Fishing

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) refunded $585,000 worth of licenses, permits, and stamps so far to residents and non-residents who were unable to hunt, fish, or boat in 2020. That's more than double its previous record year for refunds in 2019.

Hunters and anglers fund Wyoming wildlife conservation and management by purchasing fishing and hunting licenses, and those funds go into the Wyoming Game and Fish Department budget.

But, the number of hunters and anglers is decreasing in the state, although not as much in other places. Still, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is making efforts to recruit newcomers.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has collaborated with the private company Conservation Vision on their new project: Wild Harvest Initiative. That initiative looks at the full benefits of sustainable wild animal harvests nationally.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) is urging anglers to modify their routine to protect fish. Hot, dry weather can heat up water temperatures and lower the overall dissolved oxygen in the water, which can stress the fish. 

Most of the West has been experiencing drought this year. Bart Miller, with the environmental group Western Resource Advocates, said that the water levels we are seeing this year are nothing new.

Wyoming state park campgrounds open to residents only on May 15. Antler hunting will begin on May 1 as usual. Fishing nonresident daily and five-day licenses are under temporary suspension till May 8. No planned date to reopen Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

More than 500 goldfish have been found in a reservoir meant to be a bass fishery. Wyoming Game and Fish said this highlights the effects of releasing household pets in the wild.

The lakes in the alpine areas of the Wind River Range have historically been fishless - that is, until humans started stocking them for recreational use. The introduction of these fish changed the ecosystems of the lakes, and specifically, the microscopic animals that float through the water, known as zooplankton. Now, University of Wyoming researchers want to know if the change in zooplankton has influenced a change in the fish.

Wildlife based recreation in Wyoming increased by three percent in 2017 from the year before. That's according to a new analysis by the University of Wyoming. This is the second time the University of Wyoming analyzed the economic contribution of big game hunting, fishing and wildlife watching in the state.

Some fishing and hunting licenses will now be valid for 12 months after the date of purchase. Previously, all licenses from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department expired January 1, even if the license was only bought a week earlier.

A section of the North Platte River, between Gray Reef and Casper, may receive new commercial permits for fishing due to increased annual demand. The Bureau of Land Management put out a request for public comment to learn more about how recreationists want to use the stretch between Gray Reef and Casper. 

Wyoming residents value access to fish and wildlife. A recent study by the national survey firm, Responsive Management, shows about half of the state's residents bought a hunting, fishing or trapping license in the last five years.

The study was commissioned by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department in an effort to get a better idea of current attitudes toward fish and wildlife, the department and its management.  

After a set of meetings this week, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is asking the public to help with the future conservation of cutthroat trout in the Bighorn Basin. The department is not proposing specific projects but instead wants to collaborate with the public on a set of recommendations for the trout’s future restoration efforts.

A private ranch has donated enough money to open, or keep open, about 7200 acres of private land around Wyoming for public access to hunting and fishing. The Pathfinder Ranches gave more than $2,250 to Access Yes, a Wyoming Game and Fish Department program. 

There's big bucks to be made on Wyoming's big bucks, according to a new report by the University of Wyoming that evaluated the amount of money generated from hunting and fishing.

So far, the report has studied four counties: Park, Sweetwater, Albany and Fremont. All saw more than $20 million in revenue generated by hunters and anglers, and Albany County had the highest revenues with $25 million.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department are using a new technology this year to track the movement of the non-native burbot fish in the Green River drainage.

PIT tags, or passive integrated transponder, are inserted into the fish’s belly which can be monitored by antennas to record when a fish moves upstream.

According to John Walrath, Green River fisheries biologist, burbot feed mostly on other fish, causing concern for native populations of the river such as smallmouth bass, bluehead, and flannelmouth suckers.

Climate change is hurting certain fish species in North American streams and lakes, according to the July issue of Fisheries Magazine.

Abigail Lynch, a research scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, is one of the guest editors for the special issue. She said she looked at several previous scientific studies when compiling the July issue and found worrisome trends, like how prolonged droughts impact fish that are normally used to having a lot of space in their habitat.

Thanks to a bill passed in the last budget session, it may soon be legal to use artificial light and out-of-state live bait when fishing in Wyoming.  Dave Zafft with Wyoming Game and Fish says its long been against the rules to use lights to draw fish to the lure.  Now it could be allowed for nearly all kinds of fishing.

New Wyoming fishing regulations take effect
beginning in January.
    Wyoming anglers generally will be allowed to keep six trout of
any size in lakes and rivers around the state but will only be
allowed to keep three trout from a river or stream, with only one
of the three trout being over 16 inches. There will be exceptions
to the general limit in certain waters around the state.
     The new regulation will allow anglers to keep up to 16 brook
trout of any size. The old regulation specified only six brook
trout could be over 8 inches.