I’d imagine this weather is just a teaser, though. We’d better not be done with winter just yet. The mountain snowpack improved during January, but snowfall in February has been kind of scant so far. I’m sure just about everyone would like to see the long-term drought cycle we’re in come to an end, and that’s going to take some serious, sustained precipitation. The long-term forecasters at the Climate Prediction Center aren’t sticking their necks out about that yet, though…. Through May, they’re forecasting above normal temperatures, and inconclusive precipitation odds.

One sure sign of spring, or at least spring fever, is when we start getting fishing inquiries here at Cowboy Heaven Consulting. Sure enough, that’s happening right on schedule. Last week we got a few inquiries about fishing on the Blackfoot Reservation, and checked with our sources up there in Napi’s country. Napi is a figure from Blackfoot mythology; a powerful creator-type figure. He's got a twisted sense of humor, though, and delights in making things difficult for the humans. True to form, life on the Hi-Line in north central Montana continues to be a laugh a minute….

Precipitation deficits in that area continue to be among the worst in the state, which is taking a toll on the normally stellar fishing on the Reservation. Several of the smaller lakes are dry, or nearly so. Water levels in the remaining lakes are much below normal, with one exception. Hope Lake, on the eastern side of the Reservation fills with irrigation runoff, and is near normal. People ice fishing there are catching good numbers of fish, although not of exceptional size.

Last year at this time, we were getting inquiries about reputed fish kills on the reservation due to low water and high temperatures. At that point, and to date, no one can confirm any widespread fish kills. The only verifiable effect of the conditions was an abundance of moss growth later last summer, which doesn’t make for good fishing. Ice fishing reports from this winter are not good, though. Catches have been scant to non-existent. At an ice-fishing derby at Duck Lake a couple of weekends back, one group of fourteen fishermen we know of had a grand total of two fish to show for a day’s effort. Reports from other lakes have been similarly abysmal. So, evidence seems to point to there being a lot less fish around.

The Tribal Fish and Game Dept. is going to be stocking fish again this spring. There’s still fourteen lakes with adequate water levels to warrant stocking. Normally, the fertile environment of the Reservation Lakes supports an exceptional growth rate of up to an inch per month, but if the fish are under stress their growth rates will certainly suffer.

So, that’s not particularly good news, and right now we can’t hardly recommend making the Blackfoot Reservation the focus of a fishing trip. We trust that this situation, too, will pass, and the Rez will eventually regain its status as one of the premier trophy trout fishing areas around.

On a more positive note; elk populations in Montana are thriving. I went snowshoeing in the Madison Range south of Ennis on Saturday. If you want to see a lot of wildlife, the upper Madison Valley in the winter months is one of the best places in the state. Without leaving your vehicle you can see thousands of elk, deer, and antelope. It’s going to require binoculars or a spotting scope, though, with the exception of the antelope they’re generally not right off the road. I did see two groups of elk within a short distance of the highway around Indian Creek, though. If you glass the mountainsides on the Bear Creek and Wall Creek Wildlife Management Areas, on the east and west sides of the valley respectively, there are elk everywhere. One benefit of the generally mild weather is that the wildlife has had a pretty easy winter of it, and should go into the spring in good shape, barring any killer late winter/early spring blizzards. Generally, though, the years when we see a lot of winter mortality are ones where brutal weather arrives in October. This year, we didn’t get any winter to speak of until December, and even if we get late winter blizzards (which we need, as I keep mentioning), the animals should have sufficient reserves to survive.

At any rate, a lot of people were snowmobiling up the West Fork Madison. I opted for non-motorized snow travel, though, went up Papoose Creek on the other side of the highway, and was rewarded with solitude in abundance. From all indications, no one else had been up that way in some time. The public lands on the east side of the river are closed to motorized recreation, and peace, solitude, scenery, and wildlife are in abundance. Actually, most of the wildlife winters from about Wolf Creek north, although I did see a handful of elk up Papoose. I also saw three coyotes, which for a brief moment I thought might be wolves. We’ve heard wolves howl in that area, but these proved to be the smaller wild canines. Researchers in Yellowstone are finding that life for coyotes becomes immensely more difficult once wolves colonize an area. These three didn’t look malnourished, though.