Montana’s Current Hoot Owl Fishing Restrictions

With a cool wet weekend in western Montana, we probably won't need to concern ourselves with this just yet.

But some Montana rivers are now currently under "Hoot Owl" restrictions. If you're planning to fish out of our area, this is good stuff to know. Pay special attention to southwest Montana!

We received a Friday, July 8, update from Ron Assheim with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, regarding rivers with restrictions:

Parts of: Big Hole, Beaverhead, Ruby, Lower Gallatin and East Gallatin.

Entire length of: Jefferson

Hoot Owl restrictions mean no fishing between 2:00 p.m. and Midnight, so there are still opportunities. FWP always reminds you that if you're doing catch and release, get the fish off the hook as quickly as possible to reduce stress.  And while there is usually sufficient official notice, it's always a good idea to check with locals first to make sure that more restrictions haven't been implemented.

Good fishing, everybody.

DB