Excessive heat prompts fishing closures in Yellowstone area

Lower Madison River below Ennis, Montana. Photo, via Pete Thomas Outdoors

Excessive heat has caused problems around the country, and in Yellowstone National Park it's jeopardizing trout to the point where fishing restrictions and bans have been ordered.

The Spokesman-Review reports that fishing will be banned, beginning Wednesday, on the Gibbon River below Gibbon Falls, Firehole River below Keppler Cascades, and the Madison River.

Time-of-day restrictions already are in place on the Smith, Dearborn and Sun Rivers.

The closures and restrictions are intended to prevent added stress for trout, which thrive in cold water but struggle to survive in warm water. Water temperatures in some parts of the rivers are in the high 70s, and more hot weather is on tap this week.

LINK (via Pete Thomas Outdoors)