State wildlife officials propose changes to fishing regulations

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is recommending 48 fishing regulation changes this year ahead of a fall Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting. While most of the changes are aimed at simplifying regulations, there are a few significant changes that anglers could see for the 2024-25 season.  

Those changes include a single hook only restriction on the Flathead River, the removal of the west district northern pike standard limit and the ability to fillet a fish on the water. The agency will hold an informational meeting in Kalispell on Sept. 11 for interested anglers. 

At its Oct. 10 meeting, the state Fish and Wildlife Commission is expected to vote on whether to accept, amend or reject the changes. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is accepting public comment on the proposals in anticipation of the meeting. 

“The overarching goal of these regulation changes, specifically this year, is to simplify them. They have to be realistic; they have to be usable," said Dillon Tabish, regional communication and education program manager for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.   

Most of the proposed changes won’t raise eyebrows, according to Tabish. Agency officials expect pushback on the hook change, however.  

A regulation change in 2020 limited anglers to using only single pointed hooks on the three forks of the Flathead River, upstream of the Teakettle Fishing Access Site. Officials are recommending extending that restriction to the length of the Flathead River and Flathead Lake. Another proposal calls for enacting the same restriction on the Kootenai River from the Libby Dam to the Montana 37 bridge.  

“Currently you can fish with a treble hook, a double hook, but this regulation would restrict you to only use that single pointed hook. Not barbless, just single pointed,” Tabish said. “This would essentially just extend the existing regulation to the entire stretch of the Flathead River while the season is open.” 

Native species of concern, such as bull trout and westslope cutthroats are sometimes caught unintentionally, according to the state wildlife agency. Single-pointed hooks make it easier — and less dangerous to the fish — to catch and release these species, increasing the odds of survival. 

“That one proposal, which obviously none of these have been decided on by the commission yet, is a big one. There are people who are supportive of it, a lot of people opposed to it,” said Kenny Breidinger, a Region 1 fisheries biologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.  

Both Tabish and Breidinger recognized that anglers may feel frustrated by that change, whether it means changing their gear or forgoing their lucky lure in the Flathead River. But it makes sense given efforts to preserve the area’s natural fisheries, they said.  

Seventeen comments were received about the gear restrictions on the Flathead River, with three in support and the rest either opposed or questioning the proposal’s necessity.  

“THE PROPOSED regulation changes don’t really have anything that will affect my business,” said Mark Fuller, a fishing outfitter and owner of Wild Montana Anglers. “But as an angler outside of my business, I do support some of these regulations too.”  

Fuller pointed toward changing the pike regulation so anglers can fish for the species year-round in the Flathead. The current time restriction was originally created to protect bull trout, but the time closure did not lead to the anticipated results for the bull trout population, according to officials with the state wildlife agency. 

“There is no room for trying to protect an invasive species that a lot of people feel are hurting our native species,” Fuller said.  

A trout exception on Whitefish Lake is also poised to undergo a reversal. Officials are recommending the state do away with the rule limiting anglers on the lake to 20 fish daily with just one larger fish, over 36 inches, in possession. The move would also lift other size restrictions on caught fish, where currently anglers must release fish between 30 and 36 inches.

“This regulation would simplify regulations by removing an exception. The slot limit does not appear be effective at increasing the number of large lake trout,” the proposal states.  

To further protect native species, the agency is proposing to switch to catch and release only for westslope cutthroat trout in the West Fork Thompson River, Vermillion River, Bull River and Fishtrap Creek. Currently, anglers can keep three fish from these streams.  

LOCAL ANGLERS and state outfitters expressed some concern ahead of the October meeting, mainly about the process of getting these proposals to the commission.  

"It’s just a clunky process that we’re trying to get changed,” Fuller said, referencing the difficulty anglers experience when trying to get a proposal or comment to the agency.   

Montana has a “wonderful system,” said Thomas Baumeister, vice chair of the Montana chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, because it is very much predicated and built on the notion that fish and wildlife belong to the people of the state.  

But Baumeister sees room for improvement. He said that the state wildlife agency should take more tentative steps during scoping before the final proposal is created to better include anglers and citizens.  

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks had an online scoping period in the spring, which helped the agency develop its proposals. 

The Sept. 11 meeting at the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks office in Kalispell will be held at 6 p.m. It is not aimed at taking public comment, but an informational session where state officials and experts can field questions.  

The agency is accepting comments for the commission's review until Sept. 19. The proposals and instructions for submitting public comment are posted on the Oct. 10 Commission meeting page on the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ website at https://fwp.mt.gov/aboutfwp/commission/october-2024-meeting.  

The agency is also switching from a four-year to a two-year review cycle with a new regulation book coming out on odd-numbered years. 

Reporter Kate Heston can be reached at kheston@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4459.