Electrofishing surveys hope to take a representative number of each of these segments, in proportion to the numbers in the population. The weak link in electrofishing data is the number of large fish. Since there are relatively fewer of them to begin with, compared to smaller-sized bass, and since our crews are only on the lake for a few days each spring, the chances of us encountering many big bass are pretty slim. This is one reason that we don t rely entirely on electrofishing data to manage a bass fishery. Tournament catch reports are often used to supplement the data from shocking surveys.
More data makes for better management decisions.
Every year our Department releases the results of the spring electrofishing surveys to the public. These results show the number of bass per hour collected from each lake, the percentage of the sample that were over 14 inches long, and the weight of the largest fish in the sample. What our biologists look at with their electrofishing data are not so much what the numbers are any given year but how they compare from year to year. Just like the stock market, the trends are what s important. There is no questioning that the LMBV put the hurt on many of our bass populations.