Upper CF
- Thread starter Bass-O-Matic
- Start date
Richard Olmstead
Steelhead
Sad to think that our efforts to clean up one of the worst superfund sites in the Rockies is what is killing these trout.
Unfortunately, the decline in trout populations in SW MT rivers and (some) streams is pretty widespread at this point, regardless of whether they are directly tied back to the Superfund site.
I don’t like being the “you should have seen what it was like years ago” guy but….my family started fly fishing in MT ~100 years ago, and successive generations have carried on the tradition. My mom, aunt, and uncles bought some fishing property ~50 years ago on a river-i-won’t-name and since my generation (and my kids, cousin’s kids etc) came along we have been fishing on it since we were tiny.
Trout populations and average fish size are way WAY down over these past few decades in the river. Sadly there is a mountain of empirical data backing up what we have seen anecdotally.
I don’t like being the “you should have seen what it was like years ago” guy but….my family started fly fishing in MT ~100 years ago, and successive generations have carried on the tradition. My mom, aunt, and uncles bought some fishing property ~50 years ago on a river-i-won’t-name and since my generation (and my kids, cousin’s kids etc) came along we have been fishing on it since we were tiny.
Trout populations and average fish size are way WAY down over these past few decades in the river. Sadly there is a mountain of empirical data backing up what we have seen anecdotally.
Bass-O-Matic
Life of the Party
Here is an article on how to help your odds on fish that have changed their behavior due to pressure. It's clear the top priority is catching fish and not the fishes/fisheries health or sustainability.
https://www.fieldandstream.com/fishing/5-day-saving-fishing-tips-to-catch-pressured-trout/
https://www.fieldandstream.com/fishing/5-day-saving-fishing-tips-to-catch-pressured-trout/
