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Drift net samples collected in the Green River just upstream of the Yampa River in 2002 <br />to 2004 were used to describe species composition and abundance patterns of fish larvae <br />transported downstream and to determine if upstream spawning of Colorado pikeminnow had <br />occurred. Samples were collected daily in the morning (ca. 0700 to 0900 h) with conical drift <br />nets (0.15 mZ mouth diameter, 4 m long, 560 µm mesh) set near shore in water 30 to 50-cm deep. <br />Three nets were set on each sampling occasion for up to 2 h, but sampling ceased if debris load <br />exceeded 3.8 L/sample. Water depth at which a white object disappeared from sight was <br />recorded as a measure of water turbidity. General Oceanics flow meters (model 2030) <br />suspended in each net mouth recorded water velocity. Samples were fixed immediately in 100% <br />ethanol and fish were removed from debris within 4 h and preserved in 100% ethanol. Ethanol <br />was used to ensure that fish otoliths or other tissues were useful for later analysis, if desired. <br />Collection of large-bodied fish.-Most collections of large-bodied fishes were by <br />electrofishing and (mostly in Whirlpool Canyon) trammel nets; angling was used on a limited <br />basis. Two electrofishing sampling trips were made each year from 2002 to 2004, one in mid to <br />late July and one in mid to late September. Inflatable raft-based Smith-Root electrofishers were <br />employed. Water conductivity was 300 to 700 microsiemens and electrofishing units usually <br />produced 3-6 amperes with about 350 volts. Generally, 1.5 to 3 km reaches were electrofished <br />before fish were identified, and lengths and weights taken on about every other sample. <br />Electrofishing effort was continuous throughout the reach and concentrated along river banks, in <br />deep pools, riffles, eddies, or near cover. We attempted to capture all fishes that were stunned. <br />Electrofishing samples collected in 2002 in summer (both rafts) and autumn (one raft) were <br />potentially biased downward compared to samples collected in 2003 and 2004 because the anode <br />and cathode plugs were switched. This caused the relatively small surface area dropper sphere in <br />the front of the raft to become the cathode and the relatively large surface area cables positioned <br />mid-raft to become the anodes. The result was fewer fish were attracted to the anode and <br />sometimes came up at the side of the raft rather than the front, which resulted in less efficient <br />sampling. However, mean capture rate of all species combined over the study period was only <br />slightly higher when the 2002 data was excluded (2.65 fish/h average per all species, 95% CI = <br />9