Brown County Water Improvement District and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department are working together to improve living conditions for many fish in Lake Brownwood.
According to Water District General Manager Dennis Spinks, the two entities are working together to place fish habitat structures in the lake to help the fish population as well as improve the catchability of the fish in Lake Brownwood. These habitats will be made of PVC or Polyethylene pipe constructed in a square box type structure. Spinks explained that the structures will be made of 2-4 inch pipes so that smaller fish can enter it in order to escape predator fish, as a sort of sanctuary in order to increase their populations. The pipes are textured and will allow growth of algae that will draw in the smaller fish. This in turn will draw the larger predatory fish to the area improving their numbers and catchability as well, he explained.
Spinks stated that Lake Brownwood actually has a relatively good fish population despite the recent years of drought conditions the area has faced, and that the fish population has fared much better than other area lakes. The last few surveys of Lake Brownwood indicated good number of Crappie, White Bass, and Large Mouth Bass.
The current natural habitat is helping the fish population due to the trees and shrubs that grew in the lake bed when the lake level was low, according to Spinks. He explained how these trees and shrubs have now been covered in water and will help during the next couple of years to provide a habitat for fish but that they will eventually rot and fall over, losing their usefulness.
Materials that will be used to construct the habitat have been ordered by the TPWD biologist according to Spinks. The new habitat structures will be placed in the next couple of weeks, said Spinks.
