TPWD 1955 F-9-R-3 #122: Fisheries Investigations - Region 5-A, Job No. III: Basic Survey and Investigations of Fish Species Present in the Sabinal River, its Tributaries and Watershed, within

34:1ch L--;:r-.{/ 4 L «Lo-d «EM JDB FINAL REPORT As required by FEDERAL AID IN FISHERIES RESTDRATIUN EST TEXAS Federal Aid Project No. F-Q-R-IB FISHERIES INDESTIGATIDHS - REGIUH 5-A Job No. III Stocking Recommendations Project Leader: K. W. Gholson James U. Gross Executive Director Parks and Wildlife Department Austin, Texas F. G. Lowman Roy T. Huffman Branch Head, Inland Fisheries Director, Current Dperstions September 15, 19?1 SHED-MY During this segment, public waters.of the region were sampled and stocked where and when necessary. Heme, location, species, and number of fish stocked in the public waters are given in the tent. JOB GUI-ELETIDH REPORT sears 025' Texas Project Ho, F9133 Name Fisheries Investi ations and Serve of the waters of Be on 7-23. Job lilo,r B—llt Title Basic Serve: and Invests-.3 ef Fish BEeies Present, as well as Their Distribution in the ashinal River, its Tributaries and watershed, LEE within Benders, Medina and Uvslde Ceunties, Texas. Period flowered: Jul: 1, 1955 three-fl June 30, 1956.5 ' AETRACT From August to October of 1956, a basic survey was conducted on th Sabina]. River to determine the species present, their relative abundance and the eco factors influencing their distribution. The sabinal River is a small “lg-.ri‘eatarzgr of the Erie River. It drains extreme western Benders County- and extreme eastern Uvalde flounty, During the "basic survey ten stations were established where seining collections were made, At three of these stations gill nets were set“ The watershed is utilised mostly for grazing, but some farming is done on the alluvial soils adjacent to the stream. [the stream has cut to bed limestone, but in many places there may be a foot or more of gravel over the bed reek, Peels are small and lacking, In these pools mshgress (flhara sulgaris) is excessive: Ho detrimental chemical conditions were found, The pH varied from an average of' Sue, o2 tram 6,9, sea from lac shame. alkalinity from leans, The water temp- eratures aweraged 73,1, but most readings were taken during Octeber, During the sum- mer water temperatures are amch higher due to the shallcwness of the stream, In the course of the surrey 1408 specimens were taken, representing eight families and 22 species, Larger game fish are not toe plentiful due to the fact that there are practically no pools large enough for their existence, is this stream has a small watershed, it is not as subject to extreme fiending as many are in this area, This condition linked with comparatively cheap land makes the stream an ideal location for the construction of small dma escrow To gather Wants]. data on the above waters in regard to their physical, chemical and biological aspects, To determine the distribution of fish species pre- sent, their relatire abundance and the ecolegical factors influencing their distribution, (EOOF'ERATIHG AGEWCIEE Tessa Board of Water Engineers United States Geological Survey TEGHHIQHES During the course of the survey ten seining collections and three gill net collections were made at ten stationsn dill net collections were made with experimen- tal nets 125 feet long and eight feet deepn The mesh.of the net was from-one to three inches square, graduating oneuhalf inch each 25 feetu Few gill net collections were made because pools of adequate aims to accommodate the nets were rare. In one ins stance a portion of the net could not be set, due to the nerrowness of the stream, and the large mesh was left on the bank. All nets were set at an angle across the stream, in order to get as much of the net as possible in the stream, In two instances plate were so dense that it was necessary to walk through them.several times to open.up a channel in.which to set the net, The seining collections were made with 26 by 6 foot hag seines, one-fourth inch mesh and common sense seines hewing a one-eighth inch mesh, four feet deep with the length.verwing from.four to ten feet. A.meJoritr of the fish were preserved in 10$ formalin solution and taken to the laboratory for identification and tabulation, In inetanees where large members of a single species were collected, they were counted, recorded and returned to the river, The cooperation of'Dr, Ulsrh'fluhhs,.hepartment of Zoology} university of Texas, and W, H, Brown, Assistant Chief'hquatic Biologist, Three Game and Fish Commission in the verification and identification ofzmany species was greatly-appreciated, Hater analysis, made in the field, included air temperature, water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide and alkalinity; The analysis was made at six of the ten stations, Data pertaining to river flow was obtained from the united States Geological Survey and the Texas Board.of'WaterHEngineers, HISTDRI This area'was one of'the strongholds of the Gomanehe Indians. The effect of the establishment of Sen.hntonio in 1718 was not felt in this area until last, At this time Count Henri de Castro led EOO'French and Alsatians west of San Antonio to settle the town of Gastroville, Before that date however, the U; 8, Army and the Texas Rangers had.several skirmishes with.the domanches, In lflhl, Texas Ranger daptain "Jach"iflars and a compang'of 16 Rangers aided by 30 Hemicens had one of the better known battles with the Comanches, The establishement of Fort Inge in southwestern Uvalde county and Fort Linn coln in western.Medina County speeded up the settlement of this area, as the present location of the town of Sahinal, Camp Sebinal was established in 1856, Some twelve miles upstream, and gggt.south oFthat is now known as Utopia, Heresville was feunded the same year, In 1 , this town was moved.to its present location and renamed Utopia, From that time on, the settlement of this area was typical of:most of the western states, PHYSICAL CEERAGTERISTICB The Sahinal is a small stream, hoth in.volume of flow and length, Its heads water springs are some 10 miles north of Vanderpool in Benders County, well into the rather rough hills of the Edwards Plateau, These springs are small, probably flowing no more than onemhalf second feet at the time of the survey, These springs enter into a permiable gravel some 150 years below their emergence, file flow then reemerges some 100 yards mrther downstream, The stream bottom is bedrock but a covering of gravel, from three inches to a foot, occurs in many: placafln In most instances the flow is so small it flows through, rather than over, the gravel deposits, Pools found along the Sabinal's course are small: The largest natural pools found covered no more than one acre, and only three of this site were found, One small dam was found on the main stream near Highway 137 crossing north of Utopia, Several other dams were found on Hill Creek; This creek is a perennial flowing stream, but none of this flow enters the Sabinal due to these dams, n'maJority of the work was done on this stream in October of 1955, so this time the flow occurred over most of the entire stream north of the Edwards Limestone outcropping near Highway 137 crossing between the towns of Sabinal and Utopia. From this point south, the porous Edwards limestone combined with the faults of the Balcones Escarpment absorbs the flow of the river: An occasional pool is found below this fault, but differing from the clear pools of the northern portion in that they have a silt bottom and are usually rather turbidv Ihlring the sensor of 1956 reports were that the flow had stopped completely and all but the largest pools dried, even in the parts north of the Edwards Limestone, The flow of the Sabinel has never been large and the prolonged drought of recent years has practically ruined the stream for fishing» The flow of May 7, 1925, four miles south of Utopia, was 2,311- secu feet, the average for May l9h5 was 19.1. sec. feet, and the river was completely dry the month of Inlay 1953, The average flow for the pear'of 1953 was L05 secs feet, me river winds some 6h miles, draining 21+? square miles of western Benders and eastern Uvslde counties before its confluence with the Erie River in the extreme southeastern corner of Uvalde {1'2ours-garn The average rainfall is near 21} inches, but much less has fallen in recent years, The growing season is so days, amass chromosomes During the survey sis water analyses were made a with one exception all of the analysesbwere made in Octobera me highest water temperature was found in the one August analysis, This high water temperature is probably the most detrimental condition occurring, The shallowness of the stream allows the water temperature to fluctuate rapidly to simulate that of the airs Dissolved oxygen was determined by the Ridesl~Stewart modifications Methyl Orange alkalinity" and dissolved carbon dioxide were checkedn The hydrogen ion con— centration was determined with a Hellige Pocket Couparatorn has water samples for analysis were taken from a flowing portion of the stream, or if not from a flowing portion, from one of the deeper parts of the pools" Dissolved oxygen ranged from $2 to 3.2 ppm“ averaging 6.19: Bering the cooler months this averme would no doubt be higheru The dissolved ozqrgen range is not disadvantageous, The variance in 602 was from 2,0 to 8nd papsmr The high in 802 was found with the high water temperature. The law 002 eeneentratien was feund with the twe lewest water temperatures a The earben dieside range is net detrimental. Tetal alkalinity and pH were within the aeeeptahle ranges fer waters emerging in the Edwards Plateaus Alkalinity averaged itané pepsin: and the pH average was 3.1.0:. he industrial er munieipal waste was found to enter the streams Seme sewage free: hearse eenld be entering the stream but nene was felmd, er aetually seen, There were instanees where silt was as mush as a feet deep. If and when a seeuring fleed eseurs this senditien will be alleviatedr Either than the previeusly mentiened water temperature eenditien, ne ehemieal eenditien whieh sould be sailed injurieus was found“ SOILS: WETAflDH m 1m USE The watershed ef the Sabinal is utilized primarily fer grazing but the resent years ef drought have praetieally turned it inte a desert. The average rainfall in the past 39 years has been at inches“ In resent years it has been 10 inches er less. Under these eenditiens any livesteck whatever was ten mesh, but as the peeple sf this area depended en livesteeh as their liveliheed, they were fereed to utilise all the grass and brush that was availablea The spines were burned from the priehly pear to feed settle and salts were set fer geat feeds These praetiees were earried en enly after praetieally every blade sf grass had disappeade The range eenditiens are werse than in many years, if net at an all time lewo The rains, te wet seil under this sen- ditien must fall slewlyn This is net usually the ease in this area. Vielent thnnder- sterms are mere nearly the pattern: This means the area is ripe fer flash fleeds whieh erede the reehy seil even mere: The seil eentains a large emeunt ef Emma and is very fertileu Alena the river there is a rather wide strip ef alluvial seil whieh is famed extensively when rain ensures In planes this bettem land is perhaps twe miles wide. Little irrigatien is earried en as the river weuld net supply a irrigatien . system ef any sine and still leave eneugh water fer the neighbors dewnstreemn The ereps are small winter grains such as wheat is eats y and barley; They are grased and harvested fer grain“ Other steps are mile and hegari whieh are summer ereps but fed te liwesteek during winter when grass beeemes shertu This stream eeuld be made te have geed fishing if seme dams were eenstruetedc. The seat weuld net be prehibitivea Ranchers esn net be expeeted te eenstreet sueh dams at this time} beeause the drought has put them se far in debt that it will take many years fer them te reeeverc. As there is ne geed fishing lake fer a hundred er mere miles and with the land fairly cheap, it might be a geed leeatien fer sense State er Federal Ageney te investigate the pessibilities ef eenstrueting a dam and park in the area:r AQUATIC? PLANTS There are many types ef aquatic: plants feund en the Sabinal Rivers The meat seamen are: eattail (Typha latifelia), spiherushes Eleecharis m ), sedges (GENE slag and Eleeeharis Wei-lily (m advena, pendweeris (Petamegeten EPE. ) and mushgras rass {Charavel miss ri In Table ll— is a cheeklist ef the mere eemmen aquatie plants feund en the Sabinal Rivers The enly vegetatien which has beeeme ever abundant is muskgrass iflhara vulflsiu Heat peels en the river are eempletely eheked by this plants In seme instanees where gill nets were set is was neeessary te span a ehennel befere 5., the net eeuld.reaeh the bettemu SuehLeeneentratiens cf plants make it difficult fer large game fish sueh as largemeuth black bass, te keep ferage fish dewn in.numhersn As a result sunfish are everpepulated and stunted in meat peels. Bleeds, which will ne deeht eccur'with the range ccnditicns as they are, will renews er at least thin meet ef these plants which will give temperary relief free these eenditiensn RESULES OF FISH COLLEETIGHS In making the survey ten statiens were established aleng the rivera A sein- ing celleetien.was made at each ef the statiens and a gill net cellectien was made at three cf the staeiensr Tahle 2 is a key te their.lecatien and Table l is the species and number caught at each statient A tetal cf #08 specimens was eelleeted representing eight families and_22 speciesn Family Clupiedae Shade heresema cepediannm: gissard shad.u The 19 shad eelleeted were feund in the lewer half cf the rivern This species has made further encreachment inte the clear'waters ef the Babinal River than in the fitness er the Frie Rivers, immediately te the waste The Babinal, net having the velume cf the'Hueces and Frie, ner a resent rise, has accumulated censiderahly mere silt, This weuld be the apparent reasen fer their successful immigraticnu Family'fiharaeidae Tetres AEtEEEEE fasciatus: banded tetran The tetras range appears te be limited te the clear waters cf the upper pertien ef the Sabinala The small peels which eccur in these upper parts here a.tendency te deep the water temperature high eneugh fer their survival in the immediate spring areas during the winter menthsn Being a geed ferage fish, their numbers ceuld be kept at a minimum.in the peels cf the lewer parts by the larger game fishfi Femily'Catestemidae Suckers Memestema cengestum: gray redherse seekeru Only'five ef these-;fish meme taken, all by gill netsn The faster which limits this fishis distributien is habitats Only a few peels whieh are deep eneugh fer their eristenee are feund. At these places they are fairly nemereus but cenld net be censidered detrimentalu Even theugh these fish are eaten by many peeple, they are censidered a reugh fishl Their use as feed is preh- ably limited because ef the diffieulty te catch them by legal methedsa Family prrinidae Hinnews stepeeedns emiliae: pugnese minnewa Only six pugnese minnews were taken, and they were feund at the meet seuthern statiens This is sheet the meet nerthwestern peint at which this species eccursn It is very cemmen free the Balcenes Escarpment seuth and seutheastn 6: Hetrepis reseus: weedminnewn This species was alse feund enly in the lewer peels belew the Balcenes Escarpment“ This is near_the nerthwestern limits ef this species, as it is eemmen fram this peint seutheasta Hetrepis venustus: spettail shiner. The 20 specimens ef this species were picked E§_ifi_the_laht_tfie statiens where the flaw is perennial. Why they'were net taken at ether statiens can net be determined. There is little deuht that their distributieu is ever the entire area, but perhaps net in large numbers” Retrepis lepidus: Edward shinern This species, endemic te the rivers in this perticn cf tEeEdwaEEs flateau, was ene ef the nest prevalent fishes feund, They'were feund near the headwaters and in the peels belew the Baleenes Escarpment, This is an era cellent bait and ferage minnewu Hetrepis deliciesus: sand shinerv The sand shiner range in the fishinal is limited EE'EEE'EhEEE'EfiettETra cf the rivers This area.ef the river hasznumereus springs, nene ef them.large, gravel hettems and eensiderably mere vegetatien. They are net cemmen at any peint, and enly feur were feund at these statiensv Dienda episcepa: reundnese minnewa Typically, the 2% fish fish ef this species were feund in immediate large spring areas enlyv They'were feund at the headwater spring_ef the Sahinal and the headeater spring efihill Greek“ All theugh a fair fer- age minnew, it effers little feed in this stream.because the spring areas are such that the larger game fish weuld net inhabit thema Pimephales vigilan: parret minnewv Unly'twe parret minnews were feundn They'ware taken_in a large standing peels The bettam ef this peel was deep silt and a dense grewth eftmuskgrass was presents This species is a geed ferage and bait minnewu Campestema anemalume stenerelleru This fish was feund in the upper ens—third ef the streams They eecur in large numbers, even mere than the seining cellectiens indicaten At Statien 3 they were especially numereus, but the type bettem prevented anr'mere being taken“ This is a fair ferage minnewn Duly-1h were reeerded, Family smeiruidae Freshwater catfishes Ictalurus punctatue: channel catfisha Even theugh enly'seven individuals were feund EE_EEE_Etatiens, they are mere widely distributedv The stream is by nature net tee suitable fer catfish, due te the lack ef large peelsv These fish feund were in fairly geed cenditienq Ghannel catfish are stacked frem the Federal Fish Hatchery at Uvalde and the State Hatchery at Inger mus fish is abeut' the meet, if net the meat, des- irable fish which ensure in the rivern They'are fished fer'hy'tretline, set-heck and still fishinga Ictatnrus natalis: yellcw hullheadn The ll hullheads taken.were feund at three stam tiens, but their distributien is general. The larger fish are taken in peels, but the smaller enes find harber ameng the gravel and rubble in the selutien channels ef the bed limestene bettemsi it Statics 7 they were very acumen, and almest every steue had a small bullhead.under it“ This fish is net ef tee much impertance frem.a spert fishing standpeintu Their being a fair ferage fish fer channel catfish is aheut their enly impertanceu 7. Family Peecillidae mesquitefishes Gambusia affinis: gambusia. This mesquitefish is feund threugheut the watershed in the mere shallew waters. Their value is chiefly in their centrel ef mesquite larvae. There were feur taken. Family Centrarchidae Black Basses and Sunfishes Micrepterus salmeides: largemeuth.blaeh bass. This fine game fish.is feund in prac- tically all ef the larger peels ef the river, even theugh the cellectien weuld in— dicate their eccurrence is limited te enly'the lewer parts ef the riwer. There are twe impeundments en.Mill Greek, which is near the headwaters, that effer excellent bass fishing. The faster which limits the numbers ef the largemeuth is peel sine. As mentiened in the earlier discussien, very few peels are present which.will suppert the larger game fish. Seven were taken, mestly in nets. Chaenebrgttus gulesus: warmeuth. These fish were taken in the three largest natural peels feund en the rivers The cempetitien free ether sunfishes must limit their numbers. st Statien 8 the sin.warmeuth feund were stunted. Rene ef the nine taken at all sta- tiens were ef sufficient sise te be censidered edible. Lepemis czanellus: green sunfish. The green sunfish was the nest widely distributed sunfish feund. It is mest numereus in the lewer pertiens hewewer. This is a geed game fish when it reaches seme sise, but its tendencies te eterpepulate serieusly retard the grewth rate. This ererpepulatien cf green sunfish aleng with ether sun- fishes has retarded the grewth rate in this stream. Lepemis.micrelephus: redear sunfish. Duly ene was feund. It was taken free a stand- ing peel in the lewer parts ef the stream. This species appears te be mere ef a.pend fish.which ceuld limit its distributien and nunbers. The State Hatcheries have dis— tributed this species fer 20 years er mere. The Federal Hatcheries have started dis- tributing them in the past few years. Lepemis macrechirus: bluegill. All sunfish have a tendency te ewerpepulate, but the bluegill seems te be the meet inclined te de se. 0f the 106 taken, net mere than a desen were ever three inches leng. They were feund neatly in the peels belew the Balcenes Feult. The enly flew which eccurs in these peels is in times ef small rises er fleeds which have been Practically absent in recent years. These fleeds weuld clear seme ef the wegetatien and redistribute these sunfish, allewing the few larger game fish te utilise them fer feed. As stated fer the green sunfish, few peeple fish fer these bluegills because ef their size, therefere their size beeemes smaller. This deweleps inte a wery undesirable cycle. Lepgmis auritus: yellewbelly sunfish. The 1% yellewbellies were taken fairly uni— fermly threugheut the stream, but are mere numereus near the headwaters as weuld be expected. This is a desirable pan fish, but suffers frem the chrenic ailment in this stream ef ewerpepulatien and lack ef peels large eneugh te suppert a big pepulatien. Lepemis megaletis: lengear sunfish. This sunfish was feund in all but three cel- lectiens. This species fairs semewhat better than the ethers, if the sise caught in 8. nets and seining cellectiens are any indicatien. There seldem.appeared te be an ever— pepulatien cf this individual sunfish. This species is a very geed pan fish and is the meat seught after by the "perch fishermen“. There were 22 taken en this survey. Lepemis micrelephns E LEEEEEE.EE§EifltiE= redear—lengear hybrid. This rather cemmen hytrid was feund in a standing peel. This peel centained ene ef the largest tetal fish pepulatiens ef any sectien ef the stream. Familv'Cichlidae Cichlids“: Cichlasema.cleneguttatum: Hie Grands cichlids This semi-trepical cichlid.was feund enly'in the lewer sectiens ef the streams Their numbers hare net became excessive. The nature ef the stream, shallew and slew flewing, is cenducive te rapid and extreme fluctuatien in temperature. This cenditien ceuld keep the numbers ef the Hie Grande cichlids limited te the larger peels ef the seuthern parts where all feur specimens ef this kind were taken. Even theugh thenpemperetnre iprspring.arees is mere'suitahle, especially during the winter menths, ether habitat cenditiens sueh as small peels and shallew water evidently prevent the His Grands frem meving upstream te these areas. The fellewing is. a list ef fish which were net taken but ceuld possibly eccur: Lepisesteus preductus Hetrepis amahilis Lepisesteus esseus Hellienisia latipinna Ictiebus buhalus Etheestema lepidnm PTEPETEd by uFied.G. Lewman Jr Appreved'by hflffdfiLgfifltfliflf .n___.—__——l'—wh. Assistant Preject Leader 3f Aflflflfiifl Bielegist Date Re 15 1957