Montana River Flows Low, Temperatures Up, Trout Dying…

Fly Fishing’s top Western Rivers are experiencing more than a little drought-and-heat related distress, with hundreds of trout already dying in the Firehole.

A drought and hot temperatures mean fisheries managers are already calling for extensive voluntary closures, and are preparing to make those closures mandatory to try and protect trout, who are already facing water temps in the 80s. From the Great Falls Tribune:

Yellowstone National Park officials asked anglers to voluntarily halt fishing in the afternoons on many rivers and streams and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks issued a new drought advisory stating all fishing closures announced by FWP this summer will be mandatory.

FWP’s Chief of Fisheries Chris Hunter said that the policy is aimed at eliminating concerns among anglers regarding the effectiveness of voluntary fishing restrictions.

“The Big Hole got closed today from Wisdom upstream 19 miles,” Hunter said. “It is terrible right now, with flows at 13 (cubic feet per second) and water almost 80 degrees.

“We are going to work on the Smith on Monday and there are others in the queue,” Hunter said. “The Jeff (Jefferson) is close (to being closed) and the Sun may be closed.

“With the temperatures and the ridiculously low flows, it is not going to be a pretty summer,” Hunter said.

If you do need to fish, visit the Fly Fishing in Yellowstone blog for a list of possibilities, though even his suggestions are looking a bit dicey.

Hell, even the Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains are in the grips of a drought, though Ian and Charity Rutter report fishable — if very low — flows, especially once you gain a little altitude.

Back at the Ranch

Meanwhile, the temperature in Mount Shasta got damned close to 100 degrees today, and while the flows in the Upper Sacramento are well below normal, the water’s still plenty cold (at least upriver). At least the fish are faring better than the Wonderdog, who handles hot weather about as well as I handle tax audits.

With my departure for Maine coming up this Saturday, it’s the usual bum’s rush trying to finishing everything up before I get out of town. Still, once I get there, it’s two weeks of relaxation, canoeing, fishing, and hanging with the L&T Nancy.

Expect a reports, though it will be tough to top last year’s Grand Lake Canoe essay and the “caught in the storm” posts, especially since I’m going in a deader part of the year.

See you in Maine, Tom Chandler.

[tags]fly fishing, fishing, montana, firehole, yellowstone, maine[/tags]