Jeremy T. Risley

Stream fishing for black bass (Micropterus spp.) is a popular outdoor recreational activity in northern Arkansas. After construction of a new access area on Crooked Creek, Arkansas in 2017, anglers expressed concerns about increased fishing pressure and possible overharvest of smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu). In 2019, we conducted a creel survey (60 sample days over six months) at five public accesses, including the new access, on a 35-km section of Crooked Creek. We also tagged 195 fish in an associated one-year exploitation study to...

Paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) are a commercially-exploited species harvested primarily for their roe. e objectives of this study were to describe population characteristics of paddlefish in the lower Mississippi River (LMR) of Arkansas and use population-simulation so ware to deter- mine the length limit required to prevent recruitment over fishing by maintaining spawning potential ratios (SPR) over 30%. Paddlefish (n = 534) were collected from the LMR in cooperation with commercial fishers during the 2008-2011 commercial seasons. Lengths ranged 150-1095 mm eye-fork length and ages, 2-24...

Lake Monticello in southeastern Arkansas is a renowned destination for trophy-sized (≥3.63 kg) largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides; LMB). However, little analysis has been conducted on population characteristics of this population and the anglers fishing for them. Therefore, the size structure and potential harvest of the bass population was evaluated in the context of an existing 406-533 mm slot-length limit (SLL) and other potential SLLs. A total of 1023 LMB was collected using electrofishing during springs 2006-2007. Differences in growth were detected among gender with only one male...