Roving creel surveys were conducted on 2 Southeastern reservoirs from March 1980 to February 1981. Two creel clerks performed the field work. Evaluation of creel clerk performance descriptors (number of missing questionnaire entries and interview length) documented a clerk break-in period. Variation in fishing effort affected clerk data gathering efficiency (percent of fishermen sampled). Clerks differed in administering a modified Likert response format on 12 of 17 attitudinal questions posed to fishermen. Clerks did not differ in their sampling of fishermen types or total number of fish observed at each reservoir. These data indicate that effective structuring of creel surveys must address interview methodology as well as traditional design considerations.
