Sportsman's Quest

Two fishermen show off part of their catch.
This is a story of two competitors, Richard Sokol and Vince Pompo. Both are Californians in the floor tile business, both attend national trade shows and both enjoyed a three-day ocean fishing trip for tuna on the American Angler long range boat out of San Diego, Calif., as guests of a supplier.

That was 30 years ago and where this tale begins. These two found a common interest, became friends, but now compete on a much greater, global, scale. They hunt and fish together around the world.

I first met them while salmon and halibut fishing out of Harrison's Cove Lodge, in Barkley Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and yes, they outfished me. This wasn't their first trip to the lodge though, nor was it mine, but they have made it an annual event.

They've also hunted the Brooks Range of Alaska on horseback for Dall sheep caribou and moose. On one eventful hunt, Vince discovered his sights were off from the flight in when he made two, less than perfect shots at a moose, one in each antler.

Dick was there for him though, and dropped it at 300 yards, with one shot. After re-sighting in the rifle Vince was able to get a 40-plus- inch, full curl ram.

This sheep wasn't uneventful either, which is usually the case while sheep hunting in the high alpine areas of the north. The hike following the spotting of a nice ram was one of those five-hours up, one-hour down trips, due to the shale slopes.

They had an interesting, but simple, landing on a small lake in a Cesna 180. That's always the easy part. On their white knuckle way out the pilot had to circle the lake three times to gain speed.

They thought they would certainly hit the trees, but all went well on their way back to Anchorage and they relaxed until the pilot handed them a flashlight and asked "Do you see ice on the wings?" They didn't, but shared another memorable adventure.

They also kept me spellbound while telling of their St. Augustine Island, brown bear hunt on the Alaska Peninsula. They hiked for 3 hours to a small camp and found bears had demolished the structures, so they were forced to sleep in a small tent. Vince hugged his .44 cal. revolver that night.

The temperature dropped to -60 degrees; that's when you can experience spit freezing before it hits the ground.

Vince got his bear, though, and they hiked back to the ocean and the plane. I'd definitely call that a bonding experience. Dick went back alone the next year, but had outboard motor problems, so he fished for char the next 10 days.

They've hunted turkey together and ended up being their own guide, when the one they had hired didn't show up; fished for golden trout in Arizona with Senator John McCain and hunted elk at Steam Boat Springs, Colo. with John Sandlin. Dick has hunted this ranch every November for the past 30 years, Vince for only the past 15.

All of this and several trips to Europe with their wives, which included stops in Spain, Italy, Germany, Gibraltar and Monaco. This sounds like a trade-off to this ol' country boy.

The moral of this story: Cultivate good, long term hunting and fishing companions. This has been the key to success from the time of Davy Crocket and Daniel Boone to the friends of Earnest Hemmingway and Jack O'Conner. I've heard these words of wisdom and try to do the same, as have Richard Sokol and Vince Pompo.

Oh', lest I forget, Richard went back to Alaska for that brown bear. A No. 1 world record. More on that story next week.