Low water in Montana, Colorado, and Wyomning

There is an interesting article in the latest issue of the Angling Report. It looks like the Intermountain West is going to have a very rough fishing season. Expect there to be river closures in MT, CO, and WY by mid July. Luckily (but not without other problems) the Deschutes River Basin has a number of dams and reservoirs, that allow consistent flow even during lowest water years. We should feel the same effects they are further east.


Here is an excerpt:


MONTANA. Montana, like Idaho, watched the wet winter weather pass to the south. March and April brought some moisture and cool weather to the mountains but only enough to give a small boost to low summer streamflow predictions. In the western part of the state, summer streamflow predictions for destination rivers such as the Bitterroot, Blackfoot, Big Hole and Clark Fork are forecast to be as much as 60 percent below normal with the Bitterroot and Lower Clark Fork hit especially hard. Further east, ticularly in the northern Rockies - you may not find “nor-
mal” streamflows this summer. The outlook for the Jefferson, Madison, Gallatin and Yellowstone rivers is a bit better, but they still are predicted to run in the neighborhood of 20 percent below the 30-year average. The Bighorn River streamflow is projected to be around 75 percent of average. Again, if predictions hold, the best timing for fishing in Montana will be mid June through early August, maybe even a little earlier for rivers in the western part of the state.


WYOMING. Streamflow across this state is expected to be considerably below average from May to September. The upper Snake, Madison and Yellowstone river basins are predicted to be 70 percent of average, at best. Summer flows for the Shoshone and Clarks Fork river basins in the northern part of the state are projected at 65 percent of normal. Farther south, things look better: the Belle Fourche and Cheyenne rivers should run close to 100 percent. The upper and lower North Platte rivers are, however, predicted to run at only around 60 percent. Reservoir storage across the state is good, which will help.


COLORADO. Moving southward to Colorado, the streamflow outlook improves but only slightly. Across northern Colorado, the winter snowpack that feeds streams such as the Colorado, Yampa, White and North Platte is below normal. Those rivers, and the South Platte, are projected to have summer flows at 70 to 80 percent of normal. In contrast, streams further to the south in Colorado are predicted to see near-average to slightly above-average volumes. Reservoir storage across most of the state is near average, which should help alleviate late-summer shortages in some basins.

Buckhorn Lake - Middle Deschutes

This weekend the staff at Deep Canyon Outfitters decided to for go our annual opening day fishing trip on the Lower Deschutes, and fished Buckhorn Lake and the Middle Deschutes instead. The Lower Deschutes river is NOT fishing very well right now. It is being effected by the Crooked River, which is flow extremely high right now. Despite a relatively light snow pack, run off on the Crooked River is effecting the entire Lower Deschutes system. Look for the lower river to clear in the next week or so.

We found success this weekend at both locations. Buckhorn Lake was by far the best fishing. We didn't have much success catching bass, but the rainbows were easily fooled. The Middle Deschutes was a great adventure. 4 of our staff ventured down stream towards Lake Billy Chinook, while the other 4 ventured upstream from the lake. Everyone caught a few fish on both nymphs and dry flies. The big news is the salmon flies that where spotted. Both groups reported seeing the first few bugs of the 2010 season.

Buckhorn Lake - now open

Buckhorn Lake is now open for fishing in 2010. The bass fishing has remained awesome! And earlier this winter we added a few trout to the mix. Now you can catch a rainbow trout and a bass in the same lake, on the same day, with the same fly. Our guides are loving the lake and have dubbed it "Mini-Crane"... the trout are concentrating in the channels and the bass are in the shallow edges.

What makes a fly pattern new?

At Deep Canyon, we have a couple of guides on staff who are avid fly tiers... and like to think of our selves as innovative. But are we? Above is photo of Damien's SUV stone. Read the article and let us know if you think this fly is innovative.

An update from Coyhaique River Lodge

The 2010 season in Patagonia is quickly coming to an end. This season saw so many fish with so little time to experience every river, lake or creek. New fishing holes were discovered, new lakes explored and many of the smaller fish are growing to an unbelievable size. Alejandro reported record catches on several days. All who were fortunate to get a week with the Rumbo guides were not disappointed. Those of you who could not make it down this year........we saved you some. They'll be even bigger come 2011.