Electrofishing Services

Most pond and lake owners would like to know more about the fish population in their lake. This is especially true when making a fisheries management decision (i.e. stocking fish, removing unwanted fish, developing a trophy fishery, etc.) Since it is usually impossible (and detrimental) to study an entire fish population, a representative sample can be collected.

The most common methods of sampling wild fish are electrofishing, seining, gill netting, and trap netting. The data collected from a sample can be used to evaluate the condition of the fishery and serve as a basis for making the best achieved and given objective.

Electrofishing is probably the most popular method of sampling fish in lakes and ponds. Another term for electrofishing is electroshocking because the fish are shocked or stunned by the electrical current.

Curryville Fisheries samples via an electrofishing boat equipped with a balanced three phase 230 volt system. When the fish are stunned by the alternating current they become immobilized and easily captured. This method of capture is relatively harmless to fish as most fish revive within a short period of time. All fish collected are returned safely to the lake unless a special project is being performed.