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Volume 8 • Issue 3 www.aksportingjournal.com
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CONTENTS
VOLUME 8 • ISSUE 3
SLAYING SILVERS 47
Coho are plentiful in the th saltwaters lt t around d th the K Kenaii P Peninsula, i l and d to t putt you on more off th them th this summer, we asked k Seward guide Randy Wells to detail two great ways to limit out on these great-tasting battlers. (FISH SEWARD ALASKA)
FEATURES 20
WE ARE FAMILY: ALASKA’S SALMON SISTERS Siblings Claire Neaton and Emma Teal Laukitis grew up on a homestead at the very tip of the Alaska Peninsula, fishing commercially with their family. When they finished college both women wanted to stay in the business – and add their own touch: They’ve begun producing a clothing line and selling sustainably caught fish. Meet the creative minds behind the Salmon Sisters.
126 HUNTING’S FIVE W’S Last month, we shared Paul Atkins’ views on choosing a compatible hunting partner for extended trips in the wild. In part two of his series on preparing for big game season, our Kotzebue-based writer takes on the five W’s – the what, where, when, who and why aspects of planning to hit the Last Frontier in search of bucks and bulls.
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UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL “Not exactly subsistence and not exactly sportfishing” is how our Tom Reale describes Alaska fisheries such as those on the Copper and Kenai Rivers and Upper Cook Inlet, where residents can dipnet salmon and collect shellfish for personal use when there’s a surplus. It’s a rather complicated process but popular among locals, especially on the Kenai.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 37 When a Panhandle fishing lodge faced a liquor raid 61 Prince William Sound silvers 73 Valdez pink salmon 85 Book excerpt: Bristol Bay’s beauty shines in Where Water is Gold
ALPINE DEER RULES Southeast Alaska deer hunters have to be prepared mentally and physically once they hit the Panhandle’s mountainous terrain in search of their buck. Jeff Lund takes the plunge each year and has learned a lot about understanding the weather and what kind of gear to bring for this rather challenging hunt.
DEPARTMENTS 13 The Editor’s Note 17 Protecting Wild Alaska: Interior Secretary asked to help on Western Arctic Herd caribou hunt restrictions 17 Outdoor Calendar 141 From Field to Fire: Top optics options for big game
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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 © 2015 Media Inc. Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher. Printed in U.S.A. 10
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HEARD ON STATIONS IN NE SEATTLE, PORTLAND, SPOKA EST! HW AND THROUGHOUT THE NORT BROUGHT TO YOU BY
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EDITOR’S NOTE Fish waste like this left behind not only can stink up the air but also attract hungry bears, often to residential areas. (ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME)
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just moved to a new neighborhood, and so far so good, but my dog, Emma, must think she’s found her own personal Valhalla (or she mistakenly believes we now live in a Vegas buffet line). Multiple times already, she’s attempted to chew on chicken bones, a piece of a hot dog and who knows what else she’s gotten her teeth on under various patches of lawn. Maybe that’s clue No. 1 why she’s so happy to get outside (and all along I thought she just wanted to stay in beach shape this summer). In Alaska, considering so many citizens have easy access to fishing lakes and rivers, it’s become common for anglers to leave behind fish carcasses along the shoreline or dump them in the woods. You know what that means in the Last Frontier? “Fish attract bears,” Anchorage-based wildlife biologist Dave Battle says bluntly in an Alaska Department of Fish and Game press release, “and bears are likely to defend those food sources.” I contacted ADFG information officers Ken Marsh and Ryan Ragan for more, and Marsh provided an eye-popping update. “Within hours of distributing the news release (on July 18), ADFG received a report of salmon carcasses dumped in Meadow Creek (around Anchorage’s Eagle River area) behind a residential area. Plenty of bears in that area already!” he emailed. This is hardly a shocking development. Anglers catch fish; anglers clean fish; anglers dispose of remainder of fish on the riverbank or along a dirt road; hungry bears show up. In Alaska, this can happen in neighborhoods with people, little kids and dogs. ADFG personnel have also found fish waste in lakes and streams that can endanger resident salmonids. The state agency says fines for illegal dumping of fish carcasses can reach $1,000 – and also that several populated areas contain landfill stations that will take your fish waste for free. At a minimum, anglers should chop what’s left of fish carcasses into pieces and toss them into fast-moving water. Bears – and dogs, like Emma – will always be scroungers, but there’s no need to make it so easy for them or create all-youcan-eats in neighborhoods. –Chris Cocoles aksportingjournal.com | AUGUST 2016
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ADFG CALLS ON INTERIOR SECRETARY FOR HELP ON CARIBOU RESTRICTIONS BY CHRIS COCOLES s the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and U.S. Department of the Interior’s Federal Subsistence Board clash over the controversial caribou hunt restrictions in Game Management Unit 23 (Alaska Sporting Journal, May, July 2016), ADFG has appealed to a higher power. ADFG Commissioner Sam Cotten recruited Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to sway the decision that would allow only select subsistence hunters to take caribou on federal lands in Game Management Unit 23, which is about 80 percent national refuges, preserves, etc. The state has protested the orders, claiming that the action taken is inconsistent with the management strategy implemented by the Western Arctic Caribou
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Herd Cooperative Management Plan. “Swift action by (the Department of the Interior) is needed to remedy the social and economic hardships imposed by this decision before the caribou season in Unit 23 opens,” Cotten wrote to Jewell. “The updated herd estimate of 206,000 caribou is based on data indicating survival and reproduction rates have improved and that the herd has stabilized or declined only slightly,” ADFG said in a press release. “The board has not addressed that request.” “In his June letter to Jewell, Cotten states that the board described the hunting closure as a conservation measure needed until a new population estimate could be obtained, despite information presented by the
PROTECTING
WILD ALASKA Sally Jewell, Secretary of the Interior, received a letter from Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Sam Cotten urging her to reconsider the decision to severely limit hunting of the Western Arctic caribou herd. (U.S. GOVERNMENT)
federal Office of Subsistence Management that the record lacked evidence to sustain a closure decision. Further, Cotten wrote, the decision does not meet the closure criteria identified in ANILCA, Title VIII, and making caribou off limits to hunters who are not federally qualified subsistence users will have no conservation effect.” The restrictions went into effect on July 1 and were scheduled to remain in place until June 30, 2017. But it appears ADFG is going to continue to oppose the federal regulation changes. ASJ
OUTDOOR CALENDAR Now-Sept. 4 Now-Sept. 15
Aug. 1
Aug. 1 Aug. 1 Aug. 1 Aug. 10
Aug. 10 Aug. 13-21
Valdez Silver Salmon Derby (valdezfishderbies.com) Homer Halibut Derby (homeralaska .org/visit-homer/events-homer/ homer-jackpot-halibut-derby) Deer season opener in Game Management Units 1, 2 (Southeast Mainland, Prince of Wales Island) Wolf season opener in GMU 3 (Petersburg/Wrangell) Goat season opener in GMUs 4, 5 (Baranof Island, Yakutat) Caribou season opener in GMU 8 (Kodiak/Shelikof) Caribou season opener in GMU 7 (Seward, north of the Sterling Highway and west of the Seward Highway) Brown bear season opener in GMU 10 (Wrangell Mountains/Chitina River) Seward Silver Salmon Derby (seward.com/welcome-to-sewardalaska/signature-events/seward-silversalmon-derby-august)
Aug. 13 Aug. 20 Aug. 20 Sept. 2 Sept. 8-10
Valdez Women’s Silver Salmon Derby (valdezfishderbies.com) Black bear season opener in GMU 6 (North Gulf Coast, Prince William Sound) Moose season opener in GMU 16A (Lower Susitna) Valdez Big Prize Friday (valdezfishderbies.com) Kenai River Women’s Classic (krsa.com/ event-detail.php?event=3)
Hunting seasons for several species of big game begin in various game management units, including mountain goat around Baranof Island and Yakutat. (LISA HUPP/USFWS)
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ME AND MY SIS
FISH
Sisters Claire Neaton (left) and Emma Teal Laukitis grew up on their parents’ homestead right where the tip of the Alaska Peninsula meets the Aleutians. They spent their childhood helping their family’s commercial fishing business and still return to the boats each summer. (SCOTT DICKERSON PHOTOGRAPHY) 20
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ALASKA’S ‘SALMON SISTERS’ SELL APPAREL, WILD FISH TO HONOR THEIR LIFESTYLE
BY CHRIS COCOLES
F
ishing was rooted into the genes of sisters Emma Teal and Claire Laukitis at an early age. Fishing commercially with their parents by the time they were old enough to go to school, Emma and Claire became obsessed with the lifestyle so many in Alaska embrace. Now college graduates after studying on the East Coast, every summer and into the fall the siblings return to the sea to participate in the family’s harvesting of salmon and halibut. “We haven’t taken a summer off, so it’s become normal for us to come back,” Emma says. They are also entrepreneurs. Emma, 24, and Claire, 25, created their own company, the aptly named Salmon Sisters (907-299-5615; salmon-sisters.myshopify.com), where they create fish-inspired apparel, accessories and also sell their family-caught fresh salmon and halibut. After beginning as a venture for close friends and family, the sisters’ idea spawned a popular Homer-based business (Claire was included on a list of 30-and-under people to watch in the outdoors community). “I am excited that it’s had some success, but I don’t think Claire and I really feel it or let ourselves feel it as much as we could,” Emma admits. “There’s just so much we could do and we’re still trying to figure out how to do things right. When people say good things to us (about the business), we’re like, ‘Really?’ It’s nice to be reminded that we’re doing it for a good reason.” And that reason was a love for fishing in a place that had few other ways to make a living.
IF STONEWALL PLACE ISN’T the end of the world as far as Alaskans are concerned, you might be able to see it from there. Emma’s and Claire’s childhood home was land’s end on the Alaska Peninsula and the Last Frontier mainland. A short boat ride away began the Aleutian archipelago. Besides all the resident bears and other critters making up the neighbors, it was just the girls and their parents in terms of a human presence. Since Emma and Claire were separated by just 13 months, they were aksportingjournal.com | AUGUST 2016
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Claire, who now goes by her married name, Neaton. “But it’s still the most incredible place; it’s so abundant and there are so few people that’s it untouched. The amount of wildlife was just so plentiful there.” Their parents, Buck and Shelly Laukitis, are longtime respected commercial fishing moguls who now have a fleet of three vessels. Buck was president of the North Pacific Fisheries Association between 2001 and 2013. “We pretty much spent our entire childhood outside. My mom was phenomenal and she had these huge gardens, and she always had the little set net out and we were always trying to Separated by just 13 months, 25-year-old Claire (above) and Emma, 24, admittedly aren’t the catch halibut,” Claire says. “We were best fly anglers when they do sportfish in the offseason, but they for sure understand fishing home-schooled, which was great, and and the importance Alaskans place on being able to eat the wild salmon and halibut their then we moved to Homer for the winfamilies harvest. (CAMRIN DENGEL) ters when we were about 10 or 11 (to continue with school). It was great, but the elements reigned supreme. The weather dictated everything.” It was quite the unique lifestyle for the sisters. They would go out together on their parents’ commercial fishing vessel for a week at a time when most kids are coping with the reality of kindergarten and first grade. “When we were about 8 we’d go for about a month, and then by middle school we would be there the whole time,” Claire says. “Our family set-net and then we’d longline for halibut for most of the fall. And my dad and his crew had a lot of patience for having two little girls aboard.” Emma and Claire felt lucky to be able to learn the commercial fishing game at such a young age and contribute to the family’s business. Especially in younger days Emma had to overcome bouts of seasickness, relying on patches and whatever remedies would help control it. Emma dreaded fishing inside nearby Morzhovoi Bay, where forced to be each other’s best friend, partner in crime and misthe wind seemed to blow in demonic gusts. chief-maker as little kids. “It made it miserable, very wet, and it seemed like I’d get The closest resemblance to civilization was 3 miles across blown over every time I’d try to do something,” says Emma, Isanotski Strait to Unimak Island’s False Pass, population 40 who turns philosophical. “I don’t think I realized how insignif(give or take). icant we were there. It was just a reality check when it would “There were kids over there but we didn’t see them very get really windy or stormy. It was just that feeling of, ‘Wow; we much,” Emma recalls. just don’t matter.’” “I look back at it now and think, ‘Dang, it is not the nicBut this was a family where you overcame obstacles like est part of the state, location wise and weather wise,’” adds 22
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The ladies have always been connected to the water. Even after they both went to the Northeast U.S. to attend college, Emma and Claire knew that working on their parents’ fishing boats in the summer was preordained. “While it’s definitely a lot of work,” Claire says, “it’s just really rewarding to work as a family.” (SCOTT DICKERSON PHOTOGRAPHY)
an upset stomach or rough seas. No excuses when there is a quota to reach. “While it’s definitely a lot of work,” Claire says, “it’s just really rewarding to work as a family.” Even when not at sea, there were plenty of projects at Stonewall Place to get your hands dirty – some tastier than others. “There was a lot to do and you could keep yourself really busy. We’d help our mom put up fish and we’d pick berries – there were lots of blueberries and cranberries out there – so we’d make a lot of jam and pies,” Emma says. “A lot of your day was harvesting food or fishing – just finding ways to survive for yourself.” And the girls had an entire ecosystem to themselves to explore when they weren’t helping mom and dad. When the weather did cooperate, frolicking along the beach – “It could be pretty treacherous, so we really weren’t allowed to play in the water,” Emma says – was a favored pastime. They would dig for clams or find sea urchins along the shore, so it was a little less traditional than your standard swingsets or slides to play on. It was also a hauntingly spectacular setting – rugged coastlines and tall volcanoes rising in the distance. And there was the local fauna, which includ24
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ed plenty of brown bears that traversed the same terrain as the girls. “We had to hike around with guns because when those bears smelled fish, they’d wander by. As long as you were smart about it wasn’t a big deal. We had a good bear dog that usually could smell them and start barking,” Emma says. “Our parents did build us this platform that was really high up and it served as our treehouse. It was just something that allowed us to play somewhere that the bears couldn’t get to.” So it was an exciting experience for a couple of kids who – when they weren’t attending school in Homer after the fishing season ended – mostly leaned on each other for companionship and entertainment. But it was time for Emma and Claire to stretch their legs a little more. Still, there was always going to be fishing waiting for them back home.
BY THE TIME THEY’D finish high school and were ready for college, both the sisters wanted to experience something different far away from Alaska. They both chose the Northeastern U.S. for school: Emma at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., and Claire at the University of Vermont in Burlington. It was for sure a change of scenery
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MAN GEAR ALASKA Man Gear Alaska, LLC is a small family run partnership. We do believe that it is still possible to maintain a manufacturing facility in the U.S, and strive to keep goods made in America; at this time still made in Alaska. We look forward to the idea of creating more jobs for those within our community. Our goal in manufacturing these holsters is to provide a rugged, high quality, handcrafted product. The design principle of our “The Ultimate” chest holster is one that has been in Alaska for well over 15 years, and we are proud to be able to continue to create a holster with craftsmanship and quality which we believe will serve its purpose in the field for years.
Reliability Combined with Innovation We are excited to introduce our new Patent Pending holster design for Semi-Automatic pistols: The Gen2MTU line of holsters is a step up in comfort, convenience and ergonomic innovation. The design stemmed from a desire to make a 1911 holster with added features specifically for that gun. Once we field tested this holster, we received immediate positive response, and requests for the new design started to pour in after our official release. We quickly realized that this line needed to expand to incorporate the key features that would carry over to the other semi-auto holsters. The Gen2-MTU line of holsters are still made out of the same high quality materials as the original “Ultimate Chest Holster,” with only a few changes made to hardware to achieve the tactical look and feel. Take a look and compare. We think you will appreciate what we have left the same, and admire those changes that we have made.
907.414.4327 www.ManGearAlaska.com 26
ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
The ladies on Homer Spit, along the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula. Salmon Sisters’ operation is based in the Homer area, where the then-preteen girls spent winters for school. (SCOTT DICKERSON PHOTOGRAPHY)
– if not full-on culture shock – for both siblings. Claire jokes that while she would spend her summers away from college back in Alaska on a commercial fishing boat, her school chums flocked to the island beaches of Martha’s Vineyard off Massachusetts. But their connections to locally sustained fish and goodies provided classmates with treats like salmon caught by the family fishing boats or delectable homemade jam that the girls made with their mom so often growing up. For Claire, Vermont’s DIY mentality and organic vibe made it a perfect fit. “And the people there have such an appreciation for the outdoors,” she says. “Everyone is incredibly involved with being outside and just doing something, which made it great.” Williams is a private liberal arts college located just south of the Vermont border in western Massachusetts. Like
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her sister’s alma mater, it was in a rural area even smaller than Burlington, but unlike Alaska, major metropolitan areas like New York and Boston were just a few hours away. “It was my first time away from Alaska, and most of my (classmates) were from the East Coast and big cities,” Emma says. “But there were actually quite a few (other students) from Alaska and we ended up competing on the same crew team; all the Alaskans were on the crew team. I guess it allowed us to still be close to the water. I know once the summers came I wanted to go back out fishing.” Life in the Lower 48 was good. Claire met her future husband in Vermont, and since finishing up at Williams Emma is now pursuing a graduate degree in design at the University of Washington in Seattle. But they longed to eventually return to their fishing and family roots in Alaska. “We decided that this is what we wanted to devote our lives to,” Claire says. “We’re back, fully, and we wouldn’t want to change anything.” And they’ve also recruited newbies to their way of life. Claire’s husband and Emma’s boyfriend fish together on one of the Laukitis boats. “We all get to see each other pretty often, which is great,” Emma says. It would have been perfectly reasonable for two young ladies who’d spent most of their childhood on the family fishing fleet to consider doing something else, especially after finding new opportunities to pursue from their farflung college campuses. But they realized right away that, just like their par-
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ents, this way of life was in their DNA. “There are days when you say, ‘This is not worth it.’ You do feel terrible and question, ‘Why are we doing this?’ But I don’t think I ever (fully) felt that in the big picture. It just always seemed worth it,” Emma says. “We were with our family and most of our friends fished, so I don’t think we felt we were missing out on anything. This was our world.”
SUMMERS WERE ALWAYS RESERVED for netting salmon and later on longlining massive halibut to go to market, but what about the rest of the year? Emma and Claire were young and hungry to keep themselves busy. “We didn’t want to give up fishing in the summer but needed some full-time, year-round employment,” Claire says. “So we started Salmon Sisters.” The ladies wanted to create a clothing line durable enough to handle the unpredictable conditions for Alaskans, but also with a stylistic and creative touch that buyers “would feel good about wearing,” Claire says. Claire majored in business at Vermont and figured she would utilize that degree to sell fresh and wild seafood for a processor. Emma’s Williams degree was in studio art and English, so with one
sister’s understanding of how to start and maintain business and Emma’s artistic touch – plus their love of all things fish – why not combine it all and make good use of their time in the offseason? “She’s always sketching something or dreaming (up an idea); she just excels at it,” Claire says of Emma. “I can’t draw anything.”
Packing up another order to go out. Emma and Claire also sell fresh salmon and halibut, and with each order they donate a can of wild Pacific salmon to the Alaska Food Bank. (SCOTT DICKERSON PHOTOGRAPHY)
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“I actually get a lot of my ideas from my sister and my dad,” adds Emma. They started out modestly – creating a few designs for apparel meant for family and close friends. But as they wore hoodies with their own artwork, it started to sink in how symbolic the gesture was and the reaction they received. Claire recalled a defining moment when they were delivering fresh halibut in Dutch Harbor. “This is us; we fish here and this is our identity and I feel so proud to wear this,” she remembers being told. “It was such a good representation to what we were all about. We started screen-printing rockfish or salmon on shirts and they were received so well by our peers and we were so excited to wear them. And we just can’t thank Alaskans enough for supporting us.”
YOU DON’T HAVE TO just wear what you buy from the Salmon Sisters. They also sell what they catch – offering fresh and wild sockeye salmon and halibut
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ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
Having a little bit of fun was standard operating procedure when the sisters were growing up, though they also worked as hard as they played. “There was a lot to do and you could keep yourself really busy,” says Emma (right, with friend Erika Klaar). (SCOTT DICKERSON PHOTOGRAPHY)
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“As commercial fishermen we’re incredibly proud of what we’re producing,” Claire (left) says. Adds Emma, “When people say good things to us (about the business), we’re like, ‘Really?’ It’s nice to be reminded that we’re doing it for a good reason.” (SCOTT DICKERSON PHOTOGRAPHY)
(10 pounds worth per order). Furthermore, with every purchase of Emma’s and Claire’s products, they’ll donate a can of locally caught wild salmon to the Alaska Food Bank. “As commercial fishermen we’re incredibly proud of what we’re producing,” Claire says. Says Emma, “I don’t think we ever project anything that we don’t feel.” A high percentage of customer-driven sales takes place in the sisters’ home base of Homer, but traveling around the state Claire and Emma get a rush when they see random passers-by decked out in their sweatshirts, tees, hats and leggings (they also offer accessories like tote bags and coffee mugs). “It’s just neat to know that someone would want to find a connection to salmon and our great state and purchase something,” Claire says. “And we
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feel proud about that.” And if they can just get some tips on being better sport anglers, that would be nice too. “When we get off the commercial boat at the end of September, we’ll say, ‘Oh wow, let’s go catch a fish! But we’re just not very good at it,” Claire says with a laugh. “Emma and I don’t know how to fly fish and a lot of that stuff. But for a lot of our customers, that’s their passion and lifestyle. So it’s great to kind of learn a lot from them.” ASJ Editor’s note: Like Salmon Sisters at facebook.com/aksalmonsisters and follow on Instagram (@aksalmonsisters). Check out more on photographers Scott Dickerson (scottdickerson.com) and Camrin Dengel (camrindengel.com) at their respective websites.
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THE BAR’S CLOSED? A POPULAR SOUTHEAST ALASKA FISHING LODGE IN A FORMER DRY COMMUNITY ONCE WAS THE TARGET OF A PROHIBITION ERA-STYLE RAID
BY CHRIS COCOLES
I
t was like something out of a 1920s Prohibition bust, violations of the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act. A longtime fishing lodge carried an unofficial bring-your-own-bottle policy for guests for 28 years and hadn’t been policed despite its Southeast Alaska community’s dry laws for not allowing alcohol to be purchased, sold or consumed. But all that changed in June 2011, when what started out as a harmless beer run to the Juneau Costco led to a raid by armed Alaska State Troopers on unsuspecting lodge personnel and its affable owner and founder, Richard “Dick” Powers. Beer, wine and spirits were confiscated by the troopers, the 69-year-old Powers served time in a local jail that holiday season and a new chapter in this quaint and historic corner of the Alaska Panhandle was written. It also led to loosened laws: After nine months of knocking on doors in the City of Angoon and getting signatures to put a “Damp Community” option on the ballot, the measure allowing for the possession of alcohol passed by the slimmest of margins. A dry community on Killisnoo Island Located on 1¼-mile-long-by-¼-mile-wide Kil- never stopped guests at Whaler’s Covee lisnoo Island – just off the southwest coast of Ad- Lodge from making BYOB trips or barred ed miralty Island and the town of Angoon – today the staff from having a drink. But when a n of 34-year-old Whaler’s Cove Lodge (800-423-3123; beer run to Costco caught the attention twhalerscovelodge.com) is a popular destination for Alaska State Troopers, the days of bootlegging and prohibition came to life during ring anglers longing to get in on the area’s fantastic salt- a 2011 raid. (WHALER’S COVE LODGE) water and freshwater fishing. Things are a lot less dramatic these days, as guests and lodge employees alike can legally sip a shot, have business and just enjoy a glass of their favorite wine, or crack open a brew and not fishing, he just doesn’t get treated like modern-day Al Capones. It’s just about the stop. He’s out there evfish rather than illegally drinking like a fish. ery day and absolutely “Dick started it because he’s an outdoors enthusiast loves it.” and because he has that insatiable passion for being out on We chatted with Kristine ristine about the water and hooking up a fish,” says his daughter-in-law that fateful day when the beer stopped flowing in camp. Kristine Powers, who along with her husband and Dick’s son Mark now own and operate the lodge. “Being a guide and Chris Cocoles What are the origins of the lodge? getting on fish is his world. And now that he’s had the opKristine Powers Richard (Dick) Powers is from Idaho. He used to portunity to retire, not worry about the stress of running the work for the (U.S. Forest Service) and was transferred up to the aksportingjournal.com | AUGUST 2016
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Killisnoo Island, just off the coast of Admiralty Island in Southeast Alaska, was once a thriving whaling and fish-processing community. Now it’s a little quieter, but Whaler’s Cove Lodge is a popular fishing destination. (WHALER’S COVE LODGE)
Yakutat and spent his time exploring certain parts of Southeast (Alaska). He went to Angoon from Juneau on a USFS work boat and fell absolutely in love with it. He met a local landowner there, bought the general store and quit the Forest Service. He had his eyes on a protected harbor and imagined it to be the perfect place for a fishing lodge, and then he set his soul to building it. Using a sawmill, gumption and ingenuity it took him eight years before he hosted his first guests in 1983. The lodge sits on the land inside of Killisnoo Harbor that used to be the largest town in the territory in Southeast Alaska. At its peak there were about 2,500 people in the summer. The industries were whaling and a herring rendering plant. The first export from the territory of Alaska was from Killisnoo Harbor and it went to Liverpool (England). This piece of land has a lot of interesting history.
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CC Has it always been dry? KP The City of Angoon sits on the site of a Tlingit Village and
[laughs]. I think there are still a few (areas in Alaska) that are dry or they’re damp, where you can possess alcohol but you can’t sell it – there’s no retail sales.
they had chosen to be a dry community. It is no longer dry; it’s damp, even though when it was dry it was really saturated
CC I used to live in Arkansas, which has plenty of dry coun-
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ties and it was always strange for this California guy to go into restaurants where they couldn’t serve alcohol. KP Imagine what it was like for people going on vacation here.
CC What happened to your lodge in terms of possessing alcohol? KP In 2011, Dick was helping out some friends who lived on the island. Dick went into Juneau and went to Costco. I think Mark had asked him, “Dad, will you go get six 24-pack cases of Budweiser?” or something like that. Dick went and bought 30 six-packs of Budweiser, some Alaskan Amber and Alaskan Summer. I don’t think his hearing aids were in that day. And, of course, it was such a huge order that as he’s checking out from Costco, the employee verified his address on his Costco card and his debit card as Angoon, which is a dry city. So Costco had to turn this information over to the Alaska State Troopers. It appeared that Dick had the intent to sell based on the quantity, and he became a potential bootlegger in the eyes of the law. The people that Dick had bought the beer for had a small cabin on the island and our crew had done this big Budweiser pyramid [laughs] on the front porch for them when they arrived. And they had been there for about a week and they were enjoying their Budweiser and fishing. The crew was working hard and getting everything ready for guests, who weren’t due to arrive for another couple of weeks. Then one day we heard planes flying in and they landed right at our dock. The troopers
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bailed out and started raiding the place! It was an old-fashioned Prohibition raid. We had the crew scuttling around in little fire-brigade lines stashing away their whiskey, beer and wine into the woods. They squirreled away their alcohol so well that some of the crew still haven’t found everything they hid in the forest. By the time the troopers finished going through the place there was a cabin owner who refused to put his beer down. He was drinking while he was talking to the troopers. And the trooper said, “I thought you had 30 cases, but all I see are about two left.” And he said, “Well …” as he takes another big chug, “we’ve been here for a week.” At that time, Dick was 69 years old; he spent a week in jail for bootlegging and (served) community service. After that, we brought it to the attention of the city that this is a recreational facility and people like to enjoy their libations while on vacation. Many people in the city of Angoon had personal stashes too. So they put it up to a vote to become a damp community in 2012. And it won by just two votes.
CC As far as the raid itself, did it feel like you were re-enacting the scene in The Untouchables when Eliot Ness comes flying through the building with guns blazing? KP Oh, yes; they were armed, but guns weren’t drawn and they were going through all the rooms. They even took our kitchen’s cooking wine [laughs]. And then Dick had a bed-andbreakfast over in Angoon that was also raided. It was bizarre.
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CC What was Dick’s reaction to all this drama? Going with the flow? Angry? Making light of it all? KP He was laughing. He’s been really good-natured about the whole thing.
CC Did the troopers take this pretty seriously? KP They arrived thinking that we were selling alcohol, but they After the raid, then-69-year-old Whalrealized it was just is- er’s Cove Lodge founder and owner Dick land residents and the Powers spent a week in jail. Now retired crew in the preseason. and still fishing every chance he gets, Powers never fails to make light of the But they still were in prohibition raid of his property. possession of alcohol (WHALER’S COVE LODGE) (illegally) and they had to do their job. So they took this seriously.
CC It just seems so asinine for this to be going down in 2011. It feels like it’s ripped from the headlines in the 1920s.
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KP It sure does. If you look back to the ’20s, do you remember hearing about the “speakeasies?� That was a nickname for a place that found a way to serve a complimentary alcoholic beverage when the only charge was for a meal or an attraction. And they used to call speakeasies blind pigs or blind tigers. It was such a crazy day we wanted to commemorate the moment and kid around with Dick. So everyone that was a part of the Killisnoo Island Prohibition Raid of 2011 all got customized logo hoodies and are now inducted into the Blind Tiger Club [laughs]. It’s been five years and once in a while a crew member will run into camp with a big grin holding up a bottle of beer or whiskey recovered from the raid stash.
CC And Dick had to actually endure time behind bars? KP Yes [sighs]. It was in December right before Christmas, and so our 69-year-old dad was the old man on the cellblock. He said he got a lot of good sleep and reading time and he learned a good lesson.
CC How did Dick react to the vote when the community became damp? KP He just kind of rolled it with it and said, “OK.� For Mark and I, we were managing the business and looking at buying it; we thought the vote passing was critical. So it was a relief for us all. It was legal then (to possess and drink alcohol) and we didn’t have to worry.
CC So besides what a fascinating history – and liquor-raid-
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ing backstory – your lodge has, what makes Whaler’s Cove so unique? KP It’s the people. The crew and the guests make this place their home away from home. I’ve seen a guest cry on his last day because he loves this place so much he didn’t want to leave, and when our guests arrive it feels like family coming for a visit, and many of our crew come back year after year. The guests really enjoy being here and I am so proud of our crew, who put their best foot forward each day. It’s a real vacation for our guests too; we don’t have TV or internet, and we encourage watching the eagles and sitting by the ďŹ re. And this place is in a spectacular part of this planet; just so beautiful. As for the ďŹ shing – it’s 10 to 20 minutes from our dock. We are spoiled with the calm water and when the waves kick up to 4 feet it’s a rough day out. And besides the ďŹ ve species of PaciďŹ c salmon, there are 30 species of rockďŹ sh, halibut and cod to catch. We are in the middle of 17 million acres of national forest and wilderness area – there is no combat ďŹ shing out here. If you see another boat, it’s usually the same people that you are having dinner with that night. ASJ Editor’s note: Like Whaler’s Cove Lodge at facebook.com/whalers .lodge/.
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SILVER SMILES
TROLLING, MOOCHING BEST WAYS TO CATCH SEWARD’S PLENTIFUL COHO
BY RANDY WELLS
A
s a charter boat skipper, there is nothing that puts huge smiles on anglers’ faces like the aggressive bite and fight of silver salmon. Each July, coho flood into the Gulf of Alaska and make their way to the streams from which they came. The waters surrounding Seward represent one of the top destinations for these hard-fighting fish, and with a limit of six per angler inside Resurrection Bay, it’s no wonder that anglers follow these bright fish right to this amazing town. Silver salmon usually weigh 8 to 12 pounds, but individuals weighing 20 pounds have been landed, and Alaska’s state record is a near 27-pounder caught in Icy Strait. Coho in saltwater and when they first hit freshwater are bright silver – hence their nickname – and have small black spots on the back and on the upper lobe of the tail fin. They can be distinguished from Chinook salmon by the lack of black spots on the lower lobe of the tail and by their white gums; Chinook have small black spots on both tail fin lobes and they have black gums. As silvers return to their Gulf of Alaska-ringing streams, anglers who find schools of the salmon will experience plenty of bent rods and tasty coho on the other end. (RANDY WELLS/FISH SEWARD ALASKA INC.)
A SUMMER STAPLE Although each of the five Pacific salmon species has a similar life cycle, each has a different life span. All are similar in the aksportingjournal.com | AUGUST 2016
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way that a female digs a nest – known as a redd – and deposits thousands upon thousands of eggs, which are fertilized by the male’s sperm, known as milt. The eggs develop over the winter, hatch in early spring, with the alevin remaining in the gravel utilizing their yolk until emerging as fry in May or June. The amount of time spent in the ocean is where each of the five salmon species differs. Pink salmon return at less than two years of age, thus their small size, while most Chinook stay at sea for several years. Male and female silvers stay in the salt for 18 months before returning as full-size adults. They usually weigh 8 to 12 pounds but often break 15 pounds in the waters surrounding Seward. According to Alaska Department of Fish and Game, silvers enter their spawning grounds in Alaska from July to November. In the waters near Seward, silvers begin to show in the ocean as early as June and are regularly filling fish boxes by July 10 each year. Resurrection Bay is jam-packed with silvers by the middle of August, plus local rivers like the Kenai begin to produce these salmon as well. Once these chrome beasts hit the rivers they are much easier to track down, but when targeting them in the salt it can be a bit more of a challenge. The first thing to do is locate bait, as is the norm in most saltwater fishing – as the saying goes, find the bait and you’ll find the fish. A good pair of binoculars is a must to scan the water for birds hovering and diving or – even better – salmon jumping.
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Remember that these salmon are heading to their spawning grounds in various rivers, so studying your navigation charts is crucial. For example, Johnstone Bay, which leads to Excelsior Lake, is located in the Gulf of Alaska just to the east of Resurrection Bay and has a run of silvers that push into the lake and then into streams to spawn. I target these silvers every year as they stack up in the saltwater near the entrance to the lake waiting to push in and spawn. Moreover, I have found that silvers follow the shorelines or contour lines, which can be seen on your chart plotter. I believe it’s because the salmon are chasing bait that can be found on shelves and structures along the shore. If you have fished Seward for silvers in the past, you know there are the regular, everyone-knows types of spots like Pony Cove. But trust me: There are so many more places to fish; just study your chart and you will find new hot spots and come home with some big and tasty salmon. As for catching them, as a charter boat skipper who chases silvers over 60 days each summer, I have two strategies: trolling and mooching. When the salmon are just starting to show in June, I have found that trolling is the best way to find and catch. And once silvers are thick by mid-July, sitting atop a bait ball and dropping a mooching rig is the quickest way to fill the fish box.
TROLLING The set-up for trolling silvers is simple: I use a Lamiglas
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Brined herring is a staple of Alaska coho trollers and moochers. (RANDY WELLS/FISH SEWARD ALASKA INC.)
Kenai Kwik 803 Series rod, with the Tica Sea Spirit linecounter reel spooled with 40-pound mono. This rod-and-reel combo is perfect for trolling silvers and can double as a mooching rod. Just troll between 1.2 and 1.5 mph. For hardware, there is no better flasher than the Yakima Bait Big Al’s Fish Flash (I use the No. 10 size). The reason I only troll with the Fish Flash is more than the high-quality components or huge selection of colors; when you hook a fish while
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trolling this flasher, you only fight the fish, not the flasher. Thanks to its design, it spins freely in the water – hence no flasher drag. If you are not trolling with downriggers, use a B-N-R Tackle spreader bar ahead of your flasher. This set-up will keep your dropper weight down and away from your flasher. Speaking of weight, I recommend a 6- to 8-ounce cannonball sinker. Use an 8-foot leader from the flasher to your bait or spinner and split your Silver gear worth having includes a hoochie rig for mooching and a spreader bar to be placed ahead of flashers when trolling. (RANDY WELLS/FISH SEWARD ALASKA INC.) leader in the center with a beadchain swivel to avoid a true mess. says, catch your limits here! The final step is the bait or spinner selection. Green-label I make a straight track to the bait ball while stopping short plug-cut herring brined with Pro-Cure Brine-N-Bite is my bait to be sure not to run through the baitfish and push the salmof choice. For spinners, a pink Rooster Tail is hard to beat. on deep and possibly turn off the feeding frenzy. There will When I am fishing more than one rod – and that’s 100 percent frequently be a few boats mooching a bait ball and having an of the time – I split my gear 50-50 – half spinners and half amazing bite when another boat shows up and drives right plug-cut herring. This combination will fill your freezer! over the bait, destroying the bite –don’t be that guy. Even worse is when a boat gets their limit and pushes up on step, blowing past the other boats and right over the bait. MOOCHING Instead, slip atop the bait and slip out; everyone around you Once the silvers are thick enough to mooch for, it becomes a will appreciate it. crazy feeding frenzy – and one I often dream of. The first thing The mooching set-up is as easy as it gets. I use my same I look for are birds diving on bait, which is like a big sign that
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Lamiglas 803 trolling rod and Tica reel, a 4- to 6-ounce banana sinker with a bead chain connected to one end of the weight. Add a 12- to 20-inch, 40-pound-test leader with a Hoochie King hoochie skirt to the bead chain end of the
SEWARD’S BIG DERBY Adding to the coho excitement in Seward is the 61st annual Silver Salmon Derby, which runs this month from Aug. 13-21. One of the oldest and largest derbies in Alaska, it features a huge lineup of prizes and categories, which makes your chances to win something pretty high. Each year someone wins the grand prize of $50,000. Other prizes include: First: $10,000 plus weight of the fish in Silverhook Kaladi Brothers Coffee Second: $5,000 plus weight in Silverhook Coffee Third: $2,500 plus weight in Silverhook Coffee Fourth: $1,000 Fifth: $750 Tagged fish include two prizes of vehicles (details had yet to be announced at press time) and cash prizes of $10,000, $5,000 and $1,000. Over 40 additional prizes and categories will be available. Visit seward.com for more info on this crazy-fun derby. RW
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weight. The plastic squid is such a versatile lure in the ocean. Color and size matter when it comes to your options, so check out hoochieking.com for a huge selection and the best prices I have ever found. You will lose a lot of these amazing baits, so buy in bulk. Pink and chartreuse are my go-to colors. Once on top of the bait ball, drop your hoochie skirt down past the bait ball. Reel-stop-reel-stop-reel is the best way to work this bait. The bite can be soft, and you will often get bit while dropping your bait. If you’re fishing 200 feet of water and you’re dropping to 80 feet but your line goes slack at 20 feet, it’s not bottom. Close your bail, reel in your slack and set the hook – you have a fish on! With six lines in the water and a feeding frenzy under the boat, there is no better fishing fun in Alaska.
ATTRACTING SILVERS An additional tip that will help make these sometimes nonaggressive fish bite is the Pro-Cure Chum Bomb. If you are marking fish, but they just won’t bite, it’s chum time. Many charters have learned the importance of a chum bag. Cut about 10 pounds of black-label herring in thin and small chunks, put the chopped bait along with a 3-pound weight in a chum bag, and then soak the chum with Pro-Cure Herring, Squid or Sardine Oil. Place the bag in the water off your stern about 3 feet down. Be sure to shake the bag as you drift to let the scent and herring chunks float out.
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You will bring the silvers right to your boat and start a feeding frenzy, plus the school will follow as you drift along. In addition, dropping chum bags will really put these fish on. Chop up 2 to 3 pounds of herring in the smallest chunks as you can. Put the herring chunks in a bag with Pro-Cure Herring Oil. Place a 24-ounce jig attached to a halibut rod in the bag as well – making sure to tie the bag to your line – and cut slits in the bag to let the air out. Drop the jig down to about 30 feet, jerk aggressively to break the bag and free the chum. I do this every 10 minutes Guide Randy Wells and guests used spinners to score these silvers, though as the at different depths author points out, he’ll split his rods beto bring and keep tween spinners and herring presentations. the school at my (RANDY WELLS/FISH SEWARD ALASKA INC.) boat. Using these techniques will bring on a bite, as my best trip in 2015 was 36 silvers for six anglers in 19 minutes. Trust me, it works! ASJ Editor’s note: Randy Wells is a full-time fishing guide, TV host and outdoor writer. Visit his website or call to book a Seward fishing trip (fishsewardalaska.com; 907-947-3349).
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FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLED A HOT DAY ON THE WATER SIZZLES WITH SALMON ACTION In what looked like a nice, peaceful Prince William Sound cove to take a nap in while their bait soaked over the side of their sailboat, Carpe Ventos, the authors instead found a ravenous school of silvers. (BIXLER MCCLURE)
BY KRYSTIN AND BIXLER MCCLURE
A
s we pulled into the next cove in Prince William Sound, we watched as small fishing boats jigged and trolled furiously for silvers. Word on the street was that the salmon fishing was slow around the sound. The fish had decided not to congregate around the usual popular spots this year and most people were having trouble finding them. The marine radio was filled with endless chatter about silvers, and many boats were heading for home empty-handed. Rather than pursue silvers ourselves, we continued into the cove and dropped our anchor near some friends of ours on another sailboat. The weather was hot and the cove was calm compared to the boat-toboat combat fishing out on the point. Bixler and I waved to our new friends – fresh up from Tasmania – who were enjoying the heat way more than we were with our thick Alaskan blood. I hopped in the dinghy to make dinner plans with them, while Bixler tied up a mooching rig.
AMBLING ALONG AT 6 knots in a sailboat means you must fish opportunistically rather than target species. Many of our largest fish are caught by simply dangling a line over the side while at anchor. Usually, this works wonders for halibut in a cove that opens to the Gulf of Alaska, but we didn’t have much luck in Prince William Sound. With the number of salmon anglers out and about, we changed our strategy to the dangling slip-tie rig: a 2-ounce chartreuse banana weight with a double slip-tie hook and a aksportingjournal.com | AUGUST 2016
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More than once Krystin and Bixler got bit around the same time, making for a hectic, fun fishing experience. (BIXLER MCCLURE)
whole herring on the end. I came back to our boat, Carpe Ventos, with dinner plans that included our latest haul of spot shrimp, while Bixler affixed bells to the rods. We were tired from sitting in the sun all day and needed some relief inside the cool, dark boat. As we finished the last chore and climbed into the V-berth,
I heard the distinct sound of a jingle. At first I reminisced about those wonderful cold days of ice fishing, but then I realized there was a fish on one of our lines. I nudged Bixler, who ran to grab the rod. The rod was dancing wildly in the holder as he grabbed it. As soon as he began to reel, the fish took off and performed
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Days like this make summer in Alaska a special place to be. (BIXLER MCCLURE)
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underwater somersaults like a silver salmon. I grabbed the net off the deck of the boat and waited patiently for the fish. Bixler continued to reel and nudge the drag. Silvers are notorious fighters, and this feisty fish certainly was not giving up. Bixler reeled up to the surface and, sure enough, a big fat silver had nabbed the herring. Ocean-bright and shiny, the fish had brought an entire school with it to the surface. The rest of the salmon disappeared as we netted this catch – and just in time too; the second rod was now jingling. I grabbed the rig while Bixler untangled the first and excitedly dropped the slip-tie rig back down. After an equally exciting fight, I pulled up a bigger, plumper silver. In all the commotion, I looked over to our Aussie friends who were watching with much interest as we continued to yard silvers out of the water. “We might be a bit late for dinner,” I yelled over to them as I hooked into another fish and Bixler pulled it onto the boat.
THE FISHING STAYED HOT for us, and with the low rumble of boats leaving the point in the distance, we approached our limit. I plugged in the small freezer while Bixler began to fillet the fish. Compared to past years’ catches, each silver was
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FEAST ON A HEALTHY PATTY Salmon patties are an excellent, healthy meal and can be served either in a bun or lettuce wrap. Silver salmon fillets (half of a large, or one small fish), skinned and chopped into small pieces Salt, pepper Several green onions, diced One bell pepper, diced 1 cup panko Two eggs Combine ingredients in a bowl; knead thoroughly. Form into patties and fry in vegetable oil until cooked to a golden-brown. Serve with condiments and on a bun, or with lettuce to wrap it in. BM Salmon are full of protein and nutrients, and making a patty out of a fillet is a nice alternative to your typical burger choices. (BIXLER MCCLURE)
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FINDING COHO SCHOOLS
deeply red and the ďŹ llets seemed twice the size of normal. Silvers tend to congregate in known areas, but this is not always the case. Just because I was starting to tire and lose ďŹ sh. there are boats around doesn’t mean ďŹ sh are there. Here are tips to help ďŹ nd them: Even though the slip-tie rig is effi• Be observant as to what other boats are doing. If you don’t see much catching or you cient, silvers have soft mouths and don’t hear about much luck on the radio, the ďŹ sh probably aren’t there. • Look for natural cues in the water. Large schools of bait attract whales and birds, as often strip bait off of the hooks. I lost well as salmon. two in a row, and when Bixler ďŹ nished • If you have one, watch your ďŹ sh ďŹ nder. Sometimes schools of silvers can be seen as ďŹ lleting he took over the ďŹ shing to ďŹ nstronger returns near schools of bait. ish out his limit. • Be patient. Try dangling a mooching rig while at anchor or mooching in a certain area. Instantly he was on and I dipped If you don’t get a nibble in a few minutes, try moving to a new spot. the net into the water to nab an even • As a last-ditch effort, try dangling a line at anchor with a bell on the rod to wake you larger silver that we at ďŹ rst misidenup if a ďŹ sh gets on. You never know what you might catch! KM tiďŹ ed as a king. We again dropped it into the cockpit and watched as it spit scales and blood all over our sailboat. fresh ďŹ sh and shrimp. We were dead-tired from the long day, I dropped down to ďŹ nish out my limit of silvers and hapbut our Aussie friends welcomed the entertainment and the pened to look at the time. It was the dinner hour, but our catch. The last ďŹ shing boat droned in the distance as we barAussie friends were enjoying the show so much they did not becued up our catch and cooled off under their boat’s awning. seem to mind. Carefully, I managed to pull up the last ďŹ sh, “Hey, I hear the silver ďŹ shing is hot right now!â€? I joked to which we ďŹ lleted for dinner. the Aussies in the manner of the radio chatter that was saying At this point we were hardly acceptable dinner guests. Bixthe opposite of earlier in the day. They laughed, repeating to ler and I smelled like ďŹ sh and we were covered with scales. We us how much they had enjoyed the entertainment and that frantically cleaned our boat to remove the blood and scales Bixler and I were quite the team for pulling up a pile of ďŹ sh. before it baked onto the surface. As much as we would have liked to relax in the boat that Then, in more presentable attire, we hopped in the dinghy afternoon, I’m glad we checked why that bell on the rod was and headed over to the other boat with the day’s catch of jingling. ASJ
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Allison Point, just across the harbor from Valdez, is a prime spot for pink salmon anglers. Their quarry arrives in midsummer. (DENNIS MUSGRAVES)
GET TO THE POINT! VALDEZ BANK SPOT GREAT FOR PINK SALMON BY DENNIS MUSGRAVES
M
y pace was quick walking down the steep gravel path from the parking area. I was anxious to see how many people were out fishing the afternoon high tide and wondering if my favorite spot on the boulder-ridden oceanfront would already be occupied. Overhead, the sun was shining brightly in a deep blue sky, the light showcasing the emerald, snowcapped mountains surrounding the saltwater bay. Upon reaching the bottom of the hill, I was pleasantly surprised to find only about a dozen fishermen spread out intermittently and perched on top of aksportingjournal.com | AUGUST 2016
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Valdez artwork pays homage to its prized fish like salmon... (DENNIS MUSGRAVES)
the rocks. They concentrated on keeping their balance while casting into the incoming tide. I was surprised none of them had taken up residence on the flat platform of slate that I had my heart set on fishing from. Without hesitation, I made my move, carefully traversing the loose shale and slippery, sharp edges towards the particular table-shaped rock I was so familiar with. It is a proven location for me – I have caught countless salmon from it during just as many outings. After reaching the flat stone, I quickly shrugged off my tackle backpack and positioned myself to make my first cast. My graphite baitcaster was already prepared with a large pink spoon, and I was ready to go to work. I double-clutched the cork handle, pressed the spool release, and with one fluid motion loaded the rod and catapulted the lure as far as I could into the bay. My second cast produced the distinct feel of a fish smashing down on the bait. I instinctively reacted, lifting the tip of the rod for a positive hookset. From the amount of resistance, the salmon felt like a good-sized one, and feisty to boot. Reeling it to the bank required the right amount of finesse to prevent an inadvertent long-distance release. Hooking a fish is 74
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VALDEZ’S FISHING BOUNTY The Southcentral Alaska city of Valdez sits at the very end of the Richardson Highway. The scenic drive here from Glenallen leads travelers over Thompson Pass (elevation: 2,805 feet) and down into a narrow defile known as Keystone Canyon before the road finally reaches the small portside community. The canyon features steep towering cliffs and cascading waterfalls. The Port of Valdez is also the final destination of the 800-mile-long Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Abundant returns of pink, or “humpy,” salmon and coho salmon occur during July and August, which makes sportfishing a popular activity. Anglers can experience excellent fishing from the shoreline during peak months for each species every summer. The city of Valdez also hosts multiple holiday events and annual fishing derbies for not just pinks and silvers but also halibut. See valdezfishderbies.com for more. Additionally, popular recreational activities in the area include trail hiking and mountain biking, wildlife and sealife viewing/photography, plus ocean kayaking.
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...and halibut in unique public art. (DENNIS MUSGRAVES)
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the easy part; it’s the landing that can be unpredictable when fishing from a rocky shoreline without a net. One thing was for certain: My beloved flat rock was again a perfect stage for producing angling drama at its best.
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want to wear footwear with good traction, and almost certainly will need to bring an ice cooler to transport their fish home. Shore-side saltwater fishing for pinks gets no better anywhere in the 49th state than at the Port of Valdez. During the peak of season from July through August, fishermen of all ages and skill level can catch a limit of ocean-fresh pinks almost effortlessly, right from the shoreline. Public access can be found right at the Valdez City fishing dock. However, seasoned Valdez shorecasters know even better bank fishing is available directly across the bay at the end of Dayville Road on a small outcropping of land named Allison Point. It’s been my go-to location for catching chrome-sided humpies for more than a decade. Navigating the obstacle course of slippery, jagged rocks along the edge of the water can be tricky. Having appropriate footwear and an equal amount of patience will help prevent a twisted ankle or gnarly knee scrape. Fishermen can be well rewarded for their efforts of fishing from the danger zone. Large numbers of returning pink salmon swim by in large
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WHAT TO BRING Shore fishing can be accomplished with a medium/ heavy-action casting rod that can huck lures weighing up to 1 ounce. Large inline spinners and spoons are good choices for attracting a salmon to bite. The best time to fish coincides with the rising tide, which brings the fish closer to shore. Layered clothing and rain gear are must-have items due to fast-changing coastal weather. Binoculars will come in handy to view wildlife on the mountainsides that surround the seaside community and sealife in the water. And don’t forget to bring a camera to record your catch either! DM
schools just off the beach. They are on their way towards the hatchery, creating a perfect situation for an ambush. The bank at Allison Point is tidally influenced. I like to begin about an hour before high tide and work the water of the incoming tide. Pink salmon swim with the current, and the changing tide brings them closer to the shoreline. Good fishing can be experienced for about an hour past the high tide. Large colorful spoons are my favorite option for Valdez
pinks. Allowing the heavy, oblong-shaped lure to sink a few seconds, and then cranking it in with a slow retrieve to swim the bait is all it takes to entice a bite.
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tacular at Valdez, thanks to the Solomon Gulch Hatchery. Operating since 1981, the hatchery’s effort produces over 200 million pink salmon fry every year for release into the ocean. The Valdez Fisheries Development Association oversees management and operations at the hatchery. In addition to pinks, the hatchery also incubates and releases coho smolts annually. Adult fish of both species return to the hatchery in abundant numbers every year. Silvers follow the pinks and begin showing up near Allison Point right around mid-August. I did manage to battle a few more pinks from my special perch during the rest of my two-hour-long outing. Most of the salmon I hooked were lost back to the sea. I wasn’t disappointed, however, considering that my trip was in the first week of July, still a bit early for the horde of returning humpies. So I was grateful to have managed a couple fish to take home. Walking back up the
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hill to my vehicle was much easier with a couple salmon; the fish were flawless representations of saltwater salmon, complete with sea lice still attached to their bodies. Fishing the saltwater shoreline for salmon in Valdez isn’t always automatic, but I always have fun sportfishing outdoors anywhere in Alaska. No boat required. ASJ Editor’s note: For more on the Great Land adventures of Dennis Musgraves and his fellow fishing fanatics, go to alaskansalmonslayers.com.
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Large colorful spoons and spinners work well for the author at secluded Allison Point. (DENNIS MUSGRAVES)
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AN EMBARRASSMENT OF RICHES BRISTOL BAY’S BOUNTY SUBJECT OF STUNNING NEW BOOK Editor’s note: Photographers have bucket lists just like anglers, sports fans, history buffs and foodies. The raw beauty of Alaskan landscapes would have to make at least a few shooters’ short lists of must-see destinations. South Dakota native and longtime photographer Carl Johnson moved to Anchorage in 1999 and started Arctic Light Gallery and Excursions, which, according to his website (arcticlight-ak.com), “seeks to celebrate a legacy of examining the dynamic quality of light in remote, wild locations.” Few locales typify wild Alaska more than Bristol Bay’s 40 million of acres of land and water that Johnson chronicles in his new book, Where Water Is Gold. In addition to Johnson’s spectacular photos, the book features essays from several Last Frontier writers (including occasional ASJ correspondent Dave Atcheson). The following excerpt from Johnson’s book (published by Mountaineer Books) was written by award-winning Alaska writer Nick Jans, who himself has written 12 books. His latest, The Giant’s Hand, is available from nickjans.com. BY NICK JANS
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hotographer Carl Johnson leans into his Nikon. Twenty feet away, a lone gray wolf stands, surveying the tidal flat before him as if our small group did not exist. The wolf trots on with scarcely a glance our way. Minutes later, without moving, we share a frame-filling encounter with a huge, fight-scarred male brown bear, so close that our guide, Dustin, has to take action. A calm wave of arms, a firm “Hey, bear,” and the 800-pound behemoth deflects past us and continues grazing on succulent sedges a few dozen paces away. With so much forage available, and decades of peaceable interaction, these resident bears tend to see humans as neither food source nor threat. We have become part of the landscape. Not once but many times over our four-day stay, Carl turns to me, grins and shakes his head at the incredible opportunities that pass before us – from an eagle nest with chicks viewed from above to a fox teasing a young bear to a seal nursery and rafts of sea otters. And so many brown bears we can scarcely count them: foraging, playing, swimming, courting, mothers nursing cubs. The experience resounds beyond photography. We roam beaches with fossils and artifacts at our feet; glide past rocky pinnacles where clouds of nesting seabirds wheel; drift among feeding humpback whales; catch rod-bending halibut and cod; become filled with the whir of wind and water, and the land’s deep silence beyond.
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A skiff rests on the shore of Alaska’s Kvichak River near the No See Um Lodge in Bristol Bay, a pristine, salmon-filled 40-million-acre region that is the subject of photographer Carl Johnson’s pictorial tribute in his new book, Where Water is Gold. (CARL JOHNSON)
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Photographer and author Carl Johnson recruited several Alaska writers, including Nick Jans (inset), to share their thoughts about Bristol Bay. (WHERE WATER IS GOLD)
WE ARE GUESTS AT Katmai Wilderness Lodge on the outer coast of Katmai National Park and Preserve, on the southeastern edge of the Bristol Bay region. Though by itself, Katmai is immense – nearly 5 million wilderness acres, including a spectacularly ragged, unpeopled 497-mile coast – it is a fraction of the almost unimaginable sweep of the expanse. All that Carl and I have seen are mere tokens of the riches and variety that Bristol Bay offers the recreational visitor: volcanic moonscapes; enormous freshwater lakes and sprawling river systems; high tundra, rolling forests, and vast wetlands; spectacular, glacier-draped mountain ranges; pristine, current-swirled ocean waters, fjords, and tidal flats – all of them brimming with life. This fertile merging of land and sea spills toward a seemingly limitless horizon, one valley and one bay to the next, each unique yet part of a larger untrammeled whole. A 36-year resident of Alaska, I have traveled tens of thousands of wilderness miles in some of the state’s most remote and scenic landscapes – from the austere enormity of the Brooks Range to the fjord-incised rain forests of Southeast Alaska. I have frequently nudged outdoors-oriented visitors toward the Bristol Bay area as a remote yet accessible distillation of the best that wild Alaska has to offer. 86
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The sheer volume and variety of protected wilderness areas bespeaks the region’s status as a world-class natural reserve. These include Lake Clark and Katmai National Park and Preserve; Togiak, Alaska Maritime, Alaska Peninsula/ Becharof, and Izembek National Wildlife Refuges; the Wood Tikchik State Park and McNeil River State Game Sanctuary and Preserve – all told, a staggering 24-million-plus acres combined. Whether wildlife viewing and photography; wilderness backpacking and float trips; bird watching; sport fishing and hunting; mountaineering, flightseeing and coastal cruising or kayaking – Bristol Bay offers a kaleidoscope of recreational possibilities. Neither planning a trip, nor the actual getting to Bristol Bay
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Silver Salmon Creek Lodge guests hike out during an incoming tide for a boat trip to nearby Chisik Island to view puffins in wild Alaska. (CARL JOHNSON)
are nearly as daunting as one might suppose. Dozens of quality lodges, guides, flying services, and outfitters are poised online to answer questions or help you custom-craft your dream trip. Travel between modern airports, to within a jumping-off distance of your chosen destination, is no more complicated than in the Lower 48. The final flight in, typically less than an hour, usually in a pontoon-equipped float plane landing on a lake or river, is an integral part of the journey, offering stunning bird’s-eye perspectives and a fitting transition into another world. The wild country scrolls below like a living map, then draws closer and closer as the plane noses downward and the floats make rushing contact with the water, signaling your arrival.
THE KEYSTONE OF BRISTOL Bay’s wealth can be summed up in one word: salmon. Thousands of waterways, from pouring, rapid-studded rivers to ankle-deep creeks, surge with overlapping runs of one, or all five Pacific species, great tide-like pulses that drive the region’s ecology and economy. They boil inland, providing a conveyor belt of energy from ocean to far inland that lasts from summer’s lush greens into the snows of late autumn. A profusion of lakes provide vital nurseries for millions of juvenile salmon, as well as habitat for other fish and wildlife. Alaska’s iconic brown bears and moose, as well as tiny warblers, benefit from the massive infusion of sea-grown biomass. Analysis of practically every living thing, including plant life, shows signature chemical traces of energy that came from salmon. Without their gifts, the land simply would not 88
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Bristol Bay’s “(thousands) of waterways, from pouring, rapid-studded rivers to ankle-deep creeks, surge with overlapping runs of one, or all five Pacific species, great tide-like pulses that drive the region’s ecology and economy,” writes Nick Jans in the book. (CARL JOHNSON)
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be what it is. The value of recreational tourism, much of it tied directly or indirectly to salmon, amounts to well over $100 million annually – a staggering sum, given the region’s modest population. The sport-hunting industry accounts for an estimated $12 million; wildlife viewing and other nonconsumptive tourism, $17 million. Sportfishing, mostly in freshwater, is calculated to be worth more than $60 million – a prodigious renewable
this book]. A lifelong resident of the region, he says, “Our focus is a sustainable model with minimal impact on the land. We’re stewards and educators … We want to be agents of change for future preservation efforts, and to carry that battle forward.”
IF SALMON ARE THE land’s lifeblood, the waterways are its veins. Rivers with musical names twine across the land: Mulchatna,
Sockeye salmon – bright red and ready to spawn – swim up a creek near Lake Iliamna. It’s this life cycle that has residents and conservationists fighting potentially damaging projects like the Pebble Mine to maintain this unique corner of the Last Frontier. (CARL JOHNSON)
resource on which many livelihoods depend, both within the region and far beyond. Dozens of lodges and outfitting services offer access to these riches in a land where the water is indeed gold. Those who make their living from the land by sharing with others intend to keep it that way. “There’s a super-high interest in adventure-based tourism,” says David Coray, owner of Silver Salmon Creek Lodge, a private inholding in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve [David is the brother of Anne Coray, who co-wrote the essay “Moving with the Seasons” in 90
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Kanektok, Aniakchak, Koktuli, Naknek, Goodnews, Kvichak, and more stretch over the horizon, enough to require not one but several lifetimes to know. Rising behind the salmon, trout, char and grayling grow huge, gorging on dislodged eggs and the husks of the spawned-out salmon. In some situations three well-placed casts with either fly or spinning tackle might land as many different species. Often, the main difficulty is not coaxing fish to strike but getting past smaller individuals or less-desired species. Trophy catchand-release fly fishing for rainbow trout in remote streams is a
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marquee draw – robust, deep-bodied fish commonly exceeding two feet in length, with much larger specimens possible on any given cast. Deep, glacier-incised lakes such as 100-milelong Iliamna and mountain-framed, postcard-scenic Lake Clark hold not only rainbows and char but outsized lake trout and pike. In fact, the Bristol Bay area cradles four of Alaska’s five largest lakes and hundreds of smaller ones, the vast majority of them worth at least a few casts. For nonfishers the region’s vast, varied, and scenic melding of water and land lends itself to wilderness journeys. Backcountry trips combining river and lake travel, hiking, photography, and fishing can be custom-shaped to a wide range of abilities, interests, trip lengths, and comfort levels.
IN THE COURSE OF photographing this book, Carl Johnson faced the not-so-onerous task of sampling a few options. Besides our shared experience at Katmai Wilderness Lodge, he spent several days at Silver Salmon Creek Lodge, which also specializes in bear and nature photography with all the comforts of home. He traveled to No See Um Lodge, owned by John Holman, a leader of the fight against the Pebble Mine. This latter establishment has long provided no-compromises, personalized fly-fishing experiences for discerning anglers from around the world. Carl also joined a five-day guided kayak trip with Alaska Alpine Adventures, paddling and hiking in the heartbreaking-
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ly gorgeous Twin Lakes area of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. “Paddling is my preferred method of travel,” he says. “My inspiration for being a nature photographer was born during two years working as a canoe guide. … [Paddling] provides an ongoing opportunity for exploring new photographic subjects, new compositions.” No matter the reason for visiting the Bristol Bay region, the experience will amount to far more than the sum of its parts – not just a trout or salmon glistening like a living jewel in your hands; or a mountain peak awash in alpenglow, mirrored in a transparent lake; or a group of bears foraging in a mist-shrouded tidal flat. Guests of this place emerge with a sense of connection to a larger whole – a vast, complex world whose beauty is defined by its unbounded scale. There are no highways, no large-scale industrial development just over the horizon. Bristol Bay resonates in the collective imagination, cradling the intrinsic value of the unseen. Inevitably your stay ends. The process of arriving reverses as the plane roars and lifts free; the country you have brushed against fades and that busy other world resumes. The experience, though, echoes through your being. If the Bristol Bay region remains protected and intact, it will be because we willed it so. ASJ Editor’s note: For more on Where Water is Gold and where to buy it, please go to wherewaterisgold.com.
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Fishing for rainbow trout, a highly sought-after species in a region defined by salmon, is catch-andrelease-only in most parts of Bristol Bay.
BRISTOL BAY SCENES PHOTOS BY CARL JOHNSON
A lone wolf curiously checks out a group of photographers in Katmai National Park and Preserve.
This view is one reason why anglers and nature-lovers alike flock to the Bristol Bay area.
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Chef Julius Rhymes prepares a meal of freshly caught salmon for guests at the Silver Salmon Creek Lodge.
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Capt. Mark Spencer (black hat) of AK eXpeditions helps clients dipnet for salmon on Alaska’s Copper River, one of several waters in Alaska that are open for personal-use fishing, which is defined somewhere between subsistence and sportfishing, making it rather complicated. (AK EXPEDITIONS) 98
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TAKING FISHING
PERSONALLY ALASKA’S PERSONAL-USE FISHERIES HAVE COMPLEX HISTORY BY TOM REALE
E
very year, tens of thousands of Alaskans take part in what the state defines as “personal use” fisheries. There are 80 of these not-exactly-subsistence and not-exactly-sportfishing opportunities around the state. In various fresh- and saltwater spots, locals try to fill their freezers with a variety of fin- and shellfish. In Southeast Alaska and Prince William Sound, shrimp and shellfish are the primary fisheries open to personal-use rules. Other options in the state include herring, hooligan, crab and clams in Southcentral; salmon, crab, scallops and abalone in Southeast; and salmon and whitefish in the Interior. These unique fishing venues are restricted to Alaska residents. How they came about is a lesson in resource management, economics and, of course, politics.
DIVVYING UP ALASKA’S RICH supply of natural resources has always been problematic. Whether it was the exploitation of sea otter pelts or the pursuit of gold, timber, oil or fish, the law of supply and demand has run roughshod over the state. A series of boom-and-bust cycles has enriched some and impoverished others, leaving behind what seems to be a pretty shallow learning curve. When it comes to fish, especially salmon, the state has been trying for generations to allocate the resource among user groups. In the early days of territorial rules, commercial fishermen set up scores of salmon canneries all over coastal Alaska, and everyone competed to catch all the fish. One especially devastating method of harvesting salmon commercially was the fish trap. Constructed of wire fencing and wood pilings driven into the ground, they were placed in the path of incoming salmon. According to an article in the Alaska Fish and Wildlife News on the Cook Inlet salmon fisheries, “They were one of the most efficient and effective ways to harvest salmon, but combined with poor federal management, they were a little too effective. In fact, the traps were responsible for catching so many fish, that by the late 1940s, they had decimated most of the salmon runs. By the time fish traps were outlawed in the late 1950s, the damage was done.” Eventually, reason prevailed and rules and regulations were adopted to keep the commercial fishing outfits more or less in line. Seasons, catch limits and gear restrictions were put in aksportingjournal.com | AUGUST 2016
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Local resident Jake Weaver’s precarious spot on the edge of the fast-moving Copper River demonstrates that being careful is critical to avoid an accident. One of Weaver’s fishing partners actually fell into the river during one trip, but he was unhurt. (JAKE WEAVER)
place to preserve a state of equilibrium in the salmon fisheries. With the coming of statehood and the influx of population from Outside, other user groups began competing for fish. Native subsistence fishers and recreational angling concerns wanted the state to guarantee that there were enough fish left over from commercial exploitation for their use. The political history of the subsistence issue is a long and thorny one. Beginning in 1960, the state defined some fisheries as subsistence and used the label to set aside certain hunting and fishing resources for “customary and traditional” uses. The idea was to separate primarily Native Alaskans and rural residents from both sport and commercial users. The law was meant to guarantee that groups who relied on the fish and game for their primary sustenance would have first crack at the resources. In 1978, the federal government got involved with the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), which limited subsistence rights to rural residents. And, of course, legal and political wrangling ensued. Today, federal agencies have one set of subsistence laws on lands that they manage, while the state defines and manages the issue on state and private lands and waters. And as new is100
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sues present themselves, more laws are passed and almost always find their way into the state and federal court systems. It’s pretty messy and still evolving. Then in the 1980s, the state set aside hunts and fisheries for “personal use,” resources that didn’t fit the definitions of subsistence, sport or commercial use. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game regulations, personal-use fishing is defined as, “The taking, fishing for, or possession of finfish, shellfish, or other fishery resources, by Alaska residents for personal use and not for sale or barter, with gill or dip net, seine, fish wheel, long line, or other means defined by the Board of Fisheries.” Currently, these fisheries don’t receive priority over other uses – they’re opened and maintained only when there’s a “surplus” of fish to be harvested. Personal-use fisheries are open only to Alaska residents holding sportfishing licenses. In salmon fisheries, permits are given per family, with each household allowed 25 fish for the head of household and 10 more for each additional dependent. The permits are free, and each day’s catch is recorded before leaving the river. Separate permits for the Copper River and the Upper Cook Inlet fisheries are required. While shellfish and shrimp fishing are popular in Southeast and in Prince William Sound, nothing comes close to the ef-
On the popular Kenai River, personal-use fishermen pull a salmon out of a large hoop net. For salmon fisheries, permits are given per family, with each household allowed 25 fish for the head of household and 10 more for each additional dependent. (TOM REALE)
forts put in for salmon. The Copper River fishery at Chitina and the Kasilof and Kenai River fisheries on the Kenai Peninsula are the big dogs in the system, attracting thousands upon thousands of participants every year. Interest and participation in these fisheries has been growing substantially. In 1996, there were about 15,000 permits issued for the Upper Cook Inlet rivers alone. By 2013, that number had grown to over 35,000 and continues on an upward slope. When we first fished the Kasilof in the 1980s, all of the nets we saw were either long-handled salmon landing nets or homemade contraptions. These were made up of copper tubing, PVC pipe or aluminum tubes with shovel handles or even crutches stuck on the end.
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THE FIRST DIPNET FISHERY to open was at Chitina, home to the
While the Copper River’s personal-use fishing is all business, it’s more of a “beach party” vibe on the Kenai, where families bring their kids, set down lawn chairs and hope to load coolers with Chinook. It’s important to note that personal-use fisheries aren’t prioritized over other uses and are allowed only when there are expected surpluses of fish. (TOM REALE)
Today, you still see quite a few imaginative designs on the river, but now there are welding shops advertising all manner of nets for sale. And you know that dipnetting has gone mainstream when you see the nets for sale at Costco.
now world-famous Copper River red salmon. The first opening every year is between June 7 and June 15, depending on the strength of the early run. Dipping the Copper River can be very challenging. It’s a big, scary, muscular river that occasionally claims the lives of unwary or careless fishermen. After fishing the Kenai and Kasilof for years, Jake Weaver went to the Copper for the first time this year. He found it to be more than challenging. While the Kenai and Kasilof have very much of a beach-party vibe – kids running around on the sand, and lawn chairs and recliners scattered among the coolers and dipnets – on the Copper, people take ATVs down the river on a sketchy trail and tie themselves to trees while wrestling long-handled nets in the powerful current. It was definitely not a beach party. “They call it dipnetting but I refer to it as cliffhanging for salmon,” says Weaver, who managed to get 17 fish and his buddies limited out, but it was an adventure. “Just the 5-mile trail going into the canyon on my ATV was exciting, to say the least. I saw lots of people being pretty careless and almost losing their rigs, if not their lives. Then when we were cleaning our fish, one of my buddies fell into the river but we got him out pretty quick. If I go again, I’ll be better prepared (and carry) lots of rope, better footgear and the right kind of net.” For those without ATVs who want to get away from the
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KNOW YOUR REGULATIONS Common violations cited by Alaska Fish and Wildlife troopers: • Failing to record your catch on your permit before concealing your catch from view and/or leaving your fishing site. • Failing to mark personal-use fish by clipping both lobes of the caudal fin before concealing your catch from view • Failure to obtain a personal-use permit and sportfishing license before fishing • Keeping a prohibited species. King salmon can sometimes be retained, other times not; check the current regs before you go each time. • Nonresidents may not participate in the personal-use fishery. This includes driving a boat and handling the fish. TR roadside crowds, there are several charter outfits on the river. You can either pay to fish from a boat for the day or have them drop you off downriver and arrange for a pickup later on. Compared to the potentially treacherous Copper, the Kenai and Kasilof River fisheries are a cakewalk. You’ll be surrounded by hundreds if not thousands of Alaskans, all taking a gentle sloping walk into the (relatively) slow current – a far cry from the death-defying adventure on the Copper. The Kasilof opens in late June and the Kenai on July 10, with most of the fishing effort and success coming later in the month as the run builds.
The rules for dipnetting salmon are quite strict, so ignore them at your peril. Gear use is subject to net and mesh size and depth-of-bag restrictions. Fish must be marked by cutting off tail lobes, permits must be marked, certain species of fish must be returned to the river, etc. Considering that multiple people are ticketed for failure to follow the rules every year, don’t let this be you.
SUCCESS IS LARGELY A MATTER of timing. If you’re there when the fish are running and the setnet and driftnet commercial operations haven’t scooped up too many, chances are you’ll score. It’s important to have the proper gear; even on warm and sunny days, the water is cold and you’ll be standing in it for hours. Chest waders are a must since you won’t be able to get your net out far enough wearing only hip boots. Warm clothing, sunscreen and perhaps waterproof gloves will complete your ensemble. Pick out a spot not too close to your fellow dippers and head into the water. “Close” is a very relative term, as during the peak of the runs, dipnetters are bunched up pretty tightly. Observe how others are fishing and behave accordingly. For the most part, people are quite friendly while marinating in the river waiting for fish, and as long as you don’t jam yourself in too closely and stick your net right in front of another one, you should be fine. Little communities of dip-
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pers tend to form, with people sharing tips, congratulating each other when fish are netted and commiserating when the fishing is slow. When you feel a fish hit the net, give a backward jerk on the handle and pull it onto the beach. Untangle it from the webbing, give it a bonk on the head, and pull or cut a gill to bleed it. Before putting it into the cooler, trim the tail fins according to
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the regs (the details are on your permit). And don’t forget to fill out your permit before leaving the beach – add a pencil or waterproof pen to your Netting fish to feed the family is the name of gear before the game, but it’s important for those who use leaving home. personal-use fisheries to just take what they need and not overdo it. (AK EXPEDITIONS) Dipnetting for salmon and accessing the other personal-use fisheries in the state is an excellent way for residents to fill their freezers and stockpile seafood for the long, cold winter ahead. But, like the signs say at the all-you-can-eat buffets, “You can eat all you take, just don’t take more than you can eat.” Just because your family of four is allowed to harvest 55 salmon a year doesn’t mean you have to take that many. Too often, people go salmon-crazy when the fishing is good, only to wind up dumping the excess the following year when the new runs begin. If you’re respectful of the resource and follow the laws, we’ll all have salmon for generations to come. ASJ
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A FAMILY TRADITION
Even After 70 Years In Business, Innovations In Shallow-water Boating Continue At Compeau’s Marine In Fairbanks What does a 1940 Chevy Coupe have to do with the ultimate shallow-water jet boat? Plenty. In 1938, Bob Compeau Sr. went “north to Alaska” from his childhood home of Everett, Wash., to take a job in Fairbanks as a machinist. An avid hunter and fisherman, Bob had always dreamed of Alaska, having read stories about the thousands of remote, shallow rivers and over 3 million lakes. In a lucky break, his wife, Helyn, won a brand new Chevy Coupe in a church raffle, and Bob promptly made plans to use it to move his family to Fairbanks, where he began planting his roots and building a name for himself in the marine industry. Bob Sr. possessed extraordinary mechanical and engineering skills, and he spent almost all of his spare time working on boats or fixing outboard motors for his new friends. Outboards were becoming incredibly popular among river runners, and Bob used his talents to repair props, rebuild engines and keep those early “kickers” chugging along Interior Alaskan waterways. By 1945, soon after the war ended, Bob determined that he had enough informal customers to start his own marine business, and in October he opened the doors of Bob Compeau Sporting Goods. Much of Bob’s early business revenue involved rebuilding the brass props that his customers brought to him after grinding their way up the ankle-deep rivers that weaved throughout the region. As a machinist, Bob continued to envision a more effective approach. He begun developing and building specialized spring-loaded lifts that he mounted between the top of the transom and the outboard motor itself. These lifts had an additional handle, and were positioned on the opposite side of the existing tiller handle, so the boat operator could lean on it with his right hand and elevate the motor, thus lifting the precious prop above danger. This way, the boater could avoid a collision with ragged river bottoms, submerged logs or any other objects that could damage the prop, the lower unit – and the wallet. Interest in Bob’s innovation, along with his business, soon exploded. His son, Bob Jr., now a teenager and who shared his father’s “shallow water fever,” always accompanied Bob when testing new and improved designs of the transom motor lifts on local rivers. By the late 1950s Compeau’s marine business was in full swing. Outboards were getting larger and more powerful, and the motor lifts that Compeau’s built to accommodate them became increasingly stronger and more sophisticated. Bob soon decided it was time to take shallow-water boating to the next level, so he and Bob Jr., who now worked at the store full-time, decided to build a new prototype using more “outside the boat” thinking. The pair bolted a 35-horsepower Evinrude powerhead to a crude hand-fabricated jet unit, which they affixed inside a small riveted aluminum hull. By the time they had the new contraption rigged and ready to river test, winter was closing in fast, so for a full week they ran their newly outfitted boat on the Snohomish River near Seattle, tweaking the new design as they went. While there, they learned about a California businessman named Dick Stallman who had just developed a jet unit that bolted directly onto the bottom of an outboard. The Compeaus decided to travel further south, where they met Stallman and test drove the prototype. Bob figured that the outboard motor-style jet package had enormous potential, thanks to its simple design and versatility. So he encouraged Stallman to move forward in developing the new propulsion project, offering a 100-unit order to “kick-start” the
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inventor’s business. It wasn’t long before the new outboard-jet-powered riverboat became the most popular method of traversing small and shallow rivers throughout Alaska, Canada and the Pacific Northwest. And it remained that way for nearly 40 years. Fast forward to 1998. By that time Bob Jr.’s own son, Craig, also an avid river rat and innovative thinker, was deeply involved with the sales and marketing of the family business. In September of that year, Craig and an Idaho boating buddy, Steve Stajkowski, who had started his own boat-building company a few years earlier, were on a moose-hunting trip together when the conversation turned to “what’s next.” Craig suggested they collectively design and build something never seen in the marine industry: an inboard-mounted tunnel-hull jet boat. Mercury had just developed their V6 Sportjet package, featuring an extremely efficient jet pump that lost only 9 percent of its crankshaft-rated horsepower versus 30 percent or more with competitive jet units. By the following summer, the prototype was ready to test. They had developed a 21-foot fully welded boat with a 6-foot bottom and 6-degree dead rise. The tunnel had been fine-tuned repeatedly, until it carved hard corners with zero cavitation or slippage. The excitement level after seeing this boat perform was off the scale. Everyone involved with the project knew that this revolutionary boat was about to change all the rules, as well as the limitations of navigating shallow waters. Over the next decade, with the introduction of Mercury’s direct-injected Optimax power plant, advances continued to accelerate. With its fuel-efficient power plant weighing only 375 pounds (engine and jet combined), Craig knew his biggest problem would have nothing to do with engineering and everything to do with meeting demand. And it proved true; once the public learned of the innovative new boat, Compeau’s rarely had a backlog of orders less than 12 weeks. The SJX jet boat has become the company’s flagship product, not only in Compeau’s huge Alaskan backyard, but in all corners of the world, from Alberta to Texas and from Fiji to Barcelona. Craig sells the boats at his store, direct from the factory, or delivered anywhere around the globe. According to Craig, now president of the 70-year-old, four-generation family business, “We just like to keep innovating. It’s what we live for.” Who knows what the next few years will bring for river runners who live to pursue the furthest most rivers where oftentimes no one has boated before. Actually, Craig knows. But when you ask him, he simply smiles mischievously and says, “Stay tuned.” (877) 478-7669 / www.sjxboats.com
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THE ALPINE RULES FOUR POINTS TO KEEP IN MIND BEFORE HEADING UP FOR BLACKTAIL DEER
The view alone is worth it for hunters searching mountainous Southeast Alaska for Sitka blacktail deer, but knowing four simple rules for working this country should help put some meat in the freezer too. (JEFF LUND) aksportingjournal.com | AUGUST 2016
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BY JEFF LUND
I
’m not one of those dudes who have been hunting for 30 years. I don’t have a ring of racks in my garage or an elegant mount in my living room. I don’t have epic stories of 400-yard shots. My hunting career is littered with chaos. I shot my first deer in the leg. I was with my high school basketball coach and his daughter. She put one through the neck of a fork-in-horn at 150, and then dropped a 4-point at 250 to set up my beauty of a shot just above the knee.
My next shot dropped it but it was still pretty embarrassing. Anyway, there are a bunch of “duh” things you have to consider when hunting, such as don’t shoot it in the leg, bring water and take responsible shots, but there are plenty of other things I’ve learned while hunting with some excellent experienced hunters in Southeast Alaska. Here are four tips, one for each of the four points on the buck you’ll shoot:
1. PAY ATTENTION TO THE WEATHER Incredibly obvious, but it cannot be overstated. Check the forecast, but remember that the town in which you are staying is not the mountain on which you are hunting. Upon arrival,
Your camp may be above thick clouds, but in many instances the weather can go from sunny with great sightlines to the kind of pea soup that makes it difficult to glass for deer. Understand that the weather can change in a hurry. (JEFF LUND)
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With climbs like this, a good, reliable set of crampons can come in handy for traversing the slick, steep terrain. (JEFF LUND)
ask about the higher-elevation conditions. It might be sunny and clear all week according to your phone app, but the fog might never leave the mountains right behind town. Also ask about the latest weather patterns. Sometimes that fog will lift in the early afternoon rather than midmorning, and sometimes the wind turns off right after dinnertime. I was on a hunt in which thick clouds shrouded the top of the mountain all morning. We stuck it out because things had been clearing up later in the day. They did and we bagged a couple nice alpine bucks. And I’ve almost gone down a mountain because the wind was so terrible. It shut off and the evening was clear and calm. But be smart with this one. At some point you must be responsible enough to say enough is enough and that returning safe is always the most important part. If the weather is making you uneasy, do the right thing.
2. ASK QUESTIONS AND BE OBSERVANT If you’re from out of state and have a hunting guide, listen to the hunting guide. If you’re going to act like you know more than the local, or otherwise do it your own way, why even bother to get a guide? (Note that big game hunting requires one for nonresidents.) It baffles me how often my guide buddies report that the biggest issue they have with clients are the ones who say things like, “Well, in [insert state here] we‌â€? This isn’t California, or Delaware, or last year. If you want
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To try and keep away bugs that want to “bite you on the brain” while field-dressing a deer, the author uses a Buff to protect his head. (JEFF LUND)
to tell a neat little anecdote, cool, but listen to the people you hired. Also, be mindful of the little nuance that the guide, your buddy or a local might show you, but not tell you. It could be as simple as how they look over ridges, how they navigate terrain, what they bring to eat, how often and how much water they drink or where and how they get rid of said water. Experienced hunters just do what they do – most times they don’t realize their habit could be something that completely changes how you hunt.
3. BUY TRAIL CRAMPONS Just getting to the alpine for an early-season hunt is a pain. There are slick logs with mossy slopes. And when you do get clear of the timber, there’s vegetation that even on dry days wants to send you rocketing down the slope. My buddy, Beau, who is a bowhunting fanatic and as close to a minimalist as I know, put me on to crampons and I haven’t turned back. I bought a pair for $60 and absolutely love them. The steel spikes fit right over your boots and provide you grip when heading up those steep inclines or while side-hilling. Some people use corked rubber boots for the waterproofness and grip, though you sacrifice ankle stability. Corked leather boots can be great, but what if you have to navigate rock? It takes just a few seconds to remove the crampons or put them over your boots. Get a pair. Today.
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4. FIELD-DRESSING GLOVES AND A BUFF A deer is down on top of a mountain. The gnats, no-seeums, mosquitoes, blow flies and pterodactyls all know it and can’t wait to get at the human who is going to cut it up. Sure, you could “be a man” and just swat them away, but seriously, you just shot a deer and are elbow-deep in its chest cavity, hacking and pulling out organs. Why not put on some gloves and spare yourself the blood smears that attract the bugs? The Buff brand of headwear is perfect to combat those flies that try to enter your skull through your ears or nose and bite you on your brain. A Buff hides all skin except your eyes, so you’re not waving a bloody knife around at bugs you’ll never hit. Who cares what you look like? You just shot a deer. The picture of you with the rifle is going on social media, not the one with the blue gloves and covered face. As a bonus tip, be at least somewhat honest about your kill. Yeah, you can hold the antlers out, lean back, and have your buddy take a photo from ground level so that the rack looks like a set of goal posts, but everyone knows what you’re up to. ASJ
Author Jeff Lund doesn’t consider himself any kind of elite hunter, but having pursued deer in the rugged terrain of the Alaskan Panhandle for a while now, he knows what to expect. (JEFF LUND)
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Editor’s note: Correspondent Jeff Lund is the author of Going Home, a memoir about fishing in Alaska and California. For more, go to jefflundbooks.com.
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SORTING OUT PART TWO OF A THE 5 W’S TWO-PART SERIES THE WHERE, WHAT, WHEN, WHO AND WHY OF PLANNING AN ALASKAN HUNT
Gathering with friends on any adventure is an enjoyable experience. However, if that trip includes hunting or fishing, you’ll need to make sure you’re organized and sort out the where, what, when, who and why questions ahead of time. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
BY PAUL D. ATKINS
I
wasn’t paying attention. My glove was stuck on my watch, and getting it off proved difficult. Eli, my 13-year-old, was grabbing at my coat and pointing in the direction across the bank.
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In the early-morning light he’d spotted game. “Moose, Dad – two of them!” Eli said. Lew Pagel was already slowing down, eventually turning off the motor so we didn’t spook the animals with the boat. A cow and a calf stood on the bank and fed on the green grass that lined the shallow banks. It was then that a bull emerged from
the willows with only one thing on his mind.
ORGANIZE YOUR TIME Last month, I talked about hunting partners and what it takes to put together a group of hunters in order to not only make the hunt more successful, but also the adventure itself.
After you have talked everyone into going, the next step is the logistics of getting there. Gear and other necessities come second, but choosing and then arriving at your hunting location needs careful attention. Research is the key and usually depends on the type of game you’re after. Here in Alaska, we have many choices and we are lucky to aksportingjournal.com | AUGUST 2016
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Once the staple for anyone longing for a hunting adventure in Alaska, caribou was the choice for those on a budget or just wanting a basic experience in the Last Frontier. But with some herds dwindling, access battles, and a federal board’s recent decision placing restrictions on the harvest in one unit, figuring out the where-to-go question is getting trickier. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
have them. With current changes in politics, however, those choices have become cloudy to most of us, especially in certain regions of the state where the constant tug-of-war between land rights and subsistence use versus sport hunting have become a modern-day battleground. All hunts usually begin with these queries: Where, what, when, who and why? I know that they’re basic, but it’s usually a good place to start.
WHERE? Alaska is big, and like I’ve written before there are many areas that hold better populations of certain species than others. The most commonly hunted big game in Alaska are caribou, moose and deer, and for good reason: There are simply more of them. However, getting a tag or tags is becoming more difficult as each year passes. Caribou, once the staple, were readily available to both resident and nonresident alike with little to zero complications when it came to getting permits. Nowadays, with what I mentioned above in finding a place where you can hunt (state and federal lands), it has become 128
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more difficult. For example, hunting the Western Arctic caribou herd, which roams where I live, has been limited to local residents on federal lands but remains open to all on state lands. You will need a degree in geography to determine these differences, but with a little research it can be done; likewise, it works for moose and other species. If you want your best chance at taking a trophy or simply to fill the freezer, you will need to go where the animals are. I met a guy a couple of years ago who told me he had just returned from a moose/caribou hunt. I asked him if he was successful; he said no and that they didn’t even see an animal, but they had a heck of a camping trip! It’s all about the research.
WHAT? The “what” goes hand in hand with the “where,” in my opinion, but you must first ask yourself one question: “What do you want to get out of this trip?” For many of us, success can be delivered in a variety ways. If you’re after a trophy, then by all means search out where the big boys are being taken and go
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GARY REEDER CUSTOM GUNS is proud to announce the newest in our line of full custom hunting rifles, the new ALASKAN DEFENDER. This beauty is built on your Marlin 1895. It is chambered in 416 GNR, 440 GNR, 450 GNR, 45-70, 475 GNR, 476 GNR or 50 Alaskan. The GNR cartridges can be seen on our web site at http://www.reedercustomguns.com/information/GNR_cartridges.htm This custom lever gun is meant to protect you from anything on 2 or 4 legs when in the wilderness, whether it be Alaska, Africa, or Canada. It is a beefy no frills rifle, with a 16” barrel, plus muzzle brake, a satin finished stock and forend, widened lever for use with gloved hands, full action job, XS sights and is sighted in and ready to go when you get it back. The new ALASKAN DEFENDER is $1595 on your Marlin 1895. 4 to 6 month delivery.
GARY REEDER CUSTOM GUNS is proud to announce the he G release of the second book on handgun hunting, HUNTING rs HANDGUNS AND THEIR CARTRIDGES. This book covers every aspect of handgun hunting in 25 chapters and with almost a thousand pictures. John Taffin, America’s # 1 gun writer, says of Gary Reeder... “There is a long list of men, Handgun Hunting Heroes I have been n privileged to know and who have inspired me with their writing, theirr handguns, or both. Such men as Skeeter Skelton, Bob Milek,, Lee Jurras, Steve Herrett, John Lachuk, Larry Kelly, J.D. Jones, Hal Swiggett, Mark Hampton, John Linebaugh, Hamilton Bowen, and of course, Gary Reeder. All of these men are giants when it comes to handguns and no one has had more effect today than Gary Reeder. Personally I know Gary to be a man of great talent, simple honesty, a big heart, and a humble spirit. I am proud to call him a friend. This book is the closest thing to The Complete Book of Handgun Hunting available thus far. In the book you will find the history of hunting handguns, his work with developing both handguns and cartridges, hunting adventures and much more. Pay ayy cclose loose se attention to what he says for like the others on my list of Handgun Hunting Hunt Hu Hunt ntin tiin ng Heroes, Heerrooes H es he he has haass been bee een n there, tth her ere done ere doon ne that, ne th hatt and speaks from experience.” The new book HUNTING HANDGUNS AND THEIR CARTRIDGES is available from Reeder Custom Guns for $40 delivered, and having your book signed is available for the asking. To order your book, call 928-527-4100.
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there. Most record books, biologists and even outfitters can provide this info with a simple phone call or online research. But if you want the full experience of Alaska, then you will need to consider the trip itself. What do you want camp to be like? Fully guided, semi-guided or do you want to do it on your own? All are there for the taking.
Time your trip right and you can enjoy being afield in mild conditions amidst brilliant fall colors – and game migrating through nearby. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
WHEN? I get this question more than any other. After the where and what are answered, it is only logical to ask when is the best time to come to Alaska? If you’re looking for specifics, this can be tricky. When I first arrived in Alaska 20 years ago, I thought I knew. Hunters looking to head north would ask me, “What are best dates for coming up and killing a caribou?” I would immediately say Labor Day weekend, and for the most part I was correct. But over the years that certainty has changed; to be honest I couldn’t tell you “when” it would be best to show up. Things change, and for the most part it’s a crapshoot on when caribou or any other animal will arrive and flow through a certain region. It also has to do a lot with how you plan to get to your hunting camp, which we will answer in a bit. These days I say “September,” just to keep my bases covered. Or I might say anywhere from late August to October 1, depending on rules and regulations. Like all things, it can sometimes be luck and you’ll have moose and caribou running outside your tent. Or it
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can be the opposite – nothing but an expensive camping trip.
The who question doesn’t just cover the guys you’ll be sharing camp and the field with, but the outfits that take you there and back. You’ll need to talk to your hunting partners about how to split up those costs. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
WHO? This is a little more complicated, or I should say, a little more vague. Who can mean many things to many people, especially if you plan to spend seven to 10 days in solitude with certain individuals. When the idea of an Alaska hunting adventure first arises (usually when you’re hanging out with your buddies), the excitement ends with questions and predictions. “Who all is going?” “Are you in?” “It will be a blast.” I’ve heard so many things sitting at these same tables. Well, this goes back to Part One from the last issue where I discussed hunting partners. Whoever you choose to hunt with and have around camp can and will make all the difference on any hunt. If they’re lifelong friends that you’ve hunted with before, then you will be fine, but if there are newbies in the circle, make sure they know what is expected. Do this long before any plane tickets or licenses are bought. You and especially them will be better off in the long run.
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www.allegianceammo.com 276-926-5563 SilentStrike 223 110gr and the 9mm 125gr are not like any other rounds. The success to PowerStrike is found in the frangible tungsten powder metal core. While lead core ammo has problems sometimes in penetrating through thick hide or bone, SilentStrike’s tungsten core can bust through thick bone and hide to reach the vitals, then fragment in multiple directions when it hits soft-filled tissue, making it the ultimate round for hunting or stopping any threat, two- or four-legged. The secret to stopping a threat is not in how much energy you have, but how you effectively disperse the energy you have to work with. If a bullet exits out the target, you have lost all that energy out the back side of the threat, creating very little if any damage. What makes PowerStrike the most effective round is that the projectile is able to disperse its energy over a wider, more broad area, causing more damage to the internals. Because a lead bullet primarily causes only one wound channel, most all the organs can continue to function, allowing the threat to get closer, even reaching their victim. The high energy transfer of the tungsten core creates massive damage and even shock trauma as noticed by game animals freezing up when shot with it. No other round can deliver the performance that Allegiance PowerStrike can. JU 3RZHU6WULNH
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The who part of the equation can also pertain to the logistics of the hunting adventure itself. Hunting the Last Frontier isn’t cheap anymore and frankly never really has been inexpensive. Costs are increasing each year, and getting from point A to point B can cost thousands of dollars. Other than the individual license, tags and personal gear, you and your hunting partners will have to decide and formulate the breakdown of how each will pay for the hunt itself. Transporters are a must, especially if you’re doing a do-it-yourself hunt. The one you choose will make all the difference. I’ve used many over the years and all are not created equal. Some are great, getting you where you need to be and not charging you an arm and a leg to get there. Others have charged big bucks to only drop you off in a poor location or next to 10 other camps looking to do the same thing as you. Who is important and the amount of research you do will make all the difference. As far as cost breakdown, make sure you have this done up front and calculated
The where can sometimes come by accident or invitation. Atkins’ trip to Adak Island was an unexpected chance – and a trip of a lifetime. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
GreyBull Precision A good stock provides a solid platform for the action and fits the shooter reasonably well. A GREAT stock provides a solid and consistent platform, ergonomics that allow the shooter to get maximum accuracy and reduced felt recoil, a bedding system that allows drop-in or custom bedding, great looks, and an overall design that carries well but performs in the field and at the range. Decades of refining what works and what doesn't work in a precision hunting rifle stock culminated in the conclusion that the only real answer was to design our own. We did, and after a barrel full of prototypes, the result surpassed our own expectations. The first reaction when you slide in behind the rifle is "Everything is where it should be." The ergonomics allow for a natural, comfortable trigger squeeze and cheek weld. When you touch that first round off, the design elements that reduce felt recoil just make the story better. The full-length aluminum bedding system makes the Precision Hunting Stock an easy and quick drop-in solution for your factory rifle that gives a solid action to stock mating surface and barrel free-float. Building a new custom hunting rifle? Tactical stocks can tend to be bulky and have sharp angles. Sporter stocks usually have an unnatural grip, low comb, and often aren't suited for heavier barrels. Our stock has the benefits of both without the drawbacks of either. You will be hard pressed to find a better stock for a hunting rifle that's expected to put hits on target at extended ranges, while having the correct weight, carry, durability, and performance qualities hunting conditions demand. Available in long or short action for Remington 700 platform and will fit most custom actions based on the Remington foot print. Visit greybullprecision.com for full specs and more information.
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for each person before you leave. Determining who is responsible for specific expenses leaves no argument and ensures a better hunt and a better experience. Believe me, as previously stated, I’ve seen friendships destroyed and hunting trips end early due to money issues.
WHY?
Why do all this? For author Paul Atkins and friends, all the planning, the red tape and the pratfalls that are sure to happen on a weeklong hunt in Alaska, coming home with harvested animals and filling the freezer makes everything worthwhile. (PAUL D. ATKINS)
This is the easy one; we love hunting and we love adventure! For me, there is nothing better than flying into or boating to a remote region of Alaska for a week of pursuing moose, sheep or maybe even bear. The feeling of being in the wilderness with rifle or bow in hand and hanging out with your best friend is an experience like no other. Many of us do this for the camaraderie, while others do it for solitude or just to get away from it all. There are many hunters who do it for the trophy harvest that might come, or the chance to experience something new and fresh. I’ve been asked, does it get old – all the hunting you do up there in the Arctic? Well, I’ve been lucky enough to go on
many of these adventures the last 20 years and with the coming of each fall, the thought and anticipation of what to come hasn’t changed. Each autumn is like the first, and while the where, when, what and who might have changed a little, the why has always been the same. ASJ Editor’s note: Paul Atkins is an outdoor writer and author from Kotzebue, Alaska. He has written hundreds of articles on hunting big game, fishing and surviving in the Alaskan Arctic. Paul is a monthly contributor to Alaska Sporting Journal.
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ROADTRIPPIN’ TO ALASKA W
ith Alaska fully thawed out after its long, dark winter, the state’s highways and byways are full of motorists heading to fishing spots and simply taking in the views of some of the most spectacular scenery you can see from a vehicle in America. The king of the Alaska road system actually has its origins south of the
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border in Canada. Beginning in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, the Alaska Highway (affectionately known as the Alcan) goes on for 1,390 miles through B.C., the Yukon Territory and finally into the Last Frontier, finishing in the community of Delta Junction. So if you have the urge for an ultramarathon road trip through some of the most rugged, beautiful and unspoiled
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Clippership Motorhomes Anchorage, AK 800-421-3456
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Anvik River Lodge Anvik, AK 888-362-6845
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stretches of pavement around, try the Alcan. You can start with the iconic Alaska Highway sign at mile zero in Dawson Creek, explore tiny towns and spy wildlife in the BC countryside and cross into the Yukon Territory. From there, you can check out road signs from all over the world at the Signpost Forest, experience some Canadian city life (and a great meal) in
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9 Ketchikan Prince Rupert
Whitehorse before finally crossing the international border into Alaska to finish off your journey. So much of the joy of travel is getting off the beaten path and getting away from the obvious tourist traps. Driving the Alcan is about as real as it gets. Road tripping is a great way to avoid airports, headphones and unappetizing bags of peanuts. Piling the family into the car and exploring the British Columbia, Yukon and Alaska countryside would be a fantastic bonding experience. There’s a feeling of satisfaction once you complete the journey and reach Delta Junction. What to do now? You can go fishing in any number of nearby lakes or the Tanana River right in town. Or, if you’re still feeling like racking up some more miles on the car odometer, continue on the connecting Richardson Highway and continue your journey through the wild lands of the Last Frontier. ASJ
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FOR YOUR EYES BREAKING DOWN THE BEST OPTICS FOR AN ONLY ALASKAN HUNT
FIELD
From long-range to standard-powered scopes, knowing what to use, when and where is important. This Trijicon 3x9 Accupoint (front) and the 5-20x50 were both used to take down black bears on this open-country hunt. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
BY SCOTT HAUGEN
W
hen you think about your most important pieces of gear for big game hunting in Alaska, optics top the list. Alaska’s terrain is big and varied, and most game is spotted at a long distance. In order to locate and assess game, evaluate the terrain and plan a safe, effective stalk, quality optics are key. As a rule of thumb, get the best optics you can afford. Quality optics gear is not cheap, but the investment is worth every cent. Since the day I first used them, I fell in love with Swarovski binoculars and spotting scopes. The
quality of this glass means no more eye fatigue and I can easily pick out and size up game from amazing distances; they also save me hours of wandering. I upgraded my binoculars to include Swarovski’s new 10x42 EL Range. The first time I held these I was impressed with not only the clarity but also the wide field of view. Weighing in at only 32 ounces, they’re light and easy to handle. The first distant tree I ranged registered a reading of 1,172 yards. Having a built-in rangefinder in these binos eliminates having to carry an extra device into the field. The ergonomic grip allows for stable holding and easy ranging, and the precise measuring
takes the guesswork out of both longrange shots and those on steep angles. For my spotting scope, I stepped up to Swarovski’s ATX for two reasons. First, the clarity throughout the entire HD lens is atop its class. There’s no need for refocusing when studying objects positioned on the edge of the lens. The clarity and color definition are both crystal-clear from edge to edge, top to bottom and everywhere in between. Also, this spotting scope comes with three options for objective modules: diameters of 65, 85 and 95 millimeters. If hiking into steep mountains and I want to cut down on weight, the 65mm is my lens of choice. This might also be
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FIELD
Backstrap is one of the most coveted cuts off big game, and Tiffany Haugen says it makes a fantastic meal in camp or back home, provided you don’t overcook it. (TIFFANY HAUGEN)
SAVOR A MOST TENDER CUT BY TIFFANY HAUGEN
N
othing beats fresh and wild, early-season big game backstrap. Be it caribou (pictured), elk, Sitka blacktail deer, moose or Dall sheep, backstrap – not to mention tenderloins – are cuts that get cooked up first. Often, this means a tasty meal in hunting camp to celebrate success. When in a remote camp, we carry our favorite seasoning rub, but in a camp with a kitchen we make sure we are stocked with ingredients to make our favorite marinade. The key to getting backstrap or tenderloin just right on the grill is to be careful and avoid overcooking the meat. All wild game meat is incredibly lean, and it can be ruined with just a few too many minutes on the dry heat of a grill or campfire. To keep the meat juicy, take it off the heat source a few minutes early, knowing that it will keep cooking. An internal cooking thermometer is also a good idea; you’ll know as soon as that meat reaches 140 degrees that it’s done. Letting the meat rest at least 10 minutes before slicing will also keep those juices trapped in. Another trick – and this also works if you happen to overcook the meat a little – is to put the cooked meat into a bowl with a bit of olive oil while it rests. Or boil the marinade in which the meat mari-
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nated in and use that as a sauce. Be sure to bring used marinade to a full boil for at least one minute to ensure food safety. Sweet and spicy camp rub 2 tablespoons smoked paprika 1 tablespoon white sugar 2 teaspoons black pepper 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon chili powder 1 teaspoon onion powder 1 teaspoon garlic powder ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper ½ teaspoon red chili flakes (optional) Mix all ingredients until well combined. Keep in a sealed container or plastic baggie until ready to use. Backstrap marinade ¼ cup maple syrup ¼ cup soy sauce
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¼ cup Worcestershire sauce ¼ cup cider vinegar ¼ cup brown sugar ¼ cup olive oil Three to four cloves garlic, crushed Mix all ingredients in a sealed container or plastic baggie. Marinate meat and refrigerate three to four hours. Bring meat to room temperature before grilling on well-lubricated grill grates. Editor’s note: For 100plus more big game recipes, order signed copies of Tiffany Haugen’s popular book, Cooking Big Game. Send a check for $20 (includes S&H) to Haugen Enterprises, PO Box 275, Walterville, OR 97489, or order online at scotthaugen.com.
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Swarovski’s El Range in a 10x42 and their ATX/STX spotting scopes scream precision and diversity. The interchangeable lenses are ideal for Alaska’s wide range of habitat. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
the one I use when glassing thick habitats in the Alaska Panhandle. If hunting off a road system from boats or ATVs – where gear weight is of little concern – then the more powerful 95mm module works great. In habitats or situations that fall between, the 85mm performs well, and could be the most universal of the trio. With the ATX or STX, you’re getting three spotting scopes in one. It’s true that they’re not cheap, but they’ll last a lifetime and fit every hunting application in the state. As for rifle scopes, during my many years of hunting throughout Alaska I’ve used Weaver and Leupold. Both are good, but I never looked back once I started using Trijicon’s AccuPoint scope. Trijicon has been crafting high-end scopes for the military, special forces and law enforcement for over 30 years. They made a big impact when they entered the hunting world. Crafted from high-grade, lightweight aircraft aluminum, Trijicon’s scopes are tough and feature fiber optics and tritium, both of which gather light to the center point of the scope. They were the first to master the battery-free illuminated reticle for the hunting world, and this feature has many applications throughout Alaska. Be it a post, standard crosshair or crosshair with mil dots, the illuminated reticle allows for quick and easy shot placement. When hunting amid dark timber or low light conditions for bear, deer and elk, the AccuPoint performs 144
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like no other scope I’ve used. Position a black reticle on a dark target, like a black bear, and an AccuPoint on the same target, and there’s no comparison. With the black crosshairs, it’s easy to see why black bears are missed; with an illuminated reticle, misses are almost eliminated. Trijicon scopes come in various models and powers. I like the 1x4 in a post for up-close, possibly dangerous encounters. It can be the perfect bear and moose scope in brushy terrain. The 3x9 series is the best all-around option, regardless of what big game you’re after. Specialized scopes include a 2.510x56 and a 5-20x50. Their RMR sight offers even more unique applications and are growing in popularity among brown bear guides, who in many instances find themselves in close-encounter situations with no time to think about the shot, just react. Today’s high-end optics will last for decades, meaning your investment will pay off. When it comes to hunting in Alaska, don’t skimp on any part of your gear, especially optics. ASJ Editor’s note: Scott Haugen’s popular DVD, Field Dressing, Skinning and Caping Big Game, is the most comprehensive of its kind and focuses on six field dressing/skinning options and three caping strategies. To order, visit scotthaugen.com or send a check for $20 to Haugen Enterprise, P.O Box 275, Walterville, OR 97489.
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HOME OF THE .50CAL THUNDER SABRE AR Available Calibers: 5.56, 7.62x39, .300 Blackout and .502 T-Sabre
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R&J FIREARMS Starting out as a gun shop in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, R&J Firearms now builds ARs and may soon manufacture suppressors. Alaska Sporting Journal’s Garn Kennedy sat down with cofounder Jason Harris for more about the family business. Garn Kennedy Can you tell us about why you started R&J Firearms and what makes you different? Jason Harris My father, Bob, and I started R&J Firearms in March 2012 as a simple home-based 01 FFL, primarily as a way to make a little side income. I’ve always had an interest in shooting and firearms in general, and this seemed like it could be a fun venture. One thing we quickly noticed was how many folks, especially first-time buyers and women, were afraid to ask questions. They had likely either had a bad previous experience or were afraid of sounding uneducated. We make a firm point to make sure our customers are not afraid to ask any questions so they can be educated and make proper decisions. Many are buying their first firearm, which may be the only one they’ll purchase. We want to make sure that they are getting a great match and feel comfortable when they leave our shop. As the business quickly grew, we constantly found ourselves in a position where we were either limited or unable to purchase many firearms, mainly AR-type rifles. At that point we decided to change over to an 07 manufacturer’s license and see how well our brand would sell. I’ll admit, it has been a ton of work, but now having control of our own product is incredible! We have partnered with some great businesses in the industry and are, in my humble opinion, producing amazing products at a great price point for consumers. Because we are not a largescale producer, we are able to place more attention to details, fit and finish in our ARs. Each R&J AR is assembled from start to finish and test-fired by the same person. This allows us greater attention to detail. The only time I want to see one of our ARs come back to the shop is for some sort of upgrade and not for repair. We are completely family-owned and operated. GK Do you specialize in something that sets you apart? JH While we offer ARs in 5.56, .300 Blackout, 7.62X39 and .502 T-Sabre, the .502 is probably a standout caliber. As for a specialty rifle, our 7.62X39 ARs are really popular. We build them to be as reliable as a 5.56, with an enhanced stainless fire pin, performance hammer spring, proper feed ramps and quality magazine. We build the gun to run the caliber. They have no problem eating up steel-cased surplus! They are a great .30-caliber option and cheap to feed! GK That .502 Sabre looks like it delivers quite a thump. Can you tell us a little about it and why it is a good option? JH The .502 T-Sabre is a fun round to shoot. Cloud Mountain originally developed it around 2000 or 2001. Not too many were produced – maybe less than 50. We bought the rights to the branding, all of the available .502 T-Sabre Starline brass and barrel inventory. After about a year of toying around with the platform, we have it where we are pretty happy with it! The rifles retail for $1,599. They feature a 16-inch stainless Lothar Walther 1:19 barrel. They now come with a thread protector or the R&J Mega Keg brake for $99, including a 10-round mag. Five-round hunting mags are available and recoil is pretty civilized. It’s about the same as a 12-gauge pump shotgun. We currently offer three loads: 330-grain hardcast slugs at 1,875 feet per second, 325-grain JHP at 1,650 fps and 300-grain FTX at 1,775 fps. Ammo costs start at $1 per round, which puts it as one of the most affordable big-bore ARs on the market. GK What are most of your return customers saying when they come back to you and what else are they looking for? JH We have some of the best customers in the business! Many travel several hours to come out to us. It’s very humbling to hear how happy people are with their purchase, especially when it’s a product we produced. Many times they are returning for some sort of upgrade(s) or to expand their collection, or to just come in and say hi! GK Where do you see your company going from here and which area would you like to grow? JH I hope to see us continue to expand and grow the R&J Firearms name. We currently have the RJ-10 platform in the works and will be offering them in a .308 and 6.5 Creedmoor. We have also discussed producing our own suppressors, as that market has really boomed – bad pun – in the past couple years. (503) 550-9777 / rjfirearms.org aksportingjournal.com | AUGUST 2016
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THE ALASKAN RV BUTLER
Are you going to Alaska with a specific list of activities you want to do but aren’t sure how to put them all together? This is where Mike Grumet, the Alaskan RV Butler, comes in. He’ll to set you up with a motorhome, take you from place to place, line you up with the best hikes and fishing guides and prepare you gourmet meals you can enjoy without having to pay restaurant prices or rent an expensive room at a fishing lodge. Saving money without sacrificing quality is what Grumet is all about for his clients. “It’s my passion to serve people; it’s my passion to cook; my passion for Alaska; my passion to share my knowledge and experience in way that they get the maximum that they can,” Grumet says. “So instead of this being a dream trip, it becomes a ‘let’s do it every year’ trip, with or without me. Because I’ll teach them how to do it. You just want them to enjoy coming back to Alaska, as it’s my favorite place on Earth. Everything the Alaskan RV Butler does has to be unique, over-the-top high-quality service ... We’re always ready to rock and be mobile, and that’s the unique proposition. RV Butler’s got 10,000 tours and places to take you to keep you busy and active for your vacation. Keeping people happy is my internal nature.” (714) 292-5777 / thealaskanrvbutler.com 150
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MADE IN USA 152
ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
Visit garrett.com to find your nearest dealer AUGUST 2016 | aksportingjournal.com