Planning first fishing trip of 2018

License and tags have been purchased.  It has been a tradition for a few years now.  My fishing buddy Pablo and I head out New Years Day to chase steelhead on the Sandy river.  As the years go by, my staying out all night New Years Eve has been slowing down making it easier to get out on the water at first light the following morning.  Priorities.  🙂

This year I had to stray from tradition due to some prior commitments so I suggested we push out the trip a couple of days.  With the high water conditions, this actually might work in our favor as the water comes down and clears up over the next couple of days.

The night before last, I saw a Facebook post from a local fishing guide, Cody Herman of Day One Outdoors, announcing a free fishing opportunity for Veterans hosted by Home with Heroes.  There were only enough seats for 4 veterans and their guests.  This post was more than 8 hours old so I figured all the available seats were gone.  I thought to myself, “I am a veteran  :)”.  I contacted Cody anyway to see if there was a chance that there was still a seat available.  Fingers crossed.

After a few emails and finally a message directly to Home with Heroes, I was notified that I was on the list and could bring one guest.  Happy New Year!!!!

Home with Heroes is a non-profit organization committed to bringing veterans and active duty military together and into the outdoors, to honor and thank them for their service.

All the gear is provided and I just need to dress warm and be ready to fish.  Easy Peasy   🙂

I invited Pablo as my plus one to make up for my breaking tradition.  He gladly accepted.  Now, we can both just sit back and enjoy fishing letting someone else drive the boat.  Hopefully, I will get some great pics of the day and have more to write about.

Standby…..