Extravagant Greetings From Our Outfitter!!

Extravagant Ones: 

 

Here it is...your official greeting from (y)our Extravaganza 2009 Outfitter--the one, the only, the magnificent John Gould:

 

 RCR

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 Greetings 2009 Extravaganza Participants,

 It is with the greatest pleasure, that I introduce myself for the 2009 Extravaganza, and say hello again, to any of you from the first three seasons of this wonderful event.

    My name is John Gould, and I was lucky enough to be a part of the first three years of the Extravaganza's adventures here in the Big Sky Country. I've been a guide on Montana rivers since 1995, a fisherman since I could walk, and as any of you from the first three Extravaganzas may recall, a crazy fishing guide. There are no words to describe how happy I am, to be back with Ron, Kathy and all of you in 2009 and the years to come! I am really looking forward to seeing some of the familiar faces, as well as all of the new ones this event will bring. I must say, we can't wait to help make this the fun filled adventure that I remember it as in it's first few years!

     Winter in Montana: At the moment, our snow packs are a little more on the safe side this winter. We are currently at about 116% in the Bitterroot drainage, 129% in the upper Clark Fork, and 98% in the lower Clark Fork.  If you like, you can keep an eye on our snow packs at  ftp://ftp.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/data/snow/update/mt.txt 
    Our snow packs tell us quite a bit about our upcoming fishing season, and these are great numbers for our trout, and for the time of year to have said percentages. Our spring run off typically starts in late April and goes through the end of the first week in June. This triggers the Salmon fly hatch, and starts our season off with a bang! The hatches keep coming at a great clip, and keep us and our fish busy right through the end of July. Late June and early July is an exciting time because so many hatches are overlapping each other, turning the trout into hungry, fly chasing machines. Long story short, with another "normal" Montana winter 3/4 of the way under our belt, we are looking forward to a good amount of water, and some very, very healthy fish for the '09 Extravaganza!!!

    I am also proud to announce, the first annual HAWAIIAN SHIRT DAY! This will be held on the first day of fishing for each of the three groups. The "ugliest", or I might say, most "unique" shirt will be awarded a prize yet to be determined. Possibly a bowl of soup! We at Double Up Outfitters, plan on having a great time with all of you! Let's get ready to catch some fish, learn some things about trout and fly fishing, and have a truly amazing time in this incredible place called Montana! Pack your bags, charge your camera batteries and let's go fishing!

    Looking forward to seeing you all this spring!

    Best Regards,

    John
   

John Gould
Double-Up Outfitters LLC   
4209 Edgewater way     

Stevensville, MT 59870

Phone: (406)-777-5668

Cell: (406)-240-9498
    Outfitter # 7499
www.doubleupoutfitters.com

IWFF Press Release

Click here to see the January 16 press release from the International Wildlife Media Center & Film Festival regarding Summer 2009 student filmmaker scholarships.

Extravagagant Winter Greetings from Extravaganzaland!

Winter greetings, Extravagant Ones!

 

As depicted so elegantly in the attached pictures taken here at Extravaganza Headquarters this mid-January morning (the beginning of my 63rd year, by the way [can you envision a better place to do so?!?]), 30 degree temperatures are keeping all that is important to us (namely the higher elevation snow pack) on ice for our upcoming adventures and, pleasantly so, as the Bitterroot River Basin snow pack average--our traditional snowfall barometer--is, at last count right at 102% of normal. 

 

It is that snow pack that carries and preserves your Extravaganza 2009 fishing dreams throughout the early part of the year, as that high-mountain snow will be the subject of future melting and the resultant "spring runoff" which, in turn, provides the water flow that cleanses our rivers and spurs the bug life within, which, in yet further turn, "post runoff" (right when we fish, gang), sees the fish teeming alive in new surroundings with a veritable "Free Joe's Eats" sign lit up.  Resultantly, our fishing bounty where the fishing is so good that even you rookies out there will come away saying with a (now traditional) post-Extravaganza swagger, "Wow, I can't believe that I saw what I saw, did what I did, and caught as many wonderful, healthy native fish as I did--and I was only a 'rookie', just wait until next year!"

 

Take a moment and enjoy with me these quiet photographed Montana moments of icicles dangling from the front door's eaves; winter's mask proudly atop recently cut logs; and with bronze eagles and lamps bravely weathering the solemn beauty of it all.  Indeed, as you can see, this is one of my favorite times of the year in these parts and why Montana truly "matters"!

 

Best to all from the scene of it all,

 

Rock Creek Ron

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2009 Flight Information

Click here for information on the flights to use and/or connect to folks—do not be creative, just follow the bouncing airplanes!

Extravaganza 2009 Recommended Delta Air Lines Travel Schedule

 

These are the flights to use and/or connect to folks--do not be creative, just follow the bouncing airplanes!

 

RCR

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Dates Confirmed for Extravaganza 2009!

Extravaganza 2009 will consist of three (3) Groups of 18 fisherfolk each, divided sequentially into Group A, Group B, and Group C. The following are the arrival, fishing and departure dates for each group:

 

• Group A will arrive in MSO on Saturday, June 20th;  will fish three days (Sunday, June 21st [Father's Day]; Monday, June 22nd and Tuesday, June 23rd) and return home on Wednesday, June 24th.
• Group B will arrive in MSO on Friday, June 26th; will fish three days (Saturday, June 27th; Sunday, June 28th and Monday, June 29th) and return home on Tuesday, June 30th.
• Group C will arrive in MSO on Thursday, July 2nd; will fish three days (Friday, July 3rd; Saturday, July 4th [hosting our seventh annual Rock Creek Extravaganza Fly Casting Contest and Guide Appreciation BBQ] and Sunday, July 5th) and return home on Monday, July 6th.

This year, John Gould's extraordinary Double Up Outfitters, LLC (www.doubleupoutfitters.com ) will serve as our exclusive outfitter and Doug Persico's tenured Rock Creek Mercantile (www.rcmerc.com ) will serve as Extravaganza 2009's land base operator.

 

Happy New Year to all!!

 

Rock Creek Ron

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