SAMPLING SIMPLIFIES ANGLER PLANNING

Each year, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) raises and stocks millions of fish throughout the state, providing anglers with special opportunities to catch a wide variety of species. To monitor the health of fisheries and help anglers find the best places to fish, KDWP fisheries biologists spend most of each fall sampling lakes throughout the state. Fall is the best time to sample fish because it’s the end of the growing season.

"While the sampling process has been a great help to anglers, one shortcoming has been that the agency does not have enough biologists to sample every lake every year," says KDWP Fisheries Section chief Doug Nygren. "Some lakes may only be sampled every three years. To address this issue, fisheries staff are developing a three-year average for lakes that will be posted online with the KDWP Fishing Forecast. In this way, lakes that have not been sampled the previous year will still have valuable data to help anglers decide where to fish."

Across the state, 18 district fisheries biologists are responsible for 26 large reservoirs, 40 state fishing lakes, and more than 230 community lakes. KDWP biologists have completed the 2008 sampling and are in the process of compiling results. This data will be used for next year's stocking requests, recommendations for future length and creel limit regulations, other management recommendations, as well as the annual Fishing Forecast upon which anglers rely.

In September, fisheries biologists may use electroshocking for bass, and in October and November, gill-nets and traps are used to sample all sportfish. The nets are pulled onto a boat and the fish removed. Biologists then count, weigh, and measure each fish and record this information, taking care to get the fish back in the water quickly. Netting results are recorded on waterproof paper or a laptop computer.

With a laptop, biologists can enter data on the water, then enter it directly into the department's Aquatic Data Analysis System (ADAS) when they get back to the office, eliminating paperwork. ADAS also allows biologists to enter paper-recorded testing data into the system through a desktop computer. They can then compare results with past years' data, which lets them know the population dynamics of the lake tested and make management decisions, from stocking plans to length and creel limits.

Another innovative tool fisheries biologists use is the Fisheries Analysis and Simulation Tools (FAST) software program, developed in conjunction with 20 other states. This computer application allows the field biologist to use data from the ADAS system and separate age and growth testing to predict what would happen if certain length or creel limits were imposed on a given lake. Tools such as this not only take much of the guesswork out of managing a lake, they allow biologists to spend more time on other projects, such as habitat development.

Now that sampling is complete, anglers across Kansas can look forward to the 2009 Kansas Fishing Forecast, which will be available on the KDWP website in early January.

UNSAFE ICE FORCES PARTIAL CLOSING OF MARION RESERVOIR TO ANGLERS

That’s what officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Marion Reservoir and Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks are telling anxious ice anglers. In fact, a portion of the reservoir, near the outlet gates on the dam, will be closed to fishing. It’s been bitter cold for almost a week, but ice still isn’t safe. And to make matters worse, water is being released through the gates, which keeps water flowing and prevents safe ice for forming.

Veteran ice anglers know that at least 4 inches of hard ice is necessary to support people. If ATVs and other equipment are used, wait for more than 4 inches. Safe ice is formed when temperatures remain well below freezing for an extended period of time. However, when reservoir gates are open, the moving water creates dangerous pockets of thin ice no matter how cold the air temperature is. An area with thin ice won’t be evident on the surface – you won’t know until you step through it.

Marvin Peterson, KDWP natural resource officer, tested the ice this week.

“The ice on the reservoir isn’t safe, and they will be releasing water through the gates for at least two to three weeks,” Peterson warned. “Fishing will be prohibited in an area in front of the gates by posted notice. Anglers will need to wait until mid-January before checking Marion’s ice. No fish is worth a fall into icy water.”

As a general rule, ice anglers should avoid ice over moving water, and they should always make a series of test holes near shore before venturing out. A fall into frigid water can turn deadly in a matter of minutes.