THE FISHIN' MISSION JOURNAL

Page 2

CHRONOLOGY HELPS FOR THOSE WITH LIMITED RECALL !!

Well, if you were there, it might not have been for the whole enchilada (or you might not remember), and if you weren't there, then you should know....as usual, we had a great time! In addition to a great golf tournament (see Tuesday), JR talked us into a new backwoods experience (no banjos required) that you can read about in the Moday report! But here's kinda how the week went:

Thursday, May 29th:
We don't really officially start until Friday, but this year, in addition to LTR and T, the Professor and Outtahere alledgedly arrived on Thursday....must have had a page or two missing from their Day Timers!

Friday, May 30th:
Let the games begin! Things got underway as the second wave arrived. New folks like Bob Chilson (with Red and crew) showed up along with lots of others....trying to get one in the freezer early so the could relax and PARTY!

Conspicuous by their absence were the Commish (said to be trapped in a HUGE real estate deal) and Here for the Beer (still doing his laundry and packin').

Word has it the fishin' was slow at best....high water combined with lots of runoff = "they ain't takin' my powerbait!"

Saturday, May 31st:
By Saturday, all had arrived that were going to show (except a surprise visit by Treeman). We heard excuses for Bucket, Woody, Country, Fast Eddy, CR, and Hands. Quite frankly, all bullshit.....oh well! We didn't even ask about Monndoggie, Hendy, Deits, or Speed Limit....quite frankly, who gives a shit?

The wok had arrived, with Stiffy in tow (more on that later), so dinner was a "go" on Sunday! And of course, the long awaited arrival of Baack, who should drink more and talk less, was finally a reality! The term energizer bunny has taken on a new meaning!
The fishin' continued at a slow pace but the basketball playoffs were on, and life was good ....even when the fish weren't bitin'.

Sunday, June 1st:
Everyone gave it the old college try (unfortunately not many have gone to college), but the fishing was incredibly slow. The weather was great, but six hours in the sun with nothing but mountains and blue sky will drive even the strongest man indoors! So....one by one, the folks gave up for the day. And one by one, they grabbed the stools at the Mono Village Saloon, until all the stools were taken and all the standin' room was gone... We owned the bar! We watched the b-ball game with intrepidation, anxiously waitin' for the evening's event...The Rick Gale Memorial ! If you were there, you know what a wonderful moment it was....27 of the 30 of us (LTR and T had left, Nichols was lost......again) in attendance. We started out with Stiffy again preparing a wok-feast of Moose, Chicken and Veggies in the stir-fry, with potatoes, rice, salad, and bread rolls. We finished, of course, with select wines (and Jack, Meyers, Schnapps, etc). Red did a great job splicing old video footage together and we relaxed to watch Rick at his best, while we fired up the cigars and told stories. Anyone that thinks Rick wasn't in attendance need not show up this year! And in traditional fashion, we celebrated our way: Andy fell down the riverbank....twice; Morgasm set his hair on fire, and we had lots of "toasts" to one of our own.

Monday, June 2nd:
Everyone had a half day to "get back" into the derby, but with the previous evening still pounding in most folks' head, it was a slow start. When the bell in the courthouse struck noon, there was not a contender to be found! As mentioned earlier in the journal, T had locked it up with a trout he caught Saturday morning! We took T's prize money ($140) and meandered over to The Sportsman to celebrate, but they were closed!

We then convinced JR to open on his day off "for just a little while" so we could spend T's prize money on drinks for everyone! JR obliged, and if it hadn't been for Lost Boy (more on that later) picking up a big tab, T wouldn't have had any of his prize money left.

Thanks to Jim for opening on his day off for us!

It was during this time that the "fishin' wannabe's" got into the swing. JR had offered the night before to lead a hike up to Tamarack Lake for a look at some brookies, and maybe some goldens? Nah, can't be! Oh Hell - let's go for it!

We took several of the four-wheelers as far up the mountain as possible, and then, thanks to the skillfull leadership and outdoor techniques of our sponsor JR, we trudged through the snow, first to Tamarack (shit that was a fur piece!) and then, for a few brave souls, further up to Hunewell Lake. It was an awesome afternoon! It was a clear day with blue skies, and, from the peak, Bridgeport looked like a teeny tiny toy town (are you impressed with my skillful use of alliteration?).

We did run into some brookies and there were stories about the goldens. In any case it was fun for all.....except for Morgie, who stopped a few times to chum the pine trees, and Lost Boy who tried to walk out on his own and got lost! When we finally found him, he was happy enough to buy us all dinner that night at The Sportman. Hence the term "Lose Nichols, Eat Free"!