March 2023 - 22

Hahn added there's also a lot more water.
For example, 1,000 to 2,500 cubic feet per
second on the 7-mile stretch known as the
Miracle Mile versus perhaps 200 cubic feet
per second on the upper river. Plus, tailwaters
are highly oxygenated, conducive habitat for
fish and what they eat. As a result, fish are
bigger and fatter, and there are lots of them.
To receive a blue ribbon designation, a river
must contain at least 600 pounds of trout per
mile. The Miracle Mile has 3,000 to 4,000
pounds per mile.
THE SEDIMENT CHALLENGE
While the freestone and tailwaters sections
of the North Platte are different, they are both
robust fisheries that Game and Fish works to
keep vibrant. Throughout the last 15 years,
through joint efforts with Trout Unlimited,
local conservation districts and private landowners,
the North Platte's main tributaries
- Douglas, Brush, French, Big, Spring and
Cow creeks, along with the Encampment
River - now have better connectivity to the
North Platte River.
" The Encampment River now allows fish
passage, " Compton said. " We've also done a
ton of habitat work to improve connectivity
and reduce sediment. We don't remove sediment,
but if a hay pasture is eroding into
the river, we stabilize it. At a riffle, if sediment
accumulates where trout spawn and
insects hatch, we want that sediment to move
through there. "
Historically, the North Platte was troutless.
Rainbows and browns were first introduced
during the 1800s when the railroads carried
" milk jug trout " throughout the American
West, but trout have not been stocked in the
upper portion of the North Platte in decades.
The last stocking in the upper North Platte
River took place between Saratoga and the
Colorado state line for brown trout and in
1978 for rainbows.
" Water temperature and flow are concerns
on the upper river, " Compton said. " The
North Platte is allocated down to the last
drop. Runoff is earlier. Summers are hotter for
longer periods of time. The number of days
the water is above 70 degrees is increasing.
And water is in short supply everywhere. It all
comes back to connectivity, which allows fish
to seek thermal refuge. Our conservation work
includes protecting riparian areas that provide
shade, undercuts, structure and deep holes.
We try to fix the eye sores, protect what's good
and let the fish move. "
22 | March 2023
(Photo by Lisa Ballard)
WHAT'S A BLUE RIBBON TROUT STREAM?
Stretches of the North Platte River,
such as the Miracle Mile, the 7-mile
stretch between Seminoe and Pathfinder
reservoirs, are classified as blue ribbon
fisheries by the Wyoming Game and
Fish Department. When a trout stream
receives this classification, you know
the fishing is world class, but does that
mean you'll catch really big fish or lots of
fish? Either of these things could be true
because a blue ribbon classification is
not based on the number of fish, but the
weight of those fish per mile. To receive
a blue ribbon rating, a waterway must
contain at least 600 pounds of trout,
six inches or larger, per mile. There also
are red ribbon (300 to 600 pounds per
mile), yellow ribbon (50 to 300 pounds
per mile) and green ribbon streams (less
than 50 pounds per mile).
Anglers have come to judge the quality
of the fishing based on its ribbon rating,
but the rating system has evolved
into much more than a fishing reference.
Though the system was originally used
to rank the importance of cold-water
recreational fisheries in Wyoming, it's
now used to assess proposed stream
projects and land-use programs that
could impact a river and its tributaries.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department does a lot of work to maintain the blue ribbon designation for the North Platte
River. (Photo by Chris Martin/WGFD)

March 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2023