If you would like to purchase a raffle ticket its not to late!  There are still 7 of 12 drawings left and the ODDS are still VERY GOOD! Please send and email requesting raffle tickets to mgtoutunlimited@gmail.com or go to www.mgtu.org home page and click on the donate button at the bottom of the page.  Enter the total amount equivalent to how many tickets you would like to purchase and fill out the form.  We will then contact you that we received your purchase.  Tickets are $20 each.  Good luck and thank you for your support.

If you would like to purchase a raffle ticket its not to late!  There are still a 8 of 12 drawings left and the odds are very good. Please send and email requesting raffle tickets to mgtoutunlimited@gmail.com or go to www.mgtu.org home page and click on the donate button at the bottom of the page.  Enter the total amount equivalent to how many tickets you would like to purchase and fill out the form.  We will then contact you that we received your purchase.  Tickets are $20 each.  Good luck and thank you for your support.

If you would like to purchase a raffle ticket its not to late!  There are still a 9 of 12 drawings left and the odds are very good.  Either contact Mike Haugh @ 406-600-7824 or mgtoutunlimited@gmail.com or go to www.mgtu.org home page and click on the donate button at the bottom of the page.  Enter the total amount equivalent to how many tickets you would like to purchase and fill out the form.  We will then contact you that we received your purchase.  Tickets are $20 each.  Good luck and thank you for your support.

Congratulations to Scott  Jordan.  He won the Lafontaine rod for the April drawing.  The May drawing will be held May12th @ MGTU’s general meeting, located at the Holiday Inn.

If you would like to purchase a raffle ticket its not to late!  There are still a 10 of 12 drawings left and the odds are very good.  Either contact Mike Haugh @ 406-600-7824 or mgtoutunlimited@gmail.com or go to www.mgtu.org home page and click on the donate button at the bottom of the page.  Enter the total amount equivalent to how many tickets you would like to purchase and fill out the form.  We will then contact you that we received your purchase.  Tickets are $20 each.  Good luck and thank you for your support.

If you would like to purchase a raffle ticket its not to late!  There are still a 11 of 12 drawings left and the odds are very good.  Either contact Mike Haugh @ 406-600-7824 or mgtoutunlimited@gmail.com or go to www.mgtu.org home page and click on the donate button at the bottom of the page.  Enter the total amount equivalent to how many tickets you would like to purchase and fill out the form.  We will then contact you that we received your purchase.  Tickets are $20 each.  Good luck.

Save-the-Date for MGTU’s Banquet

Saturday, February 20, 2010 @ the Best Western GranTree Inn.  Tickets and information will be mailed out to all current MGTU members very soon.  There is a NEW more efficient method for ticket sales and check-in this year.  Please look for banquet ticket information in your mail box within the next couple of weeks.  If you have any questions or need more information please contact Mike Haugh @ 406-600-7824 or email mgtroutunlimited@gmail.com.

12 Chances to Win!

Over $6000 worth of fly rods!    Tickets:  $20.00 each

Drawing Begins March 2010.  One ticket drawn each month.  Winning ticket will be placed back into the drawing.  One ticket has the chance to win all 12 rods!

Rods to be raffled: Orvis Helios 9′ 5wt., Lafontaine Stealth D-Taper 9′ 4wt., Delekta Custom 8′6″ 3wt., Headwaters Bamboo Santium 7′ 4wt., Scott S4 9′ 6wt., Bailey Yellowstone 9′ 8wt., St. Croix Elite 9′ 7wt., Albright GP Spey 14′ 9/10wt., G.Loomis Streamdance 9′ 5wt., Echo Switch 10′10″ 6wt., Sage Z-Axis 9 4wt., RL Winston BIIx 9′ 6wt.

To purchase tickets email mgtroutunlimited@gmail.com or simply go to the MGTU website homepage and click on DONATE at the bottom of the page.  Enter the total dollar amount of tickets you wish to buy (i.e. $20, $40, $60….) in the DONATE field and click on donate. Fill out the form and proceed with checkout.  A MGTU member will contact you to confirm your request.

Proceeds go to helping the Madison-Gallatin Chapter of Trout Unlimited conserve, protect, and restore S.W. Montana’s Cold Water Fisheries.

Drawings will be held at MGTU’s monthly general meetings.  Winners posted on website at www.mgtu.org

]]> http://www.mgtu.org/2009/12/rod-a-month-raffle/feed/ 0 http://www.mgtu.org/2009/11/trout-numbers-up-in-missouri-river/ http://www.mgtu.org/2009/11/trout-numbers-up-in-missouri-river/#comments Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:07:24 +0000 mgtu http://www.mgtu.org/?p=214 HELENA (AP) – Longtime Missouri River fishing guide Pete Cardinal says the rainbow and brown trout in the river near Craig were as healthy as he’s ever seen.

And a report by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks backs him up. For the second year in a row, FWP said a survey on the Missouri found an increase in the number of large rainbow and brown trout between Holter Dam and Cascade.

State biologists found nearly 3,500 rainbow trout longer than 10 inches near Craig this fall, compared with a long-term average of nearly 3,000.

“The most noticeable difference is the quality of the fish. They’re just larger than they’ve been,” said Cardinal, owner of Missouri River Angler in Craig. “People are really happy with the quality of the fish, and the fish really fight hard. They’re so healthy that they just really tear you up when you hook them.”

Fisheries biologist Grant Grisak said the rainbows in the Craig area were remarkably high quality.

“About 85 percent of the rainbows were 15 inches and larger, and fish in the 18-inch length alone represented about 24 percent of the total population,” he said.

In the river’s Pelican Point section, just upstream from Cascade, rainbow trout were estimated at 1,577 fish per mile, compared with the long-term average of 1,494. Grisak said 64 percent of the rainbows there were at least 15 inches long.

Brown trout populations are also up. The spring estimate in the Craig section was 584 per mile, just above the long-term average of 578. In the Pelican Point section, spring browns were estimated at 611 per mile, well above the long-term average of 358.

Biologists estimate the number of fish per mile by electro-shocking the water and then counting, tagging and releasing the fish. Two weeks later, they repeat the process and use the ratio of tagged and untagged fish to calculate an estimate of the number of trout per mile.

Cardinal, who has guided on the Missouri for 26 years, said high water levels helped.

“That’s what happens when you add water to a Montana river,” he said. “The fish like it. There’s more habitat, more food, more space and greater survival. It’s probably a real reflection of great habitat conditions from the last two years of great water levels.”

Things weren’t as encouraging on the Smith River, where trout populations continue to trend down.

“Higher water flows and lower water temperatures in the Smith River this year should provide relief to future trout populations, especially in the wake of a nine-year drought experienced in central Montana,” Grisak said.