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FISHING • HUNTING • ADVENTURE

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Stan Zuray Of

YUKON MEN

SLAMMIN' SALMON!

A Grizzly Encounter

Reading Rivers Killer King Colors

SPRING HUNTING FLINGS! Bruins, Birds & Bunnies ALSO INSIDE

Pebble Mine Battle Heats Up

Outdoor Ironies

Return Of AK’s Muskox

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CONTENTS

VOLUME 9 • ISSUE 1

Chris Batin has decades of experience angling for silvers, kings and other species returning to the rivers of the Last Frontier, and in an excerpt from his new book, Advanced Alaska Fly Fishing, our correspondent shares secrets – from both the under- and above-water realms – about why the state’s salmon may or may not bite that pattern or lure you’re presenting them.

WHY SALMON STRIKE (AND HOW TO GET MORE TO DO SO)

(CHRIS BATIN)

FEATURES 54

THE HALIBUT WHISPERER For whatever reason, Bixler McClure seems to have a knack for bringing home big halibut when he and wife Krystin McClure head out to the deep waters of the Gulf of Alaska, but sometimes it takes a little insight from his better half to fish in the right spot. Join the McClures and young son Lynx in search of a fat flatsider and other bottomfish!

SPRING FISHING AND HUNTING FLINGS You’ve got to feel for residents of snowy, frigid Alaska, waiting through the unforgiving winter to take full advantage of warmer temperatures and actual sunlight to get outside at the first signs of spring. Kotzebue resident Paul Atkins finds plenty to keep himself busy this time of year, including hunting small game, upland birds and bears, with a side of ice fishing for sheefish. Spring has arrived in the Arctic!

GET A BETTER EATIN’ BEAR Scott and Tiffany Haugen are here to remind you: Black bear meat is delicious, but it’s important to work quickly after you harvest that spring bruin to ensure the tastiest meat gets transported to the freezer. Scott explains how to ﬁeld-dress your bear, and Tiffany gets her smoker on to prepare some protein-ﬁlled jerky.

138 IRONY CAN BE QUITE IRONIC You’re an outdoorsman, so you’re bound to be a casting and shooting contradiction in the minds of your critics. Our Ketchikan-based ﬁshing and hunting philospher Jeff Lund tries to determine whether or not he’s an ironic hypocrite in the ﬁeld –you be the judge.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 41 67 103 119 127

Get scientific when choosing salmon fly colors How to handle being the “next guy through” a fishing hole Book excerpt: Homesteader Stan Zuray’s journey to Alaska Honoring Alaska’s resurgent muskox Mounting your new rifle scope

DEPARTMENTS 17 19 19 44

Editor’s Note: Bristol Bay’s Pebble Mine ﬁght escalates Protecting Wild Alaska: Fish tank dumping creates invasive plant issue Outdoor Calendar Fly of the Month: Original intruder

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

Brian Kraft’s Bristol Bay fishing lodges would be some of the biggest victims if the proposed Pebble Mine were to suffer an accident and salmon runs were affected. (ALASKA SPORTSMAN’S LODGE)

try not to get too political, both professionally and personally. Of course I care about what’s going on in our most contentious political climate – frankly, I should know more than I do – but I would prefer not to get sucked into arguments with anyone who leans wide left or right. Those are usually the guys and gals who don’t want to respect someone else’s opinion and aren’t willing to compromise. That said, I’m going to get a little political here, while treading lightly. I admit to not voting for our current President of the United States. (I will say that I didn’t vote for the President’s closest competitor in the election either, and I fully accepted that my third-party vote was going to be worthless; I just couldn’t make myself choose between two candidates I perceived as unlikeable options to lead the “most powerful nation in the world.”) I won’t bore you with my opinion on the news in May that the Environmental Protection Agency changed course from the Obama Administration and will officially allow Pebble Limited Partnership to apply for a gold and copper mining federal permit in the heart of Bristol Bay, except to say that it is a terrible idea to have a mine adjacent to one of the planet’s richest salmon spawning watersheds, and leave it at that. Instead, let’s turn the ﬂoor over to someone with far more at stake should any future mine’s tailings pond(s) fail and the waters downstream be threatened. Brian Kraft, owner and operator of multiple Alaska Sportsman’s Lodge properties, is one of so many Alaskans

and non-Alaskans who are working tirelessly to protect these waters. I asked Kraft to give his take on the most recent EPA decision. “The EPA, at the request of the people of Bristol Bay, spent years examining what the predictable results on critical habitat that supports salmon would be if a mine with the size, scope and location of Pebble were to be constructed. The EPA used plans filed by the Pebble Partnership to come to their conclusion, which is a recommendation to set standards to protect the existing intact and functioning ecosystem. Nothing has ever prevented Pebble from moving forward with their plans to build a mine.” “The sportfishing community that supports a $250-million-a-year economy in the Bristol Bay region depends upon the continued sustainable health of this region in order for us to operate our businesses. These perfectly functioning rivers sustain life, which, in turn, sustain our businesses.” “The science behind the EPA’s proposed determination has been through two massive peer reviews and countless public testimony opportunities. Regardless of the political desires of the current administration to lessen regulations, the work that the EPA has done over a fouryear period of examining information provided by the mining company should not be discarded.” From those of us who aren’t as active as Kraft and others who strive to make a difference and do what they think is right for the fish and habitat of Alaska, thank you, and keep fighting. -Chris Cocoles aksportingjournal.com | JUNE 2017

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NOT WELCOME HERE

PROTECTING

WILD ALASKA ALAS SKA

ELODEA, AN INVASIVE AQUATIC PLANT, CAN HARM ALASKA’S ASKA’S WATERS BY MICHAEL LUNDE

ne of the most feared threats to Alaska’s freshwater ecosystems is the spread of invasive species that are common in the Lower 48 and now increasing in the Last Frontier. Elodea, a non-native freshwater plant often used in home fish tanks, was first discovered in Badger Slough, a clearwater channel that connects to the mainstem Chena River near Fairbanks. The Alaska Department of Resources Division of Agriculture refers to elodea as “the first invasive aquatic plant known here.” Residents from North Pole and Fairbanks apparently emptied goldfish and other tropical fish tanks that contained the weed into the waterway, resulting in the rapid, widespread takeover of the local ecosystem. Other concentrations were documented in August 2014 in the Mat-Su area around Alexander Lake and two other lakes on the Kenai Peninsula. At present, elodea has been detected in 22 roadside and remote lakes statewide. Potential ramifications of the weed’s spread include reduction of salmon spawning and rearing habitat, loss of motorized watercraft access into shallow areas – particularly those with densely concentrated areas of vegetation – and expensive eradication and

management costs. An additional concern cern is the spread of elodea to remote freshwater lakes and rivers via floatplanes. anes. As aircraft travel back and nd forth between waters, rs, elodea attached to the he floats may get trans-ported as well. A pre-vious eradication attempt to prevent such ch cases involved hunnnsdreds of hours of painstaking suction dredging g that proved ineffective. The removal procedure edure for elodea involves an aquatic pesticide called fluridone, done, which when applied d in small concentrations destroys the plant from spreading yet inflicts minimal harm to native aquatic and terrestrial vegetation. The herbicide prevents the plant from making a protective pigment that keeps chlorophyll from breaking down in the sun. While emergency funds are available from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, it is still highly recommended and encouraged for the public to report elodea sightings. When operating in lake or river systems that contain elodea, it is recommended to remove all visible mud, plants and dirt from fishing equip-

Elodea, a non-native freshwater plant commonly used in home aquariums, has been spotted in various Alaska waterways. (KRISTIAN PETERS/WIKIMEDIA)

ment, boat, motor and trailers. Other simple guidelines include eliminating water from all equipment prior to transporting, alternative disposal of aquariums and drying anything that comes into contact with water. With proper, responsible care, we can continue to explore Alaska’s waterways without leaving behind menacing aquatic pests. ASJ

OUTDOOR CALENDAR June 1-30 June 3-4 June 9-18 June 9-18 June 10-11 June 11 July 4 July 22 July 22 July 28 Aug. 11-13 Aug. 12-20

Seward Halibut Tourney; seward.com/welcome-to-seward-alaska/halibut-tournament-june/ Weekend two of Ketchikan Charr King Salmon Derby; ketchikankingsalmonderby.com Downtown Soup Kitchen’s Slam’n Salm’n Derby, Anchorage; anchorage.net/events/salmon-derby/ Halibut Hullabaloo Derby; valdezfishderbies.com Third weekend of Ketchikan Charr King Salmon Derby; ketchikankingsalmonderby.com Last day of Wrangell King Salmon Derby; wrangellchamber.org/2017-salmon-derby Mount Marathon Race, Seward; mmr.seward.com/ Start of Valdez Silver Salmon Derby; valdezfishderbies.com Kids Pink Salmon Derby, Valdez; valdezfishderbies.com Valdez Silver Salmon Derby “Big Prize Friday”; valdezfishderbies.com/silver-derby/big-prize-fridays/ Golden North Salmon Derby, Juneau; goldennorthsalmonderby.com Seward Silver Salmon Derby; seward.com aksportingjournal.com | JUNE 2017

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A chum salmon finds itself hooked on a chartreuse, weighted fly, fished in a flutter-and-twitch retrieve, a prime retrieve. The author says it is one of the best ones to know for general salmon fishing. (CHRIS BATIN)

HERE’S HOW WE FLY

BOOK EXPLAINS ADVANCED SALMON FISHING TECHNIQUES FOR FLY ANGLERS This book is my magnum opus of a 42-year career of observing the underwater world of how and why Alaska salmon strike lures and flies. Early in the 1980s, I began to showcase my underwater photos and video footage in both DVD and seminar format. It was so popular that in 1990 I created Chris Batin’s Underwater World of Alaska Sportfish, which covers my underwater observations on Alaska saltwater and freshwater sportfish species. Each year in standing-room-only seminars, I would present new findings from the previous year’s observations, and accompany them with terms, tactics and methods that showcased how anglers could catch salmon consistently, based on what I observed. I taught about the importance of understanding backdrop color, migration corridors, water turbidity, species pressure, current speed and how salmon truly see flies and how they strike them. I’ve had requests over the years to assemble the core principles and observations of my work, and I am proud to do so with this book. I devote chapters to not only my observations, but also explaining the science behind the techniques so that anglers of all ages and skill levels can learn to successfully catch Alaska salmon, no matter where they fish for them. The following is excerpted from the new book, Advanced Alaska Fly Fishing: Volume 1: Salmon Fishing Principles, Theories and Proven Techniques, by Christopher Batin. Text and photos: Copyright, 2017, Christopher Batin, Alaska Angler Publications. -Chris Batin

BY CHRIS BATIN

on’t be fooled by the title of this book; it doesn’t matter if you fish for salmon with lures or flies – the information I am about to present to you will change forever how you fish for and catch Alaska salmon. First, you’ll need to be a noncon-

formist to read this book. No, I won’t have you casting earthworms with a ﬂy rod, but I will reveal new tactics and strategies – based on hundreds of hours of underwater observations – that will cause you to rethink how and why salmon strike and what you need to do to generate more hookups. Thus, my challenge to you is simple: If

you can grasp the foundational concepts and strategies I’ve pioneered and refined over the last few decades, you’ll enjoy immediate results. Best of all, you’ll understand how salmon see and react to flies and also lures if you are a lure fisherman. The concepts apply universally, no matter if you use flies or lures to catch fish. Memorize the guidelines, stream

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An angler fishing a migration corridor breakline that has thousands of sockeye salmon (thin dark line) following it up through the faster water. Salmon prefer specific water speeds in which to travel, which is critical in finding the best places to fish. Drifting a fly along such migration corridors, according to Batin’s “Sockeye Salmon Equation,” is key to hooking red salmon consistently. (CHRIS BATIN)

equations, theories and principles in this book, study the photos, and you will enjoy unparalleled success. It’s that simple. Countless guides, ﬁshing professionals and anglers who have attended my seminars know the value of this information. Don’t be left out in the cold: Enter the new age of Alaska salmon ﬁshing insights, principles and techniques that work.

FOUR BASIC RESPONSES TO ANGLER-INDUCED STIMULI Because Pacific salmon do not feed once they enter freshwater, you’ll need specialized methods to entice them to strike. I’ve observed and ultimately defined four basic behavioral patterns exhibited by Pacific salmon. Scientific-minded anglers know them as reactions to angler-induced or environmentally induced stimuli, or, in other words, fly or lure manipulation techniques and presentation strategies. The four responses to angler-induced stimuli are as follows: Curiosity response. Intercept response. Aggravation response. Territorial response. Let me define each one for you.

CURIOSITY RESPONSE A curiosity response takes place in migratory ﬁsh that have just entered a freshwater environment. The salmon are 24

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still sexually immature and, for the moment, immune to the physiological influences and behavior associated with this stage of their life. Studies have shown these salmon are quite lively, swimming back into saltwater for a while before returning to freshwater, or swimming up and down their natal streams, investigating drifting twigs – even ingesting salmon fingerlings and rocks. A fly is something to be inhaled and examined because the salmon’s instinctive curiosity demands it. Newly arrived fish can exhibit this response for several days to two weeks. They often exhibit minimal curiosity because their bodies are adapting to a freshwater environment. These fish will show curiosity only if you employ certain triggers.

INTERCEPT RESPONSE An intercept response is a passive action commonplace in salmonids in a resting state, among fish influenced by water temperatures below 42 degrees, and as the result of prespawning and spawning behavior. It is also inherent as a basic trait in fresh-from-the-sea sockeye and, to a lesser extent, pink and chum salmon, where they intercept flies by opening their mouths to “catch” the fly. A good example of this reaction would be a man catching a baseball, thrown at him without warning, on a clear day. If it is thrown directly at him,

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he merely opens his hand and catches it. If the ball is thrown too high or off to one side, it is ignored. Also, the man reacts less readily to a baseball thrown in a fog, which is how a salmon in murky water sees your fly drifting toward it, as if a ball thrown in the fog. The same principle applies to sockeye and a drifting fly. A fish will “catch” a drifting fly by simply opening its mouth, if the fly pops into view at a distance that will trigger an intercept. Intercepts are not strikes, and again, deserve a lengthy chapter to fully understand it, which I detail in “The Sockeye Salmon Equation” chapter in the book. For now, keep this in mind: Triggering an intercept response repeatedly will greatly depend on your skill as an angler, and your ability to identify the best sections of river that offer the environmental variables that are conducive to a fish intercepting a fly.

AGGRAVATION RESPONSE Initiating an aggravation response is what most anglers attempt to accomplish when fishing for salmon. Most of you are familiar with casting a fly or lure until it aggravates a fish and it strikes in retaliation. Many factors contribute to initiating an aggravation response in salmon. They include species pressure, structure, water velocity, the stage of spawning the salmon are in, fly type and color, and

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availability of surrounding predators. You must also find the right environmental conditions and provide the right stimulus to create anxiety, which will trigger an aggressive, autonomic response in the fish. In saltwater, salmon exhibit a feeding response to stimuli such as a crippled baitfish or an erratically retrieved lure, because they are fattening up for their spawning run. In freshwater, salmon stop feeding and there is no “feeding” urge. An aggravation response takes place after salmon have acclimated to freshwater and are proceeding upriver to their spawning grounds, or are near or on their spawning grounds. An aggravation response to angler-induced stimuli is generated from casting repeatedly to the fish until it gets irritated from seeing the pattern, or when it views the fly as a threat to its holding area (which can also be a territorial response to stimuli). Think of it as if you are trying to sleep but can’t because you hear the water faucet go drip …. drip .... drip. You endure the irritant until you respond by

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An underwater view of sockeye migrating upriver shows why anglers must learn to ﬁsh migration corridors to have the best chance of catching salmon that exhibit an “intercept” rather than a strike characteristic under such conditions. (CHRIS BATIN)

getting up and tightening the faucet handle. Salmon will likewise endure repetition casting without striking until you ﬁrst identify the environmental variables such as water color, current, backdrop and temperature, and use these criteria for choosing the right ﬂy and presentation, which will trigger a salmon to strike.

TERRITORIAL RESPONSE A territorial response is when a salmon

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has taken up residence in a pool to rest, has domineered a favorite lie, such as in front of a boulder in midriver, or has established its spawning territory. At this time, salmon group together and compete for mates and the best areas to spawn. A territorial salmon’s response toward a ﬂy is always purposeful and aggressive. If you properly ﬁsh for a salmon protecting territory, I guarantee that you enjoy ample hookups.

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Now that you are familiar with the four behavioral responses in salmon – curiosity, intercept, aggravation, and territorial – read on to learn about the environmental factors and variables that are part of my salmon-strike equation.

CURRENT When fishing rivers for salmon, the first thing you need is current. Forget the slackwater eddies, stagnant backwater pools or the current-free intertidal areas if you are looking for consistent, fish-catching action. You will always enjoy success if you pursue salmon holding in current instead of slack water. Here’s why: Current serves as structure by forcing fish to the bottom. It builds species pressure and serves as a secondary, indirect stimulus to help initiate an aggravation response. Current also keeps the fish on a horizontal plane to the bottom gravel and helps maximize the visibility of the fly. The fly should also be at the same

Mark Wade, co-creator of the Batin-Wade Bunny Leech, has a legacy of being one of Alaska’s top ﬂy tiers and anglers. Here he is holding up a slab silver salmon that he hooked while ﬁshing the BWBL on the Goodnews River, out of Goodnews River Lodge. (CHRIS BATIN)

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An aerial view of a large school of silvers. When salmon group up like this, it builds â&#x20AC;&#x153;species pressure,â&#x20AC;? making them more susceptible to an anglerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presentation. (CHRIS BATIN)

vertical axis as the salmonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kype and drifting on the same horizontal current or axis as the ďŹ sh, to entice a strike. In slack water side pools and eddies or in lakes or sloughs, especially with chum and sockeye salmon, ďŹ sh exhibit little if any species pressure and swim

unpredictably at various depths. They do this for myriad reasons that include breathing, following scent trails, or interacting with other spawning ďŹ sh. I compare these impatient salmon to ill-mannered adults rushing to be ďŹ rst in line at an all-you-can-eat buffet. They fear that

if they are last, they may miss out. In a backwater slough, salmon can be at 3 feet deep one second and 5 feet deep the next, making it extremely difficult for the ďŹ&#x201A;y angler to make and maintain an accurate presentation or trigger a response to stimuli â&#x20AC;&#x201C; i.e. a working ďŹ&#x201A;y.

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Without current, ﬁshing is a lesson in futility, with only a handful of noteworthy exceptions.

STRUCTURE The second requirement is structure. Learn to identify structure that builds species pressure in salmon, because structure funnels salmon together to help initiate a territorial, aggravation, curiosity or intercept response to stimuli. Think of species pressure as one or more factors that may be seen as irritants, such as a salmon being stressed by too many ﬁsh on a spawning run; unpleasant environmental variables that might include bright light, compression of swimming space, low water, or spawning pairs. Rather than complain and get pushy, salmon strike ﬂies or lures.

WATER CLARITY The third requirement is clear or slightly turbid water. The sooner a fish sees the fly, the sooner one of the four responses builds up within the fish and

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you have a hookup. It’s a simple chain of events: When combined with structure, clear water sets the stage to help induce stress or species pressure in salmon. Combinations of fly action, size and color that the salmon can easily see, combined with retrieve, creates the right trigger to prompt the salmon to initiate a response or strike. To reiterate, let’s include these items into the following equation: Current plus clear or slightly turbid water plus structure to induce species pressure equals prime salmon hookup water. There are additional influences and variables, such as water temperature and water velocity that I detail at length in my book that will help you fine-tune the above equation. For now, memorize the following: In order to locate the best migration corridors in waters with a variety of current types and patterns, it’s important to know the speed at which salmon swim, and the current speed they favor. The swimming performance of mi-

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grating salmonids is broken down into three categories: Cruising speed; the speed a fish can swim for several hours; sustained speed, the speed a fish can maintain for several minutes; and darting speed, the speed a fish can swim for several seconds. Properly identifying the current speed is a key factor in the salmon-catching equation that will help you catch fish consistently.

WATER CLASSIFICATIONS FOR SALMON FISHING I’ve spent hundreds of hours on the bottom of streams and rivers watching anglers toss flies at salmon and how these salmon also react to complementary environmental variables of water, weather and light. I noticed that fish behaved consistently in select scenarios, which prompted me to establish the following principles, theories and subsequent strategies based on how salmon responded to lures or flies under a variety of these conditions. Knowing how a salmon views your fly

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ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

The author admires one of his salmon success stories in Alaska. Forty-two years of “observing the underwater world of how and why Alaska salmon strike lures and ﬂies” has inspired Batin to share his secrets. (CHRIS BATIN)

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

offering in various degrees of water turbidity – and, most importantly, how that backdrop is affected by the ambient atmospheric light and diffused underwater light – is one of the single most important pieces of information you can possess that will help you choose the right fly or lure. Here’s why: When fishing, our physical eyes often deceive us. What we see is most often not what the fish sees. We’ll see a gin-clear stream, but underwater, visibility is less than a foot, or a glacial turbid stream surface with a visibility of less than an inch at the surface, unseen, is running clear near the bottom. The photos and videos I’ve taken over the years sum up one of the main problems in Alaska salmon fishing today; choosing fly or lure colors based on either speculation, guesswork on impertinent criteria rather than what the light conditions are at a particular time of day, and not considering both the water type and backdrop image the fish sees. Knowing the migration stage of the fish will also help narrow down the optimum, most

JUNE 2017 | aksportingjournal.com

visible fly that will help initiate one of the four responses to angler-induced stimuli. A guide may tell you chartreuse is the best fly because it’s highly visible. It is, in most conditions. But in an algae-filled river or estuary, the water may be clear but the salmon is looking into a reflected backdrop of bright chartreuse-like green that allows the fly to disappear to the fish, and may pop into view too close to the fish to trigger a response. I encourage you to memorize the following: It is imperative to match the right fly color to the upstream backdrop the fish is seeing. You want fish to see the fly as far upstream as possible so you can trigger one of the four responses I detailed earlier. However, for nearly all Alaska fly fishing scenarios, I recommend starting out with the most visible fly that contrasts against the upstream background the fish is seeing. I’m sure you don’t want to stick your head underwater prior to fishing each time to determine the background visibility. The untrained eye cannot identify

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salmon streams and rivers that run clear, yet are tinted from microscopic glacier turbidity. I have used secchi disks and commercial color selector devices and do not recommend them. They provide neither the information on the critical variables Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve already discussed, nor do they provide horizontal backdrop visibility information that is key to helping you make the proper decisions on ï¬&#x201A;y type, size and color. Please refer to the book on various tips on how to ascertain the backdrop color so you can choose the right ï¬&#x201A;y. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a tip to get you started: Compare Talkeetnaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s slightly tinted Clear Creek with that of the Talkeetna Riverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s turbid glacial hue. The greater the degree of suspended microscopic glacial ï¬&#x201A;our, the more turbid it will be. This turbidity also increases after heavy rains, hot weather (which increases glacial melting, which generates more silt runoff) or a rising stream emptying tannin-stained runoff from surrounding bogs. All these inï¬&#x201A;uences darken the backdrop sight picture. When this happens, remember that the greater the turbidity, the larger and/or more visible the ï¬&#x201A;y must be so the diffused, penetrating light can reï¬&#x201A;ect off the surface of the ï¬&#x201A;y materials and initiate a response to angler-induced stimuli. In contrast, streams that drain a eutrophic or mesotrophic system or lake may run clear in spring, but by midsummer around king season, algae and plankton blooms create for a bright green, pea-soup backdrop at midday. In the midnight sun twilight of 10 p.m., the backdrop turns into a dirty, greenish black. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been underwater and observed this changing scenario throughout the day. Would you use a chartreuse ï¬&#x201A;y in some of the algae or plankton bloom waters shown in this chapter? Even though chartreuse is one of the most visible and most popular salmon ï¬&#x201A;y colors, it would perform poorly in triggering strikes at high noon, as the ï¬&#x201A;y would blend in with the reï¬&#x201A;ected green backdrop. Looking upstream into this algae-green backdrop, imagine now the sun moving from its overhead position in the Alaska summer sky to sink-

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ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

ing below the tree line. Indirect sunlight is now entering the water. Expect a much darker backdrop, much like someone pouring black ink into the water and the black mixes with and darkens the green. This is generally what an angler will experience – and the salmon see – on heavily overcast days or after Alaska’s midnight sun sinks toward the horizon. With minimal sunlight entering the water, the salmon is looking into a dark, green-black upstream backdrop. Black would be an ineffective color unless you were trying to create an optical illusion for the fish, a consideration explained in detail in another chapter. White, chartreuse, or the brighter fluorescents would be good starter colors at this time. Beware the bright-blue backlight of a high evening sky over the water that creates an illuminated backdrop for the salmon in areas with few trees. If the backdrop is dark from a lack of light, again, increasing the surface area of your fly or lure will also increase its visibility and strikes. So before making that first cast, first identify the water type and condition and match it to the available light so you can choose the most visible fly that will initiate one of the four responses to angler-induced stimuli. This is the equation you must use each time to catch a salmon on a fly or a lure. The longer a salmon is able to see the fly drifting down to it, the better your chances for a hookup. Know these processes, and you’ll catch not only more but larger salmon. It’s that simple. ASJ Author’s note: For additional specifics, refer to the book to learn about “Batin’s Outer-Third Theory;” “Optical-Illusion Principle;” “The Sockeye Salmon Equation: A Winning Solution to Catching a Non-Biter;” “Twitch-and-Flutter Technique;” and “Chemical Communication Among Salmon.” Alaska Sporting Journal readers can receive a discounted, autographed copy of this book – with postage paid – by using code ASJAA while ordering online at AlaskaAngler.com, or by contacting author Chris Batin at batinchris@gmail.com. 38

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

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FINDING YOUR WINNING COLORS

Whether you’re fly fishing in glacial or clear water or looking at the specific run-timing sequence, choosing a color pattern for king salmon can be an exact science for those willing to do their homework. (MICHAEL LUNDE)

USING SCIENCE AND READING THE WATER TO CHOOSE A SUCCESSFUL KING SALMON FLY BY MICHAEL LUNDE

fter many years in saltwater, the chrome sovereigns of the sea endured constant challenges throughout the duration of a harrowing journey. Day after day, Chinook salmon foraged intensely along the outer depths of the Continental Shelf in search of schools of Paciﬁc herring, sandlances and squid, as they headed toward Alaska rivers. On other days, they explored the open ocean for a sense of freedom to avoid common threats from pelagic longliners and trawlers. As their last year at sea concluded, they physically and mentally prepared themselves for the migration home to the rivers of their embryonic origin. The ﬁrst pulse of determined Chi-

nook salmon entered the realms of a freshwater river. About 15 miles upstream, a small school of Chinook rested on the bottom of a deep pool while basking in the sun’s rays. A 4-inch blue/ chartreuse-colored fly – accented with silver and midnight blue flash – pulsated merely feet from their faces. The fly’s pulsation irritated their vision; their eyes lit up like the fiery underworld. The lead Chinook and his counterparts were not amused. The 40-pound male propelled forward and attacked the flashy invader. The mountain air was suddenly enriched with the yodeling of a fly reel.

UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF color selection is critical when targeting king salmon on the ﬂy anywhere – from the lower intertidal areas upstream through the middle region and into the

headwater areas of a river system. One common principle associated with fly color selection for kings that is of utter significance is the bright/sunny and dark/cloudy principle. Throughout my king salmon fly fishing expeditions across Alaska, one particular example that is applicable to this fly selection theory occurred one late June afternoon on a lower Susitna River tributary off the Parks Highway. Throughout the morning since the 6 a.m. daily opening, kings destined for Sheep Creek boiled constantly inside and outside of the silt-line transitional zone. From 6 to 11:30 that morning, our group subdued 14 kings between 25 and 45 pounds on chartreuse-colored flies. From that 5½-hour angling period, it was sunny with an occasional cloud blowing over from the southeaster-

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ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

Sometimes, hours can pass before that winning color combination entices a king to engulf your ﬂy. (MICHAEL LUNDE)

ly alpine winds. Thirty minutes later, dense formations of cumulus clouds over the Alaska Range drifted in and remained with us for the duration of the afternoon. As the sunshine faded into overcast, our blue/chartreuse colored intruder-style flies got flat-out ignored despite us being confident they would continue to get blasted. Approximately 45 minutes of fishless action passed and I made the methodical switch to a black/blue Prom Dress intruder. I based that choice on the observation of the overcast skies, which changed up the coloration of the water. Minutes passed and the appearance of bowling ball-like splashes continued to eclipse the surface as blood pressure increased rapidly. After a 50-foot double Spey cast to pinpoint the fly just outside the silt line, the plethora of ostrich plumes and illumination of flash lit itself into a vortex-shaped movement as the fly swung. As the flashy morsel encountered the realms of tannic clearwater, the top rod guide violently disappeared into the water. A large semi-blushed male 42

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

Chinook displayed a series of acrobatic cartwheels before landing headfirst into the deep. The chartreuse-colored Skagit line lasered upstream at roadrunner-like speed, and the king’s dorsal fin broke the surface like a shark. After a 25-minute battle, my fishing partner Steve lunged forward with the knotted nylon-mesh net to scoop up my prize. After 10 seconds’ worth of photo snaps, the 45-by-28-incher was released back to his underwater empire. I cheered as my eyes stared into the heavens, a sign of respect between angler and king.

A LATE-NIGHT BIRTHDAY celebration on the Lower Kenai River was another color-speciﬁc scenario, when dark colors proved effective after it was assumed that brighter ﬂies should have produced. After a long day of sampling kings for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, we journeyed to mile 35 of the Kenai River, where the clear water of the Moose River dumps into the Kenai. We arrived at 7:30 that evening without a cloud in the sky, a rare scenario for

JUNE 2017 | aksportingjournal.com

the Kenai Peninsula. Hours passed and other confidence levels dwindled after noticing that in two-minute sequences, large 30- to 60-pound chrome monsters crashed the surface. Multiple bright color combinations were thoroughly experimented with, and these kings either seemed highly intelligent or keyed in solely on migration mode. Since it was low light conditions associated with the evening, I downsized to a 4-inch black/purple intruder. Minutes passed. After the third or fourth cast, the fly continued its downstream pathway through the water without any takes as anticipated. I reached to grab the fly line to manipulate a series of strips, and the line suddenly jolted and screamed off the reel quickly. As I applied the last bit of pressure, I tossed the 15-foot Sage Z-Axis alongside the bank. My head was sweating, my arms fatigued to exhaustion, but I darted behind to grab her tail. The large female Chinook laid sideways in the water, her mouth contracting the surface of the water. We prepped her for release and she bolted

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ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

FLY MONTH T OF THE

hroughout all realms of freshwater and saltwater fly fishing, the intruder is considered one of the greatest anadromous flies that anglers rely on. An intruder is characterized as a shank-style streamer consisting of a stinger hook connection via braid or wire designed to tie a larger fly and reduce catch-and-release stress. Original intruders were specifically designed for targeting large tidewater Chinook in the productive two-handed streams of Bristol Bay. Large residential rainbow trout were also suckers for these larger-profile flies. Prior to the popularization of tube flies in the late 1990s to early 2000s, intruders, particularly Ed Ward’s version, were tied on sacrificial shank-style hooks connected to a smaller octopus hook via braid and, more recently, lighter-poundage wire. With king salmon preferentially favoring flies with a fair magnitude of flash incorporated into the design, I experimented with a simplified, modified version that incorporates synthetics compared to natural materials that often have the tendency to get waterlogged. The synthetic intruder can be tied on Waddington shanks, sacrificial front hooks or tubes. Compared to the original intruders developed by Scott Howell and Ward, this version utilizes baitfish emulator fish for the back and front sections of the fly. Ostrich or rhea is spun in a dubbing loop or distributed 360 degrees around each section. The main body consists of four to six strands of Flashabou palmered forward, leaving adequate tying space near the front so the identical steps for the back section of the fly are repeated. Multiple options suffice for a secondary Spey hackle – Lady Amherst, Schlappen and New Guinea – to provide additional coloration and profile, as well as to counterbalance the fly and allow the ostrich or rhea fibers to achieve maximum pulsation. All combinations

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

Alaska features some of the world’s premier 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.

Original intruders, like this Ed Wardcreated ﬂy, were speciﬁcally designed for targeting large tidewater Chinook in the productive two-handed streams of Bristol Bay. (MICHAEL LUNDE)

Thread: No. 6/0 Uni-thread Waddington shank: 50 to 75 mm OPST Tube: Small diameter tube Rear and front collar: Krystal emulator ﬂash Rear and front Spey hackle: Ostrich or rhea Optional hackle: Lady Amherst feather ﬁbers or New Guinea Body: Flat pearl diamond braid (chartreuse, black, silver, blue, etc.); four to six strands Flashabou Weight: Dumbbell eyes or conehead Stinger hook: No. 2/0 octopus hook or wide-gap model

Attach stinger hook of choice to Waddington shank with 50- or 65-pound low-stretch braid. Can also use small diameter tube. Select baitfish emulator flash and trim off a 3-inch piece. This will be used specifically for making the back section of the intruder. Tie in and palm-

er two to three times around the shank and tie off. Spin 10 to 15 ostrich fibers in a dubbing loop around the baitfish emulator flash. Tie in flat diamond braid and palmer forward until just behind the dumbbell eyes. Repeat all the steps outlined in Step 2. Whip finish, trim thread and fly is complete.

of these materials excel in slower and faster ﬂows when triggered from the current. Appropriate stinger hook size varies if using tubes or Waddington shanks. Use No. 1 to 2/0 octopus hooks for Waddington shanks or 1/0 to 2/0

saltwater hooks for tubes. Within this spectrum, smaller hooks cannot penetrate the ﬁsh’s mouth, whereas large hooks result in unsatisfactory performance of the ﬂy with it over-rotating itself. -MICHAEL LUNDE

TYING STEPS

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like lightning for the turquoise-bluish depths. High-ďŹ ves and cheers echoed upstream and downstream of the Sterling Highway.

BASED ON THESE PREVIOUS personal experiences, is it mere coincidence that particular color or color combinations outperform others, or is it just a matter of methodically switching through ďŹ&#x201A;y selection until a ďŹ shâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s frustration levels cannot tolerate it any longer? After documenting my yearly angling statistics, it became apparent that speciďŹ c color combinations worked more effectively than others throughout the season. Other factors that predetermine color selection for kings include water temperature, water type (glacial vs. clear), run-timing, photoperiod, and other environmental factors. Generally, freshly conditioned ďŹ sh in the rivers respond aggressively towards chartreuse, and run-timing is an important determinant in color selection. My scientiďŹ c reasoning be-

The author likes to take a scientiďŹ c approach to his ďŹ shing prospects, so he keeps a log of statistical trends in a journal he can refer back to for tips. (MICHAEL LUNDE)

hind the relationship between dark and bright colors pertains to the rodand-cone density in the salmonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye. Within their eyes, rods are photo receptors that speciďŹ cally function in

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less intense light and are used for peripheral vision, whereas cones function for color vision and sensitivity. Fish that exhibit a higher cone density perceive brighter colors better. Therefore, freshly conditioned kings can see chartreuse extremely well, yet later into the process as late-run ďŹ sh enter the stream, it appears they lose their cone density, thereby perceiving darker colors better than lighter. Another important characteristic that correlates with color choice is river classiďŹ cation. In Alaska, we are blessed with both glacial and clear river systems. In glacial rivers, increased turbidity contributed from sediment loads via melting glaciers reduces water visibility and diminishes bright wavelengths of light. In glacial water, kings are able to perceive darker color ďŹ&#x201A;ies better compared to bright-colored ďŹ&#x201A;ies, yet brighter ďŹ&#x201A;ies still have their time and place. On sunny days, brighter colors tend to perform better than darker ďŹ&#x201A;ies. As with all ďŹ shing techniques and presentations, experimentation is often the critical component when it comes to determining success. Based off my personal successes ďŹ&#x201A;y ďŹ shing for kings, it is rather interesting when taking science and the environmental conditions into account. While the scientific information on the physiology of a king salmonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye and visionary performance is possibly the difference between success and failure, it should be noted that experimentation is always necessary when targeting kings since color selection might be location-specific. The other important task I remember to do is to write all weather, environmental and other necessary information into an angling journal. Season after season, I can look back and analyze all the statistics and make my own generalizations about which ďŹ&#x201A;y colors performed well and the ones that did not. Conducting these types of personal scientiďŹ c studies is a fun thing to do; it makes us better anglers and more prepared for selecting the appropriate ďŹ&#x201A;y and ďŹ&#x201A;y color. In some occurrences, anglers may encounter identical weath-

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Whether it’s a bright color pattern or something simplistic in black or white, there’s no greater feeling for an Alaskan angler than when the theory works. (MICHAEL LUNDE)

er conditions from previous seasons, which could send light bulbs off in the old noggin as it pertains to ﬂy selection.

FISHING IS MORE THAN just an outdoor recreational sport; it is a science in which experimentation with specific techniques and presentations are utilized accordingly in order to deal with the various challenges we face. Perceiving this information and translating it into fly type and, most importantly, color selection is critical. Regardless of how we perform and execute in our fishing expeditions, we must remember that each experience makes us better anglers as we happily prepare for the next adventure. In our pursuits throughout the state of Alaska to catch either multiple fish or the quest to score that record Chinook, our favorite fish is always a challenge to target. King salmon fly fishing success is largely dependent on the knowledge of their response to how environmental fac-

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Fishing on Alaska’s many river systems will pose different challenges that won’t always be easy to solve. But that it’s not an exact science only adds to the lure of heading to the Last Frontier for a salmon adventure. (MICHAEL LUNDE)

tors affect their migratory behavior that formulate the basis of our fishing techniques and presentations. It’s from this perspective that fly anglers make proper adjustments and refine their strategies throughout the season. We must acknowledge that science itself is essentially a practice and not necessarily a guarantee. Instead, we have made huge strides in understanding the migratory behavior of king salmon in freshwater. Additionally, fisheries science has offered insightful information on emerging and intriguing concepts from the science world, as well as observational evidence from anglers and guides. The objective is to incrementally refine our fishing presentations and expand our understanding of our favorite fish. The strategies and experiences presented here can help king anglers perceive the water and weather conditions with improved confidence, identify fish-holding habitat, and tie flies of multiple color schemes in order to ultimately land a trophy Chinook in 2017. ASJ 50

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JUNE 2017 | aksportingjournal.com

BY KRYSTIN AND BIXLER MCCLURE

“I

really wanna catch a giant halibut,” Bixler said one April afternoon. He was looking outside at our deck, still covered in 4 feet of snow, and reminiscing about summer. “You always catch nice halibut,” I replied. It was true; Bixler had a knack for pulling up at least one 50-pounder each time we fished. He would check a line or randomly drop down, and up would come a nice-sized fish. “Yeah, but I want to catch one soon.” Bixler sighed, reminding me of the last of the previous summer’s halibut in our inside freezer. It was April, and spring cleaning in the McClure household means moving fish and game from our three garage chest freezers to our large inside freezer. By this time, we are able to shut down the garage freezers to make way for the stocking up of our goodies. Bixler and I had been diligently watching the spring weather, which is squirrelly with a few nice days poised between massive easterly gales from the Gulf of Alaska. We tried to go out on one of those days between two storms and ended up bobbing around violently in confused seas and ultimately back home at the dock. On that trip, we finally answered the question if babies can get seasick, and the answer is yes. Poor Lynx. But we’d get a second chance.

Some calm spring seas and some hungry halibut and yelloweye deep in the Gulf of Alaska was too good an idea to pass up for the authors. (BIXLER MCCLURE)

RIGHT AROUND BIXLER’S BIRTHDAY in mid-April, there is always a lull in the weather. Given this year’s cold winter, we did not expect it, but sure enough a 50-degree day was forecast along with calm marine weather. We loaded up our ﬁshing gear and Lynx – he was understandably skeptical after the last trip – and headed out on calm glassy seas. When we rounded the spit at Fox Island, a natural wind and swell barrier, we were happy to see the summer-like weather – with no wind on the Gulf and hardly any swell. We immediately headed to a favorite spot that is difficult to ﬁsh in almost all conditions. When we arrived, the current was ripping to

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ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

the west, but the seas were calm and Lynx was fast asleep in his car seat. Bixler positioned us and killed the engines. I rigged up my favorite lightweight jigging rod with our only large knife jig, while Bixler picked the stoutest leadhead jig he could find. “I’m going big on this one,” he said before he dropped his jig into the crystal-clear water. Our jigs were heavy enough to deal with the current, though we had to run inside and periodically start the engines to back up the boat. Immediately, I felt a tap. Bixler jumped up 3 feet in the air when I yelled, “Fish on!” He was simply so hopped up on the excitement of pursuing large halibut. “Is it a halibut?” he asked, hovering around me. Bixler tends to be jumpy when he gets excited about fishing, and using a lightweight jigging rod with a flexible tip does not help. Every jig and tap looks like a fish is hitting. “No,” I replied calmly. “It’s not springy. I’ll let you know if it is a halibut.” Halibut tend to feel “springy” on a line, but this fish fought before it went limp like a dead weight. Bixler anxiously peered over the side. A familiar yellowish blob emerged from the depths representing a huge yelloweye reaching the surface. “That is a nice yelloweye,” remarked Bixler, who ran inside to mark the point on the chartplotter. Lynx started to stir, so I left Bixler outside to drift for fish. He drifted and repositioned the boat several times and eventually switched to my same lure to bag a yelloweye of his own. He was happy, but I could see the disappointment that it was not the huge halibut he had been dreaming about.

The Missing Lynx, named for the youngest McClure, took in a lot of scenery (below) on this trip. (BIXLER MCCLURE)

“SO WHERE DO YOU WANT to go?” Bixler asked, his anxiousness fading. “Let’s go over there,” I replied, pointing to a known halibut soaking spot. Bixler was skeptical. “Are you sure?” I had been mentioning the spot all day and he did not seem to want to give it a try. This reef was only producing yelloweye. “Let’s just give it a try,” I replied. “It is the one nice day of the month. Why not? Plus, if we anchor, Lynx could get a solid nap.” 56

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Lynx was fussy and tired of sitting in his car seat. Anchoring up the boat meant I could move him into a more comfortable position, we could relax and not worry about the still-raging current. We moved the boat to the new spot and dropped anchor on the top of an undersea bump that sloped into the abyss. Bixler affixed rods with our soaking rig and weights, and we used our Hawaiian-style palu bag (see sidebar below) to chum the water with herring. The sun was warming up the cabin, and for the first time in months, I killed the heater and opened the windows. The current was raging, but the anchor held and Bixler started to clean the yelloweye. Bixler finished the job, bagged up the fish and then glanced over at his rod. The line was no longer trailing behind the boat but was instead straight up and down. “Well, that’s weird,” he said. “I wonder if the current changed.” He gave several fast cranks on the reel and waited for a second. He expected the line to hang dead in the water, but instead it started to unspool from the reel. Bixler

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

That rod tip would soon bend and the line slide back deep into the water when a halibut gobbled up the jig that was sent down. (BIXLER MCCLURE)

nearly jumped out of his Xtratufs, grabbed the rod and started to fight the fish. “Oh my god, I think it’s a big halibut!” he exclaimed loudly. Lynx, who just fell asleep, awoke with a fuss as I ran outside to ready the flying gaff and load our handgun. Bixler struggled against the weight of the fish. I looked over at my lightweight jigging rod. It too was sitting weird in

JUNE 2017 | aksportingjournal.com

the water. We fish for halibut with circle hooks, which are self-setting, so I was not too worried about my fish. I calmed Lynx down until Bixler yelled, “Color!” meaning he could see a shape in the water. I ran out and assembled the harpoon and looked down into the ocean. From the depths I could see the distinct shape of a halibut being reeled to the surface. It was by no means a small fish; this was a sizeable halibut. “Wow, this is probably a 100-pounder,” I said, looking at the fish in the water. I stuck the harpoon with buoy into the halibut. The halibut dove and the buoy that would normally be stuck in the fish drifted away with the stiff current. “Well, that didn’t work,” I said. “I guess we’re a bit rusty.” The fish dove down to the bottom again to almost 400 feet of water. Bixler took a deep breath and started to reel, while again I tended to Lynx, who was not happy about the current situation. As the fish approached the surface, I put Lynx in his car seat and carried him to near the bow door in the boat. We would need to close the aft door to dampen the sound while we shot the fish. “There it is!” Bixler shouted. I got the gun ready, and Bixler brought the fish close to the surface. The halibut was tired from the second fight and I had no problem dispatching it with the gun. It hung limp in the water and we wrestled it on the boat. We both shouted with glee, and I opened the door to show Lynx, although he was both equal parts fussy and con-

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HAWAII MEETS ALASKA FOR CHUM BAG APPROACH Whoa! A palu bag? What is that? If you are fishing in the northern latitudes, you have probably never heard of it, but palu (chum) bags are common in Hawaii, where they have roots. Hawaiians have been using variations of palu bags for thousands of years to chum the crystal-clear waters surrounding the Hawaiian Islands for ahi, ono, mahi-mahi, and other deep-water tropical fish that pass through the islands. A friend of ours from Maui has been using palu bags to fish for halibut for years. The advantage of a palu bag is that it is simple and reusable. It’s a cone-shaped bag with a weight affixed to the point of the cone. The chum is stuffed into the cone itself and closed loosely with a flap. As the bag drops, the weight keeps the tip pointed downward so the bag stays closed due to its hydrodynamic shape. Once it hits the bottom, one simply jigs the rod to release the chum. The entire palu bag is returned to the surface. So how do you get your hands on a palu bag? You can buy them or you can

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

make them if you are handy with a needle and thread and have a good eye for shapes. Our friend uses denim for his, while we made ours out of leftover sunbrella from a past sailboat project. Here’s the general idea on how to make one: Using a heavy-duty fabric (old jeans work well), measure out a diamond shape similar to that classic kite shape. The total width of the kite should be about 9.5 inches. From the center of the width line to the top of the kite should be 3 inches and from the center of the width to the bottom of the kite should be 9 inches. This results in a “t” shape. Connect the ends together and you get the kite shape. Cut out the kite shape. The upper diagonal edges should be shorter than the lower diagonal edges. Have the lower, longer edges meet in a cone shape. Sew that edge shut. The ﬁnal product should look like an ice cream cone. At the tip of the cone, affix a weight and a way to attach it to a ﬁshing rod. We sewed in a corkscrew swivel that attaches 1-pound weight and the cork-

JUNE 2017 | aksportingjournal.com

Hawaiian-inspired palu bags provide a simple but effective chum technique to attract halibut. (BIXLER MCCLURE)

screw swivel on the rod as well. Many people simply use a hole to attach a weight and the rod. When using the palu bag, affix it to a rod and attach the weight first. Fill the bag with bait and close it with the remaining flap of fabric loosely. When you drop the palu bag into the water, have the reel in freespool and make sure the weighted, pointed end of the cone goes in the water first. Let the palu bag drop to the bottom. Once you hit bottom, give the rod several quick jigs to release the bait. KM

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Bixler McClure seems to have a knack for coaxing large halibut to the surface, but even he couldn’t have asked for much better than this 87-pounder. (KRYSTIN MCCLURE)

fused by what had just happened on the back deck of the boat named for him, Missing Lynx.

WE USED THE CHART in the back of the tide book to calculate that the halibut measured out at 87 pounds. Bixler stood proudly next to his ﬁsh and was happy to catch such a nice halibut the day after his birthday. “What a great birthday present,” Bixler joked. We headed back to the harbor after recovering our missing buoy. “Yep. And aren’t you glad you listened to your wife and went to the spot I kept suggesting?” “Yes, dear,” he replied. “As usual, you were right.” “And as usual, you caught a big halibut!” ASJ Editor’s note: Bixler and Krystin McClure own and operate Seward Ocean Excursions, offering year-round, boat-based adventures around the Kenai Peninsula. For more, go to sewardoceanexcursions.com or call (907) 599-0499. ASJ 62

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The author has waded enough Southeast Alaska rivers with ﬂy rod in hand to at least feel like he’s competent, so he faced a dilemma when he stumbled upon a struggling poor sap with nothing to show for his casts. (JEFF LUND)

SECOND GUY THROUGH WHEN THINGS ARE GOING DREADFULLY ON THE RIVER, SOMETIMES THE NEXT ANGLER WHO SHOWS UP IS IN A TOUGH SPOT BY JEFF LUND

“

ny luck?” I had the distinct feeling he hadn’t. “No; don’t think they’re in.” I knew they were. “There should be a couple around.” He sensed that I knew what I was talking about as he started the inqui-

sition. He was a friendly enough guy – blanketed with a hint of desperation. His steelhead trip to Alaska wasn’t going as well as planned and his buddy was taking the afternoon off. He maintained a polite and positive demeanor, but, even in Alaska, ﬁguring out a steelhead river can be difficult and I could sense it. He was ﬁshing the right hole, wrong, which is why I stuck around.

WE TALKED WEATHER AND water flows and told a few other stories. In my boot I was tapping my toe and ready to put my fly into the surefire steelhead holding spot. I’m not one to jump into a spot someone has just fished, but he was fishing it wrong so I stayed downriver a bit and made a haphazard attempt to fish. The goal was to just look busy

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ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

What could Lund (left) do? He didn’t want to get too close to someone else, but the guy was ﬁshing the water wrong. So once it was clear he was leaving, Lund made his way to where he was. (JEFF LUND) 68

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

but without pushing the guy from his spot. He was there ﬁrst and he had every right to ﬁnish his time there without being pressured. So once it was clear he was leaving, I made my way to where he was. There was a brief silence after the words, “should be.” He wanted to know, to see. “Well, don’t let me stop you; go ahead.” “Alright.” I nodded my head, walked past him and stood just up from where he had been casting. Normally, if someone

JUNE 2017 | aksportingjournal.com

is fishing the spot I wanted to fish I’d just move on, but I stuck around, and as far as I could tell, he had underestimated the depth and speed of the current in the main slot, so his fly was not getting down to the fish. The outer edge was reachable with a high-stick technique and a quick mend. The fly would sink to the strike depth and be close enough to move the fish to it. Classic misread by someone not familiar with the river. I stripped out line and prepared to cast. The dude was still there, quietly watching behind me.

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There are few times when catching a nice river steelhead or trout can be considered bad, but the author knew he didn’t want to embarrass the guy he tried to help. Fishing can be funny sometimes. (JEFF LUND)

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This is the danger of being the second guy through. If you know something the ﬁrst didn’t, you’re going to reveal it as soon as you cast. That is, if the ﬁrst guy is paying enough attention.

INFORMATION IS EVERYWHERE IF you notice things around you. The steepness of the opposite shore gives you an idea of the depth on the other side of the river. Turning over rocks gives you an idea of what bug life is happening. Looking at what the guy carrying four salmon back to his truck has tied onto his fishing rod might tell you what you should use. But I know guys who clip off their fly or spinner before leaving. I know people who tie on something totally different, just to throw others off. So what should I do? The guy is there: shamelessly, desperately lying in wait. There is the chance that I won’t catch anything and he’ll eventually leave. Or I could do my best to not catch fish, wait until he leaves and then fish it how I choose.

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LODGING As I was contemplating my strategy, muscle memory took over. The river went from wide and shallow, cut by boulders, to thin and deep. It cut into the bank on our side and left a deep run below the rocks on which you stand. I flung the pink leech upriver into the riffle on the far side of what would become a swift run. As the river took hold, the fly plunged into the deep run. I held my 7-weight high above the surface so the fly line wouldn’t get caught in the swift current and pull up my fly like it did with the other guy. As my fly passed directly in front of me, the line dove. I lifted, but the line stayed down. There was a flash of chrome. The guy said something to himself behind me I couldn’t hear and I felt like equal parts fly fishing guru and a little embarrassed. It had to just rip the dude’s heart out. He fished it for only he knows how long, then on the first cast someone else hooks up in the exact same spot. Life isn’t always fair.

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HE STOOD ON THE rocks as I made my way to the thin water where the river widened again. I tailed the fish, held it for a second to admire its flank, then released it. No doubt homecourt advantage played a role. What to do now? I reeled up. “Got a heavy pink leech?” “Yeah.” “Cast as far up as you can on the far side of that fast water. There might be more.” I headed back to my truck. Maybe I was a jerk for catching one in front of his face and leaving. Arrogance. I’d like to think it was instruction without condescension and helping without the pressure of looking over his shoulder. I’d also like to think he was paying enough attention to catch one on his own. ASJ Editor’s note: Ketchikan-based Jeff Lund is the author of Going Home, a memoir about fishing in Alaska. His book is available on amazon.com.

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Whether it’s hunting game birds or getting one last crack at breaking the ice to catch a tasty sheeﬁsh, spring’s arrival in Arctic Alaska is a cavalcade of outdoor activities. (LEW PAGEL/PAUL D. ATKINS) 76

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JUNE 2017 | aksportingjournal.com

THE ARCTIC TRANSFORMATION AFTER A LONG DARK WINTER, SPRING MEANS NEW HUNTING AND FISHING OPPORTUNITIES

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There are numerous creeks and streams that line the landscape in the Arctic, and even though they cycle through the seasons, snowshoe hare are fun to hunt, especially if you take your kid along. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

BY PAUL D. ATKINS

love spring in the Arctic – truly the second best time of the year for me. The sun is the main culprit in this enduring love affair and it continues each day, making its way across the horizon in an ever-increasing arc. You feel rejuvenated and happier, knowing that now you can get out and enjoy what lies in front of you. It’s a time of snowmachines, the many trips to the local NAPA store to buy gas, oil, spark plugs, shotgun shells and other necessities. It’s a ritual. The thaw came quickly this year. The 20-below temperatures have now become 40-above conditions. I don’t know why it surprises me each year, but it still does. The snow and ice are always like that; you think you have

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weeks left to venture out, to look, to explore, to hunt and ﬁsh, and then boom, the opportunity is lost. This year was no different, but promises are promises. It starts with a cornucopia of decisions or choices that have to be made. Do we hunt or ﬁsh or just go for a ride? It sounds easy, but with the few weeks you do have, you have to plan your adventures to meet the needs of your persona.

THE LAST ICE April and May mean three things: Ice fishing, bear hunting and pursuing small game, both furry and feathered. Two of those are easy and the other not so much. Let’s first start with fishing. As I’ve written many times before, ice fishing in the Arctic means sheefish, those in-

JUNE 2017 | aksportingjournal.com

credible delicacies living beneath the Arctic ice. The Chukchi Sea, and more specifically Kotzebue Sound, is full of fish this time of year, and if you have a couple hours they are yours for the taking. Yes, you do need a little luck, a correct wind and a correct tide, but if you hit it right, you’ll have as much fun as you can ever imagine. This year was a little different compared to previous years, and the main culprit was time; there wasn’t enough of it. With my ever-increasing schedule of appearances down south, I only had a couple of weekends to try my luck on the ice. As it should be, ice fishing in the Arctic is a family affair. My son Eli, my wife Susie, good friend Lew and his daughter joined me and we headed out onto the sea ice with our trusty Jiffy ice

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auger. The cool air and beaming sun were blessings as our snowmachines made their way to an old familiar spot.

and in the springtime when the ﬁsh are there, you have to pounce on it, so we did our best.

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All days on the ice should be like this one. After drilling a few holes we were fishing, and in no time we had caught a couple. But it wasn’t the nonstop action that we had come to expect this time of year. Ice fishing can sometimes be funny like that. One day you’ll catch fish until your arms hurt or you shouldn’t anymore, and then days might pass until you get another hit on the end of your line. Another funny variable is luck. I’ve seen holes drilled not 5 feet apart and one will produce all day, and then zero in the other hole. It’s happened to me many times. How these big fish decide which hole or which lure to grab is amazing to me, but it happens all the time. This year we caught enough to eat and enough to fill the freezer, which is all we could ask for. The sea provides,

Small game is another family tradition that I’ve shared throughout the 20plus-years I’ve been here. It has become somewhat a right of passage for myself and Eli. Ever since he was little, we’ve ventured the 13 or more miles across the frozen ocean to an old familiar spot that is like a second home to us. The dense willow along the creek has proven to be a haven for snowshoe hare, ptarmigan and the occasional grouse. It’s actually one of my favorite things to do here in the far north while spending time with my kid in the outdoors.

Springtime means the arrival of birds, specifically ducks and geese, for the waterfowl hunter. Any hunting or fishing trip, for birds, bears or sheefish, starts with the right people who can share in the adventure, such as the author (far right) and his buddy, Lew Pagel. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

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It usually starts with us walking the creek and looking for the unexpected. Once our eyes adjust to the bright snow and the incredible camouﬂage of each type of game – all in their winter white – we get dialed in and are keen on taking a few. We don’t get many, but the ones we do get make for incredible tablefare.

FLIGHT STATUS IS GOOD Another tradition shared among friends is the arrival of birds. Hundreds of species spread out across the region arrive each day in ever-increasing numbers. Contests are held each spring among the locals to see who spots what ﬁrst, but for the hunter it’s speciﬁcally the geese and ducks we’re looking for. It’s an amazing sight to watch the

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sky and see the ﬂocks come in, letting each of us know that spring has truly arrived. Hanging out in the open water, ducks and geese take time to rest in what was only recently frozen ice, and it’s there that you’ll ﬁnd people like Lew and I with shotguns in hand trying to take a few for the pot. Sometimes it’s nonstop and during others not so much, but it is always a great time.

DON’T FORGET THE BEARS Last but not least, there is Alaska’s spring bear hunting. Early April through early May is prime time, and even though it does start earlier up here for us, it hasn’t in other parts of the state. Chasing bruins in Southcentral or Southeast Alaska usually starts a little later in May and extends into early June when conditions are ideal. Alaska is a big state with many opportunities, but one of the biggest for us up here is being able to hunt bears early and then travel elsewhere and extend our season. Bears are plentiful, some say too much so and others say not plentiful enough. I would agree that in some

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You never know what you’ll ﬁnd on the tundra once the snow and ice is gone and things turn brown. Shed hunting is popular with some, very much like you ﬁnd in the Lower 48. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

parts of the state that’s true. But one of the biggest differences is that we don’t bait up in the Arctic like they do in other places. However, starting with the 2017-2018 season, we’ll be able to. Now, whether you do or don’t have an opinion on the subject, I’ll leave that up

JUNE 2017 | aksportingjournal.com

to you, but I’ve done it both ways and enjoy both immensely, especially with a bow and arrow. Bear hunting in the Arctic was tough this year. Lew and I scoured the countryside looking for a freshly exited den or a track in the snow, but as tem-

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peratures increased, travel became more difficult and places that we normally hunt became harder and harder to get to. We did find a couple of dens here and there, but they were few and far between. Old bear tracks were common as well, lining many creeks and valleys, an indication that perhaps we missed our window of opportunity. Bear hunters know that when the sun is high and that first drip of spring echoes through the hills, you need to be out there glassing the countryside and working the drainages where bears like to go after a long winter’s nap. It’s a lot like fishing: You have to strike when the conditions are right, and for myself and Lew, I guess we missed it. But like I said, if luck doesn’t shine on you up here, then there are other options for getting a bear, especially if you’re lucky enough to draw a brown bear tag on Kodiak Island like Lew just did. This is an incredible adventure all its own, and it’s something that few will forget. Lew spent a week on “the rock” trying to fulfill his dream, and even though

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The warm rays of the sun do wonders for the soul, especially for those in the Arctic, but even more so for bear hunters. Glassing the soft snow looking for a fresh den or a fresh track takes persistence and patience, but with a little luck it can be an adventure like no other. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

he saw some incredible country and had the time of his life, the bear of his dreams eluded him. But from the excitement in his voice and what he told me about his adventure, he’s ready to go back once he draws the tag again.

SOUTH OF THE CIRCLE As I mentioned before, you can always head south below the Arctic Circle and ﬁnd a black bear. In my opinion, bow-

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hunting black bears from a tree stand over bait is about as good as it gets in Alaska; personally, it’s one of my favorites. Next to hunting Sitka blacktail deer, this is one of the best hunts for the money and the most fun you can have in my book. Sitting all day into the evening while anticipating a big bruin to sneak in for a bite is truly a remarkable event. Watching a black bear make his appearance –

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considering that seconds before there was nothing around – is amazing; it’s almost like seeing a ghost. You have to be ready to make the shot upon his arrival. Once you catch your breath and stop shaking and do draw to your bow, time seems to stop and things move forward in slow motion. It’s almost surreal. I’ve been lucky enough to travel and connect on several of the numerous black bears that call Alaska home, with each time being a remarkable experience. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to head to the panhandle of Alaska for one of the most remarkable black bear hunts of my life. Southeast Alaska is truly one of the most beautiful parts of the state; compared to the Arctic it’s like traveling to a different country. The biggest difference is trees and all the green that stretches into the unknown. There are mountains too – the sharp jagged kind – with a steepness that reaches far into the clouds, a rarity this far north. For ﬁve days I lived in a tree stand, watching and learning and admiring the

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Bowhunting for a black bear is about as much fun as a person can have in the author’s opinion. Alaska is full of black bears and there is not a better place to hunt them than Southeast Alaska. The vastness of the country is incredible and the bears numerous. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

JUNE 2017 | aksportingjournal.com

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vastness of this rare wilderness. The bears were numerous and came to the bait before quickly vanishing back into the undergrowth. I got lucky and took a nice bear on the last day, but it was more than just killing a bear, it was adventure into the unknown, experiencing a place I had never been before. Spring is like that in Alaska, when it resembles a new day or a new lease on life, or at least another year. It’s the beginning of something special and something to look forward to, and it really doesn’t matter what part of the state you live in, where you’re from or even what you’re doing. If you’re targeting bears, geese or waterfowl, it’s irrelevant, because it’s special to all of us in our own different ways. ASJ

You might be pulling up a sheeﬁsh from the ice (above) or hiking for ptarmigan, but spring is a coveted time for Alaskans and visitors alike happy to put winter behind them. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

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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ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

JUNE 2017 | aksportingjournal.com

CARE FOR YOUR BEAR

BY SCOTT HAUGEN

o, you didn’t misread the headline. A meat hunt for black bears is a real thing, and the key to obtaining good-tasting bruin meat is being prepared to take care of the meat before returning home. Bear meat is a favorite of mine and it makes me cringe every time I hear someone say they can’t stand it. And coming away with bear meat that tastes great starts well before it hits the pot. Never blame a cook or a recipe for bear that tastes bad without ﬁrst assessing how the bear was taken care of in the ﬁeld.

MAKING SURE THAT BRUIN HUNT MEAT YOU’RE BRINGING HOME TASTES GREAT

DON’T WASTE VALUABLE TIME

Scott Haugen has taken many black bears over the years and ranks it among his favorite eating wild game. The key is getting the hide off the carcass, the fat off the meat and the meat off the bone in quick fashion. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

The moment a bear is down, get the photos you want and get to work. The biggest mistake made with bears is taking too long to get the hide off. Avoid taking the bear around to show friends or hauling it back to camp for others to see. Instead, skin and break down the bear, on the spot. The purpose of a quick breakdown on a bear is to get it cooling as quickly as possible. Bear fat is not like that of ungulates; it’s more oily and spoils faster. By getting the hide off the bear, the fat off the meat and the meat off the bone as soon as possible, you’re on the way to securing some delicious protein sources. With the bear on its back, slit the skin from the anus to the chin, from front wrist to front wrist and from back paw to back paw. Open the skin, laying it ﬂat on the ground around the bear as you go. This lets the heat escape and provides a clean platform on which to lay the meat should you need it. With the carcass in this position, you’ll be able to separate the entire skin, even along the backbone. But leave the hide ﬂat on the ground so the meat stays clean. Before removing the meat, have a designated place to put it. Ideally, a shaded spot in the trees is best to hang it in order to optimize cooling. If no trees

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are near, place it in game bags – never plastic bags – and lay it where air can circulate around it. Remove the hindquarters ﬁrst, as this is the biggest muscle mass that needs to get quickly cooling. Fillet all the fat off the hindquarters, and all other meat. The fat renders down very nicely and is great to cook with; it’s also great for skin care.

SEAM OUT THE MEAT With the hindquarter removed, separate the muscle groups by following the silver skin linings in a process that’s known as seaming out the meat. Sever the ends of each muscle group where they connect at the ball joint on the femur. Leave the muscles connected at the knee. Next, invert the hindquarter and hang it by the ball joint, which will get the meat cooling from the inside and the outside. This is important, as the femur is a big bone that holds in a lot of heat. Remove the front quarters, backstraps and neck meat and ﬁllet the rib meat off the bones. Get the tenderloins

Skinning a bear is easy, and laying out the hide keeps the meat clean. From here, it’s just a matter of quartering the animal and removing all meat, getting the fat off the meat and getting the meat cooled for your path to delicious meals. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

out and you’re about there. All that’s left is to remove the head and cape it out.

GET THE HANG OF IT I don’t like hanging bear meat to age like I do with deer, moose, caribou or Dall sheep. Bear meat breaks down differently and doesn’t need to age. Instead, it’s better to get it into the freezer as soon as possible, but at least ﬁnd a way to get

the meat into refrigeration. In order to make the most of your bear meat, it requires both time and forethought on the front end of the hunt and some planning on the back end. Spring bears are almost always tasty, including even old boars with low body fat. Fall bears feasting on berries are great eating, and their fat is excellent to work with. Salmon stream-gorging bears

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FIELD

When taken care of, bear meat can be enjoyed in a variety of ways, and one efficient way to make something delicious out of your harvested bruin is to create protein-packed bear jerky strips. (TIFFANY HAUGEN)

MAKE A JERK OUT OF YOUR BEAR BY TIFFANY HAUGEN

ear is a very versatile big game meat. If taken care of properly in the ﬁeld – skinned and butchered quickly while getting the meat cooling as soon as possible – it makes delicious tablefare. Like many game meats, jerky is a favorable preservation method because it can be prepared, vacuum-sealed and frozen, and it takes up very little freezer space compared to raw meat. It’s also an easy, high-protein snack to bring along on outdoor adventures. Although bear jerky can be made with a simple salt-only or salt/sugar cure, it’s fun to get a little creative with seasonings. The ingredients in this recipe are approximations, so feel free to experiment with how much you use of everything, except for the salt. Keep in mind, with bear meat there is a very slight chance it could be carrying trichinosis. To maintain food safety guidelines, make sure your jerky reaches a temperature of 145 degrees for at least an hour. When smoking bear jerky two to three hours in a smoker that maintains 180- to 200-degree temperatures, jerky sliced ¼-inch or ⅓-inch thick should

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

reach safe temperatures for consumption. Always test jerky for doneness, either with a thermometer or by slicing it open to see that it is dried throughout. 3 to 4 pounds bear meat 2 quarts water ¼ cup canning salt or Morton Tenderquick ½ cup brown sugar 1 to 2 tablespoons black pepper 1 to 2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce 1 tablespoon granulated onion ½ tablespoon white pepper 1 to 2 teaspoons liquid smoke ½ to 1 teaspoon red chili ﬂakes Two cinnamon sticks 10 to 12 whole cloves In a large glass or plastic container, whisk all brine ingredients with water until dissolved. Cut bear meat into ¼-inch to ⅓-inch slices, either across the grain or with the grain (partially frozen meat is much easier to slice evenly). Add bear meat to brine and refrigerate eight to 12 hours, stirring occasionally. Place a plate on top to ensure all meat remains submerged. Drain brine and remove meat but do not rinse meat. Pat dry or place on racks

JUNE 2017 | aksportingjournal.com

and let air dry for up to one hour. Follow smoking directions on your smoker. Cooking times vary greatly and depend on make and model of smoker and outside weather conditions. Try to keep the temperature of your smoker between 180 and 200 degrees. Check for doneness after three hours. Larger cuts of jerky can be ﬁnished on a baking sheet in the oven at 165 degrees; check every 15 minutes. When jerky is done, place in a glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap until cool. Keep jerky refrigerated or vacuum-sealed and freeze for longterm storage. Editor’s note: To watch a video of this recipe, go to Cook With Cabela’s YouTube link at youtu.be/klwRdzkPrCM. For more bear recipes and signed copies of Scott and Tiffany Haugen’s popular cookbook, Cooking Big Game, send a check for $20 (free S&H) to Haugen Enterprises, P.O. Box 275, Walterville, OR 97489 or order online at scotthaugen.com.

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are the biggest challenge, so optimize your meat care and use those creative cooking skills.

Tiffany Haugen shows off her harvested black bear. (TIFFANY HAUGEN)

GET QUALITY MEALS By being prepared to quickly break down a bear as soon as possible after it expires, you’re on the way to optimizing the meat quality. After all, as with most big game, a bad cut of meat on your plate often comes down to how it was cared for in the ﬁeld and how it cooled and aged, not what recipe was used or what the cook did wrong. Do it right and you’ll be amazed how good bear meat really is. ASJ Editor’s note: To order Scott Haugen’s popular DVD, Field Dressing, Skinning and Caping Big Game, send a check for $20 (free S&H), to Haugen Enterprises, P.O. Box 275, Walterville, OR 97489, or order online at scotthaugen.com. This two-hour DVD includes six ﬁeld dressing and three caping methods, and also shows how to skin and break down an entire bear.

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OF BEARS, BACON AND BITES YUKON MEN’S ZURAY SHARES HIS ALASKA EVOLUTION IN NEW BOOK

Editor’s Note: In last month’s Alaska Sporting Journal, we profiled Stan Zuray, one of the Alaskan homesteaders who spends part of the year in the isolated Interior community of Tanana featured on the Discovery Channel’s series Yukon Men. Zuray told us about his younger days as a troubled and lost Bostonian who longed to flee the big city for a chance at a new life in the Last Frontier’s open spaces. We only managed to get a small sample size of Zuray’s struggles back in Boston and his transition to being a subsistence fisherman and hunter and dog sledder. Zuray gets far more detailed about the ups and downs he’s experienced in a book, which included a harrowing encounter with a bear in the wilderness while hunting. The following is an excerpt from Carry On: Stan Zuray’s Journey From Boston Greaser To Alaska Homesteader and reprinted with permission from co-author Tim Attewell. The book is available for purchase at amazon.com/dp/1521098891. BY TIM ATTEWELL

tan and (then girlfriend) Charlotte stalked along the Tozi River with speechless lips and searching eyes. They gripped the chains tightly. Between the two of them, they were holding back a total of three eager dogs. It was autumn now, a sweet spot for hunting. The outcome of this hike would likely determine if they would be losing weight, or keeping it this winter. Before the humans in the pack saw anything, as usual, the dogs caught a scent and started barking. Stan and Charlotte dropped low, shushing the dogs and whacking them with a willow branch to keep them quiet. Down the

Stan Zuray, whose adventures as a subsistence outdoorsman are chronicled in the Discovery Channel series Yukon Men, led the wild life long before the cameras showed up. (STAN ZURAY) aksportingjournal.com | JUNE 2017

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Summer 1977: Zuray and his dogs rest at a cabin he built without power tools of any kind. (STAN ZURAY)

trail ahead of them was their prey, a 300-pound grizzly bear. They crept closer, hoping the dogs wouldn’t play their hand too early and alert the bear. Both homesteaders had rifles now – Stan with his .303 British, and Charlotte with a Winchester Model 70 .338 Magnum. The new rifle had been gifted to them by yet another generous Tanana resident. As they approached firing range, boyfriend and girlfriend cast a look to each other, saying “ready,” without speaking. All at once, the dogs were set free, and a scrambling, clinking canine stampede commenced. It was the strangest thing. Outside of the cabin, there were times that Stan saw the dogs peacefully coexisting with grizzly bears and drinking out of the same river. Yet once they were confined to chains, the temperament shifted gears, from neutral to drive. The dogs reached the bear and entangled him in a flurry of swats, jumps and snaps. It was a maneuver inspired 104

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by Skipper’s first tussle with the species. Stan and Charlotte stood in unison and took their firing positions. From the days of shooting out Boston street lights with zip guns, Stan’s aim had steadily improved. When a Tanana local named John Hewitt visited, Stan’s marksmanship reached full potential. John taught Stan to breathe, aim, and control where the bullet went. He was a true marksman. Prior to, Stan managed roughly a 3-inch grouping at 100 yards. John brought it down to an inch and a half. For each shot taken on that training day, Stan would bend down, pick up the shell casing and pocket it. Perhaps the ecological consideration of keeping the valley litter-free played somewhat in this act; but mostly, it was another way to stretch the U.S. dollar. Stan reloaded every bullet casing he fired. Now, he would be placing a .303 caliber bullet in a tangled mix of friend and adversary. Stan fired high,

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hoping to take the bear down in one shot. He didn’t. Charlotte followed up with a wider, more powerful bullet, and the bear made its slow collapse. It might sound like a Hollywood edict, but after years of using this method, not a single dog was killed or injured in the process. The pair had been out in the woods long enough to learn that, by Oct. 15, the salmon lying on the riverbanks would be thinned out. Most of the bears would move into the Ray Mountains at this point. Those that didn’t, Stan and Charlotte hunted.

BY NOW, STAN HAD perfected his bear bacon recipe. He would butcher the meat, rub salt and sugar on the fattiest pieces, add a few layers of the same, and compress them in a large rough-cut wooden box, down in the cool air of the root cellar. This process was repeated twice over the course of two weeks. The final touch took only one day of smoking, and, of

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Zuray during his only appearance racing dogs in the famed Iditarod, in 1982. He set a rookie race record that lasted 10 years. (STAN ZURAY)

course, a little frying. The resulting product was sweet, savory and fatty. It was a great way to stock up on energy for the winter. The grizzlies found in Alaska’s Interior certainly weren’t the biggest

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on the planet, but it wasn’t size that was the concern. Whether a 300- or 500-pound grizzly pinned a person down, death would soon follow. One thing that seemed to set all grizzly bears apart from the other

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species in the family was their incredible endurance. To offer a comparison: There was a black bear, once, loitering at the standard sandbar that could be seen from the cabin window. Stan took his time, lined up a good shot

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and snapped its spine with one bullet. The black bear dropped to the ground. By sheer chance, the very next day, a grizzly bear was walking along the same sandbar, looking for salmon. Stan took the same shot, snapping its spine. The bear broke into a wild sprint, using only its front legs. If Stan had been within 25 feet of the bear, though it had lost the use of its lower body, it would have closed the gap before he could have reloaded or turned to retreat. Needless to say, by the time Stan was attacked by a grizzly in the fall of 1976, he was taking them very seriously. Fishing was coming to a close, and so Stan set out on his annual search for beaver lodges. Cartography had become a crucial part of this process. In autumn, Stan would draw crude maps and mark the various lodges he discovered. In the springtime, during trapping and hunting season, the map would bring him straight to the meat and fur.

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The buttstock of Zurayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s .338 Magnum bears a gouge (lower left) where a grizzly bit it while chasing the hunter up a tree. Hunting in wild Alaska is no joke. (STAN ZURAY)

On this particular scouting mission, he had three first-year pups with him, off leash and out for a stroll. For defense, he was carrying his .338 Magnum. It had a broken magazine spring, so getting one round in the chamber

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was iffy; a second shot was even less likely without turning the gun upside down and shaking it. It was not the best gun for defense, but replacement parts werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t in his budget, or mindset. The regular protocol meant

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Zuray (with daughter Monica, left, and wife Kathleen, right) appreciates how different his life turned out since leaving his native Massachusetts for Tanana. “My time in Alaska wasn’t just a strange turn in life,” he says in the book. “It was a direct product of my childhood.” (STAN ZURAY)

leaving Charlotte with the .303. So, in accordance with the phrase that could be used to describe absolutely every item and piece of gear in Stan’s life, it

was better than nothing. As he walked, Stan observed a few uncomfortably large footprints in the soil, but that was typical for that time

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of year. The real concerning detail was, they were wet, and fresh. Earlier that day, the dogs had been zipping all around him, back and forth through the woods. Now, they were tired and just trudging along in front of him. Stan and the puppy pack crossed the river via sandbar and came around the corner. About 400 yards away stood three grizzly bears. There was something strange about them. They seemed incredibly active for this time of day. Stan was worried they had picked up his scent and were already agitated by his presence. Docile bears were great; eating bears were busy, but agitated bears were big trouble. Having never dropped a grizzly in less than two shots, and carrying a gun that could give him one at best, he decided defending himself against three grizzlies just didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem wise, no matter how high the potential bacon yield. There was no need for serious alarm yet, though. In fact, the moments that followed were very casual. He decided to simply climb up a tree and take some time to look at his map of local beaver lodges. He turned to back off and, just like dock workers waiting for the whistle to blow, his tired dogs assumed this meant it was time to go home. They perked up and took off towards the cabin. They would eventually notice the human leader of the pack was missing and turn around, but the one-minute loss proved to be almost fatal. Stan made it about 10 feet up his tree of choice when he heard snorting and thumping from somewhere nearby. Paws pounded against the soil like a drum. It was a sound more intense than he had imagined in his younger axe-training days. Fortunately, that strategy had long since been abandoned. While climbing, he turned to see a grizzly about 30 yards off. It was running broadside to him, not charging directly towards him, as he had feared. Stan had his gun in his hand but was unable to take a shot from his place on the tree. He went back to climbing, fast. 112

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Then he heard a rhythmic sort of grunting. It was the sound of air being forced out of the grizzly’s lungs by its own massive weight, with each heavy step of its swift run. The sound seemed to grow louder with every second. He couldn’t see the bear, but knew it was now charging straight for him.

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next branch, he felt the grizzly hit the base of the tree. It came right up at him. His mind completely abandoned registering anything in its natural speed, order or focus. The rifle was facing the wrong damn way. Upwards, not down. Stan’s first reaction was to push the butt of the rifle down towards the bear, just to put anything between his leg and its jaws. The grizzly sunk its teeth into the stock of the gun, cracked it in two and pulled it out of Stan’s hands. With Stan’s gun in its jaws, the titan fell back to the ground. The force of the pull had thrown off Stan’s climbing, and cost him some much needed time. He reached for the next branch, but before he could even pull up, the grizzly was up the tree and on him again. Stan had nothing left to put between him and the grunting monster. Many people see their lives flash before their eyes in moments like this. Though he didn’t see his entire, crazy life, Stan was granted a terrible flash of thought that told him exactly what was going to happen. He had heard of people being mauled, crippled and killed by grizzly bears. He had read about it and heard cautionary tales, time and time again. And now it’s going to happen to me, he thought. He felt a numbness in his leg. He felt his arms forced skyward by branches. It was as if the tree had suddenly blasted off to be with the clouds. Regardless of sensation, the grizzly was pulling him out of the tree by his leg. ASJ Editor’s note: Follow Stan Zuray on Twitter (@stanzuray) and like at facebook. com/stanzuray.

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Muskox appeared to be on the verge of extinction in Alaska about 100 years ago, but slowly but surely the Last Frontier’s population has rebounded. (BJORN DIHLE)

THE COMEBACK

DESPITE ONCE DWINDLING NUMBERS IN ALASKA, MUSKOX HAVE COME BACK NICELY BY BJORN DIHLE

saw my ﬁrst muskox at the University of Alaska Fairbanks farm more than a decade ago. A few descendants of Greenland animals that were transplanted to Alaska 75 years ago browsed grass nearby on the other side of a fence. Tourists took pictures and yelled at kids trying to reach through and pet one. By the early 1900s, muskox had rapidly vanished, due mostly to human predation in Europe, Asia and Alaska. When confronted with a threat, herds form a half circle, the young protected amidst the horns and hooves of adults. They’ll stand their ground in formation, and this defense works pretty well against wolves and bears but is useless against people. Muskox were killed with everything from a noose, lance and ar-

row to a bullet and even a knife. Thousands, in some cases entire regions’ populations, provided fodder for Arctic expeditions obsessed with, among other inglorious glories, the conquest of a speciﬁc spot atop a shifting, frozen ocean that was supposed to represent the top of the world. Perhaps the most dramatic example of extirpation and, later, population rebound, occurred on Banks Island. The island, historically a stronghold for muskox, appeared vacant of animals during the ﬁrst half of the 20th century. Some theorize that from the 1850s to the early 1900s, Copper Eskimos on Banks Island killed most if not all of the island’s population while salvaging iron and wood from the abandoned ship, Investigator. Others suggest a combination of factors, including disease,

weather and over hunting. According to Parks Canada, “The most recent population estimate (of Banks Island), conducted in 2001, put the population at 68,778 noncalf muskoxen.” That represents more than half the world’s population. Whether there was a small and isolated resident population or herds from Victoria Island that traversed the pack ice and re-established the island is unknown. Alaska’s population of muskox appeared to have gone extinct more than a century ago. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, “In 1930, 34 muskox were captured in East Greenland and brought to Fairbanks. This group was then transferred to Nunivak Island, a large island in the Bering Sea. The muskoxen thrived there and, by 1968 the herd had grown to 750 animals.”

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Larger herds roaming the state’s vast emptiness are a wildlife conservation success story in Alaska. (BJORN DIHLE)

Translocated Nunivak animals established populations in Alaska’s Arctic, as well as Russia’s Wrangel Island and Taimyr Peninsula. ADFG estimates Alaska’s current population at around 4,000.

INTO THE WILD My ﬁrst encounter with wild muskoxen occurred a few years after I visited the UAF farm. It was on the ﬁrst day of a nearly month-long ski traverse of the eastern Brooks Range. My partner and I spotted a herd on a snowy bluff above the frozen Ribdon River. The animals’ breath in the cold (the ambient tem120

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perature was hovering around minus 50) turned into a fog of ice particles. One bull pawed ice and snow with its hoof, and then almost tenderly rammed its head against another bull. The herd swirled, parted and reformed. In my eagerness, I crossed an invisible line. They bolted and left behind a cloud of snow crackling with electricity. I skied to where they’d regrouped and studied them for as long as I could handle the cold. Their hardiness was impressive but their vulnerability made me cringe. I skied away, thinking how I’d just encountered a vestige of a lost world. My next muskox was a year later on

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the Noatak River. One evening, with two companions, I ﬂoated around a bend. On the red and yellow willowy hillside was a herd of muskox. “Let’s camp here,” one buddy suggested. We stashed boats and gear, and then pushed through the brush, hollering out to warn any potential grizzlies we were coming. When we pushed out into the open, a cow stood just 30 yards away much to our pleasant surprise. A few moments later, something very large crashed down the hillside. Much to our not-so-pleasant surprise, a bull charged and stopped in a snorting fury just 20 feet away. He gestured with his

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gigantic head to the cow and she ran up the hill and rejoined the harem. I tried talking to him, but he kept shaking his horns and pawing the ground. So we carefully backpedaled back to camp. Later on that same trip, we encountered a lone bull with a broomed horn that fed along the river’s edge. Zenlike, he stared at us for a few moments and, seemingly unimpressed, went back to browsing. The saga of muskox, from teetering on the edge of extinction a hundred years ago to rebounding to more than 100,000, shows both our capacity for destruction and restraint. They are an emblem of hope for conservation and a reminder that we can assure a future for wild animals, big and small, if we want to. ASJ Editor’s note: Bjorn Dihle is a Juneau writer. His ﬁrst book, Haunted Inside Passage, is now available at most outlets where books are sold. Follow him at facebook.com/ BjornDihleauthor.

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When the author has encountered a muskox in the wild, it’s a testament that there is hope for wildlife in the state. (BJORN DIHLE)

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Author Dave Workman says now is the time to be mounting a new scope or buying a new riﬂe/scope combination and taking it to the range. (DAVE WORKMAN)

3 REASONS TO MOUNT THAT NEW SCOPE NOW BY DAVE WORKMAN

ummer arrives later this month, and if you are planning to buy a new scope, or a new riﬂe and scope, do it now! It would be a shame to waste all of this available evening sunlight on naps in a hammock. There are three reasons for getting this task completed now, during the warm-weather months: Accuracy. Accuracy. Accuracy. And this doesn’t even touch on the fourth reason: meat in the freezer and a notched tag. Speaking of, according to a recently released survey from Responsive Management, a growing number of Ameri-

can hunters say that meat is their most important reason for hunting. The survey had data from 2008, 2013 and 2017 and revealed that the second most important reason for hunting today is for sport and recreation, though that reason has consistently declined in importance over the past nine years, from 33 percent in 2008 to 27 percent this year. The survey firm’s executive director, Mark D. Duda, observed, “Whereas the sport or recreation was the most popular reason for hunting roughly a decade ago (when about one in three hunters gave this answer), hunters beginning in 2013 have most often named the meat as their primary motivation for going afield. And while the percentages of hunters naming one of the other three reasons have declined or remained flat

over the past decade, the proportion of hunters who say they hunt mostly for the meat has almost doubled.” In 2008, 22 percent of survey respondents named meat as their motivation, but this year that percentage has risen to 39 percent, according to Duda’s report. The report quoted Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who observed that food “tastes doubly better when you’ve hunted the animal yourself.” Big thumbs up for that.

FOR MANY YEARS I’ve watched people wait until the weekend before a hunting season opener to zero their riﬂes. People show up at the range and shoot, and shoot, and shoot until their barrels are too hot to touch. The heat signature

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Handloaders often have a device called a chronograph for measuring the speed of a bullet as it leaves the muzzle at the range. This is invaluable when zeroing a riﬂe to determine bullet drop at longer distances, by consulting ballistics charts in the back of a reloading manual.

Zeroing in a riﬂe often requires “walking” your rounds from left or right into the 10ring. (DAVE WORKMAN)

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rising off those barrels can distort the scope image, and it doesn’t do any good for barrel life or accuracy. Here are some tips to ensure your efforts aren’t being wasted: • Check your scope mounts for tightness. Loose scope bases will prevent even the most skilled riﬂe shooter from zeroing his gun. Even the slightest looseness will make consistent, accurate shooting impossible. Tighten the screws down with Blue Loctite. Once that’s done, put a drop of clear nail polish on the screw heads. This helps keep off the moisture. Likewise, make sure your rings are tight and that the scope is carefully mounted so the crosshairs are as close to being straight up and down, side to side, as possible. • If it has been months since you put the riﬂe away, before even heading to the range, clean it thoroughly. Run a cloth soaked in Hoppe’s No. 9 or Outers solvent down the bore, followed by a dry patch and then a lightly oiled patch. Clean the dust off the bolt or out

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of the action, and add a drop of oil here and there as required. • Many, if not most, of today’s rifles have floating barrels – that is, the barrel does not directly contact the stock ahead of the receiver. To find out whether you’ve got metal-to-wood (or polymer) contact, run a dollar bill along the underside of the barrel, from the front end of the stock back to the receiver. • Find a ballistic table for your rifle’s caliber and the specific cartridge/load you are using. If you can’t find one online, get a reloading manual. They all have ballistic tables at the rear, and they can be indispensable. Consult these tables to match the bullet weight and listed velocity (usually printed on the end flap of the cartridge box, if you use factory ammunition) to determine bullet drop at 200, 300 and even 400 yards. Those who brew up their own loads will know their bullet speed from the manuals, and many will use chronographs to confirm those speeds.

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I typically zero my riﬂes to shoot about 2 to 2½ inches high at 100 yards. With my handloads, that puts the bullet deadon at about 200 to 250 yards. I’ve killed deer at 350 and an estimated 400 yards in recent years using these loads, and last year my brother conked a nice threepoint muley at about 150 yards using one of my loads on a slightly uphill shot. The time to work all of this out, of course, is now when nobody is rushed; there is plenty of evening daylight to approximate the kind of light one might ﬁnd in the fall early and late in the day.

Among the new scopes introduced this year are these two from Sig Sauer and Leupold. The former is a 2-7x32mm with a Quadplex reticle and other features, while the latter is the Oregon company’s VX-3 Long Range Precision scope for precision shooting. (SIG SAUER, LEOPOLD)

JANUARY’S S.H.O.T. SHOW saw the introduction of several new scopes for 2017. There are new models from Nikon, Sig Sauer, Leupold, Vortex, Bushnell and Leica. Now is a good time to be shopping, and once you buy, follow my earlier advice and get the scope solidly mounted and zeroed. In the riﬂe arena, among the new entries is the Hell’s Canyon Long Range bolt-action model in Browning’s X-Bolt

family. It’s chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor, .270 WSM and .300 WSM, plus 7mm Rem. Magnum, 26 and 28 Nosler and .300 Win. Magnum. Winchester announced the XPR Hunter Mountain Country Range bolt-action model with a polymer stock ﬁnished in Mossy Oak Mountain Country Range camo. It is chambered in popular calibers from .243 Winchester to .338 Win. Magnum. ASJ

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Company Spotlight

COMPANY NAME Class 5 Boatworks WHAT THEY DO Located in Fairbanks, Class 5 Boatworks has, according to its website, “a desire to provide the best, rough-duty boats for Alaska and beyond.” CONTACT INFO (907) 328-2390; class5boatworks.com; facebook.com/class5boatworks.

Alaska Sporting Journal How did you guys get involved in the boating business?

Company Founder Bob Tsigonis For 20 years, our affiliated company, Lifewater Engineering Company, has been designing and building sewage treatment plants for very cold climates. Twelve years ago, we began building tanks out of plastic. Many people who run shallow rivers in aluminum boats cover the bottoms of their boat with plastic. (Manager) Jerry Fleishman and I have been boaters all our lives, so we thought, “Why not build the whole boat out of plastic? When work gets slow, we should build a boat.”

ASJ Tell us about the River Series boats you manufacture. BT Anvik: An outboard (prop or jet), multi-purpose, open hull, large cargo capacity and (measuring) 16 to 20 feet long. Dragonﬂy: A sports car on the water, lightweight (1,100 pounds), 14 feet and 200-plus hp. It’s almost as maneuverable as a personal watercraft and the most fun boat I’ve ever driven. Kobuk: (Built) for larger rivers with lots of debris (sticks, logs, whole trees), eddies with huge whirlpools, deep water and big-standing waves, and shallow water with gravel bars and rocks.

ASJ You’ll hit the hull of your boats with a sledgehammer to illustrate durability. What’s the process of how you build the boats and what materials do you use? BT All of our “rough-duty boats” are impact-resistant polypropylene plastic, with different thickness of plastic in different parts of the boat. The bottom is the thickest, especially in the center and near the transom. Our material has been proven in other industries, the same material used in ﬁre truck tanks and bodies (no corrosion, lightweight and very durable). We are contemplating manufacturing bear-proof containers as another method of demonstrating our boats’ durability.

ASJ Alaska waters can be unforgiving. What kind of conditions are your boats designed to handle? BT To go to places where you need a rough-duty boat, where boats could be severely damaged and where no other materials will work. The plastic gives a softer ride and absorbs much of the shock from the waves. It lessens fatigue from noise and vibration (especially on a long ride), and is quieter in the water – when running and still – than aluminum, which is good for hunting. ASJ What plans do you have going forward at Class 5 Boatworks? BT We want to get the word out about the benefits of plastic boats, expand our model line to meet people’s needs and pursue extreme commercial applications, like rescue and heavy-duty workboats. ASJ aksportingjournal.com | JUNE 2017

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COMPANY NAME The Bay Company WHAT THEY DO With three locations in Southeast Alaska (Craig and Wrangell, on Prince of Wales Island, and Ketchikan), The Bay Company is one of the Alaska Panhandle’s premier marine sales and service operations. CONTACT INFO (907) 874-3340 in Wrangell; (907) 8263341 in Craig; (907) 225-3342 in Ketchikan; baycompany.com

he Bay Company was founded in 1967 by Dan Roberts, and Dan sold it to Chet Powell in 1979. His brother runs the Wrangell Store, which opened in 2004, and Chet and his partner Michael just opened the Ketchikan location this year. Chet got his start in high school in an intern program in his junior and senior years. He is good at it and loves working on boats and motors. Chet works hard to turn boats around in a timely manner. When the season is here, you can’t wait, and Chet knows this and turns around most in three days to a week. Because the sunbirds are ready to go ﬁshing. Sportﬁshing is the main focus of the Bay Company, and lodge business is also done in a timely manner. With the new Ketchikan location, there are three shops to serve customers. Chet has a great group of service technicians. They are schooled in Yamaha and Mercury motor repair and keep up on their training. Chet has them skilled and makes sure they are current on what they need to know. This training keeps the waits short and quality of work guaranteed. This is truly the premier marine and power sports company in Southeast Alaska. Bay Company’s success has been grounded in three key comple-

any p m Co light Spot (Right) Wrangell location. (Below) Craig location.

mentary strategies: Providing the best service with certiﬁed factory technicians; unrivaled customer support from a dedicated sales team; offering the best brands that are best-suited to its service area. Today, these strategies have positioned The Bay Company for a bright future of sustained, proﬁtable growth. This family-operated business has earned the trust of Alaska’s customers and is consistently exceeding customer expectations. ASJ

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THE IRONY

OF IT ALL ARE ANGLERS AND HUNTERS CONFLICTED ABOUT WHAT THEY DO AND HOW THEY DO IT? BY JEFF LUND

rony and hypocrisy rule the outdoor world. The people most willing to put their money where their mouths are when it comes to fish are likely the ones trying to catch fish by theirs. The people who are most likely to advocate, pay for and maintain safe havens for migrating birds? They will spend Saturday mornings in a blind waiting to shoot the same birds. Weird, right? It works for pretty much every fish and game resource and even for the most beautiful areas of our country. Build national parks and create trails that cut through habitat … to save it. Bring millions of people to places like Yosemite Valley to spoil the tranquility … to make revenue to preserve and maintain it. The anti-angler, the PowerBait dunker and the dry-fly-only angler all walk over the same bridges after paying the admission fee for different reasons. They all want it to stay clean and beautiful and available for use. All want to use it differently. Even richer irony occurs within the groups you think would be allies.

A FLY SHOP POSTED an online photo I Lund has the perspective all sportsmen and -women should carry every time they head out into the ﬁeld: Irony and hypocrisy rule the outdoor world. (JEFF LUND)

sent of me holding a steelhead. Mixed in with the smattering of comments

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The author’s use of his bare hands to handle a delicate steelhead wasn’t met as kindly when he was snapped wearing gloves on another catch-and-release moment. (JEFF LUND)

was one asking why I was holding the steelhead at chest level above the water and why I was wearing gloves. It felt like a troll move, but I still responded to explain both my buddy (who was taking the picture) and I were sitting on our heels in the water; so yeah, the fish was at chest level but there were no legs involved. I was wearing fingerless gloves (it was 30 degrees outside), which I had dipped in the water before touching the fish. I know that anything that disrupts the slime of a fish can harm it. So I get what the guy was saying. But they weren’t sandpaper gloves. We didn’t use a net. Was this a lesson on steelhead fishing morality? The dude who was trying to teach it makes and sells flies! Who is this guy chastising me about proper care of steelhead, considering he sells the very item that helps bring them in by their 140

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mouths? What if I didn’t wear gloves but used light tippet (rather than my 12-pound mono), which would force me to fight and wear out the fish twice as much so that I could pose properly with the fish and thank him for the flies. Would that warrant a positive post? But I backed up, took a breath and didn’t comment. He is clearly a fish-first thinker, as we all should be. His passion for the fish was directed at two things that concerned him. I get it. One of his questions was a misunderstanding; the other was a legitimate discussion within the community. Ideally, all steelhead would be left alone. Steelhead lovers would not have to catch them to love and appreciate them. We could go to the river and never touch them – with abrasive nets, gloves or hooks. We should stand from afar and look at the animals we appreci-

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ate – not catch or kill them, right? Not going to happen.

WE LOVINGLY EMBRACE A level of hypocrisy. But if we want anything done we have to understand this and the subsequent rhetoric against us. How can someone who loves a majestic buck bedded on an alpine slope want to shoot it and cut it up? They are focusing on the wrong detail. I decided to really investigate the depths of my hypocrisy to better understand everything. I know it won’t be pretty, but here goes. I don’t want people to know where I fish because I don’t want added pressure, but I write about fishing and people know where I live. Same goes for hunting. “Hey everyone, look at these fish, this deer, this bear, this goat. But don’t come here. Just buy the magazine so I

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Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. You might the most ethical angler on the river, but your gear might be too fancy for some. Bottom line: You’re a casting contradiction, so deal with it. (JEFF LUND)

can make money to afford more gear to go out there and do it again, so you can read about it again. But seriously, don’t actually buy a ticket to come here.” Outdoor writer, how dare you come to my river, fish my favorite spot, write about it, then go back to your home in the Lower 48 to write an article which reads, “Go fish Lund’s backyard?” Naturally, I do the same when I write about fishing in other states, but I’d prefer to play the victim than the perp, you know? I don’t keep trout and don’t even think about killing a steelhead, even if it is of legal size. I only use a fly rod at the river … unless I’m using a snagging hook to catch coho to fill my freezer. Yeah, how’s that for an image – the dude who cringes at the thought of someone using a spinning rod to suspend a jig under a bobber to catch and keep steelhead, uses an 142

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ocean fishing rod and a snagging hook the size of a small anchor to rip into the side of a salmon (it is legal in that scenario because it’s a terminal run of fish). Jeff Lund: Angling hypocrite. I want to think that I am a minimalist, as if there’s something morally right about not needing much gear or not needing expensive gear. I bought a full Sitka hunting system and own a Vortex rangefinder, bino, spotting scope, and rifle scope. I shot nice bucks without any of that. But, well – you know how it goes – stuff happens. Jeff Lund: Gear hypocrite. But seriously, about the gear; I had all the elements of the system I bought, but being from different brands and of different sizes, I was constantly fighting baggy clothing, clothing that was too tight, not really waterproof, not really Alaska-proof. So I had the money, and

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I now look like one of those hunting models who is either really skilled or just wants to look the part. What’s really wrong with that? What is the big issue in buying the best available gear, optics or rods? Could I catch steelhead on a cheap starter rod? Yeah. Do I need an expensive rod with the latest in graphite technology just to chuck a pink fly at a fish? No. But it’s there and I want it. What does that say about me? I don’t know. It took me most of the day to reflect on my personal hypocrisy and I haven’t really bundled it into a conclusion. I was aware of all of this. Maybe that’s the best we can do. Use resources according to our personal ethics while considering the boundaries of those ethics, how we communicate, and how we respond to others. ASJ

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