Angler Survey of the Regulated Reaches of the Tallapoosa River Fishery in Eastern Alabama

The Tallapoosa River below R. L. Harris Dam in eastern Alabama is actively managed in an adaptive framework to meet multiple competing stakeholder objectives. One of the fundamental objectives of the adaptive management program on the Tallapoosa River is to maximize angler satisfaction. We conducted a mail-out survey of 2000 randomly selected freshwater fishing license holders in the counties adjoining the Tallapoosa River to assess angler use, attitude and satisfaction.  We received a low response rate of 11.4 % of anglers responding. Those that responded were mainly comprised of local resident (93%), Caucasian (89%) fishers angling from watercrafts (90%) with greater than a high school diploma (80%) and annual household income of less than $50,000 (67%). Of the respondents, aesthetics of the fishing experience (e.g. enjoy nature and solitude, view wildlife, to be outdoors) seemed to drive angler motivations; whereas, size and number of fish caught was less important. Angler satisfaction was greater than average and improvement to facilities and access to the river were of greatest concern. These data will be used to help inform the governing board to evaluate stakeholder satisfaction relative to flow regimes released from Harris Dam.