Game and Fish Bighorn River fishing report

by Leyanne Gomez

Regional Wyoming Game & Fish fisheries biologist and a team from Cody conducted a fairly comprehensive fish survey on the Bighorn River last fall. Their focus was from the Wedding of the Waters to 4.4 miles downstream.

WGFD has a management goal to keep the Bighorn River as a blue ribbon fishery. Specifically, they strive to maintain 1,000 trout 12 inches or larger per mile; a plan that makes our local anglers and visiting fishermen very happy.

WGFD also manages other associated waters in the Bighorn River drainage from Thermopolis to the Montana border. Our stretch has been surveyed since the 90s. The crew consists of 4-6 members using jet boats or rafts, depending on water levels, and takes roughly four days. Usually there is a driver or rower and one or two very fast personnel working the large dip nets. From their efforts, considerable amounts of data is recorded including species of fish, natural or stocked trout, length, weight and numbers. The fisheries biologist then analyzes that information, looking at the size-structure of the population, and completes a population estimate. The report will be complete around late April or early May.

The indications are that the management objective is being met. There has been some reduction in recruitment (natural spawn) of the bows & cutt's. That may be partly due to not having been able to have the annual 24 hour flush from Boysen the past two years due to water level concerns in the reservoir. The flush has been helpful in removing silt from gravel beds where the trout will try to spawn & have their redds.

To meet management plans and keep fishermen smiling, the state has stocked 16,000 rainbows & 8,000 Bear River cutthroat sub-catchables.

The "salad or seaweed" that annoys many is a curse and a blessing. It does tend to foul lines, but is a blessing in that it harbors many macro organisms that hungry trout need. So with trout growing up to an inch per month, mostly April-November, a fingerling can be 20 inches in just two years.

Fishermen realize that our cold water fishery is a bit of an anomaly in between warm or warmer waters. It is created by the tail water effect of Boysen Dam, and mostly fades out roughly between Lucerne and Kirby.

In the last couple of years the following has been observed:

•22 inch rainbow going 6 lbs.

•24 inch brown going 6 lbs.

•burbot easily in the 20 inch plus range

There are numbers of the burbot in some of the deeper stretches. They are not easily surveyed because electro-fishing works best on the upper levels of the water column. According to some fishermen, it does take a different mind set and tackle approach to land one of these "snakey" denizens. There have been reports of burbot in the river pushing 30 inches.

Adrian Padilla, a fifteen year resident of Thermopolis, fishes the Bighorn River frequently. To say that he is an outdoor enthusiast is an understatement. He utilizes various methods of angling, leaning a tad more toward flies both dry or wet. Depending on conditions, he favors San Juan worms in red or orange with beads; and likes pale colored scuds. He will admit that most of his largest trout, both brown & bows, have been caught with the tried an true method of bouncing a night crawler. Adrian practices a lot of CPR-catch, photograph & release. He indicated that his experiences are almost 50/50 drift fishing & pedestrian access.

He has experience landing other game fish species on the Bighorn including channel cats & burbot. They may be in overlooked places, and may require a more timed approach and focus but still fun.

Padilla would like to see more fishing access areas available, especially some that would be accessable for handicap individuals. With the boat ramp having to be taken out, accessiblity is now more limited.

With the help of the state, water users, WGFD and other agencies we will continue to have and offer quality angling experiences for locals and visitors for years to come.