31" Blackfoot E-16 Bulltrout Landed on Bamboo!!

For our tenth Extravaganza anniversary, in 2012, I ordered and handed out 80 (count 'em!) custom-made bamboo rods from world renowned Montana rod maker Sweetgrass Rods and, since then, these rods have fished the world but never have seen the likes of what was witnessed on E-16'sDay Three of Group Three. On that fateful day, son Tyler "Lefty" Clausen repeated what we had done so well just the day before--a day on the famed Blackfoot ("A River Runs Through It")--fishing, all day, only Sweetgrass bamboo rods.

Mid-day into Lefty's second day of so doing, as he had so many, many times in the previous 24 hours, he hooked into a 14" cuttbow (which, until then, we thought plenty of fish for his five weight 8 foot rod) only to have a "large shadow" loom up from the rocks, and, just as guide Scott Anderson was about to net the bow, ingest the quarry whole, returning to the depths with both attached to Tyler's fishing line. Shortly thereafter, the dry fly that had enticed the cuttbow was severed and then, by the luck of all things lucky, its size 16 trailing nymph hooked the feasting bull in the bottom lip, and the ensuing real fight, which lasted over 45 minutes was on-- a fight that saw Lefty perpetually keeping tension on the racing bulltrout while guide Scott (along with Tyler) leapt out of their boat and chased the bull several hundred yards downstream and in the course of the battle, the bull would take refuge behind several of the large underwater rocks that are found in the river (rocks "from the beginning of time" as described by Norman McLean in his epic novel for which this river is now known) whereupon guide Scott, pictured above with Lefty, the bamboo rod and the landed bulltrout, literally went into the river "up to his neck" taking his net to spook the bull out from behind the rocks to continue the battle/war.

And look at the result above, gang--a first-ever mega bulltrout landed by an Extravaganzer on flexible and (now not-so--perceived) tender bamboo. Congrats, son--you are a masterful fisherman and accomplished a masterful feat with a masterful bamboo rod--yes, this was also worthy of both a Yellow Hat and the Group Three Yellow Hat.