Dennis J. Renfro

Daily angler logs were used to obtain lengths of 696 angler-caught largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) during January-May 1993 from Farm 13 Reservoir, Florida (2,600 ha), where a no-harvest rule was in effect. Sixty-three percent of these fish were caught by 2 fishing guides (and their clients) and 37% were caught by 19 other parties of anglers that fished without a guide. Angler-caught largemouth bass ranged from 254 to 648 mm total length (TL) with modal peaks at 381- and 457-mm length groups. By extrapolating angler log data into the catch estimate from an ongoing creel survey, we...

Angler exploitation of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) on the Conway and Winter Park chains of lakes, was evaluated using reward tags. An estimated 57% and 56% of the largemouth bass in the Conway and Winter Park chains, respectively, were caught by anglers during a 1-year period from 1991 to 1992. Annual exploitation rates were adjusted for tagging mortality and tag loss by 13% and 50%, respectively, for small Hallprint dart tags and 18% and 7%, respectively, for large Hallprint dart tags. Angler non-reporting of tagged fish was assigned a value of 20% based on a previous study....

Tag retention and tag-induced mortality were evaluated for 2 sizes of Hallprint® dart tags injected in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Mean tag retention rates of 98% for larger (81 mm) PDB dart tags and 78% for smaller (69 mm) PDT dart tags were observed during a 15-month study in Lake Blanchester, Florida. Significantly higher tag loss (P ≤ 0.05) of PDT tags was attributed to a more flexible and shorter (12-mm) barb (anchor) compared to the larger and longer (18-mm) barb on the PDB tag. Estimated tag-induced mortality was 13% for bass 260-299 mm using smaller tags, and 18% for...

A major concern in managing commercial fisheries is the potential effect on game fish populations. The objective of this study was to design a model to determine annual game fish bycatch in hoop nets, wire traps, and pound nets utilized in the 51. Johns River, Florida, commercial catfish fishery. Annual bycatch was estimated with a model based on previous estimates of annual catfish harvest, catfish-to-game fish ratios, mean weight of catfish harvested and percentage composition of catfish harvested by each gear type. Hoop nets captured an estimated 435,635 game fish annually with 46,697...

A low voltage electrofishing device, commonly called a “monkey rig” in Florida, was used to collect catfish for a tagging study on the St. Johns River, Florida. In 40 fishing trips, 3,234 catfish were captured using the “monkey rig”. This inexpensive device was selective for catfish species only. The 16-V to 18-V alternating current agitated the catfish to the surface but fish never exhibited a complete state of tetanus. When electrofishing in waters with surface temperatures warmer than 24˚ C and around underwater structure, the “monkey rig” was an effective collecting device for catfish...