A Buoyant Pop Net for Accurately Sampling Fish at Artificial Habitat Structures

Abstract

We developed and evaluated the efficiency of a remotely operated pop net for sampling the entire fish assemblage associated with fish-attracting structures. The pop net collected an average of 99% of subadult and adult bluegills Lepomis macrochirus and largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides available to capture in pool tests conducted at 3–13°C and various light intensities. There was no evidence of species or size selectivity, and the fish showed little increase in gear avoidance when they were sampled at the pool attractor six times over 3 d. Capture efficiency of bluegills and white crappies Pomoxis annularis was 100% in 13 trials in a reservoir. The pop net was highly reliable in field use; most failures were due to disturbance of the firing mechanism by anglers.