Shawn--I noticed you talked alot about anode configurations, but have you done any experimenting with the cathode (boat). I have shocked for several different agencies/researchers and it seems to me that for all the thought that goes into anode size/number/placement that messing with the boat would have some merit too.
Some of the guys I worked for were obsessed with removing every spot of paint from the bottom of the boat (and even part way up the sides of the boats :)). One had a 16:1 formula (surface area cathode:surface area anode); for him we calculated the surface area of the anodes and then removed the paint from an area exactly 16 times that size on the bottom of the boat. Others could not have cared less about removing any paint from the boat.
I cannot say which "cathode design" was best for low or high conductivity shocking as the boats were different size/models with different equipment and operators working in different parts of the country. But it seems to me that it would have some effect.
On another note, I know Miranda was working on at least one more publication on electrofishing about a year ago. I haven't noticed if he published it yet, but the research was about the placement of the anodes from the boat. He took measurements with the two booms in two different configurations(angles from the boat) as well as using just one boom centered in front of the boat. Those results should give you more info.
