NEWS & EVENTS

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Below is an informative news feed from the NRA.  I know it’s not fishing but it is about freedom and does relates to hunting which is part of what we do at CrossCurrents.  CrossCurrents is a proud NRA Business Alliance Member.  So please read up, be informed and know your rights.  Click on the links below for more information.

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Missouri River Trout Populations from 1981 to 2010 - Strainer’s comments:

Both sections of river (upper -”Craig” & lower-”Cascade”) continue to show solid population numbers for both Rainbows and Browns.  What these graphs don’t show are the sizes or year class of fish in the river.  We continue to have a lot of fish over 18” and we also have a lot of fish around 9”-11”.  What that means is we will be able to catch a good number of big boys this season and will have a large number of fish just coming into the “fun” catchable size and more importantly, spawning age class.  For those bio-geeks (like me) amongst our customers, the MO is showing a bimodal population distribution of trout year (or size) classes.  This can also make it challenging to get the true estimate of population so these data need to be looked at more generally than as precise numbers.  (Basically, don’t freak out when you see a small drop or increase in the numbers from one year to the next.)  Grant and his team doing the survey said the river overall looks good now and in the near future.

Another way to look at the population levels is with anglers experiences.  Most folks in 2010 had great fishing and did well catching big fish -especially earlier in the season.  Once September hit, we saw a lot of one year old fish enter the river and there were times that you had a challenge to catch a trout larger than 10” -especially when you saw rising fish.  Barring any crazy disaster, we should have another great year of fishing on the MO and I bet the early streamer fishing will be gonzo for big fish (especially for Browns) and you’ll have plenty of scrappy 12”-13” trout grabbing dry flies later in the Summer.

I have to say it again, but just because there are lot of trout in the river doesn’t mean that everything is hunky dory.  The fish, the river and surrounding habitat are constantly in need of careful stewardship.  Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS), dewatering, riparian habitat degradation and off-site land use and pollution are clear and present hazards for the Missouri River and her tributaries.  We’ve got some great professional Biologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, like Grant Grisak, who are constantly monitoring and performing research to keep a weather eye on our fish.  You too can help by getting involved with organizations such at The Pat Barnes Missouri River Chapter of Trout Unlimited and The Missouri River fly Fishers.  Please see our CONSERVATION page for more information.  (Also, click on the link below to see some of the research that Grant is currently doing on the Missouri utilizing remote telemetry to study fish movements int he system.  Check out a short video clip from MT FWP called, “Tracking Montana Fish” on Grant’s ongoing radio telemetry study on the fish of the Missouri River.  It’s fascinating and informative.)

Below is the population information for the Smith River through 2009.  It did get beat up a bit during the many years of drought but I think it’s safe to say that wasn’t the conditions it experienced in 2010.  Lots of water makes for happy fish.  I suspect that the trout had good spawning conditions both Spring and Fall and that the population should be on the uptick for the next season or two as long as healthy streamflows continue.  Our biggest challenge in 2010 for fishing wasn’t for any lack of trout in the river but having to catch them in very high, muddy water.  And amazingly we did very well finding fish in the dark water!

Below is the 2010 information on the Missouri River Trout Populations from Grant Grisak, MT FWP Fisheries Biologist for the Missouri River below Holter and her tributaries.

Saturday, February 26th, 6:00pm-~9:30pm - PBMRTU Annual Banquet

At the The Gateway Center in Helena.  (1710 National Ave. -see map below)

This is the 30th anniversary for the Pat Barnes Missouri River Chapter!!  Tickets will be $40/individual, $75/couple or $300 for a table of eight.  If you have questions or donations, call Nola at 495-2675.

We will be raffling off a sweet, new Clackacraft Low-Profile Drift Boat package (15’ boat, trailer, oars, anchor, etc. - just add river!) at the banquet [need not be present to win].  There will only be 100 tickets sold and they sell for $100 each.  They are available NOW at CrossCurrents and we will sell some at the Banquet (if there are any left).  This is a great way to support our TU Chapter’s efforts while at the same time have a chance to win an $8,000+ boat!  If you don’t want the boat, you can take a cash prize of $5K instead (or CrossCurrents will buy the boat from you for $5200!)

February 2011:

Saturday, Feb. 12th, noon-~9pm - Missouri River Flyfishers Annual Fly Fishing Film Festival

Held at the Mansfield Center in Great Falls (2 Park Drive South).  Events begin at noon, movies start at 6:00pm.

February 3rd, 5:30pm-~9:30pm - Pheasants Forever -Headwaters Chapter Banquet

At the The Gateway Center in Helena.

Starting Tues., Feb. 22th, - CrossCurrents Beginner Fly Tying Class.

See our Schools & Instructions Page for more information.

You can also find out what’s happening on the river or at CrossCurrents on our Facebook page.

Saturday, February 26th, 6:00pm-~9:30pm - Missouri River Flyfishers Annual Banquet

At the Best Western Heritage Inn in Great Falls. (1700 Fox Farm Rd.)

February 2nd, 7:00pm-~8:30pm - PBMRTU Winter Chapter Meeting

At the The Best Western Great Northern Hotel in Helena.

It’s our annual “State of the Fisheries” meeting with a very informative presentation from our Missouri River Fisheries Biologist, Grant Grisak. (We now have the updated trout populations information from Grant in the graphs below.)  The meeting is FREE and open to the public -so please bring a friend and we’ll see you there!