area is about 17,600 square miles. This watershed is generally flat with few deep valleys. The lakes that have been formed on the tributaries are usually broad and shallow. The land use is largely given to farming in the upper part but as the valley narrows near the gulf ranching and rice growing become the more common land use. Silting plays an important part in limiting the fish production in the lakes but becomes less important in the watershed below the major lakes. The cities of Dallas and Fort Worth have a combined population of more than 1,500,000 people together with many ndustries that add to the waste disposal problem. The Trinity River Watershed is primarily located in the Coastal Plains Physio~ graphic Region but the West Fork and the Elm Fork extend into the North Central Plains Region. The West Fork arises in the West Cross Timbers Belt and extends across the Grand Prairie Belt, where it is joined by the Elm Fork.‘ The West Fork then continues across the East CTWSS Timbers Belt to a juncture with the East Fork in the Blackland Prairie Belt. The resulting River then flows southward across the Post Oak Belt, Pine Belt, and Coastal Prairie to enter Trinity Bay near Anahuac. The Cross Timbers Belt is composed of soils that are largely sand or sandy loam and are grayish in color. The surface is a mixture of hills and prairies with a dominant vegetation of blackjact oaksipost oak and with some pecan and elm along the streams. Thin limestone soil with rolling hills giving way at times to low cedar covered mountains characterizes the Grand Prairie Belt. The dominant vegetation is generally grasses with pecan and other hardwoods along the streams. The cedar that covers some of the foothill type mountains is a dominant vegetation only on these mountains. There are few trees on the Blackland Prairie where the deep black soil supports a dominant vegetation of grasses and causes the streams to remain muddy for long periods of following rains. Post oak and blackjact oak comprise the dominant vegetation of the belt that .eparates the Blackland Prairie from.the Pine Belt where the soil changes gradually from h. a black limestone produced clay to a red sandy soil. The soil of the Pine Belt con- tains much.iron and supports a vegetation dominated by pine and tall hardwoods. The streams carry less silt and tend to clear more rapidly after rains. The Coastal Prairie part of the Trinity River Watershed is an aluvial flood plain type of narrow valley and is generally covered with trees which are a mixture of pine and hardwoods. CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS: The United States Geological Survey determined the water quality of the Trin- ity River by means of chemical analysis of water taken at sampling stations located at Romayor and Moss Bluff. The period from December 1, 1955 to October 31, 1957 was covered by the Romayor data, (Table 3), and from December 1, 1955, to September 30, 1957 by the Moss Bluff data. (Table h) Fluctuations in water flow during this period were quite pronounced since there was no flow in the river during the latter months of 1956 and from April 18, 1957 to June 21, 1957 the Trinity River was flooding the lowlands below the confluence of the East Fork with the West Fork. This abundance of water tended to reduce the usual concen- tration of salts by dilution and served to flush out the channel which removed much of the organic material that had accumulated during the period of low water. The heavy concentration of pOpulation in the Dallas—Fort Worth area has placed an overload on the rather inadequate sewage disposal systems of the various municipalities. Rainfall during the five years prior to the 1957 rains had been very inadequate and the stream flow was insufficient to carry away the organic debris that varied from partially treated sewage to raw sewage that was bypassed into the river at peak loads. During the period of little rainfall that portion of the west Fork between Fort Worth and the con— fluence with the East Fork below Dallas was polluted by inadequately treated sewage to an extent that it was rendered useless for production of useful fish species. The mod- erate rains that fell during that period served to carry the more recently deposited organic material down the river in what is locally termed "Black Rises" which caused heavy mortality among the fish population the entire length of the river. Salt water from oil production in fields adjacent to the Trinity and its trib- utaries contributes to the pollution problem at intervals. When the water in the streams is low the salt water collects in pools from seepage or slugh pit overflow and light rains tend to move this material into the river where considerable fish kills result. The problem is greatly reduced when the.stream flow is normal and is eliminated entirely at times of high water. The Texas Gulf Sulphur Company plant at moss Bluff has been suspected, by local fishermen, of polluting the lower part of the river but no evidence of such pollution has been found. Daily water samples are taken by employees of the sulphur company to enable the plant operators to avoid pollution. FISH COLLECTIONS: Seine and net collections were made on the Trinity River while only seine collections were made on the tributary streams. Both seine and net collections were made on the representative lakes that were surveyed during this investigation. The Checklist of Species from the Trinity River Watershed (Table 5) numbers 55 5. species and includes all fish collected from this watershed since June 1, 1953 when 'his project was started. Twenty-eight freshwater and two saltwater species were collected at 39 seine stations (Table 6) and the results indicate that the red shiner (Notropis lutrensis) is the most numerous as well as the most widely distributed species. The red shiner was taken at 28 of the 39 seine stations and made up 65 percent of the total number of specimens taken. Twentwaive freshwater species and two saltwater species were taken at nine net stations (Table 7) and of the 3271 specimens taken the bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) was the most numerous with 722 specimens making up 22 percent of the total. Gizsard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) followed with 707 specimens for 21.6 percent. Blue— gill sunfish were taken at 8 of the 9 net stations while gizzard shad were taken at 7 stations. ' The weight distribution of the various species taken (Table 8) in nets indicates a dominance by the alligator gar (Lepisosteus spatula). This species provided 37 perm cent of the total weight of 5,004 pounds followed by longnose gar (Lepisosteus osseus) with 27 percent. . 7 A comparison of the game and rough species taken in nets (Table'9) shows that the average weight of the 3271 specimens was 1.53 pounds. Rough fish made up 86 per— .cent of the total weight and averaged 2.67 pounds while game species were 51 percent of the total number and averaged only O.h2 pounds. Lepisosteus spatula: alligator gar. This species was collected only in net samples. The lakes along the Trinity River and the lower part of the river near Moss Bluff provided the only specimens. The floods of the past spring have resulted in heavy populations of this species being introduced in the river bottom lakes that were inundated. Lepisosteus platostomus: shortness gar. Only two specimens of this spehies were taken and they were netted at the Moss Bluff station on the lower Trinity River.. Lepisosteus productus: spotted gar. This species was rather well distributed in the net catches. Three of the lakes netted failed to produce spotted gar. The spotted gar taken averaged less than four pounds. Lepisosteus osseus: longnose gar. Longnose gar are the most widely distributed of the gars. It is second to alligator gar in both numbers and weight, however, since much of the netting was done in the lower portion of the river where the habitat is more favorable to the alligator gar. FAMILY AMIIDAE: Amie calves bowfin (grindle). The bowfin was taken in only one collection. One specimen was taken in a net collection from Red Lake, near Fairfield in Freestone Countyt Other specimens were observed but not collected. This species is known to be present in the lower portion of the Trinity and tributary streams but was not taken in Jther seine or net samples. FAMILY CLUPEIDAE: Brevoortia gunteri: bay menhaden. Only two specimens of this Species were taken. They were taken in gill nets from the Trinity River near Moss Bluff. This collection was made during the period of low water when the water in the river was quite ‘brackish. These specimens were taken along with many blue crabs which indicates that they are occasional visitors to the area probably during low water periods. Dorosoma cepediannm: gizsard shad. The gissard shad was present in abundance in all parts of the watershed. They were taken in the majority of the collections and were sufficiently prevalent in some lakes to warrant selective control measures. FAMILY CHARACIDAE: Astyanax fasciatus: banded tetra. This species has been introduced into these waters by bait dealers and frequently are released by fishermen. There is little evidence to support the theory that this Species may survive the winter in this area. FAMILY CATASTIOMIDAE: Ictiobus bubalus; smallmouth buffalo. This is one of the more popular com- mercial species of the area and is present in the entire length of the Trinity together with most of the lakes. much fishing, both commercially and for Sport, is done for the buffalo. - Carpoides carpio: river carpsucker. Carpsuckers are present in the entire Trinity Watershed and constitute one of the major rough fish problems of the area. They are a difficult Species to control by selective kill methods and are sufficiently pro— lific to threaten the more desirable species with over crowding. .Minytrema melanOps: spotted sucker. The spotted sucker is not widely diam tributed in the Trinity Watershed but is found in Lake Benbrook and tributaries to the Clear Fork. ' Erimyzon sucetta3. lake chubsucker. This species was found in three lakes but was not taken in any of the seine samples from the streams. The chuhsucker pOpulation has ‘become a problem in some lakes on the Reches'River drainage but is not sufficiently large to cease concern in any of the Trinity Drainage Lakes that have'been worked. FAMILY’CYPRINIDAE: Cyprinus carpio: carp. The carp was introduced into Texas Waters before 1900 and has been able to establish itself very well. Although this species is widely dis— tributed, comparatively few were taken in seine ani net samples during this investigation. This is possible due to the tendency of the carp to move in rather large schools so that the catch is either a large number or only a few stragglers. Notemigonus crysoleucas: golden Shiner. This is a rather important bait minnow in some areas but is not popular in this vicinity. The golden shiner attains a rather large size in the Nachos Drainage where specimens up to 15 inches in length have been recovered from Ratcliff Lake in Houston County. This size has not been observed in the samples from the Trinity WaterShed but specimens of 8 to 10 inches have been taken. 7. Notropis fumeus:‘ ribbon Shiner. All the specimens of ribbon shiner collected were found in the upper part of the watershed. The Clear Fork provided three collections bile Cedar Creek provided the other. This species appears to prefer clear streams with rock or gravel bottoms. NotrOpis umbratilis: redfin Shiner. The only specimens of this species col- lected were taken from Kellison Creek, in Houston County, near Weldon. This is a small sandy stream flowing through timber and grazing lands. Notropis venustis: blacktail shiner. This species was rather widely distributed since it was collected from streams in the upper, central and lower part of the watershed. In each case themstream was a clear stream with much of its length over sand or gravel bottom. NotrOpis lutrensis: red shiner (redhorse Shiner). The most popular bait minnow in this area is the red shiner which is also the most widely distributed as well as the most numerous species in the seine collections. Red Shiner specimens were col- lected at 30 of the 39 seine stations. Notropis atrocaudalis: blackspot Shiner. This species was not numerous in the collections but the few specimens were taken from.widely separated localities. The first collection was made in Tarrant County and the remaining two were made in Anderson County. Hybognathus nuchalis: silvery minnow. The silvery minnow was not a numerous species in the collections. One was taken in Tarrant County and the remaining five were taken from the Trinity River near Livingston in Polk County. This distribution covers the greater part of the watershed and indicates a wide distribution. Pimephales vigilax: parrot minnow. Parrot minnows were taken throughout the watershed where seining could be done. The twelve seine stations where they were found represented all sections of the watershed but few were taken from,murky or muddy streams. Pimephales promelas: fathead minnow. Only one specimen of this species was taken and that one was recovered from Kellison Creek near Weldon in Houston County. FAMILY AMEIUBIDAE: Ictalurus punctatus: channel catfish. Channel catfish were found in only two seine samples but are known to inhabit the entire watershed. They were recovered at six of the nine net stations and are known to be present at the other three stations since previous net runs and fishing trips have produced them. This species is by far the most important commercial and food fish that is found in the Trinity River Watershed. It also provides the greatest number of man~hours of sport fishing in those areas that are not near one of the larger impoundments. Ictalurus furcatus: blue catfish. This species is probably present in-much larger numbers than the one specimen recovered indicates. This specimen was taken at Moss Bluff on the Trinity River. The tendency of fishermen to mistake the blue catfish for the channel catfish, and vice versa, makes the acceptance of their reports somewhat risky and therefore the writer has little real information as to the distribution of this species. 8. Ictalurus melas: black bullhead. The black bullhead is very widely distrib— uted. They were found in all sections of the watershed with the exception of the ex- treme lower part of the Trinity River at Mbss Bluff. In some of the newer lakes this species becomes so numerous as to seriously overcrowd the more desirable species. This condition tends to exist until the channel catfish and flathead catfish population is increased to the point where they can serve as a control on the bullheads. Ictalurus natalis: yellow bullhead. The yellow bullhead is rather widely distributed in the Trinity River Watershed. Collections of this species were made at all net stations except Buzzard Lake and Mess Bluff on the lower end of the Trinity. No yellow bullheads were collected in seine samples but there is ample reason to believe that they were present in many of the streams but probably were in water too deep for seining. FAMILY CYPRINODONTIDAE Fundulus olivaceus: blackspot topminnow. This species is rather widely distributed throughout the Trinity Watershed. It is of little value as a forage fish since it appears to be taken by other species only when other food is scarce or absent. FAMILY POECILIIDAE: Gambusia affinis: common mosquitofish. The mosquito fish is one of the most widely distributed species in the watershed having been found in all parts of the drainage area. They have little value as a forage species but act as a control on mosquito larvae. They are a live bearing species and thus are not subject to the heavy hatchin( loss that the egg laying fishes experience. Since a few young are produced at several times during the year the danger of having an entire spawn lost through water level fluctuation is avoided. FAMELY MUGILIDAE: Mugil Cephalus: striped mullet. This saltwater species enters the Trinity rather freely and has been collected from Clear Lake following the overflow of the Trinity River. Collections have been made from the Trinity River near Livingston, in Polk County, as well as at the Moss Bluff netting station. Small mullet have been transported to inland lakes by bait dealers and have been known to attain a weight of more than ten pounds in Possum.Kingdom Lake, on the Brazos River, where at least two such specimens were taken by commercial fishermen. FAMILY SERRANIDAE: Roccus chgysops: white bass. The white bass was introduced into the Trinity River System when they were stocked in Lake Dallas in 193M. This Species rapidly became a popular fish with the anglers and in l937 was introduced into Eagle Mbuntain Lake and Lake Worth. The tendency of the white bass to congregate at the upper end of a lake in the late winter or early spring and migrate up the streams to spawn render them accessable to the fisherman. This habit together with the schooling habit makes locating them a fairly simple problem and adds to their popularity. This species appears to be the most effective control on gizzard shad that can be found in the water of this vicinity. They prefer deep lakes with permanent streams up which they migrate to Spawn but will spawn on windswept shoals or sandbars. They are seldom.found in small shallow streams but are rather abundant in the deeper waters of the lower Trinity River. 9. - Roccus mississippiensis: yellow bass. This species is closely related to the white bass and is found in the same general habitat. They generally do not attain the average size of the white bass but are game and good food fishes. The yellow bass is found only in the Trinity River and in those lakes that are subject to overflow from the river. Those lakes that are not subject to overflow appear to be free of this species. The watersheds to the east of the Trinity are quite heavily populated with the yellow bass. FAMILY CENTRARCHIDAE: Micropterus salmoides: largemouth bass. The largemouth bass is widely dis- tributed. It is found in all parts of the Trinity'Watershed. This species is abundant in both lakes and streams and is highly prized by the artificial lure fisherman. Chaenobryttus gulosus: warmouth. This species was not taken in seine col— lections but is known to exist in the streams of the Trinity Watershed. Clear Lake and Stanmire Lake have high populations as does Red Lake and Pharris Lake. Many warm mouths are taken from these lakes as well as the streams of the watershed. This species readily takes: worms, insects, minnows, or artificial lures. They fight gamely and are excellent panfish. The fish hatcheries of Texas have reared and distributed the warm mouth for many years and they have been stocked in many lakes and streams from this source a Lepomis cyanellus: green sunfish. The green sunfish is probably the most 'idely distributed of the sunfishes in this area. The large mouth enables this species to be less selective in the matter of food and improves the chances for survival. This is also a game fighter and a fine panfish. It may be taken on most natural baits as well as artificial lures. Lepomis symmetricus; small sunfish. Only one of this species was collected. It was taken from Kellison Creek near'Weldon in Crockett County. This is a small clear sand bottom stream. Lepomis punctatus: spotted sunfish. The four specimens of Spotted sunfish collected were taken from two seine stations on the Clear Fork of the Trinity River. These seine stations are now covered by Lake Benbrook.in Tarrant County. Lepomis microlophus: redear sunfish. The redear sunfish was not taken in any of the seine samples but is known to be present in the Trinity River since it was taken in almost all the lakes that were netted. Many of these lakes are subject to overflow and it is reasonable to suppose that some redear would be left in the4streams when the water recedes. The small size of the mouth limits the food that can be taken by this species but when taken on worms, insects or artificial flies the redear is a game fish in every respect. The pen qualities of this species deserve a very high rating and it is quite popular among the still fishermen and fly fishermen. Lepomis macrochirus: bluegill sunfish. The bluegill is the most widely distributed of the game species. The net catches showed the bluegill to be present at all stations except Mess Bluff and there is ample reason to believe they are also resent there. The majority of the seine stations produced bluegills and much of the still fishing in the area is done in an attempt to take this fine little panfish. The bluegill readily takes worms, insects, or artificial flies and is limited to small baits only because of the size of the mouth. l0. Lgpomis auritis: yellowbelly sunfish. This Species is often confused with both bluegill and longear by the fisherman. It has been reared in the State fish hatcheries and distributed to the various waters of the state. The only collection of this species was made in Stanmire Lake but they have appeared in the catches of fisher— men in various streams and lakes of the Trinity watershed. Lepomis megalotis: longear sunfish. The longear sunfish has the smallest mouth of the sunfishes found in this area. It is limited to feeding on small objects and is usually taken on small worms, insects and small artificial flies. The longear is game and a fine panfish but requires considerable skill from the fisherman since a small bait must be carefully presented or no strikes result. This species is much more widely distributed than the collections indicate. They frequent the deeper water except for the spawning period when they move into the gravel and sand bars if such are available. ' Pomoxis annularis: white crappie. This is the most popular of the panfishes. They are found in almoSt all waters in the area and provide year-around fishing for those minnow fishermen who will brave the heat of the summer and cold of the winter. The white crappie causes the lakes of North Texas to take on the appearance of small cities when the crappie fishermen go out at night with lanterns to avoid the summer heat. The most pOpular method of crappie fishing is with minnows but they are taken quite readily on spinning or fly tackle as long as small baits are used. The white crappie seems to prefer the murky alkaline waters but are often found in clear waters that are either alkaline or neutral. They tend to give way to the black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) in the stained, acid waters of the eastern part of the state. No black crappie were taken in the seine and net collections but they are known to be present since hatchery stocking has placed them in the lakes and streams of the Trinity River watershed. FAMILY PEBCIDAE: Etheostoma chlorosomum: bluntnose darter. Only two specimens of this species were taken . One at Highway £5 crossing on the Trinity River in Trinity County and the other at Highway 175 crossing on Clear Creek near Eustace in Henderson County. ' FAMILY SCIAENIDAE: Aplodinotus grunniens: freshwater drum. This species was collected at only one seine station and two net stations. Their comparative absence from the collections is not a true indication of their distribution or relative abundance. Many lakes in the Trinity drainage are being overcrowded by this species. Mountain Creek Lake was found to have a very abundant drum population as did Eagle mountain Lake. This species furnishes some sport and is a rather good panfish but is of more interest to the com- mercial fisherman since they find a ready sale at a good price. CONCLUSIONS: ~ The Trinity River Watershed above Dallas and Fort werth appears to be rela— tively free from pollution and the many impoundments offer good sport fishing together with a significant amount of commercial fishing by contract fishermen engaged in rough fish removal. The middle portion of the watershed offers some fishing in the larger tributary