Conservation, Ecology, and Management of Catfish: The Second International Symposium

Effect of Soak Duration on Precision of Channel Catfish Catch with Baited, Tandem Hoop Nets

Ben C. Neely and Spencer C. Dumont

doi: https://doi.org/10.47886/9781934874257.ch46

Abstract.—Baited, tandem hoop nets are increasingly being used to sample channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus populations in reservoirs. However, there have been no published studies to address the effect of soak duration on precision of catch. The effect of soak duration on precision of channel catfish catch in baited, tandem hoop nets was evaluated in three Texas reservoirs. Precision of channel catfish catch was inconsistent among reservoirs when one-night soak durations were used but improved with two-night and three-night soak durations. Although catch precision was similar for two- and three-night soak durations, sampling effort could be doubled using two-night rather than three-night soak durations during a standard work week if a manager did not prefer to leave gear unattended during a weekend. Thus, we recommend use of baited, tandem hoop-net series with two-night soak durations to sample high-abundance channel catfish populations in reservoirs.