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ALASKA
SPORTING JOURNAL
Volume 8 • Issue 11 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, Bjorn Dihle, Scott Haugen, Tiffany Haugen, Jeff Lund, Mike Lunde, Bixler McClure, Krystin McClure, Dennis Musgraves SALES MANAGER Katie Higgins ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Mamie GrifďŹ n, Garn Kennedy, Mike Smith, Paul Yarnold PRODUCTION MANAGER Sonjia Kells DESIGNERS Lindsey Lewers, Sam Rockwell, Jake Weipert WEB DEVELOPMENT/INBOUND MARKETING Jon Hines
Load your freezer with Silver, King and Pink Salmon in the Salmon Capital of the World. Ketchikan, Alaska
DIGITAL ASSISTANT Samantha Morstan PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Kelly Baker CIRCULATION MANAGER Heidi Belew DISTRIBUTION Tony Sorrentino, Gary Bickford OFFICE MANAGER/ACCOUNTS Audra Higgins ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Katie Sauro INFORMATION SERVICES MANAGER Lois Sanborn ADVERTISING INQUIRIES media@media-inc.com ON THE COVER Nate Thompson grew up in Anchorage loving ďŹ shing and playing hockey. As this nearly 30-inch rainbow suggests, Thompson is as skilled on the water as on the ice, and the veteran Anaheim Ducks center hopes for a long National Hockey League Stanley Cup Playoffs run beginning this month. (MATT CARLE)
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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 CORRESPONDENCE Twitter @AKSportJourn Facebook.com/alaskasportingjournal Email ccocoles@media-inc.com
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CONTENTS
VOLUME 8 • ISSUE 11
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PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND’S ‘OUTER RIM’
Alaska saltwater fishing is dynamite, particularly out of Prince William Sound ports. Launching from Valdez, our Chris Batin has spent plenty of time on the fertile “Outer Rim,” where salmon, halibut and rockfish like this yelloweye are big and plentiful. Ride along as he takes us to the sound’s deep edge!
(CHRISTOPHER BATIN)
FEATURES 21
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SKATES, STICKS AND SALMON Nate Thompson caught his first Alaskan salmon using a tiny, Snoopy-inspired fishing rod, leaving him “hooked” at the ripe old age of 2. His other big love growing up in Anchorage was hockey. Hours upon hours of practice and games led him to the National Hockey League, where he now plays center for the Anaheim Ducks. We caught up with Thompson, who shared Alaskan fish tales and his journey to professional hockey. SUMMER SCHOOL – WITH A SILVER LINING We’ve all found ourselves squirming through a school day, whether it was in kindergarten or college, wishing we could be learning outside instead of stuck at a stuffy classroom desk. Well, do we have the education opportunity of a lifetime for you! Scott Haugen introduces us to a weeklong salmon fishing school, to be held this summer on Bristol Bay’s Egekik River, with the kind of classes coho anglers will love doing homework for. SURVIVAL COURSE With the Iditarod just completed, the idea of dog sleds traversing some of the most remote areas of America
magnifies how deadly serious worst-case scenarios can be when they actually occur deep in the Alaskan bush. Paul Atkins, who hunts some of the most rugged wilderness on the tundra, provides all the necessities and precautions to find your way back to civilization. 122 STAYCATION IN SOUTHEAST Alaska’s Panhandle – with its pristine waters full of salmon, bottomfish and steelhead and mountains where big game like deer roam – is a dream destination for many of us, including Jeff Lund, a born-and-bred Southeast Alaskan resident, who loves that fantastic adventure is right outside his Ketchikan door.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE/DEPARTMENTS 41 41 43 45 77 113 131
Protecting Wild Alaska: Coal, coho and the Chuitna River Outdoor Calendar NEW FEATURE! Fly of the Month: Salmon smolt pattern 4 great Southcentral Alaska halibut ports Rockfishing in Resurrection Bay Satellite phones critical to surviving wild Alaska Caribou and family: Hunter watches as nieces grow up
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
O
ne of the Nate Thompson is best parts part of a group of close-knit Alasabout bekans who’ve gone ing in this media onto professional business is who you hockey careers. (NATE THOMPSON) stumble onto at various points in your career. As a sports reporter I’ve encountered my share of jerks. There was the pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers who, while lounging in the clubhouse on a day he wasn’t scheduled to pitch, snarled at me, “No! I don’t have a minute!” There was a Southeastern Conference college baseball coach who, during a teleconference call, wondered if I was with the National Enquirer when I asked a perfectly reasonable question about a relationship with a rival coach formerly on his staff who told me it had been strained. Trust me that there were others, from high school to the pros, who didn’t exactly appreciate some of what I asked. My biggest regret all these years later is I never got to cover as much hockey as I wish I could have. Circumstances, timing and opportunities limited me to spot duty only, a couple of feature stories and some playoff caddying for the beat writers. What’s so special about covering hockey? The people rock. Oh, I’m sure there are some bad apples in the room somewhere in North America and Canada, but I’ve never experienced it. So I’ve been lucky on the job here to do stories on multiple Alaskan hockey players, the latest being this month’s profile of Anchorage’s own Nate Thompson, a center for the National Hockey League’s Anaheim Ducks. Others have included Thompson’s childhood pal Matt Carle (we’ll have more on their friendship in the story) and U.S. National Women’s Team and National Women’s Hockey League star Zoe Hickel. All were great, told fantastic stories about their time in the Last Frontier’s outdoors and sent me great photos. But it’s more than just that they play hockey that will always endear the trio to me. They talked so glowingly about being from Alaska and the camaraderie between those who have succeeded in hockey. Thompson is a friend of Scott Gomez, another Anchorage-to-the-NHL player who retired earlier this year after a long career. “I just saw Scott in New York. And we said that Alaska takes care of its own. There’s a lot of pride in people who come from Alaska,” Thompson told me. “Whenever I talk to a young hockey team from Alaska, I say, ‘Work hard and have fun out there,’ and that we need more Alaskans in the NHL,” he says. “It’s great to see people from Alaska do well; it’s a great state.” A great state with some awesome hockey players I’m glad I’ve gotten to know just a little bit. -Chris Cocoles aksportingjournal.com | APRIL 2017
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Anaheim Ducks forward Nate Thompson grew up in Anchorage and had two passions: fishing and hockey. While the latter has become a career in the National Hockey League, he hasn’t forgotten his Alaska roots. (NATE THOMPSON)
WHEN THERE’S NO PENALTY FOR HOOKING
HOCKEY STAR NATE THOMPSON’S ALASKA ROOTS ALWAYS NETTED PLENTY OF FISH BY CHRIS COCOLES
N
HL player Nate Thompson is so in love with hockey he’d probably play it for peanuts, and he’s equally passionate about fishing thanks to an early assist from Snoopy. An Alaskan in the truest sense of the word, Thompson’s first fishing memory
included using a toy rod of the adorable beagle from Charles Schultz’s Peanuts comic strip franchise. And good grief, Charlie Brown, did that Snoopy pole ever do its job. Thompson, who grew up in Anchorage, was just 2 years old when he and his dad, Robert, went fishing down on the Kenai Peninsula, and young Nate
wasn’t exactly using state-of-the-art gear. Back in the day, Zebco manufactured a packaged “Catch ‘Em Kit,” complete with a ready-to-fish rod and reel, and the container it came in featured the canine himself fishing from his doghouse. It’s a good bet the gear wasn’t designed to catch an Alaskan salmon. But the following is a true story.
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“It was by complete accident. I was just throwing my line in the water and my dad was fishing next to me,” says the 32-year-old Thompson, an Anaheim Ducks center. “He looked over and saw the pole was bending and almost to the point where it was snapping. He managed to either jump on the line or jump on the pole. He pretty much tackled the fish in the water.” And with that, the youngster had his welcome-to-Alaska-fishing moment. “After that, my dad said I was hooked,” he recalls during a phone interview. Only in this case the hooking didn’t result in a two-minute stay inside the penalty box. Thompson had two undisputed hobbies growing up in Alaska: the outdoors and hockey; or perhaps it was hockey and the outdoors. But he’s made a living with one and enjoyed life from the other. And while he understandably stays busy with his job in Southern California and now has an infant son to raise, Thompson’s affinity for hunting and especially fishing is the same as it was when his Snoopy gear fooled that salmon 30 years ago. “Pretty much every fishing trip after that, when I knew (my dad) was going, I’d be running out of the house and chasing him to make sure he wouldn’t leave without me,” Thompson says. “He said it was a given when he went fishing he had to take me with him.” Thompson’s hockey career has sent him on a coast-to-coast tour across the continent, but it’s impossible to take the Alaskan out of his identity. In a state where winters feature frozen ponds and summers salmon runs, it’s not uncommon for skates, pucks and sticks or rods, reels and flies to define who you are. “I look back now and whenever I go home, I kind of take for granted realizing that, ‘Wow! I grew up here.’ I know not a lot of kids get to experience what I did,” he says. “So it was a special place, remains a special place and is a cool place to call home.”
SOME ALASKANS WEREN’T BORN in Alaska. But so many times you can find yourself there and never want to leave again. 22
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Thompson returned to the ice this past January after he suffered a torn Achilles during a summer workout. He’ll help the Ducks into the playoffs this month. (MARK MAUNO/ WIKIMEDIA)
THESE ARE NOT THE BOSTON BRUINS As you might expect, Nate Thompson has a lot of stories from fishing in Alaska. This is just one that came to mind: “If you’ve seen those postcards of the bear catching a salmon jumping up a waterfall, we went to that area, Brooks River Falls in Katmai National Park. And we were fishing there for rainbow trout, and the bears are just there to look for salmon, but they’re all around you. At this park you can’t even bring ChapStick because the bears can smell it.” “But we’re fishing there with the bears, and we had an indicator on the end of the line, an orange bobber. And one of the bears was kind of behind and was moving back and forth and would get out of the way as we were walking. The bear saw the orange bobber at the end of the line and started charging at the line. The bears, when they’re in that water, will cut through the river like butter, and one of the guys with us wasn’t from Alaska and thought the bear was charging him and not the line. He basically jumped on the end of his line, dove in there and kept swimming across the river. He had to check his shorts after that.” ASJ
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Thompson’s mom Cathy and dad Robert always supported their son’s hockey obsession, which included playing in many outdoor games in freezing temperatures. Robert also introduced Nate to the joys of fishing when he just 2 years old, as well as hunting at a later age. (NATE THOMPSON)
The oil boom in Alaska helped Thompson’s parents get there. Robert is from Ohio and Nate’s mom Cathy hails from the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago. Cathy’s parents moved north as part of the industry, and after she and Robert met in California they joined them. Robert wasn’t much of an outdoorsman in the Lower 48, but living in our 49th state has a way of sucking you in – your kids too. Robert now lives around the salmon-filled Kenai Peninsula and fishes whenever possible. Young Nate and his sister, Tiffany, were introduced to the flora and fauna, even living in urban Anchorage. “It really is the Last Frontier,” Nate says. “To be able to drive a half hour out of Anchorage, you can be in the middle of nowhere. Or you can drive to a place in Anchorage, go on a hike and next thing you know, you’re in the wilderness. There’s no place like that.” Fly fishing became part of the father-son bonding process. They took local classes in how to tie flies and it soon became the Thompsons’ favorite outdoor pastime. Catching a hard-fighting salmon on a fly rod was a challenge Nate couldn’t get enough of. When he got older, the endless sunlight of Alaskan summers allowed Thompson and his friends to do a “suicide run” down to the Kenai, which is a lot less sinister than it sounds. 24
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“You leave your house at, say, 8 or 8:30 (p.m.), then drive about an hour and 45 minutes to the Russian River,” he says. “You fish and catch your limit and finish – depending on how fast – and whether it’s midnight, 1 or 2 in the morning, you then drive back home. The benefit of that is still mostly light outside. You don’t have to worry about it getting dark on you.” “That’s one of the perks of being in Alaska in the summertime.”
IF SUMMER WAS A time for using a net to secure a salmon or trout, winter meant nets of a different kind. Thompson would lace up his skates and never be far away from a frozen pond. “I think that’s where I improved the most as a player, playing hockey outside,” he says. “We would have practice (indoors) at 9 a.m. on a Saturday, and there was an outdoor rink right next door. We’d take all our gear off and put on our hats and gloves and walk to the outdoor rink.” Thompson and the other kids in the neighborhood spent the available daylight hours to hit the Mother Nature-created playing surfaces. “All day, every day, whether it was playing for whatever club team I was with, or me just skating outside with my buddies,” Thompson says. “And then when it started to get warm outside, the hockey gear went away … Every week-
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end we’d go fishing.” But since this is Alaska, winters are looonnnggg, so all that time on the ice would pay off for Thompson, who joined future National Hockey League players Matt Carle (Alaska Sporting Journal, January 2015) and Tim Wallace and played together for a local youth team, the Alaska Stars. At his side for all the games was his family. Sarah Palin might be the state’s “celebrity” hockey mom, but Cathy is one of many unsung matriarchs shuttling their sons and daughters to 6 a.m. practices and tournaments in far-flung cities and towns all over North America. “Talking about the games, the practices, the big fish that we caught – those are the things that you just never forget,” Thompson says of his parents. “They were a team and my mom was definitely a hockey mom and my dad too was a (hockey dad). We’d have games on Saturdays and they’d be in the stands freezing their butts off bundled up in a parka jacket with a cup of
coffee or hot chocolate. My poor sister had to be dragged to the games. I still hear about that from her. But they were great and very supportive.” Remember all those pickup games Thompson and friends would play? Dad would frequently be waiting in the car, heater blasting, with lunch from McDonald’s once they took a break, after which they’d head back out for another four hours of skating. Cathy wasn’t sure what to make of her young son’s proclamation that he’d be a professional someday, but clearly the kid was onto something. It’s no wonder that all the practicing helped Thompson excel at Anchorage’s Dimond High School, and then in the major junior hockey circuit with the Western Hockey League’s Seattle Thunderbirds, with whom he was selected 183rd overall by the Boston Bruins in the 2003 NHL Draft. Thompson made his Boston debut in the 2006-07 season and has enjoyed a solid career, playing for the New York
After being drafted by the Boston Bruins in 2003, Thompson (left) also played for the New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning, and has spent the past three seasons in Southern California as an important center for the Anaheim Ducks. (JOHN CORDES/ICON SPORTS WIRE)
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QUEST FOR 30-INCH TROUT DRIVES PLAYERS In hockey lingo, they call it “lighting the lamp” when a player scores a goal. Childhood Alaskan fishing and hockey bros Nate Thompson and Matt Carle are on a personal quest to turn on the red light. This is a story of two Alaskans in search of the holy grail. But this doesn’t involve a goblet and Indiana Jones’ last crusade to find it, but instead it’s a 30-inch rainbow trout they have vowed to land during their return trips to the Last Frontier. Carle, the same age as the 32-yearold Thompson and a longtime NHL veteran who is also from Anchorage, remembers one trip to the Bristol Bay area where both anglers came agonizingly close to beating each other to the punch. “It was the last day, our last chance that we’d have at a fish,” Carle remembers. “And I caught mine and it (measured out at around) 29½. And then within an hour or two Nate caught a
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Nate Thompson (middle) and Matt Carle show off their dueling 29-inch (or so) rainbows they caught on the same day on the Kvichak River. They both are hoping to land a 30-inch ’bow during one of their trips back home. (MATT CARLE)
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Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning before getting to Anaheim. It was in Florida where he got the chance to play with his childhood friend Carle, who’s also part of a close-knit fraternity of Alaskans in pro hockey. “We probably had played together for six or seven years growing up all over on youth hockey teams,” Carle says. “It was a cool experience, because Nate and I kind of went different ways. We got drafted in the same year and I went to go to college (University of Denver) and he went into the Western Hockey League (Seattle Thunderbirds). So we kind of came full circle. We played against each other a lot in the NHL, but that opportunity to be on the same team was pretty special for those two years, and it will be memorable when we look back on our careers.” They’d been friends and teammates since boyhood. Sleepovers at each other’s houses usually involved hockey talk or makeshift games of some kind. “We started playing together when
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29½-incher. That was probably one of the most fun days I’ve had while fishing.” It was breathtaking for each to witness the other’s rod bend heavily upon the strike and see that gorgeous trout leaping from the river’s surface. “You think, ‘Wow, this could be it,’” Carle says. “We get both the fish and you measure them but they’re a little bit short. Of course, that’s always going to keep us coming back.” They were even in the same boat when it happened, though Thompson says his was closer to 29 inches. “We were both so close,” Thompson says. “I think he still got me by half an inch. Someday we’ll both do it; it’s just a question of who gets the bigger one.” “It’s an excuse to go back up to try and go up and catch one,” adds Carle, who began his career with the San Jose Sharks. “So when I do actually catch one, I guess the next thing will be to try and top it. I certainly have a place on my wall for that fish to get mounted.” On a different trip, the guys were able to get to Alaska in the fall, when
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they’re usually busy with their jobs. But the league endured a lockout that delayed the start of the 2012-13 season until January. “I thought that was going to be my opportunity because I able to go to the lodge when we could close it down; it was the first week of October, and as long as I was playing, it was going to be the latest I could get up there and get an opportunity,” Carle says. But that late into the fall, the Kvichak River, which flows from Lake Iliamna to Bristol Bay, was flooding, creating a murky mess and tougher fishing than anticipated. It was unfortunate timing, given that the work stoppage allowed the guys a rare opportunity to fish when they normally were starting their seasons. “We still had a great time and caught some nice fish,” Carle says. “But nothing over the 30-inch mark.” Carle, after being traded by San Jose, went onto a nice career with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers (reaching the Stanley Cup Final
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we were 6, 7 years old and played together on every team, but when we went different routes we stayed in touch, and have been close ever since,” Thompson says of Carle. “He was the best man at my wedding, and to be able to later on play for the same NHL team – as best friends growing up – is something I’ll never forget.” (Tampa Bay became even more nostalgic for Thompson since Hockey Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman was hired as the Lightning’s general manager during Thompson’s four-plus seasons there. His favorite player and team growing up was Yzerman and the Detroit Red Wings. “He was the ultimate pro and ultimate leader who did everything right,” Thompson says of Yzerman.) The Lightning traded him to Anaheim in the summer before the 201415 season, where he’s been a valuable contributor to a perennial postseason team. Only injuries have slowed him down. Thompson missed the first 25 games in 2015-16 after undergoing off-
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season left shoulder surgery. Then last summer, while working out he ruptured the Achilles tendon in his right foot. Another operation shut him down until he was able to return to the Ducks’ lineup on Jan. 31 against Colorado, which – even as a player in a sport known for toughness – has been a remarkable recovery timeline. “I feel really good. During the time when I was injured and rehabbing, I think the biggest thing in why I’ve been feeling so good on the ice is I didn’t waste any time,” he says. “Even when I was in a walking boot I was working extremely hard off the ice. I made sure I was ready to go when I hit the ice.” When Thompson returned and seemed to make a seamless transition back into the lineup, Ducks coach Randy Carlyle told the Orange County Register that Thompson was a “glue guy” on the team. And sure enough, while he’s not the prolific goal scorer as hotshot youngster Rickard Rakell or Anaheim mainstays
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with both teams before falling short against the Chicago Blackhawks both times). Carle retired during the 201617 season and may have the leg up on his buddy with more chances to fish as Thompson continues his hockey career. But the guys are rooting for each other in this quest. Whenever Carle and Thompson can get away with their families, they head back home and join other friends to fish at Alaska Sportsman’s Lodge, where they know the trout – especially the ones over the magic 30-inch plateau – are waiting. “I think (lodge owner) Brian Kraft has it rigged,” Carle jokes. “That way we’re always coming back.” Thompson doesn’t expect any trash talk if he or Carle reach the milestone length before the other. “I think it’s just going to be two guys looking at the fish and then looking at each other,” he says. “Besides, we’re both competitive and there doesn’t have to be much said.” A holy grail of a trout speaks for itself. CC
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like captain Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, Thompson nonetheless is the kind of player who endears himself to coaches for understanding his role. Thompson fits nicely as the Ducks’ fourth-line center (teams run four forward lines). That fourth unit traditionally isn’t expected to produce a lot of goals – Thompson had 47 career goals (with 62 assists) in 540 games as of March 18 – but instead establish a physical forecheck – applying pressure along the boards in the offensive zone – and occasionally generate scoring chances. As the center, Thompson also takes a lot of faceoffs and helps out on the Ducks’ penalty kill when the team is shorthanded. “He’s someone we needed. He’s a specialty player – blocks shots, plays his role,” veteran Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano told the Los Angeles Times when asked about Thompson. “All the teams that win Stanley Cups, they have those guys, and those guys are big parts because they do the right things and all they worry about is doing the little
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Thompson (far right) has joined childhood friends like Tim Wallace (far left), Matt Carle (second from left) and Joey Crabb (third from right), all former NHL players, on summer fishing adventures for years, with Alaska Sportsman’s Lodge owner Brian Kraft (second from right). Another former Anchorage hockey player, Peter Cartwright, is also pictured. (MATT CARLE)
things. They don’t get credit, but the guys in the room give ’em credit.” And he’s skilled enough to chip in
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with goals when needed, scoring twice in last season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs series with Nashville. Not that Thompson
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or his teammates have a lot of memories from that postseason. The Ducks lost in seven games, which has become a trend for one of the NHL’s best teams of the past few years but lost in a seventh and deciding home game of a series for four consecutive seasons, two with Thompson on the team. So there’s a sense of unfinished business with these Ducks, who feature a nice blend of established veterans (Getzlaf, Perry, Ryan Kesler and Cam Fowler) mixed with some young emerging talent (Rakell, Hampus Lindholm and John Gibson). Anaheim’s dressing room is well aware that the players will be judged on what happens in this month’s postseason (the Ducks were battling the rival San Jose Sharks for the Pacific Division title at press time). “I feel like we have a team that’s built to win now and I think we have everything to win a championship,” he says. “Hopefully we can go on a nice run and I can bring the (Stanley Cup) back to Alaska.”
Thompson’s family life also includes his soon-to-be 2-year-old son Teague and Eddie, his new yellow Lab. (NATE THOMPSON)
WHEN THEIR FAMILY COMMITMENTS and other circumstances allow it, the Alaska hockey gang reunites in the summer and goes on a fishing trip. Former col-
lege and pro hockey player Brian Kraft, who operates the Bristol Bay-based Alaska Sportsman’s Lodge (fishasl. com), hosts a bunch of puckheads. The
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“I look back now and whenever I go home, I kind of take for granted realizing that, ‘Wow! I grew up here.’ I know not a lot of kids get to experience what I did,” Thompson says. “So it was a special place, remains a special place and is a cool place to call home.” (NATE THOMPSON)
group includes Thompson, Carle, Wallace, ex-NHLer Joey Crabb and others. “(Kraft) can usually book out a weekend for all of us yahoos and we get to fish for a couple days,” Thompson says. “Just a good couple days since we’ve known each other for just about our whole lives.” He’s also shared so many wonderful days in the field with not just family and friends but his beloved black Lab, Diesel, who loved to swim the same waters his owner/dogfather fished in. “I’ve been always been a dog lover, and my dad had three Labs. I first had Diesel when I was 20 and he went through a lot of cities with me,” says Nate, who lost Diesel at 11 years old last June. “He was my first dog, and it was tough. Losing a dog is losing a family member.” But a new four-legged son, yellow Lab Eddie, joined Thompson’s growing family, which also includes son Teague, who turns 2 in May. For obvious reasons, Teague takes up a lot of possible fishing time, but someday Dad will introduce the next generation to Alaska’s fishing waters. Snoopy rods might not be Teague’s first piece of gear, but it’s the spirit of the Last Frontier that will be part of Teague Thompson’s legacy in the future. Just like his father. ASJ 38
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ALASKA AL ALA A LASSK LA SKA KA K A SPORTING SSP PO OR ORT RT R TIIN ING NG JO JJOURNAL OU UR RN R NA AL L
APRIL AP APRI APR A PR RIIL 20 R RIL 2017 017 17 | akspo ak aksportingjournal.com kspor sp spo po p o orrtting tiing tin iin ngjjo ng jour jou ou o our urrn u naaal nal. nal al.ll..ccom co om om
MINING PROJECT’S POTENTIAL IMPACT ON SALMON RUNS BY MICHAEL LUNDE
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atural resource exploitation is one of largest ongoing industries in Alaska. Petroleum, natural gas, timber, copper, gold and coal are important natural resources and minerals necessary to power means of transportation and satisfy material needs. To meet global economic demand of an expanding human population, scientists continuously research ways to exploit natural resources while minimizing effects on the environment. Prior to land resource permits being issued, our precious waterways where residential and anadromous fish populations reside are often of great concern. The debate and controversy over strip mining has heated up in Southcentral Alaska. Comparative viewpoints exist on strip mining, given its negative effects on the environment, yet large amounts of material can be extracted cheaply, defraying the costs of getting it out of the ground and the final product. With mixed viewpoints centered on the fundamentals of strip mining, Alaskan sport and subsistence anglers are angered over a proposed coal strip near the Chuitna River, about 40 miles west of Anchorage. The river’s pristine 25 miles
flow from the Alaska Range and host all five species of Pacific salmon, along with resident rainbow trout and Dolly Varden. When angling and tourism intensifies during summer, many outfitters from the Kenai Peninsula offer daily or multiday flyout trips to this system. The Chuitna Coal Project, a largescale proposal developed by the billionaire Hunt brothers from Texas, plans to strip coal in the watershed. Production is expected to average 12 million metric tons per year, depending on market demand. About 7 million tons of waste would be deposited daily. Environmental effects aside, the proposed coal strip mine would bring economic benefits towards $600 million, thus creating a threefold combination of 500 seasonal construction jobs, 350 year-round mining jobs, and an estimated 1,200 indirect jobs. Within the proposed mining site, depths of coal range from 20 to 350 feet below the surface. According to plans, the coal will be not be chemically treated, no tailings ponds would constructed, and the crushing of coal would take place in an enclosed structure equipped with dust control. The reclamation process will consist of a backfall procedure that places finer materials and clays first,
PROTECTING
WILD ALASKA followed by gravels and topsoil. An advantage with this restoration approach is to create a layer capable of supporting near-surface groundwater flow and streams. If given the green light, the Chuitna Coal Project would be the first in state history to operate directly through a salmon stream. Although fairly close to Southcentral Alaska’s expanding population base, is it worth the multibillion-dollar investment to strip mine coal in a remote stream ecosystem home to multiple fish runs? While still in the advanced permitting phase, a final decision will be largely dictated by the current mudslinging battle between the Environmental Protection Agency and Northern Dynasty Minerals, which wants to create the Pebble Mine in the salmon-rich Bristol Bay area. Whatever is ultimately decided with that highly publicized proposal, the rate at which other mining companies request permits to perform mining operations within the vicinity of salmon streams could become substantially easier. Alaskans’ opinions vary, as some see the importance of economic growth as worth the risk, while others cannot visualize hatchery fishes having to be supplemented into a remote salmon stream to mitigate for decimated wild stocks. So the challenge we face is, can salmon and a coal mine coexist within the same ecosystem? We’ll find out eventually, but for those of us who fish these clean and sacred waters, the answer would be a definitive no. ASJ
OUTDOOR CALENDAR April 1 April 1 April 1-April 2 April 21-23 May 10 May 15 May 20
Brown bear spring opener on Montague Island in Game Management Unit 6D (North Gulf Coast and Prince William Sound) Spring brown bear season opens in GMU 8 (Kodiak) Great Alaska Sportsman Show, Sullivan and Ben Boeke Arenas, Anchorage; greatalaskasportsmanshow.com Fairbanks Outdoor Show, Carlson Center, Fairbanks; carlson-center.com/outdoorTravelShow Spring brown bear season opens in GMU 10 (Aleutians: Unimak Island) Start of Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby; homeralaska.org/jackpot-halibut-derby.html Start of Valdez Halibut Derby; valdezfishderbies.com
Three popular halibut derbies, in Homer, Valdez and Seward, will be held in the next couple months. (DENNIS MUSGRAVES) aksportingjournal.com | APRIL 2017
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FLY MONTH OF THE
Alaska features some of the world’s premiere waters for fly fishing, so we thought it would be a good idea to share some of the best Alaska-inspired flies available for your fishing destinations in the Last Frontier.
SALMON SMOLT PATTERNS
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n understanding of the natural forage base present in a lake or river system is critical for tying productive fly patterns. One of the key significant predator-prey interactions that takes place in Alaska occurs during the salmon smolt outmigration. Predatory species like lake trout, rainbow trout, Dolly Varden, sheefish, and Arctic grayling take advantage of this period as the transition into spring increases their metabolism. Increasing water temperatures also trigger the instinct within the smolts to initiate their downstream movement towards the ocean. Morphological differences can be observed in each juvenile salmon species as represented by coloration and pattern of parr marks, shape of fins and depth/width of bodies. Parr marks are the dark transverse bands arranged in vertical formation on the side of a smolt. An important physical characteristic to take into consideration for the development of a successful smolt pattern is the fly’s length. Common lengths for year-old salmon smolts range from 1.5 to 3.5 inches. Coho, which typically spend an additional year rearing in freshwater and outmigrate at 2 years old, range in length from 3 to 5 inches. Multiple fly patterns have been developed to represent the length and morphology of a salmon smolt. These traditional smolt patterns include Clousers, Deceivers, and Hickman’s Smolt. With smolt patterns, the most important characteristic is color. Young salmon are best represented by white, pearl or silver fly-tying material to simulate the reflective chrome of their scales. Sparseness is another important detail towards illustrating the slender profile as well. A body composed of Mylar or EZ Body Tubing represents the slender
Larger piscivorous fish like lake trout, Dolly Varden and sheefish feed on outmigrating salmon smolts, fly patterns for which are best represented in white, pearl or silver to simulate the reflective chrome of the scales of young fish. (MICHAEL LUNDE)
profile. A tail is formed with sparse bucktail or marabou and accented with flash to enhance the movement when swung broadside through the current. Before an application of a UV-enhanced adhesive to the Mylar tubing body, a waterproof prismatic marker can be used to draw a black horizontal stripe on top of the back. This black upper back is symbolic of the countershad-
ing concept, a source of physical camouflage with silver coloration accented with a white underbelly that reduces incoming visibility by scattering incoming light to minimize a smolt’s appearance from predators. The waterproof marker can also be used to color in parr marks. The presence or absence of parr marks on salmon smolts is species-specific. -Michael Lunde
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HELLA-GOOD HALI HARBORS FOUR SOUTHCENTRAL PORTS OFFER GREAT JUMPOFF POINTS TO BATTLE BARNDOORS, LOAD UP COOLERS BY DENNIS MUSGRAVES
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Author Dennis Musgraves strikes quite the pose with a 92-pound Alaskan halibut he caught. Southcentral ports like Valdez, Homer, Whittier and Seward offer some fantastic opportunities for anglers seeking good fights and delicious table fare. (DENNIS MUSGRAVES)
portfishing for Pacific halibut in the Last Frontier is always a popular activity for both Alaskans and visiting anglers. You only need to know two things to understand why. First, halibut can get huge, and I mean huge. Iconic images and countless stories of lucky fishermen catching triple-digit flatfish serve to fan the flames of desire for others who want to hook up with their own saltwater trophy. Who doesn’t want to catch a big fish? Second, halibut meat is delicious. The mild white-fleshed fillets need little to no seasoning and can be prepared using a variety of methods, including grilling, broiling, baking, and deep frying. I am certainly hoping to catch my limit on any saltwater trip I make. A big and tasty fish is a no-brainer goal. My firsthand experiences chartering boats in Alaska for halibut over the past two decades has allowed me to gain perspective and insight for knowing when, where, and who to go out with to make the best of my entire trip. Valdez, Homer, Whittier, and Seward are certainly not the only destinations available in Southcentral Alaska where anglers can hire a sportfishing vessel for halibut fishing, but they are certainly among the most popular as well as on the road system. (Kodiak, Cordova and Yakutat, venerable flattie ports in their
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own rights, require flights.) Each one of the quartet is unique and provides visitors a different local flavor, landscape, and in addition to great halibut action, various sportfishing opportunities.
VALDEZ The seaside city of Valdez sits at the very end of the Richardson Highway. The scenic drive sends travelers over the summit of Thompson Pass (elevation 2,805 feet) and down into the narrow pass called Keystone Canyon before finally reaching the small fishing community. The canyon features steep towering cliffs and splendid waterfalls. The Port of Valdez is also the final destination of the 800-mile-long Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Something to consider about Valdez is the driving distance from Anchorage, about 300 miles one way. It’s the furthest port from the big city on our short list of four. Travel time is about six hours, so an overnight should be planned. That variable aside, you can’t go wrong when you book a trip for halibut out of Valdez Harbor. I prefer to coordinate my chartered fishing in conjunction with the returning salmon; that way I can maximize my time on shore while still getting in some great fishing with each incoming high tide.
Abundant returns of pink salmon (July) and coho (August) made shoreline fishing a popular activity. Anglers can experience excellent fishing from the shore or by boat during peak months for each species every summer. Sportfishing charter boats are normally filled during the season and openings for a walk-on angler are rare. The city hosts multiple annual fishing derbies for silvers, pinks and also halibut. Additional popular recreational activities in the area include trail hiking and mountain biking, wildlife and sea life viewing/photography, and ocean kayaking. More information: ci.valdez.ak.us; Valdez Convention & Visitors Bureau: valdezalaska.org
Cook Inlet. Of course, there is some terrific freshwater fishing to be had for both resident species and migrating salmon, depending on trip timing. Tent camping and RVs are both welcome right on Homer’s spit, which serves as access to the small boat harbor, commercial boats and several boardwalks of charter boat services. A distinctive feature also found on the spit is the Homer fishing hole. The Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon provides
HOMER Fishermen taking the highway to the southernmost point of the Kenai Peninsula will find Homer, where plenty of flatfish opportunities exist at land’s end. The “Home of the Halibut” can be reached in less than five hours from Anchorage by car. But there is no sense in rushing the scenic 225-mile drive. Take time to view the rugged wilderness, its variety of wildlife and the emerald waters of the Kenai River while keeping an eye out for a volcano on the far side of
Whether you drive in from Anchorage – about 300 miles – or fly direct, you’ll find that charter boats galore head out of Valdez Harbor for the halibut grounds. (DENNIS MUSGRAVES)
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shore anglers a chance at hatchery kings and coho. I’ve taken many boats out of Homer between May and September, and I have yet to not catch a flatfish on a trip. My largest halibut, a 92-pounder, was caught in late May. More information: cityofhomer-ak. gov; Homer Chamber of Commerce: homeralaska.org
Memorial Tunnel. The tunnel is officially the longest rail-highway combination in North America, and a schedule of alternating train and one-way travel for passenger vehicles keeps the traffic flowing year-round. The short travel distance from Anchorage makes it possible for fishermen to take a charter boat, catch a limit of
halibut and return, all in one day. Although a day trip is nice if you’re limited for time, I suggest you stay overnight and take your time to enjoy the small port community. I highly recommend visiting this terrific place after July 1, when lingcod season opens. There is some amazing saltwater fishing to be had on a mul-
WHITTIER Whittier is a small seaside community less than 60 miles straight-line distance from Anchorage. Situated on the northwest shoreline of the Kenai Peninsula, the city and its unique deep-water port is known as the Gateway to Prince William Sound. Although there are less than 250 full-time residents, hundreds of thousands of tourists visit, most during the warmer months, arriving via cruise ship, train and automobile. Surrounded by icy glaciers and steep mountains, the area is breathtaking to see and also requires a unique journey by land. Visitors coming by train or car take the 2.5-mile-long Anton Anderson Fishing out of Homer includes a fantastic view of Augustine Volcano, an island on the western side of Cook Inlet. (DENNIS MUSGRAVES)
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tispecies excursion, with several species of rockfish, as well as lingcod and Pacific cod available. Make sure you research the boats and book early. As with any port discussed here, the better charter captains fill up well before the fishing season even begins. More information: whittieralaska. gov; Greater Whittier Chamber of Commerce: whittieralaskachamber.org
SEWARD Seward rests on the Kenai Peninsula’s southern shore, at the head of Resurrection Bay. Breathtaking views of steep snow-capped mountains and dense green alpine forest surround the small seaside community. Visitors can reach the destination by train, plane, automobile or cruise ship. Most travelers go by car via the Seward Highway, which is designated by the U.S. Forest Service as a scenic byway. The 125-mile roadway runs from Anchorage through Turnagain Arm, Chugach National Forest, the Kenai Peninsula and the Kenai
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Mountains before ending in Seward. Although hiring a fishing boat for halibut is among the most popular attractions to the area, Seward provides a variety of things to see and experience. For instance, Alaska SeaLife Center, Alaska’s only public aquarium and ocean wildlife rescue center, generates interest from thousands every month during the summer season. The institute was established to execute a mission of sea life research, oversee animal rehabilitation and promote Alaska’s marine ecosystem. Stopping there is a must for anyone visiting. There is plenty of outdoor action after touring the ASLC, including ocean kayaking, bicycling the pathways or hiking the numerous wilderness trails around Seward, just to name a few. I’ve found late May to early June to be almost ideal since it coincides with the timing of sockeye salmon arriving to Resurrection Bay. Saltwater salmon snagging is legal and popular with locals near Nash Road, normally provid-
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Paul Ferreria caught this nice halibut out of Seward. (DENNIS MUSGRAVES)
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HALIBUT FISHING IN THE LAST FRONTIER PHOTOS BY DENNIS MUSGRAVES
A big ’but nears the surface.
A tasty batch of halibut and a ling line a deck, though the “fish” at right might not cut so well. 52
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Author Dennis Musgraves bounces the bottom in hopes a massive barndoor halibut takes a ride up to the surface.
Whittier provides access to fishy western Prince William Sound.
A productive day fishing out of Seward’s Resurrection Bay.
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ing a healthy bag limit of six fish. More information: seward.com; Seward Chamber of Commerce: sewardchamber.org
THE BEST OF EVERYTHING The one common denominator among these four ports is that each can offer great experiences fishing for halibut and outdoor activities that meet any agenda. I admit, it is difficult to find a bad location in Alaska for saltwater fishing, and I feel spoiled and very thankful that I live in such a wonderful place. With these four spots, I know I’m just a bait drop away from hooking a halibut. Whether you’re looking for the glory of a trophy barndoor fish, just trying to fill the freezer with some of the state’s most delicious table fare, or simply seeking a unique opportunity for an adventure with family or friends, the more information you have about the port you’re going fishing out of, the better you’ll be able to better take advantage of everything that can be found on an Alaskan saltwater fishing trip. ASJ
The author (right) joined Whittier-based guide “Crazy Ray” Nix for a bounty of halibut, which provide foodies with some of the best from-boatto-plate fish in the state. (DENNIS MUSGRAVES)
Editor’s note: For more on Dennis Musgraves’ Last Frontier fishing adventures, check out alaskansalmonslayers.com.
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• ADVENTURE
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L.COM
HAUNTED SEAS!
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New Book Dives Into Panhandle’s Underwater Legends
PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND LINGCOD, ROCKFIS H
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SOUTHERN EDGE OF PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND OFFERS EPIC FISHING FOR ADVENTURERS BY CHRISTOPHER BATIN
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hen it’s 5 p.m. each Friday during the peak of halibut and salmon season in Alaska, I have good reason to lock the doors and stay home. Like overstuffed Thanksgiving turkeys, families fill once-empty campers to the seams with fishing gear, groceries, sleeping bags and coolers. The long lines at the gas pumps become a test in patience that even Job couldn’t endure. The first anglers who do make it out of the city jockey around slow-moving motor homes along the no-pass lanes so they can be the first to wet a line. They will catch a limit as fast as they can, zipping back home just in time to attend Sunday church. Such a condensed fishing experience is far too fast-paced for me. It reminds me of a scene from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. In the movie, the wizard Gandalf asks Bilbo if he is up for an adventure, to which Bilbo replies he wants nothing to do with it. Afterwards, Bilbo apparently hurries down to the market to purchase a fish for supper. The lesson learned here is a simple one: Don’t be a Bilbo. If you’re in a hurry to catch a fish and return home, you are not an enlightened adventurer and the insider information in this feature isn’t for you. However, if you are willing to travel the extra mile to experience possibly the best big-water fishing of your life – with huge halibut, slab-sided lingcod, salmon and rockfish wrapped up in an all-encompassing adventure better than Gandalf could ever offer – then read on.
In the glistening waters of the Gulf of Alaska, the silhouette of a massive halibut rises to anglers on an overnight fishing trip to the Middleton Island area. Trips to the so-called “Outer Rim” of Prince William Sound offer some of the best bottomfish and salmon fishing around. (CHRIS BATIN)
THE ROADS TO THE GATEWAY city of Valdez are neither quick nor easy: Choose either a 300-mile drive from Anchorage, or a 363-mile drive from Fairbanks. aksportingjournal.com | APRIL 2017
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“Valdez takes a travel commitment to visit, but the extra effort is worth it,” says Laurine Regan, executive director of the Valdez Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. “Access is via ‘The Adventure Corridor,’ which consists of the Glenn and Richardson Scenic Highways that connect either Anchorage or Fairbanks to Valdez. Anglers need to invest a day to either fly or drive here, or take the marine ferry from Whittier, and plan a day for the return trip home.” The adventure offers some of the best views along Alaska’s road system. Drive through the steep-walled Keystone Canyon, with its wispy, 300-foot cascading waterfalls. Wind your way atop the misty mountains of Thompson Pass, with its summer snowdrifts bordering cirques of wildflower meadows. Become mesmerized by the hypnotic countenance of Worthington Glacier looming up like an Ice Age fossil coming to life. After a quick climb on the ice, leave the alpine and take the long, winding road down to Valdez. Once there rest well, because the next day’s journey to what I refer to as “The Outer Rim” will be to the outer edge of Prince William Sound, a long, often bumpy ride with big-water rollers and gusty winds. It’s worth toughing it out because you’re going where few men or women sportfish each season. The Outer Rim is no ordinary battleground, but rather one of legend that borders Alaska’s Continental Shelf. I define The Outer Rim by drawing a line from the eastern shore of Montague Island out to Middleton Island, then east to Kayak Island, and north to Hinchinbrook Island. Expect to battle it out, muscle against muscle, wit against wit, against a variety of behemoth sportfish that thrive here – trophy lingcod from 30 to 50 pounds, 20-pound yelloweye and numerous pelagic rockfish, as well as exotic species such as wolf eels and ratfish. Leviathan-size fish prefer the shallower 400foot holes that border the 16,000-foot chasms south of Middleton Island. One of those fish is the halibut, also called halleflundra, which means “fish found in deep holes.” Expect consistently more 60
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Halleflundra, or “fish found in deep holes,” live up to their name at The Outer Rim, where the depths hide halibut that weigh into the hundreds of pounds. (CHRIS BATIN)
and larger halibut in the 70-pound-plus range throughout the year when fishing these waters. Anticipation is electric when you drop the line. This is the reason you are here, why you traveled the distance. The strike of a 200-plus-pound halibut hits with such force it nearly yanks the rod out of your hands. The fish then
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fires its afterburners and dives for the bottom, unfazed by the tightened drag on that heavy-duty Shimano reel filled with 100-pound test and sitting atop a G.Loomis heavy-action halibut rod. During battle, you will sweat, cuss, strain and ache with every arch of your back, every turn of the reel handle and every arm-quivering power lift of the rod.
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A fish from 150 to 400 pounds is usually released to fight another day. A keeper will need to be shot before bringing it onboard, and even then a big one can still demolish tackle or snap a leg with its crazed flopping. After the congrats are passed out, don’t get too comfortable. Expect another rod to be thrust into your hands to begin Round Two.
I’VE FISHED OUTER RIM waters for over 42 years and it’s been a love-hate relationship. I’ve been bruised from shin to head from being bashed against gunwales in 10-foot swells, and I have had fillings loosened and my back injured from being flung in rogue waves. I’ve also fished it countless times when the tempest becomes as smooth as plate glass, only to be shattered by schools of huge rockfish leaping out of the water after my 16-ounce jig before I even drop it down. During the late July salmon in-migration, expect to see thousands of pinks, cohos, chums, and a few kings zipping beneath the boat like porkedout piranhas, crazed at the sight of a fluttering B-2 jig. You’ll see huge orca killer whales boldly swim to within 12 62
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Sea critters will share these waters with you. Sea lions are plentiful in Prince William Sound, and while great to watch and photograph, are notorious for stealing salmon and halibut off your hook. Sea otters are often seen while fishing in Valdez-area saltwater. Orcas are often found where salmon and other forage are located. (CHRIS BATIN)
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feet of the boat, turn sideways and stare you in the eye before swimming on. If your arm is twitching and your heart is racing a bit at these real-life scenarios I’ve described, you are a prime candidate for this adventure. But I would be remiss if I didn’t offer this admonition: If you choose the big-water journey to The Outer Rim, you will – like Bilbo after his trip – not be the same when you return. The reason is obvious. This is the “Wild Frontier of Big Water Angling,” a thrilling, yet at times Jurassic Park-like fishery far different than the tamer but still good fishing grounds closer to shore. When I’m fishing the Rim in late July, I often feel like a solitary popcorn kernel in an ocean kettle filled with hundreds of bouncing, twisting and jumping salmon so plentiful, I feel as if I can just reach out and grab a handful. These are some experiences you can enjoy when fishing The Outer Rim, and are the main reason I love it so. While a select few charters based in Seward, Whittier and Cordova fish various parts
of The Outer Rim, Valdez is my preferred base-camp gateway to explore this region. The late great Alaska tourism pioneer Stan Stephens first introduced me to the many treasures of Valdez and Prince William Sound back in the late 1970s. Stephens and his wife, Mary Helen, started a small charter and sightseeing business around that time, and the business eventually grew into one of the state’s largest sightseeing cruise tours, now run by their daughter Colleen. Over the years, Stan would skipper a group of sightseers, and as a tag-along, I’d absorb all the fishing and local knowledge he had to share. Through personal experiences and spectacular catches that defy words, The Outer Rim became one of my alltime, big-water fishing adventures. The spectacular fishing is not the region’s only asset. Valdez is a holdback from pre-statehood days, a place where old-fashioned Alaska values and
Lingcod fishing out of Valdez can be spectacular after mid-July, with fish over 30 pounds possible from deepwater pinnacles around many of the islands in Prince William Sound, and on most Gulf of Alaska trips. This one was hooked with a metal jig. (CHRIS BATIN)
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ideals are integrated into the lives of the 4,000 residents who live and work there. In this slower pace of life, a friendly chat on the street takes priority over a meeting, and eye-to-eye contact and discussions take preference over faces buried in cellphones. Valdez’s collective consciousness can be best compared to a proud, independent Alaskan who has survived several boom-and-bust cycles, but miraculously hasn’t sold his soul to the commercial development czars. Even the distant Alyeska Pipeline terminal, which would stand out as an industrial blemish elsewhere, sits quietly in a semicamouflaged presence on the distant shoreline, the massive complex dwarfed into seeming insignificance by snow-capped mountains towering above it. In Valdez, take time away from fishing to walk and explore the few streets along the waterfront, where you’ll discover the elusive fruits found in only the best adventures. I’ve had a general store clerk take time to educate me on
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A brown bear feeding on a pink salmon near the Solomon Gulch Hatchery located outside of Valdez. Both black and brown bears often come down to the intertidal staging area to feed on the huge numbers of fish that collect there prior to spawning. (CHRIS BATIN)
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the history behind select souvenirs. Of course, I always enjoy talking to the Fish Derby Lady, the go-to oracle for all things Valdez, including local town gossip, the best places to eat or tips to increase the chances of winning a prize in the salmon derby. Old timers are everywhere and will give you advice on most anything Alaskan. I can strike a deal with a handshake that is as good as any paper document, or hang waders out to dry on the porch of my rental cabin in town and not worry if they’ll get stolen before midnight. And at day’s end, restaurants and accommodations for most any budget will help you to re-energize properly.
Jackie Olander with a nice salmon taken while fishing for halibut off the deepwater dropoffs along The Outer Rim, near Middleton Island. (CHRIS BATIN)
WHILE YOU CAN OCCASIONALLY find big fish inside the Sound’s protected waters, accessing The Outer Rim’s best fishing requires local expertise. Few skippers know these waters better than Tim Bouchard of Valdez Outfitters, so I scheduled a day fishing charter to get reacquainted. I first met Bouchard years ago when he attended one of my advanced fishing seminars. His longtime experience fishing Valdez waters – and his degrees in biology and geology – provide the ability to understand fish migrations and underwater geological formations along the outer islands that attract fish and create the “hydraulics” big fish prefer. “The ocean currents at Montague Island are different than the shoreline currents inside Valdez Arm,” he says. “Catching trophy fish out on the Gulf depends on many factors, including weather, temperature, tides, seasons, glacier melt, and migration patterns. It’s important to know when to target major fish movements along an entire length of gravel shoreline, or when to go fish a rocky pinnacle, or go shallow inside the Sound. On the graph, I’ve seen lingcod cruise pinnacles like wolves ready to ambush hundreds of rockfish suspended above them.” Accessing distant waters requires fast and sturdy boats. Bouchard’s fleet includes boats powered by twin Yamaha 225-horsepower engines and 68
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which cruise at 32 mph. The typical 12-hour fishing day starts at 6 a.m. and covers 75 to 100 miles round trip. Bouchard’s philosophy is “run fast so we can fish longer.” He prefers to fish the graveled, forage-rich shorelines of Montague Island, where competition is scarce and big halibut migrate from the depths of the Continental Shelf to feed in shoreline
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waters. Here, 40- to 100-pounders are common, and during the day we had a couple of barndoors shake off. In the Valdez Halibut Derby, winning fish typically range from 250 to 300 pounds. This is big lure and bait territory. When mooching for salmon or shallow-water halibut, B-2 squid jigs in pink, white and fluorescent orange produce the most strikes. When jigging
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VALDEZ VACATION PLANNER The Valdez Convention and Visitors’ Bureau offers a website and complete travel assistance for your fishing adventure to The Outer Rim.
WHEN TO GO Fish from May through September, with best months dependent on the species. I like late May to mid-June for halibut, mid-July for ling, and early to late August for coho. For best success, plan your trips on dates when tides offer the least fluctuation. One or more Valdez fish derbies run from mid-May through September, with over $80,000 in cash and prizes for silver salmon and halibut. Favorites include the Kid’s Derby in July and the Women’s Derby in August. It’s possible for anglers to win enough prize money to pay for a charter or possibly the entire family’s trip. or mooching for suspended salmon in open water, I prefer Northland bucktail leadheads and Crippled Herrings. For
CHARTERS Skipper Tim Bouchard offers full-day charters out of Valdez for trophy halibut, rockfish, lingcod and salmon. Additional charters are also available out of the ports of Seward and Whittier for long-range or extended trips into the Gulf of Alaska.
Eagle Feeding from May thru Mid-June
SERVICES
WHERE TO STAY The Totem Inn and the Best Western Inn are popular and noteworthy accommodations in Valdez, with both located on the city’s waterfront. Also popular are rental cabins through Eagle’s Rest RV and Cabins, which is a melting pot of RV travelers from around the world. This full-service RV park resembles a mini-city within the heart of Valdez, offering cabin rentals for families and any imaginable halibut down to 120 feet, I fish a large white or black Powerbait or a scented Alaska Angler 10-inch Trophy Tail on a
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1.888.835.4425 or 907.835.4425 • bayside1@cvinternet.net On the left as you enter downtown Valdez • 230 Egan Dr. • www.baysiderv.com 70
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RV service, to gasoline, ATM banking and laundromats. Its greatest attraction is the people who drive there and stay for weeks at a time. Valdez is walker-friendly, and most if not all services from groceries to souvenir shopping and restaurants are within easy walking distance from the docks and downtown.
Easy Freeze offers complete fish processing, packing and FedEx overnight shipping.
MORE INFORMATION Valdezoutfitters.com Stephenscruises.com Alaskamarinehighway.com Easyfreezeinc.com Valdezalaska.org AlaskaAngler.com Halibut.net CB 16-ounce jighead. For fish 300 feet down, I prefer herring, octopus or salmon belly on a circle hook, with a Trophy Torch attractor 40 inches up the line. Don’t leave home without Berkley Gulp! Alive! herring spray. I’ve lost count of the hours I’ve spent watching slab-sided salmon act like frenzied sharks, attacking my scented lure as if it were the only piece of bait in the ocean. Bouchard made it easy for us to load up on rockfish, lingcod and halibut before returning to Valdez. Once in port, we hauled the fish to the public fish-cleaning tables, where we boxed about 150 pounds of fish fillets. Our first day of Valdez-based fishing was but a primer. The next day we planned to fish exclusively for halibut, with salmon mooching or saltwater kayaking among the icebergs pencilledin for the third day. I strongly recommend scheduling two to three days for fishing The Outer Rim, as bad weather or boat breakdowns do occur. If weather allows, try fishing Middleton Island or consider a long-range trip on a large boat with three private staterooms and kitchen. I still recall an overnight, long-range trip to Middleton Island on a charter out of Seward,
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Saltwater fishing out of Valdez can be spectacular from June through September, especially for feeder kings similar to the one held here by John Beath. (CHRIS BATIN)
on which we hooked into many halibut over 100 pounds. This season, leave the established trails to those who want to catch small fish in a hurry and take time to discover Valdez and The Outer Rim experience. I probably won’t see you out on the Rim, so remember what I wrote earlier: Big water fishing elsewhere – in addition to you as an angler – will never be the same again. ASJ Editor’s note: Chris Batin is editor of The Alaska Angler, and with partner John Beath, spent years of underwater filming to produce Underwater Secrets of Catching Halibut, Rockfish and Lingcod, an instructional DVD with amazing underwater footage on how these species swim, hide, strike and follow lures, with views of baits and presentations they like most. The DVD offers specific tips and tactics you need to know for big-water success. Alaska Sporting Journal readers can receive free shipping when ordering this DVD or other books by using promo code ASJ57 when buying at AlaskaAngler.com. 72
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BEST OF KENAI PENINSULA HOMER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Homer, Alaska — This captivating little town has something for everyone. Some of the most popular activities are hiking, fishing and bear viewing, but don’t miss out on sea kayaking, paddle boarding, bird watching, kite surfing, and whale watching. For those down days recuperating, there is shopping, a winery, breweries, art galleries, museums and renowned restaurants. Commonly referred to as the “Halibut Capital of the World,” Homer offers world-class halibut and salmon fishing in Kachemak Bay and Cook Inlet. Anglers can book a charter, or fish right on the Homer Spit at the Fishing Lagoon. For the adventurous, Homer has on-demand air charters that will fly you over the Harding Ice Field and volcanoes, or drop you off at a wilderness cabin on a lake where you can fish for trout, rockfish
and other species. If you are looking for unrestricted outdoor fun, visit Kachemak Bay State Park. This is Alaska’s first wilderness state park and offers over 400,000 acres of magnificent beauty set amongst mountains, glaciers, forests and the ocean. Reserve a cabin or yurt and stay overnight. If bear viewing is on your bucket list, Homer offers guided fly-out trips to Katmai National Park from June through late September for an up close and personal time with the bears in their natural habitat, feeding on salmon as they prepare for hibernation. However you spend your time here, you’ll be captivated by Homer’s stunning beauty and find yourself thrilled with the “end of the road.”
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The powerboat the authors call the Missing Lynx (named for their newborn son) was almost missing in action under a dusting of Southcentral Alaska snow. But despite the chilly temperatures, the yelloweye and other rockfish were biting for them on Resurrection Bay. (BIXLER AND KRYSTIN MCCLURE)
WINTER ROCKS
FOR THIS FAMILY IN THE CHILLY COASTAL WATERS OF RESURRECTION BAY, ROCKFISH PROVIDE A REASON TO BUNDLE UP AND HEAD OUT BY KRYSTIN AND BIXLER MCCLURE
B
ixler warmed up the truck while I dressed our son, Lynx, for a day on the water. I glanced at the weather station at our house. The temperature was hovering around zero, unusually cold for the coastal town of Seward. Since we live a few miles out of town, I guessed that the temperature would
be warmer on the water. Whatever the case, I dressed Lynx in his warm suit and bundled up myself before heading out to the truck. Bixler and I had been craving some early-season fishing while Alaska was still in winter’s icy grip. We’d restrung our reels and stocked up on some new fishing gear when it arrived at our local fishing store ahead of the spring and summer season. And now, despite
the cold, Resurrection Bay was surprisingly flat as we carefully drove past Seward’s excess snow storage area towards our boat on the south end of the harbor. A few people were snowshoeing with their dogs on the snow piles and stared at us as we unloaded fishing gear from our truck. To us, the
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The icy waters of the harbor made it a little bit treacherous to get to the boat and out onto the open water. (BIXLER MCCLURE)
fishing season never really ends and we wanted to target some fresh rockfish for my birthday bash.
FILLET O’ROCKFISH WITH A KICK
Looking to entertain a group of people? Try this twist on a classic favorite! Fried rockfish fillets, Jarlsberg cheese and a homemade tartar make the perfect sandwich fixin’s. Pair with homemade French fries and bon appétit!
Try a savory twist on a fast-food staple to create a sandwich to die for. (BIXLER MCCLURE)
WITH LYNX FAST ASLEEP in his car seat, we headed down to our boat, the Missing Lynx. The previous summer we had made the jump from sailboat to powerboat, selling our beloved Carpe Ventos. In June, we picked up our Hewescraft Alaskan 240 from the dealer and entered a new chapter of our Alaskan lives. We started a year-round sightseeing, water taxi, and fishing business, Seward Ocean Excursions (sewardoceanexcursions.com), and Bixler had been happily taking customers out on our boat in the dead of winter. Thankfully, Bixler had had a tour the day before and had already broken a path from our slip through the ice to the main channel of the harbor. Lynx was still fast asleep when we cast off. I had 78
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Rockfish fillets, skinned and deboned Rolls, cut lengthwise Jarlsberg or Swiss cheese, sliced Panko Egg wash: equal parts egg and water Flour 1 cup mayonnaise Three pickles, diced 2 tablespoons pickle juice 1 tablespoon capers 2 tablespoons mustard Sriracha Vegetable oil, for frying Potatoes, cut into fries Prepare oil for frying, using either a deep-dish pan or deep fryer. Prepare tartar sauce as follows: Mix mayonnaise, diced pickles, pickle juice, capers, and
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mustard. Add sriracha to taste to achieve desired spiciness. Place in fridge. Place potatoes in ice water. Once the oil comes up to temperature, drain fries and drop into oil. Fry first until slightly brown. Remove from oil to rest on paper towel. Fry again until golden brown. Prepare fish for frying: Dip fillets in flour, then egg wash, then panko. Fry in hot oil until golden brown. Turn if needed. Let dry on paper towel. Turn on broiler. Place cheese on side of bread and put both halves on bread on a pan, cut side up. Place into broiler and broil until cheese is melted. Add tartar sauce to bread half without cheese. Put rockfish fillet in the middle. Serve with fries and enjoy! BM
BEST OF ALASKA LODGING
From his mama’s lap, future skipper Lynx McClure gets a view of the snow-capped mountains that bookend Resurrection Bay. (BIXLER MCCLURE)
positioned him next to the heater as the boat warmed up. Bixler broke through the thin ice layer, following the previous day’s path, and quickly got the boat on step once we left the harbor. Like most early-season days, there were no boats in sight. The mountains on either side of Resurrection Bay were covered in a thick layer of fresh snow. The bay itself was flat and Bixler dodged the occasional ice sheet as we
headed south to the three larger islands in Resurrection Bay. Once we rounded the spit at Fox Island, we picked up the ocean swell from the Gulf of Alaska, a sign that winter was still around. “I saw something on the sounder here yesterday,” Bixler said, pointing to the depth sounder. He had made a mental mark on the chart off a point where he might have seen some fish during his tour of Resurrection Bay. The
BE PREPARED IN COLD WINTER If you are hardy enough to brave the cold, winter fishing can be rewarding. Be sure to bring lots of warm clothes, and layers, since conditions can abruptly change. Check the weather forecasts and always watch conditions closely. Since there are fewer (if any) boats on the water, self-sufficiency is key in 80
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terms of safety gear, communication equipment, tools, etc. Bring a lighter, RV antifreeze and hot water in case locks, scuppers, etc., need to be melted. Be aware of freezing spray and icing of the vessel. Enjoy a great time of year with no crowds and potentially great fishing! BM
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depth sounder showed an uneven rocky bottom with the occasional fish swimming by. I checked on Lynx, who was still dozing in his car seat and put him on the floor since the swell was bounding the boat around. Bixler repositioned the boat while I stepped outside to pick out lures. A squall was headed our direction and soon there was blowing snow on the deck. “It was so much nicer yesterday!” Bixler joked from the warmth of the cabin. He positioned the boat and ran outside, keeping the door open so we could check on our little man. I dropped my line in the water while the snow caked the stern of our boat.
BEST OF ALASKA LODGING
Both of us were attempting to fish with our backs to the snow while dealing with drift, the swell, and checking on Lynx. As my lure hit the bottom, Lynx’s eyes popped open and he gave me a gummy smile. We gave the spot a few jigs before giving up and moving elsewhere. Bixler ran circles around pinnacles, looking for the fish. I changed Lynx and held him while Bixler scanned the bottom for fish. “New plan,” he said, knocking the engines into idle. “We are just going to drift until we find them.”
I PUT LYNX DOWN and gave him a toy to chew on while I ran outside to drop my line. Immediately, I felt the familiar tug of a bite and yelled, “Fish on!” I was rusty on my reeling, but my arms were unusually strong for this time of year since I had spent the winter carrying around an ever-growing baby. I pulled up a large black rockfish just as another squall hit the boat. I made the mistake of taking my gloves off and my hands got chilled to the bone. I ran inside to check on Lynx (who was happily chewing on his toy) and warmed up my hands. The Missing Lynx was now in near-whiteout conditions. Bixler simply yelled “On!” and quickly reeled up a nice yelloweye. The squall passed and Bixler ran inside to mark a point and reposition the boat. The swell had picked up and Lynx rocked back and forth in his car seat with the motion of the boat. His eyes were getting sleepy, but I knew that soon he would be hungry. Thankfully, the sounder showed a huge school of fish and I ran outside to fill my limit before Lynx needed feeding. When you find a school of rockfish, the fishing is fast-paced. With every drop I reeled up a nice black rockfish, each one larger than the next. Bixler and I were piling fish into our fish hold at a fast rate, which was good because it was obvious that a front was moving in. As I dropped my last black onto our icy deck, Lynx fussed and I stepped inside the warm cabin. I did not realize how cold I was until I grabbed the lit82
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Krystin McClure with a nice rockfish that made the frigid conditions that much more tolerable. (BIXLER MCCLURE)
tle man out of his car seat with my icy hands, which he did not care for. I held him as we headed back to the harbor, eight rockfish richer well before the fishing season really gets going. The sun dipped behind the mountains and I felt the temperature plummet. I put Lynx who was fast asleep in my arms back in his car seat and bun-
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dled him up. “I love the texture of the rockfish when you fish in below freezing weather,” Bixler commented as we headed towards the harbor. I put on another jacket and said, “And I love sitting in the hot tub after fishing for said rockfish in below freezing weather.” ASJ
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BY SCOTT HAUGEN There’s nothing like learning to fish while actually catching fish, and that’s the goal of a school author Scott Haugen will help run this summer. Last season, this youth angler routinely tied into 30-plus fish every day on the Egegik River, and all on his own. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
B
efore becoming a full-time author I was a science teacher, spending most of my years in the small North Slope villages of Point Lay and Anaktuvuk Pass. I love teaching and miss it; one day I’m sure my wife, Tiffany, and I will return to it. But I also love fishing, hunting, writing and speaking about the adventures. One thing I’ve noticed while making my living in the outdoors for nearly 20 years is the need for information. With so many newcomers to angling, they want to learn how to fish. Sure, good info can be had by reading books, magazines and stories online, even watching education-based videos. But if a person really wants to learn something in-depth, they go to school, or take a hands-on class. For more than 45 years I’ve fished for salmon, steelhead and trout. So this summer, I’ve decided to do something that’s always been on my mind – something I get asked a lot to do – and that’s teach people how to fish by actually spending time with them on the water. This Aug. 26 to Sept. 1, I’ll be offering a fishing school on the Egegik River in the Bristol Bay area. We’ll be based out of Becharof Lodge, a remote camp located only minutes away from the best coho fishing I’ve experienced in Alaska.
TEACHING MULTIPLE TECHNIQUES What I love about this river is the many ways coho can be pursued. Bait is allowed on the Egegik, so eggs can be cured and drift-fished, back-bounced and worked beneath a float. At our fishing school, we’ll teach you how to aksportingjournal.com | APRIL 2017
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remove and cure salmon roe, rig rods to fish eggs various ways, then show you how to read the water and catch fish using each method. Want to learn how to fish a bobber and jig? Or cast plugs from shore, perhaps twitch flatlined jigs? We’ll share how to do those, too. Casting spinners and working flies will also be covered. One of the most exciting ways to catch coho is on surface poppers. Here, we’ll show how to drift, swing and strip these poppers for the most exciting coho hit you’ll ever experience. There is no fee for this fishing school. In fact, lodge owner Bruce Hallingstad is offering a $400 discount off his regular price for anyone enrolling in the school. He truly wants to promote youth fishing, and fishing to newcomers. Your cost is $2,400, which includes airfare to and from camp (commercial to King Salmon, then a 30-minute bush plane flight). The camp consists of weatherproof tents, flush toilets, a main dining area, Wi-Fi, and a sauna.
Haugen ranks Egegik coho fishing as among the best in Alaska, as this group of anglers proved with these fish caught in just over two hours one morning. Students who attend this event are sure to bring some tasty fillets home. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
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After you catch a few Arctic char while fishing in Alaska, you can prepare a simple but delicious meal in camp or on your backyard grill at home. (TIFFANY HAUGEN)
CHAR – GRILLED DELICIOUSNESS BY TIFFANY HAUGEN
A
special treat around our house is Arctic char, one of the fish we look forward to packing home from Alaska. They are mild in flavor with enough fat to stay moist in the smoker or on the grill, providing many options when preparing this versatile fish. Pair Arctic char with vegetables, wrap in foil and you have an easy shore lunch or hearty meal over the campfire. The same preparation can be done for smoking the fish at a high temperature or cooking in foil on the grill. Quick-cooking vegetables can be sliced raw and placed under the fish; season fish both inside and outside and top with par-cooked root vegetables such as potatoes, carrots or parsnips. When cooking this meal up in the summer, I look to the herb garden, adding fresh basil, thyme, sage and rosemary into the mix.
INGREDIENTS One to two Arctic char, cleaned with 90
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heads removed ⅓ cup olive oil Three to four cloves garlic, minced Five to six fresh sage leaves, chopped Five to six fresh basil leaves, chopped ½ teaspoon fresh thyme and/or fresh rosemary ½ teaspoon lemon pepper ½ teaspoon granulated onion ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper Eight to 10 par-baked small potatoes One yellow squash or zucchini, thinly sliced Lemon slices for garnish
blespoon of the olive oil mixture over the squash layer. Season fish inside and out with lemon pepper and salt and place fish on squash layer. Slice potatoes thinly and place in the olive oil mixture and gently toss. Layer potatoes over the fish in a slightly overlapping single layer. Drizzle any remaining oil over potatoes and crimp up the sides of the foil. Place in preheated 375-degree oven, smoker or grill, leaving the foil open. Bake 15 to 25 minutes or until fish reaches an internal temperature of 135 to 140 degrees. Serve with lemon wedges if desired.
Preheat oven, smoker or grill to 375 degrees. Par-bake small potatoes three to five minutes in the microwave or in a pot of boiling water. They should still be firm with just a bit of tenderness. Let cool. In a medium bowl, mix oil, garlic and spices together, mixing well. On a large sheet of foil, place squash in a slightly overlapping, single layer the approximate length of the fish. Drizzle a ta-
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.
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You’re allowed to keep five coho a day, but expect to release up to 20 or more. Experienced anglers have caught and released over 70 daily during the prime-time week we’ll be there teaching you how. All fish will be filleted – which we’ll also show you how to do in multiple ways – packaged and frozen. Most anglers take home two 50-pound boxes of fish as extra checked baggage.
LOTS OF OPPORTUNITIES You’ll also fish beads for Arctic char, one of my favorite things to do in Alaska. We’ll take a boat ride up the Egegik and search for schools of spawning sockeye salmon. Once located, we’ll wade our way below these schools, working egg imitations for hefty, hungry char, which can get up to 5 pounds, sometimes more, in this stretch of river. All fishing is done from shore. Boats will transport us to fishing holes; the gravel bottom and gently sloping stream make for easy, safe wading. Weather
permitting, every day we’ll have a shore lunch prepared by the camp’s longtime cook, often with fish you just caught. I’d suggest bringing your own gear (I can provide a list for) because it’s important to learn how to rig your own rods, reels and terminal gear, as that’s what you’ll be using for years to come. If you’re interested in attending our first official Scott Haugen Alaskan Fishing School, drop me an email at sthaugen@yahoo.com. You can learn more and watch videos from this magical place at scotthaugen.com/booking-service/egegik-river-camp. Life’s short, fish runs are plentiful in Alaska right now, and I hope the timing is right where you and some friends can join us. After a week of fishing together, you’ll come away with the knowledge to fish for multiple species, instruction that will last you a lifetime. ASJ Editor’s note: To learn more about booking a fishing trip in Alaska, visit scotthaugen.com.
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For nearly 30 years, noted author and TV host Scott Haugen has been fishing in Alaska, including as a teacher on the North Slope. He’s excited to share what he knows on the water. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
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THE SURVIVAL GUIDE HUNTING IN REMOTE ALASKA SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN LIGHTLY. HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO GET BACK
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You never know what lies ahead. Even those hunts that have been planned for weeks or even months can go badly. But having the necessary gear and keeping your focus will give hunters a better chance at coming out alive and well. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
PAUL D. ATKINS
I
’ve been in all kinds of survival situations – actually, more than I like to remember. There was the time I went through the ice on my snowmachine, stopping only as the cowling started to go under the slush. And the time I was hunting moose and slipped and fell, tearing my MCL on the first day. I was in extreme pain and hobbled back to camp using my bow as a crutch. An-
other time, when I was hunting muskox at minus 40 degrees, my snowmachine wouldn’t start – and I was 90 miles from the nearest shelter. One of the most serious situations revolved around a fly-out, do-it-yourself caribou hunt here in the Arctic. The hunt started on a Friday and I was scheduled for pickup by the transporter the following Thursday. The weather forecast was iffy that week – rain and fog were on the menu – but it was great to be out and
September meant the bulls would likely be cruising across the tundra. The first day was fine and on the second we were lucky enough to take a nice bull. After a couple of packing trips we had it all back to camp, and that was when it happened. I knew I didn’t feel well; I was sick to my stomach, and with a severe pain in my side I went to bed early thinking, What could this be? I thought maybe the water we filtered from the small pool we found might
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have been the culprit. “Beaver fever,” or giardia, is not to be messed with, but I also knew it usually takes a few days to kick in. At 2:30 a.m., I was in so much pain I couldn’t stand it. I crawled out of the tent and began vomiting uncontrollably. My hunting partner, Marcus, was awake too and crawled outside with me. I told him this was serious and to get on the satellite phone and call somebody immediately. I dug my phone out of the pack and he found the list of numbers and instructions that I always keep with it. Marcus unsuccessfully tried several times but was finally able to reach the Alaska State Troopers stationed in Kotzebue. I also had my GPS, another life-saving device that allowed Marcus to tell the troopers our position. They said they would be there, but it would have to wait until morning. The fog had rolled in and they couldn’t leave until daylight, or at least until they could see. It was a long night of extreme pain, so much so that it got to the point where I couldn’t walk. I was flat down in the tent trying not to move and prayed for the sound of a Super Cub overhead. Finally, at 6 a.m. we heard an approaching plane, which landed gracefully next to our camp. Marcus and the trooper ushered me to the plane, and in minutes we were off to town. Once we got to the tarmac an ambulance was there and I was in the hospital before I knew it. The diagnosis was kidney stones and dehydration that actually had started long before the hunt. After a couple of days in the hospital I was back to
One of the most important pieces of any survival pack is a GPS. Compasses are great, but with the advancement of technology a handheld global positioning device is the only way to go. Everyone who hunts the backcountry should have one and learn how to use it. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
normal. The trooper told me later that I was so lucky to have had a sat phone. No communication meant I would have spent another five days on the tundra. It saved my life. There are many situations like this where having the right equipment and following a certain set of rules will save your life if you happen to need them. Let’s first start with these variables:
SURVIVING THE EXTREME The most important aspect of any survival situation is to use common sense. Never lose your head; think things through if the situation calls for it. Be-
Necessities for outings in the Alaskan wilderness include a variety of fire starters, a space blanket to keep you warm, and a well-stocked first-aid kit. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
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fore leaving the house the first and foremost thing to do is tell someone where you’re going or planning to hunt. Here in the far north, where I do most of my hunting, letting someone know where I plan to be is a ritual. I actually have a laminated map on the back of our door that I mark each and every time I go out. I mark the map to let my wife and at least a couple of hunting buddies know exactly where I’ll be. I also let them know the time to expect me back, and if I’m not back, give or take a few hours or a day, to then start searching. It’s not something I do; it’s something I live by. Alaska is big and very unforgiving, and if possible I never go alone. I know this isn’t always the case, and for some of us going solo is what the experience is all about, but in the Arctic having a second set of hands, eyes and brains can and will save your life. I’ve had a ton of situations where trouble arose and I’ve had to go from hunting mode to survival mode in an instant. I would not have survived if
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In addition to warmth, especially if you’re cold, wet and frozen, fire also provides safety, yielding light and giving the hunter a sense of calm and security. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
wasn’t for my gear and the survival kit that never leaves my pack.
CARIBOU AND MOOSE HUNTS Let’s start with a caribou/moose scenario. I hunt these species of big game each and every year in Alaska. These
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hunts are usually a week to 10 days deep in the bush surrounded by miles and miles of tundra without people or any sign of civilization. Being able to take care of yourself and camp is a constant; you never know when an accident may occur or a grizzly might show up.
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You must be prepared and always ready for any situation that might occur. With the advance of technology, many would say that having a satellite phone and a GPS is must, and I would agree. These two items are always in my pack, although even with these devices you are still not safe from the many forms of disaster that can come your way. Weather is the biggest killer here in Alaska and a phone can only do so much. On fly-in drop hunts you are totally dependent on the pilot being able to fly and the GPS serves only as a marker where you might be in case someone needs to get to you. Weather can prevent any type of rescue. My survival kit for caribou includes not only the phone and GPS but also more practical gear that will keep me alive. Weight isn’t usually a problem on a caribou hunt and your kit can contain a few more necessities versus a backpack hunt in the mountains. Besides the sat phone and GPS here’s a list of what I
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Got food and water, right? Meals ready to eat can be lifesavers. Whether you’re in survival mode or not, having a couple of these with you will provide the calories needed to sustain you. Water is the key to survival and in Alaska it’s pretty prevalent – just make sure you have the means to filter it to prevent giardia. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
take in order to survive: Water purifier and bottle. I use the pump-type purifier on these hunts versus the tablets, only because I have the room and they weigh very little. I also prefer a bottle to a bladder, only because a bottle won’t break and or leak
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due to a hole that sometimes can happen with a bladder. Headlamp or small flashlight with extra batteries. Nothing worse than roaming around in the dark in bear country without a light. Fire starter. When it’s cold you need a fire, even more so if you get wet, either from rain and snow or, in a worst-case scenario, you fall into a river or creek. I pack matches in a double ziplock bag and also carry butane lighters of some kind, usually two or three. They also sell different fire starters in many forms. Those bonded sawdust cakes soaked in lighter fluid are some of my favorites. Duct tape. Duct tape is a cure-all and can be used in a lot of different situations. I was once skinning a moose that we took right at dark. My knife slipped and I nearly cut my middle finger off. With a little care, I was able to apply duct tape to my index finger and injured finger so I could finish the hunt. The bleeding stopped and the tape formed a somewhat crude splint. Duct tape can
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also be used to stabilize a broken leg or busted knee. Simply cut a couple of willow branches and form a splint. Securely tape them to the leg and you’re good to go; if not, get back to camp and call for help. Plastic tarp. I carry along a small 8-by-10-foot tarp all the time. They are small, light and can keep you warm. If you get caught in the dark far from camp or need to get warm fast, a tarp makes a great lean-to or can serve as a blanket. Rope. I carry along 100 feet of parachute cord, as rope can serve so many purposes, from making slings to tying splints to helping secure your make shift shelter. Food. I always carry enough to survive for three days. My food cache includes meat sticks, energy bars and gorp (a nut, raisin, candy mix). These are high in energy, with lots of protein and carbohydrates and take up little room in your pack. I also pack a few of the emergency drink mixes that
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you can buy over the counter. These powder mixes can be combined with water and provide you with the extra electrolytes that are needed in case of a survival situation. Protection. If I’m bowhunting, I always carry my pistol for bear protection. There have been many instances where I have had to fire at a grizzly from close range. If I’m rifle hunting, well, I’m rifle hunting and the pistol isn’t needed, but I do take extra ammo for both. Bear spray would be useful, but not so much on tundra hunts. First-aid kit. I carry a small kit with the basic necessities, usually containing a small amount of painkiller, tape and bandages. I also add a tourniquet just in case. Multi-tool or army knife complete with knife, saw and tweezers. I also carry a small folding saw. Extra pair of socks and gloves. Mine are usually wool. Last, but not least, toilet paper. You don’t need a whole roll, just enough in
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a ziplock to get the job done. As far as packing these items, I usually haul them to camp in a waterproof bag and then each day carefully take out what I’ll need in case I don’t make it back to camp for a few days. I pack these items in a large plastic ziplock bag; that way they stay dry in case it rains, or worse. If I were caribou/moose hunting, I would list these as the top five survival priorities: * Being able to purify water with either a pump or tablets. * I would have a space blanket or a tarp for protection from the elements. * Fire starter. * Energy bars. * Satellite phone.
MOUNTAIN HUNTS If I’m heading to the mountains to hunt sheep or goats, the items in my kit may not differ from the caribou/moose kit, but they will be much smaller and lighter. As most mountain hunters know,
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being as light as possible is what it’s all about, but remember that being safe and surviving has no weight restriction. My typical mountain survival kit holds water tablets (iodine) instead of a pump and a bladder instead of bottles. Again, the reasoning is that tablets are small and light and will give me a little more room in my pack. Plus, most expedition-type packs have a very reliable H20 compartment, and since you have all your gear on your back anyway it’s much easier to just carry it in a bladder. Moleskin is another item that I always pack. Even most well-worn hunting boots can and will form blisters on your feet. When your feet are done, the hunt is over. I would include a small first-aid kit, space blanket, protein bars, a knife and extra socks. Duct tape would be included as well for cuts and sprains. And even though they are not a part of a survival kit, two good trekking poles can be used for not only walking but in case of a break they can be combined with
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the tape to form a splint. I also pack a signal flare or two. Unlike hunting on the tundra, where you usually can get from point A to point B, if you are stuck on the side of a mountain and need rescue, being able to precisely pinpoint your location is a great help to rescuers. If I had to choose three musthaves, again it would be a way to purify water, food for energy and something for shelter in case you’re stuck on the slopes of a mountain. I usually stuff my kit in a plastic trash bag and place it at the very top of my backpack for easy access.
HUNTER SAFETY COURSE Everyone who hunts or ventures into the backcountry should take a hunter’s safety course. Most of us have, but it may have been many years ago. A good refresher, no matter your age or how much you think you know, should be a priority if you plan to go on any excursion. One of the first things you learn in
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the class is that it all starts with physical and mental conditioning, since hunters must know their limits and their capabilities. Depending on the amount of exertion required for a particular outing, you need to prepare for it, whether that means regular exercise and getting into shape to eating the right foods to preparing your mind for what looms ahead. Other reminders are proper clothing choices and knowing how to dress for success. There is nothing worse than being cold and wet and not being able to do anything about it. When it comes to clothes, remember this: Cotton is bad and synthetic is good. Safety courses also remind us of how to build a shelter, start a fire or find water from what you have or see around you. Look for natural shelters, build a lean-to and always make sure you have matches or other fire-starting material on your person. These will all save your life. The biggest points, however, go back
Not all locations we venture to have a reliable water source, so in some cases we must improvise. After noticing this rock had a small trickle of water coming out of it, a wellplaced container allowed Atkins to catch the day’s runoff and then filter it for safe consumption. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
to what I first mentioned: Don’t panic, and use your senses. 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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SAFETY IS A PHONE CALL AWAY
FAMILY-OWNED COMPANY HELPS SUPPLY IDITAROD WITH QUALITY TECHNOLOGY
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eteran musher Mitch Seavey’s sled reached Nome in mid-March, he and his dog team finishing a record-setting race to win his third Iditarod title. Seavey completed the 1,000 miles from Fairbanks to Nome in eight days, three hours, 40 minutes and 13 seconds, covering some of the most remote stretches of wilderness in North America in just over a week. Of course, Seavey and other mushers are able to communicate with the outside world as they travel from checkpoint to checkpoint. And for hunters and hikers, Alaska’s vast emptiness means it’s vital to have the most reliable means of communication during a potential emergency situation. Jim McKinley, founder of Outfitter Satellite Phones (888-7239642; outfittersatellite.com) was proud to be associated with this year’s version of “The Last Great Race on Earth.” “Outfitter Satellite is the official sponsor of Iridium satellite phone for the Iditarod Trail Committee,” McKinley says. “The phones are being used to monitor checkpoints and transmit data to their headquarters during the race.”
Makers of dependable satellite phones such as the Iridium line, Nashville, Tenn.-based Outfitter Satellite Phones has helped support the Iditarod Trail Committee with their products. (PAUL D. ATKINS) aksportingjournal.com | APRIL 2017
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We caught up with McKinley to learn a little bit more about his operation.
Alaska Sporting Journal This is a family-run business. Tell us about the origins of the company. Jim McKinley Outfitter Satellite is a small family-owned business in Nashville, Tenn., with seven employees. We sold our first Iridium satellite phone in 1999, and Iridium has become our strongest product line ever since. We rent, sell and repair Iridium satellite phones to all manner of customers, from individuals to large corporate and government users. Throughout the time we have been in business, Alaska has played a preeminent role. Many of our clients hunt and fish in Alaska and quite a few live in Alaska. A satellite phone is a reliable and low-cost way to assure communications in the vastness of Alaska. At one point, Outfitter Satellite had a pick-up location in
Anchorage for our customers, but as times have changed, we have adapted a more online approach. Our guiding principle has always remained: provide cutting-edge satellite phone equipment with fast delivery and world-class 24/7 technical support.
ASJ In 2010, what kind of excitement did you have when you activated the world’s first commercial Inmarsat Global Satellite Phone Services (GSPS) SIM card? JM Outfitter Satellite was one of the first pioneers in renting and selling personal satellite communications equipment. In 2010, Inmarsat gave Outfitter Satellite the honor of making the first commercial Inmarsat GSPS phone call. Inmarsat has always been the gold standard in marine terminals and land-portable data terminals. Inmarsat GSPS was its entry into the handheld satellite phone market that had been dominated by companies like Iridium and Thuraya. Today’s Inmarsat GSPS IsatPhone 2
satellite phone can make long-duration phone calls and is highly reliable. Since many GSPS users carry an IsatPhone 2 for emergencies, it is equipped with a one-touch emergency SOS button to quickly connect its user to an emergency phone number and transmit the user’s GPS position.
ASJ You also provided the high bandwidth for the DXpedition radio on Clipperton Island in the Pacific in 2008. What was that experience like for the company? JM Outfitter Satellite occasionally sponsors interesting expeditions. The ham radio enthusiasts that did the 2008 DXpedition to Clipperton Atoll wanted to test BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network) there and we provided the equipment. We have also sponsored the Veterans Expeditions (VetEx) mission to reach Denali’s summit in 2015 by providing them with an Iridium GO! for voice and data communications. VetEx is a veteran-led, chartered nonprofit that empowers veterans to overcome challenges associated with military service through outdoor training and leadership. For more on that, go to outfittersatellite. com/blog /iridium-satellite-phone/ iridium-go-rental-sponsorship-denali-veterans.html ASJ What do you think makes your
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products most ideal for outdoors enthusiasts in the wild? JM In modern life, we are used to staying connected. Outdoor enthusiasts travelling in remote places including much of Alaska need a satellite phone both for safety and for convenience. One of our clients in Alaska mentioned that they had called in a grocery order for floatplane delivery while they were at camp. Outfitter Satellite offers both handheld satellite phones and lightweight portable fast internet terminals to assure our clients can stay connected, wherever they go.
ASJ Alaska is obviously known for not only vast open spaces but unpredict-
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able weather. How durable do these phones have to be to handle any potential issues for stranded outdoorsmen and -women? JM The newest Iridium products include the Iridium GO! and the Iridium 9575 Extreme. Both have an IP65 ingress protection rating against water and dust intrusion and are designed to be used outside in all weather conditions. They also include critical safety features like personal tracking capabilities and an emergency SOS button to instantly connect you to highly qualified GEOS staff to give you guidance in an emergency, regardless of where you are on Earth. For more on what the IP rating means, go to outfittersatellite.com/ blog/inmarsat-bgan/what-does-theip-rating-of-a-satellite-phone-reallymean.html. For more on GEOS emergency services, go to outfittersatellite. com/blog/iridium-go/geos-are-youready-for-a-crisis-while-travelingabroad.html.
ASJ I’m sure you’ve heard a lot of success stories from your customers. Can you share one with us? JM Most of our clients are hikers and hunters. One of our clients is Spook Spann, a professional hunter that often hunts and fishes in Alaska. He gave us this quote: “The Iridium Go! Hotspot allowed me to use my regular smartphone while on a recent moose hunt above the Arctic Circle. Having the pocket-sized hotspot let me stay in touch with family by making and receiving calls, texting and conducting business right from my Alaskan backcountry camp, just as if I were back home in Tennessee.” ASJ Is there anything else you want to add about your company? JM We carry a full line of Iridium, Inmarsat, Thuraya and Globalstar satellite phones and terminals. This includes Iridium Push-to-Talk, Iridium and Inmarsat marine terminals, and equipment for fixed-site applications where permanent mounting of an antenna is required. ASJ
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THERE’S SO MUCH GOING ON OUTSIDE, REMAINING HOME IN SOUTHEAST ALASKA IS A PERFECT GETAWAY BY JEFF LUND
I
t was just after sunset and the sky was deep blue on its way to black. The horizon glowed in a slowly dying orange. Beneath my window seat, jagged peaks covered in white reminded me there was quite a bit of time yet until the alpine hunting season. It’s always a good time to get that feeling, though. You know: really, really small and insignificant.
I WAS ON A FLIGHT from Ketchikan to Sit-
Southeast Alaska is a destination trip for many hunters, including for those who call the area home. (JEFF LUND)
ka just after sunset on a clear night with an almost full moon. Winter storms had relented and the scene was totally overwhelming. Enough can’t be said about just how insignificant the already-small communities are that show up as little collections of lights on an otherwise dark landscape. Yeah, our impact as humans is great and there’s logging and pollution, but really we haven’t settled this area because we can’t. There’s too much: too much land, too much water, too much elevation and too close to shore. There is expansive nothing, except for harshness, and as a dude who lives for the outdoors, I have no idea what my plan is. In the short term the plan is to steelhead fish, then fish for steelhead. Then comes the spring bear hunt with my buddy Jesse, and after that king salmon fishing in the ocean. But the experience I look forward to the most each year is the alpine hunt – blazing through a clear-cut or forest and breaking through into subalpine, then finally the lush green that carpets the heights where I search for blacktail deer.
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The general terms are the same: ridge, saddle, bowl, face, etc., and many of the mountains look pretty similar, but they are far from redundant. Once things do start to become routine or boring it’s time; not for new stuff but for an attitude adjustment. It can’t be old. It’s never the same. It’s similar but can’t be the same.
Short flights from Ketchikan to Sitka don’t cheat passengers on great views of the Panhandle’s mountains, home to numerous blacktail deer come summer and fall. (JEFF LUND)
I WONDERED ABOUT THE sheer amount of deer that would take up residence once the snow was evicted by the warmth of spring, then felt a little bad for wanting to shoot them. It’s a little jacked-up when you think about it, or it is at least when I do. I don’t let it bother me and I am not leaning toward any sort of anti-hunting stance, but for a second I feel that the deer that are down in trees now will be excited to be in the alpine to feed and grow, only to have dudes like me up there with a rifle. I try to enjoy the process and be a good ambassador to the sport because there are plenty of people out there who label hunters and especially those who write and make videos about hunting, as barbaric, insecure, inhumane anti-intellectuals. I’m not too worried about what other people think and won’t be able to change the mind of those who don’t support hunting, but I don’t need to start a fight about it. Anyway, at moments like that flight I really don’t feel like I have a solid grasp on Southeast Alaska, though I grew up here and have lived here four years as The author’s calendar includes taking advantage of the Alaskan Pandhandle’s alpine hunting opportunities. (JEFF LUND)
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an adult after moving back. I will admit that I have been torn by the desire to see new parts of Alaska. I’ve been to Fairbanks and fished the Chena River for grayling, and Arctic char in Nome sounds awesome. Hunting caribou in Kotzebue would be the trip of a lifetime. That’s funny, of course, because people consider a week in Ketchikan the trip of a lifetime, and I live there. Still, there are trips of a lifetime within my own state. Since that flight I’ve spent more than a few hours on Google Earth, getting a better idea of the areas around where I live and where I do the summer thing. Some rich people go from Manhattan to the Hamptons or California’s Bay Area to Lake Tahoe when they need a vacation. I go from Ketchikan to Klawock. I think I win. ASJ Editor’s note: Ketchikan-based Jeff Lund is the author of Going Home, a memoir about fishing and hunting in Alaska. For more, go to jefflundbooks.com.
We all talk about taking trips of a lifetime, but when you live in Alaska, these magical places exist in your backyard. (JEFF LUND)
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MORE THAN JUST SILVERWARE
Brooks Range caribou antlers like these were once used by author Bjorn Dihle to make some unique spoons for his nieces, who he hopes will embrace the outdoors as he has. (BJORN DIHLE)
BY BJORN DIHLE
O
nce, in the Brooks Range, I carved spoons from a caribou antler to give to my three nieces. Any spoon bought at a store would do a better job of getting food into their mouths, but I wanted them to have something of caribou and wilderness, and to know there were other worlds out there in case they ever felt trapped. Ten days or so before, I’d followed the fresh tracks of a large grizzly up a gorge towards a mountain pass. The wind was hard on my face and the roar of a cascading stream blotted out all but my loudest warning calls. Hours wore
on and my nerves became increasingly frayed – at any moment I expected to run into the bear. The tracks of two wolves appeared and, then, strewn across the ground, lay a caribou calf. Blood and offal blackened the sand and gravel. Between the wolves and the bear little flesh remained. I knelt, cupped the calf’s face with my hand and studied the black scree mountain slopes rising into dark clouds. A short while later the bear appeared above the gorge, lumbering through rain and mist. The next day herds of caribou swirled over mountains and moved
across valleys, leaving behind networks of trails. In creek and river bottoms, where dense deciduous brush offered good vantages for grizzlies and wolves to ambush, lay caribou bones and mostly eaten carcasses. One distressed cow ran towards me and then in circles, as if it was looking for its calf. When I returned home I forgot to give my nieces those spoons. They disappeared until two of them seemingly miraculously appeared on my bookshelf last summer. I have four nieces now, so I think I’ll hang onto the spoons. Besides, the girls are getting to the point where they’re going on adventures where they can carve their
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The author’s brother Luke and niece Kiah overlook terrain in caribou country. Kiah has become quite the outdoorswoman already at 12 years old. (BJORN DIHLE)
own funny-looking eating utensils.
NOT LONG AFTER I found those spoons, my older brother Luke and his 12-yearold-daughter (and fellow ASJ correspondent ) Kiah (July 2016) were nice enough to invite me along on a caribou hunt – Kiah’s first journey into caribou country. Acting as a meat packer, I followed the two along alpine ridges and across tussocks. At the end of each day we made dinner, laughed and then sat quietly watching the sun set on ancient mountains. We lucked out and ran into three young bulls. Since I forgot to bring plastic bags, my pack became saturated with blood from the meat from the two caribou Luke and Kiah shot. After getting the meat close to the road I said goodbye. I planned to try to walk to the headwa132
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ters of the Charley River and then packraft to Circle. But Kiah guilt-tripped me. “Just come home with us,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief over how foolish I was being. I trudged away, looking back as my brother and his daughter hiked the opposite direction. Two days later, smelling like a movable bear feast, I hiked over a knoll and saw the backsides of a sow grizzly and her big cub. I sat, hoping the wind wouldn’t swirl my scent their way, and waited impatiently for them to move on. They followed caribou trails along the same ridge I needed to travel. I began trailing when they were about 400 yards away until I lost sight of them. Near dark I jumped a cow caribou and her calf in a band of scrub willows near a creek. They ran anxiously in circles as the last of the sunset red-
APRIL 2017 | aksportingjournal.com
dened the mountains. A blizzard rolled in that night and I wasn’t prepared for deep snow, so I hiked out to the Taylor Highway. There, I walked for hours on the dirt road towards Eagle. A few moose hunters drove by and gave me apprehensive glances as I stood there with my thumb up. I didn’t blame them for not stopping. I looked and smelled pretty terrifying.
NEAR DUSK, WHILE I was eyeing the woods for a decent camping spot, a truck pulled over and a man offered a ride. He was a carpenter from Fairbanks who’d wanted to show his family Dawson City and Eagle during a three-day weekend. “I should ride in the back,” I said as I explained to them about smelling like a rotten caribou.
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“Nonsense, hop in the cab,” he said after introducing me to his wife and his three young daughters. In about five minutes the girls went from being silent to excitedly telling me about the two lynxes they’d seen that day. The man and wife looked back, told stories about their adventure and gently teased each other. The next morning I floated down the Yukon River towards Circle – there was no mail plane out of Eagle for a few days and I had a bit of time before I needed to go back to work. Snow covered the mountains and the yellow leaves fluttered in the wind as I drifted with the current. I thought of those caribou antler spoons, the struggles every animal shares, and how there could be no gift more wonderful or terrifying than trying to raise a young one. ASJ Editor’s note: Bjorn Dihle is a Juneau writer. Check out the preview of his first book, Haunted Inside Passage and follow him at facebook.com/BjornDihleauthor.
After stumbling onto a mama grizzly and her sow and then hitchhiking along the Taylor Highway, the author’s float down the Yukon River provided a chance to think about what he’s experienced in the wild. (BJORN DIHLE)
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