The Weather Outside's Delightful

RIVERS SLOW, PRECIP UP, AVERAGES EXCEEDED

Visitors Bogged Down with Short Memories

the high country rocks
fishing report / winter video / casting video

.. A quick glance at our neighborhood SNOTEL and River Data, (see sidebar,) confirm that Spring is arriving at a nice slow pace. It will get here: it always has. The graphs for accumulated precipitation are looking normal and following the average slope with just a little more than average precipitation.
.. The discharge graphs are running just a little below average. There are a few river gauges that are frozen and provide only interrupted data.
.. With the snow pack at between 90% and 115% of average this is certainly not a banner year.

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.. This is "Spring Break" - whatever that means. Visitors from the lowlands visit West Yellowstone to "See Snow." They whine that there's too much snow and they have to walk in it too.
.. They complain that their cars get stuck. They bemoan the gray skies and snow falling from the sky - "is that really where it comes from?"
.. The "cute" little cabin that they rented two years ago is now buried. They can't make snowmen because they have to shovel a path to the door. It breaks their back and spirit.
.. They turn on the T.V. and are transported to the outer world by microwave transmission. They tune in their local news channel and catch up on what they are missing. They didn't even bring a fly rod or wax for their skis.
.. The snow last night brought the five day total to about 20" and there's more on the way. Bring it on.
.. It makes the neighborhood look clean. It covers the blemishes, it builds a soft edge on the angularity of "rustic" architecture. We're loving it. Our memory is long enough to know that there is noting 'unusual' about this year.
.. The town looks clean and uncluttered. It's flaws and blemishes are hidden beneath a soft white comforter that obscures the pimples and rashes. We like it this way. We like it the other way too.
.. Having little in the way of Zen Mastery, (cf. Chandler #I & #II,) we just drove around town and took some snapshots. Perhaps they will satisfy the urge to "see snow" and the lowlanders will not be so put out by having to be in it.

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.. The wondrous caprice of nature has given us an early run of fish into the Hebgen Tailwater. This is probably not a permanent condition. The fish seek food wherever it may be found; and the brief warm up of last week did make Beaver Creek and Cabin Creek a kind of buffet on a conveyor belt for the trout. The cooling trend of the last few days and the projected coolness for the coming week suggest that the fish will drop back down to Quake Lake in the near future. Not to worry, they'll be back.

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.. The poor lowly carp is getting it's gills slapped around by viewers on You Tube. "They dirty the water." My, My, do you know what trout do in the water? Some people do too!
.. Well it looks like the third iteration of Fishing Jones is in the final throes of completion. The look is clean, the prose concise, and golly we're glad he's back from all that globe trotting. Click over there and see what a Peacock Bass looks like. Pete's just fishin' and sharing the joy. After all as he says: "I’m just a guy who likes to fish and waste time blogging about it." Hear - Hear!

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P.S. -- Hazardous Weather Outlook


HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
413 AM MDT MON MAR 31 2008

MTZ008-012>015-050>055-011015-
BEAVERHEAD-CASCADE-CHOUTEAU-CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LEWIS AND CLARK-
MADISON-JUDITH BASIN-FERGUS-JEFFERSON-BROADWATER-MEAGHER-GALLATIN-
413 AM MDT MON MAR 31 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL
MONTANA...NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A SPRING STORM SYTEM MOVING THROUGH THE REGION WILL BRING WIDESPREAD
SNOW TO PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA TODAY. A SNOW
ADVISORY REMINS IN EFFECT THROUGH 6 PM MDT THIS EVENING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER TUESDAY THROUGH
SUNDAY IS LOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT..

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.