4-H members document fish on Bighorn River

By Mark Dykes

In November, members of the Hot Springs County 4-H Sport Fishing Club went out on the Bighorn River with Leaders Joel Farber and Dick Staiger, as well as Cody Region Fisheries Biologist Joe Skorupski. Their goal - to estimate the number of trout in the river.

Farber said he got involved with the 4-H Sport Fishing program through Staiger.

After moving to Thermopolis, Farber said, "A mutual friend of Dick and mine contacted me and asked 'What's the address of your new house in Thermopolis?'" Farber gave the friend the address, and found he had beat Staiger to buying the house. It would still be a year before the two met, though Staiger did drop off a canoe with an outboard motor and three bottles of wine as a housewarming gift.

"When we did finally meet, I knew he was a passionate fly fisherman," Farber said. "Likewise, he knew that I was, and we started to spend time together fishing." Farber learned Staiger was involved with the sport fishing, and Staiger asked him if he wanted to help, so that got him first involved with the program.

Through the program, the two teach kids how to tie flies and, hopefully, at the end of the year take them fishing with those flies. "Through that, and some involvement I've had with Game and Fish," Farber said, "we started getting the kids on the river."

This fall, four of the kids - Owen McCumber, Porter McCumber, Eli McCumber and John Maier - were able to go out and help with the survey, where they go out and shock the fish to get an estimate on the number of trout in the Bighorn River.

Farber further explained they sample the same reach of the river every year, starting at the highway bridge below Wedding of the Waters down to the Eighth Street bridge. During the process, they estimate for the species and size of trout they find.

On the first day they shock the fish, using electrodes in the water. Farber explained this basically stuns the fish, not killing them. They are then netted and put in live wells; as these wells fill the boats pull over to the bank.

The fish are anesthetized to allow for safe handling before being measured, weighed and documented.

After documentation, the fish are released back into the river.

Something really interesting, Farber said, is during that first day caught fish have a small clip taken from one of their fins - not enough to hurt them, but to identify them. During the second day, they sample the same reach of the river.

"Obviously they catch some of the same fish they caught the first day," but the clipped fin helps them recognize those. A different fin is clipped on any second-day fish, and by the third day they can see which fish were caught during the previous two days and which are new. This allows them to reasonably estimate how many fish are in the river.

Farber knows through these experiences the kids are having fun, which to him is very important. "I think that's a good thing, I think kids need to have fun, but I think they're learning things and they're gaining an appreciation for the wonderful place we live."