Went to the Clearwater River, where Cutoff Creek joins it, on Saturday. Super low, clear water until mid afternoon when melting caused turbidity and higher water levels. Some new, deeper pools (caused by scouring during last summers rains?) - a few log jams have been washed away. I suspect that 'anchor ice', when dislodged, carries with it rocks which drop off into places further downstream. This may explain why some pools seem to 'fill' and others are created. The most jarring change that my fishing partner and I encountered was the radical clear-cut logging that has occurred in the Seven Mile Flats valley and hills. WTF? In some areas, the forest has been denuded right to the river with no riparian zone buffer at all. Who was thinking that this was a good idea?
A fine day, nevertheless. One skinny 15" brown trout was brought to the net. Beautiful. But the timber harvest is off the hook!
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