day each week to make four total interview days per week. Survey sections were numbered 1-4 

 in the upper river and 1-3 in the lower section. 



Upper river sections were: 



1. Quake Lake to Lyons (12.5 miles) 



2. Lyons to Ruby Creek (17.3 miles) 



3. Ruby Creek to Vamey (11.9 miles) 



4. Vamey to Ennis Lake (13.9 miles) 

 Lower River sections were: 



1 . Ennis Dam to Hot Springs (9.7 miles) 



2. Hot Springs Creek to Elk Creek (7.0 miles) 



3 . Elk Creek to Three Forks (20.6 miles) 



The first section surveyed each week was chosen randomly and the survey progressed through 

 the remaining sections in numerical order. In the lower river, the section monitored on the last 

 day of the four-day cycle was chosen randomly fi-om the three sections. Interviews were 

 completed in two sections per day, with one survey during the morning hours and one in the 

 evening. Morning and evening sampling times were alternated on the next sampling day for the 

 chosen sections. Creel clerks ground-truthed airplane counts for section 2 on the lower river on 

 days when section 2 was scheduled for interviews. 



In 1995, FWP added an angler satisfaction survey to its creel form. The survey attempted to 

 measure how happy anglers were with the size and number offish caught, the overall fishing 

 experience, and to gather some additional information on age, experience and origin of the 

 anglers on the Madison River. Anglers were asked to rank their level of satisfaction with the 

 number of trout caught, size of trout, and species of trout on a scale of -2 (very dissatisfied) to 

 +2 (very satisfied). Anglers were also asked to rank their top three reasons, out of a list of 1 1 

 options, for choosing the Madison River for their trip that day. Finally, anglers were asked to list 

 any major problems they had with fishing on the Madison. The last question was fi"ee response, 

 and comparable answers were categorized and tallied (Appendix B). 



3.2 Creel Methods, 1996 



A portion of the upper Madison River fi-om Slide Inn to Windy Point (approximately 20 river 

 miles) was creeled fi-om June 1 to September 26, 1996 by a single on-the-ground creel clerk 



Evaluation of 1995 and 1996 Creel Data and its Implications related to Whirling Disease Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks 



In the Madison River, Montana March 12, 2002 



10 



