Renner Reservoir, a popular bass fishery south of Hyattville is scheduled to receive much needed improvements this year.  An informational meeting is scheduled May 5 at 6:30 p.m. at the Worland Community Center (1200 Culbertson Ave) in Worland. 
 
Cody Region Fisheries Biologist Joe Skorupski said that while Renner has historically provided a relatively high quality largemouth bass fishery, over the last few years fish populations and opportunities for quality angling have greatly decreased.  “During the winter of 2014, the reservoir experienced a near complete winterkill,” Skorupski said.   “Game and Fish surveys found only stunted sunfish the following summer.  While largemouth bass have been stocked since the winterkill, fishing opportunities remain very limited due to a variety of factors.” 
 
Skorupski said there is likely no better time to address the key factors that have contributed to the decline of the bass fishery in Renner. “The first step to rebuilding and maintaining a quality bass population is to drain the reservoir.    By draining the reservoir, we would be able to remove the stunted sunfish population, fix the outlet structure, and potentially dig out sediment in select areas to increase water depth.  We then propose to restock the fishery with bass and a small number of tiger musky to keep the bass population from overpopulating and stunting.”
 
The dam will be breached as early as next month to initiate the draining process.  Depending on dry time and a host of other factors, habitat work and replacement of the outlet structure will begin fall of 2017.  “We recognize that the duration of these efforts will be difficult for local anglers who regularly fish Renner,” Skorupski said.  “In the long run, this will be the best course of action for optimizing the fishery.”
 
An informational meeting is scheduled May 5 at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Center in Worland.  Public input will be accepted related to how to manage this fishery after improvements are completed.  For more information, contact Joe Skorupski at 307-527-7125.