Northern pike, along with both small and largemouth bass, are posing a legitimate threat to some of Montana’s most storied trout fisheries.
In a new report for NBC Montana, journalist Laurel Staples spoke with Montana fisheries managers to spread the word about the invasive fish threatening the Missouri and Yellowstone River basins.
Northern pike were netted from a pond near Three Forks, which is where the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin rivers converge to form the Missouri River. Two pike were taken from one of the ponds after reports from anglers that these fish were present. Pike in the upper Missouri would be potentially damaging to the trout that draw anglers there from around the world.
Elsewhere in Montana, smallmouth and largemouth bass are posing threats in the Livingston area, near the Yellowstone River. These threats aren’t new—a smallmouth bass was caught in the Yellowstone near Gardiner a few years ago—but are still taken seriously.
Northern pike have also been illegally introduced in the Clark Fork River, a stronghold of native westslope cutthroat trout, along with smallmouth in sections of the Bitterroot River.
You can view the full report below.