C. Stan Todd

Multispecies Trout Management on a Small Ozark Tailwater

Beginning in September 1998, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) conducted a three-year creel survey on the trout fishery below Beaver Dam, Arkansas, to collect current information on angler effort, catch, and harvest. Angler catch rates for rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) remained high (>1.0 fish/h) throughout the study. However, a reduction in angling effort coupled with a high rate of voluntary release resulted in low exploitation of the put-and-take rainbow trout fishery. The annual catch of brown trout (Salmo trutta) exceeded the number stocked in all three years...

Health and Condition of Trout in the Norfork Tailwater, Arkansas, Following Hypoxic Periods

Health, feeding, and relative weight of brown (Salmo trutta) and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) were assessed seasonally at 2 sites on the Norfork tailwater, Arkansas, to evaluate effects of hypoxic water discharges from Norfork Dam. The upper site was immediately below Norfork Dam and subject to low (<6 ppm) dissolved oxygen (DO) in water releases during summer and fall. Dissolved oxygen recovers to ≥6 ppm before reaching the downstream control site. During fall, the health of brook and brown trout was significantly lower at the upstream, low DO, site than at the downstream,...