Shut down as in no fishing, anytime, day or night, early or late. No flies, lures, bobbers, night crawlers, bullheads, cheese or marshmallows. Cancel your guide trip, change your plans, go somewhere else. The Big Hole River is closed. Low water, hot water, bad water. It’s a dirty shame.

When I started fishing Montana in 1972, I planned my trips around the salmon fly hatch on the Madison in late June and grasshopper fishing on the Big Hole in early September…the same time of the year that this closure is taking place. September fishing on the Big Hole was outstanding. I would stop to buy some flies at the Melrose Bar, arrange for a shuttle with Burr Lively, dump my little two-man rubber raft in at town, and float down to Bogart’s. Or I would just walk across the railroad tracks in Melrose and wade fish downstream. I used a Joe’s Hopper or maybe a Dave’s if I could find one. Fishing was great…and easy. If you got a good, long, drag free dry fly drift on top of one of those long, smooth glides on the Big Hole, you almost always got a bite. And there was plenty of water. Wading was sketchy. Big, dark holes loomed for you to disappear into if you slipped. These days there is skinny water everywhere.

I remember a feeling of openness, wonder and unrestricted joy. Montana before locked gates, blaze-orange paint, river-front mansions, private subdivisions, gated “communities.” A quick bite at the Quack Quack Cafe…a big slab of beef at the Alder Steakhouse…tall piles of homemade French fires.

I was naive enough to believe those days would last forever. I now know those days are gone forever. I get almost a perverse pleasure knowing that I was there and that most of you weren’t. It was wonderful. You will never understand. As I slip deeper and deeper into Official Grumpy Old Timer status, a wry smile appears…and then a tear.

The Big Hole ain’t coming back. Ever. Prove me wrong.

Entire Big Hole River to close to fishing Saturday

By: Blair Miller – August 30, 2024 2:51 pm

     

 Anglers on the Big Hole River near the Powerhouse fishing access site on Aug. 2, 2023. (Photo by Blair Miller, Daily Montanan)

While several fishing restrictions have been lifted from Montana rivers during the past couple weeks because of cooler temperatures, the Big Hole River will be closed to fishing in its entirety starting at midnight Saturday morning because of low flows and an expected spike in daily high temperatures.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said persistent low river flows, high water temperatures and an “unseasonably warm and dry forecast” led to the full closure decision. FWP implements hoot-owl restrictions and fishing closures when rivers reach certain temperature thresholds that can be harmful to cold-water fish like trout.

U.S. Geological Survey data showed Friday afternoon that water temperatures on the Big Hole ranged from 62 degrees to 70 degrees on various parts of the river, with the warmer temperatures near Twin Bridges on the lower end of the river.

Daily high temperatures in Wise River are forecast to be in the mid-80s for the next several days, at least until Tuesday, when rain and a daily high of 70 is currently forecast. Temperatures will be several degrees warmer further downriver.

During the past week and a half, FWP has lifted hoot-owl restrictions on the Beaverhead, Ruby, Smith, Jefferson, Bitterroot, Clark Fork, and portions of the Madison rivers as cooler temperatures and some rain moved through Montana. During parts of the summer, hoot-owl restrictions have been placed on rivers across the state, from the Yellowstone to the North Fork Flathead River.

But the only remaining closures and restrictions are on the Big Hole, Madison and Sun rivers. Along with the Big Hole closure, the Madison has hoot-owl restrictions from Hebgen Reservoir up to Yellowstone National Park and from the NorthWestern Energy powerhouse to where it meets the Jefferson River. The Sun River has hoot-owl restrictions from the mouth of Muddy Creek to the Highway 287 bridge.

Portions of the Big Hole River have been closed since early August. The river is one of particular focus for FWP and conservationists, along with others in the Jefferson basin, as researchers study what is contributing to declining trout populations in the basin and sickening fish with lesions and other abnormalities.