Cool weather, but when you like to fish, you layer up and go for it. Not much wind and no rain so the fishing was actually pretty darn good. Thanks Pam and Rick for spending two great days with Wapiti Waters.
March 31, I updated this post with some photos that Pam and Rick sent. Thanks for sharing!
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| Photo send in by Rick and Pam – beautiful trout! |
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| Taken west of Victor, Montana looking west at Totem Peaks and Bear Creek drainage. New snow means more water for the rivers this summer. |
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| Tucker Crossing on the middle Bitterroot, looking southeast at the Sapphire Mountains |
This month has been good for the snowpack. The Bitterroot Mountains have been receiving and storing snow at the higher elevations. There have been some teaser warm days, but the current week (third full week of March) will be cooler in temperatures and more snow is in the forecast.
Sunday (3/18) Evening’s First Alert Forecast: Slushy Snow Tonight for MISSOULA COUNTY
By Adam Painter
Meteorologist
NWCC – Montana MAP with SNOTEL Current Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) % of Normal
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| Stream flow data in the middle Bitterroot River |
Here are photos of the Bitterroot near Bell Crossing on February 26, 2012. The cubic feet per second (CFS) was about 570. Temperature was in the low 30 degree range. Beautiful day. We like to give the fish a break in the winter while they are struggling to survive the cold, low water but I do like to chronicle the river in photos. Interesting to look back from year to year and compare winter conditions with spring, summer, and fall fishing observations. We love our rivers and all that lives in and on them. It is exciting to watch them as they change through the seasons.
All the river photos are taken from Bell Crossing Bridge looking north.
Finally after a pretty dry winter, we are getting more snow. Most of Montana was below 100% snow water equivalent, but that has changed and is forecasted to improve. A wet weather pattern is expected for early March. That is GREAT news for our rivers.Click the image for a larger view.
This bright and cheery spacious river cottage sits
just 50′ from the river’s edge. Come and enjoy the luxury of your own
fishing hole and relax in the private treed setting.
The cottage is managed by Amy Sage of SweetSage Vacation Rental. You can reach her at (406) 642-6400 or sweetsage@bitterroot.com.
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| Bitterroot River at Darby Bridge looking north. 252 CFS on Jan 27, 2012 at 5:30 PM |
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| Bitterroot River at Darby Bridge looking south. 252 CFS on Jan 27, 2012 at 5:30 PM |
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| Click on image to see larger view – works for the photos, too. |
The river looks beautiful. Jack and I were driving home from a great day at Lost Trail Pass ski area. A few days ago the ski area got 8 inches of new snow. The skiing was wonderful. We wanted to see the upper river up close and personal so we drove in to the old bridge just east of Darby, Montana.
Not much fishing going on here in January so I will go through some photos of Freda on the rivers. Here she is after getting out of the Koffler for a stretch. She needed to jump and run a little and what Chessie doesn’t like water! This was in November on the middle Bitterroot River. I will be publishing a few more of Freda, why not? She loves to go fishing, too.
“Wheeee, I am a Chessie” by amontanaview | RedBubble:
We want to wish you a happy new year and hope it is a rewarding and successful year for all. We are looking forward to lots of snow this winter that will translate into plenty of water in our rivers all year long. Best wishes to you and yours from Wapiti Waters and Montana.
Click the title links to go to the original site. Click the picture to enlarge.
NWCC – SNOTEL Snow Water Equivalent Update Graph
