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Abundance reductions for many native fishes between the 1994 to 1996 and 2002 to 2004 <br />sampling periods led us to examine if seasonal differences in catch rates or differences in <br />environmental factors such as turbidity influenced capture rates: Changes in seasonal capture <br />rates among the two sampling periods were postulated because two of the four sampling trips in <br />the 1994 to 1996 period were in spring and one in each of summer and autumn. Conversely, in <br />the 2002 to 2004 period only summer and autumn electrofishing sampling (one per year, total of <br />three summer and three autumn samples) were conducted. Thus, fifty percent of samples were <br />taken during spring in the 1994 to 1996 period, a time of relatively low capture rates, and 50% of <br />samples in the 2002 to 2004 period were taken in the autumn season, a time of relatively high <br />catch rates. Because of these differences, we believe that relatively low catch rates in the recent <br />period were not a function of differences in sampling seasons among the studies. Differences in <br />the two periods may even be conservative because more samples in the 1994 to 1996 period <br />were collected in spring when capture rates were relatively low. We also do not think catch rate <br />differences were due to crew or gear differences, because similar personnel, gear, and methods <br />were used in each of the two time periods. <br />Comparison of seasonal differences in catch rates from the 2002 to 2004 period <br />suggested CPUE was substantially higher in autumn than in summer for most species. Higher <br />capture rates in autumn suggested that monitoring sampling for most species may be best <br />conducted at that time. A negative aspect of autumn sampling is that detection of ripe Colorado <br />pikeminnow would not be possible. Higher species richness in autumn electrofishing samples <br />from 2002 to 2004 is additional support to conduct adult fish monitoring in autumn. <br />We expected capture rates of fish to decline when water was turbid compared to when <br />water was clear, because fish presumably would be more difficult to see and capture. When all <br />available data in both 1994 to 1996 and 2002 to 2004 periods was analyzed, we found this was <br />not true because capture rates were similar in turbid and clear water. Comparison of capture <br />rates for some of the more common species (brown trout, flannelmouth sucker, and bluehead <br />sucker) and ones of particular interest (Colorado pikeminnow, smallmouth bass) were also <br />similar in turbid and clear water. This suggested that monitoring sampling should not be <br />39