TPWD 1955 F-4-R-2 #162: Inventory of Species Present in Lake Whitney, Texas: Segment Completion Report, Project F-R-2, Job B-1

--- Page 1 --- a LUHITHMEY LAKE STATE Texas PROJECT NO. F--R=2, Job B-1 PERIOD June l, 1954 - Oct. 31, 1955 I 7A ny Wu tata “ { SEGMENT COMPLETION REPORT Lok by Robert N. Hambric 5 Assistant Project Leader TITLE Inventory of Species Present in Lake Whitney, Texas OBJECTIVES To determine the species present and their relative abundance and to determine the ecological factors influencing their distribution. HISTORY OF LAKE Lake Whitney is located on the Brazos River in Hill, Bosque, and Johnson Counties, Texas approximately 38 river miles upstream from Waco, Texas. The Whitney. Dam and Reservoir was constructed by the Army Engineers for flood control and develope ment of hydroelectric power and for recreational purposes. The gates of the dam were closed on December 10, 1951. The lake reached conservation pool level with a storage of 15,800 surface acres of water in April 1954. COLLECTING METHODS Gill nets were used to collect random samples of the fish population. The nets were 100 or 125 feet long, 8 feet deep and had meshes of 1 to 3 inches measured on the square. Data taken from the netted fish included their length, weight, sex, and degree of gonadal development. Scale samples were collected for future reference. Notes were made of any fungus or parasites found on the fish. Sampling was also done with minnow seines during most months of the year. The seined specimens were preserved in 6 percent formalin and taken to the laboratory to be counted and identified. Table 1 is a checklist of all species collected from Lake Whitney during this period of study. RESULTS OF SEINING COLLECTIONS Lake Whitney was sampled with various types of minnow seines during June and September of 1954 and from February through September of 1955. A total of 11,247 specimens was collected in 42 samples from 9 seine stations. Table 2 records the species collected and the percentage of the total catch that each represents. Gizzard shad accounted for 55.65 percent and the plains red shiner for 28 percent of the total fish caught. Small shad from 1 to 23 inches long were found to be plentiful through- out the entire sampling period. The surface temperature of the shallow water at the seining sites varied from 54S degrees F. in February to 92 degrees F. in August. Other records show that a wider range of temperature may be found in the lake at various times of the year. The plains red shiner (Notropis lutrensis) seemed to be the least affected by a temperature drop in the shallow water. Many small fish of this species have been found throughout the entire year, indicating spawning activities in the late summer and fall. --- Page 2 --- The spottail minnow (Notropis venustus) and Parrot minnow (Pimephales vigilax) were the only other species that accounted for more than one percent of the entire collection. Largemouth bass from 14 to 2 3/4 inches long were found in May and June. Ken- tucky spotted bass of approximately the same size were also collected during those months. White bass le to 3 inches long were found in small numbers during May and June. A few smallmouth buffalo, ranging in size from 1¢ to 33 inches, were seined in July and August. These few specimens are the only evidence that has been found which indicate the possibility of a buffalo spawn in Lake Whitney. The lone Mexican jumper was taken May 23, and was probably released by bait fishermen. Internal examination revealed that it was a female with well developed ovaries. Other Mexican jumpers have been taken when seining for bait, sometimes as many as 20 or 30 at one time. Mexican jumpers have also been collected by hook and line while fishing for bait-size bream. There is no evidence to date that this species can survive the winter temperatures of the lake. RESULTS OF NETTING COLLECTIONS About 200 gill net sets were made at 15 stations. Table 3 is a tabulation of data from the gill net collections. The netting sites were so chosen as to be typical of various environmental conditions found in the lake. A yield of 3,636 fish represent- ing 21 species was collected from the nets. Gizzard shad accounted for 40.70 percent of the total number caught. Smallmouth buffalo were next in abundance followed by carps carpsucker, and white crappie. Table 4 shows pertinent information about each species of fish taken in the gillnets. Table 5 shows the results of the current netting collection Listing the per= centage that each species represents as compared with the same information from last segment's report. Shad, white bass, and bluegills made the most noticeable increase, while carp, spotted bass, and black crappie showed the greatest decrease in percentage of the total number caught. Some interesting data may be obtained by making a comparison of both percentage by number and percentage by weight columns between the two periods of study. The buffalo which represented a little less than 11 percent by number in the present study was highest in pounds of fish netted. The buffalo have grown from 8 ounces in June 1953 to about 3 pounds in October 1955. The growth could be easily followed with only a few fish of odd sizes showing in the net catches. Ripe gonads were found only once or twice in the summer of 1955 and none were found preceding that period. Carpsuckers just about held their own in numbers and pounds captured as shown by a comparison of the two periods of study. Carp dropped considerably in percentage by numbers but only slightly in percentage by weight. Some carp spawned after every rise of the lake level during the warmer months of the year. There are certain basins and lowlands that flood each time the lake rises 3 to 5 feet above the top of conserva- tion pool level. When covered with planted grain or natural vegetation these places are frequented by spawning carp in large numbers. Such concentrations would afford an opportune time for rough fish control work on that species. Shad have been mentioned as being abundant. Observation of young schooling shad plus small specimens collected with minnow seines indicate that the young are present in the lake throughout most of the year. But, it is believed that one of the most Productive spawning periods comes in mid-April when the surface temperature of the water approaches 65 degrees. Concentrated runs of shad have been observed over the large areas of shallow water around Bear Creek at that time of the year. The control of shad in the Bear Creek area by the use of chemicals might be very effective about the middle of April each year. --- Page 3 --- 36 White bass have become more abundant in the lake and composed 3.38 percent by aumber of all the fish netted as compared to 0.61 percent in the previous survey. Kentucky spotted bass have decreased from a former 3.80 percent to the present 0.52 percent, Black crappie have likewise become less abundant and accounted for only 0.41 percent of the total fish caught during this study as compared with 3.28 percent for the previous study. A comparison of the game and rough fish population in Lake Whitney for both periods of study is given in Table 6. It may be of interest to note that the game and rough fish population as represented by numbers netted have remained almost stable. This seems encouraging when one considers that about 8 million more game fish than rough fish have been harvested from the lake. Game fish have increased from 0.30 pound to 0.51 pound for a 70 percent increase in the average weight per individual netted. The results of the stomach analyses is given in Table 7. The stomach contents were studied without the aid of a microscope and it is possible that many of the items listed as unidentifiable fish remains were shad. It is recommended that further study be made on Lake Whitney in order to closely follow the development of the fish population in that impoundment. SUMMARY 1. Lake Whitney is a clear-water lake impounding 15,800 surface acres of water at the top of conservation pool level. 2. The lake was sampled with approximately 200 gill net sets and 42 seine collections from June 1, 1954 to October 31, 1955. Nearly 15,000 fish were collected andworked to obtain various data. 3- Gizzard shad accounted for 56 percent of the seined fish and 41 percent of the netted fish collected. 4, Smallmouth buffalo represented 24.92 percent by weight of all fish netted and exceeded any other one species in total pounds caught. 5. White bass, white crappie, and bluegills have made appreciable gains in numbers of fish in the lake, while shad were the only rough fish which showed any marked increase. 6. Kentucky spotted bass and black crappie have shown a sharp population decrease in Lake Whitney. 7. Carp have shown a population decrease, but it may not be a true representation due to the fact that this species does not frequently inhabit the shallow water or top layer of water during the colde months where most of the netting was done. 8. Game fish have increased in weight from 0.30 pounds to 0.51 pound for a 70 percent increase for the average individual netted. 9. Rough fish have increased from 0.70 pound to 1.01 pound for a 44,29 percent increase for the average fish netted. 10. The game fish and rough fish populations, as represented by percentage of total fish netted, have remained almost stable, although better than 8 million more game fish (about 570 per surface acre) than rough fish have been taken from the lake. --- Page 4 --- hs Table 1. Checklist of Fish Species From Lake Whitney, Texas, 1954 - 55. a or Common Name Scientific Name 1. Spotted Gar Lepisosteus productus 2. Longnose Gar Lepisosteus_ osseus 3. Gizzard Shad Dorosoma_cepedianum 4, Mexican Jumper Astyanax fasciatus S. Smallmouth Buffalo Ictiobus bubalus 6, River Carpsucker Carpiodes carpio 7. Grey Redhorse Moxostoma congestum 8, Carp Cyprinus carpio 9. Golden Shiner Notemigonus crysoleucas 10. Pugnese Minnow Opsopoeodus emiliae ll. Sharpnose Shiner Notropis oxyrhynchus l2@. Brazos River Shiner Notropis brazosensis 13. Pallid Shiner Notropis amnis 14, Blacktail Shiner (Spottail) Notropis venustus 15. Red Shiner (Redhorse) Notropis lutrensis 16. Parrot Minnow Pimephales vigilax 17. Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas 18, Stoneroller Campostoma anomalum 19. Southern Channel Catfish ictalurus punctatus 20. Black Bullhead Ameiurus melas ' 2l. Yellow Bullhead Ameiurus natalis 22. Flathead Catfish Pilodictus olivaris 23. Blackstripe Topminnow Fundulas notatus 2h, Gambusia Gambusia affinis 25. White Bass Morone chrysops 26. Kentucky Spotted Bass Micropterus punctulatus _ 27. Largemouth Black Bass Micropterus salmoides 28. Warmouth Chaenobryttus coronarius 29. Green Sunfish Lepomis cyanellus _ 30. Redear Sunfish Lepomis microlophus 31. Bluegill Sunfish Lepomis macrochirus 32. Orangespotted Sunfish Lepomis humilis 33. Yellowbelly Sunfish Lepomis auritus _ 34. White Crappie Pomoxis annularis 35. Black Crappie Pomoxis nigromaculatus 36, Logperch Percina caprodes 37. Freshwater Drum Aplodinotus grunniens --- Page 5 --- Table €. Results of Seining Collections by Number of Each Species, Lake Whitney, Texas, 1954 = 55. Species _ Number Collected Percent of Total Gizzard Shad Mexican Jumper 0.01 Smallmouth Buffalo 8 0.07 Carp 5 0.04 Pugnose Minnow 3 0.03 Sharpnose Shiner 78 0.69 Brazos River Shiner Wy 0.39 Pallid Shiner 7 0.06 Blacktail Shiner (Spottail) 764 6.79 Red Shiner (Redhorse) 3,152 28.03 Parrot Minnow 579 5215 Fathead Minnow 1 0.01 Stoneroller 1 0-01, Blackstripe Topminnow 2 0.02 Gambusia 25 0.22 White Bass 15 0.13 Yentucky Spotted Bass 1h 0.12 aargemouth Black Bass 58 Warmouth h Green Sunfish 3 Redear Sunfish 3 Bluegill 59 Oranges potted 2 Yellowbelly Sunfish 92 Logperch 68 aay Sen Total --- Page 6 --- Gs fable 3. Tabulation of Data from Gill Net Collections, Lake Whitney, June 1954 Through October 1955. Number Percentage Pounds Percentage Average Weight No. of Fish Species Caught of Total Caught of Total in Pounds Per Number Weight 100? Net Longnose Gar he 1.16 91.72 2.91 2.18 221 Spotted Gar 20 055 34.95 1.11 1.74 » LO Gizzard Shad 1,480 4O.70 708.08 22.47 a7 Tol Smallmouth Buffalo 396 10.89 785.18 2h ..92 1.98 1.98 Gray Redhorse 7 19 14, 33 ob 2,04 2Ok River Carpsucker 310 8,53 47.92 14,22 1.44 1.55 Carp 311 8.55 520.22 16.51 La 67 1.56 Southern Channel Catfish 127 3.49 176.75 5.61 1.39 » Ob Yellow Catfish 1 203 3.19 ake) 3.19 Black Bullhead 3 -08 1.07 203 035 202 White Bass 123 3.38 68.31 2.17 255 206 Largemouth Black Bass 90 2.48 91.11 2.89 1.01 oS Kentucky Spotted Bass 19 252 15.95 o51 089 «20 | Warmouth 5 214 1.67 205 033 203 Green Sunfish 2 206 oAT 002 ooh OL Yellowbelly Sunfish 8 222 1.73 205 o2l oO4 Redear Sunfish 5 o Lh oh] 202 209 203 Bluegill Sunfish 276 7.59 42.97 1.36 015 1.38 White Crappie 360 9.90 119.26 3.79 033 1.80 Black Crappie 15 ob Tbh oa oh9 208 Fresh Water Drum 36 399 17.95 eat o49 218 100.00 3,150.74 --- Page 7 --- Table 4, Length, Weight, and Coefficient of Condition of Fish Collected by Gill Nets From Lake Whitney, June 1, 1954 Through October 31, 1955 * Std. Length Std. Length Weight Weight "KU Species No. Specimens Range Average Range Average Average Spotted Gar 20 385-750 506 277-1388 792 0.6 Longnose Gar he 460-900 636 539-2892 990 Gizzard Shad 1,480 105-337 221 44-519 217 2.0 Smallmouth Buffalo 396 240-385 290 285-1701 899 3.7 River Carpsucker 310 195 =352 286 315-1474 655 2.8 Grey Redhorse 7 225-355 297 327-1219 92 3.5 Carp 311 190-395 288 170-1474 758 3.1 Southern Channel Catfish 127 175-470 3h5 85-2381 631 1.5 Black Bullhead 3 180-195 185 137-210 161 2.5 Flathead Catfish 1 430 1,446 1.8 White Bass 123 140-350 252 80-737 252 1.6 Kentucky Spotted Bass 19 173-320 255 120-737 hos 2,4 Largemouth Black Bass 90 102-430 25k 39-2523 459 2.8 Warmouth 5 122-165 152 71-208 151 4d Green Sunfish e 125-160 143 7-140 109 3.8 Redear Sunfish 5 100-100 100 4O-LO 43 hel Bluegill Sunfish 276 85-155 119 30-140 F He 1. Yellowbelly Sunfish 8 119-130 126 92-114 98 4.9 White Crappie 360 124.303 178 46-907 150 2.7 Black Crappie 15 130-217 180 110-392 22 ier Freshwater Drum 36 147-345 215 75-53 226 2.3 * Length in Millimeters and Weight in Grams. --- Page 8 --- 8, Table 5, Results of the Current Netting Collections from Lake Whitney as. Compared with Collections of the Preceding Study. June 1953 = May 1954 June 1954 = October 1955 Species Percentage of Total Catch » Percentage of Totel Catch : Avg. Avg. By Number By Weight "K" Factor By Number By Weight "K" Factor Q ° © Spotted Gar 9.51 Longnose Gar 2,06 Shad 27.60 Smallmouth Buffalo 14.73 River Carpsucker 7.89 Carp 15.86 Gray Redhorse Sucker 0.99 Southern Channel Catfish 5.72 Flathead Catfish 0.17 Yellow Bullhead 0.06 Black Bullhead 0,24 White Bass 0.61 Largemouth Black Bass 3.69 Kentucky Spotted Bass 3,80 Bluegill Sunfish 35 Yellowbelly Sunfish 1.06 Redear Sunfish 0.00 Warmouth 0.10 Green Sunfish 0.03 White Crappie 714 Black Crappie 3.28 Freshwater Drum 1.29 a ° i) ° © ° a ° bE POW TDTCCOAONWOODOWOMWOOHO ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° NM MG ° ° ° ° © 7 ? 0 6 7 ott 7 y " 3 7 it OVEN WAW OOHWN ° ° ° ° ° ° ° Por FORAWO OVW HY OAO ° ¢ ° HE reuoy JEM Sa ° ° ° ° ° Mw Sie OOO FRE un OA Pin ENO NM OOM MO WOO UW O OWN OO MOFAWOWM OO FWO DOV 9OO9OCOCCOCOOCOSd ° Oo: ° ° o ° WOFWNHNNYANMNNFREF AYN NMWh OVO O\OW te ° ° WIM A OO om] ° WEA OF OCO0080 NOFOOO Wm OOW oN Fo MM ON ° ° ° ° OD OWOOCOFONMNOC ONO OOWMN Oreo OF MwWELE PENN nr wMOrRPRPWwWWwWhHWwhy ONFOOOOCOFNOCO O FOO OrFONS ° ° ° ° --- Page 9 --- 9. Table 6. A Comparison of the Game and Rough Fish Caught by Gill Nets in Lake Whitney. June 1953 June 1954. Netting Collections through through May 1954 October 1955 Total No. of Specimens Caught 2,927 3,636 *Total Wt. of Specimens Caught 1,513 3,151 Average Wt. Per Specimen 0.51 0,87 ** Total Wt. of Game Fish 305 SLT Total Wt. of Rough Fish 1,108 2,603 Total No. of Game Fish 879 1,067 Total No. of Rough Fish 2, 048 2.569 Avg. Wt. Per Game Fish 0,30 0.51 Avg. Wt. Per Rough Fish 0.70 1.01 Percent Game Fish By Number 30.04 29.35 Percent Rough Fish By Number 69.96 70.65 Percent Game Fish By Weight 26.78 7.37 Percent Rough Fish By Weight 73.22 82.63 * Weight in pounds ** Catfishes, drum and white bass included in game fish Percentage Change Inerease 2h .22 108.26 70.59 79.34 134.93 21.39 25 tk 70.00 hi. 29 0.99 12.85 Decrease --- Page 10 --- 10. Table 7. Frequency of Occurrence of Food Items from Fish Collected by Gill Nets, Lake Whitney, June 1954 Through October 1955. Species Shad Unidentifiable Insects Algae and Bream Food Scraps Total No. of Fish Remains Vegetation or Fish Examined Stock Feed Largemouth Black Bass White Crappie Southern Channel Catfish White Bass Bluegill Sunfish Longnose Gar