YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — Warm water and low flows are prompting Yellowstone National Park to close all fishing in rivers and streams during the afternoon and evening for the first time in over a decade.
The park sometimes closes portions of rivers to fishing during the summer due to warm water.
Water temperatures have exceeded 68 degrees Fahrenheit in recent days, officials said, and flows on many rivers are approaching historic lows.
Yellowstone spokeswoman Linda Veress says this is the first park-wide closure since 2007. Starting Saturday, river and stream fishing will be prohibited from 2 p.m. until sunrise.
Yellowstone Lake and other lakes will remain open to fishing from sunrise to sunset, like usual.
Warm water can be stressful or fatal for trout and other fish, especially when they’re caught.
"Anglers: Please fish during the coolest times of day and land fish quickly--do not play hooked trout to exhaustion. Gently handle fish in the water as much as possible and let them recover before release," Yellowstone officials wrote in a release. "Your cooperation will protect the park's fisheries and may preclude the need to prohibit fishing at all times of the day on some rivers and streams if conditions worsen."