Alaska Sporting Journal - Sept 2020

FISHING • HUNTING • ADVENTURE

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Volume 12 • Issue 4 www.aksportingjournal.com PUBLISHER James R. Baker

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Katie Aumann

GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak

INFORMATION SERVICES MANAGER Lois Sanborn

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Andy Walgamott

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES media@media-inc.com

EDITOR Chris Cocoles WRITERS Paul D. Atkins, Bjorn Dihle, Scott Haugen, Tiffany Haugen, Mary Catharine Martin, Pete Robbins SALES MANAGER Paul Yarnold ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Mamie Griffin, Jim Klark, Mike Smith DESIGNER Lesley-Anne Slisko-Cooper PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Kelly Baker WEB DEVELOPMENT/INBOUND MARKETING Jon Hines

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MEDIA INDEX PUBLISHING GROUP 14240 Interurban Ave South • Suite 190 Tukwila, WA 98168 (206) 382-9220 • Fax (206) 382-9437 media@media-inc.com • www.media-inc.com CORRESPONDENCE Twitter @AKSportJourn Facebook.com/alaskasportingjournal Email ccocoles@media-inc.com ON THE COVER Scott Haugen reminds that those considering a moose hunt in Alaska should understand all of the mental and physical requirements before taking on one of the Last Frontier’s most challenging targets for big game. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

CONTENTS

VOLUME 12 • ISSUE 4

FEATURES 23

RESTORING A FISHING RELIC

Jeffrey and Christine Smith are passionate about historical vessels and wanted to take on the challenge of restoring a vintage boat, so they purchased an old tug, the David B, which in its 1930s’ and ‘40s’ heyday hauled the Bristol Bay sailboats used to net salmon back and forth between ports and fishing grounds. Bjorn Dihle has the story of the David B’s return to Alaska after it “almost died so many times.”

31

SALMON AND SANITIZER

59

When outdoor writer Pete Robbins and his wife Hanna went ahead with their planned summer trip to Bristol Bay’s Bear Trail Lodge, they knew the COVID-19 pandemic would dramatically alter their experience. As many Alaska fishing adventures promise, the angling was indeed epic, but the trip was also memorable for the many safety precautions lodge owner Nanci Morris Lyon took to prevent outbreaks, keep her guests’ safe and business afloat in hard times.

NO BULL: MOOSE HUNTING’S TOUGH AND THIS WILL BETTER PREPARE YOU TO PURSUE THEM

Big game hunting in the Last Frontier doesn’t get much more iconic than harvesting a massive bull moose. But as Scott Haugen has discovered over the decades, chasing them brings a lot of physical and mental challenges that he guides newcomers through in his half of our From Field to Fire feature, while wife Tiffany shares a moose meat recipe and cooking tips.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 15 29 17 50 67

The Editor’s Note: Dreaming of Alaskan fishing adventures Outdoor calendar Salmon State: New study confirms decreasing salmon sizes HIP program’s impact on migratory bird hunting and research Game Management Unit Spotlight: Unit 25 features some of state’s best caribou hunting and more big game

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DUCKS: UNLIMITED ARCTIC ACTION

Northwest Alaska is famous for its rich big game hunting, but our Arctic adventurer Paul Atkins (left) recently discovered the myriad waterfowl opportunities near his home base of Kotzebue are just as productive – and massively overlooked.

Atkins, who along with longtime collaborator Lew Pagel now annually looks forward to September’s and even October’s bounty of birds, shares his secret duck hunting heaven at the very northern tip of the Pacific Flyway.

(LEW PAGEL)

Alaska Sporting Journal is published monthly. Call Media Inc. Publishing Group for a current rate card. Discounts for frequency advertising. All submitted materials become the property of Media Inc. Publishing Group and will not be returned. Annual subscriptions are $29.95 (12 issues) or $49.95 (24 issues). Send check or money order to Media Inc. Publishing Group, 14240 Interurban Ave South, Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168 or call (206) 382-9220 with VISA or M/C. Back issues may be ordered at Media Inc. Publishing Group, subject to availability, at the cost of $5 plus shipping. Copyright © 2020 Media Inc. Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher. Printed in U.S.A. 12

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Hanna Robbins and her husband, writer Pete Robbins, enjoyed their time fishing for king salmon at Bristol Bay despite many COVID-19 guidelines that were enforced.

(PETE ROBBINS)

F

or the last year, and especially during COVID-19 lockdown time, a guilty pleasure TV experience for me has been a Bravo series called Below Deck: Mediterranean, which follows a crew of young people working a luxury yacht in Europe.

Honestly, that part of the show mostly bugs me – the crewmembers’ petty arguing, “showmances” and complaints about each other’s job performances that seems disingenuous but on point for its target audience. In other words, perfect reality television.

But what I enjoy is seeing the ports of call the show has visited in Greece, Croatia, Italy, France and Spain; plus I love to dream about the guests with the bankroll to rent out such a boat and all the fringe benefits included for passengers.

I’ve always had similar visions of stays at beautiful Alaska fishing lodges to indulge not just in fly-out trips to catch salmon on pristine rivers, but also eating gourmet meals and soaking in the service these accommodations are famous for. I can just as easily see myself enjoying a cocktail aboard one of those yachts in a secluded cove in Greece as I can drinking a craft beer on the deck of a Last Frontier lodge overlooking endless wilderness.

But what would such an experience be like during this pandemic? Pete Robbins, a Virginia-based writer, and his wife Hanna chronicled such a trip they took to Bristol Bay’s Bear Trail Lodge (page 31).

As we’re all figuring out, the novel coronavirus has changed everything about how we live. In July, when I went to California to visit my family and fished at a local lake with my sister, brotherin-law and our dogs, I was just as concerned about having enough hand sanitizer, antiseptic wipes and my mask as having enough tackle and bait to fish with. As Robbins describes, his was a great trip but one with precautions and safety measures few would have even considered prepandemic.

As for me, I don’t expect I’ll ever have enough spare cash to afford a Below Deck: Mediterranean-style yacht charter. But I’m also dreaming of that fishing trip for the ages in the Last Frontier. With or without masks and hand sanitizer. -Chris Cocoles

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A Pick Creek, Alaska, female sockeye salmon that spent three years in the Pacific (top) compared to a female that spent just two years in the ocean. A year more of feeding at sea makes a big difference, which is why salmon returning younger has caused such a dramatic decline in body size. (ANDREW HENDRY)

SIZING UP DECREASING ALASKA SALMON SIZE

BY MARY CATHARINE MARTIN

A

laskans who have fished for salmon here consistently over the years know it: Salmon, especially Chinook, are getting smaller.

That’s the conclusion of a new study published August 19 in the journal Nature Communications by lead author Krista Oke, a postdoctoral fellow with the College of Fisheries and Ocean

Sciences at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Also contributing were senior author Eric Palkovacs, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California Santa Cruz, and an international team of coauthors, many of them also based in Alaska.

They delved into why salmon are shrinking, and what it means.

SALMON ARE GETTING SMALLER Over the last 60 years, the sizes of Alaska’s salmon have declined, though there were also periods of slight recovery.

Around the year 2000, however, size declines intensified, and in 2010 they began accelerating.

The size change was most extreme for Chinook – most likely because they’re

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A fisherman sets a net on the Yukon River, where communities are heavily reliant on salmon for their food security. “If you have a limited harvest opportunity and the fish you get are smaller than what you used to get, it really does mean fewer meals in your freezer for the winter,” said Krista Oke, lead author in the salmon size study. (PETER WESTLEY)

the largest and tend to stay out in the ocean the longest – and in regions that historically have older, larger Chinook salmon returning, like the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers.

The average size of Chinook in the Arctic, Yukon and Kuskokwim area, as well as Southcentral Alaska, was, on average, 10 percent smaller after 2010 than it was before 1990. Some specific populations declined as much as 20 percent on average.

Overall, the length of Chinook decreased 8 percent on average between 1990 and 2010. Coho salmon length has gone down by 3.3 percent, chum salmon by 2.4 percent and sockeye salmon by 2.1 percent.

That size decline was driven by fish spending less time in the ocean and returning younger.

“Some populations lost multiple years, on average,” Palkovacs said.

There isn’t much size data out there for pink salmon, so that’s the one species they didn’t look into.

WHAT DOES THE DATA MEAN?

HOW THE STUDY CAME TOGETHER

T

he study, “Recent declines in salmon body size impact ecosystems and fisheries," was made possible via a collaborative initiative through the National Center for Ecological Analysis & Synthesis, or NCEAS. The initiative was called the SASAP project, short for State of Alaska Salmon and People. It brought people together from across multiple disciplines and backgrounds.

One important part of the SASAP initiative was the inclusion and involvement of indigenous voices and knowledge, which authors said added a lot to the study.

It was also only possible because Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists made 60 years of detailed data on salmon size, age and sex across many different river systems available to the researchers – and because data scientists at NCEAS crunched that data into a huge dataset the authors could analyze.

The bigger the data set, the more difficult it is to work with, and this one was very big, with 12.5 million records of four species of salmon measured for age, sex and length, over 60 years across more than a thousand locations.

That synthesized data set is now up online and available for anyone to use, analyze and ask new questions.

Read the full study at nature.com/articles/s41467-020-17726-z.

For more info about the study and about SASAP, go to alaskasalmonandpeople .org/topics/the-declining-size-and-age-of-salmon/. MCM

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The study identified several main consequences of smaller salmon. The first: smaller females mean fewer eggs.

“That means to get the same population productivity, you need more fish in the population,” Palkovacs said.

“Fixed escapement policies assume a certain number of females are going to continue to produce the same number of juveniles. But if females are smaller, it means that same number of females are going to be producing a smaller number of eggs than in the past.”

From a subsistence perspective, “if you have a limited harvest opportunity and the fish you get are smaller than what you used to get, it really does mean fewer meals in your freezer for the winter,” Oke pointed out.

From a commercial perspective, smaller fish earn fishermen less money – because it takes more salmon to get the same amount of poundage, it takes more time to process a fish, and because larger fish can command more per pound.

From an ecosystem perspective, smaller salmon transport fewer marinederived nutrients into the ecosystem.

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From a resilience perspective, losing certain age classes means less resilience in the face of environmental change.

WHY IS IT HAPPENING AND WHAT CAN WE DO TO STOP IT? “We didn’t find any single smoking gun that was able to explain these changes across species and across regions,” Oke said. “It really seems to be a cumulative effect of smaller impacts across lots of different factors. Different species respond differently to different specific drivers.”

That being said, climate change and ocean competition from high abundances of wild and hatchery-enhanced salmon, especially pinks, contributed to salmon body size declines.

They also looked at size-selective fishing, but found that while it may impact certain populations, it likely can’t account for the larger trends across Alaska’s river systems and species.

Predation from marine mammals like killer whales is a potential cause that they didn’t have enough data to look at fully, but that “probably is not a broadscale driver but may be having impacts on certain populations,” Palkovacs said.

In Washington, for example, where salmon populations are a fraction of historic levels, killer whales selecting larger Chinook would likely have a larger impact on the population now than it did when they engaged in the same practice 150 years ago.

“All of these factors matter to different degrees across different species, but they’re all generally pushing (salmon) to be smaller,” Palkovacs said. “That means there’s no magic lever we can pull to change the trends. On the other hand, it also means maybe the trends will be moderated by the fact that there’s this multitude of factors operating all the time. Everybody shares a little bit of the responsibility, so it almost suggests that it’s a collective problem that requires a collective solution.” ASJ Salmon strips dry on a rack on the Yukon River, a place where the impacts of shrinking Chinook have been among the most dramatic for subsistence users. (PETER WESTLEY)

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Editor’s note: Mary Catharine Martin is the communications director of SalmonState, an organization that works to ensure Alaska remains a place salmon and the people who depend on them thrive. Go to salmonstate .org for more.

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The David B, a Bristol Bay tug with a history that dates back to the 1920s, underwent a restoration project in 2003 with plans to journey back from its moorage in Washington to Alaska.

(CHRISTINE SMITH)

AN OLD BOAT’S RESURRECTION BRINGING A BRISTOL BAY RELIC BACK TO LIFE

BY BJORN DIHLE

W

hen Jeffery and Christine Smith were shown the David B, an ancient Bristol Bay tug known as a monkey boat, it appeared that every cormorant in Washington had been pooping on it for decades.

The young couple was dreaming of buying and refurbishing a boat into a small cruise ship. Christine looked at the rotting 65-foot relic, then at her husband, and felt a tightening in her stomach when it became obvious Jeffery was smitten.

“We were looking for a boat with a

really cool history,” Jeffery said in a June phone interview, 17 years later, as he and Christine were taking a break from readying the David B to journey from their home in Bellingham, Washington, to Southeast Alaska. “I knew right away that it was the David B.”

THE DAVID B WAS in such sorry shape that had the Smiths not purchased the boat it would likely have soon been scrapped and burned. Despite the daunting process of resurrecting the David B, Chris-

tine quickly fell in love with the old boat.

The couple learned it had been built in 1929 at a shipyard on Lake Washington for the Libby, McNeil and Libby Company. Among other things, that company owned a cannery in Bristol Bay. The boat was named after David W. Branch, the general manager of the company’s salmon operation. The David B then motored to the company’s cannery at Ekuk on the Nushagak River in Bristol Bay. By law at the time, Bristol Bay fishermen were not allowed to use power-

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When the David B was built in 1929, as author Bjorn Dihle explains, “Bristol Bay fishermen were not allowed to use powerboats. Instead, they used 30-foot-long double-ender sailboats owned by different canneries. … The [David B] was allowed to haul the sailboats, in a string of 10 to 15, to and from fishing grounds.” (ALASKA STATE DIGITAL ARCHIVES)

boats. Instead, they used 30-foot-long double-ender sailboats owned by different canneries. This rule, lasting from 1929 to 1951, was largely upheld at the behest of the canneries, which owned the fleet of sailing boats.

Powerboats would have offered fishermen more independence from the canneries. There was a loophole in the law, though, and that’s where the David B came in. The boat, along with other monkey boats, also owned by canneries, was allowed to haul the sailboats, in a string of 10 to 15, to and from fishing grounds.

Around 2001, when Tim Troll, now the executive director of the Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust, was living in Dillingham, he found a double-ender sailboat rotting in the weeds near the Peter Pan Cannery.

The cannery was about to turn a hundred years old and Troll, fascinated by the history of Bristol Bay’s sailboat fishery, began a multi-year project that’s resulted in the publication of the book Sailing for Salmon: The Early Years of Commercial Fishing in Alaska’s Bristol Bay. “What I wanted to do was collect colorful quotes about what it was like to be 24

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on those boats,” Troll said.

THE BOOK INCLUDES A collection of vintage photos depicting hardened and incredibly skilled fishermen, often described as “iron men in wooden boats.”

Like today, Bristol Bay’s fishery was thriving, amounting to around 40 percent of the salmon caught in Alaska.

Fishermen, normally working in pairs, pulled in nets by hand, while expertly managing sailboats through nuanced and sometimes dangerous conditions. Most fishermen were Scandinavian and Italian; canneries would encourage the pitting of the two ethnic groups against each other.

Natives weren’t allowed in the fishery until World War II, when many men left to fight in the war and canneries were suddenly faced with a shortage of fishermen. Not surprisingly, when the law changed in 1951 to allow motorboats in the fishery, the Bristol Bay sailboat became obsolete.

Troll, along with others, is currently finishing up refurbishing an old double-ender Bristol Bay sailboat. Their plan is to sail it from Homer to Bristol

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Bay next year – if the COVID-19 pandemic is under control – which marks the 70th anniversary since motorboats took over the fishery. Troll estimates the journey will take two weeks and plans on visiting the different communities along the way.

THE END OF THE sailboat fishery also meant the end of monkey boats. In 1951, the David B was hauled ashore near the cannery in Ekuk along with two other monkey boats. At a certain point all three boats were scheduled to be burned. The story goes that the owner of the cannery liked the David B, so it was spared while the other two boats were destroyed.

The David B sat derelict until the end of the 1981 fishing season, when a young fisherwoman bought it from the cannery.

She patched up the boat and sent it on a barge to Seattle, where she lived on it for a few years until she started a family. Again, the David B was left derelict until Jeffery and Christine came along in 2003.

“It almost died so many times,” Jeffery said.

For eight years Jeffery and Christine worked tirelessly in bringing the David B

“The now operational David B – anchored here in Misty Fjords near Ketchikan – offers a look at how the love of boats and the history they tell made this project so rewarding for the Smiths. “It almost died so many times,” Jeffery Smith says.

(CHRISTINE SMITH)

back to life. Both worked full-time jobs during most of this time. Family and friends helped. The end result was more than a success; you can feel all the work and love that Jeffery and Christine have poured into the boat.

There’s something more about the David B that’s hard to put your finger on at first. For many people, Jeffery admits, the boat has become something “like a secret cult.” Perhaps it’s because the boat is still powered by its original Washington Iron Works three-cylinder diesel engine and, when it’s motoring, it’s easy to get lost in wonder of its history.

When you walk the deck and explore its insides, you’re left with the feeling the boat is a sentient thing. At anchorage, you can almost convince yourself the David B is whispering stories of all the people, places and things it has experienced during its nearly 100 years of life. ASJ

The boat’s resurrection became a passion project for Jeffrey and Christine Smith. “We were looking for a boat with a really cool history,” Jeffery says.

(CHRISTINE SMITH)

Editor’s note: For more on the David B, check out northwestnavigation.com. Pride of Bristol Bay is a free column written by Bjorn Dihle and provided by its namesake, a fisherman-direct seafood marketer that specializes in delivering the highest quality of sustainably caught wild salmon from Bristol Bay to your doorstep. For more information visit prideofbristolbay.com.

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Fall brown bear hunting season gets going on Sept. 1 in the Mat-Su Valley’s Game Management Unit 14A, and on Sept. 15 in GMU 1 (Southeast Alaska). (LISA HUPP/USFWS)

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Moose season opens in GMU 5B (Yakutat) Moose season opens in GMU 7 (Seward) Wolverine season opens in GMU 10 (Aleutians) Mountain goat season opens in GMU 14A (south and east of the Matanuska River) Sept. 6 Bison season opens in GMU 11 (drainages of Chitina River east of Chakina River and south and east of the Nizina River) Sept. 6 Valdez Silver Salmon Derby and Halibut Derby end; valdezfishderbies.com Sept. 15 Brown bear season opens in GMU 1 Sept. 15 Moose season opens in GMU 3 (Petersburg/ Wrangell) Sept. 15 Deer season opens in GMU 4 (Chichagof Island east of Port Frederick and north of Tenakee Inlet) Sept. 15 Mountain goat season begins in GMU 6D (North Gulf Coast and Prince William Sound) Sept. 15-20 Kenai Silver Salmon Derby; kenaisilversalmonderby.com Sept. 25 Elk season opens in GMU 8 (Southwest Afognak Island) For a complete listing of September hunting season dates, check out the Alaska hunting handbook (alaska.gov/index .cfm?adfg=wildliferegulations.hunting). *Check with local contacts on events that could be postponed/ cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. aksportingjournal.com | SEPTEMBER 2020

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RUNNING A LODGE IN THE PANDEMIC KING SALMON-AREA OWNER ADJUSTS OPERATION IN SUMMER OF COVID-19

BY PETE ROBBINS

K

ING SALMON, Alaska–By the time COVID-19 fully inhabited the national consciousness in mid-March, Nanci Morris Lyon, owner and operator of King Salmon’s Bear Trail Lodge, knew she’d have some tough days and tough decisions ahead of her. Those suspicions proved accurate as the year

has progressed.

“Overall, at least 70 or 80 percent of my bookings either deferred or cancelled,” she said. Nevertheless, Lyon is a survivor. She’s worked in Bristol Bay since the 1980s and purchased the Bear Trail operation from the former owners in 2017. She wasn’t about to go down

without a fight. Still, there were certain obstacles beyond her control that made it a tough sell.

SUBSTANTIAL ROADBLOCKS The first hurdle came when Ravn Air, previously the primary airline serving King Salmon – a town that cannot be accessed

Hanna and Pete Robbins weren’t sure about taking a fishing trip to Bristol Bay’s Bear Trail Lodge with COVID-19 still battering the country, but as Pete writes, “Staycation is not in our vocabulary.” They experienced Alaska with plenty of safety restrictions. (PETE ROBBINS) aksportingjournal.com | SEPTEMBER 2020

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Face coverings on flights have become the new normal for all air travel passengers, and visitors from the Lower 48 enroute to Anchorage and then Bristol Bay are no exception. (PETE ROBBINS)

Chaney loves to catch a few Bristol Bay-area rainbows besides the watershed’s iconic salmon. (TRISTON CHANEY)

by road – declared bankruptcy in April.

That left prospective travelers in a lurch.

Of course, there would always be private options, but at a greater-than-normal cost. Alaska Airlines vowed to take over the routes. There were certain scheduling and logistical hurdles that arose that prevented any sort of certainty.

On top of that, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy quickly implemented a requirement that all travelers from out of state quarantine for two weeks upon arrival. That effectively made vacation travel into Alaska from outside impossible.

That early action was credited with keeping case numbers low, but it also devastated much of the tourism that the state depends upon. Later, that standard was loosened to allow out-of-staters to enter if they fulfilled one of three options: quarantine for two weeks; get a negative COVID test within five days of arrival, another one upon arrival, and then quarantine until the results came back 32

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negative; or get a negative result within 72 hours of traveling, in which case no quarantine would be required.

Those scenarios made travel more likely, but nevertheless it remained a moving target. On July 28, Dunleavy changed the standard again, instead requiring that all out-of-state travelers have a negative test result within 72 hours of arrival, a standard that started August 11.

Of course, there was the psychological aspect too. Even if they were able to enter relatively easily, would travelers want to make the long haul to the Last Frontier? For communities with limited medical resources, and especially those with substantial Native populations, there was an ethical aspect to that choice.

No matter how badly one wants to fish, the guilt of bringing a previously absent, fast-spreading disease to remote areas would likely be substantial.

SEPTEMBER 2020 | aksportingjournal.com

ADDRESSING IT HEAD ON In addition to running Bear Trail Lodge, Lyon has been active in opposing the Pebble Mine, like many others in the Bristol Bay area and beyond. She took a similarly activist approach to the virus.

“I’m on the state board for lodges, guides and outfitters,” she said. “I wrote the policy for clients and lodges for the state.”

Lyon knew that no matter what happened, some diminution in visitors would ensue, which meant that she’d be unlikely to need – or able to afford – a full staff. She dropped from her usual four to six housekeepers down to two, and from two chefs down to one.

“With new hires, half of them were afraid to come anyway,” she explained. “I told them that if they could get another job, I wouldn’t hold it against them, and I could only promise eight weeks of employment if I got the (Paycheck Protection Program) money.”

Although cases in Alaska rose in

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Joining his brother on the family’s setnet boat, Chaney understands how critical the Bristol Bay ecosystem is to his family’s livelihood. “Everything revolves around fish here,” he says.

(TRISTON CHANEY)

With the number of clients reduced this summer, lodge staffers have been able to work on improvements like the construction of this more modern guide shack on the premises. (PETE ROBBINS)

early summer, hospitalizations did not, and traffic picked up. That meant Lyon could add another chef in late July and another housekeeper for August and September. Hires who arrived before the lodge opened in June were all tested and quarantined together.

“We’re all family now,” Lyon said.

Once they arrived at the lodge, she kept employees close to minimize any potential virus exposure.

“They cannot go into town, period.

The only place they can go is to the airport (to pick up guests), and (go) out for walks and exercise,” she said.

On top of the state’s protocols to which she’d contributed, Lyon also changed the operations at Bear Trail Lodge specifically. Her already strict cleaning standards were enhanced and hand sanitizer stations were sprinkled around the lodge.

Furthermore, a limited form of social distancing was enforced. Masks were not required within the lodge, because, she said, “this is a huge building compared to most.” Some guests elected to wear them and that was certainly not discouraged. Masks were, however, required on all float planes.

At the same time, some changes were normalized. For example, typically the guides, staff and clients eat together, but that bonding practice was at least temporarily eliminated. Now guides sat at one table and each family, couple or otherwise distinct group of guests had their own table.

Furthermore, guests could no longer 34

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serve themselves at the usual breakfast buffet and evening appetizer spread.

Instead, a staffer asked what you wanted and plated your food. The same practice was utilized at the bar.

LIMITED ADVANTAGES While there now are fewer flights between Anchorage and King Salmon than there were in the past, the addition of Alaska Air to the itinerary has been a “net plus,” Lyon said. “They’re more reliable, and it makes it safer to book your whole itinerary through Alaska.

That way if there’s a delay on any leg, they take care of you.”

The reduced guiding clientele freed up days for employees to help with much-needed repairs and construction, including building a new, more modern guide shack.

It also opened up a few more days for Lyon to renew and reinvigorate her relationship with the Naknek River and other local waters, something that is all but impossible in “normal” years.

“I went from 200 days a year (when she was guiding) to almost 85 or 90, and then to 65 or 70, and then to just a few a month,” she explained. “This year I’ve gotten out fishing more.”

The guests who do make it to Bear Trail benefit from less traffic – both commercial and recreational – on the Naknek, which when combined with stellar salmon runs has made fishing exceptional. It also means that there are more flyout options, plus a higher likelihood that you’ll have desirable locations to yourself.

SEPTEMBER 2020 | aksportingjournal.com

To keep guests apart, anglers put on their waders by themselves in the changing room. (PETE ROBBINS)

“It’s very possible you’ll see nobody,” she said. “Just like the good old days.”

FUTURE UNCERTAINTIES REMAIN Lyon feels fortunate that she was able to open Bear Trail in the summer. Many Alaskan lodges, including several others in King Salmon, simply shut down for the season, hoping to regroup in 2021.

Depending on how long the pandemic lasts – and what it does to the overall economy – some of them may never reopen.

“Roughly a third closed and of the twothirds that opened, I was the only one I know of that opened on time,” Lyon said.

Part of what she believes makes Bear Trail Lodge an especially personalized experience is the fact that it’s familyrun and funded – she and her husband Heath are in charge, and daughter Rylie joins when on break from college in the summer. But the noncorporate touch that structure brings with it also means she doesn’t have a deep-pocketed investor to cushion blows or float her through the tough times.

“I’m proud of that, but it’s still a problem,” she said.

While her initial inclination was to “hope the phone rings,” Lyon quickly realized she’d have to be more creative this year to stay afloat. Bear Trail Lodge made up some of the lost income in various ways, such as housing construction crews and Alaska Airlines employees who needed to stay over. She quickly matched their needs to her abilities and forged mutually beneficial agreements.

The local chamber of commerce also

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EXTRAORDINARY TIMES, ‘EXCEPTIONAL’ FISHING TRIP

Despite the pandemic, Pete and Hanna Robbins still had an epic fishing adventure in the Bristol Bay area with Bear Trail Lodge. (PETE ROBBINS)

A

fter sitting in my office chair since mid-March and not sleeping in any bed other than my own, I was primed for a vacation.

My wife Hanna and I had already postponed a trip to fish for bass in Sinaloa, Mexico, in June – not necessarily by choice, but because the border was closed. We sought to sidestep that problem a second time with a trip to Alaska, which is of course a domestic destination, but it feels as exotic as any place within the 50 states.

I’d been to Bear Trail Lodge in Bristol

Author Pete called the flyout trips – when there were almost no other humans around – “exceptionally special.”

(HANNA ROBBINS)

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Bay last summer with my friend, Texas bass pro Keith Combs. We’d gone in late July and early August, in time for the last day of king salmon season and the beginning of the silvers’ run up the Naknek River.

This time, we’d be there for the famed sockeye surge. That was one obvious difference, but the other was the fact that we were traveling in the era of COVID-19. I was unsure if that would sully the overall experience.

While I’ll admit that we were cautious – carrying wipes and sanitizer Part of the Robbins’ experience included checking out the majestic Brooks Falls bears.

(PETE ROBBINS)

SEPTEMBER 2020 | aksportingjournal.com

with us everywhere, and wearing masks (especially on float planes and other confined spaces) – overall the experience was exceptionally positive. That starts with the people of Alaska.

To be honest, I’d expected a state founded upon a “frontier mentality” to be resistant to some safety measures, but everyone seemed to take them exceptionally seriously. They also seemed thankful that we were there, aware that tourism is a big part of the state’s income, as well as just being generally friendly.

Hanna hoists a hefty Chinook, part of the region’s legendary salmon bounty. (PETE ROBBINS)

Last year, Bear Trail Lodge was a social hub, with guides and various groups of anglers mixing freely. This year, not surprisingly, there were fewer guests, and we semi-socially distanced inside, but that had its benefits, too.

At the lodge, we were able to spend even more meaningful time with the always-attentive staff, getting to know them better and picking their brains about the fisheries. On the water, there was simply less pressure. One of our flyouts was to Brooks Falls, which was far less crowded than in 2019, though

still had an ample number of visitors.

On our other two flyouts, however, there was no sign of other recent human activity. It was like going back in time, being the first to discover new rivers.

That was exceptionally special, and while I’m sure the fishing would have been great either way, it was one of the rare times a 21st century angler can have something like that all to himself.

Closer to camp, the Naknek’s sockeye run was beyond extraordinary, even to those who had viewed them for several decades prior. We brought home our fair

The rainbows were also biting on the rivers. (HANNA ROBBINS)

share of sockeye fillets and a few kings, enough to last us – we hope – through the remainder of the pandemic.

Did we tempt fate? Perhaps, but it seemed like a calculated risk, and one that paid off. Honestly, our biggest regret is that we didn’t stay longer.

As COVID persists, our other options for vacation may diminish, and for the first time in our lives we may find ourselves with leftover vacation time at the end of the year. “Staycation” is not in our vocabulary. Is it too late to head back? PR

“Did we tempt fate? Perhaps, but it seemed like a calculated risk, and one that paid off,” Pete writes.

“Honestly, our biggest regret is that we didn’t stay longer.”

(PETE ROBBINS)

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Buffet-style food stations used to be the norm at lodges like Bear Trail.

But this summer, staff members served portions to guests. (HANNA ROBBINS)

worked diligently on a campaign aimed at helping “Alaskans visit Alaska.” Lyon created specials aimed at bringing in intrastate traffic and guests who either wanted to fill their freezers, or who might have left the state for their summer vacation – or both.

“Eighty percent of my business this year so far (speaking in July) has been from Alaska, but I don’t know if that will last the entire season,” Lyon said.

Those programs may have to continue, in some capacity, for the foreseeable future, or perhaps longer. But she remains cautiously optimistic, and despite glacialspeed internet service she’s become an avid consumer of COVID-related news.

Lyon has to be, because each change in

status and change in policy requires a different chess move in response.

She’ll plan for worst-case scenarios and hope for the best, but she knows that at least one more financial hit is coming. After rolling over deposits to next year, she stopped sending out final invoices. As it is, she’ll get taxed on the money received.

“Uncle Sam doesn’t give a rat’s ass,” Lyon explained bluntly. “Taxes could take me under as opposed to COVID, and it might be the end of 2022 before we know if we survive it or not.”

Despite that one detour into negativity, compounded by the release of the Pebble Mine EIS in late July that was another step into the mine getting

Even hikes are socially distanced to help prevent the strain of the novel coronavirus during a summer that’s devastated the bottom line for Alaska fishing lodges that are usually buzzing all summer. “Overall, at least 70 or 80 percent of my bookings either deferred or cancelled,” Bear Trail Lodge owner Nanci Morris Lyon says. (PETE ROBBINS) 38

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SEPTEMBER 2020 | aksportingjournal.com

a permit, Lyon will pull out all possible stops to make sure that she continues to operate a world-class lodge, under the conditions that face her.

Lyon purposefully came to King Salmon over four decades ago, and it will take more than a virus, and more than a few bumps in the road, to break her away from the rivers to which she has devoted the majority of her adult life. ASJ Editor’s note: For more on Bear Trail Lodge, call (907) 246-2327 or go to beartraillodge .com. Pete Robbins is an outdoor writer based in Vienna, Virginia. He and his wife Hanna share their outdoor adventures and offer tips for anglers at their website, halfpastfirstcast.com.

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aksportingjournal.com | SEPTEMBER 2020

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ALASKA’S ARKANSAS THOUGH NOWHERE AS WELL KNOWN FOR WATERFOWLING AS STUTTGART AND THE FAMED MISSISSIPPI DELTA, DUCK HUNTING IN THE STATE’S NORTHWEST CORNER IS VERY GOOD, AND DIVERSE

BY PAUL D. ATKINS

T

he ride up the river was uneventful, but peaceful as usual.

Each bend was lined with dense willows, only to be broken by a familiar moose trail leading off into the unknown.

The shore grass, which looked more like straw, swayed in our wake and the sun burned down on us from the Arctic sky. Passing the last hill – where the black water turns to blue – the slough opened up and our excitement soared.

Early September on the flats means one thing: duck hunting. And even though a storm of some kind with a little ice and wind would make the hunting better, we knew that birds would be there by the thousands.

I’ve made that same boat ride up that same stretch of water 100 times before – usually in pursuit of moose, bear and caribou – but it wasn’t until recently that I discovered duck hunting and waterfowl in general. It has since become an addiction for me.

NORTHWEST ALASKA IS A best-kept secret when it comes to duck hunting. More popularly known for its vast herd of caribou, this part of the state harbors some of the best waterfowling in the world.

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The number of huntable species is mind-boggling and the area vast and plentiful. With so much water and available habitat, the adventure can be limitless with opportunities galore. All you need is a way to get there, the proper license, waders and a shotgun.

But getting there requires hunters to make their way across Kotzebue Sound and then head upriver to find an ideal spot. This is all done by boat and there are plenty of great locations to be found.

Loaded down with decoys, shotguns, ammunition and, in some cases, a tent for an overnight or weekend excursion, a duck hunt can be a grand adventure that rivals any big game outing.

Tributaries seem to go in every direction; there isn’t a bad place on the river to establish base camp. Sloughs or small creeks are abundant, with most containing ducks if you show up in the right place at the right time. I’ve seen the skies blackened with birds. If one spot dries up, just get in your boat and head to the next bend; there will be more.

DUCK HUNTING IS USUALLY best starting in late August and can last into October, depending on the weather. So September

SEPTEMBER 2020 | aksportingjournal.com

Author Paul Atkins’ duck hunting area lies 15 to 20 miles north of his hometown in Kotzebue, and just happens to be one of Alaska’s most productive waterfowling areas.

(LEW PAGEL)

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Mallards, and specifically drakes or greenheads, are the rock stars of the duck hunting world, and while not as numerous in the Arctic as other species, when you do get the chance at them, you take it. (LEW PAGEL)

is prime time, with your best bet usually around Labor Day weekend.

On any given day you will encounter hundreds – if not thousands – of ducks holding in one of the many ponds, lakes or in the river itself. Last fall found us hunting until freeze-up. There were many ducks still in the area and it was tremendous.

Hunting ducks in this part of Alaska isn’t any different than other places.

Basically, you can either spot and stalk, which is very popular, or set up a blind and use decoys. I’ve done it both ways and both produce. Spot and stalk is the

easiest and least costly and it’s a lot of fun. You basically boat up to the bank where you’ve located ducks on a distant lake or pond and then carefully make your way in that direction.

It can be tough at times, especially in country where cover, such as trees and low-lying scrub, is limited. You usually end up crawling the last 100 yards in order to get a shot, and most times getting pretty wet.

In the area where we hunt, it’s flat with nothing more than shallow water covered in grass. Hip boots are a plus and rubber or Gore-Tex gloves are

essential. You still get wet, but if your stalk is successful, you think little of it.

The other method – one that is preferred by diehard waterfowlers – is to build a blind, use decoys and also bring along a dog or two. I’ve gone this route many times, and even though it’s a lot of work, it can be as good as it gets.

Many commercial blinds are available today and the popular pop-up blind that is similar to those used for big game is an excellent tool. It provides great cover and is usually set up in a matter of minutes.

Most who use a blind will locate a group of willows close to shore and blend Sometimes it’s as easy as setting up a chair in the nearshore grass and waiting.

Just make sure you can see the water and are dressed for the occasion. (LEW PAGEL)

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SEPTEMBER 2020 | aksportingjournal.com

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When it’s prime time, you’ll know it! Dark skies will be full of birds. You get busted more times than not, but in a matter of minutes you’ll get another shot. (LEW PAGEL)

it with dead limbs to look like part of the scenery. I’ve also cut willows and made a homemade blind, which works just as well.

The key is to cut enough to create a wall of cover to surround the hunter. Just make sure they are above your head when you’re sitting on your chair or bucket.

WHEN IT COMES TO decoys, just about any will do. My bag consists of mallards, pintails, butts and a few small teal.

Most decoyers like to have decoys that

represent the ducks they have in the area, which is smart and the thing to do. But here in Northwest Alaska, we have so many species that seem to converge together, just having decoys in the water seems to work.

Dogs are also fun and essential at times, especially if you have to wade out in hip waders that aren’t quite tall enough to keep you dry while retrieving your duck. Mud is also a problem and seems to cover the entire area. Getting

Dense willows line the area Atkins hunts. With a little work and a good saw or axe, you can have a blind built in minutes. (LEW PAGEL)

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sucked down and trying to keep your balance while carrying ducks and a shotgun can be a challenge. It usually ends up with somebody getting soaked.

Most shotguns work fine for ducks, with 12-gauge being the most popular weapon here in the Arctic. However, I do know hunters who use a 20-gauge with dead-on accuracy. I would recommend at least 3-inch shells, but 3½-inch ones are even better.

As far as duck loads, nothing larger

A day like this happens quite frequently in the Arctic. Cold days with a bit of nasty weather are ideal for getting birds in close. A set of decoys and a good blind also help. (LEW PAGEL)

than No. 4 shot and all steel, as required by law. Ducks are tough and distance can sometimes be a problem, especially during a spot and stalk, so being able to reach out there is a plus. I personally shoot 3-inch No. 2 steel through my old Benelli, which has done fine.

THE NORTHWEST COAST OF Alaska is part of the Pacific Flyway, that legendary migratory path running along the western edge of North America. Many waterfowl, including ducks, geese and swans, and other birds such as sandhill cranes, use the region in spring and summer to nest

and feed before flying back south. The list of species reads like a book. Many hunters travel to this part of the state to hunt a specific kind of duck or just to get some shooting time in, while others come to get their limit and fill their freezers. Whatever the reason, action is nonstop.

There are 25 possible species to hunt, which is incredible diversity. They include everything from mallards to wigeon, and the two most numerous: pintail and teal.

Occasionally even a king eider will come through, but it’s rare.

To see so many waterfowl species in one location is amazing. The variety of color mixed among the grass-covered flats is phenomenal. It’s exciting to see, especially after making a long stalk and then discovering that there are four different species sitting on the same pond. It’s like Christmas for duck hunters!

THE WEATHER LAST FALL wasn’t perfect on every outing, but the anticipation and then the actual hunting itself made up for it. My good friend and hunting partner Lew Pagel and I hunted every weekend during September and most of October.

We were able to share some experiences and harvest a variety of ducks.

Lew Pagel (right) and Atkins took a fall day off work and spent it hunting far upstream on a section of river that hunters usually can’t get to. In years with low precipitation, some areas that are known as duck spots dry up or get too shallow. This one wasn’t and it produced. (LEW PAGEL) 46

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SEPTEMBER 2020 | aksportingjournal.com

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The season is open now. By the time you read this, waterfowl hunting will be in full swing. I’m excited and so is Lew. We both have new shotguns and a whole array of new decoys. The weather has been cool and rainy with the promise of new storms blowing in from the sea. Cold, wet and nasty is always better for ducks anyway.

We’re going to camp more this year too, stay close and give an effort on more early-morning hunts, which we haven’t done much of lately.

If you are planning a duck hunt to this part of Alaska, you need to make sure you have all the proper licenses, tags and duck stamps. Money received funds the state’s waterfowl management program and ensures us that we will be able to hunt waterfowl in the future.

I would encourage you to take a look at both the Alaska Department of Fish Traipsing through the mud and muck of an Arctic marsh flat is a nasty stinking business, but if you spot and stalk birds, it’s your only choice. Atkins’ advice for duck hunters: Build a blind and buy a dog, which would make this exhilarating but exhausting hunting a lot easier. (LEW PAGEL)

NA

and Game website, plus the local Selawik National Wildlife Refuge site, which is listed under U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s jurisdiction. It contains all the information for this area and many others with a list of all the available species.

Hunting waterfowl is a great sport and can provide hours of enjoyment in Alaska’s outdoors. It’s also a great way to introduce a kid to hunting and shotgunning in general.

From leaving shore and hunting, to picking feathers, to eating your prize, it makes the whole experience special and will create a bond that will last forever.

I discovered ducks late in my hunting life, but I have to tell you that being in an Arctic duck blind come September is about as good as hunting gets. ASJ Editor’s note: Paul Atkins is an outdoor writer and author from Kotzebue, Alaska. He’s had hundreds of articles published on big game hunting throughout North America and Africa, plus surviving in the Arctic. His new book Into the Arctic will be on bookshelves soon and available online. Paul is a regular contributor to Alaska Sporting Journal.

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H.I.P. CHECK LONG REQUIRED FOR MIGRATORY BIRD HUNTERS, THE HARVEST INFORMATION PROGRAM COLLECTS KEY INFORMATION ON WATERFOWL AND OTHER FAR-FLYING FLOCKERS, INFORMING MANAGEMENT DECISIONS.

BY M.D. JOHNSON

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lot of things in life can be complicated, such as taxes and fuel-injected car engines. Fortunately for those hunters who pursue migratory game birds each fall, the Harvest Information Program needn’t be on this list of complications.

HIP? What’s that? Glad you asked.

INTRODUCED INITIALLY AS a pilot test in 1992 in California, Missouri and South Dakota, HIP became a national requirement of all those hunting migratory birds in 1998.

“HIP is a program that allows biolo-

gists to estimate how many migratory birds – e.g. ducks, geese and doves – hunters harvest in this country each year,” said Karen Waldrop, Ph.D., and chief conservation officer for Ducks Unlimited (ducks.org). “It also tells us how many people are participating in hunting these species.”

It’s a cooperative partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state game agencies, whereby two important pieces of information are gathered. First is identifying the nation’s migratory bird hunters, and second:

what types of migratory birds do these individuals pursue? Note the emphasis on the phrase migratory bird hunters and not exclusively waterfowl hunters. We’ll get to that distinction in a minute.

But getting HIP-certified is only step one in a potentially two-step process.

That’s because not every migratory bird hunter will progress to the second step, a much more in-depth harvest survey distributed by the USFWS. The key word here is harvest. While HIP tells the states and the USFWS who the hunters are and what they hunt –

A flock of brant takes flight in front of Alaska's majestic Mount Dutton at Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in the Aleutians. The federally implemented Harvest Information Program has provided valuable data for migratory bird hunting managers since it went nationwide in 1998. (KRISTINE SOWL/USFWS)

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Data for HIP is often collected as a hunter buys a new license, though in some cases that’s not always as reliable a source of information as it could be – for example, the customer service counter at big box stores, where the impetus is to get through as many people as quickly as possible. (JULIA JOHNSON)

ducks, coots, swans, snipe or doves, to name just a few birds – the in-depth survey provides accurate harvest information, such as how many and what species.

That’s HIP in a nutshell.

NOW, WHO NEEDS to sign up for the program? This one’s simple – every hunter who pursues migratory birds must sign up for HIP. Who collects this information? How is it obtained? We’ll get to that momentarily, but for now let’s define migratory birds.

Does this term mean only waterfowl – that is, just ducks and geese? Perhaps incorrectly, HIP has become associated more closely with waterfowl hunters.

However, the program applies to much more than just duck and goose hunters.

The USFWS definition of migratory game birds includes any species of, well, migratory bird, including not just ducks and geese, but coots, brant, swans, doves, woodcock, rails, snipe, sandhill cranes, moorhens, bandtail pigeons and gallinules. For all of these birds there is a set season.

But wait, some hunters might say, “If I only hunt ducks and geese – no snipe or rails, nor moorhens or gallinules, whatev52

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er in the heck moorhens and gallinules are – why is it that I have to answer questions about those species?” “(USFWS needs) to be able to contact people who hunt various birds,” said Frank Rohwer, president and chief scientist of Delta Waterfowl (deltawaterfowl.org). “What this does is it narrows the field and allows the USFWS to ask more detailed questions about what was harvested. They can even ask hunters to send in wings to help determine age, sex and other important data.”

One more note: Once HIP certification is complete, proof of that completion must be carried with the hunter in the field, and, like a hunting or fishing license, must be presented to a wildlife officer representing either state or USFWS offices upon their request. This proof of completion varies from state to state, and it’s the responsibility of the hunter to make sure he or she is HIP-certified and possesses the necessary documentation while afield.

WHO COLLECTS THIS info? When? Is there a cost?

Today, HIP information is gathered in a variety of ways, depending upon the

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state where HIP is completed. Often, this process is conducted either at the time a hunting license is purchased at a store, online or via a state-specific toll-free telephone number following the purchase of a hunting license.

At the license counter, the license agent should ask the HIP questions as part of the licensing process. If he or she does not, inquire as to the state requirements regarding HIP. “I usually buy my hunting license at a big box store, and I’ll call them out,” Rohwer said without hesitation. “I’ll say, ‘Hey, I just got HIP-certified, and you didn’t ask me any of the questions.’ I know there are questions and I want to answer them because I want to be a responsible hunter.”

As for cost, the answer is yes or no.

In some states, Washington and Oregon, for example, HIP certification comes free or as part of the license purchase price.

Others states like Idaho and New Jersey charge a nominal fee designed to cover any administrative costs. Any cost, then, depends entirely on the state that issues the hunting license and HIP certification.

H.I.P. CERTIFICATION IS only the first piece of the puzzle. The next step of this two-step

downed but not retrieved.

There is a third step to the process, known as the Parts Collection Survey, or more commonly, the Wing Survey. A still smaller subset of hunters will be asked to provide one wing from each bird harvested during the season. With these, researchers can determine species, sex and age for ducks harvested, as well as other limited information for migratory bird species. This gives managers important indications of the health of bird populations in addition to determining how many are harvested.

There’s a saying in the computer world: “garbage in; garbage out.” It means one only gets out of the machinery what one puts in. Enter inaccurate information, and, to no surprise, the information received as a result is likewise erroneous.

Similarly, wildlife managers stress the importance of having accurate HIP data in order to build upon that foundation.

“We use the information we get to estimate harvest,” begins Kathy Fleming, chief of the branch of data management and monitoring with the USFWS. “Those estimates are very dependent on the data we get and the size of those samples, so not only do we get an estimate but we want to know how accurate that estimate is.”

IT’S NO SECRET that wildlife management Better management of migratory bird hunting requires better data. Fowl populations, including mourning doves, are high at the moment, but haven’t always been that way, making HIP an important part of setting seasons that provide opportunity while guarding against downturns. (JULIA JOHNSON)

process is just as basic. The name of every HIP-certified hunter in a state is placed into a general pool. It’s the computerized equivalent of a spinning drum, so to speak.

From this single drum or pool, a small number of hunters’ names are selected at random each year, and these individuals are asked to complete a much more in-depth survey; that is, the national harvest survey.

Think of it like winning the lottery. These surveys are broken down into five separate categories: waterfowl (ducks, geese, sea ducks and brant); doves and bandtail pigeons; American woodcock; snipe, rails, gallinules and coots; and sandhill cranes.

Responses to the HIP questions allow the proper survey to go to the appropriate hunt54

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er. That means that duck hunters receive duck surveys, dove hunters receive dove surveys, and so on. It’s important to note, however, that the occasional duck hunter might receive a dove survey, or vice versa, in order to try to sample hunters who have switched from one to the other.

The national harvest survey asks hunters to maintain a voluntary hunting record throughout the course of the hunting season. Think of it as a hunting journal or diary. For example, our Hunter X, now known to be a duck hunter by virtue of his or her HIP responses, will provide information that includes the date, county of harvest and number of ducks harvested, including any birds

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agencies today are being challenged to do more with less. And as agencies try to be more responsive to these challenges, HIP faces its own set of trials.

“The number of hunters has been declining, and most people are familiar with that fact,” Fleming said. “And HIP is our main source of information as a sample framework for our harvest surveys. Over the past 10 years, (survey) participation has declined across the board. People are inundated with requests to take surveys, so that’s negatively impacted our sample in that we (now) have a smaller number of hunters for our surveys, while we also have a lower response rate from those hunters selected. That’s our number one concern going forward for HIP.” But, you might be asking, what does HIP mean to me, the individual being asked to participate in this annual series of inquiries?

“The vast majority of hunters who

For the first time since 1955, state, provincial and federal agencies in the United States and Canada didn’t perform the annual May waterfowl breeding population survey, but hunting managers will use long-term data to inform flock counts and wetland conditions. (CHAD ZOLLER)

participate are doing so because they know it’s important,” Fleming said. “They understand why it’s important as hunters. And we view our hunters not just as people answering a survey, but as partners in data collection that directly affects their hunting opportunities. So it’s different from a survey that asks, ‘What did you watch on TV last week?’ We’re actually asking hunters to provide us with scientific data on their harvest.”

When asked what would be tangible benefits for the migratory bird hunter, Fleming said, “I would say there are a lot of benefits to hunters for providing quality information. Hunters and the public want us to make wise decisions about managing migratory birds, and that’s the number one thing we can do with good information.”

IN CLOSING, A final note: Like the migra-

WATERFOWL BREEDING, HABITAT SURVEY CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19

T

he U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service cancelled the annual Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey for the first time in its 65-year-history, due to restrictions stemming from the coronavirus outbreak.

The report came from Ducks Unlimited, which said the cancellation will not affect the 2020-21 hunting season.

This survey has traditionally involved state wildlife agencies and the Canadian Wildlife Service. Not only was this survey cancelled, but USFWS and CWS also won’t participate in the American Woodcock Singing-ground Survey, Mid-continent Population Sandhill Crane Survey, and Arctic Goose Banding Program. And the U.S. Geological Survey cancelled the North American Breeding Bird Survey, data from which is also important in monitoring bird abundance and regulating harvest of some species, the DU announcement said.

There is good news, however. According to Ken Richkus, chief of the USFWS Division of Migratory Bird Management, the agency will be using “long-term” data and models to produce a forecast for this spring’s duck numbers and habitat conditions.

“Decisions to cancel the May survey and other migratory bird monitoring this spring were based on our priority of protecting the health and safety of the American public, our partners and our employees,” Richkus said.

Another factor in this process is the current travel restrictions in Canada. They may affect some of the goose banding efforts.

Ducks Unlimited Chief Conservation Officer Karen Waldrop had this to say: “These surveys are the bedrock of effective harvest management in North America and have helped sustain waterfowl populations and abundant hunting opportunities for over 60 years. Although we will miss the anticipation and excitement that comes with the annual release of the May survey results, we don’t expect the cancellation of surveys to impact seasons and bag limits for the majority of species. The combination of healthy, robust waterfowl populations and our longterm experience with these data gives us faith that the waterfowl management community can project populations with a high level of certainty.” –Dave Workman

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tory bird hunters upon whom it depends, HIP’s story has been one of evolution; a series of modifications and improvements have been made over the course of its history.

What hasn’t changed since HIP was introduced nationwide in 1998 is the importance of hunters providing good information. Seasons, bag limits, hunting zones, unique opportunities and habitat management decisions are all connected to you, the hunter who answers the questions.

“We’ve been in this prolonged period of liberal bird hunting seasons,” said Fleming, “with really good habitat conditions for most species. And I think a lot of hunters don’t know or remember some of the restrictive regulations that were used in the 1970s to 1990s, so they don’t see the need for getting really good information every year. They think there are a lot of birds and, with fewer and fewer hunters every year, that we don’t need good data. But nothing could be further from the truth!”

“Just because we have liberal seasons now doesn’t mean we can relax our need for information. It’s a very important part of being able to set the season framework and have an entire strategy that lets us know when we have to be conservative and when we can be liberal.

But that requires data annually, not just every few years.”

So as responsible hunters, we’re all in this together, and it all starts, each year, with each of us getting HIP-certified. ASJ

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FIELD

NO-BULL GUIDE TO BECOMING A MOOSE HUNTER EXPERT ADVICE FROM SOMEONE WHO’S SUCCESSFULLY PURSUED ONE OF ALASKA’S MOST ICONIC BIG GAME CRITTERS ACROSS THE DECADES

BY SCOTT HAUGEN

M

oose hunting in Alaska requires a lot of work and preplanning.

Start by being honest with yourself and others in your party, making absolutely certain your outdoor skills are

to the level where you can survive in the wild under any conditions – through any circumstance. If bears, freezing weather, snow, mosquitos and being out of touch with civilization make you nervous, a guided hunt might be more to your liking.

PHYSICAL CHALLENGES The next question you must ask yourself is, “How good of shape am I in?” Moose hunting can be extremely tough, especially when you get a bull down.

Hiking across the tundra – through

Author Scott Haugen has been hunting throughout Alaska for 30 years, and he ranks moose among the most potentially physically demanding hunts the state has to offer. (SCOTT HAUGEN) aksportingjournal.com | SEPTEMBER 2020

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FIELD

Lean moose or other ground venison makes for a great meal, even at breakfast. Tiffany Haugen’s Latin American twist adds some flavor to your wild game. (TIFFANY HAUGEN)

MOOSE MEAL WITH A SPICY TWIST

BY TIFFANY HAUGEN

W

hether it is moose or any other venison – yes, “venison” includes all members of the deer family – grinding it offers very versatile meat to cook with, and it tastes delicious.

The key to a juicy venison burger of any kind is not to overcook the lean meat. Many people choose to add a bit of ground pork, ground beef or even bacon

to their wild game burger patties, but they can also be left 100-percent lean meat.

Depending on the flavor profile you’re looking for, burgers can be simply seasoned with salt and pepper or dry spices like cumin, paprika, chili powder or oregano; ginger can also be added to enhance your dish.

Enjoy your wild game for breakfast or any time of day with these tasty breakfast tostadas. This recipe also works well with any caribou, deer, elk or bear meat.

1 pound ground venison or other wild game 1 tablespoon olive oil Four small corn or flour tortillas 1 cup refried beans Four slices pepper jack cheese Four eggs ½ cup sour cream or Greek yogurt 1 tablespoon chipotle hot sauce Fresh cilantro for garnish Form ground meat into four equal

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patties. In a small bowl, mix sour cream or Greek yogurt with hot sauce, and then set aside. In a large skillet, fry burger patties in olive oil over medium-high heat until cooked to desired doneness.

Warm refried beans and tortillas.

In another skillet, fry eggs over easy.

Assemble tostadas by placing a warm tortilla on the plate. Top tortilla with beans, burger patty, a slice of cheese and the over-easy egg. Top with chipotle cream sauce and fresh cilantro.

Editor’s note: For signed copies of Tiffany Haugen's popular cookbook, Cooking Big Game, send a check for $20 to Haugen Enterprises, P.O. Box 275, Walterville, OR 97489 or visit scotthaugen .com for this and other titles.

FIELD

Moose decoys are lightweight, easy to pack and can help archers and rifle hunters close the deal. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

bogs, over snow and in rivers – is the norm. One recent moose hunt I went on with a buddy found us carrying waders, knee boots and hiking boots in order to efficiently negotiate the variety of mountainous, boggy terrain we’d have to hunt; we used all three pairs of boots.

Once you know you can physically handle a moose hunt, decide on a place to go. Thoroughly research your options, making sure there are moose in the area you plan to hunt. Decide if you’re going on a river hunt or a mountain hunt, or maybe a combination of the two habitats.

On a river hunt you’ll likely get dropped off by an air charter in one spot and picked up seven to 10 days later at another. Here, you’ll navigate rivers in a raft, so be certain you’re comfortable doing that with all your gear and 800 pounds of moose meat. On a mountain hunt, you’ll probably stay in one camp while hiking and glassing each day. If you get on a big bull, you might spike camp out for a few days.

Make sure you can physically handle 62

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hiking in the terrain you’ll be hunting in, survive with minimal rations and can navigate in fog, snow and other conditions that may pop up. Because once you’re dropped, there’s no turning back.

GEARING UP As for gear, I regularly see people taking too much on a remote moose hunt. My rule of thumb when I pack is to lay out all I want to take, then cut that in half. On my last 10-day moose hunt, I wore the same outer clothes every day and wore some of those on my flight into Alaska on the commercial airline.

If renting your camping gear from a bush service, tell them you want to go through it all before it’s loaded on to your plane for the drop. I’ve heard of rafts with holes in them, rafts with the wrong frames and tents that didn’t hold up to high winds being given to hunters.

Some air services even pack all of your food for a hunt. This can be a big timesaver when flying out of remote

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villages with no stores, or very limited, pricey selections. However, make sure the food is what you want, and that it’s included. Perhaps the best piece of gear you can invest in is a satellite phone. If there’s an emergency, you want to get out. If there’s a storm coming, you may need to relocate.

One packing tip that works great for me is putting all my gear into a single large dry bag. I then use three, 5-footlong LoopRopes to lash it to my pack frame. Now I can check it in as one piece of luggage with the commercial airline and use the LoopRopes and pack frame to haul meat.

Moose are big but not overly difficult to bring down. A well-constructed bullet fired from a .30-06 is perfect. My last bull fell to a pair of 150-grain Nosler partition bullets fired from a .270 Weatherby.

As with any big game, shot placement is the key to efficiency, and that’s where a solid rest and reliable shooting sticks come in handy. A sturdy tripod serves as

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FIELD

Packing out moose meat sometimes takes longer than the actual hunt, and being prepared to tackle this project takes serious planning and a lot of effort. But the rewards can be extravagant. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

a nice walking stick on the tundra, as well as a valued shooting rest.

Smart moose hunting comes down to gaining elevation and glassing. The goal is to spot a shooter bull, then figure out how to get to it. Cover as much ground as possible with your eyes, rather than with your feet. You can walk several hours a day on tundra and through bogs, which is some of Alaska’s most challenging terrain to negotiate.

A spotting scope and good tripod are very important for moose hunters. Take a stout, lightweight tripod that will hold steady on the soft tundra and in winds.

A call is another great moose hunting tool to have in your pack. The September rut is a time when a lot of bulls are on the move, and a cow call can help bring bulls out of unnavigable terrain, into a shootable position. Get a call and practice with it. A Montana Decoys Moose II cow decoy can work great, and even better is teaming that with a Moose Rack decoy.

REACHING YOUR MOOSE Once a bull is spotted, the hard part is figuring out a way to get to it. If you don’t want to call, you’ve got to figure out a way to get within shooting range; sometimes, that’s simply impossible. In this case, watch the bull closely – sometimes for days – waiting for it to move into a spot you can reach.

A lot of hunters think they can float a river in a raft and bulls will be standing around every corner. These hunts can produce, but the number of moose that are standing just out of view is surprising.

Spend time glassing these river bottoms from an elevated vantage point and you’ll see more moose.

Maximize the visibility of the habitat you’re hunting and you’ll find more game.

Once a bull moose is down, be prepared for the hard work ahead, because once a tag is punched the real work begins. ASJ Editor’s note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s best-selling book, Hunting The Alaskan High Arctic, send a check for $38 to Haugen Enterprises, P.O. Box 275, Walterville, OR 97489, or order online at scotthaugen.com. Follow Scott on Instagram and Facebook.

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2 CARIBOU HERDS, MORE BIG GAME ROAM UNIT 25, A HUNTING MECCA

GMU PrOFILE

Editor’s note: From the Alaska Panhandle to the “top of the world” in Barrow/Utqiagvik, Alaska contains 26 game management units that feature land for hunting and other outdoor activities. Our Arctic adventurer Paul Atkins is breaking down some of the units he’s hunted in the past in this ongoing feature. This issue: GMU 25

BY PAUL D. ATKINS

G

ame Management Unit 25 is one of the two largest hunting units in Alaska. Bordering Canada on its eastern side, Unit 25 encompasses a massive area where a hunter can have a go at a plethora of species, with good opportunities at success.

STRETCH YOUR LEGS

One of the main staples in Game Management Unit 25 is caribou; both the Forty-Mile and Porcupine herds roam its vast landscape.

Hunters need to make sure to check regulations and availability. (PAUL D.

ATKINS)

The unit stretches over 200 miles north to south and east to west, and includes the upper Yukon River area, a large portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the Eastern Brooks Range and the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge. While the Steese Highway leads from Fairbanks to Circle, other notable or famous towns, such Fort Yukon and Arctic Village, just to name a few, are off the road system.

As far as hunting goes, I can’t say I have hunted it yet, but I know many who have. Game available in 25 is very similar to those in other northern units, with a wide variety of species and pretty liberal bag limits on each.

If you look at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game hunting regulations for the unit, you can see that bag limits are on the high end, especially for the

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Like most northern units, moose are a very popular game species in Unit 25. The meat alone is worth the effort, but hunters need to check the regulations for each area. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

resident and subsistence hunter. There are also many nonresident opportunities, with many tags listed as “HT,” or harvest tag, which can be purchased over the counter. However, nonresidents will still need a registered guide for sheep and brown bear hunts.

Sheep hunters who are looking for a challenge and want to test their skills need only to search out and study this area. Tags can be easier to get in GMU 25 than other units, but nonresidents will still need to hunt with a guide. (PAUL D. ATKINS)

TWO CARIBOU HERDS HERE Besides ample black bears and grizzlies in the area, you have a lot of caribou in this unit. The famous Forty-Mile and Porcupine herds migrate through the area. As with most herds in Alaska, caribou numbers have dwindled over the years, but recent surveys have shown increases in both.

One regulation is that you call in and ask about each herd before hunting and pay careful attention to openings, closures and bag limits.

GMU 25 also has a decent moose population, with tags available in all four subunits. Some tags are over the counter and others are won in draws.

Hunters need to pay careful attention to the area they’re hunting, boundaries, etc., plus the specific rules for getting 68

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GMU 25 KEY DATES

Sept. 1: Archery moose season opens Sept. 1: Wolverine season opens Sept. 1: Brown bear season opens Sept. 5: General moose season opens Sept. 20: Full-curl sheep season ends (opened Aug. 10) Sept. 25: General moose season ends Sept. 30: Fall caribou season ends Oct. 1: Sheep season (3/4 curl horn or less) opens April 30: Wolf season ends (opened Aug. 1) (No closed season for black bear hunting) meat out of the field.

OTHER OPTIONS There are also wolves and smaller game to hunt in this unit, with the allowance of ten wolves and one wolverine per season. Hunters should, however, pay attention to opening and closed dates for the season.

If heading north this fall to Unit 25 or maybe it’s in your future plans, make sure you get a map, do your research and plan accordingly. This area is vast and one of the most unique units in the state, with an endless bounty of opportunities. ASJ Much of the unit is comprised of federal lands in the form of the massive Arctic and Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuges, while the eastern Brooks Range rises on its northern edge.

(ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME)

Editor’s note: For a detailed map and more season dates on GMU 25, go to adfg.alaska.gov and look under the Hunting tab to a link to maps by game management unit. Follow Paul Atkins on Twitter @AKTrophyHunter.

Unit 25 contains some of the most beautiful country you can ever imagine. It is a vast landscape with a variety of terrain and topography. (PAUL D. ATKINS) 70

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

SEPTEMBER 2020 | aksportingjournal.com