We review the peer‐reviewed literature regarding sampling of the three most commonly managed ictalurids: Channel Catfish, Blue Catfish, and Flathead Catfish. For each species, we summarize what is known about data quality (accuracy and precision) and sampling efficiency of the most commonly used gears for surveying these species. We identify research needs and provide information to guide gear selection based on different sampling objectives. To rank gear‐specific sampling efficiency (catch/h and catch/person‐h), we report median catch rates and the interpolated 25th and 75th percentiles of published means. We also describe the accuracy of relative abundance and size‐related metrics for each gear. For Channel Catfish, tandem baited hoop nets provide the most efficient (11–24 fish/net/tandem set, 20–60 fish/person‐h) and accurate samples. Low‐frequency electrofishing provides the most efficient samples of Blue Catfish (23–373 fish/h, 2.1–11.3 fish/person‐h) and Flathead Catfish (19–62 fish/h, 2.1–2.5 fish/person‐h) and the most accurate samples of Blue Catfish. No accuracy studies exist for Flathead Catfish. Other gears examined for each species may also be useful for some sampling objectives; however, most are inefficient or lack accuracy.

We evaluated electrofishing catch per effort in 27 state‐operated fishing lakes in Mississippi to identify patterns of centrarchid community composition and to determine whether those patterns were related to selected environmental characteristics and to artificial nutrient enrichment. Ordination with detrended correspondence analysis recognized two major axes accounting for 77% of the variability in species ordination. Axis 1 showed a distinct separation between the body sizes of various species. A notable exception was the density of small (<30 cm) largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides, which aligned with the large individuals of other centrarchid species. This pattern suggested that through predation, high densities of small largemouth bass exerted significant control over the size structure of fish communities. Axis 2 separated species of crappies Pomoxis spp., suggesting that conditions other than strong species interactions also moderated the composition of crappies in the assemblages. However, neither lake morphometry nor watershed composition exhibited a major influence over axes 1 or 2. In small, intensively managed lakes with low habitat complexity, the regulatory importance of biotic interactions may overwhelm that of abiotic factors. Nutrient enrichment influenced community structure by changing the densities of bluegill Lepomis macrochirus and largemouth bass substantially but had a minor or no effect on other species. The management techniques used in these state‐operated lakes are usually targeted toward a particular species without adequately considering the other species within the community. Our results show that attention to community‐level interactions could provide valuable insight into factors that affect the quality of the fishery, insight that is not available through traditional population‐level assessments.