by Merle Ann Loman | Apr 4, 2009 | Bitterroot, i Spring
Jack has been guiding a lot recently, but the clients for today decided it was too cold for them. It was a cool morning but about noon we decided we would do a short float together and scout a middle stretch of the river for water level, woody debris and shifting gravel/sand bars. There weren’t many bugs yet the trout came up to our dry flies. It turned out to be a productive and beautiful day, though we did encounter some squalls with rain and wind. I forgot a warm hat so by the time we took-out, around 5:15, I was ready to get warm in the truck.
Check out the slideshow below for more river photos including some birds and fish.
by Merle Ann Loman | Apr 2, 2009 | Blackfoot, Clark Fork, i Spring
Contact: Vivaca Crowser, Information Officer
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
(406) 542-5518,
vcrowser@mt.gov,
Website: fwp.mt.gov/r2
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 2, 2009
River Closures Remain Around Milltown
Small sections of the Clark Fork and Blackfoot rivers near the site of the old Milltown Dam remain closed to fishing, boating and other recreation.
Although the dam has been removed, construction work continues and river conditions are unstable. Riverbed levels are expected to drop this spring as the Clark Fork and Blackfoot Rivers work to reclaim a natural channel, exposing wood and other debris that could create hazards to recreationists.
The Clark Fork River is closed from about one-half mile below the old Milltown Dam site (at the railroad bridge) to three miles upstream from the bridge. Turah Fishing Access Site (FAS) is the last public take-out for floaters upstream from the closure area, and Sha-Ron FAS, is the first public access below the closed zone. Sha-Ron may be unusable this spring because of sediment deposition at the ramp. This sediment is expected to erode during high flows.
On the Blackfoot, the closure covers a stretch of about 1.5 miles upstream from the river’s confluence with the Clark Fork. Floaters must take out at Weigh Station FAS. All closed areas are signed.
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) expects the public safety closures will remain in effect for at least one more year. FWP will continue to monitor river conditions and construction activities and will lift closures as soon as conditions stabilize.
For additional information on the closed areas, contact the Missoula FWP office at (406) 542-5500. -fwp-
by Merle Ann Loman | Mar 29, 2009 | Bitterroot, i Spring
Dusty Bernard organizes a spring fishing trip to the Bitterroot. They stay at the Bitterroot River Lodge and fish with Wapiti Waters.
This year was the coldest weather they had fished in and Jack said it was the coldest water temperatures he had ever guided on. There was ice everywhere but the trout, including the Bitterroot native cutthroat you see Dusty holding, still came up to their dry flies. For this fish, Dusty used one of Banjo Jack’s Skwalla Dry Flies.
For more photos see the slideshow below. Hopefully, Dusty and others will send us some of the photos from their cameras. When they do, I will update the slideshow. Check back in a few days.
Choose View Album to see the photos in a new, larger window, then choose the slideshow option to view in full screen mode.
by Merle Ann Loman | Mar 29, 2009 | Bitterroot, i Spring
Here is a photo taken at Tucker Crossing north of Victor, MT at 9:45 am. It is just about the middle of the Bitterroot River. You can see the sky is overcast and spring run-off hasn’t started. The river is not high – normal for this time of year, the weather is cool.
The air temperature starts out in the upper 30 degree range, about 11 am or 12 pm it climbs over 40 degrees. Today’s high is forecasted at 52 degrees with the high-overcast sky.
There is no water temperature gage on the Florence measuring station but the upper river water temperature is hovering around 37 degrees.
Click graph below to visit USGS website for water data near Florence MT (north of Tucker Crossing).
S N O W – P R E C I P I T A T I O N U P D A T E
Based on Mountain Data from NRCS SNOTEL Sites
As of SATURDAY: MARCH 28 , 2009
———————————————————–
BASIN ELEV. SNOW WATER EQUIVALENT % – TOTAL PRECIPITATION %
Data Site Name (Ft) Current Average Avg – Current Average Avg
———————————————————–
BITTERROOT RIVER BASIN – click link to go to complete report
DALY CREEK (5780) 101% – 112%
LOLO PASS (5240) 92 – 90
NEZ PERCE CAMP (5650) 101 – 112
SADDLE MTN. (7940) 92 – 88
SKALKAHO SUMMIT (7250) 87 – 97
TWELVEMILE CREEK (5600) 109 – 109
TWIN LAKES (6400) 101 – 102
Basin wide percent of average,
Snow Water Equivilant 97% and Total Precipitation 100%
by Merle Ann Loman | Mar 27, 2009 | Bitterroot, i Spring
Jack fished the upper-middle of the Bitterroot yesterday and left his boat at a private access. He also left his camera in the boat bag so I can’t show you his photos. They had a cool day, but caught plenty of fish.
I was out doing errands and crossed the Bitterroot River at Stevensville. See the wader to the left, he was floating with friends in a hard boat, but decided to wade a bit. I came back across the Bitterroot at Victor Crossing. See the photo below with the blue boat. The sun was out part of the time, wind was minimal, but the temperatures never got above 45 degrees that I know of…today should be a little bit warmer.
by Merle Ann Loman | Mar 24, 2009 | Bitterroot, i Spring
This photo is from the middle Bitterroot River near Florence, Montana. The river has been coming up a bit. Near Florence on March 20 it was around 800 cubic feet per second (CFS) and today it is about 1100 CFS. The air temperature is averaging in the lower 40 degree marks and the water temperature is hovering around 40 degrees, too.
The fish are feeding and believe it or not, we like a little cloud cover (which we are getting). If the sun is out, it might feel a little warmer, but it is too bright for the fish to want to feed. The wind is the big comfort factor, if it comes up, it feels much colder. Dress in layers, go out for shorter floats, bring hot liquids and you can experience some great fishing!
See the slideshow below for a few photos taken from March 19 through 23. Jack has been fishing with John Hickman, Jeff Rogers, John Wilson, and Marshall Bloom. It is a nice start to our 2009 season. Tomorrow we have a group coming in from San Diego. Let’s hope we get a little warmer weather as is predicted. The Bernard group has been coming for years and they always catch fish! They will be staying as usual at the Bitterroot River Lodge.
To see our webpage with links to USGS streamflow information go to http://www.wapiti-waters.com/stream.htm.
