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24 <br />Striped Bass Spawning Grounds <br />The ratio of male bass to female bass captured (2.3:1); the capture <br />of male bass before female bass; and the collection of spent fish and <br />striped bass eggs in 1980 suggested that bass spawning grounds were near <br />Gypsum Canyon at the Colorado River inlet to Lake Powell. <br />The exact location of spawning is unknown. Bass eggs were collected <br />above Gypsum Canyon in 1980 but no bass were captured above Cataract <br />Canyon. Inasmuch as bass frequently spawn in rapids and areas character- <br />ized by boulders and swift current, the Cataract Canyon rapids are a <br />likely spawning location. Extent of upstream movement probably varies <br />from year to year depending on river flow and reservoir elevation. <br />During 1980, a high water year, and 1981, a low water year, no bass <br />were captured at Spanish Bottom above the rapids. <br />Food Habits <br />Striped bass evidently feed before and after spawning but rarely <br />when they are involved in spawning. The majority of bass captured in <br />both years in our study had empty stomachs (70%) (Table 6). Of the 30% <br />of stomachs containing food, 94% contained threadfin shad. Red shiners <br />were found in four stomachs, and partially digested unidentified fish <br />remains in two bass stomachs. Approximately 42% of stomachs of immature <br />and maturing bass contained food whereas only 25% of stomachs of sexually <br />mature fish contained food. Approximately 33% of stomachs of spent fish <br />contained food, of which 94% contained shad. Other workers have also <br />found that most striped bass in spawning condition do not feed (Raney, <br />1952; Morgan and Gerlach, 1950 in Raney, 1952; Trent and Hassler, 1966).