FOAMLine, Vol. 33, No. 3, July 2024
IN THIS ISSUE:
2025 FOAM Annual Meeting
Wolf Creek Angler: G4F’s Flyshop of the Month
Remembering Zach Neville
BLM SRPs for Big Hole and Missouri Rivers
Hoot Owl Season
FOAM Meeting 2025!
The 2025 FOAM Annual Meeting will be Friday and Saturday, 7 and 8 March, 2025, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Bozeman.
As usual, Friday, 7 March, will be the FOAM Board of Directors meeting; all members are welcome.
The Hilton Garden Inn will be providing us a great deal on rooms for the event.
Saturday, March 8th, will be our 2025 Annual Meeting. The 2025 FOAM Annual Meeting will include speakers, vendors, raffles, beer – provided by Lewis and Clark Brewing, lunch, and snacks, with all proceeds going to help FOAM’s Conservation Fund and G4F.
Hope to see you there!
Wolf Creek Angler: G4F's Flyshop of the Month
For those of you that visited Wolf Creek Angler on the Missouri River during June, you might have noticed that they were our Guiding for the Future program’s Fly Shop of the Month! As Fly Shop of the Month, Wolf Creek Angler participated in a special fundraising effort on our behalf to help raise money for FOAM’s Guiding for the Future, our advanced guide-training program.
What is G4F?
- FOAM’s Continuing Education program for guides and outfitters
- Three Month Self Directed Online Study capped with a Three Day Field Practicum & Final Exam
- Taught by professionals in their respective fields
- Based on four core values: Knowledge, Professionalism, Ethics, Stewardship
History of G4F
- 2019 – Tom Miner Creek | B Bar Ranch | Pilot Program
- 2020-2021 | Covid Break |
- 2022 – Missouri River | Trout Shop & Sterling Ranch
- 2023 – Bitterroot River | Bitterroot River Lodge
- 2023 – Maine Coast Expansion | Wells Reserve at Laudholm
- 2024 – Bighorn River | Bighorn Angler Fly Shop
- *2025 – *Bitterroot River Lodge
- *2025 – *Wyoming Expansion
As of 2024 – 80 Montana G4F Ambassadors, 12 Maine G4F Ambassadors
Cost:
- No cost for students
- Budget: $50,000 per year
- Guides volunteer to attend
Fundraising:
- Every dollar counts in the Round Up Campaign! G4F is completely funded by a portion of FOAM Memberships and Donations from outside individuals and businesses.
Our next G4F program will tentatively be at the Bitterroot Lodge on the banks of the Bitterroot River during the second week of March 2025.
To find out more about FOAM’s G4F program visit guidingforthefuture.org.
To contribute directly to FOAM’s G4F program go to donations.guidingforthefuture.org.
Remembering Zach Neville
With deep sorrow, we want to let the FOAM Guiding community know of the passing of Zach Neville. Zach passed away unexpectedly in mid-June upon his return to Montana. Zach was a cherished member of the Bozeman guide community and a dear friend.
He began his career at the River’s Edge Fly Shop, where he is fondly remembered for his strong leadership, infectious high-pitched laugh, and his calm yet professional presence behind the oars. Zach was known for his caring nature, always checking in with younger, fellow guides before trips began in the morning. In 2015, he became an outfitter and ran his business in the Bozeman area.
In recent years, Zach spent winters in Texas, where he found a second home amongst a vibrant music community in Austin. He was in a relationship with a talented musician from the Austin area, whom he deeply cared for.
Zach is survived by his mother, Dianna Neville; stepfather, John Greene; brother, Ryan; sister-in-law, Shannon Neville; and nephews, Will and Tate.
Zach’s impact over nearly two decades of guiding will be deeply missed by all whose lives he touched, including clients and fellow guides alike. A celebration of his life will be held this fall in Bozeman, and the board will provide further details soon.
BLM SRPs Required for Big Hole and Missouri Rivers
Ryan Collins of the Bureau of Land Management, Butte Field Office reached out to us to let us know that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is now requiring Special Recreation Permits (SRP) for commercial use of BLM boat ramps and parking areas on the Missouri River and Big Hole Rivers. The below BLM boat ramps and parking areas will now require an SRP for commercial use.
BIG HOLE RIVER:
- Dickie Bridge
- Divide Bridge Day Use
- Divide Bridge Campground
- East Bank
- Jerry Creek Bridge
- Sawlog Gulch
- Maiden Rock East
MISSOURI RIVER:
- Devil’s Elbow
- Holter Dam
- Holter Lake
- Log Gulch
- Lower Toston
- Upper Toston
- White Sandy
Commercial use of the Bureau of Land Management boat ramps and parking areas on the Big Hole River now require a Special Recreation Permit (SRP). The permit will authorize use of the boat ramps for launching and taking out of watercraft for commercial fishing and scenic trips. The permit will also authorize use of the parking areas for vehicles associated with these operations.
To apply for the $130 Special Recreation Permit through the BLM please register in Recreation and Permit Tracking Online Reporting (RAPTOR) at https://permits.blm.gov/raptor/sign-in and request a Pre-Application Meeting with the Butte Field Office.
If you have any questions or need assistance with RAPTOR, please contact Ryan Collins at
406-490-8360 or via email at blm_mt_bf_srp@blm.gov.
Hoot Owl Season
A full angling closure and two new hoot-owl restrictions will go into effect on additional sections of the Madison River in southwest Montana. The full closure will go into effect at midnight, July 17. The hoot-owl restrictions go into effect at 2 p.m. on Thursday, July 18.
Hoot-owl restrictions prohibit fishing from 2 p.m. to midnight each day. These closures and restrictions, which are due to warming temperatures and low flows, will stay in effect until conditions improve.
Full closure takes effect at midnight tonight on the Madison River:
- From Madison Dam at Ennis Reservoir on the lower Madison to the footbridge at NorthWestern Energy powerhouse
Hoot-owl restrictions take effect Thursday, July 18, include:
- From the footbridge at NorthWestern Energy powerhouse to the confluence with the Jefferson River
- From the Yellowstone National Park boundary to Hebgen Reservoir
Hoot-owl restrictions remain in effect for portions of the Beaverhead, Big Hole, Blackfoot, Clark Fork, East Gallatin, Gallatin, Madison, Ruby and Sun rivers, as well as the Bitterroot, Jefferson and Silver Bow Creek in their entirety. To view a full list of restrictions, click here.
FWP’s drought policy provides for angling restrictions when flows drop below critical levels for fish, when water quality is diminished or when maximum daily water temperatures reach at least 73 degrees for three consecutive days. Water temperatures of 77 degrees or more can be lethal to trout.
These restrictions are designed to protect fish that become more susceptible to disease and mortality when conditions like this exist. One short-term strategy to address heat-induced stress in Montana’s wild trout is to reduce catch-and-release mortality by alerting anglers to fish only in the morning.
Anglers can reduce stress on fish at all times of the year by getting fish to the net or in hand quickly, keeping them in the water and reviving them prior to releasing them back into the river.
If high temperatures and extremely low flows persist, anglers may want to consider fishing areas with less stressful temperatures and conditions, such as larger lakes or reservoirs, or higher elevation waterbodies.
Along with monitoring stream temperatures, FWP also monitors stream flows and in some streams holds instream flow water rights. FWP’s water program can issue a call on junior water users, when appropriate, to contribute to stream flows through the late summer and early fall. For more information on FWP water rights, click here.
