PFBC 2010 Biologist Report - Briar Creek Lake

Briar Creek Lake

Columbia County

April 2010

Briar Creek Lake is a public impoundment located just outside of Berwick in Columbia County. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and Columbia County own the lake and surrounding shoreline. Biologists from the Area 4 fisheries management office conducted a routine fisheries survey of Briar Creek Lake in the spring of 2010. Trap netting during the week of April 12 found both black and white crappies were present with good numbers of large crappies available. The biggest crappie we caught was 14 inches long and weighed 1.6 pounds (Table 1). Stocked trout were abundant in our nets and were distributed throughout the lake. Brown bullheads, white suckers, yellow perch, and bluegills were also abundant. The bullheads and suckers reached good sizes but most of the perch and bluegills were small.

Night electrofishing on the evening of May 6 showed that Briar Creek Lake continues to support an excellent population of largemouth bass. Catch per Unit Effort (CPUE) values for largemouth bass were as follows:

Total CPUE: 53.2/hour
CPUE > 12 inches: 28.2/hour
CPUE > 15 inches: 21.2/hour

CPUE values for 12+ and 15+ inch largemouths were very high. The biggest largemouth we caught was 20.5 inches long and weighed 6.2 pounds.

Table 1. Number and size of fish caught during the 2010 Briar Creek Lake survey.

Species	Number Caught	Length Range (inches)
Largemouth bass	45	4 - 20
Smallmouth bass	1	14
Hatchery trout	153	Not Measured
White crappie	216	3 - 12
Black crappie	67	3 - 14
Yellow perch	645	3 - 11
Bluegill	121	2 - 7
Pumpkinseed	12	2 - 4
Hybrid sunfish	1	6
Channel catfish	1	12
Brown bullhead	322	3 - 16
Yellow bullhead	24	7 - 13
Common carp	2	23 - 25
White sucker	86	6 - 18
Golden shiner	319	3 - 9

Crappie
A black crappie (larger individual) and a white crappie (smaller individual) from Briar Creek Lake

Largemouth bass from Briar Creek Lake

— Rob Wnuk, Area 4 Fisheries Manager

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