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Most of the people I know in MT are guides/anglers and I know that most of their fishing is done in the winter since they are guiding in the summer/fall. Since most rivers out here besides the stone and a few more are tailwaters, winter fishing is accessible all winter long. Today on the lower I saw about 5 other anglers and one other boat and this was a 4 mile stretch. The pressure is way down now, but over the summer id say 80% of the people on the river are from out of state. Now that its winter, its almost all natives. So to answer your question, it is common to see people on the river, but nobody is guiding that I know of so it seems like much less pressure. From what I have experienced, winter fishing has been the best season yet. I am not sure how to answer the second part of your question, sorry.