November Newsletter
Hey Everyone, November 23, 2007
Well, it has been a while since I sent out the last newsletter. I have gotten phone calls and emails from different ones wondering if I was still alive. I am still kicking and ugly as ever. We have had quite a year. From working for that friend of mine in Alaska this last summer to starting up the hunting in Wyoming this last fall I have been busier then a one armed paper hanger but have loved it. I have so much to talk about in this letter but I will try to keep it to a minimum so you won’t get too bored with it. I might even spare you from another bad joke or maybe not. We will see how it goes.
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and now it is that Christmas frenzy time of the year. If anyone needs my Christmas list just give me a call. Okay, I am kidding but since it is Christmas time and it is a celebration of the birth of Jesus and kids all over the world are making out a Christmas list it reminds me of a joke. Haha! There was a little boy that wanted a new bike real bad so he decided to write Jesus a letter. He wrote, “Dear Jesus, if you give me a brand new bike I will be good for two weeks.” However after the little boy seen what he wrote he realized that being good for two weeks was not going to happen so he tears the letter up and starts another. “Dear Jesus, if you give me a brand new bike I will be good for one week.” But after reading it back to himself he again realized that being good for a week wasn’t even possible. So he starts another letter. “ Dear Jesus if you give me a brand new bike I will be good for a whole day.” The little boy read this back to himself with a bit of confidence but after thinking more about it he knew that even for a day was not going to happen. So very down and out the little boy was walking around the house sulking and wishing for a new bike. After walking by his mom and dad’s room the little boy noticed a statue of Mother Mary on their dresser. The little boy had an idea and took the statue, put it in a shoebox and slipped it under his bed and started another letter. “DEAR JESUS IF YOU EVER WANT TO SEE YOUR MOM AGAIN!
Okay I couldn’t resist now let’s talk about what’s been going on with the hunting and fishing. This is how this last year went. After the sportsman shows I fished here on the Columbia River from April through the first part of July. A week after that we flew out to my son’s graduation from basic training in Oklahoma. I am very proud of him. He joined the army and scored well on his test so he got to choose what he wanted to do and he chose ranger airborne medic. He is doing great and has another graduation this December 13th from the first part of his medical training. He is now an EMT. After graduation he gets to come home for a couple weeks then he starts his airborne training. Anyway, we went to his graduation then a couple days after we got back I headed to Alaska and worked for a friend of mine on Prince of Wales Island. It went pretty good. I learned a lot about the fishing up there and just love it. However after the season was over the friend of mine decided that he is going to sell his boat and farm the salt guiding out to other guides. So after seeing that I was not going to be working for him next year I thought I would look to do my own gig in Alaska. We found some land and are now in the process of buying it. I will have more info on this as soon as I know more of how it will pan out. We are excited about it. The land is right on this lake and is a beautiful place for a vacation. I can’t wait to get the cabins built. The hunting up there is very good, the fishing is better and the beauty of Alaska is even better. So please be patient with me about getting this up and going because I would love to have everyone come fish and hunt with me up in Alaska. It will be worth the wait.
After I got back from Alaska I fished salmon on the Columbia River for eight days then a couple days after that we headed off to Wyoming.
The Wyoming hunting is AWESOME! If you didn’t hear, we bought a deer/antelope hunting outfit from a guy that had it for about 30 years. It is a very reputable business and it is everything that he told me it was. We have a new bunkhouse with each room having it’s own bathroom and shower. All of our hunts are done on private leases and the tags have been 100% to draw so everyone that puts in gets to hunt for sure. We had about 60 hunters and all but two filled there tags but more importantly then that I think everyone had a great time. I have fantastic guides working for me and I think everyone went away weighing more then when they got there so the food was great also. It must have been good because the first week of next year is already booked from hunters that were there this year. We have mule deer, whitetail deer and antelope. This is a hunt that anybody can do. The hunts are as hard or as easy as you want them to be. The ones that like to get out and hunt, we have some good hiking for you and for the ones that are limited for whatever reason we have leases for you. Last year we had a guy in a wheel chair take a mule deer and an antelope with his bow. This is a hunt for everyone to do. Some of my family even got to hunt. My 18-year-old daughter came over with me and guided, gutted, skinned and cleaned for me and did an awesome job. She also took a dandy antelope and a whitetail deer. My wife while she was over also took an antelope and I didn’t want to loose out so I took an antelope also. I have some of our hunts online so you can look at them if you want. www.kodakgallery.com/gimmeago and go to 2007 hunts. If you are interested in hunting with us next year just give me a call or send me an email. I will talk about this a little more later on.
Now that I am back from Wyoming I am getting ready for the sportsman shows starting the first of the year. We will be doing six shows again this year. Here are the shows we will be at and their dates:
January 17-20 Sacramento California
January 23-27 Puyallup Washington
February 6-10 Portland Oregon
February 13 17 Monroeville Pennsylvania
February 28-March 2 Redmond Oregon
March 20-23 Spokane Washington
Please stop by and say hi. In some of these shows we will have booths in different parts of the show for our hunting and fishing but I will be at one of the booths. But I will be looking forward to seeing you.
Here is my schedule for next year of hunting and fishing. I will do shows through March. April through mid July I will be sturgeon and salmon fishing on the Columbia River. Hopefully I will be in Alaska in August working on the cabins and doing some fishing of my own. If this all works out then I will be looking to do some horse-trading. I am trading some carpentry work for some hunting in Wyoming or fishing is Alaska which ever. I have some coming already but if you are interested and have some carpentry experience please contact me. Then after I get back from Alaska I will fish for a week or so on the Columbia for salmon the first part of September then I will head to Wyoming after that. That sounds like a good year doesn’t it? I told my wife if I just had two more months in a year, one more day in a week and two of me this would be a cakewalk.
Anyway, with all the sportsman shows I am doing the fishing is booking up fast and there will always be room in the hunting but it is also booking. Our prices for the fishing on the Columbia River will be going up a little for next year. We are $150 per person now and it will go up to $175 for next year. If you book before January 1st we are still going to honor this years price. So, if you are looking for a day of fishing with me or looking for a great Christmas gift just give us a call. We would love to get you on the book for fishing next year. If you are thinking about hunting with us in Wyoming next year keep in mind that the deadline for the licenses are March 15th. Give us a call and we will walk through the process with you. We will generally always have leftover tags available but the easiest way is to do it before March 15th.
Thanks again for being great customers and I hope that the Christmas holidays are extra special for you all this year. Remember to take that neighbor kid fishing or hunting with you. You will make a difference for that child. Talk to you soon.