First up, the Rodgers, Shanna and Tim, reported a great day fishing on the Bitterroot. Both reeled in a number of fish (sorry to say my notes don't reveal what that number is!) with a big fish of 19". I think the Extravaganza is ending just at the right time for these two though, as I know they were both really looking forward to getting home and seeing their young children after a 5 day absence. An absence that was nearly extended, as Tim ran out of gas on Rock Creek Road on the way back Friday night. Fortunately, RCR saved the day (as a good attorney always does) and negotiated some gas from a friendly neighbor (Thanks Dave Lee!) The only question now is how to bill that time... how does by the tenth of a gallon sound Tim?
Tom Thornhill and Tom Stallard fished the Clark Fork, with Stallard having the hot hand in the morning and Thornhill picking up steam in the afternoon. Stallard reeled in a beautiful 18 1/2" rainbow, and the guys were treated to the sight of a real pro fishing the river: an osprey which plucked out a good sized trout!Tom and his prize:
Tom Thornhill had a squawfish explode on a golden fly... which would later hit the bank with a mighty thud after an experienced toss from guide Karl. For those not in the know (as I wasn't) the squawfish eat trout, so the practice upon reeling them in is to leave them high and dry. Word on the river is that Karl has a good arm.
"Dark Country" Dave Currie, Mark "Scrappy" Grassi and guide Chris "Dr. Pepper" Strop nearly bottomed out the boat all day under the weight of all those nicknames. It didn't seem to affect their fishing though, they brought in an 18" trout, despite some difficulties keeping fish on the line (a frustration this blogger knows nothing about...) But Dark Country Currie summed up the day with the following: "We're all much more psychologically centered now."
Ok, I wasn't sure exactly what he meant either, but he had a content look on his face so I think we were on the same wavelength.
Group Two Official Mascot Lori Ware wasn't on a boat, but delivered the following Rock Creek Bank report: First, she located the rarely seen rock creek cruncher, a delightful little fish. And without rod nor reel, she managed to pull a 20" latex rainbow out of Rock Crik, which was enough to garner her a yellow hat and induction into the 20" Club. Both achievements pale next to the experience she was treated to next. Spending some quiet time on the bucolic bank of Rock Creek, she arose, only to find that she had been sitting with a tiny and beautiful fawn right at her feet! She got some wonderful photos of it which I'm sorry to say I don't have here, so you'll have to be content with the latex rainbow.
A solid 20 inches:
Peter and Alex Narodny had a tougher third day on the water than the previous two, with guide Ben saying they lost a couple of sure Yellow Hatters. They did witness a struggle for food chain supremacy though, as an osprey got a fish, and then an eagle chased the osprey and tried to sieze the prize. So far as I know, Alex is the first in Extravaganza history, or perhaps only the first to admit it, to land the Trash Fish Grand Slam. No undesireable fish was safe from Alex, be it sucker, whitefish, squawfish, or even the hated Pike. And no tiny pike! A solid 21 incher, which got Alex into the 20" Club for the second straight year. Personally, I'm not sure I would want my name immortalized next to something distasteful like '21" Pike.' Kids these days. No pride!
A dried out junk fish. And a Pike, tied to the boat:
Doug 'Popeye' Hamilton and Angel Perez, with their 3rd guide in three days, said they learned a ton about fly fishing on the trip, and saw big progress in their fishing every day. Both did well, Angel got his setting down, and they brought in about 30 fish. Big fish on the day was a 19 1/2" rainbow for Doug, which he pulled out in a skillful shot back upstream into a tight target... and the mouth of the big fish! Angel with a nice one:
Scott Vion and Rob Cooper had another great day on the Bitterroot, starting off hot and then cooling off a little. They started targeting fish, or as Rob says "Well, Scott was targeting fish... I was hitting trees." The smile on his face didn't look like it belonged to a guy who spent all day untangling his line though!
Finally, Tim Moratto gave his report. The mood around the table was one of high anticipation, as people wanted to see if Doug Hamilton would sweep the Group Two Yellow Hats, or if Tim would stand in his way. The clues were all there... Tim and his guide pulled up to the Grizzly Hackle, and Tim had what was described as a cheshire-like grin. Then, Tim and Sally BOTH showed up to dinner wearing yellow...hmmm!!!
With the stage set, the show was on! Tim allowed that he'd had a tough day out there, 'only' catching 30 fish. After a breathless silence which was only broken by ice cubes clinking in cocktail glasses clutched by nervous anglers, Tim said his biggest fish was 18."
DOUG WINS IN A CLEAN SWEEP OF THE YELLOW HATS!!! NOT SINCE LANCE ARMSTRONG HAS AN AMERICAN WORN SO MUCH YELLOW IN THE SUMMER!! SACRE BLEU!! (The French are still pissed!)
Congratulations again on the strong fishing Popeye! And best wishes for your goat!
For the third evening in a row, Lori Ware presented the Tie Dye Cry, for the biggest whiner. This time, it went to Rob Cooper. However, noting that no one had done any whining, Lori announced that it was for his Harley ride up to Lolo pass, where it was sure to come in handy.
Rob, with the Tie Dye (no cryin' here) on top:
Then the Group moved indoors for the traditional last night farewell. As a special treat, Ron and Kathy had invited Montana fly fishing legend Trapper Badovinac, who regaled the Extravaganzers with wild tales of the backcountry.
Peter Narodny chats with Trapper:
Kathy sure sets a good spread:
All too soon, it was time to go. Thank you so much to you all, Group Two! You are really a wonderful and special group of people! I truly feel priviledged to have gotten to spend that time with you! I hate to single anyone out by name, but I think I blog for all of us when I say extra special thanks to Lori Ware, who showed up with stratospheric levels of energy, kindness and mirth.
Trapper, Ron, Tim Moratto, Lori Ware and Jim Clark:
I'm afraid that's all I can type, I'm getting verklempt! I can't blog! Talk amongst yourselves! I'll give you a topic: Extravaganza Group Two is a tremendous group of people!
Discuss!
Dave
1 comment:
Group 2, thank you one and all!
Special thanks to you dear Blogmeister, for your kind comments. I have been known to drive many a people bonkers....go figure!
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