MonticelloLive

As of September 1, we have conducted 558 surveys during 96 creel days. Anglers interviewed, on average, were moderately satisfied with the number of fish caught and very satisfied with size of fish caught. Of the anglers interviewed, 26% of them had been interviewed more than once. These anglers have spent close to $40,000 during this period of time. That is an average of $71.68 per angler interviewed. So far, 55 bass below and 18 bass above the slot have been harvested. There has been 250 bass below the slot, 509 bass within the slot, and 98 bass above the slot that have been caught and released.

We have sent out 214 mail surveys and have received 152 back. The response rate is 71%, which is well above what we expected. Sixty percent of the anglers were trying to catch a trophy bass and most fished during the spring. Most anglers drive from 1-50 miles to fish Lake Monticello and on average fishes the lake 11 to 50 times per year. So far most of the mail survey responses are from male anglers between the ages of 25 and 35 that have 11-20 years of experience bass fishing.

We plan on continuing this survey into next February. So far, we mostly have been getting information from bass anglers but during the winter months we should get more information from the crappie anglers at Lake Monticello.