E-11 Friday Flow Report And Group One Fishing Plan

Greetings all from the scene of it all:

 

Well, like each of you will do in the not to distant future, I flew into Missoula yesterday to begin my month-long stay here and what a greeting there was to be had.  Flying in as we all do down the Bitterroot Valley, you didn’t need binoculars from 10,000 ft up to see how big, rapid and turbid that wonderful river is.  Yesterday’s flow (yet to be posted on the attached flow chart) saw Rock Creek rise to record high levels and flowing at a previously-unheard-of flow rate of 5,270 cfs yesterday.  That flow continues today with upstream road closures now, as in Rock Creek’s upper climes, it has breached the road (at the 45 mile marker site—we are [way] downstream at the 10 mile marker site)—check out the attached photos taken just minutes ago right behind Headquarters.  During this time of year we are typically wading into the creek to fish what you see in these pics—not this year, however!!

 

“Big water and high turbidity” are the themes of all of our targeted rivers.  Of those, the Bitterroot will subside and “clean/clear up” first followed by the Clark Fork of the Columbia and, lastly, by the Big (“A River Runs Through It”) Blackfoot River where the current flow is over 16,000 cfs, gang!

 

Your safety is and has always been our number one Extravaganza concern and benchmark.  Our fishing is on drift boats and those boats are going to go downriver just as fast as the river’s flow.  Just as it was (rarely) in 2008, it is more rarely so this year when we have record high runoffs throughout out most every one of Western Montana’s rivers. 

 

In 2008, when faced with the same high water/high turbidity (as in the fish can’t see a damn thing!) conditions, we changed our daytime fishing venue from the Missoula-based rivers to the marvelous Missouri River (just on the other side of the Continental Divide)—and, in meeting with our Double Up Outfitter John “The Great But Propaneless” Gould yesterday that is exactly the decision that we have made for Group One and, depending on water conditions, possibly Group Two.  

 

I am pleased to now formally announce that for at least the first two days of Group One fishing we will travel to the Craig, Montana (just outside of Wolf Creek, MT).  It is a bit of a trek over there but, consistent with my lifelong motto of “taking a negative and making a positive out of it”, unlike in 2008 when we caravanned in three cars, I have just signed a contract with Beach Transportation out of Missoula which, on each of our Missouri days, will take us to/for there in the style of an air conditioned 47 seat luxury motor coach with coffee served on the way over and multiple of coolers of beer, wine and soft drinks for the trip home.

 

As we did in 2008 (when we literally lit up the Twenty Inch Club board!!), we will put in on the Missouri River just below Holter Dam (so we are guaranteed of a consistent, reasonable, very fishable water flow.  Go to Der Blog and click on the Extravaganza movie and you will see just what water we are talking about—the flatter water is the Missouri River (as 2008 was our film year) with the faster water in the clip where Jami lands her  31” bulltrout being the Big Blackfoot River.  In that film, the fish I am releasing is a beautiful 21” brown trout—and that is just what we are going to be targeting.  

 

This change of plans fits right in with our plans when we purchased our Rock Creek home nine years ago:  I never wanted to be in a position where I could not fish each and every day of the year.  Oh, and did I fail to mention that the fish count where we will be fishing on the Missouri is 5,000 fish to the mile and the average fish size is in the 20 inch range!!  Those of you Group One veterans who feasted on huge fish in nets in 2008 might want to chime in!!

 

More to follow in a special announcement for you Group Oners that I will be sending to you on Sunday.

 

Best to all in active preparation for it all,

 

Rock Creek Ron

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