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1979; Prewitt et al. 1978; Wick et al. 1979). These investigators captured thousands of fish of all life stages by electrofishing boat, trammel net, gill net, seine, and dipnet, and likely would have collected northern pike unless the species was extremely rare or absent. In October 1979, a 670 mm total length (TL) northern pike that weighed 2270 grams was caught by researchers angling at Lily Park (Wick et al. 1981 and associated field notes). Based on current growth rates for northern pike, the estimated age of this fish was six or seven years old (P. Martinez and K. Rogers, pers. comm.). Adult northern pike continued to be collected in low numbers downstream of Craig, from 1981 through 1984 (Miller et al. 1982; Wick et al. 1985a, 1985b, 1986) and apparently increased in abundance and distribution through 1991 as evidenced by their more frequent occurrence in samples taken by Nesler (1995). From 1986 through 2000, northern pike were caught consistently in critical habitat in the Yampa River as a by- catch of an interagency standardized monitoring program (ISMP) for Colorado pikeminnow and their numbers peaked in 1992 and 1999 (C. McAda, in Iitt.). Elkhead Reservoir was widely considered the original source for northern pike in the Yampa River, but unless stocked fish were larger than the sizes reported (50-100 mm), the capture of a 670 mm, six-year-old northern pike in 1979, two years after stocking would refute that claim. If stocking sizes were accurate, then fish stocked in Elkhead Reservoir in 1977 would have been two to three years old by 1979 and could not be as large as the fish captured in 1979. Unless the CDOW stocking records are incomplete or inaccurate, then northern pike did not originate from Elkhead Reservoir and either northern pike originated from another local water or they moved up 4