These photos are from Tuesday, May 17 at 5:00 pm. The Bitterroot dropped from 11,300 cfs to 10,300 cfs overnight (measured 7:00 am May 18) but day temps are predicted to be 68 degrees and scattered rain. We will see what that does to the levels.
There is room at Victor Crossing for more flow, but how much more? See Wapiti Waters Stream flow links to access USGS data for stream flows in our western Montana rivers.
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| One of Greg’s trout |
Bitterroot Trout Unlimited (BRTU) is a very active TU Chapter. Many people contribute time, money and goods to help BRTU do its work. Jack always offers a trip for the annual banquet auction and this was the trip for this year. The great thing about this trip is that Greg bid on and got the trip. Greg offers his own time, goods and money for TU, Greg and Jack both serve on the board. It made for a wonderful day. To top it off, Greg invited his friend, Bill to ride along…and everyone caught fish.
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| Nick holding Elinor’s beautiful trout |
This trip was in the middle of April but I am getting caught up with some posts. As you can see, the weather is very cool. People are bundled up, but there have been hatches and the water levels have been good. If you dress right, the fishing is great.
In these photos are Rachel and Elinor. Rachel sent some of the photos in the slideshow, thank you!
And I think this was Elinor’s first fly fishing experience. As you can see, she did well. So did others, it was a good few days on the Bitterroot.
See below for a slideshow.
Doc was at his Montana home on the Bitterroot for a few weeks in April. Of course he was fishing with friends, on his own and with Jack. I guess Jack is also a friend – but a friend that fishes for a living. Sadly, Doc’s and our good friend and favorite fishing buddy, Terry Nobles, isn’t able to fish any more. At 90 years old, it just doesn’t work for him now. But we visit him with photos and river stories.
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| Bitterroot April 9, 2011 |
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| Doc on the Bitterroot April 9, 2011 |
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| Doc and Terry in April 2009 |
Anyway, here are some photos of the Bitterroot and Doc. The first two are from this spring. The second two are from 2009 when Terry fished with Doc and Jack.
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| Terry with his brown trout on the day he was fishing with Doc. Jack is holding it for him. |
The Bitterroot River water flow near Darby has tripled in cubic feet per second (cfs). According to Jack, it is one of the fastest “bumps” up he has seen, which is why I say it has jumped up. The rain and warmer temperatures are bringing melted snow into the tributaries.
The Big Hole near Divide, Mont. has also come up from about 400 cfs two days ago to 647 cfs at the time of this writing.
The Clark Fork below Missoula has come up from a little over 3,000 cfs two days ago to 5,510 cfs.
Rock Creek near Clinton was at about 250 cfs two days ago and is now 535 cfs.
The Blackfoot River near Bonner was a little over 1,000 cfs two days ago and is now 2,830 cfs.
Jack and I will heading down to the Darby area later today and I will try to get some photos along the way. Needless to say, the fishing won’t be happening.
Wapiti Waters Stream Flow Links – click this link for more stream-flow information and links to the USGS data sites.
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| A trout I caught. Jack is holding the fish and I am, of course, taking the photo. Freda, our Chessie, is looking on. |
After fishing clients all week, Jack was excited enough to take me fishing on Sunday. It was REALLY cold in the morning when we launched. Then it drizzled. I rowed for Jack for awhile while we hunted for pike, but the day picked up about 1:00 pm when it cleared intermittently and warmed up. Then it happened; a beautiful mayfly hatch broke loose and so did the feeding trout (and whitefish!). I had one of my best “catching” days ever, even with my very rusty casting skills.
