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Volume 11 • Issue 10 www.aksportingjournal.com PUBLISHER James R. Baker GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak EXECUTIVE EDITOR Andy Walgamott EDITOR Chris Cocoles
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CONTENTS
VOLUME 11 • ISSUE 10
FEATURES 23
55
ENGINEERING BETTER ROUTES FOR FISH From roads to bridges to tunnels, travelers are grateful for the engineers who make our journeys easier. The same can be said for Alaska salmon and steelhead, which need clear river paths to reach spawning areas. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service features two such fish passage engineers who are helping improve salmon and other species’ access up- and downstream.
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CURING EGG CURE INDIFFERENCE We’ve all been there – set aside the eggs from the salmon we just caught to cure them ... well, some other time. Bad move, if you want high-quality bait for catching silvers and Chinook. Egg-cure expert Scott Haugen explains why to get crackin’ – and with a variety of cures – as well as shares his favorite family recipe. And elsewhere in our From Field to Fire column, Tiffany Haugen whips up an Icelandic-inspired salmon dish.
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WHERE SHOULD I HUNT? Alaska is by far the biggest state in the union – everything may be bigger in Texas, but you can fit two Lone Star States into the Last Frontier – and that means there’s a lot of ground to hunt, 26 unique game management units, from Barrow to the Peninsula to the Pandhandle, in fact. In his new feature, veteran sportsman Paul Atkins breaks down some of his favorite units to hunt, beginning with the Arctic’s GMU 23.
(JIM LAVRAKAS)
HOMER’S WINTER FUN
Let’s face it: Alaska winters are not the most fun time of year. But come mid-March on the Kenai Peninsula, Homer is transformed into a destination for anglers who don’t mind braving the potential frigid conditions for a chance at catching a very valuable Chinook. The 27th edition of the Homer Winter King Salmon Tournament is set for March 21, with event organizers expecting the prize money to top the $171,000 handed out in 2019, including $73,000 for winner Shayna Perry (above). We preview this year’s derby with the local chamber of commerce’s Nyla Lightcap.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 19 35 43 66
The Editor’s Note: Outdoor friends come and go The Salmon State: Filming wolves feeding on salmon at night for first time Outdoor Calendar A hunter moves south, but the memories remain
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 $49.95 (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 © 2020 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. 14
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EDITOR’S NOTE
M
ost of us have stories from our school days of being great friends with people who we shared campus with, only to lose touch once we all went our separate ways. I reflected about that while reading Paul Atkins’ piece this month (page 66) about the pending move of his friend and longtime hunting partner Lew Pagel away from Alaska. As Atkins writes in his first paragraph, “Like all good things that seem to never last long enough, nothing great lasts forever.”
THE SECOND SEMESTER of my first year at my alma mater, California’s Fresno State, was great.
Lew Pagel (left) and Paul Atkins have shared a lot of great Alaska outdoor adventures together. Pagel will soon be relocating to the Lower 48, but he and his buddy’s memories will last a lifetime. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
Two of my buddies from the dorms, Larry and Kris, were big outdoorsmen. Sure, we spent a lot of time going to our school’s baseball team’s games, drinking beer together at parties and exploring an area none of us had lived in before. But Larry and I were also able to get up to the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Fresno and fish for trout at a local lake a couple times. And Kris was a favorite among his neighbors on our floor since he was a hunter and brought us back venison and wild boar sausage after weekend hunts with his dad. Late that semester Larry and Kris agreed they’d come back to the dorms the next semester as roommates, with me and another buddy planning to re-
quest a room next to theirs. Surely the next fall meant Saturday night Fresno State Bulldog football games, still more parties and, of course, more fishing trips and tasty big game treats to snack on. We all left for summer at the end of the semester – this was before cell phones and none of us had each other’s numbers back home – but as sometimes happens in college, neither Larry nor Kris came back to the dorms. I assumed they had either transferred or decided to live off campus, but I was never able to track them down again. Life went on and I met new neighbors and still had fun that year, though I can tell you none of those bums brought me back any deer sausage! –Chris Cocoles
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PROTECTING
WILD ALASKA
ENGINEERS DESIGN ROAD-STREAM PASSINGS FOR SALMON, MORE BY GLEN MARTIN FOR THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, ALASKA
F
ish gotta swim, but it’s not as easy as it used to be – even in Alaska, one of the planet’s last great strongholds for wild salmon. Compared to most other places, of course, Alaska’s salmon are doing relatively well, but they’re forced to navigate an increasing number of obstacles as more people move into the state and transportation infrastructure expands. “It’s not so much a matter of existing dams in Alaska,” says Bill Rice, a former fish passage engineer with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska who now addresses fish passage issues across the West and Great Plains. “Most of the state’s rivers are undammed. Poorly designed culverts where roads cross streams present the
biggest problems,” he adds. Particularly for juvenile salmon that can’t muscle their way upstream as well as adults returning to spawn. In Alaska, baby Chinook and coho salmon and resident fishes like Arctic grayling and rainbow trout need to be able to find food and safe temperatures and flows throughout the seasons. Delays at roads can cost them their lives. Staff at the USFWS’s Habitat Branch take this issue seriously, and that’s where Heather Hanson and Jessica Straub are using their engineering skills to help clear the way for Alaska’s precious salmon runs.
THE ROAD TO ALASKA Heather came to Alaska after earning an engineering degree from the University
of Idaho and working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on dam fish passage structures in the Pacific Northwest. Jess grew up in New Hampshire, earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental resource engineering from the SUNY College of Environmental Engineering and Forestry at Syracuse, New York. She moved to Alaska after a stint in the Lower 48 working on water conservation projects. Together, they design some of the most sophisticated and successful roadstream crossings on the planet – ones with both fish and floods in mind. “Our habitat team has put in a lot of fish-friendly culverts in the four years that I’ve been doing this job,” says Heather, USFWS’s current fish passage
Heather Hanson (left) and Jessica Straub bring engineering expertise to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service design team that works to restore fish passage where roads cross Alaska rivers and streams. (USFWS/KATRINA LIEBICH) aksportingjournal.com | MARCH 2020
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PROTECTING
WILD ALASKA
Q&A WITH ALASKA FISH PASSAGE ENGINEERS
F
reelance writer Glen Martin sat down with fish passage engineers Heather Hanson and Jessica Straub for an extended conversation.
Glen Martin When did you start working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service? Heather Hanson I started in 2015. Jessica Straub August 2019. GM What do you think people would find most surprising about your job?
HH They don’t think about culverts as a problem for fish passage. In reality, they’re small dams, and they can have a devastating effect on salmon and other fish – both juveniles and adults. Basically, our job is dam removal. JS The number of different shoes I wear. It’s everything from waders to mukluks. Also, the diversity and the extreme beauty of our field sites.
GM How do Alaska’s wild places inspire you? HH I love to get deep into our remote areas, far from roads and trails. That’s fairly easy because my husband is a pilot. We have a bush plane and we fly out regularly to places with no human impact. We especially enjoy running skis on the plane during winter, flying up to glaciers, and skiing. JS It’s just the majesty and beauty of the landscapes. It’s overwhelming, really, and it allows me to be my best possible self.
GM What’s your foremost concern about Alaska’s fish and wildlife? HH Not proactively considering the needs of fish and wildlife in the initial design of development projects and infrastructure.
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ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
There’s tremendous opportunity to balance all needs if we can work together up front. Infrastructure projects that accommodate the needs of fish, the natural, dynamic nature of rivers, and changing climatic conditions will perform better during floods and help sustain Alaska’s fisheries. We’ve seen a significant decline in fisheries since I’ve moved here and people talk about how many more fish there were 15 or 20 years ago. That’s very concerning to me. JS The extremely warm temperatures we’re seeing and the droughts we’ve witnessed over the past several years. I’m deeply worried about the impacts, particularly on riparian environments.
GM When I’m not working, I’m ... HH Out playing in the backcountry. JS I’m probably outside with my dog, Kai. He’s a big old mountaineering mutt.
GM What’s the greatest misconception people have about Alaska? HH They think it’s a completely wild and undeveloped place. In reality, we have considerable development, even around remote villages. You’ll see roads for logging and mining – there’s just quite a bit of infrastructure out there. You especially see the impacts when you’re up in a small plane. JS When I came up here, I thought things would be colder. I had just come from Syracuse, and often it’s a lot colder there. Temperatures are becoming milder up here, and that’s not necessarily a good thing.
GM What’s your most treasured memory of Alaska? HH There are many of them, but one
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has to be working outside of Cordova on the Copper River Highway. It’s such a dramatic landscape, and bears are wandering around everywhere. It’s spectacular. JS Seeing the northern lights for the first time. I was outside of Fairbanks in 2016, and they just drew my soul in.
GM What advice would you give someone interested in a career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service? HH Careers in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are highly sought after, so I’d say you can’t give up. You have to demonstrate passion and commitment, and you have to persevere. If you keep at it, sooner or later you’ll get an opportunity. JS Apply for every job that comes up. Each one. And sign up for the volunteer programs, and get to know people. GM What wildlife species particularly moves you? HH Definitely brown bears. They’re extremely important to Alaskan ecosystems, and they contribute an element of danger and excitement when you’re in the field, of course. My husband and I once flew out to some remote mudflats by a river and we camped on the beach, and the bears were fishing and roaring at each other all night. We didn’t get much sleep. JS I’m moved by all of Alaska’s wildlife, but for me green sea turtles are my favorite wild species. My dad is a diving fanatic and I was certified for scuba at 12. We went to the Bay Islands near Honduras and I got to see turtles up close. They just fascinated me. They still do.
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engineer in Alaska. “We’ve completed about 20 in Kodiak, six or seven in Kenai, six in the Matanuska-Susitna area, and one near Cordova.” “And we have a lot more planned. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is committed to doing everything possible to improve prospects for salmon,” she says. Jessica – known widely as Jess – has been working for Heather since August 2019 and enjoys the fact that her job requires both intellectual rigor and vigorous physical effort. “It’s a balance between the office and field work,” she says. “We design projects in the winter and mud season,
“Our habitat team has put in a lot of fish-friendly culverts in the four years that I’ve been doing this job,” says Heather, a University of Idaho alum. (USFWS/KATRINA LIEBICH)
and then construct and install the fishfriendly road-stream crossings during the summer. For me, the most challenging part is prolonged computer work. You’re at your desk for hours working with CAD programs on topo maps, stream crosssections and project designs, it’s dark outside, and you kind of go into a black hole – you lose all sense of time.” And the most rewarding part? “Just the fact that you see a project come together from start to finish, and that it has an incredible payoff,” Jess says. “On one project, we were able to install a culvert and restore stream flow at a tributary to Lake Orbin that contained a lot of juvenile coho salmon. We had a very hot summer and the juvenile salmon were suffocating, stressed out by a lack of oxygen and hot temperatures in the lake. Once we established flow, you could literally see their relief – they just barreled up through the culvert and into the cool groundwater-fed stream. That was tremendously satisfying.”
A WHOLE NEW FIELD
Jess, who came to Alaska from upstate New York, now helps design state-of-theart road stream passages. (USFWS/KATRINA LIEBICH)
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Fish passage science and engineering have been around for a few decades, but the process has been greatly refined over the past few years. According to Heather, 30 years ago the basic goal was to simply put in culverts that allowed a significant percentage of a stream’s flow to pass under roadways more or less unimpeded. The rest was left up to the fish, and results were mixed. “These days, the agency’s general goal is on returning streams to as natural
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Heather and Jess walk the road over a small stream in the Mat-Su Valley. (USFWS/KATRINA LIEBICH)
Channel-spanning culverts let fish and floods pass freely. (USFWS/KATRINA LIEBICH)
a condition as possible, and our passage designs reflect that,” Heather says. “And while our primary focus is on salmon, we’re also taking into account all the other fish and wildlife that inhabit any given project site. In addition to fish, mammals – moose, lynx, otters etc. – can also use them as safety corridors to avoid crossing roads.” That means “not thinking in straight lines” and minimal emphasis on steel and concrete, Heather says. 28
ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
Rock banks are incorporated directly into culverts to provide the edges and niches young salmon need for resting, feeding and hiding from predators. Rock substrates can also be used to create low-flow channels in the bottom of the culverts to ensure the fish always have enough water for passage. Also, bigger usually is best when it comes to culverts. “We generally take out smaller culverts and replace them with large,
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embedded ones,” says Jess. “Smaller culverts disrupt the ability of a stream to transport sediment or build a floodplain. So our culverts can range from 6 to 35 feet in diameter. We want them to be at least as wide as the stream we’re working on.”
GIVING SALMON A FIGHTING CHANCE Alaska’s salmon are facing multiple obstacles, involving everything from climate change toheavyresource demands.
Heather surveys a fish passage barrier with teammate/hydrologist Franklin Dekker where a road crosses an Anchorage salmon stream. (USFWS/KATRINA LIEBICH) Looking over a potential problem for fish and trying to remedy that problem is what it’s all about for these engineers. (USFWS/KATRINA LIEBICH)
These challenges may sometimes seem daunting, but the successes posted by fish passage engineers such as Heather and Jess demonstrate there’s also real reason for optimism. “In terms of addressing and keeping habitat connected for fish, I personally think there’s a light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to resolving the most critical fish barriers over the next
10 to 20 years,” says Bill Rice. “And I think Heather and Jess are going to make big contributions toward that end.” ASJ Editor’s note: This story was originally published by the U.S. Fish and Widlife Service and reprinted with permission. For more on the USFWS Alaska Region, go to fws.gov/alaska and follow on Twitter and Facebook (@USFWSAlaska).
“Just the fact that you see a project come together from start to finish, and that it has an incredible payoff,” says Jess of what’s satisfying about her job giving Alaska’s sacred salmon better opportunities to reach their spawning waters. (USFWS/KATRINA LIEBICH)
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SALMON ENCHANTED EVENING
The Netflix series Night on Earth captured images of wolves seeking out and capturing salmon in a Southeast Alaska river. (NIGHT ON EARTH SCREENSHOT)
FOR FIRST TIME, WILD CANINES CAUGHT ON FILM ‘FISHING’ AT NIGHT BY MARY CATHARINE MARTIN
I
t was past midnight one night in August 2018 that a film crew and their Alaskan guides, shooting for a Netflix documentary series called Night on Earth, found themselves sitting in the dark and surrounded by wolves. They were next to a salmon stream in the Tongass National Forest, wearing night vision goggles and filming with thermal imaging cameras. The group was attempting to capture something that hadn’t yet been previously captured on film: wolves catching salmon at night.
Back in Juneau, I was waiting to hear from them, because this is a personal story, too. The lead guide, Bjorn Dihle, is my partner (and a frequent contributor to Alaska Sporting Journal). He’d been excited to scout out locations for wolves, but was also measured in his optimism about their chance of success. No matter how hungry a wolf is for a salmon, they’re generally exceptionally wary of humans.
FILMING THE IMPOSSIBLE Dan Kirkwood is the manager at Pack
Creek Bear Tours (907-209-5432; packcreekbeartours.com), where Bjorn works. When Kirkwood first got the call inquiring about the possibility of a night shoot, he was hiking down from a Southeast Alaska mountain, checking a camera trap he’d set up for wolves. At first he thought, “This is impossible. The odds are just insanely long.” But they agreed to try, and Bjorn headed down early to scout the area they’d chosen. “I didn’t know where or if I would find
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The almost surgical removal of the heads of these pink salmon is a sure sign that wolves have been fishing nearby. (BJORN DIHLE)
the right spot, so I scouted the majority of the watershed as far as the salmon were spawning,” Bjorn told me. “Because it was also on a stream with brown bears, I was looking for an area that was relatively open, so that we could mitigate bear encounters by having some time to communicate with them.” Eventually, he came across a spot that seemed pretty promising. He not only saw a wolf there, he saw wolf tracks, wolf scat, wolf beds and 50 or 60 salmon with their heads removed. Wolves are more sensitive than bears to the parasites that can live in the rest of the salmon. 36
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All of that was no guarantee, however, that the wolves would emerge when the team of three was there.
WOLF SIGHTINGS When dark fell, the alpha male and the alpha female showed themselves at dusk about 100 yards away. When they saw the three men, the wolves retreated. “And then as soon as it got dark, the wolves came out and felt comfortable coming within 10, 15 yards of us because they believed we couldn’t see them,” Bjorn said. “Without the goggles, you would have said, ‘Oh, there was a bird there. They’re so quiet – you wouldn’t have known.”
MARCH 2020 | aksportingjournal.com
“You can see the animals like they’re lit up with the night goggles, because they’re just glowing against nothing,” Kirkwood added. “Without them, you can’t see anything. The trickle of the stream, the finning of the fish as they’re swimming upstream and pretty constant wolf howling all night ... It was very surreal because I was seeing it through a screen the whole time, with the exception of the wolves that came out at dusk and in the morning.” The next morning, as they were hiking out a small female wolf trailed them. “She kind of turned the tables on us,” Bjorn said. “When we finally stopped and
A wolf (top center) investigates the photographer through high grass. (BJORN DIHLE)
realized she was trailing us at literally 20 yards, she just hung out for several minutes. Even lay down.” “I was really surprised at how some of the wolves decided to really not be too bothered by us,” Kirkwood said.
KEEPING ALASKA WILD As a guide, Bjorn pointed to the growing importance of experiences like this – not to mention films like this – to Alaska’s economy. Bears also feature in the filming. “Wildlife and wild places are going to be a way bigger resource in the future as the world becomes more industrialized, and I think we need to have way more of an emphasis on preserving these wild places,” Bjorn said. “It’s ridiculous that Southeast Alaska only has a couple of bear-viewing places. That’s why people come here. It’s huge, whether it’s hunting,
Outfitted with night vision goggles, the crew was amazed how close wolves got to them. “As soon as it got dark, the wolves came out and felt comfortable coming within 10, 15 yards of us because they believed we couldn’t see them,” Bjorn said. Video caught this one hauling a salmon into the brush to eat. (NIGHT ON EARTH SCREENSHOT)
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HOW ALASKA WOLVES RELY ON SALMON
I
t’s not a secret that in Alaska wolves rely on salmon, just as many other species do. It is, however, a subject of evolving research. Back in 2004, Alaska Department of Fish and Game information officer Riley Woodford wrote about a study on Prince of Wales Island in Alaska Fish & Wildlife News. Salmon, the article explained, are especially important for wolf pups. “For the youngest members of the packs, the chance to fatten up on fish in the fall can mean life or death over the winter,” it reads. The biologist who conducted that study attributed wolves’ high survivorship in Southeast Alaska to salmon. “In places like Minnesota, half the pups die in their first summer,” Dave Person is quoted as saying. “Here, we’ve noticed a 90-percent survivorship; I think salmon may play an important part in that.” ADFG wildlife research biologist Gretchen Roffler is conducting a study using DNA to analyze wolf scat across Southeast Alaska. Wolves ate salmon in five of the 12 sites she studied, making up between 2 and 10 percent of wolves’ diets overall, averaged across the entire year between 2010 and 2018. Roffler expects that in late summer the numbers would be much higher. “Increased consumption of (marine and intertidal species) could be advantageous for wolves because of reduced handling times and risk, allowing wolves to forage individually. Salmon are well-recognized as an important seasonal food source for wolves in coastal regions,” she said. Of a separate study of collared wolves, she wrote that a wolf they’re observing near Gustavus spent many weeks fishing in late August to the middle of September, eating pink and sockeye salmon. An earlier study mentioned in Woodford’s article analyzed DNA in wolf bones. It found that, “Salmon made up about 20 percent of the diet of wolves on the coastal mainland and on Prince of Wales Island, 15 percent of the diet of wolves on Kupreanof Island and about 10 percent of the diet of Interior wolves.” MCM
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fishing, wildlife films or just tourism.” Salmon, he said, were also central to the shoot. “The only reason why we were able to get the footage we were and be safe around bears is because we had such a good salmon run,” Bjorn said. “It’s all about salmon.” ASJ
Wolf tracks trail off into the horizon on a Southeast Alaska beach. (BJORN DIHLE)
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Editor’s note: Mary Catharine Martin is the communications director of SalmonState, a nonprofit initiative that works to ensure Alaska remains a place wild salmon thrive. Night on Earth is available on Netflix. This shoot is part of the last episode in the series, with footage about 35 minutes in.
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OUTDOOR CALENDAR
The Homer Winter King Salmon Tournament is set for March 21.
(LB WITH ALASKA PHOTO GUIDE)
March 1 Spring bison hunting season opens in GMU 19 (McGrath) March 7 Start of Iditarod race; iditarod.com March 15 Spring brown bear hunting season begins in GMU 1 (Southeast Mainland) March 15 Resident spring brown bear hunting begins in GMU 3 (Petersburg-Wrangell) March 15 Spring brown bear hunting opens in GMU 4 (Admiralty Baranof-Chichagof Islands) March 15 Resident caribou season ends in GMU 18 (Yukon Kuskokwim Delta) March 21 Homer Winter King Salmon Tournament; homerwinterking.com April 1 Spring brown bear season opens in GMU 6D (Montague Island; North Gulf Coast) April 1 Spring brown bear season opens in GMU 8 (Kodiak/ Shelikof) April 30 Wolf season closes in several game management units
2020
SPORTS/OUTDOORS SHOWS March 19-22 Big Horn Outdoor Adventure Show, Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds, Spokane; bighornshow.com March 27-29 Mat-Su Outdoorsman Show, Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center, Wasilla; matsuevents.com/show March 12-15 Central Oregon Sportsmen’s Show, Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center, Redmond; otshows.com April 2-5 Great Alaskan Sportsman Show, Ben Boeke Arenas; greatalaskasportsmanshow.com April 24-26 Fairbanks Outdoor Show, Carlson Center; carlson-center. com/outdoor-show Note: For more specific information on hunting regulations, consult the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Hunting Regulations handbook (adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildliferegulations.hunting) aksportingjournal.com | MARCH 2020
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THE HISTORY OF VONNIE’S CHARTERS
onnie’s started in 1995, when Vonnie, our founder, started a bed and breakfast. She hosted small groups of fishermen and ran one boat. Over the years Vonnie’s business continued to grow. In 2007 Vonnie traded in her initial boat to invest in two newer boats to further her ambition – and is Vonnie ever ambitious? As the success of the business increased, it was apparent that we needed to offer better, more comfortable accommodations for our guests. In 2016 we operated out of a new lodge in order to provide a personalized, professional service in a comfortable home-like atmosphere. In 2017 Vonnie purchased the new lodge, which we will operate out of until we are too old to fish. We look forward to welcoming you to our new home: Vonnie’s Charters at Halibut Point Lodge. The new lodge gives us the opportunity to spread our wings and provide more space to our guests. We can lodge groups up to 18 people. We are so pleased to have the opportunity to give our guests a more comfortable and spacious location. Halibut Point Lodge has nine guest rooms with two single beds per room. Or these can also be converted to a king bed. One of the rooms offers a bunk bed (queen/single). The professional kitchen offers a Wolfe commercial gas range, a commercial dishwasher and spacious areas to prepare and provide meals. All meals are prepared in front of the guests and offer insight on creative new ways to prepare their catch at home. All meals are served in a family-style atmosphere on one communal table. Many people become lifelong friends at our dinner table. We also provide the option to dine at any of
the local Sitka restaurants. Vonnie’s clients keep returning to her for over 20 years. Vonnie’s has always offered a special niche to the Sitka fishing fleet to provide a smaller, family atmosphere with a very friendly and personalized service. Our new accommodations will in no way change our family values to our complete customer service. Our one rule at Vonnies reads, “If you need something and you don’t tell us about it we can’t get it for you. But if you tell us you need something, we’ll find a way to get it for you.” Vonnie’s Charters runs three boats. We have experienced Coast Guard-licensed captains and deckhands on each boat. Our team of captains and deckhands have many years of experience on the waters that we fish. They have intimate knowledge of where and how to catch king salmon, silver salmon, halibut, and myriad rockfish species. Our team and our guests are treated as fam-
907-747-6401 360-561-8874 cell vonniescharters.com 44
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ily. We love to be able to offer the most amazing, friendly, professional service to our angling family. Vonnie has recently purchased a third boat to complete her fleet! Two of our three boats (Aquacat and Aquacolt) are locally made Allen Marine 32-foot aluminum hulled boats – each powered with twin 250-horsepower Mercury outboard motors. Our third boat, Legacy, is of a similar hull and powered by an inboard motor. All of our boats are U.S. Coast Guard-inspected vessels, with all emergency equipment and communications. Each of the boats has an enclosed heated cab with full walk-around fishing ability. One boat has an enclosed bathroom and all boats comfortably fish up to six anglers. All boats are equipped with topnotch electronics, fish finders, sonar and GPS charting equipment. All boats are equipped with top-of-the-line G. Loomis rods, Shimano or Daiwa line counter reels, top-quality lines and terminal gear.
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A CURE FOR EGG BAIT INDIFFERENCE
FIELD
THINK ANY OL’ CURE WILL WORK WHEN YOU FINALLY GET AROUND TO TAKING CARE OF THOSE SALMON BERRIES? THINK AGAIN, SAYS AN EXPERT WHO SHARES SOME GREAT TIPS BY SCOTT HAUGEN “I was going to try different egg cures, but by the time I got home I was tired, so I just tossed the skeins in the freezer. When I get some time I’ll cure them all at once.”
U
nfortunately, I hear this all too often from fellow salmon anglers, and it’s a mistake that needs attention if you’re serious about catching more fish.
FIND YOUR CURE Prior to going fishing, invest in at least three different egg cures and have them ready to go when you get home from the river. Neglecting to have the proper ingredients on hand is a common mistake, for if you don’t have the ingredients, you can’t cure the eggs. Personally, I like my homemade eggcuring recipe, one handed down to me by my grandfather. It consists of 1½ cups borax, ¾ cup white sugar, 1 tablespoon sodium bisulfite and six to 10 drops of pure anise oil. Curing eggs with this recipe requires a few days of tending, but the end result is the best all-around egg I’ve fished with for both salmon and steelhead. There are many good shake-andbake cures on the market, too. Today’s cures are more precise than 20 years ago, as the balance of sugars, salts, dyes, sulfites and other ingredients have been carefully tested. My favorite packaged cure for Alaska salmon fishing is by TNT, in Radical Red
Author Scott Haugen has been curing salmon and steelhead eggs for nearly 50 years. When it comes to curing your own, have an open mind and explore what’s out there. (SCOTT HAUGEN) aksportingjournal.com | MARCH 2020
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FIELD
3 tablespoons butter 1 cup diced onion ¼ teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons flour 1 cup fish or chicken stock 1 cup whole milk Salt and pepper to taste Fresh or dried parsley for garnish
After enjoying fish stew at a cafe during a trip to Reykjavík, Iceland (below), Tiffany Haugen swapped out haddock for salmon as the main ingredient in her take on this hearty dish. (TIFFANY HAUGEN)
SKOL! TRY THIS ICELANDIC FISH STEW WITH SALMON BY TIFFANY HAUGEN
O
ne of the specialties of Iceland’s quaint cafe, Fish & More, is plokkfiskur, or fish stew. While looking for respite from the wind and rain along busy Skólavörðustígur street in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavík, the
warm welcome at the casual eatery was appreciated. This haddock dish is what I most wanted to try during a recent trip to Iceland, but I had no idea what it would be like. After ordering and playing a few games of Disney Princess Uno with the locals, I was surprised the fish stew was served on a plate, not in a bowl. I was also amazed at how delicious it was. Immediately, I knew I would have to recreate this recipe back home with salmon. Topping off the near perfect meal was a stop across the street at the fantastically quirky Cafe Babalu for a tall, warm, made-from-scratch chai latte. It was a great way to end the evening meal. 1 pound fillet of salmon, skinned Four bay leaves Two stalks celery, halved Two large potatoes, boiled or baked and peeled
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Place celery in the bottom of a medium saucepan and balance salmon on top. Fill the pan with water to about half an inch over the salmon. Add bay leaves and bring to a boil. Boil three minutes, turn off heat and cover pan; let sit 10 minutes. Chop potatoes into small chunks and set aside. In a large skillet, melt butter on medium heat. Sauté onions until soft, adding salt. Sprinkle flour over onions and whisk one to two minutes. Slowly add stock and milk, whisking constantly until thickened. Remove salmon from the water it was poached in and break into bite-sized pieces, removing all bones. Gently fold salmon and potatoes into the skillet, adding the poaching liquid if the mixture gets too thick. Serve fish with brown rice, curry sauce and roasted vegetables. Top with chopped fresh or dried parsley. For a traditional presentation, serve with a few generously buttered slices of Rúgbrauð Icelandic rye bread). Go to tiffanyhaugen .com for my versions of Rúgbrauð.
CURRY SAUCE ¼ cup sour cream or Greek yogurt 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon ketchup 1 teaspoon curry powder ½ teaspoon cumin In a small bowl mix all ingredients until thoroughly combined. Editor’s Note: For signed copies of Tiffany Haugen’s popular cookbook, Cooking Seafood, along with free recipes, visit tiffanyhaugen.com.
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FIELD
Alaska include those made by Pautzke, Nate’s Baits, and Smelly Jelly.
GET A VARIETY followed by their Kenai flavor. Pro-Cure makes some great packaged cures, along with impressive scents and dyes. Pro-Cure also carries some not-soeasy-to-find ingredients for creating your own curing recipe, including sulfites, nitrites, anise oil, a multitude of other oils and even nitrile gloves, which are key in keeping the oil from your hands coming into contact with the eggs. Other good, proven egg cures for
If you are going on a fishing adventure where you know you’re likely going to bring home several pounds of fish eggs, then stock up on multiple cures. Six varieties isn’t too many. Even if you only come home with two hens – four skeins total – you can cure those with four different recipes. Why the need for different egg cures? Because salmon can be finicky, and what catches them one day, or even over one hour, may not produce the next time. I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve watched a fellow angler leave a hole
without a bite and myself or another angler moved right in and instantly caught fish. The reason wasn’t because the fish just happened to move in, or suddenly got hungry. The reason is because the presentation was different from what the fish had been seeing and smelling, likely a different-flavored egg cure. This is why it’s a good idea to have multiple egg cures on hand when fishing and systematically using them.
FRESH AND FROZEN The best-cured eggs are the ones that are first cured then fished, without freezing. The next best eggs are the ones that have been cured, frozen, then thawed and fished. Third best would be eggs that have been frozen prior to curing, then thawed, cured and fished. Last – an important last – in terms of egg curing quality, are the eggs that have been frozen, thawed then cured, refrozen, then thawed again for fishing. Eggs, the actual individual cells, primarily consist of water, which is where osmosis comes in during the curing process. Every time the eggs freeze and thaw, the water expands and contracts, fracturing the cell wall. A poorly cured egg milks out fast, quickly deteriorates to nothing more than white flesh and won’t stay on the hook very long. A well-cured egg maintains its color, shape and keeps milking out for up to 10 minutes or more.
PREPARE EARLY With salmon season approaching, it’s never too early to start your egg-curing preparation. Invest in some cures and curing ingredients now. No matter what the species, all salmonids yield prime eggs for curing, even pink and chum salmon. Be ready to cure the eggs once you have them in hand and you’ll be impressed with how productive a wellhandled batch of cured eggs can be. ASJ Eggs are the best natural bait available for tempting salmon in rivers into biting. If you really want to learn how effective a good egg cure can be, be prepared with multiple cures, and put each one to the test. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
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Editor’s note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s popular book, Egg Cures: Proven Recipes & Techniques, visit scotthaugen .com. Follow Scott’s adventures on Instagram and Facebook.
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HOT WINTER FI$HING TO BE HAD IN HOMER ANGLERS FLOCK TO KENAI PENINSULA FOR POPULAR KING SALMON TOURNAMENT BY CHRIS COCOLES
H
omer will be the place to be in March for anglers looking to match their winter pastime with a chance to win some extra cash. The Homer Winter King Salmon Tournament is set for Saturday, March 21, the 27th year of this popular event on the Kenai Peninsula. This year’s event is expected to top the $171,000 in prize money awarded last year, when Shayna Perry collected $72,997.50 as the tournament’s first woman champion, thanks to her 26.70-pound fish. We caught up with Nyla Lightcap, director of membership relations for the Homer Chamber of Commerce, who with an assist from Brad Anderson, executive director for the chamber, provided some details for this awesome Alaska winter tradition.
Chris Cocoles It's another exciting anticipation of the Homer Winter King Salmon Tournament. What's the buzz around town usually when the tournament gets close? Nyla Lightcap The Homer Winter King Salmon Tournament has become the largest fishing tournament in Alaska, so the excitement around the event is pretty amazing. Last year we gave away over $171,000 in prize money, plus hundreds of gift prizes. Even locals who do not fish in the tournament come out to be a part of the festivities when the prize money and awards are handed out. The timing of the tournament is great, because by March everyone is ready for something fun and exciting, and it's
Shayna Perry celebrates while holding the 26.70-pound Chinook that won her almost $73,000 in prize money at the 2019 Homer Winter King Salmon Tournament. This month’s 27th annual event is set for March 21. (JIM LAVRAKAS) aksportingjournal.com | MARCH 2020
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Expect a lot of boats on the waters of Kachemak Bay when the tournament kicks off. Last year anglers aboard 426 vessels fished throughout the day. (LB WITH ALASKA PHOTO GUIDES)
great to see so many people in town supporting the local businesses.
CC This is year 27 of this event. How has the tournament evolved over the years into what it is today? NL Yes, this is the 27th year of the Winter King Tournament. The Kachemak Bay is one of the most scenic areas you could ever have for a fishing tournament like this. So the sheer beauty of the region makes the day on the water special. Then, when you add in the level of prize money we offer plus gifts like Traeger grills, Yeti coolers, fishing gear and hundreds more items, the participants really feel that they have a chance to be a part of something very memorable. CC How has the community in and around Homer – the volunteers and sponsors – contributed to this being such a popular event? NL One of the biggest supporters of 56
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this event is the (City of Homer’s) Harbormaster's Office. They really enjoy helping boaters get out and enjoy the waters around Homer, and it gives them a chance to attract those fishermen back to the region again. Our major sponsors are Ulmer's Drug & Hardware and Coal Point Seafoods. They have both been integral parts of the tournament since the beginning. We are incredibly lucky to have their ongoing support. Because the event is so much fun to be around, we are able to get an excellent group of volunteers who contribute many hours of their time to keep it organized and fun. The majority of the volunteers have come back year after year, which adds to the level of service they provide. It really is a great group of folks. The local businesses all benefit from the influx of visitors, so they are also very helpful in time and resources to make it all happen.
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CC What are your expectations for this year's event? Do the experts expect a good amount of kings to be caught? NL Lots of fun and good fishing! Last year had the second highest level of entries ever and we are pacing ahead of that schedule this year. We gave away a record amount of prize money last year, so that has probably helped increase the interest in the 2020 event. The registration fee did increase this year, which is the first increase in 24 years. Most of that money will go back out in extra prize payouts, which is already creating some excitement. CC Considering it's March on the Kenai, how much does weather affect whether or not it's a successful tournament? Have you had some terrible weather experiences in the past? NL Over the 27-year history, I believe there have been only a couple of times that the tournament had to be delayed
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Anglers show off their catches. The Homer Chamber of Commerce expects to top the $171,000 in prize money awarded at last year’s tournament. (LB WITH ALASKA PHOTO GUIDES)
due to weather. But that is always a potential issue. Fortunately, most of our participants are from Alaska and understand weather-related issues, so they come prepared for what Mother Nature deals them. This year, we will have a couple of boats from Sea Tow traveling around the tournament waters to make sure everyone is acting in a safe manner and 58
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can stay ahead of issues.
CC How awesome of an atmosphere is it when you see all the excitement of the boats in the water and then the fish being brought back to be weighed? NL The parade of boats coming back into the harbor is quite a sight to see. Last year there were 426 boats in the tournament and it gets exciting.
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We have added some TV monitors this year where we will be live streaming the weigh-in process and leaderboard, so more people can join in the excitement of seeing who has the winning fish.
CC Tell us about the cash prizes this year and how competitive the anglers must be with so much at stake. NL The top prize winner last year won
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$73,000 for her fish and we gave away around $171,000 in total prize money. That pool of prize money will be bigger this year, so expect to see even bigger payouts.
CC Looking ahead to the summer, how is the progress going for the new edition of the Homer Halibut Derby with a shorter tournament being planned? NL We have decided to discontinue the Homer Halibut Derby after 34 years. It is being replaced with a two-day Homer Halibut Tournament on June 5-6. Based on the overall success and interest in the Winter King Salmon Tournament, we feel this will be the best way to support our local Homer businesses and provide more enjoyment for our participants. ASJ Editor’s note: To register for the 2020 Homer Winter King Salmon Tournament, go to homerwinterking.com, and call (907) 235-7740 for more information.
The entire city buzzes with excitement during this celebration of salmon. “The local businesses all benefit from the influx of visitors, so they are also very helpful in time and resources to make it all happen,” says Nyla Lightcap of the Homer Chamber of Commerce. (LB WITH ALASKA PHOTO GUIDES)
Perry was the first woman to win this popular tournament. The Homer Chamber of Commerce expects another exciting turnout on March 21.
(JIM LAVRAKAS)
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MEMORIES AND THEN SOME AS A HUNTER PREPARES TO MOVE DOWN TO THE LOWER 48, HIS BUDDY REMEMBERS ALL THE BIG GAME, CLOSE CALLS AND GOOD TIMES THEY’VE SHARED IN ARCTIC ALASKA AND BEYOND BY PAUL D. ATKINS
L
ike all good things that seem to never last long enough, nothing great lasts forever. Whether it’s coming home across the ice – cold and tired – only to see an incredible sunset against the Arctic Ocean, boating upriver looking for moose in the chill of the morning air, or maybe even a great hunting camp where you wish you could stay just one more day. Change is hard; I know it is for me, but eventually it’s bound to happen. Like the saying goes: All good things must come to an end, and it’s starting for me at the place I call home.
MY BUDDY, MY BEST friend and long-time hunting partner Lew Pagel is leaving and moving onward to another horizon. He’s heading south on a new adventure, to a place that is quite different than what we have here. It’s a place I can’t go or follow. Over the years I’ve had a lot of hunting partners here in the north. Many of them became a big part of my life and shared in extraordinary adventures, sometimes involving life-and-death situations.
Author Paul Atkins (left) and his close friend Lew Pagel have shared many an Alaskan hunting adventure together. Pagel is relocating to the Lower 48, but their memories will remain forever. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
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Pagel is just as passionate an outdoorsman as his longtime friend Atkins is. They have motivated and inspired each other during their outdoor trips. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
Most of them moved on after a few years and prompted me to find another partner, or simply to go out on my own, which to be honest I never liked to do. They were good people and we shared a lot of camps and fishing holes together. Yet nothing compares to what Lew and I have done during our time here. Take the time we came across Kobuk Lake when we shouldn’t have. As I prayed – thinking this was the end – Lew kept his head and got us home in all that chaos. Or the time when we just about froze to death on a muskox hunt while trying to find a shelter cabin in the dark – that one just about doomed us. Or maybe the time we sheared off a prop and limped home in weather that would make most people cry. All of these memories are engraved in my mind. I could go on and on, and if you have followed me and my stories here in Alaska Sporting Journal, then you know that we have had many adventures together. We conquered it all – all that the Arctic could throw at us, and then some. I sometimes wonder what it would have been like if there wasn’t a Lew in my inner circle. Could I have done all that I’ve 68
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done without him? Probably not. I for sure wouldn’t have had much to write about. Without all those stories my success as a writer would probably be empty. Sometimes things happen for a reason.
LEW PLANS TO STAY for a while to tie up loose ends and get a few more hunts in before he has to move. Oh, we’ll still get together and hunt when we can, but the simple pleasure of calling up each other and then heading out on any given day is over. It’s something that I have truly cherished and will miss when the time comes. What makes this place special and what do we both love about living here? The freedom of the Arctic and being able to do what we want to do and when we want to do it. Are those days over? No, but it’s a lot easier to do when you have somebody to do it with and that someone happens to live just a couple blocks over. So for us, this latest muskox hunt would be very special. As I sat down and wrote this piece, I did so with sadness, as it could be the last muskox we chase – at least together. I hope not, but I know that as time passes things change. There
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are more commitments, plus there is the distance factor, which limits the ability to get together when you want. That doesn’t make it easy. I also know that no matter what happens we can cherish and live in the memories that we’ve made. That will never change.
JANUARY IS COLD, DARK and, if nothing else, long. It’s a frozen and lonely land, where only the boldest will gear up and head out into the unknown. You never know what to expect or where you can expect it to happen. Hunting muskox is that intense and unpredictable. You can only hope for the best, as actually finding the animals is more luck than anything else. The old haunts are places that you’ll surely visit and most times they’re there, sometimes not. Like most years, Lew and I have known this day was coming. We’ve always known, especially after 10 years of hunting these dinosaurs in winter. When January rolls around it’s time – time to go shopping for bulls. Fortunately we’ve been pretty lucky when it comes to finding them. The day we were supposed to leave
was cold. I knew it would be from watching the weather unfold the week before. The morning temperature was only minus 10 degrees, but the wind – a hard wind from the north – was blowing 22 mph, which put the wind chill at minus 36. Cold? Yes, but it would be even colder up in the hills where we would eventually end up hunting. I’ve seen times when it was nice in Kotzebue – zero degrees and no wind – but by the time we got where we needed to be, it was so cold you couldn’t function. We scrapped the plan on this cold day. Frostbite is something to take seriously, and if you have a problem with your equipment, machine, gun or just about anything else, then you can get in trouble extremely fast. Weather is a funny thing up here. You’ll read the forecast and it says it’s
Pagel and Atkins have shared so many hunting and fishing camps he's lost count. Some of his favorite outings have been up the Eli River, home to salmon and bears. "I know more of these adventures are still in store," Atkins says. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
Far from the Arctic, Pagel and Atkins also shared an incredible adventure in Africa. Atkins was able to get a Cape buffalo and Pagel a honey badger. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
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going to be minus 25 with wind out of the north, but deep down you know it’s going to be worse, especially on a snowmachine heading across the ice. Every inch of skin has to be covered or it will burn, creating a sharp pain until it numbs and then freezes the flesh. In the past I’ve gotten frostbite on both cheeks. And even today, when it’s just mildly cold, I can still feel it. So all we could do is wait for a better day, or at least a warmer one. It gets boring to stay home all weekend waiting, but there’s nothing you can do about it. You get antsy, start second-guessing yourself about going and it makes you wonder. However, at my age I know that it’s better to be safe than sorry.
AS WE WAITED FOR a better day, I found myself reminiscing about the old times and the old hunts, where success with muskox was sometimes easy but most times extremely difficult. My first muskox wasn’t with Lew but with former companions who no longer live here. They were young guys who, eager to participate and willing to
“It’s always been a bittersweet time for me. Late spring means I will be leaving for my summer home in Oklahoma soon. It also means a long wait until August when we’re hunting bears again,” Atkins says. “Maybe, just maybe, that is what it will be like when Lew heads south. Just a long break.” (PAUL D. ATKINS)
help in the accomplishment of not only taking an animal but actually seeing one up close. It was fun and probably the easiest of the 10 ox I’ve harvested. In turn those guys got to experience a hunt that very few will ever get too. Looking back, it is probably something they will never forget.
Lew and I took our first ox together in 2015, and actually it was not mine but his. I’ve written about it before, and to be honest it was probably the most intense hunt – one where life and death hung in the balance – that I’ve ever experienced here in the Arctic. Extreme cold was what I remember
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Of Pagel, Atkins writes, “Could I have done all that I’ve done without him? Probably not. I for sure wouldn’t have had much to write about. Sometimes things happen for a reason.” (PAUL D. ATKINS)
the most; that and the fact that we were so far from home. It was the middle of March and the last day of a very long season. We knew we wouldn’t have another chance. For Lew it would probably be his only chance. We knew it wouldn’t be easy either. When we left town that faithful day and headed south, we really didn’t have any idea what to expect. We had never hunted that far south but knew that that was where we had to go if we were to have any chance. When we arrived it was so cold and the land so barren, it looked like something from a Star Wars movie. We searched in vain and just about had given up when we spotted the herd. We were elated, especially after Lew made an incredible shot and we had the bull down. It was only after that joy turned to terror. At minus 47 degrees, everything changes, as it becomes more of a survival trip than a hunt. The trail back 74
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across the frozen ice was dark and, to be honest, scary, especially when we ran into an open lead halfway across a frozen piece of ocean. It wasn’t very wide, but I still shudder at the thought of what could have happened. We were lucky that someone was watching after us and we eventually made it back home. It was the worst frostbite I’ve ever had.
ANOTHER LEW MEMORY TAKES me back to a fall fishing trip that we were attempting to make upriver. Long before we discovered our bear spot, we would load the boat, head north and try our hand at catching pike at one of the many lakes that border the Noatak River. We had been doing this trip for a couple of years and had enjoyed a lot of success. But this trip got cut short when we ran into a cow and bull ox feeding along the river in an area where my tag was good. I remember seeing the two standing
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there and thinking it couldn’t be real. They had to be moose or bears and not muskox. I looked at Lew, he looked at me and we knew we needed to do this. Here in the Arctic, you never miss an opportunity when it is given to you. We weren’t about to. It looked easy: Park the boat, grab the bow and just waltz up the bank to take the shot. With Lew behind me filming, that is exactly what we did. It worked to perfection, until at the shot the bull moved and my arrow went low. I still thought the shot was good enough, but we watched the bull move into the thick willow and disappear. We gave it time. When enough time had passed, I ventured in, only to find the bull bedded on a hill above us. He was obviously wounded and I stalked him to make another shot. This time the shot was better, but the bull bolted and went further than either of us expected. With an impending storm hovering
above us – the first time I’ve experienced lightning and thunder in the Arctic – we found him on a hillside overlooking the river. It was pouring rain and we were both soaked to the bone. In the dark we eventually got the hide off, the meat quartered and packed down the hill to the boat. It was steep, dense and bearinhabited, but we got it done. When we left shore for the ride home the sun was coming up. Talk about a long ordeal! But it was an experience that we both cherish and something we will never forget.
SINCE THAT HUNT, WE’VE taken more muskox together. The last two were in practically the same location and both in weather similar to what was going on as we waited to go on this year’s hunt. It just was not as cold.
These were wind-blown areas high in the hills, where getting to the herd was the hardest part, not to mention the challenge of getting them out. Both times I was skeptical, but not Lew. His fearless, ever-present “go get ‘em” attitude is what has kept me going all these years. To be honest it’s been the reason for my success. I couldn’t have done it without him. There have been many more memories, including endless bears, caribou, that one moose, plus our time hunting together in Africa. We’ve fished like kings and sat around campfires while watching the northern lights circle above us. The memory of those exploits is treasured. To be able to do them with like-minded people who share in each other’s success is a blessing that many don’t get to experience.
The hunters have chased fewer birds in recent seasons, as busy fall schedules and bear hunting has kept them busy. “Maybe we can get together and do it again before long,” Atkins says. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
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I’ve been lucky, and even though a new chapter is about to start in my life and Lew’s, we’ll still have those times. They are memories etched in our minds forever. I know this isn’t our last hunt or our last stand, and I’m guessing by the time you read this, the weather will have changed and warmer times will have arrived. I’m also guessing that another muskox will have made its way to the pro shop floor, and we’ll have fresh meat, a new hide and another grand adventure to remember. ASJ Editor’s note: Paul Atkins is an outdoor writer and author from Kotzebue, Alaska. He’s had hundreds of articles published on big game hunting throughout North America and Africa, plus surviving in the Arctic. Paul is a regular contributor to Alaska Sporting Journal.
POSTSCRIPT
T
hree weeks later Lew and I did get out to go look for muskox. The weather broke and it warmed up to a whopping minus 3 degrees. That may sound really cold to some, but the sun was out and the wind was pretty docile, considering the weeks before. When we eventually got going, it wasn’t without problems. My snowmachine acted up and wouldn’t run. It bucked and sputtered in front of town before finally coming to an abrupt stop. It was dead to the world, so Lew and I ended up dragging it back to the shop using a tow rope. I was at a loss and wondering what had happened, plus the added stress didn’t help my attitude towards anything. I knew our chance was over – again – and I came close to telling Lew that we should just scrap it for the day and plan another time, or at least until I could get it fixed. But Lew wasn’t ready to quit and quickly mentioned my other machine, which is actually my wife’s. We call her “Old Betsy.” It’s a 550 we use for ice fishing and rarely appears beyond city limits. Thinking how heavy it was and the never-ending chance of getting stuck, I reluctantly said yes. We headed north and, before we knew it, we were in the country. It was a great day – a brilliant blue sky and bright sun reflecting off the pristine whiteness of the snow. In the distance there were pockets of caribou everywhere. For a minute Lew and I thought we were actually going to get run over by them. I know that if we hadn’t been hunting for ox I would have taken a couple home for the freezer. We found our normal perch and began to glass the valley below. Previous places where we had taken ox before were easy to see, but they were void of anything brown or alive. It was while glassing the far distance – the flat lands where the willows were the thickest – where I saw them. Two brown spots that seemed to have a white sheen on their backs and were alone. “Moose?” Lew asked me. “No. Muskox, I believe; there’s two. Both must be bulls,” I said.
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“That’s a plus,” a smiling Lew replied. We made a plan, gathered our bearings and started our descent into the valley of trees and deep snow. I was worried sick that I would get stuck in the powder, but Old Betsy cruised along and followed in Lew’s tracks with ease. Finally, we made it to where we thought the muskox should be, but after surveying the area they were not there. Lew climbed on top of his machine and glassed over the willows and down the flats. He found them – two bulls standing head to head and fighting! It was a surprise to both of us, but not to the bulls. They couldn’t care less that we were there as they continued their battle. In waist-deep snow, I climbed off my machine and joined Lew in the willows
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ahead of us. We looked at the bulls and they were looking at us. We were trying to decide on which was the better of the two. Like so many times before, we discussed and made our choice. And like so many times before, I didn’t feel the recoil as the rifle slammed into my shoulder. The bull dropped and we made our way to him. The second bull went a distance, then turned and looked back. He was king now. We took pics, cherished the moment, then loaded the animal onto the sled and started for home. Another adventure in the books. This was perhaps our last hunt for these prehistoric creatures, and it had come and gone. Hopefully, however, it will not be our last in this country we both have called home. PA
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The snowy if not bleak landscape of Northwest Alaska that makes up Game Management Unit 23 can provide an amazing experience for big game hunters. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
GMU PrOFILE
HUNTING THE RUGGED ARCTIC Editor’s note: From the Alaska Panhandle to the “top of the world” in Barrow/ Utqiagvik, Alaska contains 26 unique game management units that feature land for hunting as well as other outdoor activities. Our Arctic adventurer will break down some of the areas he’s hunted in the past in this ongoing feature, starting with GMU 23. BY PAUL D. ATKINS
G
ame Management Unit 23 is located in Northwest Alaska and covers an area about the size of
Indiana. GMU 23 consists of Kotzebue Sound, Chukchi Sea and Arctic Ocean drainages from and including the Goodhope River watershed to Cape Lisburne, plus all seaward waters and lands within 3 miles of these coastlines. It’s a huge unit, so if you were to try and cover it you probably
could do it in a month. A large portion of this country consists of tundra, spruce-lined drainages and rivers that seem to go in every direction. The two major drainages are the Noatak and Kobuk Rivers. Both are lifelines to their region, especially for the hunters and anglers who call this place home.
FRIGID WINTER During the cold months of January,
February and March there isn’t too much to do, unless you like venturing out in the most frigid of conditions. That said, hunting is still good, especially for the subsistence hunter who may not have filled the freezer during the fall. Those caribou that haven’t found their way south linger along the plains while digging and forgaging through snow and ice in search of something to eat. Limits remain the same for locals at five caribou a day, but you can only take cows until early February, when you can then harvest bulls again.
TRAPPING AND ICE FISHING Trapping is full swing too and for those who run a trap line it’s a smorgasbord for
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GMU 23 offers locals plenty of subsistence hunting opportunities. Given its isolation, filling the freezer with game meat is imperative for many families here. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
finding fur along the many frozen creeks and drainages. Everything from wolverine to lynx to the occasional wolf can be had. Prices are good and for those who trap, it has become an art. March means ice fishing is about to begin too, especially once the sun decides to stay in the sky a bit longer after the dark winter. Eight minutes of daylight are added each day, giving fishermen a little more daylight to guide by. Later in the month is usually when
KEY GMU 23 DATES April 15 and Aug. 1: Nonresident and resident bear seasons open July 1 and Sept. 1: Resident moose seasons open Aug. 1: Nonresident caribou season opens Aug. 1: Resident muskox season opens Sept. 1: Wolverine season opens 82
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A state Department of Fish and Game map shows boundaries and major land ownerships within the unit. Of note is the Noatak Controlled Use Area, a 10-mile-wide corridor that’s closed in late summer to the use of aircraft for purposes of big game hunting. (ADFG)
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you’ll start to see snowmachines and sleds heading out onto Kotzebue Sound, loaded down with augers, ice shacks and all the other necessities. Sheefish are the primary goal, and even though the best fishing may not start until April, you may get lucky and hook a few that have made their way into the mouth of the river.
THE MAIN EVENT Unit 23 is well known among hunters, especially during the fall when visitors from around the world make their way here to chase the big game animals that call this place home. Winter adventures are quite different and usually locals take advantage. But either way, this is an outdoor lovers’ paradise and there is never a dull moment here in the Arctic. ASJ
Lynx are one of many critters you’ll encounter in this remote but fascinating corner of the Last Frontier. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
Editor’s note: Go to adfg.alaska.gov/ static/regulations/wildliferegulations/ pdfs/gmu23 for more information on the unit. Follow Paul Atkins on Twitter (@ AKTrophyHunter).
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