Calling All Anglers: Montana FWP Needs Fishing Survey Input

If you are a licensed angler in the state of Montana, then you are on "the list."

Don't fret. It's not like you're being summoned to jury duty or anything agonizing like that. No, it is simply Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks' way of randomly gathering important data to help determine fishing pressure on all lakes and streams in Montana.

I honestly can't remember if I have ever been surveyed. Montana FWP's Statewide But as of August 6, Angling Pressure Surveys have begun for the 2025 license year. Each month, every other year, between 6,000 and 12,000 resident and nonresident licensed anglers are randomly selected to receive a survey either by mail or by email. Anglers are asked to report if they fished in Montana during the survey month, and if so, on which waterbody, the number of days fished, primary species fished for, number of fish released or harvested, and if fishing was by boat or shore.

This is the kind of survey you want to complete, because hey, everybody likes to talk about their time spent fishing! FWP has conducted the Statewide Angling Pressure Survey for over 60 years.

READY FOR THE STAGGERING NUMBER OF "FISH DAYS"?

In the last survey, taken in 2023, results from that angler survey estimated nearly 3.5 million angler days fished on all Montana waterbodies. That's equivalent to 9,589 years, so not a bad year's work.

Seriously, pressure estimates are a useful resource for the Fisheries Division to make informed management decisions, as well as provide important data for estimating the statewide economic value of expenditures from fishing activity.

If you receive a survey, please take a minute to respond to this important effort. More information and recent reports can be found here.