Effects of fish attractors on sport fishing success on Norris Reservoir, Tennessee

A creel survey was conducted in 1980 on Norris Reservoir, Tennessee, from March through October to assess the effects of artificial fish attractors (also known as hides, havens, shelters, or reefs) on fisherman success. An average of 9.8 brush-pile attractors were installed in each of 259 coves in the lake by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Comprehensive Employment Training Act (CETA) personnel between 1978 and 1980. The 7.5-month creel survey yielded 1435 party interviews, separating those fishermen who had fished only attractor areas (115 individuals) from those who had fished other areas exclusively (2582), and those who had fished both attractor and non-attractor sites (358). Ten species of fish were caught by attractor fishermen, whereas non-attractor fishermen caught specimens of 19 species, and those who had fished both area types on the same day accounted for 15 species, Comparisons of attractor and non-attractor creels indicated that percent successful, mean number of fish caught, mean fish per man-hour, and mean kilograms per man-hour were all significantly higher for attractor fisherman (t-test, α = .05). Analysis of variance showed that those fishermen angling primarily for crappie (Pomoxis spp.) caught significantly more fish per man-hour and kilograms per man-hour (α = .01) on attractors, contributing most to the higher overall success rates for attractor fishermen.