Trout Movements on the Smith River, One of Montana's Most Important Recreational Fisheries

Led by Dr. Al Zale with the Montana Cooperative Fishery Research Unit at Montana State University, researchers Michael Lance and T. David Ritter are working closely with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks personnel, local landowners, and engineers to study salmonid movements in the popular Smith River system in central Montana. Anglers come from around the globe to pursue rainbow (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and brown trout (Salmo Trutta) in the Smith?s breathtaking canyons. To date, research has shown that major Smith River tributaries function as important spawning and nursery areas, tributary confluences function as areas of thermal refuge, and salmonid migrations vary greatly in magnitude and timing.