Wilderness travel hampered by snow

This spring's record snowpack has put a crimp in river fishing and wilderness travel, although things are beginning to improve day by day.

Local guides say river conditions are almost a month behind a normal year. Usually by the Fourth of July, area rivers have cleared and the fishing has picked up substantially. But this year's late runoff has most waters still running brown, although there are signs of clearing.

The high water is also making wilderness travel difficult. High mountain passes in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex are still covered in snow, and while some are passable by foot, most are not passable by stock, said Jim Flint, acting resource assistant at the Spotted Bear Ranger Station.

Flint said trail crews recently flew into Schafer Meadows because the Morrison Creek Trail was covered in snow and Morrison Creek was running high and couldn't be safely forded - even with a horse.

Visitors are getting into the heart of the Bob at Big Prairie, but they must use bridges at Black Bear and Big Prairie. The White River can't be forded. Hikers on foot also need to be cautious of Bartlett Creek, which is running high, he said, but can be crossed by stock. Hikers and stock are having no problems reaching Big Prairie from the south across the Dry Fork Divide.

Flint said last week the South Fork of the Flathead River and Spotted Bear River were showing some signs of improvement.

"They're trying to come down," he said. "They're just not dropping real fast."

Rich Birdsell, a local guide and outfitter on the mainstem of the Flathead, said his business hasn't been hurt as bad as guides on southern rivers in the state.

"My business isn't as far behind," he said.

He noted that fishing on the Flathead usually doesn't pick up until the Fourth of July anyway.

"To lose a couple of weeks, I consider myself fairly lucky," he said.

Birdsell hopes to be on the water by week's end. As long as it clears to a shade of green, he said, he can find the fish.

"Where they are is pretty predictable," he said. "Big schools are in certain back eddies. We'll catch 95 percent of the fish in three locations."

The Flathead is also cutthroat trout water, and once fish start "looking up" - which is to say eating dry flies - they will continue to take dry flies all summer long, even if the bugs aren't hatching.