INFLUENCE OF ANGLER EXPLOITATION ON BLACK CRAPPIE POPULATION-STRUCTURE IN A RURAL SOUTH-DAKOTA IMPOUNDMENT

Anglers harvested approximately 122 black crappies (Pomoxis nigromacul atus/ha at 18-ha Murdo Lake, South Dakota, in 1992. Based on a mean le ngth of 26.2 cm for harvested black crappies, anglers likely harvested 36.1 kg/ha. The following spring (1993), proportional stock density ( PSD) for black crappies collected with trap nets was 10 -- far lower t han for any of the previous four years. Thus, we conclude that angling can have a substantial effect on the black crappie population in a sm all impoundment.