Upper Big Hole River Reopens To Angling

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Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks today reopened a 19-mile stretch of the upper Big Hole River that was closed to angling for about six weeks due to low water conditions that threatened the survival of the river’s native Arctic grayling population.

  The reopened section of the upper Big Hole River flows from Rock Creek Road to the mouth of the North Fork near Wisdom. It includes most of the river’s critical grayling spawning and rearing habitats. The order is effective immediately.

  "We want to express our gratitude to the watershed’s irrigators and anglers for the sacrifices they made during the summer,"   said FWP Director Jeff Hagener. "We were able to close the river to protect native Arctic grayling and everyone’s willing participation helped the long-term effort to recover and conserve this important native fish."

The Big Hole River holds the last remaining native population of river-dwelling Arctic grayling in the lower 48 states. Introductions of grayling into some Missouri River tributaries have recently been made to expand its present range.

The reopening of the river to fishing came today as a result of stream-flow increases. The gauge at Wisdom, on the upper reach, shows flows have been above 40 cfs since Sept. 27, meeting the criteria for opening the river specified in the Big Hole River Drought Management Plan.

The Big Hole Drought Management Plan was developed by the Big Hole Watershed Committee, a group of volunteers representing agriculture, municipalities, business, conservationists, anglers and federal, state and local agencies.