Montana House preliminarily approves ‘River census’ study bill https://www.kbzk.com/news/montana-p...reliminarily-approves-river-census-study-bill
This ought to slow things up on busy days
- Thread starter Mike Cline
- Start date
Sounds good to me! Don't know why they feel it has to last two years, I get that they need to collect data, however it's pretty obvious that there are more people using the resource than it can support or just too many bodies on the rivers at the same time, which takes away the enjoyment for guys like me and others I'm sure.
I've fished most of the rivers listed, except the Big Horn! I typically go out in the spring or fall to avoid the crowds in MT in general. I've had many days of peace, with the river to myself, by passing up any area where I see more than 2 cars or a ton of boats working there way down the water!
Controlling access for guides, maybe alternate days on the water, and limiting the number of guides on the water maybe a solution. Not a popular one, but it's worked on the Deschutes and is just the way it probably has to be imho. Maybe limiting the guides to those that are locals, not the ones that pop over to guide and go from state to state to guide. I do feel some sympathy and know that guiding is tough enough in general, but don't know what else will work for a solution to overcrowding.
Not fishing from the boat would be an option, but personally I'm not a fan, especially for trout! Part of the enjoyment for me, when fishing from a boat, is tossing streamers or dries while on the move and if fishing from a boat is limited, then the best spots get filled up quick and probably stay that way for most of the day.
Regardless, something does need to be done. Hopefully it will never get to a permitting system or beats like they do in Scotland but with overpopulation and the fact more people enjoy the outdoors and fishing, well it's inevitable.. Resistance is futile!!
Cheers! Okay, not really for this topic.. now back to your regular channels...
I've fished most of the rivers listed, except the Big Horn! I typically go out in the spring or fall to avoid the crowds in MT in general. I've had many days of peace, with the river to myself, by passing up any area where I see more than 2 cars or a ton of boats working there way down the water!
Controlling access for guides, maybe alternate days on the water, and limiting the number of guides on the water maybe a solution. Not a popular one, but it's worked on the Deschutes and is just the way it probably has to be imho. Maybe limiting the guides to those that are locals, not the ones that pop over to guide and go from state to state to guide. I do feel some sympathy and know that guiding is tough enough in general, but don't know what else will work for a solution to overcrowding.
Not fishing from the boat would be an option, but personally I'm not a fan, especially for trout! Part of the enjoyment for me, when fishing from a boat, is tossing streamers or dries while on the move and if fishing from a boat is limited, then the best spots get filled up quick and probably stay that way for most of the day.
Regardless, something does need to be done. Hopefully it will never get to a permitting system or beats like they do in Scotland but with overpopulation and the fact more people enjoy the outdoors and fishing, well it's inevitable.. Resistance is futile!!
Cheers! Okay, not really for this topic.. now back to your regular channels...
I agree something has to be done . I spend nearly two months annually in Montana , mostly fishing the Madison . I may float it a couple times with friends in their drift boats ,but mostly fishing the wade section . It too is pretty busy in the popular areas like Raynolds bridge , 3 dollar etc . It seems they have been talking about regulating the number of boats for awhile now .
I have never fished the Beartrap , no idea how busy it is down there , but the study in the link above is from the Beartrap north to Greycliff . That seems odd to me considering a lot of the activity is the float section from Lyons to Ennis . I know they monitor the number of boats in that section , I have talked to them a time or two when we have floated, or on the rare occasions we will wade down there .
DerekWhipple
Steelhead
Agreed! There might be enough customers for the guides, but not enough river and certainly not enough fish.
We went through this on our beloved Deschutes back in the '90's when guides just came out of the woodwork and killed the ambiance of the river. Between the Splash and Giggle crowd and the tin boats, camping was like being on the edge of a parking lot. The Deschutes isn't very big and you can't fish from a boat so the few places you could stop became crowded. Fishing declined and eventually we just gave up on it, it was no longer the experience that we were familiar with.
I have no idea what the solution is with so many fishermen using a declining fishery and every year more and more restrictions on access being put in place. My personal response has been to avoid crowds as much as possible, limit the waters I fish, fish in the off season whenever I can and look hard for water that hasn't been popularized.
I made my first trip to Yellowstone in September and was stunned by the sheer crush of humanity, the traffic, the stupidity of tourists and the amount of fishing pressure on the streams. I bought the permit but never rigged a fly rod while I was there, it seemed like every likely spot had a vehicle or two in it. This year we hope to try again but will go to Wyoming and try to find small waters that lend themselves to Tenkara or light fly rods, waters that typically receive less pressure. And take float tubes in case we find some promising stillwater.
I have no idea what the solution is with so many fishermen using a declining fishery and every year more and more restrictions on access being put in place. My personal response has been to avoid crowds as much as possible, limit the waters I fish, fish in the off season whenever I can and look hard for water that hasn't been popularized.
I made my first trip to Yellowstone in September and was stunned by the sheer crush of humanity, the traffic, the stupidity of tourists and the amount of fishing pressure on the streams. I bought the permit but never rigged a fly rod while I was there, it seemed like every likely spot had a vehicle or two in it. This year we hope to try again but will go to Wyoming and try to find small waters that lend themselves to Tenkara or light fly rods, waters that typically receive less pressure. And take float tubes in case we find some promising stillwater.
I’ve floated, and waded some rivers in Wyoming that were quite pleasant no crowds , sure we see a few boats , but nothing to ruin the day . Got a trip planned for late summer in Wyoming to fish some known water without the crowds.
Montana has got plenty of water to fish , and get away from the crowds , sometimes I have to walk a mile or so , which usually separates the men from the boys .
And if I run into a couple guys it’s usually not the knot heads that stand elbow to elbow or think they need to fish 10 feet from you . When I’m there for the good part of the summer , I avoid the weekends , and fish the lakes , which are never crowded enough to worry . But I fish the lakes a fair amount , so I usually pick , and choose my days on the river .
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I did a quick perusal of the 2025 MT FWP regs and there’s only three rivers that have float outfitting or non-resident float fishing restrictions—Beaverhead, Big Hole and Bitterroot. The surveys are really a reaction by the state to placate the outfitting community who doesn’t want to see any restrictions on their access without overwhelming evidence to support restrictions. Already, several non-profits are doing pressure surveys on other major waterways to get real factual data on boating pressure. The major issue is that our FAS system just isn’t designed to handle the current pressure at peak periods.
Unfortunately, for our 1000s of miles of waterways, there is a Streetlight Effect where a large majority of casual anglers (resident and non-resident) just gravitate to the easy spots at the same time. They either don’t know any better or don’t care except when their unreasonable expectations aren’t met. I suspect it will be several years before these surveys result in any serious restrictions. But, the headwinds portend a looming battle between the fishing outfitter community and the non-fishing recreational boating community. Yogi Berra had it right: “Hit’em where they ain’t”.
Unfortunately, for our 1000s of miles of waterways, there is a Streetlight Effect where a large majority of casual anglers (resident and non-resident) just gravitate to the easy spots at the same time. They either don’t know any better or don’t care except when their unreasonable expectations aren’t met. I suspect it will be several years before these surveys result in any serious restrictions. But, the headwinds portend a looming battle between the fishing outfitter community and the non-fishing recreational boating community. Yogi Berra had it right: “Hit’em where they ain’t”.