KALISPELL — State wildlife officials have announced that fishing restrictions will be placed on North Fork Flathead River due to record water temperatures and falling water levels.
Hoot-owl restrictions — which prohibit fishing from 2 p.m. to midnight each day — will go into effect at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks says the restrictions will remain in effect until conditions improve.
The restrictions will run the full length and both sides of the North Fork from the U.S.-Canadian border to the confluence with the Middle Fork Flathead River near Blankenship Bridge.
WATCH: FWP spokesman Dillon Tabish explains the reasoning behind hoot-owl restrictions.
FWP notes that the restrictions are designed to help protect "fish that become more susceptible to disease and mortality when conditions, such as low flows and high water temperatures, combine with other stressors, including catch-and-release fishing."
Water temperatures in the North Fork have been near or above daily records since early July, according to FWP.
While it's not unusual for hoot-owl restrictions to be placed on rivers across Montana in the summer, this is the first time that FWP has ever implemented hoot-owl restrictions in the Flathead drainage.
Fisheries biologists are also concerned about increasing water temperatures and affected trout populations in the following rivers and adjacent tributaries:
- Middle Fork Flathead River
- South Fork Flathead River
- Mainstem Flathead River upstream of Old Steel Bridge in Evergreen
- Swan River
- Thompson River
Click here to view a list of statewide restrictions and closures.
