HELENA — Anglers take note — additional "hoot owl" restrictions for the Bitterroot River.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) has announced that the river between Veteran’s Bridge in Hamilton to the confluence with the Clark Fork River at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16.
The restrictions — which prohibit fishing between 2 p.m. to midnight — will stay in effect until conditions improve.
FWP notes that limiting fishing to the cooler morning hours reduces the stress and mortality among fish.
Hoot owl restrictions are not uncommon around this time of the year, and for outfitters like Jeff Gray, who works at Freestone Fly Shop in Hamilton, it may impact business, but it's nothing out of the ordinary.
“It certainly has an effect on us. However, we typically have it each year. So we prepare for it and deal with it accordingly,” Gray told MTN.
Anglers can help by quickly landing fish, keeping them submerged and reviving them before release.
FWP announced on July 10 that hoot owl restrictions were being placed on the Upper Bitterroot River from the confluence of the East and West Forks to Veteran's Bridge.
Additional information on FWP waterbody restrictions can be found here.
Additional information from FWP:
"FWP's drought policy provides for angling restrictions when flows drop below critical levels for fish, when water quality is diminished or when maximum daily water temperatures reach at least 73 degrees for three consecutive days. Water temperatures of 77 degrees or more can be lethal to trout.
These restrictions are designed to protect fish that become more susceptible to disease and mortality when water temperatures warm.
Restricting angling to only cool morning hours can help reduce catch-and-release mortality.
Catch-and-release anglers can reduce stress on fish by getting them to the net or in hand quickly, keeping them in the water and reviving them prior to releasing them back into the river.
As the summer warms, Montana offers many other angling options with better conditions for fish, including larger lakes or reservoirs, or higher elevation lakes and streams.
Along with monitoring stream temperatures, FWP also monitors stream flows and in some streams holds instream flow water rights.
FWP’s water program can issue a call on junior water users, when appropriate, to contribute to stream flows through the late summer and early fall."
For more information on FWP water rights, click here.
