Abstract The efficiencies and effectiveness of a 220-volt, AC electroshocker and seines for making quantitative fish collections under low-flow conditions were compared in Piedmont streams of Maryland. Collections were made in 10 stream sections sampled on different days by both gears. Population estimates were made by the removal method using a linear-regression technique and three successive runs. The electroshocker produced better and more consistent results than seines, gave a larger number of significant regression estimates, caught more fish by total weight, and caught larger fish. The mean catchabilities for numbers of fish caught were 0.69 for electroshocker and 0.43 for seines.