How's your runoff

FAOL Community Fly Anglers Online
1

It’s that time of year. And runoff makes for some exciting times in this neck of the woods.

With several very warm days, runoff on my home water has really ramped up. Fished it last weekend at 5,000 CFS and yesterday at about 8,500 CFS. This morning it is close to 11,000 CFS and still rising.

The water here …

[](http://s273.photobucket.com/user/jfs_photo/media/Lochsa 2013/P5070001_edited_zps6cb452c7.jpg.html)

… was close to 2’ deeper than just a few days ago, and a bit off color.

But it still gave up some fishies, both to a salmonfly dry and a big stonefly nymph.

[](http://s273.photobucket.com/user/jfs_photo/media/Lochsa 2013/P5070006_edited_zps2bca2d19.jpg.html)

This spot …

[](http://s273.photobucket.com/user/jfs_photo/media/Lochsa 2013/P5070008_edited_zps777d821c.jpg.html)

… didn’t have enough water to hold fish just a matter of days ago, and yesterday gave up several good fish to the stonefly nymph.

Here is one of several new pockets …

[](http://s273.photobucket.com/user/jfs_photo/media/Lochsa 2013/P5070010_edited_zps9956dedf.jpg.html)

… that form up near the bank during runoff. Nothing going on in this stretch until the water comes up quite a bit. Catching was pretty good along this stretch yesterday …

[](http://s273.photobucket.com/user/jfs_photo/media/Lochsa 2013/P5070012_edited_zps727f3499.jpg.html)

… with both dries and nymphs - and will be getting better over the next few weeks.

When I checked out one of the tributary creeks in late morning, it was running high, fast, and clear. By late afternoon …

[](http://s273.photobucket.com/user/jfs_photo/media/Lochsa 2013/P5070016_edited_zps71481c91.jpg.html)

… higher, faster, and not so clear.

Looks like runoff in Western Montana and Northern Idaho is going to peak earlier than average ( around May 26 ), peak lower than average ( around 21,000 CFS on my home water ), and end earlier than usual. But the day to day changes over the next six to eight weeks will create interesting challenges in finding the places the fishies are holding and can require some creative approaches to presenting flies to them. One of the best times of the year, for sure.

So what are you guys looking at in other parts of the country ??

John

P.S. Runoff also makes for some really dangerous conditions / situations. Take care out there.

NOTE - the CFS figures are taken about 50-60 miles downstream at the closest monitoring station.

2

You saw my pictures. The flow right now is 250/260 between Pleasant Valley and Tinemaha reservoir. That’s from the LA DWP website.

This is the Owen’s at Line Street Bridge East of Bishop.

3

“Forecasted unregulated inflow to Blue Mesa Reservoir is 340,000 af between April and July. This is 50% of the 30 year average.” So the tailwater is very low, and will likely stay that way for a while.

But the river I have to wade across to get to the tailwater is juuuuuuuust high enough I can’t wade it most days, with about one inch visibility. Runoff is going to be kind of drawn out this year, so it shouldn’t be that bad. Last year it was almost nonexistent.

Gunny in the canyon…

Looking down from that same spot…

Rainbow on a caddis (the thumb shot for John)

And a brown…

And what it looks like up in the hills (I would try this if the stoneflies were out)

PS I caught a fish on a hopper this weekend, so it is officially summer.

4

How’s Your Runoff…?

Maybe not as good as it used to be, but they gave me these new pills at the VA Clinic…:smiley:

5

What’s a runoff?

6

John,
My Blue Ribbon Flies Newsletter says the Mother’s Day Caddis are really coming off. How about in your area??? I’m really jealous. Won’t be there until June…

7

Happiness is a good enough hatch the fish are rising, but no so good that the river is a zoo.

8

… on the USGS graph …

[](http://s273.photobucket.com/user/jfs_photo/media/Lochsa 2013/P5090001_zps34824ed3.jpg.html)

… and this on the water this afternoon …

[](http://s273.photobucket.com/user/jfs_photo/media/Lochsa 2013/P5090016_edited_zps63eab155.jpg.html)

Tough conditions and fishing, but someone has to do it, so I did …

[](http://s273.photobucket.com/user/jfs_photo/media/Lochsa 2013/P5090013_edited_zpsf124d206.jpg.html)

The flows have increased from about 5,000 CFS five days ago to about 13,000 CFS this morning, and then it dropped a bit mid-day. In about four hours, hooked thirteen fish and landed eleven, all on JARS.

The river is as dirty as I’ve seen it. Last summer there was major forest fire in the drainage of one of the main tributaries and a lot of debris from that fire has found its way into the river.

The fish in the pic was the largest of the day at just over 17". It is one of the deeply colored cutthroat trout and its underside …

[](http://s273.photobucket.com/user/jfs_photo/media/Lochsa 2013/P5090015_edited_zps10985069.jpg.html)

… was the reddest of any fish I have seen fishing this crick over the past four years. Gorgeous fish.

John

9

It’s amazing how clear that river seems to stay during runoff.

10

Haven’t seen much caddis activity the places I’ve been recently. Last week end we were down to the Salmon River near Shoup ID ( not fishing, just exploring ) and did see some very small caddis, but not a lot. Didn’t see any fish up, and there was a lot of good looking water. On the way home, I fished the East Fork of the Bitterroot for about 45 minutes and didn’t notice any caddis around, but I did have nine fish hit my FEB salmonfly. The East Fork blew up a couple days later, from about 700 CFS when I was fishing it to about 3100 CFS this morning.

There have been a couple days with some caddis activity on my home water, but they are a very small gray caddis - like size 20 to 18 or thereabouts. Before runoff really ramped up, an occasional fish would rise to something, but can’t say it was for caddis since there have also been PMDs and some March Browns around. Since the real runoff started, no way I would fish a very small dry fly with any expectation that a fish would come up through all that heavy water for a tiny morsel, even if they could see it. I’ve been dunking one or two big, heavily weighted stonefly nymphs 10’ to 12’ under the indicator.

John

11

Thanks John.
Do you normally get the Mother’s Day Caddis there??

12

I’ve seen some Mother’s Day caddis hatches around here, but curiously, not on my home water. Didn’t see hardly any caddis other than October Caddis there last year, and the year before that only a few very light hatches.

John

13

… those are some nice looking …

… trouts, Dennis.

It strikes me as rather curious that an invite to share information on runoff on a Forum designated for “General Discussion of Fly Angling topics” draws so little participation. If runoff isn’t a fly angling topic this time of year, I don’t know what is. :confused:

John

14

Nothing doing…

15

I was on the other side of the river when that spike hit today. Think they opened up the dam. Was a bit sketchy coming across the river this afternoon. I can do it up to about 750 CFS…

PS I couldn’t take the caddis hatch again today with the 3wt. So I took the 1. Aside from the wind blowing, it was fun!

16

… spring snowmelt runoff graph …

[](http://s273.photobucket.com/user/jfs_photo/media/Lochsa 2013/P5110001_zpsbcc24f7f.jpg.html)

Looks like this crick will likely peak in the next 3-5 days at something under 20,000 CFS. There may be some rain events after the snowmelt runoff peak, but otherwise it should be on a long, slow downward slide to summertime flows.

When I was getting my stuff organized this morning, I saw a card of bright red antron yarn, so here is …

[](http://s273.photobucket.com/user/jfs_photo/media/Lochsa 2013/P5110005_edited_zps0a5d1b22.jpg.html)

… JARS in drag.

At these flows catching fishies is something of a challenge. JARS in drag went for a long, slow swim around …

[](http://s273.photobucket.com/user/jfs_photo/media/Lochsa 2013/P5110001_edited_zps00147cd2.jpg.html)

… this huge back eddy / pool, and struck up an acquaintance with four …

[](http://s273.photobucket.com/user/jfs_photo/media/Lochsa 2013/P5110008_edited_zps94374ae9.jpg.html)

… locals.

A while later, JARS in drag dead drifted through …

[](http://s273.photobucket.com/user/jfs_photo/media/Lochsa 2013/P5110014_edited_zpsdef0ed59.jpg.html)

… a nicely structured and protected pool a good number of times - good enough to say hello to about a dozen …

[](http://s273.photobucket.com/user/jfs_photo/media/Lochsa 2013/P5110020_edited_zps95bcf097.jpg.html)

… more fishies, most of which were a bit smaller than this dude.

Moving right along, it was time for some pocket change …

[](http://s273.photobucket.com/user/jfs_photo/media/Lochsa 2013/P5110023_edited_zps297eb386.jpg.html)

… where three more bank hugging …

[](http://s273.photobucket.com/user/jfs_photo/media/Lochsa 2013/P5110025_edited_zps2f9cc4f1.jpg.html)

… friends gave him a shout out.

Not sure if JARS in drag outfished the regular JARS 15 to 3 because of the red abdomen, variegated forward body, and multicolored appendages or because it was dropped about 2’ below the regular / original version.

Whatever it was, to pick up 18 fishies in these conditions ought to send a message about fishing runoff.

John

17

The rivers I fish close by (with in an hour of home) were very high about ten days ago, I was unable to get close to the water because of the brush and trees. Then we got no rain at all and water droppped drastically, but I had to work and wasn’t able to fish. Now we got a little rain, and I’m gonna give it a try this morning

18

I think you might top your 20,000 cfs number, John. Make sure you don’t get washed downstream.

19

Possible, but not likely. It hit 19,800 CFS this morning and that will probably be the peak. We have a cold front coming in this afternoon and a big cool down that will slow the runoff for the next week. By the time that weather moves through, the streamflow should be down noticeably and probably won’t get back up close to 20,000 CFS again this year, unless there are some big rain events. ( Noting that I usually miss the mark when I make a prediction like this. )

I plan to fish it tomorrow. Should be an interesting and challenging day. But that is what runoff is all about. And I will be careful not to end up getting washed downstream.

John

20

Amazing what a week of 80 degree days can do (same range, different perspective)

5/5/2013

5/14/2013

Flying in over Flathead Lake, the upper end was “thick” and the mainstem river was puking mud; btw, not much of the snowmelt pictured here has probably even entered the system yet since most of this goes through Whitefish Lake first and it tends to come out the bottom end pretty clean. Time to search out some stillwaters (may be some other options out there, as well) over the next few days.

Regards,
Scott