TPWD 1968 F-5-R-15 #1220: Region I-B Fisheries Studies, Job No. 11 Pre-inundation Investigation for Robert Lee Reservoir

--- Page 1 --- SEGMENT COMPLETION REPORT As required by FEDERAL AID IN FISHERIES RESTCRATION ACT TEXAS Federal Aid Project No. F-5-R-15 REGION I-B FISHERIES STUDIES Job No. 11 Pre-inundation Investigation for Robert Lee Reservoir Project Leader: Billy J. Follis J. R. Singleton Executive Director Parks and Wildlife Department Austin, Texas Marion Toole Eugene A. Walker D-J Coordinator Director, Wildlife Services April 29, 1968 --- Page 2 --- ABSTRACT Construction of the Robert Lee Dam and related facilities is about 60 per cent complete. Information concerning progress and closure dates, maps and hydrological data was secured. Fish population sampling continues to reflect domination by undesirable species. However, stocking of largemouth bass fry in newly impounded water in the reservoir area appears to be somewhat successful. The rearing of brood game fish in ranch ponds is progressing satisfactorily. Plans are to release about 2,000 adult largemouth bass in the reservoir before the 1969 spawning season. --- Page 3 --- SEGMENT State of _ Texas Project No. F-5-R-15 Job No. 11 Period Covered: _ March 1, 1 Objectives: Title: COMPLETION REPORT Name. Region I-B Fisheries Studies For Robert Lee Reservoir 967 to February 29, 1968 Pre-~inundation Investigation To develop a pre-inundation management program for Robert Lee Reservoir and associated waters. Procedures: Liaison with the controlling authority, Colorado River Municipal Water District, was continued, Information concerning construction progress and closure dates, hydrological data, maps and water usage was obtained. The current fish population of the river, in and below the reservoir area, was sampled with gill nets, seines and rotenone. Fish species and popula-~ tion relative abundance were determined and recorded. The rearing of brood game species in rmch tanks was employed to assure adequate stocking. and growth. These fish were checked periodically for survival A checklist of scientific names is presented so that common names may be These names are specified in "A list of Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States and Canada'', Second Edition, American Fisheries Society, Special Publication Number 2,1960. used in this report. COMMON NAMES, Spotted gar Longnose gar Gizgzard shad Carp Plains minnow Red shiner Sharpnose shiner Fathead minnow Bullhead minnow Longnose dace River carpsucker Smallmouth buffalo Black bullhead Channel catfish SCIENTIFIC NAMES Lepisosteus oculatus Lepisosteus osseus Dorosoma cededianum _ Cyprinus carpio Hybognathus placita Notropis lutrensis Notropis oxyrhynchus Pimephales promelas Pimephaies vigilax Rhinichthys cataractae Carpiodes carpio ictiobus bubaius Ictalurus melas ictalurus punctatus --- Page 4 --- COMMON NAMES Flathead catfish Red River pupfish Zebra minnow Mosquitofish White bass Green sunfish Orangespotted sunfish Longear sunfish Redear sunfish Largemouth bass White crappie Freshwater drum SCIENTIFIC NAMES Pyledictis olivaris Cyprinodon rubrofluviatilis Fundulus zebrinus Gambusia affinis Roccus chrysops Lepomis cyaneilus Lepomis humilis Lepomis megalotis Lepomis microlophus _ Micropterus salmoides Pomoxis annularis Aplodinotus grunniens Findings: Basic Reservoir Information The basic construction plans, including the complete physical description of the dam and reservoir, have not been altered from that reported last segment and will not be repeated in this report, At the present time, construction of the dam and related facilities is slightly ahead of schedule being about 60 per cent complete. The coring of the 4.2 mile earthen dam is almost finished. Construction of the gated morning glory service spillway is well underway and should be ready for use in late summer of 1968. Without unseen delays, impound- ment of the natural flow of the river and normal runoff will begin in September 1968. Completion of the dam and facilities is expected to be March 1, 1969. Development of the 5 public recreation areas, totaling 2.000 acres, will begin very soon. These areas (Figure 1) will include improved boat ramps, tables, cooking grill, camping areas, etc. Fishing regulations have been discussed with District Authorities. Recommend- ations were made for the waters of the new reservoir to be included in the existing fishing regulation of Coke County in the Permian Basin Regulatory Area. Three retention dams have been constructed on the Colorado River in the lower basin area (Figure 2). Each of these earthen structures back waters up the riverbed 14 tc 2 miles and cover 20-to 50-surface acres, These retarding structures were built to supply water for construction purposes and to keep runoff water out of construction area. Fish Population The existing fish population was sampled at various locations in the reservoir area and below the basin in the Colorado River. Netting results in the basin were very similar to that of last year with rough fish accounting for 94 per cent by number and 93 per cent by weight (Table 1) One largemouth bass was taken in gill nets and 8 were collected with seines. This much sought-after game species was not collected in this area last year, Creel checks also revealed --- Page 5 --- ROBERT LEE RESERVOIR — To BRONTE Ve Highway iff i, if RoBERT LEE ; eiry ~~ ( CoLofmROe AiveR i To COLO RNRDO CiITy <_ : Lp Higuway aoe Sinven bp ees erry kerry <3 m 7 ie: HIGNWway 208 Hishtway 208 To SAN ANGELO SP waRy NORMAL WATPFR Laver 1993 Figure 1 FARM ReaD 20549 / NiGHWaRYy ise FRRM ROAND 203% mens | 8=~PAVED RORD ameemeeem eam GRAVEL ROD Lilia! PROPOSED RECREATION RRER To STERLING CiTy To waTeR VALLEY J --- Page 6 --- NORMAL WATER Levew (29%? ROBERT LEE City Limite qo. a whe Figure 2. ROBERT LEE RESERVOIR 4 HiGHway iff HiGHhway 2089 tad om > HIGHWAY ise ZA x SD Se sre, COLOR@DO RIVER R-3 , FARM ReaD 203% RIVER CHANNEL < es 7 ~ SPiL , Lway ra / \ ») Road 2034 ‘\ owns PHVED ROAD A emwea we coma o am GRAVEL ROAD (& Highway 168 r - ° R R \ 7? WM PROPOSED RECREATION RARA oN /. * ¥ R RETENTION DAM --- Page 7 --- Table 1 Survey Results Colorado River Reservoir Area, April 26, May 17, July, 1967 and __ January 26, 1968. Results of 11 gill nets. Per Cent Total Wet. Avg. Wt. Per Cent Average Species Number __ by No. Pounds _ Pounds by Wet. Ki Longnose gar 134 32.13 164.37 1,22 31.59 Gizzard shad 91 21.82 109.46 1.20 21605 Carp 9 2.16 46.74 5.19 8.98 River carpsucker 150 35.97 150.53 1.00 28.94 Smalimouth buffalo 1 224 6.33 6.33 1.22 Black bullhead 1 24 - 64 . 64 «k2 Channel catfish 12 2.88 12.57 1.04 2.42 1.80 Flathead catfish 9 2.16 21.67 2.40 4.16 1.57 Green sunfish 2 48 .27 .13 05 4.11 Largemouth bass 1 24 .55 .55 11. 2.36 Freshwater drum 7 1,68 7.05 1.00 1.36 Total 417 100.00 520.18 100.00 Game Fish * 24 5.76 35.06 6.74 Rough Fish 393 94.24 485.12 93.26 Seining Results Colorado River Reservoir Area (100 x 10 x %-inch mesh seine, 30 x 6 x k-inch mesh seine and 20 x 6 x 1/8-inch mesh seine). species Number Size Range in Inches Spotted gar 30 12-18 Longnese gar 115 6-24 Gizzard shad 15,240 15-10 Plains minnow 133 2-3% Red shiner 6,582 4-24 Sharpnose shiner 8 2-2% Fathead minnow ll 1-2 Bullhead minnow 1,368 1-2 Longnose dace 7 14-2 River carpsucker 22 6-12 Channel catfish 4 8-12 Red River pupfish 1 1 Zebra minnow 12 2-2 Mosquitofish 20 1-2 White bass 1 8 Green sunfish 6 2-4 Orangespotted sunfish 47 14-24 Longear sunfish 81 14-4 Redear sunfish 1 3 Largemouth bass 8 8-10 “otal 23,697 --- Page 8 --- a sizeable number of largemouth bass are present, especially in the waters held by the 3 retention dams, Although channel catfish were relatively scarce in the netting samples, they were very abundant in nearly all sections of the river when checked with rotenone sampling, electro-shocker sampling, and hook and line. The shallow areas of the river continues to support an enormous minnow population. Sampling results from below the reservoir area are given in Table 2. Long- nose gar, gizzard shad, and river carpsucker continue to dominate the netting collection. Largemouth bass and white crappie were additions to the game fish when compared to last year's sampling. Also, a large number cf small flathead catfish were taken with hock and line during the June collection trip. It is believed that these desirable predators moved upstream following a recent heavy influx of water. Seining samples (Table 2) produced a larger amount of forage than found during the previous year, This could possibly be attributed to the time of the year the samples were collected and a larger amount of water in the river. Rare or endemic fish were mot found in the course of this study. Therefore, measures to preserve such species were unnecessary. Table 2 Survey Results Colorado River Below Reservoir Area, April 12 and June 22, 1967. Results of 6 gill nets, a Per Cent Tctal Wet. Avge. Wt. Per Cent Average Species Number by No, Pounds Pounds by Wgt. UKM Longnose gar 44 20.27 59,25 1.34 17.67 Gizzard shad 57 26.27 63.65 1.11 15.00 Carp i 5.07 56.50 5.13 16.85 River carpsucker 84 38.71 99.39 1.18 29,66 Smallmouth buffalo 6 2.76 36.18 6.03 10.80 Channel catfish* 3 Lis 39 9.63 3021 2.87 1,89 Flathead catfish* 3 1.3% 5.27 1.75 1.57 1.95 Largemouth bass* 1 46 1.27 1.27 38 2,59 White crappie* 2 .92 .20 .10 .06 3.08 Freshwater drum 6 2.76 3.80 . 63 1.14 Total 217 100.00 335.14 100.00 Game Fish* 9 4.16 16.37 4.88 Rough Fish 208 95.84 318.77 95.12 --- Page 9 --- Seining Results Colorado River Below Reservoir Area (30 x 6 x %-inch mesh seine and 20 x 6 x 1/8-inch mesh seine). Species Number Size Range in Inches Longnose gar 8 7-10 Gizzard shad 213 1-24 Plains minnow 1 3 Red shiner 243 1-2 Fathead minnow 20 14-2 Bullhead minnow 20 15-2 Longnose dace 8 14-2% River carpsucker 15 25-5 Smallmouth buffalo 3 3-5 Mosquitofish 4 2-3 Green sunfish 2 4 Orangespotted sunfish 3 2-4 Longear sunfish 7 2-45 White crappie 7 2% -4 i Total 554 —————————————————————————————————————— Stocking Plans Because of anticipated demands of hatchery produced fish during the 1969 and 1970 stocking season, desirable game fish are being reared in ranch tanks to supply Robert Lee Reservoir with adequate brood stock, These fish, mainly large- mouth bass, will be released in the new reservoir as soon as sufficient water is impounded. Also, these adult predators will help to contrel some of the undesir- able species already present in the river. Currently, about 50 private ponds and 2 small city lakes at Robert Lee are being used to rear and hold potential brood fish. These waters have been checked periodically with various size seines, gill nets and hook and line. As the food supply is depleted, additional forage is supplied. The most common forage species used was the red shiner. These fish are obtained by seining in the Colorado River. Most of the ponds were stocked with advanced fingerling bass in the late fall of 1966 with the remaining ones receiving fish early in 1967. The growth rate of these fish varied considerably as expected, and survival was considerably lower than desired. The best growth encountered was a 2%-to 3-pound bass in less than 1 year. Periodic sampling reveals that 75 per cent of the potential brood bass ranged between 3/4 and 14-pounds by late fall of 1967. Also, it should be noted that limited natural spawning occurred in more than one-half of the rearing ponds. This is beneficial in that it provides additional food for the larger bass and possibly more brood size fish the following year. --- Page 10 --- The need for pond-rearing channel catfish and sunfish is of less importance, Fish sampling in the river in the reservoir area indicates an abundance of small channel catfish. Therefore, the need for stocking this species is not critical. Furthermore, sunfish can be produced in a shorter’ period of time and successfully stocked as the reservoir is filling. Current plans are to initiate the transferring of the largemouth bass from the rearing ponds to the reservoir as soon as permanent impoundment begins. As stated earlier in this report, this should occur in September 1968. The number of brood fish stocked will increase with the influx of water. It is hoped that about 2,000 adult bass will be available for release by the natural spawning season of 1969. The new water impounded by the 3 retention dams in the lower reservoir basin was stocked with 113,000 largemouth bass fry in May 1967. Sampling in this area indicated good survival and growth of these small fish. It is felt that this effort will be of great value in establishing an adequate brood bass population as the reservoir fills. Conclusions and Recommendations: ft is recommena:d that this job be continued in order to take advantage of the pre-impoundment management opportunities offered. \ Whereon. Loot Prepared by; Billy J. Follis Approved by: Ge} ton A, Project Leader Coordinator Date; _ April 29, 1968 _.._leo D. Lewis - Inland Fisheries Supervisor