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Certain Yellowstone rivers are closed to fishing for part of the day due to high water temps

A man wearing brown waders with a fishing vest casts a line, with grasses and treed hills in the background.
National Park Service
/
Neal Herbert
An angler fishes on the Madison River.

This story is part of our Quick Hits series. This series will bring you breaking news and short updates from throughout the state.

Rising temperatures and low river flows mean certain waterways in Yellowstone National Park are now closed to anglers from 2 p.m. to dawn the next day, as of June 19.

The Madison and Firehole Rivers, and their tributaries, will be closed during that window, as well as the Gibbon River and all its tributaries downstream of Norris Campground.

When water temperatures get higher than 68 degrees Fahrenheit, trout start getting stressed. Ending up on a fishing line or out of the water only adds to that.

“The closure will protect the park’s native and wild trout fisheries and will remain in effect until conditions improve,” stated a Yellowstone National Park press release announcing the change.

All other fishable bodies of water are still open, with a permit. Yellowstone Lake and other lakes remain fishable from sunrise to sunset.

The park service asks anglers to do their thing during the coolest parts of the day, reel fish in quickly and let them recover in the water before release.

Chillier weather is expected in the area this weekend, so closures could be lifted if water temperatures cool down enough.

Hannah Habermann is the rural and tribal reporter for Wyoming Public Radio. She has a degree in Environmental Studies and Non-Fiction Writing from Middlebury College and was the co-creator of the podcast Yonder Lies: Unpacking the Myths of Jackson Hole. Hannah also received the Pattie Layser Greater Yellowstone Creative Writing & Journalism Fellowship from the Wyoming Arts Council in 2021 and has taught backpacking and climbing courses throughout the West.

Have a question or a tip? Reach out to hhaberm2@uwyo.edu. Thank you!

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