Hubbard Creek Reservoir - 2015 Survey Report

Prepared by Natalie Goldstrohm and Michael Homer Jr.
Inland Fisheries Division – Abilene District

This is the authors' summary from a 28-page report. For a copy of the complete report, use the download link in the sidebar.

Fish populations in Hubbard Creek Reservoir were surveyed by electrofishing and trap netting in 2015, and gill netting in 2016. Historical data are presented with the recent data for comparison. This report summarizes the results of the surveys and contains a management plan for the reservoir based on those findings.

Reservoir Description

Hubbard Creek Reservoir is a 15,250-acre impoundment constructed in 1962 on Sandy Creek and Hubbard Creek, in the Brazos River Basin. The reservoir is used for municipal water supply, flood control, and recreation. The reservoir is controlled by the West Central Texas Municipal Water District and has a history of extreme water level fluctuations. Hubbard Creek was nearly full in 2008 but dropped to record low water level in May 2015. Fish habitat in the most recent survey consisted of smartweed, flooded terrestrial vegetation, salt cedar, and standing timber. Since the last survey period, boater access was limited to one public boat ramp. As of April 2016, all boat ramps were useable after a substantial water level increase from heavy rains. Bank-fishing access was limited to the boat ramp areas as well as near the US-180 Bridge.

Management History

Important sport fish include Largemouth Bass, White Bass, White Crappie, and catfishes. Sport fishes are regulated by statewide harvest regulations. Threadfin Shad were introduced in 1984. Channel Catfish were introduced in 1970. Palmetto Bass were stocked in 1979 and 1984. Florida Largemouth Bass were introduced in 1979, stocked during the early 1990’s, stocked in 2003, and they were last stocked in 2011 and 2012.

Fish Community

• Prey species: Electrofishing catch of prey species was low and consisted primarily of Gizzard Shad, Bluegill, and Longear Sunfish. Other fish species were also available as prey. Sunfish species were of sizes that were available to most sport fish. Gizzard Shad < 7 inches were present in high relative abundance and were available to most sport fish.
• Catfishes: Channel Catfish, Blue Catfish, and Flathead Catfish were present in the reservoir. Blue Catfish were the most abundant catfish species observed during gill net surveys. Most of the Blue Catfish were of harvestable size.
• White Bass: In 2016, White Bass relative abundance was low, and all fish sampled were harvestable size.
• Largemouth Bass: In 2015, Largemouth Bass relative abundance and number of large fish were low. Legal-sized fish were not relatively abundant in the survey
• White Crappie: In 2015, White Crappie relative abundance was low. Mean relative weight for most inch classes ranged from 90-110. Legal-sized White Crappie were not relatively abundant in the survey.

Management Strategies

• Largemouth Bass and prey items will be surveyed in fall 2017.
• Trap netting, gill netting, and electrofishing surveys will be conducted in 2019-2020 for relative abundance, size structure, and mean relative weight data.
• Access and habitat surveys will be conducted in summer 2019.
• Inform the public of the threat and impact of invasive species.

Performance Report as required by Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act Texas Federal Aid Project F-221-M-6 Inland Fisheries Division Monitoring and Management Program