@tailyrirvine

I got to wake up early and photograph some beautiful parts of Montana for my latest with the @nytimes. The drought this summer and extreme heat are threatening Montana trout populations and the nearly $500 million dollars anglers spend in Montana during their fly fishing trips. One big question that can’t be answered is whether this is just a bad year, or a part of a more permanent change in the climate, a long-term aridification of the West. Mr. Arnold, the fly-fishing guide who has worked on the Missouri River for decades, said the decline in trout populations has been occurring over a longer span of time than just this year. “My top guides could put 60 fish in the boat in a day,” he said. “Now half of that would be considered a good day.” “It’s all climate-change related,” Mr. Arnold said. Twenty years ago, nobody fished in November and March because it was so cold, he recalled. Now they do. “It’s starting to feel like a downward spiral.” Go to the @nytimes to read more from Jim Robbins on how climate change is affecting Montana’s rivers and trout.