We have settled into the long winter season here in interior Alaska. Our usual freezing temperatures have resulted in ample ice for fishing and plenty of snow for other pursuits. While the days are short and the air has a cold bite, I have tried to take full advantage of the seasonal opportunities. While I look forward to spring, I try my best to stay busy during these months. It is easy to get into hibernation mode here in Fairbanks when temps drop below -30 and the sun barely crests the horizon. Getting outdoors keeps my energy and mood up while I dream of the first warm, sunny days of spring that will bring a return to fly fishing and bear hunting.
I am lucky that work is steady throughout our ice fishing season. I work most days of the winter to be able to take more time off during the summer and fall months. Fishing has been great at Chena Lake, with most groups catching 25-50 fish. These fish consist of coho and king salmon, rainbow trout, and the occasional arctic char. These fish are stocked by ADF&G which provides a great “put and take fishery”. We typically keep enough fish for a meal and fry these up for the clients fresh on the stove in the cabin. For many, this is the first time they have sourced their meal from the land. It is a great experience that I enjoy sharing with the many tourists who find their way up to Fairbanks.
Due to my busy work schedule this time of year, I typically don’t know if I will have the day off until the night before. This makes going on bigger trips quite hard, but I try to take advantage of any time off I get. After having some success jigging for lake trout last season. I’ve hit the hardwater for myself as much as possible. After five trips targeting lakers, I had yet to catch one. A few char had helped pass the time, but I had jigged a total of 15 hours without so much as a bite from my target species. On my last trip out I spent the day with my friends Hunter and Josh. As we were setting up in our third location of the day, Hunter drilled a test hole to check our depth. His flasher showed that there was a fish underneath him pushing bait. I was 25 yards away getting the tent ready. I decided I’d better drop my lure in quickly since a fish was lurking. I dropped the heavy lure to the bottom and cranked it up about 10 feet. Three sharp jigs later I had a heavy, thump of a bite. I set the hook and nothing happened, It felt as if I had set into a log. I knew I had a big fish on as his violent headshakes began. A few strong runs and the obvious weight had me wondering just how large he was. As he got near the top of the ice he was slightly behind me, first Josh saw him, then Hunter as we all looked down through the clear ice. I was able to carefully guide his head up the hole and hook my fingers in his gill plate. I was holding my new pb laker. A few quick pictures and he was released to swim another day. Likely over 20lbs, it was the fattest laker I have seen in person.
I’ve also had the chance to try out a bit of trapping, something that I have always had an interest in but never felt I had the time. Luckily, my friend Shaun invited me to help with the trapline he had planned. It has been great to learn something new and see how the animals react to the different sets. We have caught a handful of martens in some unconventional ways. The leaning pole set with a wired foothold, or a vertical setup with a small conibear is the preferred method. While we have these sets in place, the animals have found ground-level cubby sets with 330 conibears and larger footholds. On top of the excuse to spend more time outdoors, trapping is a surprisingly effective workout. The trail requires an active style of riding, having to hop from side to side on the runners and leaning to keep the machine upright. Trees come down and require cutting and moving. On top of this, just walking through the snow with the added weight of winter gear will get the heart rate up!
Lastly, I’ve gotten the chance to get out after caribou for a couple of days. The regular registration winter caribou hunt started slow without many bou near the Steese Hwy. After more than a month of it being open less than 10 animals had been harvested. The report came in from fish and game that the herd was quickly moving towards this area and the season would close due to fears of overharvest. Hunter and I headed out to see if we could catch the front of the migration. While it was a great day riding the high ridges, we were simply too early and no caribou were spotted. A week later the hunt changed to a “targeted” hunt with updated quotas and a hunt lottery took place. I was lucky enough to draw a tag and went back to the area I had hunted earlier. This time expectations were high after spotting 50 animals before getting to the trailhead. It wasn’t long and we were spotting bou from the machines. They seemed to be everywhere with an amazing amount of both caribou and wolf tracks cutting across the trail. We headed above the treeline to an amazing sight. A group of 60 bou were on a hill in front of us, along with roughly 200 making their way closer from the surrounding mountains. The herd close to us held a nice bull, but we had been passed by two hunters on the trail and they were headed right for em. Their direct assault soon had the caribou running and we simply moved into position to cut off the remainder of the unaffected migration. We set up in a rock formation overlooking the path the previous herds had followed. The plan worked perfectly and we soon had 100 bou headed straight for us. I could afford to be a little picky and it was an amazing day unfolding in front of us, so I let them all pass. Another two hunters ran down and set up 50 yards from us in an adjacent rock pile. They shot and missed, and the animals scattered. They ran and we soon watched as these two, and the original two hunters who had passed us, followed the herd to another hillside. Some more shooting later and at least one caribou was on the ground. It would normally stress me out a bit to have this much hunting pressure around but it is par for the course on this hunt.
More caribou came into view and soon into range. One had a nice looking rack and also looked like it was plump and in good shape. I decided I wanted to take it. Despite its rack I could not determine if it was a bull. Without being able to confirm it I let it walk and with a perfect back to look I truly think it was a cow. Soon it was a few hours before dark and only 75 caribou were in view and coming our way. A bull was in front of us and with nothing nicer behind him I decided it was time to fill my tag. An ideal 75 yard broadside shot from the 300win flattened him in his tracks. We pulled the sleds down and quickly took care of him. An hour later we were loaded up and headed home. It was a nice reprieve from the more arduous endeavors that were our other hunts this year.
The rest of the winter will likely bring more fishing and sled rides. I don’t have any more hunting planned until spring unless I get out predator calling. I wish the caribou were closer, I have the feeling that with more time spent a wolf would be spotted. At any rate, I’ll keep making it a point to enjoy our winter activities until spring brings nicer weather.
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