Creel surveys were conducted on 9 state-owned public fishing lakes during 1981 and 1982 to determine harvest, pressure, and angler success rates. Anglers harvested a mean 50.4 kg/ha (SD = 18.0 kg/ha) among all lakes surveyed and had a mean success rate of 0.94 fish/angler-hour and 0.18 kg/angler-hour. Mean pressure among all lakes was 318.2 angler-hours/ha (SD = 145.3 angler-hours/ha). Lepomis macrochirus was the most sought after species during the survey, followed by Pomoxis sp., Micropterus salmoides, and lctalurus punctatus, respectively. Negative relationships were detected between Micropterus salmoides mean sizes and success rates and between Pomoxis sp. mean sizes and harvest rates. Anglers tended to spend a greater percentage of their time within lakes seeking species which returned the higher success rate. Management implications derived from the surveys are discussed and include fishery-specific programs and increased emphasis on bluegill and crappie management.
