Deer meat a first-time holiday gift

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Well, Christmas is over for another year (save for the cleaning up, the stowing of gifts, and, if you’re one of the unlucky ones, the returning of unwanted or ill-fitting garments).

I’m happy to report that, as usual, I’ve got no complaints. Santa was, I figure, much nicer to me than I deserved. (I still wake each Christmas morning half-expecting to find a hefty helping of coal in my sock, to tell you the truth.)

This year? No coal. Again. (Will wonders never cease?) Everything I received was perfect.

Except, that is, for the 53-degree weather and drenching rain, which put a literal damper on my plans for lighting up our hillside driveway with those nifty candle-and-sand-in-a-bag contraptions that some call “lumieres” and others refer to as “luminaries.”

We did, however, get a chance to stage a test run on Monday, before the rain and wind and mud really arrived. The test, we thought, was a huge success … except for fact that at some point, we ended up with one impressive bag-of-fire that must have alarmed passing motorists a bit.

As usual, I received more gifts than I needed, deserved, or requested this year.

I got a handy day-planner so that I can (theoretically) keep better track of myself than I have been. I got a headlamp (which, I suppose, should also help me keep better track of myself in those situations where a simple day-planner won’t do the trick). And I got a pair of snazzy sunglasses (just in case somebody else’s headlamp is shining in my eyes when I’m trying to plan my day).

I received clothing and shoes and chopsticks and cologne … and plenty of other gifts that you may or may not be interested in.

And for the first time, I received deer steak for Christmas.

My brother-in-law, Carl, was lucky this deer season. Either that, or he’s good. (For the record, I secretly suspect the latter, but publicly accuse him of the former.) Either way, I’m now the proud owner of several packages of venison. As a Christmas gift.

Seeing as how I once received an ice shack for Christmas, I vow to never be surprised by anything that shows up under the tree …. or in the yard … or in the freezer.

The packages of mouth-watering venison, though, caught me off-guard.

Only in Maine …

I’m sure you learned as much in second-grade science class, but since I spent college summers lugging, creating and bagging frozen water, I’ll give you a (former) ice professional’s view on the situation we now find ourselves in.

Fifty-degree temperatures are not what we (former) ice professionals would term “optimal” conditions for freezing water.

(In fact, when temperatures in our manufacturing plant reached those levels, one of two things would often happen: 1) We’d all punch out and go to the beach; or 2) We’d all stand around and listen to someone yell at us … and then we’d punch out and go to the beach.

All of which is a roundabout way to say this: It has been warm out. And rather than head out on the ice … you may be better off to consider the beach option.

Ignore the calendar … and the law book … and the odd angler who lives down the street and claims that he saw a wicked fat bird sitting on the ice the other day … and it’s been cold since then … so “it’s gotta be safe.”

The calendar (and law book) say that ice-fishing is nearly upon us. Heck, the law book says we’re already allowed to fish for some warm-water species … ice permitting.

Your common sense should tell you something else: Be careful.

You don’t have to be a (former) ice professional to figure that out.

If you’re like me, you had to sit around all spring and listen to relatives and neighbors and friends (and total strangers) tell you how great turkey season was going to be.

“You must have received a permit,” they’d all begin … until I turned that angry reddish-purple that told them differently.

Well, if you’re like me, you’re over the disappointment from last year’s (apparent) computer error … almost. You’re feeling lucky. You’re ready to enter the state’s permit lottery … again.

If that’s the case, you ought to realize that time’s running out.

The deadline for entry in this year’s permit lottery is 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 15.

The spring wild turkey hunt will be staged in a split season that runs from May 3 through June 5.

Prospective hunters can enter the lottery quickly and simply by logging onto the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s Web site at www.mefishwildlife.com.

The process will take less than five minutes and cost Maine residents just $8.

If you’ve been tempted to try the on-line registration process in the past … and have not done so because you’re more comfortable with the old system, you may want to think twice.

Registering on the Internet cuts down on the work that must be done by DIFW employees, and saves the cash-strapped department money.

This come a bit late to qualify as a Christmas present, but I’d like to take this chance to let you know about a promotion we’ll be running early next year.

A year ago, in conjunction with the Penobscot County Conservation Association’s Sportsman’s Show, we here at the NEWS gave away a drift boat trip on the East Outlet of the Kennebec. Mike Horvers of Milford won the trip and joined me for a day of fantastic fishing in one of my favorite places.

I’m happy to report that I spoke with guide Dan Legere last week, and apparently the fact that Mike and I were on our best behavior during last year’s trip (and as such, avoided hooking our guide with an errant streamer fly) paid dividends: Legere is eager to host a repeat trip this season.

Legere, if you don’t know, owns and operates the Maine Guide Fly Shop in Greenville, and is one of the region’s most sought-after guides. Simply put, if it swims in the East Outlet – or anywhere else in the greater Greenville area – Legere knows how to catch it. As he proved last year, he also probably knows exactly which rock it lives behind … and can tell you precisely where to cast your fly.

This year’s trip is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, June 13, and we’ll be publishing an entry blank and other information as it becomes available. Readers are also encouraged to enter our contest at this year’s PCCA Sportsman’s Show, which will be held on March 19-21 in Orono.

The only catches? Well, I’ll admit that they’re completely self-serving … but equally non-negotiable.

You have to fish with me. And you have to let me write about it.

I’ll keep you updated as the contest approaches.

John Holyoke can be reached at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net or by calling 990-8214 or 1-800-310-8600.