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FISHERIES 



During the first two months of 1963 our Legis- 

 lature will make decisions affecting the future of 

 Montana's sport fishing. In making such decisions 

 they may review what was done in the past and 

 evaluate past results. Supposing fifty years from 

 now legislators evaluate the decisions of the 1963 

 lawmakers as they influenced Montana's sport fish- 

 ery resource. What decisions will have helped per- 

 petuate Montana's world-renowned trout fishery? 



Indications are that 50 years from today Montana 

 will still offer excellent lake and reservoir fishing. 

 Some of these waters will be clean and have suffi- 

 cient natural spawning to maintain fishing. Still 

 others will be able to support good trout fishing, but 

 only through planting. Some others — and we hope 

 they are few — will have extremes in water level 

 fluctuation, sediment or other conditions that will 

 make them unsuitable for game fish. 



This is predicted for lakes and reservoirs, what 

 about streams? The future of wide-spread stream 

 fishing is questionable. It is, so to speak, the hour 



of decision, a time when we must decide whether 

 trout stream fishing as we know it today is worth 

 preserving. 



Montana is unique in that it has a considerable 

 share of the finest trout streams left in the nation. 

 The trout streams in many states have been ruined by 

 civilization. In South Dakota's Black Hills, for ex- 

 ample, 1,200 miles of trout streams have dwindled 

 down to 160 miles that will support trout. 



Trout stream fishing is supported largely by wild 

 fish — that is, fish reared from eggs that were laid in 

 the stream. In order to produce trout, and particularly 

 the 2, 3 and 4 pound and larger ones we seek, there 

 must be good fish habitat. In streams this means 

 adequate flows of clean water; sufficient cover such 

 as pools formed by stream meanders, and clean 

 unsilted gravel areas for spawning and production 

 of insects for fish food. 



Trout stream fishing depends on our maintaining 

 the stream conditions necessary for the production 



