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size trout for "put and take" fishing, (4) developing regulations, 

 (5) developing commercial fishing of rough fish, (6) determining 

 needs and making recommendations for fishing access sites and 

 impoundments to be built for sport fishing. 



The Water Resources Division of the Department of Natural 

 Resources contracted with the Fisheries Division to determine 

 minimum flows necessary for optimum fish production on the majority 

 of Montana's fishing streams. These will be used in Montana's 

 State Water Plan and also incorporated into the Westwide Water 

 Study being undertaken by federal and state agencies in the 

 western United States. Recommendations were made on 21 reaches of 

 stream in the Sun River Planning Unit and on 47 reaches in the 

 Clark Fork Drainage. Discharge measurements and photographs were 

 taken on an additional 80 streams across the state for evaluation 

 of flows. 



The final report was prepared for a 10-year creel census on 

 Rock Creek near Missoula. Catchable-size rainbow trout were 

 planted during six years of the study. Only 35 percent of the 

 139,000 planted fish were caught by fishermen. Stocking increased 

 overall fisherman success; however, more skillful fishermen bene- 

 fitted much more than the less skillful. This study will be of 

 great value in establishing fish planting policies. 



Gear and methods were developed which allow fisheries per- 

 sonnel to make valid fish population estimates in the Kootenai 

 River, a river too large to handle with our previous equipment 

 and techniques. Estimates were made of fish numbers in Kootenai 



