Fishery management teams use a number of different methods to collect fish. Some fish are captured using nets while others are usually captured using a special boat that applies electrical current to the water which stuns the fish. Once fish are captured, various pieces of information are collected, including quantity, length, weight, age, and growth rates. This information can tell biologists a great deal about the "health" of individual fish populations. This information is important for making regulation recommendations, stocking recommendations, and a variety of other management decisions.

Electrofishing boats are valuable tools used by fisheries staff to collect fish such as largemouth bass, bluegill, walleye, and many others. The electric current stuns the fish, and they float to the surface to be collected. They are then weighed, measured, and a few scales are collected to age the fish. The fish recover from the incident quickly, and are on their way swimming again in a few seconds.

Seines are large nets with fine mesh that are pulled through the water and up onto shore. Fish that are in the path are swept up and collected by the mesh. Small fish such as minnows and young game fish are collected with this equipment.

Fish scales have rings, similar to those of trees, which are used to age the fish. The scales are pressed between two sheets of a soft plastic acetate. They make a flat impression on the acetate, which can then be placed under a microscope for observation and counting of the rings.

Fyke nets are extremely important in the collection of crappie, bluegill, northern pike, and many other species. The fish swim through a series of net funnels that make it nearly impossible to escape. They are collected, the data is recorded, and they are released again.

Some water bodies like this small stream are too narrow and shallow for the large electrofishing boats. In these situations we use small backpack electrofishing units that are relatively easy to move from place to place.