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Helicopters Now the Way to Stock Wyoming's Alpine Lakes

BUFFALO, Wyo. (AP) — They used to go in on horseback. Tiny fish filled milk jugs, and horsemen packed them in, stopping periodically to add fresh water.

Many alpine lakes were miles away, deep in wilderness country. The trip could take days, and fish survival rates weren't high.

But some lived, and lakes that naturally wouldn't produce fish then had prizes for the adventure-seeking fisherman.

Now, instead of outfitters or interested anglers, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department stocks sport fish in alpine lakes. In the 1970s, the agency abandoned the horse and rider method for a faster, more efficient, air drop.

For one week each year in late summer, Game and Fish officials fly more than 100,000 fish into roughly 65 alpine lakes, giving sportsmen an opportunity to catch a prize in the backcountry.

Shortly after 6 a.m. on Aug. 2, before the sun crested into a valley outside of Buffalo, a helicopter dotted the horizon. The Bell 206 Jet Ranger flew toward a group of Game and Fish trucks with tanks on the back, each gurgling with oxygen and thousands of fingerling fish.

It landed, expertly placing eight cylindrical tanks on the ground.

Each tank was labeled with a number, assigned to GPS coordinates of high mountain lakes in the Big Horn Mountains.

Game and Fish officers weighed the roughly 3-inch fish according to requests made by the regional fisheries supervisor for the Sheridan region.

Splake, golden and cutthroat trout went by the thousands that day, to 21 bodies of water including Sawmill Reservoirs and lakes including Hope and Myrtle lakes.

Oxygen was pumped into the tanks, fashioned from metal irrigation pipe, and ice was dumped on top of the fish. Those were both attempts to keep them calm for the last leg of their journey, which started in one of Wyoming's fish hatcheries.

The helicopter pilot, John Martin with Sky Aviation, then took off for the first of four trips that day. He flew over the lakes, dipped down to within 10 feet of the water and released the fish. Water and ice helped absorb the impact of the fall, creating a relatively seamless transition for the fingerlings.

Survival rates are high for most fish, some living up to 13 years old, said Jim Barner, the Game and Fish assistant fish culture supervisor for statewide operations. But with cold temperatures and a short growing season, it can take longer for the fish to grow than they would in lower-elevation, warmer waters.

To qualify as an alpine lake, it needs to be accessible only by horseback, foot or four-wheeler. Most of them are above 8,500 feet and are in designated wilderness areas, which eliminates anything motorized as transportation.

With the exception of Snake River cutthroat trout, Regional Fisheries Supervisor Paul Mavrakis chooses what fish should be stocked by what is already in the alpine lake. The previously stocked Snake River cutthroat isn't native to this side of the Continental Divide, while the Yellowstone cutthroat is. The fish generally won't migrate out of their lakes, but if they do, the stocked fish won't alter native species.

Most alpine lakes don't allow for natural reproduction, lacking proper inlets and outlets needed for trout and Arctic grayling to spawn. This means most of the stocking is done for anglers, Barner said.

Luke Todd, one of the owners of The Sport's Lure in Buffalo, said fishing in the alpine lakes in the Big Horns draws anglers from across the country. Since they're difficult to access, some requiring a day or more of backpacking, crowds are limited and scenery stunning.

Fish sizes seem to cycle, with some years smaller than others, but it's not uncommon to find some 3- to 5-pound fish.

"It's a blast, for the novice all the way to someone experienced. It's a way to get away from it all,'' Todd said.

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