If one were a dreamer, he might propose that the perplexity of the 2008 Colorado outdoor experience started with a single snowflake. It wasn’t until the several trillion others settled into what became a near-record snowpack that we finally realized the enormity of the situation. Not until much later did all the ramifications settle in:
• A serious big-game winterkill resulted in reduced licenses for deer and elk, along with fewer animals to hunt. Then came a cruel turnabout — almost no snow at all during the fall seasons when even a few flakes were needed so badly.
• Runoff news wasn’t all bad. The abundance of water filled reservoirs at every elevation. The result was particularly cheering at warmwater impoundments where revivals are in order for the coming spring.
• Heavy runoff from that massive snowpack stole a month from a stream fishing season that didn’t get percolating until almost August.
• Related winter woes caused a massive die-off at the state’s best trout lake. Anglers near and far shed a tear for the depletion at Antero Reservoir — then kept crying all summer thinking of what might have been.
• Not even the wisest anglers could be certain why many insect hatches were so tardy in their appearance, or why some never showed at all. The result was a puzzling season that put a strain on even the most bountiful fly boxes, not to mention the imagination. At the same time, lure fishermen enjoyed great success where trout made a wild rush for the shiny stuff.
• A wet autumn in farm country delayed grain harvest for weeks, casting a damper on what otherwise might have been a banner pheasant season. By contrast, dry and warm conditions on the midcontinent prairie postponed the waterfowl migration, a further setback for shotgun enthusiasts.
No one can predict what the coming winter will bring, or the portent for the year ahead. But after the stunning events of 2008, nothing can be taken for granted.
Charlie Meyers: 303-954-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com
