Fisheries Investigations in the Yellowstone and Shields River Basins, Park County, Montana

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Fisheries Investigations in the Yellowstone and Shields River Basins, Park County, Montana Fisheries Investigations in the Yellowstone and Shields River Basins, Park County, Montana Annual Report for 2010 Scott Opitz January 2011 Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks 1400 South 19 th Ave. Bozeman MT 59715 Table of Contents List of Figures ...................................................................................................... iv List of Tables .......................................................................................................vii Abstract .............................................................................................................. viii Objectives ............................................................................................................. 1 State Program Activities and Objectives ........................................................... 1 Local Project Objectives .................................................................................... 1 Electrofishing Procedures ..................................................................................... 2 Yellowstone River Procedures .............................................................................. 2 Corwin Springs Section ................................................................................. 3 9th Street Section ........................................................................................... 3 Yellowstone River Results .................................................................................... 5 Yellowstone River Trout Abundances ............................................................... 5 Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout .............................................................................. 5 Corwin Springs Section ................................................................................. 5 9th Street Section ........................................................................................... 6 Rainbow Trout ................................................................................................... 7 Corwin Springs Section ................................................................................. 7 9th Street Section ........................................................................................... 8 Brown Trout ....................................................................................................... 8 Corwin Springs Section ................................................................................. 8 9th Street Section ........................................................................................... 9 Eastern Brook Trout ........................................................................................ 10 Corwin Springs Section ............................................................................... 10 Shields River Procedures ................................................................................... 10 Convict Grade Section ................................................................................. 13 Tomschin Section ........................................................................................ 13 Shields River Results .......................................................................................... 13 Shields River Abundances .............................................................................. 13 Brown Trout ..................................................................................................... 14 Convict Grade Section ................................................................................. 14 Tomschin Section ........................................................................................ 14 Rainbow Trout ................................................................................................. 15 Convict Grade Section ................................................................................. 15 Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout ............................................................................ 16 Convict Grade Section ................................................................................. 16 Tomschin Section ........................................................................................ 17 Eastern Brook Trout ........................................................................................ 18 Tomschin Section ........................................................................................ 18 Dailey Lake Procedures ...................................................................................... 19 Trap Netting ................................................................................................. 19 Dailey Lake Results ............................................................................................ 20 Rainbow Trout ................................................................................................. 20 Yellow Perch ................................................................................................ 21 Walleye ........................................................................................................ 21 Yellowstone Cutthroat .................................................................................. 22 ii Brook stickleback ......................................................................................... 22 Fish Stocking ...................................................................................................... 22 Walleye ........................................................................................................ 23 Rainbow and Yellowstone Cutthroat ............................................................ 23 Literature Cited ................................................................................................... 25 iii List of Figures • Figure 1: Map of the Upper Yellowstone River drainage displaying the location of the 2010 sampling sections. ......................................................... 4 • Figure 2: Abundance estimates for Yellowstone cutthroat trout ( ≥ 7 in.) in the Corwin Springs Section of the Yellowstone River from 2001-2010. Error bars represent +/- 2 SD. No abundance estimates were made in 2006 and 2008. The section was not sampled in 2003, 2005, and 2007. ..................... 6 • Figure 3: Length-frequency distributions for Yellowstone cutthroat trout sampled in the Corwin Springs Section of the Yellowstone River during 2009 and 2010. ....................................................................................................... 6 • Figure 4: Abundance estimates for rainbow trout ( ≥ 7 in.) in the Corwin Springs Section of the Yellowstone River from 2001-2010. Error bars represent +/- 2 SD. No abundance estimates were made in 2006 and 2008. The section was not sampled in 2003, 2005, and 2007. ................................ 7 • Figure 5: Length-frequency distributions for rainbow trout sampled in the Corwin Springs Section of the Yellowstone River during 2009 and 2010. ..... 7 • Figure 6: Length-frequency distributions for rainbow trout sampled in the 9 th Street Section of the Yellowstone Riverin 2010. ............................................ 8 • Figure 7: Abundance estimates for brown trout ( ≥ 7 in.) in the Corwin Springs Section of the Yellowstone River from 2001-2010. Error bars represent +/- 2 SD. No abundance estimates were made in 2006 and 2008. The section was not sampled in 2003, 2005, and 2007. ................................ 9 • Figure 8: Length-frequency distributions for brown trout sampled in the Corwin Springs Section of the Yellowstone River for 2009 and 2010. ........... 9 • Figure 9: Length-frequency distribution for brown trout sampled in the 9 th Street Section of the Yellowstone River for 2010. ........................................ 10 • Figure 10: Map of the Shields River drainage displaying the 2010 sampling locations ...................................................................................................... 12 • Figure 11: Abundance estimates for brown trout ( ≥ 7 in.) in the Convict Grade Section of the Shields River from 2006-2010. Error bars represent +/- 2 SD. ............................................................................................................ 14 • Figure 12: Length-frequency distributions for brown trout sampled in the Convict Grade Section of the Shields River in 2009 and 2010. ................... 14 • Figure 13: Length-frequency distributions for brown trout sampled in the Tomschin Section of the Shields River in 2010. ........................................... 15 • Figure 14: Abundance estimates for rainbow trout (≥ 7in.) in the Convict Grade Section of the Shields River from 2005-2010. Error bars represent +/- 2 SD. Data were insufficient in 2007 to conduct a population estimate. .... 16 • Figure 15: Length-frequency distributions for rainbow trout sampled in Convict Grade Section of the Shields River in 2009 and 2010. ................... 16 • Figure 16: Number of Yellowstone cutthroat trout sampled in the Convict Grade Section of the Shields River for 2006-2010. ...................................... 17 iv • Figure 17: Length-frequency distributions for Yellowstone cutthroat trout sampled in the Convict Grade Section of the Shields River in 2009 and 2010. ............................................................................................................ 17 • Figure 18: Length-frequency distributions for Yellowstone cutthroat trout sampled in the Tomschin Section of the Shields River in 2010. .................
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