![]() A lot of times it can be a really good thing in terms of moving and loosening up that stream bed, so that those areas can be used more efficiently for fish to spawn," he said. "In terms of the fish world, a big event isn't always negative. Scott Opitz, a fisheries biologist with Montana, Fish, Wildlife & Parks, says it's too early to say how the floods affected the Yellowstone River's fish populations, but he's not expecting devastation. "Those rainbow trout eggs were just hatching at that time and what I'm worried about is if those fish got washed downstream or if they were injured or hurt or killed or all three," he said. The floods hit right after Rainbow Trout finished spawning last year. While he's excited to bring them to this new stretch of river, he hopes there are still enough fish to keep his clients happy. Wilhelm guides around 50 clients a year on the Yellowstone River through his Yellowstone Fly Fishing School. They contribute about $1.3 billion in spending. More than 400,000 visitors a year fish while they're in Montana. "It was a brand new river in a lot of places."Ī new channel on the Yellowstone river near Livingston, Mont. "There were all sorts of new challenges," he said. When huge amounts of water barreled through here last June, it cut a new pathway through what was grass and cottonwood trees. "That is a new channel, that's a pretty significant channel right there," he said. On a recent visit to its banks on a private ranch near the town of Livingston, surrounded by snow-capped peaks, he points out some of the changes last year's flood brought. Matt Wilhelm is a burly mid-westerner who's been guiding fishing trips on the Yellowstone for 20 years. And for fly fishing guides, relearning the river, with its new gravel bars and channels, means there are some uncharted areas to look for fish. It also damaged boat ramps and fishing access sites, and made some parts of the Yellowstone River unrecognizable to guides who have been fishing in the area for years.īut, from an ecological perspective, the flooding benefitted fish habitat. ![]() Last June, flooding in and around Yellowstone National Park upended the lives of nearby residents, damaging homes, ranch properties, and roads.
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