Skwala Contest 2019

We are still stuck indoors for the most part in Missoula. February left us with our biggest dump of snow and March has started with the coldest temperatures of the winter. To fill the void I am thinking of creating a contest.

Contests are all the rage on social media these days so why not a Skwala Contest 2019? I am still fleshing out the details and open to suggestions. With the current weather I don’t imagine the contest will begin anytime soon. True to the social media age, pics or it didn’t happen will apply, and points awarded based on posts to social media outlets.

Here is what I have so far:

-10 points – That damned snowpack graphic. We get it. We all love snow and it benefits the river, but it’s only a part of the water year picture. That 110% of average turns into Hoot owl restrictions by July 4 with two weeks of hot weather. Get more creative than the same tired old graph.

-20 points – The migration. Pics of skwala nymphs or comments about how they’re eating skwala nymphs and the hatch is only days/hours/minutes away. Trout eat rubber legs 363 days of the year around Missoula. The fact that they are eating them on March 11 is not newsworthy.

-30 points – Any “first” skwala of the season pic. We are not lining up for recess in grade school here. “First” doesn’t really mean much. If it is really some of the first skwalas that have hatched then the trout aren’t really looking up for them yet. All you have done is tipped off the masses that the hatch is beginning. -100 points if you jump the gun and post a skwala pic from last year on your phone on the first 40 degree day of March.

-40 points – “Gotta love Skwala season” Any post to that effect with strike indicators in the shot. You can nymph them up year round so pitching bobbers in the spring is nothing special. I don’t care how you catch fish, but Skwala season is about fishing dry flies. -100 points if the san juan worm is still in the fishes mouth.

-50 points – “Ate the skwala dry fly” Any pic with a Chubby Chernobyl in the fishes mouth. The Chubby is a great fly but I still have no idea why trout eat them, especially when you hold one up next to a real skwala. Chubby eaters are the equivalent to guys wearing NASCAR t-shirts. There’s always going to be a couple in every crowd. Still doesn’t make it right.

-60 points – “Spring special”. If you are going to pump the skwala hatch as some of the best fishing of the year/best chance to catch a big brown on a dry/best single dry fly fishing then why on earth would you offer cut rate pricing?

The Skwala Contest 2019 is still very much a work in progress and I appreciate any feedback. We have reached out to Yeti, Traeger Grills, and Thingamabobber for contest prizes.

As you can see, it’s been a long winter. We are ready to get back on the water but that is going to have to wait just a little longer this season.