Bureau of Fisheries Technical Brief #2018005

Ohrback Lake Survey (Survey #:217001) Nikki Goodman, Region 2 Fisheries 2/05/2018

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 Figure 1. Length distribution chart for largemouth bass caught largemouth bass population feeding heavily in Ohrback Lake during 2017 survey. 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 .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 .81 340 (18) 289 (20) 51 (14) 4 (2) 0

i Length 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