A small backpack fish shocker weighing 19 pounds. was develop,;d for use in sampling mountain trout streams on .the NatIOnal Forests. m the Southern Appalachians. Power .components mclude a small gasolme engine-generator combination and a step-up transformer. The completed backpack provides a choice of 125 volts, 300 volts, or 600 volts alternating current (AC). This unit is adaptable to two electrode systems. One, consisting of an aluminum dipnet and a telescoping radio antenna for the electrodes, proved most useful and versatile in the rough headwater streams sampled. With it, one man handles both the power unit and the electrodes. The other, a thirteen foot electric seine, required a larger crew but was useful in wide shallow streams. During the period April, 1966-July, 1967, over 100 stream fish population samples were taken in North Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia with this gear.
