Methods

Fisheries surveys of inland lakes and streams in Wisconsin have been conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) professionals and its predecessor the Wisconsin Conservation Department for >70 y. Standard fyke net and boat electrofishing surveys tend to dominate the fisheries surveys and data collected. Most fyke net data on certain species (e.g., Walleye Sander vitreus and Muskellunge Esox masquinongy) originates from annual spring netting surveys following ice-out. These data are used for abundance estimates, mark and recapture surveys for estimating population sizes, and egg-take procedures for the hatcheries. Boat-mounted boom and mini-boom electrofishing surveys became increasingly common in the late 1950s and 1960s. Boat electrofishing surveys have typically been conducted during early summer months (May and June), but some electrofishing survey data are also collected in early spring as part of walleye and muskellunge mark-recapture surveys. Summer fyke netting surveys have been collected more sporadically over time, but were once more commonly used as a panfish survey methodology. Surveys were largely non-standardized. Thus, future users and statistical comparisons utilizing these data should acknowledge the non-standard nature of their collection. More in-depth description of these data can be found in Rypel, A. et al., 2016. Seventy-Year Retrospective on Size-Structure Changes in the Recreational Fisheries of Wisconsin. Fisheries, 41, pp.230-243. Available at: http://afs.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03632415.2016.1160894