Walleyes Forever |
Here are some interesting facts on Montana fishing, courtesy of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and its Fishing Log Newsletter: -- Surveys show that 67 percent of Montana anglers fish for trout or salmon and 37 percent fish for warm water species, with walleyes being the preferred species.
-- Residents make up 58.4 percent of the state’s license buyers — 41.6 percent are nonresidents. -- About 34 percent of all adult residents purchase fishing licenses annually. -- The most common violation of fish and game laws is fishing without a license. -- More than 11,000 individual waters support 90 species of fish in Montana. Of these, 56 are native to the state and two others are possible natives. The other 32 are introduced species. -- Eighteen species are listed as "species of special concern" including the pallid sturgeon and white sturgeon (both listed as endangered), the bull trout (listed as threatened) and several that have been petitioned to be listed — paddlefish, sicklefin chub, sturgeon chub, fluvial arctic grayling, redband trout, westslope cutthroat trout and Yellowstone cutthroat trout. -- The rainbow trout is the most common game fish found in a Montana angler’s creel. -- In 2000, anglers spent an estimated $222 million in Montana on transportation, lodging, food, guide fees and other direct purchases, not including license fees. -- In 2000, Montana waters were stocked with more than 42.5 million fish. Of these, 35 million were walleye, 3.1 million were rainbow trout and 2.6 million were kokanee salmon. -- Approximately 95 percent of the fish stocked in Montana waters annually are planted in lakes and reservoirs. -- The lakes receiving the heaviest fishing pressure were Canyon Ferry Reservoir, Fort Peck Reservoir and Holter Reservoir. -- The rivers receiving the heaviest pressure were sections of the Missouri, Bighorn and Bitterroot. -- Angling activities were distributed at 43 percent on lakes and reservoirs and 57 percent on rivers and streams. -- Anglers cumulatively spend approximately 3.2 million days fishing Montana waters each year. |
