One by one, men, women and children wandered past Ronan Sports and Western Wear, curious to learn about the three plastic pools in their parking lot, the covered tent near U.S. 93 and a bright colorful poster advertising the first-ever Ronan Sports and Western Wear Flip, Pitch and Cast Contest.

Long-time employee and fishing expert Ben Maugn of Ronan stood outside with a big smile on his face and a big fishing pole in his hands.

Maugn got the day’s event started by “practicing” his fishing cast out technique, something he claimed to have only just begun.

At the end of Maugn’s pole, dangling from a nearly-invisible line, hung a rubber, drop-looking bullet. It was the object that contest participants needed to sink into the numbered pools as many times as possible.

One pool sat at 10 feet, another at 15 feet and the biggest challenge, a pool set 25 feet away from the casting line.

Within moments of the contests’ start, Darrell Ward and Shari Mundaniohl of St. Ignatius wandered onto the scene.

Ward stepped up and sank a 25-footer — and then another one a few minutes later.

Mundaniohl gave it her shot and Ward took the chance to try again.

“I would have done better if I had my own fishing pole,” Ward said, laughing. Ward is a cast member of “Ice Road Truckers,” a popular reality television show. 

But Maugn did not care. The day was about fun and sharing a common interest in a popular Montana sport.

Kate Olson, Ronan Sports and Western Wear employee and the contest organizer, said she brought the casting contest idea home from a recent buying show she attended on behalf of the store.

Olson said it was a great way to share a common love for sports with everyone who drives by.