Angler Survey: How are rockfish catch rates and environmental variables related?

Greetings!

My name is Joshua Smith and I am an undergraduate student at the California State University, Monterey Bay. I am conducting a study analyzing the effect of wind and swell on recreational fish catch. As part of this study, I have created a survey that requires the knowledge and responses of the fishing community. The purpose of this survey is to assess if there is a correlation between the environmental conditions that anglers feel affect fishing, and what our data suggests. If you are interested in participating in this study, please follow the link below and complete the survey. Also, if you know of other anglers who would be interested in providing their opinions, please pass this e-mail on to them.

https://docs.google.com/a/csumb.edu/forms/d/1dbcQi_KBgGqaQIfQ6XsBhWMgmlZtyxAPUT5bD7yQsgQ/viewform

Your participation in this survey is greatly appreciated! I look forward to seeing your responses.

Thank you!

Joshua Smith
CSU Monterey Bay
[email protected]

Hi Joshua,

Just a thought.

For kayak fishermen, wind and swell (especially wind) can simply preclude fishing, or  shorten the time spent fishing that day significantly. So wind and swell have a negative impact on fishing, but not necessarily because the fish aren't willing  .

Best of luck with your study!

Ben

Josh - thanks for posting this up.  I started taking the survey, but I immediately found myself questioning how my data might be misinterpreted.  To deduce that wind and swell have direct correlations on the bite is a slippery slope of sorts.  For instance, I've been out on days where wind and swell were nearly nonexistent and the bite was horrible, and I've also been out on those types of days where the bite was great.  Same goes for windy days and swelly days and combinations of windy and swelly days - bite could be great, bite could suck.  Last October I was having a fantastic day down the coast, and the wind and swell were down.  They soon picked up, and the bite was still great.  This past summer I returned to the same area with 3 other skilled anglers.  We worked nearly "virgin territory" for 3 hours and caught a few rockfish - it was shocking compared to the day I'd had there last fall, especially since wind and swell were quite calm.

I feel that, in general, increases in wind and swell will lead to lower catch rates, but only because fishing activities become more difficult to accomplish.

Good luck with your research.   

Josh I completed the survey.
One thing I'd suggest adding is a way for the survey-taker to indicate if they feel the affect is positive or negative (or neutral). Because there are a number of questions that seem vague in context. Like, "does wind speed have an effect on rockfish catch rates?" I replied Yes. And I presume the surveyor would interpret my Yes as "wind has a negative effect." But I feel wind speed can have a positive effect.
If that makes sense.
So if there's a way to edit the survey by adding a text box below those types of questions...it w/b beneficial.

Does wind speed have an effect on rockfish catch rates?
-Yes (please note positive or negative effect below)
-No
-Text box (to indicate positive or negative effect)

I would agree with previous comments. Also many of your options list 0 swell. while there are "flat" days, is there ever a zero swell day? Never seen a forecast that listed zero swell. If you increase wind speeds this means adding wind swell. Wind direction/swell counter to wave swell = cross-chop which  definitely effects the fishing.  What about swell direction ? A south swell is noted for killing the bite.
Plus your options all say decrease catch. No option for increase catch. IMO there is a window where some wind increases the bite. You also need to consider drift which can be due to wind but is often a combination of current and wind. Fast drifts make it more difficult to fish productive areas and more difficult to control your fishing method and harder to feel strikes and respond to strikes.
Water clarity does effect bite, but this is very often countered by changing lure color etc. Most of this info can be found in outdoor sport magazines.
Your line of research sounds very interesting, However I believe you need to rethink your questions.