Expanding the Roving Survey: Creel Estimates from a Multiple-Impoundment Fishery in Georgia

Creel surveys are valuable tools in recreational fisheries management; however, multiple-impoundment fisheries of complex spatial structure can complicate survey designs and pose logistical challenges for monitoring agencies. A non-uniform probability roving creel survey was conducted at the Marben Public Fishing Area in Mansfield, Georgia during 2013 to obtain estimates of fishery characteristics relating to fishing effort, catch, and fish harvest.  Fishing effort averaged 7,523 angler-hours (h) monthly (SD = 5,956) and ranged from 21,856 h (SD = 5,909) in May to 1,301 h (SD = 562) in December. The most highly sought sport fishes also had higher species-specific catch rates and were 2.11 fish/hr for sunfish Lepomis spp., 0.42 fish/hr for Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides, 0.29 fish/hr for Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus, and 0.27 fish/hr for Black Crappie Lepomis nigromaculatus. Sunfish dominated catch and harvest compositions year-round, whereas other species (e.g., Black Crappie) were seasonally present in the creel.  Creel results from other comparable fisheries indicate that fishing pressure at Marben PFA is relatively high at the local scale and moderate on a regional scale. The results highlight the utility of small, intensely managed impoundments and provide key fishery characteristics that should aid management in establishing objectives for fisheries management.