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Volume 11 • Issue 12 www.aksportingjournal.com PUBLISHER James R. Baker GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak EXECUTIVE EDITOR Andy Walgamott EDITOR Chris Cocoles
Pistol Bullets and Ammunition Zero Bullet Company, Inc.
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WRITERS Paul D. Atkins, Bjorn Dihle, Scott Haugen, Tiffany Haugen, Dylan Tomine SALES MANAGER Paul Yarnold ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Mamie Griffin, Kelley Miller, Mike Smith DESIGNER Lesley-Anne Slisko-Cooper PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Kelly Baker WEB DEVELOPMENT/INBOUND MARKETING Jon Hines, Jon Eske ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Katie Aumann INFORMATION SERVICES MANAGER Lois Sanborn ADVERTISING INQUIRIES media@media-inc.com
ON THE COVER Dylan Wills targets Chinook in his native Oregon, but in Alaska he fishes for more plentiful coho, which offer Wills and other salmon anglers outstanding catch-andrelease opportunities and tasty fillets. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
MEDIA INDEX PUBLISHING GROUP 941 Powell Ave SW, Suite 120 Renton, WA 98057 (206) 382-9220 • Fax (206) 382-9437 media@media-inc.com • www.media-inc.com CORRESPONDENCE Twitter @AKSportJourn Facebook.com/alaskasportingjournal Email ccocoles@media-inc.com
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ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
MAY 2022 | aksportingjournal.com
2022 SPECIALS AVAILABLE FOR MAY, JUNE, JULY, AUGUST & SEPTEMBER. There has been no fishing pressure in our waters for over two years. SALMON
The most successful Salmon Hatchery on the Pacific Coast is just 30 miles from Zeballos. For the past several years, over 50,000 Chinook Salmon have returned each fall to the Conuma Creek spawning grounds where the hatchery is located. Most of these migrating Salmon start to come through our waters starting in May. We have non-spawning Chinook Salmon in our waters year-round—Winter Chinook (Kings, or Springs). In May you'll be catching on average 12 to 18 pound Salmon—absolutely the best table fare.
HALIBUT
We are located very close to an amazing halibut fishery that seems never ending. We can't remember a trip where we didn't hook into many of these amazing eating fish. Come with us, and we'll show you how to bring up white gold. Be prepared with coolers!
Limited trips left, book now before we are sold out!
DAY TRIPPER
Up to 4 people per boat, expect full limits Three Great Locations: Zeballos, Tahsis & Tofino - One Night’s Accommodations In Zeballos - Solo Anglers Welcome - Maximum 4 Anglers/Trip - Up to12 hour Trips - Food & Drinks - 28’ Covered Boats - Halibut quota Available
$455.00 USD + 5% tax /per person Book Your Day Trippers Trip at zeballostopguides.com/day-trips Complete and submit the form. TRIP LIMITS for Day Tripper Package: 4 Salmon of which 2 can be Kings and two can be Silvers, 1 Halibut up to 70 pounds, 3 Lingcod and 4 Rockcod. We have purchased Halibut Quota from the Commercial Halibut Fleet and if you wish to take extra Halibut, the cost will be about $5 per pound.
HALIBUT EXPRESS
Drive-In 3 Nights / 4 Days Package Join us for our 11th annual Halibut Express starting May 1st, 2022! - 20 hours of guided fishing - 3 nights accommodation at the Cedars Inn - All meals including wine with the dinner meals - Cleaning and filleting of your catch - All fishing tackle provided (You are welcome to bring your favorite rod and reel)
Party of 2 fishing 2 per boat: $1395 + tax USD Per Person Party of 3 fishing 3 per boat: $1175 + tax USD Per Person Party of 4 fishing 4 per boat: $795 + tax USD Per Person TRIP LIMITS for 3N/4D Halibut Express Package: 8 Salmon of which 4 can be Chinook (Kings), 2 Halibut, 6 Lingcod, and 8 Rockcod. We have have purchased Halibut Quota from the Commercial Halibut Fleet and if you wish to take extra Halibut, the cost will be about $5 per pound.
LEARN MORE
zeballostopguides.com/halibut-special Call 250-337-2158 Email: doug.zeballostopguides2022@gmail.com
NOTES: Fishing Licenses required and can be purchased April 1, 2022
Guide and Staff gratuities not included Bring your own coolers ... you’ll need them!
Don’t wait—packages sell out fast every year, contact us now!
CONTENTS
FEATURES
VOLUME 11 • ISSUE 12
33
22
SAVING STEELIES Once abundant in rivers and streams up and down the West Coast of the Lower 48, through British Columbia and, of course, Southeast Alaska, steelhead are now, like some salmon stocks, facing dire threats of extinction in those same watersheds. In an excerpt of Dylan Tomine’s new book, Headwaters: The Adventures, Obsession, and Evolution of a Fly Fisherman, he explains how even stillproductive rivers like Yakutat’s famed Situk are seeing fewer of the anadromous fish than they once did.
40
SHARING THE WORLD WITH BEARS
62
SURVIVAL MODE
(SCOTT HAUGEN)
KING COHO
Has the kings’ reign been abdicated in the Last Frontier? While Chinook salmon returns have dwindled in several regions of Alaska, our From Field to Fire team of Scott and Tiffany Haugen remind that the state does have plenty of coho salmon for anglers to catch this summer, and that their larger cousins could benefit if we switched targets. “With king numbers declining in many of Alaska’s streams, now is the time to change our train of thought and focus on a more abundant salmonid to catch,” Scott argues. And Tiffany’s honey mustard-infused smoked salmon recipe will give your coho limits plenty of flavor.
Our longtime correspondent Bjorn Dihle has always enjoyed a spiritual connection with Alaska’s bears (check out his book, A Shape in the Dark: Living and Dying with Brown Bears, for more perspective on his passion). And in his Pride of Bristol Bay column, Dihle writes about the everyday encounters Alaskans have with bruins that most Lower 48 residents simply can’t relate to. But for folks in Bristol Bay and the Alaska Peninsula, bears and humans are coexisting the best they can. When you embark on as many adventures as Paul Atkins has during his long tenure in Alaska’s raw and, at times, unforgiving Arctic, you’re bound to be in some situations that can become dicey at best and downright terrifying at worst. Atkins offers up some tips for how to be prepared for the most dangerous scenarios that the Last Frontier is famous for unleashing on hunters and anglers.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 13 15 19 46
The Editor’s Note
Alaska Beat Outdoor calendar The Panhandle ‘Giant’: Big brown bear makes its presence felt by film crew, fellow ursines 57 Tip of the Month: How to take the best photos during your Alaskan adventure
Alaska Sporting Journal is published monthly. Call Media Inc. Publishing Group for a current rate card. Discounts for frequency advertising. All submitted materials become the property of Media Inc. Publishing Group and will not be returned. Annual subscriptions are $29.95 (12 issues) or $49.95 (24 issues). Send check or money order to Media Inc. Publishing Group, 941 Powell Ave SW, Suite 120, Renton, WA 98057 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 © 2022 Media Inc. Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher. Printed in U.S.A. 10
ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
MAY 2022 | aksportingjournal.com
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I
Author Dylan Tomine is among those anglers who are using their platform to raise awareness about the declining runs of salmon and steelhead throughout the Western U.S. (CAMERON KARSTEN)
drove down to California in early April to visit family and take a week’s vacation with friends. The trip south on Interstate 5 from the Seattle area, where our company is headquartered, to my childhood home just outside San Francisco, can be equally boring and spectacular. But what I always try to do during the trip is take a look at the countless rivers the freeway crosses – from Washington’s Cowlitz, to Oregon’s Willamette and to California’s Klamath and Sacramento. I marvel at how many of those fisheries have supported salmon and steelhead runs for generations long before my own. But now, I fear that the generations following my own might never get the chance to fish those waters, whether for recreation or subsistence. It’s sobering to realize that once-plentiful runs of fish are now enduring declines for various reasons, including some that have reached critical levels. Author and angler Dylan Tomine, who also hails from the state of Washington and spent many years guiding in Alaska’s still plentiful but also vulnerable Bristol Bay for salmon, is among those advocates warning that our anadromous fish are under fire. In an excerpt (page 22) from his new book, Headwaters: The Adventures, Obsession, and Evolution of a Fly Fisherman, Tomine focused on steelhead numbers dropping throughout the West Coast. He notes that even on one of the Last Frontier’s most productive steelhead fisheries, the Panhandle’s Situk, the once endless procession of sea-run trout has sharply dropped since the river’s heyday. So know that there is potential for Alaska steelhead streams to decline too, perhaps even to the point where the situation is as dire as some of the fisheries along that I-5 corridor I’ve driven often in recent years. During my recent trip down, I stopped to pick up a sandwich in Grants Pass, Oregon. A few miles later I exited the interstate and ate a riverside lunch along the Rogue, another popular fishery. After eating, I walked my dog Emma along the banks of the Rogue and I couldn’t help but wonder about the future of this and so many other waterways. But thankfully, we have Tomine and so many others fighting to save the remarkable fish on those rivers and streams. Keep up the battle, everyone! -Chris Cocoles
aksportingjournal.com | MAY 2022
ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
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“
AN ALASKAN BUCKET LIST W
e recently chatted with former NFL All-Pro defensive lineman and diehard outdoorsman Jared Allen for a Q&A running this month in our sister magazine, American Shooting Journal. And while Allen is no stranger to hunting throughout the Western states and abroad, he’s aching to hunt in the Last Frontier. “I really want to get into either Alaska or British Columbia to hunt,” says Allen, who turned 40 in April and celebrated with an Argentina bird hunt, a birthday gift from his wife Amy. And while Allen has taken Montana elk and Idaho bears, harvested a red stag in New Zealand and hopes to plan an African plains game adventure in the future, there’s an Alaskan big game superstar he’s eager to chase. “But I think my next adventure I’d love to do is fill my freezer with moose,” the likely future Pro Football Hall of Famer admits. “That’s so delicious. You would need a week just to process that dang thing!” Look for our interview with Jared Allen in May’s American Shooting Journal. Go to americanshootingjournal.com for more.
ALASKA BEAT TWEET OF THE MONTH
Jared Allen, who registered 136 sacks in his National Football League career, wants to hunt moose in Alaska someday. “You would need a week just to process that dang thing!” (JARED ALLEN)
“
They’re back! Recently, the first bear of the spring was spotted in Denali National Park. Now it’s time to brush up on bear safety in Denali: stay at least 300 yards from bears and make noise as you hike. It’s also recommended that hikers carry bear spray when exploring the park. -@DenaliNP April 10
THEY SAID IT
“While many factors, such as weather, climate change and changes to the historical extent and timing of caribou migration, may be contributing to lower harvests by federally qualified subsistence users, the board should act to help ensure that rural residents are able to meet their subsistence need, and to provide for a subsistence priority. Therefore, non-federally qualified harvest should be eliminated in some areas in times of shortage.” -Thomas Heinlein, acting Alaska director for the Bureau of Land Management at a state board meeting that announced the controversial closures of moose and caribou hunts in Western Alaska. aksportingjournal.com | MAY 2022
ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
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TWO BROTHERS KINGS FOR A DAY
T
he Homer Winter King Salmon Tournament was pushed back when bad weather rolled in for the April 9 scheduled event. But that didn’t stop the Marley brothers’ mojo for taking the top prize in the popular derby. In 2021, 10-year-old Andrew Marley cashed in a total of $87,000 of prize and side pot money for catching the biggest Chinook – a 25.62-pounder – in
the one-day event. But older brother Weston, 15, was not about to let his younger sibling own all the family bragging rights. The brothers Marley struck again when Weston’s 27-plus-pound fish took first place last month. The Homer Chamber of Commerce reported Weston’s total prize money netted the teen $84,619. That’s quite a college fund the Marley family
FROM THE ASJ ARCHIVES – MAY 2019
has gotten started for the boys! Per a press release, the event awarded “the second largest amount of cash prizes in the tournament’s history, $218.189. Even with the tournament being postponed for one day due to weather conditions, there were 1,366 registered anglers and 408 boats that participated in the tournament.” But the Marley brothers are head and shoulders above the rest!
SALMON SLAYING ON THE NUSH
A
“
lot of clients love that first couple weeks of June,” shares Scott Weedman, co-owner of Alaska King Salmon Adventures (alaskakingsalmon.com), which is situated on the banks of the Nushagak River. “They know they might lose half a day – maybe even a full day of fishing due to high winds and heavy rain – but they also know that sitting in camp will be worth the wait, because tens of thousands of king salmon can come into the river on one storm this time of year.” Just as Weedman says, mid-June is my favorite time to fish king salmon on the Nushagak. Many times over my more than 15 years of fishing this river, I’ve sat by the fire in camp, hoping the dining hall tent wouldn’t blow over in the incessant storm. But the day after those storms, the king salmon fishing was spectacular – some of the best I’ve ever experienced anywhere in Alaska. One day after a storm, my wife Tiffany and I landed and released over 100 Chinook. Another day after heavy rain, two buddies and I landed and released 143 kings in a day. So there’s no doubt that big numbers can happen on this river. -Scott Haugen Scott Haugen with a nice Nushagak River king, a reason why he loves this Bristol Bay fishery. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
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ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
MAY 2022 | aksportingjournal.com
Located in the Heart of Soldotna, Alaska on the World Famous Kenai River! *Kenai Riverfront Suites *Full kitchens, 2 bedrooms *Jacuzzi Suite *Private River access for Fishing *Open year round kenairiversuites@gmail.com
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aksportingjournal.com | MAY 2022
ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
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Remote, Comfortable & Affordable
Our remote Alaskan fishing lodge is situated on the upper stretches of the beautiful Egegik River. You’ll watch some of Alaska’s most stunning sunrises, complete with a distant, active volcano. We are a fishing camp specializing in coho fishing, brown bear viewing, and flyout fishing adventures to even more remote destinations in the Last Frontier.
Coho Fishing The Egegik River
The Egegik River is touted by many experienced anglers as the best silver salmon stream in all of Alaska. Becharof Lodge On The Egegik River was the first fishing lodge to become established on the breathtaking Egegik River, and is less than a 5 minute boat ride from some of the best fishing holes on the entire river.
Now Booking for 2022 Coho Fishing Trips Included in your fishing trip: • 5 days fishing/5 nights stay in camp • Experienced, fully guided fishing. • Comfortable cabins furnished with beds, cozy comforters & bedding. • Home cooked meals, snacks, and nonalcoholic beverages. • Transportation from the lodge to prime fishing holes on the Egegik River. • Freezing and vacuum sealing of your fish, up to 50 lbs., per angler.
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OUTDOOR CALENDAR* May 21-Sept. 4 Valdez Halibut Derby (valdezfishderbies.com/halibut-derby) May 25 Last day of brown bear hunting in Game Management Unit 6D (Montague Island and remainder of unit) May 31 Last day of spring brown bear hunting in several units May 31 Last day of wolf season in GMU 1A and 1B (south of Bradfield Canal and the east fork of the Bradfield River) June 3-12 Valdez Halibut Hullabaloo (valdezfishderbies.com/ halibut-derby/halibut-hullaballoo) July 4 Mount Marathon Race, Seward (mountmarathon.com) July 23 Valdez Kids’ Pink Salmon Derby (valdezfishderbies.com/kids-derby) July 23-Sept. 4 Valdez Silver Salmon Derby (valdezfishderbies.com/silver-derby) July 29 Valdez Big Fish Friday (valdezfishderbies.com/silver-derby/ big-prize-friday) Aug. 13-21 Seward Silver Salmon Derby (seward.com/event/ 67th-annual-silver-salmon-derby/10) For more information and season dates for Alaska hunts, go to adfg.alaska.gov/ index.cfm?adfg=hunting.main. Note: Check with local contacts on events that could be postponed/cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
.
The Valdez Halibut Derby opens on May 21 and continues through Sept. 4. Go to valdezfisherbies.com for more information. (VALDEZ FISH DERBIES) aksportingjournal.com | MAY 2022
ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
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ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
MAY 2022 | aksportingjournal.com
STATE OF THE STEELHEAD
NEW BOOK WARNS ABOUT FUTURE DANGERS THE ANADROMOUS FISH MAY FACE
U
p and down the West Coast – from the top half of California, to Oregon and Washington and even the plentiful streams of Southeast Alaska – steelhead and other anadromous fish that call the region’s rivers home could be or already are in trouble. Bainbridge Island, Washington, author Dylan Tomine’s new book explains some of the perils those fish face in his home state and other coastal locales. Tomine’s bio refers to him as “a father, writer, conservation advocate and recovering sink tip addict; not necessarily in that order.” An earlier book of his, Closer to the Ground: An Outdoor Family’s Year on the Water, in the Woods and at the Table, was a National Outdoor Book Award honorable mention. He is also a producer of a feature-length documentary, Artifishal, made by outdoors giant Patagonia about the fight to save wild salmon. But Tomine’s goal with his latest project is, in part, a plea to protect the steelhead of Alaska, California and the Pacific Northwest. The following is excerpted from Headwaters: The Adventures, Obsession, and Evolution of a Fly Fisherman, by Dylan Tomine. Reprinted with permission by publisher Patagonia Books.
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MAY 2022 | aksportingjournal.com
Fly fishing for West Coast and Alaska steelhead and salmon has become a rite of passage for anglers. But a new book written by author Dylan Tomine offers warnings about what has happened, what is happening and what could become of these remarkable fish. (MATTHEW DELORME) aksportingjournal.com | MAY 2022
ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
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BY DYLAN TOMINE
F
our feet deep. Rocks the size of bowling balls. Choppy on top. The big purple marabou settles into emerald-green water, comes tight, and starts swinging through the seam. I hold my breath and make a small inside mend. The fly slows briefly, swims crosscurrent into the soft water, and suddenly stops. The rod bends. The line pulls. And the river’s surface shatters. As my reel handle blurs, I hear the hiss of fly line shearing water and watch in awe as the biggest steelhead I’ve ever seen launches into the air and cartwheels away three, four, five times. When I come to my senses, there’s only one thing to do: start running. Twenty minutes later, heart pounding and sweaty, I’m holding the tiring fish on a tight line as it slips downstream into a chute of fast water. Unable to follow any farther, I clamp down on the spool and my fishing buddy leaps in chest-deep, plunges his arms into the icy water, and heroically comes up with an enormous slab of chrome. At 40½ by 23 inches, it’s quite probably the largest steelhead I will ever land, and one of five we’ve hooked this morning in the same run. The Dean? Russia? Some other exotic destination? Or maybe a complete steelhead fantasy? Hell no. This was the suburban Skykomish River, 40 minutes from downtown Seattle, on March 14, 1997. That year, in the March–April catch-and-release season, I averaged almost two steelhead per trip. On swung flies. Fishing mostly in short three- or four-hour sessions before or after work. Unbelievable fishing, and even more unbelievable, it wasn’t all that long ago. Today, the fabulous March and April fishery on my beloved Sky is gone. The wild steelhead population was in such a downward spiral that even the relatively low-impact catch-and-release season was completely shut down after the 2000 season. Heartbreaking? I can’t even find words for how I feel about it. I moved to Seattle in 1993 to be closer to the fabled steelhead waters of Puget Sound. A city where I could work, and a great river with big fish, less than an hour away – it seemed too good to be true. Of course, it was. I had planned on a lifetime
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ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
of learning and fishing the Skykomish. Instead, I arrived just in time to witness the beginning of the end. That’s only one river among hundreds of steelhead watersheds on the West Coast, right? What’s the big deal? There are still plenty of fish to catch in other places, aren’t there? And hey, if you aren’t a steelheader, why should you get worked up about some river closing way out in Washington? Good questions all. I would start with the fish themselves. Perfectly evolved to thrive in both marine and freshwater environments, wild steelhead carry the ocean’s bounty inland as they migrate toward the places of their birth. And, as each watershed provides a different set of spawning and rearing conditions, it creates a unique race of steelhead. In the wild realm, there is no generic steelhead, only a range of fish with characteristics perfectly adapted to their specific rivers. As anglers, we find ourselves seeking the small, free-rising “A-Run” steelhead of the high-desert Columbia Basin rivers; the “half-pounders” of Northern California and Southern Oregon; magnificent, heavy-bodied winter fish in the Olympic Peninsula rainforest and coastal Oregon rivers; the mind-blowingly powerful August steelhead above the falls on the Dean; the legendary autumn giants on the Skeena; the high-latitude chromers of Kamchatka and the Aleutians … These fish range from 14 inches to 30 pounds, from 2 to 9 or more years old, from heavily spotted to nearly unmarked. And yet, they share several distinctive traits: a willingness to come to the swung fly; the speed and strength normally associated with saltwater fish; an individual beauty that possesses those who fish for them; and unfortunately, a future as cloudy as a glacial river after days of warm rain. Why should we care? If you’re a steelheader, the reasons are obvious. And if you are not, the depleted state of wild steelhead populations on the Pacific Coast serves as a powerful example of a valuable resource squandered and a lesson for anglers and fish managers everywhere. On a bigger scale, steelhead are an indicator
MAY 2022 | aksportingjournal.com
Washington’s Olympic Peninsula rivers are book author Dylan Tomine’s sacred waters. They’re home to that state’s strongest remaining steelhead runs, as well as populations of seagoing bull trout. (CAMERON KARSTEN)
species, the proverbial canary in the coal mine of population growth and human consumption. In other words, the health of wild steelhead is a direct reflection of the health of both our watersheds and marine environments. Steelhead can clearly survive without us – the question is, can we survive without them? “A curious thing happens when fish
stocks decline: People who aren’t aware of the old levels accept the new ones as normal. Over generations, societies adjust their expectations downward to match prevailing conditions.” –Kennedy Warne, National Geographic magazine
IN OREGON, WHERE POPULATION and
development have only more recently
become factors, the primary problem affecting wild steelhead seems to be genetic pollution from the massive coastal hatchery program. There are certainly logging-practice issues and the resulting spawning habitat loss, as well as a long history of high recreationalharvest rates, but according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), hatcheries are
the major reason 18 of the 21 distinct Oregon Coast wild steelhead stocks are now listed under the Endangered Species Act as either “depressed” or “of special concern.” So what about the healthy runs of the far north, where wilderness rivers attract anglers from around the world to fish for larger numbers of wild steelhead? Well, the Situk River in Southeast
aksportingjournal.com | MAY 2022
ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
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Author Dylan Tomine has fished all over the West Coast and spent five years guiding in Bristol Bay (below). He loves the fish he’s cast flies for and wants to continue to do so. (DYLAN TOMINE)
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Alaska, a small drainage famous for its incredibly productive steelhead fishery, certainly qualifies. Compared to other, more accessible rivers, recent average runs of 12,300 fish makes it a veritable bonanza for traveling anglers. However, a quick check of historical numbers shows that once again, we are fishing for crumbs. In 1952, the Situk had a typical run of between 25,000 and 30,000 wild winter steelhead. Today’s “bonanza” is really less than half of what it once was. On the Skeena in British Columbia, beyond the intensive and unsustainable gillnet bycatch and the indifference, or worse, from [Fisheries and Oceans Canada] outlined earlier [in my book], there’s currently a vast array of potentially disastrous threats to wild steelhead circling this watershed. Despite the recent ban on North Coast open-water net pens, industrial fish farm corporations – with their proven track record of waste pollution, chemicals,
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and deadly sea-lice infestations, which easily spread to migrating wild fish, thereby decimating natural runs – are still fighting to place facilities near the mouth of the Skeena. (As a side note, it’s a well-documented fact that salmon farms dramatically damage wild fish runs, but has anyone noticed what a self-fulfilling market strategy this is? As wild runs decline, the value of farmed fish will certainly rise.) Royal Dutch Shell is pushing to exploit coalbed methane reserves in the Sacred Headwaters, while other corporations seek to extract molybdenum, copper, and other precious metals, all of which would prove disastrous for the watershed. A pipeline carrying millions of gallons of toxic petroleum products is planned to run through the avalanche- and slideprone Skeena corridor. Rail cars loaded with Indonesian petroleum byproducts to be used as solvents rumble perilously upriver bound for the tar-sand oil fields
NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center
This Situk steelhead and many other rivers’ stocks could be in jeopardy in the future. “Why should we care? If you’re a steelheader, the reasons are obvious. And if you are not, the depleted state of wild steelhead populations on the Pacific Coast serves as a powerful example of a valuable resource squandered and a lesson for anglers and fish managers everywhere,” states Tomine. (TONY ENSALCO)
of Alberta. And timber companies have their sights on vast tracts of forest protecting critical spawning habitat. That such damaging, yet profitable, industries are even on the table for what may be the most valuable steelhead watershed in the world is mind-boggling. It also demonstrates the power of the almighty dollar and what people fighting to preserve this fishery are up against. Not surprisingly, very few believe government, if left to its own devices, 28
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will make any decisions here to benefit salmon or steelhead. “In our fathers’ generation, they witnessed the complete collapse of the California steelhead fishery. In our generation, it was the famed rivers of Puget Sound. What’s next? We’re currently standing on the edge of the cliff and time is running out. If we’re going to do anything to save wild steelhead, we have to do it now.” –Dr. Nathan Mantua, research scientist,
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THE FACT IS, STEELHEAD are under attack at every level: from federal policies favoring commercial, unsustainable fisheries, mining, and forest harvest practices to bungled state management operating under a philosophy of [maximum sustained harvest], to local municipalities’ sanctioning of development and commercialization. Suburban sprawl engulfs our river valleys. Forestland is cut to build houses and make toilet paper. Modern agriculture requires increasing amounts of water, while dam operators fight to generate more electricity – all at the expense of natural, fish-producing streamflow. To mitigate these losses, we’ve come to rely on hatcheries, which we are now learning may contribute to wild fish declines as much as all the other factors combined. All this, and we’re only beginning to see the effects of global warming, with its changing weather patterns, shrinking glaciers, catastrophic flood events, and higher summertime stream temperatures. Is it any wonder our fish are in trouble? To quote Bill Murray in Stripes, “And then … depression set in.” I know, the numbers are staggering. The causes, seemingly insurmountable. The outlook, bleak. But there are reasons for hope, first and foremost of which is that wild steelhead are incredibly tough, resilient fish. As the glaciers retreated thousands of years ago, steelhead spread out, adapted, and colonized a wide range of disparate environments from high-desert sage country to coastal rainforest, from winding tundra streams to broad valley rivers. When Mount Saint Helens erupted in 1980, sending a boiling mass of superheated ash down the Toutle River, for all intents and purposes, the river as we knew it ceased to exist. To see it shortly after this catastrophic event was to witness a thin trickle of water winding through a wasteland of broken stumps and volcanic mud. And yet, within a few short years, the wild steelhead were back, recolonizing and adapting to their harsh new environment. As Dr. Nathan Mantua says, “If we just give them half a chance, the fish will respond.” So how do we give them that half a chance? Just as the threats to wild
Southeast Alaska’s famed Situk River remains a strong bastion for steelhead, but as the author writes, “In 1952, the Situk had a typical run of between 25,000 and 30,000 wild winter steelhead. Today’s ‘bonanza’ is really less than half of what it once was.” (TONY ENSALACO)
steelhead survival exist on every level, so too do the possible solutions. On a broad scale, since our governments seem to respond best to money, we need to remind the people we’ve entrusted with the management of our fish about the financial benefits of healthy runs and the resulting tourist and sportfishing dollars. We need to fight hidden subsidies and government sanctioning of resource extraction industries. We need to vote, petition, and write letters. Does it work? Absolutely. Just look at the ban on openwater salmon farms for the north coast of British Columbia. After years of hard work by a coalition of First Nations and local nonprofits, the BC government finally agreed with their citizens and implemented the new policy in 2008. When possible, we need to provide alternatives to the status quo. If we look, there are some surprisingly simple solutions to a number of the challenges we face. For example, in places like the Columbia, Fraser, and Skeena Rivers, where commercial salmon gill-net fisheries intercept a high number of steelhead, livecapture fish traps or pound nets would allow safe release of fish from depressed stocks, while simultaneously increasing the quality (and thereby the value) of the targeted fish. Everybody wins. 30
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We can also boycott farmed salmon from open-water net pens and explain to restaurants and markets that serve or sell it why this product is so damaging to wild salmon and steelhead. Turns out, most people have no idea about the harm it causes, and, when shown the facts, will happily stop buying or selling farmed salmon. We should encourage – no, demand – that outdoor gear manufacturers actively give back to preserve the resources they depend upon, and support those that do with our dollars. We can eat local, organic food. Stop watering and fertilizing our lawns. Walk, pedal, or paddle whenever possible. In drought-prone regions, even not flushing when you pee helps. The most valuable thing we can do, though, is to get directly involved. Of course, I understand most of us don’t have the time or resources to understand all the issues or wage a personal political campaign. That’s where grassroots organizations like Wild Fish Conservancy, Wild Steelhead Coalition, and Native Fish Society come into play. These groups are hard at work doing everything from political lobbying and litigation to scientific research, stream restoration, and funding steelhead-related projects. They provide the regular angler with the
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voice and clout of a larger organization, and distribute information to their members about issues requiring action. As distasteful as politics and joining organizations may be to many anglers, it is, as author and steelhead aficionado Tom McGuane reminds us, “Now past the time where we can just go out and fish without worrying about the resource.” That’s pretty much what we’ve been doing, and look where it got us. If you fish for steelhead or dream of someday fishing for them, if the numbers and issues in this story concern you, if you’d like to believe that we’ll have fishable numbers of steelhead for the rest of our lives and our children’s … the answer is simple: get involved. For that matter, if you’re passionate about trout or stripers or bass or salmon or tarpon, I urge you to learn from what’s happened to our steelhead and get involved with the preservation of your fishery. As steelheaders know all too well, when it goes, it goes fast. ASJ Editor’s note: Headwaters: The Adventures, Obsession, and Evolution of a Fly Fisherman, is available at patagonia.com/ shop/books. For more information on author Dylan Tomine, check out his website (dylantomine.com).
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CAN COHO SNATCH THE KING’S CROWN?
FIELD
MAKING THE CASE FOR SILVERS AS THE STATE’S PREMIER SALMON TARGET BY SCOTT HAUGEN
C
ould coho become the new king of salmon in Alaska? Or should the question be, “Should coho become the new king of salmon in Alaska?” I know, it’s only May and the start of coho season is still three months away, while king salmon season kicks off this month and usually gets rolling pretty good by June. Sadly, tradition and desire aren’t enough to replace the dwindling king salmon runs so many of Alaska’s rivers have been experiencing in the years. Some king salmon seasons have seen cuts in both fishing time and bag limits. Guides on some king fisheries are working less than half of the days they used to. Why? Because king numbers are so low and size averages are down in so many places, they want to take the pressure off these grand fish; it’s a conscious effort to help save them. And there’s something you can do, too. That’s put kings aside for a while and think about targeting coho in the later summer and fall months. Whether you’re a resident looking to put meat in the freezer or a traveling angler from out of state, consider targeting coho instead of king salmon. One of the biggest hurdles for many anglers to overcome is breaking routine thought.
For more than 30 years, author Scott Haugen has been fishing salmon throughout Alaska. In recent years he’s turned his focus from kings toward coho for many reasons. (SCOTT HAUGEN) aksportingjournal.com | MAY 2022
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FIELD SMOKER GIVES YOU FINISHING OPTIONS BY TIFFANY HAUGEN
T
here are many options when adding smoke flavor to fish. Completely cooking an item in the smoker from start to finish is what’s usually thought of when smoking salmon. Another option is to partially mix the ingredients that go into a recipe, giving the finished recipe varying layers of smoke flavor. Many times it simply comes down to time or desired texture when deciding how much to smoke fish. This recipe has two options: fully smoking with a glaze added while the fish is in the smoker, or partially smoking, glazing and then finishing in an oven or on the grill. Both offer excellent results, plus you’ll want to slather that honey mustard glaze on just about everything on your table.
HONEY MUSTARD SMOKED SALMON 1 pound salmon fillet
Tiffany Haugen likes to use her smoker to produce delicious flavor from her salmon fillets. She offers up two such options with this honey-infused fish recipe. (TIFFANY HAUGEN)
BRINE INGREDIENTS ¼ cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons salt 2 teaspoons granulated garlic 2 teaspoons granulated onion 2 teaspoons black pepper 1 quart water Wood chips (apple, cherry and/or alder)
GLAZE INGREDIENTS 2 tablespoons yellow mustard 2 tablespoons stone ground mustard 2 tablespoons honey 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon melted butter 2 cloves puréed garlic 1 teaspoon lemon zest ¼ teaspoon black pepper ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper ¼ teaspoon salt Cut salmon to desired smoking sizes and leave skin on. In a large glass or plastic container, mix brown sugar, salt, granulated garlic, granulated onion and black pepper until thoroughly combined. Add salmon to brine mixture and refrigerate six to 12 hours. Drain salmon and discard brine. Place salmon pieces – skin-side down – on a rack and sprinkle with additional black pepper if desired, then allow to dry and refrigerated one to three hours. Preheat the smoker for 10 to 15
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minutes and add chips of choice to the chip pan. Put salmon on racks and place in smoker. Smoke for two to three hours and replace chips one time. In a small container, mix mustards, honey, lemon juice, butter, garlic, lemon zest, pepper and salt until thoroughly combined. Place a piece of foil underneath smoker rack to catch any drips from the glaze. Liberally glaze each piece of salmon on the top and sides.
Option One: Continue to smoke in the smoker an additional one to two hours or until salmon reaches desired doneness. (Note: Smoking time varies depending on smoker being used, outside temperature and thickness of fish.) Option two: Remove partially smoked salmon from the smoker and place on foil or a baking sheet. Liberally glaze each piece of salmon on the top and sides and cook in a preheated oven or grill at 375 degrees for five to eight minutes or until fish reaches desired doneness. Editor’s note: For signed copies of Tiffany’s popular book, Cooking Seafood and other best-selling titles, visit tiffanyhaugen.com.
TECHNIQUE SPECIFIC FISHING RODS DESIGNED FOR OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE PROLITERODS.COM
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@Proliterods @Proliterods
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In some parts of Alaska, coho runs begin in late July and go well into fall. Two Octobers ago, Kazden Haugen caught this beautiful buck coho near his home in Hyder, in the Panhandle. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
Everyone who fishes in Alaska wants a mighty king salmon, just as every hunter wants a moose. The starting point to preserving our king salmon starts with a change in thinking, so forget about kings – at least for a few years – and focus on silver salmon.
SILVER SALMON RUNS TAKE place later
in the summer than kings; the fish are plentiful and coho occupy so many rivers and streams. This means you don’t have hordes of anglers congregating in small sections of rivers, as you do with king and even sockeye salmon. Coho runs are also much longer, 36
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lasting months instead of a few weeks. August through October are prime times to catch coho, but there are rivers in Alaska where you can catch them as early as late July and as late as early November. Limits are also generous when it comes to coho, meaning you can put a lot of fish in the freezer. As for the fight, if a 70-pound king battled as hard as a silver salmon, you’d be hard pressed to land it. Not only do silvers jump, they dive, they twist, turn and make long runs. Coho can be caught in very remote waters, where battling 50 fish a day is common, and you’ll never see another angler; it’s the ultimate
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Alaskan fishing experience, when you think about it.
COHO CAN ALSO BE fished for in multiple
ways too, adding even more to the adventure and fun of catching them. Tired of dragging bait or backtrolling heavy gear in rivers all day for kings? Not a problem with coho. Coho salmon can be caught on jigs – both twitching and beneath a float – as well as on a variety of spinners, and even by casting shallow-diving plugs. They can be caught on topwater plugs – something bass and pike anglers will love – and on poppers by flyfishing fans. Once you experience the thrill of a
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coho topwater take, you’ll be hooked on this approach. Coho are easily accessed from the banks of big rivers, small streams and even some lakes throughout much of their range in Alaska, as they routinely migrate close to shore. They can be targeted in tidewater, too. Stripping and swinging streamers through an incoming tide is a rush, as these fresh coho battle to the very end and make exceptional table fare. Once you’ve secured a limit of coho, you can keep fishing in many waters in Alaska. When releasing coho, don’t use cured eggs as bait, as the fish swallow them; also go with barbless hooks. Catch and handle the fish with care – meaning land them quickly and touch them as little as possible. Just because there are millions of these bright, gorgeous, greateating fish out there doesn’t mean they should be mishandled. We do not want a repeat performance of the dwindling Alaska king salmon numbers. When releasing coho, get them to shore, fast, keep them in the water, revive them and set them free. Don’t net them, don’t pull them up on the bank, and do not hold them by the gills for a photo and then toss them back into the river. It’s something I’ve been preaching for decades and see happen way too often every season in Alaska. When releasing tidewater coho, handle them with extra care, as they are much more frail than they will be once they acclimate to the river and their scales firm up. Do everything in your power to avoid mortality, period.
WITH KING NUMBERS DECLINING in many of Alaska’s streams, now is the time to change our train of thought and focus on a more abundant salmonid to catch, before it’s too late. The answer to saving Alaska’s king salmon could lie in targeting coho and making them the new king of salmon, at least temporarily. ASJ
Dylan Wills travels from his home in Oregon, where he targets king salmon, to Alaska each summer to take home lots of great-eating coho. He also catches and releases them in high numbers. (SCOTT HAUGEN) 38
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Editor’s note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen's popular book, Bank Fishing For Salmon & Steelhead, visit scotthaugen.com. Follow Scott on Instagram and Facebook.
‘BEARS, BEARS AN
WELCOME TO ALASKA
BY BJORN DIHLE
I
n 2019, a young fisherman was walking through a boatyard in Naknek in Bristol Bay when he bumped into a brown bear feeding from a dumpster. It was nighttime, when bears are most active and bold, especially around human activity. The man ran and, moments later, was knocked down by the bear. Though the bear bit his calf, the
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man fought back and managed to break free. The bear nipped him one last time on the butt before he was able to climb to safety on his father’s boat. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game and Alaska State Wildlife Troopers were notified, and two juvenile bears were killed near the location of the attack.
THE BRUIN REALITY Living with bears isn’t easy but, for folks
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in Bristol Bay and the Alaska Peninsula it’s a fact of everyday life. The biggest problem communities face, according to Dillingham’s Animal Control Officer Dan Boyd – and as the above story highlights – is poorly stored garbage. A bear that becomes habituated to eating trash is much more likely to lose its fear of people than a “wild” bear. Bristol Bay and the Alaska Peninsula are home to about one-third of Alaska’s
AND MORE BEARS’:
A’S BRUIN BOULEVARD
Photographer Drew Hamilton offers quintessential evidence that residents around Bristol Bay and the Alaska Peninsula are used to living with bears. Katmai National Park and Preserve is one of the state’s best bear-viewing spots. (DREW HAMILTON)
entire brown bear population, which ADFG estimates to be around 30,000 animals. The east side of Bristol Bay butts up against world renowned bear-viewing mecca Katmai National Park and Preserve, which has an estimated 2,220 brown bears. Game Management Unit 9, which encompasses most of Bristol Bay and the Alaska Peninsula outside of Katmai, which juts out to the southwest, has an estimated 6,000 to 6,800 bears.
The northwest portion of Bristol Bay is encompassed by the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge. Bears here are not as plentiful, nor do they grow as large. A population estimate for the Togiak NWR and some nearby areas put the brown bear population between 642 and 928.
LATE-NIGHT RENDEZVOUS One September when I was in King Salmon, the proprietor of the Antlers Inn
warned me to not walk the nearby street at night. Bears, she said, use it every night coming to and from the river. I ran into a number of parties from around the world that had traveled to the small Bristol Bay community to see and photograph bears. Just a short floatplane flight from King Salmon is Brooks Camp and the famed Brooks Falls, the most visited bearviewing area in Alaska. Brooks Camp is
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A brown bear eagerly heads to a creek after the year’s first schools of salmon arrive to spawn. With a record-setting run of sockeye expected, there should be plenty of delicious salmon for these bears to fatten up on. (BJORN DIHLE)
managed by a team of park rangers who make sure bears and people coexist as peacefully and respectfully as possible. It is incredibly rare, despite bears and people often being in close proximity, for contact between bear and person to be made at Brooks Camp. One of the key factors for Brooks Camp’s success avoiding negative interactions between bears and people is that human food and garbage is kept on lockdown. Brooks Falls also acts as the setting for the internationally celebrated Fat Bear Week (Alaska Sporting Journal, November 2020), where people get to tune in virtually to Brooks Falls, judge which individual bear is the “portly patriarch of paunch” or “king of the capacious creatures of Katmai” – i.e. fattest – and cast their vote online. The 42
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competition has become increasingly popular and provides a way to educate people on the natural history of Katmai bears, the value of salmon and the interconnectedness of the ecosystem.
PRIME BEAR COUNTRY A University of Alaska study put bear viewing in Southcentral Alaska, which includes Katmai as well as other portions of Cook Inlet, as annually generating around $35 million. On that same trip, I also struck up a conversation with a hunting guide. When I asked him about what his season was looking like, he said, “Bears, bears and more bears.” Bristol Bay and the Alaska Peninsula are famous for having some of the largest brown bears in the world and is a
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trophy hunting mecca. Historically in Unit 9, trophy brown bear hunts are held in alternating spring and fall seasons. Spring hunting seasons are in even years and fall seasons are in odd years. Statistics on the spring season show that it brings between 600 to 700 hunters and generates around $10 million. Hunts vary in price, but commonly go for $30,000 to $35,000. The Bristol Bay fishery supports 15,000 jobs and annually brings in $2 billion – not to mention that salmon provides invaluable sustenance and cultural benefits to the 7,500 people who live in the region. There’s also a direct correlation between Bristol Bay’s incredible run of salmon – a recordbreaking 66 million sockeye returned in 2021 and ADFG’s 2022 forecast is for
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A brown bear sleeps after grazing on spring vegetation. One time when author Bjorn Dihle visited King Salmon, he was advised by a local not to walk a nearby street after dark. “Bears, she said, use it every night coming to and from the river,” he writes. (BJORN DIHLE)
an unbelievable 75.27 million sockeye – and the region’s incredible population of brown bears. Many of Bristol Bay and Alaska Peninsula bears are comparable in size to the brown bears of the Kodiak Archipelago. A big male may weigh over 1,000 pounds in the fall, having gained around a third of what it weighed when it emerged from its den in the spring, and stand 9 feet tall on its hind legs.
GRIZZLY IN THE CITY
Roughly a third of Alaska’s 30,000 brown bears live in Bristol Bay and the Alaska Peninsula. (BJORN DIHLE)
It's one thing to encounter brown bears when you venture out into wild country. It’s another thing to have them prowling the streets at night. Dan Boyd points out living with bears has been a fact of life in the region forever. He reiterated that improperly stored and disposed of garbage is the biggest problem with bears coming into Dillingham and other rural communities. In 1997, after an article about a woman selling bear tours at Dillingham’s landfill drew attention, biologists conducted a study that identified 70 different brown bears seeking food sources that summer. Between four and 33 bears were seen feeding there each night. An electric fence was installed and a garbage-burning incinerator was brought in, which did wonders getting
the bears out of the landfill. And despite all the bears, Boyd couldn’t think of a single attack in Dillingham. This is both a testament to how much brown bears go out of their way to avoid conflict and how much salmon and other wild food there is surrounding Dillingham.
MORE SALMON, MORE BEARS The prediction of another recordbreaking sockeye return to Bristol Bay for 2022 should be a mega-boon for people and bears. This place of salmon, people and brown bears is something to cherish and protect. Bear man Drew Hamilton, who has been guiding viewing and photography trips in Bristol Bay and the Alaska Peninsula for two decades, aptly calls Bristol Bay “the overlap in ecology and economy that will protect, support and sustain Alaskans in the future, just as it has done for tens of thousands of years – as long as we don’t mess it up.” ASJ Editor’s note: Pride of Bristol Bay is a free column written by Bjorn Dihle and provided by its namesake, a fisherman-direct seafood marketer that specializes in delivering the highest quality of sustainably caught wild salmon from Bristol Bay to your doorstep. For more information, check out prideofbristolbay.com.
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A ‘GIANT’ IN TH AN ENCOUNTER WITH A MASSIVE BROWN BEAR IN SOUTHEAST ALASKA
Two big brown bears feast on a humpback whale carcass in Southeast Alaska. But these bruins couldn’t match the size and legend of an elusive massive bear affectionately known as the “giant.” (BJORN DIHLE)
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THE DARKNESS
BY BJORN DIHLE
I
woke to the sound of a brown bear crackling through brush near my tent. It was early April and I was guiding a small natural history film crew on an island in Southeast Alaska. We were at the beginning of three weeks of filming, and our primary goal was to film brown bears feeding on a humpback whale carcass. I grabbed my flare gun and .44 pistol, unzipped the tent and crawled out into the black night. The bear paused 7 yards away, then took a step or two closer. He showed no signs of agitation. The bear’s breathing was steady; there was no huff, jaw-popping or growl. He
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Washed-ashore herring eggs are a ready source of food in spring for bears, but the one that visited the author’s camp surprisingly only left footprints in the roe mass. (BJORN DIHLE)
knew he was safe and that he had the advantage in the darkness. Another step or two and I would slowly rise and gently suggest he leave. I sensed the bear turning away. Branches snapped and cracked as he made his way deeper into the rainforest. I waited outside the tent for 10 minutes, listening to the quiet of the falling snow. I wondered if the brown bear had been the “giant.” I’d seen the giant’s tracks nearby while my two companions 48
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and I had set up camp a few days before. The prints were bigger than any brown bear tracks I’d seen.
I’VE BEEN WORKING WITH brown bears
for more than a decade, beginning with guiding wildlife photographers and for the last few years working solely with natural history film crews. I spend most of my time in Southeast Alaska, but I’ve also explored some of Kodiak Island and the Alaska Peninsula, where the biggest
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brown bears in North America live. This giant was an anomaly, a mountain of a bear, the sort of beast more commonly seen in dreams than reality. In the gray dawn, I studied the previous night’s visitor’s tracks in the snow and on the nearby black sand beach. It was early in the year for bears. Most of those we’d seen to that point were the adult males that wake up earliest. Females, especially those with cubs, generally come out of their dens in May. Last night’s camp visitor had been a very large male – probably a 9-foot bear – but he was not the elusive giant, which was easily a foot bigger. Massive schools of herring had spawned in the sound and turned the water milky. The beach by our camp was covered in a few feet of herring eggs. The eggs are traditionally harvested by the Indigenous peoples of Southeast Alaska, as well as targeted by a commercial fleet, and are a delicious delicacy, so I was worried bears would congregate to feast. The previous night’s bear had walked through the piles of eggs, but not eaten any. Surprisingly, we would see no evidence of bears feeding on herring eggs in the days to come. We were exposed to the stormy expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Wind and snow alternating with rain hammered us for the first ten days. We suffered the elements, staking out the whale carcass when the wind was from the south. When the wind switched to the north, we changed locations and hid downwind of a dead sea lion that the stormy sea had tossed high on the beach. The bears mostly came out at night. We saw a half dozen during dusk and dawn but couldn’t get any usable footage. Some were large males, but none were that giant.
THE WEATHER BROKE AND overnight
spring had arrived. Hundreds of gray whales arrived to feed on the eggs the herring had laid to any solid surface beneath the ocean. We met two guys who work for Alaska Department of Fish and Game and were surveying winter-killed deer. They were blown away by the amount of gray whales. Migrating shorebirds rested and picked
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The tracks around the beach certainly indicated that the bears were active in this area. The giant was the one that had everyone’s attention during this coastal expedition. (BJORN DIHLE)
Dusk and dawn are the times when bears are most active, with the whale carcass serving as fast food. (BJORN DIHLE) 50
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through the mounds of herring eggs. Sitka blacktails emerged from the forest and browsed the high tide line, and a few times it appeared they, too, were eating kelp covered with herring eggs. Bears are generally more active at dusk and dawn, so we’d usually make the 2-mile hike from the whale carcass to camp in the dark. Sometimes we were treated to the northern lights streaming green above snow-covered mountains. With each day that passed, I thought more about the giant. Each evening, I prayed he’d appear from the woods. Big bears are usually very shy, but I figured he’d visit the whale carcass every once in a while. We met a couple from a nearby community who’d boated over to the
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island to go hiking. Both carried big handguns and seemed a little bit worried about our safety. When I mentioned the giant, they knew exactly which bear I was talking about. They hadn’t seen him, but they had come across his tracks in years’ past. They had heard stories, too. One was how he’d harassed some deer hunters who’d said it looked like he had a tiny head because his body was so huge. At night, I would fall asleep thinking of him. I imagined his hulk moving through the darkness and wondered what he was doing at that moment. The camera crew had gotten a lot of good stuff, but, since we had yet to get bears feeding on the whale, morale was a bit low. I’d been filming on dead whales the last couple of years later in the season and they’d been crawling with brown bears. It was early, but still, I was surprised there wasn’t more bear activity. We spent long hours, hidden 70 yards away behind a pile of logs, near
the whale. Often, we’d hear something in the brush. Occasionally a big bear would stick its head out to survey the beach, then disappear back in the brush. That big of a bear was likely keeping other bears away. I wondered if it was the giant.
ON THE 17TH DAY, just as the sun was setting, two bears emerged from the forest and walked down to the whale at the same time. One bear was a goodsized male. The other was a 7- or 8-yearold male. They were nervous; it soon became apparent the source of their fear was another bear just inside the guard timber. The bushes crackled as the unseen bear moved where he’d probably been bedded for some time. My bet was it was the giant. The two bears coming to the whale were using us as a buffer. They figured the giant would leave them be and give them a chance to feed with us there. The bigger of the two
claimed the whale and began feeding. Occasionally, the smaller bear would ease in and try to feed. Then the bigger bear would push him away. The bush crackled – I could viscerally feel how pissed the giant was that his whale was being eaten by other bears – and the smaller bear came close to us. At any moment I hoped the bushes would explode and the giant would come charging out to claim the whale. But he was too smart for that. We filmed until it was so dark we could barely see, but the giant never showed himself. A few days later, during one of the last evenings we staked out the whale, a gigantic bear stuck his head out of the woods 300 yards away. It was just after sunset and the bear was panting hard, a sign of agitation that 100 percent had to do with our presence. My guess was that he was the giant, though I couldn’t know for sure. He was way too far to film. We were on pins and needles, hoping he’d come
Migrating gray whales certainly did not pass up on the culinary delights the herring eggs offered. (BJORN DIHLE) 52
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out into the open. He just sat there panting, occasionally lifting his nose to the breeze, and waiting. Minutes passed as the falling darkness slowly whittled away our hope. When there was barely light left to see, much less film, he came down from the forest like a hulking shadow moving through the dimness. There was zero hesitation nor was there much swagger – many adult males walk like cowboys – as he knew he was king. He climbed atop the whale and stared at us for several long moments before lowering his head to eat. I shouldered my heavy pack, then backed away while watching the giant tear at the carcass until I could no longer tell him from the darkness. ASJ
Even the other bears were leery about the presence of the giant. This hungry critter nervously watched for the biggest and baddest of the bears hiding nearby in the brush. When finally spotted, he was too far away for the film crew to get footage, but his presence had been felt by all. (BJORN DIHLE)
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Editor’s note: Bjorn Dihle is the author of three books, including, most recently, the Banff Mountain Book Award finalist A Shape in the Dark: Living and Dying with Brown Bears. Order it at amazon. com/Shape-Dark-Living-Dying-Brown/ dp/1680513095.
OUTDOOR TIPS OF THE MONTH
6 TIPS TO BETTER CAPTURE YOUR ALASKAN ADVENTURE ON FILM Editor’s note: Each issue, our Paul Atkins will offer a tip outdoorsmen and -women can use as they prepare for an Alaska adventure. This month: How to take the best photos of your Alaskan outdoor adventure. BY PAUL D. ATKINS
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When you’re taking photos of a memorable Alaska hunt or fishing trip, take the time to set up the shot and remember to take several images just in case. The more you take, the more likely you’ll have at least one that will turn out great! (PAUL D. ATKINS)
ost hunters who come to Alaska come for one reason, which is to capture some of the magic that our great state has to offer. Summer tourists do the same. If you don’t believe me, come north in June and July. Some save a lifetime of travel funds to see it, while others take it for granted. One way or the other, it will be etched in your mind forever. If you live here, then you know already. But Alaska is big; when you do see it, it might only be once. Memories are all we have, anyway, and those memories will be cherished for years to come. Whether it’s the big moose on the wall or the bear in the den, they’re there to remind us of that time we spent in the Alaskan wilderness. However, one thing that is sometimes overlooked is the photos we bring back from the field too.
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Live-action shots of wildlife are big business. With the right equipment and know-how you too can take that photo of a lifetime. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
APPRECIATING MEMORIES ON FILM When I was younger, I didn’t really care about photos. I wanted horns and claws and the experience of the hunt itself. Like many I still do, but since those days I have found that good photos are as important to me as the trophy itself and the meat in the freezer. They are not used to brag, but to remind me of that time when I hunted hard to bag that big caribou, muskox or whatever I was looking for at the time. Photography has come a long way in the last 20 years. When I first came to Alaska back in the 1990s, digital cameras hadn’t even been invented yet and the old Kodak was as good as it got, especially those “disposable” models that you dropped in a box at a retail store. The first digital camera I bought in 2002 was an amazing invention. It was small, slick and easy to use, but quickly over time those same cameras became obsolete. Today, it’s a DSLR (digital single lens reflex) with multiple lenses, WiFi technology and everything you need to capture that true great photo, provided you know how to use the camera itself. In the right hands the photos they 58
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produce are truly amazing. But not all digital cameras are created equal. It’s pretty much a personal preference to what a person uses and likes, but if it’s producing good photos, stick with it. I have always had great luck with the Canon line, which are simple, easy to operate and take great photos, even if you’re a novice. I would recommend buying one that you can handle at first and then graduate up through trial and error.
‘SMARTER’ OPTIONS With the invention of the smartphone, taking photos has taken on a whole new meaning. They’re easy to use and are, for most of us, accessible at all times. And it seems like everybody has a phone on them, and at all times. Whip it out, press a few buttons and bam, you not only have great photos but videos too. They’re truly amazing pieces of technology that seem to get better each day. I have used phone pics for entire articles before and they turned out just as good as a high-price camera. Yet the biggest problem I see with photography has little to do with the
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camera; rather, it’s how photo shoots are set up. Proper preparation is the key to great photos. Here are few tips to make your photos better and to really bring home the memories that all can enjoy: Take a lot of photos: Don’t be afraid to take hundreds of shots. Once you start processing your animal and getting him on the framepack, there is no going back. You can never have enough pictures. Even if some don’t turn out the way you like, you will have plenty more to choose from. Take the extra time to set up the shot: Depending on the size of the animal, try to position it in a spot that not only provides a great background but also pays respect to the animal itself. Tuck its legs up under him and clean off as much blood as possible. Do whatever it takes to make him look natural. I always carry wet wipes or paper towels for this. Also, make sure the animal’s tongue isn’t hanging out. Positioning yourself: When people look at your pictures, you want them to see a happy hunter or hunters with their hardearned quarry. Take the time to clean your hands and tidy up a bit. Also remove any extra gear that might make its way into the
photo, like a backpack or extra clothes that you might have shed. Remember that anything that is not part of the habitat will stick out. Also never sit on an animal, as it may look disrespectful to some. The best shots are those that typically have the hunter behind the animal, but not too far back. Most like to hold the antlers or at least touch the animal in some way or form. Pay attention to the sun: If it’s midday and the sun is out, a cap will shade the hunter’s face. Take several shots with and without the cap. You can also use the camera’s flash to eliminate sun shadows by forcing it to flash. I’ve been on a lot of hunts where I lucked out in the middle of the day. Using the flash created some of my best photos. Taking the photo: Usually you will have one of your hunting partners taking the photo. This may seem simple, but I have seen more wrecks than successes trying to get that perfect shot you’re after. First, your hunting partner should be familiar with your camera. Take a few moments and show him or her how the zoom works, how to turn on the flash and what button to push. You’ll also want to snap several photos from all angles, but the best results usually come from those taken at ground level. Have the photog lie on the ground and get as close to you and your animal as possible. Think close and low for these shots. If you are alone, bring along
When emotions are high and the moment is fresh, take the time to capture it all if possible. It’s these times that last forever. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
Cell phones and smartphones can capture and produce memories that last a lifetime too, and will also provide good conversation pieces on social media. Lew Pagel and author Paul Atkins take a moment for a selfie after downing a muskox. (LEW PAGEL)
a tripod and position it as low as possible – just make sure you check for twigs and stray strands of grass. I always take a small tripod in case all else fails. Capture the whole scene: Photos of your trophy animal or fish aren’t the only thing you should focus on. Take some of the camp, the surroundings, live animal shots if possible, and if nothing else, the little things that make the adventure memorable. You’ll be glad you did. There are a lot of other techniques, but these six basic ones will have you on your way to producing top-notch photographs. Remember, it’s all about memories, and the photo you don’t take is the one you wish you did. ASJ Editor’s note: Got a question for Paul? Email ccocoles@media-inc.com with your query.
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FAIRBANKS Northern Power Sports 1980 Van Horn Rd (907) 452-2762 northernpowersports.com aksportingjournal.com | MAY 2022
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SURVIVING THE UNKNOWN HOW TO PREPARE FOR PERILOUS SITUATIONS IN ALASKA’S WILD
BY PAUL D. ATKINS
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’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. Or when I was hunting moose, slipped and fell and tore my MCL on the first day. While in extreme pain, I hobbled back to camp using my bow as a crutch.
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Or that trip while hunting muskox at minus 40 degrees and my snowmachine wouldn’t start and I was 90 miles from the nearest shelter. I could go on and on, but some stand out more than others. There are many situations like this where having the right equipment and following a certain set of rules will save your life if need be. Let’s first start with these.
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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. Before leaving the house, the first and foremost thing to do is tell someone where you’re going or planning to hunt. In the far north, where I have done most of my Alaska hunting, letting someone
You never know what lies ahead on an Alaskan hunt. “I’ve seen too many times on the most basic hunts – those that have been planned for weeks or even months – that things can go badly,” author Paul Atkins says. “However, if you have planned well, have the necessary gear and keep your focus, you’ll have a better chance at coming out alive.” (PAUL D. ATKINS) aksportingjournal.com | MAY 2022
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Meals that are ready to eat are lifesavers. Whether in survival mode or not, having enough MREs will provide the calories needed to sustain you during a strenuous event, like this coldweather hunting trip Atkins and a buddy went on. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
know where I plan to be was a ritual. I actually had a laminated map on the back of our door that I marked each and every time I went out. I marked the map to let my wife and at least a couple of hunting buddies know exactly where I would be. I also let them know the time to expect me back and if I wasn’t home by then, give or take a few hours or a day, then to start the search. It was something I lived by. Alaska is big and very unforgiving, and if possible I never went alone. I know this isn’t always the case, since for some of us going solo is what it’s all about. But in the Arctic, having a second set of hands, eyes and brains can and will save your life. I have been in a ton of situations where trouble has arisen and I’ve had to go from hunter mode to survivalist mode in an instant. If it wasn't for my gear and the survival kit that never leaves my pack, I would not have survived.
CARIBOU AND MOOSE HUNTS Let’s start with the caribou/moose scenario. I hunt caribou and moose each and every year in Alaska. These hunts 64
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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. You must be prepared and always ready for any situation that might occur. With today’s advanced technology of the day, many would say that having a satellite phone and a GPS is a must, and I would agree. For me these two items are always in my pack. But 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 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. 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
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more practical gear that will keep me alive. On a caribou hunt, weight isn’t usually a problem and your kit can contain a few more necessities versus, say, a backpack hunt into the mountains. Besides the sat phone and GPS, here’s a list of what I 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, as a bottle won’t break and/or leak due to a hole, which sometimes happens with a bladder. • Headlamp or small flashlight with extra batteries. Nothing worse than roaming around in the dark in bear country without a light. • Duct tape. This is a cure-all and can be used in a lot of different situations in the wild. Once, I was 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 duct tape my index finger to my injured finger and finish the hunt. The bleeding stopped and the tape formed a somewhat crude
These are just a few of the items to consider adding to your pack before heading out on any adventure. A first-aid kit is a must and they come in all sizes. Just make sure yours includes the items you need for the adventure. A space blanket will keep you warm and last but certainly not least, bring plenty of fire-starting material (inset). (PAUL D. ATKINS)
splint. Duct tape can 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, or at least able to get back to camp and call for help. • Plastic tarp. I carry a small 8-by-10 tarp with me. It is 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 10 to 12 feet of parachute cord. Rope can serve so many purposes – from making slings to tying splints to helping secure your makeshift shelter.
When hunting many places in the West and especially in the far north of Alaska, your housing is usually a tent of some sort. Getting out of the elements is not only beneficial to the hunting experience, but can save your life in dire instances. (PAUL D. ATKINS) 66
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• Food. I always carry enough to survive for three days of eating. My food cache includes meat sticks, protein bars and gorp (a nut-raisin-candy mix). These are high in energy and have lots of protein and carbohydrates and take up little room in your pack. I also pack a few of the emergency drink mixes that you can buy over the counter. These powder mixes
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can be combined with water and provide you with the extra electrolytes that are needed in case of a survival situation. • First-aid kit: I carry a small kit with the basic necessities. Usually it contains a small amount of painkiller, tape and bandages. I also include 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 (usually wool). • Last, but not least, toilet paper. You don’t need a whole roll, just enough in a Ziploc 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 bag; that way they stay dry in case it rains or worse. One of the most important pieces of any survival pack is a GPS or other device that can tell you where you are or how to get from one point to another. 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)
Water isn’t available at all locations hunters and anglers venture. In some cases, you must learn to improvise. “We noticed this rock had a small trickle of water coming out of it,” Atkins recalls. “But with a well-placed container we were able to catch the water each day and then filter it into drinkable H2O.” (PAUL D. ATKINS) 68
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MOUNTAIN HUNTS If I’m heading to the mountains to hunt sheep or goats, my survival kit needs
“I have been in a ton of situations where trouble has arisen and I’ve had to go from hunter mode to survivalist mode in an instant,” Atkins writes. Regardless of whether it’s your first hunt or 50th in unforgiving Alaska, you should have this mentality. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
to be much smaller and lighter. The items in the kit may not differ from my caribou kit or scenario, but I know the kit will be less in terms of weight and size. As most mountain hunters know, traveling as light as possible is what it’s all about, but being safe and surviving has no weight restrictions. My typical mountain survival kit contains water tablets (iodine) instead of a pump and a bladder instead of bottles. Again, the reason is that tablets
are small and light and will give me a little more room in my pack. Also most expedition-type packs have a very reliable H2O 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 well-worn hunting boots can and will form blisters on your feet. When your feet are done, so is the hunt. I would include a smaller first-aid kit,
THE IMPORTANCE OF A HUNTER SAFETY/SURVIVAL COURSE
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very person who hunts or ventures into the backcountry needs to 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 the class is that it all starts with physical and mental conditioning, as 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 or eating the right foods and preparing your mind for what lies ahead. 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. These will all save your life. PA
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space blanket, more protein bars, a knife and extra socks. The usual duct tape would be included as well for cuts and sprains. And even though not a part of a survival kit, two good trekking poles can be used for not only walking, but in case of an injury they can be combined with 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. But if I had to leave you with one closing thought about staying safe, it’s this: Don’t panic and use your senses. ASJ Editor’s note: Paul Atkins is an outdoor writer and author formerly of Kotzebue, Alaska. He’s had hundreds of articles published on big game hunting in Alaska and throughout North America and Africa, plus surviving in the Arctic. His new book Atkins’ Alaska is available on Amazon and everywhere good books are sold. If you want an autographed copy, contact Paul at atkinsoutdoors@gmail.com. He is a regular contributor to Alaska Sporting Journal.
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