August 2022
Issue 56
Check Out Our Angler Recognition Programs
In this edition of Reel Times, we put the spotlight on our angler recognition programs. Our angler recognition programs seek to help anglers celebrate their fishing accomplishments. These programs are designed to provide certificates of recognition to individual anglers or angling families.
Have you purchased your 2022 sport fishing license yet? If not, be sure to do so before you head out on your next fishing adventure. Visit our online store to get started.
Are you following us on social media? If not, be sure to check us out on Instagram @wefishak. You can also follow us on Facebook at ADF&G - wefishak . Also, visit our YouTube channel for a growing selection of “how-to” videos and much more.
If you have a comment or story ideas for Reel Times, we encourage you to send them our way. You can send comments to ryan.ragan@alaska.gov.
We’ll see you on the water.
Ryan Ragan
Land a Big Fish?
Our Trophy Fish program provides a certificate of recognition to anglers whose catch meets or exceeds minimum weight or length requirements. Think your big catch qualifies? Check out our Trophy Fish program rules to find out. Also, be sure to check out the Youth-Only Category and let us help celebrate a trophy catch by a young angler. We all have a good fish story. Below are a few of those stories from anglers who were recently awarded a certificate from the Trophy Fish program.
Father-son duo make memories on the water
Here’s a classic father-son fishing photo of 7-year-old Matt Anderson and father, Aaron, holding up the trophy 28-inch Arctic char that Matt caught in Harding Lake south of Fairbanks on July 2, 2022.
Matt and Aaron were jigging 5-inch Kodiak custom spoons off the bottom of the lake in about 90 to 100 feet of water when the fish hit the lure.
“We kept marking several fish through this one particular area that we kept drifting over,” Aaron wrote in an email. “My son got tired of holding the pole after a little while went by so he decided to place his pole in the holder. Not even a few minutes later: Bam! Bam! There went the pole getting hit. He grabbed it, set the hook and the fight was on.”
They initially thought Matt had a lake trout on the line.
“We thought it was a laker with how deep it was but after a good fight we carefully netted him for a clean release,” Aaron said. “I quickly realized it was a monster char!” The fish looked its age, said Aaron, who is stationed at Eielson Air Force Base.
“It was an old-looking fish and had multiple scars all over its body, which was pretty long and lean,” he said.
Aaron made a quick measurement to see if the fish was big enough to qualify for an ADF&G youth catch-and-release trophy certificate, which it did with 3 inches to spare.
“We threw a tape on him, snapped a quick picture and let him go,” Aaron said. “He kicked off just as strong as could be!”
Shortly after, Aaron caught and released a 30-inch lake trout in the same hole. It was a great day of fishing that Aaron said both he and Matt will remember for decades to come. Both he and Matt are avid anglers.
“He’s been out fishing with me since he was an infant and he's hooked!” Aaron said.
Hal Michael’s trophy Arctic grayling from the Nome area
Hal Michael’s primary motive for traveling to Nome last month was bird watching but he packed along a lightweight fly rod just in case he had time to do some fishing.
An avid bird watcher and fly fisher from Olympia, Washington, Michael knew the Nome area offered superb Arctic grayling and Dolly Varden fishing. He figured he might wet a line if he had some spare time. It proved to be a wise choice.
Michael caught and released multiple Arctic grayling in the 10- to 17-inch range in the Fox River off the Nome-Council Road outside of Nome and also caught and released this trophy 19-inch grayling in the Bluestone River, which he submitted to ADF&G’s Trophy Fish Program for a trophy catch-and-release certificate. They were the first Arctic grayling Michael had ever caught.
The grayling fishing in the Fox River was “fantastic … among the best fishing ever,” he said. When he caught the 19-inch trophy fish in the Bluestone River, Michael was fishing in a large pool just downstream from the Nome-Teller Road bridge that had 50-100 spawning pink salmon in it. He spotted a couple of large grayling cruising around in the pool and tied on an Adams Irresistible fly.
“I put on the dry (fly) and on the first cast it was sucked down,” Michael wrote in an email. “The fish pulled hard but was not nearly as aggressive a fighter as the Fox River fish. Brought it to hand and then released it.”
Michael appreciated the guidance he got from staff in ADF&G’s Nome office and used the “Nome Roadside Fishing Guide” to help him figure out where to go.
“I had an old (around 2000) Streamside fishing book and the new one was way better,” he said of the most recent 2013 edition of the Nome Roadside Fishing Guide. “That is where both the Bluestone and Fox ideas came from. We also used the roadside guide a lot for locating and identifying stuff.
“They also pointed us to some hot birding spots where we eventually found our Bluethroat and gave us hints on where to find muskox,” Michael said of staff at the Nome office. “Really good customer service.”
Michael is already planning his next fishing trip to Alaska on which he plans to target Arctic grayling, Dolly Varden, Arctic char and rainbow as part of the Western Native Trout Challenge, a multi-state program hosted by the Western Native Trout Initiative in which anglers try to catch 18 different species of trout in 12 different western states.
How Many Species of Salmon Have you Caught This Year?
How many of the five species of Pacific salmon found in Alaska have you caught so far this year? All five? If so, you can receive a certificate of recognition from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
You don’t have to catch all five species in the same year to qualify. If you’ve caught all five species of Pacific salmon native to Alaska, you can compile images from past years and submit an affidavit.
Click here to learn more about the Five Salmon Family Challenge.
Get out and fish. Together!
Take Part in the Stocked Waters Challenge
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game Stocked Waters Challenges awards a certificate of recognition to individual or groups who successfully complete one or more angling challenges specific to fishing at stocked waters in Alaska.
You’ll find more information about the Stocked Waters Challenge on our website.
Have You Tried the New ADF&G Mobile App?
This free mobile app was developed for the people who hunt and fish in Alaska and is designed to enhance your pre-trip planning and in-field experience. The app provides access to the information and services you need to follow applicable hunting and fishing regulations. The mobile app will be available as a free download in the Android and Apple App stores and can be used on a smart device such as iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet.
Visit our website to learn more and to download the new ADF&G mobile app to your phone.
15 Awesome Alaska Fish coloring book
The 15 Awesome Alaska Fish coloring book is a great resource for kids. Not only can they color fish and draw fish habitat, but they can also learn interesting facts about some of Alaska’s fish species.
Field to Plate - Recipe of the month
Recipe of the Month – Alaska Salmon Burgers with Rhubarb Chutney
Try this tasty recipe for Korean Fried Alaska Cod Tacos from the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, it's sure to be a hit.
Or, try this Canned Salmon Sandwich recipe from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Enjoy!
If you have any questions about the Reel Times newsletter, please contact Ryan Ragan at ryan.ragan@alaska.gov