Group Three headed to the waters on the second day of the second half of 2010, eleven [count 'em!] boats strong and were greeted upon their early morning Missoula arrival with the most rain ever encountered in any one Extravaganza morning and, believe, me there have been a (substantial) number of those to count from! Rainy skies, however, proffered into partly cloudy skies that saw Them Threes attacking with élan, as had been so successfully done by their cousins The Ignoble Ones and Da Tattoos before them, the waters of the Bitterroot and Blackfoot rivers, only to be greeted by fish after substantial fish during their first day asea (that being literally the case for the many of the Threes' rookies!).
Shown above with (y)our Hostess With The Mostess and overseeing the first (nightly) report of it all is golfing legend Miller "Mr. X" Barber--a dear friend and Rock Creek neighbor who had earlier witnessed the drinking prowess of the Ones and the antics of Da Twos and who came forth to see just what Them Threes had to offer by way of rebuttal. And what a show he had before him:
It seems that Bruce "The Rookie" Mowat and son "Seattle John" had already cut a pretty wide Three path for themselves in little over twenty four hours in Threedom: Arriving last for the Opening Day lunch on collectively "1 1/2 hours sleep between them", post nap, it seems that they didn't quite understand the Hooters Drill so flagrantly and Darwinianly developed in E-10 by the preceding Ones and Twos, they errantly thinking that by just arriving at Hooters by 5:50 p.m. (as they untimely did) would exempt them from the bill of the last boat in "because they got in before 6:00 p.m.". The whimpering that ensued only resulted in a 15 minute extension of the bar bill (in contrast, whining being rewarded by a 45 minute extension) and a photo as shown above with a Hooterette and guide Scott Belz (who, when asked about this "last boat distinction", was heard to ejaculate, "Doesn't bother me...it is not my wallet!"). That, as it turned out was just the beginning of it all, for what ensued during the boat reports was a reincatation of The Story Of The Rookie (see earlier posting to Der Blog for full Alaskaganza details), where after father Rookie [unwisely] announced, "You have been mispronouncing our name [for years, it appears]...the 'at' is not like as in 'who dat' but, rather is like the 'et' in 'poet' [or, in "gardencare-ese, the instruction 'mow-it']."
Well, you can just imagine the chaos that then ensued. Them Threes were convinced that "Mowat" was really pronounced "late" because of the poets' to-date performing art craft of being late for (i) lunch, (ii) the morning's departure for the boats and (ii) Hooters arrival(s). In order to quell matters, by the power vested in him by absolutely no one whatsoever, yours truly, Rock Creek Ron, after proper nomination, seconding and approval by all non-poet parties present, declared that, by acclamation, in the interests of poetic justice, the poetically tardy pair will forever hereafter be known in Extravaganzaland as "The Mullets", a genealogical picture of which is attached above for likeness comparison, the mullet being innately illusive and only cacheable by wide casting nets. The Mullets were last heard pontificating on just how good it was that "you can only 'win' the Hooters bill once" only to soundly disabused of their latent misunderstanding and informed that, if they kept true to form, they could actually win the trifectorate of Hooter bills. [I wonder what kind of errant sound a mullet really makes!]
Meanwhile, back at the boats, after long-time veteran Don "Bulldog" Drummond telling of hearing of the Extravaganza while in Patagonia, Chile earlier in the year, Mark "MoJo" Grassi and "Fire Pit Matt" Colesworthy reported on a "20+ fish day on the Root" (that being the Bitterroot, Tattoos!) and of 18" browns after a slow morning, followed by Lyn and Terry Wilson's Root report of eagles, geese, ducks, mergansers and, yes, even of 16" browns and by (a) "The Mullet Report" (soon to be seen in a late night listing somewhere across this great state [of confusion]) of a 15 fish day and of a "legally measured" 17 1/2 fish of some unspecified species (but, at least it was "legally measured"!) and (b) by The Penny Report--Grady Garret and Penny Shawback telling of "raining in" 5 fish in the first 15 minutes on the Root topped out by a 17" (I assume "legally measured") brown.
And then came the jazziness of our Utah twosome of "Ute" Steve Herron and Natalie "Den Mother" Yellis-Kraus who bespoke of having been earlier errantly RCR-blogged as having been from Colorado, presenting RCR with a bright red new Pac-10 Utah blanket to forever remind him of their true situs of beginning (and resultantly, in providing fodder for "Ute Steve"'s newfound Extravaganza nickname) and then waxing magnificent about a 20 fish Blackfoot river day--with the far better half of this duo "Den Mother" landing one of her very first fish ever--a 17 incher (falling far short of the Drummond-desired 20 incher, however). The Utes were followed by Helenians Al and Erica Swanson who talked of "using gill nets" [for mullet?!?], dancing with Yeti on the overcast Bitterroot and of spinning reel (not!) netting of a gaggle of fish, including (another Drummond-shy) 17 inch rainbow and then, in turn, by "The Stealth Boat" of Califonicators "Eric The Dred" Read and David "Dry Fly" Hatch who told of catching white fish on a dry fly (right!), of "a whole lot of other fish", of eagle and osprey and of "some other weird animal that looked like a bobcat, hopped like a rabbit and that had no tail"--a likely tale, indeed!
The SS Don Drummond next weighed in with a report of his fishing day with Bill Wyland that resulted in a "17 3/4" precisely measured fish" (see above regarding lack of clarity) whereafter the Great Ship Bedford told of an unusual-for-them day on the Bitterroot (in their prior five [count 'em!] Extravaganzas they have fished the Blackfoot almost exclusively) with Captain Ladd landing, after a twenty minute fight, an 18" cuttbow, this cross between a rainbow and cutthroat giving him "the biggest fight I have ever had here" [he being a litigator should know one!] with wife Kristine providing the boat's confusing wildlife report of "a fawn and her doe."
So reported, that left two boats the be accounted for: the big fish boats of Extravaganza Coordinator Extraordinaire Patty "Flo" Gallia and 9 year old daughter Gina and that of RCR. The former talked of patty's 19 3/4" rainbow trout as compared to the latter's 21" Shane Clouse (shown above) caught trophy brown and then the former talked of Gina's two white fish/cutthroat day and of RCR's bagel. The latter had the biggest fish but was declared disqualified because of the bagel, bestowing Group Three's Day One Yellow Hat (most appropriately) on the person most responsible for coordinating it all, Queen Flo shown above doffed in yellow (see, I told you the fish do the catching!).
Phew, it is tough being a cub reporter for E-10--one really has to know his p's & q's, as well has his mullet!!
Best to all from the scene of it all,
Rock Creek Ron
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