Well it’s April. No fools day jokes here, even though I’ve had a fair share of them come my way in the past couple of days. No fake news here boys and girls. In this newsletter I’m gonna give it to you straight. I’m not gonna sugar coat any of the topics you will read about in this issue. Fair and balanced reporting my friends. So here goes.
The last time you heard from me was in December. New Years Eve to be exact. The main focus of my letter was about the winter snowpack and the current conditions. I was hoping for a big winter, praying actually and checking the snow reports and snowpack levels every time we had moisture. At the time, our part of the country was sitting at a modest 67% of average. We were a little behind in terms of totals for that time of year but I was optimistic that our late winter, early spring storm cycles would kick in eventually.
Well they did. We got hammered in February. Over 10 inches of water equivalent snow fall. Then came March, and the same thing happened…over 10 inches of water equivalent snow fall. It was heavy and wet but we got the moisture. This put us where we currently stand at 154% of normal for this time of year. This tops 2018, 2017 and 2016. Wolf Creek Ski Area is reporting 488” of snow this season. That’s a lot of snow in the high country folks and that means our rivers will be full and our fish will be happy through the season. Hold on a minute….my phone just beeped at me….wait….what’s that…another winter storm advisory. 6 -12 starting tonight through Thursday morning. Yay!
Ok enough bragging about conditions. Lets focus on some bookings. Our 2019 calendar is getting full but I still have some prime availability here and there I wanted to let you all know about. First off, we have a rare availability on our calendar this season for 2 anglers. Two openings for a group of two in July and August. You get your own cabin, meals, guided fly fishing and the privacy you would expect at El Rancho Pinoso.
Ranch Upgrades
A couple new items to throw at you for this season. We are in the process of remodeling the Cowboy House laundry room at ERP. The new plans will bring added storage for our guests with the addition of a hall tree with cubby storage for your added personal items. We are also installing an on demand hot water heater so you can stay in the shower a little longer before dinner is served.
We are also planning a patio area behind the Cowboy House. This will be a great addition to our yard and outdoor experience and will be a perfect place to enjoy that afternoon cocktail while taking in the views of the valley.
So there it is folks. Nothing but good news to report so far this season. I’m expecting to have a short shoulder season of fishing before the upper elevation stuff starts to melt. Right now the river is flowing around 100 to 125 cfs. The mornings are perfect but things get a bit high and off color around 2 PM. Im forecasting this to continue for another couple of weeks then it should taper off a bit before things warm up in the high country.