Recently, Mike Bias posted excerpt results from the extensive survey on Southwest Montana fisheries conducted by Montana Dept. of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP). It is lengthy and highly detailed. For those who want to take the time, please copy/paste this link in your browser: 2024swmontanafisheriesdjreport
Kudos to Mike Duncan and his staff for putting this together.
The report includes data on natal origins (otoliths), adult mortality and river recreation.
One of the most revealing charts in the survey is this one:
The graph in the upper right hand corner shows “total recreational hours” on the Madison. During the peak time in July (and most of the rest of the year), the non-guided usage heavily outnumbered the guided usage…45,000 hours non-guided to 25,000 hours guided. Those of us who have been on the water for years have seen this coming. The DIY (Do It Yourself) era is here. The $800 dollar a day float trip is an endangered species. The manufacturers are on the bandwagon. The possibilities are endless. We see float tubes, inner tubes, flip tubes…paddle boards, pontoons, kayaks, canoes, water spiders, water otters, fish cats, belly boats, Stealthcraft, Catacraft, Flycraft…Sea Eagles and Outcasts, Supercats and Fold Cats…there’s even a Mars Saturn! You name it. The next time you hear somebody whining about how all the fishing guides are “pluggin’ up the river,” show them this chart. As far as river usage goes on the Upper Madison, the fishing guides are in the minority.
But how do all these “do-it-yourselfers” know where to fish? Simple. They bite the bullet and hire a guide for a day or two then poach the knowledge (and the fishing spots) for themselves. Look at me now!
It’s all part of the post-Covid invasion of out-of-staters moving to Montana in droves. As fishing guides, we dealt with all of this years ago, but it was so isolated it was no big deal. I remember the kindly preacher from Colorado who would vacation up here, float with a guide once in a while, and preach on Sundays. All of a sudden one day he shows up on the river with his own drift boat! Hallelujah!
A lot of the newbies move here and the first thing they do is buy a drift boat. “I can do that myself!” After a few white-knuckle float trips down the Madison banging every rock in the river they give it up. Especially when they discover they can’t row a boat and fish at the same time. They put a cover on the boat and store it in the driveway. A year later, out comes the “For Sale” sign.
Another method is to hang out in the same bar with the fishing guides, buy a few tequila shots and become a bro. After a few shooters...
“How’d ya do today? Really? Where at? Dries or nymphs? Twitching or tumbling? Euro? Tenkara? I hear that stretch can be good. Were you up by the Big Bend or down around the Snag Hole? Man, if you could show me what fly you were using that would be really cool. Hey bartender! Another round!”
As fishing guides, we take pride that we take people fishing who otherwise wouldn’t be able. We help folks who can’t wade…we teach young kids…make family vacations fun…we earn our money. We realize a whole lot of folks can’t afford to hire a guide. We’ll give you a few tips and head you in the right direction. You don’t have to get us drunk or high.
But it might help.