09-14-2007, 04:10 AM
On June 17, 1902 President Teddy Roosevelt's signature created the Bureau of Reclamation. While Teddy did not know it, the stroke of his pen began the transformation of a prairie river into some of the most productive trout habitat in Wyoming. Pathfinder Dam was one of the first projects started by Reclamation. Work began in 1904 and Pathfinder Dam was completed in 1909. Prior to 1909 the North Platte flooded in the spring and got pretty low in the summer here in Casper.
The river was much wider than it is today because of spring flooding. There were also more miles of river habitat prior to the dam construction. Dams on the North Platte River upstream of Casper transformed approximately 146 miles of river into 45,000 surface acres of reservoir habitat: Seminoe, Kortes, Pathfinder, Alcova and Gray Reef reservoirs. These large reservoirs (by Wyoming standards) are deep which provides cool water suitable for trout.
The dams also transformed the sections of rivers below the reservoirs called tailwaters, from warm and muddy, to cold and clear - trout habitat. Cold water settles to the bottom of the reservoirs in the summer and with water being released from the bottom of the reservoirs, the tailwaters provide ideal water temperatures for trout. The reservoirs are also sediment traps. The sediment carried by the river settles out in the upper end of the reservoirs and by the time the water is released at the dam, it is clear and nearly free of sediment. The North Platte tailwaters have been recognized for many years as some of the premier trout waters in Wyoming. The Miracle Mile has been a destination fishery for years; today the "Reef" is the current superstar.
Trout fisheries are a result of the reservoirs, but unfortunately, our reservoirs are struggling. The continuing drought as taken a toll on the amount of water stored in them. Even with the late March storm, the water forecast for 2007 does not look very promising for the North Platte River. Learn more about each of these reservoirs and trout fishing in the Casper Region by reading the North Platte Angler Newsletter.
The river was much wider than it is today because of spring flooding. There were also more miles of river habitat prior to the dam construction. Dams on the North Platte River upstream of Casper transformed approximately 146 miles of river into 45,000 surface acres of reservoir habitat: Seminoe, Kortes, Pathfinder, Alcova and Gray Reef reservoirs. These large reservoirs (by Wyoming standards) are deep which provides cool water suitable for trout.
The dams also transformed the sections of rivers below the reservoirs called tailwaters, from warm and muddy, to cold and clear - trout habitat. Cold water settles to the bottom of the reservoirs in the summer and with water being released from the bottom of the reservoirs, the tailwaters provide ideal water temperatures for trout. The reservoirs are also sediment traps. The sediment carried by the river settles out in the upper end of the reservoirs and by the time the water is released at the dam, it is clear and nearly free of sediment. The North Platte tailwaters have been recognized for many years as some of the premier trout waters in Wyoming. The Miracle Mile has been a destination fishery for years; today the "Reef" is the current superstar.
Trout fisheries are a result of the reservoirs, but unfortunately, our reservoirs are struggling. The continuing drought as taken a toll on the amount of water stored in them. Even with the late March storm, the water forecast for 2007 does not look very promising for the North Platte River. Learn more about each of these reservoirs and trout fishing in the Casper Region by reading the North Platte Angler Newsletter.