FISHING -- Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks will interview anglers starting in March 2 on the Missouri River between Holter Dam and the town of Cascade to get a better idea of angler usage and their opinions about the popular trout fishing river.

The creel census will run through December. It will be the first in-person angler survey on the river since 2002.

A statewide mail-in creel survey also will be done this year.

Anglers at boat launches and along the river banks will be asked to answer a one-page questionnaire about catch rates, harvest rates, angler satisfaction, angler use and their opinion about the river’s fisheries management.

The blue-ribbon stretch of the Missouri runs about 33 miles and is the most popular trout fishing river in the state, based on the most recent data.

In 2013, the river recorded 170,850 angler days.

The second most popular river is the Bighorn River in southeast Montana with 138,474 angler days.