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r <br />Considerable size variation was evident among all species harvested (Tables <br />22 and 23). Lake trout were consistently the largest of all species harvested, <br />except in the Inflow Area during 1978. Mean lengths and weights of lake trout <br />increased dramatically in the Inflow from 1978 to 1982 and surpassed the brown <br />trout in 1982. Generally, average lengths and weights were the largest for all <br />species in the open Hills, with the exception of brown trout in 1978. Brown <br />trout are stocked only in the Inflow Area and usually adult fish dominate the <br />catch in the Canyon. The decrease in mean lengths and weights of brown trout in <br />the Inflow and Open Hills in 1982 can be attributed to the large numbers of <br />brown trout planted in 1980 and 1981. Smallmouth bass were the smallest of all <br />sport fish harvested in the reservoir. Mean lengths and weights of rainbow <br />trout for the reservoir as a whole remained the same during the project period. <br />The mean length and weight of kokanee salmon harvested from Flaming Gorge was <br />considerably larger than the mean length and weight of the average rainbow trout <br />harvested. <br />A summary of the monthly harvest and creel rates (Table 24) from Flaming <br />Gorge during 1982 indicate mean harvest and creel rates increase to and peak <br />during the month of July. Harvest then declines through the remainder of the <br />year with minor increases in September and November. Catch rates decrease from <br />the July peak until October, when catch rates increased and then remained <br />unchanged for the rest of the year. Fishing in the Canyon peaks in July. June <br />is the peak month in the Open Hills. Fishing in the Inflow Area peaks in May <br />and November with the best fishing during the month of November. Harvest esti- <br />mates show that 23 percent of the brown trout harvest during 1982 occurred in <br />November, while the months of May, June, and July account for 41 percent of the <br />total lake trout harvest. <br />Flaming Gorge Reservoir yielded an average of 4.7 pounds/surface acre during <br />the project period (Table 25). The estimates range from a low of 3.46 <br />pounds/surface acre during 1981 to a high of 5.36 pounds/surface acre during <br />1978 and 1979. <br />Schmidt et al. (1980b, 1982a, and 1982b) analyzed fishing effort directed at <br />each species of game fish and creel rates obtained from anglers fishing for par- <br />ticular species on Flaming Gorge. The majority of the fishing effort during the <br />study period was directed toward small trout, primarily rainbow trout. Nearly <br />all shore fishing is directed towards small trout, while boat fishing pressure <br />is directed towards several species. These include the categories headed by <br />rainbow trout and lake trout. Fishing for trophy brown trout has subsided since <br />1979, while interest in trophy lake trout fishing has increased since 1979. <br />Anglers fishing specifically for smallmouth bass and small trout have the <br />highest catch rates. Fishermen fishing specifically for the lake trout and <br />brown trout have the lowest catch rates. Fishing for trophy species has lowered <br />the mean catch rate for all species of fish in the reservoir. <br />The car counter data collected during the 1982 intensive creel 'survey was <br />analyzed by Steve Yundt, Fish Population Biologist, Wyoming Game and Fish <br />Department, Laramie, Wyoming. A multiple regression model was developed using <br />the car count information from the eight car counters located in Wtoming and <br />Utah on a monthly basis. The monthly car counts were regressed against esti- <br />mated monthly fishing pressure. Using the Lucerne and Sheep Creek car counters, <br />the coefficient of determination (r2) was calculated to be 0.91. A considerable <br /> <br />-38- h