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A Comparison of A Creel Census to Modeled Access-Point Creel Surveys on Two Small Lakes Managed as Put-and-Take Rainbow Trout Fisheries

Michael E Barnes, Greg Simpson, John Carreiro and Jill Voorhees

Access-point creel surveys are assumed to represent actual angler harvest, pressure, and other parameters. A full creel census was conducted on two small lakes managed as put and-take Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fisheries to evaluate this assumption. Modeled results based on standard methods from full (40 h/week), one-half (20 h/week), and one-third (12 h/week) surveys, were compared to actual census values. The confidence intervals for angling pressure in all survey scenarios included the actual census values, with the exception of the full survey in one lake. Confidence intervals for total catch also included the census values, except for the full and onethird survey in one lake. In all cases, both Rainbow Trout catch and harvest point estimates were not significantly different among any of the scenarios and census. Census values for party size were not included in the confidence intervals in the one-third surveys at both lakes, and the one-half survey at one lake. Trip length confidence intervals included the actual census value only in the full survey for one lake; all other point estimates of trip length in the other survey scenarios were significantly different from the census values. In general, confidence limits increased as the simulated survey efforts decreased. Using standard access-point creel survey methods, managers of small water bodies stocked with catchable trout should be able to achieve relatively reliable creel survey estimates of angling pressure, catch, and harvest with considerably less effort than a full survey.