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INTRODUCTION <br />Flaming Gorge Dam began impounding water in 1962 after the Green <br />River basin had been treated with rotenone to eliminate non-sport fishes. <br />Initial stocking of rainbow trout (Salmo ag irdneri) in the new reservoir <br />resulted in an outstanding sport fishery due to ample food and the <br />absence of competition from rough fish. <br />In subsequent years the fish population went through many changes, <br />some as the result of management and some as the result of natural <br />changes. Brown trout (Salmo trutta), cutthroat trout (Salmo clarki), <br />kokanee salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), and smallmmouth bass (Micropterus <br />dolomieui) were added to the fishery intentionally, while lake trout <br />(Salvelinus namaycush) and several species of rough fish appeared on <br />their own. <br />Fishing during the initial years was excellent, with high catch <br />rates and good harvests of rainbow trout. The peak catch rate of 1.28 <br />fish per fisherman-hr and the peak harvest of 800,657 trout occurred in <br />1965. Since then, catch rates have declined steadily with a slight, <br />temporary resurgence beginning in 1972 (Lund et al. 1976). <br />Beginning in the peak fishing year of 1965, rough fish, primarily <br />Utah chub (Gila atraria), began increasing drastically in the net <br />catches. By 1969 they became the dominant species in the net catches <br />in all areas of the reservoir (Lund et al. 1976). Beginning in 1969, <br />another rough fish, the white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) began <br />to appear in the net catches and soon became co-dominant with the Utah <br />chub in the reservoir. <br />By 1970 the total yearly harvest was reduced to less than half of <br />the 1965 peak harvest and the catch rate was about one third of the peak