Angler catch and harvest of targeted sportfishes in small Georgia lakes

Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
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Abstract

Public fishing areas (PFAs) in Georgia are intensively managed freshwater impoundments that provide a variety of fishing opportunities to anglers. Management efforts and fishing regulations at these PFAs depend on understanding basic aspects of recreational fishing pressure, catch, and harvest. Accordingly, we conducted a roving creel survey during January – December 2013 at Marben PFA in middle Georgia to quantify sport fishing total effort, catch, harvest, and fish catch by species, number, and weight in 14 lakes. Almost all of the anglers interviewed (84% of the 1159 parties) targeted a preferred species; of these anglers, 34.7% targeted a second species, and 5.7% targeted a third species. Sunfish (Lepomis spp.) ranked highest among primary, secondary, and tertiary targeted species; whereas, channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) was the highest ranked quaternary targeted species. Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) ranked second among primary, tertiary, and quaternary targeted species. Catches and harvest of targeted sportfish in Marben PFA varied considerably by species. Sunfish were the most abundant species by number caught (37 fish ha-1) and harvested (19 fish ha-1; 2.25 kg-1) for the entire survey period. Black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) had the lowest reported catch (2.03 ha-1) and second lowest observed harvest 0.50 kg ha-1), but largemouth bass had the lowest observed harvest in number (0.42 ha-1) and observed weight (0.41 kg ha-1). Rankings of species targeted by Marben anglers differed from those of other Georgia anglers, who targeted largemouth bass most, followed by sunfish and channel catfish. These findings imply that Georgia PFA fishery managers may give consideration to site-specific management objectives when developing or managing local fisheries, rather than relying on state summary statistics. The smaller profile and intensive management of the Marben PFA impoundments benefited anglers of varying skill levels and backgrounds equally, making it an ideal setting for recruiting new anglers while still challenging experienced anglers.
Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Angler catch and harvest of targeted sportfishes in small Georgia lakes
Series title Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Volume 6
Year Published 2019
Language English
Publisher Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Contributing office(s) Coop Res Unit Atlanta
Description 7 p.
First page 28
Last page 34
Country United States
State Georgia
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