Easter Greetings, gang, from Extravaganza Headquarters, where things are in full springtime preparation for this year’s eleventh foray into the wilds of Montana Ritz-Carlton style!
As we begin our final preparations for this year’s blessed event, as it is with each year, all eyes begin to myopically focus on the soon-to-commence runoff when ensuing warmer weather begins the snow melt at the higher mountain climes and what ensues is a torrent of snowmelt that begins in thousands of rivulets, merges into hundred of creeks and eventually flows into our major rivers ending up in the Clark Fork of the Columbia River (which flows right through downtown Missoula) ending up eventually at the Columbia River’s Portland mouth after a brief traversing stint through Canada. This runoff is both our friend and our potential enemy. As to the former, the runoff cleanses our rivers of diterus that has formed over the prior year and resituates fish that have been accustomed to certain waters, making the waters both cleaner and newer to our targeted bounty. Too much of anything is too much, as is the case with the annual runoff. Witness two years ago in 2011 when the runoff was 200% of 20 year seasonal plus the snowmelt’s equivalent water content was 200% of normal, making a massive 400% of normal combined runoff that sent us scurrying via motor coach over to Missouri River to fish its more dam-tamed waters (which in and of themselves were legendary…but, as you E-11 veterans know, huge fish in bountiful numbers we nonetheless caught!).
Simply stated, the runoff is the engine that drives our Extravaganza fishing experience and where we want to be is just where we were last year, right at 100% of 20 year average flows.
With the recent snow that we have had here in Western Montana, the snow pack numbers are smiling on Extravaganza 2013. Whereas 45 days ago when we were tracking in the low eighty percentiles of seasonal snow pack averages, those percentiles are now in the high eighty percentiles, with the Blackfoot drainage now pacing in the 94th percentile (up from the 82nd percentile last month), the Bitterroot Basis reporting in the 86th percentile (up from the 78th percentile) and the Clark Pork now pacing at the 88th percentile (up the 82nd percentile). Equally as important, the average snow water equivalent in the snow pack is in the mid 90 percentiles (as opposed to being in the mid 60th percentiles just 45 days ago).
All in all, gang, so far things are tracking perfectly for E-13. Mother Nature can be fickle, however, and, as you rookies will soon see first hand, for the past several years we have been flow charting the annual runoff (using our home Rock Creek as a baseline) and visually you will be able to follow our in-stream Log-O-Meter which tells you just what is coming down the stream. Witness the first of the two pics above, taken just about an hour ago, showing a mild, meek Rock Creek flowing at 284 cubic feet per second (“cfs”). By comparison I have attached a picture mid-last year’s runoff when the Creek was flowing at 1800cfs (or over 6x the current flow). This is the perfect-for-fishing level of the Creek that we want come June 15th with the arrival of our Wonderful Ones. By further contrast, take a look at the top of the cross log—this logjam was created during the massive 2011 runoff when, at 5200 cfs (or 18 x the current flow rate) Rock Creek was a raging unfishable maniac as were all of our other surrounding rivers, and the water flow was over the top of the cross log. By way of further reference, when the water just kisses the bottom of the cross log, the Log-O-Meter is telling us that our Rock Creek flowage is at 2,000 cfs.
Again, we will be watching water flows and May temperatures (which will be the regulator on those flows) very closely in the week ahead; for the time being, the stage for E-13 is set very nicely, thank you very much!!
Best to all from the wonderful scene of it all,
Rock Creek Ron
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