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Home My WebLink AboutAPA2837·--_..........'~.__-:-..i-.....;.' .,l:1,8Jt 4iRi .,., ALASKADEP-~OF FlsJi $c ..CIAAE 33r Ras~tWRd:\ Anch~.AIG~,~~l8-t5f9, ! ~,,-~ASKA PEPARTMENr OR('l=~$HAt-JD C3AME:> SI1SITNA HYQIilOAQUATIOSTU[)IES REPORT SERIES ,.'""\ REPORT NO.7 r,<1/ ",1'..'-".'",I .,,'~:iR£SlOENT~NDJt1VENrLEANAORbMCUSFISH INVi;STIGATIONS{MAY -\O~Tq8ER19~4) """'j -~;,'..I ",).-I /' RA'RT 3 -. TK. 1425 .88 *A6S no.2837 i.; f...... I, r r Document No.2837 Susitna File No.4.3.1.6 '-K Pi~S I~~ A-(~)S na.~C6 sg ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME SUSITNA RIVER AQUATIC STUDIES PROGRAM ARLIS Alaska Resources Library &InfonnatlOn ServIces Anchorage.Alaska REPORT NO.7 RESIDENT AND JUVENILE ANADROMCUS FISH INVESTIGATIONS (MAY -OCTOBER 198~) PART 3 1 Editors:Dana C.Schmidt,Stephen S.Hale, and Drew L.Crawford Prepared for:Al aska Power Author;ty 334 W.Fifth Avenue,Second Floor Anchorage,Alaska 99501 July 1985 DCNO;>Y37 ARLIS Alaska Resources Library &Jnformat1on Services Anch.)r:oiJ;e.Alaska '"""PREFACE This report is one of a series of reports prepared for the Alaska Power Authority (APA)by the Al aska Department of Fi sh and Game (ADF&G)to provide information to be used in evaluating the feasibil i ty of the proposed Susitna Hydroelectric Project.The ADF&G Susitna River Aquatic Studies Program was initiated in November 1980. The report covers studi es conducted from May through October 1984 of juvenile salmon and resident fish species of the Susitna ·River.In addition.some information is included on overwintering of resident fish radio-tagged in 1983.The majority of the effort during the 1984 open-water season was on the lower river (from the mouth to the Chulitna River confluence).No studies were conducted this year in the area above Devil canyon.This volume consists of three parts. Part 1 (RSA Tasks 16A and 16B)covers the migration and growth of juvenile sallOOn.Coded wire tagging of chum and sockeye fry in the middle river (Chulitna River confluence to Devil Canyon)and collecting of all species of outmigrating fry at Talkeetna Station were similar to 1983 studies.In addition.a mark-and-recapture cold branding study was conducted in tributaries,sloughs,and side channels of the middle river to obtain estimates of chinook and coho juvenile salmon population size and residence time in these rearing areas.Also.outmigrant traps were operated near the mouth of the river at Flathorn Station (River Mile 22.4)to obtain a timing inde.x of outmigration from the lower river. A statistical time series analysis of 1983 and 1984 discharge,' turbidity,and juvenile salmon outmigration data from the middle river is included as an appendix. Studies of the distribution and relative abundance of juvenile salmon and modelling of rearing habitat in the lower river are discussed in Part 2 (RSA Tasks 14 and 36).These studi es were simil ar to those conducted in the middle r'iver in 1983 •.Habitat suitabi1 ity criteria developed for the middle river were used for the lower river unless evidence of different conditions in the lower river necessitated modifi- cations.Results from habitat modelling at 14 RJHAB model sites and 6 IFIM model sites are presented.The RJHAB and IFIM model s were compared by using both at two sites.IFIM model cal ibration is contained in Appendix D. Part 3 (RSA Task 14)presents the results of resident fish studies in both the middle and lower river.Monitoring of fish movement through use of radio tags was continued.Index sites in the middle river were sampled as part of the long term monitoring effort.Population esti- mates for rainbow trout,Arctic grayling,round whitefish,and longnose suckers in the middle river were made from multiple year mark-recapture data. Questions concerning this report should be directed to: Alaska Power Authority 334 West 5th Avenue Anchorage,Alaska 99501 Telephone:(907)276-0001 r r F'" I I ~ I Report Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 TITLES IN THIS SERIES Title Adult Anadromous Fish Investigations: May ~October 1983 Resident and Juvenile Anadromous Fish Investigations:May -October 1983 Aquatic Habitat and Instream Flow Investigations:May -October 1983 Access and Transmission Corridor Aquatic Investigations:May -October 1983 Winter Aquatic Investigations: September 1983 to May 1984 Adult Anadromous Fish Investigations: May -October 1984 Resident and Juvenile Anadromous Fish Investigations:May -October 1984 Availability of Invertebrate Food Sources for Rearing Juvenile Chinook Salmon in Turbid Susitna River Habitats Summary of Salmon Fishery Data for Selected Middle Susitna River Sites Publication Date April 1984 July 1984 September 1984 September 1984 March 1985 June 1985 July 1985 1985 June 1985 r '-, F" Part 1. Part 2. ~- Part 3. ~ ""'., , ~ , ~ r CONTENTS OF REPORT NO.7 The Migration and Growth of Juvenile Salmon in the Susitna River. The Relative Abundance,Distribution,and Instream Flow Relationships of Juvenile Salmon in the lower Susitna River. Resident Fish Distribution and life History in the Susitna River below Devil Canyon. F F PART 3 Resident Fish Distribution and Life Histo~ in the Susitna River belowOevfl Canyon ,i~ - .- .- .- ,~ RESIDENT FISH DISTRIBUTION AND LIFE HISTORY IN THE SUSITNA RIVER BELOW DEVIL CANYON Report No.7,Part 3 by Richard L.Sundet and Stuart D.Pechek Susitna River Aquatic Studies Program Alaska Department of Fish and Game 620 E.10th Avenue,Suite 302 Anchorage,Alaska 99501 ABSTRACT Studies of resident fish were conducted in both the lower (below Chulitna River confluence)and middle (Devil Canyon to Chulitna River confluence)Susitna River in 1984.The primary objectives in the middle river were to determine the seasonal distribution,timing of spawning, and spawning areas of rainbow trout,and to monitor 13 index sites as part of the long term monitoring effort.Most of the rainbow trout data was collected by use of radio telemetry.Results showed that rainbow trout are relatively few in numbers and that spawning occurs at selected areas which are influenced by lakes.Much of the rainbow trout population in the middle river probably originates in lakes which drain into middle river tributaries.Rainbow trout were abundant in lakes located at the headwaters of Fourth of July Creek and in the upper reaches of Portage Creek.Rainbow trout were also found to use Portage Creek more extensively than previously thought.Spawning occurred during the first week of June.All rainbow trout moved out of tributaries by early October (probably triggered by low fall discharges),and most overwintered in the mainstem Susitna River slightly downstream (0.1-4.0 miles)of the tributary where they were captured.Other middle river studies suggest Arctic grayling overwinter in the mainstem Susitna then ascend and spawn in tributaries in late May.Arctic grayling also outmigrated from tributaries at the same time as rainbow trout.Catch data at middle river index sites in 1984 were similar to 1982 and 1983 findings.Studies in the lower river reinforced the belief that some humpback whitefish are anadromous,and that rainbow trout and Arctic grayling outmigrate from most east side tributaries in September.Lower river studies also found that burbot move into the Deshka River in mid-September. i ABSTRACT .••••••.•••• TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................i LIST OF FIGURES •• LIST OF TABLES ••• LIST OF PLATES •••••••••••• LIST OF APPENDIX FIGURES. .................................................'. ................................................................... ........................'.. ................................................ v vii viii ix LIST OF APPENDIX TABLES...........................................xi METHODS ••••••••••• 1.0 2.0 I NTRODUCT ION ' '•••••••.••••.• .............................................. 1 2 ........................................ ............................-. 2.1.1 2.1.2 2.1.3 - 2.1 2.2 Study locations •••••••• Relative abundance •••• Population estimates •• Radio telemetry ••••••••• Data Collection •••••••• ... .............. 2 2 4 4 4 -2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 Relative abundance ••• Population estimates. Radio telemetry......................4 7 7 ..................... 3.0 Equi pment .......•...... Transmitter implantation •• Tracking .•.•....••••...•• RESUl TS .••••••••••.•••••••••••••••••.•••••••••••••••••.•••••• 7 9 11 12 3.1 Distribution and Relative Abundance of Resident Fish on the Lower Susitna River •.•.••.•.•..•••.••...•.•••••12 - 3.1.1 3.1.2 3.1.3 3.1.4 3.1.5 3.1.6 Ra i nbow trout ...• Burbot ....'.•.... Arctic grayling .• Round whitefish .•. Humpback whitefish. Longnose suckers ..•. ii 12 12 12 p_... 13 14 TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) 3.1.7 Other species •••.•.....................................14 ·..-.·.·.·. 14 15 15 15 Doll y Va rde n.. . . .. . . . . . . . •. .4'• • • • • • • • • ••• Northern pike •••••••.••••••• Threespine stickleback. Ninespine stickleback •• Arctic lamprey •••••••.• Resident Fish Index Site Monitoring on the Middle Susitna River ••••••••.••••••••••••••••.16 16 16 16 ............. ......................'... sites . Tributary mouth sites ••.••••• Slough Mainstem sites ........••••••.•.••.•..'.•.•••..•..•.. 3.2.1 3.2.2 3.2.3 3.2 Radio Telemetry Studies of Selected Resident Fish on the Middle Susitna River •••••••••••••••••••••••. Rainbow trout ••••••••••••••••• '.-I {- j 3.3 3.3.1 3.3.2 3.3.3 Burbot .•..•..•'. Arct ic grayl i"g .•••.•••••. ............'.·. 18 18 26 28 3.4 Other Resident Fish Studies on the Middle River ••..••.•••••28 ........................................................3.4.1 3.4.2 Lake·surveys ••••••.•.•.• Tag-and-recapture stud;es •••• 28 28 ·.·.... ~ I( Rainbow trout •••••••••.••• Bu 'rbot .•....••..•..••.•••. Arctic grayling ••••••.•••• Round whitefish ••.•.•••.•. Humpback whitefish •••••••• Longnose suckers ••..• Dolly Varden .•••••••. ....................28 30 30 30 30 30 31 4.0 DISCUSSION...32 4.1 Lower Susitna River .32 Rainbow trout .•..•••.•• Arctic grayling .....•.•. Round whitefish ••.•••. Humpback whitefish ••.. Longnose suckers ....••. Other spec;es •• ....... 4.1.1 4.1.2 4.1.3 4.1.4 4.1.5 4.1.6 4.1.7 Burbot .................................. 32 32 33 34 35 35 35 Dolly Va rden . Northern pike ...•...... Threespine stickleback. Ninespine stickleback .. Arctic lamprey ...•..•.. 35 35 36 36 36 iii f,~ ) TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) 4.2 Middle Susitna River.......................................37 4.2.1 Ra.i nb-ow trout..........................................374.2.2 Burbot.................................................42 4.2.3 Arctic grayling •.••••••••••-.............................43 4.2 •4 R-ound whi tef ish.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••4-4 4.2.5 Humpback whi tefi sh.••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••45 4.2.6 Longnose suckers.......................................45 4.2.7 Other s,pecies....................................45 Dol1y Var-den...........................................45Lak:e trout.............................................46 Threespine stickleback.................................46 -5.0 CONTRIBUTORS ••••••••••••••••••••••••.••••••••••••••••••••••••47 - ..... - 6.0 ACKNOWL:EDGEMENTS..•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••48 7.0 LITERATURE CITED.............................................49 8.0 APPENDICES Appendix A -Floy anchor tag retention rates Appendix B -Radio tagged fish tagging and habitat data Appendix C -Population and biological characteristics Appendix D -Population estimates Appendix E -Middle river index site catch data and descriptions.and spawning rainbow trout habitat data iv 1~"Ilro,. I( LIST OF FIGURES Figure Title 1 Resident fish study sites on the Susitna River between the Chulitna River confluence and Devi 1 Ca nyon,1984 ••..•...•.•.•......•..........•.......3 ~ 2 3 4 ~ 5 6 Fourth of July Creek drainage...........................5 Lower Portage Creek drainage............................5 Movement of 12 radio tagged rainbow trout in the Susitna River below Devil Canyon,June 1983 to May 1984 •....,.. . .... . . . . . •. . •••. . . •••. •. . . . •. . . ..19 Movement of five radio tagged rainbow trout in the Susitna River below Devil Canyon,Septem- ber 1983 to October 1984................................20 Movement of four radio tagged rainbow trout in Fourth of July Creek,May to October 1984...............22 7 Movement of six radio tagged rainbow trout in Indian River,May to October 1984.......................22 - 8 9 10 11 12 13 Movement of five radio tagged rainbow trout in the Susitna River,May to December 1984.................22 Movement of five spawning rainbow trout, tagged at TRM 2.3 Portage Creek,in Portage Creek and then in the mainstem Susitna River, May to December 1984.At capture,all five fish were pre-spawners..................................23 Movement of five rainbow trout and one Arctic grayl ing in Portage Creek and then in the mainstem Susitna River,May to December 1984............24 Movement of four radio tagged rainbow trout in Fourth of July Creek and then into the main- stem Susitna River,May to December 1984................25 Frequency distribution of radio tagged rainbow trout locations in tributaries,at tributary mouths,and in the mainstem Susitna River during 1984.............................................27 Mean surface water temperatures in Fourth of July Creek correlated to four spawning radio tagged rainbow trout I s movement from the Susitna River into Fourth of July Creek,1984...........38 LIST OF FIGURES (Continued) Figure Title r-t - 14 Mean surface water temperatures and relative depths in Portage Creek correlated to seven radio tagged rainbow trout's maximum movement and their outmigration into the mainstem Susitna River,1984................41 vi r""" ! ~,' LIST OF TABLES [l- I \ r Table 1 2 3 Title Page Resident fish sampling schedule at tributaries in the middle reach of the Susitna River, 1984 '.. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Habitat data collected at RM 57.2 where 50 ninespine stickleback were captured,August 5, 1984.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . .15 Boat electrofishing catch and catch per unit effort (CPUE)of four resident fish species in the middle Susitna River by three macrohabitat types.CPUE is in parenthesis,and the units. are catch per minute....................................17 .... - - 4 Catch data of resident fish species·in the middle river at opportunistic and lake sites, May to Octobe r 19~4 ••••••••••••••••••••••'.•••• ••••••••••29 vii LIST OF PLATES 0"''''I, I r~ f Plate 1 Title Page Boat electrofishing in the mainstem Susitna River at RM 147.8 andanglfng at TRM 2.3 of Portage Creek,June 1984................................6 2 Locating a radio tagged rainbow trout in the mainstem at RM 111.4 and measuring water velocities at this location,February 1984 •...••..••.••.8 "- 3 Implanting a radio tag into the abdomen of a rainbow trout (on left)and externally radio taggi ng a ra i nbow trout (on ri ght)••••••••••••••••••••••10 viii LIST OF APPENDIX FIGURES A~pendiX F gure Title - -, C-1 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 C-6 Length frequency composition of rainbow trout captured in the Susitna River between Cook Inlet and Devil Canyon by all gear types,May to October 1984.. . •••. •••••. •••. . •••••. . •••. . . . . .••. . . •. ••.... . . . . .C-3 Length frequency compos i ti on of burbot cap- tured in the Susitna River between Cook Inlet and Devil Canyon by all gear types,May to October 1984............................................C-3 Length frequency compos iti on of Arct ic gray- ling captured in the Susitna River between Cook Inlet and Devil Canyon by all gear types, May to October 1984 ..•.•................................C-4 Length frequency compos it i on of round whi te- fish captured in the Susitna River between Cook Inlet and Devil Canyon by all gear types, May to October 1984 ....•...•............................C-4 Length frequency compos it i on of humpback whitefish captured 1n the Susitna River between Cook Inlet and Devil Canyon by all gear types,May to October 1984 C-5 Length frequency compos i ti on of longnose suckers captured in the Susitna River between Cook Inlet and Devil Canyon by all gear types, May to October 1984 .....•..........•...........•........C-S C-7 Timing of 1984 rainbow trout and Arctic grayling spawning in the middle Susitna River determi ned by the inc i dence of pre-to post-spawners .•.........................................C-7 - .,... C-8 C-9 Age and length relationships for spawning ra inbow trout captured in the Sus itna Ri ver between the Chulitna River confluence and Devil Canyon,May 17 through June 27,1984 •••••.•••.....C-8 Age and length relationships for spawning Arctic grayling captured in the Susitna River between the Chulitna River confluence and Devil Canyon,May 17 to June 5,1984 .•....•.•••..••.0 •••C-9 ix f~ r- I .i""'" II. r -- LIST OF APPENDIX FIGURES (Continued) Aependix F1gure Title Page C-IO Age and length relationships for spawning round whitefish in the Susitna River between Cook Inlet and Devil Canyon~October 9 to Octo;ber 15,1984 -....•.•..•.......•............C-IO C-ll Age and length relationships for pre-spawning rainbow trout captured in lakes Cand D at the headwaters of Fourth of July Creek,September 14 s 1984...................................................C-l1 C-12 Age and length relationships for rainbow trout captured in the Susitna River between the Chul i tna River confl uence and Devil Canyon, May to October 1984 •..•...••.•.•..•.......•.••........•.C-13 C-13 Survival rate curves for rainbow trout cap- tured in the Susitna River between the Chuli tna River confl uence and Devi 1 Canyon, 1983 and 1984 .................•-I •••••••••••,.••••••••••••C-14 x B-2 LIST OF APPENDIX TABLES wendix Ta61e Title Page B-1 SUlI1IJary of taggi ng data for radio tagged rainbow trout captured on the Susitna River between the Chulitna River confluence and Devil Canyon,May to July 1984 •••••••••••••••••••••••••.8-1 Radio tagged rainbow trout habitat measure- ments taken at their relocations in January. and February 1984.Fi sh were tagged in 1983............B-3 ~ 0-1- 0-2-E-l 1""" ~ I -i C-l C-2 C-3 E-2 Length data for resident fish captured on the Susftna River.1984.....................................C-2 Fork lengths (mm)of sexually mature and immature resident fish captured on the Susitna River,1984 ••••••.•.•.....•...•............•........•...C-6 Rainbow trout age-length relationships on the Susitna River between the Chul itna River confluence and Devil Canyon,May to October 1984.Fish were captured by all methods •••.••••.•.•••.•C-12 Population estimates,using the Jolly-Seber and Bailey methods,for four species of resident fish in the middle river,1981-84 •••....•••.•..0-2 Tag retention rates......................................0-3 Boat electrofishing catch and catch per unit effort (CPLlE)of four resident fish species at 13 index sites in the middle reach of the Susitna River in 1984.CPUE is in parenthesis,and the units are catch per mi nute.••••••••••••••••.••••..•.•..••••.••..•••••.. •....E-2 Habitat characteristics and measurements taken at spawning rainbow trout sites in 1984 ••••.•....••.....E-4 xi rr I~ l ..- i I I ~ "'"' .... 1.0 INTRODUCTION Since November 1980,Resident Fish Studies have been conducted in the Susitna River drainage to more accurately determine the distribution and relative abundance of resident fish.In 1982,resident fish abundance were compared at mainstem,slough,and tributary mouth macrohabitats (Suchanek and Hale 1983).In 1983,studies focused more on the middle reach of ri ver because constructi on of the proposed hydroe 1ectri c dams would affect this reach of river most.Microhabitat suitability criteria and population estimates were developed for rainbow trout (Salmo ~airdneri Richardson)and burbot (lota lata Linnaeus)in selected areas uring 1983 (Suchanek et al.19~!iJrldet and Wenger 1984). Rainbow trout and burbot movements were more clearly defined using radio telemetry in 1982 and 1983 (AOF&G 1983c;Sundet and Wenger 1984).Data from these studies and catch data has shown burbot most often reside in the mainstem in sumner and in both mainstem and some tributaries in winter.These data also show rainbow trout migrate between tributaries and the mainstem during sumner and all overwinter in the mainstern. Duri ng 1982 and 1983,information collected on spawning fi sh suggests that burbot and round whitefish (Prosopium cylindraceum Pallus)are mainstem spawners.Surbot were also suspected to spawn;n some lower river tributaries during these years (ADF&G 1983c). This report primarily addresses resident fish studies conducted during the 1984 open-water season.However,fish movements monitored by radio telemetry are presented from December 1,1983 to the open-water season (for winter monitoring of 1983 radio tagged fish)and after the open- water season to December 1,1984 (to show movement patterns of summer 1984 tagged fish during the transition period from open-water to winter conditions).Although sampling primarily occurred in the mainstem Susitna River between Cook Inlet and Devil Canyon,sampling also occurred at several tributaries in this reach of river. The primary emphasis of Resident Fish Studies in 1984 was to further determine the seasonal distribution,timing of spawning,and locations of spawning for rainbow trout above Talkeetna using radio telemetry. Studies in 1984 also furthered our knowledge of resident fish distribution in the Susitna River below Talkeetna. The radio telemetry program;n the Susitna River below Talkeetna in 1984 monitored rainbow trout and burbot movements.Fish below Talkeetna as well as several fish in the middle river were radio tagged after August 1984.This report will include radio tagged fish monitoring data from December 1983 to December 1984.Since data from fish radio tagged after August are limited,these data will be presented in a report to be published in November 1985 covering winter 1984-85 studies. In addition to radio telemetry studies,13 resident fish index areas between Talkeetna and Devil Canyon were sampled regularly during 1984 to evaluate trends in abundance of resident fish.These 13 index areas, which have been sampled each year since 1982,encompass three macro- habitat types (tributary mouths,sloughs,and rna instem).By annua 11y monitoring these sites where larger concentrations of resident fish have traditionally been found in comparison to other sites,the effects of the proposed hydroelectric dams to resident fish populations can be assessed. 1 r~ i I - -~ 2.0 METHODS 2.1 Study Locations 2.1.1 Relative abundance Thirteen index sites between Talkeetna and Devil Canyon were sampled twice per month by boat electrofishing to monitor seasonal trends in relative abundance of resident fish (Figure 1).Site descriptions of Skull Creek (RM 124.7),Susitna Mainstem -West Bank (RM's 137.3-138.3), Susitna Mainstem (RM's 147.0-148.0),and Susitna Mainstem -Eddy (RM 150.1)are provided in Appendix E,while the remaining nine site descriptions are presented in Appendix F of Aquatic Instream Flow Studies,1982 (ADF&G 1983d).In addition,other mainstem,side channel, slough,and tributary sites on the Susitna River between Cook Inlet and Devil Canyon were sampled intermittently. Several tributaries in the middle reach of the Sus1tna River were sampled during 1984 to determine the extent of rainbow trout and Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus Pallus)spawning and rearing (Table 1). These tributaries were selected because of their size,their proximity to Devil Canyon,or their relatively high abundance of these fish species. Table 1.Resident fish sampling schedule at tributaries in the middle reach of the Susitna River,1984. RM TRM May Jun Aug Oct Whiskers Creek 101.4 7.0 X Fourth of July Creek 131.1 0.1 -3.5 X X X Indian River 138.6 0.1 -9.0 X X Portage Creek 148.8 0.1 -11.6 X X In the lower Susitna river,the upper reaches of Kashwitna River (RM 61.0),Sheep Creek (RM 66.1),Goose Creek (RM 72.0),and Montana Creek (RM 77.0)were sampled during early September to determine the extent of rainbow trout and Arctic grayling rearing in these tributaries. Attempts were made to radio tag fish in these tributaries to determine the timing of their fall outmigration.Radio telemetry results from fish tagged i~these areas will be presented 1n a later report. Six lakes with outlets to the middle Susitna River were surveyed in 1984.These surveys were done to detennine if rainbow trout populations existed in these lakes and if these fish migrate to or from the mainstem Susitna River.Surveys were conducted at four 1akes at the headwaters 2 - Figure 1.Resident fish study sites on the Susitna River between the Chulitna River confluence and Devil Canyon,1984. Ill.! 124.7 131.1 138.6 144.5 148.8 101.2 112.3 125.3 140.1 137.3 -138.3 147.0 -148.0 150.1 20 SA Susitna Moinste m-West Bonk ll1ve~Mile T~ibuta!'l Mouth Sites lIIIe Creek .Stu 11 CreeIt FOCI~tII of July Creeit Indian River Jack Lang Creell Portage Creet Slough Sites Whls~ersCree~Slough -MOUth SlO1lgll 6A Slough SA Slough 20 -Iblttl Mlfnsttll Sites Susft".HlIlnste.-West link Suslw HlIfnst. Susitn.Mllnst.-Eddy R. .... i' I -- -3 - of Fourth"of July Creek (Lakes A,a,C,and 0 (Figure 2)],~1iami Lake which outlets into Indian River at TRM 4.5,and an unnamed lake which outlets into Portage Creek atTRM 2.3 (Figure 3). Resident fish catches recorded at five fishwheel si tes,two outmigrant trap sites,a fyke net weir site,and 20 juvenile salmon rearing study sites (JAHS)were also examined to evaluate trends in relative abundance and seasonal movements.In addition,several east side tributaries such as Kashwitna River were monitored in April and May to determine timing of immigration of resident fish from the mainstem Susitna River. 2.1.2 Population estimates Population esimates were made using multi-year data (1981-84)for four resident fish species tagged in the middle river (see Appendix 0). 2.1.3 Radio telemetry Selection of radio tagging sites in the mainstem Susitna between the Chulitna River confluence and Devil Canyon was based on resident fish di stribution data collected during the 1981, 1982,and 1983 open-water seasons (ADF&G 1981b,1983b;Sundet and Wenger 1984).Primary efforts to capture and radio tag rainbow trout and Arctic grayl ing in the mainstem were focused at the mouths of Whiskers Creek,Lane Creek (Rt~ 113.6),Fourth of July Creek,Indian River,and Portage Creek.Fish were also caught and radio tagged in the upper reaches of Fourth of July Creek,Indian River,and Portage Creek at the same time the spawning studies were done. 2.2 Data Collection 2.2.1 Relative abundance Resident fish.were collected at mainstem and tributary sites primarily with a boat mounted electrofishing unit (Plate 1).A Coffelt Model VVP-3E boat electrofishing unit powered by a 2,500 watt Onan generator was used for boat electrofishing and using techniques described in ADF&G (1983a).Secondary gear types used included outmigrant traps at RM 22.4 and at RM 103.0,a fyke net weir at TRM 2.5 of the Deshka River, backpack electrofishing units,gill nets,hook and line,hoop nets,and trotlines.. Biological data (age,length,sex,and sexual maturity)were collected as outlined in ADF&G (1983a).Scales forage determination were taken from a representative sample of rainbow trout captured above the Chul itna River confl uence.Scales were al so taken from spawning Arcti c grayl fng and round whitefish to determine ages of spawners for these species. Survival rates were calculated for rainbow trout above the Chulitna River confluence in 1984 using catch and age data and methods presented in Everhart et al.{l975}. 4 _. - ~- ,~ Figure 2.Fourth of July Creek drainage. PORrAG£CR£EK lAM 148.81 •CAB"• •RIV£R '''1.£ o I I I 'UI.£S Figure 3.Lower Portage Creek drainage. 5 ....,. ,, r I r Plate 1.Boat electrofishingin the mainstern Susitna River at RM 147.8 and angling at TRM 2.3 of Portage Creek,June 1984. -6- ,.... 1 r~ i,, ~- Habi tat parameters were measured at locations where spawni ng ra inbaw trout were found.These parameters i ncl uded water vel acity,water depths,substrate type,and general water quality..Specific habitat data collection methodology are summarized in ADF&G 0983a). Habitat parameters were also measured at radio tagged fi sh relocation sites during the winter of 1983-84.During ground surveys in January and February,some radio tagged fi sh were located to within a four-faot- radius and habitat measurements were made as close to the signal as possible (Plate 2).Habitat parameters measured included those taken at fish spawning sites as well as ice thickness and the presence or absence of slush fee.In January and February the fate of each radio tagged fish surveyed was also determined. A tag-and-recapture program was continued in 1984 to monitor the season- al movements of adult resident fish.flay anchor tags were used to tag seven species of adult resident fish:rainbow trout,Arctic grayling, humpback whitefish (Coregonus pidschian Gmelin),round whitefish, burbot,langnose suckers (Catostomus catostomus Forster),and Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma Wa16aum).All resident fish that appeared healthy after capture and were large-enough to accommodate a tag were tagged.Burbot with a total length (TL)greater than 225 millimeters (1TIIl)were tagged and other resident species with fork lengths (FL) greater than 225 mm were tagged. Tag recoveries were made by the resident fish study group,the adult salmon fishwheel crews,and the angling public. 2.2.2 Population estimates Population estimates were made for adult (~200 nun)rainbow trout, Arctic grayl ing,round whitefish,and longnose suckers in the middle river using the multiple-year (1981-84)tagging and recapture data (see Appendix D). 2.2.3 Radio telemetry Most fish which were radio tagged were captured by boat electrofishing or by hook and line (Plate 1;Appendix Table 8-1). Equipment Radio telemetry receiving equipment used in this study was developed by Smith-Root Incorporated in Vancouver,Washi ngton •Receiving equipment consisted of a low frequency (40 MHz)radio tracking receiver (Model RF-40)and scanner (Model SR-40),and a loop antenna (Model LA-40). Radio transmitters used in 1984 were manufactured by Advanced Telemetry Systems (ATS)of Bethel,Minnesota.Two types of radio tags were used: internal and external.Internal radio tags with 6-11 month life expec- tancies were implanted in rainbow trout.External radio tags were attached to several pre-spawning rainbow trout and one Arctic grayling. 7 J I -J J ]l J "}---1 J j j'.~ .,tt,..~....:.•".•"...'I.~.•~.'I J .~I~..'\'•,!',.;t,• l k~"'l·~1 .;..~.....>..l,:'~.I ...,.\..'t.~f .i,,•.~ ',1I--'J'~•,'",," Ico I Plate 2.Locating a radio tagged rainbow trout in the mainstem at RM 111.4 and measuring water velocities at this location,February 1984. r~ \,I j I r - - r~ i External tags were used on several pre-spawning rainbow trout since it was believed the condition of some of these fish would be unacceptable for internal implants.An external radio tag was used on the Arctic graylin9 since past efforts to internally radio tag this species have failed (ADF&G 1983c). Radio tags used in rainbow trout and burbot tagged in 1983 and monitored during 1984 were somewhat different from those used in 1984.Refer to Suchanek et a 1.(l984)and Sundet and Wenger (1984)for methods of tagging,transmitter types,biological characteristics,and summer movement of fish tagged in 1983. Advanced Telemetry Systems'internal transmitters (Model 10-35)used in 1984 were identical to those used in 1983 studies except pulse rates were slightly higher (between 1.0 and 2.5 pulses per second (pps)]. Advanced Telemetry Systems'external radio tags (Model RM 625)are rectangularly shaped,encapsulated in epoxy,and have slightly flexible 24.0 centimeter (em)external antennas.The external transmitters are 0.9 COl high,1.5 cm wide,3.0 cm long,and have a dry weight of approxi- mately 9.5 grams.The power source for the transmitters is a 1.4 volt mercury battery providing life expectancies of 90 days.The pulse rates for these tags are 2.4 pps. The same transmitter frequencies (40.600-40.770 MHz)were used in 1984 as in 1983 studies.All radio tags were immersed in cold water (I.S0C) for 48 hours to ensure they were transmitting properly before they were implanted in fish. Transmitter implantation Based on personal communications with Carl Burger (USFWS)and experience gathered from the previous three years of radio telemetry studies,the minimum fork lengths of rainbow trout and Arctic grayling radio tagged was set at 380 ITII1 (ADF&G 1983b,1983c;Sundet and Wenger 1984). Internal radio tags were implanted using the same procedures described in Ziebell (1973).Before surgery,fish were anesthetized with MS-222 (tricaine methane-sulfonate). Prior to attaching external tags to fish,two Peterson disc needles were epoxied to one side of each radio tag so the needles were perpendicular to the length of the tag.Fish to be externally radio tagged were anesthetized and then the external tag was attached just below the dorsal fin (Plate 3).This method was similar as attaching Peterson disc needles described in the adult anadromous section of the 1983 procedures manual (ADF&G 1983a).This was accomplished by using pliers to push the two Peterson needles through the dorsal portion of the fish. After the needles were through the fish,one Peterson disc was attached to each needl e.The radi 0 tag and Peterson di scs were then pushed tightly next to the fish and the excess needles (over 1.0 cm past the discs)were cut off with pliers.The remaining needles were then rolled with the tip of the pliers to tighten and secure the tag in place. 9 »'0'.•J,I .1,J )J "1,j "'J J )f 1 I i I......o I Plat'e 3.Implanting a radio tag into the abdomen of a rainbow trout {on left}and externally radio tagging a rainbow trout (on right). ..... After radio tagging,the fish were placed into a live box and held upright until they regained their equilibrium.The fish were then held overnight whenever possible for observation.The following day the sutures were checked on internally implanted fish and the transmitter1s signal was tested before releasing each internally or externally radio tagged fish near their point of capture • Tracking Biologists radio tracked fish primarily by fixed wing aircraft and boat. Aerial radio tracking was done using methods described in Adult Anadromous Investigations 1981 (ADF&G 1981c).Radio tracking was conducted over the mainstem Susitna by fixed wing from December 1983 to December 1984.Between December 1,1983 and May 1,1984,radio tracking was done between RM 40.6 and RM 152.0 approximately every 20 days.From May 1 to August 30,1984,radi 0 tracki ng fl i ghts were made every 10-14 days between RM 97.0 (Tal keetna)and RM 152.0.From September 1 to December 1,1984,radio tracking was conducted betweenRM 0.0 and Rt·1 152.0 every 14 days.Fixed wing tracking was also done over various tributaries such as Fourth of July Creek and Portage Creek from May 1 to December 1,1984. Aerial tracking by helicopters was also done occasionally during winter 1983-84 and in May and June 1984.During the surmter,radio tracking was also done by boat during each field trip to pinpoint radio tagged fish. 11 rPQi;l14 I rIi,- f! r - - - 3.0 RESULTS 3.1 Distribution and Relative Abundance of Resident Fish on the Lower Susitna River 3.1.1 Rainbow trout The fi rst recorded rai nbow trout catch of the 1984 open-water season occurred on May 6 at the Deshka River.Other early immi grations of rainbow trout into tributaries were reported by sport fi shermen at Kashwitna River between May 16-19 (David James,pers.camm.).During this time,water temperatures were 6.0 0 e (on May 6)at the Deshka River and 8.2°C (on May 10)at Kashwitna River (TRM 1.5). A total of 155 rainbow trout were captured by all methods in 1984.The highest rainbow trout catches (62 fish)occurred at the Oeshka River. Relatively high catches were made by boat electrofishing sampling in the mainstem Susitna River between RM 30.0 and RM 98.5 in early September (31 fish)and at the mouth of Little Willow Creek (RM 50.3,14 fish) during late September.Only nine rainbow trout were captured in the upper reaches of east side tributaries during early September. In 1984,73 rainbow trout were Floy anchor tagged in the lower river and four fish were recaptured.All four fish were tagged and recovered in the Deshka River.The maximum movement exhibited by these rainbow trout between capture and recapture was 3.5 miles. 3.1.2 Burbot A total of 334 burbot were captured in 1984.Of these,282 adult burbot (~20o mm)were caught at the Deshka River between TRM's 0.0 and 6.0. Adul t catches at the Deshka Ri ver were high ;n May,September,and October,however,little sampling was done in the interim period. Few juvenile burbot «200 mm}were captured.Twenty-one juveniles were captured at JAHS and the Deshka Ri ver wei r sites.No juvenil e burbot were captured by outmigrant traps at RM 22.4. In 1984,197 burbot were Floy anchor tagged in the lower river.Most of these burbot (178)were captured at the Deshka River between TRM 0.0 and TRM 6.0.Twenty-five recoveries were made in September and October 1984 from 23 different fish.All 25 recoveries were made in the Deshka River between TRM 0.0 and TRM 6.0.Nearly all (23)of these recoveries were from burbot tagged in the Deshka River during September or October 1984.Another recovered burbot was tagged in the Deshka River in May 1984.The remaining recovery was from a burbot tagged at Anderson Creek (RM 23.8)on June 22,1981 and recaptured on October 15,1984 at the mouth of the Deshka River (RM 40.6).During the interim,it grew from 488 mm to 581 mm (TL). 3.1.3 Arctic grayling In 1984,Arctic grayling immigration from the mainstern Susitna River were first reported by local fishermen at Grey1s Creek (Rr~59.5)on 12 'p~ - April 28,and Rabideux Creek (RM 83.1)on May 1.Peak catches for Arcti c grayli n9 were reported at Grey·s Cr:eek on ~1ay 7 - 8 and at Kashwitna River (RM 61.0)from May 16-19 (David James pers.COnln.). A total of 271 Arctic grayling were captured in 1984.Most (60%)of the fish were captured during September and early October boat e1ectro- fishing efforts.The maximum catch of·Arctic gray1 i ng duri n9 these efforts was 69 fish at mainstem sites between RM 60.1 and RM 98.5.Only two Arctic grayling were captured in upper reaches of east side tribu- taries during early September hook and line sampling. Ninety-nine Arctic gray1 ingwere F10y anchor tagged in the lower river and no recaptures were made in 1984. 3.1.4 Round whitefish A total of 1,195 round whitefish were captured in 1984.Round whitefish were most abundant at JAHS sites.Eight hundred three juvenile (<200 mm)and one adult round whitefish (~200 mm)were captured at 20 -regularly sampled sites and several opportunistic sites.Catches over 100 round whitefish were recorded at four side channel sites:Sucker (RM 84.5),Beaver Dam (RM 86.3),Sunset (RM 86.9),and Sunrise (RM 87.0).Most adult round whitefish catches (72 fish)were made by boat electrofishing in the mainstem between river miles 60.1 and 98.5. In October,19 sexually ripe round whitefish were captured at six sites. Eight spawning fish were found in the mainstem at RM 70.0.Several individual or pairs of spawning fish were also caught in the mainstem between RM 50.5 and RM 84.0. In 1984,113 round whitefish were tagged in the lower river and four round whitefish were recovered.Three of the fish (one tagged each year in 1981,1982,and 1984)were recaptured less than 5.0 miles from their tagging site.The remaining fish moved from Montana Creek (RM 77.0)to TRM 1.5 of the Kashwitna River (RM 61.0)in two years. 3.1.5 Humpback whitefish Six hundred eighty-seven humpback whitefish were captured in 1984. Most (94.2%)of the fi sh were captured by fishwheel s or by outmi grant traps.Outmigrant traps located at Flathorn Station (RM 22.4)captured 71 juvenile humpback whitefish with 26.8~~of the catch occurring in early September.No adul t humpback whitefi sh (~200 mm)were captured at the outmigrant trap site. The largest fishwheel catches of humpback whitefish occurred at Flathorn Station (RM 22.4)where 369 adults were captured.Fishwheels at Sunshine (RM 79.0)and Ventna (RM 28.5,TRM 4.0)stations also captured over 70 humpback whitefish.The maximum seasonal catch at fishwheel sites was made during late August.Relatively high fishwheel catches also occurred from early July to early August. 13 Boat e lectrofi shi ng humpback whitefi sh catches were the hi ghest (16 of 27 fish)at mainstem sites between RM 30.0 and RM 98.5.No humpback whitefish catches were reported at JAHS sites,however some juvenile humpback whitefish catches may have been mi si denti fied as round whitefish (Paul Suchanek,pers.comm.). In 1984,261 humpback whitefish were tagged in the lower river and three were subsequently recaptured by fishwheels.All three recaptures were tagged at Flathorn Station (RM 22.4).One fish was recovered at Flathorn Station eight days later.The other two were recovered at Yentna Station (RM 28.5,TRM 4.0).The time between tagging and recovery of these two fish was 2 and 30 days. 3.1.6 Longnose suckers Eight hundred sixty-two longnose suckers were captured in 1984.Most longnose sucker catches (326 fish)were made at JAHS sites and all but a few were juveniles «200 mm).Catches at JAHS sites were the highest at Sunrise Side Channel (RM 87.0,53 fish).Catches over 40 fish were also made at Hooligan (RM 35.2)and Sucker (RM 84.5)side channels. Higher boat electrofishing catches (l45 of 191 fish)were recorded at mainstem sites between RM's 30.0 and 60.0 compared to other boat electrofishing sites.Relatively high catches were a1 so made at the Oeshka River and fishwhee1 sites (226 and 76 fish,respectively).Most (50%)fishwheel catches of longnose suckers occurred during early July or late August and most (87%)Oeshka River catches were in ~1ay or September.Thi rty-five juvenil e 10ngnose suckers were also captured by outmigrant traps at RM 22.4. During 1984,283 longnose suckers were tagged in the lower river and one longnose sucker was recaptured.After five months at large,it was recovered in the Deshka River (RM 40.6,TRM 1.0)only 0.7 miles from where it had been tagged. 3.1.7 Other Species Dolly Varden Thirty-one Dolly Varden were captured in the Susitna River during 1984; the highest catch (15 fish)occurred at fishwheel sites. Dolly Varden were caught at the mouth of the Talkeetna River and at the Kashwitna River (TRM 1.2)between April 30 and May 6.After this time, sport fishenmen's catches declined sharply indicating that the fish had moved el sewhere.Sport fishermen reported Dolly Varden catches at Clear Creek (TRM 6.0 of Talkeetna River)increased near May 6.Dolly Varden were the first observed resident species to immigrate into the Kashwitna River and Talkeetna River in 1984.At this time,the water in both of these glacial tributaries was still clear and much shelf ice was present.The mid-day water temperature at Talkeetna River was 3.5°C and 4.5°C on May 2 and on May 8,respectively.The mid-day water temperature at Kashwitna River on May 6 was 6.5°C. 14 During 1984,five Dolly Varden were tagged in the lower river and none were recovered. Northern pi ke In 1984,three northern pike (Esox lucius Linnaeus)were captured;all three fish were caught at Flathorn Station (RM 22.4).Two adult fish (~200 mm)were captured in late August,one bya fishwheel and one by an outmigrant trap.The other fish was a juvenile «200 mm)captured by an outmigrant trap in mid-August. Threespine stickleback A total of 8,775 threespine stickleback (Gasterosterus aculeatus Linnaeus)were captured during 1984.Outmigrant traps at Flathorn Station captured 7,765 threespine stickleback.The highest seasonal outmigrant trap catches (37.1%)occurred during early August.Juvenile Anadromous Habitat Study (JAHS)crews captured the remaining fish.At JAHS sites,the maximum catch (915 of 1,010)of threespine stickleback was recorded at Beaver Dam Slough (RM 86.3).Over 95%of the catch at all sites were young-of-the-year stickleback (20-40mm). Ninespine stickleback In 1984,50 ninespine sticklebacks (Pungitius pungitius Linnaeus)were captured by a JAHS crew sampl ing at an opportunistic site and another ten were caught by outmigrant traps at RM 22.4.Fish caught by the JAHS crew were beach seined at an unnamed upland slough on the west side of the Susitna River at RM 57.2.No lengths were recorded,but two age classes were observed.One age class was approximately 25 mm long and the other was approximately 50 !tin (TL).Ali st of the habitat para- meters at the site where the ninespine sticklebacks were captured are presented in Table 2. Table 2.Habitat data collected at RM 57.2 where 50 ninespine stickleback were captured,August 5,1984. Water Measurements: Velocity Depth pH Temperature DO Conductivity Substrate Composition Cover Characteristics: Type %cover 15 0.1 fps 3.5 ft 6.6 7.5°C 6.5 mg/l 160 uhos/cm Mud emergent vegetation 96-100~~ -- Arctic lamprey A total of 425 Arctic lamprey (Larnpetra japonica Martens)were captured in 1984.A fyke net weir on the Deshka River (RM 40.6,TRM 2.5) captured most of these Arctic lamprey (336 fish).Five of these fish were adults (310-600 mm)and the remainder were juveniles «200 mm). Arctic lamprey were caught at the Deshka River from late May to mid-August.However,the largest catches were made during mid-May (32.7%)~nd late July (66.9%). Outmigrant traps at RM 22.4 captured 22 Arctic lamprey.In addition,57 Arcti c lamprey were captured by JAHS crews of which 55 were caught at Birch Creek Slough (RM 88.4).A few Arctic lamprey were also captured in the Deshka River by hoop nets. 3.2 Resident Fish Index Site Monitoring on Middle Susitna River A total of 1,409 resident fish were captured by boat e1ectrofishing at 13 index sites in 1984.Seven species of fish were captured:rainbow trout,burbot,Arctic grayling,round whitefish,humpback whitefish, 10ngnose suckers,and Dolly Varden.Most of these fish (56.6%)were captured at tributary sites.Mainstem and slough sites accounted for 35.3%and 8.2%of the catch,respectively.Relatively high catches at the combined sites were recorded for rainbow trout,Arctic gray1 ing, round whitefish,and longnose suckers.Catch data for these four species are presented by site in Appendix Table E-1 and by macrohabitat type.in Table 3.Less than 20 fish of each of the other resident fish species were captured at index sites.Because these catches were so small,no further catch data will be presented for these other resident fi sh speci es. 3.2.1 Tributary mouth sites Round whi tefi sh and Arctic gray1 i ng were captured more frequently at tributary mouth sites (83.5%)in 1984 than rainbow trout or longnose suckers (Table 3).Round whitefish were captured in greatest numbers at Indian River (136 fish)(Appendix Table E-1).Arctic grayling were captured primarily at Indian River (104 fish)and Portage Creek (104 fish).Most rainbow trout were captured at Indian River (26 fish)and most longnose suckers were captured at Jack Long Creek (21 fish). 3.2.2 Slough Sites In 1984,Arctic grayling (48.7%)were found more often at slough sites than other species.The percentage of other species captured at sloughs were as follows:round whitefish (20.7%),10ngnose suckers (18.0%),and rainbow trout (l2.6%)(Table 3).Thirty-eight of 41 Arctic grayling captured were caught at Whiskers Creek Slough in late May (Appendix Table E-1). 3.2.3 Mainstem sites Round whitefish (56.9%)and ,o,rctic grayling (32.0%)were captured more often at mainstem sites than rainbow trout or longnose suckers (Table 3).Most round whitefish (178 fish)were captured between RM 147.0 and 16 J 1 1 )IE J J -J l I J J '--~J '----.-,j ,1 Table J.Boat electrofishing catch and catch per unit effort (CPUE)of four resident fish species in the ~ddle Susitna River by three ..crohabitat types. CPUE is in parenthesis.and the units are catch per _loute. ------------_.-------------------------------------,----------------------------------._----------------------------------------..AY 16-JI .IUN 1-15 .IUN 16-JO .1"'- 1-15 .lUI. 16-.11 AUG 1-15 AUG 16-ll SEP 1-15 SEP 16-JO Ocr 1-15 'orAL --.------------------.---------.--------------~-----_.-----------------------------.----------------_._-----_.--------------.---~ SPECIES MACROHABlTAT TYPE Tributary Mouths RAINOOW 'Rour 151 .011 J'.081 ,JI .061 ---'----1 •••12'---'----1 21 .06'1'1 .2S,81 .16'II .0_,531 .11' ROUND tIIH I rEF I SH 611 .JII ;l!1'.701 8'1".1lI11 ---'----1 251 .HI ---1----1 IU .5.,••1.671 IUCI.6.1 20'.H':ITI,.1.' ARC rt C IiAAYL I NCO ftll.lOI 1_1.161 271.58'---1----1 lOI .88'---1----'.H'.9l'75C1.091 Jti'.",III I .3,J1 28:U .561 LONGN05E SUCKEA 010.001 2'.05 I ,JI .061 ---1----1 JI'.911 ---1----1 ,UI .611 161 .2ll 2'.0.'II .0.'761 .15' ror "L 1191 .681 _611.19'IZ2'Z.62'---'----1 1lI0'2.bS'---'----1 7z12.151 IS_12.211 12912.551 llll.IS'18l'I.55' .............. RAINOOW rAOUr ROUND "HlrEI'ISn .llfllC CjIlUIIN(, LONG..OSE SUCKIOA 101 .201 61 .121 4U •uU 21 .0.1 010.001 411.00 I ;r I •tiO I lC .251 010.001 ---'----1 51 .201 ---'----1 Olo.OQ'---'----1 51 .lOI ---1----1 Sloughs Ii .011 ---1----' O'O.O~I ---'----1 II .onl ---1----1 II .0'11 ---'----1 0'0.00' l'.71' 21 ••U 6'.u' 21 ...., 5'.10' 'I •U I 5'.lO' II .1_'---'----1 1-'.11' 0'0.00'---'----1 2l'.181 0'0.00'---1----1 5.1 ._21 010.001 ---1----'ZO'.16' rorAL !l01l.211 711.751 10'.411 ---,----,J'.251 ---1----'III .1.,1911.151 ""ins tetll II .1.1 ---C----,III'.81' R"INUO"rAour JI .0-1 010.001 010.00'---1----1 010.001 ---1----1 0'0.001 SI .09'III .18'51 .101 24'.01' 271 .401 201.461 2411.7-.J1 ---1----1 2111."41 1 1 dC .501 6011.01ll,64'1.081 2SC ._91 271'.e.1,. "IJUNO "H'rfFI5" •"e rI C GIUYL I NG 161 .!lll 6!i11.491 16'.ttl I ---1----1 J'.I'll ---1----1 61 .)91 _Of .1.1/141 .2"'1 .,.O~I 1561 .41' l.ON(.NOSE !iUCKEA 010.001 J I .071 51 .261 ---1----1 61 .151 ---1----'0'0.001 Ill'.161 5'.081 II .0-,JOI .091 rnf AL No effort. 661.9111 81112.021 4SI2.111 ---1----1 10Cl;'61 ---1----1 1.1.88'1I_'l.01l 94'1.581 ]61.701 "8711 ••81 f""' I - - RM 148.0 (Appendix Table E-1).Most (72 fish)Arctic grayling were captured between RM's 137.3 and 138.3.The highest mainstem catches of rainbow trout and longnose suckers occurred at RM 150.1 where 19 and 34 fish were captured,respectively. 3.3 Radio Telemetry Studies of Selected Resident Fish of the Middle Susitna River 3.3.1 Rainbow trout Eighteen of 26 radio tagged rainbow trout tagged in 1983 were monitored during the winter of 1983-84 until their batteries expired.The remain- ing eight fish died or the battery-powered radio tag ceased·functioning between July and early December 1983.Biological,tagging,and monitoring data collected between May and early December 1983 are presented in Suchanek et al.(1984)and Sundet and Wenger (1984). Movements of the 1983 tagged fish from mid-December through late P.pril were minimal with most (13 of 18 fish)moving less than 2.0 miles from where they were found in early December (Figures 4 and 5).The maximum winter movement was shown by rainbow trout 729:..1.0 which moved 46.5 miles in 23 days.Because it moved downstream much more rapidly than the others,it was believed to have died between early January and early February.The remaining four fish moved from 2.8-8.1 miles between mid-December and late Apri 1.The maximum upstream movement of radio tagged rainbow trout during this time was 2.8 miles. On January 11 and 12,fourteen of 17 fi sh whose transmitters were sti 11 functioning were located by helicopter in open-water areas of the main- stem Susitna.The open water prevented sampl ing and biologists were unable to determine the fate of these fish. The other three rainbow trout were initially located by helicopter then pinpointed during ground surveys in areas of the mainstem covered by ice.Rainbow trout 670-1.4 was pinpointed at RM 101.1.This fish had stayed within a 0.5 mile radius during 1983-84 monitoring.It was in 2.5 feet of slush-free water with an estimated velocity of 1 to 2 feet per second (Appendix Table B-1).Rainbow trout 767-1.5 was pinpointed at RM 114.8,it had ranged 1.2 miles from its tagging location.Rainbow trout 767-1.5 was located in one foot of water with six inches of slush ice over the water.Since no movement was detected after ice augering in the areas where their transmitted signals were the strongest,the fate of fish (670-1.4 and 767-1.5)was not determined.The fate of the remaining rainbow trout (597-1.3)located during the ground survey was also not determined due to a peculiar null from its signal which prevented pinpointing the fish. Surveys on February 15-17 found 15 fish whose transmitters were still functioning.All but five fish were found in areas of open water. Three (670-1.4,709-1.5.and 729-1.3)of the five fish found under ice cover moved from 10-200 feet after drilling with an ice auger over them. These three fish were found in water depths averaging 6.2 feet and flows averaging 2.2 fps.Appendix Table 8-1 lists habitat measurements taken at the three locations. 18 S I TAG 6 RELEASE SITE •IMAINSTEM SUSITNA RIvER LOCATION SOO-I.O 608-1.2 607-I.S \, \ \. \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \, \...---...........-........ -••----......-.-.'---..-----.---...-...62S-t2 .....-.-....................... \"...........-._._._.__._.-.649-1.2\.\........................... JNOIANr~i I r- 130 -l--r-....,.-,----...-,--.,....--r-..,...-,--..-,-_...r---r-.,........,.-..,.,-.---..-.... SEP IS OCT IS NOV I'OfCI'JAN IS FEB 15 MAR IS .--0 718.1.$ RECAPTtlRE 0 AT TRM 3-601 INOlAN R 01\7/6/84 I •TAG 6 RELEASe:SITE • I MAINSTEM SUSITNA RIVER LOCATION o'TRIBUTARY LOCATION *.1\10 LOCATIC1CS BETweEN THES£POINTS .....--'''"-.---.._--..-........ ....-------.660·3.0 ,~,. "'-.. 1$0 PORTAGE C fr- i 90 \....---.....597.13 :_70~l"_-.--~,----r_...,...._.,.-.--r_.......-_..,..-l_:~_..---~--._•:••..._-..•....•729-i 0 I JUN 13 JU,.IS ~IJG '5 SE"'5 XTIS "'OVIS OEC 15 JAN.5 ~E6 '5 "oR 15 .:.;>'1 '5 ",,"y -5 JUN.5 JUL.5 Figure 4.Movement of 12 radio tagged rainbow trout in the Susitna River below Devil Canyon,June 1983 to May 1984. 19 J -I ].1 })f t J ----1 '---1 1 150 •767-1.0 )(:TAG a RELEASE SITE •:MAINSTEM SUSITNA RIVER LOCATION 0:TRIBUTARY LOCATION *:NO LOCATIONS BETWEEN THESE POINTS \ \ \ \....",l FISH FOUND DEAD\po.......O---ON BANK AT TRM 0.1 ~670-1.4 RECAPTURED,f OF LITTLE PORTAGE CR (608-1.7) l....TAG REPLACED TO 608-1.7,! ..............~:.--....-*..._.-.........-..-.-.-.-.........-.-.-..-..-.,~: ••~729-1.3 ,.749-1.0, / / _.Jt-_..._------..----.--------..---.------.----.--, 670-1.4 TAGGED 617/83 /AT TRM 0.2 WHISKERS CR ./'..* O··Oi •..•"a "_. JACK LONG CR W ..J ~~of JULY .CR 0::130 W> 0:: N I0 «z.... CJ) :::> CJ) LANE CR- 110 SEP 15 OCT 15 NOV 15 DEC 15 JAN 15 fEB 15 MAR 15 APR 15 MAY 15 JUN 15 JUL 15 AUG 15 SEPI5 OCT 15 Figure 5.Movement of five radio tagged rainbow trout in the Sus1tna River below Devil Canyon. September 1983 to October 1984. -\~, I Two other fish found during ground surveys in mid-February were believed to be dead.No movement was detected for either rainbow trout 767-1.5 or 729-1.0.Rainbow trout 767-1.5 was found in only one foot of water and 729-1.0 in 1.5 feet of water.Water velocities near these two fish were less than 0.5 fps. All ten fish found in open water during mid-February were in areas with no anchor ice.Three of these fi sh were in pool s and the others were in riffles. Six 1983 radio tagged rainbow trout were found after April but the transmitter batteries from three of their tags expired by mid-May.The remaining three fish (639-1.0,749-1.0 and 767-1.0)were monitored until August or September 1984 (Figure 5).One of these fish (767-1.0)moved into Fourth of July Creek on May 24,then moved up and into Indian River in early July (Figure 6 and 7).The other two fish also moved into Indian River during the summer (Figure 7). Two rainbow trout whi ch had been radio tagged in 1983 were recovered in 1984.Transmitters in both fish had been dead for over one month. Rainbow trout 718-1.5 was recaptured at TRM 3.6 of Indian River by a sport fisherman on July 6.Rainbow trout 670-1.4 was recaptured at Lane Creek on May 18 by a boat electrofishing crew and the old transmitter was replaced with tag 608-1.7.On May 31,the fish was located at the mouth of Littl e Portage Creek (RM 119.0).On June 27 the tag was found along the bank at TRM 0.1 of the creek and the fi sh was suspected to have been eaten by a predator. In 1984,23 rainbow trout were radio tagged in the middle river between May 17 and July 23 with 82.6%being tagged by June 10.Fourteen of the radio tagged fish were pre-spawners.All but two of the fish were captured in tributaries or at tributary mouths.A breakdown of the radio tagged rainbow trout catch by tributary was as follows:Fourth of July Creek (9),Portage Creek (8),and Indian River (4).One fish tagged at Fourth of July Creek apparently died after it was tagged, therefore no tracking data is provided for this fish.Appendix Table B-2 presents a summary of capture and biological data for the other 22 radio tagged fish.Individual fish movements of these rainbow trout from the time they were tagged through November 30,1984 a re presented in Figures 6 to 11.Most (21 of 25)radio tagged fish monitored during the summer appear in two or more figures since they moved in the mainstem as well as in tributaries or between tributaries.Most (16)of the 1984 tagged fish showed large sunmer movements between 5.0-15.0 miles from where they were tagged.All but one fish showed an upstream movement of over 1.0 mile.The maximum movement by a rainbow trout (598-1.6)was 101.2 miles (Figure 8).Because it moved so much and so rapidly after August 13,it apparently died shortly thereafter.Another fish (670-1.2)may have died after spawning (Figure 9). Only one of the 25 monitored radio tagged rainbow trout was not found in a tributary during the summer of 1984.Ten fish ascended Portage Creek, six ascended Fourth of July Creek,four ascended Indian River,two ascended both Fourth of July Creek and Indian River,one fish ascended 21 }..-1 J -J j ~·..~J i--J }r-=}----]J J uPS'''(AM I ISH 8A'Uhf R Cll~''.,dERf.LL I ---1.8 AT CApTURI ._.-.-101.2.4.P/lE·$I'AW>ltR ~-'-720·a4."Nt:.$PA\IIH[R ......_1~O'2 4.PRE·SPAWNlR •••--167·1.0.$(XUAl.COHDITIOH UHKfrtC)vwN.T AGGto 10'4'831 AUilllIll ;0.-e 4.'.C'.sr_.tIC. fl .....'U,U'L •tOMDo'OO"'1.,.,I.VftMHO'WII 't.,0••4,llfOH ......w-e.ra'·,,.,.(.•"WfII(a ••tAA •II(\.('.II tI'if*'....."',,.MIlt,....,"1. LOCAtION 0-1_.."..,LOC"'.c. -y----,.r"1 ••~,..............""40..' 4 \'\I\ro,·,•~"1··""··"'''·'· ...-F6;>-,.. .-i '.1 j t/ " j tIjIt~f ,! I I I; I I ':Ii , : . I I 1 i r lJ I.:i'I ~: ...1..4 \.j '..: ':'k [ "a'..a¥0.1 III.{~.fl....10:. ..•.••'.t,~.t;':-"',..~.11 0 •f:c~::n ··0 ..0-••9····uS o _._._.Q"W.~'_._O .0 I,iii i'iii IU I •• '.0 ... ... --lU "~L~C. '44 w oJ i c W ~• ~ It l- Ot:a lot •'''Ai;;n~M SUS"NA Rt~EA LOCATION o •INDIAN RIVER LOCATION ......6:19,1.0.TAGGED liZ Ill) _.-'709·2.4 ---140·1:4 •••- -749-1.0.TAGGED 111/8:1 --In·I.1 ...........761'1.0,'AGGEDIO/./n 0··0··<)-············•·····9·······:·········'.···00 •.......\,~ 10 2.0 :1.0 Pof··-,b "u :.".I :!".i:t ',. 1;\.~:.den'.If \\ ]:~;..\i:'ii ~ •I ••b '} 0.0 , I ..I I .e o;~...~I j , 'I MAY 1$olUH 1$JUll5 AUG 1$SEP III OCT III _1$ $0 6.0 ~ <to ! w~•.0 ~ II:w > II: UP 1$ ••TAO •I(LCAs($"1 D·SP.WNIHG'IStlUX:ATION o •·....H5Tl ..W$lTHA RIVIR ON Sill[TRtII\IlltJly r IS" LOCATIOM AUG 1$ \ \. \ I, JUN I~JUL "MAY t~ 14 0.4 06 1.2 02- 16· 0.8 UNNA.,.(O TRIBUTARY .., ~ :li.. w:> 'I: '".., l;! 0 )0- J I ::>J .. J ... 0 x l- ll: 5... Figure 6.Movement of four radio tagged rainbow trout in Fourth of July Creek,May to October 1984. figure 7.Movement of six radio tagged rainbow trout in Indian River, May to October 1984. Figure 8.Movements of five radio tagged rainbow trout in the Susitna River,May to December 1984. -I j.t t t --Ji '-Y ---"~j~ ...·.61)·1.0 ":...,.. (, ,I I , I'(, ,",-I .,, I .,,:,..r ·1 '!'17<J -24 ". : \ i " I :'t . " j :'t!.1'19·lfi i :',! ~---6..~_.-.j;;';7.'--.-.~9~.1.l 1 I I I I I I I I I 1 I I, I, I -PI I I ,.ii10.1.2 :r-- •.-•'.---.-,I,/ I I ~'4 ••TAG 6 RELEASE SITE ••MAINSTEM SUSlTNA RIVER LOCATION O·TRIDUTARV LOCATION MAV 15 JVN I~JUL 15 AUG 15 SEP 15 OCT 15 NOV 15 DEC 15 136· 1'19·' 150 PORTAGE CR-~ OCT'I~SEP I~ W ..J ::::E a::148w > a: «z ..... ii; :> VI 147- ~~ 13/ ,. :\ " --fl99·1.1 •..••,61)·1,} 670-1.2 149·18 710·24 AUG I!) 'Q JVll~ ••TAG 6 RELEASE SITE ••MAINSTEM SUSlTNA RIVER LOCATION 9..I o.PORTAGE CREEl<LOCATION ,, •,,,, ~o.....'p.~tpr'_.-d'",". •,.'"0 O.:"',b'..'..'::,\",\ !f .....~ "",',:\f',.. J''\ " ,' .".1.:'.,'\ ,'.: . o .....·..Q:\.,. '1:/''::1\:i ~~. JUN I~ ., MAY I~ o ~I I •i "iii i'i .,•i 4 UIINAMlO OUTLE T fROM A LAI<E 2 12 14 AT fORI<S 8- 6 10 UNNAMED OUTLET fROM A LAKE MOUTH Of THOROUGHfARE CR W ...J-~ 0; w >N I OCw :.::w w 0; u w Cl <l:..... 0; 0 Q. Figure 9.Movement of five spawning rainbow trout.tagged at TRM 2.3 Portage Creek.in Portage Creek and then in the mainstem Susitna River.May to December 1984.At capture.all five fish were pre-spawners.. -)J }J J J I 1 1 J 1 "->-'"fj 1 ~~J,J "TAG&RELEASE SITE .'MAINSTEM SUSITNA RiVER LOCATION O.TRIBUTARY LOCATION ••NO LOCATIONS BETWEEN THESE POINTS I,.. ~,.-..., I '~f ., ~J ",.620-'.2 ..-.....-........709-12 728-1.0 lllECAPTURED l\ACCIO£NTLY __•~9'''2 AELEASED AT RM 1386 .............(PROBA8LY DEAl) THE SAME DAY)••~AfTER JULY) ".,.~~~-o--.;-:»I l:',-",~630,'1 , I ."I .• , I ~~ !~~\ !I !; I I ~ i I ~ ·III. , I ~ !I ~ I I ~·\I J "·.!I \! i 'f \~ I,\ •\.728.10 \, \ ..• , T MAY 15 JUN 15 JUL.5 AUG 15 SfP 15 OCT 15 N(N 15 DEC 15 142 144 146 136 140 134 INDIAN R \38 PORTAGE CR- \48 150 au ..J :i II: W > II: <C( Z t- V) ;:) CI) OCT 15 ---a 6(')9-1.2 (PROBABLY DEAD AFTER JULY) SEP 15 • ,TAG a RELEASE SITE 0'SPAWNING fiSH LOCATION ••NON,SPAWNING OR UNKNOWN If SPAWNING fiSH LOCATION O'MAlNSTEM SUSITNA RIVER LOCAtiON ~!!".!!!!it -····620·1.2,NON-SPAWNER --630·1.7,PRE·SPAWNER - -659·1.2,POST-SPAWNER -,-.709-1.2,PHE·SPAWN(R ..··.....728-1.0,NOH·SPAWNER ••••••740-2.3,PRE·SPAWNER AUG I~JUL 15JUNI5MAYI~ ljl' ,, I .;\ , \,..q !'if,,\ j "!\ I " i "J ..\ ~.' ,",........0._b,.....,-.1 740-2.3 0'.00·;-:"".i ARCtiC ~GRAYLING":",q.:;:~,.~•i :.,, 'n ;•r .,.:1 ! ,.J:'..,'"4 ,..i \0:.~...-.::ld::"I",'\\:,~:!Ii ,.'~'IO~~.:,.~ :j I : ~i~, : j ~ :;I :;..0-00 --a..i ~p'"'0--0-,-:0- I ~J oJ c""·_"'·b'~o I lie I ,,=~,,e.I 8 10 12 14 AT fORKS- UNtlAM£D OUTLET fROM A LAKE 2 MOUTH Of THOROUGHFARE:eR :II: \oJ \oJ ~6 \oJ UNNAI>I(O OUTLET Cl fROM A LAKE 4t-o:o Q..4 lI: W > lI: W ..J ::I N .J:>, figure 10.Movement of five rainbow trout and one Arct1c grayling 1n Portage Creek and then in the ma1nstem Sus1tna R1ver.May to December 1984. j'l'l f "l J''=-="11 ~'--'J ---':'11 598-1.6 ,.....-..-~ I I I I, I \, ~630.10 f··.·........ :··.·····.608-1.9 • 0 TAG 8 RELEASE SITE •oMAINSTEM SUSITNA RiVER LOCATION 00 TRIBUTARY LOCATI()I\I MAY 15 .lUN 15 JlJL 15 AUG 15 SEP t5 OCT 15 NOV 15 DEC 15 32 10 134 In 41h 01 JULY CR~*<H?\......; 130-1 J'W 760-2,4 1 128.... ..J :J: II:126.... > a: «124 z I- en :;)122en 34 SEP 15AUG15 AT CAPTURE --598-1.6,PRE·SPAWNER ••..····608-1.9,POST-SPAWNER ----.630-1.0,NON-SPAWNfR -.-.760·24.POST·SPAWNER ••TAG 8 RELEASE SITE o •SPAWNING fiSH LOCATION • 0 NON-SPAWNING FISH LOCATION o 0 MAINSTEM SUSITNA RIVU LOCATION II II ,I I I, "~I,,\. /1":\ I I'"1\I. 'II. •I I, :~j I I I I I I I I ........~ I': ! I i i JUL 15 598-1.6 RAOIO-TAGGED 0.5 MILE UP\TRI8UTA:Y ,.. ,I,, -'II L2 1.4 1.6 I. I I I I..+-",,,, .......\.".'.\-'.\ O.O!•--.1 '\'{}-'''f,b i i b ,"'b,I MAY 15 JUN 15 0.6 j \ \ ~ I i D.•!;\, I UPSTREAM fiSH BARRIER ~I~'WATERfALL) 100 1.8 w -' ::E a: w > 0: :lI:: W I wNIX:(JI U >--':J., .... 0 :x: I-a: ::> 0.... Figure 11.Movement of four radio tagged rainbow trout in Fourth of July Creek and then into the mainstem Susitna River,May to December 1984. ..... - ,~ little Portage Creek,and one ascended Whiskers Creek.The fish which moved into Whiskers Creek,later moved into the Chulitna River (Figure 8).In 1984,434 locations of 39 different radio tagged rainbow trout were recorded.Movements of radio tagged rainbow trout monitored in 1984 can be placed into four major categories based on their annual life history:(1)those associated with overwintering (December - April),(2o )those associated with spawning (May and June),(3)those associated with summer rearing (JUly -September),and (4)those associ- ated with the transition period between fall and winter (October and November)•The di stri but i on of 1984 mon i tored fi sh changed by macro- habitat as the season changed.Between December and April,nearly all (90.7%)rainbow trout were found in the mainstem (Figure 12).During May and June,62.2 percent of the radio tagged rainbow trout locations were in tributaries.The majority (58.9%)of fish locations from July to September were also in tributaries. By October 6,all but one radio tagged rainbow trout had outm;grated from tributaries to their mouths or into the mainstem.The one rainbow trout (659-1.2)that remained in a tributary after September was believed dead because it exhibited no movement over an extended period .of time (Figure 10).In October and November,72.1%of the radio tagged rainbow trout locations were associated with the mainstem and the remainder were at tributary mouths • 3.3.2 Burbot Sampling trips made in mid-January and mid-February 1984 to locate and determi ne the fate of burbot radio tagged duri n9 the summer of 1983 yielded limited data.In January,only one burbot was pinpointed during ground surveys.Two more radio tagged burbot were located in open-water areas of the mainstem during January.In February,only one radio tag was stil1iunctioning. Surbot 670-3 was located in the mainstem at RM 87.0 in January.Biolo- gists measured 6 inches of water with zero velocity and 2 feet of slush ice between the water and the ice at this location.This burbot did not move when ice augering was done in the vicinity of its strongest radio tag signal and therefore its fate was not determined.Two burbot sets made in the area overnight failed to catch any fish.Both this fish and the other two fish (639-3.0 and 720-3.0)located in mid-January moved downriver less than 1.0 mile from where they were found on December 1, 1983.Burbot 639-3.0 was located at RM 131.1 in waters approximately 4 feet deep and velocities of 1-2 fps.Habitat measurements taken near burbot 639-3.0 showed a water temperature of O.2°C,conduct;vi ty of 247 umhos,pH of 7.9,and DO of 13.6 mg/l.In February,burbot 720-3.0 was found 0.2 miles downriver from where it had been pinpointed in January in an open-water channel off Slough 10 (RM 133.8)in water approximately 4 feet deep.Burbot 720-3.0 was last found on March 13,at RM 133.7. 26 fl"""" j rI "": 100 >-~ lI.I 5 l&.la::... ~4 Z l&.l Ua:: !AI ~ OVERWINTERING.FOR 1983 TAGGED FISH (DECEMBER -APRIL)11.75 IN SLOUGH) >8 SUMMER REARING ~(JULY -SEPTEMBER) & \I.l 0::... ~ ~2 U 0:: ~ n -163 LOCATIONS IN MAINSTEM AT TRIBUTARY MOUTHS LOCATIONS IN TRIBUTARIES OR SLOUGHS TRANSITION PERIOD BETWEEN FALL AND WINTER (OCTOBER -NOVEMBER)n.61>uz W Jo W 0:: LI.... ~2ua: ~ Figure 12.Frequency distribution of radio tagged rainbow trout locations in tributaries, at tributary mouths,and in the mainstem Susitna River during 1984. 27 !\Oi,i,,. i .~ 3.3.3 Arctic grayling One radio tagged Arctic grayling was monitored between May and September 1984.This fish was captured by boat electrofishing,tagged,and re- leased at RM 150.1 on May 22.Biological data col1ected from this fish at the time of capture,indicated it was a pre-spawning male,410 mm (FL)long,and 10 years old.Two days after tagging,it moved into Portage Creek (RM 148.8)for the surrmer (Figure 10).The maximum recorded upstream location of this fish was TRM 8.7 on August 6. Shortly thereafter,the fish began to move downstream in Portage Creek and it was last found on September 6 at TRM 3.8 of Portage Creek. 3.4 Other Resident Fish Studies on the Middle River Table 4 provides catch data of resident fish captured in the middle river in 1984 at sites other than the 13 boat e1ectrofishing index sites.Population estimates were made using 1981-84 data;numbers used and population estimates made are provided in Appendix O. Four sites were located in 1984 where rainbow trout probably spawned. These sites were at Portage Creek TRM 2.3 and TRM 5.1,at Fourth of July Creek TRM 0.7,and at TRM 0.5 of an unnamed side tributary which has an outlet entering at TRM 0.7 of Fourth of July Creek.Appendix Table E-2 provides habitat measurements taken at these sites as well as general comments about each site. 3.4.1 Lake surveys A total of 390 resident fish were captured in six lakes surveyed in 1984 (Table 4).Rainbow trout composed 86.1%of the catch at these lakes. Lake B was the only lake surveyed where no rainbow trout were captured. Effort was similar in all lakes except at the lake which has an outlet that enters Portage Creek at TRM 2.3.Much less effort was expended in thi~lake compared to the other five lakes.Less effort was expended at the one lake bacause sampling was done in each lake only to document if rainbow trout were present;in the Portage Creek lake,rainbow trout were captured immediately by hook and line after landing in a helicopter.In the other lakes,rainbow trout were not inunediately captured or observed,therefore,gi 11 nets had to be set overni ght. 3.4.2 Tag-and-recapture studies Rainbow trout In 1984,153 rainbow trout were Floy anchor tagged and 30 recoveries were made from rainbow trout tagged in the middle river.Seven recoveries were made at the tagging sites and 15 rainbow trout were recovered within 5.0 miles of their tagging sites.The remaining eight fish moved an average of 27.4 miles from where they were tagged.Most (63%)recoveries were from fish tagged in 1983.Eighty-seven percent of the recoveries were made in or at the mouths of tributaries such as Fourth of July Creek (14,RM 131.1).Indian River (6,RM 138.6).and 28 J i i J J J J J j )1 I J 1 ) PRArr/PACE I '/2'/&5,'/30/65 NUM3n ..ble It.5/2185 r.bl.~.Catel.ddt.01 resident fish spedes III the 1Illddle river at opportUlllatic a""lake 'Itu,....y to October 1981t. laked Middle River lake C..tch Oat. Cake i lid hA Portage Fourth of lakes 4t Outlett'IMJ River Creek J ..,y C.eek Headw.ter,of .t 2.1 0' Fl shwh.el Outm1gr.nt OpportUllht Ie Opportunistic:fliH 0.1-fllH 0.1-fRH 0.1-Total I'ourth of JUI~Creek •H'a.1 Portalle TOUI Species Situ fr.p,Siteo Situ TR"9.0 TRH 11.6 TRM 1 ••Catch A B .D L.k.Cre.k Catch RainbOw trout 9 50 12 17 1 1J 5~178 6'0 '92 59 11 10 316 Burbot 2 8 0 ,0 0 tl ,It 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Arct t t'g.ayll nil 8 88 11 112 0 itO 0 261 0 0 0 0 0 °0 Round "hltef I ah 16 2,173 11 32 0 0 0 2,252 0 0 0 0 0 0 C Ilu,"pb.d "hlt.fhh 27 2i7 1 7 0 0 0 312 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 loognooe aucken 17 316 5 71 0 0 0 "09 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 110 11~'Varoen 1 5 1 ~0 0 1 12 0 19 0 0 0 0 I~ N t..ke trout IS.lvelfnuo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 n\0 0 0 2 0 35 r.dm.yeuoh 1i1.16duml Threeoplne stiekreb.ck 5,080 0 ---.5,080 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 A.et te 'dmpr.y .lH 0 ..- - 93 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TOTAL CATClI 80 8,090 63 270 1 53 55 8,611 6'52 192 59 13 10 390 -•Not appllcdbl.for thla specleo. ...... -- - ~, - Portage Creek (3,RM 148.8).The longest move recorded for a Floy anchor tagged rainbow trout in the Susitna River is 55.7 miles.This fi sh was tagged in Fourth of July Creek in 1983 and recovered in an unnamed tributary of the Chulitna River (TRM 23.1)during 1984. Burbot In 1984,six burbot were Flay anchor tagged in the middle Susitna River and there were no recaptures. Arctic grayling During 1984,425 Arctic grayl ing were tagged and 44 recoveries of 43 different fish were made from fish tagged in the middle river.This included one fish tagged at Cheechako Creek (RM 152.4)in August 1982 and recovered in May 1984 at Portage Creek (RM 148.8).The 44 recoveries ranged 0.0 to 95.8 miles from their release sites.Eight fish were recaptured at the same site where they were originally tagged. Twenty-one Arcti c grayl i ng recaptured were caught wi thi n 5.0 mil es of the site where they were tagged.The remaining 15 fish moved an average of 20.0 miles.The maximum movement for an Arctic grayling to date is 95.8 miles.This fish was tagged in Portage Creek (RM 148.8,TRM 6.0) in 1983 and recovered in Kashwitna River (RM 61.0,TRM 2.0)in 1984. Most (61.4%)recoveries were made from fish tagged in 1983.Twenty-one of the recoveries were made in tributaries or at tributary mouths with another 17 recaptured in the mainstem. In addition to these recoveries,one Arctic grayling was recaptured at" Portage Creek which had been tagged at Tsusena Creek (RM 181.3)in 1982. Round whitefish In 1984,481 round whitefish were tagged and 76 recoveries of 72 differ- ent fish were made from fish tagged in the middle river.Most of the recoveries were made near the tagging sites with 25 at the tagging sites and 35 recoveries made within 5.0 miles of the tagging sites.The remaining 16 fish moved an average of 16.0 miles with a maximum movement of 55.7 mi 1es.5i xty-one percent of the recoveri es were made from fi sh tagged in 1983.Forty-two of the recoveries were made at tributary mouths and 32 recoveries were made in the mainstem. Humpback whitefish In 1984,a total of 25 humpback whitefish were tagged in the middle Susitna River.No humpback whitefish were recaptured in 1984. Longnose suckers A total of 158 10ngnos8 suckers were tagged in 1984.Thirteen 1009nose suckers that were tagged in the middle river were recaptured in 1984. Four fi sh were recaptured at thei r taggi ng sites,another four were recaptured within five miles of their tagging sites,and the 30 r,~ I l' r.F"'. !,- I remalOlng five fish moved an average of 16.5 miles.Most of the fish recaptured were tagged in 1982 (five fish)or in 1983 (six fish). Dolly Varden During 1984,eight Dolly Varden were tagged in the middle river.Three recover;es of two different fi sh were made in 1984 with both fi sh be;ng tagged in 1984.One fish was tagged at RM 139.4 and recaptured one month later at RM 136.7 and again three months later at Indian River (RM 138.6).The other fish was tagged and recaptured,12 days later,at Indian River. 31 If"" i ! ri - - 4.0 DISCUSSION 4.1 Lower Susitna River 4.1.1 Rainbow trout Studies conducted in 1984 show that rainbow trout immigrate lower river tributaries up to 10 days earlier than middle river tributaries.Water temperatures taken at Deshka River and Kashwitna River in 1984 show that the immigration occurs at similar temperatures (6.0°C and 8.2°C,respec- tively)as Fourth of July Creek (7.7°C)in the middle river.Catch data from 1981 al so shows rainbow trout immigrate lower river tributaries early in May (ADF&G 1981b). It is believed that after rearing in tributaries during the summer, rainbow trout move out of most east side tributaries in September or October and overwinter in the mainstem Susitna River.The fall outmi- gration is probably triggered by discharge and/or temperature.In 1984, the outmigration was probably triggered by a flood in late August (refer to part 4.2.1 and Figure 14).Surveys conducted in the upper reaches of several of these tributaries in early September found very few rainbow trout.Sport fishermen have reported sunmer rainbow trout populations in these tributaries such as the North Fork of the Kashwitna River and Montana Creek to be high (Dave Watsjold,pers.comm.). Radio ~agging data from the winter of 1981-82 support the hypothesis that some rainbow trout overwinter in the lower mainstem Susitna River (ADF&G 1983b).Recoveries of Floy anchor tagged fish show some Tal keetna River rainbow trout also overwinter in the rna instem Susitna River (Sundet and Wenger 1984).Because few adult rainbow trout were captured in early spring or late fall in the lower Deshka River in 1981 or 1984,adult .rainbow trout may overwinter in the upper reaches of the Deshka River.High rainbow trout catches at the mouths of other tribu- taries such as Indian River during these times show these populations move into tributaries for sUl11TIer rearing and into the mainstem·for overwintering.Because catch rates were relatively high for juvenile rainbow trout during these times on the lower Deshka River,it appears some upper Deshka River juveniles outmigrate to the mainstem or the lower Deshka River for overwintering. 4.1.2 Surbot Susitna River burbot reside mostly in rnainstem influenced areas (ADF&G 1981b, 1983b,1983c,Suchanek and Hale 1983).This relationship is probably due to high turbidities which causes low 1 ight penetration in the mainstem,a condition the light sensitive burbot prefers (Hale 1983; Suchanek et al.1984).Studies (1981-84)have shown that burbot are found in much higher concentrations below Talkeetna than above it (AOF&G 1981b,1983b).This is probably due to a greater frequency of preferred habitat.Captured burbot and radio tagged burbot have been found most often in backwater areas of varying depths (AOF&G 1983c;Hale 1983; Suchanek et al.1984). 32 Our data indicates that burbot readily use mainstem influenced areas in the lower river for spawning.Capture rates have been reported by sport fishermen to be high at the mouths of the Deshka River (RM 40.6)and Alexander River (RM 10.1)during mi d-December to early February (AOF&G 1983b,1983c).Radio tagged burbot data has also shown that all 11 burbot monitored during January and February 1982 and 1983 have remained in the mainstem between RM's 26.0 and 89.6.Since approximately 85%of burbot over 400 nm total length are spawners for a given year (AOF&G 1983c),it is likely that several of the radio tagged fish spawned in the mainstem Susitna. Burbot spawning occurs in the Oeshka River and it also probably occurs in the Alexander River.The pre-spawning movement into these tribu- taries has been reported to begin in November,but from studies done in 1984 this movement appears to begin slightly earl ier (ADF&G 1981b, 1983b).During 1984,burbot were captured by hoop nets between TRM's 0.0-6.0 on the Oeshka River with catch rates increasing substantially from mid-September to mid-October.The highest burbot catch rates during May,September,and October 1984 sampling were between October 11-15 which were the last days of the open-water field season.local resid~nts on the Oeshka River reported that slush-ice flowed from October 16 to November 11 and on November 11 the river froze over (leon Dick,pers.comm.). While few burbot were captured at the farthest upriver Deshka River sites (between TRM's 5.0 to 6.0)in early September,by mid-September the catch and catch rates were much higher.This al so suggests that Susitna burbot may spawn in the Deshka River further upriver than previously believed.Data from one burbot tagged and recovered in 1984, and catch data from 1981,also supports this hypothesis.The recaptured fish was tagged at TRM 1.5 on September 13 and recovered at TRM 6.0 on October 13.Catch data from 1981 at TRM 4.5 (site C)showed that there were no adult burbot caught until late August (ADF&G 1981b).From late August through mid-October burbot catch rates increased. Young-of-the-year burbot have been seldom captured;however,during mid-June 1984 several thousand approximately 15 mm{TL)burbot were observed along the shoals of the Deshka River at TRM 1.9.A similar timing of hatching was reported in 1982 at Slough 9 (RM 129.2)where several dozen of the same size fish were captured (ADF&G 1983b). 4.1.3 Arctic grayling Spring movements of Arctic grayling into lower river tributaries usually begins in early May,up to 20 days earlier than in most middle river tributaries such as Portage Creek.The earlier immigration into tribu- taries below RM 98.5 than those above is probably due to warmer water temperatures.Daytime surface water temperatures in 1984 was 8.2°C at Kashwitna River on May 10 and O.BoC at Portage Creek on May 9. After rearing in tributaries during the summer,Arctic grayl ing appar- ently move out of most east side tributaries into the mainstem to overwinter.In larger west side tributaries such as the Deshka River, most adult Arctic grayling are believed to overwinter in the upper 33 "'... reaches of those tributaries.Catch rates were only slightly higher in early spring and 1ate fall compared to other times at the Deshka Ri ver (TRM's 1.5-6.0)in both 1981 'and 1984.Two recaptures in 1981 indicate that some Arctic gray1 ing in the lower river may overwinter far down- river in the mainstem from their SUlTlJ1er rearing tributaries.These fish were tagged in May 1981 and were later recovered 9.9 and 32.5 miles upriver (ADF&G 1981b). 4.1.4 Round whitefish Boat e1 ectrofi shi n9 catches in the lower river showed that the di stri- bution of round whitefish in 1984 was similar to 1982 findings (AOF&G 1983b).Because a number of sexually ripe round whitefish have been found in themainstem in October,round whitefish are thought to spawn in mainstem habitats at this time. 4.1.5 Humpback whitefish Two stocks of humpback whitefish appear to be in the Susitna River below Devi 1 Canyon.One stock is anadromous and the other rema i ns in the river all year.Scale analysis of fish captured in 1983 at Yentna River fishwhee1s showed that 19.2%of the fish aged exhibited periods of high growth.Above the Chulitna River confluence only 4.9%of the humpback whitefish aged exhibited the same high growth periods.This suggests that a high percentage of humpback whitefish in the lower river over- winter in the estuary.Relatively high juvenile humpback whitefish catches at outmigrant traps at RM 22.4"in 1984 also lends support to this hypothesis. Fishwhee1 catch data shows adult humpback whitefish begin their spawning run in July and it continues through September.With the addition of fishwheels at F1athorn Station (RM 22.4)in 1984 more knowledge was gathered on the timing and behavior of humpback whitefish during the spawning migration.As the season progressed,humpback whitefish catches similarly progressed up the river.Catches were high at Flathorn Station from early July to late August,at Yentna Station (RM 28.5,TRM 4.0)from early July to early September,and at Sunshine Station (RM 79.0)in late August and early September.During this time,fishwheel effort was approximately the same at all stations except during the spring.Comparison of catches between the three stations suggests many humpback whitefish migrate up the Yentna River and into areas between these stations to spawn.One of the suspected spawning areas between stations is Anderson Creek (RM 23.8).large numbers of humpback white- fish were gill netted in this tributary in 1981 (ADF&G 1981b). Tag-and-recapture data also support evidence of the spawning run origi- nating from or near the estuary.Between late August and early September 1984,two fish were recovered at Yentna Station which had been tagged at Flathorn Station.The time between tagging and recapture for these two humpback whitefish was 2 days and 30 days,respectively. Exact spawning locations for humpback whitefish have not been found, however it is believed that they spawn primarily in tributaries. Support for this hypothesis is provided by the small numbers of humpback 34 r""'"\ ! """. ,. whitefish captured by boat electrofishing at mainstem influenced areas in 1982 and 1984.Large numbers of pre-spawners have been capture9~ however~at Anderson Creek.Spawning is presumed to occur from mid to late October. 4.1.6 Longnose Suckers Longnose suckers are distributed widely throughout the Susitna River. Boat electrofishing catch data from 1982 and 1984 indicate that they are the most abundant resident fish species (except for sculpinsand stick- lebacks)in the lower river (ADF&G 1983b). Recapture data from 1981 to 1984 suggests that most adul t longnose suckers move 1 ittle in the sUl'lll1er.Only one of 12 suckers recaptured from 1981 to 1984 moved over 5.0 miles from their tagging sites (ADF&G 1981b.1983b). Longnose sucker spawning has been documented during late May in tribu- taries as well as in the mainstem Susitna River (ADF&G 1983b).Although Morrow (1980)reports longnose suckers are only spring spawners~high numbers of male and several female pre-spawners have also been captured in the mainstem Susitna River during September and October.These fish have been captured throughout the lower river above RM 35.4 but are most numerous between RM 35.4 and RM 60.0.These data suggest that there may be two spawning periods for longnose suckers in the Susitna River with one in late May and the other in October or November.Because no effective means of samp1 iog occurs during freeze-up (mid-October to December)~this hypothesis will be difficult to prove. 4.1.7 Other Species Dolly Varden Dolly Varden are widely distributed in the Susitna River but few have been captured.They have been captured most frequently near the mouths of the Kashwitna River and Talkeetna River. In tributaries whi ch have si zabl e popul ations of Dolly Varden ~studies done in 1984 show that this species.is the first resident species to immigrate from the mainstem during spring.Limited data from 1984 suggests that this migration occurred at col der temperatures than for other species. Northern pi ke Northern pike are sCirce in the Susitna River.Only five fish have been captured since 1981.Since all of the northern pike have been captured between RM's 22.4 and 36.3~including Yentna fishwheels (RM 28.5,TRM 4.0),it is most probable that these fish have emigrated from the Yentna 1 The reference to the Susitna River includes on1y where fish have been collected for the past four years.Studies have been con- ducted at TRM 4.0 Yentna River but no further upriver than that. 35 r-i I I - River drainage.The northern pike population in the Yentna 'River system,particularly around Skwentna,has increased dramatically in the last decade (Kelly Hepler,pers.comm.).It is believed that northern pike were originally introduced into this drainage by illegal stocking (Stan Kubik,pers.comm.). Threespinestickleback The population of threespine stickleback in the Susltna River appears to be very variabl e.In 1981,large numbers of Age 3 stickleback were cap- tured throughout the lower reach above RM 10 .1.A1though 1lmi ted sampling was done in 1982,relatively few threespine sticklebacks (mostly Age I)were captured.Prior to the 1984 open-water season,we theorized that catches would be high for threespine stickleback if the offspring of the 1981 spawners returned in 1984 as Age 3 fish.However, there was no large increase in Age 3 stickleback catches in 1984.Over 95%of the 1984 catch was Age I fish.The cause of the decrease in threespine stickleback numbers is not known. Capture data in 1981 and 1982 suggests that threespine stickleback are anadromous and that an upriver spring migration begins from the estuary in late May (ADF&G 1981b,1983b). Ninespine stickleback Catch data from 1981-84 reflects the scarcity of this species in the lower river.In 1984,a small concentration of ninespine sticklebacks were captured in a low oxygen and heavily vegetated slough in the lower Susitna at RM 57.2.In 1981,only two fish were captured with both captures occurring in the Deshka River (unpublished data). Ar~tic lamprey Arctic lamprey are much more abundant in the lower river than the middle river.Most Arctic lampreys have been captured in tributaries such as Birch Creek or the Deshka River which drain from shallow lakes or muskeg. Arctic lamprey populations can be anadromous or resident (Morrow 1980). Both forms have been reported to be parasitic,but the more blunt teeth found in the freshwater form suggests that it is nonparasitic.McPhail and Lindsey (1970)report that while the largest Alaskan Arctic lamprey found was 411 mm long,most adults of the nonparasitic form rarely exceeds 180 mm.In four years,only 16 adul ts over 180 lTIT1 have been captured.One fish captured in 1984 at the Deshka River may have been a Pacific lamprey.It measured apprOXimately 600 mm in length and 90 mm in diameter.All other adults captured have been smaller in length and much less in diameter. 36 ~------------.....__..---------~~"-- ,., i !I r~ ['F" I r . 1 .- ! frI: fl lr I T-1 I 4.2 Middle Susitna River 4.2.1 Rainbow trout In 1984,our knowledge of the seasonal distribution of rainbow trout in the mi ddl e ri ver was greatly increased.Primary sampl ing emphasi s was placed on radio tagging fish earlier in -the year,May-June,to learn more about the timing and locations of spawning.Emphasis was also placed on tagging fish from the upper section of the middle river: Portage Creek,Indian River,and Fourth of July Creek.Previously few rainbow trout have been captured early in the season,however,18 fish were successfully tagged in 1984 before June 16 of which 14 were pre- spawners.Several pre-spawners from a school of 30 probable spawners were captured in Portage Creek,a river which was previously believed to harbor few rainbow trout (Sundet and Wenger 1984).Previous success at capturi ng ra i nbow trout in Portage Creek may have fa i1 ed because most of the adults move up into the creek before sampling normally occurs (after ice-out in the mainstem).Since sampling was done during this time from TRM 0.0 to TRM 11.6 and only these fish were observed or captured,it is probable that these fish represented the majority of spawning rainbow trout in Portage Creek.Four tagged fish apparently spawned at TRM 2.3 and another 0.5 miles up the small side tributary which enters at TRM 2.3 during early June 1984 (Figures 9).Movements of other pre-spawning radio tagged fish shows spawning also occurs at TRM 5.1 and at the same time (Figure 10). Other pre-spawning radio tagged rainbow trout show that a similar timing of spawning occurs in Fourth of July Creek at TRM 0.7 and TRM 0.8,in a si de tri butary whi eh enters at TRM D.7 of Fourth of July Creek,and probably at Little Portage Creek during the same period as those in Portage Creek (Figure 6;Sundet and Wenger 1984;Figures 11 and 5). Water surface temperatures correl ated to movement of four radio tagged rainbow trout into Fourth of July Creek in 1984 s-hows spawning rainbow trout move into that tributary in late May when temperatures are 6.loC to 8.S o C (Figure 13).A slightly cooler temperature (2.8°C)in this tributary was observed in mid-May 1983 during the immigration (Mark Wenger,pers.COITUl1.).. Both TRM 2.3 and TRM 5.1 of Portage Creek,and TRM D.7 of Fourth of July Creek are similar because all three have an outlet from a lake flowing into them.It is suspected that rainbow trout in Portage Creek and Fourth of July Creek spawn at the confl uences of these 1ake outl ets because of the warmer water temperatures found there.During the first week of June 1984,the mainstem of both Fourth of July Creek and Portage Creek were approximately 8°C,while the outlets at TRM 0.7 of Fourth of July and TRM 2.3 of Portage Creek were 12°C.Littl e Portage Creek is also influenced by lakes,however,no temperatures have been taken at this creek in June. The 1984 studies showed that rainbow trout are abundant in the lakes that flow into Fourth of July Creek (Figure 2)and Portage Creek at TRM 2.3 (Figure 3).Since few juvenile «200mm)rainbow trout have been 37 ,-------_._-~---------------- j t"t'i"r T ~~--r ~'-r J w 00 147- 111 •I AT THIS TIME,THE FISH ,ENTERED fOURTH OF 121../JULY CREEK IN 1984 II 1 107 97 ~87 W ~77 I- .<l IX:61 Wn. ~w !l1 I- 41 \ I ~, I , o , ~~_.._-. TEMPERATURE OF TRIBUTARY )( FLOWING INTO FOURTH OF ______ JULY CREEK AT TRM 0.7 , I I I I ,'I ' 1 •I JAN I FEB I MAR I APR I MAY I JUN I JUL I figure 13.Mean surface water temperatures in Fourth of July Creek correlated to four spawning radio tagged rainbow trout's movement from the Susitna River into Fourth of July Creek.1984. r- I captured in Portage Creek over the past four years,it is suspected that the lake which flows into Portage Creek at TRM2.3 acts as a nursery. No rainbow trout,however,have been found in the lake which outlets at TRM 5.1 of Portage Creek (Sautner and Stratton 1984). Although many juveniles have been captured in Fourth of July Creek,it is suspected that the lakes which outlet to this tributary contribute heavily to the rainbow trout population in Fourth of July Creek below TRM 1.8.Support for this hypothesis is provided by:(1)little spawning gravel has been found in Fourth of July Creek between TRM 0.0 and TRM 1.8,(2)several small adult rainbow trout were gill netted above the barrier at TRM 3.5 in 1984 and (3)better scale analysis of rainbow trout in 1984 showed that many fish captured below TRM 1.8 of Fourth of July Creek had the same stunting scale patterns as those captured in the lakes at its headwaters.Scale analysis of mainstem Fourth of July Creek fish also showed they were usually the smaller sized fish in each age class compared to other middle river stocks.For' example,of 39 Age 5 fish,five fish from Fourth of July Creek were the smallest. While spawning has been found to occur in both Fourth of July Creek and Portage Creek,little spawning evidence has been documented in Indian River.Only one pre-spawning radio tagged rainbow is believed to have spawned in Indian River (Fish 757-1.1 in Figure 8).Other pre-spawners captured at Indian River have moved elsewhere to spawn.Over 30,000 juvenile salmon and only one juvenile rainbow trout were captured in Indian River during the open-water season of 1984.The apparent low success of rainbow trout spawning in Indian River may be caused by the failure of rainbow trout to successfully migrate from Miami Lake or other streams which drain from lakes into Indian River. The overall low number of juveniles found in the middle river infers· that either egg or juvenile survival is extremely low_One reason for this low survival may be the cold temperatures of these tributaries. After spawning in early to mid-June,fish in different systems show different behavior patterns for the rest of the summer.In Fourth of July Creek,most fish stay between TRM 0.4 and TRM 1.8.However.a number of fish have been found to move into other areas such as the mouth,nearby sloughs.or into Indian River (Figure 7,Sundet and Wenger 1984).In Portage Creek,most radio tagged rainbow trout move further upstream after spawning (Figures 9 and 10). Fish tagged in 1984 showed a similar summer association with spawning salmon as did fish tagged in 1983,many of which were found close to spawning chum and pink salmon (Sundet and Wenger 1984).More fish were tagged earlier in 1984 than in 1983 and their movement coincides with the earlier adult chinook salmon movement.This movement was most evident at Indian River and Portage Creek which have the greatest number of spawning chinook salmon above Talkeetna;escapement in 1984 was over 1,500 chinook salmon in each river (Barrett et aT.1985).As in 1983, this close association with spawning salmon is probably due to rainbow trout utilizing salmon eggs as a primary summer food source.This was substantiated during a late June 1984 helicopter survey_At this time, fish were pinpointed exactly and,in all cases,the radio tagged fish 39 --------~-----~,---------_.---------------- ,-- ,J.. I ~ I were within 100 feet of adult chinook salmon.Most rainbow trout in Portage Creek and Indian River remain in these tributaries through the peak salmon spawning periods.Peak chinook spawning occurs in late July and the peak pink and chum spawning occurs in late August.Apparently, however,rainbow trout do not rely on coho salmon eggs as a food source because most rainbow trout move out of the tributaries before coho spawning reaches its peak in late September. In 1983 and 1984,.all radio tagged rainbow trout had outmi grated from tributaries by October 6.Ground surveys conducted in early October 1984 between TRW s 0.1 and 1.0 of Fourth of July Creek a 1so support radio tagged fish outmigration findings.At this time,no rainbow trout were captured and only one was observed. Water surface temperatures and relative depths were correlated to the outmigration of seven radio tagged rainbow trout from Portage Creek to the mainstem in 1984.Water depths appeared to influence the outmi- gration more than temperature.A 1ate season flood between August 20 and August 30 apparently triggered the final outmigration of six fish (Figure 14).Downstream movements had begun much earlier fer most of the fish with the maximum upriver locations for four fish being on July 6.The slower downriver movement between then and late August is probably due to other reasons such as food supply more than temperature or water depths. Winter monitoring of radio tagged fish over three years show that nearly all rainbow trout move slightly downstream (0.1-4.0 miles)after October before they hold up in their overwintering areas (ADF&G 1983b,1983c; Sundet and Wenger 1984;Figures 4 and 5).This downstream movement is believed to be associated with the fish searching for acceptable over- wintering areas.During all three years,however,several rainbow trout have remained all winter near the tributary where they were tagged. From 1984 taggings,it appears that fish from Portage Creek may overwin- ter near that tributary mouth. During winter sampl ing in the lower river in 1981-82,although none of the radio tagged fi sh were captured,a hi gh catch per unit effort was recorded for other rainbow trout in the vicinities of the tagged fish (ADF&G 1983b).Therefore,it is suspected that rainbow trout concen- trate in small numbers and use specific areas of the lower mainstem Susitna for overwintering.A similar phenomenon probably occurs in the middle river. Winter sampling at radio tagged fish relocation sites has provided 1 ittle information to characterize rainbow trout overwintering areas. This is primarily due to the difficulties which are inherent to winter sampl ing.During the winter of 1983-84,most radio tagged fish were found in open-water leads.Habitat data collected at these areas varied considerably except for conductivity.In all cases,the conductivity measurements were rel atively hi gh (above 125.0 uhos/cm)indi cati ng that rainbow trout seek out overwintering areas that are influenced by groundwater.Radio tagged rainbow trout also appear to prefer areas of moderate water velocities.Limited data from the winter of 1982-83 showed similar conclusions (ADF&G 1983c). 40 - 4.0 en 0: 1&1 ...3.~ l&J ::IE z 3.0 o ~2.~ 0:... ~2.0...:: Cliii 1.5 :: 1&1 ~1.0 Cl lIo lIo~0.5 en ... N Io.... N .... a:ro--,.: -, 01 01on I I 0.0 ......---,r-----r---"'T'-'---..----r---..,..----r------.--- X,TEMPERATURE OF TRIBUTARY FLOWING INTO PORTAGE CREEK AT TRM 2.3 SEP I OCT J I AT THIS TIME.THE FISHES MAXI MUM :UPSTREAM LOCATION IN 1984 I AT THIS TIME%.THEIFISHWEREFIKST :FOUND AT PORTAGE I CREEK MOUTH AUG I N , ~o.... JUL JJUNI 6 4 2 8 14 12 10 uo 1&1cz: ::)... c(a:: 1&1a. ~ 1&1... ,,,... O......--...,...---r---,...---,.---,.---r---.........---r---,.--- JUN I JUL I AUG I SEP I OCT I Figure 14.Mean surface water temperatures and relative depths in Portage Creek correlated to seven radio tagged rainbow trout's maximum movement and their outmigration into the mainstem Susitna River,1984. 41 '--__•__WM ~_'__---------- r~ I F';"" ! r ,..;.. II r,.,.., i ! Radio tagged fish data reflects the low survival rate for rainbow trout. The middle river rainbow trout survival rate was 33.3%in 1983 and 42.7% in 1984.In three years,sport fishennen have reported catching two radio tagged fish,three have been found eaten by predators ,and one died after being trapped in a side channel which dewatered during the fall.Other mortalities include 02e attributable to post-spawning die-off and three to overwintering.Needham and Jones (l959)and Needham and Slater (1945)report that rainbow trout overwintering mortalities are often high due to physical catastrophes such as dewa- tering,collapsed snow banks,and anchor ice formation. 4.2.2 Burbot Catch data from 1981-83 indicate that burbot are much less abundant in the middle river than the lower river (ADF&G 1981b,1983b,1983c). Although food and rearing habitat may be limiting factors for burbot in the Susi tna River between the Chul itna River confl uence and Devil Canyon,during the winter of 1983-84 biologists observed another reason why there may be fewer burbot in this reach.During aerial tracking surveys in January,biologists noticed that a large section of the main- stem Susitna River (RM 123.0 toRM 150.0)had remained open.Approxi- mately half of this open-water area had anchor ice on the substrate and occasionally the anchor ice would free itself and float to the top. Since burbot spawn from mid-January to early February in the Susitna River,the formation and movement of anchor ice could disrupt the success of burbot spawning.The several radio tagged burbot monitored in the winters of 1982-83 and 1983-84 have remained in the mainstem Susi tna during the spawni n9 period indi cating spawni ng occurs there (ADF&G 1983c).Since most radio tagged burbot have not migrated far or frequently,several poor years of spawni ng mi ght mean that no new individuals would be recruited to the existing population in this area. Although spawning is probably 1 imited in the middle river,one radio tagged fish roonitored during the winter of 1983-84 stayed near Slough 10 indicating that some spawning may occur there.The capture of juveniles near Slough 9 in 1982,suggests spawning may also occur there (ADF&G 1983b). 1 The higher survival rate is somewhat biased because in 1984 we sought out more large adults to radio tag.Therefore the survival rate is probably closer to 1983 findings. 2 Although effects of radio tagging may have contributed to the fate of the three fish which died during the winter,it is more likely they died because of effects of overwintering.These three fish were known to be al lve between August and October and any fatal post-effect of radio tagging has been apparent in other radio tagged fish within two weeks after tagging. 42 f __ I 4.2.3 Arctic grayling The general distribution and abundance of Arctic grayl ing in the middle Susitna River in 1984 was similar to 1981-83 findings.Population estimates using multiple-year data show Arctic grayling are the third most abundant resident fish species in the middle river (other than sculpins and sticklebacks).During all four years,Arctic grayl ing were most numerous at Indian River (RM 138.6)and Portage Creek (RM 148.8). High catches at Whiskers Creek Slough (RH 101.2),Lane Creek (RM 113.6), Fourth of July Creek (RM 131.1),and a mai nstem site at RM 150.1 are recorded only in May,June,or September.Catches at all sites over all four years have generally been the highest in the spring and fall. Until 1984,our knowledge of Arctic grayling immigration and outmigra- tion from tributaries to the mainstem was based on tag-and-recapture and catch per unit effort data.These data show Arctic grayling move into tributaries in May and early June to spawn,then begin to outm;grate in mid-September (ADF&G 1981b,1983b;Sundet and Wenger 1984).In 1984, the monitoring of one pre-spawning radio tagged Arctic grayling provided additiona 1 information on movement and spawni ng.Thi s fi sh was tagged and released in the mainstem Susitna on May 22 and it ascended Portage Creek two days later.Other studies done in 1984 also show the spring immigration into Portage Creek occurs at this time.No fish were observed or captured in Portage Creek between TRM 1.5 and TRM 3.2 from May 9 to 25,but surveys conducted in early to mi d-June in the upper reaches of Portage Creek showed Arctic grayling were found upriver as far as TRM 11.6.During this time,catch rates became higher in the upper reaches indicating Arctic grayling were ascending Portage Creek. The radio tagged fish apparently spawned at TRM 0.4 of Portage Creek between May 22 and 30.A similar timing of spawning was shown by 82 other Arctic grayling in 19f34,which were captured and examined for sexual conditions above RM 125.0.Other fish examined in 1984 below RM 125.0 shows timing of spawning there is about seven to ten days earl ier than above RM 125.0 (Appendix Figure C-7).The difference in timing of spawning between these two sections is probably due to the warmer tributaries water temperatures below RM 125.0 than above.The earliest spawn;ng Arctic gray 1i ng were found in 1984 was May 9 at the mouth of Whisker's Creek (RM lO1.4).A similar timing of spawning occurred in 1983 (Sundet and Wenger 1984). Mean surface water temperatures in Portage Creek during late May 1984, when Arctic grayling began to immigrate and spawn,were slightly higher than those reported elsewhere in Alaska.Water temperatures in Whisker's Creek,at the time of spawning in mid-May 1984,however,were similar as reported elsewhere.Water temperatures at Portage Creek were S.l°e on May 26 and at Whisker's Creek were 3.8°C on May 9.Tack (1980, 1973)reports the spawning runs begin when water temperatures are 1°C and spawning occurs at 4°C in Interior Alaska. Catch and recapture data from 1981-84 and radio telemetry data shows that most large adult Arctic grayling remain in tributaries through early September.Smaller adults and juvenile Arctic grayling have been 43 r~ ! I r r \ captured at tributary mouths during the summer,probably because they were displaced in the upper reaches as a result of territorialism (ADF&G 1983b).Recaptures of Floy anchor tagged fish show adults move little during the summer. It was speculated in 1983 that some adult Arctic grayl ing may overwinter in Portage Creek,however,evi dence from the radi 0 tagged fi sh suggests that this may not be true.After early August)the radio tagged Arctic grayling began to move rapidly downstream along with radio tagged rainbow trout.Unfortunately,the battery of the Arctic grayl ing t s radio tag expired before the fish reached the mainstem.The radio tagged rainbow trout,which were outmigrating at the same time,had all outmigrated from Portage Creek into the mainstem Susitna by October 6. The outmigration of the radio tagged Arctic grayling and rainbow trout was apparently triggered by a late season flood which occurred hetween August 20 and 30 (Figure 14).. Data on the winter distribution of Arctic grayl ingin the mainstem is limited.Several Floy anchor tag recoveries in 1983 and 1984 suggest that some Arctic grayling may overwinter far downriver in the mainstem from their summer rearing tributaries.Several fish tagged at Portage Creek between late May and July have been recovered 10 to 20 miles downriver.Three fish were recovered in late May 1984,25 to 37 miles downriver from where they were tagged in 1982 or 1983.It is possible these three fish were recovered before they returned upriver or that they had simply relocated during the interim.It appears most fish tagged at Portage Creek or nearby,however,indi-cate they may overwinter between RM 146.0 and RM 148.0 or at RM 150.1.Boat electrofishing)gill net,and hoop net catch rates were very high at these areas during mid ..late May and at RM 146.0 to RM 148.0 in late September 1983 and 1984. In 1984,two Arctic grayling were recovered which were tagged in or above Devil Canyon.Whi 1e no recoveries have been made above the canyon from those fish tagged below,this is the first evidence that Arctic grayling can successfully migrate downriver through Devil Canyon. 4.2.4 Round whitefish Population estimates made in 1984 using multiple-year data show that round whitefi sh are the most abundant resident fi sh species in the middle river.Catch data from 1982-84 show the highest concentrations of round whitefish occurs between RM 132.6 and RM 150.1,and round whitefish are much more abundant in the middle river than in the lower river. Pooled CPUE rates based on boat electrofishing data from 1982-83 shows that round whitefish CPUE's at tributary or slough sites are much higher than at mainstem sites.Relatively high CPUE's at mainstem sites, however,are in June and September of those years and also overall in 1984.Juvenile round whitefish captured at JAHS sites have been found more often at turbid mainstem and slough sites than at tributary sites (Suchanek et al.1984).Juvenile round whitefish prefer these areas 44 I- I r i'\ r I because of lower water velocities and higher turbidities which they use as cover. While a definite fall downriver movement was shown by recaptured round whitefish in 1981 and 1982,only a slight downstream movement throughout the summer was shown by recovered fish in 1983 and 1984. Sexually ripe round whitefish have been captured in the mainstem Susitna or at the mouths of several middle river tributaries during early October from 1981-84.This suggests that round whitefish use mainstem influenced areas for spawning.Peak spawning probably occurs from mid to late October.Specific round whitefish spawning areas found since 1981 include the mouths of Lane Creek,Indian River,and Portage Creek, and in the mainstem Susitna at RM 147.0.Other round whitefish close to spawning have also been found scattered throughout the middle river in pairs or small groups. While it is unknown where adul t round whitefish overwinter,ea rly spring catch and recapture data suggests they may overwinter near their summer rearing areas which is primarily in the mainstem above RM 132.0 (ADF&G 1983b;Sundet and Wenger 1984). 4.2.5 Humpback whitefish Catch data from 1981-84 shoW's humpback whitefish are relatively scarce in the middle river.Most humpback whitefish in the middle river probably overwinter in that reach.However,increased outmigrant trap catches of humpback whitefish at RM 103.0 in the fall and high growth rates shown in scales of several adults suggests that some humpback whitefi sh may outmigrate from the middle river to overwinter in the estuary (Sundet and Wenger 1984). 4.2.6 Longnose suckers Catch data shows little differences in distribution or abundance of longnose suckers between 1982,1983,and 1984.Recapture data from these years show longnose suckers genera 11y move 1ittl e in summer,but a spring upriver and a fall downriver migration may occur.Several 1984 recaptured fish also shows some fish move upriver during June through August. 4.2.7 Other species Dolly Varden Dolly Varden have been found mostly at Lane Creek,Indian River,and Portage Creek.Catch data suggests Dolly Varden move into tributaries before late June (AOF&G 1983b,1984b).It is believed that they stay in the tributaries through October at which time they spawn and then outmigrate to overwinter in the mainstem. Dwarf populations of Dolly Varden are found in the upper reaches of several tributaries (ADF&G 1983b).These populations are believed to remain in these tributaries year-round. 45 {F" I Lake trout Two populations of lake trout were found in the middle river drainage during lake surveys for rainbow trout in 1984.Although lake trout were known to occur in Miami Lake,no information was previously known on the lake which drains into Fourth of July Creek (Lake B in Figure 2). Although only juveniles were captured,lake B may harbor a sizeable population of adult lake trout.A steep shoreline and the lack of a boat prevented proper setting of gill nets in this lake.No depths were measured,however,the lake was extremely clear and appeared to be over 50 feet deep. Threespine stickleback Threespine stickleback are less numerous in the middle reach of the Susitna River than the lower reach.However,they have been caught in relatively large numbers between the Chulitna River confluence and RM 120.0 (ADF&G 1981b). 46 ~ I ,~ ...... ""'"I 5.0 CONTRIBUTORS Resident and Juvenile Anadromous Fish Project leader (Acting Project Leader, Jan.to June 1985) Task leader Data Base Management Jolly-Seber Model Drafting Typing Text Report Coordinators and Editors 47 Dana Schmidt Stephen Hale Rich Sundet Allen Bingham Alice Freeman Chuck Miller Kathrin Zosel Donna Buchholz Dana Schmidt Stephen Hale Carol R.Hepler Roxann Peterson Skeers Word Processing Rich Sundet Stuart Pechek Stephen Hale Drew Crawford ~ , I 6.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Funding for this study was provided by the State of Alaska,Alaska Power Authority. We would like to express our gratitude to all the people and organiza- tions that provided infonnation or assistance to the Resident Fish Study during the past years.We would also like to thank Leon Dick and David James for describi ng resident fi sh catch rates on the Deshka River and east side tributaries,respectively. We are especially grateful to Carl Burger (USFWS)for his technical expertise and advice on radio telemetry investigations.We would also like to thank Carl for providing photographs showing the implantation of radio tags into rainbow trout. We thank the various consulting agencies working on the Susitna Hydroelectric Project for helpful comments on a draft of this report. 48 If""', I j- I r l 7.0 LITERATURE CITED Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G).1981a.Aquatic studies procedures ma"nual (1980-1981).(l of 2).Susitna Hydro Aquatic Studies.Phase 1.Subtask 7.10.Alaska Department of Fish and Game,Anchorage,Alaska. •1981b.Resident fish investigation on the Lower Susitna River --"?'i(November 1980-0ctober 1981).Susitna Hydro Aquatic Studies. Phase 1 final draft report.Subtask 7.10.Alaska Department of Fish and Game,Anchorage,Alaska. __~.1981c.Adult anadromous fisheries project (June-September 1981).Susitna Hydro Aquatic Studies.Phase 1 final draft report. Subtask 7.10.Alaska Department of Fish and Game,Anchorage, Alaska. •1983a.Aquatic studies procedures manual (1982-1983).Susitna --TTHy-dro Aquatic Studies.Phase 2.Subtask 7.10.Alaska Department of Fish and Game,Anchorage Alaska. •1983b.Resident and juvenile anadromous fish studies on the --"2'Susitna River below Devil Canyon,1982.Susitna Hydro Aquatic Studies.Phase 2 basic data report.Volume 3 (l of 2).Alaska Department of Fish and Game,Anchorage,Alaska. --"2'.1983c.Winter aquatic studies (October 1982 -May 1983). Susitna Hydro Aquati c Studies.Phase 2 report.Alaska Department of Fish and Game,Anchorage,Alaska." 1983d.Habitat location description and photos.Appendix F In:ADF&G.Aquatic habitat and instream flow studies,1982. Susitna Hydro Aquatic Studies.Phase 2 basic data report.Volume 4 (3 of 3:Appendices D-J).Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Anchorage,Alaska. ·1984.Susitna Hydro aquatic studies procedures manual (May --""'19"83 -June 1984)(1 of 2).Susitna Hydro Aquatic Studies.Alaska Department of Fish and Game,Anchorage,Alaska. Barrett,8.101.,F.M.Thompson,and S.N.Wick.1985.Adult salmon investigations:May -October 1984.Susitna Aquatic Studies Program.Report No.6.Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Anchorage,Alaska. Hale,S.S.1983.Influence of habitat parameters on distribution and relative abundance of juvenile salmon and resident species. Appendix F In:ADF&G.Synopsi s of the 1982 aquati c studi es and analysis of fish and habitat relationships (2 of 2:Appendices). Susitna Hydro Aquatic Studies.Phase 2 report.Alaska Department of Fish and Game,Anchorage,Alaska. 49 Principles of London,United ,..... Everhart,W.H.,A.W.Eupper,and W.O.Youngs.1975. fishery science.Cornell University Press. Kingdom. Manly,B.F.J.1984.Obtaining confidence limits on parameters of the Jolly-Seber model for capture-recapture data.Biometrics 40: 749-758. McPhail,J.D.,and C.C.lindsey.1970.Freshwater fishes of north- western Canada and Alaska.Bulletin of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 173:1-381. Morrow,J.E.1980.The freshwater fishes of Alaska.Alaska Northwest Publishing Company,Anchorage,Alaska. Needham,P.R.,and D.W.Slater.1945.Seasonal changes in growth, mortality,and condition of rainbow trout following planting. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society.73:117-124. Needham,P.R.,and A.C.Jones.1959.Flow,temperature,solar radiation,and ice in relation to activities of fishes in Sagehen Creek,California.Ecology 40(3):465-474. R&M Consultants.1982.Tributary stability analysis report.Susitna Hydroelectric Project.Prepared for the Alaska Power Authority. Anchorage,Alaska. Ricker,W.E.1975.Computation and interpretation of biological statistics of fish populations.Bulletin of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada.Bulletin 191.Ottawa,Canada. Sautner,J.S.,and M.E.Stratton.1984.Access .and transmission corridor studies.Part 1 In:D.C.Schmidt,C.C.Estes,D.L. .Crawfor-d,and 0.5.Vincent-Lang,editors.Access and transmission corridor aquatic investigations (July-October 1983).Susitna Hydro Aquatic Studies.Report No.4.Alaska Department of Fish and Game,Anchorage,Alaska. Suchanek,P.M.,and 5.5.Hale.1983.Use of major habitat types by juvenile salmon and resident species.Appendix G in ADF&G. Synopsis of the 1982 aquatic studies and analysis offish and habitat relationships (2 of 2:Appendices).Susitna Hydro Aquatic Studies.Phase 2 report.Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Anchorage,Alaska. Suchanek,P.M.,R.L.Sundet,and M.N.Wenger.1'984.Resident fish habitat studies.Part 6 in D.C.Schmidt,S.S.Hale,D.L.Crawford, and P.M.Suchanek,editors.Resident and juvenile anadromous fish investigations (May -October 1983).Susitna Hydro Aquatic Studies.Report Sere No.2.Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Anchorage,Alaska. 50 ,- Sundet,R.L.,and M.N.Wenger.1984.Resident fish distribution and population dynamics in the Susitna River below Devil Canyon.Part 5 in D.C.Schmidt,5.5.Hale,D.L.Crawford,and P.M.Suchanek, ed1tOrs.Resident and juvenile anadromous fish investigations (May -October 1983).Susitna Hydro Aquatic Studies.Report Ser.No. 2.Alaska Department of Fish and Game,Anchorage,Alaska. Scott,W.B.,and E.J.Crossman.1973.Freshwater fishes of Canada. Bulletin of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 184.Ottawa, Canada. Tack,S.L.1973.Distribution,abundance,and natural history of the Arctic grayling in the Tanana River drainage.Alaska Deptment of Fish and Game,Federal Aid in Fish Restoration,Annual Report of progress,1972-1973,Project F-9-5,14(R-I):34 p.. •1980.Migrations and distribution of Arctic grayling in ---rinterior and Arctic Alaska.Alaska Deptment of Fish and Game, Federal Aid in Fish Restoration,Annual Report of Progress, 1979-1980,Project F-9-12,21(R-I):32 p. Ziebell,C.D.1973.Ultrasonic transmitters for tracking channel catfish.The Progressive Fish Culturist.35(1):28-31. 51 ,.bo, I APPENDIX A Floy Anchor Tag Retention Rates ,,,"",,,, ,~: METHODS The external Flay anchor tag (model FD-67.)has been used to tag resident fish since January 1981 to determine seasonal and yearly movements.The dimensions of the tag and tagging procedure are explained in the 1981 procedures manual (AOF&G 1981a).Disc dangler tags were used to tag burbot for several months during 1981 and the spring of 1982. Flay anchor tag retention rates were evaluated for Arctic grayling, round whitefish,and longnose suckers by comparing the number of fish with tag scars to the total number of fish wifh tag scars and Floy anchor tags of that species recaptured in 1983.By subtracting this ratio from 1.00,Floy anchor tag retention rates were determined.Tag retention rates for rainbow trout were not determined because the smaller scales of this species regenerate rapidly and make it difficult to detect tag scars.In 1983,no captured longnose suckers showed a tag scar. RESULTS The Floy anchor tag retention rate for Arctic grayling during 1984 was 75.9%with 15 of 58 recaptures showing a tag scar.The 1984 tag 'retention rates for round whitefish and longnose suckers were 83.7%and 92.9%respectively,with 15 of 92 round whitefish and one of 14 longnose suckers showing a tag scar. DISCUSSION We believe that improper tag placement has been the primary cause of tag loss in our studies.In 1982,tags were injected into the dorsal musculature.After 1982,tags were anchored at the base of the dorsal fin through the interneural rays.We have noticed increased tag retention rates each year thereafter.Tag retention rates for Arctic grayling increased from 69.4%in 1983 to 75.9%in 1984.Tag retention rates for round whitefish showed similar improvement,increasing from 77.5%in 1983 to 83.7%in 1984. 1 Only those fish recaptured by a resident study crew were used. Other groups such as sport fi shennen or fishwheel crews di d not look for scarred fish. A-I .- .... APPENDIX B Radio Tagged Fish Capture,Biological, and Winter Habitat Data J-l''1<--I'-t r j'r.1"r '}'r ]'t l Appendix Table 6-1.Summary of tagging data for radio tagged rainbow trout captured on the Susitna River between the Chulitna River confluence and Devil Canyon,Hay to July 1984. Radio Frequencyl Type of Fork Implant:Floy Location lengths Internal Tag Age/Spawning Hethod Captured Rfver Date Date (mm)or External Number Sex Condition Captured and Re leased Mfle Captured Released 599·1.1/485 Internal 17457 h/M pre-spawning HL Portage Creek TRH 2.3 6/1 6/1 598-1.6/410 Internal h__ 6/M pre-spawnfng HL Trfbutary Mouth at TAM 0.5 6/5 6/5 TRM 0.7 of Fourth of July Creek 613-1.0/475 Internal 17453 81M pre-apawnfng HL Portage Creek TAM 2.3 6/1 6/1 608·1 .7/391 Internal 11948 8/F pre-spawning EF Lane Creek 113.6 5/11 5/18 (recap was 670-1.4) 608-1.9/400 Internal 11757 6/F post-spawned HL Fourth of July Cr.TRM 0.4 6/27 6/27 OJ 620-1.21390 Internal 17492 6/M EF Portage Creek 148.8 6/4 6/4Inon-spawner..... 630-1.0/450 Internal 17761 -/-non-spawner Hl Fourth of July Ct.TRM 0.8 6/27 6/27 630-1.7/495 Internal 11753 -/M pre-spawning HL Portage Creek TAH 5.1 6/20 6/20 659-1.2/435 Internal 12615 7/-post-spawned EF Indian River 138.6 5/26 5/27 670-1.2/450 Internal 11456 -/F pre-spawning Hl Portage Creek TAM 2.3 6/1 GIl 709-1.2/433 Internal 5825 6/F pre-spawning EF Indian River 138.6 5/22 5/24 709-2.4/450 External 17598 -/F pre-spawning EF'Fourth of July Cr.131.1 5/28 5/31 719-1.6/405 Internal 1243 6/---EF Indian River 138.6 7/23 7/23 720-2.4/400 External 5823 1/F pre-spawning Hl Fourth of July Cr.131.1 5/23 5/24 728-1.0/392 Internal 5091 -/M non·spawner Hl Portage Creek TRM 5.1 6/5 6/5 not sexed or not aged EF ==Electrofishing ItL =Hook and Line HN '"Hoop net TRM =Tributary River Mile l'l ---r-"-"J ~-1·-"'J"---'·-,..,-1 J Appendix Table B-1 (Continued). Radfo Frequency Type of Fork Implant:flay lengths Internal Tag Agel (mm)or External Number Sex 729·1.5/420 Internal 5101 1/· 730-2.4/485 External 15464 -/M 740-1.4/425 Internal 5867 7/- 749-1.8/418 Internal 5092 7/M 757-1.1/424 Interna 1 5817 1/M 760-2.4/400 External 16066 1/M 770-2.4/462 External 17454 8/F OJ Total'"22 FfshI N ..not sexed or not aged EF :=E1 ectrofishi n9 Hl :=Hook and line HN '"Hoop net TRM :=Tributary Rfver Hile Location Spawning Method Captured Rfver Date Date Condftion Captured and Released Hne Captured Released EF Whisker,Creek Slough 101.2 5/21 5/21 pre-spawning Hl Fourth of July Cr.U1.1 5/18 5/18 non-spawner HN Hainstem U6.7 6/5 6/5 pre-spawnfng HL Portage Creek 2.1 6/5 6/5 pre-spawnfng EF Indian River 138.6 5/22 5/2" post-spawned HL Fourth of July Cr.0.7 6/3 6/3 pre-spawnfng HL Portage Creek 2.1 6/1 6/1 J"I'l'r I'~l"r r r r -~-f ""''''''1'""r 1 Appendix Table B-2.Radio tagged rainbow trout habftat measurements taken at thefr reloeatfons fn January and February 1984.Fish were tagged in 1983. -- Ice OpenO)Fish Radio Covered Movement Depths (tt)Velocity Water Qua 11 t~ Frequency Date RH (c)(in ft)Water fee slush (tps)SUbstrate Temp be [)(J mgl1 umhOs em pH 670~1.4 1/11 101.1 e 0.0 2.5 2.5 0.0 *1-2 rubble/cobble 2/14 100.7 c -50.0 5.7 2.S 0.0 2.5 rubble/oobble +0.1 14.0 216.0 7.6 709-1.5 2/15 116.5 e -10.0 3.0 2.0 0.0 1.5 rubble/cobble -0.1 13.1 256.0 7.5 718-1.5 1/11 131.1 0 .-*4.0 0 0 --rubble/cobble +0.2 13.6 247.0 1.9 729-1.0a 2/16 64.8 e 0 1.5 2.5 3.0 0.0 cobble 729-1.3 2/15 111.4 e -200.0 10.0 2.0 0.0 2.5 cobble ~0.1 13.0 212.0'7.5 767-1.5 11 1/11 114.8 c 0 1.0 2.0 0.5 0 2/15 114.5 c 0 2.0 2.0 0.5 0.5 o;J I W a Fi sh bell eved dead*Estimated measurement because meter dfd not work or too deep -~No movement or no measurements taken i~ i - APPENDIX C Population and Biological Characteristics - A total of 6,941 resident fish of eleven species were measured for 1ength on the Susitna Ri ver from May to October 1984.Appendix Table C..l presents the range and means of fish measured and Appendix Figures C..l to e..6·present length frequency compositions of six of these species. Sexual maturities of four resident fish species were determined in 1984. Append;x Table C-2 presents 1engths of fi sh exami ned for sexual condi- tion and Appendix Figure C-7 illustrate the timing of spawning for two of these species:rainbow trout and Arctic grayling. Ages were detenni ned for spawners of three species in 1984 (Appendix Figures C-8 to C-I0).Ages were also determined for spawning and non-spawning rainbow trout captured in lakes C and D at the headwaters of Fourth of July Creek (Figure C-ll). The ages of 147 rainbow trout captured on the Susitna River between the Chulitna River confluence and Devil Canyon in 1984 were detennined by scale analysis.These rainbow trout ranged in age from Age 1 to Age 9. Ages 4 (17.0%),5 (26.5%),6 (23.1%),and 7 (20.4%)were sampled most often (Appendix Table C..3).The ages of thirty-five rainbow trout captured in 1akes A,C,and 0 ranged from Age 2 to Age 7.In these 1akes ,ages 3 and 4 were sampled more frequently than others.A graph- ical representation of age-length data shows rainbow trout captured in the mainstem Susitna and its tributaries are approximately 60 mm larger at a given age class than fish captured in Lakes A,C,and 0 (Appendix Fi.g ure C-12)• One hundred forty-three of the 147 rainbow trout aged in the ri ddl e river were captured by hook and line or by boat electrofishing.The instantaneous survival rate for rainbow trout in this reach of river captured by these two methods was calculated at 42.7%(Appendix Figure C-13)• ~, 1 To be consistent with 1983 instantaneous survival rate calcu- lations,one Age 6 and three Age 7 fish were not used in 1984 calculations because they were captured by gear other than boat electrofishing and hook and line.Fish used in 1983 calculations were only used if they were captured by boat electrofishing or by hook and line. C-l '-Appendfx Table C-l.Length data for resident fish captured on the Susitna River,1984. t~ Length (linn) Species Samp 1i ng Peri oc:l n Range Mean r~Rainbow Trout Lower Susttna 105 27-530 281.9 {FL}Middle Susitna 227 27 -545 282.7 Lakes in Middle Susitna 200 70 -360 180.7 Combined Total 532 27 -545 244.2 Surbot Lower Susitna 217 209 -701 406.9 (TL)Middle Susitna 15 42 -475 241.2 Combi ned Total 232 42 -701 396.2 Arctic Crayling Lower Susitna 197 89 -392 251.2 (FL)Middle Susitna 641 40 -427 255.4 Combined Total 838 40 -427 254.5 Round Whitefish Lower Susitna 301 40 -469 222.8 (FL)Middle Susitna 1729 20 -410 140.8 Combined Total 2030 20 -469 153.0 Humpback Whitefish Lower Susitna 348 30 -510 286.2."{FL}Middle Susitna 298 25 -410 87.6I~ Combined Total 646 25 -510 194.2 ~.Longnose Suckers Lower Susitna 3n 30 -447 297.3 (FL)Middle Susitna 490 24 -392 148.8 Combined Total 867 24 -447 213.4 Dolly Varden Lower Susitna 6 163 -366 247.3 (FL)Middle SUsitna 16 119 -457 249.5 f~Lakes in Middle Susitna 20 92 -190 125.9 Combined Total 42 92 -457 190.3 Lake Trout Lakes in Middle Susitna 35 60 -468 109.6 (FL) .i>-Threespine Stickleback Lower Susitna 1271 20 -90 28.8 (TL)Middle Susitna 337 15 -74 32.0 Combi ned Tota 1 1608 15 -90 29.S Northern Pike Lower Susitna 3 83 -713 433.7 (FL) Arcti c Lamprey Lower Susitna 21 113 -162 134.7 (TL)Middle Susitna 87 74 -290 126.1 Combined Total 1DB 74 -290 127.8 FL =Fork Length TL =Total Length C-2 .... r....E l! "OJIeI:). uc• r~Ja I •.. llo. X r....rt r "\ ~~ RAIN80\.}TROUT IS Fork.length n -532 i -244.2 range -27-545 ....--r-.....,.--,.--.,....-.,....-,......-,....-.---,......-.--..-;;:::::-I-__.-- Appendix Figure C-1.Length frequency compos ition of ra 1nbow trout captured in the Sus1tna River between Cook Inlet and Devil Canyon by all gear types.Hay to October 1984. ~ ! I BURBOT I~ ~ Total length .!!.•232 x •396.2 .~....'8 range .42-701E IE v ). u r~c: f""'a ) a•, t.. ~S o S",....IS.2"8"~$"3""3S8 ......sa s-~s.SQtI liSA 1911 1SiO .....AS" L ..ngln (_) Appendix Figure C-2.Length frequency composition of burbot coptured in the Susitna River between Cook Inlet and Devil Canyon by all gear types.Hay to October 1984. C-3 ARCTIC GRAYLING Forie length n •818 i •254.5 range •40-427 E I' Ev "G.,' ...... , Appendix Figure C-3.Lenqth frequency composition of Arctic grayling captured in the Susftna River between Coo~Inlet ind Oevil Canyon by ill gear types.May to October 1984. ROUND WHITEFISH Fork len9th n •Z030 i'•153.0 range •20-469 ] IZ'i~ j 5--'I n:I !I., I ,,I I I~J~~ I Iii iii i~'I 50 ,.'58 291 21>1 3.,sa ...-51 Le"'Ql~(",..) i sal I sse Appendix Figure C-4.Length frequency composition of round whitefish captured in the Susitna River between Coole Inlet and Devil Canyon oy all gear types,Hay to October 1984. C-4 HUMPBACK WHITEFISH E ...,IS,. \I ( 'II J ~ ~I. l&. ~I IilI Fork length n •646 i •194.Z range-25-510 • i.·..L-_.,..-.l-...--.---,.......;.;;,,;;;::::::.....,.....--,---r---..-4=:::;==---r-- 58 ...I se 2M 2S1 3M 35lt o.oS.sae sse L.nglh (_> s- -Appendix Figure C-S.length frequency compositiQn of humpback whitefish captured in the Susit"a River between Cook Inlet and Devil Canyon by all gear types,May to October 1994. LONGNOSE SUCKER 41111 -SII $1111 - Z~ ..... EIi OJ 's >- 1J ( ~ J '7 ~""L l&. ~ !; fork.length n •867i..213.4 range •24-447 I ! --r-..:;::::=,:;=:::::,~~"----jI~I----'~~'--'- I 58 '88 I SlI lIM Z5.3111 :lSI Le...glh C.....) A~Dendix Figure C-6.Lengt~frequency composition of longnose suckers captur~in the Susitna River between Cook Inlet and Devil Canyon by all gear types.May to October 1984. c-s t I't t t t>t J'l J:f I'l Appendix Table C-2.Fork lengths (mm)of sexually mature and immature resident fish captured on the Susftna River,1984. Spawning Males Females Combined Sexes Species Sampling Area Oates Condition n Range x n Range x n Range x Rainbow trout Middle Susitna roach 5/17-6/27 1 7 320-495 426 11 34S~462 406 18 320-495 415 5/26-6/27 2 5 306-370 332 9 310-450 404 14 306-450 318 5/17-6/27 3 12 306-495 388 20 310-462 405 32 306-495 399 6/5-6/28 4 ----------.-9 255-392 332 Fourth of July 9/14 1 29 160-310 217 20 173-2'70 222 49 160-310 219 Lakes C and 0 9/14 4 ------------15 95-240 155 Arctic grayling Middle Susitna reach 5/17-6/2 1 19 322~417 370 26 265-395 321 45 265-417 341 5/19-6/28 2 27 302-427 355 29 305-405 352 56 302-427 353 5/17-6/28 3 46 302-427 361 55 265-405 337 101 265-427 348 5/27-5/28 4 ------------4 276-290 283 Round whitefish Combined lower and 9/26-10/15 1 13 244-390 324 20 292-425 334 33 244-425 330 n middle Sus;tna 10/13-10/15 2 -- ----4 305-394 349 4 305-394 349I 01 reaches 9/26-10/15 3 13 244-390 324 24 292-425 336 37 244-425 332 Longnose suckers Combined lower and 5/19-10/15 1 57 273-390 333 1 --345 58 273-390 333 middle Susftna 6/28-6/29 2 2 322-330 326 ------2 322-330 326 reaches 5/17-10/15 3 59 273-390 333 1 --345 60 273-390 333 1 Pre-spawnersiPost-spllwnertl 4 Combined pre-and post-spawners Non-spawners --No sample or sex undetermined 1 1 ).OJ.J,).}J.•].1-I,J~t j'~.] .RAINBOW TROUT ARCTIC GRAYLING 100 o ,·"mtr·'$Yft!!F~«F'?!'C!7·"~?!!:·('f;c:!!~!<,0 30i~I~.;r_~///A 30 [I-PRE -SPAWNERS 20 10 .rf~V~1IiII'&~~~.~•POST-SPAWNERS ._.-:::;-~~~~..-II 10 90 100 80 >70 >-700~Z ~~ 0 60 0 ~w IE n I ...i,Z 50 50......W W 0 CJ a:AX ~.o,..~ Appendix Figure C-7.Timing of 1984 rainbow trout and Arctic grayling spawning in the middle Susitna River determined by the incidence of pre-to post-spawners. n.16 i·398mm ••meanI.range n.9 i-387mm --•• 5618 5678 •'A i'•'A i I280......---.:;~"-----_......_-..:;:l;:iUiir._---- Spawninq Males Spawninq Females 44 -... e •. •• """e •-... X •-l- e!) Z LIJ ...I-'¥a: 0 l&. - Appendh:Figure C-B.Age and length relationship fer spawning rainbow trout captured in the Sus;tna ~iver ~etween the Chul itna River confluence and :levil Canyon, May 17 through June 27,19B4. C-8 ..... :~ !""" -til H.!I c 390 -(I) ~380 =•. 370 ·••-e 360 •,.....e'.-•• %350 •-'t-340(!) Z ....•• 1.LI •. 330 • ..J ~320X; a::!II 0 310 • ",.. &I. 300 290 n-35 n-35 i·358mm x-332mm 280 ••meanI·range 270 260 2S0 6 7 8 9 10 5 6 7 8 9 II-I 'AG •••,•"A I ,~.., Spawning Males Spawning Ferno••• Appendix Figure C-9.Age and length relationships for spawning Arctic grayling captured in the Susitna River between the Chulitna River confluence and Devil Canyon, May 17 through June 5,1984. C-9 e(l) e(l) 13~O Gem-cee'"-330 .. :-c :J:;1...• C) .. '"c Z 310 .. """1&.1 ·c !...J e(l) ~a:290 0 La. .r..210 n·10 n a 22 i=311 mm 'i.332mm 250 e.mean em I·ren08 230 5 6 7 e 9 5 6 7 8 9 10 12-F"'AGE',i , ,'AGEl i r~~ 210 Spawning Moles Spawnin<;l Females Appendix Figure C-IO.Age and length relationships for s~awnjn9 round whitefish in the Susitna River between Cook Inlet and Devil Canyon,October;:0 to October 15,198~. - C-IO I -ee- :::B:::- :::s::::- ~a NOH -SPAWHERS 11:&SPAWNING FEMALES ~-SPAWNING MALES I -RANGE •·MEAN 764 B=~""'--"'l---i-----"""------"'--- Z :3 AGE - ~:-=-'?"_::=--~~C-11.Age and lengtn relationships for pre-scawning rainoow trout captured in lakes C and ~at the headwaterS of Fourth of July Creek. September 14.1984. C-ll r i~ i t f~ I f-. ! I r- I r~ I [- e L&J r ~ !os LL f_LL!0I~ L&J CD:e :::>z 100 50 to 5 • • •• • • • • 1984 DATA POINTS ,.•0-14 • •5822.13 ~•-0.8S SUfl"/IY....•42.T-At ••14, •••,...DATA POUtTS O.I'M PaNT'UUD "CIt RURESSION ANALYSIS _.RE8R£~LINE 1983 DATA POtNTS ,.•0.'7••He"'".)·-1.10 SURVMU.•".,-At••I .... ••I ••3 DATA POtNTS o.I ••3 POtNTS USED 'CIt H8RESSIOM ANALYSIS - •RE.EIIIQH UHf • 234 5 6 7 e 9 AGE Appendix Figure C-13.Survival rate curves for rainbow trout captured in the Susitna River between the Chulitna River confluence and Devil Canyon,1983 and 1984. C-14 """' ,,,",,,, !1- I ,,,,",, i- APPENDIX 0 Population Estimates - r -i ,"'." - Methods Population estimates were made of adult rainbow trout,Arctic grayling, round whitefish,and longnose sucker populations in the middle river using the multiple-year (1981-1984)tagging and recapture data.Since only adul t fi sh have been tagged,population estimates are appl i cab le only for fish above 199 mm fork length.The Jolly-Seber and Bailey methods (Ricker 1975)were set up on a commercial microcomputer spreadsheet program.The 95%confidence interval for the Jolly-Seber population estimate was developed using the method of Manly (1984). The number of recaptures of each species was adjusted by the tag retention rate for that species (Appendix A;Appendix Table 0-2).Floy anchor tag retention rates were calculated in 1983 and 1984 for several resident fish species.This was done by comparing the number of fish recaptured with tags to the number of fish recaptured which showed a tag scar.Tag scars were not recorded for fish captured in 1982 so actual tag retention rates are unavailable for that year.However,since retention rates are known for 1983 and assuming there was 1ittle change in retention rates between years,1983 retention rates were appl i ed to recaptures madei n 1982. Results and Discussion Population estimates presented in Appendix Table 0-1 from the Jolly- Seber method and Bai1ey's method must be considered tentative at this time.The numbers of recaptures were low,leading to large confidence interva 1s on the popul ation estimates using the Jolly-Seber method.One of the main problems was that there was a high mortality on the fish marked in 1981;hence,the recapture rate of these fish was low in comparison to 1982 and 1983.The high mortality was caused by the use of gill nets in 1981;we changed.in 1982 to boat electrofishing as the primary capture method.Round whitefish are particularly sensitive to gill nets;only one of the 48 fish marked in 1981 was ever recaptured. Because the Jolly-Seber method requires three marking periods,the 1981 data cannot be discarded from the estimate presented here.However,we will be able to discard the 1981 data after the 1985 field season,and use the 1982 to 1985 data. Note that several of the confidence fntervals (particularly in 1982, which was affected by the 1981 mortality)are so wide as to be meaningless.The 1983 estimates,however,give a general idea of the magnitude of the populations.We can conclude,for example,that it is unlikely that there are more than 15,000 Arctic grayling larger than 200 mm in the middle reach of the Susitna River,and that the true number is closer to 7,000.A similar type of conclusion can be made for round whitefish and longnose suckers. For the long term monitoring program,efforts will be redirected so that we can get higher recapture rates and therefore better population estimates. 0-1 "'--~l '~~)-~..~----..,1 'J -.J j )J B j Appendl~lable 0-1.Population estimates.using the Jolly-Seber end Oalley ..thods.for four specte,of resident fl,h In the .Iddle rive••1981-8•• PO~UI.tlon E,tIM.t.,Fhh fhh Roe.etute.of fl'h Klrk,dat JollYji 95\COnf~eoce b aa"eyc Newly Checked loUI Date Seber Interval 8elley S.D.S.D.Harked for Merk.1981 1982 1983 Recapture. R"lnbo"Trout 1981 NA ·HI.---92 NA HI.HI.NA !fA 1982 1.~08 548 •6.661 1.'50 I.H8 !fA ·151 191 7 ""!fA 7 1983 1.036 312 -29.667 HA -1.009 ·27'312 2 ~NA 6 198~NA ---NA 1.009 NA 204 0 1 16 17 Tota 1 Recaptures ·NA NA 9 5 Hi 30 Arctic Cre.lllii 1981 HI.·NA -.·"NA NA ItA Nfl ""1982 2.866 781 -28.192 2.356 1.551 NA -~OO "25 ,HI.NA , 1983 6.783 ~.070 -15.152 NA -5.787 ·765 911 1 30 Nfl n 1984 NA ---NA 2.329 Nfl 561 1 9 3~~~ Total Recapture,NA Nfl 10 19 3~81 Round Ilhl tefhh Cl I 1961 NA -NA ---~8 NA NA NA Nt.NA1'0 1962 9.529 -1'.'25 11.125 HA -720 787 0 NA HI.0 1961 1.264 4.829 •13.806 HA -6.201t 2.006 '.079 1.172 1 SO Nfl 51 196~HI.---HA -NA '~2 0 H 55 69 Total Recapture>Nfl NA 1 "55 120 long('oS.suck ... 1961 NA -NA -.·80 NA HA NA HA ItA 1982 '.930 837 -261.062 8.602 6.922 NA -1t18 ~62 2 NA HA 2 1983 7.613 4.003 -20.439 NA -8.'01 ".667 ~3~~H 2 H HA 16 1984 NA ·--HA -NA 223 0 5 7 12 Total Recapture.NA NA •19 7 10 b Population .stlmat.'.ad.using 1981-8~~ta. Population .stlmat.,.ade using 1981-83 deta. ~Popul.tlon .,tlmat.,made u'lng 1982-8"deta. See te~t for a~planatlon. NA 5 Not applicable. S.D.~Standard deviation. Appendix Table 0-2.Tag retention rates. Appendix Table 0-2.Tag retention rates. Actual No.Recaps Adjusted No.Recaps 0 0 12 14 46 55 18 22- 76 91Total Round whitefish:83%tag retention rate for year 1984 Year Tagged 1981 1982 1983 1984 Actual No.Recaps Adjusted No.Recaps 0 0 5 5 6 7 2 2 13 14Total 1981 1982 . 1983 1984 Longnose suckers:100.0%tag retention rate for years 1982 and 1983. Year Tagged """'t ! r r, 1"- ! D-4 -~ r'-' i ! l- I APPENDIX E Middle River Index Site Catch Data and Descriptions,and Spawning Rainbow Trout Habitat Data .J~ I Ii It I~ INDEX SITE DESCRIPTIONS (the other nine site descriptions are provided in ADF&G 1983d) Skull Creek -Mouth Skull Creek is a small clear-water tributary with a summer discharge of approximately 50 cfs which empties into the east side of the Susitna River at RM 124.7 (R&M 1982).The mouth of the creek is characterized by shallow water depths,low water velocities,and small cobble sub- strate.No object cover other than the substrate usually occurs. Susitna Mainstem -West Bank The index site Susitna Mainstem -West Bank is along the west bank of the mainstem Susitna River between RM 137.3 and RM 138.3.This site is .characterized by low to moderate water depths and velocities,and has large cobble substrate.No object cover other than the substrate usually occurs. Susitna Mainstem This mainstem index site is between RM 147.0 and RM 148.0 and includes both sides of a large island.The area along the east and west banks of the mai nstem river is characteri zed by steep banks and moderate water depths and velocities.Along the island,the shorelines are gently sloping and water velocities are low to moderate.The substrate at this site is predominately large cobble which acts as the only object cover. Susitna Mainstem -Eddy This site is a back eddy along the east bank of the mainstem Susitna River at RM 150.1.The area is characterized by steep banks,moderate water depths,and low velocity.The substrate is sand and rock. E-l i i -~J 1 ~J '),-'-·~'~~·i j J I j JJ Appendi.Tdble E-l 80at electroflshlng catch and catch per unit e'lort (CPUE)of four resident fish species at 13 Inde~sites In ttle Iftldddle reach of the Susltna River In 196~. cpuE Is In parentheses.and the units are catch per minute. River MAY JON JUN JUl JUl AUC AUC !>EP !>Ep OCT TOTAL Location Mile Species 16-31 I-IS 16-30 I-IS 16-31 I-IS 16-31 1-15 16-10 I-IS CATCH Tributary Mouth SI tes Lane Creek 113.6 Ralnb""trout 5 (0.2)0 0 -0 ·0 1 (0.1)-·6 "rct Ic grayling 16 (0.5)~(0.1)3 (O.~)·3 (0.8)-0 2 (0.6)·-28 Round ..hltefhh 5 (0.2)5 (0.8)2 (0.1)·2 (0.5)-1 (O.ll 2 (G.6)·-17 Long nose sucker 0 2 (0.1)0 ·8 12.0)·9 13.0)2 (0.6)-·21 Skull Creek 12~.7 Rainbow trout 1 10.3)0 -0 ·0 -- - I "rct Ie grayling 5 (I.~)-1 (0.6)·2 (0.7)·6 13.0)···16 Round "hltef hh 1 (0.3)-2 (O.~)-0 -1 (0.5)· · --longnose sucker 0 -0 -1 (1.0)·1 (0.5)·---fourth of July Creek 131.I Ra I nb""trout 2 (0.1l 1 (0.11 2 (0.1)·I (0.2)·1 (0.2)1 (0.1l 1 (0.11 -9 Arct Ie gr a)'Ii ng 0 0 1 (0.1)-2 (O.~)-I (0.2)7 (0.5)I (0.11 -12 Round whl tef ish ~(0.11 ~(0.5)6'(0.8)-7 (1.3)·5 (0.9)10 (0.8)I (0.1l -37 rrl Longnose sucker 0 0 0 ·1 (0.5)·2 (O.~)11 (0.8)0 -16 I N I ftdi Ml Ri ver 1311.t Rainbow trout 6 (0.11 I 10.1l 0 -3 10.~)-I (0.1)9 Il'.ll 6 (0.3)()26 "ret Ic guy II ng 10 (0.2)I (0.1)7 (0.6)-6 (0.8)-.5 (0.6)~7 (1.~)28 (1.6)0 10_ Round whitefish 21 (O.ll 2 (0.3)33 n.O)·6 (0.8)-2 (0.3)16 (0.5)~5 (2.5)11 10.9)136 Longnose sucker 0 0 I (0.1)-6 (0.8)-4 (O.~)0 I (0.11 1 (0.1l 13 Jack Long Creek 1~~.5 Rainbow trout 0 0 0 0 -0 0 0 0 0 Arct Ic grey It ng 2 (0.1l 1 (0.2)5 (1.0)-10 (2.9)-0 1 (0.1)0 0 19 Round "hlteflsh 7 (0.3)7 (I.3)25 (5.0)·5 (1.4)-2 (1.11 12 (1.6)18 (l.1)0 76 Longnns.luck~r 0 0 2 (O.~)·0 -0 1 (0.1)0 0 3 Port_go Creek lli8.8 Rainbow trout 1 (0.0)1 (0.1)1 (0.1)·0 ·0 6 (0.5)1 10.1)I (0.1)II "ret ic graylt n9 28 10.61 8 (0.7)8 (0.8)·7 10.7)·19 11.0)18 (1.6)7 10.~)9 10.9)10li Round wh Ite fi sh 25 (0.5)9 (0.8)21 (2.1)5 (0.5)·7 10.7)6 10.5)19 (1.0)9 (0.9)101 Longnose sucker 0 0 0 -II (1.1)-5 10.5)2 10.2)I (0.11 0 19 Slough Sites Wid ,kefs Creek Slough 101.2 Rainbow trout 3 10.1)0 ·I (0.3)·0 I (0.<1 - - 5 Houth Arctic gray Ii n9 38 (1.2)0 -I 10.3)·1 (0.3)1 10.2)·~I Round ..hitefish 1 10."·0 0 ·1 10.3)2 10.3)-·6 Longnnse suckef 1 10.0)·1 10.1l 1 10.3)5 11.~)0 --8 Slo09h 6A 112.3 Rainbow trout 0 0 ·0 ·0 --0 "retic grayling ~(0.3)0 0 -I)··~ Round whItefish 3 (0.2)3 10.3)·0 -I (0.2)-·-7 Longltu.e sucker I (0.1)·3 (0.3)-0 ·0 ·--~ --------,- j I j J ]1 I -I 1 J "'.----1 ---j Appendi.Table [-1 IContlnued). River HAV JUH JUH JUL JUL AUG AUG S£P S£P OCT TotAL Location Mile Species 16-31 1-15 16-30 I-IS 16-31 1-15 U>-)l 1-15 16-30 I-IS CATCH 510ug"6A 125.3 R.lnbOlY trout 7 12.0).0 -0 ·0 1 (0.2)-.II Arctic grayling 0 -0 -0 -1 10.3)0 --1 Round ..h i te f Ish 0 -0 -0 -1 10.3)3 10.5)--\ longnose sucker 0 .1 (0.2)·0 -0 0 --1 Slough 20 Mouth 140.1 RainbOW trout .0 0 -0 -0 0 1 (0.11 -1 Arctic g'lyllng 2 10.5)0 ·0 -0 6 11.21 0 -8 Round whitefish -4 11.0)2 (0.6)·0 ·0 0 0 -6 lOl'lgnos-e sucker -1 (0.3)0 -0 ·1 10.5)5 (1.0 I 0 .7 rn ~"ln~lem 5ite~I W Sus-itn'"Main!ltell\137.3-Rainbow trout 2 10.2)0 0 -0 -0 0 0 2 We;.t Uallk 136.3 Arctl"groyllng 2 (0.2)1 (0.11 22 (1.8)-21 12.0)·6 10.6)13 (1.2)1 10.61 -12 Round "hlteflsh 2 (0.2)8 (0.7)1 (0.6)-2 (0.2)-q (0.")7 (0.6)17 (I.")-41 longno:50e sucker 0 0 4 (0.3)·.,10.4)-0 2 (0.11 1 10.1)-"SU$iti14 Maiostem 1"7.0-R.lobo"trout 0 0 0 -0 ·0 1 (0.1)0 1 10.01 3 1\8.0 Arctl"lIrayling 9 (0.1)17 (0.6)2 (0.3)-0 -0 23 (0.9)5 (0.21 \(0.1)60 Round .,hl tet Ish 3"10.9)56 12.0)9 (1.2)-1 (/l.2)·\(0.8)13 (l.~)U(1.1)1Ii (0.5)178 longoose sucker 0 3 10.1)1 10.11 -2 (0.31 -0 5 10.2)\10.2)2 IG.1I 17 H4tn~tcfll 150.1 R.lnban trQut 1 10.11 0 .·-.)(0.2)11 10.51 \10.2)19 Arctic grayling 16 11.0)2 (0.4)--·-\10.2)2 10.1)0 2\ Round whitefish 0 1 (0.2).··-20 11.0)l2 10.91 9 (0.5)52 longnose sucker 0 0 -.- - 2 (0.1)0 0 2 0.0 ~Trace. Appendix l.bl.(-2. }J I -]'1 J J ~~,~"-"-'J H.blt.t ch.r.cterlltici .nd me,"urements t.ken .t sp.wnlng r.lnbow trout ,Itel In 198'. Water W.ter Qu.ltty RO.n Depth Velodty Te"",DO COndll..tlvl ty lac.tlon RH TRH O.te 1ft)1ft per secl ·c pH lIl!l/l llRlhol/cm Sublt..te Partage Creek 1'8.8 2.3 6/2 .-.-~1.6 12.~96.0 large grave I 70\ s••ll cObble 25' bedrock Sit C_nU Se"en Ip...nl nil fish "ere c.ptured on June 1 alld'5 fr~a Ichool of .ppro.l..tely 30 adult r.lnbow trout.FivCl of thele fl.h were radio t.gged. This lite II ch.racterfled by a pool "Ith a tribU- tary outlettlllg frOlll the "'"t.The pool'l .axl- ~depth ....eltlmated .t 20 ft.Host sp.wntng prob.bly occllrred in the pQoI ne.r the ,Ide tributery'l outlet ......re estl ••ted ..ater velocl- tie.w.re 0.5-1.5 fps .nd depth,1.5-2.5 ft. m I ~ Part age Creek Colon.the eoH ,hore I 1~8.B 5.1 6/20 '.5 0.2 6.~7.1 11.8 66.0 large gr.vel 90\ boulders 10\ One sp...nlng fl.h "es c.ptllred and r.dlo tagged on June 20.One other Ipa_nlng radio tagg.d filh w.'loc.ted et this lite during thll time.This .Ite I.ch.r.cterlzed by low "elOCltles due to l.rge boulders end by .....11 trlbutery flowing Into It.Host Ip.wnlng prob.bly occurred along the ••,t .Ide verlul the ....t side.W.ter velocl- tiel were much gr.ater .Iong the welt .Ide. fourth af July Creek Unrldrued S.i dt tributary "utlettin. ut IRM 0.7 af Fourth of July C«ek 131.1 0.7 0.5 6/3 6/5 2.6 1.~ 2.5 0.5 9.3 12.2 6.8 11.'21.0 large gravel 10\ s~.11 cobble 60\ large CObble 20\ small grevel 60\ large gr.vel ,0\ One post-,p...ned fllh ...s captured .nd r.dlo tagged on June 3.Two sp.wning radio tagged fi.h were .Iso loc.ted at thll alte during this tiMe. Thll sit.II ch.racterlzed by a side tributary Out- letting Into It on the east side. One p.lr of sp.wnlng flah _ere observed.The m.le ..as captured and radio tlgged.Other fish were Observed but It w.a unknown If they -ere .p...n....This .ide tributary was 10-15 feet ..tde.limited undercut bank.provided prl ••ry (OVd'r. ~..;I No med::'Urernef'lts.tit~en.