[buzzbaiter]

Fishing does not show you how many trout are in a stream, it shows you how many trout in that stream are hungry or angry enough to swipe at at your lure. Electrofishing shows you everything.

True but you can see and observe a lot when you spend enough time fishing a particular body of water. If I visit a stream 5 times with no trout caught/seen or a pond with no bass caught/seen, I think I can accurately deduce its not a very good trout stream or bass pond.

Fishing depends on lure size. Fish a small fly and the big lunker might not bother to move, run a big lure and the little ones can't get it in their mouth. Electrofishing shows you everything.

If use use a fly or small spinner or even bait, you can catch trout/fish as small as 2"

Fish spend a lot of time hiding in cover, and if they can't see the bait, you can't catch them. But electrofishing still can.

Weeds are not a problem until mid April or so. My catch rates for bass/ pickerel/panfish in ponds is much higher March-April then at any other time of year - especially summer when some places aren't even fishable due to weeds.

Even when they are out in the open, fish are camouflaged and many times you can't see them until they move. Electrofishing brings these fish to the surface as well.

I wear polarized sunglasses and I can see quite a bit in the water. Visit a small stream in summer(or mid winter) when its barely flowing and you can see 15 trout of all sizes finning in a pool.

Fish are awake and trying to escape while being caught. This is more damaging to their slime coat and causes a build up of lactic acid in their system that electrofishing does not. You can think of it as the fish that was angled having run a marathon to the point of complete exhaustion (the fight) before being released versus being tasered, measured while knocked out, and then released.

Not sure what your point is here. Are you anti-fishing??? This discussion is about electro-shocking not about the ethics of fishing. Let PETA argue about that. Also netting the fish, handling them, placing them on a scale and/or measuring board can also remove their protective slime no matter how careful you are.


Who exactly is supposed to "Spend enough time fishing somewhere and you'll know what a place holds by what you catch(or don't catch)" so we know what is in the KLG? A state employee that is paid to fish all day? We need to *know*, not *guess* how many and what kind of fish are in there for management purposes. Not having accurate data like this is what has caused the closure of river herring in NJ.

This is where angler input helps. Its not that hard to keep track of what you see or catch. If you see a drop in numbers or a species declines. let them know. Most times its simply a result of flooding or droughts and nothing sinister. And in all honesty, I think they'd rather be fishing for them doing the grueling backpack shocking them in august. lol. If the state thinks there is a problem, then survey and be sure. To me there is no need to survey the gorge or any other stream unless anglers stop catching trout or there is a real dropoff in trout caught.

"You can also look in the water and see spawning beds or young fish", you only are seeing a small portion of the fish in there, and you can't count or measure them. With electrofishing, you will see, measure and count more or all of those.

Yes but what you see can be extrapolated out. If you see one school of young bass, chances are there are others. If you see one yoy trout in the shallows, there have to be others. And keep in mind, the mere presence on ONE yoy trout is proof of trout reproduction which is a major factor in stream protection.