Jason: You wound my spring so I will also expound.
When assessing a fish community let's include things like population analyses across year classes & length frequency distributions, proportional stock density, growth rates thru scale analyses and back calculations, condition factors, forage base and diversity overall biomass estimates and maybe a randon external and internal parasite scan. We might even do an assessment of the pond's overall food base or chain by sampling the invertebrate and vertebrate prey. Now we're sampling fish! As you well know, there is a lot that makes up a pond ecosystem. AS you mentioned it's important to compile the data but I think & you will agree it's even more important and valuable to have that data analyzed and reported so it means something, not compile it. (I know by compile you also meant report). It's not just shock'em up, okay looks healthy and toss it back. Although it can be done, but what is really gained by this?

If they are there, you should, if really good, get them to bite. Maybe the fish are smarter than the fisherman!
I still say that if you are a pondowner and are not knowledgable enough to adequately sample your fish community by hook and line fishing (various baits live and artif.) and maybe several minnow traps, be able to record the data and then have the ability to interpret the results then you as a private pondowner probably have no business electrofishing. But you can and should also just fish for fun or sport no problem with that. Electrofishing is just a FAST & glorious way for someone to sample a fish community and as you mentioned it provides a biased sample. Granted electrofishing can also be for special reasons or a way of just reducing fish numbers, but selective fishing methods can also harvest targeted fish although just not as fast as electrofishing which is why professionals use it. Time is money. I also realize some species of fish do not bite well on hook and line and special methods are sometimes needed but these cases are pretty rare for the average pond owner.

A little strong here but: If a pond owner wants to do-it-yourself & know all about his fish community, then he needs to know, when fishing, what data to record and how to intrepret that data for answers, not electrocute his fish. Here is where Pond Boss magazine steps up to the plate and uses articles to teach pond owners how to grow and evaluate their fishery based on the fish that are caught. Problem is most people don't take the time to record their catch or learn how to catch smart fish; too busy having fun jerking jaws. You can't get this detailed info on a forum format but the PBoss magazine has done some of this and needs to do it more frequently with articles such as:
Nov-Dec97-Autumn Inventory, Infertile Waters Boney Fish; May-Jun98-Graph Used to Monitor Bass; Jul-Aug00-The Cure For Skinny Bass, dispelling the Myths, Sizes of Forage That a Bass Can Swallow; May-Jun02-Selective Harvest&Bag Limits.

For others who do not have time to fish and record data, or don't want to learn how to analyse fish data, then that's why there are learned, trained professionals to help you get the job done. I you don't want to spend the money for someones training then spend the time to learn yourself..

Not everyone wants to be a biologist at his pond but the owner/manager should have some working knowledge about evaluating and maintaining the fishery so the 'fish for fun ones' can have more fun. Time to climb down from the soap box before someone throws a dead fish at me.

aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine -
America's Journal of Pond Management