Fishermen's Heaven Christmas letter

[Jennie@ifish]

Kevin sent this to me. I asked him if it was OK to put on ifish. He said, "sure!" He doesn't mind if we in Oregon know that they are crazy too!!!
He writes:

Happy Holidays and Best Fishes,


What We've Been Up To:


No fishing around here this weekend as most of the rivers here in the Pacific Northwest are at or above flood stage.
With more rain forecasted this week, we just might actually get our Christmas shopping done before Christmas Eve for the
first time in years. As most of you know, last year's low rainfall led to a "drought" year and a severe water shortage
here in Washington State. That will NOT be the case this year as we already have surpassed the amount of rain we
received all of last winter!


Rob has turned to the "politics" of fishing lately and he recently spent a little time in front of Washington's Fish and
Wildlife Commission, letting them know how he feels about a harvest management model the State has used from some 50
years. It is amazing how much valuable information the guides we fish with have in regards to fish runs and
management. There is just no substitute to being on the river over 200 days per year and seeing it firsthand. Rob is
also preparing himself for another interview at the Bellingham Fire Department, a job he has been working towards for
several years now. We wish him the best of luck!


Kevin on the other hand has been deeply immersed in the sport of basketball. Not as a player - he hung up his Chuck
Taylor's permanently (Chuck Taylor's are old basketball shoes for you younger viewers) after rupturing his achilles in
February. However, quite a few years ago Kevin took the high road (or the low road, however you see it) and became a
high school basketball referee, administering as many as 6 games a week throughout the season. Over the last 12 days
he's reffed 11 games, which is one heck of a lot of work for a guy his age. He wears it well though, and still has
plenty of time to fill all the Holiday video orders we've been getting lately, as well as answer any of the emails that
come into Fisherman's Heaven on a daily basis. Kevin thoroughly enjoys officiating and when he has to endure the
vociferous whining of a misinformed "fan," he just figures it's his pennance for all the complaining he did to the men
in stripes during his playing career. Rob is no stranger to basketball either as he still holds the Junior College
record here in Washington State for the most average fouls per game (a staggering 4.9). Despite those incriminating
statistics, Rob claims to have never committed a single foul.


Other than keeping our personal lives together and getting ready for the holidays, we've been recieving quite a few
invitations from outfitters, guides, and lodges wishing to air their outstanding fishing adventures on Fisherman's
Heaven next year. Even though we haven't yet decided on the fate of Fisherman's Heaven for the 2002 season, we can
assure you all that if we do another season it will be a dandy!


December Fishing News:


Like we had hoped, the hatchery winter steelhead have showed up in force in most of the Washington rivers. Sources on
Washington's North Coastal rivers are reporting as many as 20 hookups a day on the Bogachiel River. We received a
report from a very reliable source earlier this week of a 60-fish day on a small coastal tributary that receives one
heckuva hatchery plant. Reports from down on the Cowlitz River are that the fishing is so hot, most of the guides are
running daily double trips. In our neighborhood, both the Skykomish River and the Skagit River in the North Puget Sound
are seeing tremendous returns of hatchery fish as well. If one or two rivers were the only ones producing right now,
we'd be a little concerned about dishing out this information, but there are hatchery fish seemingly everywhere.
Chances are, a river or stream near you probably has a few hiding in it right now.


Our good friend John Keizer of Puget Sound Salmon Charters sent us a note last week saying that he and Tom Nelson are
going to be putting on a "Salmon University" soon! If you haven't heard of these guys, they're a couple of Washington's
top saltwater charter captains and are not only great fisherman, but great teachers! Knowing these guys, they will have
left no stone unturned putting this class together. If you're just getting into saltwater salmon fishing, this is a
great way to get a jump start in your pursuit of these great fish. For more information go to
http://www.eskimo.com/~bpentium/pssc/ and follow the link to "Salmon University".


As slow as the mail seems to be moving over the past couple of weeks, it's probably a little late to get a video order
in for Christmas, but a Fisherman's Heaven fishing video makes for great entertainment on these rainy winter weekends
when the rivers aren't fishable. Place your order at http://www.fishermansheaven.com/merch.html


Have a wonderful holiday season and may 2002 be full of huge, fiesty fish.


Kevin and Rob
Fisherman's Heaven
www.fishermansheaven.com


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[ 12-18-2001: Message edited by: Jennie@ifish ]

[ 12-19-2001: Message edited by: Jennie@ifish ]</p>