“Fly fishing surely gives meaning to my life, but not nearly so much as life gives meaning to fly fishing.” ~Peter Kaminsky It is February. The sun hangs in the sky a bit higher and longer; the alternating thaw and freeze is turning the snow to corn. There is a spring like awakening occurring within the river, the trout, and…
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“Drake is a term of European origin generally applied to a mayfly larger than size 14, and they are considered royalty by fly fishers wherever they exist.” – Rene Harrop The Brown Drakes have made their appearance on the Creek and have been stronger than we have seen in years. This is a short lived hatch, but there are still…
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“I am haunted by waters.” - Norman Maclean The first wave of true spring run off occurred during the first week of May causing the Big Wood to peak at nearly 7,000 CFS. Currently, the Wood is down to 2,600 CFS and dropping as the weather has turned cool again providing a temporary respite from the flooding. But warmer temperatures…
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"It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future." - Yogi Bera One thing we do know...there is a lot of snow in the mountains. As of May 2nd, the Big Wood drainage is 217% of normal. April showers in the valley kept depositing snow in the peaks. How long the run off will last is hard to predict, but…
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"No fisherman ever fishes as much as he wants...this is the first great rule of fishing, and it explains a world of otherwise inexplicable behavior." - Geoffrey Norman Don't let the seasonal closures and excessive high water keep you from fishing as much as you want. While there is no water for a local angler to casually fish for an…
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"Water is the driving force in nature." - Leonardo da Vinci The current snow water equivalent for the Big Wood, Little Wood, and Big Lost rivers is at around 170% of average. Simple translation: there is a lot of water in the mountains yet to come down over the next few months. The initial flooding reports are a result of…
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"Water is taught by thirst." - Emily Dickinson Due to the warm weather and rain over the last week, the low altitude snow has started to melt. Our freestones and tail-waters are already seeing higher than average flows for this time of year. This is the first phase of what will be a long and interesting run-off for the Wood…
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"Two things are certain this year, there will be an extended high water season when the snow starts melting; the timing and the magnitude of the peak flows are unknown at this time, and the peaks could be big on some rivers." – Idaho Water Supply Outlook Report March 1, 2017 On normal years, the Wood and surrounding freestones are…
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"A year of snow, a year of plenty." – French Proverb The snow pack in the Big Wood drainage is currently at 172% of average and still has the potential to climb heading into spring. The stage is set for a record breaking spring run-off on the Wood and surrounding drainages. To put this in perspective, the Valley had a…
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"With melted snow I boil fragrant tea." – Mencius The snow keeps coming. As of February 6th, the Big Wood Basin is at 144% of average and the Little Wood and Big Lost are not far behind. While it is a bit too early to prognosticate about when our summer flows will be prime, one thing is certain... each flake…
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