Madison River ready for fishing months after dam malfunction
Fly-fishing is always the talk of town in Ennis. Especially after a malfunction at Hebgen Dam dropped the Upper Madison River so low it left fish stranded in shallow pools.
BOZEMAN, Mont. — Fly-fishing is always the talk of town in Ennis. Especially after a malfunction at Hebgen Dam dropped the Upper Madison River so low it left fish stranded in shallow pools.
In December, a rescue operation took place with more than 100 volunteers rushing to rescue thousands of fish.
“I think we dodged a bullet on account of the dam malfunction. I think we're in good shape now,” Ennis Tackle Shop owner and outfitter John Way said.
Way says the quick fix of the dam helped keep the situation from getting worse, but anglers and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials will pay close attention in the coming years.
“What we could potentially see is impacts to redds, which are spawning beds where fish lay their eggs. So we won't know for some time,” FWP information and education program manager Morgan Jacobsen said.
Despite this disaster, fishing on the Upper Madison continues to be open for the foreseeable future.
“We don't have any fishing closures or restrictions in place for this area right now- and we don't have any plans to put those restrictions in place for the foreseeable future,” Jacobsen said.
Some fly shops encourage anglers to let the river rest before fishing, while others think it's OK to start now.
“It's probably fishable, and at this point, we're encouraging anglers to get out there. We haven't seen any detrimental effects of the breakage at the dam,” Way said.
Way says if there are detrimental effects, they would appear in two to three years.
