Montana Fly Fishing: How High Will the Big Hole Rise?

Looking east through the Notch to the Tobacco Roots (click to enlarge)

Is always a hot topic and a big question this time of year. It got even hotter a few days ago when the Big Hole suddenly spiked up several hundred cfs almost overnight. Not at all unusual this time of year but since just about everybody I've talked to seems to agree we are still very much in the grips of either a prolonged winter or a real chilly spring...Since most days either start out damn chilly (12 on the porch yesterday) or end up that way no matter what the mid-day highs are I'd call it a toss up...

With that in mind we have been trying our best to just ignore the endless chill and do just that...Been fishing twice on the Big Hole, both admittedly somewhat aborted ventures, with similar though not unexpected rather grim results. Ditto the lake sort of...Yesterday being three strikes and out that's all I have to say.

How high the Big Hole will rise is of course more than I (or anyone else for that matter) know. I checked the Jeff snow pack info this morning and the snow water is 123% of normal; the snow pack a bit less. So assuming we get the usual dumpings over the next 10 weeks or so my bet is pretty damn high. If not well, who the hell knows given what's out there could come off pretty damn quickly or not depending of course on that other impossible to predict long range (with any accuracy) variable e.g. how hot?

So there you have it, a cop out I know, sorry...over and out...

Deja Vue All Over Again

(click to enlarge)

Gale shot this hero shot a couple turkey days ago up near Malta. (I know, I know, her bad luck the only model fool enough to pose that day twas me but like the man says you gotta play the hand dealt ya).

Anyway the temperature (not the wind chill mind you) at first light in town was -28 (not a typo). As I walked Kate to the vacant lot across the street from the motel (too damn cold to camp) I knew the only way would be to stall awhile hope for the best.

So we headed to the cafe ordered a big breakfast (thinking bigger might take longer) swilled coffee until the waitress finally quit bringing the pot, took a drive through the refuge (the excuse there was to see how many other insane hunters we might have to dodge--weren't none). Then instead of signing in to hunt the refuge we decided to stall some more and check out a couple WPAs. By this time the gal on the radio was waxing apoplectically "dangerous" wind chills and "blowing and drifting snow" creating "hazardous" conditions to your health and well-being so...What to do? 

Naturally we pulled the ear bobs down, loosed the hound and headed for the thickest, most drifted cattail tangle we'd seen on our early morning tour. Yes, it was damn cold, insanely so, but undaunted good ol' oblivious-to-snow-and-cold Kate soon uncovered a rooster, pushed it into a drift, pointed. Lucky me, it flushed almost close enough to kiss, too easy, I made the shot and...And in no time flat we had ourselves a 3-rooster limit.Mission more than satisfactorily accomplished we made a mad dash for the truck. Cranking up the heater we then took a drive over to Nelson to check on the ice fishing (we had no intention just seemed like a good time waster and twas--in case you're interested nary a fool). By then it was lunch time so we drove back into Malta, grabbed a bowl of hot soup, swilled more coffee and...And called her good. 

The reason I bring this monumentous occasion to light this morning is of course the air temp and wind chill are once again bottomed out--minus 10 on the porch, weatherman says the wind chill is about -25 and to expect blizzard conditions through tomorrow with even stronger wind, lower lows and...well, blizzard-like. Gale just reported I-15 into Idaho, the infamous Monida Pass, is now officially verbotten...

As Yogi might say, "Here we go folks looks a lot like deja vue all over again"....over and out...Chuck