Exploitation of Stocked Channel Catfish in Arkansas

Channel catfish are stocked throughout much of the United States, and most published stocking evaluations have been for small lakes less than 125 acres.  We studied exploitation of catchable channel catfish stocked into eighteen Arkansas waters.  The specific objectives of this study were to determine exploitation of stocked catchable catfish (312-456 mm TL) in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) reservoirs, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) lakes (125-6,000 acres), and streams.  We tagged and stocked 400-500 catfish per water with standard tags.  Each standard tag had the word “reward” printed on the tag, and tag rewards were worth $10 (94%), $25 (5%), or $100 (1%).  An additional 10 fish per water were given a high reward tag ($100) to assess tag non-reporting.  The overall first-year return rate for standard tags and high reward tags was 17% and 33%.  AGFC lakes appear to have much higher return rates than rivers or USACE reservoirs.  Results of this study are expected to help fisheries managers understand expected exploitation rates of stocked channel catfish in rivers and larger lakes.