I spent yesterday (Sunday, Jan 13) at DePuy Spring Creek,
near Livingston MT. This a pay-for-fishing creek whose winter
rates are 40 bucks apiece for the day. It was over 40 degrees
and cloudy with no wind. That's a pretty rare winter-time
combination in Livingston.

I seem to go there once every 2-3 years now.
My fishing partner noticed the water levels were visibly low.
He asked if this was a seasonal deal, or what.

The answer is yes and no. Because DePuy's is spring fed it
doesn't vary much. But it does come up some, in late June
and July, after the snow melt. But it has also been low overall
for 6-8 years now. Montana's decade long drought has effected
ground water levels, and the creeks are way down from
what they were in the early 90s.

The fishing--overall--has gone downhill too. Perhaps because
of the water levels. Perhaps because of who knows what.
But the creeks are not as good as they used to be. About that
there is no doubt.

It was pretty slow on Sunday. I missed two fish and caught
one 13" brown. And we fished all day. At one point I walked
along the edge of a small, slow-current pond that backs
up above a culvert. That pond often holds good numbers of
sipping brown trout, below pods of rainbows that hold
higher up the creek, where there is more current.

I saw two good browns, but they both spooked from 30-40 feet
away. And I didn't even have my feet in the water. They clearly
felt my foot vibrations. Perhaps if I'd tip-toed along I could have
inched up a little closer. I'm used to stalking when my feet are wet.
But that's the first time I've seen them spook from so far away,
when I was not only that far back, but 3-4 feet ABOVE the water
too. There were a few midges, but not many.

Maybe in another month or so.