“Mary and lucked out getting hooked up with Mike the first time. I called about a week out from when I wanted a trip and the owner said let me check, and quickly came back with “Wow, Mike Bean is available and he’s never available. ” That started a friendship that has lasted now several years on the South Fork. Whatever the weather conditions, Mike has put us on fish. Most days we’ve had with Mike, even when it seems there are boats on every gravel bar, have been “Good” to “Great” to “Epic!” I accuse him of having big fish staked out in places no one knows about. He has unbelievable patience and is a great teacher when asked. In addition, he’s a genuinely great guy. We enjoy swapping fishing stories, and have grown to enjoy talking football. I have converted Mike to pulling for Alabama and he’s converted me to pulling for Washington State. It’s easy to talk about both, but especially neat to keep up with the latest stories on the “Ole Pirate” at WSU Mike Leach. Our annual trips are coming up soon and we are excited about getting back together.”