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light traps, and drift nets. Multiple fish collection techniques were used in order to sample the <br />entire fish community, and most techniques were used throughout the study reach. Occasionally, <br />trammel nets were set as far up stream as 1.25 miles above Grassy Trail Creek. In 1997, fish <br />were collected from Apri121 to September 17. Sampling vras again confined to the lower 48.75 <br />river miles (Figure 2), except for one day of sampling in a pool located below Farnham <br />Diversion (river mile 88.5). Boat electrofishing, trammel nets, and the seine were deployed on a <br />monthly basis each year. Drift nets and hoop nets were used sporadically each year. Backpack <br />electrofishing, minnow traps, and light traps were not used during 1997 due to their poor <br />efficiency in 1996 and higher water conditions observed in 1997. Higher water levels in 1997 <br />also limited the amount of data collected with the seine, hoop net, and drift nets. <br />Boat electrofishing was conducted from a plastic canoe operated by two people. Initially, <br />all areas of the river were sampled, but it quickly became clear that nearly all of the fish were <br />captured near the banks. Due to this observation, the banks were the only portion of the river <br />sampled with boat-electrofishing gear after the first sampling trip. The person in the stern of the <br />canoe steered the boat and controlled the electrofishing equipment. Current was produced by a <br />gasoline-powered generator and controlled with a Coffelt VVP-15 electrofishing unit. A <br />spherical cathode was used along with an anode consisting of three cable droppers. Voltage was <br />varied in order to keep output current at approximately 6 amperes. The person in the bow of the <br />canoe netted fish that were stunned by the electricity. All captured fish were held in a bucket of <br />water until they could be measured to the nearest millimeter and weighed to the nearest gram. <br />Colorado pikeminnow longer than 175 millimeters were also PIT tagged, and all fish were <br />released after data collection was complete. <br />Backpack electrofishing was attempted by a two person crew in 1996. One person <br />carved a Coffelt Mark X electrofishing unit. Voltage was varied in order to keep the output <br />current near 1 ampere. The second person netted fish and carried them in a bucket of water until <br />they could be measured to the nearest millimeter, weighed to the nearest gram, and released. <br />Due to poor sampling efficiency, this technique was only used one time. <br />Trammel nets were used in runs that were at least two feet deep. Nets were anchored to <br />shore or an island, and weighted to keep them on the bottom of the river. The nets were 75 feet <br />long and six feet deep, with 12-inch square walls. Two mesh sizes were used. Some nets had <br />one-half inch square mesh and others had one-inch square mesh. Half-inch-mesh nets rapidly <br />filled with debris, so they were used less frequently than one-inch-mesh nets. Initially, nets were <br />set overnight, but set time was later reduced to two hours in order to reduce fish mortality. All <br />fish captured were measured, weighed, and released (if alive). Trammel nets were used more <br />frequently in 1996 than in 1997 due to the habitat conditions present each year. <br />Seining was done in low velocity areas. The seine was 13 feet long, 4 feet deep, and had <br />1/16-inch mesh. Captured fish were identified in the field when possible. A subsample of fish <br />were measured, and all fish were released. If fish were too small or too numerous to be <br />identified in the field, they were preserved in alcohol and transported to a laboratory for <br />identification. Seining was done more often in 1996 than in 1997 due to more favorable habitat <br />conditions for seining in 1996. <br />A-two-foot diameter hoop net with'/z-inch square mesh was used in slow runs that were <br />at Least 2 feet deep. The cod end of the net was anchored to the shore, and the mouth of the net <br />was weighted to keep it on the bottom. The net also had wings to direct fish toward the mouth of <br />the net. Set times ranged from approximately 2 to 12 hours. All fish captured in the net were <br />4 <br />