(lighthearted piano music) - [Narrator] Amidst the rugged landscapes of the Wind River Range lies a paradise for anglers seeking solitude and adventure.

At first glance, it feels like an encounter with nature in its purest form, but beneath the surface lies a surprising secret.

Less than a century ago, nearly all of these lakes were fishless, and most of these fish arrived on a one way flight.

(helicopter whooshing) (lighthearted piano music) (engine rumbling) (lighthearted music) The journey of these fish begins at the fish hatchery where they're weighed and loaded onto a transport truck.

(lighthearted techno music) (water rushing) - Okay.

- We're just keeping track of the pounds that we're putting on the keg, so we know how many pounds that get stocked out.

So that'll be about 24,000 fish today.

- The biologists that manage these waters, they request a certain size of fish.

Our hatcheries work amongst themselves to see who can meet the size, and it just generally works out.

For golden trout, it's usually at the Daniel Fish Hatchery.

(metal thumping) (lighthearted music) - [Narrator] Stocking efforts in the Winds began in the 1930s when Wyoming Game and Fish partnered with a local outfitter named Finest Mitchell to transport fingerlings from the Daniel Fish hatchery.

Strapping milk cans to the back of horses, Mitchell stocked nearly 2.5 million fish on behalf of the state.

Through his stocking and guiding efforts, Mitchell laid the foundations for turning the Wind Rivers into a world-class fishing destination.

When Wyoming Game and Fish took over the stocking responsibilities from Mitchell, they experimented with new methods for transporting fish into the back country.

Because much of the Wind River Range lies along rugged trails beyond the reach of roads, the agency eventually adopted the helicopter as its ideal solution.

(helicopter buzzing) - Our success has greatly increased because of the use of helicopters.

Truthfully, it's less invasive in the wilderness setting because when we were initially stocking those waters, we had packs of horses, and if you took horses, you're gonna have more damage to the actual ecosystem.

It made life a lot easier, made things overall probably at better success in our survival of the fish that we stock in those waters.

(helicopter buzzing) - Fish stocking is a somewhat unusual task for the helicopter pilots involved.

They must take special care when flying with fish, hanging and swaying beneath the aircraft, all while navigating with precision through the mountains.

- [Emmet] This is the first time I've ever done aerial fish dropping.

I know there are other states that use a helicopter, but they're not using a bucket.

- The pilot at the time was able to build a tank system up with what you see now, and the material he used was all from hardware or auto parts store.

In case we had problems out in the field, we could easily fix it.

(lighthearted music) - [Narrator] The most important task of the pilot is to make sure the fish are all dropped in their intended destinations.

Putting the wrong species in a lake can lead to hybridization or other unintended consequences.

- There's cables that run through the pilot seat, and he has a toggle switchboard, and there's numbers assigned each toggle one through eight, and we have tanks one through eight.

Every day before every flight, I check his flight plan, and we just want to make sure the right fish, the right species, is going to the right lake.

(helicopter buzzing) (lighthearted music) - [Peter] You get up in some of those remote areas, and words can't even describe it.

You're up there for five days and don't see another soul.

It's just a wonderful experience.

- Stocking gets our children and our adults to areas where otherwise they may not go.

I want them out fishing, and I want 'em to enjoy the recreation opportunities that we provide.

- They're experiencing the wilderness by catching a fish, and maybe that cooking that over a campfire, and in my mind, that's a true wilderness experience.

- Being able to give the outdoor world something that maybe will benefit us for more than just our generation means an extreme amount to me.

(lighthearted techno music) - [Narrator] Stocking fish into the Wind River mountains is a tall task to arrange, but for the Game and Fish employees involved, creating opportunities to connect people with the outdoors makes it all worthwhile.

(lighthearted techno music)