Flows and Recretion: A guide to studies for river professionals

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Single Flow Fishability Assessment Objective Assess the potential quality of fishing opportunities, and estimate flow ranges, through reconnaissance of the river at a single flow. Typical approach Parallel to boating feasibility assessments, experienced anglers usually participate in the reconnaissance, and an evaluation form may be used. Focus group discussion after reconnaissance helps summarize opinions about the likely availability of different fishing opportunities (defined by species, tackle, and technique), possible flow ranges, and potential project effects. Product Summary of reconnaissance effort and consensus findings. Lists of participants, evaluation results, and discussion notes may be provided in appendices. Responsibilities Utilities (or their consultants) have primary responsibility, but agencies and stakeholders commonly participate in fieldwork and review the evaluation form or list of participants. Flows for boat -based fishing may be different from flows for wading or shore -based fishing. Right: Situk River, Alaska, where most anglers wade, but some use boats to access fishing areas. Additional issues Fishability assessments typically occur from land, but it may be useful to have anglers wade or boat the river if those are a common component of target opportunities. It is challenging to assess a diversity of potential fishing locations during a short assessment period (a few hours or a day). Similarly, there are trade -offs between the number of sites and the quality of assessments, or between organized visits to specific locations and more "freelance" evaluations by individual anglers. These decisions are typically made on a case - by -case basis after considering segment characteristics, likely fishing opportunities, existing use, or other factors. Fishability assessments may be unnecessary or less formal if a controlled flow study is expected, or anglers currently use a reach (and work can document their use patterns and flow ranges of interest). Unlike boating, the "feasibility" of fishing is usually not in question; the focus is on the quality of access to fishable water at different flows. As with boating feasibility assessments, composition of the participants is important and may be improved by including local area guides or review by stakeholders and agencies. Fishing assessments need to address potentially confounding evaluation issues related to longer -term fishing success or the condition of the fishery. For more information, see sidebar on "fishability, fishing, and the fishery." Cautions & limitations Fishability assessments at a single flow may be able to demonstrate whether a flow provides fishable water, but they are unlikely to provide precise flow ranges for different opportunities (unless the range is narrow and a flow in that range was assessed). Fishability studies are only one component of assessing flow needs for fishing opportunities. Fishability studies generally focus on access to fishable water, offering less information about long term fishing success or effects on the fishery (see sidebar on these distinctions). Flows and Recreation: 117 A Guide for River Professionals