Politicians and citizens regularly sound off about our country’s military operations overseas. As those efforts continue, it’s becoming harder and harder to find a family that doesn’t have some link to the servicemen and servicewomen who are performing largely thankless tasks thousands of miles from home.

An e-mail I received on Wednesday brought that message home and further illuminated the danger that our friends, neighbors, and family members face daily while serving in the armed forces.

It also showed that no matter where they end up, our military personnel never forget where they’re from … or what they’re missing.

The message was from Jeff Powell, a former Bangor High swimmer I met through a mutual friend when we were all in college at UMaine back in the 1980s.

Nowadays, Powell has a title before his name – Lt. Col. – and he serves in the U.S. Army. Here’s what he had to say:

“Howdy, John. I bet you never thought that your column would be read from the ‘wilds of Afghanistan,'” he wrote.

“I happened to get Internet connectivity and just read your article on the ice fishing derby at Long Lake. Very entertaining. Sounds like a good time even if the weather was bad. Keep up the good work. It is nice to read about home.”

Then Powell’s e-mail came to an abrupt end, with a sentence that was chilling.

“Whoa. Big explosion (really). Gotta go,” he wrote. “Keep your hooks sharp.”

After a weekend of slow fishing, and with a column deadline looming, the e-mail certainly put my minor concerns in the proper perspective.

Stay safe, Jeff. And thanks.

Big fish in The County

As you may have read on Tuesday, anglers provided more reasons for Long Lake’s reputation for producing big fish over the weekend during the first ice fishing derby on the Aroostook County lake.

Two days of determined fishing on my part resulted in a single smelt and a skinny yellow perch, but other anglers had much better luck: All four prize-winning landlocked salmon weighed more than 5 pounds.

For those who don’t regularly fish for salmon, or who figure that 5-pounders are common, consider the information I received on Wednesday.

Ron Brokaw, the longtime state fisheries biologist for Down East Maine, shared a tasty tidbit in the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife’s weekly report.

Brokaw’s region comprises Washington and Hancock counties and includes several lakes with solid reputations as salmon factories.

While I’m using Brokaw’s information out of context – he didn’t draw the comparisons with a lake out of his region; I did – a look at the scientific data shows that Long Lake’s productivity is truly impressive.

Brokaw’s summation on the lakes in his area, based on several years of trap-netting data: “Fish weighing five pounds or more are exceedingly rare.”

At Alligator Lake near Aurora, only four of the 438 fish sampled were 5-pounders.

At Cathance Lake in Cooper, none of 380 fish sampled were 5-pounders.

And at Tunk Lake near Sullivan, only two of 307 salmon weighed 5 pounds.

Meanwhile, on Long Lake in St. Agatha, a 7-pound salmon won first prize, and 5-pounders, while still worth celebrating, are not nearly as rare as they are elsewhere in the state.

Of course, that fact raises another question: If Long Lake is such a gem, is hosting a large ice-fishing derby necessarily a good thing for the resource?

Fishing pressure was high over the weekend – 290 anglers entered – and locals I spoke to feel that the lake can withstand the added angler effort on an already-busy piece of water.

I wouldn’t be surprised, however, if the Long Lake derby expands a bit at some point in the future and includes other lakes on the Fish River Chain in order to disperse anglers a bit more.

Bear mount worth the wait

An added attraction on my latest trip to the St. John Valley was the chance to stop by Custom Taxidermy in Portage Lake to pick up the bear I shot in the fall of 2004.

New to the taxidermy game, and knowing that there are plenty of accomplished craftsmen working in the field in Maine, I chose Eldon Jandreau for a simple reason: My bear guide, Wade Kelly, suggested it.

Jandreau completed my bear mount a few months ago, and since then I’d been eagerly awaiting the chance to see how my bear turned out.

I was not disappointed.

Jandreau produced a true work of art and turned my 228-pound bruin into a proud addition to my living room wall.

I opted for a three-quarters mount, with the bear’s mouth closed and his front legs outstretched. Jandreau added a small piece of driftwood, so the bear looks like he’s stepping out of the wall, onto the wood.

There is, however, a small problem.

Each time I glance up at the bear while watching TV (which I only do 20 or 30 times a night), I get the odd feeling that he’s watching me … or that his head has turned a bit in one direction or another.

If that’s not lifelike, I don’t know what is.

Never having had a mount done before, I can say that I’ve got an entirely new appreciation for the craft practiced by our state’s many wildlife artists.

And though I don’t want to overdo the animal-head-on-the-wall theme, I have found myself pondering future decorating options, should the moose-lottery fairy ever grant that far-fetched wish.

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