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.
by Merle Ann Loman | Mar 20, 2009 | Bitterroot, Friends
Terry Nobles has been fishing with Jack for “I don’t know how long.” He is a good friend and has contributed to the Bitterroot area as a conservationist for longer than I have know him. We went to visit Terry yesterday.
I was amazed at two of his collections. One is of model airplanes. He has many and as a pilot, flew every kind of plane in his collection. He also is an avid reader and has walls of books. He said he is slowly downsizing so he gifted two books (not the first time) to Jack. See the photo to the left.
Trout Fishing by Joe Brooks, published in 1972
Trout, the Fisherman’s Bible by Ray Bergman, published in 1970.
Our friend, John Bolton, wrote a story about Terry Nobles called A Bitterroot Morning.
by Merle Ann Loman | Mar 19, 2009 | Associates - we recommend...
Yesterday, Jack and I planned to go fishing. It was cold and windy so we opted to do some work on gear and vehicles. We have been working with Parts Unlimited for years and they provide such great service, we decided to let you all know about them.
Parts Unlimited
http://www.truckparts-unlimited.com/
1829 US Highway 93 N
Victor, MT 59875
(406) 642-3403
Toll Free: 800-642-3405
Get directions
In these days of recycling and economic crunch, this business makes sense. They recycle parts, provide a cost savings and excellent professional service, and stimulate our local economy! Check them out, you will be glad you did.
by Merle Ann Loman | Mar 13, 2009 | Bitterroot, iiii Winter/Snow
The last 8 days or so we have had a snowy cold spell that provided us some backcountry/crosscountry skiing. This weather also gave us a boost in moisture stored high in the mountains waiting for spring run-off.
Next week, the weather is predicted to warm up to near 50 degrees. That is nice, not TOO warm. We are planning to scout the river and we have a few fishing dates on the calendar, too. The end of March and April are booking up nicely. We will be posting blogs to show you how the fishing shapes up.
In honor of old man winter, here are some photos of our last ski days. We hiked/climbed to get to the snow, but it was worth it! Soon, we will be sitting in the boat and there won’t be as much time for cardio-fitness.
Some days we used touring ski’s other days we used backcountry gear. We are fortunate to live in the Bitterroots. Great outdoor fun all year long.
Yesterday was cold, about 17 to 20 degrees, but the sun was brilliant. That might have been our last mountain snow day.
by Merle Ann Loman | Mar 10, 2009 | Bitterroot, iiii Winter/Snow
It is March. The snow water equivalent and total precipitaition measurements for the Bitterroot (and much of Montana) are slightly below 100%. To the left is a photo taken March 2 at Tucker Crossing looking to the south. At that time, we were in a dry weather pattern.
The next two photos are from the same day and taken at Woodside Crossing looking north. As a side note, there is a great trail provided by Teller Wildlife Refuge. It is well used for exercise and nature walks. 
The snowy photo was taken March 8th of Gash Creek in the Bitterroot Mountains west of Victor, MT while we were cross country skiing. We just had a few days of snow and cooler weather. It is wonderful to see more precipitation stored in the mountains for later run-off into our rivers and streams.
To see current snow/precipitation data and USGS current stream conditions for the rivers we fish, visit Wapiti Waters Local Stream Flow Links .
