Post by mwardncsu on Apr 16, 2014 16:03:17 GMT -5
I just received word from DGIF that they are having a bit of a problem with a number of striper anglers turning them away when they approach to do a creel survey on the water. It sounds like the majority of these instances are coming from folks that are pulling planer boards - and I get that - it's a pain to stop when you have a bunch of board out.
However, not interacting with these guys is only going to hurt you in the long run. My understanding is that they are doing their best to make it as painless as possible by using a trolling motor and staying at a distance but they do have to get close enough to talk/shout/communicate. I've been told that if you indicate what you're like them do to to facilitate the discussion while keeping fishing that they will do so - i.e. run alongside, ahead - you don't have to stop.
Also, just because you've been interviewed once does not mean they don’t need to talk with them again when we are out another day.
So, how does NOT participating in interviewing the survey? The result will be reflected in the final numbers which could drastically underestimate the striped bass anglers at the lake and the fisheries importance. Without getting into all the complexities of the data analysis, the basic process is they get a head count (at a random time) and then do interviews. Information from the interviews are multiplied by the headcount, so if there are 5 bass boats (that do interviews) and 5 striper boats (that don’t do interviews) then all the expansion from the headcount will go to the bass guys even though some were striper guys. Results for the day are 100% bass anglers and 0% striper anglers even though that was not the case. Even worse, the striper boats get counted as bass boats. They are not getting 0% compliance so not nearly that bad but using those numbers just for simplification.
Big picture, it seems there are some (not all) in the bass fishing community that are saying that stripers are not important and should not be stocked or drastically reduced. If the bass anglers are the primary user and striper anglers are a very low percentage then they have a point. I think our DGIF biologist understands this is not a representative view and he does not want any angler group be underrepresented - so it is important that the striper anglers be "counted. As an FYI, previous surveys done in the past average around 35% striper and 50% bass. I'll say with all the new striper boats I see out there I certainly don't think that percentage has lowered - if anything is more even.
This is NOT intended to pick a fight with the bass guys or any other angler group - and if the discussion to this thread heads down that path I'll delete those post - but rather this is to raise the visibility to you all to make sure you participate in these creel surveys - on or off the water - make sure you are heard regardless of what your target species is.
Also - I am curious as to who has been interviewed, or attempted to be interviewed - are we seeing the DGIF guys doing the survey? I've been fishing hard this spring on the weekends at least and have not run across one yet - just the Game Warden doing a safety / license check the other week. I'll be more than happy to turn this around and push back to Dan if collectively we're not being approached - it can always be a situation of self-selection on the data and we should hold them honest to make sure they are getting out input...... Speak up if you're seeing these guys - let us know how the experience has been - are they truly being considerate and trying to work with you as you pull boards, etc......
However, not interacting with these guys is only going to hurt you in the long run. My understanding is that they are doing their best to make it as painless as possible by using a trolling motor and staying at a distance but they do have to get close enough to talk/shout/communicate. I've been told that if you indicate what you're like them do to to facilitate the discussion while keeping fishing that they will do so - i.e. run alongside, ahead - you don't have to stop.
Also, just because you've been interviewed once does not mean they don’t need to talk with them again when we are out another day.
So, how does NOT participating in interviewing the survey? The result will be reflected in the final numbers which could drastically underestimate the striped bass anglers at the lake and the fisheries importance. Without getting into all the complexities of the data analysis, the basic process is they get a head count (at a random time) and then do interviews. Information from the interviews are multiplied by the headcount, so if there are 5 bass boats (that do interviews) and 5 striper boats (that don’t do interviews) then all the expansion from the headcount will go to the bass guys even though some were striper guys. Results for the day are 100% bass anglers and 0% striper anglers even though that was not the case. Even worse, the striper boats get counted as bass boats. They are not getting 0% compliance so not nearly that bad but using those numbers just for simplification.
Big picture, it seems there are some (not all) in the bass fishing community that are saying that stripers are not important and should not be stocked or drastically reduced. If the bass anglers are the primary user and striper anglers are a very low percentage then they have a point. I think our DGIF biologist understands this is not a representative view and he does not want any angler group be underrepresented - so it is important that the striper anglers be "counted. As an FYI, previous surveys done in the past average around 35% striper and 50% bass. I'll say with all the new striper boats I see out there I certainly don't think that percentage has lowered - if anything is more even.
This is NOT intended to pick a fight with the bass guys or any other angler group - and if the discussion to this thread heads down that path I'll delete those post - but rather this is to raise the visibility to you all to make sure you participate in these creel surveys - on or off the water - make sure you are heard regardless of what your target species is.
Also - I am curious as to who has been interviewed, or attempted to be interviewed - are we seeing the DGIF guys doing the survey? I've been fishing hard this spring on the weekends at least and have not run across one yet - just the Game Warden doing a safety / license check the other week. I'll be more than happy to turn this around and push back to Dan if collectively we're not being approached - it can always be a situation of self-selection on the data and we should hold them honest to make sure they are getting out input...... Speak up if you're seeing these guys - let us know how the experience has been - are they truly being considerate and trying to work with you as you pull boards, etc......
I'm going to ask if they have any type of signage - does not sound like it, but I'll confirm.
