TPWD 1959 F-4-R-6 #522: A Study of Crappie in Lake Whitney

Report of Fisheries Investigations ‘A Study of Crappie in Lake Whitney by Evans Smith. Assistant Project Leader Dingell-Johnson Project F-h-Rr6, Job E-h s _ Hovember l, 1958 - October 31, 1959 H. D. Dodgen - Executive Secretary Texas Game and Fish Commission Austin, Texas Marion Tools Kanneth C. JDrgens &'William H. Brown Coordinator .Assistant Coordinators ABSTRACT The study of crappie in Lake Whitney was continued during the past year in much the same manner as previously. In all a total of 957 crappie were tagged. Of these, 60 were recovered. {Most of the tagging and recaptures took place in the Upper Lake Area which consists of the upper third of the lake from the Santa Fe Railroad Bridge to the vicinity of White Bluffs. It is of interest to note that the type of wire trap used catches predominantly crappie and bluegills whereas gill nets set in the vicinity of the traps took relatively fewer crappie. The longest distance traveled by a tagged crappie was 10 miles and this was during a period of 696 days. Some tagged crappie traveled not at all and a number of these were recaptured within a day after marking and releaseo In the case of a single specimen narked with two tags, one strap type metal tag on each premaxilary, the fish was recaptured after 186 days and both tags were still in placeo Of a total of #19 crappie tagged in the Upper Lake Area, 387 were tagged during the period from March through June 1959. At this time traps were set in very shallow water, in heavy brush and over a soft bottomo This gave rise to the question of whether or not the crappie were in the area to spawn or to feed» Since no fry were found in this area, or elsewhere, it was decided that stomach analw ysis during the coming year would be done in an attempt to resolve this question. The bacterial type of infection reported on crappie during earlier segments of this study were not observedo JOb Completion Report State of TEXAS Project No. F-h-R-6 Name: Fisheries Investi ations and Surve s of the Waters of Region E-B. Job No. E—h Title: A Study of Crappie in Lake Whitney Period Covered: November 12 1958 - Octdber 312 1959 OBJECTIVES To determine the population of creppie in Lake Whitney and the reasons for the recent small harvest. Study the pattern and extent of travel of tagged or marked crappie and the ecological factors influencing their distribution. To develop satisfactory methods of sampling crappie fry and study the effects of a bacterial type of infection found on some of the crappie. HISTORY Lake Whitney, a large clear~water impoundment, is located on the Brazos River in Hill, Bosque, and Johnson Counties of Texas. The dam was constructed by the U. 8. Army Corps of Engineers for the purposes of flood control, hydroelectric power, and recreation. After the closing of the gates in December 1951, the lake reached conservation pool in April 195h. The Lake Whitney Dam impounds a body of water that is some 37 miles long and covers an area in excess of 23,000 surface acres at elevation 520, the top of the power pool. The 190 mile long shoreline is characterized by limestone bluffs interspersed with long stretches of gently sloping beaches. The study of crappie in Lake Whitney was begun under JOb E-h, Project F-h-Reh and has continued throughout F-hnR-5 and F-h-R-o. The trapping and tagging of crappie began on November ll, l9h5, and has continued until the present. PROCEDURE The trapping of crappie in Lake Whitney during the period covered by this report continued along the same general lines as that done in previous segments. The only exception was the extension of tagging into the Brazos River area of the lake, near the mouth of the Nolan River. This required the construction of additional traps. Most of the traps used were constructed of No. 6 guage concrete reinforcement wire, with a six-inch square mesh, covered with one-inch mesh poultry wire. These traps are five feet long and 29 inches in diameter, and are of both single and double throat construction. The throat openings are from three to five inches in diameter. In addition to the described traps, one large trap was constructed with a square wooden frame, covered with the same type of poultry wire. There were also some small traps made entirely of poultry wire, with.no supporting frame of reinforcement wire. At the outset,traps were placed at locations which were thought to be good crappie habitat. it was intended that these would be permanent locations. However, after several collections it was decided that in order to catch more crappie for tagging, it would be necessary from time to time to move the traps. Whenever a trap was set in a given location and the resulting take in crappie was considered good, this location was used until the crappie catch diminished. If a location was used for a period of approximately two weeks and few crappie were taken, the trap was moved to what was considered a better location. This procedure of moving traps from place to place was repeated in order to capture as many crappie as possible. Trapping stations were established from Little Rocky Lodge, near the dam, and extended to the Kimball Bend area in the Brazos River, near the head of the lake. This is a distance of from 25 to 30 miles of lake and river. many of the stations used during the segment are new, although some were used during previous segments. The work of trapping was divided among four sections of the lake. The Brazos River Area extends upstream from the Santa Fe Railroad Bridge (Station No. 3h). What has been called the Upper Lake Area extends downstream from the same bridge to the vicinity of White Bluffs (Station No. 31). The Middle Lake Area included that portion of the lake from White Bluffs downstream to the Katy Railroad Bridge (Station No. 17). The Lower Lake Area includes the remainder of the lake downstream to the dam. Traps could be set in only three of the above mentioned areas at a time because of the lack of traps. During the segment no more than 21 traps were set at any one given time. During the period from Hovember 1958 through February 1959, traps were set in the Lower Lake Area because it was thought this area was better habitat for crappie during this period. In March, when crappie were reported to be in shallow water in the Brazos River Area of the lake, the traps from the lower lake area were moved to that upstream area. Rises in water temperature in the shallower portions of the lake and in the sloughs apparently caused the crappie to move into these areas. Since mature crappie were ready to spawn, they remained in these areas throughout the spawning season. This lasted until June of 1959. At the termination of the spawning season, the five traps used in the Brazos River Area were moved into the Upper and Middle Lake Areas. The method of tagging crappie which had been used previously was continued through“ out the segment period. A strapwtype, monel metal, No. l, jaw tag was used. The tags were placed on the left premaxillary of all crappie tagged. For each tagged specimen, with one exception, the following data were recorded: 1. total length in millimeters, 2. weight in grams, 3. tag number, h. date and place of capture and release. Tagged specimens, prior to release were given a cursory examination for evidence of parasitism or bacterial or fungus infection. The one specimen mentioned as an exception to the outlined tagging procedure was handled in the some manner except that it was intentionally marked with two tags, one on each premaxillary, in an attempt to determine if the tags were being lost. This was in hopes that if one tag was lost the other would still be in place if and when the fish was recaptured. Posters were placed in conspicuous places around the lake and newspaper articles were published informing the public about the work being done. It was hoped that the public would cooperate by providing information concerning any tagged fish that they caught. Card forms, with blanks for the information desired, were given to camp operators on the lake, local stores, and cafes. These cards, when properly filled out either by individuals or by project personnel, provided needed information concerning_tagged fish. The information received on these cards was later transferred to a ledger for a permanent record. ”’ It has been planned that, in addition to the monel metal tags, liquid latex of various colors would be used in marking fish. Unfortunately this material was not secured during the year and this phase of the marking plans was not attempted during the year. In addition to trapping with the wire traps, monthly gill net collections were made in the vicinity of the wire traps to provide comparative information concerning the relative abundance of crappie in the area. This also served as a check on the efficiency of the traps in taking crappie. Common sense minnow seines and small mesh wire traps were used along the shoreline in an attempt to sample crappie fry during and after the spawning season. Similarly, three rotenone samples in restricted areas were made to sample crappie fry. In addition to seine and rotenone samples, five small mesh (%eby %—inch) traps were constructed to attempt to collect fry in places where seining was not practical. The traps were three feet in length and were 18 inches in diameter. The apex of the trap throat was from % to 1 inch in diameter. RESUETS The results of trapping are presented in Table No. 1. Data concerning the number of each species taken in traps are given along with the percentage of the total trap catch represented by each species. It is interesting to note that bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus) comprised hh.78 percent of the total and that white crappie (Pomoxis annularisi comprised hh.38 percent. All other species combined accounted for only 10.85 percent and that no other single species comprised more than 1.96 percent. This is a good indication that the method used in trapping crappie is relatively selective in taking mainly crappie and bluegills. All told there were only 30 gizzard shad (Dorosoma‘cepedianum) taken in the traps, yet 717 shad, comprising h6.2h percent of the total gill netted fish, were taken in gill nets set in the vicinity of the traps. This also is an indication that the traps are fairly selective in taking crappie and bluew gills. The results of gill net collections made near the traps to serve as-the basis for locating or relocating the wire traps are combined and presented in Table No. 2. Till net collections, showing the ratio of crappie taken to all other species, and broken down by area of netting are presented in Table 3. The number and percentages of crappie tagged by areas are given in Table No. A. There were 1&2 crappie caught in the traps and 50 were caught on hook and line in the Brazos River Area, making a total of 192 crappie for the area. This is 20.06 percent of the total crappie tagged during the year. Three were recaptured from this area, which is equal to 0.01 percent of the total tagged or 5.26 percent of the 57 tags recovered from this segment‘s work. In the Upper Lake Area, #19 crappie were tagged which made up h3.79 percent of the crappie tagged this segment. More crappie were tagged in this area than any other and more tags were recovered from this area. Thirty-three tags were recovered, which accounts for 0.07 percent of the total tagged fish released. This amounts to 55.0 percent of the total tagged fish recaptured during the year. There were 3&2 crappie tagged in the Middle Lake Area. This is 35. 7h percent of the total fish tagged this year. Of these, 22 tagged fish were recovered this year, amounting to 0.06 percent of the total fish tagged and 36. 66 percent of the total tags recovered during the period. in the Lower Lake Area six traps were used during the months of November 1958 through February 1959. The yield of crappie from these traps during the period of trapping in this area was only four fish. Rene were caught on hook and line during this same period. The lack of crappie in this area is also indicated by the results of gill net collections for this same period. (See Table 3. 3 However, two of the four crappie tagged in this area were recovered by fishermen. This amounts to 3. 35 percent of the total fish tagged and released in the lake as a whole. The relatively larger number of crappie captured in traps as compared to those taken in gill note, as well as the reduced amount of damage to fish taken in traps, are the major factors influencing the use of traps over gill nets. In addition, traps may be left in place in the lake for indefinite periods whereas gill nets must be run several times each time they are set and cannot be left during periods of absence from the lake by project personnel. Tagged crappie recaptured in Lake Whitney during the study period are shown in Table 5 which gives information on all tagged crappie that were re captured'by either fishers an. gill nets, or traps. it will be noted that the longest distance traveled by a tagged crappie (Tab To. 237} is 10 miles. The next longest distance traveled by a tagged fish (Tab No. 96%? is nine miles. Both of these were tagged in Cedar Creek, which is in the Middle Lahe Area. The two fish traveled in opposite directions. The fish marked with Tag No. 237 moved uplake and was caught in Mesquite Greek. Fish numbered with Tag No. 96h moved downlake toward the dam and was caught near Sportsmanis Lodge. With the exception of these two cases. the movement of crappie based on fish recaptured during periods other than the spawning season does not indicate a distinct pattern or trend. 0f those crappie which did travel, the average distance from point of release to point of recapture was 0.58 miles. This distance was Obtained from an estimation of the number of feet traveled converted into miles. “No Travel” is shown in Table No. 5 in cases where individual tagged fish traveled less than 100 yards. Tag he. 23? was placed on a crappie April 22, 1957, and this fish was recaught on March 9, 1959, a period of almost two years. Tag No. 96h was placed on a crappie April 2%, 1958, and the fish was recaptured on November 16, 1958. These two specimens have thus far had the longest period of days of freedom. A crappie marked with Tag No. 2,101 was recaptured in the same place #6 days after release. This is the longest time that a tagged crappie remained free and still was recaptured at the place of release. The range in number of days of freedom for marked crappie is from 1 to 696 days. Two tags (Nos. 2,117 and 2,118) were placed on a large crappie to determine whether or not tags were being lost as was suspected. The reason for this suspicion was the fact that up until this time only two fish tagged in previous years had been recaptured during the present segment. All other tagged crappie recaptured were taken within a relatively short time after release. In the case of the fish marked with two tags, the specimen was recaught within a period of 186 days and it had traveled a distance of three miles. Both tags were still in place. 0f the #19 crappie tagged in the Upper Lake Area during this segment period, 387 were tagged during the months of March through June 1959. The remaining 32 fish tagged in this area were taken during the other nine months of the year. During the period when so many crappie were being tagged in this area, the traps were set in very shallow water, in heavy brush, and over a soft mud bottom. The question arises whether or not these fish had moved into this shallow water area to spawn or to feed. Since no crappie fry were taken in this area, or elsewhere, either in traps, seines, or in rotenone samples, it is possible that this is not a spawning movement. Stomach analysis during the coming year will be done to resolve this question. The bacterial type of infection found on some of the crappie during previous segments was not found on any of the fish tagged this segment. Observations of crappie caught by fishermen were also negative for this type of infection. Prepared by Dwane Smith Approved by 2 2 :W J I’Vé/ Assistant Project Leader Director Inland Fisheries Division Date _ April 282 1260 Table No. 1. Species Spotted gar Longnose gar Gizzard shad Buffalo Carpsucker Carp Channel catfish White bass Flathead catfish Largemouth bass Warmouth Bluegill sunfish White crappie Drum Totals Number of Each Species of Fish Captured by Wire Traps, Lake Whitney, November 1958 through OctOber 1959. Number of Fish Trapped ll 30 2O 16 23 68h 678" 25 1,528 Percent of Total . 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