Winter getting an early grip on the MO’

The calendar says early November. The snow covered ground and the thermometer say otherwise.

Yes, it seems as though winter has arrived and despite the fact we may still have another couple of weeks of fishable weather it feels like it’s time to put the wraps on our 2020 season.

We did see temps actually break into the 70’s last week with plenty of wind to go along with the warm weather. Things changed over the weekend with a winter storm arriving Saturday night. Temps in the teens with blowing and drifting snow made for an interesting drive out yesterday and an easy call to keep things closed for the day.

Winter Hours are always a challenge as we try to strike the balance between being here when you need us and not wasting time and fuel to come out and open the shop if we aren’t going to do any business. It’s even more of a challenge this year with the early arrival of winter weather and the continuing challenges of operating during a pandemic.

We did pick up a couple of last minute guide trips last week with the mild weather and lodging has actually been on the busy side all things considered but with the winter storm in the forecast we made the call last week to close much of our lodging for the winter. From here on out we will have our bungalows available all winter long for $99/night plus tax. We generally do a fair amount of business in those units over the winter with hunters, hard water anglers and the occasional hard core fly anglers when the weather is right. We shall see what this year brings with below average temps and above average precipitation predicted for the winter.

Lodging and guide trips are easy – we’re always open for them. The shop is a little trickier. It won’t surprise you that business really drops off during these winter months and there are plenty of days we are pleasantly surprised if we see customers. That being said, there is always plenty to do with inventory, bookings etc. so it makes sense for me to be here.
What doesn’t make sense is staffing the shop during the winter months so herein lies the challenge with winter shop hours.

At this time I’ve decided that Winter Hours will officially go into effect next week. Starting 11/15/20 our shop hours will be Wednesday – Saturday 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM. We will be closed Sunday – Tuesday. These will be our published hours but you can rest assured that if we hit a stretch of amazing weather we will likely be here Sunday through Tuesday as well. Likewise, sub-zero temps and/or hazardous conditions occurring Wednesdays – Saturdays may result in us being closed on those days. Your safest bet? Give us a call prior to coming out just to make sure we’re going to be around.

One other announcement regarding winter operations…as much as we regret to do so we are suspending shuttle service until spring. Between our abbreviated winter hours and the continued threat of Covid, staffing is just too much of a challenge. We appreciate your patience and understanding and we will resume shuttling likely in mid to late March. In the meantime please contact our friends at Headhunters Fly Shop for winter shuttles.

In an effort to offer you the convenience of online shopping we have been busy constructing our online store which will hopefully be going live very soon. The site has been built and we’re just working through the technical issues now so with any luck you’ll soon be able to purchase WCA Logo gear and other select items from the comfort of your home. We’re starting out with logo gear because that is what we get the most calls for. We will expand the store in accordance with the traffic we get but the hope is that we will continue to add items throughout the winter months building towards a complete selection sometime in the not too distant future.

So there you have it, another one in the books. One we won’t soon forget. As always, a huge thank you to all of you who stayed with us, fished with us, shopped with us or simply followed us here or on social media.

2020 will be remembered for its challenges but as we close in on the end of this year there is of course much to be thankful for. Even so, we’re very much looking forward to 2021 and our EIGHTH season at Wolf Creek Angler.