Recent sampling of the Laramie Plains Lakes by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has revealed some good news for anglers in the Laramie area.

Game and Fish personnel have spent the past several weeks capturing, weighing, measuring, and counting fish in several Plains Lakes including Gelatt, Meeboer, Twin Buttes, and more. This is all part of an ongoing process to collect Spring Sampling data. We were able to accompany them to Leazenby Lake, a public access area only about a 15 minute drive from Laramie.

Mike Snigg, Laramie Regional Fisheries Supervisor, says 2015 is expected to be one of the best years for anglers in the last decade.

“This year, even though the snowpack is low, we’ve got good carry over from the water levels from the previous year,” says Snigg. “So we anticipate, probably, the best fishing in the Laramie Plains Lakes area in at least ten years.”

Game and Fish uses a variety of techniques for sampling the local lakes. In some cases, nets are used to capture the fish. In others, a technique called electrofishing is used. In this technique, electricity is used to stun the fish. Those who are sampling are then able to net the fish from a boat. This technique may look scary, but the fish are generally unharmed by the process.

Whichever way fish are captured, though, they are then weighed, measured, and counted. This helps Game and Fish to monitor how well their fish stocking programs are working, which kinds of fish are doing the best within the given waters, and how well they are growing.

“I would recommend to those that are contemplating fishing in the Laramie area, if you haven’t done it before, this would certainly be the time to go out and purchase your license, and get out there and enjoy this fabulous resource that we have really close to home,” says Snigg.

Watch the video to hear exactly what Snigg has to say about sampling of the Laramie Plains Lakes and the fishing outlook for the year.

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