Sauger (Stizostedion canadense) and Walleye (Stizostedion 

 vitreum vitreum) 



Only two saugers were taken from the Illinois River by electro- 

 fishing. Both came from the Alton Pool, one in 1965 and one in 1974. 

 During a 10-year biological investigation of the fishes of Lake 

 Chautauqua (mile 124-130) from 1950-1959, Starrett and Fritz (1965) 

 obtained just three sauger, and the same authors reported that saugers 

 were caught occasionally in the river by commercial fishermen. Sauger 

 are reported to be more tolerant of turbid water and silted bottoms 

 than their close relative, the walleye (Trautman, 1957). In spite of 

 this tolerance, sauger are much less abundant in the Illinois River now 

 than prior to 1908. 



Walleye were once common in the Illinois River, but not a single 

 specimen was taken during the electrof ishing survey or during the 

 10-year study of Lake Chautauqua mentioned above. By contrast, in 

 1899, 11,000 lbs of walleye were taken by commercial fishermen from the 

 Illinois River, and approximately 100 walleye could be taken per year 

 along each few miles of river (Forbes and Richardson, 1908) . Trautman 

 (1957) attributed reductions in walleye populations in Ohio to turbidity, 

 the silting over of hard bottoms, and dams which hindered the movements 

 of this highly migratory species. 

 Freshwater drum (Aplodinotus grunniens) 



Freshwater drum is a commercial species. Every year, most were 

 taken in LaGrange and Alton Pools (Table 29). The largest number of 

 individuals and the second greatest number of pounds were taken in 1974, 

 following a high-water period. 



Discussion of Electrof ishing Results 



There are several patterns to the distribution of fishes in the 

 Illinois River in both space and time. Although one might think that 

 the total number or total weight of fish taken from the various naviga- 

 tion pools should provide a good summary of changes in fish populations 

 through time and space, such summaries tend to obscure, rather than 



