Fish numbers show increase

October 14-16 saw members of Wyoming Game and Fish on a four-mile stretch of the Big Horn River, from Wedding of the Waters to the island near the WYDOT building, doing some “electrofishing.” In this process, a mild electric current is passed in the river to make the fish easier to net. Fish fins are also clipped to ensure the same fish are not caught multiple times and to provide more accurate counts.

Wyoming Game and Fish Regional Fisheries Biologist Joe Skorupski said the numbers are definitely up. Total estimates are 3,500 for all fish grater than six inches. Breaking it down a bit further, he noted estimates for fish that are six to 12 inches is 2,654, and estimates for fish greater than 12 inches is 851.

The management objective for greater than 12 inches is 1,000, Skorupski said, so it’s good to see the estimates continuing to get closer and closer to that mark.

There’s also a lot of naturally spawned rainbow and brown trout as well in comparison to stocked fish. Skorupski said there are weights and lengths off the charts, explaining that a relatively low population has resulted in high food resources for those that remained. Though there are still not as many big fish — those hitting the 18-inch range or higher — as there used to be, Skorupski said the estimate is about 450 per mile. He further noted that the average size is about 3.5 pounds, which is over one pound larger than normal.