First-ever hoot owl fishing restrictions ordered for part of Flathead River basin

North Fork of the Flathead River at the US-Canada Border. (Photo courtesy Glacier National Park)

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is putting hoot-owl fishing restrictions in place starting Wednesday on the North Fork Flathead River – the first time such restrictions have ever been put in place in the Flathead River drainage.

The restrictions go into effect at 2 p.m. on Wednesday and prohibit people from fishing between 2 p.m. and midnight each day until they are lifted.

The new restriction will be on both sides of the North Fork from the U.S.-Canadian border to its confluence with the Middle Fork Flathead River near Blankenship Bridge.

“It is common for FWP to implement hoot-owl fishing restrictions in sections of rivers across the state every summer. However, it is uncommon for FWP to enact restrictions in northwest Montana,” FWP spokesperson Dillon Tabish said in a statement. “FWP has never implemented hoot owl restrictions in the Flathead drainage until now.”

FWP said water temperatures in the North Fork have been at or above daily records since the beginning of the month, which could have negative health effects on native westslope cutthroat and bull trout.

FWP’s fisheries management plan calls for restrictions when water temperatures reach or exceed 66 degrees Fahrenheit for three straight days for westslope cutthroat and 60 degrees for bull trout.

Daily high temperatures in northwest Montana have been more than 10 degrees above normal for the past five days in some areas and have mostly been well above normal for the past two weeks, and little precipitation has fallen since the first week of July, according to National Weather Service data.

The department said it worked with Glacier National Park to establish the restriction, and that FWP biologists were concerned about increasing water temperatures and how trout could be affected in other parts of the Flathead basin, including the Middle Fork Flathead River, South Fork Flathead River, mainstem Flathead River above Old Steel Bridge in Evergreen, Swan River and Thompson River.

FWP is not yet putting restrictions in place on those tributaries and rivers but called for anglers to limit their fishing to morning hours when the water is coolest. The department said it would continue monitoring temperatures and adjust restrictions if needed.

Hoot-owl restrictions went into effect earlier this month for most of the rivers in southwest Montana because of warm water temperatures affecting rainbow and brown trout. Those include the Big Hole, Beaverhead, Jefferson, Madison, Ruby, Sun, and Clark Fork Rivers.

FWP also announced Tuesday that full fishing closures take effect at midnight heading into Wednesday on the Clark Fork River within 100 yards of the mouth of Rattlesnake Creek, the St. Regis River, and Fish Creek.

Additionally, new hoot-owl restrictions go into effect on Rock Creek from Stoney Creek to the confluence of the West Fork Rock Creek and Middle Fork Rock Creek; and on the St. Regis River between Twelvemile Creek and the confluence with the Clark Fork.

Anglers can find a full list of fishing restrictions on FWP’s website.

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