FALL 2003

Sportsmen, Friends and Other Interested Parties

For some years I have engaged in Hunting and Fishing with not much thought as to what my sport might cost me on a yearly basis. However, now that I am retired, interest rates of less than 1% on money market funds and bonds in the 3% range coupled with negative Stock Fund rates-of-return has gotten my attention.

Mind you, I have no intent of giving up my sports, but I just have to approach them on a sounder financial basis.

As many of you know I have had Duck Hunting leases in Louisiana located between two Wildlife Preserves which required the purchase of custom made Duck Boats with inboard engines, a two bedroom camp house, a boat house to hold three boats, dozens of decoys, a fleet of pirogues and several duck blinds built at some expense.

I moved into flats fishing which necessitated building a yacht of 100 foot in length (M/V Beau Southern), which would accommodate eighteen guests and a crew of four licensed seaman. Nine custom made flats skiffs were carried topside and lowered onto the flats once the yacht arrived on station at the Dry Tortugas, Chandeler Islands, or the Everglades.

I then built a 60 foot yacht (M/V Native Son), which carried six guests and a crew of two to do even more flats fishing.

Next, I took up hunting and fishing in the mountains of Utah for the wily Mule Deer and trout. This sport called for a cabin, a couple of jeeps, a number of trailers, a couple of four-wheelers, a brace of canoes to dredge trout from the mountain lakes, and high powered rifles, carbon fiber fly rods, English made fly reels. Spotting scopes and other optics were a must.

I am now (these past fifteen years), into the latest in outdoor sportsmanship, Trout Bumming. This sport has a new set of equipment and requires vast amounts of time.

The equipment consist of more fiber carbon rods from the finest shops, vast numbers of hand tied flies, gossamer leaders, vibrant colored fly lines, reels that are numbered and signed, and waders that are made of the only usable product to come out of the Space Program. But that’s only the beginning.

To be a Trout Bum you need the latest diesel truck, a go-anywhere camp trailer, more canoes, four wheelers, another trailer to haul the canoes and four-wheelers, and a few hundred pounds of food and gear.

Are you starting to get the picture?

I must have help if I am to keep up the pace.

Now for the pitch:

In the Summer of 2004 (May-July) I intend to take my rig to British Columbia and Alaska and fish, photograph, explore, hike, and revel in God’s Creation.

I will be fishing the area of British Columbia that is best known as the home of Big Foot.

The trout and salmon in the area are unmolested by the “A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT” crowd (they are all bunched up on Montana Rivers). The area is traversed by a 270 mile gravel road that goes from one unknown town (Williams Lake) to another unknown village (Bella Coola) on the Pacific coast.

Alaska will be reached via the British Columbia Ferry system by boarding in Bella Coola and running the Inland Passage to Prince Rupert, then trans-shipping on to the Alaska Ferry for Kodiak.

In Alaska I will be fishing the Kenai, Kodiak, and other points of interest.

All this is to say, I was wondering if there were those of you, who might be interested, or have friends that would like to share expenses for a week of fishing and exploring. I figure a weeks fishing in British Columbia is worth $1,000 since it would include food, lodging, local transportation, canoes, and all other required gear. A week on Kodiak, or the Kenai would cost $1400 due to the cost of getting on location. A person would have to provide their own air fare to the nearest commercial airport in the area to be fished.

Please pass this on to anyone you think might rise to the bait.

Pete Barrett