Volunteers, TPWD working to enhance Lake Fork habitat
The fishing and habitat dynamics of what is arguably the best Texas bass lake of all time may be about to change for the better. At least that is what some folks with close ties to Lake Fork are hoping.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department inland fisheries staff and Lake Fork Sportsman Association recently teamed up and got their hands dirty as they launched what may be one of the most viable habitat enhancement projects ever attempted on a public water body in Texas.
I say viable, because the project has a legitimate chance working. With a little cooperation from Mother Nature, of course.
Nobody has coined a name for the project yet, so I'll do the honors. Just call it "Operation Buckbrush."
Buckbrush is a slang term frequently used to describe buttonbush, a highly prolific woody shrub that can survive when flooded by several feet of water for extended periods of time.
Once established in the right places, buttonbush provides perfect cover for bass, crappie and various forage species, especially during the spring months when spawning activity takes place. The plant also provides anglers with a jungle of shallow cover where they can pitch, flip and drop their lures.
While buckbrush is already established on many lakes across East Texas, it is most beneficial for fish on water bodies prone to fluctuate several feet from one year to the next. When water levels drop, the plant is able to to colonize or spread on the dry ground. The new growth provides additional cover for the fish as the lake refills. It also serving as a breeding ground for tiny microorganisms that substantiate the aquatic food chain.
Both Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend have significant coverage areas of buckbrush and willows up and down the lake. The plants established naturally along shorelines, on points and amid backwater flats back in the 1980s, when the water level on both reservoirs dipped extremely low and stayed there for an extended period. Subsequent periods of low water have allowed for extensive propagation.
During the spring when these lakes are normally full of water, it is common to find significant amounts of the terrestrial cover in water as deep as three feet or more.
Countless anglers have often wondered what it might be like if such a dynamic ever came to Lake Fork. With any luck, they may begin finding out within the next few years.
On Nov. 30, several TPWD fisheries biologists and technicians banded with nearly three dozen Lake Fork volunteers to "salt" the lake with about 400 buttonbushes. The 2-year-old plants were purchased using LFSA and TPWD funds.
The bushes, most 3-4 feet tall, were divided among several different sites in Glade and Caney creeks. One by one, workers dug holes with shovels and planted the young bushes on dry humps and flats left exposed by a year-long drought that has caused the water level at Fork to drop more than seven feet. Plantings were performed at varied elevations to optimize survival and propagation with future water level changes.
This is the first time in several years Fork has dropped this low, but it probably won't be the last. Increased water usage by the City of Dallas could result in fluctuations up to five feet annually. Factor in natural annual evaporation, and the yearly fluctuation could double that, especially in a drought situation.
Fisheries biologist Kevin Storey of Tyler says buckbrush is nothing new at Lake Fork. Mature stands can be found all over the lake. Problem is, the woody cover is restricted to areas that are too shallow to do the fishery any good.
"There are buttonbush plants in the lake, but they are confined to the edge of the water at full pool," Storey said. "This is a consequence of a long history of stable water levels that have prevented the plants from spreading towards the lake. When the lake is full, the existing plants are only in a few inches of water and no real benefit to aquatic habitat. The buttonbush we just put out should be in several feet of water once the lake refills, which should make them available cover for bass."
Storey says he is hopeful the plants become established well enough in the months ahead that they will begin to spread by next year.
"When they produce seed, we are optimistic that these will further spread the plants," he said. "The most noticeable impact of the plants will be felt when water levels return to normal.
"In Glade Creek, the planting site is an open flat with a series of humps on it, but there is no significant amount of cover. Since the water levels went down, we are seeing some other plants such as willows begin to colonize the area. When water levels get closer to conservation pool, we are hoping the buttonbush will provide woody cover that will persist."
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