Posts tagged: weather

Waiting For The Snow To Fall… Online.

January 4, 2012, by 4 comments
Snotel

Thanks to Alert Underground Reader [Name Redacted], we can bring you the West’s bad snow news in graphic form (now there’s an improvement):

Snotel

Not the best news for next year's trout water...

As he said, “Red is dire, Fuschia is worse.” And you’ll notice it’s Fuschia in Northern California.

Yet it’ early; last year’s March snows are what put us into record-breaking territory.

And to be clear, a drought would hammer the rest of the state more than the Upper Sacramento and McCloud, which do OK in drought years.

A drought is harder on some of the small streams, some of which suffered badly under the three-year drought, but are enjoying boosted fish populations after two above-average years.

Even the long-range forecast doesn’t show much happening in my neck of the woods (for fly fishermen, this is real barn burner stuff). We’ll stand by with any breaking precipatory news…

See you on the weather geek sites, Tom Chandler.

Today’s Poignantly Ironic Weather Photograph

May 16, 2011, by 10 comments
Flower in the snow

Today's ironic photograph

Another April Snow Day? (or, The Underground Sighs Deeply)

April 28, 2010, by 12 comments

Outside the inch-thick ballistic glass windows of the Trout Underground/Man Cave World Headquarters, snow is falling.

A a couple inches of it. At the very tail end of April.

The birds are pissed.

It’s the kind of absurdity you can only laugh at, which is a good thing, because I laughed so hard I dropped the revolver I had pointed at my head.

And I’m not the only California fly fisherman with a growing distaste for snow.

The white stuff’s like the irritating house guest who just can’t quite grasp the hints tossed their way: It’s time to leave. Really.

Meanwhile, the Underground’s been huddled deep in The Cave, working night and day in a desperate attempt to support Little M’s toy addiction habit.

It’s not necessarily a bad time for the 24 Hours of Work thing; the Upper Sac’s running better than 5000 cfs, which renders large swaths of it unfishable.

Still, all work and no play pretty much makes TC a dull, irritated, ill-tempered boy (try me).

And – as some of you have noticed – the Underground’s been running slowly enough that another move to a different web host is probably on my horizon. And we all know how that went last time.

And once all this damn snow stops falling and gets busy melting, there will eventually be fishing. Lots of it.

See you at the 50 Hottest Victoria Secret Models of All Time Weather Channel, Tom Chandler

Update: A clear sign of the coming apocalypse: It’s hailing. Hard. I’ll update this post again when the earth opens up and locusts pour out.

It’s The Underground’s Pre-Trout Season Salute To The Weather

April 21, 2010, by 7 comments

The problem is this. We’re getting lots and lots and lots of this:

More snow? Really?

That's three inches of snow - with more fallilng.

When frankly, at this time of year we need to see stuff like this:

No snow here (click for fullsized original, and many more)

Three inches of snow have fallen already this morning, power’s been out twice, the wind is howling, and I’m forced to double-check the calendar.

It’s April, right?

This snow shouldn’t last, and warmer days are forecast this week, but how the snow from the last three days will affect the rivers for this weekend’s general trout season opener isn’t entirely clear.

(I’m making calls and rounding up information for a pre-season post as I write this).

Will access be good? And what happens to the flows?

We’ll see.

Meanwhile, the Underground would like to offer up its own heartfelt Salute To The Weather:

Salute to snowy weather

This caption left intentionally blank (use your imagination).

See you in xanax line, Tom Chandler.

Next Year’s Fly Fishing Water Falling From Sky

February 15, 2009, by 5 comments

After a long, long stretch of largely winter-free winter weather, the Trout Underground World Headquarters is experiencing winter weather in a very visceral way.

Yesterday at 6 PM, I cleared the snow off the Trout Underground/Man Cave’s back deck. Today – at precisely 11:00 am – I measured 19 inches of snow there. And the fluffy white stuff continues to fall.

Ahh, the pretty snow - until you've got to shovel it.

Ahh, the pretty snow - until you've got to shovel it.

It’s next year’s trout water – and our parched state clearly needs the stuff – but it’s also an interesting lesson in microclimes.

As I write this, the CalTrans traffic cams near Yreka (30 minutes north on I5) are sending back images of a sunny, completely snow-free landscape.

Meanwhile, the Dunsmuir traffic cam shows snow on the ground, but nothing near what we’re experiencing.

In one sense, it’s a good illustration about why I can’t give clear answers when people email, tell me they’re going to fish the Upper Sac/McCloud/Pit River, and ask what the weather’s going to be like.

The short answer is I only know what it’s like here, which may or may not be anything what it’s like there. Tomorrow? Oy vey.

In the face of what amounts to a pretty heavy snowstorm, it’s clear my plans to ski into the river today are kaput; I’ll be home moving snow and (probably) working in the hopes I can sneak out during the week. And yes, this hardly signals the end of California’s drought, but we do desperately need the stuff, and I plan to move it into nice, neat piles, waiting for it to melt and make a lot of trout, salmon and steelhead very happy.

See you in the snow, Tom Chandler.

The Underground’s Weekend Predictions (Plus, the Coolest Ride in All of Fly Fishing?)

November 6, 2008, by 1 comment

The coming weekend is the last full weekend of California’s trout season, and with the McCloud falling back into shape, we’ll likely see a fair number of anglers over there.

The weather is warming a bit after yesterday’s snowstorm and freezing temps (there’s still snow on the ground at TU/Man Cave World Headquarters), though rain is forecast for Saturday and the mid-40s are as warm as it should get.

In the past we’ve enjoyed shirtsleeve-level end-of-season weather, but rest assured, this won’t be one of those weekends. Dig out the cold weather/rain gear, and yes, a thermos of hot tea/hot chocolate/Irish de-icer (Irish Whiskey) isn’t a bad idea either.

The fishing? The Upper Sac flows are falling slowly back to normal and sit well within the fishable range, and the McCloud could be epic after its sustained high flows (or it could suck, but don’t blame me if it does).

It’s the time of year that BWOs can come off pretty much any time of day, and when they’re not, you can have a hell of a lot of fun with a “dead” October Caddis dry.

Any more than that I’m not saying.

The Ultimate Fly Fishing Ride

Sure, the press release doesn’t even mention fly fishing, but one company is hoping to fly tourists over San Francisco in a zeppelin.

In their limited vision, they only see tourists, but at the Underground – the Visionary Center of the Fly Fishing Universe – we see Fly Fishing’s Ultimate Ride:

Imagine cruising to the Upper Sac or McCloud in this baby while the fly fishing proletariat remains snarled in getaway traffic a thousand feet below.

Now imagine the faces of those other anglers as they round a bend after a long hike up the river – only to find this baby gently lowering you into their favorite dry fly run on a rope ladder.

Wouldn’t that be worth $450/hour?

It would to us, but then, we haven’t taken all our medication today.

See you in a zeppelin, Tom Chandler.

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Memorial Day Weekend Weather on Upper Sacramento River: Better for Fishing Than Barbecuing

May 24, 2008, by No comments yet

Memorial Day weekend’s the traditional start of the summer season (so hurry on up and spend those tourist dollars). Sadly, for vacationers, the weather’s not great.

For fly fishermen, it’s not bad at all:

image

The cooler weather has dropped the Upper Sacramento flows to very fishable levels (careful, looks like it might be spiking). (The headhunters among you might recognize this as worthwhile Streamer Weather.)

Still, the water the water remains fairly cool:

image

It’s drizzling as I write this (Saturday am). I spent yesterday on a small stream whose name and location I am not going to disclose. Report coming soon.

See you on Memorial Day, Tom Chandler.