by Mark on February 9, 2010
in Weather
The last several days my fishing colleagues and I have chatted a time or two about the dramatic reports of snow-induced travails of those living along the eastern seaboard.
The media has portrayed a couple of feet of snow as an almost apocalyptic event, paralyzing the cities and and painting a broad stripe of hardship across a fairly impressive expanse of geography and culture.
Not that anyone gives a hoot in hell, but we call bullshit and say send the snow out to our neighborhood – we’d love to have it piling up on the neighborhood peaks.
Ed reminds me this morning that we had a two foot snow fall late last fall here in Bozeman that didn’t even grant local school kids late arrival that morning, and there sure as hell wasn’t a shapely Weather Channel info-babe assigned to cover our struggles……(Montana for the most part remains invisible on the national news radar – a fact which grants the majority of her residents quiet pleasure).
There is a bit more sincere grumbling about the snowpack being offered up by the locals – it’s pretty skinny for this time of year. Here’s the latest from the Snotel site this morning per watershed…..
It’s easy to tell that no watershed is in great shape (save for the Smith et al) right now, and the Bitterroot and Clark Fork look really skinny.
The short term climatology forecasts don’t exactly offer a great deal of encouragement at this point in time – here are the temp and precip forecasts for the nation for March-April-May. Looks like El Nino is still in charge….
We’re putting our money on an early and very fishable spring season for the neighborhood with a skinny water summer and fall. Hope I’m wrong.
Tagged as:
So What?,
spring fly fishing,
Weather
Jake had a chance to get out yesterday on the Gallatin with a friend – he took a new underwater toy and snapped a few decent pics of the day – including the one eyed brown above.
Sun has been in short supply around these parts as has snow (more snowpack and climate stuff to come…).
The underwater world is alive and well in the neighborhood…..
Not a bad way to spend a few hours on a February day, particularly considering how it’s snowing yet again (though pretty mild at 30 this morning).
Tagged as:
Gallatin,
Go Fish,
Pic of the Day
Three weeks or so ago temperatures in the neighborhood were fighting like hell to break the zero mark.
Yesterday afternoon on the lower Madison (Blacks Ford to Greycliff) we saw a fair number of fisher-folk and temps in the 50 degree range (53 to be exact).
There were fewer fish and a few more mistakes with rod and oar than we’d care to admit or document in a posted photographic record.
Perhaps the most amazing thing, besides being on a living river again, was the almost total lack of snow cover and a few spots of new spring green here and there.
Sure is looking like an El Nino spring right now – skinny snow pack, drier than normal and very warm for this time of year.
Fish Can’t Read’s e-magazine has been sold – it’s official today.
From their blog today…..
Life has a funny way of throwing a surprise or two into the mix when we’d least expect it.
Sometimes those surprises take the form of sobering challenges that tax our resources to the max.
Sometimes those surprises take the form of something unexplainably good – like a 30 inch Brown at the end of our 4 weight rig, or the 100+ fish day on BWOs during that perfect late spring day on the Bitterroot.
We’ve just experienced one of those good surprises here at Fish Can’t Read – we’ve sold the magazine project.
We’re not at liberty to tell the entire story of as of yet, but it’s part of a larger agreement we’ve forged with a “real” publishing team that involves another magazine project we’re involved with in the hunting realm. When we started the project very nearly a year ago the potential sale of the magazine ‘some day’ was a pipe dream that wasn’t expected to manifest as an option for years.
The entire team is deeply appreciative of all the kind words of encouragement that have been shared over the past months as we’ve produced the magazine, and we’re humbled at the large volume of creative, insightful and imaginative materials that have been submitted for review. (It’s been forwarded on to the new owners…..)
All of our team will continue to write, photograph and publish in various venues, and those of us involved with Dry Fly Media have some nifty photography and videography projects in the works preparing to tee off in the next several weeks of what appears to be an early (thanks El Nino) spring.
Tight Lines –
The Fish Can’t Read Team
Jake and I have been a part of the Fish Can’t Read team and are also part of the ownership group involved in the sale negotiations. It has been nothing but a pleasure to work with Keith, John, Alex, Camille and the countless others who have submitted imagery and written work for consideration.
Given today’s incredibly challenging business and economic environment we understand how fortunate we’ve been to have an opportunity like this present itself, though it’s been much more of a struggle to consider parting with the project than we ever imagined it would be.
Less computer time means more time on the river.
Hot damn.
by Mark on January 5, 2010
in Weather
The first week of January almost inevitably finds lots of fly fisher folk itchy to get out and stretch after the holiday season.
This year in particular finds me among that cadre – the past six weeks or so (since Thanksgiving) have been the busiest in memory and it’s been damned cold around the neighborhood.
The penetrating cold persisted until about a week ago and has fostered the development of lots of shore and anchor ice, and filled many of the area’s typically December fishable waters with slush more days than not.
Warmer temps in the high twenties and thirties, seemingly almost shirt-sleeve weather if the wind isn’t blowing, have enticed a few of us onto the Gallatin and up to the Madison between the lakes of late.
Fishing has been about what you’d expect this time of year, but the snowpack we’ve seen around the neighborhood has not.
Thanks to a snowy late November and early December here in Bozeman, followed by weeks of cold, we’ve got as much snow on the ground as almost anywhere in the region, and it’s spitting snow right now this morning with several inches forecast for the next day or so.
On the other hand, snow cover is pretty skinny just a few miles in almost any direction you care to travel from here.
A look at SNOTEL’s water equivalent chart today shows that most Montana watersheds are behind normal for this time of year (orange and red bars indicate less than 90% of normal snowpack for this time of year)…
More than one friend and neighbor has noted with chagrin that this winter feels like it’s going to be a dry year, particularly when compared to the well above average snowpack winters we’ve had the past two years. Subjective as it may be, the old-timers seem to have a true knack for knowing what’s coming weather wise.
NOAH’s climatology scientists seem to agree – the three month forecasts for temp and precip look dry and warm for the region. If that’s the case, it’ll be Blue Wings in March and Mother’s Day Caddis shouldn’t be buried in runoff this year…..
The quarterly forecast does make me wonder a bit about that March Texas redfish trip we have planned……
Tagged as:
Crystal Ball,
Weather
Merry Christmas to all from the frozen north.
It’s a chilly -4 this Christmas Eve morning in Bozeman. Thanks to yesterday’s 4 or 5 inches of new snow it looks as if the neighborhood has been scrubbed clean and whitewashed for the holiday.
Thanks to all who have emailed, called, etc. to make sure we’re still alive and kicking up here – the last few weeks have been chock full of work and not enough play as we wind up some projects at year end.
Our entire team hopes the holidays bring you joy and time to enjoy family and friends. She Who Must Be Obeyed and I are hosting most of the Chi Wulff gang tonight for tamales and gifts and have an outdoor play day planned tomorrow…..
Another note to cheer all fisherfolk – winter solstice the afternoon of the 21st marked a turn to the new season. To hell with the concept of the New Year – we’ve already made the turn toward longer days and a new fishing season. Interestingly we don’t start adding daylight minutes back in the morning here for several weeks, though the afternoon sun is already spending a minute or two more with us each day.
It feels better already.
I can already visualize spring BWOs and Mother’s Day Caddis hatches….hot damn.
Did manage to escape for a drive through the Madison and Gallatin valleys yesterday afternoon on the hunt for some water pics – it was breezy with temps. in the 13 to 14 degree range therefore no fishing was done.
The views in the Madison Valley were jaw-dropping as always. (Almost passed up the shots of the late day sun on the hills from the corral yesterday – ALWAYS stop and get the pic when in doubt. There were better pics that just might be on next year’s Christmas cards….)
Hope Santa is good to you and yours this year.
Tagged as:
Merry Christmas,
Pic of the Day
by Mark on December 15, 2009
in So What?
Several weeks of chilly weather have me waxing a bit philosophical these days.
(The weather is actually pretty nice today – 5 or 6 inches of fluffy new powder at our place and a tolerable -1 right now after a low of -10 last night; today’s forecast high in the mid-teens will feel balmy after the past few weeks….)
Back to topic and case in philosophical point – after today, the year comes to a close in only 17 days.
Don’t know about you, but I look forward to and appreciate the sense of renewal that comes with the New Year. 2009 offered some great times as well as some very challenging times for my family – we’re not sad to see this year finish and a new one looming on the horizon.
Over the past couple of years I’ve become a solid fan of Seth Godin. Yep, he’s a marketing guru, he writes one of the most popular (and useful) business blogs on the net, he’s a prolific author (don’t miss Tribes by the way), and I have no idea if he fishes or not. My guess would be that he probably doesn’t fish in places other than sushi bars, but that very well may be the wrong call.
Marketing is not anything close to being an area of personal expertise. Far from it, though about a decade ago I finally came to the realization that no matter what you do in life, being able to communicate well and persuade others is an absolutely critical skill. Most of us have a thing or two we might learn from those in the marketing field who have cultivated the skill of thinking outside the box in terms of communicating persuasively.
Godin is one of those few who consistently (at least IMHO) think outside the box and communicate with rare mastery.
Thinking is the key. Easier said than done and practiced by few.
Godin has published a nifty FREE PDF titled What Matters Now intended to prime your thinking about the New Year - download with a click on the cover picture below.
Tagged as:
Think
