Central Wyoming anglers, boaters and recreationists got the low water blues

“The fishing is on fire” at Pathfinder Reservoir, says Casper resident Chris Bobo, who shares his enthusiasm for “tight lines” via his YouTube channel, Bobo’s Fishing Adventures.

Unfortunately, the frenzy of taut lines reeling in fish is partially due to water in the reservoir retreating to just 18.7% capacity. “It’s the same amount of fish and a lot less water,” Bobo told WyoFile. “So it’s packing them all down, and it’s concentrating them into a hole.”

As he trolls around what’s left of the reservoir, Bobo can spot fish everywhere — and not just sun-basking carp. If you look carefully, he says, you can see the shadowy movement of walleye, kokanee salmon, as well as rainbow and brown trout. Tempering the glee over the windfall of fish though is the fact that spawning beds are out of the water. Bobo worries that, unless there’s stellar snowpack this winter to make up for a huge water deficit, this fishery — and hundreds of others in the region — may suffer long-term losses.

“They’ve been dropping it and dropping it more and more over the years,” Bobo said. “If they keep at it, we won’t have a reservoir in two years. That’s my favorite lake in the world. I don’t want it to disappear.”

A searing, lingering heat wave is making matters worse. Trout, a cold-water species, get stressed as water temperatures surpass 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Beyond 75 degrees can be deadly. The water temperature at Pathfinder this week was 71 degrees, according to Lake Monster, a website with fishing intel.

Upstream from Pathfinder on the North Platte River system, Seminoe Reservoir was 31.8% full earlier this week, with a water temp of 71 degrees. Below Seminoe, the prized Miracle Mile trout fishery measured 72 degrees.

The effects of climate change-driven drought and heat at Seminoe and Miracle Mile are a primary concern among opponents of a controversial pumped-water storage hydroelectric project. Federal officials recommend greenlighting rPlus Hydro’s plans to build a $4 billion facility at Seminoe. It would pump water uphill during daytime “off-peak demand” hours for electricity then in the evening release the water to drive hydroelectric turbines.

That daily churn threatens to exacerbate high water temperatures during unusually hot and dry conditions, opponents have said.

Meantime, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is imploring anglers to adjust practices, noting, “as water temperatures approach 70 degrees, the chance for any fish species to survive being caught and released is reduced.” For those planning to release what they catch, early morning fishing hours are best. “If water temperatures are too high, consider escaping the heat with a trip to a top-notch, high-country fishery where it’s cooler,” Game and Fish Deputy Chief of Fisheries Dave Zafft said in a statement.

Click here for more warm water fishing advice from the agency.