Hoot-Owl Fishing Restrictions Expand on Beaverhead River

DILLON – More areas of the lower Beaverhead River will be under daily fishing restrictions this week due to rising water temperatures.

These restrictions, commonly known as hoot-owl restrictions, prohibit fishing from 2 p.m. to midnight each day. They are designed to prevent excessive fish mortality due to angling when water temperatures are warm.

Beginning Aug. 5, a hoot-owl restriction will be in effect for the area of the Beaverhead River from Selway Park Fishing Access Site just north of Dillon to the confluence with the Big Hole River. This expands a restriction already in effect for portions of the lower Beaverhead River.

Similar fishing restrictions are in effect for additional Montana waterbodies. For a full list of current fishing restrictions, click here.

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. In cutthroat trout waters, angling restrictions occur when the temperatures reach at least 66 degrees for three consecutive days. Water temperatures of 77 degrees or more can be lethal to trout.

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 lakers 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.