I have just completed my second full season as a  commercial fish digger at Kemmerer, and south of Rock Springs, Wyoming.  I operate the Currant Creek Quarry which is now open. I have been selling the Kemmerer split fishes retail for 9 years. This year, we are open and booking digs. 307-382-3253 We are the only active quarry in Lake Gosiute, and produce Asineops squamifrons, Gosiutichtys parvus, Astephenas antiques cat fish, and knightias, a few aspirations, and bird parts. We have came across an amyzon, and a phareodus.

There are two principal layers which the fish are found in. The split fish layer, and the 18 inch layer are both closely associated in stratus with the split fish layer being  above the 18 inch layer.   The split fish layer is worked by tipping up thick layers of plate, holding them between your knees and splitting them with a hammer and chisel, or putty knife, or other prying tool. Shives made of flat plate strap work very well.  Most of the split fish layer fish are not perfect, many come out with heads or their tails missing. White glue is your friend many times to save a very valuable specimen.   Incomplete carbonization results in fish that really need repaired with a little tint and preservative...also rudely known as paint or painted fish. My opinion:  As Denny Kingery once said, when you have lemons, make lemonaid! Everyone wants a perfect whole genuine grand AFFORDABLE fossil fish. With this in mind, please direct yourself to the 18 inch layer. The 18 inch layer fish are cut out with a large saw and then carved out of the plate with air power tools, or with a dolomite charged abrasion tool which sandblasts the sediment layer off the top of the fossil fish. This is expensive. At this point I need to remind all prospective fish purchasers, this is the trade off. I HAVE JUST RECENTLY TRIED TO MEET A BUYERS NEEDS WITH EXCELLENTLY PREPARED SPLIT FISH AT A GOOD PRICE AND HE WAS OFFENDED THAT I OFFERED PAINTED FISH. You do not get 18 inch layer fish for a split fish  price nor get split fish that are the same quality as the 18 inch layer, or very rarely.
UNLESS you have a thick wallet, unless you own a museum, the split fish are pretty, and affordable, especially for the amature, or beginning fossil collector. Prices vary  so shop around but expect that rare quality, rare size, rare condition, rare species, and rare preperation will make fish costly. Buy what you can afford but expect to pay what the fish is worth, no more, and no less. 
The bible of Green River Fossil Fish is: Bulletin 63  Paleontology of the Green River Formation, With a Review of the Fish Fauna Second Edition by Lance Grande 1984.  This book is fun, easy to read, lots and lots of black and white fish pictures, and includes all the other fossil critters found at the bottom of Fossil Lake. It also covers Lake Gosiute (my personal favorite), and Lake Uinta.  I really like my book and it is useful, not just scientific! I bought mine at the local county museum ($20) but eBay has them too I imagine. Get the book, get the fish you can afford. 
Fossil Butte National Monument located at Kemmerer,Wyoming is FREE to visit, is open about 362 days a year from 9 AM until 4:30 PM (winter hours) and has a great walking trail along with the fantastic museum and gift store. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED...THEN GO TO A PAY TO DIG QUARRY and have a blast. I might add that the actual digging season at the quarries is June, July, August (hot) and September. It snows in Kemmerer during the rest of the year. The formations have fish coprolite and plant matter abundantly found. Rare fish, crocodile, turtle, bats, stingray, eohippus horse, and other rare swimming things (and those that obviously didn't swim long enough) are kept by the quarry owners but can usually be purchased for a fair market value. Common fee is around $70 for about 4 hours/10 nice fish. There is no problem finding 10 nice fish. The above info. is on the split fish layer at one quarry.
I will update this page with more SPECIFIC SPECIES info.(common to rare fish are knightia, dyplomystus, mioplosus  all are the more common species) a little later in the year. Google search the fossilized lakes or the Green River Formation for more fun. Fish make great  family heirlooms to pass on.  For more information and larger pictures, google paleo list photo album for a bunch of my Wyoming collecting adventures!  See fishdig.com web site link on my me page for further fun on fishing in Wyoming. I also own greenrivereocene.com and fosslalgae.com for your browsing delight! mjwy

mjwy Rock Springs, WY


Two "painted" beauties. Knightia, and a  cute Priscacara.

Split fishing in the wild, great fun digging.

Working in the 18 inch layer~note the fish is imbedded.

Here are a couple of fish from a like  "fish cut" layer,  a 14 mile hill location, all knightia from a "like-G 3" location.
I have some  mass mortality plates listed for your viewing. An example of estate pieces with  no confirmed location.

This is a little of the treasure displayed at the Fossil Butte National Monument.  FREE admission. Located on old US highway 30 9 miles west of Kemmerer, Wyoming. Home of tempskya tree fern and the first J.C. Penny store. There is a rock shop in town, and fish can be purchased retail and wholesale at stores in the town if you can't or don't wish to dig. I recommend getting your first fish on ebay if you are starting out collecting and a trip to the town later in your new hobby.
 Voting is free, and your vote is appreciated.  I would love to be a top 500 reviewer. Vote if you like, it would be appreciated. Only one in 250 visitors take the extreme work to click vote yes....sad commentary on our fossil collecting society.

Go fish!
mjwy