In response to warm water temperatures Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (FWP) has enacted hoot owl regulations on the North Fork. At the same time FWP acknowledges that catch-and-release fishermen are stressing fish (intentionally), and inadvertently killing some. Hoot owl regulations do more to appease fishermen than help fish. If the fish are stressed to the point that these regulations are necessary, FWP should close the river to fishing for the same reason they’ve closed the North Fork’s critical spawning tributaries: to protect native trout. To this end, they should also encourage anglers to catch and kill invasive species that better tolerate warm water and rough treatment.
Robert Love
Columbia Falls