Wearing protective waders and walking upstream side-by-side through Brodhead Creek, Aaron Henning and Blake Maurer clutched long-handled nets in one hand and electrodes attached to the end of equally long handles in the other.

A backpack worn by Maurer fed electricity from a 24-volt battery into the electrodes — one a cathode with a positive current and the other, a negative anode. Together, they formed a convex electrical field just strong enough to stun any aquatic life within a few feet for easy netting.

This is electrofishing.

Aaron Henning, Blake Maurer and Luanne Steffy with the Susquehanna River Basin Commission use electrofishing Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, to survey aquatic life in the Brodhead Creek in Stroud Township. Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com

Assisted by Luanne

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