D. C. Peterson

Of 109,675 striped bass (Morone saxatilis) stocked in June 1979 in Cherokee Reservoir, Tennessee, only 72 were recaptured. They were stocked at a mean total length of 3.5 cm and averaged 21.7 cm after I year of growth. After stocking, striped bass consumed mostly Crustacea, with Chironomidae being the primary food source for the rest of the year. Striped bass switched from invertebrates to fish (primarily Clupeidae) at 20 cm or approximately 1 year after stocking. Condition values (K) ranged from 0.8 to 1.3.

Mark-recapture techniques were used to estimate the abundance of harvestable size paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) in Norris Reservoir, Tennessee, during spring 1980. Results indicated a harvestable population of 8,772 fish with a 95% confidence interval of 4,557 to 18,467. A comparative study using gill nets of various bar mesh sizes showed that gill nets with 17.8-cm bar mesh or larger were more efficient for collecting harvestable paddlefish while having less adverse impact on sport fish species than did nets with smaller mesh sizes. Based on these results, recommendations include...