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DOGS IN THE DUNES [ [ CHUM SALMON OF KOBUK N.P.

MOOSE FLOAT TRADITION (Part III)

STEVEN RINELLA

ON FIELD-DRESSING LUCKY UNIT 13 CARIBOU ALSO INSIDE

BIRD HUNTING SEASON PREVIEW BRISTOL BAY, SUSITNA SALMON

MYSTERIOUS DECLINE OF THE O

WESTERN ARCTIC HERD

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ALASKA

SPORTING JOURNAL Volume 7 • Issue 5 www.aksportingjournal.com PUBLISHER James R. Baker ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Dick Openshaw GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak EXECUTIVE EDITOR Andy Walgamott EDITOR Chris Cocoles ASSOCIATE EDITOR Tom Reale WRITERS Paul D. Atkins, Christine Cunningham, Louis Cusack, Becca Ellingsworth, Scott Haugen, Tiffany Haugen, Jeff Lund, Steve Meyer, Dennis Musgraves, Steven Rinella SALES MANAGER Katie Higgins ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Mamie Grifﬁn, Steve Joseph, Garn Kennedy, Mike Smith, Paul Yarnold PRODUCTION MANAGER Sonjia Kells

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OFFICE MANAGER/ACCOUNTS Audra Higgins ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Katie Sauro INFORMATION SERVICES MANAGER Lois Sanborn ADVERTISING INQUIRIES ads@nwsportsmanmag.com ON THE COVER Moose hunting had become an annual pilgrimage for Ruth Cusack’s husband, Louis. Now she is a regular participant and has become quite the big game hunter herself. (LOUIS CUSACK) MEDIA INDEX PUBLISHING GROUP WASHINGTON OFFICE 14240 Interurban Ave South • Suite 190 Tukwila, WA 98168 OREGON OFFICE 8116 SW Durham Rd • Tigard, OR 97224 (800) 332-1 736 • Fax (206) 382-9437 media@media-inc.com • www.media-inc.com

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CORRESPONDENCE Twitter @AKSportJourn Facebook.com/alaskasportingjournal Email ccocoles@media-inc.com

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CONTENTS

VOLUME 7 • ISSUE 5

FEATURES 49

HOW A NEWB HUNTS DEER One reason why we’re big fans of our Southeast Alaska correspondent Jeff Lund is he almost never takes himself too seriously. He loves to glass for deer, but as a relative novice at the task of bagging a buck, he has learned a lot over three years’ worth of hunts. Have fun with his 12 steps to becoming an “all-star” deer hunter.

BIG GAME BUTCHERING TIPS FROM RINELLA Steven Rinella, the Sportsman Channel TV host of MeatEater fame, is a great ambassador for the sport of hunting. The accomplished author is also an advocate for cooking what you harvest. In a book excerpt from Rinella’s latest work, The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game, Rinella provides butchering tips and shares a tasty venison Parmesan dish.

OPENING ACT Whether it’s game one of the baseball season, the first day of school or that blockbuster film premiere, there’s something about opening day that fills us with nostalgia and anticipation to achieve greatness. For our Steve Meyer, climbing the slopes of Southcentral Alaska and hunting ptarmigan with his English setter, Winchester, is special any chance they can get. But opening day is treated with sentimental reverence.

115 LEARNING ON THE FLY So you’ve mostly fished with spinning gear but came all the way to the salmon- and trout-filled waters of Bristol Bay – you may as well get a crash-course in fly fishing as long as you’re there, right? That’s the attitude Becca Ellingsworth had when she threw on waders and cast flies during her recent Alaska trip.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 20 27 34 77

101

DOGS IN THE DUNES No, our Arctic sportsman Paul Atkins didn’t head to New Mexico or the Middle East for his latest adventure. This sandy spot is actually in the Kobuk Valley National Park, located just above the Arctic Circle. Besides the fascinating terrain, the area is home to some fabulous chum salmon ﬁshing, which Atkins and his buddy experienced. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

The decline of the Western Arctic Herd Alaska’s “unique” caribou hunting opportunity for residents: Unit 13 The moose hunting tradition, Part III: Along came Mrs. Ruth From Field to Fire: Upland bird preview; juicy ptarmigan dish Give chum salmon a chance

DEPARTMENTS/COLUMNS 13 17

The Editor’s Note Protecting Wild Alaska: President Obama’s Last Frontier trip 85 No Sympathy with Steve Meyer: Even wardens make mistakes 126 Loose Ends with Christine Cunningham: All’s fair with ’fowl

Alaska Sporting Journal is published monthly. Call Media Inc. Publishing Group for a current rate card. Discounts for frequency advertising. All submitted materials become the property of Media Inc. Publishing Group and will not be returned. Annual subscriptions are $29.95 (12 issues) or $39.95 (24 issues). Send check or money order to Media Inc. Publishing Group, 14240 Interurban Ave South, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168 or call (206) 382-9220 with VISA or M/C. Back issues may be ordered at Media Inc. Publishing Group, subject to availability, at the cost of $5 plus shipping. Copyright © 2015 Media Inc. Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher. Printed in U.S.A. 10

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EDITOR’S NOTE

U.S. Fish and Wildlife and U.S. Geological Survey staff, with a boost from local Kaktovik residents, worked as a team to save this tranquilized polar bear from losing its life when it got tangled in a ﬁshing net. (U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY)

olar bears are fierce. We know it. They know it. Only in Alaska – at least in the state’s far north borders – do Americans share the landscape with these majestic predators. So it was only fitting that the respect Alaskans have for their state’s natural treasures prevented a senseless tragedy. In September, a 1,000-pound polar bear found its way into a tangled fishing net on a small island off Kaktovik in Alaska’s North Slope Borough. Biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey teamed up to dart the bear from the air. But a big assist goes to local residents, who helped keep the giant bear afloat after the tranquilizing darts took effect. “Once the bear was sedated, the biologists worked to quickly untangle the bear from the net,” a USGS Facebook post reported. “And after determining it appeared uninjured from its ordeal, released it back into the wild. A great effort by all to keep this magnificent animal in the wild.” You wondered how much the Twitter-azzi would jump on this story like it has in the past to turn events like the shooting of Cecil the Lion into viral, torch-bearing mobs. Bottom line: in our world, killing equals hundreds of thousands of angry Tweets, while a feed-good story like this gets ignored. But while it didn’t go viral, the USGS Facebook page did trigger a growing amount of likes (including from this source). Had our polar bear perished, you can bet the Internet would have gone bananas. At least some of us got to be in on a pretty cool story. A giant polar bear – one of the most dangerous critters on earth – got tangled in a fishing net in one of the most far-flung spots in our country, and Alaskans worked together to save it. And that’s what makes this state pretty fantastic. –Chris Cocoles aksportingjournal.com | OCTOBER 2015

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PROTECTING

POTUS HEADS NORTH

WILD ALASKA

BY CHRIS COCOLES

YPresident Barack Obama got a sneak peek into Bristol Bay’s salmon ﬁshing industry during his September visit to Alaska when he became the ﬁrst standing commander in chief to tour the state since it joined the union. (THE WHITE HOUSE)

tour on Resurrection Bay. “When you have warming taking place twice as fast here in Alaska as it is in the (Lower) 48 states, that is melting glaciers and blocks of ice that are raising sea levels. And you start getting an accelerated pace of climate change overall.” In

hen Alaska was named our 49th state on Jan. 3, 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower was on the back nine of his second term that spanned most of the 1950s. But despite the U.S. adding a new state for the ﬁrst time since Arizona came aboard in 1912, Ike didn’t make it to the Last Frontier for the remainder of his presidency. Neither did JFK or LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, the Bush’s, nor Clinton. Alaska wasn’t exactly on Air Force One’s radar for six decades and 10 in-office presidents. Barack Obama changed that last month when he spent three days in Alaska to become the ﬁrst sitting commander in chief to visit the state since it’s been added to the union. His visit was primarily to dig deeper into the issue of climate change, which has or could affect Alaska as much if not more than anywhere else in the Lower 48. Here are some highlights:

Obama hiked around the Kenai Fjords National Park’s Bear Glacier, which has been receding in rapid fashion over the last decade-plus, marked by signposts depicting the year the glacier disappeared from that location. “This glacier’s lost about a mile and a half,” he said on a White House-released video. “This is worth preserving, and climate change is not just affecting spectacular views like this,” he added during a boat

Bristol Bay, Obama got an up-closeand-personal – very personal – look at the salmon industry. A freshly caught salmon decided to spawn right on the First Shoe. But more importantly, he reiterated how valuable and critical the fishing industry is in a region where leaders and fishermen are on a crusade to block the Pebble Mine project. “If you’ve eaten wild salmon, there’s a good chance it came from here,” the president told the Alaska Dispatch in recapping his visit. “The region provides 40 percent of America’s wild-caught seafood and helps support a $2 billion commercial fishing industry whose jobs extend beyond Alaska’s borders. That’s why we took action last December to shut off oil and gas exploration in this area indefinitely – and why I’ll continue to support efforts to protect this community as long as I’m President.” Speaking to a group in Kotzebue, Obama talked of previous presidents – Warren G. Harding and Franklin Delano Roosevelt – visiting Alaska when it was still a territory, how three days weren’t enough to visit the country’s biggest state and that he hopes to return someday to do some fly fishing. Just how much the U.S. Government will intervene to protect America’s truly most organic state remains to be seen. “We still have time to do something about it,” Obama said. But given that it took only 56 years for a president to tour the nation’s largest state, let’s hope another commander in chief – be it Republican or Democrat – doesn’t wait more than a half-century to visit. ASJ

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OUTDOOR CALENDAR Oct. 1 Oct. 1

Oct. 1 Oct. 1 Oct. 15 Oct. 15 Oct. 15 Oct. 25 Nov. 1 Nov. 1 Nov. 1 Nov. 15 Several goat seasons begin this month at various game management units. (KODIAK NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE)

Elk season opens in Game Management Unit 3 (Petersburg/Wrangell) Goat season opens in GMU 1A (Southeast Mainland, draining into Lynn Canal and Stephens Passage between Antler River and Eagle Glacier/River) Brown bear season opens in GMU 9 (Alaska Peninsula) Bison season opens in GMU 20 (Fairbanks/Central Tanana) Youth deer season opens in GMU 5 (Yakutat) Brown bear season opens in GMU 6 (Montague Island/Prince William Sound) Deer season opens in GMU 3 (Petersburg/Wrangell) Brown bear season opens in GMU 8 (Kodiak) Goat season opens in GMU 1 (Kenai Peninsula) and GMU 7 (Kodiak Island) Moose season opens in GMU 20A (Fairbanks/Central Tanana) Deer season opens in GMU 5 (Yakutat) Moose season opens in GMU 5A (Yakutat)

(Most seasons listed include nonresidents; for complete hunting season regulations, check the Alaska Department of Fish and Game website at adfg.alaska.gov)

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HAVE YOU

ABOUT THE The Western Arctic Herd (No. 29 on map) is roughly half the size it was in 2003, when a half-million caribou roamed Northwest Alaska. (NATIONAL PARK SERVICE; MAP COURTESY OF ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME)

BY PAUL D. ATKINS

he bulls were coming in the distance – small dots on the horizon making their way through the tundra on an old and familiar trail. Like the millions of caribou before them, they had one thing on their minds: get south to their old feeding and calving grounds before the Arctic winter set in. My binoculars told me they were still ways off, but I knew we would have to hurry to the boat and be on our way if we were going to have any chance of ﬁlling the freezer. This adventure occurred many years ago up the Noatak River in Northwest Alaska. Caribou were coming through the Baird Mountains by the thousands, and it was only August. These were big bulls in full velvet and accompanied by hun-

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dreds of cows covering the landscape. Our boat ride proved successful and we were able to take three nice bulls close to home. However, by September the whole valley was covered in caribou and the hunting was as good as I could ever remember. Getting your caribou was simple when I ﬁrst arrived here back in the 1990s. You didn’t have to go far to ﬁnd them and by the end of the day you had your limit and were on your way home with plenty of meat. Many times we camped for the night and cooked fresh meat right there on the bank while caribou passed by us without a care. Those were great times!

THESE DAYS, FINDING a caribou anywhere along the Noatak or adjacent rivers is a tough quest. The days of boating upriver and waiting for a bull to cross the blue water is nonexistent; it has become a problem for many who depend on these animals

HEARD HERD?

THE WESTERN ARCTIC CARIBOU HERD’S NUMBERS ARE ABOUT HALF OF WHAT THEY WERE IN 2003

to stuff their meat caches and freezers for the long winter. The old hunting grounds are still there, but the only thing you’ll see are old bleach-out antlers from days gone by deteriorating in the Alaskan weather. Many have asked why, but the answer isn’t that clear. The Western Arctic Herd is getting smaller and no one really knows the reason. It used to be huge in terms of numbers, the biggest in the state, numbering in the hundreds of thousands (490,000 as recently as 2003), but now at less than half that. These nomadic animals usually roam the North Slope all summer, feeding and preparing for their trek south in late summer and early fall, but those same herds are doing different things nowadays. They seem to be staying longer and when they do decide to leave they take a different route to their destination.

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According to the latest statistics, the Western Arctic Herd is down 27 percent compared to just a few years ago. Nobody really knows why, but concerns with the climate, vegetation and predators, or a combination thereof, are having an effect. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

tors are considered a big culprit. Warm, dry weather over the last few years has created a decrease in not only the quantity, but also the quality of vegetation and other food sources that the caribou depend on. Starvation could be a factor, but overall the herd looks to be healthy and in prime condition, based on the animals I’ve seen brought in. The warm weather can also slow down movement, which in turn keeps herds in one location where mosquitoes play havoc during the late summer months. Many people in the region wonder if this is a factor. Is climate change really having an impact? Another variable might be the increase in predators throughout the region. Few hunters pursue bears and wolves these days, and these carnivores are being seen in greater numbers. Late in the evening it isn’t uncommon to see seven to 10 bears lining the banks of the river looking for something to eat; there was a time when you might run into one bear a weekend. With this increase, caribou as well as animals like moose become main courses in greater numbers.

THE DECLINE IN the Western Arctic Herd isn’t something new

“The caribou feeds the wolf, but it is the wolf that makes the caribou stronger,” is an old saying that’s pretty relevant today and may be a little lopsided, according to some. Wolves and bears, such as this grizzly, feed on what they can get; the increase in predator numbers could be one of the reasons for the decline. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

Most hunters long for the day when an early season herd peeks over the tundra and runs through its old stomping grounds. With conservation efforts in place and careful observation, hopefully that day will come soon. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, there isn’t a single factor attributed to the decline and their weird migration patterns, but many believe environmental fac22

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and there are a few who consider this just a cycle, similar to those who comment on global warming. According to data provided by ADFG, the Western Arctic Herd was at 243,000 animals in 1970, but decreased to 75,000 head by 1976. However, the herd made a rebound and increased rapidly for the next 25 years, peaking at 490,000 as mentioned. Are these ﬂuctuations due to a cycle, weather, predators or just the way of things? Nobody really knows. Some have thought that hunter harvest is the culprit, but according to harvest records, hunters take 8,000 to 12,000 animals per year and nonresidents take less than 3 percent, a small dent in such a large herd. Whatever the case, there is a big concern and rightly so. Caribou are a staple for most of us who live in this part of the state. For years it was certain that the herds would come through on a regular basis and the question, “Did you get your caribou?” was common conversation. But when the herds started to dwindle and waiting along certain stretches of river became useless, questions arose and people began to worry, and continue to do so. Now it seems that moose have taken their place and become the more popular target for most of us. It’s not by choice, but by necessity. Last year was a prime example. I’ve hunted here for 17 years and last year there were more moose killed locally than I can ever remember; that’s a true testament to the impact of the decline. With this ongoing decline, ADFG acted quickly and put into place safeguards for dealing with the low numbers. A caribou advisory committee was formed, and with input from local subsistence hunters, transporters and guides, a management plan based on population size and trend was created. The plan consists of four levels: liberal, conservative, preservative and critical. It was concluded that the herd is at the “conservative” level and actions needed to take place. One of those actions included reducing harvest permits, which went

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into effect this past June. Nonresident hunters are limited to one bull, but ADFG officials are also asking local hunters to reduce their harvest by taking fewer caribou, especially cows. Taking fewer cows will increase calves, which will hopefully help in ending or curbing the decline.

This is all you’ll ﬁnd up most rivers, remnants of days gone by and bleached racks lying in the willows covered in moss and dirt.

MY FIRST EXPERIENCE with caribou came many years ago on the Kobuk River. I was a novice at the time and in complete awe of Arctic Alaska and the amazing scenery that lay before me. The boat ride up the dark river was incredible; spruce trees hung over the eroded banks in a horizontal arch, like fingers reaching out for help. The tundra in its beautiful red and yellow colors seemed to reach forever along the flats of the countryside; it was truly an incredible sight to see and something I take for granted now. We camped along the south bank of the river with our tents hidden in the willows and camouflaged to what lay ahead. We built a fire, had some food and waited. Full disclaimer: patience has never been my strong suit, especially back then when I was young and knew absolutely nothing about the art of hunting caribou along a river. But my hunting companions were native subsistence hunters who had done this many, many times before and were very good at it. I trusted their knowledge, sat there and waited with no hurry and no worry. I tried to take in as much as I possibly could. Like clockwork, the waiting game paid off and we began to see caribou trickling across the tundra in front of us, all on the north side of the river. With each minute, more and more began to show up. Before long, small herds of 50 or more were swarming closer and closer. I wanted to wade the river more than anything and go after them, but that was a big no-no. Ron, a great hunter and my longtime friend, said no; we had to wait and let the first animals cross. That way the rest would follow the scent and pursue, eventually bringing them to us. I was confused but went with it and waited. The first few small cows and calves crashed into the water a little downstream and disappeared into the willows behind camp. More and more began to show until finally I could see why we had waited. Big bulls – fat and with antlers reaching up to the sky – poured through the gaps in the willows in all directions. They were ripe for the taking; as soon as they arrived on our side of the bank we took them, six in all and enough to fill everyone’s freezer. That was 20 years ago but something I still think about today. 24

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(PAUL D. ATKINS)

YOU NEVER FORGET seeing your first Alaskan sunset and you never forget seeing your first grizzly, but you for sure forever cherish seeing your first caribou. The sheer number we saw that Labor Day weekend was incredible. Thousands surrounded us and it was a sight to behold. The great herds that moved through this country may be on the decline and they may have changed the route they travel, but at least we’ve taken notice and begun A SHRINKING HERD a process as hunters Here are recent population trends for and conservationists Western Arctic Caribou Herd: to manage them. Caribou are very special to Alaska and the 32 herds that roam the state have become a symbol to most here in the Last Frontier. Whether you hunt for meat or trophies doesn’t matter; we need to treat this great resource with respect and the proper care that they truly deserve. ASJ Editor’s note: Paul Atkins is an outdoor writer and author from Kotzebue, Alaska.

YEAR 1970 1976 1978 1980 1981 1986 1988 1989 1993 1996 1999 2003 2007 2008 2011 2013

NUMBER 243,000 75,000 107,000 138,000 172,000 229,000 343,000 416,000 450,000 436,000 430,000 490,000 377,000 348,000 325,000 235,000

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LUCKY 13

RESIDENTS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO WIN NELCHINA DRAW STILL FACE HURDLES IN QUEST FOR A BULL Alaska hunters usually have to ﬂy in to far-ﬂung caribou herd areas. But in Game Management Unit 13 (Nelchina-Upper Susitna), residents who win tag drawings can drive to the wilderness area that features a good opportunity to score caribou. (ANDY RESSEGUIE)

BY TOM REALE

n a state where the term “unique” is thrown around willy-nilly, the Game Management Unit 13 (Nelchina-Upper Susitna) caribou hunt certainly qualiﬁes. For starters, it’s a road-accessible, residents-only caribou hunt with good access by highway vehicle, ATV, snowmachine, airplane and boat. That fact alone makes it unusual in Alaska, where caribou tend to live and herd up in locations only reachable by air. Also, it’s a permit-only hunt with unusual restrictions. Most caribou hunts that require a permit in addition to a regular hunting license are either lottery-style drawing permit hunts or registration hunts. In a typical registration hunt, permits are available over-the-counter until a harvest target

is reached, after which the hunt is closed. The Nelchina hunt is a neither-ﬁsh-nor-fowl variation. While it’s technically a registration hunt, in order to participate you need to apply under the drawing permit system and get your application in by the December deadline. However, here’s the good news: Assuming you qualify as a resident, there’s no lottery involved. If you apply, you will get a permit – guaranteed. How can this be, you might wonder? Glad you asked.

A CHANGE IN POLICY In the 1980s, declining numbers of caribou and increasing numbers of hunters prompted the state to institute restrictions on hunter numbers. In doing so, the Board of Game was caught up in a political controversy involving the subsistence aksportingjournal.com | OCTOBER 2015

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MORE THAN

BIG GAME

The unit has 25,000 square miles of wilderness and has lots of ATV-accessible trails, which can be a huge plus to get around and transport your harvest back. (LARRY WHITE)

rights of local Unit 13 hunters versus the desire of hunters from urban areas, including Anchorage and Fairbanks, to hunt the unit. The first attempt at resolving the conflict was to split the hunt into two parts in 1981, with Unit 13 residents receiving guaranteed permits as subsistence users and a drawing hunt for residents from other areas. This worked until 1990, when, according to a technical paper prepared for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game by Robert Wolfe, “(T)he State Board was instructed that allocation of subsistence permits could not take into account where an applicant lived. This threw open the subsistence hunt to any resident in Alaska. What transpired was that urban residents applied for subsistence permits by the thousands claiming to be subsistence users.” Subsequent attempts at fixing the problem involved classifying hunters by income and by attempting to award points to prospective hunters based on their self-reported “customary and direct dependence on the game population … and the ability of the user to obtain food if subsistence use is restricted.” When these “fixes” inevitably failed, the Tier 1 registration hunt system was instituted in 2009. According to ADFG, “Tier 1 hunts are allowed where it is anticipated that a reasonable opportunity can be provided to all residents who desire to engage in that subsistence use, so everyone is issued a permit.” That phrase “everyone is issued a permit” is one of those good news/bad news deals. The downsides are worth considering the terms of the permit require that: 1) No member of your household can apply for any other moose or caribou permits; 2) No member of your household can hunt moose or caribou outside of Unit 13; and 3) The bag limit is one caribou per household, which may be taken by any member of the household.

NUMBERS TO KNOW So, if you’re going to restrict yourself to this one hunt, what are the 28

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In addition to the moose and caribou hunting in Unit 13, there are other sporting pursuits available. The scores of lakes and ponds along the way are open to waterfowl hunting. The suitably equipped hunter can chase pintails, widgeons, mallards, greenwing teal and shovelers aplenty. The open tundra offers excellent ptarmigan hunting as well. I’ve had good luck finding willow ptarmigan near the Tangle Lakes area, where plenty of willow patches dot the open areas. And anywhere you find groves of spruce trees you can also expect to find grouse. Fishing is excellent here as well. Nearly every flowing stream that’s more than ankle-deep seems to hold eager and gullible grayling, and the lakes and ponds have healthy populations of lake trout. This time of year lakers can be fished from shore during the cooler parts of the day, so no boats or float tubes are required. Services along the road are available, but be advised that they’re well-scattered along the way. Most offer food and some lodging, and some have fuel, but it won’t be cheap. We paid $5.50 a gallon this year when gas was $3.25 in Anchorage, so carrying fuel from home might save you some dough. A current copy of The Milepost will tell you what’s available at the different businesses and point out some good fishing spots and scenic viewpoints. The road is only paved at either end and for roughly 100 miles it’s gravel. It’s mostly in good shape, but carrying an extra spare tire is prudent. Other supplies to bring include bug protection, including headnets – especially if you’ll be hunting in the early season. The mosquitoes are less of a problem than the infernal whitesocks, so by all means be prepared. There are a number of special-use areas in the unit to be aware of. The best way to check these out is on the ADFG website (hunt.alaska.gov) and click on “Maps”; under Hunting Maps, go to By Hunt Type, then search by Registration, caribou, GMU 13 and click on Make a Custom Map under RC566. You can create overlays showing all the Special Areas, subunits and federal lands and then print out a customized map to carry in the field. You can even use the site to download maps onto your smartphone or other mobile device. Finally, be aware that on the Cantwell end of the road there’s land owned by the Ahtna Native Corporation that’s closed to hunting; the area is wellmarked by orange signs, so pay attention to where you are on the road and don’t make any geographic mistakes that could spoil your trip. –TR

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stats you should consider? Since the Tier 1 system was instituted in 2009, success rates for this hunt have ranged from 38 to 68 percent. By almost anyone’s standards, those numbers are pretty hard to beat. Add in the relatively low cost of a road-system hunt and it’s almost a no-brainer, if you don’t mind the downsides. And you can hunt moose with a regular harvest ticket anywhere in Unit 13 without the one animal per household restriction. Be advised, (Left) There are many ways to hunt this area, and hoofing it on foot is one. But veteran though, that in addition to the spikehunter Larry White utilizes the many ATV trails to get from place to place, and then hops fork or 50-inch minimum for bulls in off to hunt and score bulls like this one. (LARRY WHITE) (Right) Glassing the Brooks Range 13, the brow tine count is four for bulls and Wrangell Mountains is almost as much about scenery as finding caribou bulls. (RYAN STEVENS) under 50 inches, and four-tine bulls are rare critters. In addition to the one-caribou limit, there are some othfrom the motorized bunch. er potentially negative considerations, and the biggest one HOOFING IT FOR BULLS for many people is the issue of crowding. Although Unit 13 This was the approach taken by Adam Baxter and his two covers some 25,000 square miles of wilderness, it’s not only hunting buddies. They scouted out the area for moose with accessible by road, it’s largely accessible via an ATV. the idea that they could also take caribou if Bullwinkle didn’t Bordered by the Glenn, Denali, Richardson and Parks materialize. They pored over topo maps and concentrated Highways, it’s crisscrossed by hundreds of miles of ATV on areas not reachable by ATVs, especially the Clearwater trails that get more than their share of use. Some of the trails Creek Controlled Use Area, which is closed to motorized are little-known two tracks across the tundra, while others traffic. The guys found a moosey-looking location well off the are very – and I mean very – popular. For example, the parking road and figured it was worth a shot. lot for the Old Man Trail near Milepost 130.5 of the Glenn So last year they parked the truck on the road the day beHighway covers more than 17 acres, and to say the least, it’s fore opening day of moose season, hefted their backpacks rather hectic on weekends. and bushwhacked 4 to 5 miles into the backcountry. After But the prevalence of ATVs on this hunt is kind of a mixed a good six hours of walking, they set up camp and started blessing. There are hundreds upon hundreds of them out glassing the area. The next day, they got their animal, a 55there, though they do tend to congregate in certain areas and inch bull, and spent the next day packing it out. This year: on certain trails; caribou hunters tend to herd up almost as same place, slightly different story in that they hiked in two much as the caribou do. If you’re of a mind to actually apply days before opening day, got their animal on the 20th and your boots to the ground and walk, it’s not hard to get away again packed it out. Keep in mind that this is not an endeavor for the faint of heart nor the weak of back; Adam and his friends, Andy Resseguie and Peter MacDonald, are young, strong and very fit. But it does go to show you that even in an area supposedly overrun with ATVs and road hunters – and where the moose hunting success ratio is typically in the 10- to 20-percent range – good things are possible. Of course, it helps if you’re willing to transport a moose 5 miles back to the road without an ATV transport. And whether you take a (Left) If you have a tag, there is also a good chance of taking back a moose in GMU 13, as Adam Baxter did in 2014 with this 55-inch bull. (ADAM BAXTER) (Right) Craig Sandine is a moose or a caribou in this unit, the happy hunter after filling his caribou tag and filling his freezer with meat. (CRAIG SANDINE)

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meat of the quarters and ribs must be left on the bone “until delivered to the place where it is processed for human consumption,” ADFG says.

OTHER METHODS If you don’t feel up to the task of carrying your animal out so far, there are options. Larry White and his wife Vicki have been hunting the area since the early 1970s, and estimates a 97- to 99-percent caribou success ratio. He and his wife use ATVs, but “we don’t hunt off them; we use them to get to points where we can set up and watch for animals,” he said. “My suggestions for hunters new to the area: get good binoculars and a good spotting scope and use them. Get to a high point and wait and, above all, be patient. Don’t just drive through an area and keep going – traveling and not watching carefully is the most common mistake.” In addition to the land-based options of highway vehicle and ATV, there are a number of streams in the unit that are

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

navigable and offer a way to get off the roads. The Maclaren River at Mile 42 and the Susitna River at Mile 79 offer the best spots for boat launching. Airboats seem to be the preferred mode of transport on the Big Su and outboards on the Maclaren (the river upstream of the highway at the Maclaren is in the Clearwater Creek CUA and closed to motorized boats used for hunting purposes). Or if you’re into nonmotorized boating, you can take a raft or canoe down the Tangle River and hunt and fish along the way. The boat launch at Tangle Lakes campground at Mile 21.5 is the doorway to a 29-mile float to Mile 212 of the Richardson Highway. There are a couple of portages to make on this route, and a 2-mile section of Class III water that can be lined, so if your canoe skills are up to it and you want to mix excellent grayling fishing and a shot at real solitude, it’s worth your consideration. Still another land-based and nonmotorized option was employed by Ryan

OCTOBER 2015 | aksportingjournal.com

Stevens of Anchorage. He decided to introduce a friend to the joys of Alaska big game by hunting the Nelchina herd. Although Dylan Robertson had never hunted at all – much less the elusive barren-ground caribou – they both put in for the Tier 1 tag and did preseason scouting along the Denali Highway. “We wanted to check out the Clearwater CUA so we could get away from ATVs and other hunters,” Stevens said. They explored a trail near the Susitna River bridge and found a mining road that looked ideal. Once the season opened, they returned to the spot, loaded up their bikes and trailers, and pedaled in about 5½ miles. “We stopped at a river that we couldn’t cross with the bikes and made camp on a Tuesday afternoon,” Stevens said. “The next morning we saw animals in the valley, small groups of cows and calves. One cow headed for us and I shot her at about 80 yards.” They quartered her up, packed the meat on their trailers and headed back out to the road, stashed it in the truck and were back on the trail by 5. On the way back to camp, they spotted a nice bull. They got in front of him and Dylan dropped him at about 7 p.m. They fielddressed him and biked back to the truck under the light of a full moon and slept in the truck. On Thursday they biked back, picked up their camp, and were on the road home by 1 p.m. “It was pretty great (for) a couple of Tier 1 rookies,” Stevens said. “We really only hunted for about 36 hours, had our animals and were on our way home.” If you don’t mind sharing your hunting area with a couple thousand of your fellow hunters and you’re willing to accept the unusual restrictions of a Tier 1 hunt, hunting this area can be a terrific experience, especially if you’re willing to put in the effort to do some research and find spots where you can break away from the competition. On a fall day, with the tundra changing colors and the backdrop of the snow-covered Wrangell Mountains and the Alaska Range as a backdrop, it’s hard to beat Unit 13 for an accessible and productive wilderness outing. ASJ

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â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Every Year is its

Sunset at camp is made more memorable when a successfully harvested bull is part of the backdrop. Plenty of moose have been part of this annual pilgrimage to the Alaskan bush. (LOUIS CUSACK) 34

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’ Own Adventure NEW HUNTERS JOIN ANNUAL MOOSE FLOATS, INCLUDING ‘MRS. RUTH’ Pt. III of III This is the ﬁnal segment of a three-part series on developing a tradition of Alaska hunting. Previous parts appeared in the June and August 2015 issues of Alaska Sporting Journal.

BY LOUIS CUSACK met my wife, Mrs. Ruth, in January 2006, and by the time 2008 had rolled around, we had already shared a number of hunting, fishing and exploring adventures together. But this would be her first crack at remote wilderness moose hunting. I pretty much had this hunt dialed in. I had gotten pretty good at logistics, my gear was about as good as I could find at the time and I’d found a transporter that was providing us a great service – at least that’s what I thought! Mrs. Ruth and I had spent time getting her gear ready. She had a sweet little rifle dialed in for the hunt, and it was only a matter of time before we were loaded up and headed to the river. This time we were joined by Chris Kobuk. This would be Chris’s first remote wilderness hunt and would prove to be the toughest hunt I’ve done on this river. It was the coldest hunt to date. Not only was the water low, but a transporter would end up dropping off another hunting party right on top of us.

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The search for massive bulls can be tiring and full of hapless calls. But after all these years it’s still a massive rush to glass a giant in the river. (LOUIS CUSACK)

Things started out pretty well: the flight in, packing our gear to the river, loading up the raft and making it into our first base camp went smoothly. Our second morning out, I spotted a medium-sized bull across the river and headed over the ridge. He wasn’t one that we would normally shoot this early in the hunt, and I got a little concerned when I spotted Chris trotting across the tundra to cut him off. I was worried that he would shoot the doggone thing over a half-mile off the river. So what did I do? I started calling and acting like the sweetest little cow on the tundra, and I’ll be danged if this old boy didn’t lock up, turn and head towards us like he was tied to a string. We pulled him down the ridge; he crossed the river three different times on his way to us and stopped to tear up every little clump of willows he came to along the way. I managed to pull him right to the base of the hill I was calling from, and Mrs. Ruth had him dead to rights. He was a legal bull, but I told her to let him pass and that I would find her one much bigger than that. She kind of looked at me like I might have been a little crazy and it became crystal clear to me that she would hold me to that promise. Unfortunately, it was a promise that would prove to be a little tougher to make good on than I expected. But what a show! We told Chris the whole story in camp that evening and we hit our bags for the night, excited for what the next day would bring. I was up before daylight, stoking the fire, making coffee and calling out by the gravel. With no luck there, after breakfast we were back on the ridge where we could overlook a large area. We spotted several small groups of caribou but nothing we were interested in chasing, so we settled in for a long day behind the glasses. That afternoon we heard a plane flying in the distance. We didn’t think much of it until it came into our line of sight. Even then, we didn’t give it much thought when we saw that it was a floatplane. We saw them a couple of times each trip, but when it banked and started circling for a landing, we knew we were about to have company. We spent the rest of the day watching three planeloads of people and gear off-loading and heading for the river. That night was pretty quiet around camp. Nothing seems to take 36

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OCTOBER 2015 | aksportingjournal.com

the nostalgia out of a remote wilderness hunt more than having uninvited company drop in on you. Picture that “favorite uncle” who shows up drunk at the family reunion and wants to refight every fight ever fought and air the whole family’s dirty laundry, then throw in a drive-by and a thunderstorm on the barbecue and you’re starting to get the picture of what it felt like when that other group of hunters arrived. When we saw the raft parade floating down the river, we had already decided to let them float on ahead of us. What were the odds that they would pick the same spot to hunt downriver that we would? We’d be seeing these guys again before our hunt was over.

WE SPENT THE next several days hunting and spotted several moose and a number of caribou, but nothing we were ready to pull the trigger on. So we decided to pack up and head downriver. It was a beautiful morning, the sun was shining and there was an anything-but-gentle breeze blowing in from the north. The wind was at 30 mph straight up the river and right in our faces. We spent most of that day walking and dragging the raft. It was cold enough that we ended up pulling over to build a ﬁre to warm up, and it was getting fairly close to dark when we rounded the last bend in the river before reaching our second base camp. We were all looking forward to getting off the river when we rounded the corner and spotted the other hunting party set up about 400 yards short of our destination. Talk about letting the wind out of our sails. Cold, tired and disappointed, we pulled over and set up camp. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do at this point. I was a bit angry that these folks had set up where they did. This was about as disappointing as it can get for a guy who grew up in New Orleans reading the adventures of Lewis and Clark and watching movies like Jeremiah Johnson, dreaming of a remote wilderness adventure. When all is said and done this is public land and, if truth be told, they had every bit as much right to be there as we did. Sim-

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ply stated, they were the ﬁrst party there and actually had more right to the area than we did, which didn’t make things any easier to swallow. When we were eating an early breakfast and trying to decide what to do next, the guys from the other party showed up

look on their faces when they rolled up to our warm ﬁre. Nothing makes a guy more sociable than a fresh cup of Starbucks 100 miles from nowhere. We had already decided to move downriver, and I explained to the other hunters that we had only pulled over for the night and that we were moving on. They really appreciated our decision and agreed to hunt from this camp until they ﬂoated to the pick-up point, giving us space to hunt further downriver without our two parties being on top of one another.

HITTING THE SWEET SPOT

Ruth Cusack brought back a nice stringer of grayling to camp. (LOUIS CUSACK)

to discuss tactics. These guys were bowhunting, running a cold camp and eating freeze-dried meals. I’ll never forget the

It was on this ﬂoat that we would discover what we called the Honey Hole. It’s an area that’s chock full of willows and moose sign. I’d encountered several moose while ﬂoating downriver on previous hunts. I left out that morning with this place in mind, and as luck would have it, this turned out to be a great little hunting area and one that we still use today.

We pulled into the Honey Hole, set up camp, scouted the area and found a ton of moose sign, including well-used game trails, fresh tracks and rubs. Our only concern was that it’s a really tight area with limited visibility, which proved not to be a concern when we managed to call a really nice bull right into camp. Chris Kobuk made a great shot and his first bull moose was on the ground. We called in another one that got away from us, and we saw yet another one, which to this day is the biggest bull I have ever laid eyes on! He was too far out to call in and we could only sit there and watch him walk off into the sunset. It was really cold on the morning we floated out that year. The river was fairly frozen, so we set the raft on ice and loaded it down until she broke through. We left the field that year without filling Mrs. Ruth’s tag. She’d had a few gear problems – a rifle with a scope that was a little tack driver on the bench – but with only a 33mm objective, it simply

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Feasting on moose tenderloin smothered in onions and garlic makes the cold weather, wet conditions and hard work worth the effort. (LOUIS CUSACK)

did not cut it in the field. She also had a set of ankle-fit waders that cut off her circulation, which is never good when you are floating a cold river north of the Arctic Circle. To be honest, I thought I’d lost her. I thought this might well be the end of Mrs. Ruth’s moose hunting days, but as soon as we hit Anchorage she started gear shopping. Come next season, she’d have her gear packed and ready to fly north well before I did. It was a pleasure to see her passion and watch her excitement as she readied herself to return to the river. Mrs. Ruth might not have filled her tag, but she’d seen and done enough to know that this

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like a piece of wood sticking up beside the river, but it moved! Sure enough, it was a bull lying on the bank with two cows piled up right beside it. Clay and John were in a small raft behind us and Mrs. Ruth had decided to pass on him, so we slowed down to let them float down in front of us. We drifted right up to them and made a couple of grunts. Just then, the bull stood up above us on the riverbank and looked like he was 10 feet tall. Clay dropped him on the river. He was a really good one with great paddles and brow tines. We weren’t far from our camp, so we left our small raft at the bull and floated into camp. We put up camp pretty quickly, and then headed back to take pictures, skin, quarter, load and float Clay’s bull into base camp. Between me and the moose, I’d bet there was over 1,000 pounds of gear, moose and human in that little 9-foot raft. She was really squatted down and it took all of the horsepower that the “Cajun 2-Stroke” outboard could produce to get that

was something that she’d long to do again, and by God we would. Each year after that, we would continue to ﬁnd something we could improve on. Mrs. Ruth brought ideas and suggestions into the mix that most of us never even think of. We were constantly learning, and those who hunted with us beneﬁted from it as much as we did.

ONE OF THE fun parts of taking new hunters into our area is watching them suffer through packing all that gear to the river like the rest of us. The Beck brothers decided to join us one year and that September the four of us loaded up and headed out to moose camp. John and Clay – my brothers from another mother – got their turn in the harness. When John rolled into camp with that last pack, he said that a person has to be crazy to want to do this. He must have wanted to shoot a moose or something! The next morning on our ﬂoat into the second camp, I spotted what looked

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sert

moose back. It’s a good thing camp was downriver! With one bull down we were feeling pretty good. The rut was on and the bulls were cooperating. Clay had his bull and we were living large on the river. For dinner that night we had moose tenderloin smothered in onions and garlic, plus fried grayling, fresh from the river. Best of all: the weather was absolutely beautiful. We had clear, cold nights, crisp days and little wind, but Mrs. Ruth still had not punched a moose tag. Several days later I was up on the ridge, where I spotted two different bulls off in the distance. I started cow calling and managed to pull them in, but it was late and the sun set well before I could get them close enough to pull the trigger. The next morning Mrs. Ruth had decided to hunt from camp, thinking she’d have a little time to herself while we were out on the ridges. John and I were up there glassing, calling a little and wondering what happened to those two bulls. All of a sudden out stepped the biggest bull of the two. He crossed a deep slough in an old river oxbow between us and camp, heading to cross the main river. About then, ol’ John boy taps me on the shoulder and pointing towards camp: here comes Mrs. Ruth making her way down the gravel bar – rifle in hand – and ready to take her first bull. She reached the end of the gravel bar just as the bull stepped out of the river, went down on one knee, steadied her aim and flipped that bull clear over backwards. Moose down, and Mrs. Ruth was on the board. John and I were jumping up and down, yee-hawing like a couple of high school parents sitting on the 50-yard line watching their kid run back the kickoff for a touchdown! It was time to celebrate and cook up some moose steaks. Mrs. Ruth had taken a really nice 60inch bull all by herself. I was as proud of her as I could be, and the best part was that we got to watch the whole thing happen. We found out later that her bull had almost walked through camp. He was grunting up a storm and looking for that lady that was calling him the night before.

Later in the hunt I took a really good bull, and with three bulls to take care of, it was time to head downriver. The weather was still cooperating and we were seeing all kinds of game, but we had as much on board as we could handle, so we packed up and headed downriver. When I returned home from 15 full days of sunshine and great hunting weather, I found that I had lost 12 pounds and was as tired as I have ever been. Several years later, I received a phone call from Clay explaining to me that he would be going through a life-threatening surgery that would either be the beginning of a new life or the ending of his current one. He asked me to promise him that I’d haul some of his ashes to the river if he didn’t make it, and of course I said that I would. For me this had truly been the hunt of a lifetime and I reckon it must have been for Clay too. I thank God every day that his surgery was a huge success and that I did not have to fulﬁll that promise! Since then we’ve had a number of great hunts, and each year the river has offered something different. Some years were wetter than others and some colder, but it has always been an adventure. I remember asking Mrs. Ruth once if she wanted to try something different and she looked at me like I’d started hitting the bottle. “It already is different! Every year is its own adventure,” she said.

ONE OF THESE adventures that I’ll never forget happened several years ago when my buddy Mike Thorne decided it was time to return to the river. As I’ve mentioned in previous segments of this series, Mike is one of the guys who originally invited me on this hunt and we were tickled to death that he would be joining us. It was raining the day we ﬂew in and we couldn’t see any sense in starting a 15-day journey with a ton of wet gear, so we packed in just enough to set up a spike camp and hunkered down to wait out the weather. We were greeted by one of those beautiful, cold, clear and still late fall mornings where everything and every sound seems magniﬁed. We grabbed our packs and headed out. We aksportingjournal.com | OCTOBER 2015

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were walking a well-used game trail when one of us spotted a fresh moose track right on top of our tracks from the day before. With sign that fresh, we forgot all about our gear pile. I did a couple of cow calls and we waited, but Mike and I did not hear a response. I mentioned something about getting back to work, but just then, Mrs. Ruth thought she’d heard something. We listened and heard nothing and I turned to leave but she came back up on us. “I hear a moose,” she said, “and you’d better keep calling.” “Yes, ma’am, moose cow at your service,” I added. We called and listened for some time before that bull got close enough for Mike and I to hear it, but Mrs. Ruth was right. We had a bull coming in and he was fired up. He was bellowing out the longest grunt I had ever heard and it was echoing off the cliffs around us. He came barreling out of the spruce timber ready for love and eager to fight with any bull that got in his way. He was certainly a legal bull – and then some – but with weak brows and worn tops. He was too old to be a good meat bull and not quite good enough to be a trophy bull. Though we had him at 30 yards, we let him go and started heading out towards the gear pile. We didn’t make it very far before we spotted another bull walking into the oxbow ahead and to our right. Once again, I set up and started calling. We got a response right away and it sounded like both bulls were lighting up the tundra and headed our way. We couldn’t see them but we could certainly hear them grunting, slamming their racks into each other and fighting for the right to pay us a visit. They shut up after a bit, so I did a little cow moan and here came that same bull with blood in his eye and love on his mind. But he hadn’t grown in the last hour and that gear pile hadn’t shrunk any either, so once again we walked away from him. That second bull had hushed up, so we kind of figured he Ruth Cusack once told her husband, “Every year is its own adventure” during their annual moose hunting trips that have become a sacred spot in the calendar. (LOUIS CUSACK)

had headed for greener pastures. But we hadn’t gone 100 yards when I looked over my shoulder and saw him again. This bull was a much better bull animal, having four brow tines on one side and ﬁve on the other with a really long back point off his left paddle. Mikey looked at me and said, “Oh, no, Boudreaux! We can’t let two bulls like this walk in one day.” Gracious as ever, Mike asked which one of us was going to take the shot, but Mrs. Ruth and I both passed and he made a great shot and our ﬁrst bull was on the ground. He was an awesome 65-inch-wide bull, with a whole lot of character. Our skinning knives, game bags and video camera were still in the gear pile, so we had to retrieve those before we could celebrate, take pictures and get to work. We couldn’t believe that we had managed to fool the same bull twice in one morning, but we kept calling just to see what would happen. I’ll be doggoned if I didn’t call that very same bull in for the third time that morning. We called him into around 20 yards and caught the whole thing on camera. This was truly the most exciting moose encounter any of us had ever experienced. The bonus for me was that I managed to call in a bull for the man who introduced me to the river. He was nice enough to take me along and share this area with me and I returned this favor in some small way by calling in the biggest bull he had ever taken. Man, what a morning!

LAST SEASON, WE decided to try something different and we floated another river, but it just wasn’t the same. It’s hard to describe what hunting this river means to us, but do you know that feeling you get when you first walk into your home after a long journey? Well, it’s just a little bit better than that, and even though we took a really awesome bull, floated a beautiful pristine river and caught the biggest grayling we’d ever seen, it just wasn’t the same. We’ll be going back this season – back to the river we know and love, back to the memories of friends and campfires shared and back to the thunder on the tundra! So, in keeping with the melody of the words from one of my all-time favorite songs: “Stop and think it over and try to put yourself in our position. If we get flown and hunt all month long, it’s a … family tradition!” ASJ Editor’s note: Check out videos from Louis Cusack’s adventures on YouTube (search Louis Cusack).

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1. MAN GEAR ALASKA

2. CFK CUTLERY

The Man Gear Alaska chest holster is all about functionality and comfort. Handcrafted with high-quality materials and hardware for rugged use in harsh conditions, over 30 sizes and models are available, plus they can be ordered for left-hand draw. The holsters come with a limited lifetime warranty and are made in Alaska, by Alaskans. www.mangearalaska.com See ad on page 71

CFK Knives provides affordable, quality knives with dozens of designs to choose from. Our customers include Jack Tobin, president of the Special Forces Association, and Scott Harris, Kodiak Lodge guide in Alaska.

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3. SKINNER SIGHTS

4. PACIFIC HEALTH

4. AMERICAN TACTICAL

6. AMERICAN TACTICAL

Skinner Sights are accurate, rock-solid, reliable, beautiful, dependable, aperture/“peep” sights for rifles. They are machined from solid bar stock and made in Montana, by American craftsmen who are shooters and hunters. Skinner Sights has models to fit many rifles. Please visit www.skinnersights.com for more information. See ad on page 25

Maintain, protect and enhance eyesight. Add longevity to your hunting life by protecting your most important asset: your eyes! Claroxan offers two unique formulations that go beyond your typical eye health supplement. Order today and receive a free bottle of Optimis7 eye drops! www.claroxan.com See ad on page 43

The MAXX Series combines the all-new OMNI Hybrid upper and lower receivers, which are comprised of a polymer composite infused with metal inserts to produce unmatched durability. It’s chambered in 5.56 and 300 AAC Blackout riﬂe and pistol conﬁgurations, and coming soon as a .410 shotgun; California-compliant versions are available too. Prices range from $599.95 to $654.99. Visit www.americantactical.us to see the entire OMNI Hybrid MAXX Series and other American Tactical products. See ad on page 84

New for 2015 is a complete line of RUKX Gear gun cases and backpacks. This one-day Back Pack includes heavy-duty padded shoulder straps, as well as many compartments to organize everything you need to bring along with you. RUKX Gear gun cases and backpacks come in black or tan 40D polyester models with reinforced seems and zippers. Gun cases range from 36- to 46-inch lengths, while the backpacks come in one-day, three-day, and ﬁve-day conﬁgurations. Prices range from $49.95 to $99.95. Visit www.americantactical .us to see the full line of RUKX Gear and other American Tactical products. See ad on page 33

7. WATER FIXER

8. PEET SHOEDRYER

9. SILENT PREDATOR

10. ATV TRACKS

The WaterFixer Model 1000 sterilizes up to 4 gallons per minute using 12vdc or 120vac power. Turns rainwater, pond, spring and lakewater into pure drinking water. www.waterﬁxercompany.com 888-699-6166 See ad on page 44

A product designed with the hunter in mind, these are twin dryers and deodorizers that eas-ily ﬁt into any pair of hunting boots. In addition to drying nature’s wetness and sweat, its O science destroys odor molecules. You wake up too dry, fresh boots to start day two’s hunt the best way possible. www.peetdryer.com See ad on page 61

Camouﬂage wool hunting clothing, made to order for men and women. We know wool is the best fabric for keeping you warm and comfortable in any situation. At Silent Predator our goal is to get you into quality wool hunting clothing that allow you to blend in with the surroundings without letting the price stop you. All Silent Predator products are sewn in Canada using wool made in the USA. The clothing is warm, comfortable and quiet in all weather conditions, and retains heat, even when wet. Stains can be washed out (stains like blood with cold water), and clothing can be air dried or dried in front of the camp stove without burning or melting. Become invisible this hunting season! www.silentpredator.ca See ad on page 71

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OCTOBER 2015 | aksportingjournal.com

Our Camoplast ATV and UTV Tatou 4S system has been our best-selling and best-performing system for the past six years! This is a four-season system that can take your ATV or SxS anywhere you can imagine. It works great in snow, mud or sand for low-impact driving, making it almost impossible to get stuck. This system is the ultimate tool for the hunter, outdoorsman, ice ﬁsherman, surveyor, logger, game warden and many, many more. Delivery of this system is free anywhere in the continental U.S. and in most Alaskan ports for an additional $250. Mention this article and receive up to $450 off our premier system! www.atvtracks.net See ad on page 80

11. OUTFITTER SATELLITE, INC. Our Iridium GO! satellite hotspot lets iPhone or Android smartphones make calls or send texts from anywhere on earth. The compact 10.4-ounce device provides up to seven hours of talk time on one charge. SOS and GPS features keep your friends apprised of your location wherever you GO!

12. TACTICAL LIGHTING SOLUTIONS TIONS

The LazerBrite is unlike any other light on the market, and is the ﬁrst of its kind in a modular, multifunction lightt system. Complete with an LED ﬂashlight for signaling, marking and nd personal lighting, this system is available in six colors, as well as infrared. Trusted by the US military, LazerBrite is patented and made de in the USA. WWW.lazerbrite.com See ad on page 37

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13. MICRO 100

14. QIVIUT

15. WHISTLES FOR LIFE

16. CARIBOU GEAR

17. MORGAN ENTERPRISES

18. EAR INC.

Speedy Sharp is the world’s fastest sharpener, with the capability to sharpen every knife with any type of edge in seconds, even serrated blades. Speedy Sharp will sharpen broadhead arrows, axes, hooked blade knives and ﬁsh hooks. You will never lose your edge! wwww.speedysharp.com See ad on page 76

If you can be heard, you can be rescued. Sound is the No. 1 factor in ﬁnding the lost or injured. Whistles for Life provides you with the most important tool for being found in a lifeand-death situation. Features include hands-free mouth grip and three separate omni-directional frequencies. Made in the USA. Phone orders: 1-844-290-9367 or visit www.rescuewhistles.com. See ad on page 32

The Stronghold Haywire Klamper is the simplest and easiest way to clamp, bind or repair almost any item. The tool uses hardened wires that wrap around any item with extreme pressure that will securely hold, clamp or repair it. The Stronghold Haywire Klamper clamps with much greater pressure than a conventional worm clamp! This amazing tool has an inﬁnite amount of uses that are limited only by your imagination: hose clamp repairs, binding crates and boxes, emergency repairs of all types, welding clamp reinforcement, and survival tools and shelter.

The Harpoon cap is made to be like a watchman’s style hat. Close ﬁtting but still has a cuff. The cap is eight times warmer than wool by weight, and will still keep you warm while it’s wet. Perfect for hunting, ﬁshing or camping! www.qiviut.com See ad on page 37

Caribou Gear’s game bags are made with lightweight synthetic, nonstretch, controlled density (porous) breathable fabric. Bags are light-reﬂective, double stitched, strong, durable and reusable for your safety and convenience. Caribou Gear’s patented products feature innovative packaging, advanced technology and groundbreaking design. For the ﬁnest-tasting game, use the ultimate meat care system by Caribou Gear Outdoor Equipment Company – they’re not just another game bag. www.biggamebags.com See ad on page 51

SHOTHUNT Waterproof Electronic Earplugs use today’s latest digital compression circuits to bring the best of clarity and programmed protection to the shooting enthusiast. Models include color choices, two-way radio compatibility and lanyard options. Custom-Fit eartips are also available for improved comfort and ease of use. More information can be found on www.earinc.com. Call 800-525-2690 toll-free or contact info@earinc.com. See ad on page 9

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19. NOMAR

Bush pilots encourage customers to use soft-sided gun cases when flying out in bush Alaska. That special hunting rifle deserves special protection. The NOMAR gun scabbard is the answer – a waterproof, padded, soft-sided gun case. The outer bag is waterproof 18-ounce Seatarp and sealed at the edges. Extra strength is added with a sewn edging that holds the carry handle and D-rings for the optional carry strap, or use those D-rings to secure the gun case to a skiff, four-wheeler or horse. This unique liner will protect the rifle well, and the 4 square feet of closed-cell foam has a flotation rating of 140 pounds. It will float the gun so you won’t lose it and might also keep your head above water. It will hold most scoped rifles and is available in manyy colors, including camo. $109.00

20. ORLOBS

The Occluder sight does the same thing as closing your eye while shooting. The difference is that the only thing blocked ked in your visual ﬁeld is the sight posts themselves. You don’t see double sights.

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aksportingjournal.com | OCTOBER 2015

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

OCTOBER 2015 | aksportingjournal.com

SO, HERE’S HOW YOU DO IT... TTOTALLY FIELD-TESTED DEER-HUNTING ADVICE FROM A NEWB BY JEFF LUND L ust because these words are appearing in a published u magazine does not make me an expert. In fact, it’s laughable to think of myself as even an accomplished hunter. My career spans all of three years. However, in that time I have been successful and, through diligent observation of experienced hunters, I can go into the woods and come out with venison. I’ve ﬁgured out angles, stalks, directions, times and habits to the point I feel comfortable sharing the steps that have helped:

After three seasons, author Jeff Lund has this deer hunting thing all ﬁgured out. (JEFF LUND)

STEP 1 – Get up early. It would be nice if the bucks would start their daily routine around 1 p.m., so after a good breakfast and a pot of coffee you’d be ready to chase them, but that’s rarely the case. High-noon bucks happen, but evening and morning are the hot times. Get up on the mountain just before the sun rises, or just camp there.

STEP 2 – Ignore the wet. This is especially important when you’re in cotton-based camo pants because the weather looked ﬁne. You’re hunting; don’t be a wimp. There should be an expected level of discomfort that comes with hunting. Come prepared, of course, but expect the chaos factor to show up. The cotton pants were a mistake, but I did have a pair of hunting pants in my pack; not a big deal. Keep glassing despite a wet seat, and stay focused.

STEP 3 – Two words: Wet Wipes. When you get in your tent to turn in for the night, discover the wet you ignored earlier was actually a mound of liquid deer poo that soaked through your pants and into your compression shorts, retrieve the Wet Wipes you brought. Wet Wipes are so much better than toilet paper. Especially when you’re cleaning the streak of deer crap you wiped onto the ﬂoor of your tent. This might lead to a slight revision of Step 2. Maybe that could be “Check the wet, and if it’s not feces, then ignore it.”

STEP 4 – Creep. I am terrible at being quiet, patient and slow. I have a fast gait, and it takes a conscious effort to slow down and be meticulous when hunting. When I am, it pays off. Last season, I reached the outer edge of a muskeg and was about to get into my pack to get a drink, but instead decided to step out and look around a row of trees. A buck was just emerging from the woods; easy shot. Who knows what would have happened had I wrestled with my pack? Of course, I’ve also shot a buck that was in the grass down off the highway. It was just standing there and didn’t seem to care much as I walked off the asphalt, shoul-

dered my riﬂe and ﬁred. But creeping is something you should do when hunting.

STEP 5 – Fire a warning shot (don’t follow this – and the subsequent steps – if you are hunting with someone or don’t want the story to get out). After you’ve gone into ninja mode, ﬂoated your way around the deer grounds and put yourself once into a good shooting spot, ﬁre a shot near, but not into, dinner. This might aksportingjournal.com | OCTOBER 2015

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

get the deer standing, which will provide a much easier position for the second shot.

STEP 6 – Fire a second shot. After ﬁring what you thought would surely put the deer down, move your face closer to the scope in an act of incredulous denial. That way, when you miss the neck and vitals on the second shot and instead obliterate the hindquarter, you can get what you deserve by having the scope split your eyebrow or nose.

To ensure you’re in the deer woods at sunrise, why not just set up camp and rough it the night before your big day? (JEFF LUND)

STEP 7 – Panic! Confidence is overrated. Ideally the deer drops, because no one wants suffering or extensive tracking. But if you know you hit the deer and it runs, it will flee downhill and die shortly if you’ve put a good one on him. Rather than be confident in the dozens of rounds you’ve sent down range, rush quickly toward where the deer was bedded, bleeding from the face and completely discombobulated by the fact that the

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so much more stressful on the deceased deer and to your conďŹ dence as a hunter.

STEP 9 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Be afraid of bears. Remember back to the previous day when you came within 20 yards of a bruin cub. Recall that after hooďŹ ng in the opposite direction and crossing a creek, the bear burst out of the brush and crossed the gulch â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with two cubs trailing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; after it ďŹ nally winded you. Think about this as youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re hunched over a deer carcass humming country music songs under your breath.

One more tip? Look behind you just in case you get photobombed by what you came for. (JEFF LUND)

deer is still alive.

STEP 8 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Finish it off. Take a moment to realize how horrible it is that you took three shots to kill a deer. Store into memory how the hideous kill is

STEP 10 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Cut yourself. The best time to cut yourself is when you are elbow-deep in the chest cavity of an animal. That way you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know how bad it is because the color of paw blood matches that of the animal you just killed. STEP 11 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Be thankful. The deer was just eating plants and was in no way a detriment to your way

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Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s note: Jeff Lund is the author of Going Home, a memoir about ďŹ shing and hunting in Alaska and California. Visit JeffLundBooks.com for details.

Best of Kodiak The author hasn’t always come up empty-handed on a deer hunt, but he isn’t ashamed enough to admit he has a lot of room to improve. ((JEFF LUND)

Jeff Lund has harvested a few bucks over his ﬂedgling career, but he knows his learning curve remains rather steep. (JEFF LUND) aksportingjournal.com | OCTOBER 2015

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

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AFTER THE SHOT HOW AUTHOR AND TV PERSONALITY STEVEN RINELLA PREPARES HARVESTED GAME

Editor’s note: Hunter and wild game foodie Steven Rinella is perfectly ﬁne living off the land and eating what he takes. The host of the Sportsman Channel series MeatEater is also an accomplished author, having already published multiple books. This fall, his latest work shows you how to not only hunt big game in Alaska and beyond, but also butchering your harvest and how to prepare delicious meals for everything from wild game burgers to chili infused with cocoa. The following is an excerpt from Rinella’s new book, The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game, published by Random House Paperback and currently on sale. BY STEVEN RINELLA he work of hunting does not end with a kill. In some respects, it’s only just begun. You owe it to the animal, and to yourself, to make sure that the carcass is handled as carefully as possible to ensure quality meat. Regardless of whether the animal will be skinned and processed in the ﬁeld or at home, it needs to be gutted immediately.

GUTTING Big game should be gutted as soon as possible, preferably within an hour of the animal’s death. All big game animals are gutted in essentially the same way, though there are obvious differences in the matter of scale. The sequence of the following steps is not entirely rigid, and there are many shortcuts that can speed the process along. The following step-by-step procedure is meant to give you a full understanding of the work involved. Once you gain some proﬁcien-

TV personality Steven Rinella is a master at butchering and cooking the big game meat he harvests, including in the blustery conditions on Alaska’s remote Nunivak Island. (SPORTSMAN CHANNEL)

cy, you will develop your own favorite way of going about it.

A TIP FOR HANDLING LARGE ANIMALS When handling large animals or working on uneven terrain, you can use lengths of cord to rig the animal into whatever position you want. 1. Start by positioning the animal on its back, with the spine as straight as possible and the legs pointing toward the sky. 2. Cut through the skin around the animal’s anus, leaving the anus connected only to the colon. Use the tip of your knife to free the connective tissues that hold the animal’s colon in place. Get in there as far as possible. The colon should be lying inside the pelvis like the end of a hose, totally freed up. 3. Starting at the top of the anus incision, slice upward through the hide to a point just past the animal’s pelvis. Do

not cut through the abdominal wall. Slice down through the muscle until you hit the pelvic bone. On males, cut down on each side of the pelvic ridge. On females, you can make just one slice down to the bone. Note: If you’re going to be dragging the animal any appreciable distance, you can omit this step. By leaving this area intact, it’s easier to keep the meat clean during transportation. The downside is that the animal does not cool as quickly, and this is a part of the carcass that’s vulnerable to spoilage in warm weather. 4. Go up to the point of the animal’s brisket and start an incision through the hide. Run this incision all the way down the animal’s underside until it meets the opening you created in order to expose the pelvis. Be careful not to nick the muscle beneath the hide, as you might puncture the internal organs as well.

aksportingjournal.com | OCTOBER 2015

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

(STEVEN RINELLA, BOTH)

5. At this point you’re ready to cut through the abdominal wall. The safest place to enter the abdomen is at the very bottom of the rib cage. Make a very shallow and careful cut through the abdominal muscles, just enough to insert your middle and index ﬁngers. With your ﬁngers facing up, lift the abdominal muscles up and away from the stomach and slice through the lining along the same incision that you made through the hide. End the cut at the lower end of the abdomen, where the belly terminates at the pelvic area between the two rear legs. 6. Reach one hand inside the animal’s pelvis and press the bladder and intestines away from the pelvic bone as you use your other hand to split the pelvic bone with a saw or small hatchet. On males, cut through the bone on each side of the ridge. On females, cut down the middle. Once the bone is cut, forcibly push the rear legs apart. You should now have a clear gateway through which the colon and lower intestine will pass when you pull the guts away from the animal. 7. Go back to the point of the sternum where you began your incision through the abdominal wall. From there, use a bone saw, hatchet, or heavy knife to split the sternum all the way to the base of the neck. Then forcibly separate the two halves of the rib cage. 8. Reach into the front of the chest 58

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

cavity and sever the windpipe. Also slice through the diaphragm, freeing it from the walls of the rib cage on both sides of the animal, all the way down to the spine. 9. Using two hands, reach up to where you severed the windpipe and get a good grip on the package of organs at the top end of the animal. Pulling slowly and ﬁrmly, you should be able to walk backward and drag the entire load of guts out of the animal. Keep a knife handy, as you might need to reach in and slice free the diaphragm or connective tissue around the pelvis if the innards get hung up while you’re trying to pull them free. 10. Go through the gut pile and remove the heart, kidneys, and liver.

EVIDENCE OF SEX If you’re in a state that requires you to leave an animal’s evidence of sex naturally attached to the carcass, refer to these points: Many states require hunters to leave the evidence of sex naturally attached to big-game carcasses until the animal reaches its ﬁnal point of processing. The animal’s head counts as evidence

(STEVEN RINELLA, BOTH)

OCTOBER 2015 | aksportingjournal.com

of sex only as long as it’s naturally attached to the carcass. Once the animal’s head is removed in the process of quartering or butchering in the ﬁeld, legal evidence of sex in the form of reproductive organs or other features must be left naturally attached to the meat. Acceptable evidence of sex usually includes the vulva or mammary glands on females and the testicles on males. To leave the evidence of sex on a bull or buck: 1. After freeing the anus and colon, ﬁnd the uppermost end of the penis sheath and start skinning and detaching it, hide and all, with the penis inside. You’ll be cutting on both sides of the sheath. (It’s like you’re skinning off a two-inch wide strip of hide from the center of the animal’s belly. When you go to open the animal for gutting, you can use this incision as the starting point for the abdominal gutting incision). 2. It is important to note that within the animal’s hide the penis is free from the testicles. So as you continue detaching the penis, nearing the scrotum, the testicles

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TURNING GAME INTO AN

ITALIAN FEAST

This recipe came to me when I needed to feed a crowd and wanted to have all the cooking done before everyone arrived. While most folks know this classic dish as a preparation for chicken or veal, it works brilliantly with pretty much any big game animal as long as you select quality steaks from the loins or back legs and tenderize them vigorously with a mallet. You can use your own homemade tomato sauce or one from the store. I like this simple tomato sauce because it’s easy to make, freezes well, and tastes great. This feeds eight to 10 people and doubles nicely if you need to feed more. • 8 steaks, cut from the back leg or loin, ¾-inch thick (about 3 to 4 ounces each) • Flour for dredging • 2 eggs • 1½ cups freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, divided • 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs (see below) • Extra-virgin olive oil • Kosher salt • Freshly ground black pepper • 2 cups tomato sauce (see recipe below, or use your favorite tomato sauce) • 12 fresh basil leaves, rolled like a cigar and sliced into thin strips (see below) • 2 cups shredded mozzarella

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil and half a red onion, chopped. Sauté over medium-high heat until the onion is translucent. Add 4 cloves of garlic, chopped, and sauté for 30 more seconds. Add one 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes (San Marzano tomatoes have the best ﬂavor), and a little salt and pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes. Taste, adjust seasoning, add a sprig of basil, and remove from the heat. Use immediately, cool and freeze, or cool and keep in the fridge for up to a week.

FRESH BREADCRUMBS

VENISON PARMESAN

TOMATO SAUCE

OCTOBER 2015 | aksportingjournal.com

Fresh breadcrumbs are so much more delicious, they’re worth making every time you have a fresh loaf of bread in the house that’s gone a little stale. I like to use baguettes, but sourdough works, too. Just remove the crusts, cut the bread into ½-inch pieces, throw them into your food processor, and pulse until you have breadcrumbs. It’s that simple. Store the breadcrumbs in resealable bags in the freezer for when you need them.

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ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

will appear and naturally fall to each side. The testicles are not attached to each other. 3. If you have a hunting partner, have him or her hold the testicles out of the way as you continue detaching the penis from the carcass. 4. Continue skinning the penis all the way to the anus (yes, it does originate there). At this point you can either cut off the penis at the anus or leave it attached and it will come out with the guts. Both methods are acceptable. 5. At this point the testicles are loosely attached to the hide. Gently peel the testicles free from the hide. They should now be attached solely to the corresponding rear quarter by the narrow tube of the vas deferens. 6. Continue with the gutting procedure, being careful not to disturb the placement and ﬁxture of the testes. To leave the evidence of sex attached to a cow or doe: 1. After cutting the hide from the loosened anus forward to the neck, come

back to the location of the udders and mammary gland. As females with lateborn offspring might still have milk in the mammary gland, be prepared for some to ﬂow out as you work. (It was common for Plains Indians to lap up the milk that leaked from the mammary glands of female buffalo during the butchering practice.) 2. Skin the hide, along with the teats, away from the mammary gland. The gland is connected to the meat only by light connective tissue, so work carefully. 3. The gland is rather large, so trim away everything but a chunk measuring about 3 by 3 inches. The quarter can now be removed from the carcass with the mammary attached. 4. Alternatively, you can leave the vulva attached simply by cutting around it and leaving a long tab of skin that connects it to the rear ham. It should look as if you neglected to skin a 5-inch piece of hide away from the rear ham. The only downside of this option is that this patch of skin tends to get a lot of hair on the meat during handling. Wrapping a

plastic bag around the tab of hide and securing it with a rubber band or zip tie can mitigate this.

FIELD SKINNING: HANGING METHOD As long as you’ve got a place to hang the carcass and the muscle power necessary to lift it, the hanging method is a clean and simple way to skin your big game animals. Unless you’re saving the cape or hide for taxidermy purposes, use the following procedure. 1. Hang the animal by the neck or the base of the antlers, with the noose tucked up tightly behind the ears. (You can also hang an animal upside down, by the gambrels. Everything is pretty much the same; it’s just a matter of personal preference.) ASJ Editor’s note: For more on author Steven Rinella, follow him on Twitter (@stevenrinella), check out his official website (stevenrinella.com), his MeatEater show website (thesportsmanchannel.com/ shows/meateater) or like him at facebook. com/StevenRinellaMeatEater.

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CHAR TER S,

LL C .

AS AL

N KA

Reel Affair

EST. 1995

SITKA, ALASKA

STEP ABOARD. Allow our crew to assist you in personally designing your Alaskan experience of a lifetime. Whether you are seeking the majestic salmon, delicious halibut or one of our trophy saltwater species, we are here to assist you in making that dream come true. Your All-Inclusive Package Includes: • Guaranteed 10 hours a day (dock to dock) which affords you a minimum of 7 to 8 hours of wet line time. • UNLIMITED “custom” fish processing, packaged in portions for two, vacuum sealing, freezing, labeling and boxing of your catch. • All your required fishing licenses & salmon stamps. • All fishing gear and tackle. We even supply rain gear & boots. However for that custom fit, you may want to bring your own. Our deckhand will wash down the decks often. Non-scuff footwear is preferred. • A Full Lunch is provided aboard, to include something fresh, something salty & something sweet, snacks, soft drinks, water, & fresh water ice is also included for any personal beverages you may choose to bring along. • Lodging while in Sitka is at the Westmark Sitka considered to be one of Sitka’s finest in lodging and amenities. All lodging is based on double occupancy. The Westmark Sitka features and outside deck with views of Sitka Sound & Crescent Harbor.

(907) 738-3322 or email reel.affair@att.net or visit www.reelaffair.com For reservations, please call

P.O. BOX 1825 • SITKA, ALASKA 99835 64

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ALASKAN REEL AFFAIR CHARTERS LLC

Est. 1995

Daily Fishing Report – http://www.reelaffair.com/fishingreport/ Our charter fishing season is from midMay through early September. You choose the time of year that you prefer to fish by the salmon species you choose to target. Your ground fish, halibut, yellow eye, lingcod and other rockfish are available all season long. For detailed information on current limits and specifics on your targeted species, please visit www.reelaffair.com. Because Sitka area water is inundated with islands, there is literally not a day we don’t fish. Location, location, location!

Why Sitka, Alaska? Know your location: Don’t just take our word for it. Visit www.adfg.alaska.gov/ index.cfm. Do your research: The water surrounding Sitka, Alaska boasts the highest salmon catch rate per angler hour of any saltwater destination for sport fisherman and fisherwomen in the entire state of Alaska. That is huge! The salmon species which are most commonly targeted in Sitka waters are king salmon (Chinook) and silver salmon (Coho), although all five species, including pink, chum and sockeye are present. Salmon are drawn to Sitka simply because of the amount of baitfish in the waters here. It’s the food that brings them in and the food availability that keep them here in their course of their annual migratory run. Simple! Sitka is located on the west side of Baranof Island. Why is this important? If you have fished anywhere off the mainland of Alaska, then you are very familiar with the tides and the fact that halibut fishing is a tidal fishery in those areas. You will fish an hour or so prior to slack tide through slack tide and an hour or so after before it becomes difficult to keep your bait on bottom any longer. Sitka’s water will impress you with minimal tides. This alone allows our halibut fisherman and women to fish straight up and down 24 hours a day with no need to schedule a fishing vacation around the tides! Choosing your dates: What dictates the beginning of our charter season in Sitka, Alaska as well as its end is simply this: water and weather conditions. Whether you’re targeting salmon, halibut, yellow eye, lingcod or other rockfish and the fish are here. We are not date sensitive as lakes or rivers may be.

About the owners: Opening in 1995, Alaskan Reel Affair Charters is owned and operated by Tim and Octobre Twaddle, year-round residents of Sitka. “We feel our longevity speaks volumes.” Tim, having a commercial fishing background, is an active guide along with other local captains and crew. Octobre oversees the land operations from “personally meeting our guests at the airport to our custom fish processing.” ...”We pay attention to your and to every detail. We’re there for you from before you step off the plane in Sitka, until we have you & your seafood securely checked through to your home airport on your day of departure”. Flights: Alaska Airlines Boeing 738’s serves Sitka, Alaska – Flights are daily out of Seattle, Washington, www.alaskaairlines. com. Delta Airlines, www.deltaairlines.com, also serves Sitka, AK. Why Alaskan Reel Affair Charters? The adjoining advertisement tells you briefly about our inclusive packages. For full details, www.reelaffair.com. All-inclusive packages: We’ll meet you at our airport which is serviced by Alaska & Delta Airlines. Your lodging is at the Westmark Sitka, located in the heart of Sitka, the fifth largest city in Alaska. Breakfast is available at the Westmark. On arrival Octobre is waiting for your flight & will have your fishing license, king salmon stamp & boots. Need to go to the store? She’s prepared & ready to take you. The remainder of your arrival day, you are free to enjoy the sights and sounds of Sikta’s rich history & culture. We’ll pick you up the next morning to take you to Sealing Cove Harbor, only a three-minute ride away, and introduce you to your deckhand & captain, where the boat is warm and ready to go.

The boats: You will fish on one of our four U.S.C.G. inspected vessels, with state of the art electronics. The fishing day: 10-hours dock-to-dock affords you seven to eight hours of “wet line time”. You’ll fish a “combination” day, fishing for your salmon in the morning hours and later that morning heading out to fish our ground species: halibut, yellow eye, lingcod and other rockfish. Your catch will be bled, gutted and gilled onboard and put on ice. Unlimited custom fish processing: After arrival back to the dock, Octobre, will take you to your lodging and, upon request will have made dinner reservations for you. While you’re enjoying a shower or a power nap, our processors take your catch back to our facility where your harvest will be prepared per your individual requests of steaks, fillets, and butterflies or even smoked. Choices daily! Your harvest is then labeled, vacuum sealed in portions for two, frozen to (minus) -28 degrees and boxed for your flight home as checkin baggage. We can also fully insulate! Remember, when fishing with us, bring carry-on luggage only, your fish is check-in baggage going home. Questions? Octobre or Tim – cell – 907-738-3322 Email – reel.affair@att.net Web – www.reelaffair.com

You will ﬁsh the same crew the entirety of your trip, and we ﬁsh no more than four (4) anglers to a boat unless you have requested otherwise. (Generous lunches and more are provided on board.)

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OPENING TO

Christine Cunningham and Winchester, her English setter, take in the scene on opening day. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an event that never disappoints, even when the hunting itself might be considered disappointing. (STEVE MEYER)

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A DOOR

TRADITION BIRD HUNTERS CANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T WAIT TO BREAK OUT THEIR GEAR, CLIMB AND ENJOY ALASKA WITH THEIR DOGS BY STEVE MEYER

he predawn light of opening day silhouetted nonthreatening clouds drifting across the distant peaks of our destination. The sun, hidden behind the mountain slopes, cast a pale light, presenting the emerald valleys and shale slopes in dark magnificence. Winchester, our black-and-white English setter, disappeared over a distant ridgeline high above us an hour after starting our climb. His vanishing act was shortly followed by the vibration of the control on his Garmin GPS collar, alerting that he was on point. Knowing from experience that Winchester had found whitetail ptarmigan, the lone upland bird that shares the sharply deďŹ ned granite and shale with Dall sheep, brought renewed energy to our climb. The cascading water in the 700-foot vertical chute next to our route muffled any sound we made climbing to get to Winchester and the birds he held waiting for our arrival. Twenty minutes later as the dog crested the ridge, his motionless silhouette against the skyline brought us to a stop to shoot a photograph that captured the moment. Time no longer mattered; the birds and Winchester were locked together and neither would move without intervention.

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ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

Author Steve Meyer prepares for the ﬂush. Opening day creates memories that are hopefully repeated year after year. (CHRISTINE CUNNINGHAM)

English setter Winchester is zeroed in when the season starts as well when he holds a whitetail ptarmigan hen. (STEVE MEYER)

THE “OPENER,” IN the language of hunters worldwide, brings to us a rebirth – the quickening of pulse, the sharpness of the senses, the tightness of throat and the primal instinct that brings us to be participants in nature. The hunter’s way is steeped in traditions passed down from generation to generation. It is mirrored in the ritual and superstition that form over the seasons as they come and go. For bird dog hunters, it is the lifeblood of existence and the culmination of a countdown that begins when last season ends. To celebrate opening day, some set up a “bird camp,” where sleeping near the hunting grounds allows a memorable night before and an easy up-and-gone at first light. Memories of great openers set the stage for the next: What shirt did I wear? What gun did I shoot? Were those Winchester (the gun brand and not our setter) or Federal loads that shot so well? Repeating all that was good about last year clears the mind of fret and perhaps cannot be quantified as improving the odds. But in our minds, it certainly can. More than anything, it is the memory of the flush of the bird in front of the dog or the setting of wings into the decoys. It’s the memory of the twitching retriever in the blind spotted long before you. It’s the memory of the swing of the shotgun and the press of the trig68

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OCTOBER 2015 | aksportingjournal.com

ger as the muzzle swings past the bird. They are moments in time that never guarantee birds in the game vest, but while fulﬁlling the promise of opportunity. The quarry can be grouse, ptarmigan, ducks or geese; the dog can be a pointing or ﬂushing upland bird dog or a retriever of waterfowl. Whatever the variables, the relationship between the hunter, the dog and the game is the same. The canine in front of the gun is only that in physical description. They are four-legged partners that never call the

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THE MOTTLED PLUMAGE of summer whitetails meld them into

Duck hunters also get excited about the hope and promise of a new season, as Christine Cunningham and Cheyenne celebrate a successful bird harvest. (STEVE MEYER)

night before and cancel; they never complain of the weather or the lack of game. They are your best friends, sharing the longing looks passed daily when there is no hunting. They comfort the soul and they know whatever it is they need to know to make it better. Gun dogs share the triumphs and the miseries of the outdoor pursuit. Their eyes and their soft muzzles speak a language that only you understand.

the landscape. My hunting partner, Christine Cunningham, and I approached to within 20 yards and spotted the lone bird mesmerized by Winchester’s intense stare. He moved closer for the flush and the bird didn’t move; the thump of its heart was visible in the broad chest muscles, and its eyes darted from Winchester to Christine. When Christine closed the distance to under 10 yards, the whitetail began moving towards Christine, behavior that suggested that this was a hen and there were probably young birds hidden close by. Christine looked around and discovered two very small ptarmigan nestled in the rocks at her feet. Once they were spotted, the young birds began to fidget and mom moved closer. The upland opener in Alaska, August 10, normally finds juvenile grouse and ptarmigan to be around 80 percent full grown. This early season is part of Alaska history: brought about for sheep and caribou hunters to have access to fresh camp meat while pursuing bigger game. Then again, hunting the opener is not about filling a game bag: it’s about the opportunity to be in the field; gun in hand; dog out front; living the life. There is no biological concern if juvenile birds are taken. Pressure is minimal, the country is vast and thus there is no real danger of overharvest. Still, the juveniles aren’t particularly bright and one can easily follow and continue to shoot out an entire covey. Single males are the best find, but they are rather reclusive and much more difficult to come by early in the year. Generally, the hen of a juvenile covey can be picked out and taken and the rest be left to

ALASKA’S BIRD HUNTING HOT SPOTS Sportsmen and -women visiting Alaska – perhaps those who just moved here and even some who have lived here for years – often wonder where good bird hunting is. Mostly it is everywhere, but certainly some places stand out in the memories of hunters. For ruffed grouse and sharptail grouse, the new-growth aspen forests created by wildfires in Alaska’s interior make the Tok, Delta Junction and Fairbanks areas the runaway favorites. Access to public land is prolific, and the Taylor Highway out of Tok and the road to Manley Hot Springs out of Fairbanks are good bets. Ptarmigan hunting is also found in the Interior, and hunting is road-accessible via the Denali Highway or the Taylor Highway. Both roads allow a drive into the subalpine and alpine regions for willow and rock ptarmigan. Whitetail ptarmigan are limited to the Southeast and Southcentral mountain ranges of Alaska and are not accessible by road. Numerous U.S. Forest Service trails and old mining trails do offer access into the high country, where these most reclusive of the ptarmigan live. If you want to target ducks and geese, Cold Bay on the Alaska Peninsula offers epic waterfowl hunting. Well known for both ducks and geese, this area is home to Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and offers some spectacular hunting for Pacific brant and sea ducks as well. Cold Bay also offers the added bonus of excellent ptarmigan hunting. A bit closer to the Anchorage hub of air travel is the Redoubt Bay Critical Habitat area, a 286-square-mile area of tidal sloughs, ponds and braided creeks choked with waterfowl. It’s located a mere 40 air miles southwest of Anchorage. The Trading Bay State Game Refuge is a smaller version of Redoubt Bay and a bit closer to Anchorage. Both areas are accessible via aircraft or boat. With these areas really just scratching the surface of what is available, Alaska’s wildfowl hunting is a relatively unknown treasure. Hunting big game is so much in the forefront, so Alaska isn’t often thought of in wildfowl terms. But consider that there are long seasons and generous bag limits. And get this: nonresidents can actually hunt ducks and geese in Alaska for less than what it costs residents. Yep, for $20 a nonresident gets a year-long small-game license, allowing hunting of all the waterfowl species. The addition of a state duck stamp at $5 and a federal duck stamp for $25 makes it a bargain any Lower 48 visitor should jump on. –SM 70

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ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

grow up. But these birds were so small and the hen’s clear need to continue to protect them halted any thought of shooting.

WHILE TAKING THE opportunity for photos, Winchester shifted his gaze from the birds to us, wondering what the heck we were doing. The hen allowed me to approach within 6 feet of her. She was not nearly as concerned about me as she was about Christine and continued to move towards her. Her blinking eyes and her peculiar vocalizations signaled it was time to leave her alone. Much to Winchester’s dismay, we After the climbing, the flushing, the harvesting and the herded the hen to her chicks and sent retrieving, it’s important to just stop, smell the air and them on their way to grow up. take in the scene. (STEVE MEYER) With the “find the birds” command, Winchester lit out and coursed the before Winchester’s high tail became visible. slopes, climbing up over a ridge to the southeast near a hidden When he labored up the slope, it revealed a ptarmigan mountain lake. Within minutes of his flagging tail disappearsilhouetted against the background 30 yards in front of the ing over the horizon, the Garmin vibrated again. dog. Another flush approach revealed five more ptarmigan Six hundred yards isn’t far, except when it includes 600 all out in front of the hen and all clearly no more than half feet of vertical elevation; so the scramble uphill continued. her size. So as not to further disilliusion Winchester to our The first ridgeline was a false hope; another had to be climbed

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purpose, I flushed the birds, swung the 28-gauge ahead of the last bird and let it fly through before touching off a shot in a deliberate miss. We hoped for another point that perhaps would be a lone adult bird as we followed Winchester to the crest overlooking the valley below. The ground was dotted with purple flowers and blueberry patches. Winchester’s nose told us there were no more birds in that particular piece of real estate. Now, in the shadow of a distant peak overlooking a lush mountain valley, we shared our thoughts while Winchester sat and contemplated the country he loves. We act on what hunting means individually, and often restrict ourselves far more than the law says we must. For some, heading down the mountain on opening day with no birds in the bag would be considered a failure. I believe that all bird dog folks would share the simple joy of being in a wild place. The thrill of watching our gun dog do what he does while engaging in nature in its most honest form is considered a success in our world. For us, the trip down was like walking on air. We cherished the moments spent with the hen and her chicks; we smelled the mountain wildflowers; we listened to the silence only found in these places and looked forward to the next adventure. In other words, it was another opener for the books. ASJ

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HOT WINGS IN COOL WEATHER WITH MILD BUT NOT FRIGID CONDITIONS, BIRD HUNTERS CAN HAVE A GREAT OCTOBER

Mild conditions may delay the fall ﬂight of waterfowl, meaning extended action for hunters. This is something no hunting dog will be disappointed about. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

BY SCOTT HAUGEN

ast October was one of the more mild months many Alaskans can remember, and this year’s weather pattern could be much of the same. What does this mean for bird hunters? Extended opportunities to spend time aﬁeld with your dog. With delayed freezing and unseasonably warm weather, fall food sources hold on longer. Many berries usually covered in snow by now are exposed, making for good upland bird hunting opportunities. This effect means birds may still be holding in late summer and early fall, when they take advantage of nutrition-rich berries, grasses and more. Grouse may be found along logging roads, feeding on open hillsides and hanging out near water sources where various berry species ﬂourish. If remote roads are void of snow, this is a good place to locate birds gathering grit. But know the laws as they relate to shooting on or near graveled roads, no matter how remote the area. These are great habitats in which to locate birds, jump them and let your dog track them down in a safe, legal shooting area. Most ptarmigan hunters don’t need to worry about road system regulations, however, thanks to the remote habitat these birds call home. Whether it’s high-elevation hunts for rock ptarmigan, remote hikes into whitetail areas or anywhere in the state willow ptarmigan are found, key in on food sources. Ptarmigan love eating berries and green leaves this time of year and gorging themselves on the rich food sourcaksportingjournal.com | OCTOBER 2015

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

PUT SOME PRESSURE ON YOUR BIRD

BY TIFFANY HAUGEN Just when you think you’ve tried every way under the sun to prepare wild game, a new gadget comes along. Many folks have likely had food cooked sous vide (the French words for under pressure) at some point in a restaurant, but may not have been aware of the technique. It wasn’t until recently that cook-at-homers had this technology available at a reasonable price. Meat prepared in the sous vide way retains moisture and flavor, and it becomes tender as it cooks in a vacuum-sealed bag under a water bath at low temperatures. The final step is a very quick sear in a hot skillet or grill. The results are fork-tender birds and steaks that are cooked to medium-rare perfection with a flavorful layer of caramelization on the top and bottom. Last season we cooked ptarmigan this way for the first time, and you can 78

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

bet we’ll be doing it again. Rosemary garlic sous vide ptarmigan 4 ptarmigan breasts ¼ cup maple syrup ¼ cup soy sauce ¼ cup red wine vinegar ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce ¼ cup olive oil 4 cloves garlic, sliced 2 6-inch sprigs rosemary Coconut or peanut oil for searing Fill sous vide water oven with water 2 inches from the ﬁll line. Set temperature to 140 degrees. Trim ptarmigan breasts of all silverskin. Place ptarmigan breasts in a single layer on paper towels or on a rack. In a small bowl, mix remaining ingredients with a whisk until thoroughly combined. Pat ptarmigan dry and add to an 8-inch-by-12-inch commercial-grade vacuum sealer bag (the bag should be freezer/microwave/boil safe). Add liq-

OCTOBER 2015 | aksportingjournal.com

uid and seal using moist/liquid setting on vacuum sealer. Place bag in sous vide water oven, add more hot water to reach max fill line if necessary. Set timer for 10 hours. Ptarmigan is fully cooked and can be eaten right from the bag, but for best result finish by searing bird on a well-oiled, hot grill. Baste with juices left in the bag or strain and reduce in a pan over medium-high heat for a finishing sauce. Ptarmigan can also be refrigerated in the bags up to three days, ready to sear prior to serving or sliced thin and served cold in a salad. Editor’s note: For signed copies of Tiffany Haugen’s popular cookbook, Cooking Game Birds, send a check for $20 (free S&H) to Haugen Enterprises, P.O. Box 275, Walterville, OR 97489, or order at scotthaugen.com. Tiffany is a full-time author and part of the new online series, Cook With Cabela’s. Watch for her on TV’s The Sporting Chef on Sportsman Channel.

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the wind in your face and let the dog go to work. Remember that just because you may empty your gun on the initial flush, it doesn’t mean all the ptarmigan are gone. Quickly reload and be ready. Oftentimes, ptarmigan hunker down in grass against cuts in the tundra, behind rocks and on the backside of knolls. Because they habitualThere’s nothing like ptarmigan hunting the open tundra, ly hold tight, extended with a dog by your side. Should mild conditions continue, look for birds congregating around wild berries and green, shooting opportunities leafy food sources. (SCOTT HAUGEN) can be had on a single flock. Just be sure the dog doesn’t bust loose on the initial volley in es knowing winter is fast approaching. case birds are tucked in tight. If hunting open terrain, spend time glassing from distant vantage points to locate a flock of ptarmigan. The fact DON’T FORGET THE DUCKS their wings remain white year-round Upland birds aren’t the only wingshootmakes finding them easy when there’s ing options to get your dog on this fall. no snow on the ground. Should water remain free of ice, hunters Once a ptarmigan flock is located, get can find some bonus puddle duck hunt-

ing. If conditions are mild, the migration may even be delayed a bit. While a delayed movement of birds to the south may be brief, it can be just enough to get in some extended hunts and your dog in on some fun action before ice-up. Waterfowl hunters working tidal areas will find even more days to get their dog some action. Because saltwater has a lower freezing point than freshwater, bays and estuaries stay open longer. If you do hunt the salt, pay close attention to tides. Alaska has some of the biggest tidal shifts in the world and they must be closely monitored. The same goes for mud, one of the most dangerous habitats for waterfowl hunters and their dogs. Don’t venture into a tidal flat or muddy habitat until you’re absolutely certain what you’re getting into. An insulated vest is a good investment for your dog, especially this time of year. Though the days may not be abnormally cold, the water will surely be chilly, and wind will quickly drop a dog’s body temperature. Having a towel in your pack will also help dry a dog and keep it warm between volleys. This fall, should mild weather prevail, grab your dog and head afield. With Alaska’s long winter ahead and dogs chomping at the bit to do what they’re bred to do, it’s nice getting them on as many hunts as possible. Not only will you come away with fond memories of the hunt but some tasty meat for your table. ASJ Editor’s note: Personally signed copies of Scott Haugen’s best-selling book, Hunting The Alaskan High Arctic, can be ordered by sending a check for $35 (free S&H) to Haugen Enterprises, P.O. Box Walterville, OR 97489, or order at scotthaugen. com. The adventure book captures his most memorable hunts while living on the North Slope, including the taking of a man-eating polar bear and hunting Dall sheep, moose and more.

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EVEN WARDENS CAN BE WRONG T

he trooper turned in the driver’s seat to where I sat next to him BY and asked, “Do STEVE MEYER you know why I stopped you?” I was clueless to the reason and said as much. “I am going to tell you, but ﬁrst I am going to place you under arrest,” he said. “No, you aren’t,” I replied as I opened the door and exited the vehicle. This was early August 1979, and I was driving through a residential district of Soldotna and transporting a rather large set of caribou antlers still in full velvet – recently taken on the Alaska Peninsula – to a friend’s house to show them off. The Alaska State Trooper had pulled in behind me a few blocks back and I gave it no thought. We had just pulled away from a stop sign at an intersection when his lights came on and I thought I must have a brake light out. Knowing to a mortal degree of certainty I had done nothing that would warrant my arrest, there wasn’t going to be an arrest without a ﬁght. The young trooper got out of the vehicle stammering and blurting out, “Moose season is closed.” Troopers in Alaska are also charged with enforcing state game regulations. Over the years they have called the troopers who are primarily charged with game warden-type duties different things; at times they have worn different uniforms to designate their respective positions. “Brown shirt” troopers is how game wardens have been referred to. But one could be a highway patrol trooper one day and don a brown shirt performing duties like a game warden the next. So it isn’t terribly surprising that a trooper might not be well versed in the state’s fauna. But at the time, and given the threat to my freedom, this incident did not amuse me much. “Here’s what you need to do,” I said. “Call someone who knows something about big game and we’ll get this sorted out pretty quickly.” He gave me a blank stare that showed his confusion. “It’s a caribou,” I told him. Shortly thereafter, a brown shirt trooper showed up, and after checking my license and the validated harvest ticket, apologized for the inconvenience and I was on my way, relieved that I didn’t have to get a brake light repaired.

NO SYMPATHY

A COUPLE OF years ago a good friend was out looking for moose on a rural secondary road. After spotting a bull in a field some 100 yards off the road, he pulled off on a rutted trail and was outside his truck looking at the bull with binoculars. The regulations called for a legal bull to have 50-inch-wide antlers or at least four brow tines on one side. There were not four brow tines on either side; rather, it had three on one side and two on the other, but my friend was sure the bull was over 50 inches. While pondering the animal a trooper pulled up and walked over to see what was going on. He pointed the bull out to the trooper and asked if it appeared to be over 50 inches and legal. “Yep,” the trooper said, “looks legal to me.” But they still were not 100 percent sure and stood and watched the bull – casually having evening supper on the willow shrub in the field – for another 15 minutes. Finally my buddy became proactive. “Well, it looks legal to me and it looks legal to you (to the trooper). So if you don’t mind, I am going to shoot it.” “Go ahead,” the trooper said. At the shot the bull walked a few steps and collapsed. We walked out to the downed animal with tape measure in hand. My buddy was heartsick when the tape showed that the animal was several inches below the 50-inch minimum. This hunter would pretty much rather sever a limb than break a game law. He called to the trooper to come out to see the disappointing result. After he showed the measurement, my buddy told the trooper to go ahead and write him the citation, and knowing the meat would be forfeited, asked where to take it. At the mandatory court-required appearance for the offense, my friend plead guilty, didn’t make excuses or even tell the story because he felt so awful. He was fined $1,000 and was grateful for not having any of his hunting privileges taken away. The trooper said not a word. Given the totality of the circumstances it’s probably safe to say a lot of hunters would have shot that moose in that scenario. It seems likely that if my friend had went out to the moose and given the thumb’s up that trooper would never have even walked out to check the animal. But like all the hunters I have anything to do with, he just isn’t built that way and took his lumps. Who first espoused that writers have a responsibility to question and challenge the status quo of mainstream popularity escapes me. But that responsibility should be shared by everyone. Always question, always think for yourself and, beyond all, don’t confuse a title with expertise, as that will surely bite you in the arse when you least expect it. ASJ aksportingjournal.com | OCTOBER 2015

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GIVE CHUMS A CHANCE THESE SALMON PALE NEXT TO KINGS, REDS AND SILVERS, BUT DON’T IGNORE THEIR BITE, FIGHT BY DENNIS MUSGRAVES MUSGRAVES

ading hip deep in the clear running water gave me an advantage, providing an excellent position to spot potential targets swimming below. My senses were fully engaged. I scanned the depths for swirling fish and tried to maintain my balance over an uneven, slippery, rocky creekbottom as I worked my way against the fast-flowing waist-deep water. Then I spotted them. A group of just under a dozen fish were holding just below a narrow chute in a deep bend. Markings on the salmon were unmistakable, revealing themselves as chums – the specific fish I was searching for. I quickly fed enough fly line out from the reel to make a cast. A bright pink bunny leech tied on the end of my tippet was a perfect choice to entice a salmon into striking. Shooting line out and placing my leech just upstream of the holding fish would allow enough time for my offering to sink deep before drifting in the current. As my pattern sunk and drifted towards the fish, I began stripping line, turning one of the chums with the movement and inspiring a chase. I watched intensely as the salmon bit. I felt the immediate bounce in the tip of my fly rod. My reaction was instinctive: I set the hook with a quick upward motion and my fly rod flexed wildly, doubling over from the force as the powerful chum took off upstream with a fury.

Ian Martinez battles a chum salmon on a ﬂy rod. With more celebrated salmon species ubiquitous in the state, fewer anglers will target chums, but they can be a fun and productive option. (DENNIS MUSGRAVES)

AGGRESSIVE CHUM SALMON are always fun to catch. Sight fishing for them in Alaska’s Susitna Valley is a trip I make every year without flinching. Fishing provides loads of action and adventure for any angler looking to target chums. Late summer will find fishing more aksportingjournal.com | OCTOBER 2015

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A closeup of a chum’s teeth displays the pronounced transformation they experience during the migration to freshwater spawning grounds, a key reason for their canine nickname. (DENNIS MUSGRAVES)

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like catching, considering the number of fish in the water. However, only a limited number of fishermen take advantage of the opportunity. Absence of interest is nothing new; chums are an often ignored and undervalued salmon. The oddball calico-colored fish can be best described as being the Rodney Dangerfield of eastern Pacific salmon species: seldom does the chum get any respect. Sportfishing for chum salmon in Alaska does not usually draw a huge crowd for two basic reasons: The fish quickly develop a startling appearance in fresh water, and they notoriously lack flavor. Their given nickname – dog – certainly doesn’t elevate them in popularity ratings. Neither do the continued rumors spread about how “chums are only good for dog food,” which actually has nothing to do with the origin of their name (although salmon is frequently used to feed dogs in Alaska, chums are not a salmon species solely fed for animal diet). The

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salmon actually derive the moniker from their appearance. Chums have sharply pointed dog-like teeth that resemble fangs and develop during spawning changes. Misconceptions and clichés about the salmon create a distance in anglers that is unfortunate. However, chum salmon are not disrespected by everyone. The ﬁsh are considered prized in the northern reaches of Alaska and used widely as a source of subsistence by people who live there.

MY ANGLING EXPERIENCES in Alaska have allowed me to view the unique chum with my own perspective. I have found more reasons to pursue dog salmon rather than to avoid them. These salmon are sporty, plentiful and – in my opinion – the most dynamic in appearance when they reach freshwater for spawning. Chums fit the classic example of wild Alaska in every aspect of the definition. Of the five eastern Pacific salmon, the dog has the largest distribu-

One good takeaway from the bad rap chums get is that creeksides aren’t overpopulated, so there is always plenty of casting room. (DENNIS MUSGRAVES)

tion in the 49th state. Fishermen will ﬁnd chum in every region – from far north Kotzebue to the capital city of Juneau in Southeast Alaska. Their availability in many locations – and

in good numbers – provide excellent sportﬁshing opportunities. In addition to being abundant, chum salmon will take an angler’s presentation fairly easily. Fly ﬁshing and using

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CHUM SALMON AT A GLANCE OVERVIEW Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) have the widest distribution of the five eastern Pacific salmon species and are found in rivers and creeks throughout Alaska. Even though the fish are present in every region of the state, the chum is notorious for being one of the least desired salmon targeted by sport anglers. Existing myth and misplaced perceptions about chum salmon being barely suitable to feed a dog have created a perception among certain circles of fishermen to keep their distance. Their nickname isn’t exactly conducive to popularity either. The fish are frequently called dog or calico salmon more so for their unique appearance rather than because these fish are used as a food source for sled dogs. The fish also develop oversized hooked snouts (commonly called a kype), and display intimidatingly large canine fangs protruding from their jawline (hence the nickname dog). Adult fish average in size between 10 to 13 pounds, with males usually larger than females. Ocean-fresh fish certainly make the best keepers; early fish caught in freshwater are also a good option to harvest. Don’t let their looks deceive you; while dog salmon certainly have an inferior mild flavor compared to the succulent rich-tasting king and sockeye cousins, the fish eat well and

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

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make delicious table fare when correctly prepared. Additional methods of using chum salmon as a food source include canning and smoking the ﬁsh.

WHEN TO CATCH THEM Seasonal availability to target chum salmon in fresh water ranges from June through October, depending on which region of the state you’re sportfishing. Southcentral Alaska has terrific fishing opportunities in the Susitna Valley during early August and that is also one of my favorite choices to pursue dogs.

TACKLE BOX ESSENTIALS Targeting chum salmon can be accomplished with both fly fishing and conventional methods. The fish are aggressive and normally plentiful in numbers. Fishing rods with medium-heavy action in lengths over 7 feet and fly fishing rods between 6- and 8-weight are recommended. Using a comparable reel to the rod size and fishing line in 15-pound test will be sufficient. Casting bright-colored, large-sized spinners and spoons will easily entice a strike using conventional gear. Fly fishermen will find stripping colored streamers and leech patterns are an almost sure bet. Pink always seems to be a good color that works for chums. -DM

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conventional hardware both yield good results; chums are never shy about taking a bite. Since the fish strike so readily, they make a terrific salmon species for introducing children to fishing. Thick-shouldered chums also provide an energetic challenge in landing, since fish can weigh as much as 30 pounds. Mature chum salmon change quickly when moving from their salty home in the ocean into freshwater for spawning. The appearance makeover is striking; the chrome silver bullets switch to having purplish and olive-green irregular tiger stripes and an oversized kype and jaw, which contain the infamous curved canine teeth. Their colorful patterns allow each fish to display individuality among their peers, unlike the typical uniform of blushed red coloring of spawning sockeye, king and silver salmon. It’s a quality I admire and embraces the spirited uniqueness and independence of Alaska itself.

ADMITTEDLY, THE CHUM’S one weakness

is its flavor. The fish lack the same high oil content in comparison to their cousins – sockeye, king, coho – so the fish are milder in taste. However, chums still provide a good source of healthy Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12 and other healthy nutrients. Harvesting saltwater fish certainly makes the best table fare, but I have on occasion kept early-run colored fish in freshwater for grilling and smoking. When seasoned and prepared correctly, they eat better than you think. Try this: take a skinless fillet, butter it with blackened seasoning and sear it with a hot cast-iron skillet. It’s an easy way to cook chum salmon fit for dining. I am certainly not suggesting the fish taste better in comparison to their more upscale, flavorful cousins, but chum can be palatable and not just perceived as worthy only for feeding your four-legged pet. Unfair stigma attached to the chum will probably always exist among anglers in Alaska. It’s not easy to shake

longtime stereotyping, especially when you’re destined to have the weakest flavor and worst looks in the group. One good takeaway from all the bad rap chums get is that creeksides aren’t overpopulated with fishermen, so there is always plenty of room for one more person to cast a line. I find giving chum salmon an honest effort with a fly rod has only expanded upon my sportfishing adventures in Alaska. It’s allowed me additional opportunities for me to get away and spend more time enjoying life outdoors. Chums are sporty and hold a unique character all their own, and a worthy fish of any kind always deserves a portion of my time. I won’t hate, and you can count on me spending some of my season chasing the dogs in the dog days of summer. ASJ Editor’s note: For more on author Dennis Musgraves, check out his fishing group’s website, alaskansalmonslayers.com.

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KOBUK’S DESERT DOGS

Chum salmon were the main attraction at Kobuk Valley National Park, but the backdrop at a spot more resembling a desert than the Alaska tundra made for quite a scene. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

KOBUK NATIONAL PARK SPITS OUT SAND, MONSTER SALMON BY PAUL D. ATKINS was exhausted from jet lag as the bush plane made its mark in the sand and came to a standstill somewhere in the middle of the Kobuk National Park. I had just ﬂown in that morning from the Lower 48, only to jump aboard a

207 flown by Jarod Cummings of Golden Eagle Outfitters. I was tired but excited for the ride out to our destination. Lew Pagel, my good friend and hunting partner, was waiting for me and had already assembled our gear for the four-day fishing adventure that await-

There are a lot of transporters out there, but the author likes to use locals like Golden Eagle Outﬁtters that know the country and take you were you will be the most successful. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

ed us. The pile of gear stacked next to the plane was a familiar sight and made me smile, reminding me of the previous year’s moose hunt.

DESERT-LOOKING OASIS What made this trip more than just catching ﬁsh? Kobuk Valley National Park is home to the famous Kobuk Sand Dunes. The vast amounts of sand that line the banks and outlying tundra look more like the Sahara Desert than Alaska. It is truly an amazing sight and considered by some as a wonder of the world. But with moderate to heavy winds it can become a nightmare for campers lining the shore (we got sand-blasted constantly). Situated on the edge of the Arctic Circle, this park has no roads that lead to it. The only way to reach it is by foot or sled, or by chartered air taxis. No

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Hard-fighting chum are an angler’s dream. These big fish are true fighters and will give even the best rod and reel a real workout. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

Caribou crossing the sand may be a rare sight for some, but is pretty common in the Kobuk National Park. Approximately 250,000 animals make this trek each year. (NATIONAL PARK SERVICE)

wonder it is one of the least visited in the National Park System. Within its 1.7 million acres lie the dunes, truly one of Alaska’s biggest oddities. They’re a vestige of the immense continental glaciers that once covered much of North America. The park actually contains not one but three active sand dunes: the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, the Little Kobuk Sand Dunes and the Hunt River Dunes that together cover 20,000 acres of land. It’s believed the dunes formed by the grinding action of glaciers and subsequent deposition of sand by glacial-outwash streams emptying into what was once a large lake in the Kobuk Valley some 150,000 years ago. 102

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Directly across from our camp were huge sculpted areas of sand, which formed into these long dunes dotted with trees. These were 50 to 60 feet high at the top, but there are dunes in the park that reach as much as 100 feet. Being located close to the Arctic Circle really has no meaning as far as weather goes. Summer temperatures can soar to 100 degrees Fahrenheit and both Lew and I left with sunburns when it was all over.

RIDE A FLOAT If you haven’t had the opportunity to ﬂoat an Alaskan river, you need too. Oh, what a few days on the river will do for a person who needs it badly. The cool Alaska air is a blessing and the solitude

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of the backcountry is a welcome sight to anyone who needs a break from civilization. Lew and I had been planning this for some time and finally the time had come. Our primary goal was to float the Kobuk River and use a raft big enough to hold our gear and us, plus any fish we might decide to bring back. We wanted to fish a 10-mile stretch, camping along the way in hopes of catching a few salmon or anything else we might hook as time allowed. The first night in camp wasn’t too bad. The mosquitoes were minimal and firewood was a close drag to camp. Bears and wolves were close too! We had a bear in camp in a matter of minutes, and wolves roamed the shore; they howled and yelped trying to figure exactly what we were. They finally disappeared and the midnight sun made its way behind the mountains. Guns loaded, we decided to hit the tent and climb into our bags, hoping nothing would bother us during the short night. The next morning broke to a beautiful day – hot, dry and sandy. We blew

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up our 16-foot raft, loaded our gear and headed downstream with the anticipation of what the water would bring us. It was peaceful, the oars breaking the water as the current pulled us along. The Kobuk is a wide river and branches out in all directions. Islands dot its course and rapids are pretty much nonexistent. Fish were also nowhere to be found. We popped our spoons constantly in places where there should have been ﬁsh, but nothing seemed too interested. We were disappointed but continued downriver at a leisurely pace, stopping for lunch and taking photos. Our destination from the beginning was to ﬂoat to a rendezvous point Jarod had given us for pickup.

GPS COMES IN HANDY The destination was the Hunt River, which was downstream and known for ﬁsh that try to make their way upriver to spawn. It also has a strip of shoreline ideal for camping and is accommodating to bush pilots looking for a smooth runway, with plenty of room to land. Lew and I decided that since we weren’t

The Kobuk Sand Dunes are considered a wonder of the world. The 20,000 acres of sand are surrounded by mountains, spruce trees and majestic rivers. Home to just about every animal that lives in Alaska, it’s a spectacular sight. (NATIONAL PARK SERVICE)

catching anything, we should check the GPS and make our way to that part of the river. We arrived late that evening and immediately hit the bank and started fishing. The sandy shore was deep and the crystal-clear water rapidly tore at the bank’s edge. Lew had a fish on in seconds and it injected us with some hope that this was the place to be for the remainder of our stay. Salmon were visible everywhere as our pink Pixees swirled through the water. Some chased the lure as it came by; others ignored it. We caught several that evening, ranging from 6 to 12 pounds; we released most but kept one for dinner. There is nothing better than fresh fish in camp. Dining on fillets seasoned in honey, mustard and spices cooked in tinfoil over open coals doesn’t get much better, and to say we ate well is an understatement!

NONSTOP ACTION The next morning we made the long walk upstream to the mouth of the river. Bear tracks mixed in with fresh wolf aksportingjournal.com | OCTOBER 2015

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prints were everywhere. We had heard wolves during the night and the bear scat scattered along our trail was fresh. We knew from previous experience to always be armed, preparing for the worst but hoping for the best. Dense willows lined the bank as we entered into what we hoped was a prime fishing spot. Coming out onto the bank felt like a blessing; thousands of spawning salmon could be seen in the deep current. We decided to give it a try; I’m glad we did. Cast after cast was filled with “fish on” moments. But the big surprise wasn’t salmon; it was sheefish. These big ”white” fish were closer to the mouth of the river and feeding on salmon eggs as they poured through the river. The sheefish were fun, but after catching 20 to 30 in a row the frenzy died down and we went back to chums, which were our primary goal to start with. In my opinion, chum salmon are a more formidable target. I can attest that getting one to bite while they spawn is tricky. These fish aren’t hungry or even

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Lew Pagel and his ﬁrst ﬁsh caught late in the evening. Deep pools of rushing water were loaded with chum. For the author, standing on the bank watching was a treat in itself. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

interested in the bait as much as they are mad at it. Interrupting their rite of passage is a serious problem for them. Hooking a big chum gives the angler a ﬁght like no other. These ﬁsh are tough and rightly so. After spending most of their life in the ocean and then making their way upriver for hundreds

OCTOBER 2015 | aksportingjournal.com

of miles to spawn and die gives them an edge, and getting one to give up easily is tough to do. Chums also are beautiful this time of year. The color phase they go through is vivid. The “rotted” look they get with the red, orange and blue color is like a painting that not even the best artist can pro-

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If you do plan a trip like this make sure you throw in some tinfoil and a few spices. There is nothing better than spicing up a ﬁsh with a little Cajun and tossing him into the ﬁre. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

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duce. To catch one in this phase is like capturing magic, and no two are alike. Lew hooked into one first, close to the river’s edge. The fight was tremendous and landing it was quite the chore. My fish came moments later, and the big guy wasn’t going to give up easily. Ten minutes later I had him on the bank. Now, I’ve caught salmon before, but none as beautiful or big as this one. It measured 30 inches with a mouth like a steel trap, and the big fish was a pleasure to catch. We fished the rest of the day and released all that we caught, except for the one that became dinner that evening.

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We moved camp to a new location, one where more chums were making huge splashes not far from our tent. Lew and I grabbed our rods and started casting. The spincast reels we were using did a fantastic job, though they had to be cleaned often due to the abundance of sand that seemed to be everywhere. The 17-pound line that Lew was using did a tremendous job and the SpiderWire on my reel was phenomenal. We only lost one fish the whole trip. The last day was slow, but the fish were visible in the deeper pools offshore. I casted in and let the pink lure float as I reeled it in slowly. Something hit it like no other and I knew I had a big fish on the other end. My rod bent practically in two as I fought the fish up and down the bank for at least 45 minutes. I would get him close, only to have

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him decide this was enough and swim out again. The power was immense and the thought of losing him was constant. Finally, with us both exhausted I was able to get him on the bank. I marveled at its size: oh, what a big ﬁsh! It was close to 35 inches in length, with a girth close to the same. This was by far the biggest chum I had ever had the privilege to catch. With enough ﬁshing to last a lifetime

it was time to go home. I called Jarod on my sat phone and that evening he showed up to take us home. It was an incredible few days. Alaska is an amazing place, and the bizarre beauty of Kobuk National Park added to the list of hunting and ﬁshing adventures I’ve embarked on. If you have the time in late July or early August, I would encourage you to head north to the Arctic and give these salmon a try. You’ll be glad you did. ASJ Editor’s notes: For more information, call Golden Eagle Outﬁtters at (907) 388-5968 and visit the Kobuk National Park website (nps.gov/ kova) for more details. Paul Atkins is an outdoor writer and part-time

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Chum salmon are an incredible ﬁsh and to catch one in the summer when they wlll hardly bite is a true feat. This big boy swallowed a silver spoon. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

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LEARNING ON THE FLY A FIRST-TIMER USED TO SPINCAST FISHING TAKES ON BRISTOL BAY SALMON

The author prepares to cast a fly on the Iliuk Arm of Naknek Lake in Bristol Bay. She’d been an experienced baitcaster in past fishing trips, but she was to get a crash course in the fly fish game on this trip. (BECCA ELLINGSWORTH)

BY BECCA ELLINGSWORTH etting into the wayouts of Alaska has always been on my bucket list. When my opportunity came there was no way I was going to miss it. Being a bait angler, I had heard tales of the mammoth king salmon pulled out of the Nushagak River and I wanted mine. What I didn’t know is that Bristol Bay is primarily a fly fishery. After booking, I remember thinking, “Oh, crap: am I going to be able to do this?” My stomach just dropped with thoughts of near future embarrassment. Fly fishing has always been that little spot in the back of my head nagging me to get up and do it. I have heard all the banter from my buddies on not becom-

ing a “fly flicker,” and took in all the “it’s expensive” narratives. Regardless, I could never convince myself that I was not intrigued. So why had I not learned yet? Bottom line: I was intimidated. It seemed like too much to know all at once. Even with the workshops offered at pretty much every fly shop in the country, I didn’t feel comfortable going in. Finally, I decided: I guess if you’re going to learn how to mountain climb, you might as well start with Denali, right? So I headed for No See Um Lodge on the Kvichak River in Bristol Bay, arguably the epicenter of Alaska’s fishing culture.

AFTER MY COMMERCIAL ﬂight from Seattle to Anchorage and then loading on to a DC-3 for an hour-and-a-half trip

to King Salmon (a sleepy little fishing town that had one restaurant specializing in whiskey), I finally boarded the six-seat floatplane to No See Um Lodge. After finally arriving, I was exhausted and wanted to flop down on my bed as soon as it was presented to me. Instead, the owner of the lodge – John Holman – told us to get our gear on and we were headed out. I had so many questions for him. I was going over what I needed to wear and where were we going. I asked, “What about a fishing rod?” Basically, I was nervous about my preparation and skill level. He just said, “Put everything you have on and I will get you the rest.” So I put on my yoga pants, fleece pants, base layer, T-shirt and sweatshirt. Then I completed my ensemble with

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As she cast flies for sockeye on the Kvichak River, the author was able to soak up different tips from the lodge’s various guides who provided lessons in the art of fly fishing. (BECCA ELLINGSWORTH)

The author caught a nice hen salmon and then released it. She caught it on the Nushagak with the help of guide Chad Kulfman. (BECCA ELLINGSWORTH)

my waders and boots. It was sunny, so I just threw my rain jacket in my pack, just in case. John came back with a 7-weight Sage rod, a wading belt (which I was lacking) and a No See Um baseball cap. “Perfect,” he said, “you’re ready.” “Yeah, except I don’t know how to use this thing,” I jokingly shot back. John and the other guides just smiled. “You’ll be just ﬁne,” he said. That afternoon, we headed up the 116

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Kvichak River to catch some grayling. The river is lined with tall grass and backed up with brushy tundra. My guide was Justin, a younger bearded guy with kind eyes and a warm smile. I explained how nervous I was about not being able to cast, but again. I was just told, “you’ll be ﬁne.” We waded out to waist-deep water as he showed me how to hold the rod and said to just pick it up and put it down. “What do you mean?” I said.

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after about 25 minutes. OK – so it was a 4-inch, 1/8-pound grayling. But it was still a ﬁsh! Better yet: I was excited for the rest of the lessons to come.

On a rainy Fourth of July, guide Dave Yoder sets up a ﬂy rod to catch some big trout on the Kvichak River. (BECCA ELLINGSWORTH)

“It’s way harder than that!” “Nope,” Justin said. “Just do it.” So I accepted the Nike-themed command and it was working! Because it was a

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windy afternoon, it was still a challenge, but I was getting my line out and watching it float downriver. And then I was able to catch my first fish on a fly rod

OCTOBER 2015 | aksportingjournal.com

THE NEXT DAY, we headed up to an area called Brooks Camp around Naknek. This was a river lined with grizzlies. And I don’t mean just a couple; they were everywhere! They were in front of you, behind you and, if you blinked, they would probably be right next to you. If you have ever seen a grizzly chomping a sockeye on the cover of National Geographic, this had to be where the shot was taken. So just when I thought I had this trip under control, they told me to take my new skills and compete with the grizzlies. Good grief. My guide with the bears was Caleb; he ended up being my favorite guide through the entire week. He’s probably in his 30s with a calm demeanor. As he set me up and helped to point out different little ﬁshing holes, he was composed but also

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excited to get me to fish and genuinely cheered me on when I had a fish on. There was actually a large portion of the day when I forgot I didn’t know how to fly fish before I arrived. Instead of focusing on the mechanics of the cast, my guide had me focusing on the mentality of, “I bet there is a fish right there.” Somehow, without even thinking my line would make it to the spot, I would experience the magic two words anglers live for: Fish on! The author had some good help during her maiden fly fishing trip from the guides of No See Um I caught so many trout Lodge (from left): Chris Anderson, Chad Kulfman, Steve Carter, Dave Yoder, Caleb Hitzfeld, John and grayling that day. Think Holman and Justin Wiseman. (NO SEE UM LODGE) back to your first fishing and grab the dry fly on the end of my all had that special time of getting those experience; maybe it was line. Amazing. first fish. Just for a second you believed when you were a kid and your dad took that you ruled these waters ; you were you out trout fishing on the lake. Or the Jedi. That is what I felt the first time maybe your buddies brought you to the WHEN NEWS BROKE that the sockeye I saw that fish’s head break the surface river. However and wherever it was, we were running on the Kvichak, we head-

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Guide Chad Kulfman helped the author land one last ﬂy-caught trout on the Alagnak River on the last day of the trip. She didn’t learn everything that a good ﬂy angler needs to be successful, but it was a start. (BECCA ELLINGSWORTH)

ed there a day later. This was a real treat for us, considering it is such a small window for reds in Bristol Bay. When they start running, there is only about

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a week or so before they open up the commercial ﬁshery to them. We ﬂew about 10 minutes upriver and could see the sockeye lining the Kvi-

OCTOBER 2015 | aksportingjournal.com

chak’s banks. My new guide, Dave, has fished Bristol Bay with No See Um Lodge for the last 12 years and spends the winters guiding in Louisiana. Casting was not as intimidating to me after the last few days we had spent on the water. But I was not prepared for what the sockeye were about to put me through. The day before I had to learn to be so careful on my drag and use a delicate touch with the trout and grayling. I was doing a great job hooking and not such a great job landing. Now we were going to be flossing the sockeye. Dave set me up with a pink fly on the end of my line and we went over technique again. It wasn’t super tough; I could see them three deep at about 6 feet off shore. It was such a blast placing the hook in the mouth of the salmon, and man, when I did place it – holy fish fight, Batman! I have landed some big fish in my life, but this was a catch I had never experienced. Right when a sockeye is hooked

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it takes off. I had to be quick with all the actions I needed to take – reel in my slack line; hold the line tight but not too tight; let the ﬁsh run; most important of all might have been remember to have a good time! I was doing a pretty good job of that. The sockeye was holding steady as we had our staredown, and just then he decided to run up and across river. That is when I learned my next lesson: Don’t grip your reel! My knuckles! Ouch! I was getting so involved with my ﬁsh every time, which made this lesson one; I had to learn several times before actually getting it.

FINDING A NEW challenge in fishing can be intimidating, but accomplishing a new feat in fishing is exhilirating. You all know that already. I know I have just scratched the surface with this fly fishing thing, which makes it all the better. I have pulled a 180 from avoiding the fly to diving in headfirst. I will never give up my baitcaster or downriggers, but I have to say I will be having a blast learning something new every day with the fly. I wouldn’t dare say one style is better than the other. They’re just different, and why not utilize every possible way of catching a fish, right? We had a total of six amazing days fishing Bristol Bay. No See Um Lodge had an endless number of areas to fish, and there is no doubt I am going back next year to try out a few more. I know everyone can’t learn to fly fish the way I did, but I do know there are many friends, guides and clinics out there that can and want to bring the same excitement to anyone interested. I heard myself comparing the lessons of casting to those of learning to play golf. There is an urge to put all your strength into the cast, but it really works out better if you just trust the rod, relax and slow down. It’s probably good philosophy for life’s challenges as well. ASJ Editor’s note: For more information on No See Um Lodge, call (907) 232-0729 or go to noseeumlodge.com.

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ALL’S FAIR WITH

WATERFOWL

BY CHRISTINE CUNNINGHAM

he weather was the worst I’d ever seen it: blue skies and warm enough to get a fall tan. That may be good for the complexion but not for duck hunting. What was worse than the magnificent weather was the fact that the flats were dry. There weren’t any ponds; ducks like ponds. I was on a three-day hunt at a remote duck shack where I was supposed to be wet, cold, miserable and so exhausted by the end of the day that a cracker with butter on it would taste like a New York steak. Instead, I was hanging out by a tidal slough in a lawn chair and my long johns in the high hope for a shot at passing ducks. “This kind of sucks,” I said to my hunting partner. It had been two hours of walking and then two hours of sitting with nary a duck in shooting range. “Yep,” he said. “I’m going to walk up to the shack and get another snack,” I said. The last time I’d left for a snack, ducks had flown by. It was a phenomenon. If it wasn’t a phenomenon, then I had to reconcile myself to the fact that the ducks were waiting around the bend laughing at me. “Wait,” I imagined one duck saying

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to another, “she’s about to get another cracker. Let’s all fly at once so she can see us from the window.” Then they duck-laughed – a rare and fascinating sound of the natural world, much like the cackle and hoot of a hyena, only raspier. When I got to the shack, I looked out the window just to see how bad my luck really was. This time, the ducks had got some cranes in on the joke. Two low-flying cranes flew well within range of my lawn chair. I ran out to the porch and yelled to my partner, “Why didn’t you shoot those cranes?” “What cranes?” he said. He had been craning his neck looking at an owl and didn’t see the birds. “There were cranes,” I said. “I am not going insane.” “Incoming,” he said. I shuffled down the mud bank in my XTRA TUFFS and mounted my shotgun, dropping crackers along the

OCTOBER 2015 | aksportingjournal.com

way. The widgeon slowed down to near neutral as I took aim and shot the first two. The dogs both did grand belly flops into the tidal slough and I ran along the mud to catch them on the incoming tide, pulling up my long johns as I went. My little duck dog, Cheyenne, brought one of the widgeon to me and ran circles, which is her victory dance. Gunner brought the second duck to my partner out of a sense of fairness. When my partner lifted the camera to take a photo of my glorious double with my ﬁne shotgun and stunning little Labrador, I didn’t have time to consider the horrible state of my attire. I was standing in the mud in long johns and rubber boots like a homeless clammer. I wasn’t going to share this story, except the ducks spent so much time plotting to make me look ridiculous. It only seems fair. ASJ The author is a diehard waterfowler, but sometimes the lack of action and the mud can wear down even the most dedicated hunter. (CHRISTINE CUNNINGHAM)

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OCTOBER 2015 | aksportingjournal.com