Water Ups and Downs
by Tim Loomis
What a coincidence: low waters here in California, and high waters in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. That's what many of our members were faced with these past summer months of June and July. Normally, when we bid a temporary goodbye to the eastbound caravan of the Cooks, Betty Rentz, Chris Walters, Howard Power, Bruce Dau, Richard Kline and Lynette West, the McGibben clan, and Doug Severin, we feel that they are going to be in thick of the trout fishing. Not this year, as the heavy snowfall from the preceding winter months left the rivers blown out with high, muddy flows.
Bruce Dau found some good angling on parts of the Madison but most of the travelers returned home with stories of fishing woe. Undaunted, the Cooks are going back for more, after coming back home, reassessing the situation and going back with an attitude.
While back home the Cooks took some time to look into the trivial matter of where to hold our annual fundraiser, after receiving word that the Elks Lodge would not be available in 2009. When all the facts were in, it turns out that we CAN have the Elks Lodge, but at a higher price. All it took was for the board to approve a few minor glitches and voila! We are back at the Elks and
the Cooks are off to the Sierras with a clear conscience for round two.
Timing is everything. Kathy Powers and her husband Dave have been in the Montana region for two few weeks now, and we are all waiting to see how they did now that the waters have receded.
The Mammoth fishout is less than a month away and I can hardly wait. Harry Petrakis has arranged for a fishout to San Luis reservoir for some last minute striper fishing. Is anyone going to the Sacramento Delta this fall or is that fishery drying up?
Fish On.