Golden Trout Stocked in Pole Mountain Ponds

Golden Trout Stocked in Pole Mountain Ponds

LARAMIE — Anglers in Laramie and Cheyenne are encouraged to look for gold in several ponds in the Medicine Bow National Forest. 

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department stocked 1,150 golden trout in 10 ponds in the Pole Mountain area on Oct. 8. All 10 ponds are easily accessible from various roads. And while there are many ponds in the Pole Mountain area, only 10 of them received golden trout. So anglers are challenged to “Search for the Golden Trout.”

“This should be a fun challenge for anglers to see if they can find the golden trout. They are up there in easily accessible ponds so you won’t have to work hard to get to them; you just have to find them,” said Robin Kepple, information specialist for the Game and Fish Department. “And if you don’t find the right ponds at first, you’re still likely to catch some brook trout as ponds all over Pole Mountain are stocked with small brook trout each year.”

Golden trout are native to California and have been introduced to many alpine lakes in Wyoming. The golden trout in these 10 ponds will provide anglers a unique opportunity to catch golden trout close to home and without a strenuous hike to an alpine lake. A golden trout is distinguished from a cutthroat trout by borders of white on its paired fins, and from rainbow trout by its smaller scales and spotting only on the posterior part of its body. Golden trout are readily caught with spinning, bait, and fly-fishing gear.

The 8-inch fish are from the Tensleep Fish Hatchery and are the remainder of a group of fish transferred to the Story Fish Hatchery for spawning in the future. Story Hatchery, located near Sheridan, is the only fish hatchery in the United States with a captive breeding stock of golden trout.

 

                                                                                   ~WGFD~