Sampling characteristics of two methods for capturing age-0 fish in pelagic lake habitats

For the capture of rapidly developing and fast growing age-0 Perca fluviatilis , a sampling precision of <0·2 could be achieved with both push-netting and purse seining. Night catches obtained from purse seining showed predominantly and sometimes significantly higher densities. The push-net system was appropriate for capturing newly hatched larvae and juveniles up to c. 30 mm L_T. The small purse seine was appropriate for fish of 14–30 mm. For perch >30 mm, a 120×5 m purse seine was most suitable.