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<br />The northern pike is a large (> 1300 mm) member of the family Esocidae. Juvenile and adult northern <br />pike are strongly piscivorous; however, young pike (<50 mm) feed primarily on insects and crustaceans <br />(Hunt and Carbine 1951; Frost 1954). Although northern pike become strongly piscivorous as they <br />mature, Chapman et al. (1989) and Chapman and Mackay (1990) reported that invertebrates may be <br />important food items seasonally. Because northern pike feed by sight, their growth rates may be hindered <br />by high turbidity-a physical characteristic common to many western rivers. Male northern pike become <br />sexually mature around ages 2 or 3 and most females reach maturity by age 3 (Carlander 1969). <br />Crossman (1979) reported life expectancy of northern pike to be at least 24 years. <br /> <br />Northern pike are typically found in small lakes, vegetated portions of larger lakes, and rivers (Crossman <br />1979). Miller and Rees (1997) found that northern pike in the Yampa River, selected pools as habitat, <br />although they also documented use of backwaters. Carlson et al. (1979) did not obtain northern pike in <br />fish collections from July 1975 to October 1977 in the Yampa River between Dinosaur National <br />Monument and the town of Hayden, Colorado. Nesler (1995) found that northern pike occupied the same <br />pool habitats as Colorado pikeminnow. The percent composition of northern pike, for all fish over 15 cm, <br />was estimated to be 1.5% downstream of Sunbeam (RM 60-64) and 4.1 percent 50 miles upstream near <br />Duffy Tunnel (Anderson, in press). <br /> <br />Smallmouth bass are sight dependent carnivores during all life stages. At an early age they feed on <br />plankton and aquatic invertebrates, but eventually switch to small fishes (sometimes other small bass) and <br />crayfish (Car lander 1977; Stephenson and Momot 1991). Lachner (1950) found that smallmouth bass <br />over 60 mm consumed primarily crayfish and fish, while bass smaller than 40 mm consumed only <br />crayfish. Females become sexually mature between ages 4 to 6, at which time they are usually able to <br />produce one brood per year. Males become sexually mature at ages 3 to 5 (Cross and Collins 1975; <br />Pflieger 1975). Carlander (1977) listed the maximum life span for smallmouth bass as about 18 years. <br /> <br />Smallmouth bass of all ages occur in rocky habitat, but they also use log jams and root wads. Rankin <br />(1986) reported that smallmouth bass habitat selection in the Flat River, Michigan, was influenced by <br />abiotic factors such as depth, velocity and substrate, but he also hypothesized that prey distribution was <br />important to habitat selection. Probst et al. (1984) demonstrated that habitat use by smallmouth bass is <br />life stage specific. Smallmouth bass smaller than 350 mm were found associated with faster water <br />velocities, vegetation, and boulders more often than larger smallmouth bass, which chose log jams and <br />slower current velocities. Smallmouth bass avoid water with a pH less than 6.0, and require dissolved <br />oxygen concentrations of greater than 0.96 ppm at a water temperature of 21 oC (Carlander 1977). <br /> <br />37 <br />