Oakland Lake Survey

Bureau of Fisheries Technical Brief #2017004

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Oakland Lake is a 10.46 acre spring-fed kettle pond in eastern Queens, NY. With a maximum depth of 20 ft, it is unusually deep for a New York City lake, and it is also one of the area's few naturally occurring lakes. The lake is immediately surrounded by a small wooded park, but beyond the layer of trees it is bounded by roads and residential development. Oakland Lake has a recurring problem with overgrowth of aquatic vegetation and filamentous algae, but there is enough open water in the eastern half of the lake to make it a popular spot for local anglers in search of bass, pickerel and sunfish. As in all New York City Parks, the pond is managed for catch and release fishing only. Sportfish and panfish populations were assessed in Fall 2017 through boat electrofishing following new draft DEC Bass and Sunfish Sampling Manual methods.

A total of 214 fish from 6 species were collected (not including carp and eels which were counted but not netted). Twenty-two largemouth bass were captured, ranging in size from young of year to a maximum of ~14.5 inches (Figure 1). Most largemouth bass were between 10 and 12 inches. Total Largemouth bass catch/hour (CPUE; 33.0/h) was higher than it was in 2011(21.6 bass/h) and 2014 (23.7 bass/h), but those surveys were conducted in the spring and therefore this may not be a reliable comparison. Compared statewide, total largemouth bass CPUE was higher than only 8% of NY lakes of a similar size. However, for larger bass over 12 in, CPUE was higher than it is in 46% of similar size lakes. While quality size or larger bass were scarce in the survey, relative weight of 85.9 and PSD of 44 are consistent with a healthy population of bass in the pond.

As in previous surveys, panfish, particularly bluegill and pumpkinseed, were abundant; although in general, panfish skewed towards the smaller end of the range (Table 1). Other fish of note include chain pickerel, which has experienced declining catch rates in recent years, and black crappie.

Table 1: CPUE/hr by size (inches) of all fish (no bass). The first 25 bluegill/site were measured

Species	Less than 6	6-8	8-10	10-12	12-14	14-16	16+	Total
Chain pickerel	0	3	0	0	9	0	1.5	13.5
Brown bullhead	0	0	0	0	0	1.5	0	1.5
Pumpkinseed	6	7.5	0	0	0	0	0	13.5
Largemouth bass	6	0	1.5	15	7.5	3	0	33
Bluegill	54	78	0	0	0	0	0	240
Black Crappie	0	4.5	1.5	0	0	0	0	6

Survey results were influenced by thick mats of filamentous algae, which made netting submerged fish extremely difficult, and many were missed. The algae mats also made the shoreline difficult to access in places. However, algae in Oakland Lake has been a problem in previous years as well. Despite this, enough largemouth bass and quality sized bluegill were collected to suggest that Oakland Lake continues to provide decent opportunities for local anglers. If efforts are made to address the algae situation, improved access for anglers will result.

Ohrback Lake Survey

Bureau of Fisheries Technical Brief #2018005

Figure 1: Length distribution chart for largemouth bass caught in
Ohrback Lake during 2017 survey.

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Covering 17 acres of the 143-acre Pouch Camp facility in the Staten Island Greenbelt, Ohrback Lake provides a good freshwater fishing opportunity for the local community. Located in the Lower Hudson watershed, the lake averages 3-7 feet in depth. The lake is inhabited by a variety of freshwater fish which attract many local anglers to the lake's grassy shores, and is one of only three New York City lakes known to have chain pickerel. The lake and surrounding land is managed by the Boy Scouts, who issue 150 fishing permits annually to other recreational anglers. A boat electrofishing survey following the DEC Centrarchid Sampling Manual was conducted in April 2017 to assess the status of the panfish and sportfish populations.

A total of 460 fish of five different species, including 92 largemouth bass, were caught during the survey. A large number of 12 in bass were caught from the lake. The catch rate of the adult bass population was more than twice the statewide average. The bass had an average relative weight of 90 which is slightly lean and could indicate a population of bass that can't be fully supported by available prey species. A total of 4 other fish species were caught during the survey including bluegill, pumpkinseed, chain pickerel and black crappie. Despite a high overall catch rate, a low number of bluegill over 6 in were caught. This could be due to the abundant largemouth bass population feeding heavily on the bluegill before they can reach larger sizes. Forty-four chain pickerel were caught making up 15% of the total catch. A majority of the chain pickerel were 10 - 15 in long. Black Crappie were generally large, with many measuring over 10 in. Ohrback Lake should provide a good opportunity for anglers to catch largemouth bass and larger black crappie.

Table 1. Number of fish collected and length categoryi catch rates from Ohrback Lake, 2017.

			CPUE fish/h (Standard Error)
Species	Total no. fish	Time(h)	All sizes	Age-1	≥Stock	≥Quality	≥Preferred
Largemouth bass	92	1.2	76(15)	12(5)	64(12)	41(7)	7(3)
Chain pickerel	44	1.2	36(7)	9(1)	27(7)	17(5)	0
Pumpkinseed	30	0.81	37(14)	4(0)	33(15)	10(7)	0
Black crappie	19	1.2	16(4)	0(0)	16(4)	14(4)	11(2)
Bluegill	275	0.81	340(18)	289(20)	51(14)	4(2)	0

iLength categories (inches) for size structure indices of sportfish and panfish in Ohrback Lake.

Categories	Largemouth bass	Bluegill/Pumpkinseed	Black crappie	Chain pickerel
Stock	≥8	≥3	≥5	≥10
Quality	≥12	≥6	≥8	≥15
Preferred	≥15	≥8	≥10	≥20

Prospect Park Lake Survey

Prospect Park Lake Centrarchid Survey

Bureau of Fisheries Technical Brief #2018001

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Prospect Park Lake in the Long Island Sound watershed is the sole freshwater lake in Kings County (Brooklyn) open to the public. Its 55 acres are accessible to anglers only by shoreline and it was last stocked with bass and sunfish in 1999. As with other New York City (NYC) freshwater lakes and ponds, both New York State (NYS) and NYC angling regulations require catch and release of all fish. To monitor the status of Prospect Park Lake's fish populations, fall boat electrofishing surveys have been performed biennially since 2010; but, in 2017, a spring survey was conducted on the evenings of May 8th and 9th.

A total of 835 fish of eight species were captured, with four carp and two American eels observed but not captured. Largemouth bass were good sized and abundant. The catch rates for largemouth bass twelve inches and longer (39/hr) and 15 inches and longer (29/hr) were greater than catch rates in 85% and 98% of similarsized NYS lakes, respectively. Size structure indices (PSD = 54, RSD15 = 40) were indicative of a primarily balanced population, with a high proportion of large fish. These indices were also high for black crappie (PSD = 89) and yellow perch (PSD = 67) indicating Prospect Park Lake's fishery offers quality fishing for species other than largemouth bass. Average relative weights indicated largemouth bass to be in good condition, and the largest captured was 19.7 inches long and 4.8 lbs. Sunfish were abundant (Table 1) but none greater than eight inches were captured, similar to results of other NYC lake and pond electrofishing surveys. Relative weights for bluegill and pumpkinseed were above 100 suggesting the reason for this is not stunted growth but this should be confirmed through aging fish in future surveys. Survey results indicate that Prospect Park Lake should provide anglers with quality fishing opportunities for a variety of species, especially largemouth bass, black crappie and yellow perch.

Table 1. Number collected and length category catch rates for fish species captured during a boat electrofishing survey of Prospect Park Lake

		Length category catch rate (number caught/hour)
Species	Number Collected	≥6in	≥8in	≥10in	≥12in	≥15in	≥18in
Largemouth bass	197	79	76	61	39	29	3
Pumpkinseed	127	90	0	0	0	0	0
Bluegill	343	150	0	0	0	0	0
Brown bullhead	3	3	3	2	1	0	0
Yellow bullhead	1	1	1	0	0	0	0
Black crappie	74	70	50	9	1	0	0
Golden shiner	18	16	10	0	0	0	0
Yellow perch	71	67	41	1	0	0	0

ⁱ PSD (Proportional Stock Density) and RSD (Relative Stock Density) are indices that allow for standardized comparisons of size classes of fish and provide measures of fish population balance. PSD is the percent of the stock sized population that are quality size, and RSDp is the percent of the stock sized population that are preferred size. Populations of bass that are well-balanced (i.e., have good size distributions) have PSDs of 40-70 and RSD_Ps of 10-25.