Name That Extravagant Fish!!

Fellow Extravaganzers:

 

As you seasoned (and, likewise, unspiced) veterans out there know, each year we have several extravagant contests in which we award various bottles of our primo private labeled “Rockin’ C” vino—to be delivered to you upon your arrival(s) here for either immediate consumption or, most often, a return journey home.  The highlight of our private stash is our nationally recognized (by the wine editor of USA Today, no less) private reserve cabernet sauvignon series, the top drawer of which is our 2001 vintage of that issue (of which there are only exactly four bottles left!).

 

As you vets also know, Extravaganza Headquarters is resident to a plethora of hand-done carved wood, molten bronze and hand-crafted ironwork, the latest addition to which is displayed for the first time in the attached photos and is (get this) a to-scale 12’ long westslope cutthroat (see recent releases about the history of this wonderful fish as Montana’s state fish) rising to a similarly-to-scale 15” salmonfly, both this morning installed on the landward wall of our main house—a now-completed project that has been three years in the making.  The lower portion of this one-of-a-kind fish specimen will serve as a trellis for rising summertime vines with the top to remain stationery in the fish’s perpetual leap for June nourishment (the salmonfly is one of the world’s largest stoneflies that is found only on a handful of Western US streams—averaging over 2 ½” in real life size—and our own backyard’s Rock Creek is renowned and traveled to world-wide for its mid-June salmonfly hatch).

 

Three (years of) cheers to our landscape designer Eric Nystrom of Pioneer Earthworks LLC (shown above as he does his beauties’ final installation)…NOW the flag is up to “name that fish”, the winner of which (to be determined by your own Hostess With The Mostess, Koctail Kathy, in her sole judgment) will take home with him or her one of those four remaining bottles of ’01 Rock Creek Red.

 

Place you entries by reply email to yours truly, each of which will be posted to this (y)our 2011 Extravaganza blogsite [which now should be logged in as one of your “favorites”, for, as E-11 becomes nearer, most all of your Extravagant communications will be through that medium].  Let’s see, some names that quickly come to mind are “Scarfish”, “Cuttdaddy” and “KK Momma Mia”—the latter of which having no chance of winning, I might add!

 

Sooo, bring it on E-11ers…”name that extravagant fish”…there is no limit to the number of entries that you can post!!

 

Best to all with great joy, for tomorrow I fish my first ’11 day with our own Propaneless as we launch onto our E-11 home river, the 52 mile long Bitterroot River, with dry fly imitations of the smaller stonefly brother to the salmonfly, the skwala…photos of that event to come your way over the weekend!!

 

Rock Creek Ron

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