"Vincent 1977 



'' No annual fisheries division job progress reports were completed in 1975,1981, 1995, or 1996. 



' Vincent 1978 



"^ Original data summary sheet provided by FWP for the Pine Butte Creel 198 1 and 1995 



'Original data siunmary sheets for the 1981 creel survey provided by FWP 



'Estimate listed in the original data siunmary sheets provided by FWP for the Pine Butte creel 1981 and 1995. 1995 



estimate derived from applying the proportion 0.342 to the total pressure estimate for Sectionl. 



■« Lere 1995a 



■'' Estimate Usted in the computer data pro\aded by FWP for Section 4 of the 1996 creel. 



' Lere 1996 



3.1 Creel Methods, 1995 



The entire Madison River from Quake Lake to the headwaters of the Missouri River at Three 

 Forks was creeled from June 4 to September 30, 1995 (Lere 1995a). Angler counts were 

 stratified weekly with one randomly selected weekend day and two random weekdays. Angler 

 counts were made by airplane, and broken down by number of boats and number of shore 

 anglers. Flight times were chosen randomly from eight 2-hour periods from 9 am to 7 pm. Ten 

 sections were monitored twice each flight day. The first counts were made begirming in Three 

 Forks and proceeding upstream to West Yellowstone, and then a second count was made 

 traveling in the opposite direction. Anglers from a boat that was beached, with all anglers fishing 

 from shore when counted, were recorded as shore anglers. MUssed flights were rescheduled 

 within the same week if possible, but if a "make-up" flight could not be scheduled within the 

 same week it was dropped from the survey (Lere 1 995b). Pressure estimates and catch rates were 

 analyzed using FWP's Creel Survey Program (McFarland and Roche 1987). 



Anglers were interviewed by two creel clerks, one in each of two sections, Quake Lake Dam to 

 Ennis Dam (upper river) and Ennis Dam to Three Forks (lower river). Creel clerks interviewed 

 anglers on the same days as flight monitoring, with an additional randomly selected interviewing 



Evaluation of 1995 and 1996 Creel Data and it5 Implications related to Whirling Disease 

 In the Madison River, Montana 



Montana Fish, Wildlife and Paries 

 March 12,2002 



