JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — Biologists say the number of cutthroat trout in the Hoback River has surged in the years since a fish stocking program was phased out.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department discontinued the stocking program in 2005. The agency also has discontinued a number of other trout stocking programs around the state.

The Associated Press reports Game and Fish biologists had discovered that hatchery-raised cutthroat often weren't surviving the winter.

Wild trout apparently have a higher survival rate. Between 2006 and 2011, the average number of cutthroat caught and counted on one section of the Hoback surged almost 50 percent compared to the previous five years.

Biologists say Hoback River cutthroat not only are more numerous, they tend to be bigger than they were before.

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