shocking modded tin

The Hackettstown fish hatchery here in NJ had their centennial celebration this weekend. Lots of cool stuff on display, but I thought this would be interesting to you fellow tin-boaters: NJ DFW's electrofishing boat. They use this to collect fish for research and broodstock collection purposes. The current between the electrodes stuns the fish, and then the fisheries workers scoop them up with nets.

All of the pictures are links to bigger versions so you can see the detail.

The big umbrella rigs on the front are one set of electrodes


The wires mounted to the bow are the other set of electrodes. And no less than 22 lights, just on the bow!


The boat has flat sides that do not widen towards the gunwales. The boat's generator is mounted under the captains seat.


Interesting steering setup. All of the controls and indicators for the generator are mounted to the panel. They can choose AC or DC, voltages, etc depending on the fish they are targeting.

very cool 8) I want one

Ha!!! Thats cheeting haha

Used one like that before, bigger and with a jet. SmithRoot custom builds them in Washington from what I understand. Retail is around $80,000 if I remember right. The anodes (umbrellas up front) are foot pedal operated by the netters at the front of the boat. Electrofishing is way fun! Haha.

I was there yesterday with my 9 year-old son! It was amazing how crowded it was.

We fished in the pond area they had set up. Nobody was really catching much and it was shoulder-to-shoulder near the registration stand, so we walked to the far side corner which was empty and away from the crowds. My son caught 5, 16"-18" channel catfish in about 20 minutes! After the others saw that we were suddenly surrounded by other fishermen and the fish stopped biting.

We didn't see that tin there, but I've seen it being trailered once or twice.

JaxJonBoat said:

Ha!!! Thats cheeting haha

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+1....but I think, I want to try it.

On YouTube there are videos of the north Carolina wildlife using this type of boat. It is very interesting. Just search nc wildlife resources commission video.

PA has one like it at the Sweet Valley office.

I just bring my gas powered welder with me and throw the leads over..

When I was at WVU we helped the DNR with an electrofishing survey of a small river for one of the classes. No boat, just handheld wands and a 15-20' seine. Pretty funny to watch everything from 1/2" minnows to 20lb + buffalo and carp float down into the seine!

I was asked by the a biologist for the VDGIF to go out with him for a shocking trip. Never had so much fun in my life. We raised 17 muskies on two miles of river, and a bunch of other species. I would pay amusement park prices for that experience!

I''ve done it another way where you load a generator on the back of a whitewater raft, hang the cathodes over the sides of the boat and have two people sit on the front chambers - one with the power and one with the net. Then you go shooting down class II rapids with the power on, flipping fish all over the place! YEEEEHAW! Most fun you can have in a boat, period.

Interesting rig, Wonder what it would do to the jet skiers in GWP? :twisted:

New River Rat said:

I was asked by the a biologist for the VDGIF to go out with him for a shocking trip. Never had so much fun in my life. We raised 17 muskies on two miles of river, and a bunch of other species. I would pay amusement park prices for that experience!

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I agree 110%. I would love to go down my local river and see what kind of monsters are really lurking in there!

I know where they keep it. Or at least there is another one like it. I pass it every week and was wondering what the heck it was. It's under a cover and I thought they didn't finish the wiring for the lights. Oh well

South Dakota Game and Fish department has rig like this also.
I was standing in wader fishing one evening when they came by shocking fish for harvesting eggs. Asked if I should get out of water they said not to worry. it does not travel that far and my waders would insulate me. Also that I should not pickup an fish that may float up around me.
It was a evening of catching one walleye after another. it did not affect fishing abit.