Introduction
During the fifth year of mechanical suppression of Northern Pike (NP) in Box Canyon Reservoir, crews deployed 419 nets and removed 181 northern pike between February 29 and April 28, with a final catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) of 0.43 NP/net-night. The Kalispel Natural Resources Department and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife collected 4 Northern Pike during the 2016 Spring Pike Index Netting (SPIN) Survey conducted May 2 through May 5. The resulting CPUE of 0.05 NP/ net-night (95% CI: ± 0.08), in sloughs and mainstem river between Riverbend and Pioneer Park Campground met the abundance target of < 1.73 NP/net-night for these sections of the reservoir. The CPUE north of Riverbend was 0.04 NP/net-night and was below the target of < 0.50 NP/net-night. There was no Phase 2 (post SPIN) mechanical suppression effort planned or implemented in 2016.
In total, 17,159 NP were removed in 4,383 overnight gillnet sets during the five years of suppression in Box Canyon Reservoir (5,808 NP in 2012; 6,452 NP in 2013; 3,967 NP in 2014; 751 NP in 2015; 181 NP in 2016).