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<br />. <br /> <br />5 <br /> <br />Table 1. Select results of corrective stocking with tiger muskie in CDOW Central Region waters. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Water Controlled Species % Total Catch <br /> 1987 1992 <br />Arvada white sucker 73 49 <br />Barr Lake common carp 80 19 <br />Evergreen white sucker 95 30 <br />Quincy Reservoir white sucker 20 3 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Besides reducing densities of prey and panfish, establishing tiger muskie may affect <br />densities of other esocid populations, notably northern pike. Because northern pike and tiger <br />muskie are closely related, competition for food resources may result when the two species occur <br />in the same ecosystem. Potentially, the addition of tiger muskie may suppress or reduce <br />northern pike populations, especially in closed systems. Ultimately, this could be a boon to <br />warmwater management in western Colorado because tiger muskie populations are easier to <br />manipulate and manage than northern pike because of their sterility. <br />Tiger muskie stocking, however, does not always produce established populations. <br />Several waters in eastern Colorado have not produced satisfactory tiger muskie populations even <br />after several consecutive years of stocking. As with many species of fish, it is not always <br />possible to predict with absolute certainty whether specific waters will produce good tiger <br />muskie fisheries. To date, the worst-case scenario of introducing tiger muskie in eastern <br />Colorado waters has been the failure to establish satisfactory densities of these fish. Tiger <br />muskie are relatively expensive to rear and such failed stockings represent a significant cost in <br />failed stocking plants. <br />A final concern of stocking tiger muskie in western Colorado waters is predation on <br />native fishes if escapement occurs. This would be a short-term problem since the fish cannot <br />reproduce; however, as the tiger muskie is a large, fast-growing fish, escaped individuals would <br />be likely to prey on resident fish species. To date, tiger muskie have not established significant <br />riverine populations in eastern Colorado. For example, tiger muskie have not been collected in <br />the South Platte River above Chatfield Reservoir, Bear Creek, or several other waters associated <br />with reservoirs stocked with tiger muskie. However, escapement potential is still an important <br />concern which is a primary topic of this report. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br />