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SPORTING JOURNAL Volume 9 • Issue 7 www.aksportingjournal.com PUBLISHER James R. Baker ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Dick Openshaw GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak EXECUTIVE EDITOR Andy Walgamott EDITOR Chris Cocoles WRITERS Paul D. Atkins, Christopher Batin, Larry Case, Megan Corazza, Scott Haugen, Tiffany Haugen, Atz Kilcher, Jeff Lund SALES MANAGER Katie Higgins ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Nancy Ekse, Mamie Griffin, Mike Smith, Paul Yarnold PRODUCTION MANAGER Sonjia Kells DESIGNERS Sam Rockwell, Jake Weipert WEB DEVELOPMENT/INBOUND MARKETING Jon Hines PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Kelly Baker OFFICE MANAGER/ACCOUNTS Audra Higgins ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Katie Sauro INFORMATION SERVICES MANAGER Lois Sanborn ADVERTISING INQUIRIES media@media-inc.com ON THE COVER Atz Kilcher, whose homesteading family is profiled on the hit Discovery Channel series Alaska: The Last Frontier, gets deep in his new book, Son of a Midnight Land. Kilcher discusses life with his dad Yule, a Swiss immigrant who settled in Homer in the 1930s and built the foundation of the Kilchers’ off-the-grid lifestyle. (SCOTT DICKERSON PHOTOGRAPHY) MEDIA INDEX PUBLISHING GROUP WASHINGTON OFFICE 14240 Interurban Ave South • Suite 190 Tukwila, WA 98168 (206) 382-9220 • Fax (206) 382-9437 media@media-inc.com • www.media-inc.com OREGON OFFICE 8116 SW Durham Rd • Tigard, OR 97224

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CONTENTS

VOLUME 9 • ISSUE 7

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A HUNTER’S SUPER TEN Paul Atkins has done his share of hunting in Alaska and the Lower 48, but it wasn’t until this fall that he was able to finally score a perfect 10 – harvest an animal from each of the Super Slam’s Super Ten categories of North American big game, which includes muskox, cougar, elk and – Atkins’ nemesis – mountain goats. Find out how he did it!

(PAUL D. ATKINS)

FEATURES 19

THE KILCHER WAY Fans of Discovery Channel’s hit show, Alaska: The Last Frontier follow the homesteading tales of Atz Kilcher and his family. But the Kilcher clan’s story in the Last Frontier dates back to the 1930s and 1940s, and so in his new book, Son Of A Midnight Land, Atz shares stories of his relationship growing up with his demanding dad, family patriarch Yule Kilcher. We have a sneak peek.

51

ME AND MY DAD Megan Corazza’s hunting experiences with her dad Rich date back to when little Megan was a terrified 5-yearold. But over three decades their adventures have continued – often on horseback – with lots of moose, elk and caribou harvested, and many memories made.

65

HOW TO POOP IN THE WOODS Sometimes, getting caught with your pants down can be a good thing. Take the example of Panhandle deer hunter Jeff Lund, who’d been having a very unlucky day chasing blacktail bucks – at least, until nature called.

125 GIVE THE GIFT OF GEAR What’s on every Alaska sportsman’s and -woman’s

gift list this holiday season? It’s probably something that they can use to catch more fish, harvest more game and be more comfortable doing so. See what’s hot according to our field tester in chief, Field to Fire columnist Scott Haugen. And for your holiday parties, inspired by a chef at a Nushagak River fishing camp, Tiffany Haugen serves up a teriyaki salmon main dish.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 83 99 117 134

Best guns for protection in bear country Homage to Alaskan fish: The “13 Days of Fishmas” California teen reflects on summer spent deckhanding aboard Seward charter boat Kenai camping resort honors vintage Alaska

DEPARTMENTS 17 33 33 77

The Editor’s Note Protecting Wild Alaska Outdoor calendar Big Game Focus: Bison

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 © 2017 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. 12

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Megan Corazza (right) has shared plenty of adventures over the years with her dad Rich. Their hunting trips continue to this day. (MEGAN CORAZZA)

I

was joking with my boss that it feels more like June than December when we talked about themes for our magazines this issue. While it’s Christmas this month and not Father’s Day, dads play a role in two stories about paternal relationships.

Megan Corazza makes her Alaska Sporting Journal writing debut with a fine story about the memories she’s made hunting in Alaska with her father, Rich Corazza. Megan and Rich – both avid horsemen/women – have ridden throughout the Last Frontier’s wildernesses and hunted big game dating back to when Megan was a wide-eyed 5-year-old.

And a month after we shared some Thanksgiving memories from Alaska: The Last Frontier’s Kilcher gang, we preview Atz Kilcher’s new book about his upbringing with the family’s patriarch, Yule, who started a new homesteading life in Alaska after leaving his native Switzerland in the 1930s.

Judging by the excerpt from Atz’s Son of a Midnight Land, the younger Kilcher had a complicated relationship with Yule, and I think a lot of us have clashed with our fathers when we were younger, bolder and dumber.

But what I understood from both of these stories is the impact our dads – not to mention moms – have on us when we’re on the path to adulthood. We enjoyed our outdoor experiences with him – for me it was my dad taking me fishing, though clearly it was a bigger deal for me, just as he must have known I wasn’t as geeked out as he was when I tagged along with him for his car shows.

So as we gather with our families this month, take some time to recall some of your favorite moments with your dad. It might be worth a good laugh. Or even a cry. Happy holidays. –Chris Cocoles aksportingjournal.com | DECEMBER 2017

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THE RACE ATZ KILCHER REMEMBERS UNEXPECTEDLY WINNING A SKI COMPETITION IN HIS YOUTH AND FATHER YULE’S REACTION IN CHAPTER FROM NEW BOOK, SON OF A MIDNIGHT LAND

Editor’s note: You don’t get to be Atz Kilcher without experiencing life as Yule Kilcher’s son. Atz, the patriarch of the homesteading family that’s featured on Discovery Channel’s Alaska: The Last Frontier, had to please his dad’s demanding expectations while living as normal a childhood as he was allowed to do. Atz’s younger life is chronicled in his new book. Reprinted with permission from Son Of A Midnight Land, from Blackstone Publishing and available in February 2018.

Atz Kilcher’s new book is no walk in the park – it’s a story about a childhood “growing up with a hard father in a hard land” as his parents, originally from Switzerland, homesteaded near Homer, Alaska.

(SCOTT DICKERSON PHOTOGRAPHY)

BY ATZ KILCHER

I

’m 17, and although I’ve been skiing in between, I’ve never competed. As a junior, I went out for the ski team and I was the number two skier.

The two or three races I participated in I placed somewhere midpack. aksportingjournal.com aksporti aksp or ngjo or ort orti j urnal.com | DE journa DECE DECEMBER EC CEMBER BER 201 2 20 2017 7

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To this day, the 70-year-old Kilcher is still a natural on cross-country skis. (SCOTT DICKERSON PHOTOGRAPHY)

I’m on skis my dad used in Switzerland, and they’re great compared to those old cable bindings I’ve been skiing on. My dad won his big national Swiss race on these and I’ve merely looked at them all those growing-up years. Now he’s letting me use them! They look sleek and modern to me, but they’re heavy and not much wider than my old ones. Coach gives me some newer gear to race on.

I’m not thinking at all about how I look – my differentness as a homestead hick is normal to me by now – but when we get to the resort where the race is, the ski teams from all over the state are decked out in the sleekest-looking outfits, some even with matching hats.

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I look down at my jeans tucked into the pathetic striped socks. They aren’t even ski socks!

Suddenly, I never want to look up again. I realize I now know what public humiliation feels like. Being teased for wearing a cowboy hat to school didn’t bother me. But this is different.

My head hanging, I’m totally out of my league, whatever league that is. I want to head back to the hills, back to my log home on the homestead.

Fortunately, soon the butterflies set in and I forget about my outfit. It’s an interval start and I take off somewhere in the middle. I don’t know anyone just ahead or behind me, so I can’t gauge how I’m doing. My teammate and friend

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Ray Martin, who is in the running to win the race, is seeded toward the front.

The underdog, that’s me. No one knows who the hick is. So, what else can I do? I go like hell!

I’ll show ’em.

That 6-year-old kid at Ohlson Mountain comes to me, the one they made start last. I showed ’em then; I’ll show ’em now.

IF IT’S POSSIBLE TO ski your heart out, I’m going to try. I go full-out, fast as I can the whole way. No pacing – for me it’s a sprint. I have 5 kilometers to prove myself.

I pant across the finish, no clue how I did. I rush into the lodge and head downstairs to the big chalkboard. I meet a group of skiers in fancy racing uniforms coming up. As they go by, I hear bits of their conversation, one bit in particular.

“I have no idea … never heard of him … from Homer … named Atz Kilcher.”

Atz Kilcher! Holy shmoly!

I fly down the rest of those stairs

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For young Atz Kilcher (second from left), pleasing his dad Yule was just part of the journey he’s had as the son of Alaska homesteaders. A patriarch himself in the hit Discovery Channel series Alaska: The Last Frontier, Kilcher has written a book about his experiences. (KILCHER FAMILY TRUST)

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“When my daddy .. found out (I had won a cross-country race), he was ecstatic!” Atz Kilcher writes. “At last I had done something he was truly proud of.” But the tone changed when Yule learned Atz hadn’t used his old skis or boots to ski to victory.

(SCOTT DICKERSON PHOTOGRAPHY)

with dangerous leaps. I push my way through the skiers.

No … yes! There it is at the top of that huge chalkboard. First place for the whole state of Alaska. My name:

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Atz Kilcher!

That moment, that precise moment, is still a part of who I am. It opened new horizons and gave me a glimpse of what I could be, of who I really was. And in

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some way, it forever aligned me with the underdogs, the ones who can’t afford the best but somehow make it work, all the ragamuffins out there without much more than a hope and dream.

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When he’s not hunting or fishing with son Atz Lee and other members of the Kilcher clan, Atz enjoys strumming the guitar.

He performs the Discovery Channel show’s theme song with his daughter, singer Jewel. (SCOTT DICKERSON PHOTOGRAPHY)

Well, when my daddy, who was playing state senator down in Juneau, found out, he was ecstatic! I had seldom heard such excitement in his voice. At last I had done something he was truly proud of. The cheering crowds I had managed to work into my life to boost my ego were nothing compared to the excitement I heard in his voice.

“So, my old skis won another race!” he shouted over the phone.

“No, Father. I used a pair coach let me have.”

“Well, then at least my old ski boots won another race!”

No again, I said, and handed him off to my mom whose eyes were mirroring my pain and disappointment.

Can you believe that? Well, sure, it would have been a real kick if the equipment he’d used 30 years prior had won again.

But give me a break already! What a piece of work. You gotta love him. He was a hell of a skier, and without him, I may 26

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“I am most excited about this book for others to read, because it proves anyone can find forgiveness, love, and even change at any age,” Jewel says about her father’s book. “This is a tale of great courage and a ceaseless hope for a better life.” (SCOTT DICKERSON PHOTOGRAPHY)

never have gotten into skiing.

When someone asks me, “What do you do?” skiing is right there at the top of my list of things I do. I know they mean my profession. I don’t feel much like a retired teacher or social worker, hardly defines what I’m doing today, who I am. “I ski, make baskets, sing, and write songs,” I say.

And then they walk off thinking I avoided their question. Which maybe I did. ASJ Editor’s note: Excerpted with permission from Son of A Midnight Land by Atz Kilcher, available February 2018 wherever books are sold, from Blackstone Publishing (blackstonepublishing.com/son-midnightland-atz-kilcher). For more on Atz Kilcher and to preorder the book, go to AtzKilcher. com and follow on Twitter (@atzkilcher).

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PROTECTING

WILD ALASKA

STUDY: MORE CHINOOK ON ORCA, PINNIPED MENUS

BY CHRIS COCOLES

U

p and down the Pacific Coast, Chinook stocks have experienced decreasing returns, creating concern about the long-term outlook for the iconic salmon.

And a study released in late November suggests the fish are also being targeted more in Alaskan waters and elsewhere by hungry killer whales, plus sea lions and harbor seals.

The journal Scientific Reports reported that between 1975 and 2015, the “biomass of Chinook salmon consumed by pinnipeds and killer whales increased from 6,100 to 15,200 metric tons (from 5 to 31.5 million individual salmon).”

Federally protected, orcas, seals and sea lions are thriving now in the North Pacific, which explains their increasing predation of Chinook during the salmon’s journey from rivers to sea back to spawning grounds. The study pointed out that, conversely, the harvest of kings – both commercially and recreationally – has decreased during that same time period. From Northern California to

Orcas and other marine mammals are consuming more Chinook in Alaskan and other West Coast waters as their numbers increase. (DR. BRANDON SOUTHALL/NMFS)

Alaska, it has declined from 16,400 to 9,600 metric tons, or 3.6 million to 2.1 million adult fish.

“Thus, Chinook salmon removals (harvest plus consumption) increased in the past 40 years despite catch reductions by fisheries, due to consumption by recovering pinnipeds and endangered killer whales,” the study said. “Long-term management strategies for Chinook salmon will need to

OUTDOOR CALENDAR Dec. 1

Resident moose season opens in Game Management Unit 17B (Bristol Bay) Dec. 1 Late resident moose season opens in GMU 18 (Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta) Dec. 1 Resident/nonresident antlerless moose muzzleloader-only season opens in 20B (Fairbanks-Central Tanana) Dec. 1 Resident antlered moose season opens in GMU 22D (Seward Peninsula and Southern Norton Sound) Dec. 1 Late resident bull moose season opens in GMU 25B (Upper Yukon) Dec. 15 Resident moose season opens in GMU 9B (Alaska Peninsula) Dec. 15 Resident antlered moose season in GMU 24C (Koyukuk) Dec. 15 Resident/nonresident late moose season in GMU 14C (Anchorage; Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Management Area) Editor’s note: For more specific information on hunting regulations, refer to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s handbook (adfg.alaska.gov).

consider potential conflicts between rebounding predators or endangered predators and prey.”

The problem is particularly keen with harbor seals in the “Salish Sea” – Washington’s Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Georgia Strait between Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia. With more than nine times the number of harbor seals there now than 1975, they’re chowing on tens of millions of young, ESA-listed kings annually.

As for Alaska, the scientists concluded consumption of southeast and western Chinook stocks increased by an equivalent of about 2,900 metric tons.

“Chinook salmon from Gulf of Alaska stocks have experienced increasing predation (which exceeds harvest), due to local abundance of killer whales (including Gulf of Alaska and Southeast Alaska Resident killer whales),” the study said.

“The ratio between Chinook salmon available as prey and the diet needs of the killer whales is estimated to have declined along the entire west coast during the last 40 years,” according to Scientific Reports, “although ratios for coastal British Columbia and Southeast Alaska were consistently higher than for the Salish Sea.”

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During author Paul Atkins’ quest to score an animal from each of the Super Slam’s 10 categories of North American big game, the mountain goat had become his white whale, the one animal he just couldn’t score. (PAUL D. ATKINS) 36

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SCORING A PERFECT

TEN AN ALASKA HUNTER’S QUEST TO HARVEST AN ANIMAL FROM EACH OF NORTH AMERICA’S 10 BIG GAME CATEGORIES

BY PAUL D. ATKINS

I

never set out to take an animal from all 10 categories of North American big game. I didn’t even realize I was close until a few years ago when I joined Super Slam and saw that they had the program in place. So for me to accomplish the goal was really an accident, but something that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Since I was a young hunter, I’ve always been fascinated with the Super Slam (superslam.org) and those who have accomplished such an incredible task. At its fullest extent, the slam involves taking the 29 “traditionally recognized species of big game animals native to North America,” which fall into the Super Ten categories (antelope, bear, bison/muskox, caribou, cat, deer, elk, goat, moose and sheep) that I found myself aiming for.

Honestly, I’ve always dreamed of doing it myself, but as a teacher I never thought I would have the means or time to complete it all.

Teacher hours and time at school, specifically during the fall seasons, just don’t allow for such things. But if you love hunting and/or adventure, you usually find a way. In the end, things some-

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Alaska Yukon moose are one of three members of the family included in the Super Slam category (the others being Canada and Shiras), and are also the largest of the species. Atkins has taken several over the years, but this bull from 2014 will always be one of the greatest during his time in Alaska. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

times seem to work out.

I believe it was famed author and hunter Peter Hathaway Capstick who said, “I wouldn’t walk across the road to shoot the biggest bull in the world if I had to do it alone.” I feel the same way. Hunting big game is better served with friends.

Living here in Alaska has helped me immensely, but more importantly I’ve had a lot of good friends who have accompanied me and shared in this success – something I wouldn’t trade for two slams.

I’m currently at 15 animals in my quest for the Super Slam, and even though I may never get there, at least I was lucky enough to take one from each of the 10 categories. It’s a goal that is obtainable with a little research and planning.

MY SUPER TEN BREAKDOWN is a mixed bag. Eight have been taken with bow and two with a rifle. Two of those 10 have been guided and the rest self-guid38

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ed on do-it-yourself-type hunts.

The Super Ten really has no starting place for me. If I had to pick one, I guess it would be with whitetail deer. Growing up in Oklahoma, they were king, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that I took a good buck on my own property.

Yes, I’ve taken several others in places far and wide, but that deer means more to me than any other, especially being able to share that evening with my son and nephew. It was truly special and one of my favorite hunting moments of all time.

My first taste of something different was pronghorn antelope. I lived in Kansas for several years and was lucky enough to draw one of the first tags allocated back in the 1990s. It was a fun afternoon that day in the sunflower field, where my broadhead found its mark on what I considered at the time one of the most challenging big game hunts I’d ever been on. There were no

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blinds and no decoys, only spot and stalk with very little cover.

I can still picture the buck standing there on the edge of the field, quartering away as my arrow found its mark.

Foot-sore and tired after hundreds of failed attempts, this hunt gave me a satisfaction like no other.

A FEW YEARS LATER I moved to Alaska, which was a game-changing decision.

It opened up a whole new world, both hunting-wise and financially. I started writing again with the thought that the more I hunted, the more I could write.

My young self concluded that, with a little research and a whole lot of luck, maybe I too could take a moose, a bear or a muskox – maybe even a sheep. If all else failed, maybe I could even take a caribou or two. It was a win-win situation, one that still works quite well.

In Northwest Alaska where I live, caribou are king and the barren-ground

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After moving to Alaska from the southern Great Plains states, caribou became the author’s primary quarry. He hunted them relentlessly and still does today. Barrenground bulls, like this one, Atkins’ best, are among five subspecies in the caribou category of the Super Slam. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

bulls that migrate south each fall are truly special to behold. When I arrived in the 1990s, they immediately became my new “whitetail.” I’ve hunted them every year since then.

However, it wasn’t until 2008 on a bowhunt along the Omar River that it all came together and I was able to take a bull that I was truly proud of. Not because he was big, but because it was an incredible experience.

Five yards with nothing but a lone willow separated us; the old bull had no idea I was there. He was so close I could count his eyelashes and feel his breath, but like all good things one of us had to give, and when I blinked he did too; luckily, I made the shot.

Sheep were next up, as they represent the pinnacle for most hunters who pursue the loftiest of goals. The western Brooks Range is notorious for sheep and I was lucky to take one with my bow during our special, though no longer held spring season.

I had a surreal feeling walking up to that downed ram; sometimes I still can’t believe it even happened. Wrapping your 40

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Wild sheep are the pinnacle for most hunters and were no different for the author. Hunting a special spring season, which no longer exists in Northwest Alaska, he was able to arrow this fine Dall ram. Others in the Super Slam category include Rocky Mountain, California and desert bighorns and stone sheep. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

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hands around sheep horns – your own sheep horns – is a cherished moment.

Luckily, I’ve been able to experience such a moment four more times since then.

Muskox have kept me busy too. Six bulls later and I still can’t get enough of these mystical creatures. It’s true that I like hunting them, but I like eating them even more! It’s by far the best meat of any big game animal I’ve taken.

There’s also something truly special about a muskox hunt. I don’t know if it’s venturing out in extreme weather in more clothes than you dare wear, or the snow and ice. Maybe it’s when you’re close to frostbite, then all at once you find a group with a good bull. One thing you do know is you don’t forget!

BEARS ARE PLENTIFUL IN Alaska also.

I’ve taken a boatload of grizzly – both in the fall and the spring – with both a bow and a rifle. But black bears are my favorite and Southeast Alaska is one of my favorite destinations to hunt them.

I’ve taken black bears in other states, but the big boys around Haines are incredible. There are a lot of bears and in

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The author, who hails from Oklahoma, checked off the Super Slam’s deer category with a whitetail in the Sooner State, antelope with a pronghorn in Kansas, and cat and elk categories in Arizona with a cougar and Rocky Mountain bull. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

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different color phases. I took my best one a few years ago after an all-night date with a tree stand overlooking bait.

The bear was dark black with a beautiful hide, giving me quite the experience!

In my opinion, moose rank second in terms of meat quality. A lot of people will disagree and I can’t blame them. They make incredible table fare and do an awesome job of filling a freezer. They’re also on many hunters’ bucket lists. I’ve taken several over the years, and it is always sheer joy when I connect on any bull. But my biggest came in 2014, during what turned out to be one of the oddest hunts I’ve ever been on.

We had hunted off and on for three weeks with no luck. Only cows and calves roamed the Kobuk Delta where we had been hunting. After a long day of glassing and calling, Lew Pagel and went to sleep tired and disappointed. During the early dawn hours a thrashing outside of the tent awakened me. I quickly slipped on my boots and cautiously checked to see what the racket was.

I was prepared to see a grizzly, but what I saw wasn’t a bear; instead, there were two monster bulls smashing each other in a terrible fight. As I stood there in my long johns, I watched in amazement before realizing the opportunity I had and ran back to the tent to grab my rifle.

When I returned to the scene, the bulls had separated and the loser was heading into the willows. The other guy just stood there. I raised my rifle and the bull dropped 30 yards behind the tent.

It was a case of you’d be rather be lucky than good!

SPEAKING OF LUCK, I always thought luck would be needed to take a mountain lion, the lone listing in the Super Ten’s cat category, but after seeing one on a Coues deer hunt in southern Arizona I knew I wanted to hunt them. I also knew I needed a local guide. I talked to many who had done it before, but my good friend and longtime hunting partner Garrett Ham suggested Jim Bedlion out of Flagstaff. I called and we booked the hunt.

The drive to the north rim of the canyon was long and I was tired from jet lag, but Jim and I hit it off, and his tales of cat hunting kept me awake for the ride up.

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His old nemesis, the mountain goat, had evaded Atkins for years. But working out and eating right put him in shape to finally be able to take a billy and put a check mark next to the final category in his Super Ten puzzle. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

However, the hunt didn’t last long.

A freak blizzard blew in and without some quick thinking on his part, we would have been trapped there for a week. I was bummed, but Jim told me to come back next year and we’d for sure get it done.

A year later I did return, but this time we headed south to “Red Rock Country.” It was quick hunt, actually, as Jim’s incredible dogs cut a track on the first day and 22 miles later we had a big cat treed. The BowTech found its mark and the Boone and Crockett cat that lay before me was incredible! It’s still one of my favorite all-time hunts!

Generally, elk have eluded me too, and to be honest I haven’t hunted them that much. If I’m also being honest, they weren’t high on my list either. Only twice in my career have I pursued wapi-

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ti, both times in Arizona.

The first was in 2004, in the state’s Unit 10, the crown jewel of elk hunting, especially during bow season in early September. I passed up several bulls in search of a monster, which I still kick myself for doing. I went home with an unused tag, but an incredible experience.

The second time and six points later, I applied for an easier unit with more tags and more elk, but also more people. I also hired a guide, one of only two for the animals on my Super Ten list.

Yes, I hired Jim again for the elk hunt and I told him that I wanted a chance at an elk. Like the cat, he delivered.

At 7 yards the BowTech was spot on, and even though the bull was only a four-point, I was happy. Sharing seven days in camp with my good friend, plus all those elk, gave me a new apprecia-

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tion for elk hunting, something that now is at the top of my list.

LAST, BUT NOT LEAST is the mountain goat, my old nemesis. This was the one animal that I thought I would never be able to take and ultimately make me call it the Super Nine and not Super Ten. Over the years I’ve hunted goats three times with three instances of bad luck. I came up empty twice in Southeast Alaska and once on Kodiak Island. The first time we had to cancel due to an overabundance of snow, making the climb impossible. The second time I just couldn’t get into position on any goat, plus I wasn’t in the best shape. Both were learning experiences, something that I wouldn’t trade for anything and ultimately, I believe, helped me achieve my goal.

My third time was last March on Kodiak (Alaska Sporting Journal, May 2017), where sheer steepness combined with underlying ice and the fact that I had a near fall, kept me in camp a couple more days than I wanted.

So, I knew that if I was ever going to get this done, I had to do it now. Age is a huge factor when it comes to goat hunting. At 50-plus years old with bad knees, I knew there would only be a couple more trips up the mountain before I had to hang up the spikes.

But in October, on a remote lake high up in the mountains of Kodiak, my dream finally came together. After seven months of training, eating right and getting into the best shape my old self could possibly be in, I traversed the 5 miles in.

A few thousand feet up I had my goat less than 50 yards from where I was standing. After dropping where he stood, I immediately sat down on a boulder in disbelief. I tried to comprehend the fact that I had not only taken a goat, but the reality that I’d fulfilled my dream of taking the Super Ten started to sink in. It was an incredible feeling and something that I will never forget. ASJ Editor’s note: Paul Atkins is an outdoor writer and author from Kotzebue, Alaska.

He has written hundreds of articles on big game hunting and fishing throughout North America and Africa, plus surviving in the Arctic. Paul is a monthly contributor to Alaska Sporting Journal.

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HER PERFECT PARTNER AHORSE IN ALASKA, A WOMAN AND HER DAD ENJOY HUNTING TRIPS ACROSS THE DECADES

BY MEGAN CORAZZA

M

y first memory of hunting with my dad is crying my eyes out – watching him black tape an enormous wad of toilet paper into the palm of my hand.

I was 5 years old and had just ridden 9 miles back into the mountains, clinging so tightly to the saddle horn that my palm swelled into a huge blister and finally ripped open as my horse lunged across a creek.

My latest memory of hunting with Dad is also me crying my eyes out –

Author Megan Corazza and her dad, Rich, have shared many adventures in the field, even as far back as when Megan was just a year old. Three-plus decades later, they are still hunting together. (MEGAN CORAZZA)

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watching him cross a creek in front of me while my horse slipped completely on its side in the rocky gray mud and I losing my grip on the lead rope to the packhorse.

The 33 years in between those bouts of crying have been filled with a lifetime of Alaskan adventures – mostly on horseback – in pursuit of a full freezer for the winter. We’ve packed a caribou out of Resurrection Pass, ridden bareback high above the Yannert River next to pairs of swans in high alpine ponds, and had a mountain goat start grazing between our picketed horses after it followed me all the way down a ridge by Crescent Lake.

We have knocked down burnt trees with our packhorses near Tok, camped in the eerie rock formations of Knob Ridge near Dot Lake, and packed out a grizzly bear near Cantwell. I made a slippery descent from forest to popweed in Prince William Sound with my father, Rich Corazza, with a blacktail buck slung over my shoulders. He put on a pack at 65 years old and hauled a load of my bull elk meat over a ridge and down to the beach on Raspberry Island. We have broken the hitch off the truck and dragged the horse trailer along the potholes of the Denali Highway, and I have sliced through the taut forearm muscles of a 9-foot brown bear and stuck my fingers into the hot meat to warm them up as snorting horses watched with wide eyes and frosty breath.

It’s been quite a ride.

OUR DAYS USUALLY HAVE a sort of routine. Typically, I wake up to the sound of him outside the tent, calling and calling and calling – cow moose calls, bull moose grunts, an occasional chop of an axe into a stump.

I’d burrow deeper into my sleeping bag trying to get away from such unpleasant morning noises because I am so exhausted from being up all night long. During the dark hours of mostly endless nights, I could hear every twig, crackle, swirl of the river, crunch of berry bushes, and stomping of the horses – or is that the footstep of a bear?

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The Corazzas’ beloved horses have come in handy transporting them through some of Alaska’s most rugged terrain.

Megan, here packing out a Raspberry Island hunt elk, writes that Rich is “the kind of dad who you simply just follow, because when you follow him everything is going to be OK.” (MEGAN CORAZZA)

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Rich atop his buckskin, Colby.

(MEGAN CORAZZA)

sick as a dog and downed some Nyquil before putting on my dry wool socks, two pairs of long johns and a down jacket. I placed my gun and glasses right next to me and passed out.

I woke up totally refreshed.

Lately, I have discovered the magic of adding earplugs to Nyquil. The earplugs are completely effective, and this past hunting season I woke up to the sound of one being pulled out of my ear – pop!

“Do horses rifle around in garbage bags?” my friend whispered urgently.

I listened for a minute. A large animal was snorting and crunching and rattling through a garbage bag with our food in it just inches from our heads.

I knew the horse that was tied to a tree was too far away to be the culprit. I rolled over quickly and shook my dad awake.

“Dad! A bear in the food! …. Wait …

Unless it’s the mule!”

Sure enough, Dad’s prized mule, which refuses to be tied up and never runs away for very long, had found my stash of Gala apples in the food bags.

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The next morning we started with a cup of instant coffee covered with some powdered creamer. A report of how many moose Dad had already seen came before I put my contacts in. I furiously rubbed the fog out of my binoculars and spotted a few more before we had some instant oatmeal.

We sat around for an hour or two, enough time for me to get more and more antsy to climb a ridge, so finally we made some plans for the day. I heard of serious hunters shooting animals early in the morning, and we always shot ours in the afternoon.

OFTEN, ONE OR TWO people come with us. Usually they are friends of mine who I work to convince my dad are worthy of coming along on our trips. Regardless of their outstanding qualities, the bottom line is that they are people who are really special to me and who I want to show one of the most important parts of my life to.

Sometimes Dad gets frustrated

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when he tries to explain to me that what he loves is to hunt with me – to spend time in the mountains with me.

I appreciate that more than he knows.

Almost always, he ends up appreciating the additions to our trips. He and I fish our seine boats side by side all summer and talk on the radio umpteen times a day, so by the time we are sitting around a campfire at night in September, there isn’t much new to talk about.

A visitor, however, really spices up the northern lights, full-moon, horse-whinnying, sparks-flying evenings.

Norway, worm farming, African oilfields and Olympic ski racing have all kept the conversations flowing when there is a visitor around the fire.

I can imagine that from a visitor’s standpoint, it would be hard to believe that a moose was going to be killed.

Things are pretty relaxed at camp.

We feel mostly exhausted from three months at sea and motivation to hunt hard is low. We are getting our feet back under us, staring at the landscape as

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much as we are looking for bulls – it’s a tremendous time of transition from sea to mountain valley.

The visitor doesn’t know like I do, however, that on about day number five Dad will come back into camp late in the evening, swing down from the saddle with a mischievous grin and pull out a fresh heart in a Ziploc bag from his saddlebags. It is his magic.

THE WORK TRULY BEGINS when the moose

Three generations of Corazza men in the saddle – Rich, his son Rick and Megan’s sons Mason and Fischer.

(MEGAN CORAZZA)

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is down. We saddled the horses and bushwhacked a trail to where the animal was laying. The knives were sharpened and Dad, who always takes the commanding role in the skinning and quartering of the bull, brought out the saw.

He would not be a happy hunter if there was grass or dirt on the meat.

But soon came the predictable rhythm of butchering a moose – the steamy warmth of the blood if it is the same day, the cool hardness of white fat if it is the day afterwards.

We loaded the meat into six bags, wiped our knives clean and collapsed into the grass with our water bottles and granola bars. Finally, we brought the horses over one by one and heaved the quarters into the canvas panniers.

The last few years we have been working with an extraordinarily calm string of horses, with the hardest thing about it was getting a huge slab of meat high enough to slip into the bag. But in my youth it often turned into a rodeo with young, green horses.

Hooves flew, the whites of the horses’ eyes flashed around, meat bags sailed into the mossy hummocks, and there was generally no time to relax. We only took a deep breath when the string of three packhorses had made it back down three hours of muddy switchbacks, deep river crossings and fallen cottonwoods blocking the trail. More than once I got my boots sucked off in the mud trying to keep up with a young horse that knew we were headed home.

Packing a moose out of the mountains on horseback can be so much work. I think that’s why Dad only gets serious about hunting on day number five, only after we have experienced four good days of rest.

One year, he and I spent two days

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packing a moose out. As we rode back to camp late in the evening, my brother stood high on a rock by the tent while beaming and holding out another fresh moose heart.

“Good job!” Dad said as we sat on our tired horses. “Where’d you get it?”

“About 7 miles up the valley,” Rick answered.

“Oh, no …”

Dad and I sighed together, my muscles almost going limp thinking of the draining work of the next three days.

“Just kidding,” my brother cracked.

“It’s right there.” He pointed across a pond 50 yards away. To our immense relief, his bull had walked right into camp.

MY DAD PUT ME on a horse at age 5, and soon I was crossing raging glacial rivers and racing across hayfields. He seemed to have no fear of what could happen.

We hunted in the winter, putting ice shoes on our horses and chopping wood all night long just to stay warm.

Mine is the kind of dad who you simply just follow, because when you follow him everything is going to be OK; if it’s

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not, he will fix it. He had a heart attack in his 50s, and as I stood beside him in the hospital, I heard him bartering with the nurses, who told him to rest for at least two weeks.

“It’s hunting season!” he said. “How about two days?”

“One week.”

“Three days?”

“Five days.”

Three days later he asked me to do all the saddling and loading, and we headed into the mountains.

In the last 33 years, I have watched my oldest son, Mason, ride behind his grandpa through the enormous valleys and foothills of the Alaska Range, shooting spruce hens and gutting a moose. I have watched my youngest son, Fischer, sing and carry on so loudly while riding the packhorse that Grandpa turned around and gave him the moose call. Little Fischer started wailing away on the horn and a little spike bull came right out of the alders.

I have watched my father bring my 82-year-old grandfather all the way back into the mountains, all the while

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bundled up in a huge camouflage parka and sitting very still and rather stiffly on top of the horse.

Near the end of the ride, the saddle swung completely upside down under the horse, leaving my grandfather dangling between four legs. He shook himself loose from the saddle and crawled slowly up onto the moss.

“I just wanted to show you, little girl, how not to get off a horse,” he chuckled.

I have watched my dad love his family by bringing us along and giving us all confidence that we could do it. We were powered on by his belief in us. I am not a brave person, in the least, but I have been able to do some amazing things by being willing to follow my dad’s horse down the trail.

It’s taken 33 years, but I have come into my own a bit. I can climb a mountain and find my own moose. I can pull the trigger and secure the winter’s meat. I can even teach a friend how to gut and butcher a moose.

I leave the saddling to my dad; he is a bit picky about where the girth goes.

It is still just me and him in the moun-

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For both Rich (far right) and Megan (third from right), these hunts are more than just harvesting game; it’s a special time for family fun, adventure and memories. (MEGAN CORAZZA)

tains. Other men have come and gone, even the ones I suspected would stay. I go despite his snoring; he goes despite my crying.

I believe hunting is one of the most vulnerable things you can do with an-

other person. They are going to see what you are afraid of; how you react when you miss a chance; how you respect the lives of animals; and how you hold up after days of disappointment.

I don’t know how to hunt with many

other people besides my dad. We have a hunting rhythm built up over three decades, one that is full of acceptance and free of demands. A good hunting partner is hard to find, and luckily for me I never had to go looking for one. ASJ

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HOW TO POOP IN THE WOODS GETTING CAUGHT WITH HIS PANTS DOWN PAYS OFF FOR A SOUTHEAST ALASKA DEER HUNTER

BY JEFF LUND

S

o there I was, defecating in the woods.

It was midmorning and hope had been almost completely lost. Up a gradual, brushy hill from my dumpsite by a massive old cedar tree, sun shined into a frosty muskeg. There was a trail there, the typical path through brush that circumnavigates muskegs just before the full-grown timber. The best place to shoot a deer is in the clearing, but that’s not always the best place to find one.

I saw horns in a small opening in the brush, but I had been making horns out of branches all morning, so I continued my business. The branch moved; it was a buck and I was caught with my pants down.

MISSED CHANCE

Hunting muskeg openings in Panhandle forests provided a number of chances for author Jeff Lund to notch his tag with a buck, which he eventually did – when nature called. (JEFF LUND)

A light dusting of snow had covered camp an hour before sunrise that morning. My buddy Zack and I made tracks in it as we readied ourselves for the hunt. It was clear and really cold, at least by Southeast Alaska standards. It’s not what tundra hunters experience, but 30 degrees is cold for Ketchikan residents not used to enduring more than a week or two of temperatures in the 20s all winter.

“Guess I’m not hunting today.”

“Why not?”

“The box I grabbed was full of spent brass I was going to reload.”

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Fresh snow peppers the rainfly of Lund’s tent. (JEFF LUND)

Zack left his .243 at camp, while I filled the magazine of my .270 and we headed out. We started up an old logging road washed out by a creek and partly claimed by alders. The road bent back into a forested canyon. At the mouth is a beautiful muskeg that arches with the turn of the road.

There are a few lines of brush that divide it, but other than that it’s open – 70 yards to the back. This is the easiest place to hunt, and the best place to shoot a deer, other than next to the road itself, which is why we stopped. I didn’t want to see a buck on the road while it was too dark to shoot because once it fled to the woods, it would be impossible to see. I wanted to get to the muskeg and sit at first light, but I didn’t want to push the only buck we’d see into hiding.

The dark of the predawn morning relented, turning everything from featureless black to a deep blue that slowly lightened. We could see, but not well.

Maybe 200 yards from where I wanted to sit, we stopped one last time while the darkness was chased. A deer 66

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The author carries a call made by Jon Rowan, a native master carver from Klawock. (JEFF LUND)

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emerged from the alders without moving. It had been there, and I was just finally seeing it. Body, legs, eyes … horns.

A tall rack. He was a shooter for sure, but it was too dark. If it’s light enough to see without artificial light, it’s light enough to shoot, right? Well, yeah, maybe.

Ultimately it doesn’t matter, because before I could chamber a round, which I didn’t really try to do with much urgency, the buck was off.

I hustled up the road to where it hopped off and checked the first section of the muskeg. Nothing. It was gone or hidden enough in the woods and I wouldn’t get a chance.

The author celebrates his much-deserved buck. (JEFF LUND)

MISSED CHANCE, THE SEQUEL It’s a difficult thing dealing with a blown buck encounter. As I replayed that buck in my head, Zack and I continued up the road. A doe was right in front of us. It walked off the road and into the muskeg to which we were adjacent.

I sat down and immediately picked out a set of ears protruding from behind a small patch of brush at the back of the clearing. Slightly above the ears

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His bathroom break was interrupted, but Lund was happy to be going home with his prize. (JEFF LUND)

… horns. Another buck.

I chambered a round but there was no shot. The body was completely hidden,

and taking a headshot on a moving buck in low light at 70 yards is not my shot.

I was oh for two.

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ANOTHER? REALLY? I was suspended in heartbroken optimism. Two shooter bucks, but I hadn’t cracked the air with a shot. I couldn’t imagine Zack’s thoughts. He had missed one here two weeks earlier and was now watching me fumble around a buck nest.

We sat. After maybe 10 minutes I walked back down the road to where we had seen the first buck. That first clearing is separated from the rest of the muskeg by a thin line of brush and small cedar trees. The hunch was to head back to see if anything else was seeking daytime refuge there.

“No way.”

I whispered to myself as I knelt to get a shot at a big-bodied spike partly hidden by a thick alder branch. It saw me and darted off.

Zero for three.

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There comes a time in an unsuccessful hunt when you know it’s not going to happen. If the program is early in the morning because of the amount of human traffic, the likelihood of seeing a buck dramatically decreases as the day wears on.

We sat, then I decided to lead us to the back of the muskeg. Rather than cross it in the open, I took us where

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the big buck had gone. The deeper timber by the creek was relatively easy to navigate quietly. It was just a matter of getting back there in a manner that wouldn’t spook everything out.

We were noisy but found the game trail I had seen the previous week.

That’s when the experience transitioned from a hunt to a recon mission.

The creek would drown some of the noise, but it wasn’t very open or conducive to long shots.

We sat comfortably on the mossy roots of the forest floor. It was a solid camping experience, one that makes a good story, but you can’t eat it. As much as I tried, the silver lining eluded me. I grabbed the wet wipes and moved around to the other side of the tree.

THAT’S A BUCK! I pulled up my pants and scurried behind the tree. I meant to say, “Buck. Buck,” but Zack reported I whisper-yelled, “I didn’t even wipe.”

Either way, I grabbed my rifle and looked through the brush. I couldn’t find the horns. I waited. No horns. I moved toward the tangled mess. No horns.

The thought crossed my mind that I had no chance and should finish my business, but I hadn’t heard the heavy bounding of a deer fleeing. I worked my way up the least obstructed path toward the muskeg that was maybe 30 yards away. It took me slightly away from where I had seen the deer, but it was maybe the direction it was headed.

Bingo. The white target of a chest was facing me. I had to continue moving to see if it was the buck or a doe, since the head was totally obstructed.

I moved; there was noise, but the deer stayed still. I could see now. It stared at me. Still no shot. I moved to my right a little bit, still hidden by the brush but closer to the clearing.

I guessed it was 20 yards away. With my rifle against the trunk of a young cedar, I fixed my scope on the old buck.

The shot was clear and true.

The cleaning could commence. ASJ Editor’s note: Jeff Lund is the author of Going Home, a memoir about hunting and fishing in Alaska and California. Get it at amazon.com.

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LODGING

Thousands of hunters apply annually for a chance to hunt Alaska’s bison, but only a few draw a tag for one of these giants.

(PAUL D. ATKINS)

ALASKA BIG GAME FOCUS

ALASKA BIG GAME FOCUS: BISON

BY PAUL D. ATKINS

P

robably one of the most sought-after big game animals in Alaska is the bison – or buffalo, if you prefer to call them that.

If you don’t think so, then just check out how many people apply for the coveted tags that are distributed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game each year. I know from personal experience that it is an extremely tough tag to draw. Like many, I’ve applied for what seems like forever with nothing to show for it – yet. Roughly 15,000 resident hunters apply each year for the 100-plus tags that are given. Tough odds, to say the least.

But it’s no wonder why so many want to get in the opportunity.

A THRIVING SPECIES Bison management in the Last Frontier is, by all means, a success story.

They were nonexistent here for many years – you would have to go back several thousand years to the steppe bison for the last ones – but in 1928, 23 plains bison were moved from the National Bison Range in Montana to the Delta River area in Alaska’s Interior. The herd grew to 400 animals over the next two decades and hunting began in the 1950s.

Today, four herds totaling about 900 animals range freely in the state,

with the largest located near Delta Junction. Smaller herds have been established by translocation from the Delta herd to the Farewell, Chitina River and Copper River areas.

Numbers of bison are on the rise in most areas and more tags are added each year. Hunting is used to manage the size of these herds, and as I mentioned before, have become the most popular drawing hunt in Alaska.

According to ADFG, about 92 animals are harvested each year.

BIG BULLS A full-grown bull stands close to 6 feet at the shoulder, can be 10 feet long and weigh more than a ton. Full-grown cows

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Wood bison have been introduced in Alaska and could be a huntable species in the future. (LAURA WHITEHOUSE/USFWS)

are smaller but have been known to weigh over 1,200 pounds themselves.

The dressed weight of a 2,000-pound bison is about 1,200 pounds and yields about 680 pounds of meat.

If you do luck out and draw a tag, there are many regulations and procedures that you must follow in order to have a successful hunt. Many of the areas where bison can be hunted are on private lands and hunters must pay a trespass fee in order to venture there.

You will also have to go through an orientation class and follow strict guidelines.

If you are lucky enough to draw the tag, you need to keep the following factors in mind to ensure your hunt is successful and safe:

HUNTING TIPS Bison are herd animals. The chance of killing or wounding multiple bison increases when trying to take one from a group. It can often be hard to get a single animal to separate from the herd.

Bison are massive, vigorous animals and can be difficult to kill.

Both sexes have horns, and though those on cows are smaller, thinner and more curved, unless you have an 78

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either-sex tag, you must be able to distinguish cows from bulls.

The hunting season extends through winter. Low light conditions, extreme cold, wind and snow add to the challenge.

The key to successful bison hunting is taking the time to do it right.

Hunting free-ranging, wild bison in Alaska is one of the most unique and challenging big game hunting opportunities in North America. ASJ Editor’s note: For more on bison hunting in Alaska, go to alaska.gov/index. cfm?adfg=bisonhunting.opportunities.

GIMME FIVE: FACTS ABOUT BISON Bison are migratory animals with seasonal movement patterns. They do not remain in single herds, but scatter alone or in groups ranging up to 50 or more.

Bison move slowly while feeding, and although they appear clumsy they are fast, agile and tireless runners. Bison are grazing animals and, in Alaska, they find food along rivers, recently burned areas and sedge potholes.

A bison’s diet is made up mainly of various grasses and forbs like vetch, a favored summer food found on gravel bars. They also eat sedges, silverberry, willow and ground birch.

In the Delta Junction area, bison migrate up the Delta River corridor in early spring to secluded meadows where they calve. Around August they travel back downstream, eventually moving to the Delta Junction Bison Range. In late fall, they move onto area farms and state lands where they remain throughout the winter.

Efforts are underway to reintroduce the plains bison’s larger cousin, the wood bison, to Alaska. A successful reintroduction may eventually provide opportunities for hunting this bison subspecies. -Alaska Department of Fish and Game Bonus factoid: Bison are one of nine Alaska critters with the same genus and species name (Bison bison). Among others: moose (Alces alces), wolverine (Gulo gulo), willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus), burbot (Lota lota) and red fox (Vulpes vulpes).

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A Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan .454 Casull, here in a Diamond D holster, is one of many effective firearms in bear country. (LARRY CASE)

BIG GUNS

FOR BIG BEARS

IN THE LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN, THOSE WHO TRAVERSE THE LAST FRONTIER MUST CHOOSE TO CARRY OR NOT CARRY, AND THEY MUST CHOOSE WISELY.

BY LARRY CASE

A

s I coast into what may be my sunset years, I have come to realize there are two kinds of people in this world. Some of us believe there are things out there that will hurt or kill you, and there are some who do not. A few of the things pretty high on my list include a summer lightning storm, a poisonous snake, a crazed terrorist and an 800-pound bear. People on the other side of the aisle from me on this topic seem even more convinced that nothing in the animal kingdom would really cause them any harm.

I beg to differ.

This past summer, I spent a week with some folks from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (ADNR), United States Geological Survey (USGS), Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG), among others.

The purpose of the visit was to attend a class to better prepare those who work in that wild, beautiful part of our country known as Alaska to better protect themselves with firearms, primarily against bears. The class was held at the Grouse Ridge gun range near Wasilla, north of Anchorage.

Alaska is popularly known as the Last Frontier, and deservedly so. It has a lot of wild country and, not coincidentally, a

lot of bears. In all honesty, when people and bears meet up it is not all sunshine and roses. The folks who created this class spend a good deal of time working in some of the most remote country on Earth, and they know that a possible encounter with a black or brown bear is always part of the bargain.

As I see it, it all comes down to this.

Hunters, hikers, fishermen and anyone who works or plays in bear country has a decision to make, and it is much more important than “paper or plastic.” Are you going to carry a firearm, or not?

Alternative “bear deterrent” in the form of pepper spray is also widely available, and the controversy about which is

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If you visit the wilds of the Last Frontier, odds are very good you will see a bear – in addition to Kodiaks, there are grizzlies and black and polar bears. Most encounters are tame and at a distance, but not all are, and pepper spray may not be enough. (LARRY CASE)

most effective – bear spray or firearms – remains alive and well.

The group of Alaskans that I spent time with this summer landed decidedly on the side of firearms over bear spray. Some carry both, but they definitely want a gun available. As usually occurs in the gun world, if we decide we

need a gun for some task, the question always arises: Which gun is best? Here are a few notes based on what I saw and learned on the firing line at the bear defense class in Wasilla.

“THE 12-GAUGE PUMP shotgun has been the choice of most people for bear de-

Author Larry Case (above, middle) joined Sam Naramore and bear defense instructor Steve Nelson, as well as others, on the range (below) in Wasilla, Alaska. (LARRY CASE)

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fense in Alaska for some time,” said Steve Nelson of Anchorage.

Nelson has been teaching bear defense classes since 1978, when a coworker of his in the USGS was severely mauled by a black bear.

“There are many reasons for the shotgun’s popularity. Shotguns and shotgun ammo are widely available, are generally less expensive than rifles, have magazines capable of holding several rounds, and with slugs they will deliver a big, heavy projectile,” he said.

The Remington 870 outnumbered other shotguns in this bear defense class, specifically a tactical version with ghost ring-type sights. This is a quick-handling shotgun that holds seven rounds and delivers the 870’s rock-solid dependability.

The Mosseberg Scorpion, built on Mossberg’s tried-and-true Model 500 action was also present, and this weapon has a lot of goodies to turn heads. An ATI-brand adjustable stock, along with

LODGING

sidesaddle ammo carrier, heat shield, and rails to install sights and other accessories could make this a very handy bear defense gun.

Also seen on the firing line in this class were two shotguns in the Winchester Defender SXP line, one in the Dark Earth version and one Marine Defender. A Benelli Nova pump gun was also used, and one thing is for sure, Benelli shooters are very loyal to this shotgun.

EVEN THOUGH SMOOTHBORES came out ahead numerically on the firing line, alternate methods of bullet delivery were also well represented.

“Shotguns are very popular for bear defense, but I am more of a rifle guy,” said Nelson. He has hunted big game all over the world, and in Alaska for most of his adult life, and he prefers big calibers for bear work.

“Although I recommend anything .30-06 and up, I sometimes carry a .375 H&H or something in that category,” Nelson said.

The Ruger Guide Gun in .375 Ruger got high marks from those in this class,

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Alaska Project shotguns (left to right): Remington 870 Tac, Remington 870 Tactical, 870 Marine Magnum, Winchester SXP Defender, Winchester SXP Defender Marine and Remington Versamax.

(LARRY CASE)

DECEMBER 2017 | aksportingjournal.com

Rifles used in the class include: (front) CZ-USA Safari Magnum in .375 H&H, (middle) Mossberg Patriot in .375 Ruger and (rear) Ruger Guide Gun in .375 Ruger. (LARRY CASE)

LODGING

as well as the Mossberg Patriot in the same caliber. The CZ-USA turned a lot of heads for the students in this class, as it is capable of holding six rounds of .375 H&H, a definite advantage if you are going to face a bad-tempered grizzer bear.

Many Alaskans who live and work in bear country sometimes want a handgun for ease of carry. There is always a trade-off, and the one involved with handguns is finding something powerful enough to take down big bears. Having said that, Alaskan guide Phil Shoemaker told us that he used a 9mm pistol to down a large brown bear in Alaska last summer.

The bear charged him and the fishing party he was guiding in dense brush.

Some would say this makes a case for using smaller handgun calibers for bear protection, but I would argue that few of us have the experience with brown bears that Phil Shoemaker has. He’s been guiding in these parts for more than 30 years, so unless you are Phil Shoemaker or his equivalent, I would go bigger than the 9mm.

Mike Harrington of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (left) and Sean Naramore of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources check out Federal Premium shotgun ammo. (LARRY CASE)

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Nelson was on the nose with this Ruger Guide Gun in .375 Ruger. (LARRY CASE)

Sean Naramore counts hits from his Taurus Raging Bull in .454 Casull. (LARRY CASE)

“Large” calibers usually means revolvers, and the most carried weapon I saw was the Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan model in .454 Casull. Now, there is no doubt that the .454 is a

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brute, but the point with this round is, if you are proficient enough to hit something with it, you may very well put it down. Some shooters may want to go down a notch to the .44 Mag-

DECEMBER 2017 | aksportingjournal.com

num, and the Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan model also comes in this caliber. The Taurus Raging Bull revolver in .454 was also on the firing line in this class. While the 6½-inch-barrel model

LODGING

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is a handful, it seemed to handle the .454 Casull rounds well.

THE BEST AMMO in the world may not bring down your aggressor, whether ursine or human, but it will certainly help. For the shotgun, this class fired dozens of rounds of Federal Premium shotgun slugs, and I saw no problems with this ammo. They functioned every time. Some of the Alaskans in the class carry Brenneke slugs for confrontations with bears.

A new star on the horizon for slugs is the DDupleks-USA Steelhead solid-steel shotgun slug. This slug should allow for maximum penetration and the testing done at this class showed the slugs shot through heavy brush with no deflection. You will be hearing more about the DDupleks-USA slugs.

Hornady rifle ammo received major kudos at this class for the Dangerous Game Series ammunition in both .375 Ruger and .375 H&H. Federal Premium in the .454 Casull was used on the firing line, as well as a lot .45 Colt in the .454 guns.

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Winchester’s SXP Dark Earth Defender.

(LARRY CASE)

LODGING

WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE? OK, I know what you are thinking. Which gun of each type – shotgun, rifle and handgun – came out on top? I prefer to avoid comparisons like these because there are so many variables involved (including shooter’s preference), but since you are pressing me, here goes. For the shotgun, the Remington 870 Tactical model came in first, with the Mossberg Scorpion way up in the running. The Ruger Guide Gun was first in the rifle category, while the Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan model got the blue ribbon for the handgun. So there it is. I hope you are happy.

In conclusion, I will tell you something that most of you already know. There is a world of advice out there about what gun is best for you in everything from shooting bad guys to prairie dogs. And when it is all over, and the plump lady has sung her song, the best gun for bear defense for you personally is the one you shoot the best, period. The people who believe in unicorns and Sasquatch – you know, the ones who think no bear would ever hurt you – may not agree with all this, but I certainly do. ASJ

Big bear medicine: Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan Model in .454 Casull with a Diamond D holster (left), and a Taurus Raging Bull in .454 Casull with a Galco holster. (LARRY CASE)

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Alaskans treasure their state’s fish, but inspired by a classic holiday song, author Chris Batin’s “13 Days of Fishmas” is equal parts homage to Chinook, rainbows and other species and a call for even greater respect and stronger habitat protections for them. (CHRISTOPHER BATIN)

THE ‘13 DAYS OF FISHMAS’ A HOLIDAY HOMAGE TO ALASKA’S FISHY CREATURES

BY CHRISTOPHER BATIN

A

laskans enjoy the December holidays for good reason. The 49th state is a very warm, Christmas-centric place with its fluffy snow, tolerable cold and its city moose all aglow, basking in the holiday lights of urban Anchorage.

Near the fish-filled Talkeetna River, the stars of the Milky Way – as numerous as the individual snowflakes on mountaintops and cabin roofs – justifiably inspire the awe and wonder of the season. As an encore, feathery waves of the aurora borealis flap and swirl as angel wings rising up through those heavenly stars, promis-

ing peace and goodwill to all.

Each year, our family celebrates the “13 Days of Fishmas,” a contemplative reflection on Alaska’s many piscatorial treasures that enrich our lives.

Years ago, the 13 fish of Fishmas revealed themselves to me one evening as I sat in my easy chair, delighting in the simple pleasure of sipping hot cider that my wife Heather had brought to me. Our mini-dachshund, Schnitzy, slept comfortably in my lap as the flames in our fireplace flickered and danced to the glorious notes of Handel’s Messiah. The performance of fire and instruments eased me into a Schnitzy-like nap, with visions of fish I had caught, of fish I was catching,

and the fish I would catch in the future.

As I was about to land the salmon I was fighting, it jumped out of the water. It reached out with a pectoral fin, grabbed me by the hand and while shouting “Coho-ho, merry Christmas!” we leaped up as a sockeye leapt over the falls and hopped a ride on a green aurora plume that shot us over city and mountain.

We soon arrived over the western Alaska wilderness, where all streams and rivers come together in a place of gathering. The blackfish said we were now in The Land of Misfit Fish and that I would be wise to listen. As we settled on the bank, the fish emerged partially from the water. These were no ordinary fish, but rather, the most rebellious and prophetic of each species found in Alaska. Each had a gift of advice or insight to offer. As Handel’s Hallelujah

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“The iridescent blues, yellows, and purplish hues of my scales ... make me the ‘Prince of Sportfish,’” says the Arctic grayling. (K. SOWL/USFWS)

chorus faded in my ears, the days began:

On the 13th Day of Fishmas, an Alaska blackfish said to me: “I am the individualists, the nonconform-

ist fish that, like Alaska humans, live in Alaska to do it their way, which is why I argued for 13 Days of Fishmas instead of the traditional 12. When it comes to social and personal goals, being a non-

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conformist is an admirable trait.

“Take me as an example. I am an outcast among Alaska sportfish as defined by humans, and few anglers know me.

But I am the most rugged of all the state’s species, able to survive near-freezing temperatures, live off atmospheric oxygen, and can survive in very low oxygen levels under the ice, while not seeing the sun for months. Find any trout or salmon that can do that!”

“I tell of my traits not to impress you, but rather to convince you of the subtle, yet hidden treasures found in each fish that are seen and not seen on any Alaska fishing trip. Likewise, natural laws exist, whether they are seen or not seen. Humans must show respect for all Alaska fish, a law that is not subject to interpretation. Man’s dominion over fish and game, as Genesis directs, is not as an overbearing caretaker, to harvest and plunder to the detriment of the species, but rather, as the seldom-read Hebrew interpretation reveals, encourages us to be as a nurturing father, to protect and cherish with respect, all life, and to use fish as needed in a wise and responsible manner.

Learn to do this, and you will survive the mistakes of your own species, as I have survived and prospered in the ravages of boreal climate since long before The Great Ice Age.”

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On the 12th day of Fishmas, a rainbow said to me: “I am an Alaska rainbow trout. Do not offer words of praise for what I do, but rather, what I am as a fish. You don’t favor one race of humans over another, so why do so with fish? I deserve no more consideration than a rockfish when it comes to sportfishing potential. I may jump better than a rockfish, but most would argue he is tastier than I am. But this culinary difference is not what makes us special. Life is what makes all fish equal and precious. The pigments in my skin were once the elements of supernovas exploding in brilliant galaxies. All anglers can hold these same elements in the palms of their hands. This is my gift to you, but only if you remember that like humans, all fish are created equal.”

On the 11th day of Fishmas, a grayling said to me: “I am the result of countless years of evolution in clear, clean water, and yet my range is limited because I cannot survive in pollution. I am at the mercy of mining runoff, development, and clear-cutting

that would remove the natural barrier of vegetation that provides shade and cover along the rivers and streams in which I live. The iridescent blues, yellows, and purplish hues of my scales that make me the ‘Prince of Sportfish’ exist by virtue of pure wilderness water. To sustain the gifts I offer, be a steward of pure waters.

For in my prospering is humanity’s salvation, and in my disappearance is humanity’s demise.”

On the 10th day of Fishmas, a coho said to me: “My aggressive nature in striking lures serves to not only fulfill my destiny, but also to be a test of your restraint. Anglers pursue me because I am easy to catch, but as a result, I am easy to overharvest and incur abuse from anglers who kick me back into the water, or injure and maim as they unhook me and throw me back for a larger fish. I provide food and sportfishing opportunity more than any other salmon, but my greater purpose is to help instill self-control in anglers. Anglers can transcend their primal urge to possess and kill all the fish they catch by learning to take

only what is necessary, show respect for the fish they catch, and possess those fish in memory through catch and release.”

On the 9th day of Fishmas, a cutthroat said to me: “Why do anglers give Christmas presents each year, but do nothing for the fish they claim to cherish? They take fish year after year, and most give nothing in return.

I see only limited streamside conservation, such as habitat creation – which I crave – and little government interaction to enhance cutthroat runs, with all the attention going to the yo-ho-ho coho salmon and rainbow trout. These practices seem a tad cutthroat to me.”

On the 8th day of Fishmas, a pink salmon said to me: “Why do anglers stereotype me as a species with no big-name sportfish qualities? They think I am inferior to other salmon and unworthy to be a maincourse meal. Do humans disregard a mild-mannered person as inferior? My milder flavor is often more agreeable than the stronger king or sockeye salm-

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on, yet I’m often destined to be freezer-burned and not even eaten! I am the most numerous of the Pacific salmon and yet receive the least amount of respect. As a sportfish, I can hold my own, if anglers would only give me a chance.”

On the 7th day of Fishmas, a sockeye said to me: “My species is sensitive to mining operations, yet politicians allow development in areas that endanger not only my species but trout and other freshwater inhabitants. In Bristol Bay and other drainages in which I reign, the coveted rainbow and other species would not survive the winter on insects alone. My eggs do more than perpetuate future generations of sockeye; they are the fuel these species eat to put on fat to survive the winter. Trophy rainbows need to eat my eggs each fall to survive; otherwise, Alaska would not have the trophy Bristol Bay trout fishery it now enjoys.”

“Mercury and turbid water are the dangerous cholesterol that clogs the vascular streams and rivers in the Alaska heart.

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Pink salmon don’t exactly pass the eye test, but give these underappreciated humpies some love. (KATRINA MUELLER/USFWS)

labeled with disdain as bycatch and judged to be illegal to keep. Who are the people behind such laws, where life is considered a waste product because of when and where it is caught? Yet they will keep all the lowly cod and groundfish they can catch, to line their pockets with profit. You kill and waste many good fish for the employment opportunities of a few humans, at what cost? Inefficient and antiquated methods of fishing like groundfish “death” nets rape our undersea world, leaving wakes of destruction in their paths.”

“I say unto you and all humans, your indiscriminate wasting and killing will soon exterminate us – but that is not the real tragedy here. With such management philosophy in harvesting Alaska salmon, it’s not a matter of if you will eventually kill off yourselves, but rather, when. Having no compassion for our plight is to doom yourself to the same fate.”

Even though the clot is local, the entire state dies. Kill the stream and you kill the fish, which kills the entire ecosystem.“

On the 6th day of Fishmas, a chum salmon said to me: “I hope that humanity will evolve to mirror the fate of all salmon, giving the best of who we are for the overall good of the social order. After we die, our bodies serve as food and nutrients for the next run of chum salmon as well as other species. I am not promoting that your young become cannibals, but that rather chums see humans wasting valuable resources and making it more difficult for the next generation of your kind. But our holiday wish is for humans to give of their time and resources, so that future generations will know the world of nature and fish.”

On the 5th day of Fishmas, a Chinook salmon said to me:

On the 4th day of Fishmas, a steelhead said to me:

“I am the Chinook, the world’s largest salmon. Why do you use death nets to decimate our young children on the high seas? Humans call us bycatch and toss our kind – the stuff of sportfish legend – overboard and

“Thank you for catch-and-releasing my parents, as I would not be here today if someone had killed them, either from

being caught with hook and line, or from high-seas interceptions in nets. Many steelhead anglers cherish how we fight at the end of a line, yet have no desire to sample our flesh. They do it because of something greater than themselves, while others do it stubbornly because regulations require it. We value the small number of you who enjoy our fight and allow us to return to finish our migratory journey to spawn and perpetuate our kind. But to love me, and disregard the arguments of my fellow fishes is to spit upon me and view all I stand for with disdain.”

On the 3rd day of Fishmas, a sheefish said to me: “I am a very slow-growing fish, needing about 40 years to reach 35 pounds. My long life shows there is value in each of those years, much as you celebrate your own anniversaries and milestones. Fishing success isn’t always about catching the heaviest fish or fighting it with light line. Cradling an old sheefish in your arms, even for only a few seconds, is a gift, just as cherishing the wisdom and stories of your elders is one of the great-

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est treasures of your species. See the tales of survival in our scars, see the parasites in our gills, the good and bad years recorded in our scales, and be amazed.”

Another of the state’s Rodney Dangerfields, a pike implores us to “go back and convince humans to rejoice in catching me.” (CHRISTOPHER BATIN)

On the 2nd day of Fishmas, a big pike said to me: “Disdained, vilified and cursed I am because I do not possess the qualities of either a halibut or a rainbow trout. I grow larger than trout and most salmon, hit lures better, fight hard and jump well, and am also excellent table fare when deep fried, especially for shore lunches. Yet I am despised because I eat the rainbow trout and salmon preferred by humans! Mature rainbow trout eat more salmon fry than I ever could, but humans despise me based on ignorance. If I were named rainbow trout, I’d be celebrated the world over!

Perhaps they hate my 700-plus teeth, or my devilish looks.”

“Anglers are the most biased of all humans when it comes to sportfish, yet it is no surprise to me, as I regularly hear about bias regarding race and religion on your TV stations. Despite all

my admirable qualities, in select waters in Alaska I am the only sportfish with catch-and-kill directives issued by fishery managers. Some humans disregard me because I like backwater areas and slow-moving tundra rivers rather than clear, running streams and creeks. Hu-

mans eat one type of food over others, such as factory-raised chickens – raised on a processed food and antibiotic regimen – that have never seen the light of day, yet these birds are not reviled because of where they are raised, while we eat wild fish and grow naturally in

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Trout, salmon, Dolly Varden, steelhead: If it swims in the Last Frontier’s lakes, rivers and streams, an Alaskan should have visions of rainbows, Chinook and silvers in their heads this holiday season. (KATRINA MUELLER/USFWS)

the Alaska wilds and are shunned!”

“Go back and convince humans to rejoice in catching my fellow pike and me. We are not trash fish. We should be accepted for what we are: life first,

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and pike second. We are worthy to be caught, right up there with trout, rockfish and salmon. Consider us honorable sportfish, and watch the fate of humanity change almost immediately.”

DECEMBER 2017 | aksportingjournal.com

On the 1st day of Fishmas, my true love said to me: “Wake up, wake up, dear, you’ve been asleep far too long, your cider is cold, the fire has gone out and Schnitzy

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Charters &Charter Guides Spotlight

needs to be walked. You’ve been mumbling about talking fish. Are you OK?”

I SHOOK MY HEAD, leashed up the pooch and stumbled outside into the soft caress of falling snow to see if any talking fish had their heads sticking out of the nearby creek. Schnitzy searched the banks, and seeing no sign of fish, I wondered if the journey had been real, or just a dream as I pondered the message delivered by these wise fish.

Alaska fish feed us, nurture our spirit, satiate our need for adventure, and provide the sustenance that comes from interacting with nature.

I raised my eyes to the Milky Way stars and realized the truth in what the fish had told me.

On Christmas Day, hope opened my heart and joy made me smile as I saw the meaning of Fishmas in the smile on the face of a niece who received her first fishing rod. She asked to show her how to cast, and to tell her about fishing. I passed on the fishing stories from the Fishmas school.

As for me, I’ve seen both the light and the fish. I still hope to change regulations that reduce bycatch waste and reduce Alaska char and trout bag limits that are overly generous and ridiculous.

But most of all, I hope users see Alaska sportfish not just food for our table, but also for each fish as a life that should be respected and cherished.

Tomorrow I am going to trudge through the snow to the creek, where I’ll be looking for a certain Alaska blackfish and inquire about any openings as a Fishmas guide!

I’m sure Heather will approve, provided I find someone to tend the fire and walk the pooch in my absence. And the one thing I’ve learned over the Christmas holidays, when you make my wife happy, then everyone is happy, even lil’ Schnitzy! And those are the best Christmas presents of all! ASJ Editor’s note: Christopher Batin is editor of the Alaska Angler and author of books and DVDs on Alaska fishing, hunting and the outdoors at AlaskaAngler.com, or autographed, personalized copies are available for holiday gift giving by contacting the author at BatinChris@gmail.com

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MY ALASKAN DECKHAND ADVENTURE

Grass Valley, California, teenager Justin Leonard (right) calls his experience on a Seward-based sportfishing charter boat last summer “an opportunity of a lifetime.”

The view from Leonard’s office was pretty good.

Leonard (front) also deckhands for a Northern California guide, but plans to return to Alaska in May for another summer on the water.

PHOTOS BY JUSTIN LEONARD

J

The deckhand’s boat caught everything from salmon to salmon sharks like this 200-pound beast.

ustin Leonard loves to fish. The Grass Valley, California, teenager enjoyed a summer romance with the Last Frontier’s fishing scene.

“After graduating high school I got the opportunity of a lifetime to go to Alaska and work on charter boats deckhanding. It has always been a dream of mine to go to Alaska to fish, and lucky for me, I got to do it every day for three months,” Leonard says.

“I was in Seward working for Puffin Charters (907-278-3346; puffincharters.com). We have a fleet of four boats that fish for halibut, lingcod, king salmon, silver salmon and rockfish. It was a lot different from deckhanding on the rivers here

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Happy customers with a yelloweye each means a day’s work well done.

“Here’s one of several glaciers we got to see every day,” Leonard says.

Since the boats couldn’t fish for halibut on Wednesdays, a load of silver salmon would make everyone happy.

Salmon sharks don’t just eat Chinook!

in Northern California. I absolutely loved the opportunity I had and what I got to experience. It was so great that I am headed back up in May to do it all over again.”

“It’s not easy work, considering we range from 14- to 18-hour days.

An average day for us was getting to the dock at 5 a.m. and getting the boat ready, going to the office at 5:45 to meet everyone at 6, and then taking our group down to the boat. We like to try and be leaving the dock by 6:30 a.m.”

“From there we start our journey out of Resurrection Bay and enjoy the very scenic boat ride. It is also not uncommon to see whales breaching on calm days on our boat ride to our fishing spots. We try and get back to the dock between 5 and 6 p.m. to ensure we have had a full day on the water. It is an amazing experience for anyone and I would highly recommend it to everyone!” ASJ 118

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(907)) 262-1992 (9 2622 199 1992 92 www.kenairiversuites.com kenairiversuites@gmail.com

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“Your Complete Marine Parts & Service Center”

Boats • Motors Service • Boat Storage

MAIN (425) 252-3088 | LAUNCH (425) 339-8330 | 1111 Craftsman Way, Everett, WA 98201

GOOD

GEAR TO GIVE

IDEAS FOR YOUR HOLIDAY OUTDOOR WISH LIST

BY SCOTT HAUGEN

G

rowing up, my mom had some telling advice for me. “The older you get, the faster life goes by,” she said.

As a kid, I’d stare at the clock to slow down time; I’d hope to prolong the start of the school year or that dreaded dentist appointment. I never would have believed her back then. But now I do.

Another year has come and gone. Forty-nine years have passed since I caught my first steelhead, and I’m entering my 21st year of outdoor writing. Over the years, much has changed in the world of fishing, both in how we fish and the gear we use.

Based on personal experience, here are some pieces of gear I fell in love with this year. This is equipment I’ll keep using and items you might want to consider treating yourself to this Christmas. Or give them as gifts for friends or family member.

TRAVEL SPINNING ROD

Cabela’s Fish Eagle four-piece travel rod is great for fishing a variety of Alaska species in a variety of ways.

(SCOTT HAUGEN)

When it comes to traveling with fishing rods, space can be a concern. The last two summers I fished many places in remote Alaska, and I also traveled to Mexico and took several road trips. If searching for a quality four-piece travel spinning rod that performs well and won’t break the bank, this is it.

The Cabela’s Fish Eagle Travel Spinning Rod is a four-piece, fast-action, medium-power graphite rod that offers incredible strength and diversity. On the 7-foot, 8- to 12-pound-test model, I’ve caught 40-pound barracuda on surface poppers, 25-pound king salmon, hard-fighting silver salmon, as well as trout, grayling and Arctic char. It handles braid and monofilament equally well. aksportingjournal.com | DECEMBER 2017

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Tiffany Haugen’s Nushagak River salmon fishing trip became a bit of a cooking seminar as she learned tricks from a French camp chef. (TIFFANY HAUGEN)

FIELD

OH LÀ LÀ! TRY FRENCH CAMP CHEF-INSPIRED SALMON

BY TIFFANY HAUGEN

W

e’ve been in many fish camps over the years, but I’ve never had the opportunity to hang out with a professional chef, let alone a French one.

That changed when we fished Alaska’s Nushagak River with Alaska King Salmon Adventures (alaskakingsalmon.com) From the first meal on, I had my camera and notebook in hand and learned something new each and every day. Although I have made many versions of teriyaki salmon, this one can be adapted to fresh ingredients or dry ingredients, and I am including both to fit any situation.

Cooked on a pellet grill, this fish will retain its moisture and take on a pleasant smoky flavor. It can also be smokecooked in a smoker, cooked in foil or on a plank, in the oven or on the grill.

Two fillets salmon ⅔ cup brown sugar

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½ cup vinegar (malt, cider or rice) ½ cup soy sauce 1 tablespoon fresh ginger or 1 teaspoon powdered ginger 1 tablespoon fresh lemon grass or 1 teaspoon dried lemon grass powder (substitute 2 teaspoons lemon zest for lemon grass) 1 tablespoon minced garlic or 1 teaspoon granulated garlic 1 tablespoon minced onion or 1 teaspoon granulated onion 1 tablespoon black pepper 1 tablespoon sesame seeds 2 teaspoons liquid smoke (optional) 2 teaspoons red chili flakes (optional) 1 teaspoon salt In a small saucepan, bring vinegar, soy sauce and brown sugar to a boil.

Boil until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and immediately add remaining ingredients. Cool completely and place a small amount of cooled liquid on a shallow sheet pan. Lay salmon fillets skin side up and marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes.

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Flip salmon skin side down in pan and place in a pellet smoker that’s preheated to 350 degrees. Or, if using another method, proceed with the cooking process in an oven, in foil, on a plank or over a campfire. Discard unused marinade. If desired, add 1 tablespoon of sweet chili sauce or hot sauce to remaining marinade. Baste fish two to three times during the cooking process.

Editor’s note: For signed copies of Tiffany’s popular book, Cooking Seafood, send a check for $20 (free S&H), to Haugen Enterprises, P.O. Box 275, Walterville, OR 97489. This and other cookbooks can also be ordered at tiffanyhaugen.com. Tiffany Haugen is part of the online series Cook With Cabela’s.

Also, watch for her on The Sporting Chef on the Sportsman Channel.

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The lightweight, sturdy rod can easily be fished many ways, be it drifting bait, tossing spinners, twitching jigs, running a float set-up with bait or jigs – even casting plugs. A universal travel rod of this caliber for under $100 makes it even more alluring.

ATLASWARE BOTTLE Recently, I compared the Atlasware bottle with two of the leading water bottles on the market. In the two leading bottles, boiling water was only warm, not hot, four and seven hours after being added, respectively.

In the Atlasware bottle, the same water registered 123 degrees after 72 hours. I also filled the Atlasware bottle with ice, and after 96 hours, less than a quarter of it had melted. It’s the best bottle I’ve seen for keeping liquids hot or cold, with no close second. In other words, it’s the perfect bottle for anglers.

Designed by the engineers who built NASA’s space shuttle, the Atlasware bottle is a double-walled, stainless-steel bottle that’s vacuum insulated. It’s impressively durable and

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resistant to punctures. Since the bottle is crafted of stainless steel, there’s no chemical leaching.

Atlasware bottles come in an array of colors, including optional cap accessories to fit your activity needs. They can even be personalized with your name or a company logo. This is the best bottle my family and I have ever used for keeping drinks hot or cold. The bottles work so well that they surpass what the manufacturer claims they are capable of doing. Learn more at atlaswarenw.com.

SURECAN FUEL CAN Anglers are constantly refueling boats and other vehicles that take us to prime fishing grounds. If looking for a high-performance, reliable gas can that won’t leak, drip or spill, check out the Surecan.

The first time I used the Surecan, I was very impressed. The more I used it and had other people try it, the more convinced I became that this was the best gas can ever invented. It’s the best I’ve ever used, whether in a boat, with ATVs, lawnmowers, power sprayers and more.

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A flexible, rotating spout directs fuel into the receiving tank. This results in no more tipping, slipping or spilling. In a gravity-fed manner, a thumb-activated trigger in front of the grip releases the flow of fuel. It self-vents, so airlock is nonexistent, meaning there’s no chugging and splashing.

Fully depress the trigger for a fast flow and let up to slow down. You can actually control the flow to the final drop. When done, the trigger will return to its upright position and there will be no drips.

Since the spout can be rotated into a position directly below the can, you can use your entire outstretched arm – even your body – for support when filling tanks below your waist. This means lifting and emptying a 5-gallon fuel can is easy; even my 81-year-old neighbor can use it.

The specially constructed walls of the can are so thick that you can park a truck on it without damage. Drop it, throw it, hit it, slide it and the Surecan still won’t leak. It’s available in 5- and 2-plus-gallon cans for gas, 5 gallons for

ANCHORAGE Anchorage Yamaha Suzuki Marine 3919 Spenard Rd (907) 243-8343 www.anchorageyamaha.com BIG LAKE Big Lake Powersports 5120 S. Big Lake Rd (888) 796-2628 www.southportmarina.com KODIAK Emerson Boat Works 816 East Marine Way (907) 486-0602 www.emersonboatworks.com FAIRBANKS Northern Power Sports 1980 Van Horn Rd (907) 452-2762 www.northernpowersports.com

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diesel and 5 gallons for kerosene.

The Surecan is approved in most states, including California, which has strict fuel-can regulations. Learn more and see these 100-percent made-in-the-U.S.A. cans in action at surecanusa.com.

SS FLOUROCARBON LEADER Fluorocarbon leaders have advanced so far that they should be part of every angler’s arsenal. Over the past year, I used PLine’s SS Fluorocarbon Salmon and Steelhead leader and was very impressed.

The flexibility of the line allows for easy and efficient knot tying, producing knots you can trust. It’s tough and has highly abrasion-resistant material. I’ve caught all five salmon species on the leader, plus steelhead, many trout and other species. I’ve been very pleased with its performance and I’ll keep using it.

Yes, there’s more gear that I would recommend, but these are the ones that I love and have found myself using time and time again. I’m confident these items will make your time on the water more efficient, comfortable and productive, mak-

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Having the right gear makes all the difference in the world. Jim and Tami Heider are all smiles over their Alaskan fishing adventure, on which quality equipment played a big part in their success and comfort. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

ing them the perfect holiday gifts. ASJ Editor’s note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s best-selling book, A Flyfisher’s Guide to

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Alaska, send a check for $35 to Haugen Enterprises, P.O. Box 275, Walterville, OR 97489, or order online at scotthaugen.com. Scott Haugen is the host of The Hunt on Netflix.

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HAINES Canal Marine Co. 10 Front St (907) 766-2437 canalmarinecompany.com

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The Martin family patterned their Kenai resort as a Main Street that honors historic buildings throughout Alaska, including the Brown & Hawkins general store in Seward. (DIAMOND M RANCH RESORT)

COMPANY NAME Diamond M Ranch Resort WHERE Kenai Peninsula CONTACT INFO diamondmranchresort.com; (907) 283-9424

D

iamond M Ranch Resort is centrally located on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula and features 77 full hookup sites, including supersized big-rig pull-throughs, and 16 lodging units. The accommodations range from our gorgeous historical suites to our rustic homesteaders’ cabin.

We are a top-rated RV park and No. 1 in specialty lodging in Kenai, highlighted by our 80-acre country-farm setting, which is owned and operated by the Martin Family.

We have free wi-fi onsite, weekly activities, tour desk, fish cleaning stations, a bathhouse, laundry facilities, playground, basketball court, etc. This is a destination park located next to the famous Kenai River, where fishing is at its best throughout the travel season.

The host Martins are a three-generation Alaska family with roots that run deep in hospitality, ranching and good old-fashioned fun. Active in their local community, the Martins run their working ranch alongside their award-winning RV park, sumptuous suites carefully modeled after historic Gold Rushera buildings, and a lovely selection of cabins with a variety of different accommodations to meet your needs. ASJ

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