O.K. there’s nothing we can do about it so let’s have some fun with this.
We aren’t all gloom and doom over the crazy amounts of rain and snow here in Montana (see the pretty rainbow picture), but it is crazy right now. As many of you know this is how we get our averages here. Average 80 degrees in the summer time = Monday it’s 100 + Tuesday it’s 60 degrees. However, this is getting a bit ridiculous. Granted it’s heading into Memorial weekend so the weather should be pretty crappy, but they didn’t forecast rain – they forecasted HEAVY rain. Oh, and did we mention the Winter Storm Watch in Paradise Valley and Yellowstone National Park for to day through Monday?
To put it in perspective last week Livingston received about 2.5 inches, the forecast is for another 2 or 3 inches, our annual rainfall is 12 inches. That’s about 45% of our total rainfall for the year in a total of two weeks yippie. In eastern Montana last week they got 8 inches in one storm – it washed out bridges and closed the interstate fun.
Once again if you didn’t catch our previous post about the large amounts of snow we still have check it out and consider adjusting your fishing plans this summer.
I remember a story about this, what was it? Oh, yeah Noah can you get us the building specs on that ark you built? Maybe we can use it to float from Yellowstone National Park through downtown Livingston.
Blogging with a snorkel on somewhere near the approaching water…
We’ve been fielding a lot of calls lately about our snow pack so we wanted to relay some information to all those coming out to Montana this summer.
Background:
One of the reasons so many people love to fly fish Montana is that we have wild rivers and wild trout. A large portion of our Montana streams and rivers are freestones, which means no dams. In the spring when all the snow melts out of the mountains it floods the rivers and renders a majority unfishable for weeks at a time. You know all that water that the Mississippi is getting – a lot of it starts from the snow melts here. Hence, the term run-off season substitue construction season if you live in a city. If you come to Montana in late May through June chances are you’ll have some serious run-off issues to deal with. However, one of the great things about Montana is the variety of waters. Spring creeks and tailwaters (those with dams) are less effected by this annual event, but tailwaters can still have big flows and virtually no wading opportunities.
Current Conditions:
We are at 1997 water/snow levels. We use this date as a benchmark because we had a 100 year flood event through a majority of the waters in the state. Now we’re sure the weather guys are going to be ‘readjusting’ that event as it was only 14 years ago and it looks like we might have another one. We are watching it closely as many waters in 1997 had major flood issues and didn’t fish at all until August.
Currently the National Weather Service has projected that due to La Nina Montana will likely experience a cooler and wetter June than normal. This seems to be true as we’ve had little snow melt due to warm weather and there’s still plenty of snow in the hills – 180% of normal snow water equivalent in the upper Yellowstone drainage right now.
What does the Mean to Anglers:
Most importantly there will be good fishing throughout Montana no matter what happens remember all the variety we mentioned earlier. So come fishing whenever works best for your schedule, but you might have to be flexible on where and how you fish. If you only like to fish the Yellowstone River we recommend pushing your fishing dates until late July, August or September – which should fish exceptionally well with all the water we are going to have. If you are coming in June or early July make sure to plan ahead and book some private water (or just call us and we’ll do it for you) as those reservation will be hard to come by in the next week or so.
So that’s the prerun-off scenario right now, but don’t worry we’ll keep you posted with videos and photos sure to follow…
I guess it’s officially Spring in Montana when the Yellowstone River blows out. It’s currently at 8,000 cfs, which pretty much means we won’t be fishing it for at least another six weeks.
We are starting to really get busy on the guiding scene starting this week however – a couple days on the spring creeks and then up to the Missouri River for a couple days toward the end of the week. It’s going to be another great fishing season in Montana this year and we are ready for it to start cranking, Literally. As of today we are at 160% of normal snow pack in the Upper Yellowstone River drainage. That means 1996 levels, and for those not around then it was our 100 year flood event – also known as scary! So let’s get that water moving and snow out of here so we can enjoy some good July fishing and maybe even see some Salmonflies again this year.
Yep - that's over 20 feet of snow!
Apparently Old Man Winter is clinging on to it’s final few weeks with an icy grip. Over the weekend Mammoth and Cooke City reported several feet of snow. This photo was taken yesterday in Hayden Valley in Yellowstone National Park, which is located on the Grand Canyon Loop a few miles north of Yellowstone Lake. WOW! That’s over 20 feet of snow along the roadside – crazy.
Our current snow pack in the Upper Yellowstone drainage is 162% of normal – those are similar numbers to 1997 when the Yellowstone River had a 100 year flood event (see flood photo). While it’s difficult to forecast, the weather National Weather Service has predicted a cooler and wetter June than average (see Forecast).
What does this mean for fly fishers coming to Montana this summer? First off the best time to come fishing is whenever you can – this isn’t a gloom and doom post. However, this summer plan for some high water and preferably push your fishing dates until at least until mid/late July – unless you’ve already planned your trip on the Missouri River or any of the private spring creeks of Armstrong, DePuy or Nelson. The Missouri is a tailwater (dam controlled flows) and still fishes quite well at higher water levels. The spring creeks are not effected by heavy snow melt as they are feed from ground water springs. As one of our seasoned guides always likes to say, “full rivers fish best”. Those of you coming in August and September could see some fantastic fishing this season. Another bonus is the low probability of forest fires this season if you want to look at the bright side of things.
If you have any questions or concerns about water levels and conditions make sure to give us a shout and we’ll get you the latest updated info.
Another spring storm warning in Montana
Winter Storm Warning in SW Montana | Really?!? 18-24 inches are predicted through today in the Beartooth/Absaroka mountains. The cool weather has been great for fishing and good for our snowpack which in now up to 85% snow water equivalent, but even the most hardy Montanans are ready for some warmer weather.
Fortunately, it looks like it’s going to get warmer this weekend – middle to upper 60s. Take advantage as the Yellowstone River is likely to start it’s spring run-off! Caddis are still popping and the March brown’s have also been abundant.
If you haven’t heard we’ve gotten plenty of snow in the past couple weeks. Winter is off to a great start here in our part of Montana, hopefully it will continue. As of today our Montana snow pack is over 120% ! Lot’s of snow means plenty of cool water for our trout in the summer time. Keep it coming.
Here’s the link if you want to check it out yourself.
