SEASONAL MIGRATION AND HOMING OF CHANNEL CATFISH IN THE LOWER WISCONSIN RIVER, WISCONSIN. Thomas D. Pellett1, Gene J. Van Dyck2, and Jean V. Adams3 1 Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 1350 Femrite Drive, Monona, Wisconsin 53716 2 Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 3448 State Highway 23, Dodgeville, Wisconsin 53533 3 National Biological Service, 1451 Green Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108. Understanding the extent and timing of fish population movements, and the degree of integration between tributary and main-stem populations are important elements in the development of sound fisheries and environmental management policies. To address these concerns, a multi-year tag and recapture study was conducted to determine if channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) from the Lower Wisconsin River were migratory with strong homing tendencies. Field crews tagged over 15,000 channel catfish from the Lower Wisconsin River and adjacent waters of the Upper Mississippi River over three years. Data on the movements of these fish were obtained from study recaptures and through tag returns and harvest information provided by sport anglers and commercial fishers. Lower Wisconsin River channel catfish occupied relatively small home ranges during summer, migrated downstream to the Upper Mississippi River in autumn and, in spring migrated back up the Wisconsin River to spawn and then to settle into the same summer home sites they had occupied in previous summers. Fish size was a factor in the degree of fidelity to home sites; smaller fish showed a greater tendency to stray from home sites and larger fish were more likely to return to the same home sites year after year. Key Words: Migration, Homing, Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, Wisconsin River. Thomas D. Pellett, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 1350 Femrite Drive, Monona, Wisconsin 53716. Telephone (608) 221-6336; FAX (608) 221-6353; E-Mail pellet@DNR.State.WI.US Preference: Oral presentation. Poster acceptable if notice received by March 1st.