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?.f~"ilIPJGS : GREii~i RIVE Ir~,'ESTIGATIGNS FISHERY STUDIES -34- A total of 16 species of fish were collected from the Green River drainage within the impoundment area of the Flaming Gorge Reservoir, and ,n 29 miles of river below the dam site. All of the river and its tribu- tary streams in the study area above gorge were thoroughly sampled. Al- t:~ough some samples were obtained in a few deep bays, intensive collecting ::the Flaming Gorge area was nearly impossible because of the deep, swift craters. The fish collections were made throughout July and most of August, ccc -,.; There are a wide variety of ecological niches in the river (Tables ~, 10 and ll) and tributaries (Table 12 ), and a diversity of species. :,e humpback sucker, Colorado River squawfish, channel catfish and black c~.:llhead were found only in the Flaming Gorge section of the river. While 'o t:'C'1t ^~ 1,+ ._~a r+,,n, ±w., f;=e=-- ~; .. ..~ £.. ,.~~ ..,, t,~ ea ::'es oaJ Va.i _ "~ -'- :'cr rr~r r , o'r'es ='s~ Ci e~,7 e_ `r' u _:: it at the confluence of Carter Creek. Brown, rainbow and cutthroat tro~st were collected from several tributary streams in Utah. The flannel- =otth sucker and bonytail chub seemed to be evenly distributed throughout t:~e river. The largest population of minnows, redside shiner and speckled dace, were encountered from ZO to IS miles below the town of Green River, ~~7oning. Carp are common in the gorge area, but are sparsely found in ~~e i*^.poundment area north of the Utah-Wyoming state line . -sh S_ ec_ ies 'anne7mouth Sucker Catostomus latipinnis Baird and Girard This species was readily collected from most sections of the Green =ver and larger tributary streams. To give and indication of its abund- `~ce, 40 feet of primacord was exploded in a deep pool 4 miles above the =orfluence of Blacks Fork in the river, and 31 flannelmouths, ranging in =0tal length 4.3 to 18.1 inches, floated to the surface. This sucker 'O~Stitt~ted 1.1+.7 percent of all fish collected in the river. A total °-^gth range for this species was 1.~ to 21.9 inches. The largest `?eCLnan weighed 3.5 pounds and was 21.9 inches in total length. In Wyoming the flannelmouth sucker spawns at approximately the same '~~° as trout in the tributary streams, and causes interference by its `~°Sence. It is primarily a herbivorous feeder, but has been accused of obi . '~ing trout spawn (Simon, 194b). yyye`1ead mountain sucker Pantosteus delphinus (Cope) The bluehead mountain sucker was collected throughout the impound- ~p'~° area from a variety of habitats, but the larger specimens were taken ~'07 the river in the Flaming Gorge. This species constituted 4.1 percent