By now, Group One's planes have long since landed, giving me an opportunity to reflect on the good time had up here (not true, I actually spent the day napping.)
But enough about me, I am sure you all want to hear about the fish! Patience, a little housekeeping first.
Prior to the report from the boats, a trial was conducted on the porch at the house! Yes, Rich Kotoff had allegedly purchased a Yellow Hat in the town of Craig, one that looked suspiciously like the Yellow Hat awarded to whoever catches the big fish of the day. Rich had a Yellow Hat, but no big fish. At the very least a breach of Extravaganza etiquette, and at worse, a capital offense! Clearly, justice would have to be meted out by Rich's peers, those fellow members of Group One.
Jim Krieg delivered some stirring oratory for the prosecution, before introducting some key evidence that whipped the jury into a frenzy as they called for swift justice! Chants of "Hang the Bastard!!" were repeatedly yelled by an increasingly agitated jury.
This piece of evidence displayed by Jim is actually unrelated to the offense but the jury was too inflamed to care:
Rich's defense counsel was none other than fishing partner Brad Colton, who I have to say, gave a rather uninspired defense, which basically left poor Rich at the mercy of the judge, Rock Creek Ron.
Despite the blood lust of the jury, RCR granted clemency for the heinous crime, although he did pledge to carve Rich's name onto the back of the Uncondoned sign which adorns the front drive of Extravaganza HQ.
Judge RCR grants clemency to the offender (with his Custard Hat) while firey prosecutor Jim Krieg looks on:
On to the Fish! RCR kicked things off for himself and Ken Peralta's boat, with Squeaky Klean Ken staying true to form and missing the report as he was still in the shower!! Ron reported that Ken got an 18" fish, a step up from 0" the day before. Ron was conspicuously silent about his own fishing successes (or lack thereof) for the day.
Next, Bill Hart talked about his day on the water with yours truly. We had several hits, and Bill landed some nice browns and a rainbow. He very graciously did my bragging for me, and told the assembled crowd about my landing of a 20.5 inch brown trout, a mighty fish which fought for a solid 10 minutes! This was enough to catapult me into the rarefied air of the Twenty Inch Club and confirm to the world that which I have always known, THAT I AM THE GREATEST FISHERMAN OF ALL TIME!!! Woo Hoo!!
Der Blogmaster with Der Prize:
A tough act to follow no doubt, but Demetry Kondrasheff and Frank Ratto did well. They pulled 35 fish into the boat, which I believe was the high tally for both days. Frank bagged a 20" brow, putting him in the Club yet again! Demetry followed up with a respectable 19" fish himself.
Demetry with a flying fish:
Bill Schneider and John Reimann also put up good numbers, and the headline from their boat was John's 22" brown trout, which took 15 minutes to land, and at one point took a 70 yard run down river, which had the guide rowing like a madman! These guides are no slouches though, the fish was apprehended after a police style chase down the river, with the perpetrator ending up behind a net. Bill's big fish on the day was a 19" trout.
John's beauty:
Prosecuting attorney Jim Krieg was next along with Mary Reilley, with tales of the lowest lows and the highest of highs. Jim's low came when he lost a monster, had it on the line and it broke free after a few minutes of fighting. Good one Jim, that's a story I like to use myself! Redemption came however, in the form of an 18" rainbow, well done. Mary had a tough start, but was redeemed right next to the take out, in the form of a 20.5" Brown! Back to back years in the Twenty Inch Club for Mary, congratulations! Things did get a little sticky when it was disclosed that there was no photographic evidence of said lunker, as when Jim took the picture, the camera said Memory Card Full. Ouch! A further witness came forward to vouch for this, the guide. I guess we'll let it slide this time!
55 fish in two days was the sum total for Larry Gondola and John Kruger, a terrific total. Each recorded a big fish on the day of 19.5 inches. Each also recorded visiting an impressive tally of 'some of the best bars in America' in and around the town of Craig, Montana, our put in point on the Mighty Mo.
Brad and Rich were next, with Brad lamenting that the spiritual crime committed by Rich by purchasing instead of winning the Yellow Hat left him downtrodden. Heavy with the knowledge that his boatmate was a cheat and a liar, Brad couldn't get in to the day, and couldn't get any real fish in the boat. He did manage two whitefish but as we all know by now, whitefish are hardly sporting! Despite his treachery, Rich did somewhat better, landing 4 trout.
The casual observer would likely be fooled by Rich's Custard Hat. Brad stuck with the pink:
Ben and Mike Wise were next. Ben took the reigns on the report, and told a shocking tale about a big one Mike had on the line. After 8 minutes of fighting the beast, Mike felt confident enough to call to Ben "Get the camera ready." The guide shook his head and said, "don't jinx it, don't mention the camera before it's in the boat." 2 seconds later the fish was gone! Let this be a lesson to the rest of you!!! Ben on the other hand bagged a 23.5" Brown! That ladies and gentlemen, is one gigantic fish! Congratulations Ben, on your big fish and your new Yellow Hat!
Yellow is a good look for Rookie of the Year Candidate Ben Wise:
For the second night in a row, Land Tawney and Ben Lamb delivered the final report. Ben hooked into a real hog, which gave him a 10 minute fight. When those ten minutes were up, there was a 24" brown trout sitting in the bottom of the boat!! Perhaps the biggest fish in Extravaganza history, which is by all reckoning composed of about 5000 fishing hours with the best guides on some of the best trouty waters in America!
whopper!
But wait, what's this? In a classic sandbag move, Ron has saved some surprises for the finale. Ken Peralta stepped forward and reported that he did indeed catch a 20" fish today as well. This was important, as Ken was skunked yesterday, which prompted his wife to tell him during a phone call that it better not happen again or he would be a "loser." Redemption, through induction into the Twenty Inch Club! Well done Ken!
Well scrubbed and in the Twenty Inch Club:
The fish that got him there:
Whew! That's all the fishing action. And now we look forward to the arrival of Group Two, some 14 hours from now. Group Two will also be fishing the Missouri, as was mentioned by Rock Creek Ron earlier today. The Mo has been delivering some huge fish, so prepare yourselves. By way of example, we are currently standing at 14 twenty inch fish after just Group One! 14 has been the sum total of twenty inch fish in prior years! We have snared over 21 FEET worth of 20 inch fish! There are Monsters in the Mo!!!
The faces of fishing success, Ben Wise, Ken Peralta and Ben Lamb:
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