Winter Newsletter

01/23/2010

Part Four- The Lower Shoshone

Today's installment is on the Lower Shoshone. I have already discussed the problems the Lower Shoshone has experienced in the last couple years in some earlier writings. You can scroll back through the newsletter page to find the article. As a brief overview, the fish population was decimated in most of the river by super high, long duration flows 2 years ago. The flows did flush a bunch of sediment away and the GAF has implemented an aggressive restocking program. The river is coming back strong, but is still a couple years away from being what it once was. The river had some serious problems before this happened, so lets take a look at them.

One of the main problems with keeping any river healthy is sedimentation. Basically, sedimentation can cover vital spawning habitat and destroy biomass which the fish feed on. With our situation in Wyoming being a high desert, water is the deal. The balance between too much and not enough water is ever present. With lower water years sediment builds up and the fish are unable to reproduce efficiently. High water for too long starves the fish to death. The only way to combat this situation is to run flushing flows in the spring and fall to rid vital spawning areas of sediment and, be a bit more aware of snow pack so we don't hold back to much water in the reservoir and have to release to much in the summer. The Grey Reef outside Casper is a prime example of how this can work. You flush the river Prior to the fish spawning in the spring and fall. This entails ramping up the flows for a 2 days up to 5000 cfs and back down a couple times. Not enough water that anyone will even notice. If you run high water in the summer you may not even need the fall flush. Not a difficult fix, with no ill effects to anybody. Simple. The Grey Reef went from 450 small fish per mile to over 4000 fish per mile that average 16" to 18" in about 4 years. It is now probably one of the most popular fishing destinations in Wyoming. The key is to do it before the fish start laying eggs. February is a good time in the spring and early October in the fall. In Thermopolis I have seen fish spawning in the spring have all their hard work washed away for years by running the flush to late in the year and sending all the eggs down stream before they have a chance to develop. Ever wonder why the browns seem to do much better than cutthroat and rainbows? They lay their eggs after irrigation season has cleaned the river bottom and they have all winter to develop in a nice reasonable flow.

Agricultural run off is another problem we hear about. Agricultural run off dumps sediment and agricultural chemicals into the river. This condition also raises the temperature of the river. In Cody, I think the farmers have been given a bad rap on this topic. Yes, this is happening, but most farmers that have been given the opportunity to upgrade their irrigation systems have eagerly done so. Of course they want a more efficient system that uses 10 times less water than flood irrigation. Flood irrigation also sends a lot of their valuable top soil into the river. Farming is a tough occupation! Most guys are just making ends meet, so government subsidies for improving irrigation are a very good idea in my opinion and benefit everyone. Again a no brainer ! The farmers I have talked to are just as concerned with sound conservation practices as fisherman, with many of them being fisherman themselves. They have been stewards of the land long before we ever thought about fishing for trout recreationally. The fact is that farming is slowly being phased out to accommodate population growth. Farmers are selling out and subdivisions are moving in. Less agricultural run off, but more people. A no win for the river unless we make some changes.

The primary problem I see is again, US!  People keeping the limit of fish allowed by the current regulation. A 6 fish limit in a river is just absurd in this day and age. Other states in the west haven't had a 6 fish limit in rivers for 15 years. In the east where all fisheries are primarily stocked and over run by people, it is too late to make a real difference, but here is a totally different situation.

The Corbett section of the Lower Shoshone is a prime example. This section tends to collect sediment and has no tributary streams for any natural reproduction so there are very few fish that make it naturally. Just a few hardy browns can successfully spawn there. People realized that these fish are concentrated below the dam in November while trying to spawn a couple years ago. This is the entire population of naturally reproducing fish in the area. Fisherman ravaged these fish while they are stuck below the dam and in only 2 years the fishery was reduced to a stocker fishery. Now that the fish are gone, so are the fisherman, but it will take years to bring back the fishery if ever. We could protect these spawning fish by closing an area for about a 1/4 mile above and below the dam for about 2 weeks. A very small inconvenience for a healthy river. This is only one example of over harvesting on this river but unless action is taken to adjust current regulations we will see many more especially in the future. Everyone can see the #'s of fisherman increasing very rapidly in the Cody area as the numbers and quality of fish go down. The population just keeps getting bigger. If we want to enjoy what we have all gotten used to, in the future we need to make a few adjustments to stay up with the times.

The Lower Shoshone has done well in the past, mainly because it is not fished much all summer because of high, off color water. As locals it is our river. From the end of irrigation season in the fall to the start in the spring, this is where we fish the most. We can't blame the tourists. We are the ones to blame. The river is completely capably of maintaining a healthy fishery on it's own (no stocking). The river can grow fish to 20" and lots of them (as it has done in the past) if we just take care of it. I commend the GAF for their quick response to the fish kill with an aggressive stocking effort but this would not have been necessary with just a little vigilance on our part. Those fish cost the people of Wyoming about 3 dollars a piece, not to mention all the revenue that fisherman from afar bring to our community. Restaurants, motels, and shopping  are all benefits that we all indirectly realize for taking care of our rivers. People spend lots of money in Cody because of our great fishing. The Lower Shoshone has been given a second chance. It is clean, restocked and making a very quick rebound from our mistakes. All we have to do is use a little common sense and we can keep fishing this wonderful river forever. Here's some pictures from just a couple days of what it used to be like.

Tight Lines!