Some real fishermen!
Get on the hook!
We had a couple special guests here last night! Steve Doherty, head of Montana Parks came by, and was attacked and jumped into the ferocious gang that is Group Ta Two:
Also victimized was Tim Aldrich, from the Montana Wildlife Foundation. Cover your eyes!
Finally, John Menson, President of the Rock Creek Protective Association which has been leading the fight against the rock creek subdivision was inked as well:
Thursday saw us back out on the Mighty Mo for the final time this year, and there were more big fish out there biting our flies and nymphs.
First to report were Shanna Banana Rodgers and Lori Ware. Some fly fisherwomen guard their secrets. Not these two! Shanna and Lori have developed a number of new techniques to help us all out. The first is the 'Set and Flop' which Lori discovered early in the day. As soon as you set your hook, you do a backwards dive, more technically described as a 'flop' backwards into the bottom of the boat. At this point, the guide might try to sieze your pole, do not let him! Continue to strip line and bring that fish in! The Flop is a trick most fish are not expecting and has proven to be effective.
How to fight off your guide if he tries to sieze the rod during your Flop:
The second technique is the 'fish fighting handicap.' In the event you are being outfished by your partner, be sure to hook them while they have a fish on. If you are nymphing you can be twice as effective by hooking with both bugs simultaneously, one in the arm, and one in the hat for example. This should distract them, giving you the mental edge to retake the upper hand in the fishing.
Shana demonstrates how to execute the Handicap:
The third isn't really a new technique at all, but it is still effective. The "Bribe." However, Shanna didn't execute the bribe quite well enough, and when the boat was pulled over by request for a needed rest stop, the spot chosen was mosquito heaven! That's enough about that.
Which leads us to some product development ideas the ladies came up with. The first is the Benadryl infused toilet paper, see Shanna's adventure above. The second one is related to the Fish Fighting Handicap. As a defense to this underhanded assault, Shanna recommends using a Kevlar bra to fend off the offending hooks.
And the ladies also caught some fish! In fact, they sandbagged RCR, and didn't breathe a word of their successes until the report! Shanna had a 20.5" Rainbow and Lori a 21" Rainbow! Both catapulted into that ever so exclusive Twenty Inch Club!! Top work for a boat that makes a lot of noise, bravo ladies!!
Shanna and Lori sign in:
The unenviable task of following that report fell to Scott Vion and Rob Cooper. I saw both guys on the river throughout the day, Rob sporting the Yellow Hat he captured yesterday. No luck today though in the large category, but together the men bagged 16 fish total with the biggest being a 18" brown that went for a dry fly.
The Moratto's, Tim and Sally were next. And the word was there was not a fish in sight! Not a surprise since they were fishing behind Shanna and Lori! Tim did land a couple 19"ers. Which really makes you appreciate how spoiled these Groups are getting out on the Mo! If it ain't Twenty, don't waste their time! Sally reports catching precisely squat, after last year's trumph of 35 fish in 2 days! That was enough to win this year's Tie Dye Cry:
I fished with my father Tom Stallard, who delivered the report for our boat. We enjoyed very modest success, each getting one good fish. Lots more hits, and several spit out nymphs though, so there was some action on the boat. Terrific wildlife viewing as well.
Stallards!
Ladd and Kristine Bedford also had some on the line and lost them, but still landed 3 times as many fish as the previous day, with a high of 18". They're back on the Bitterroot today, so they should be increasing the tally even more.
Ladd with a nice one:
Mark Grassi and Angel Perez landed a lot of fish, but nothing over 18". Man are we spoiled out here!! The big catch however, was Mark and Jamie Grassi's dog JJ, which went missing for 4 hours last night! The wayward pooch reappeared around 11pm, wet, freezing cold, and with his tail between his legs. A happy ending!
A typical Montana Scene:
A Montana scene with Group Ta Two yahoos Angel and Mark!
Ken and Patty Snider had over 20 fish on the day, and all big ones. Just one 17"er, with everything else being bigger. Ken used a 1-2 punch to get into the Twenty Inch Club, a 20 1/4" brown and a 20" brown. Well done Ken!!
Dave "Double Pump" Currie and David Nelson were next. Dave started his report of how he heard some crusty angler say 3 years ago in the Grizzly Hackle that "the Mo is a piece of s#@*!, always windy!" Well, Double Pump figured out the windy part, managing to tie some quantum wind knots in his fly line. The guys bagged a dozen on the day. But the highlight was David Nelson's 22" brown, achieving the trifecta of Yellow Hat, Twenty Inch Club and Rookie of the Year Candidate! Nice going David!!
David's Twenty Inch Club Fish!
Prepare yourself, for The Duel:
And we conclude the report with the tale of The Bet, that certain wager (the only one RCR has ever lost) between RCR and Tim "Whitefish" Rodgers. The Bet is now in it's fifth year, and already contains too much storied history to relate here. Suffice to say that RCR is 0-4 in The Bet against Whitefish Rodgers!
The rules this year are simple: whoever gets the biggest fish in the boat wins the two $5 bills defaced by Ron 5 years ago and subsequently turned into a perpetual trophy. The fish in question must be a trout (hence the moniker 'whitefish' for Tim, bestowed by a defeated RCR in year 2 of The Bet.)
RCR was dead in the water before his flies even got there. ON his first cast, Tim hooked into a 20" brown and brought it on board! On his seventh cast, he landed a 20" rainbow!! RCR fought on, but the writing was on the wall and his very respectable 18.5" brown trout was not enough to overcome his jinx in The Bet, leaving him 0-5 and Tim undefeated. I tip my cap to both gentlemen on the epic battle on the wager! And I doff it twice more in Tim's direction for his double entry to the Twenty Inch Club!
RCR
Tim's Winner!
Not Tim's winner!
My blog... my fish!!
Real luxury on Rock Creek last night... massage!
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