vantage point counts along with the interviews to estimate the number of anglers (Lere 1997). In 

 addition, two creel clerks were used in 1995, compared to one in 1996. Because of these 

 differences, the 1995 survey may represent a much larger sample of the angling community and 

 comparisons between 1995 and 1996 pressure estimates may be less than robust. 



The five-section area surveyed in 1996 was comparable to the portion of the 1995 creel survey 

 identified as "Section 1: Quake Lake to Lyons". Therefore, a comparison of the pooled 1996 data 

 to the 1995 Section 1 data may be the most sound. Figure 9 depicts angling pressure in angling 

 hours for the Quake Lake Section surveyed in 1995 and the pooled data for 1996. Angling 

 pressure totaled 58,049.06 angler hours in 1995 for the Quake Lake section, with only 121.33 of 

 these hours attributed to boat anglers (Figure 9) (FWP 1995b). In 1996, angling pressure for the 

 five sections surveyed totaled 22,868.13 angler hours (Figure 9)(FWP 1996b). Only seven boat 

 anglers were interviewed in 1996, and only one boat-based party was recorded. 



1996 all sections Quake Lake 1995 



Section name 



Figure 9. A comparison of angling pressure in angler hours from the 1995 Quake Lake section and the 

 1996 (all sections) Madison River creel survey surveys. All sections from 1996 were pooled as they cover 

 an area comparable to the "Quake Lake" section surveyed in 1995. 



Evaluation of 1995 and 1996 Creel Data and its Implications related to Whirling Disease 

 In the Madison River, Montana 



20 



Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks 

 March 12, 2002 



