Yellow perch (Perca flavescens) and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) were studied to determine the effects of externally attached radio transmitter tags. Perch that had been tagged with dummy radio tags were more susceptible to predation and more sensitive to environmental stress than were controls. Feeding and respiration rates were similar among dummy tagged and control groups of perch over a 6-week period. The feeding rate of dummy tagged largemouth bass was lower than that of untagged fish over a 3.5-week period. On the basis of these studies, we conclude that weights of external transmitters in water should be less than 1.5% of the fish weight. Design considerations should include streamlining components and an anterior attachment wire at the extreme leading edge of an external transmitter to prevent entanglement of the tag in surrounding vegetation.