AN ICY REUNION WITH ALASKA

BACK TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN A SPORTING COUPLE SAVORS AN ICE FISHING REUNION IN ARCTIC ALASKA FIELD

BY SCOTT HAUGEN

On a March day my wife Tiffany and I were sitting on a frozen bay just north of Kotzebue – the first time in 21 years since we’d been together in Alaska’s Arctic.

“It’s so peaceful out here,” Tiffany whispered; she didn’t want to break the silence of the Arctic air.

The evening was calm and the skies clear. Temperatures hovered in the midteens, and we’d fished for four hours without a bite. Few words were exchanged, but our minds were racing.

You see: Tiffany and I began our

Authors Scott and Ti any Haugen with a pair of prized sheefish, marking one of their most memorable moments in Alaska over the past 30 years. They married in 1990 and taught in the tiny outpost of Point Lay, and married life in Alaska’s Arctic in August 1990 in the small village of Point Lay. We were two of only four schoolteachers at the time – she taught third through eighth grade, every subject – and I did the same for the high school grades.

After three years in Point Lay, we have often returned to the Last Frontier. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

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caught sheefish or pulling some out of the freezer, here’s a great way to fancy up your Thanksgiving dinner buffet.

The great thing about this recipe is its versatility. It works well with halibut, lings and more! Offer this sweet, tangy and colorful dish and it’s sure to please those fish-lovers. One fillet sheefish 3 tablespoons soy sauce 1 11-ounce can mandarin oranges 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon freshly minced ginger 1 clove garlic, minced 2 tablespoons melted butter or ghee Remove skin from fillet, rinse fish in cold water and pat dry. In a small bowl, mix soy sauce, mandarin orange juice from the can, olive oil, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper until thoroughly combined. Marinate fish 20 minutes at room temperature or up to three hours in the refrigerator.

Mandarins and green and red peppers provide colorful, festive, tasty toppers for baked sheefish, halibut or lingcod that is sure to delight seafood lovers over the

CRUSH THIS ORANGE-FLAVORED FISH DISH

BY TIFFANY HAUGEN

Whether you’re cooking fresh-

3/4 cup mandarin orange juice 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup slivered red bell pepper 1/3 cup slivered green bell pepper

holiday season. (TIFFANY HAUGEN) If marinating in a dish, turn fish a few times to ensure all the marinade gets into the meat.

Place fish fillet in an ovenproof baking dish or foil pouch. Pour a ½ cup of the marinade over the fish. In a small bowl, mix bell pepper with melted butter. Spread butter and bell pepper mixture over the fillet. Bake sheefish in a preheated 400-degree oven or on a hot grill for 12 minutes. Place mandarin oranges evenly over fish and continue to bake/grill until fish reaches desired doneness or internal temperature reaches 135 degrees.

Editor’s note: For signed copies of Tiffany Haugen’s popular cookbook, Cooking Seafood, send a check for $20 to Haugen Enterprises, P.O.

Box 275, Walterville, OR 97489, or visit tiffanyhaugen.com.

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moved to Anaktuvuk Pass – one of Alaska’s most breathtaking destinations – where we taught for four years. Here we hunted and fished out our front door. It was a life we missed after moving away in 1997 and began pursuing fulltime careers in the outdoor industry. But now we were back.

AS WE WERE GETTING ready to call it a night on the ice, Tiff’s rod doubled over. Soon she was pulling her first sheefish through the 10-inch hole we’d drilled through 5 feet of ice. It wasn’t a big fish, but it didn’t matter.

“Geez, if a sheefish this size fights this hard, I’d hate to see what a big one will do!” Tiff exclaimed while holding up the 8-pound fish.

Knowing sheefish travel in schools throughout the bay in search of food, we got right back to jigging big spoons. Two hours later we were still jigging, without another bite. With the sun setting on the frozen sea, it was time to call it quits – for tomorrow would be another day.

The next morning we headed back out onto the ice, this time with good friends and longtime Kotzebue residents (fellow ASJ correspondent) Paul Atkins and Lew Pagel. Lew was a chiropractor in the village for many years; Paul a schoolteacher there for nearly 20 years.

We pounded the ice for eight hours without a bite. Deciding to call it a day, we headed the snowmachines back to Kotzebue. In front of town some locals had a couple fresh-caught sheefish lying on the ice. “Get your lines in the water, they’re everywhere,” one of them encouraged Paul.

Soon we were drilling holes and jigging spoons. On my first cast I flipped the bail on my ice fishing rod, letting the big lure free-fall. Instantly the line started peeling off the spool before I could flip the bail.

I knew it was a big sheefish, as it fought harder than any I could remember. Nearly 10 minutes into the battle, the sheefish

Augers with extra extensions are needed to get through the Arctic pack ice to where the sheefish swim. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

finally began to tire, but I couldn’t get it through the ice hole. I nervously gave the fish some slack line, then pulled it tight once again. Still, it wouldn’t fit through the bottom of the ice hole.

After several tries I finally felt the head of the sheefish slip into the hole. I grabbed my 60-pound braided line and pulled the fish through the hole in the ice. Its round body was tight in the hole, but I kept pulling and trusting the braid and my knot. A rush of water surged out of the hole as the fish neared the surface. When I reached down to grab the fish by the gills, I’ll never forget the gasps let out by the locals as I hoisted the monster sheefish into the air. Tipping the scales to 40 pounds, it was the biggest sheefish of my life, and my first fish of the trip.

“Looks like we found ’em,” smiled Lew, who was quietly battling a sheefish of his own. Tiffany intensely worked her spoon up and down, and soon she was locked in battle with the hard-pulling fish known as the tarpon of the north. The fish would run, Tiff would gain line and soon it was stripped out yet again.

Eventually the sheefish grew tired and Tiffany pulled a 25-pound beauty from the ice. Her very next cast yielded a 22-pounder. Over the next several minutes Tiffany landed three more beautiful

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The Haugens’ good friend Paul Atkins hoists a sheefish from the ice. It’s something he never tires of angling for in Kotzebue, a place he’s called home for nearly 20 years. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

sheefish, the smallest being 18 pounds.

Lew and Paul were also catching fish. Paul held up a 23-pounder as he grinned from ear to ear, while Lew unhooked another and added it to the pile.

When the bite subsided, everyone began cleaning fish on the ice. Paul, Lew, Tiff and I caught a sled full – plenty to keep us busy as we listened to people talk. The locals shared stories and their smiles offered a purity that can only be experienced through such moments in the outdoors.

THE OLDER WE GET, the more Tiffany and I appreciate people, their stories and learning about their lives. Catching fish is just a means of bringing us all together, and that’s something there’s never a shortage of in Alaska. ASJ

Editor’s note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s best-selling book, Flyfisher’s Guide To Alaska, plus many other titles, visit scotthaugen.com. Follow Scott on Instagram and Facebook.