Ichthyological survey of the Colorado River of Texas

This study was initiated in an effort to investigate thoroughly the ichthyofauna of the lower Colorado River. General conclusions in this paper are based on (A) 132 personal collections, (B) individuals preserved in the Texas Natural History Collection, The University of Texas, (C) the extensive collections of Dr. Clark Hubbs and his students at The University of Texas, and (D) a check of anglers' creels on the river. In addition, a search was made of the published literature and unpublished reports on early collections; however, little information concerning the fauna of the Colorado River was found. Few collection records from the river southeast of Travis County are available, even from recent years, and the extensive and varied fauna of the lower river has been largely overlooked. My collecting methods included the following: (1) fourteen gill net sets utilizing 125 foot experimental nets with mesh size grading from one inch to three inches in one-half inch increments; (2) sixteen one inch mesh hoop net sets baited with cottonseed cake; (3) eighteen trotline sets; (4) thirty-six funnel mouth minnow traps baited with cottonseed cake; and (5) ninety-eight seine collections utilizing 10, 15 and 20 foot common sense seines as well as tied 30 x 6 foot straight and 36 x 6 foot bag seines. In addition to the fish collections, aquatic vegetation samples were collected when present, and water temperature, color, turbidity and bottom type were recorded with collection data