Announcing the Line-Up of E-11's Group One!!

Well, gang, here we are—just 48 hours from the launching of Extravaganza 2011 and what a fun-filled, interesting, fish-filled year this is going to be!!  Who would have thought several months ago that, on E-11’s soon arriving Opening Day, we would still be in the equivalent of the early stages of an annual runoff, with water yet coursing down the Western Montana slopes and into its majestic rivers at a still record-setting pace?  No sweat, all, consistent with our back up plan all the way along:  “To The Mo We Go!!”

 

And now it is my pleasure to announce the line-of up this year’s Wonderful Ones—yes, all, after years of being considered (and treated as) reprobates with the addition of new, stout, honorable rookie stock the Ones have evolved into a group to be not only respected but also reckoned with, particularly when it comes to this year’s Twenty Inch Club board (as the Ones will now be spending all three of their fishing days on the Mighty Missouri River, traveling to/fro the mo in the luxury of a first class motor coach whose naming convention is its advanced stages [to finally be decided by majority vote on-site this Saturday evening with current nominations (in the order of their receipt) being High Water Express; High Water Traveler; Ron’s Mo Jitney; Clausen Cruiser; The Trout Tub; Mo Fun; Ron’s Rockett; Rock Creek Zephyr; Catchin’ Coach; and The Fish Finder Express]).  

 

Here at Headquarters you can physically feel the looming and oncoming presence of E-11—all of our purveyors are keyed up, Glenn the UPS driver now visits us daily with his deliveries (his smile broadening each passing day), Eric the Landscaper is presently on site with his final yard tune up, and all the buzz up and down “The Creek” is about what is in store when this year’s Extravaganza hits town.

 

And hit town it will with Group One headling with (very) long time CPA veteran John “SOS” Reimann and with his now-separated sidekick ferrous metals expert Demetry “The Ghost” Kondrasheff [say that name quickly three times!]—these being the two returning Ones who fished The Mo when we last did so in 2008, with such resounding success that, yes, I felt compelled with our “fairness in fishing” motto to separate this long standing fishing duo.  Also in the long in the tooth veteran category is Walsh Vineyards Management co-owner Brian “Moraine” Shepard (so named for his preference to fish the bear-ladened Alaskan Moraine during our two Alaskaganzas there) who, like last year, will be joined by all three of his wonderful lineage:  Josef “Fear The Beard” Shepard, Nicolas “The Tsar” Shepard and “Beautiful Eliza Jane” Shepard, the latter bringing her beau Stefan “The Boy Friend” de Barros and each of whom will be resident in our jointly owned Blackfoot house with rookie addition Steve “The Man” Manfre.

 

Returning Group One veterans also include (a) Mechanic’s Bank’s venerable emeritus chairman Eddie “Two License” Downer and his rookie son Douglas “DD” Downer; (b) San Rafael’s wonderful “Minnow Mel” McCormack; and (c) CLG’s outside lawyer “Papa John” Rosenbaum and his returning son duo of “Big Ben” and “Adam The Toss”—this IS our Father’s Day trip you know, and what a cadre of fathers and offspring we will again have this year!!

 

Joining the Ones as rookies this year are (i) Santa Rosa contractors par excellence “Emperor Jim” Pacatte who brings with him his son Doug “DP” Pacatte and his son-in-law “Jimmie The Meek” Hagle; (ii) fellow Pt. Richmond lawyer “Josh b‘ Gosh” Genser and his lovely bride Elaine “Spit” Genser (her true surname being Spitaels-Genser, so how could I resist?!?); and (iii) lastly, but by no means least [look for this lady to wear Yellow on the flipside of Group One, folks] hailing from Grass Valley, California, the one, the only Chris “Rock” Richards.

 

So there you have it, folks—the wonderful heart and soul of the Wonderful (nee, Notoriously Awful—and then proud of it!) Ones—a group that will be joined in fishin’ Da Mo this year by the following additional line up {(get this):  Montana Wildlife Federation president “Tall Tim” Aldrich; National Wildlife Rockies Mountain Regional guru Tom France (who is lead counsel for the current mega-loads litigation that is occupying the hearts and souls of many Western Montanans); the revered Glenn Brackett, founder and owner of the world-renowned bamboo rod makers Sweetgrass Rods (generally regarded as the best bamboo rodmakers in the world); NWF’s national Sportsman’s Outreach Coordinator Land Tawney (returning for his third year as an Extravaganzer); and MWF’s sensational State Issue Coordinator “Big Ben” Lamb—likewise a multi-year Extravaganza returnee (it was Land and Ben’s boat that turned E-08 on its ear with their Mo twenty inch fish than any other Mo fish that year—the largest being Ben’s 23 ½ inch smashing rainbow causing SOS’s 21” brown that day to come in fourth place!!).

 

Mo fun on the Mo ag’in this year, Ones (and, by the way, my favorite suggested name for Da Motor Coach is The Trout Tub!).

 

Welcome to Extravaganzaland, Wonderful Ones---let the games now begin!!

 

Best to all in now full readiness for it all,

 

Rock Creek Ron

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