Hebgen Lake Unstocked: Brett French Radio Show Preview
By angelamontana

Posted: October 6, 2016
Hebgen Lake would become one of the largest reservoirs in the nation without stocked fish if a proposal by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is approved. The agency has several studies showing that rainbow trout in the lake already do well spawning in several tributaries to Hebgen, which is located just north of the town of West Yellowstone. Hebgen was created when a dam was built across the Madison River in the 1930s. For decades FWP stocked the reservoir with brown trout, but halted that quite a while ago. The rainbow fishery has continued to be supplemented with stockings of different strains of trout. But FWP’s studies have shown that only about 13 percent of those stocked fish show up in anglers’ nets. And if stocking is discontinued, there may be an increase in the size of the trout that remain. FWP has said it could go back to stocking if the results are poor. The public has a chance to comment on the plan.
For more information, see my story in this week’s Billings Gazette at: http://bgz.tt/sg4sx
Lohrenz of Fish, Wildlife and Parks holds up a trout caught in a weir on the Madison River last fall. The fish are measured, classified as to age and sex, tagged and released. Anglers catching the tagged fish are asked to report them to FWP.
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