Outdoor roundup

Archery-only paddlefish season

July 1 marks the beginning of the archery-only paddlefish season in the Fort Peck Dredge Cuts below Fort Peck Dam. Archery anglers need to purchase a 2023 blue paddlefish harvest tag to target paddlefish in the Dredge Cuts. As in previous years, harvested paddlefish are required to be reported within 48 hours.

Anglers can self-report their harvested paddlefish and voluntarily submit a dentary (jaw) sample at three self-creeling locations near the Dredge Cuts: Floodplain (Winter Harbor), Nelson Dredge, and Roundhouse Point boat ramps. Anglers can also report online at myfwp.mt.gov, or by calling the phone hotline (1-877-FWP-WILD or 406-444-0356).

Anglers need to provide all necessary information about their harvest, including: angler tag number, jaw tag number (if present), length (eye-tail fork), sex, and date of harvest.

In addition, anglers are encouraged to provide a section of their harvested paddlefish lower jaw at the creeling stations. The jaw section is used to age harvested paddlefish and allows biologists and managers to understand age structure of the population and ensure sustainable management of paddlefish in the future.

If anglers fill out all the required information on the envelopes and voluntarily submit a jaw section, they will receive a free unique 2023 Montana paddlefish hat! Anglers should try their best to provide as much info as they can, both on the fish and themselves. Without a legible name and mailing address written on the envelope, it can be difficult to get the correct person identified.

Anglers failing to report a harvested paddlefish within 48 hours will be ineligible to purchase a paddlefish tag in 2024.

Public meetings on hunting regs

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is hosting upcoming public meetings to kick off the biennial hunting season-setting process.

FWP is conducting scoping meetings around the state from June 15 to July 15. FWP staff will look to hunters to provide broad input on regulation changes they’d like to see. Staff will also look for feedback on a few specific proposals.

In northwest Montana, the meeting schedule is:

Thompson Falls, June 27, 6 p.m., Thompson Falls High School (601 Golf St.)

Eureka, June 28, 6 p.m., Timbers Lodge (101 Julian Dr.)

Kalispell, June 29, 6 p.m., FWP Region 1 Office, with a virtual option (490 N. Meridian Rd.)

Libby, July 6, 6 p.m., KW Maki Theater (724 Louisiana Ave.)

These scoping meetings are more formal than in past years and will replace the public meetings FWP used to hold to present and discuss tentative regulations. However, these scoping meetings are not the same as public comment meetings. FWP staff will listen at the scoping meetings and capture the general themes and then use the information to develop draft regulations, which will be released for public comment in October.

FWP will hold additional public meetings in early November to answer questions about the draft regulation proposals. Comment on the draft regulation proposals will be collected through the FWP website during the fall public commenting period. The final decision on regulations will come at the December Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting.

Hunting regulation changes are done every other year.