E-18 Springtime in the Rockies!!

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E-18: First Fish Pics of the Year!!

Well, fellow Extravaganzers, take a gander at the attached photos which depict part of the bounty that your Double Up Outfitter John “The Great but Propaneless” Gould delivered yesterday on the Bitterroot River, shown above in all of its early Spring bleakness.  Not only did we encounter a moose on the water at the end of our eight hour chilly foray on the waters but my fishing partner, our Montana Matters Troubadour Shane “Mr. Crisco” Clouse, and I landed 25+ spirited trout in between rain and sun showers.

What is a “double up”, you rookies ask?  Well, that is a somewhat rare occurrence when both fisherfolk on the same boat hook into fish at the same time, as two of the above shots reflect—the fist with an 16” rainbow and a 19” brown trout and the second with a pair of 18”bows.  The cool water brings out the brightness of colors in our pectoral friends—see the dramatic colors in the cutthroat shown above, so named for the red band below its lower gills…is that a beauty of a fish, or what?!?

 

The fishing this time of the year is sparked by a stonefly known as a “skwalla”—the first bug of the calendar year of any size…it is about an inch and a half in length and, wow, when the skwallas are on the water like they were yesterday the large fish, as shown above, really make a splashy show of soaring to the surface breaking water as they crash down on their prey.  For those of you into omens, our first day on the E-18 water yesterday was a great one, so much that I am going out solo with Propaneless again this Wednesday to see what other photos I can beam your way.

 

These photos should get you excited for what is ahead for us all in the not two distant future as the Magnificent Ones arrive here on the scene of it all exactly two month from today!

 

Best to all from the evolving scene of it all,

 

Rock Creek Ron

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Greetings, all, from chilly Montana where, as the above photos depict, it is indeed “Tween Time”—neither winter, spring or summer, but, rather, a blustery mix of it all anywhere from freezing temperatures, falling snow, sleeting rain and intermittent abundant sunshine.  This, indeed, is my favorite time of the year for, with the above-shown early budding out of winter-dormant trees and bushes, the renewal of life begins all over again and, each year, it provides a wonderfully clean palate from which to design and then implement a course of conduct for the ensuing months.  It is a time for reflection, a time for re-evaluation, a time to take inventory on what is right and needs correction in each of our worlds and, as I will later today report in further detail in my first fishing report of the year, also a time to get a first glance at the fishing prospects for the coming year…all, for sure, an opportunity for renewed reflection on all that we do and why as well as how we do it.

 

Ah, the Montana of it all!!

 

Best to all from the early scene of it all,

 

Rock Creek Ron

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Spring for E-18 Has Yet to Spring!

 

Greetings, fellow Extravaganzers, on the eve of my first fishing foray into the wilds of Western Montana—I leave early this Friday morning for my annual “Montana Sprint Swaree” and am scheduled to fish this coming Sunday with our Double Up Outfitter John “The Great But Propaneless” Gould and our Montana Matters Troubadour Shane “Crisco” Clouse.  This annual and cherished trip is planned well in advance, well before the reality of what the year’s “Spring” really means. 

 

Well, this year, as suggested above, the blessed warming event that all Montanans desperately look forward to (Montana has been appropriately referred to as “nine months of winter and three months of guests”) has yet to make its appearance, although a look at the calendar would dictate otherwise.  What is in the forecast for our Sunday venture?, you ask…well the most current “guesstimate” is for Sunday to boast snow mixed with rain with a blistering high of as much as 47 degrees before factoring in the chill effect of predicted 15 mph windage!  When asked by me earlier this week, the ever optimistic (and perhaps sorely housebound) Propaneless replied, “don’t worry they are really hitting dry flies…trout love 45 degree temps, you know!” To which I responded with a burry “riiiight” but nonetheless confirmed the day on the water with him.  Not only is John the best guide I have ever fished with but he is one heck of a salesman!  Picture to follow the blessed event; “don’t worry!”

 

Winter is still in full force and effect in Montana, with the most recent SNOTEL readings continuing to track both year to date precipitation and snow water equivalents at 125% of twenty year norms, boding well for our quickly approaching June fishing prospects.  In taking a look at long term forecasts (a fool’s errand by anyone’s Montana barometer, btw), high temperatures in the low to mid 50’s are the prediction for the balance of April, meaning that, come May (traditionally the wettest month of the Montana year) we can expect temps to sneak up into the 60’s and then 70’s and begin to trigger this year’s runoff/melt of the snow accumulated in upper climes.  This is an important event that we track on an almost daily basis come May 1^st, and, as we have done for each of the prior eleven (count ‘em!) years, will begin preparation and distribution of the flowage of this year’s runoff, using our Headquarters’ home base Rock Creek as the baseline for prior year comparisons. 

 

So far, unlike the past three years, it looks like we have avoided an early season runoff, which is great news, as we want our fishing waters to be abundant in volume and mild in temperature to assure the best possible Extravaganza fishing conditions.  So far, so good!!

 

I will next report to you from the soon-to-be scene of it all complete with current pictures and, according to Propaneless, perhaps even a pic or two of some pectoral friends that we are to dance with come Sunday.

 

Best to all in the cozy indoor warmth of it all,

 

Rock Creek Ron

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Your Very Own E-18 Camp List!

As we rapidly now approach the two month mark of the June 9^th arrival of Dem Ones, the timing is now right for me to attach for your review and attention our Extravaganza Camp List that we developed years ago at the request of one of our then rookie guests.  As is the case with everything that we do in Montana, “less is more” in our book and, as you seasoned veterans know, not only is “casual” the word of the day for us in Extravaganzaland but “layered clothing” is its matching counterpart. 

 

Think going to a baseball game here by the Bay on a foggy day where, mid-day, the mist dissolves into bright sunshine only followed a couple of hours later by the return of that fog—cold, warm, warmer, colder, cold all accompanied in Montana by the almost guarantee of an afternoon thunder shower where, suddenly as a cell appears on the horizon, the temperature drops 30 degrees, rain and/or hail erupts from the incoming clouds only to be followed after the passing of the cell by the return of sunshine, often accompanied by Montana’s famous wind.  And if you think that “it can’t happen to me”, just reach out to veteran Group Two couple Kevin “CPA” Sweeney and his beautiful bride Christine “Double Rainbow” and ask them about their day on the water four years ago when just what I described happened to them and, out of the blue, hail pelted them for the better part of half an hour!  Thanks to their heeding this warning, their experience was an exciting but warm one, with the alternative being hypothermia and, no folks, that is not a Greek City-State!!

 

So take a careful gander at the attached Camp List and, consistent with our mantra above, begin setting aside those items that you might want to/don’t need to bring with you come Extravaganza Day.  As you do so, know with certainty that, as with each of the preceding fifteen Extravaganzas, I fully reserve the right to treat you extravagantly and, with certainty, you will be taking home with you far more fishing-related gear and E-18 monogramed items than you even knew to exist!!

 

Best to all on the cusp of it all,

 

Rock Creek Ron

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Springtime in Montana!!

RCR---<'///:><

Ides of March E-18 Update

Greetings all from the now (finally!) blustery and rainy Bay Area where today, the Ides of March, marks our calendar 2018 mid-point mark to our quickly approaching June Extravaganza!

The phrase "Ides of March", I am informed, is derived from the Latin verb "iduare", which means "to divide"--and that is just what this day does for us, both bisecting the current month as well as the current year's Extravaganza waiting time. Hence, since the first of the year, we are neither closer to leaving than we are closer to arriving and I simply can't think of a better time to date you down on developments affecting Extravaganza 2018!

First, as seen from the pics above taken today by Peanut, our Extravaganza on-site caregiver [both to us and her hubby "Late Larry"], winter still abounds in Montana as the shots above show our driveway and front, casting lawn nicely coated with a two foot blanket of very wet, high water content snow. In fact, current SNOTEL readings as of this morning indicate that in western Montana's higher climes (5,000-7500 ft in elevation), the season-to-date precipitation as well as the accumulated snow's water equivalent each continue to track right at 125% of 20 year norms, which, as I reported last month, continues to bode well for there being ample and ambient fishing waters come this June.

But, we are just midway to our June fishing days and a keen eye needs to be kept on outside temperatures during the coming months. For the past three years now we were tracking at these same 125% levels but in each of those years (once in April and twice in May) a virtual heat wave ascended upon the greater Missoula area and more than half of the accumulated snowfall in each of those years melted/"ranoff" early, such that come June in every one of those years we were facing a low water situation with water levels less than 50% of average. Yep, Mother Nature can and will be fickle to us so no E-18 chickens are currently there to be counted!

Secondly, as you wily Extravaganza veterans well know, there is seldom a dull moment surrounding any of our Extravaganzas. To that continued end, last month I received a second call from MT Governor Steve Bullock's scheduler that he DEFINITELY wants to return to this year's Extravaganza as he did two years when pressured by his then re-election campaign, and, this year, wants to fish a day with us. So, in matching his calendar to our Month at a Glance (copy attached), "Da Gov" is now set to join Group One and will be fishing and spending the early evening with us on Monday, June 11th. Now, is that special or what?!? Two years ago he was with the Tattoos and this year with Dem Ones, deciding (on my sage political advice inasmuch as Steve soon is to announce his presidential candidacy) to avoid the antics of The Southern Cross of Group Three where, again this year, indeed, "the South will Rise Ag'in"!!

Lastly to this note, keep your eyes peeled for updated from your airline carriers as, historically, March is the month when the airlines tinker with (read "mess up") (y)our otherwise well-procured Extravaganza airline reservations. We have already noted changes in the SFO-MSO UAL non-stop flight that so many of you are on but the changes there are benign, getting you into town an hour earlier than originally scheduled--a good thing! But other airlines are at it again, in one case rescheduling an East Coast travel itinerary such that the return flights were changed to have the first return leg arrive at the transfer airport two hours AFTER the new first leg arrival time...not a good thing. Thanks, also, for letting our Extravaganza Coordinator Extraordinaire Sue de los Reyes know of any such changes, as she is now updating our travel bible on an almost daily basis.

I know that receiving so much good news at one time from a lawyer may be a bit disconcerting but, like they say, "we tell it like it is" and I will take a gaggle of good news over bad any day.

May the Ides be with y'all!!

Best to all mid-way toward it all,

Rock Creek Ron
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