Utilizing Local Angler Groups for Dissolved Oxygen Data Collection in Large Highland Reservoirs

Angler groups are often knowledgeable and passionate about local fisheries. Incorporating local angler groups to monitor dissolved oxygen in reservoirs can be an efficient, low cost tool for fisheries managers. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) Fisheries Division in North-Central Arkansas has partnered with the Twin Lakes Walleye Club (TLWC) to collect dissolved oxygen and temperature readings on Bull Shoals Lake and Lake Norfork since 2013. TLWC members collect readings monthly at one fixed site and several random sites on each reservoir, and the AGFC provides a gas stipend. The TLWC anglers use the data to monitor the location of the thermocline to improve their catch rates.  The AGFC uses the data not only to monitor the thermocline location but to also monitor for potential temperature/oxygen squeezes that could cause striped bass and walleye kills during high water events.  Utilizing local angler groups is an efficient means to collect valuable temperature and dissolved oxygen data while building strong working relationship between anglers and biologists.