Hoot-owl restrictions took effect Wednesday, July 16 on the Bitterroot River from Veteran’s Bridge in Hamilton to the confluence with the Clark Fork River.
Hoot-owl restrictions prohibit fishing from 2 p.m. to midnight each day. These restrictions will stay in effect until conditions improve.
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.