Emergency regulation for smallmouth bass proposed for Lower Bitterroot River

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

MISSOULA – Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is proposing an emergency fishing regulation that would require anglers to keep and turn in any smallmouth bass caught in the Lower Bitterroot River from the confluence of the Clark Fork River near Missoula to Florence Bridge.

If approved, anglers would be required to keep, kill, and turn in the fish to FWP. The proposed regulation is a result of the first confirmed smallmouth bass in the Bitterroot earlier this month. Smallmouth are a non-native fish in Montana, and if established, would impact the fishery. On July 5, an angler caught a smallmouth in the Bitterroot River approximately 3.5 miles from the confluence with the Clark Fork River.

FWP fisheries staff confirmed the report and followed up with surveys in adjacent reaches of the river.  They didn’t find any additional bass but determined that the habitat is suitable for smallmouth to establish and sustain a population. Smallmouth bass are a predatory and adaptable species and could have a long-term impact to this cold-water fishery.

Prior to this recent discovery, the nearest documented reports of smallmouth bass were approximately 70 miles upstream in the Clearwater River system and 80 miles downstream in the Clark Fork River below Saint Regis. 

Relying on angler harvest and mandatory reporting is an effective tool to help prevent spread, determine distribution and abundance, and potentially learn more about the origin of the fish.  The emergency regulation proposal will go in front of the Fish and Wildlife Commission for a decision at their August 17 meeting in Helena.

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