Montana Fish Report

The daily bag limit for general marine fish (rockfish, greenlings, skates, etc.) will increase to 5 fish beginning on Wednesday, Sept. 19.

The bag limit for marine fish had been reduced to 4 on July 1. That smaller bag limit reduced the catch of black rockfish and nearshore rockfish species (China, copper, quillback rockfish) enough that the bag limit can now go back to 5 fish. Yelloweye rockfish is still tracking high, said Lynn Mattes, ODFW recreational groundfish project leader. However, she added, the Pacific Fishery Management Council is projecting enough unused yelloweye rockfish for the Oregon recreational bottomfish fishery to proceed.

The fishery will also go back to all-depth beginning Oct. 1 as planned. This will allow anglers in the popular deepwater lingcod fishery to fish throughout the fall and winter, Mattes said. Bag limits will remain the same with 5 general marine fish, 2 lingcod, 25 flatfish and 10 fish in the longleader fishery (retention of 8 rockfish species allowed). Cabezon remains closed for the remainder of the year.