E-15 Group One Wrap Up

As I write, the Magnificent Ones are winging their way home after simply the best Group One weather in Extravaganza history.  Each day saw a brisk morning in the high thirties soaring into the high seventies by mid-afternoon with sporadic cloud cover and, literally, only a few scattered raindrops over their entire stay here in Extravaganzaland.

Day Three on the water was a special one for long time Extravaganza veteran Brian “Moraine” Shepard who landed not one, not two but three Clark Fork rainbows in the Twenty Inch Club category:  a 21”, a 22” and a 23” triple (see blog-posted fish photos for evidence of same!), calling for a tally of 66 inches for just these three fish, not to mention the other 33 (yes, thirty-three) rainbows that he and son Josef “Fear The Beard” Shepard boated this wonderful third day.  Needless to say, Moraine now wears yellow (as in hat only, that is) as the big fish of the trip and coveted Yellow Shirt was awarded to veteran Josh “Commie Pinko” Genser in honor of his 24” Day One Blackfoot bull trout. 

 

But the big story for Dem Ones is that, based on double digit showing of each of the Group One boats that fished the Clark Fork of the Columbia River, now seven years after the removal of the Milltown Dam at the confluence of the Clark Fork with the Blackfoot River, THE CLARK FORK IS OFFICIALLY BACK TO ITS PRE-REMOVAL FISHING FORM  and I fully expect that at least 25% of our Group Two and Group Three boats will experience that river in all of its reclaimed and new-found glory not only this year but for many extravagant years yet to come.

 

New to the Extravaganza on Day Three of the Ones’ stay here was the appearance of Montana Matters honky-tonker Bob Wire who, after each boat report, would play one of his songs that was reminiscent to him of the report, the most apropos of which was his rendition of my favorite Wire song (“You’re On My Shit List”) following the report of the SS Rosenbaums whose antics up to the very last minute properly earned that befitting designation.  Other Wire songs of the evening included “The Raisin Song”, “White Trash Paradise” and, of course, the “Ode To Rock Creek Ron” (which can be heard on Der Blog, btw).

 

So, folks, the Ones are now done and that puts the Tattoos in the batter’s box—strap it on, Twos, as you have one heck of an extravagant time ahead of you, and, purposely, not all of the special features of E-15 have been highlighted on reports to date.

 

Congrats, Ones, you did proud by all and should look back on your time here in Extravaganzaland with pride and respect!!

 

Bravo, bravo, bravo!!!

 

Rock Creek Ron

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