February at On DeMark Lodge
Greetings from the Canyon! We just got done with a hectic February. Dad and I were on the road for the entire month, seeing about a dozen flights to and from various cities in the West. We started in Boise at the Western Idaho Fly Fishing Expo, visited Denver, Bellevue, and Pleasanton for The Fly Fishing Show, and then visited Santa Lucia for a Santa Lucia Fly Fishers Club meeting. Craig did his presentation on the Mo’ and our Lodge at each of the shows and at the club meeting. We also had a booth set up at all the shows. These events are not only a great way to get our name out there, but also a nice way to visit with our guests on their home turf. We got to see a bunch of our guests at these shows, which made it easy to reconnect, catch up, and get dates on the calendar for this upcoming season. We also got treated to an excellent dinner in Pleasanton by a couple of our good friends, so that was a great way to break up the onslaught of room service meals at the hotels!
As we were on the road, Becky was back home overseeing some new additions to our space. We are about to cross the finish line on the new kitchen and dining room, which has been in the works over the winter, so that is very exciting. Becky will have a lot more room to create and serve her incredible meals, so that will be a big upgrade for that part of our operation. The fly shop has been continually improved and is in peak shape for this upcoming season. We also are getting set up for the new cabin on the property later this spring. Lots of exciting changes in the works!
As far as the Missouri river goes, she’s sitting pretty, per usual. We’re seeing normal flows out of Holter Dam, normal air temps on the horizon, and have had good precipitation. While some of the tributaries that lead into our water system have had slightly below average snowpacks, we’ve had ABOVE AVERAGE precipitation in every single drainage. The Mo’ is a giant tailwater with three huge reservoirs above our stretch of river, so all that precipitation is filling up our storages. We’re in pretty good shape for the 2026 season! While a lot of the West is worried about snowpack numbers right now, we’ve been blessed with a decent water supply this winter with all things considered.
February was a whirlwind, and as we enter our busy season for bookings, our calendar is a lot fuller than we’ve seen in previous seasons. Being a relatively newer lodge, we’ve seen increased bookings each year. With more dates on the books right now than in 2025, if you have specific dates in mind for 2026, inquiring earlier than later is a good way to ensure that we can get you in for this year. We’re just over a month out from the beginning of our season, and it’s going to be a great year at On DeMark Lodge!
We’ll see ya when you get here!