CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A body of water at Laramie County Community College is set to become a public recreational fishery for Cheyenne residents come 2025. Fish biologists explained how they’re going to transform the pond into a new destination for high-quality fishing.
The upcoming fishery at LCCC is part of an effort by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to broaden access to recreational fishing areas in Laramie County. Game and Fish is currently preparing two other ponds in Laramie County — Dry Creek Natural Area Pond and Lake Pointe — to become public fisheries, too.
Staff members of the department held a public presentation Wednesday night inside LCCC’s Pathfinder Building to discuss development of the upcoming fishery. Bobby Compton, Laramie County fisheries supervisor with Game and Fish, said the department has identified a need for more community fisheries in the Cheyenne area. For one, the two current ponds open to the public — Sloans Lake and Lake Absarraca Recreation Area — are located on the northern side of town. This leaves Cheyenne’s southern population underserved, Compton stated.
“When we started speaking with the college, they’ve been more than willing to help work together to make this happen,” Compton said.
Game and Fish began searching for new possible fisheries in 2020. Stephen Siddons, fisheries biologist with Game and Fish, said the department examined waterbodies for their year-round temperature, depth and dissolved oxygen levels to determine if they could serve as a fishery. The agency considered nine options but eventually landed on the 2.5-acre waterbody on the north side of LCCC. Siddons has dubbed it “Pasture Pond.”
Numerous fish and other aquatic species reside in Pasture Pond, some desirable and others not. The pond’s current occupants include fathead minnows, black crappie, yellow perch, common carp, catfish, goldish, black bullhead and non-native bullfrogs.
“So what we have right now is a bit of a mess, but there is a fishing opportunity,” Siddons said. “We know we could do better with what’s there right now … so we talked to LCCC about this. They were all on board with pursuing this and doing whatever we thought we needed to do to really maximize the potential of this opportunity.”
Preparing the pond
Siddons and the department are now considering next steps to prepare Pasture Pond for recreational fishing. In August, Siddons and his team will close off the lake and deploy a plant-based pesticide into the water to clear off its current inhabitants. The chemical compound, rotenone, inhibits a fish’s ability to utilize dissolved oxygen in the water. Siddons said rotenone is a common and inexpensive method of maintaining and restocking fish populations.
Rotenone residue can linger in the water for anywhere from a few days to several weeks, the fish biologist said. As Pasture Pond’s occupants begin to die off, Siddons and his team will bury the carcasses on the community college campus.
Once the body of water is cleared, the team with Game and Fish will begin to introduce new species to the water. Fathead minnows will be dropped into the lake, followed by bluegill in October. Finally, largemouth bass will find a home in the pond. The three species will be introduced over the span of several months to cultivate a healthy ecosystem for the species.
Siddons is aiming for the fishery to be ready in spring 2025. Likewise, Dry Creek Pond and Lake Pointe will be ready for anglers next year.
