Angler fishing strategies at different reservoirs in the Czech Republic assessed from fishery statistics (1988-2007)
Abstract
Fishery statistics offer limited information for both angler behavior and fish stock composition and are therefore not adequate enough for accurate descriptions of angler behavior. This paper presents a case study on how to, at least judge, any other information for a fishery.
We test a technique where correlations between longterm catches of different species are estimated using angler behavior as the main variable while simultaneously looking for the specific reason for every individual case. We selected data from reservoirs with contrasting regulations for line fishery practices and suggest potential explanations for all identified correlations.
Fishing on the Džbán and Papež Reservoirs in the Czech Republic, situated within town limits, seems to be based on the fast exploitation of carp which is stocked in harvestable size every season, and the subsequent capture of remaining species. Both carp specialists and predatory fish specialists were identified on the large Orlík Reservoir.
In contrast, anglers on the large Slapy Reservoir seem to lack any fishing specialization. Special cases are thoroughly discussed in the paper.