Abstract.-A questionnaire was used to determine the attitudes and attributes of anglers who fished for trout in Michigan. Information was collected for the 1981 fishing season on many aspects of trout fishing, with the main emphasis on anglers' opinions of various special trout stream regulations.
Of the three types of trout fishing--Great Lakes, inland lakes, and streams--available in Michigan, fishing for Great Lakes trout and salmon had the highest participation rate. These anglers were also the most satisfied, spent the most money, and traveled the farthest. Trout fishing in inland lakes had the lowest participation rate and the least satisfied anglers. Trout stream anglers fished an average of four different streams, and found numbers of trout caught and size of trout caught to be of equal importance. When ranking the variables important to fishing in order of decreasing importance, trout stream anglers placed numbers and size of fish caught fifth and sixth, respectively. At the top of the list were nearness to public facilities and ease of access to the stream.
The special trout stream regulations receiving the most support were artificial lures only and flies only. These also had the highest participation rate. The slotted size limit regulation, which was only in effect on a section of one stream, received less interest and participation. Of the two regulations which were not in effect at the time of the survey, only moderate support was shown for the catch-and-release fishery and even less for the inverted size limit regulation.
There was a wide distribution in response to a question concerning the amount of area which should be open to salmon snagging, ranging from no legal areas to legal everywhere. In general, the data indicated that the majority of salmonid anglers support having at least some areas open to snagging in Michigan.