2000 Bulkley River Creel Survey: An Evaluation of the Angling Community on the Bulkley River Using a Complemented Access-Roving Creel Survey

A complemented creel survey was undertaken on the Bulkley River involving an access point survey, a roving survey, and aerial flights (i.e., survey design was access-roving) from September to October 2000. Thirty-two drifts in the roving survey resulted in 599 interviews with 845 anglers.

The uncorrected estimate for fishing effort for 2000 was 5,917 rod days or 38,471 rod-hours. Corrected effort estimates were 8,638 rod days and 55,381 rod hours. These rod-day estimates were divided up into approximately 60% B.C. residents, 4% non-BC Canadian, and 36% Non-Canadian. In the 2000 Classified Waters period B.C. residents made up 50% of the angling effort, non-B. C. Canadians, 5%, and Non-Canadians 45% of the effort. The total estimated effort is an increase over the estimates from 1997 and 1998. The recent and present effort estimates are evaluated relative to independent data sources ("counter-foils" and the Steelhead Harvest Analysis) and are found likely to significantly underestimate angler effort, and numbers generated from these creel surveys should be viewed critically.