Daryl Bauer, Fisheries Outreach Program Manager
Spring is a busy time for fisheries professionals. As soon as the ice is gone, and sometimes a little before, there is plenty of field work to be done. In recent weeks field biologists have been doing some sampling of fish populations across the state. Depending on the species much sampling is done in the fall, but some is done in spring as well.
When sampling fish populations a pointy-headed fisheries biologist is NOT out there just trying to catch the biggest fish. A sample that is representative of all sizes of fish in a population is the goal.
Anglers select for big fish. If you want to see or hear about the biggest fish in a population, angler reports are often the best.
However, in sampling and handling thousands of fish, a fisheries biologist is bound to see a few beauties. Here are a few examples that have been collected, and released, from public waters across the state in the past few weeks:
Those fish are still out there swimming. GO FISH!