Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

A fisheries management plan for reservoirs is proposed which is dependent upon having a fish management pool and provision for drainage incorporated into the basic design. Justification is given to support the cost of having a cleared management pool in the bottom of the reservoir as well as drainage facilities. A plan is also proposed for selective clearing of reservoir basins. The management program described is based on a philosophy of drastic manipulations of fish populations through fall and winter drawdowns, selective kills, partial kills, intensive sport and commercial fishing and other management practices designed to favor the carnivorous fishes and reduce the total number and pounds of all fish so as to bring about a balance of the predator fishes with their food supply and maintain expanding fish populations.

Management of some form is mandatory for the continuance or restoration of successful fishing in the majority of reservoirs in the Southern States. The selective killing of gizzard shad and some species of rough fish with rotenone shows promise as a management tool for some reservoirs. The use of rotenone as a selective toxicant in four Kentucky reservoirs is discussed. The total poundage of gizzard shad was drastically reduced in three reservoirs and this species was eliminated from a fourth reservoir. A definite improvement in fishing success was noted as a result of this chemical reduction of shad, buffalo, and carp. Also, an increase in the spawning success and apparently better survival of bass occurred following the selective kill.

The Corps of Engineers of the Department of the Army plans and constructs authorized flood control and multiple-purpose reservoirs under the general provisions of the Flood Control Acts of 1936 and 1944 and other legislation authorizing specific reservoir projects. The 1944 Act delegates to the Secretary of the Army responsibility for prescribing regulations for the use of flood control or navigation storage at all reservoirs, except those of the TVA, constructed wholly or in part with Federal funds. Effective functional operation of reservoirs is a most important factor in insuring that they accomplish the purposes for which they were designed and produce the benefits which justified their construction. Flood control, navigation, and power development, singly or in combination, are the major purposes for which reservoir projects have usually been authorized in Southeastern United States.

The reservoir has a surface acreage of 160,500 and contains two rather dissimilar lakes; namely, Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion. A four-year continuous creel census indicated that three-fourths of the catch of crappies was made in Lake Marion. Four distinct growth rates were encountered in a growth study of each species in each lake. A food habit study of 149 full crappie stomachs showed insects to occur 77.1% of the time and fish 55.7% of the time. A world record black crappie (Pomoxis nigro-maculatus) was caught in Lake Moultrie on March 15, 1957.

Fathead minnows averaging 1.74 pounds per thousand were stocked into ponds January 21 at rates of 100,000 per acre, and fed 6 days a week until the ponds were drained April 1. The feeds were 3 forms of Auburn NO.2 fish feed, namely, dry mix, crumbles, %-inch diameter pellets, and a commercial trout pellet. The ingredients of the Auburn No.2 fish feed were: 35 Percent Soybean Oil Meal . . . . . (44 percent protein) 35 Percent Ground Peanut Cake . . . . . (53 percent protein) 15 Percent Fish Meal . . . . . (60 percent protein) 15 Percent Distillers Dried Solubles . . . . . (24 percent protein) The composition of the Auburn No.2 fish feed was 46 percent protein, 26 percent carbohydrate, and 5 percent fat. The analysis of the trout ration was 43 percent protein, 20 percent nitrogen-free extract, 3.25 percent fat, and 4 percent fiber. The initial daily feeding rate was 3 percent of the body weight of the fish for the period January 22 to March 2.

Determination of a desirable concentration of 5 percent emulsified rotenone in. a given lake to control gizzard shad was accomplished by an observational technique. The concentration employed varied from 0.06 p.p.m. to 0.14 p.p.m. The time of year considered best suited for treatment was during the fall. Methods used to apply the toxicant were varied but appeared about equal of results except while using spray planes. The most favorable results occurred when good distribution was secured by using six to twelve hours for application, numerous surface units and dilute mixtures. As many as 4,600 acre feet were treated by one efficiently equipped boat. A table is presented which was used as a basis for calculations of concentrations. At least three successive treatments one year apart were needed for the most effective control of shad. Conclusions regarding stocking were not drawn.

A pattern of high original reservoir productivity followed by gradual decline (in terms of angling success and desirable fish production) has been evidenced in a chain of lakes, of different ages, on the Ouachita River, Arkansas. Lake Catherine, formed in 1923, consists of 3,000 acres; Lake Hamilton, created in 1931, consists of 7,200 acres, and Lake Ouachita, impounded in 1953, covers 40,000 acres. A comprehensive fishery study was conducted during the summers of 1955, 1956 and 1957 to investigate and compare the fishery resources of these lakes and formulate management plans. Comparison of limnological data indicated that the physical-chemical factors of the water of the three lakes were normal and, in fact, appeared to be optimum for good fish production. Fertility, as determined by plankton collections and bottom fauna studies, was greater in Lake Catherine and Lake Hamilton than in Lakll Ouachita.

The 1957 Legislature expanded The Florida Hyacinth Control Program to a Noxious Vegetation Control Program. This made testing of herbicides for the control of other noxious plants necessary. A convenient field test of herbicides was developed. These herbicides were tested using disel oil and/or water as a carrier.