Intra‐Annual Variability of Common Carp and Bigmouth Buffalo Electrofishing Data in Shallow Lakes

Common Carp Cyprinus carpio and Bigmouth Buffalo Ictiobus cyprinellus are widespread across the Midwest, where they can achieve high population densities in shallow lakes. Despite their contrasting statuses as invasive and native fishes, these species are commonly managed together due to their capacity to have deleterious effects on water quality. However, intra‐annual sampling variability is poorly understood for both species, making it difficult to track population changes. We compared boat electrofishing CPUE and proportional size distribution (PSD) of Common Carp and Bigmouth Buffalo during May–October 2018–2020 in seven shallow northwestern Iowa lakes. We also estimated sampling effort necessary to reach targets of fish captured (100) and precision (relative standard error