Fish on, my friends!

Wow, where to begin today? Let's pick up the story where we left yesterday...

...I had dropped off our erstwhile anglers at the Grizzly Hackle when we noticed Cam 'Ghost' Carlson missing. Fortunately, Kathy brought him in, and he and Gary were off to fish the Bitterroot.


The guys did well with everything they cast, dry flied, nymphs and leeches. They caught fish, they caught trees, they caught each other! They were successful on all three fronts, bringing in numerous 16-18" fish, and sacrificing most of the flies in their guide's tacklebox to the trees. This prompted an early lunch, with Drew the guide hoping to regroup from this carnage with a little yoga, some team building, some hand holding, and a soothing Kumbaya chant.

It worked! Drew had calmed enough to get back on the boat with the rascals. Cam had a good whitefish hooked, but was getting no net support from Drew as he was busy unhooking Gary from the shrubbery. Cam reports his heartrate skyrocketing as his attempt to snare the fish in the net resulted in the fish dragging his whole rod and reel overboard into the Bitterroot! "Strip!!!! Strip!!" called Drew, and Cam managed to grab a bit of the line and fish his pole out. Close call!

Careful out there, the guys are pulling some whopper Whitefish out of the Bitterroot:

Jim and Diane followed up yesterday's success with another 40+ fish day. Jim waxed eloquent when speaking of Diane's angling prowess, noting that while the guide whipped up lunch, Diane whipped up three good size rainbows while fishing from the bank. Jim added that once back on the boat, she had a stretch of 40 minutes where every other cast hooked a fish! Under the lazy circling of hawks overhead, Jim said that the Blackfoot was the most beautiful river he ever fished...

"Behold!! The maaaaaaaajesty of the Blackfoot!"

Demetry and Frank reported 30 fish reeled in on the lower Clark fork, 14-19 inchers. Demetry described his casting as "on and off" but was "on" enough to reel in some good fighters. The day flew by for these two.

Question: Is the dog licking the fish? ...Or is the fish licking the dog?

Perhaps inspired by the Pulitzer quality posts on Der Blog of late, Ken Peralta searched for The Last Great Metaphor to describe his and Ron's day on the water. First, the day was likened to the baseball prospect who looks so promising, but for some reason or another never quite makes it. Unsatisfied, Ken then waxed into a brief history of the Mayan empire, that once great civilization that spanned thousands of miles but disappeared into the sands of time with few traces remaining today. What this means in simple terms is that this formerly feared fishing duo didn't catch squat! However, both men were pleased with the way they fished if not the results. With the crowd indulging one final flourish of figurative speech, they "were throwing strikes but the ump was calling nothing but balls."

Even a casual baseball fan like yours truly can spot minor league stuff:

Drew and Evan were next, noteworthy because they were the only group able to convince their guide to join us all for dinner back at Rock Creek. As a thank you for the invite, their guide Ben gave their boat report, and did all their lying for them. He even shouldered the blame for allowing a big 18" rainbow to flop out of the net, negating the catch. This got a roar from the crowd, who had heard that one before.

Ben also swore that there was a monster 24" brown that he saw eat a fly that had just hit the water. Unfortuately, the hook didn't set "becuse it's mouth was just too big." Again, the crowd considered this more of a punchline than an accurate statement of fact.

Drew added that they caught lots of fish and saw several eagles and some giant beavers (which are apparently quite a bit larger than your average house cat, as this blogger has always assumed.) Thanks again to Ben and his lovely girlfriend Whitney for joining us for dinner and the festivities!

Next were Michael and Brad, the guys who both landed the 20 inchers yesterday. They did very well fishing wise, but clearly these two hadn't been reading and considering carefully the important content of the constant email barrage of Rock Creek Ron, and were unaware of the 'no beer on the boat!' rule. This resulted in an $85 fine for sipping a beer in the parking lot, post-fish! Fish and Game came down hard on the fellows, who didn't help their case by saying "We're from California and didn't know the rules."

The two then let on that this was their second ticket in as many days, having been pulled over the day before for speeding! This encounter with law enforcement was purportedly much more pleasant, and much easier on the eyes, if you catch my drift!

Fishing? Oh yeah, the guys fished all day too! And did really well, both achieving the Grand Slam, an Extravaganza first! Both landed a Brown, Rainbow, Cutthroat and a Fourth Fish which I'm told cannot be named* (True! Although the Fourth Fish is not named Voldemort.) And those reading yesterday's entry will be pleased to hear that Michael wore Brad down with stories about President Reagan, and Brad is now an Arch Republican.

Former liberal and winner of Yellow Hat and Yellow Shirt for biggest fish Brad Colton reports for duty as a new Republican. He seems to have the flouting the law bit down:

John and Bill were on the Bitterroot, and Bill finally realized his dream of besting John in the largest fish contest, after how many years of trying? But yes, Bill landed a 20" trout, which got him a Rock Creek trifecta: he beat John, joined the exclusive 20" Club, and earned the Yellow Hat. Well done! Bill alluded to the fierce competetion between him and John by adding "I had always thought John a gentleman... until I got a hook in the back."

Ain't this one a beaut?

The fishing reports were followed by the nightly feast and revelry. I had to check my watch when John Kruger and Mike showed up, let the record show they snuck in at 9:30pm, 2.5 hours after the rest of the group, so their results were invalidated by the judges. Mike did offer a helpful suggestion on how to deal with a guide who won't stop yammering:

Next, your fearless blogmeister and amateur food critic waded through tears and bbq smoke...

...to offer this update from the Grill:
140 degrees. Perfect! Strong work on the grill, Jim!

It was a wonderful evening and Group 1 gathered in the house at the end of the night for a warm farewell from our hosts Ron and Kathy.

No, the photo isn't blurred, I was just getting a little misty eyed, that's all.

Thanks from this blogger to all in Group 1, you are really an exceptional group of people and I truly valued the evenings we got to share on Rock Creek. I hope to see you all here next year!

No, that's not a tear, I just got something in my eye,

Dave