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Arctic Grayling. © 2005 Craig Hergert

Fishing

Licensing System to be Unavailable.

For any angler headed out for the opening weekend of stream fishing, plan ahead and buy your license early. The computers that host FWP’s Automated Licensing System will be undergoing maintenance work, and the system will be unavailable from 6 am to 8 am on Sunday May 18.

Future Fisheries Restoration
Big Hole Restoration Project

Beginning in 1995, the Montana legislature passed the Future Fisheries Improvement Program, which increased the dollars allocated to fish habitat restoration and expanded the program to include habitat improvements in lakes or reservoirs. In 1999, the legislature expanded the program and earmarked a portion of the funding allocated to the program specifically for projects that enhance habitat for bull or cutthroat trout, with an emphasis on reclaiming mining related impacts. Projects include:

  1. riparian fencing and off-stream water development to improve habitat streamside areas;
  2. re-vegetation of stream banks and streamside areas to stabilize banks and cool the water;
  3. installation of screening devices on irrigation diversions to prevent the entrainment of fish in the ditches;
  4. removal of barriers or installation of fish ladders around barriers to facilitate the upstream movement of spawning fishes;
  5. construction of barriers in selected locations to prevent non-native trout from competing with or hybridizing with genetically pure native cutthroat populations;
  6. reconstruction of stream channels that have been modified from their natural form as a result of land use practices or channelization;
  7. water conservation measures that result in a greater quantity of water left in-stream; and
  8. installation of habitat structures in lakes and reservoirs that provide cover or enhance spawning.

Future Fisheries applications are considered every year in January and July. An independent review panel recommends Future Fisheries projects to fund to the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission. Call 406-444-2449 for information or click here for details.

  • Future Fisheries Restoration on the Tongue River in Eastern Montana [Full Story]
  • Future Fisheries Restoration in the Big Hole [Full Story]
  • Future Fisheries Fact Sheet [Full Story]
  • Future Fisheries Fact Sheet by Numbers [Full Story]

Montana Outdoors

Everyone Wins
Everyone Wins

For years, hunters, anglers, and other recreationists have pulled their hair out over not being able to recreate on certain state school trust fund lands. The parcels, established more than a century ago to generate revenue for Montana education, are open to public recreation. Unfortunately, roughly one-third are surrounded by private property, making them nearly inaccessible. A new state program, administered by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), is helping alleviate that frustration. [Full Story]

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Recent Fishing News

Angler's Urged To Get The Lead Out And Properly Dispose Of Fishing Line
Patti Sowka, director of the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, got the call on a recent Tuesday afternoon. A facility maintenance person found an ailing loon wrapped in fishing line near the Big Sandy fishing access site at Hauser Lake.   Gerry Ryan, a Montana Wildlife Center volunteer, picked up the loon and delivered it to Swoka, who quickly sent it to a local vet for treatment and an X-ray.   The loon had ingested two fishhooks and did not survive. (May 02)
General Fishing Season Opens Soon
The third Saturday in May, May 17, is the 2008 general fishing season opener. That makes it a special day for thousands of anglers itching to fish Montana’s rivers and streams. The general fishing season traditionally opens on the third Saturday of May, while fishing on the state’s lakes and reservoirs is generally open year round. (May 02)
2008 Fishing Regulation Changes Of Note
Montana's fishing season officially opens the third Saturday in May, and that is May 17 this year. That means eager anglers are already digging out their tackle boxes, throwing out dried up bait and dreaming over new tackle at sporting goods stores on the weekend. (April 30)
Paddlefish Regulations Refined For 2008
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is taking a conservative approach to managing the state's paddlefish season. Paddlefish reproduction is down after an extended drought with low water flows over the past several years. This, combined with increased fishing pressure for adult paddlefish, makes more conservative management of these long-lived fish essential. (April 18)
Paddlefish Photo Opportunities Are Regulated
On all paddlefish waters, paddlefish caught during the catch and release portions of the season must remain partially submerged in the water at all times. (April 18)
Streamside Planning Help Offered To Communities
With residential development requests on the increase in Montana, a state task force is offering local officials, planning boards and others a chance to learn how streamside planning can help to conserve local values, protect private property, guard builders and local governments against lawsuits, and boost economies. (May 02)
Interesting Facts About Montana's Fishing Access Sites
FASs that allow camping = 105.   An overnight camping fee is only charged at 53 of them. FASs fully ADA accessible = 50 FASs located on lakes and reservoirs = 50.   The remaining are on streams & rivers. Largest FAS = Thompson Chain of Lakes at 2, 290 acres Smallest FAS = Roche Jaune at 1. (May 02)
Anglers: Did You Know?
Last year 390,000 anglers purchased fishing licenses. Residents comprise about 59 percent of the state's fishing-license buyers. About 33 percent of all adult Montana residents purchase fishing licenses annually. Nearly 82 percent of angler days are spent seeking trout and salmon. Some of the rivers that generally receive the most fishing pressure include the Madison, Missouri, Bitterroot, Clark Fork, Bighorn, Yellowstone and Gallatin rivers. (April 30)
Landscape Restoration
2007 marked the first 20 years of the Blackfoot River restoration initiative. Work in the Blackfoot has evolved into a ridgetop-to-ridgetop philosophy of conservation with restoration on 50 tributaries completed, many of which host westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout. The emphasis of the Blackfoot River restoration initiative is to restore degraded tributaries by improving riparian health and fish habitat. (April 30)
The Removal Of The Milltown Dam--Mitigating The Aquatic Impact Of An Engineering Marvel
The removal of the Milltown Dam has caught the interest of fisheries biologists worldwide, said David Schmetterling, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Region 2 fisheries biologist charged with monitoring the related fisheries for the past 11 years. "It is an engineering marvel to remove a dam of this size and the millions of tons of toxic sediments from behind it," Schmetterling said. "A project of this scope has the short-term potential to harm the very aquatic environment it will ultimately benefit. (April 30)
Reflections Of A Fisheries Biologist
This time of year Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks fisheries biologists are eager to get back out on Montana's rivers and see how the state's fish are doing. "We've monitored one section of the Jefferson River for nine years. We've done a lot of work to improve fish habitat in the area, and that makes it even more exciting to get back and see how the fish are doing," said Ron Spoon, FWP Region 3 fisheries biologist. (April 30)
Drought Rule Proposed For Angling Closures
The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission is seeking comment on a proposal that would continue to allow state officials to restrict or close waters to angling to conserve wild fish during times of drought.   The new rule makes official FWP's existing fishing-closure policy and further explains FWP's authority to adopt temporary angling restrictions or closures to protect a fishery when stream flows are low and water temperatures are high. (April 04)
Boat Validation Decals Needed
The red validation decal obtained for motorboats, sailboats, or personal watercraft will expire on Feb. 29. The green boat validation decal needed before launching boats this spring is valid through Feb. 28, 2011. (February 07)
Koi And Goldfish Are Controlled Exotic Species
Ornamental ponds are popular ways to "decorate" in the outdoors, even in Montana. (August 10)
Fishing Derbies Planned
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking public comment on two fundraising fishing contests and one contest rescheduled for the open water season of 2008.   Participants must comply with state fishing regulations, including daily and possession limits. Here are the dates and locations of the fishing contests. (May 02)
Recent Fishing News
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