Well, today was a fun day and a sad day both...It was the birthday of one of Port Alsworth's loved ones we lost in the tragic airplane crash recently, and so there was that memory. At church this morning I decided to join up with the McGees and set the burbot longline out in the lake. We met up this afternoon and got the beast set in short order. We didn't use the full length, but we can always lengthen it depending on how the first few days (or maybe week) goes. Going to bring the video camera so that we can record the proceedings, as it was kind of fun to have the old rig back. We used the same longline setup we used in Russian Mission (see past posts), this time with only 15 hooks soaking, but of course we didn't have to deal with the current here in the lake, so things were even easier. Can't wait to check tomorrow... Also, I saw tracks in the snow, and got word that another fox was back last night by the rabbit hutch of the neighbors. Needless to say, I put in another set out in front of the house, and so there is much excitement in the air for morning to come so we can check on all things 'set'. Looking forward to the coming day with gratitude and anticipation - but trying to shut out any expectation, as that is usually not wise or as fruitful. I will say, though that there was blood involved today when setting the longline, and for those of you that have followed along, we all know what that implies...we shall see. ;)
Wednesday, September 24, 2014. - Well, after Sam's bull fell on Monday, we had decided to go ahead and try for another one anyway. There are plenty of people in the village that need/can use meat, and Sam and Jerry were going to bring meat back with them as well. The season was still on!!
We headed downriver to a lake where we had seen a BIG bull a few days before. Actually, Jerry saw the tops of his palms over the grass from about 1000 yards away (seriously...1000 yards). We watched them for a while because we just couldn't believe there were two dead, white trees that looked so much alike and were so close together. :) After a few minutes the brute stood up, and it was then that we knew... We tried a stalk on him but before we got there, we ran into another different bull - this guy :
- and some cows, and that went awry, and so we came away with nothing. That time. This time, we went back with the idea that we would enter in closer to where we saw him and try to call in the evening. Because there are a lot of pike in the lake, we also brought the fishing rods, as we intended to leave early and do some fishing until the 'primetime' of the evening.
We arrived at the entrance of the slough that leads back to the lake, and things were glassy calm. At least the wind wouldn't be exactly wrong as it was last time when we saw the big boy..
When we got to the lake, things seemed awfully quiet, and there weren't any moose in sight (and you can see a loooooooooong long way...), so we decided to fish for a bit.
It wasn't more than five minutes, though, and we heard a boat coming behind us. I wondered if they were coming our way or if they were taking the other turn at the lake entrance...no dice, they were coming right for us... We pulled up the rods and moved to the side as they went by - the channel is narrow and we were right in the middle of it. The boat flew past and went all the way to the back of the lake at full throttle...not exactly what you would like to have happen. However, as soon as they got out of sight, things got interesting. :) A bull stuck his head out of the treeline about 500 yards away, at the far end of the huuuuuuuge meadow on the left side of the lake. He had heard the other boat go by, waited for it to pass (and presumably figure out where it was going) and then went the other way. Trouble for him was, the 'other way' was right towards us. And I saw him the moment he stuck his big ol' moosy nose out of the trees. Other than that, his plan was sound. :)
I said, "uhhh, guys?....there's a bull looking right at us...make that COMING right at us" They immediately saw him. As far as he was, he was a dark blob against a massive backdrop of blonde meadow grass. Now, our predicament was, we needed to pull across the neck of the lake we were in in order to get to the side he was on, now that we had moved out of the way when the boat came by. I fired up the motor, which had been off. And he heard it, and stopped: He didn't want to go back in the way he had come out, and you could almost watch him make up his mind. He turned to his right, (our left), and began walking across the meadow towards the trees.
Here are some shots, taken from video, of how it unfolded. When he first realized we were there and stopped:
And then after he turned and walked to the left a bit, as we were deciding what to do and how to do it:
Doesn't seem so far away when the camera is zoomed all the way in, does he? :) Hold on, there'll be some better perspective on that in a minute...
So, we got the boat to shore, and scoping him appeared to show that he could have been the bull we had our previous run-in with. I thought it would be pretty sweet to have a shot at sealign the dael on him, as he had eluded us once, and even now he was up to some moosy tricks to elude those pesky humans again. It was then I decided. Yep, this was my bull. Sam and I got out, walked a short distance from the water's edge, and took up crouching positions. Sam asked if this was the one, and I replied that when he stopped next, I was going to go ahead. My brain was calculating that he had a good ways to the trees, and he would likely stop once before getting there. It was also calculating that my bullet was going to drop a loooong ways 'til it got to him - maybe 30 inches was my best guess, knowing what it does at 300 yards. I decided to hold a bit above his hump and squeeze. I wrapped the sling, as always, rested my elbow on my knee, took a deep breath, and let half of it out....and the bull stopped. Ka-boom......plop! Hit! The next shot resounded even louder: Ka-boom.....WHAP!... Although Jerry wasn't able to keep the camera on him the whole time, here are the two shots, even if the camera moved off to the right of the bull...
The bull made it back into the trees as I fired the shells that were still in the magazine, and we immediately followed up, knowing the farther back he got into the thick stuff the less fun the meatcutting - and the pack - would be. Not long after the two of us took off, Jerry got some video to show a little better perspective of the scene. Here's an image taken from that clip. The purple arrows show where we had knelt down, and the black arrow points to the bull, standing and coughing after the first bullets had hit him. It was a poke!
We closed on him, and I ended up putting a neck shot into him once I finally caught up to him. For the size of the spread - only 40 inches - he had impressive brow tines, three on one side and four on the other. I still say it was our pal from the trip a few days prior, but I guess we'll never know for sure.
Sam examining him from up close:
And a parting shot of the last trip to the boat...
Here's the trailer vid again (you'll now recognize the clip of shots from this bull when you see it) for those who read this post before the others.
The fourth moose of the year, Josie's bull, will follow this post. And that's a great story...
Friday, September 26th, 2014 - And here we go again. After getting my bull home Wednesday night, and endless meat cutting by Sam and Jerry all week, the kids at school kept pestering to go out hunting. Now I had gotten my moose, you see, and there wasn't any more reason for me to be busy. :D So after two straight days of this, I tried to decide who I might want to take, if I was going to. FIrst, it would have to be someone who A) doesn't hunt regularly, B) hasn't gotten a moose, and C) deserves and/or would benefit from the experience. I came to a decision, and, as we were on a roll, I offered to go and take that student along. She readily accepted on the condition that she could bring a friend, and it was decided. Friday after school we (Jerry, Me, and the two students) arranged to meet around 6 o clock down by the boat. We would be heading back down to the lake area described in the post about my bull. That monster was still there, somewhere, and there were so many moose using that area that our chances were great overall. Any bull would be a success and an unforgettable set of memories.
Off we headed, cruising downriver again. Before we left we snapped a picture of the two girls with their weapons - my .30-06 and the other, a massive hog-leg .45-70 pistol. Made for a great pic!
*And for those who may be wondering, yes, permission slips have been signed for the use of photographs like these. :) I make a point every year to get the students to take one home and have their parents read and sign it, just so all our activities can be shared. But I won't be using any names. :)
Anyway, we headed downriver and made it to 'the spot' a little later than we had planned, but still in good shape. And as we entered the lake, I immediately spotted a cow, standing on the left side of the lake (same general area we got my bull in two days before). I asked the student who would be shooting if she was partial to a bull, seeing as we can take both this year in our GMU. She thought about it for a bit, and then said, "No, I want a bull!" Jerry and I laughed and I replied, "Way to be. Let's get one then." Meanwhile we were creeping up on the cow, who was so engrossed in looking into the trees straight away from us that we were starting to get pretty close. Hmmm, interesting. She was FOCUSED...and at this time of year, I wonder what could have her attention? That was enough for me, it was decided we would pull up to shore straight out from where the cow was standing, work our way in to one of the pockets of trees in the meadow, and call...to whoever it was that cow was focused on. :)
Once we got on shore and got set, I began calling, hoping to lure out the bull we were now quite sure was in there, somewhere... But that didn't last long. Just a few minutes into it, once again, we heard a boat coming. Hah! Imagine that. It cruised by, roaring past at full throttle, trying to keep up on plane to avoid bottoming out no doubt. Ahh, the joy of having a smaller boat with a short draft. :) But on they went, all the way to the back of the lake, just as the other one had, out of sight. I wasn't worried this time - after all, look how that worked out last time. But we decided after calling a bit that we would get back in the boat and head farther towards the back of the lake ourselves. We got in, and began slowly purring through the weedbeds, scanning the shore on all sides. Before too long, we got into the mud, and I had to pull up on the cowling to get the motor to make any headway. As we tooled along like this, searching for the channel again, we all heard it. The boat, coming back our direction. As it got to within 200 yards of us, we saw it take a turn, and then it whipped a donut in the water and accelerated over to a blonde patch of meadow grass on the left side of the lake.
Our (or at least my) hearts sank. As soon as I saw that, I knew. And a few seconds later, my certainty was proven correct. Figures could be seen jumping out of the boat as it hit shore, and three quick shots rang out. Then a fourth. And then the figures sprinted out through the meadow to the left, becoming obscured by the trees. Damn! There was our bull, I figured. The disappointment was contagious. "Man, we should have gone faster!" the girls were saying. We can only do what we can do. But...as I was saying, and as the pervading theme goes: As soon as you lose faith... :D
I had no intention of going over to the boat, so we turned around, and I mentioned that we should keep watching for moose to emerge from the trees just in case. It was then that the girls decided that they had to use the restroom. So we made it to shore and threw out the anchor. The two girls disappeared into the trees, and Jerry and I kept watch on the other boat, about 300 yards away now. Suffice to say, they took a while using the restroom, and Jerry and I pulled the rods out and started fishing. It was a WHILE... But everything fits, and sometimes things just work out despite what we think is a delay or a hindrance. As darkness was closing fast, I was getting antsy to get to a new vantage point and maybe make the last calling session of the night. Not wanting to accept defeat, I was planning which spot we should race to when I heard the girls coming back. They emerged from the trees, giggling and carrying on. I looked away as they got to the boat and were putting the anchor back in. Just before I was going to let the motor back down and start it, I happened to glance up and look across the arm of the lake we were in to the meadow on the other side....
And here they came. Looking back, it was kind of funny how what I planned to say ended up coming out as one long slow sentence as things played out quickly. It sounded something like this, they told me later: "Hey, look! moose!...it's a cow!...and a calf!....keep watching, there could be a bull behind them...and there he is!!!" The cow ran straight toward us, cresting into view as she got near the lake shore. Seeing us (we were only 150 yards away), she turned to our right - her left - and ran along the crest above the water's edge. It was then that I saw the calf behind her, struggling to keep up. And then, as my brain, and my voice, was cautioning that there could be a bull behind them...there he was. This was all playing out in the general area that the cow earlier on had been fixating on, by the way. Imagine that.
There was a scramble behind me like you've never seen. :) The girls jumped on the boat, waded through all the gear and life vests and chairs, digging for the rifle; Jerry was fashioning a rest for shooting near the back of the boat by me and coaching the shooter into position. I let out a cow call as loud as I could...And he stopped. The cow and calf kept running. That was trouble. I asked Jerry how the situation was going without turning my head. "Stall 'em", was all he said. Oh, great. A few more seconds of staring at us and the bull swung his head back towards the cow and calf and took a step. Another cow call, loud as possible. Looooong and loud, and as lovesick as I could make it sound. :D It worked. He stopped again. And stared. "Good grief", I thought, "What is taking so long?" Well, of course there were three people trying to get into position on a crowded little boat loaded with gear and find a decent place to get a rest and take a shot from - and they hadn't done this before. Ever. That's what was going on. But for me, time was dragging on through five eras, and I was getting itchy. I knew that bull was itchy, and I wasn't sure I could keep his attention from that real, live, sure-thing cow in front of him much longer. He moved again, and I called again. This time, he kept trotting. Crap!...
Then, miraculously, he encountered a dip in the meadow and after he went down into it, he came out on the other side of it and rose up above the meadow grass, more visible than he had been thus far. You could now see about a third of the way down his body, instead of just his neck and head. I howled out another cow call, and he stopped. I hadn't seen such a beautiful thing in a long time. Beginning to freak out, as I knew our time was short and getting shorter, I looked at the frenzy and saw the student was down and looking through the scope. "That rifle is right on, *her name here*" I said, "put it just below his hump and squeeze!" And I stared. And stared. Felt like forever, but was probably only 3 or 4 seconds. The bull turned his head toward the cow again, and I knew he was taking off...and it went "Bang"!!
Before my ears even started ringing (as I discovered, I was right in line with the muzzle), the bull's back legs dropped out from under him, his rear end hit the ground like a sitting dog, and then his front end gave out and he dropped out of sight. Down. I could not believe my eyes. The pandemonium that ensued was quite noisy, I can tell you. :) After calming everyone and making sure the safety was back in the 'safe' position, we all found a seat and I immediately started the motor and boogied over to the far bank. We jumped out, tossed the anchor, and I sprinted up the crest of the hill... I couldn't see him, which either meant he was still down or had gotten over a "near-spine" hit and was already up and gone. After seeing him, I had my money on the latter, but hey, you never know. I ran to where I first saw grass thrashing, then a hoof, then some tines, and then I relaxed. We had him. Yessssss!!!!
*Her name here* put a finisher into the neck, and we stood around and savored the moment. Laughing, slaps on the back, recounting the story again and again. The good stuff. We all knew we had made memories forever. It sure was a good feeling. And she was as happy as I've ever seen her. After things calmed down a bit, we grabbed the camera and took some pics before starting the work we knew was headed our way:
The rest of these are blurry, I know, but they're all we have except for the video. So here they are. :)
The four of us, giving a Warren smile!
About the time we started cutting, that other boat showed up, and we discovered that they had seen and shot at the 'big boy' (when you see that one, you'd know - I don't care what you try to tell me) but didn't get him. With a lot more hands around, the cutting went fast, and soon we had the brute loaded into the two boats, and the rack in ours. On the way home, the Northern Lights came out and spread across the sky in a yellow and green curtain. The Yukon was glassy calm and the night became legendary. A fitting cap to a legendary season. Four bulls, eight days. Memories to last forever.
The whole crew right before we headed for home:
When you kill your first moose, you are supposed to eat a slice of liver or kidney, right then, at the kill. The liver on this moose was a little spotted and questionable, and so we opted for the kidney. :)
Where did all that meat go, I am sure some of you are wondering? Four moose?!? Well, Sam and Jerry each took a load of it home, we filled all our freezers, and my student's bull was distributed throughout the village, as is the tradition for someone's first moose. We took the next morning and drove house to house:
A lot of fun, and it ended up adding to the experience. It is a good feeling to give. I almost wish moose season lasted a little longer...we have to wait eleven more months now...
Here's a shot of Warren helping dad clear slush from one of the holes, to start off. Lots more to follow below from the last couple outings. Man it sure is fun to have him along on all these trips. :)
Well, since the eels have passed things seem to come in pulses, but
there is still a steady run of burbot being pulled up on the set lines,
as well as by manaq (Yupi'k word for ice fishing). One fellow from the
village landed 11 jigging through the ice just two nights ago. We
didn't come home with 11 last night, but the lines did get two more. Another nice
pair introduced themselves, and the whole family had another enjoyable
outing. Also, Jason got hold of a 35" er since that last post, so
figured it was time for some update pics. Here's a shot of that beast with Warren checking him out:
So, as I was saying, it has been great to have W along on these outings, and when Abram's dinner bell schedule permits, it is also a blessing to have him and Sarah with us as well. Last night was another fun trip. Here are some shots from it:
Warren spends his down time shoveling the Yukon while we are clearing holes :)
But as soon as we get the holes ice and slush free, he is ready to go...
This winter has been an uncommonly warm (and relatively dry) one thus far. While it is snowing in Texas, and areas of PA back home got 11 inches of snow over the weekend, here in this part of bush Alaska we have nearly none. We got one storm early on, and then a few weeks later got a freezing rain/ice storm that glazed everything and made trapping for fox a living hell. :) Also, at this point, with everybody jockeying for position and trapping the same nearby ground as travel is basically non-existent, I can at this point say that I have had nearly as much fur stolen from my traps as I have gotten to keep. Not a good ratio. And thus, most of the reason why there haven't been many followup posts on the fox sets.
So what's a person to do in a small bush village?... Why, get up early to catch two weeks straight of amazing sunrises, go 'eeling' for lampreys, and follow it up with a new addiction - fishing through the ice for Burbot! This fish has a TON of nicknames. Eelpout, cusk, cod, the list goes on and on, depending where you live. They are known locally as 'lush', though I do not know why. I suspect that that name was given because the folks hardy enough to sit around on the ice and wait for one to bite must be drinking in order to stay put. :D But that is pure speculation of course...
First, a pair of the sunrises:
This first one was taken over the original Russian Mission Orthodox church, built around the 1930's:
This ain't photoshop, scoob....
And here's another from the classroom - sorry this one was taken with the phone, so may not impress...
Sunrises like these have literally been occurring EVERY DAY for about two weeks now. Crazy.
Now, as I said...the lampreys, or as the locals say, eels. Each year around this time, the lampreys migrate back up the mighty
Yukon to complete their spawning run. The folks around here find them
to be a tasty treat and prepare them in various ways. This is an important Yupi'k subsistence activity, and has been for thousands of years. First a hole (or long trench, really) is cut in the ice. Then a long stick with rows of brad nails sticking out both leading edges is swept through the trench in fairly shallow water (shallow for the Yukon that is) until you feel the bump of 'eels' swimming by. Then with a swift sweeping upward motion you flip the eels that have been grabbed by the nails up and out onto the ice. Repeat until you have enough for dinner or enough for trapping or fishing bait (and maybe dinner too). :) It is a lot of fun, and the whole family can participate. Here is a short video I took about five years ago of the process back when we were in Pilot Station. In that year, the ice wasn't completely formed by the time the eels were arriving, thus we just fished off the edge of the ice instead:
As for this year, we had to fish for the eels through trenches, which is more normal, even in a year as warm as this one. Here is an evening shot of mom and Warren giving it a try:
Warren checking for eels ala reconnaissance:
Warren playing with an eel in the kitchen back at home...
A bonus shot offered due to our being out after eels and checking traps - a Russian Mission musher exercising his dogs. Put it in neutral and let 'em pull... :)
Warren on one of our outings. I'm glad he is only two and can't reach the throttle yet:
While you are out you may as well see what a gill net might bring. Here is a Yukon river smorgasbord of Sheefish, Pike, and Whitefish:
Whitefish need kisses too... :)
Now don't quit reading...it's time for the Burbot! As they still hadn't been checked off the species list for me, I made a vow this summer to finally change that this year - come whatever. Bought the gear, and this fall while we were moose hunting we gave it a try several times. No dice. But burbot are winter spawners, and for that they move into shallower water. Which, in a river the size and depth of the Yukon, is meaningful. Try to keep bait on the bottom in 60 feet of water in a river with the cfs flow we're dealing with here and you'll see what I mean. Anyway, the burbot seem to follow the eels, because they (burbot) are moving into shallower water to prepare for the spawn, and of course eating eels to fatten up for just that. Enter opportunity. We have been setting lines for them and checking every day. (This is quite legal in some areas of Alaska, where we live being one, provided you follow gear restrictions and check each 24 hours minimum.) Check regs here: :) ADFG Sport Fishing Regs
This is exciting stuff! Not only is it kind of like trapping, but there is a delicious morsel waiting for you when you connect! These fish are UGLY, but mmm mmm good. They aren't called the poor man's lobster for nothing... Anyway, after a few days of others trying and having some mixed success, we got some gear out as well. About the time the eels went past and the run of them subsided, things began heating up. Jason had a few lines out and hauled up one burbot, and a pike (which was released as per regulations require for bycatch) one afternoon, and then I walked down and pulled another one (about a three pounder) out that same evening - but it was on one of his lines, not ours. Here's a short one-minute vid of the moment of truth. Sorry, it was filmed by headlamp in the black of night - but it's not as blurry as the preview image below is:
Now, this still wasn't 'my' first burbot, because it wasn't my line. But, the fever was catching and it looked like the tide was turning on the action. The next day, we went back to check again after I got home from work. Sure enough, I got to pull one up on 'my' line this time. First burbot, baby! Here is a pic of the whole crew - minus Sarah, who as usual was with us and participating, but somehow always ends up taking the pics... Jason, Cooper, Warren, and me on the right. J is holding the little beast of a lota lota:
Tonight our line yielded a monster! (comparatively, anyway, to what we've gotten so far). He measured at 30 inches and a smidge, and looks to be carrying a belly full of eels:
Sarah and I with our 'trophy' :D Yeehaw, the fever is on!
Burbot don't put up much of a fight when hauling them up, but I sure am hooked. Just another great activity you can participate in here in bush Alaska, and enjoy life while doing it.
Here is a couple of shots that turned out cool, all taken while out after burbot. A nice morning on the Yukon:
And a little closer in on those mountaintops... Now you can see someone dragging their sled across the river, likely to check set lines or maybe traps. Thought it looked cool with the lack of snow on the ice, and the fog, almost seems like walking on water.
And a couple of shots of Warren on the same morning. One of our burbot lines there in the foreground.
Has been an incredible week or so. Nice weather and lots of fun action to be had. Living the dream out here in the bush :D
This blog is a journal of my time spent Fur Trapping, Hunting, Fishing, and living the good life in remote Alaska.Hope you enjoy it, and feel free to comment at the bottom of posts!!!!
" Disney would have you believe that if you catch an animal in a snare or trap, his friends will come back to help him.... The TRUTH is that they WILL COME BACK... for a helpingOF HIM..."
" Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them." - Genesis, 3:21 NKJV
