Commission approves smallmouth bass regulations change for the upper Yellowstone River

HELENA – The Fish and Wildlife Commission approved changes to smallmouth bass regulations on the upper Yellowstone River at its meeting April 19.

The change requires anglers to kill and report any smallmouth bass caught in the upper Yellowstone River from the boundary with Yellowstone National Park to Springdale Bridge Fishing Access Site. This regulation change also applies to the entire Shields River.  

FWP staff proposed the change after an angler reported catching a smallmouth bass on Feb. 19 while fishing on the Gardner River at its confluence with the Yellowstone River, just outside of Yellowstone National Park.

Smallmouth bass have slowly been expanding up the Yellowstone River, but this report marks the farthest upstream extent of smallmouth bass. The nearest documented catch of smallmouth bass was nearly 34 miles downstream near Emigrant. It is unknown if this fish swam upriver or was illegally introduced into the river.

Smallmouth bass are not native to this area, and an established population could pose threats to native fish and others in the upper Yellowstone River and its tributaries.

One of FWP’s primary management goals in this area is to protect native Yellowstone cutthroat trout, which spawn in the tributaries and upper reaches of the Yellowstone River. An established population of invasive smallmouth bass could occupy the same areas, preying on and displacing native trout and other fish. 

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