(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Fishing restrictions implemented on Jefferson River, portions of Beaverhead and Bitterroot rivers – Daily Montanan [1] ['Blair Miller', 'More From Author', '- July'] Date: 2023-07 More hoot-owl fishing restrictions were put in place by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks on Wednesday – this time on some of the state’s most popular trout fisheries which the department are already studying due to declining trout populations and warming waters. The new restrictions, which ban all fishing from 2 p.m. to midnight, went into effect on the entire Jefferson River and portions of the Beaverhead and Bitterroot rivers on Wednesday because of warm river temperatures. The restrictions are in place on the Beaverhead River from the confluence of the Big Hole River to Anderson Lane. They are in place on the Bitterroot River from Veteran’s Bridge in Hamilton to the confluence of the river’s east and west forks, FWP said in a news release. The restrictions are being put onto the Jefferson and Beaverhead rivers because water temperatures have reached at least 73 degrees for three consecutive days – the standard FWP uses when determining fishing restrictions on those rivers. The upper Bitterroot holds cutthroat trout, and FWP will implement restrictions on rivers with that species when temperatures reach 66 degrees or more for three days in a row. Wednesday’s announcement is the second so far this year regarding hoot-owl restrictions on trout-bearing rivers in Montana. The department last week implemented restrictions on the Sun River from the Highway 287 bridge to the mouth of Muddy Creek, and on the Madison River from the Warm Springs boat launch to its confluence with the Jefferson River. The newly added restrictions come just ahead of another expected heat wave this weekend into next week that is forecast to push temperatures into the mid-to-upper 90s across most of the state. A heat dome has engulfed most of the southern half of the U.S. this week; global temperatures have reached their highest in recorded history; Flathead Lake levels are at their lowest in years, and climate scientists have said over the past week these events show that climate change from greenhouse gas emissions is already occurring and is likely to get worse. A fire scientist told Gov. Greg Gianforte and members of the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation on Wednesday that the drought in northwest Montana is also expected to expand further south and east, with warm and dry conditions forecast over the next few months. The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted new emergency fishing regulations in June for the Big Hole, Beaverhead and Ruby rivers amid a steady decade-long decline in trout populations due to warming water over the years, lower flows, and more pressure on the fish from anglers. FWP also recently unveiled upcoming research efforts to study trout declines in those three rivers, which include a fish mortality study, a juvenile fish study, a fish health study and the increased sick fish monitoring. FWP is advising anglers to fish during the cooler morning hours, try to net or handle fish quickly, keep them in the water, and to be sure to revive them before releasing them. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/briefs/fishing-restrictions-implemented-on-jefferson-river-portions-of-beaverhead-and-bitterroot-rivers/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/