In 1976, four of us lived in Beutelsbach, Germany, in an apartment at Urbanstrasse 8. From left to right: Neal (aka "Nagel"), Scott (aka "Beak"), myself (aka "Mist Mann"), and and another Scott (aka "Swanee").
Swanee, who hailed from Pendroy, Montana, eventually returned there and there he lives to this very day. I have not seen any of these guys for at least 30 years, though there was sporadic email contact. Neal, ever a Prankster, decided to surprise Swanee with a visit. Moreover, he got Gerhard in on the deal, who was a native of Beutelsbach back then, and a friend to us American lads. The complete surprise was moderated to a partial one: Swanee was informed that Nagel and Beak were coming, but not that Gerhard and I would also come. I flew to Billings, where I rented the van that we would use. I had a couple of days on my own before our planned rendezvous in Great Falls. First stop was the famed Bighorn River, where I slept in this cabin at the anglers' haunt called Cottonwood camp:
The next day I continued to fish the Bighorn. The river was alive with trout, fishermen, and driftboats. I hooked one on a self-tied Soft Hackle, but he or she broke off and escaped.
