Here we go, gang--follow the red line for this year's ongoing flow report! Today Rock Creek is flowing at a robust 1240 cubic feet/second. Yesterday, I talked with Carolyn Persico, owner of our land purveyor Rock Creek Mercantile, who confirms that the runoff is now in its early stages with her prediction (and she does a weekly radio report to the Missoula community on this very subject) is that "we are going to have a great fishing year."
Howboutdemapples?!?
RCR---<'///:><
Friday, April 29, 2016
Thursday, April 28, 2016
FW: E-16: Ready, Set, Flow!!
Group One semi-veteran (he attended last year’s Fall Fling!) Craig “El Senor Feo” Benjamin appropriately weights in from Southern California:
Dear Ron,
As always, thank you for your attention to detail and education you provide us as we head towards E-16. The So-Cal contingent is ready to burst onto the Extravaganza with great zeal. See you soon, my friend.
All the Best,
Craig (Senor Feo)
Dear Ron,
As always, thank you for your attention to detail and education you provide us as we head towards E-16. The So-Cal contingent is ready to burst onto the Extravaganza with great zeal. See you soon, my friend.
All the Best,
Craig (Senor Feo)
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
E-16: Ready, Set, Flow!!
Fellow E-16ers:
The time is now upon us where, just a tad more than 45 days before the Wonderful Ones descend upon Missoula to mark Opening Day of Extravaganza 2016, we begin to sit up in our chairs, keep a close eye on the western Montana temperature gauge and assess just what kind of a snow melt/runoff we are going to be presented by Mother Nature.
The runoff is a critical element of our fishing fortunes each year and, for the past nine (count ‘em!) years now we have been privately monitoring and chronicling the run off as it has occurred right out of Headquarters’ doors on the world famous Rock Creek that we abut. Check out the attached chart which shows you just how much the runoff varies from year to year. Measured in cubic feet per second of water flow, you can see how, beginning on our traditional beginning date of April 27th (just two days from now) the water flow begins at a (s)low pace and, as temperatures rise during the months of May and June, the upper clime snow pack begins to melt and send water downstream from thousands of rivulets, into creeks, and then into our main river systems. As this flow begins, water clarity declines as the turbidity (lack of visibility) increases and the water flow increases, thereby flushing out the river systems of their detritus.
And how the water flow has varied over the years! Check out last year’s flow in red where we began with a 50% of normal snow pack due to early April premature runoff and ended with a low flow during E-15 and compare that to the extraordinarily high runoff year of 2011 where we began with 400% of combined snow pack and snow water content, resulting in such high waters that we had to bus over the Continental Divide to the more modestly contained Missouri River for our fishing days. And check out my favorite year of them all, 2009 (in black) where we had a perfect bell curve flow and resulting great local fishing during E-10.
Where will we be this year, you ask? Well our heat has already arrived in the Bitterroot mountains such that as we begin charting this year the Bitterroot River Basin is currently tracking now at 71% of 20 year norms with a year-to-date precipitation realization of 97% of the same norm. So, as we go into the runoff season we are starting with three quarters of a deck of cards and, beginning in two days, we will lay in tour 2016 comparable base line flow numbers as they evolve.
We start off fifty percent ahead of last year, gang, and what that tells me is that we are going to have prime time fishing conditions come June 11th and the arrivals of Dem Ones! I will give you now updated flow reports on Monday and Friday of each of the ensuing weeks as well as the percentile of snow yet in them thar hills!
Best to all on the now cusp of it all,
Rock Creek Ron
---><’///:><
The time is now upon us where, just a tad more than 45 days before the Wonderful Ones descend upon Missoula to mark Opening Day of Extravaganza 2016, we begin to sit up in our chairs, keep a close eye on the western Montana temperature gauge and assess just what kind of a snow melt/runoff we are going to be presented by Mother Nature.
The runoff is a critical element of our fishing fortunes each year and, for the past nine (count ‘em!) years now we have been privately monitoring and chronicling the run off as it has occurred right out of Headquarters’ doors on the world famous Rock Creek that we abut. Check out the attached chart which shows you just how much the runoff varies from year to year. Measured in cubic feet per second of water flow, you can see how, beginning on our traditional beginning date of April 27th (just two days from now) the water flow begins at a (s)low pace and, as temperatures rise during the months of May and June, the upper clime snow pack begins to melt and send water downstream from thousands of rivulets, into creeks, and then into our main river systems. As this flow begins, water clarity declines as the turbidity (lack of visibility) increases and the water flow increases, thereby flushing out the river systems of their detritus.
And how the water flow has varied over the years! Check out last year’s flow in red where we began with a 50% of normal snow pack due to early April premature runoff and ended with a low flow during E-15 and compare that to the extraordinarily high runoff year of 2011 where we began with 400% of combined snow pack and snow water content, resulting in such high waters that we had to bus over the Continental Divide to the more modestly contained Missouri River for our fishing days. And check out my favorite year of them all, 2009 (in black) where we had a perfect bell curve flow and resulting great local fishing during E-10.
Where will we be this year, you ask? Well our heat has already arrived in the Bitterroot mountains such that as we begin charting this year the Bitterroot River Basin is currently tracking now at 71% of 20 year norms with a year-to-date precipitation realization of 97% of the same norm. So, as we go into the runoff season we are starting with three quarters of a deck of cards and, beginning in two days, we will lay in tour 2016 comparable base line flow numbers as they evolve.
We start off fifty percent ahead of last year, gang, and what that tells me is that we are going to have prime time fishing conditions come June 11th and the arrivals of Dem Ones! I will give you now updated flow reports on Monday and Friday of each of the ensuing weeks as well as the percentile of snow yet in them thar hills!
Best to all on the now cusp of it all,
Rock Creek Ron
---><’///:><
Monday, April 18, 2016
Your E-16 Camp List!
1. Polarized sunglasses.
2. A rain jacket (not a water resistant jacket [which
really just absorbs water at a slower pace], but a poncho or truly water
resistant lightweight/medium weight rain repellant)--we have had the weather
change from warm blue skies to cold (as in really cold) torrential rain and
then back again all within an hour--if you get wet on the river it is not a
pleasant experience--See 3, infra).
3. A dry bag/boat bag for a complete change of clothes
for the river.
4. Fast drying fishing shirts and pants.
In the past, the former has been a staple of what we hand out to you as you
arrive--history will repeat itself, by the way. As to pants, I highly
recommend the fast drying, zip off pants which serve as long pants in the
morning hours and shorts in the afternoon.
5. Brimmed fishing hats. Yes, history might
just repeat itself here again regarding a baseball type hat; for those of you
who are sunlight sensitive, I recommend a fully brimmed hat with a tie-string
[so that the famous and inevitable MT wind will not decrown you].
6. Layered clothing. Imagine that you are going to a
Niners game in September--you never know what you are going to get at The
Stick, so you wear a short sleeved shirt with a long sleeve shirt over it,
carrying with you a fleece and a warm jacket/raincoat--voila!! We will
have washers and dryers available to you if needed, so don't bring the whole
wardrobe but certainly pack an extra day's supply (remember that boat bag and
its contents-to-be in 3, supra?!?)
7. Waterproof sandals/fishing shoes. 90%
of our fishing will be in the boats, but you will be getting in and out for
entry, potty breaks, lunch and return, and will get wet to your knees as you
embark/debark. Tennis shoes are an alternative if you don't mind changing
their color [permanently]. Yes, fishing sandals are an excellent purchase
upon arrival--they have multi-uses and will last forever.
8. Sunscreen and bug-spray.
Bring sunscreen rated 25 and higher even if you think you don't need
it, as you will be on the water, unprotected, for up to 10 hours each
day--enough to challenge even the crustiest lawyer's skin! The bugs are
nothing like Minnesota and usually are not a problem at all, but have some on
hand and that normally makes the experience totally uneventful.
9. Fleeces (long and/or short sleeved). These are going to
be your best friend, both early in the morning and late in the evening after a
fully sating day. Temperatures during your stay see average highs in the
70's to 90's and evening lows in the 40's and 50's.
10. Casual wear. This is not a black tie event,
folks; shorts and Levis are standard fare [even in Missoula's finest
restaurants, I might add] both on the boat and at the house. Our fishing
focus is exclusively on the brightness of the color bands in your rainbow
trout, the brownness of your brown trout and on the scarletness of your
cutthroat's gill plates, not on that of your attire.
CAN BRING:
A.
Fly
rods and reels (5 and 6 weight rods are the order of the day)
B. Expensive
digital camera gear that you would like to get wet and destroy—I provide you
cameras for your usage on the boats!
C. Booze—we already have you covered, gang.
Greetings fellow Extravaganzers:
I am fresh in from the 80th anniversary of the National Wildlife Federation held in our nation’s Capital and am pleased not only to give you this E-16 date down but also to provide you with your attached E-16 Montana Camp List. As we celebrate the last day to timely file your annual tax returns, know that the Extravaganza is looming larger and larger on the horizon and is now just two months distant. So, check out your Camp List which gives you a good summary of all that you need to plan ahead for, remembering as you do so and begin your packing, that I reserve the right to treat each of you extravagantly upon your arrival(s) and you should leave room in your assemblage as you WILL bring home (a lot) more than you arrive with!
On all fronts things for E-16 are shaping up nicely, to wit: The last two open slots in Group Two were taken down over the weekend by NWF fellow director, Houston’s Mary van Kerrebrook and her son Bob; we now have a full E-16 contingency and will now launch over 75 (count ‘em!) boats during this year’s event; and Mother Nature is beginning to warm western Montana up a bit such that the upper clime snow pack is beginning its annual run/melt off but with the Bitterroot River Basis still boasting holding onto 88% of its 20 year average snowpack as it tracks 99% of two decadal average year-to-date precipitation.
Bravo, bravo, bravo, as the relevancy of it all comes into wonderful focus!
Rock Creek Ron
---<’///:><
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Happy Spring!
From our Rock Creek Caretakers, Peanut and Larry:
This is what we woke up to this morning... Short lived, It's supposed to hit 80 by Friday. I CAN'T WAIT !!!
RCR---<'///:><
Monday, April 4, 2016
Some Springing Forth E-16 Springlets...
…consider, as found on www.poetrysoup.com , the following:
1. “Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.”
2. “It is admirable for a man to take his son fishing, but there is a special place in heaven for the father who takes his daughter shopping.”
3. “The gods do not deduct from man’s allotted span the hours spent fishing.”
4. “All I need to know about life, I learned from fishing.”
5. “If people concentrated on the really important things in life there’d be a shortage of fishing [rods]."
6. “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.”
7. And, finally, the following limerick entitled “A Bush Lawyer”:
When Ironbark the turtle dame to Anthony’s lagoon
The hills were hid behind a mist of equinoctial rain,
The ripple of the rivulets was like a cheerful tune
And wild companions waltzed among the grass as tall as grain.
Now, Dan-di-dan the water rat was exquisitely dressed,
For not a seal in Bass’ Straits had half as fine a coat,
And every day he combed and brushed his golden-yellow vest,
A contrast with the white cravat he wore beneath his throat.
And Dan-di-dan the water rat could move with ease and grace,
So Ironbark appeared to him a creature out of place,
With iron-plated overcoat and dirty face.
A crawfish at the point of death then came drifting down the drains;
Said he, “I am scalded to the heart with bathing near the bore.”
The turtle and water rat then disputed his remains,
For crawfish meat all day they’d eat, and then ask for more.
Said Dan-di-dan, “The prize is mine, for I was fishing here
Before you tumbled down the bank and landed on your ear.”
“I wouldn’t care,” the turtle retorted, “if you had fished here a year.”
So Baggy-beak the Pelican was asked to arbitrate;
The scales of justice seemed to hang beneath his noble beak.
First he said, “I’ll take possession of the subject of debate”.
As he stowed the fish inside his pouch and then began to speak:
“The case is far from clear,” he said, “and justices of note…”
[But here he snapped his beak and flapped his piebald overcoat]
“Oh dear,” he said, “that wretched fish has slithered down my throat.”
“But still,” he said, “the point involved requires a full debate;
I’ll have to get the lawyer birds and fix a special day,
And in the interim I rule that costs to date have been paid out of the estate.”
And Baggy-beak the Pelican got up and flew away.
So both the pair who went to law were feeling very small.
Said they, “We might have halved the fish and saved a nasty brawl;
For half a crawfish isn’t much, but it’s far more than none at all.”
RCR---<’///:><----<’///:><
1. “Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.”
2. “It is admirable for a man to take his son fishing, but there is a special place in heaven for the father who takes his daughter shopping.”
3. “The gods do not deduct from man’s allotted span the hours spent fishing.”
4. “All I need to know about life, I learned from fishing.”
5. “If people concentrated on the really important things in life there’d be a shortage of fishing [rods]."
6. “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.”
7. And, finally, the following limerick entitled “A Bush Lawyer”:
When Ironbark the turtle dame to Anthony’s lagoon
The hills were hid behind a mist of equinoctial rain,
The ripple of the rivulets was like a cheerful tune
And wild companions waltzed among the grass as tall as grain.
Now, Dan-di-dan the water rat was exquisitely dressed,
For not a seal in Bass’ Straits had half as fine a coat,
And every day he combed and brushed his golden-yellow vest,
A contrast with the white cravat he wore beneath his throat.
And Dan-di-dan the water rat could move with ease and grace,
So Ironbark appeared to him a creature out of place,
With iron-plated overcoat and dirty face.
A crawfish at the point of death then came drifting down the drains;
Said he, “I am scalded to the heart with bathing near the bore.”
The turtle and water rat then disputed his remains,
For crawfish meat all day they’d eat, and then ask for more.
Said Dan-di-dan, “The prize is mine, for I was fishing here
Before you tumbled down the bank and landed on your ear.”
“I wouldn’t care,” the turtle retorted, “if you had fished here a year.”
So Baggy-beak the Pelican was asked to arbitrate;
The scales of justice seemed to hang beneath his noble beak.
First he said, “I’ll take possession of the subject of debate”.
As he stowed the fish inside his pouch and then began to speak:
“The case is far from clear,” he said, “and justices of note…”
[But here he snapped his beak and flapped his piebald overcoat]
“Oh dear,” he said, “that wretched fish has slithered down my throat.”
“But still,” he said, “the point involved requires a full debate;
I’ll have to get the lawyer birds and fix a special day,
And in the interim I rule that costs to date have been paid out of the estate.”
And Baggy-beak the Pelican got up and flew away.
So both the pair who went to law were feeling very small.
Said they, “We might have halved the fish and saved a nasty brawl;
For half a crawfish isn’t much, but it’s far more than none at all.”
RCR---<’///:><----<’///:><
Friday, April 1, 2016
FW: E-16 April Foolin' Around!
From now-returning Group Three veteran Santa Barbara travel agent Brian "Capt'n Four" Robertson:
Rock Creek On!
Brian
Brian T. Robertson, CTC
Robertson International Travel
E-16 April Foolin' Around!
Greetings all, as we slide out of the first quarter into the first days of April in this now-not-so-new year!
Tempted though I am to write and tell you that, horrors of all horrors, the snowpack in Montana (as it actually did two out of the last five years, btw!) has simply vanished overnight, but to do so would put unnecessary worries and fears in your minds and hearts where, at least for the moment, no such fears exist. In fact, as of this moment the snow pack in both the Clark Fork and Bitterroot River Basins are tracking in the very high 90th percentiles and, get this, the year to date precipitation level in our E-16 targeted Blackfoot basin is exactly at 100% of twenty year averages.
Now, the advent of April marks a couple of important milestones in our collective lives: first, Group One arrives on the scene in just 70 days from today and, secondly, my avid fly fishing and now hunter daughter in just over one month now finishes her three year law curriculum at Missoula’s University of Montana and will become a UM graduate with her JD on May 21st—congrats, babe!!
So, let’s check the scorecard as we enter baseball season this weekend: (a) E-16 is all but full with just two open slots in Group Two (which will see a visit from the MT governor); (b) literally today I am taking delivery of one of the main E-16 gifts for each of you, reserving, as I do annually, the unfettered right to treat each of your extravagantly; (c) the snowpack and weather is riding perfectly for us; and (d) with but a mere 70 days separating today from Extravaganzaland, it is time to locate those rods and reels, dust off all of that fly fishing gear and clothing and begin putting your sights on attending our 14th foray into the wilds of western Montana Ritz-Carlton style!
Best to all this budding April day!!
RCR---<’///:><
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