anglers

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...

Catching a state record fish is a significant accomplishment in the life of any angler. The need to have a state agency biologist present to verify the record fish can delay the certification of the fish, possibly leading to changes in the fish’s weight. Few published studies have directly investigated the impact of preservation method on weight change of fish following capture. We examined four fish species: black crappie (Pomoxis nigromacula- tus), bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris),...

The effects of fish-hook type on hooking location and post-release mortality of recreationally and commercially targeted fish species have been well studied. We examined how fisheries management agencies along the coastal United States had incorporated fish-hook data into fisheries regulations and how visible and accessible those regulations were to anglers. We reviewed state recreational hook regulations on natural resource agency websites of 23 states. To assess the accessibility of hook regulations to anglers, we conducted an online survey that was distributed by email to participants...

Paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) angling is popular among Kansas anglers, but limited to a few areas in the state. The most popular fishery, both in terms of angler effort and harvest, is located at Chetopa Dam, a low-water bridge on the Neosho River in southeast Kansas. This fishery, as well as other paddlefish fisheries in Kansas, is only open to recreational angling. As such, maintaining accurate records of recreational harvest are important for management purposes. We summarized data from the Chetopa Dam fishery as part of a mandatory check system for harvested paddlefish from 1992 to...