Heatin' up and Dryin' out
Montana Fishing Closure Roundup
By Lucia Stewart, 7-14-07
Mandatory afternoon fishing closures on the rivers across Montana may leave anglers living up the saying, the early worm gets the fish.
Nine Montana rivers are closed, including the entire Smith River, and sections of the Clark Fork, Bitterroot, Gallatin and Madison Rivers.
Rivers statewide are breaking records for angling closures this early in the season. And flows are at an all-time low for early July on the Jefferson, Big Hole and Thompson Rivers.
Yellowstone National Park is also closing angling when the Firehole River reached 82 degrees last week, killing hundreds of rainbow and brown trout.
Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks’ drought plan calls for angling restrictions when maximum daily water temperatures equal or exceed 73 degrees for three consecutive days. The preferred water temperature for rainbow and brown trout is about 55-57 degrees.
Temperatures of 77 degrees or more can be lethal to trout, the exact temperature that many Montana Rivers are currently hovering in the afternoon.
FWP’s encourages anglers to seek alternatives such as cooler parts of rivers, reservoirs, mountain lakes and tributary streams where temperatures are not as high.
If the summer weather continues to be hot and dry, FWP may have to consider further fishing restrictions per the drought policy.
Montana Closures, 2pm to Midnight
Smith River — the entire 125 miles from near White Sulphur Springs to the mouth near Ulm.
Sun River — the 97-miles between the Diversion Dam at the mouth of the Sun River Canyon to its mouth at Great Falls. Temperatures maxed July 5 at 81.5 degrees.
Bitterroot River — the 44-mile stretch from Tucker Crossing Fishing Access Site near Victor to the confluence with the Clark Fork, just west of Missoula.
Clark Fork River — the 137 miles from the mouth of Rock Creek near Clinton to the confluence with the Flathead River, 10 miles southeast of Plains.
Madison River — Ennis Dam downstream to the mouth of the Missouri River at Three Forks.
Gallatin River — the stretch from the Interstate 90 bridge downstream to the confluence with the Missouri River.
Jefferson River — the entire length, as flows in the river have declined to 563 cubic feet per second (cfs) at the Twin Bridges gauging station.
Big Hole River— The only 24-hour closure, on the upper stretch from Rock Creek Bridge, 5 miles south of Wisdom, to the mouth of the North Fork of the Big Hole, 15 miles north of Wisdom.
Thompson River — the entire river is closed for fishing as it’s only about half of normal for this time of year.
Yellowstone National Park Closures, Noon to 6pm
Northern Yellowstone — the Gardner River below Osprey Falls; Lava Creek below Undine Falls; Lamar River below Cache Creek; all of Slough Creek; Soda Creek below Amphitheater Creek; and Yellowstone River below Seven Mile Hole.
Western Yellowstone — the Madison River, the Firehole River and to the Gibbon River below Gibbon Falls.
Southern Yellowstone — the Bechler River below Ouzel Creek; Fall River below Rainbow Falls; Mountain Ash Creek below Union Falls; Proposition Creek; Boundary Creek below Dunanda Falls; Robinson Creek; and the Snake River below Six Mile Ford.
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