Rain, Rain, Yet A-Commin' Our Way!!

Greetings E-12ers:

 

Well, if you are anywhere here near the Bay Area you know that, quixotely, rain, rain, rain (and a lot of it) has been, is and will continue to be in our forecast.  More steady and more consistent is the weather pattern in Western Montana (which will directly impact our fishing conditions come the commencement of Extravaganza 2012 exactly three months from today!!) where snowpack in the Bitterroot River Basis remains at 104 percent of 20 year norm and its equally critical snow water equivalent is at 95% of historical average, and this is wonderfully good news for each and every one of us.

 

As I mentioned in a prior email to “y’all”, it is the winter snowpack in the upper climes that is the preparatory base for the spring runoffs that begins in late April and during the month of May, and it is the remaining residual of that melt off that provides the water flow consistency and water temperature that drives our fishing fortunes.  A late runoff with high water flow (like we saw in legendary proportions during E-12) will yield murky waters with colder temperatures that (a) greatly reduces visibility for the feeding fish and (b) delays the seasonal hatch of bug life, whose triggering event is the stability of the water climate in which they live and thrive.  High waters and cold temperatures translate into a delayed “hatch” (the metamorphosis process through which winter river bottom dwelling crawling insects morph themselves into flying insects [the same process by which a caterpillar morphs into a butterfly—more on that later] and reduced fishing prospects, so what we are looking for is that illusive “normal year” which, by all current counts, might just be headed our way for E-12.  Goodness knows that we are certainly overdue in that regard!

 

Looking ahead weather-wise in Montana, the seasonal pattern of overhead grey cloud cover combined with freezing rain at the lower climes and snow at the upper levels is the forecast for the balance of this March.  Typically, March weather in western Montana “comes in like a lion and stays like one” and that is what appears to be ahead for Montanans in the upcoming weeks.  By the end of the process, locals are known to cry out “is it June yet?!?”, with full time occupants knowledgeable that Montana is often seasonally referred to as “nine months of winter and three months of guests?.  Well, we are right on the opening cusp of “guest season” and, for the moment at least, we are right on track for a bang up year.  That being said, the only accurate weather forecast in Montana is for that which occurred twenty minutes prior, so hang onto your fishing rods and daily face east to Montana (that would be northwest, however, to Group Three’s Martin “Madman” & Cynthia O’Malley from their Houston home!) in silent prayer that all continues along its current path of “normalcy” (thank you, Calvin Coolidge, for that nonsequitur!).  

 

Meanwhile, back at E-12’s Bay Area headquarters, all is progressing nicely for the advent of E-12 now in just 90 short days.  We have a lot in store for you this coming year, so much so that earlier in the week I received a plaintiff call from our land purveyor the Rock Creek Mercantile asking if I could please have someone come by and relieve them of some (if not all) of the 85 [count ’em] boxes of materials and supplies that were literally “in store” and preoccupying all of their store—something that Eric The Landscaper was kind enough to accomplish for us (and them).

 

Hmmm….I wonder just what was in those boxes such as to occupy ALL of the Merc……hmmm, indeed!!

 

Best to all in full preparation for it all,

 

Rock Creek Ron

   ---<’///><

 

 

 

FW: Snow, Rain & Earthquakes, Oh My!!

A(nother) note from Da Ones, this from veteran “Emperor Jim” Pacatte!

 

RCR-----<’///><

 

            We are ready to go, looking forward to this year.

 

FW: Snow, Rain & Earthquakes, Oh My!!

I so stand corrected by Group One veteran “Long John” Rosenbaum!

 

  

Well I am delighted to report to you that, now well into the winter months now (daylights savings time is just a couple of weeks away, folks!),

Believe it or not, daylight saving time begins this coming Sunday, March 11!!

John

  

Snow, Rain & Earthquakes, Oh My!!

Greetings Fellow Extravaganzers:

 

Well the groups are now (finally!) set, trees are budding out in their annual rebirth ritual, March Madness is now in the offing and all of that means that, slowly but surely, we are creeping up on the advent of Extravaganza 2012.  Just today, your Hostess With The Mostess, Kookin’ Kathy, and I met for lunch to do our final E-12 prep list and we have been on the phone all day long with the many, many suppliers and purveyors who will be actively participating in this year’s annual event.

 

It is hard to believe that this is the tenth Extravaganza.  In one way, the annual event is such a part of our year-long daily life it is hard to imagine a time when the Extravaganza was not a part of our life; in others, each event has its own special characteristics and make up that one year is like an individual pearl now added to a longer stream of gems.  Whether short or long in recall, E-12 is nicely shaping up to be one for the record books in all respects, particularly in its most important respects:  winter snowpack.

 

It is the snow that is currently amassing in the upper climes of the mountains that surround Missoula (the Bitterroot Mountains and those that feed the wonderful Big (“A River runs Through It”) Blackfoot River) that will tell the tale of our fishing waters come June.  And, believe you me, over the last decade we have seen it all— from the barren year of 2007 where the snow and water levels were so low (and resultant water temperatures so high) that we could only fish half days [one of my favorite all-time Extravaganza pictures is a (very) weary Group Three posing at 5:00 a.m. in the pitch dark just before heading into town—we fished from 7:00 a.m. to noon, for that group] (2007 was the resultant fire year for us as well—see the 2007 blogsite for a day-by-day diary of that horrific experience for us) to the high water mark of E-11 where the water levels were so high that for each of our nine (count ‘em!) days of fishing we had to charter a motor coach to take us over the Continental Divide to fish the (no so) Mighty Missouri just below Holter Dam upstream of the town of Craig (with amazing fishing results, as you veterans of last year experienced!).

 

Just where are we snowpack-wise for the most currently relevant year (2012), you ask??  Well I am delighted to report to you that, now well into the winter months now (daylights savings time is just a couple of weeks away, folks!), the Bitterroot River Basin is reporting snowpacks 104% of twenty year averages (which include the lows of 2007 and the highs of 2011) with the snow water equivalent tipping in at 91% of normal.  Last year, both the snowpack levels and the snow water equivalents ended up at 200% of normal, creating a combined water content equal to 400% of normal—by comparison, we are on track to have one quarter of the runoff volume that we did last year.  And the snow continues to fall…

 

Soon ahead is the rainy season for Montana (with May and June being the wettest two of Montana’s months).  Witnessing so, daughter Trina “Boots” Clausen just reported to me that it is currently 50 degrees in downtown Missoula and, looking at its long range forecast, temperatures are set to be highs in the 50’s and lows in the 30’s for the next several weeks, with rain in almost the daily forecast.  Rain in Missoula (around the 3300 elevation) means snow in the upper climes (3 degrees per 1,000 feet is the gradient) and, hence, a wonderful water insurance policy for our summer fishing (ad)ventures!

 

And, earthquakes, you ask?!?  Yep, as those of you in the immediate Bay Area know, around 5:40 a.m. this morning a 4.0 tremor in the East Bay hills awoke us all—never a dull moment as we prepare for this year’s quickly upcoming monumental event.

 

For you rookies out there, don’t get to afar from your email in box for, as you veterans can attest, things are just getting warmed up on this end and you will be getting a sufficient number of continuing updates from yours truly to eventually cause you to ask, “enough, already?!?...let’s go fishing!”

 

Best to all in the mid preparation stages of it all,

 

Rock Creek Ron

    ---<’///><

 

 

Der Icicle

RCR---<’///><

 

  

Valentine's Day Report!

Happy Valentine’s Day Eve E-12ers and greetings from Extravaganza Headquarters!!

 

As the above photos depict, it is indeed winter here in Extravaganzaland as we now approach the mid-winter mark it these here parts.  When Your Hostess With the Mostess arrived on the scene last week, we were greeted with temperatures in the mid-teens which have since “warmed up” to an almost balmy 34 degrees but were accompanied by nearly three quarters of a foot of snow.  Why do we fish in the summer, you ask??  Well, one look at the marvelously carved icicles that now adorn our front porch and at, my favorite, the now popsicle-like frozen chains that otherwise serve as our downspouts tells the story, along with rivers that are now ice-encroached on their banks making bank fishing as foolish as it is dangerous.

 

The goings-on outside notwithstanding, I can assure you first hand that, inside, preparations for this coming year’s epic Extravaganza are in their advanced stages, such that, in now just over four (short) months, when the Wonderful Ones grace Missoula with their presence not only with the temperature outside more than doubled but the flora that abounds here will have adorned its summer best to greet you open armed.  

 

Regarding snowfall (that now increasingly important statistic—it is the snow gathering in the upper climes that will provide the fodder for this spring’s runoff and our summer fishing waters), right now amassed snow in the key Bitterroot River Basis (where more than 75% of our boats will fish this summer) is 92% of its twenty year average, which is fantastic news for us all.  Unlike last year (when, come June and July, the accumulated snowpack was so high and massive in its snow water equivalent that we had to abandon our local rivers and travel by motor coach over 150 miles [each way] over the Continental Divide to (most successfully, btw!) fish the Mighty Missouri River), we are well on schedule to fish our three targeted local rivers—the 52 mile long Bitterroot River, the lower portion of the Clark Fork of the Columbia River, and the world famous Big “A River Runs Through It” Blackfoot River—with the great success that we have had in all other previous Extravaganzas.

 

Look ahead later in the month for your recommended E-12 travel itineraries.  In that regard, I am pleased to announce that United Air Lines is going to reinstate its daily non-stop flight from SFO to MSO which, for those who can take advantage of it, will shorten your incoming and outgoing travel times.  Wait, however, for a bit before making your reservations as, unlike any previous year, as a bonus for those of you in Group Two and Group Three, you will have the right to extend your trip (at no additional charge other than expensed related to the concert itself) to attend our June 29^th Montana Matters concert featuring our own Shane Clouse and world famous animalist Jack Hanna at the Flathead Lake Lodge…more on both in a bit.

 

So bundle up you winterized Extravaganzers; we wish you each a Happy Valentine’s Day as you begin visualizing yourself here in the bosom of Mother Nature’s bounty in the not too distant future when the snow has melted away, green has replaced drab brown, and the animal population that otherwise graces these parts has reemerged from its winter hibernation.

 

Best to all from the scene of it all,

 

Rock Creek Ron

     ---<’///><

 

    

From Football to Fishing We Now Go!!

Greetings Fellow Extravaganzers and welcome, officially, to our tenth foray
into the wonders and wilds of Montana!!

As depicted above, exactly one week ago as of this writing your Hostess With
The Mostess and I were witnessing first hand the wonderful football
exposition displayed by the SF Forty Niners in their one step short of
successful quest to play in this year's Super Bowl. The above pic was taken
by Group One's Michael "Big Fish" Downer mid-game who joined us for the
spectacle (along with Group Two's Tim "Squawfish" Rodgers and his beautiful
bride "Shanna Banana" and daughter "CT" and Josef "Fear The Beard" Shepard);
on the left is my oldest son Brian who was accompanied by his second son
"Niner Noah" [a properly raised Niner fan from birth, I might add] who
showed up with a "D" and picket fence sign that occupied most of our time
while the Niners were on defense during that wonderful game.

A bit later than normal (who ever would have thought those Niners would go
so deep into the tournament, let alone be in it?!?), it is [finally!] time
to get (re)focused on fishing and that is just what we are doing.

With (almost...the fish know all, gang!) all deposits now posted, we are now
fully focused on the upcoming events of E-12 and, once again, I assure each
of you that you will witness a spectacle the likes of which the fly fishing
industry has yet to see.

Upcoming emails will provide you with recommended flight information (we are
still waiting to see if United will re-continue its direct daily SFO-MSO-SFO
flight--Group Two's travel agent par excellence, Brian "I'm 70" Robertson:
can you call Dallas/Ft. Worth in that regard??) and we are closely
monitoring local snow fall [which, with the big storm of the last 10 days is
posting 100% of "normal" got for the greater Missoula area--whatever that is
nowadays!].

So, fellow E-12ers, hold off for the moment making any travel arrangements
and await our suggested itineraries and keep your eyes peeled for a slew of
future incoming emails that will tell you all that you need to know (and
more!) about the wonderful event that awaits you.

As for me, well, I am STILL trying to recover from the New Orleans and
Giants Niner games--never in any eight day period were two more exciting
professional football games played.

Best to all in the early stages of it all,

Rock Creek Ron
----<'///><