MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS 



It was not possible to obtain information on fish populations 

 in the ponds surveyed, because of the season of the year and the 

 time available for the survey. Consequently, no attempt has been 

 made to correlate fisherman-use and success with the stocking rate, 

 or the kind, number, and condition of fish in the ponds. Accurate 

 records were kept by a discouragingly small number of pond owners, 

 but most owners were willing to give estimates of use. 



A brief comparison of fisherman-use in the ponds surveyed with 

 other published accounts is of general interest. The present survey 

 found 6k man-days of fishing per acre, including all ponds providing 

 any fishing. Byrd (1959) reported that 12 of Alabama's highly man- 

 aged State lakes supported l62 fishing trips per acre annually 

 (range 89-2^4-2) . These "lakes" had a combined area of 84l acres 

 and had been open to public fishing 2 to 8 years. Bennett (1952) 

 indicated a scarcity of data on the subject, but proposed an aver- 

 age fishing pressure of less than 100 man-hours per acre per season 

 on Illinois ponds-. 



Bamikol and Campbell (1952) in reporting on 7 small impound- 

 ments on the August A. Busch Memorial Wildlife Area in Missouri, 

 studied in 1951^ list man-hours of fishing varying from 3^6 to 

 2,196 per acre. Bennett, Barnikol and Campbell do not report the 

 average number of hours per fishing trip. 



The Bulletin of the Sport Fishing Institute for May 1959 refers 

 to other reports of fishing pressxire. Estimates made at 9 Texas 

 reservoirs by the U. S. Corps of Engineers showed 65 fisherman days 

 per acre in 1958. In Oklahoma's Fort Gibson reservoir, 31 fishing 

 trips per acre were reported the same year. 



Interviewers were interested in seeing evidence of good manage- 

 ment, or its opposite, and frequently included pertinent notes. When 

 fertilization was mentioned, the adjective noted was usually "inadequate." 

 Too many pond owners could not resist the temptation to add more fish 

 to the pond than the Government recommended and provided. This, coup- 

 led with insufficient fertilization, frequently spelled poor growth 

 and poor fishing. 



It was found that wild fish were present in 30 percent of the 

 ponds, indicating that, eradication of existing fish is not always 

 carried out successfully before the new pond is stocked, or the fish 

 may enter later. 



An item of interest is the high catch of bass, 5^ per acre, 

 during the first year of fishing. Since it will be from 1 to 3 years 

 before a new crop of bass is produced and is available to the angler. 



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