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reproduction is sufficient to maintain the population. Smallmouth bass may be <br />an important addition to the Inflow fishery during the summer months when trout <br />habitat is nearly eliminated by high water temperatures and poor concentrations <br />of dissolved oxygen. <br />Plants of channel catfish should be continued for the same reasons. Only <br />119,394 fish have been planted in 3 years and only 4,000 of these fish were over <br />5 inches in length. Some returns to the creel were noted during 1982 from the <br />1980 plant of 9 inch channel catfish. Unfortunately, sub-catchable catfish are <br />presently difficult to obtain in trade with other states. Therefore, larger <br />numbers of smaller catfish will be needed if the species is to be given a good <br />chance of establishing in the Inflow Area. <br />Forage Fish <br />The.. t i*ub' has`been the chief forage fish for brown and lake trout in " <br />Flaming Gorge. However, rainbow trout have never utilized the Utah chub forage <br />base in the reservoir to any great extent. Perhaps a wild lacustrine strain of <br />rainbow would use forage fish (Utah chub). On the other hand, the Utah chub <br />forage base may not have been available or were too large for rainbow trout. <br />Even more recently, there have been signs that the g- <br />b`14- C. > even be.declining. Based upon these observations, the or <br />a,,?*Mitsk strtMduction began with a review. of the literature in 1978 <br />(Schmidt et al. 1980a). In 1980, four potential forage species were selected, <br />based upon their pelagic nature, ability to compete with Utah chubs and white <br />suckers for available plankton and their usefulness as a forage fish in other <br />waters. Proposed for immediate introduction were the Bear Lake sculpin and <br />Bonneville Cisco. The two other species selected for later introduction, after <br />initial plants could be studied in other Wyoming reservoirs were the spottail <br />shiner (Notropis hudsonius) and lake emerald shiner (Notropis atherinoides). <br />Only the Bear Lake sculpin and Bonneville cisco have been planted in Flaming <br />Gorge. <br />Introductions began in 1980 and were completed in 1983 by the Utah Division <br />of Wildlife Resources. The stocking program was originally scheduled to last <br />five years, but financial cutbacks forced completion of the program in 1983. <br />The Bonneville cisco has never been successfully introduced into any other water <br />from it's endemic home in Bear Lake, Utah. The success of the Bonneville cisco <br />introductions depends upon how many fish can survive to reproduce at 3 to 5 <br />years of age and if the fish can find suitable spawning habitat. The success of <br />the Bear Lake sculpin plants has yet to be determined, although adult sculpin <br />from the 1980 or 1981 plants have been identified in a few smallmouth bass sto- <br />machs. Flaming Gorge has a small population of indigenous mottled sculpin <br />(Cottus bairdi), which are found mostly in streams and rivers. The Bear Lake <br />sculpin, which is a lake dwelling sculpin, should be more suited to the reser- <br />voir environment than the mottled sculpin. <br />Introductions of spottail and emerald shiners in Boysen, Grayrocks, Keyhole, <br />Seminoe, and Pathfinder Reservoirs have been initiated by the Wyoming Game and <br />Fish Department. Their introduction into Flaming Gorge will depend upon their <br />- suitability as a forage fish and their natural reproductive capability in the <br />other Wyoming reservoirs. If the kokanee salmon becomes an important forage <br />-19-