E-14 Update

 

 

Gang: 

 

As we celebrate the first day of Spring tomorrow, here’s your latest update on the snowfall and water content of this year’s bountiful snowpack:  The Snow Water Equivalent in our Bitterroot River Basis has now crept upwards from its last-reported-to-you 149% of 20 year median to 167% of median, confirming what your Hostess With the Mostess tells me from Headquarters, to wit:  snow keeps on a-fallin’ in them thar hills, assuring now that our fishing waters for Extravaganza 2014 will, indeed, be plentiful.  Comparably, compatibly and confirmingly, the water year-to-date precipitation levels in the Root’s Basis are running at 129% of twenty year averages, boasting a robust seasonal bounty (California drought conditions notwithstanding—Montana is where all of CA’s water went, all)!

 

“How plentiful are things this year?” you ask…, moreover, “Will we have to trek over the Continental Divide to fish the Missouri River due to excessive runoff??”  Well, the answer to that question will be found in the second element of the runoff equation (now that the snow pack is in), namely what ambient temperatures will be during the months of April and May…and that is a HUGE variable from year to year.  As temperatures rise, the snowpack at the higher levels begins to melt, creating the “runoff”—the period of time when our fishing rivers become torrential in volume and their color devolves into that of mocha coffee, filled with the turbidity that accelerated water flow creates. As you veterans know, as the runoff approaches, we will be tracking it graphically and IF the months of April and May are cooler than norm, then the retained mountain water come E-14 will be larger and our water flows will be higher; however, if we get a hot and dry May, the runoff will accelerate during those early months and our fishing waters will be more mellow.

 

In either event, come low or high waters, as we have done in every one of our previous Extravaganzas, we WILL fish each and every one of our E-14 fishing dates…it just remains to be seen what water level and temperature hand(s) will be dealt for each of our groups.  And as E-13ers can ably attest to, the hand that is dealt to one group can vary dramatically from that dealt another, witness the mid-60’s temperatures for the Tattoos in Group Two (and lights out fishing) last year as contrasted to the high 90 temps dealt to Dem Threes a week later (and resultant tougher sledding on the fishing waters).

 

Ah, the wonderful vagaries of Mother Nature, mother to us all.

 

Best to all Springing forth with it all,

 

Rock Creek Ron

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