The article in your magazine titled “Shall We Gather At The River?” (Vol. 19 No.3, May/June 2009), beautifully written by Derek Brace, greatly affected me personally.

Derek’s heartfelt reflection of his Uncle Calvin caused me to reflect and reminisce on a wonderful uncle of mine, Mr. George Skinner. Uncle George introduced me to the wonderful outdoors with all of its splendour, challenges and rewards, providing me with life lessons that have moulded me into the person I am today, and no doubt a better person for it.

I am 47 years of age and I still get excited about my next fishing or hunting excursion as if I were still a teenager, and I suspect this enthusiasm will last for my remaining years.

I will hold dear to me fond memories of trouting with my uncle, having a boil-up, seeing him “taking up the rear” with his old trusted single-shot Cooey.

He could not have given me a better gift than that of the love and respect for the outdoors.

My Uncle George passed away March 6, 2009, just one week after Derek Brace's uncle Calvin. To paraphrase Derek, “Life is short and time passes by so quickly; we're not promised tomorrow. We really are only guaranteed the time we have now.”

Get out there and indulge in all the activities the great outdoors provide us, learning a lesson or two on the way. Thank you, Uncle George, for a lifetime of outdoor enjoyment, memories and experiences yet before me.

Thanks so much for the information and advice you provided two years ago as we were preparing our vacation. We are planning another visit to your wonderful province early in August to do some fishing and more general tourism-related activities, and have a couple of questions to ask, if you have time to respond to this email.

Last time, which was our third in Newfoundland, you suggested a couple of lakes where we could fish for trout during our stay in the central part of the province, plus you mentioned some other places to visit and events to take in. (The Exploits Salmon Festival was a blast, by the way.)

Well, this time, after reading, seeing and hearing so much in your magazine and on your DVDs about the Great Northern Peninsula, we’ve decided to spend a week in that area and we’d like to try fishing for Atlantic salmon, among other things. We know about the licence/guide requirements, but could you suggest a couple of places to fish where we don’t have to walk great distances, along with flies we should have?

We’d like to order a two-year subscription for Mike Labelle in Cold Lake, Alberta. Mike came to Newfoundland with us recently and fell in love with the place - naturally.

It was his first trip out of Alberta and his first trip on a plane. We gave him a copy of your Sportsman magazine as he was going back to Alberta and now that’s all he talks about; that and his plans to return.

We thought we’d really hook him by sending him a subscription to your magazine as a birthday gift. That will make him come back for sure.

A few comments on your latest issue: Tom Reynolds’ story, “There are experts... then there’s Frank,” was hilarious. I can just picture those events as they happened. The part about Frank leaving his rod and line on a picket fence all year long brought tears of laughter to my eyes. I also enjoyed M. Stanley’s article, “Worm Man strikes again.” That, too, brought back memories of fishing with my father back in Newfoundland many years ago.

Rob Solo’s “Forgotten Favourites,” about some of the older salmon flies, was well put together. When I come home to fish again some year, I’ll keep his advice in mind and pick up a couple of Silver Doctors. The cover photo of the kid with those huge brook trout was magnificent.

In your “Letters” section, I was moved by the one from Rick Pelley about spending time with his Dad.

All in all, it was a terrific issue and I look forward to reading more.