Tiger trout stocked in Lower Sunshine Reservoir

Tiger trout stocked in Lower Sunshine Reservoir

Recently the Wyoming Game and Fish Department stocked 10,000 tiger trout in Lower Sunshine Reservoir southwest of Meeteetse. 

Measuring five and a half inches, the tiger trout (a sterile hybrid of brook trout/brown trout) will be catchable sized in a few months.  Bart Burningham, superintendent of the Ten Sleep Fish Hatchery brought the fish to Lower Sunshine from the Ten Sleep Fish hatchery where they were hatched and reared.

“This is the first time tiger trout have been stocked anywhere in the Bighorn Basin,” Burningham said. “We are excited about the unique sport fishing opportunity this will provide for local anglers,”

Cody Region Fisheries Biologist Jason Burckhardt said, “Because the Greybull River drainage holds an important population of native Yellowstone cutthroat trout, both Upper and Lower Sunshine are primarily stocked with Yellowstone cutthroat trout to prevent negative impacts to the native population in the river, should they escape.”   

“Splake, a brook trout/lake trout hybrid that has limited reproductive potential, have been stocked for years in Lower Sunshine to provide additional angling opportunities and to feed on the abundant sucker population in the reservoir,”  Burckhardt said.  “They have performed well for anglers but have not had a significant impact on the sucker population.”

In a 2013 sampling effort of Lower Sunshine, very few Yellowstone cutthroats were captured while eighty-three percent of fish caught in gill nets were suckers. “The abundance of suckers is negatively affecting the survival and growth of Yellowstone cutthroats in the reservoir,” Burckhardt said. 

“Tiger trout have been tried in other waters around the state and have performed well.  They grow quickly and appear to be good predators on suckers.  We are hoping that tiger trout will be able to control the sucker population better and provide a unique angling opportunity,”  Burckhardt added.   

Lower Sunshine is managed as a “yield” fishery meaning fish are stocked at a small size but will grow to catchable size within a year.    Lower and Upper Sunshine Reservoirs are managed under general statewide regulations for standing waters (six fish limit, no special tackle or length limit restrictions).  “The Sunshine Reservoirs are a great place to catch and harvest a limit of fish if an angler chooses to do so,” Burckhardt said. 

~WGFD~

 

Photo caption: Ten Sleep Fish Hatchery Superintendent Bart Burningham stocks tiger trout in Lower Sunshine Reservoir.