Christopher S. Guy Molly A. H. Webb Travis B. Horton Thomas E. McMahon Jan K. Boyer 2017 <p><span>The efficacy of various sampling gears for age-0 Mountain Whitefish </span><i>Prosopium williamsoni</i><span> is largely unknown, which makes it difficult to investigate recruitment and early life history dynamics for the species. We compared four gears: seine, backpack electrofisher, minnow trap, and lighted minnow trap. Gears were tested in backwaters, large channels, and small channels in the Madison River, Montana. No age-0 Mountain Whitefish were captured in minnow traps or lighted minnow traps. Mean CPUE of age-0 Mountain Whitefish was higher for seining (0.18 fish/m</span>²<span>; SD, 0.39) than for electrofishing (0.01 fish/m</span>²<span>; SD, 0.03), and the CV was lower for seining. A broader length distribution was sampled by seining (17–41 mm) than with electrofishing (21–36 mm). Age-0 Mountain Whitefish CPUE in seines was highest in backwaters. In channel sites, Mountain Whitefish presence was associated with areas of still or slow water ≥2 m</span>²<span>. Relative to the other sampling gears we evaluated, seining was the most efficient gear for sampling age-0 Mountain Whitefish in a lotic ecosystem.</span></p> application/pdf 10.1080/02755947.2016.1254128 en Taylor and Francis Online Gear comparison for sampling age-0 Mountain Whitefish in the Madison River, Montana article