Songbird Lake

Common Carp

Very Good

Common Carp are abundant in Songbird Lake. Carp ranged in length from 14.6 to 23.2 inches. Common Carp dislodge vegetation and cloud the water with their feeding behavior of “rooting” through the substrate. Unlimited harvest is encouraged for this detrimental species.

Yellow Bass

Good

Seventy-four Yellow Bass were caught in 70 minutes of electrofishing. They ranged in length from 5.0 to 6.5 inches. This species can reach nuisance levels very quickly without a proper predator population. They compete with many life stages of other fish and when over-abundant, they rarely reach harvestable sizes. Anglers should harvest all Yellow Bass they catch.

Largemouth Bass

Improving

Twenty-four Largemouth Bass were sampled in 70 minutes of electrofishing. We like to see this number closer to a fish a minute. The largest bass sampled was 17.4 inches. Adult bass from other area lakes have been stocked and active removals of carp and Yellow Bass should improve this lake in the future. Our electrofishing sample may have under-estimated the bass population due to the large portion of the lake that is designated as a bird sanctuary. The inaccessible, shallow marshy bird sanctuary may be more desirable to spawning bass than the areas we could sample.

Bluegill

Improving

Bluegill were captured at a rate of 66 fish per hour. This is a very low catch rate for Bluegill. We like to see at least 120 fish per hour in a healthy Bluegill population. The largest Bluegill measured 6.3 inches. The low catch rate and small size in Bluegill may be due to explosion of the Yellow Bass population as well as nest destruction from Common Carp.