Once I first moved to Wyoming, I lived in a metropolis at 7,000 toes above sea degree. The winters weren’t as dangerous as you’d think about (a couple of days a -10F) and in the summertime I don’t recall the temps breaking greater than the mid-90s. Two years in the past, my spouse and I moved to a special a part of the Cowboy State, buying and selling in our easy accessibility to Wal Mart and Wendy’s for a city of 1,200 at 3,800 toes above sea degree. I didn’t know this on the time, however we moved to an space that commonly posts the most well liked summer time temperatures within the state, in addition to a couple of strings of -30F days in the course of the winter.
And this summer time has been brutal, because it has for a lot of the Mountain West. There doesn’t appear to be an finish in sight to the warmth, both. I’m headed to Alaska on the finish of this week when it’s projected to be over 100F the 2 days earlier than I depart.
Fortunately, it’s solely been over the past two weeks that the water temps have gotten into harmful territory for trout, after which solely in the course of the afternoon. Streams are nonetheless operating within the low 60s, a minimum of on the valley ground. Up within the excessive nation, I haven’t fished water that’s cracked 59F but this summer time.
We had an excellent winter with common snowpack, and a late, chilly spring, which I feel helped our stream temps keep so steady for therefore lengthy. However I do know simply over the border in Montana, that’s not the case.
This text, by George Ochenski, particulars how robust the state of affairs is within the Bitterroot Valley. When he wrote the story in mid-July, he stated that “most of our main world well-known trout streams are already beneath ‘hoot owl’ restrictions – or shut down fully to fishing.”
A fast look on the Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks web site confirms that. Hoot owl restrictions are in place on the Beaverhead, Huge Gap, Bitterroot, Blackfoot, Clark Fork, East Gallatin, Gallatin, Jefferson, Madison, North Fork Flathead, Rock Creek, Ruby, Silver Bow Creek, Smith, St. Regis, and Solar. That’s a who’s-who of Montana trout rivers. Now, not each part of river is coping with hoot owl restrictions, after all. The Beaverhead, as an example, continues to be cool and in fine condition under the dam.
However the level stays that it’s scorching, and that trout fishing is really fizzling out for many people within the West. I’m in a fortunate state of affairs because it occurred later for me than most, however the warmth nonetheless hit my favourite fisheries.
Which brings me to the purpose of this column – how lengthy had been you in a position to fish this summer time earlier than water temps obtained too excessive to securely chase trout? I’m curious how lengthy the summer time season lasted for anglers, and an off-the-cuff gathering of this form of data can be useful in quantifying the impression of this summer time on our favourite sport.
