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FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING AND MAINTAINING A SPORT FISHERY IN THE SALT RIVER PROJECT CANALS J J r ? F F r Figure 8. Skunk Creek Drain demossing structure and debris collection dump at Station ACI3 on the Arizona Canal. During daily trap inspections, we conducted informal creel interviews with numerous anglers fishing along the canal banks. Originally, creel surveys were not part of the study plan; nevertheless, we took advantage of the opportunity to interview anglers. These creel interviews provided another source of information on the status of our stocked fish. We noted: creel date, location, species collected, TL, weight, Floy® tag number, and presence of fin clips. In addition to our monthly electrofishing, we sampled 3 alternate sites (Table 1) to monitor stocked fish movement and later to collect specimens for tissue contaminant analyses. We used repeated-effort electrofishing, gill netting, and angling in these areas to increase the chance of recovering stocked fish. Prior to some of these electrofishing efforts, a 30-m experimental gill net was set across the canal and attached to a nearby bridge. The net was in place while the electrofishing boat herded the fish downstream. We combined all sampling methods to determine the recapture frequency of stocked fish across weeks. Catch-per-unit-effort was calculated from repeated-effort electrofishing surveys, gill netting, and AGFD angling. Stocked fish movements and losses to the lateral canals were also recorded. Potential growth of stocked rainbow trout and channel catfish was determined by subtracting the recaptured mean TL and weights from the initial stocking measurements. Of the 1,500 channel catfish stocked in June, a subsample of 300 were weighed and measured for baseline size data. June-stocked catfish with right pectoral fin clips were FloyO tagged when recaptured (Fig. 9). All July-stocked catfish and stocked rainbow trout were measured for TL and weight prior to release. Estimates of physiological condition for both species were calculated using K and Wege- Anderson relative weight (Wr). Relative weight is another method of comparing physiological condition which is species-specific because of diverse body shapes and sizes (Anderson and Gutreuter 1983). A Wr value of 100 may be considered ideal for all species even of different age groups. However, Wr values are less reliable as fish reach full maturity and Wr values fall . R R. WRIGHT AND J. A. SORENSEN 1995 ARIZONA GAME & FISH DEPARTMENT, TECH. REP. 18 13