Staff and volunteers will spend the day sharing the joys of family fishing with park patrons. Stay tuned to participate in next year’s program.Īnyone interested in learning more about the fish of Spring Creek can attend Take Me Fishing in partnership with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and Fishing’s Future programs, on Saturday, Nov. The event gives visitors a chance to inspect different varieties of fish up close and learn about their characteristics. For the past 13 years, the staff has conducted annual surveys as part of Jones Park’s Fish of Spring Creek program. In fact, the bowfin in the picture was collected, documented, and released in that inlet.Īlthough annual surveys are useful for measuring the health of a body of water, they are also useful educational tools for the public. However, a few protected areas, like the inlet to the Kenswick drainage channel on Spring Creek, can create an ideal environment for bowfin to feed and reproduce. One reason bowfin are so uncommon in Harris County is because the creeks and bayous often flood, creating currents too strong for them. In the past four years, bowfin have been documented only four times in Harris County, according to iNaturalist, and are rarely caught on video. Bowfins can grow to be 43 inches long and weigh 21.5 pounds, but the Texas record is 36.5 inches and 17.65 pounds. Although not a gamefish, the bowfin is a renowned fighter and will challenge anyone fishing with light tackle. Judging by his injured tail, he recently had a close encounter with a larger predator. A specimen found at Jones Park in June appeared to be a juvenile measuring 11 inches long. Much like their cousin, the gar, bowfin can gulp air at the surface, store it in their swim bladders, and use the gas to breathe in low oxygen environments. They prefer to live in slow-moving or stagnant bodies of water with dense vegetation. Often misidentified as the invasive northern snakehead, these prehistoric fish are native to the freshwaters of the eastern United States and the Gulf Coast region. One of these exciting finds is the elusive bowfin, (Amia Calva) a living fossil and a powerful predator. Most of the time, we catch common sunfish, catfish, and gar, but sometimes these surveys reveal rarely documented species. If done correctly, electrofishing does not harm the fish, which can recover from the shock in as little as two minutes. When the stunned fish float to the surface, experts place the fish in holding tanks and bring them ashore for visitors to observe. This sampling method involves equipping a boat with special poles that send an electric current into the water. That’s why our staff joins forces with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Inland Fisheries Department for an annual electrofishing expedition on Spring Creek. It’s the one time a year when Jones Park visitors can glimpse the diverse life hidden beneath the murky surface of Jones Park’s largest waterway.Īs you can imagine, catching fish is no easy task, especially on such a large scale. As a freshwater naturalist, I always look forward to the annual fish survey at Jesse H.
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