March 2022 - 9

NEWS
The Bear River cutthroat trout is typically dark-olive to brown on the back side with a yellow to cream and gray on the sides with dark, black spots. The number of Bear River cutthroat trout stocked in
Wyoming waters nearly doubled in 2021 compared to 2020. (WGFD photo)
Big year for Bear River cutthroat
CHEYENNE - Bear River cutthroat trout
had a big year in Wyoming in 2021 - big
as in the number of fish stocked in waters
throughout the state.
The Wyoming Game and fish Department
stocked 839,000 Bear River cutthroat last year,
compared to 425,000 in 2020.
" A few years back fish biologists started
noticing this species was showing up in the
creel and in their sampling efforts more, at
higher rates than stocked rainbow trout. Not
only showing up, but also in great condition, "
said Travis Trimble, Game and Fish assistant
fish culture supervisor. " Consequently, Game
and Fish regional fish supervisors have been
switching some of their traditional rainbow
trout stocking in large reservoirs to this species
and the results have been very promising. "
Bear River cutthroat - also known as
Bonneville cutthroat - is one of four native
subspecies of cutthroat found in the Cowboy
State and is native to the Bear River drainage
in southwest Wyoming. Game and Fish primarily
stocks Bear River cutthroat in larger
lakes and reservoirs, such as Flaming Gorge
Reservoir near Green River, Lake Desmet near
Buffalo, Alcova and Pathfinder reservoirs in
the Casper Region and Seminoe Reservoir
near Rawlins. Bear River cutthroat were first
stocked in Flaming Gorge and Alcova in 2015.
Trimble said Game and Fish is cautious to
limit stocking of Bear River cutthroat only to
waters where it will not impact Wyoming's
other native subspecies: Colorado River, Snake
River and Yellowstone.
Dave Zafft, Game and Fish fisheries management
coordinator, said there are several
large-standing waters in Wyoming that also
have large populations of predators such as
lake trout, burbot and walleye, which often
take a toll on stocked rainbow trout. Zafft said
Game and Fish has been experimenting with
Bear River cutthroat to replace some of the
rainbows and is seeing better returns.
" It seems Bear River cutthroat may be
spending more time out in open water when
they are younger than rainbows, " Zafft said.
" The difference may be allowing Bear River
cutthroat to avoid the mouths of species like
walleye and burbot. The increase in Bear River
cutthroat stocking was due to the fact that biologists
quickly realized those fish were returning
to sampling nets and anglers at a higher rate
than were rainbow trout. "
Aside from that, could the Bear River cutthroat
be more hearty than the other three
native subspecies in Wyoming or other trout
species? That's hard to tell right now, but
Trimble knows what he sees with this trout
in captivity.
" I have personally raised all four cutthroat
species, and the Bear River cutthroat is the
toughest in a hatchery setting, which means
they adapt well to a wider range of water
quality parameters and are not picky eaters
compared to other cutthroat trout, " Trimble
said. " This typically equates to better survival
and better overall condition, which may or
may not translate into performing well in
the wild.
Trimble added Game and Fish likely will
stock more than twice as many Bear River
cutthroat in Wyoming reservoirs again this
year compared to 2020.
- Robert Gagliardi, WGFD
Wyoming Wildlife | 9

March 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2022