\ X./J -. 4 , , ~ - .~4 ~ ,TEXASS DOCUMENTS rn,[1 texas & news TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT " AUSTIN, TEXAS 78744 In the March 1, 1989 issue: . - - - 1 Cold Weather Killed 7.5 million Coastal Fish . - - - 2 Three Waterfowl Habitat Projects Completed . - . - - - 4 Crappie Population Strong At Cypress Springs . - . - 5 Volksmarch Walk-A-Thon Set At Guadalupe Park . .. .... ... 5 Boater Education Classes Offered In Houston . 6 . - . - - - - Big Gag Is No Joke To Charter Boat Captain . 7 . - . - - -H.- R. Magee's Bass Finally Bumped From Top 50 10 Top 50 Bass List . - . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - COLD WEATHER KILLED 7.5 MILLION COASTAL FISH was fatal to AUSTIN -- The recent frigid weather on the Texas Gulf Coast differences between the approximately 7.5 million fish. There were many Texas Parks and recent cold weather and the record-setting 1983 freeze, the Wildlife Department said. Dr. Jerry Clark, chief of the department's Coastal Fisheries Branch, the 1983 said the February norther affected a relatively smaller area than freeze, but losses of sport and forage fish were high in East Matagorda Bay and in St. Charles Bay of the Aransas Bay system. optimistic "During and for a week after the cold temperatures, we were adverse that few fish were killed," Clark said. "However, because of weather conditions, department planes were grounded and no aerial assessments could be made." Once observers got airborne, he said, they discovered that some bays were hard hit. more than Of the estimated 7.5 million fish killed in the recent freeze, 5.5 million were bay anchovies, a tiny forage fish. However, biologists UofNTDepLrle C0 PAGE 2 estimate that 240,000 spotted seatrout (speckled trout), 109,000 black drum, 47,000 red drum (redfish) and 52,000 sheepshead also were killed The 1983 freeze was fatal to about 14 million fishes, including 567,000 spotted seatrout, 225,000 black drum, 90,000 red drum, 183,000 sheepshead and about 7 5 million forage fish Clark said about 75 percent of the dead spotted seatrout, red drum and black drum were observed in East Matagorda and St Charles Bays Lesser numbers were killed in Mesquite, Carlos and Ayres Bays and in the Land Cut and Port Mansfield areas Clark said the current estimates are preliminary and based on fish found along the shoreline only "Once biological sampling is completed, these figures may be revised," he said "All in all, the recent cold weather created several surprises for department biologists," Clark said, "but the fishery resources of Texas did not suffer the devastating losses seen in 1983-84 " JC 2/24/89 THREE WATERFOWL HABITAT PROJECTS COMPLETED TENNESSEE COLONY -- The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and Ducks Unlimited, Inc (DU) recently met at the department's Engeling Wildlife Management Area (WMA) to mark the completion of three waterfowl habitat projects in East Texas PAGE 3 The projects, located at the Engeling WMA in Anderson County, Richland Creek WMA in Freestone and Navarro Counties and Keechi Creek WMA in Leon County, were cost-shared on a 50-50 basis under DU's M A, R S H (Matching Aid to Restore States' Habitat) program The TPWD's share of the costs was funded by sales of Texas Waterfowl Stamps and art prints These projects are the first waterfowl habitat developments completed by the TPWD under the aegis of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) The TPWD is a partner in three joint ventures under the plan They are the Lower Mississippi Valley (East Texas bottomland hardwoods), Gulf Coast and Playa Lakes joint ventures MWA R S H projects also are underway in Shelby, Brazoria, Matagorda and Calhoun Counties Dr Dan Moulton, program leader for waterfowl habitat acquisition and development, said hunters and conservationists can support the TPWD's wetland preservation and development program by purchasing Texas waterfowl Stamps and Prints Print reproductions of the stamp art are available from art dealers or from Collectors Covey, P 0 Box 57306, Dallas, TX 75207, (214) 630-4981 Tax-deductible donations may be sent to Waterfowl Habitat Fund, TPWD, 4200 Smith School Road, Austin, TX 78744 DM 3/1/89 PAGE 4 CRAPPIE POPULATION STRONG AT CYPRESS SPRINGS MT VERNON -- Lake Cypress Springs has become one of the East Texas area's top crappie producing lakes, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Fishery Technician Pope Fisher of Marshall said recent frame net surveys on the 3,400-acre lake indicate good populations of the popular panfish are available for anglers Crews collected 87 white crappie and 18 black crappie in the net survey Size structure of the fish was excellent, Fisher said, with 48 percent of the white crappie measuring over 10 inches in length Individual fish up to 14 inches long were collected Of the 30 crappie selected for age. and growth analysis, 25, or 83 percent, were at least three years old "In many East Texas reservoirs, crappie populations are dominated by small fish less than two years old," said Fisher "The abundance of older fish indicates Cypress Springs should provide an excellent opportunity for fishermen seeking quality-sized crappie " Fisher said there is no minimum length limit for crappie at Cypress Springs The bag limit is 25 per day, with a possession limit of 50 The lake is located south of Mt Vernon off FM 21 The lake is PAGE 5 and there are controlled by the Franklin County Freshwater District, Fisher said .several areas for public access around the lake, JC 3/1/89 VOLKSMARCH WALK-A-THON SET AT GUADALUPE PARK expected to BULVERDE -- Walking enthsiasts of all sizes and ages are at Guadalupe participate in the annual Northeast WMCA Indian Trailwalk River State Park on March 11-12 in the volksmarch Park Superintendent Duncan Muckelroy said participants the park's 10 kilometer event can walk,. jog or run run at their own pace on (6 2-mile) trail For further information Registration will begin at 8 a m March 11 YMCA, 10710 contact event organizer Buzz Clark at the Northeast Branch (512) 652-5234 Nacogdoches, P 0 Box 47607, San Antonio, TX 78265, ESC 3/1/89 BOATER EDUCATION CLASSES OFFERED IN HOUSTON conduct boater HOUSTON -- The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will R education classes and instructor workshops March 11-12 at the George Brown Convention Center in Houston March 11 The boater education class will be held from 1-7 p m PAGE 6 Persons interested in attending should contact Guy Connelley at (713) 494-3626 The instructor workshop is slated for 12 noon to 6 p ,m March 12, also at the convention center Those interested should contact Gina Swift, boater education coordinator for the department, by calling toll-free 1-800-792-1112, or (512) 389-4999 Swift said the instructor course is open to adults who have completed the student course and feel they could effectively teach the boating education course on a volunteer basis JC 3/1/89 BIG GAG IS NO JOKE TO CHARTER BOAT CAPTAIN AUSTIN -- It's a gag, no joke Charter boat captain Arlie Harrison of Port O'Connor knew he had something unusual when he pulled a grouper-like fish aboard his boat on Jan 31 No one aboard could positively identify the fish, but upon returning to port the 19 1/2-pound fish turned out to be a gag It now is the new state record, beating the previous record fish by a full seven pounds Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologist Steve Marwitz said gags are members of the grouper family, of which several species are caught off the Texas coast "The variable colors that groupers exhibit often makes PAGE 7 them difficult to identify," Marwitz said He said identification of Harrison's fish was based on spine and ray counts on the fins and a count of scales along the lateral line Also certified recently as a new state saltwater record was a three- pound, 12-ounce Atlantic stingray caught by Bryan Ellis of Hitchcock in Jones Bay during May 1988 JC 3/1/89 H, R. MAGEE'S BASS FINALLY BUMPED FROM TOP 50 AUSTIN -- A quarter-century ago, there seemed little hope that anyone would ever break the state record for largemouth bass HR Magee' s 13-pound, eight-ounce monster caught in 1943 appeared to be, in .fact, unbeatable That theory was shot in February 1980 when Jim Kimbell of Pittsburg set a new state record with a 14-pound, 1 1/2-ounce bass caught from Lake Monticello This week another milestone occurred, one that is even more remarkable than Kimbell's feat Richard McCarty caught a 13-pound, nine-ounce bass from Lake Fork near Quitman on Saturday McCarty's fish in effect bumped H, R, Magee's bass off the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's list of the state's 50 biggest bass As seasoned bass fishermen know, this avalanche of big-bass records is a PAGE 8 result of introductions of Florida-strain bass into Texas waters Although the Florida fish look virtually identical to native (northern) largemouths found in Texas, they have faster growth rates and can achieve larger sizes at maturity McCarty's catch, plus three more big bass caught during the past week, bring the TPWD's "Operation Share A Lone Star Lunker" program up to speed, according to Bill Rutledge, chief of the agency's Hatchery Branch Rutledge said one of the new entries is a 13-pound, 13 ounce bass caught by Richard Todd of Hurst Sunday at 1,500-acre Lake Athens near Athens Todd's fish was impressive not only in weight, but also because of its the length At 27 75 inches, the fish was a quarter-inch longer than was current state record fish when it was certified in 1986 The state record bass, caught by fishing guide Mark Stevenson at Lake Fork, weighed 17 pounds, 10.7 ounces