Yes, you’re right, the Montana’s Missouri River is not in Yellowstone, though two of the three main tributaries to the Missouri go originate in the Park (Madison and Gallatin).  If you’re a Park fisherman who’s never made a trip to the might Mo’, you need to.  Here’s some good news about the fishery that might make that trip seem more interesting.  The picture is of the Craig Bridge, a common dift boat access below Holter….

Recently completed rainbow trout estimates on the Smith and Missouri rivers indicate healthy fish populations, a state fisheries biologist says. “Despite near record low flows in the Missouri River in 2007 (“Flows in the Missouri in 2007 were about 30 percent below the long-term average) , the trout numbers are remarkably good,” says Grant Grisak, Fish, Wildlife and Parks fisheries biologist. Near the town of Craig, Grisak estimates about 3,789 rainbow trout per mile, which is 129 percent of the 26-year average. “This is the fourth highest year for rainbow trout on record,” Grisak says.

Rainbow populations are counted in the fall, brown trout in the spring. In the Missouri, biologists count trout 10 inches and larger; in the Smith it’s 8 inches and larger. Back in May, Grisak estimated brown trout in the Craig section at 777 per mile, also the fourth highest on record.

The number of rainbow trout just upstream from the town of Cascade was also slightly above average at 1,594 per mile. Brown trout are at 170 percent of average at 594 per mile.

In the Smith River, trout numbers were not as high as the Missouri, but also not as low as they could have been considering the water conditions this year, Grisak says. Low flows and high water temperature prompted FWP this year to close the Smith River to fishing.

“Both rainbow and brown trout numbers are lower, but certainly within the historic range,” Grisak says. Rainbow trout in the Eagle Creek section were estimated at 291 per mile, which is slightly less than the past three years. Brown trout were estimated at 254 per mile, which is about 70 percent of average.  “We observed an unusually high number of 6- to 8-inch rainbows in the Eagle Creek section,” Grisak says. “That’s not what we would have expected following the harsh conditions in the Smith in recent years.”

The gang over at The Trout Shop in Craig posted this encouraging report a couple of days ago on there web site - they run a class shop and spend a fair amount of time in Belize and points south - check out their trips page.

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