A page from Gene’s diary in July 1991. “Toward evening I couldn’t resist going back to the Gold Metal Stretch of the river. Raises began at dark. I lost a huge trout after a short battle when I brought in too much line into reel & when he went down stream, I couldn’t give slack fast enough-he took the fly & 5.5 lb. tippet with him. I saw a large trout working at near dark-got excited & with too much line out, cross wind & new cowboy hat on, I landed fly smartly into my left ear, burying it through to the barb. I chewed off the line & adorned with a deer-haired bodied Adams-sought out fisherman down stream for help. With use of Leatherman he cut hook off & pushed it rest of why through my ear and out the other side. He did a good job. I was damn happy to not have to walk around with that thing in ear-plus painful.” Gene Rantz