Diversifying Trout Fishing Opportunity in Wyoming: History, Challenges, and Guidelines

The notion of diversifying fishing opportunity pre-dated Wyoming fisheries biologists by 70 years. Before 1880 native cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus spp.) thrived in Wyoming lakes and streams. Brook (Salvelinus fontinalis), brown (Salmo trutta), and lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), lake whitefish (Prosopium spp.), bass (Micropterus spp.), and walleye (Sander vitreus) were introduced by 1890 probably because early settlers were familiar with these species during pre-Wyoming life. Impacts of the introductions went mostly unrecognized until 1940 when a systematic fisheries management plan was developed. Fisheries biologists were hired in 1950 when shortening the time between bites was the primary goal of U.S. fisheries management. Stocking multiple trout species in the same water or among waters to diversify fishing opportunity was common and often done without information about public demand for multi-species trout fishing. Sometimes more trouble than benefit resulted. A reasonable assessment of actual demand for more diverse fishing opportunity, particularly in individual waters, must be made before stocking additional trout species. Proposals to diversify angling where fishing is already good must include well-founded objectives, goals, and measurable criteria upon which to judge success of suggested management direction over a specified time period. Diversity can be achieved by stocking several kinds of trout (or other game fish) in the same water, managing neighboring waters with different species, and assigning different management strategies or variously regulating fishing.