Common Prey Items Along the Texas Coast: A Fly Fishing Perspective Mark R. Fisher Science Director Rockport Marine Lab

TPWD Resource Monitoring Program Overview Initiated in 1975. Stratified random sampling. Standardized methods. Gill nets (780/year). Bay trawls (1,680/year). Gulf trawls (960/year). Bag seines (2,160/year). Oyster dredges (1,200/year). Total—6,780/year.

Sample Locations, 1975-2007 All Gears Combined 360 fish species 324 invertebrate species

Diet of Legal-Sized Red Drum and Spotted Seatrout Opportunistic predators. Diet reflects habitat, feeding mode, prey availability and prey size. Trout consume shrimp and fish. Reds consume crabs, shrimp and fish.

Don’t put your finger in there! Upper Plate Lower Plate

Prey Items Can Be Highly Seasonal! Spawning occurs in Fall (croaker), Spring (silversides), Winter (mullet), or year-round (blue crab, killifish). Rapid growth rates for some (shrimp ~ 1 mm/day); juveniles are typically the only edible size. Different life stages utilize different habitats—juveniles typically inhabit shorelines, subadults and adults in open water. Our bays are not food-limited!

Corpus Christi Bay Monthly Mean Water Temperatures

Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus)

Monthly Abundance and Size of Menhaden from Coastal Bend Shorelines Late Fall/Early Winter Gulf spawners, 115 mm by age 1, 5 years max age

World’s Largest Menhaden? 2.9 pounds, 18.7 inches!

Bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchelli)

Striped anchovy (Anchoa hepsetus)

Dusky anchovy (Anchoa lyolepis) Maximum size – 90 mm Striped anchovy – 150 mm Bay anchovy – 100 mm

Distribution of Anchovies in the Coastal Bend

Dusky anchovy schools along Padre Island

Scaled sardine (Harengula jaguana) Size range—90-125 mm

Spanish sardine (Sardinella aurita) Size range—125-200 mm

Distribution of Sardines in the Coastal Bend

Distribution of Sardines by Salinity Zone

Mullet, striped and white (Mugil cephalus and M. curema)

World’s Largest Mullet? 30 inches, 7 pounds!

Killifish and Sheepshead minnow (Fundulus sp Killifish and Sheepshead minnow (Fundulus sp. and Cyprinodon variegatus) 50-75 mm 50-75 mm 30-40 mm

Distribution of Cyprinodonts in the Coastal Bend

Killifish and Sheepshead minnow Habitat

Proof!

Inland silverside (Menidia beryllina)

Distribution of Silversides in the Coastal Bend

Pinfish and Atlantic croaker (Lagodon rhomboides and Micropogonias undulatus)

Monthly Bay Trawl Atlantic Croaker Lengths Length class, mm

Gobies Family Gobiidae

Shrimp eel (Ophichthus gomesi) 150-600 mm length

Brown, Pink, and White Shrimp Browns are brown to olive green. Pinks are grayish to red-brown. Whites are bluish white. White

Browns, White, and Pink Shrimp Life History Overview Offshore spawning Eggs hatch within 24 hours Postlarvae migrate into bays Fast growth, ~ 1 mm/day Migrate to deeper water as they get larger Brown—fall spawners White—spring spawners Pink—spring spawners. Browns & pinks burrow during the day

Brown Shrimp Distribution and Abundance

Brown Shrimp Distribution and Abundance

Coastwide Monthly Brown Shrimp CPUE Bay Trawls

Grass Shrimp (Palaemonetes sp.) 20-40 mm total length

Distribution of Grass Shrimp in the Coastal Bend

Other Shrimp Species

Sargassum Shrimp

Shrimp Flies

Crabs

Atlantic brief squid (Lolliguncula brevis)

Longfin squid (Loligo pealei) Arrow squid (Loligo pleii)

Squid Mantle Lengths

Distribution of Squid in the Coastal Bend

Distribution of Squid by Salinity Zone

Good Fly Selections—Flats, Grassy Shorelines, Creeks

Good Fly Selections—Jetty and Surf

Want to Know More?

Common Bait Species Within Texas Bays Pinfish Bay anchovy Inland silverside Gulf menhaden Mullet Sheepshead minnow Killifish Atlantic croaker Grass shrimp White and brown shrimp Blue crab Atlantic brief squid

Common Bait Species Along Texas Gulf Beaches Mullet Striped anchovy Dusky anchovy Scaled sardine Spanish sardine Bay anchovy Rough silverside Seabob White and brown shrimp Blue crab Sargassum shrimp Sargassum crab

Common Bait Species in Redfish Bay, South Bay and B&R Flats Pinfish Sheepshead minnow Inland silverside Killifish Mullet Bay anchovy Atlantic croaker Gobies Grass shrimp White, pink, and brown shrimp Blue crab Mud crabs