POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS OF CHANNEL CATFISH FROM THE KANSAS RIVER, KANSAS

Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were sampled from the Kansas Riv er during October 1996 and August 1997 from Fort Riley Military Reserv ation and during August 1997 near Lawrence, Kansas. Fish varied in len gth from 100 to 506 mm at Fort Riley and from 120 to 637 mm at Lawrenc e. Catch per unit effort (number per net-night) was greater at Lawrenc e than at Fort Riley. Proportional stock density values were 23 and 48 for the Fort Riley and Lawrence samples, respectively. Individuals fr om both populations were in poor condition and typically had relative weight values less than 90. Age structure was similar between location s; however, approximately 44% of the channel catfish from Fort Riley w ere from the 1993 year class. Mean back-calculated lengths at age were significantly higher at Lawrence than Fort Riley for fish of ages 1 t hrough 4 (P less than or equal to 0.05). Incremental growth analysis o n channel catfish from Fort Riley indicated that growth was fastest du ring 1993. Channel catfish collected near Lawrence did not exhibit the same trends in recruitment and growth. These data illustrate spatial variation in population characteristics of channel catfish in a prairi e river and suggest the importance of over-bank discharge on recruitme nt and growth.