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Issue 58

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Tight Lines and Falling Temperatures

The falling temperatures and recent snowfall in some parts of the state are a sure sign colder weather is on its way. That doesn’t mean you need to store your open-water fishing gear for the season. There is still time to get hooked up before the real cold weather sets in and you grab your ice fishing gear.

October offers some exception fishing opportunities. In this edition of Reel Times, we showcase some interesting information about Dolly Varden, and we explore the bounty of Kachemak Bay. Also, have you submitted photos to the annual Sport Fishing Regulation Summary Booklets Cover Photo Contest? If not, you have until the end of the month to get your submissions in.

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

Trolling for King Salmon in Kachemak Bay

By Mike Booz

Don’t winterize the saltwater boat just yet! Now is a great time to fish for feeder king salmon in Kachemak Bay. In many ways, late September through October is the best timeframe for trolling for king salmon out of Homer. In recent years, fall has consistently provided some of the best fishing of the year. Typically, in the fall, king salmon are found in more locations and closer to the harbor. Sometimes so close that anglers find good king bites right off the end of the spit. Another nice bonus is the sport Tanner crab fishery in Kachemak Bay opens October 1, so you can troll for king salmon while your pot is soaking.

For those new to trolling or fishing in Kachemak Bay, we have a lengthy YouTube fishing forum video on winter king fishing that provides a bunch of useful information about fall fishing. Here’s a quick list of the top five hints to help you boat a couple of king salmon if you make it Homer this fall:

• Before planning a trip to Homer, pay close attention to weather forecasts, especially the marine forecast for Kachemak Bay. Of course, weather changes a lot this time of year, but planning a trip for when the seas are more favorable to fishing will result in a more enjoyable trip.
• There are always exceptions, but king salmon tend to be scattered throughout Kachemak Bay in the fall. If you fish someplace and don’t get any bites, consider trying a different location. Popular fall fishing spots include the tip of the Homer spit, the islands at Eldred Passage, Peterson Bay, Glacier Spit, and Bluff Point.
• Fish tend to be a shallower in the fall too. Try fishing 25-60’ of water in most locations. Set the gear from the surface to 2/3 the depth of the water. Say you are in 60’ of water and fishing two setups. Try one at 20’ and one at 30’ to get started and adjust from there.
• Try some different presentations to figure out what king salmon are going to bite the day you are out. Red label herring on a 3-4’ leader behind an 11” flasher is a standard presentation. For spoons, longer leaders (4-5’) are better so the flasher doesn’t influence the action of the spoon.
• The best fishing hours are at the break of day and around slack tide, particularly high slack. Those who fish the early morning hours have the first crack at fish when they are most aggressive, which is usually worth an extra fish or two.

Get out and Fish for Dolly Varden

By David Love

October is a time of transition, time to get serious about hunting Blacktail deer, the beginning of the end of coho fishing, AND a fantastic time to fish for Dolly Varden char, Salvelinus malma.

Unfortunately, these beautiful piscine creatures had an image problem in past. One of the least effective conservation measures applied to salmon fisheries, predator control of Dollies was first established by the Alaska Territorial Legislature in 1929. Erroneously thought to have been extreme predators on salmon eggs and fry, Alaskans received a nickel for every Dolly Varden tail until 1939, with some storekeepers even accepting tails in exchange for supplies. In addition to Dollies being falsely accused, tails came from falsely identified species resulting in young coho and trout tails being turned in. Fortunately, research by the last generation of fishery biologists showed that Dollies are not significant predators on young salmon, and their limited predation exerts no, or negligible influence on salmon abundance. Lucky for anglers, abundance of this valued game fish has remained high.

But Dolly Varden have an evil twin (or maybe a cousin); the closely related Arctic Char, Salvelinus alpinus. While Dollies mostly occur along the west coast of North America and Gulf of Alaska, Arctic Char have a circumpolar distribution farther to the north. Mainly differing in their respective numbers of gill rakers, vertebrae, and pyloric ceaca, the two species look very similar albeit with differences in their tails and spots. The record Arctic Char/Dolly Varden weighed a whopping 27 lbs, 6 oz and was caught by Mike Curtiss in 2002. Maybe you could catch one of these beasts! Better yet, catch and release certificates are available from the ADF&G Trophy Fish Program for Char/Dolly Varden over 30” that are released to swim another day. Check the details online.

Light spots on a dark background are the basic characteristics that distinguish char from trout, which differ by having dark spots on a lighter background. Mature male Dollies in spawning condition are indeed gorgeous: olive-green interspersed with red-to-orange spots, a lower jaw morphed into a kype, and brilliant red coloration on the lower body with reddish-black lower fins edged in white. How does one experience these exquisitely colored fish? October is a great month to turn off whatever Big Four sports program you are watching, get off the coach and get out Dolly fishing!

Dollies are flesh-tearing, egg eaters, converting all that salmon Beta-carotene into their own red-meated, brilliant spawning colors. So, grab your 5-weight flyrod and sinking line, go find a salmon stream and strip some flesh flies in the deeper pools underneath the salmon bellies. How can you resist not fishing patterns with names like Sleech, Pure Protein and Fillet-o-Flesh? Just remember to fish the spawn (not to spawning fish); that’s just poor form, interrupting the throes of piscine passion. Fish-On!

Photos Sought for 2023 Sport Fishing Regulations Summary Booklets Photo Contest

Send us your best shots! Did you get any great photos of your kiddos fishing this year? If so, send your top three photos our way.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), Division of Sport Fish, is accepting photo submissions for the 2023 Sport Fishing Regulation Summary booklets. ADF&G publishes four, separate sport fishing regulation summary books each year for the Northern, Southcentral, Southeast, and Southwest regions. Every year each regional booklet features a new cover photo of a youth angler or a family of anglers and their catch. The submission deadline for photo entries with a completed and signed Media Consent Release Form is 5:00 p.m., Monday, October 31, 2022.

Please email submissions to the appropriate contact in the region where the fish was caught. Your email should include the anglers first and last name, age, species of fish, and the name of the waterbody the fish was caught at and include as attachments the signed media release form and up to three photos. Remember, photos submitted without a media release form will not be accepted. Photos that show evidence of fish and game violations, unethical, or unsafe actions or advertisement will not be considered - this includes youths in a boat without a life vest.

A maximum of three photos may be entered. To be considered for the cover, the primary person in the photo must be under the age of 18 when the photo was taken, and the photo must have been taken in Alaska. We are looking for photos that represent what sport fishing means to young people and their families. Photos not selected for the cover, may be used on the inside pages of the corresponding booklet. There are no age requirements for individuals featured in photos to be considered for use on the inside pages. Layout restrictions apply to the front cover that only horizontal photos will be considered. Vertical and horizontal photos will be considered for inside pages and there is no age requirement.

You can email your submissions to the following regional contacts:

• Northern Alaska: Tim Mowry in Fairbanks, tim.mowry@alaska.gov
• Southcentral and Southwest Alaska: Shane Hertzog in Anchorage, shane.hertzog@alaska.gov
• Southeast Alaska: John Driscoll in Juneau/Douglas, john.driscoll_iii@alaska.gov

For more information, please visit our website.

ADF&G Completes ATV Trail Improvements to Stocked Lake Near Tok

An ADF&G crew from the Fairbanks office recently completed improvements to the ATV trail leading to Four Mile Lake, a stocked lake off the Taylor Highway about 16 miles east of Tok.

The ¾-mile trail that runs from the highway to the lake was showing serious signs of wear and users were beginning to create side trails around particularly wet areas where the trail runs through patches of muskeg, resulting in an undesirable spider web of trails.

The crew used skid-steer loaders and Yanmar tracked carriers to haul in and spread 600 yards of gravel to shore up and harden some of the softest sections of trail. The crew initially laid down a six-foot wide strip of geotextile fabric beneath the gravel to help keep the gravel in place.

The end result is a much nicer trail that should keep ATV users on the main trail and prevent side trails from becoming established thereby alleviating any additional damage to the surrounding terrain.

Photos for article were taken by Rick Queen from ADF&G.

Purchase your 2023 Sport Fishing License

If you want to get ahead in the final few months of 2022, purchase your 2023 Sport Fishing license!

You can purchase your 2023 Sport Fishing license through our online store, or you can purchase your license through the new ADF&G mobile app.

As we approach the holiday season, a Sport Fishing license makes a great gift for someone. You can purchase a license for someone else in our online store.

Division of Sport Fish Releases 2022-2027 Strategic Plan

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game – Division of Sport Fish (Division) is pleased to announce the release of its 2022-2027 Strategic Plan.

Information outlined in the Division’s strategic plan includes annual operating budget figures, goals and objectives related to six separate core services, and a breakdown of how the annual budget is allocated by core service.

“The Strategic Plan is the result extensive planning and focused teamwork conducted by Division staff,” Division Director, Dave Rutz said. “This Strategic Plan outlines measurable activities that will help us better understand and manage Alaska’s fish resources and identify ways to continue to improve service to our anglers and other stakeholders. We are all in a continual process of improvement and this plan not only serves as a guidepost for our future efforts, but it holds us, as a public service agency, accountable for what we do.”

A copy of the Strategic Plan is available as a downloadable file on the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s website.

Field to Plate - Recipe of the Month

Recipe of the Month – Next Level Alaska Pink Salmon Burger with Alaska King Crab Mayo.

Here’s a delicious recipe for Next Level Alaska Pink Salmon Burger with Alaska King Crab Mayo from the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.

Enjoy!

If you have any questions about the Reel Times newsletter, please contact Ryan Ragan at ryan.ragan@alaska.gov