The spring water related call volume has increased substantially over the last week or two with many looking for our “expert opinion” on what June and July will look like waterwise. While there may be some things about which we can proclaim a certian amount of expertise – hydrology is not one of them so we’ll leave it up to the real experts who are charged with the management of our water to keep us informed and we’ll pass that information along to you as it becomes available.
The latest news is that flows out of Holter have been backed off to 4100, the minimum flows we will see according to the latest report from the Bureau of Reclamation. This was the last officail word which came last week;
The April through July runoff forecast is declining as the snowpack above Canyon Ferry Reservoir is currently at 79% of average. In close coordination with Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, Canyon Ferry Reservoir releases will be reduced to rates that will maintain flows no lower than 4,100 cfs below Holter Dam to better assure filling Canyon Ferry this spring.
With the recent precipitation the Missouri Headwaters snowpack now stands at 89% of average and Canyon Ferry Reservoir is just over 80% full.
What’s it mean? We’re not sure. It depends on how much more snow we get and how wet of a spring we have. A high water year is looking doubtfull but it’s still too early to make predictions based on anything other than history and gut feelings.
We’ll keep you posted on what’s happening with the water as we get a better picture of what to expect but for now we have stable flows and things are looking good for spring fishing on the Missouri.
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