shad ranked first in numerical abundance in La Grange, Peoria, and Marseilles 

 reaches in 1995, all reaches in 1996, La Grange and Peoria reaches in 1997, and 

 Alton, La Grange and Peoria reaches in 1998 (Tables 9, 11, 13, and 15). Other 

 numerically important species have included bluntnose minnow, bullhead minnow, 

 emerald shiner, bluegill, and green sunfish. Bluntnose minnow ranked first in 

 numerical abundance in Dresden Reach in 1994 and 1997 (Tables 7 and 13). 

 Bullhead minnow ranked first in numerical abundance in Dresden Reach in 1995 

 (Table 9). Emerald shiner ranked first in numerical abundance in Starved Rock and 

 Marseilles reaches during all years of this project except 1996 (Tables 7, 9, 13, and 

 15). Bluegill ranked first in numerical abundance in Alton, La Grange, and Peoria 

 reaches in 1994 and in Alton Reach in 1995 and 1997 (Tables 7, 9, and 13). Green 

 sunfish ranked first in numerical abundance in Dresden Reach in 1998 (Table 15). 



CPUE m of Five Most Numerically Abundant Species . Catch rates in 

 numbers of individuals collected per hour by electrofishing for the top five most 

 numerically abundant species are shown in Figures 2 through 6 for the lower, middle, 

 and upper Illinois watenA/ay reaches. For gizzard shad, a similar trend was noticed in 

 all three river sections (Figure 2). Lowest gizzard shad CPUEn occurred in 1994 in 

 all sections, and was highest in 1995 (lower and upper river) and 1996 (middle river), 

 prior to a decline in CPUEn in 1996, 1997, and 1998. Overall, catches of gizzard 

 shad have been much higher in the middle and upper river than in the lower river. 

 Catches of common carp have been highest (CPUEn 15-20) in the middle Illinois 



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