Fellow E-13ers:
Greetings from the scene of it all where, as you can see from the attached photos, that things are, indeed, white…giving good reason why we fish from mid-June through pre the Fourth of July, when all of the white has nicely blended into additions to our fishable waters!!
This is the time of the year when we begin tracking the snow pack accumulations in the upper mountain reaches of the Bitterroot and Blackfoot mountain ranges; it is the melting of this upper clime mass that provides the basis for our May and early June runoffs (and the resultant cleansing of the rivers) and gives birth to the multiple hatches that provide the feeding base of our Extravaganza fishing experience. And the early, advanced news this year is a good one, to wit: this year's to-date upper snow mass accumulations is 82% of its twenty year rolling average (and 80% of last years numbers as of this date—last year's E-12 seeing a perfect "average" snowfall number and resultant bang-up fishing experience. The other variable is the "snow water equivalent" (i.e., water density) of the snow and that number is just a tad below average…again, boding good things for our upcoming season.
Wow, have we seen the vagaries of these snowpack numbers over the now ten years of Extravaganzas! Remember veterans the low snow pack and low snow densities in 2007 when we had the arise before sunrise to get on the fishing waters and, due to low water and high water temperatures, be off the water shortly after noon, E-0ers?? And who can forget the opposite extremes in 2008 and, two years ago, in 2011 when both snow pack levels were high (200% of norm in 2011) and snow water equivalents were high (again, 200% of norm in '11, combining into a 400% of norm lethal combination), right E-11ers?? In E-11, while most were cancelling their fishing trips to Montana, our Double Up Outfitter John "The Great But Propaneless" Gould said, "let's over the Continental Divide to the Missouri River" so, gang, that's just what we did—I chartered a bus for us to make that trek "to/fro Da Mo" for all nine of our fishing days and, wow, did we light up our Twenty Inch Club board with over 115 twenty inchers accounted for in that special year.
So, rookies, fear not what the final outcome is with the water flow…we WILL fish every single one of our E-13 fishing days (just as we have in each of our prior ten Extravaganzas); all we are doing now is getting a first glimpse as to what are water flows might then be and, again, we are right in the groove for a(nother) banner year!!
Soon I will be sending out to you recommended travel itineraries for your travels into Missoula—as of yesterday, however, UAL has not announced if it will be reinstituting its (wonderful) seasonal daily SFO-MSO non-stop flights; in fact, as your Hostess With The Mostess and I fly homeward bound tomorrow, Super Bowl Sunday, I plan to swing by the MSO UAL counter to enquire what is on their itinerary for June and July and, as soon as I know, so will you!!
And, speaking of Super Bowl Sunday, howbout'dem Niners, gang?!?
GO NINERS!!!
Best to all from the scene of it all,
Rock Creek Ron
---<'///><
Greetings from the scene of it all where, as you can see from the attached photos, that things are, indeed, white…giving good reason why we fish from mid-June through pre the Fourth of July, when all of the white has nicely blended into additions to our fishable waters!!
This is the time of the year when we begin tracking the snow pack accumulations in the upper mountain reaches of the Bitterroot and Blackfoot mountain ranges; it is the melting of this upper clime mass that provides the basis for our May and early June runoffs (and the resultant cleansing of the rivers) and gives birth to the multiple hatches that provide the feeding base of our Extravaganza fishing experience. And the early, advanced news this year is a good one, to wit: this year's to-date upper snow mass accumulations is 82% of its twenty year rolling average (and 80% of last years numbers as of this date—last year's E-12 seeing a perfect "average" snowfall number and resultant bang-up fishing experience. The other variable is the "snow water equivalent" (i.e., water density) of the snow and that number is just a tad below average…again, boding good things for our upcoming season.
Wow, have we seen the vagaries of these snowpack numbers over the now ten years of Extravaganzas! Remember veterans the low snow pack and low snow densities in 2007 when we had the arise before sunrise to get on the fishing waters and, due to low water and high water temperatures, be off the water shortly after noon, E-0ers?? And who can forget the opposite extremes in 2008 and, two years ago, in 2011 when both snow pack levels were high (200% of norm in 2011) and snow water equivalents were high (again, 200% of norm in '11, combining into a 400% of norm lethal combination), right E-11ers?? In E-11, while most were cancelling their fishing trips to Montana, our Double Up Outfitter John "The Great But Propaneless" Gould said, "let's over the Continental Divide to the Missouri River" so, gang, that's just what we did—I chartered a bus for us to make that trek "to/fro Da Mo" for all nine of our fishing days and, wow, did we light up our Twenty Inch Club board with over 115 twenty inchers accounted for in that special year.
So, rookies, fear not what the final outcome is with the water flow…we WILL fish every single one of our E-13 fishing days (just as we have in each of our prior ten Extravaganzas); all we are doing now is getting a first glimpse as to what are water flows might then be and, again, we are right in the groove for a(nother) banner year!!
Soon I will be sending out to you recommended travel itineraries for your travels into Missoula—as of yesterday, however, UAL has not announced if it will be reinstituting its (wonderful) seasonal daily SFO-MSO non-stop flights; in fact, as your Hostess With The Mostess and I fly homeward bound tomorrow, Super Bowl Sunday, I plan to swing by the MSO UAL counter to enquire what is on their itinerary for June and July and, as soon as I know, so will you!!
And, speaking of Super Bowl Sunday, howbout'dem Niners, gang?!?
GO NINERS!!!
Best to all from the scene of it all,
Rock Creek Ron
---<'///><
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