Fishing - Western NC This Weekend

d wrote...
good to hear from you... now that it's warm in montana, no reason not to
favor your friends with some of those photos i know you're taking of
that wonderland...

Correction, it *was* warm. We have since been downgraded to
"cool." g It snowed last night and more rain/snow is supposedly
on the way, which is damn good news! We did have a warm spell a few
weeks ago that prematurely started melting the snow. Snow packs are
dwindling, but the change in the weather has slowed the melt and
even added some more snow/given us some needed rain. The Madison is
looking decent at 82% of normal, the Gallatin is a little worse at
70% and the Upper Yellowstone is pretty bad at 60%. We need all the
moisture we can get and I hope this storm blowing in decides to
bless us with some more. Looking at the window, I see that it is
now coming down.

Things look much better if you look at the total precip figures
instead of just the snow water equivalent. We have been having a
few small rain/snow showers that are keeping the ground moist. It
is kind of an odd pattern again this year though. We hit a really
warm spell and a lot of the snow pack started melting before things
cooled down and a few storms blew through leaving only slights
amount of moisture. And I do mean slight, like .08" of rain the
other day. But then we get something a little more measurable like
the inch and a half of snow last night that took much of today to
melt away. Basically the slower the melt, the more moisture that is
taken in by the soil and the less likely we are to have fires, suck
the rivers bone dry for irrigation water, etc. Of course we have
been having quite a few storms where virga was a problem. Sucks
seeing all of that moisture fall without ever hitting the ground...

Anyway, here are some pics for you.
http://home.earthlink.net/~troutbum_...ndscenerypics/

uh...i'm sure joe wouldn't want to divert your attention from some real
prospects... but, what kinda planning does it take for us to barge into
your home, eat your food, drink your whisky, and foul your toilet? hell,
just give us your address and we'll take care of the rest. biggerseg

It all depends on what kind of mood my roommate is in. I'll let
Charlie, RW and Willi give their impressions of him. g We can
probably work something out though. I really couldn't ask for a
better roommate. He leaves every winter to go sailing in the
Caribbean and won't be back until mid May. If he works for the same
construction company when he gets back, he will probably be gone
during the week and only around on weekends before leaving again
sometime around November for his annual sailing trip.

joe and i will be in bozeman on the 7th. we'll treat you to drinks and
food one evening ...

I'll make a point of trying to keep some time open.

btw...how's the guide gig going?

It is looking damn good. That's why I am being so evasive in
committing to any plans this far out. g
--
Warren
(use troutbum_mt on either yahoo or earthlink to respond via email)