Winter Arrives In Montana—a visual

I used to publish a magazine called Tight Lines, and prior to that I put together a publication called Fly Line. These were great projects that were super beneficial to the angler, each article containing a ton of information on a particular fishery, most of it garnered from the stream’s chief biologist and area guides. They are outdated now, but if you can get your hands on one or more of the old copies, you’ll still find information very pertinent to those existing fisheries. Anyway…

Part of the equation was a prediction for the amount of snowfall an area would get during winter. I always waited until the very last minute to get the info and put the book out so that it would contain the most accurate data and still be printed and distributed prior to the beginning of the fishing season in May. Invariably I got handed my ass on this one, Mother Nature, cruel as she is, always delivered some later-winter and spring antics and blew my predictions to hell. So, I got out of that forecasting business as quickly as I could and just focussed on trout populations, hatch timing, and other variables.

This year I’ve already heard the politicians, ranchers and even fisherman calling this year a drought disaster, sounding the alarm that there won’t be enough water in the Rocky Mountain streams to keep even a stunted brook trout’s dorsal under water, let alone one of those big browns or rainbows. And then January 18 came around—and, as of right now I have about 11 inches of snow on my truck, with another similar dose expected tomorrow. The mountains in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming are getting creamed right now with snowfall amounts ranging from four feet to eight feet. And we still have plenty of winter left and a long spring to endure. Folks, I think we’ll have plenty of water.

Anyway, I thought you would like to know what’s going on out here and I’ve provided a few photos to support my words. Hope you enjoy. Know that the fish, all cozy under the ice right now, probably have smiles on their faces.