Paddlefish anglers with a yellow harvest tag that are anxious to fish on the Yellowstone River or Missouri River downstream of Fort Peck Reservoir in 2016 need to be aware of two issues.
First, for anglers with a yellow paddlefish harvest tag, opening day of paddlefish season is Sunday May 15; however the first harvest day is Tuesday May 17. This oddity of opening day results from designated Catch and Release days (Sunday, Monday, and Thursday) and mandatory Catch and Harvest days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday). Thus, in 2016, the first two days of paddlefish season for anglers with a yellow tag is Catch and Release only which is restricted to the Intake Fishing Access Site only.
The second change is a new regulation that applies to all three paddlefish areas and harvest tags (white, yellow and blue). Anglers harvesting a paddlefish anywhere in Montana are required to report their harvest within 48 hours. Options for reporting a harvested paddlefish include on-site where the fish was harvested (like the fish cleaning station at Intake Fishing Access Site) or a phone hotline. Those wishing to report their harvest by phone must call 1-877-397-9453 or 406-444-0356. When reporting a harvest, anglers will be required to provide the following information: angler harvest tag number, jaw tag number (if present on fish), length of the fish measured from eye to fork of the tail, fish sex, date of harvest and the harvest location.
For more details on paddlefish regulations or season dates anglers are advised to read the 2016 Fishing Regulations or call a regional Fish, Wildlife & Parks office.
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