Electrofishing encounter probability, survival, and dispersal of stocked age-0 Muskellunge in Wisconsin lakes

Boat electrofishing is often used to sample age-0 Muskellunge Esox masquinongy for indexing recruitment or evaluating stocking success. However, electrofishing samples typically result in low CPUE, prompting concerns regarding whether catch rates reflect actual abundance or whether boat electrofishing is generally ineffective for capturing age-0 Muskellunge (i.e., if fish are not being encountered by the gear). To address these concerns, we used radiotelemetry to evaluate the probability of encountering stocked age-0 Muskellunge (230–350 mm TL) during standardized fall electrofishing surveys in three Wisconsin lakes. Our approach also allowed us to evaluate short-term survival and dispersal from stocking locations. Despite limited dispersal (