Kathy, Lori Ware and Shanna Banana Rodgers decided it would be fun to join Jeff on a trail ride up to his camp in the forest. The ladies saw much in the way of local flora and fauna, with Lori rattling off a list of yarno, arnica, pilliated woodpeckers, flutterbys, huckleberries and thimbleberries. I don't know what half of those things are, I hope I got it right!
Trailriders Lori Ware, "some gal from Missoula", Jeff, Kathy and Shanna Rodgers:
Meanwhile, Shanna Rodgers was much more interested in playing with some bear scat! After an amusing game where none of us succeeded in guessing the color of said scat, Shanna advanced human understanding of the natural world with the results of her empirical study of the stool, revealing that it was a very interesting green, with a blue candy center.
Shanna Rodgers and Lori Ware earned the nicknames Plays With Scat and Sleeps With Scissors, respectively, and I'm sure these two had a lively day on the trail with hostess Cocktail Kathy (nickname requiring no explanation.)
Doug Hamilton, Mark Grassi and Sleeps With Scissors are enraptured by Plays With Scat's description of the Scat:
Back to the boats! Before his fishing partner Tom Thornhill could deliver his report, Ron announced that next year's Extravaganza will feature chair massages on the back lawn, post fish. The sore shouldered fisherfolk hooted with delight at this unexpected boon. Sign up now, spots are filling up fast!
Tom Thornhill then told of he and Ron's day on the Blackfoot. It was a great day, even if the fishing was a little slow. 20-25 total fish were reeled in, with the largest being about 16". At this point Ron could contain himself no longer, and told a tale of Piracy on the High River, the likes of which hasn't been seen since the days of the fabled Mutiny on the Bounty.
It seems the men had tangled their lines during a cast. Now, the gentlemanly thing to do in such a scenario is to untangle and return flies to their respective owners. But not this day, oh no! Dan Shepard, guide of the ship and alleged good friend of RCR, seeing a hole rich with scaled bounty approaching, took his clippers and cut Ron's line, directing Tom to cast! With nary a glance at the marooned Ron, Tom put his fly right in the sweet spot. Adrift without a paddle or fly, Ron was left to ponder the value of loyalty on the river.
After the sad story, Lori Ware presents RCR with the 'Tie Dry Cry' to dry his tears. Hang on to that Ron, won't be the last time you'll need it! (yes, that is a finger puppet on her right index finger):
Dave Currie and Mark Grassi were next, and the two take a holistic approach to the fish count for the boat, including every fish, no matter how small, unappealing or unsporting, with a total of 20. They did not elaborate but it sounds like a day of nothing but suckers and squawfish! Mark also mentioned that Dave has a new nickname. That's right, gone is Dave 'the Whiner' Currie and here is Dave 'Double Pump' Currie! It seems that Dave is more enamored of repeated casting than the more time honored approach of casting, mending and drifting. Personally, I wonder how much money changed hands so that Dave could unload 'the Whiner' moniker.
Rob Cooper summarized the day for himself and Scott Vion with the high praise of saying it's the best fishing Rob had ever done, which is saying a lot since Rob has fished just about everywhere! Just a great day out in the boat, great to watch the fish hit... especially when the ones that hit were bigger than Scotts! The big fish was 18" on the day for them.
Tim Rodgers fished solo, getting the advantage of a full day of private instruction with guide Evan, in anticipation of the Rematch with RCR. Yes, an annual $10 wager, which consists of 2 five dollar bills defaced by Ron and lost to Tim 4 years ago, is at stake. Tim said he got a 17" cutbow trout, but I suspect he's sandbagging so as not to give any info to Ron. Speaking of trout, it was made very clear that this year, to be counted as biggest fish in the wager, only trout will be counted! No Squawfish Tim!
Even though Tim Rodgers had a whole day in the boat to hone in to what the river was fishing, Ron has had a whole year to tie 2,000 flies and siphon bribe money to ensure victory:
Tim and Sally Moratto had a great first day drift boat fishing together! Things started off hot, with Sally sporting a stylish fishing ensemble that saw no rival that day. Tim caught 5 quick ones in the first 100 yards, looking like a sure thing for the Yellow Hat. Both saw strong results, as Tim brought in 20 and Sally 12 on the day, including a 17 1/2 incher. However, one couldn't help but think they were at a disadvantage. As those who have fished with guide Curt before know, you really can't get top results from him unless you fish till darkness falls. And then fish another hour. Also of note was that Sally never had to tell the notorious motor mouth Curt to shut up, her fishing did that for her. Curt just said 'you've got the fishing down lady, I'm just going to shut up." Miracle of miracles, he managed to do it for more than 3 minutes!
Feared Fasionable Fisherfolk Tim and Sally Moratto:
Father and son team of Peter and Alex Narodny, a couple experienced Extravaganza hands, are considering writing a book, 'How to Catch a Whitefish Without Really Trying.' However, maybe it should be a solo effort by Alex rather than collaborative, since he won their first, second and third bets on who would bring in the fish.
First time Extravaganzer Angel Perez and seven time Extravaganzer Doug Hamilton were next. Now, I know what you're thinking, this is only the 5th Extravaganza, how could Doug have been seven times?? Well, if you hear Doug talk about his fishing that day, his tenuous grip on reality will become apparent. First, Doug purchased an ordinary pair of sunglasses at the Hackle, which he seems to think gives him some sort of fish x-ray vision. Then, Doug developed a new fishing technique. You may be familiar with nymphing, which is dangling your fly a few inches below the surface of the water. Doug meanwhile, casts and sets his fly a few inches above the surface of the water, and the fish gobble them up. I swear that's what he told me.
Undaunted by the rising degree of preposterousness, Doug casually mentioned that he had reeled in the Grand Slam: rainbow, brown, cutthroat and the Fourth Fish* (Again, for legal reasons we cannot name this Forth Fish, and again, it is not a Voldemort Trout.) But this was just a set up for his knockout blow: not one but TWO 20" fish! A 21" cutbow and a 20" rainbow! These two whoppers were enough to vault Doug into the rarefied air of the 20" club and to crown him with the Yellow Hat. And by whoppers I mean the fish, not his lies. Congratulations Doug!
Doug's 21" winner. I'm tempted to disallow it since the tail is clipped off in the photo:
A strong follow up with the 20 incher:
Yellow Hat on head, Doug goes through the 20" Club induction ceremony:
Angel also had a great day on a Montana river, and had a more than respectable showing for a rookie, with some stellar casts landing a couple good ones in the boat. You could see Montana in his eyes, I think we've hooked another one! It'd be nice if we had some photos of him fishing, eh Doug??
"Hey Doug, how about a little help with the camera work?"--Angel Perez
I, Dave Stallard fished with my father Tom Stallard. Now, since I am on Rock Creek throughout the entire Extravaganza, it would hardly be sporting for me to enter myself in the Yellow Hat competition. Besides, I think Doug really needed it. Some story about a goat, and maybe a donkey? (you'll have to ask him.)
My father and I fished liked seasoned veterans, no fish was safe! Our guide Travis, largely not necessary because of our previously untapped overwhelming natural talent, was at first impressed, then awed and amazed by the stunning display he witnessed. Fearing for his job security, he begged us not to get into the guiding business ourselves, but we reassured him we'd only come through once a year to sweep his river clean. He also surreptitiously confiscated our camera, so that there would be no photographic evidence streamed to the world via Der Blog of the 30" trout that we flicked out of the river like watermelon seeds, thus increasing the expectations of future clients. Finally, I think Travis passed out when I brought in a 50lb King Salmon.
Here's Tom Stallard, showing how difficult it is for us to hold a fish under 30" in length:
That's it for now! Group Two is on the river right now, and will return in a couple hours with more stories. And remember, history is written not by the victors, but by the historians.
Lori Ware ready to fish this morning with a fly she tied herself:
Tom Stallard demonstrates his "fish extender," a device that might help less skilled anglers get from an 18" fish into the 20" Club:
Dave
(here is the photo of my warmup fish, before Travis took the camera away when we started outfishing the atlantic tuna fleet:)
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