7364 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

representative collections and catch of fishes per hour (C/h) sampled were recorded. Some opportunistic spring electrofishing was also conducted in suspected northern pike and walleye habitats, however no C/h data were reported for these samples. All northern pike and walleye collected were measured for total length (TL), and location of capture was noted. After 1983, all of the fish were sacrificed, and stomach contents identified to the lowest possible taxon with the aid of a 25X binocular dissecting scope. The date, location, and water conditions at the point of capture of all females with ripe eggs and fully developed ovaries were recorded. We also obtained 49 northern pike and 11 walleye stomachs from other workers and identified their contents. RESULTS Abundance and Distribution Eighty-four northern pike were collected from 1979 to 1989, including 33 females in breeding condition (mature ovaries with ripe eggs). Ripe females were captured in April-June in the mainstream Green River at water temperatures of 10-19°C. All pike were considered adults or large juveniles based on size (average= 619 mm TL, range: 321-1,045 mm; Carlander, 1969). Average catch of northern pike increased 0.05 to 0.14 fish per hour from 1984 to 1988 (Table 1). Seventy-eight percent (n=59) of the pike were collected in the upper Green River in 1984-1988, but many of these (43%) were taken in shallow, low velocity, shoreline habitats at the mouth of Ashley Creek. Northern pike were spotty in distribution but sometimes abundant in semi- impounded habitats. Their captures were often associated with prominent aquatic and bank vegetation. 4