Slow fishing expected this summer

Those looking to catch some trout on the Big Horn River might have a slower go of it than they have in previous years.

According to Wyoming Game and Fish Regional Fisheries Supervisor Sam Hochhalter, a survey of the Wedding of the Waters area, which includes from Wedding to Eighth Street, showed there were 1,100 trout per mile. In comparison, a 2016 survey showed 2,700 trout per mile.

The drop in trout, Hochhalter explained, is due to poor survival of the stock fish and no natural recruitment — fish that are spawned in the river. Both correlate with the past three years of sustained high flows from Boysen Reservoir. He noted there was nothing toxic in the river killing the fish.

Hochhalter further explained the normal flushing flow of the river peaks for a few seconds at 5,000 cubic feet per second (cfs). However, when there are more days where the flows are 5,000 cfs and higher — as there have been the past few years — it means fewer age 0 and age 1 fish in the river. Hochhalter added it’s unknown if the fish are going downstream or if they’re dying.

On the positive side, Hochhalter said though there’s fewer fish we should see some good growth in those that survive but it will be some time before surveys show the numbers they did over the last eight years, averaging around 3,000 trout per mile. He pointed out the lower number doesn’t mean it will be bad fishing on the river this year, just slower.

Game and Parks stocks the river every year, and Hochhalter explained this year they will start marking them with a fin clip to better track the survival and performance of the stock trout. All of us, he added, should also keep our fingers crossed that we get a break from the heavy snow packs we’ve seen in recent years that result in the increased flows from the reservoir.