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FWP Removes Fishing Limits on Lena Lake

By Beacon Staff

The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission approved the temporary removal of fishing limits for Lena Lake in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, effective immediately.

The ruling removes the combined trout daily and possession limits through Aug. 31. Lena Lake is scheduled for chemical treatment in September. The proposed bag limit waiver would allow more opportunity for anglers to harvest trout before they are subject to removal through chemical treatment.

Lena Lake is 74 acres and is located at the headwaters of the Big Salmon Creek drainage. It is moderately popular with backcountry anglers, who have asked for bag limit waivers prior to previous rotenone treatments to allow more harvest of fish that would otherwise be wasted, according to FWP. This project is part of the South Fork Cutthroat Conservation Plan.

FWP initiated the South Fork Flathead Cutthroat Conservation Plan to replace nonnative fish with pure westslope cutthroat in 21 lakes in the South Fork Flathead drainage to maintain genetic purity. Replacement involves either chemical treatment or genetic swamping (heavy stocking of pure westslope cutthroat to dilute the nonnative genes). A number of lakes have been successfully treated to date.

Lena Lake will be restocked with pure westslope cutthroat trout in the summer of 2014 to restore recreational fishing.