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<br />Anterican Fisheries Sorie/y
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<br />[uri(/C<'(l has not beell collected ill all)' other locality. By rig-id protection
<br />these fishes can hl:' saved fflllll the prolJahle fate of the other indigenous
<br />fishes of the Colorado l~iverHasin.
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<br />Fmther invt'stig-ation of the :;l'altered springs in the recreational area
<br />and surrounding regions mil)' reveal (Ilher niltive forms or produce addi-
<br />llonal distriblltilln records.
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<br />EXOTIC FISHES
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<br />.\t Ie:lsl 11 ex"tic ,;pecies have been collected III the Llhe Ivlead Na-
<br />ti"nal l~ecrea I ion:d 1\ rea.
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<br />]]1 addition, tll(' slllalllllollth black b;lSS. .Hirro/,/cn/s doloHlicu Lace-
<br />pl'de, lI'as nbservl'd :dong the shore of I.:\ke Ivlc;1C1 nC;lr the mouth of
<br />l\[O:iP;1 Riv{~r, .Iuly 2,~, 1942, by Dr. Carl L.llubbs (Miller and Alcorn,
<br />I q-l6) ; and the goldJish, ~~ar(/s.fills (111m/us (Linnaeus), widely used as
<br />a bait fish in the P;lst, may he established. The writcr could find no
<br />rel'(l1'(ls of eilhl'r fish being t:d,t.'n frolll Lake MC;ld.
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<br />Introdllced species greatly olltnlllllbn the native I,inds and are of
<br />I'ri 111 a 1'.1' . interest to the sportsmen. Exotic game fishes are so firmly
<br />t's!;lI)lished that it has henl deemed unm'cessary to have a closed fishing
<br />seasnn.
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<br />Introduction (If uthl'r alien species inlo the arl';1 does not secm ad-
<br />\'isahle. i\ddiliollal stocking- of largemouth hbck hass or forage fishes
<br />in J .ake l\lead 111:11' provc Ilwre detrimental than benclicial. A future
<br />survey (If eXlstillg cOllditiulls in Lake l\T"have Tlla)' revcalth;lt the plant- _
<br />illg of wann-w;l!t'r game fishes ill the lower Jlorlion of that reservoir
<br />is advisable. Altlluugh continued stocking of rainbow tnlllt in the cold
<br />wains l,e]lJ\v Hoover Dam will he necessary to support the angling-
<br />pJ'l'ssure, it is douhtful that tront will prove a satisiactory permanent
<br />:trlditillll to l.ahc ]\le;lo.
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<br />ANNUL-nUl SPECIES LIST
<br />SaJmollidae (Trouts)
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<br />.\'aI1/l0 gairdll{'rii iridcus Cihhons, COlll1l10n rainbow trout. For 30
<br />Illilcs belul\' Hoover Dam, in the upper section of Lake Muhave, the
<br />rainbow I rout is the Illost important game fish, and this portion of the
<br />Colorado is olle of the outstanding trout waters of the country. Below
<br />this area trout lWlome scarce,
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<br />Ne;lrly a million trout fingerlings have ueen pbnled, according to
<br />National 1'ark Service records. After the initial stocking in 1935, the
<br />trout wtcre rigidly prutected. \VhclI the jir~t se;ISOIl was ofwl1ed in 1940,
<br />tishenllt'1I discovered that rainbow truut were I,ruspering ill the Culorado
<br />I{iver. Eichn (1947) eslinlatl'll that 20,000 pounos of trout were caught
<br />in 1946. The trout average 15 inches in length, but few are over 25
<br />inches (Eicher, 1947). The record trout, which measured 32:X inches
<br />and weighed 18 pounds, was taken in 1950.
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<br />Fish Fauna of Lake Mead
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<br />In Lake Mead, where the temperature is generally too warm ane!
<br />other el'lllog-icaJ conditions are not favorable, trout are rarely caught
<br />and these are strays from plantings macie farther up the Colorado River
<br />or its tributaries. These trout are ~lsually large, averaging 4 to 5 pounds,
<br />and are hooked by fishennen trolhng plugs for bass, Periodic agitation
<br />by sportsmen's organizations for the planting of trout in Lake Mead
<br />arises v.'hen such trout are brought in. It is dl)uotful if such a planting
<br />would prove sllccessful from a sportsman's point of view,'
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<br />Salli/o trl/lla Lillnacus, brown trout. The only record of brown trout
<br />!n this portiun of the Colorado River. Basin is that of a specimen caught
<br />1Il the Las Vegas Wash ann on Apnl 6, 1949, by Paul E. Kitchel' that
<br />~vas e:,arnjne~l by the writ,.r. It weig-I~ed. 3 pounds 6 ouuces, measured
<br />24% mches III total length, and was III Its s(~venth year of life. This
<br />fish had undoubtedly C()f11e downstream from stock j)lanted fartlwr up
<br />the Colurado.
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<br />Catostomidae (Suckers)
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<br />XyrauchclI /CXUllltS (Ahbott), razorback sucker. The razorbaLk or
<br />humpback. slld,er, largest of the native Colorado River suckers, is
<br />abundant m Lake M.ead and less 111111WrOllS .il~ Lake Mohave. It appears
<br />10 have become adJusft'd 10 present conditions better than the other
<br />native s)lecil~s. In lheLlke J\1l'ad area, this ~pecies exceeds 2() inches
<br />in ]('ngth and 7 pounds in weight.
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<br />Pan/os/ell-s platy,."Yltrlms (Cope), Bonneville mountain sucker. A
<br />single specinwn uf this exutic species was collected in Lake Mead on
<br />September 8, 1938, by Johnny Weston. This fish had undoubtedly l1een
<br />brought to Lake Mead as a bait fish.
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<br />Cyprinidae (Minnows, Carp)
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<br />CyprinHs carfio Lillnae\1s, carp. In Lake ~ea.d, the introduced carp
<br />h.as found. condltl.ons favorable and has multlphed and spread exten-
<br />SIvely. It IS also tound below Hoover Dam. Fishermen are inclined to
<br />overestimate their numbers because carp cOlllmunly jump and play at
<br />the surface,
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<br />Permit.s have been granted to individuals to harvest the carp crop
<br />coll1lnerctally for food and for reduction. The topography of Lake
<br />1Jead, however, make;; seining ineffective as a control measure and
<br />gill ~ets or other types of gear would be equally destructive to game
<br />speCIes.
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<br />Ptychochcilus lucius Girard, Colorado squaw fish, The Colorado
<br />squawfish or "white-salmon of the Colorado" is rarely taken. It has
<br />been n:ported hum the Lake and from the waters below Hoover Dam
<br />(Moffett, 1942, 1943).
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<br />Together with othc: native fishes, .the. squawfish is becoming less
<br />numerous. Formerly, It was abundant In nver channels as far north as
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