The Big Hole River got some encouraging news yesterday when Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP) announced partial spring sampling results. Biologists have completely spring stream sampling along the Melrose and Hogback sections of the Big Hole River which show an increase in trout numbers, for both browns and rainbows.

The press release from FWP reads, in part, that “Jim Olsen, FWP’s fisheries biologist for the Big Hole River, says good water levels in 2023 likely helped improve the survival of juvenile trout because most of the population increase observed this year was in 2-year-old fish.”

This finding would support what advocates for the Big Hole have said since last year – water levels play a critical role in trout recruitment, especially for brown trout.

You can read more about the fish sampling efforts here.

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