Heed the Warnings!

Fourth of July weekend is now upon us and the rivers continue to rage.  The Westfork and the main stem of the Bitterroot River are both flowing over 3 times higher than normal.  There have been 2 fatalities in as many weeks; one yesterday on the Locsha River (here is the newspaper article link) http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_1b2815da-a324-11e0-acd8-001cc4c002e0.html and one on the Big Hole.  They still haven't found the body of the guy on the Big Hole.  The forecast is for temps in the mid 80's to low 90's.  There will be a huge temptation to venture out on the river.  BE SMART AND NOT A STATISTIC!!!!!

High Water & Big Decisions

Life is measured by making right or wrong decisions in crucial times. One right decision can lead to a positive turning point in life and vice versa. For me, June has been a month of making some very hard calls. The Bitterroot River has been flowing at unprecedented levels all month. It was past flood stage two weeks ago and has now resurged to flood stage this week. Those of us who spend hundreds of days on this river each year have been predicting a big runoff, but no one thought it would be this prolonged. Even years with higher than normal snow pack, we are usually fishing by now.  It is not just Montana that is shattering records for river flows.  It seems every river in the country is swollen beyond its banks with no end in sight.

Woodside Bridge Parking lot @ flood stage June 2011

I started taking reservations for fishing trips in January. Like most years, they were primarily for the famed salmonfly hatch. I am always very leery of booking reservations anytime before the second week of June. Typically, even on big snow pack years, the third week of June is prime time. Not this year. I, and every other responsible outfitter, have cancelled all the days in June and may have to cancel trips into the first week in July because of high and dangerous river conditions. Many outfitters, including myself, have taken a huge economic hit in the last few weeks, but the cost could be much higher. When the Bitterroot River and the Westfork are flowing this high, not only is there no soft water to fish, but they become a playground for the grim reaper. Any guide/outfitter's NUMBER ONE responsibility is the safety of the client. When I am on the oars on a river I have two other lives in my hands. Getting my clients on fish comes second.  I know an outfitter, who is reckless enough to be taking clients out in the last several weeks. He has placed the value of a few hundred dollars over his client’s life. When the Bitterroot River flows first peaked at flood stage a few weeks ago he had four boats "guiding" (more like surviving) on the water. After being told he had to guide for the day, one of the outfitter's main guides refused to do the trip due to safety concerns.  He was immediately fired.  At least the guide had the balls to make the right judgment call. Once again this week when the flows peaked at flood stage he had clients on the Westfork. That isn't just reckless, it's plain stupid! Call me old fashioned, but I value lives over a few hundred bucks.

Veteran's Bridge (the bridge formally known as Silver Bridge)
@ flood stage June 2011

A few days ago one of my top guides, a good friend who fishes with me a lot, and I test floated the Westfork. At that time the flows were 1,600 C.F.S (Cubic Feet per Second) @ Painted Rocks Dam and approximately 4,000 C.F.S after Nez Perce Creek. All of us are VERY experienced oarsman and spend at least 200-250 days a year on the river. However, we had never been on the Westfork when the flows were that high. To say upper end of the Westfork (above Nez Perce Creek) was challenging is like saying surfing triple overhead waves is a challenge. This part of the Westfork is littered with snags, sweepers and strainers. Any false move here and you are dead for sure. Once we got below Nez Perce Creek the flows jumped to 4,000 C.F.S. or more-then the water gets squeezed into the canyon. Where there were once rocks exposed a few feet, on normal high flows, there were now standing 6 foot waves! We were quickly in survival mode. Ever corner the person on the oars had to set up for at least 300 yards in advance. If your hands slipped off the oar, the oar hit a rock and popped out of the oarlock or the boat hit something underwater that was unseen.......game over!   After the day was over, all three of us agreed that we were scared in the canyon. Not deer in the headlights, panic mode scared, but the feeling you get in your stomach knowing that one tiny mistake would be our last. If someone accidentally fell into the water there would be nothing that could be done. I don't care if you have a life jacket on and could swim like Michael Phelps; death would be inevitable. There would no rescue only body recovery.

The view looking north from Victor Crossing Bridge @ flood
stage June 2011

So here we sit with the water continuing to rage with no end in sight for the near future. I don't like sounding like a Debbie Downer but the threat of a fatality on the Bitterroot River in the upcoming weeks is a grim reality. There has already been a fatality on the Yellowstone River, the Lochsa River in Idaho and just two days ago one on the Big Hole River. July 4th weekend is right around the corner and I'm hoping for snow. At least it will keep everyone off the river. When alcohol, high water and people being on the river that shouldn't be are mixed, it becomes a death cocktail. Please use good judgment out there. The river and fish will still be there in a couple of weeks when it is safe.  DON'T BECOME ANOTHER STATISTIC!!!!!

The Signficance of the Western Tanager.

Well I can't stand it anymore and by this weekend word will be out. For those of you that think I have lost it and I am now a bird watcher, you are partly correct. Birds will tell you a lot about fishing both on rivers and the ocean. When certain birds arrive, you must ask yourself, "Self, why are they here now?" When the swallows are filling the air on a river, have you ever stopped to wonder why? I have always told my clients, "When the birds start eating, the fish will follow." However, the arrival of the Western Tanager to the East and Westfork of the Bitterroot River means only one thing; the emergence of the mighty Salmonfly. These beautiful songbirds are ONLY here during the Salmonfly hatch. Where they go the rest of the summer, I have no idea. They are native to the Rocky Mountain West and any bird book will tell you they are present all summer. But in the 10 years I have been guiding, I have NEVER seen them after the Salmonflies are gone. The Western Tanager is actually a subspecies of the Cardinal family. The red pigment in the face of the Western Tanager is rhodoxanthin, a pigment rare in birds. It is not manufactured by the bird, as are the pigments used by the other red tanagers. Instead, it must be acquired from the diet, presumably from insects (Salmonflies) that themselves acquire the pigment from plants. A truly amazing fact is that the incubation period for the Western Tanager is only 13 days. After both parents feed the hatchlings for 11 short days, they leave the nest. However, they will stay close to the parents for a few weeks. I think the fact that they are dining on Salmonflies allows the hatchlings to grow at such an incredible rate. In early fall, they migrate south for the winter as far as Panama. I want to be a Western Tanager chasing the Salmonfly hatch and winter in Panama. What a life!

So now that I have let the bird out of the bag, yes there are Salmonflies on both the East and Westfork of the Bitterroot River. The Eastfork is fishing a little more consistent on dry flies and there are Western Tanagers from top to bottom. The Westfork is a little different story right now. The flows are coming down and it is starting to come into shape. I floated the Westfork twice late this week from Painted Rocks dam down the entire length to High Bank with identical results. There are no Western Tanagers at the dam yet. We did have some good results fishing Salmonfly nymphs for the first two plus miles. However, once I saw the first Western Tanager we switched to a dry Salmonfly. About five minutes later we were landing our first fish on a dry! It is amazing what a bird will tell you without even knowing English! There were Western Tanagers everywhere until we hit Nez Perce Creek. Right now Nez Perce is easily doubling the size of the Westfork. Not only is it increasing the volume, it is also cooling down the water 3-4 degrees. Now that may seem insignificant, but Salmonflies need the water to be at least 50 degrees to emerge as adults. The water temps below Nez Perce were 47 and guess what, no bugs. We did not see any Western Tanagers the rest of the float and did not have another fish rise to a Salmonfly. We did find a few fish willing to eat a Salmonfly nymph. It was only in the 2 mile "micro-ecosystem" did we find the tanagers and fish willing to eat a dry Salmonfly.This is all about to change as the Westfork is dropping fast. The entire length should start fishing by early to mid next week. You now know the signs to look for. I start a long stretch of guiding on Sunday and will post photos and stories when I can. Now is the time to drop everything you are doing and chase the big bug like you were a Western Tanager.

The Western Tanager's are here!

The Western Tanager's are here! That is all I am gonna say. If you don't know the significance then either call me or stop by the shop.