Species

Rank

Fish Status

BLUEGILL

Good

While not common, larger bluegills are present in good numbers in some of the impoundments within the Mazonia area. 14% of the bluegills collected from Bullhead and Carp Lakes were 7” or larger. Better bets for larger fish can be found at Clear Lake and Ponderosa Lake as well as the smaller ponds at the Wilderness Area.

CHANNEL CATFISH

Good

This species is present in most all of the larger water areas with densities greatest in lakes receiving annual supplemental stockings. During the spring 2015 survey on Gar Lake, gill netting yielded channel catfish that averaged 20.5”, with the largest fish approaching 7 pounds.

CRAPPIE

Very Good

Of the three lakes surveyed, better collections were obtained from Bullhead and Gar Lakes with black crappie dominant in Bullhead Lake and white crappie more prevalent in Gar Lake. Good numbers of larger fish were sampled and in each lake 10”-plus crappie (both species combined) accounted for nearly 37% of the adult population. Although they were not common, crappie exceeding 12” were also collected.

FLATHEAD CATFISH

Average

Flathead catfish are present in Monster Lake and can be caught near the Granary Creek cut-off.

GAR SPECIES

Very Good

Several of the larger lakes within the Mazonia Main Unit provide anglers with the unique opportunity to catch one of three gar species. Longnose, shortnose and spotted gar have all been collected from the larger Mazonia lakes. Appropriately named Gar Lake, which is somewhat connected to the Mazon River, likely supports the best gar population within the Main Unit. The largest specimen collected from that lake in 2015 was a longnose gar which measured 44½” weighing nearly 11½ lbs.

LARGEMOUTH BASS

Good

Bullhead Lake, located in the Main Unit, was surveyed in the spring of 2015. Largemouth bass catch rates declined from the previous survey and fell slightly below the ten-year average. The average size bass collected during this survey was 12.2”, which was somewhat less than the average size collected in 2013, but a full inch larger than the long-term average. Nearly 5% of the adult bass collected were at least 18” in length, while legal-size bass comprised over 26% of the adult collection. Carp Lake and Gar Lake were also surveyed in 2015 with bass catch rates showing very little change from the 2013 surveys. Both lakes exhibit a higher density of bass that are 12” or larger while roughly 10% of the adult population in either lake meets legal size. Bass greater than 18” were not as prevalent in either of these lakes as compared to Bullhead Lake. Best bets for bass fishing success continue to be Bass, Gar and Carp Lakes in the Main Mazonia Unit and Monster and Wilderness Lakes in the South Mazonia Unit. Bigger bass are taken each year by anglers targeting the more remote, harder to get to lakes and ponds.

NORTHERN PIKE

Poor

Several years of annual additions of northern pike fingerlings have generally failed to produce a viable fishery and those stocking programs have been terminated. The current state record northern pike was caught from Monster Lake. Larger fish may be present in some of the south unit lakes, holdovers from when these lakes were leased by private fishing clubs. Northern pike are commonly confused with the diminutive grass pickerel, which are similar in appearance and fairly common in the Mazonia area, but are not protected by a length and/or creel limit.

REDEAR SUNFISH

Good

Although present in several of the Mazonia lakes, Ponderosa supports the best population of redear sunfish. In the 2013 trap net survey, redear sunfish dominated the collection, ranging from 6.7" to 11.7" and averaging 9.9" and 12.5oz.

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