TPWD 1963 F-6-R-10 #863: Fisheries Investigations and Surveys of the Waters of Region 5-B: Fisheries Reconnaissance, Job Completion Report

JOB COMPLETIOE REPORT -As required by FEDERAL AID IN FISHERIES RESTORATION ACT TEXAS Federal Aie Project No. E—é-R-IO FISHERIES INVESTIGATIONS AND SURVEYS OF THE WATERS OFVREGION.5rB Job No. 3-20 Fisheries Reconnaissance Project Leader: Charles T..Menn .H. D. Dodgen _ Executive Secretary . Texas Game and.Fish Commission Austin, Texas Marion Toole Eugene A. Walker D-J Coordinator Director, Trogram Planning .Mey 27, 1963 .ABSTRACT Four public lakes and a portion of a resaca were visited during this segment to see if any appreciable changes in the fish pOpulations had occurred since previous surveys. Fort Brown Lake, included in the 1961 reconnaissance survey, was not worked during the current segment due to recent draining and deepening of the lake. In Delta Orchards Lake, near Monte Alto in Hidalgo County, game species including channel and_blue catfish, white crappie and freshwater drum showed a relative increase in numbers and a relative decrease in weight. In Bentsen State Park Lake, rough fish species including alligator gar, gizzard shad, bluegill.and Rio Grande perch were dominant both in numbers and in weight with 86.45 per cent and 78.49 per cent respectively. Game fish species including blue catfish, white bass, largemouth bass and warmouth comprised 23.47 per cent of the total number and 5.96 per cent of the total weight of fish taken in nets in Harlingen City Lake. Resaca de la Guerra, near Brownsville, has an abundance of spotted gar, smallmouth buffalo, carp, striped mullet, bluegills and freshwater drum, but has a surprisingly lack of gizzard shad and river carpsucker. Thus an .intensive resurvey was initiated (see completion report for Project F-6-R-10, Job Be22). Gizzard shad showed a relative increase of nearly 100 per cent in Lake Corpus Christi; however, this figure is based on very limited data and is not taken to be conclusive. Other than continued water hyacinth control work on Lake Corpus Christi, no recommendations for Federal Aid developmental work are made in this-report. JOB COMPLETION.REPORT State of Texas Project No. F-6-R-10 Name: Fisheries Investigations_and Surveys of the waters of Region 5-B Job No. B-20 Title: .Fisheries Reconnaissance Period Covered: January l,_l962 through December 31, 1962 Objectives: To conduct limited investigations and to obtain current information concerning gross changes in fishing conditions and factors influencing fish populations. Techniques Used: Standard, l25-foot long, gill nets and common sense minnow seines were used to sample fish p0pulations. The gill nets consisted of nylon webbing, 8-foot deep, with five 25—f00t long sections of l-, l%—, 2—, 2%- and 3-inch square mesh. Nets were set overnight at previously established netting stations and fish specimens were taken from them the following morning. The netted specimens were weighed in grams and measured in millimeters in the field. Sex and sexual develOpment and the occurrence of parasites in the individual Specimens were recorded. Seined specimens were preserved and taken to project headquarters at Mathis for identification. A list of the common and scientific names.of fish species taken during this study is included as Table 1. Water analyses were made only on Delta Orchards Lake. In order to .determine land usage and possible sources of pollution, a limited check was made of the surrounding area of each lake. In comparing water levels, reference points were established on all lakes encountered with the exception of Lake Corpus Christi. The data for this lake were obtained from officials at Wesley Seale Dam. Fishermen usage of the various lakes was determined by talking to camp owners, game wardens and sometimes to fishermen. Public access is available to all-of the lakes studied in this segment. Findings: Delta Orchards Lake Delta Orchards Lake, a 2,200 surface acre irrigation reservoir near Monte Alto in Hidalgo County, is.a part of the Hidalgo and Willacy Counties Table 1. Checklist of Species referred to in text and tables. Scientific name _Common name Lepisosteus.spatula.Lacépede L. oculatus (Winchell) L. osseus (Linnaeus) Dorosoma petenense (Gunther) D. cepedianum (LeSueur) Ictiobus bubalus (Rafinesque) Cyprinus carpio “Linnaeus Opsopoeodus emiliae Hay Notropis lutrensis (Baird & Girard) Notropis sp. Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque) I. furcatus (LeSueur) Eylodictis olivaris (Rafinesque) Cyprinodon variegatus Lacepede Gambusia affinis (Baird & Girard) Mollienesia_latipinna-LeSueur fl. formosa (Girard) Mugil cephalus Linnaeus Menidia beryllina (Cope) Roccus chrysops (Rafinesque) Micropterus salmoides (Lacepede) Alligator gar Spotted gar Longnose gar Threadfin shad Gizzard shad Smallmouth'buffalo Carp Pugnose minnow Red Shiner Shiner Channel catfish Blue catfish Flathead catfish -Sheepshead minnow .Mosquitofish -Sailfin molly Amazon molly Striped'mullet Tidewater silversides White bass Largemouth bass Warmouth ChaenObryttus gulosus (Cuvier) Redear.sunfish Lepomis microlophus (Gunther) -Bluegill L. macrochirus Rafinesque White crappie Black crappie Freshwater drum .Rio Grande perch Pomoxis annularis Rafinesque .nigromaculatus (LeSueur) Aplodinotus_grunniens Rafinesque Cichlasoma cyanoguttatum (Baird & Girard) Water Control and Improvement District No. l. The reservoir contains approxi- mately 20,000 acre-feet of water which is used to irrigate nearly 70,000 acres of farm land. Water in the lake comes from the Rio Grande River and reaches the lake through a system of gravity flow irrigation canals. Public angling in this lake is permitted for a fee of 25 cents per person per day. Trotline fishing is prohibited except to persons who are issued Special permission. Fishing pressure decreased during the year due to the recent closing of a nearby U. S. Air Force base. Netting - In March 1962, five netting collections took a total of 231 fish of nine Species (Table 2). The game fish.species taken in nets included channel and blue catfish, white crappie and freshwater drum. Normally the drum is considered a rough fish Species, but is classed-as a game fish in this case because anglers at Delta Orchards Lake harvest them in large numbers the year around. Of the total fish taken in nets, game fish Species comprised 71.43 per cent of the number and 32.14 per cent of the weight. A year previously, game fish comprised 68.17 per cent and 38.67 per cent by number and weight reSpectively. On the basis of these limited data, it appears that game fish Species are increasing in numbers but decreasing in weight. Compared with netting data for the same period in 1961, both blue catfish and white crappie showed relative increases in numbers. Blue catfish comprised 15.58 per cent of the 1962 net collection as compared to 10.63 per cent in March 1961. White crappie increased from 10.33 per cent in March 1961 to 21.21 per cent in March 1962. Another game fish species, freshwater drum, however, showed a relative decrease during the 12-month period from 46.92 per cent in March 1961 to 33.77 per cent in March.1962. Longnose gar showed an increase in numbers while gizzard shad Showed a decrease in numbers during the period from March 1961 to March 1962. This may be explained in part by the gar feeding on the shad. The average ”K” factors, or indices of physical condition, for all four game fish Species showed definite increases over the Specimens taken in March 1961. Among the rough fish Species, the average ”K" factor of the small- mouth buffalo increased from 2.95 in the March 1961 collections to 3.28 in the March.l962 collections. Table 3 shows the length-weight statistics of the nine Species of fish taken in nets. .Seining - Two seining collections took a total of 245 Specimens of nine Species (Table 4). Tidewater silversides comprised more than 75 per cent of the collections and threadfin shad comprised nearly 10 per cent. Stomach analyses - Algae or fish remains were found in most of the channel and blue CatfiSh stomachs. 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HAON-©HSE -kmo 1 Nos- NHS ram roommoaaa . .. —IIIIIIMIEMIIIII_.. . . . mofloomm meouoEHHHHEV sumnog pnmwfimum AmEmev.u£mao3 mnouomm :Mr. moan norm: .mxwa masseuse munmm .momc Hana Hmufiwfiwuomxo suwB noxmu anew mo mowumfiumum ufiwHoBasuwooq .m oHan 00.00H mHmuOH mopflmno>awm Houmsopflfi kHHoE nemmfim enact nomaasm emauosnscmoz BDGSHE newsmamofim Hoofism pom Become omoowom pram pnmnmflw warm anussmrse .Lasoom-wo “moo Mom Nomfi Lopez noxmd mpnmsono moama .moHSmoH woflowom .o oaan Lake Conditions - Although algae was found.in several catfish stomachs, aquatic vegetation is scarce in the lake. This may be attributed in part to the fact that the prevailing, strong, southeasterly winds keep Silt in suspension in this shallow lake. Recommendations - Since wild fish from the Rio Grande River have constant access to Delta Orchards Lake, pOpulation control work would be ineffective and therefore is not recommended. It is recommended, however, that commercial fishing with nets be permitted in order to harvest as many of the undesirable fish as possible. Commercial netters should be prohibited from taking catfish so that this pOpulation be kept as abundant as possible. In addition to the commercial netting of rough fish, it is recommended that white crappie and freshwater drum be harvested as heavily as possible by anglers in order to make full use of these species. Bentsen State Park Lake Netting - Three gill netting collections were made on this lake in April 1962. A total of 177 fish of seven species was taken and rough fish Species, including the alligator gar, gizzard shad, bluegill and Rio Grande perch were dominant both in numbers and in weight (Table 5). Of the three game fish species taken, blue catfish and largemouth bass are the most important sport fishes. Their numbers, however, are limited. This lake was chemically treated for a complete kill of fish in January 1960 (see Job Completion Report for Project F—14-D-4, Job l6a25) and restocked with largemouth bass in March 1960. Attempts in June 1960 to screen native fish from the incoming water of the Rio Grande River were unsuccessful (see Supplementary Report for Project F-l4-D-4, Job l6a25). The length-weight statistics of the netted specimens are presented in Table 6. No appreciable change was noted for any Species. Seining — The single seining collection was comprised of 21 fish of five Species and included threadfin shad, gizzard shad, mosquitofish, tidewater Silversides and redear sunfish (Table 7). Of these, the threadfin Shad, which comprised 24 per cent of the netting collection, is the best forage fish. Mosquitofish dominated the collection, as they did a year earlier. No young largemouth bass were taken in the collection, indicating poor Spawning success. Lake Conditions - The water level has been abnormally low all year. The upper portion, or bend, of this oxbow lake is dry, but a total of approximately 10 acres of water still remains in both ”arms” of the lake. A new irrigation canal, completed in July 1961, was built immediately north of the state park to provide more water for farmers in Hidalgo County Water Control and Improvement Districts Numbers 7 and 14. Water is pumped directly from the Rio Grande River to supply the canal. At one time it seemed as though an agreement would be reached whereby the park lake would get its water from the irrigation canal. 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