Extravaganza in Napa: May 1st--Save the Date!

Extravagant Ones:

 

May 1, 2010, will mark the 12th anniversary of the day when your Hostess With The Mostess, Kocktail Kathy, and I met [on a blind date in Florida, I might add], as well as our 11th wedding anniversary.  Culminating plans that have been in the works for about a month now, as members of the faithful cadre of Extravaganza 2010 we would like each of you to join us in a special anniversary party that we are going to be hosting at, appropriately, the Leland Sonoma Fly Fishing Ranch on Saturday, May 1st from 3:00 until 700 p.m. 

 

Located just north of the Viansa Winery and adjacent to the bi-plane airport on the way from the raceway to the vineyards of Napa and Sonoma, we have rented the Leland Fly Fishing Ranch for our exclusive and extravagant use that May 1st late afternoon and early evening--complete with three [count 'em!] fly casting instructors who will be at your beck, call and [provided]rod to cast to real rising trout on their 3 1/2 acre and 1/2 acre trout-laden newly constructed ponds.

 

This fun-filled, May Day mayfly hatch-ful evening event will be an opportunity for all of you E-10 participants [and your families!], just as did last year's Napa concert [mark your calendars now for November 6, 2010 for the re-play of this to-be-sold-out-again extravagant event, btw!], to convene before your arrival(s) in Missoula and allow each of you to meet and greet those in the other two groups who you otherwise might not meet.  I know that for you E-10 out-of-staters, this may not be the most convenient time or place for "y'all", but, for those of you in the greater Bay Area, Kathy and I can't think of a better way to celebrate our many years together, most of which have had an extravagantly Extravaganza overtone to them!

 

For now, just mark the date:  May 1, 2010  3:00 p.m. 'til 7:00 p.m.

 

More details and sign-up info to follow!

 

Best to all in anticipation of it all,

 

Rock Creek Ron & Kocktail Kathy

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E-09 Quiz Answers/Photos

E-10ers:

 

The silence to our first E-10 quiz having been deafening, undaunted and gratuitously, here are the answers to the questions that I know each of you have been pondering all week long (accompanied by last year's amazing species-altering photos--out of order, btw, such that you have to work a little, at least, to pair the answers with their digital proof):

 

    1.  Marin County DVM Jim Clark is shown having just landed his legendary 60" Billtrout--photo courtesy of his (fishing and professional) partner in crime, DVM Chris Rodi.

 

    2.  Hailing from New York City, investment banker par excellence Mike "BS" Stakias is featured with his now worldwide renowned Bullshit Fish.

 

    3.  The motorcycle-caught Deer Trout is the proud prize of Marin's Brian McLeran, photographed, post landing, in the ER of a not-to-be-named Missoula hospital (note the doffed and coveted E-09 Yellow Hat awarded to "Biker Brian" for the "catch")

 

    4.  And, finally, the feared Snake Trout was landed by none other than Rutherford's fairest vino marketing guru of them all, Elizabeth Pressler.

 

With the photos telling the tale(s) of it all, yes, indeed, a good time was had by all during E-09...and let the good times begin to roll for E-10!!

 

Best to all,

 

RCR

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FW: Extravagant Muse

And so says Group Three rookie Mark "I'm Da" Pope [and, if anyone should know, it should be He!]:

 

     both...

     M   

FW: Extravagant Muse

As replied to by  "true fisherman", Group Three Floridian Bob "Liar" Kingsland:

 

 I believe this is an accurate statement that applies to everybody, except me!

 

   

FW: Extravagant Muse

And from one veteran who knows (Group Two's Ralph "I Fly" McLeran):

  

 Both.....

   

FW: Extravagant Muse

And so muses Group One's Mike "Oh So" Wise:

 

  I’d say it’s a little of both! 

 

RCR 

 

 

Extravagant Muse

 

                                                        We ask a simple question

                                                        And that is all we wish:

                                                        Are fishermen all liars?

                                                        Or do only liars fish?

 

                            [by William Sherwood Fox, Silken Lines and Silver Hooks, 1954]

 

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Extravaganza History Quiz & Contest

Extravagant Ones:

 

Now looking forward to our eighth Extravaganza in just ninety (90) days [in fact, you Group Oners will be just "wrapping things up" ninety days from today!], we have (very pleasantly) learned that each year's event has its own special color and wonderful character and personality--so much so that, each year, we now have a blogsite dedicated to each year's event so that, in perpetuity, we can look back and recall, first hand, the living frivolity of it all.  Also, each year we have a number of contests along the way where we give each of you a chance to win a bottle of our extraordinary privately labeled wine, appropriately be-labeled "Rock Creek Red", "Rock Creek White", "Rock Creek Blanc", "Rock Creek Merlot" and "Rock Creek Noir".

 

Announcing the first contest of E-10, last year's Extravaganza was no exception to the "special color" rule, as, during E-09, we saw a record number of "new species of trout" landed by our extravagant crew of 57 fisherfolk and introduced into Montana's Guinness Stout Book of Surreal Records:  FOUR in number.

 

The first person who emails back to RCR the correct answers to the following "E-09 new species questions", will be so publicly noted and, upon your arrival at Missoula, will be awarded a coveted (as in very coveted) bottle of (now very rare because last year's traditionally votuperiously beverage-committed Group One drank most of what there was last year--surprise, surprise!) 2001 Rock Creek Red:

 

                                            E-O9 SPECIES QUESTIONS:

 

    1.  What is a "Bill Trout" and which  two Extravaganzers "landed" it??

 

    2.  Who proudly discovered and photographically displayed the first-ever-seen "Bullshit Fish"??

 

    3.  What is a "Deer Trout" and who is posed holding the first-ever of its kind digitally captured??

 

    4.  Which fair fisherwoman landed the ever-so-rare and revered "Snake Trout"?

 

"Fairness in Fishing" is a mantra of each Extravaganza;  keeping to that creed, for those so inclined, answers to each of the above questions can be found by perusing last year's blogsite, which also can be accessed by (y)our E-10 Blogsite.

 

May the best and fastest historian among yee be declared "Da Winner"!

 

Rock Creek Ron

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"Root 66": Final E-10 Roster Announced

Fellow E-10 Extravaganzers:

 

Well, with Friday's addition of Mechanics Bank senior residential loan officer rookie Sonja Wyland [if anyone needs a refi, she is the one to go to and through, btw!] and her husband Bill, the roster for Extravaganza 2010 is now set in stone .   

 

Complete with bankers, investment bankers, financial planners/managers, lawyers, realtors, branders (in the figurative not literal sense, cowpokes), winemakers, vineyard managers, contractors, cpa's, and business owners of multivarious types (including roofers, equipment manufacturers, internet marketeers, and international ferrous metals distributors), E-10, now 66 fisherfolk strong, is just shy of 90 days from being launched [we are just about equidistant from Christmas and E-10, gang] where our revelers will be (re)visiting the glories that western Montana has to offer.

 

On our end, while in Montana last week, your Hostess With The Mostess and I met with many of our E-10 suppliers and I can assure you first hand that, as in the past, you will each be treated in a most extravagant manner upon your arrival.  Many of you veterans out there have been asking, "What in the world new can you do to match prior years' Extravaganzas?" and all I can say is that your question(s) will be answered beginning with your arrival in Missoula and you will not go home either empty handed or disappointed (as you veteran Extravaganzers well know, be sure to leave extra space in your incoming suitcase or, better yet, stash in an modest empty one to manage the extravagant extras that will be returning home with you).

 

Having seen first hand the modest amount of snow in the mountains surrounding our fishing waters, we all will want to keep a careful eye on hopefully new snow coming Montana's way--a check of Missoula's temperatures (that can be done 24/7 on (y)our E-10 blogsite ) indicates that temps will be up into the mid-60's this late winter week (unusually high and El Ninoesque) providing for early melting of the mountain snows that enhance the very waters that we will be fishing in late June and early July.  Soon, as we have done in prior years, we will be keeping a chart of the annual runoff status which will tell us weeks in advance of the water levels and conditions that we can expect upon your arrival(s).  By all accounts (and as "Big Ben" Lamb and I experienced first hand a week ago Sunday on "the Root"), it will be an early Montana spring and, unlike last year [when things unfolded exactly one month later than normal (whatever that is, nowadays)], fishing opportunities more than likely will unfold one month early, putting us right in the heart of Montana's summer fishing--a beautiful thing, indeed.

 

Welcome aboard all 66 of you; strap it on as you are in for one extravagant ride!!

 

Rock Creek Ron

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More "Root" Pics

...these being from the eye and lens of veteran Group Oner and National Issues Coordinator for our Montana Wildlife Federation, "Big Ben" Lamb...enjoy!!

 

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Winter on Rock Creek

Fellow Extravaganzers:

 

Finally finding a few Montana moments alone with pics in hand, I thought you might enjoy the attached visages of winter here on Rock Creek.  Shown first is Extravaganza Headquarters, where the space between buildings is sufficiently iced over to hold a mini-scale curling match; riverside, the ice overhang that arrives each winter is beginning to recede as untimely temperatures in the mid-50's are putting winter's snow to rest.  Compare by way of example pictures posted on last year's Extravaganza blogsite taken this same time of the year (when snow was several feet, not inches, thick in the backyard) and you can see very dramatic difference that a year makes.

 

Winter for me is a special time to spend in these parts, as everything has a certain quietude to it--wildlife is scarce but for the bands of whitetail deer that abound; the air is crisp and sharp and yet heavy with little noise; and humankind is seldom to be found out this far up Rock Creek, making the setting even more special in its natural silence---hmm, maybe that's the way it was all really meant to be!!

 

Enjoy!

 

RCR 

 

Fishing "The Root"

Extravagant Ones:

 

As promised, attached are still photos of our jaunt onto the Bitterroot River this past March Sunday--a real bonus in the Western Montana fishing world, where the winter weather and waters have turned abnormally early spring-like. 

 

The first of these is with our Double Up Outfitter, "John The Great But Propaneless" Gould (so named as a result of his E-09's two-days-in-a-row ["double up"?!?]  forgetting to bring along propane for our traditionally otherwise hot streamside Extravaganza lunches) holding up a true double--a nice Group Oner Ben Lamb-landed brown in his left hand and a RCR rainbow in his right--each in the mid-teens in length; followed by (i) a nice early morning RCR-caught rainbow; (ii) official Extravaganza mascot "Buddy" performing his favorite potato chip trick; (iii) Propaneless showing off his fishing report head cam (you can still see Sunday's headcam video of us on his www.doubleupoutfitters.com website, btw); and (iv) a nice 15" cuttbow (a cross between a cutthroat and a rainbow--note the "cutthroat"  markings under the chin and the rainbowesque lateral stripe).

 

What a way to spend a March Sunday (or any day, for that matter)!

 

Enjoy!!

 

RCR

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A Different Day's Differernce!

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Montana Bear Tragedy

Gloriously politically incorrect input too tongue-cheeked precious not to be shared, courtesy of long-standing Group One veteran, Jim "High Stick" Hendrickson...thanks, Jim (I think!).

RCR

p.s. Equal majority (minority?!?) reply time available, as needed!

Montana Bear Tragedy This is a very sad story about a bear.  Everybody should heed the warning to not feed wildlife because they become dependent and cannot forage for themselves anymore. This is such a tragedy to see what they have done to our country's wildlife! The photo below captures a disturbing trend that is beginning to affect US wildlife . . . Animals that were formerly self-sufficient are now showing signs of belonging to the Democrat Party, as they have apparently learned to just sit and wait for the government to step in and provide for their care and sustenance.  This photo is of a Democrat black bear in Montana nicknamed Bearack Obearma.

Extravaganza Headlines: Spring Springs Forth Early!

Extravagant Ones:

 

The calendar says that March 20th is the first day of Spring, shortly after which the first dry fly hatch occurs in the greater Missoula area:  the arrival of the skwala, a stone fly (See the most recent Entomology 1A update/report) indigenous only to the Rocky Mountains that is about the size of a golden stone fly (Ibid.) that makes its annual guest appearance usually in the first few weeks of April, shortly after the formal arrival of Spring.

 

As a best indicator that "things are going to be a bit early and different this year", the effects of El Nino are already being realized in and on our fishing grounds with Missoula area temperatures already in the mid 50's and snow beginning to disappear at an early, if not semi-alarming rate.  As those of us who live in and about Montana know, however, the weather in Montana is as fickle as it is anywhere else in the world--witness the Rock Creek snow storm that we had this past year on June 11th--just a week before the arrival of the first E-09 Group!

 

Having fished long enough now, my (gracefully aging) bones and psyche are becoming more in tune with the elements, as this past Sunday morning found me and my now-trusty black Lab fishing pal "Ma'am" [her companion is our now 11 year old trusty Extravaganza mascot "Sir"] out and on the ponds that surround the Marin County Civic Center casting 3 wt and 5 wt flyless fly rods to duck feathers.  Even I asked myself the question, "Why are you out here?", only to have that question answered earlier today with the announcement from our Outfitter, "John The Great But Propaneless"  Gould that "the skwalas are in!!" 

 

 Resultantly and most pleasantly (in fact, I cannot even envision a nicer bonus), our earlier scheduled ten day monthly trip to Montana tomorrow will now be graced with returning Group One veteran, Montana Wildlife Federation Issues Coordinator "Big Ben" Lamb and I fishing the Bitterroot for skwalas this coming Sunday with video camera in hand so that you can each later enjoy the special glories of it all.  What a gift!!

 

In anticipation of distributing Sunday's video to you next week, below is the link to John's fishing report--something that you each should now mark on your favorites.  This link can also be accessed via Double Up Outfitters' link on (y)our E-10 blogsite.

 

Wowie, zowie--it will be most interesting to see how Western Montana snow and weather conditions unfold this Spring.  As we have done in past years, as the snow runoff begins, we will be charting the volume of that runoff on a weekly (if not more frequent) basis and marking its comparison to the past three years (the time where we have done so in the past).  For you rookies out there, early year prime-time fishing in Montana is either just before the runoff or just afterwards (when we are intentionally scheduled to arrive)--during the runoff the volume and turbidity of the rivers make them unfishable (the color of the water turning for relatively clear to that of mocha coffee). 

 

Here's John's report to me earlier today...talk to you next from the scene of it all in MT!!

 

RCR

 

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Skwallas are HERE!!!

Come get some....

You can also let the Extravaganza group know that they can view a current FISHING REPORT on my website now!!! Have a look - Click Here

John Gould
Double Up Outfitters LLC
4209 Edgewater way
Stevensville, MT
59870

Phone:406.240.9498

Double Up Outfitters website
"The Daily Float"
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