HELENA – Due to shorter days and longer nights resulting in cooler water temperatures, fishing restrictions will be lifted on the Blackfoot River and upper Rock Creek effective Thursday, Sept. 4. Water temperatures have routinely been below criteria and FWP expects the temperatures to remain cool.
Blackfoot River: Hoot owl restrictions will be lifted Thursday on the entire Blackfoot River main stem – from the headwaters at the confluence of Anaconda Creek and Beartrap Creek to the confluence with the Clark Fork River.
Rock Creek: Hoot owl restrictions will be lifted Thursday on upper Rock Creek – from the confluence of the West and Middle forks to the mouth of Stoney Creek. The remainder of Rock Creek was not under hoot owl.
The restrictions had been in effect for the rivers due to warm water temperatures. Hoot-owl restrictions prohibit fishing from 2 p.m. to midnight each day. They are designed to protect fish that become more susceptible to disease and mortality when high water temperatures combine with other stressors, including catch-and-release fishing.
Anglers can reduce stress on fish at all times of the year by getting fish to the net or in hand quickly, keeping them in the water, and reviving them prior to releasing them back into the river.
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.
For a list of current drought-related fishing restrictions and closures, click here.
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