Christopher J. Goudreau, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Route 6, Box 685, Marion, NC 28752-9229

R. Duane Harrell, Duke Power Company, 13339 Hagers Ferry Road, Huntersville, NC 28078-7929

Studies in 1993 documented the existence of 46 fish species in the 29-km section of Catawba River between Lake James and Lake Rhodhiss, but game species were rare. Water chemistry parameters were considered to be normal. Water temperature ranged from 8-22^oC, and low (<5 mg/L) dissolved oxygen concentrations were restricted to a 3-km river segment from August - September. The lack of game fish was felt to be limited by reproductive success, possibly due to significant sediment input from a major tributary. In an attempt to establish fishable game fish populations, annual stockings of 30,000 fingerling smallmouth bass (1994-1997) and brown trout (1996-1997) were made. Boat electrofishing conducted in September 1996 and 1997 was limited, preventing the calculation of fish density or survival. Age and growth information determined from scales in 1996 were suspect, especially for brown trout which showed 1-2 false annuli. Calculations from otoliths in 1997 indicated growth of smallmouth bass was slow (206 mm age 3) but very fast for brown trout (246 mm at age 1). Wr was high for smallmouth bass under stock size (mean 102), but declined for quality fish (mean 92). Mean Wr was 82 for brown trout under stock size, increasing to 95 for preferred fish. Stocking and fish and habitat sampling will continue for several more years to determine which species is best suited for local conditions.