Truly stunning numbers of salmon had been racked up at the Miles Lake sonar on the Copper River, and my netting anxiety was growing as each day passed and we didn’t have a solid plan in place to get down there and catch fish.
Category Archives: Fishing/Hunting
A-Hunting We Will Go!
It had been three long years since I’d gotten a moose, and the freezer was clatteringly empty. We hadn’t done so well with fishing this year, either, so it seemed like a good time to shake things up. As I hopped in the truck to go, I didn’t realize that someone I didn’t know was just down the road brandishing a gun and threatening to shoot police officers. This guy’s escapades caused one of the oddest beginnings to a hunting trip I’ve ever had.
Smoke-grilled Crane
We had some friends over for dinner, and thanks to Jack Withrow we had three Sandhill Cranes to work with. They turned out really well, and this recipe will work for ducks or geese, too.
Smoke-grilled crane
three cranes: breasts filleted, legs and thighs still together
1 Cup of an olive oil/garlic/oregano mop
2/3 Cups shallots, scallions, or diced onions
1 jalapeño
basil
1/4 Cup red wine
Zero-inch Club
I didn’t go moose hunting last year. Rose had said that I could hunt all I wanted, but that I’d better not get one or we’d have to buy a new freezer. I went to check, and, sure enough, we still had a lot left from the one I’d gotten the year before. It seemed a bit disrespectful to go out after fresh moose when there was so much still left from the last one, so I didn’t go. And I really missed being out.
Supplemental Reds
I had wanted to go fishing for king salmon with hook and line earlier this year, but they’d closed it all over the state again due to poor runs. So I juggled deadlines at work with the dip-netting reports coming in from Chitina on the Copper River, and I finally threw things together and headed out on a Tuesday in late July when I could get away for a couple days and the report sounded like it was worth a chance. It was a beautiful drive – conditions were excellent. Driving as quickly as these ideal conditions permitted, I made it to O’Brien Creek just before 7:00 p.m. and dropped my life jacket in line to hold a place for the morning launch. It looked like I’d be on one of the first boats out. In speaking with folks to learn how the day’s fishing had been, things sounded so-so. A few of the dip netters had done well, but fishing was supposed to get better as the water dropped. As we spoke, one netter working the shore nearby pulled in several nice-looking fish, whetting everyone’s appetite.