Wherever flood irrigation is used, fish end up in fields and dry ditches. In the Cody area, an estimated 50,000 trout die on dry land each year. This number includes many Yellowstone cutthroat trout, the area’s native salmonid which is recognized by state and federal agencies as “sensitive” and a “species of concern.”

For years, the East Yellowstone chapter has conducted fish rescues in the irrigation ditches when ranchers dry out these watercourses each fall. The chapter saves thousands of fish, but these are the lucky minority.

Today, the chapter is taking a proactive approach. They are working with Wyoming Game and Fish to install barricades on the ditches that prevent trout from entering the death traps.

One year ago, the chapter installed their first fish diversion, a rotating drum that allows water and debris to enter the ditch while channeling fish into an exit pipe and back into Trout Creek, a tributary to the North Fork of the Shoshone River. At $35,000, this effort was not cheap, but everyone is thrilled by the results. No fish were sighted in the ditch and the operation remained low maintenance for the landowner. Susan and Wayne Reaves, two active members of the chapter, kindly showed me the Trout Creek fish diversion and told me about the chapter’s plans for the future.

Building off the success of the Trout Creek project, the chapter will install additional fish blockades later this year and in the future. The cost of the drums is coming down as these devices are being implemented in Utah, Idaho, and other states. Additional technology is also being developed, and the chapter hopes to utilize these innovations as well.

This summer, the chapter is also working on nearby Hidden Lake. The old wooden dam that forms this lake is suffering from structural deficiencies. By replacing the structure and raising it over two feet, the chapter and the state hope to minimize winterkill and turn the lake into a self-sustaining Yellowstone cutthroat fishery.

These projects demand cooperation between the East Yellowstone chapter and Game and Fish. By working with the government, the chapter has accomplished a lot for their local fisheries. Still, some local TUers believe that Wyoming Game and Fish could do more to help the trout fishing.

Tim Wade, owner of The North Fork Angler on Cody’s main drag, helped found the East Yellowstone chapter almost 20 years ago. To say the least, Tim is frustrated with Game and Fish. Tim sees a discrepancy between the potential of his local fisheries and the reality of the situation.

The North and South Forks of the Shoshone, the Greybull, and the Clark Fork of the Yellowstone have nearly “perfect habitat.” Tim believes these rivers offer prime water for self-sustaining wild trout fisheries, but the state continues to stock fish to support heavy harvest.

None of the rivers in the basin have catch and release (c&r) reg.s, even on the most heavily fished water. Likewise, slot limits to protect spawning-sized fish are underutilized. The state reduced limits on the North Fork from six fish to three fish a few years ago, but Tim does not think this is enough.

According to Tim, so many fish are kept by anglers that the fishing suffers in the fall. This is a striking contrast to the northern, western, and even the southern side of the park where the rivers fish best in the autumn months.

Why doesn’t Game and Fish implement tighter regulations? Tim says that the agency is afraid of “displacing anglers.” I’ve heard this “displacing anglers” viewpoint all over the place and, hailing from Montana, I don’t think it holds an ounce of truth.

Anyone who says c&r “displaces anglers” needs to visit Raynold’s Pass of the Madison in July. If anything, c&r and slot limits do the opposite.

I’d bet every reader of this blog has heard of the Madison, the Gallatin, and the Yellowstone. Many of you have fished these rivers, dumping a lot of money into the local economy and having a great time in the process. How many of you have heard of the Shoshone and how many have fished it?

For the most part, Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks does a great job at managing fisheries for the sake of the fish. This involves stringent regulations. Anglers adapt nicely to stricter reg.s and Montana attracts a lot of anglers. For those anglers looking to fill their creels, there is still a lifetime’s worth of water where trout can be kept in Montana.

A stone’s throw away, fisheries managers in Wyoming don’t seem to agree and they continue to oppose stricter regulations on creel limits, even on Yellowstone cutthroat.

In recent years, Wyoming Game and Fish has implemented programs statewide to protect native cutthroat and celebrate these unique fish. The state recognizes the challenges cutthroat face including habitat loss, competition from non-native fish, and whirling disease. The “Cutt-slam” initiative and efforts to reintroduce Yellowstone cutts are just a couple of Game and Fish’s many great programs to help native fishes.

In some ways though, the fact that the state recognizes the importance of native salmonids makes their failure to properly manage certain fisheries particularly egregious. In my opinion, it is poor policy to stock a sensitive species like the Yellowstone cutthroat so that anglers can continue to keep liberal limits of these fish. When the habitat quality is sufficient, Yellowstone cutthroat should be stocked exclusively to re-establish a self-sustaining population, even if this means that anglers can’t bring many of them home.

The East Yellowstone chapter’s efforts to reduce losses to irrigation are definitely a crucial step in the right direction. It is hard to maintain wild fisheries when tens of thousands of spawning trout die in irrigation ditches each year.

Many chapter members, including Susan and Wayne Reaves, disagree with Tim Wade’s hard-nosed approach to regulations. The Reaves told me they believe that the losses to irrigation outweigh losses to harvest. This is probably true and the chapter’s efforts to work with, not against, Game and Fish are positive for local fisheries.

Still, Tim is right when he says that Game and Fish works for the people. We have the right to expect more from our government officials and the responsibility to ensure they properly manage our resources. I can’t help but wonder how good the fishing in these rivers would be if BOTH the losses to irrigation AND the losses to anglers were reduced.

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