Double Barreled Boat Report!

YOU TALKIN' TO ME??


Sorry, I really like to start things off with a good fish face!

Hello again everyone, things have calmed down a bit now that the 4th is behind us, and we are back focused on the fish. And what that means today is that we've got a double barreled boat report! That's right, reports from our fishing on the 4th and 5th! Twice the fish! Four times the Lies!

We'll start out with Valinda and Owen Cowing. Valinda drew the front of the boat, which has some pluses and potential minuses. On the plus, its nothing but wide open water in front of you, no pesky fishermen in front of you hooking your fish. On the minus side, this can subject you to extra 'coaching' by your guide if your casting is not quite up to snuff. Valinda reports that guide Dave had her working hard! Nice going Dave!

And the hard work paid off with some fine fish! Together, both Valinda and Owen landed some fine trout, including a 19 inch and 18 inch rainbow.

Josef and Nicholas Shepard also went fishing... if you can call it fishing if you go out on the river and come home with a bagel! That's right, Josef got one fish Wednesday, and zero fish Thursday! Don't feel too bad for him though, he did get Tuesday's Yellow Hat. Nicholas did only marginally better, with a handful of trout between the two days. Again, he captured a Yellow Hat last year, and sometimes them's the breaks! Both guys had a great time out on the rivers though.

Nicholas Shepard, RCR and Josef Shepard:

Jeff Gelow caught several fish Thursday... in his sleep! He took the day off, but he did land several on Wednesday, nice going Jeff!

Andrew 'The Stick' Thorpe fished solo with guide Kurt on Thursday, and did quite well! He brought in 15 fish before lunch, and had a big fish of 19" cutthroat. Going through the photos, there's lots of fine looking fish there, well done! Not sure all of what went on, one photo shows Kurt with a rod in his hands and Andrew on the oars??

???????:

Vicky Thorpe fished with Andrew and Kurt on Wednesday and the two also brought in a few plums. A few junk fish as well, as Kurt cursed the pike and flung them onto the bank. We hate the pike!

Double threat!

Jim and Eric Killin started off Thursday hot, which was good because they struck out on Wednesday! Jim reported a couple foul tips, but no solid contact when they were out on the Clark Fork. But, the Killins showed resiliency as Jim pulled a 19 incher straight away. However, Jim would later suffer another setback, as Eric got on a streak of five fish back to back to back! Things got to the point where their guide Karl wouldn't even take a photo if a fish as under 15". Move along folks, nothing to see here. All in all, the guys finished with 25 trout plus some junk fish and a swim in the river to cool off.

Nice one!

Eric said it was the best day of the three for them. Jim noted that Karl was extra nice Thursday, and Eric suspected it was because they were screwing up less and getting more fish in the boat!

But the big barometer for the fun on the trip was Jim's beard. RCR was concerned that if Jim shaved every day, it would mean he wasn't having much fun. In a prescient move, perhaps indicative of future success as a student at Henley Putnam University, the School for Spooks, RCR ensured that no shaving would occur by keeping Jim either on the water or at the main house. And it worked! Jim was having too good of time and too busy to shave, so the whiskermeter proved accurate.

Grinnin' Penny Shawback and Grady Garrett enjoyed a technical progression throughout their three days of fishing. Every day they fished a different river, and each had it's own style and demands. They did see plenty of wildlife, including an eagle, and I'm told they bagged a bucket full of whitefish in addition to a few trout. Um, that's great? However, the three days on the water exposed Grady's glaringly deficient camera skills. Hey, we can't be great at everything, right? (Don't worry Grady, I found the one photo and deleted it. ((It wasn't even bad!)))

Penny and Grady didn't have any fun at all:

Bobby and Kelly Kingsland were out on the Bitterroot Wednesday, with Bobby earning the distinction of catching a Rainbow so small even the guide didn't believe it could eat the nymph! Also, they were struggling to get back on time and avoid the ire of RCR, such that Bobby took to the oars and said it was like a scene out of Ben Hur. Stroke!!

In addition, Bobby got roughed up a bit. It seems while they were pressing down river, the boat got hung up on a tree, the oar got wedged in the oarlock, and popped Bobby right below the eye, leaving him with a small mouse. Ouch! And in even sadder news, whilst fishing the banks on Thursday morning Bobby slipped and landed on his rear end while climbing a rock. He heard a loud crunch, which was fortunately not his spine, but RCR's irreplaceable, handmade, one of a kind, collector's edition, antique wooden handled fishing net. He is now inconsolable.

Since RCR has already lost one bet to the Walsh Vinyards Management folks, he elected not to make things more interesting while fishing with Brian Shepard. They had a good start in the morning when it was nice and cool, and switched to sight casting in some sloughs in the afternoon. Noteworthy was the fact that Brian broke his rod while bringing in an 18 incher. Really, what is it with Group Three and breaking rods? That's FOUR in this group!! Eric Killin Killed two, Brian Shepard one, and Andrew Thorpe one. Take it easy, fellas!

When not snapping rods, Brian got a few nice ones:

Erin and Kenny Kingsland had a great three days, with three different guides. Kenny, a lifelong fisherman, got totally stomped by Erin though! As Erin says, "Kenny thought he could fish, he's been fishing his whole life! I fished two days and smoked his butt!" As part of said smoking, Erin landed a 20" Rainbow, earning her not only a Yellow Hat, but also making her the first female member of the 20" Club! Congratulations Erin, and cancel the gender equity march! Hooray!

Erin lays claim to Kingsland family bragging rights:
Ladd and Kristine Bedford gave the final report for Group Three, and Ladd started out with a summary of their experience from year to year. Their first year, they landed 16 fish total. Their second Extravaganza, they got 30 fish total. This year, their third Extravaganza, they landed in excess of 100 fish!! Thursday alone they got about 4o, lots of cutthroats and rainbows in the 16-18 inch range.

Stay focused, Ladd. We're here for fish!

But even bigger than a 100 fish Extravaganza was Kristine's monster Rainbow, a 20 1/2" beauty that is allegedly as wide as it is long! After a prolonged fight, in which the fish darted under a rock shelf threatening her line, Kristine got it in the boat to win the Yellow Hat, the Yellow Shirt, and induction as the second woman in as many days to the 20" Club! Kathy and the rest of us are all so proud, congratulations!!

This fish is so big I'm not sure it can even swim:

The Women of Yellow, Kristine Bedford and Erin Kingsland, make it official:

See ya Group Three!

Your man on the scene,

Dave