We went clamming on Saturday’s minus low tide. The minus low tides are always in the evening in the winter. We generally only dig clams in the winter as most cases of Paralytic Shellfish Poisioning occur during the warmer months. We also only dig steamer clams, which I’ve never have heard of a PSP incident. There are many species of clams on the beach where we go – steamer clams, butter clams, mussels, horse clams, pink neck clams and cockles. Butter clams seem to hold PSP when it is present, and mussels have the highest PSP when it’s around. I don’t much care for cockles, and horse clams and pink necks are deeper and more work.

We arrived at the cabin about 3 pm, before it got dark. We hoofed it into our cabin to wait for the low tide at about 6:30 pm. We put on our headlamps and headed to the beach after starting a fire in the woodstove.

“Our” beach used to be full of steamer clams. We are the only ones who dig there that we know of. To my disappointment, we didn’t get many. About 7 gallons worth (2, five-gallon buckets about 2/3s full), between 3 of us digging. And, we dug all over the area. Not sure what the lack of clams could be – maybe we’ve harvested the beach and it has not caught up (hard to believe, but a possiblity); maybe the clams died off from the big fall storms we had this year, or maybe something else. Not any pollution, etc. in the area. Hey – it’s probably global warming!!

Anyway, we brought back the buckets of clams, and divided them among the families. I took ours and topped off the bucket with fresh sea water. A few days later, I poured off the water and replaced with more sea water. It’s supposed to allow the clams to expell any grit before we eat them.

We started in on them on Saturday evening. One good thing about clams – they’re easy to get and easy to cook. We just steam them open and eat. I think if you have to put them in butter or something else, they aren’t good enough for me. Even with the water change, though, I managed to eat a few clams that had some stones in them, but other than that, they were fantastic as usual. You can sprinkle corn meal in the water so the clams will take in the corn meal and expell any grit, so we’ll try that next time.

It’s been along winter so far, and it’s still January. The days are getting longer, though, and we hope to get out and fish some rings for king crab in the next few days.

Well, it was a big deer harvest for just about everybody here but me. Had my chances, but choked. The last day, there was a deer 40 yards away. I knew I had a shell in the .270 chamber, so I clicked off the safety, raised the gun to my shoulder, and DOUGH!!, forgot to take off the scope cover. That’s all the deer needed. It was gone and I never did see it again. Had a chance at another one later in the day and missed that one, too.

I managed to beg a deer from my friend who had already harvested plenty. He was going on a planned hunt, so I told him not to come back with any unused bullets.

I butchered that deer this morning before work. There’s a certain satisfaction to skinning and cutting up a deer. I don’t know many of my friends in the lower-48 who butcher their own meat – most manage to gut the deer, then put it in the back of the truck and to the butcher they go. Here, sometimes you need to bone out a deer and bring just the meat back if you’re out in the toulies several miles or longer than you want to haul out a whole deer.

Now that deer season is over, it’s time to look at the tide book and schedule a clam dig. Looks like about the 19th of this month will work. Clamming is among the most productive harvesting treks – you always know you’ll bring back clams, the harvest occurs at a time defined by the tides, and when the tide floods or your back gives up, you know it’s time to quit and head back, usually for some coffee as the digging usually takes place in the winter evening with head lamps.

We’ve had about 5 to 6 feet of snow here in northern Southeast. It’s been a tough year for deer, but a gravy train for deer hunters. At least alot of deer hunters, me excluded. When the snow piles up in the woods, the deer are forced to the beach to escape the deep snow and also to find a food source in kelp, as much of their browse inland is buried.

With a number of mild winters, deer populations grew. A big snow winter like this really wacks the population. It also makes a boon for deer hunting, which is now just a matter of cruising the beaches in a boat in search of deer. To be legal, you have to beach the boat before shooting. The parking lots at the launch ramps were full, as everyone and his brother was out for the easy pickins’.

The snow is melting now. We were out in the woods hunting this weekend, and the snow was still up to your butt in places, so it’s still pretty tough going. If more doesn’t melt off, it will likely be a big deer winter kill this season, even with a higher hunter harvest. I’m sure the ecosystem here cycles around the deer in some way. The carcases will provide food for the eagles, ravens, crows, mink, marten, wolves, and bears when they wake up in the spring, and I’m sure they’ll populations will increase as a result.

We were out hunting on Sat., and it sounded similar to opening day of deer gun season back in upstate NY. We heard shots all day. My partner got a deer where we were hunting back up in the woods. I didn’t see a deer, but did manage to wrench my knee in the deep snow, and now am out of commission for awhile. Pretty tough going in the woods, and I sure don’t envy the deer.

– Mark Stopha and Sara Hannan
Alaska Wild Salmon Company Wild Salmon and Salmon Pet Treats
4455 N. Douglas Hwy Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-3115
www.GoodSalmon.com

We bought the new boat, the F/V Minnow, a 26 foot
skiff with a wheelhouse forward, to dress and move
fish from the fishing grounds to our processor.

I went to the Taku area twice in September to buy
fish. The first day, I bought fish from fishermen as
they caught them. I got down to the fishing area just
before it opened, and spoke to a few boats about
selling me fish. I had 4 selling to me, and thought I
should get more as it started off slow. Gradually,
though, each boat brought their catch and got back to
their set, and in no time, I had all I could handle
and was grateful I’d not done more soliciting.

The boat is equipped with a 2 stroke washdown pump.
It worked fine, except it was like having a chainsaw
running all day. I switched to a 12 volt water pump
the second trip. That was much better, but I did have
to keep an eye on the battery so as not to run it down
too far before starting the engine and charging it
back up.

The seagulls were fun to observe. They knew I was
throwing overboard lots of good grub for them like
airbladders and roe, but just could not bring
themselves to come right up to the side of the boat to
get it. They’d let it sink before they’d cross an
imaginary distance to the boat where they felt safe.
You could almost see the anguish on their faces as the
roe sank out of reach to feed whatever critters dined
on it below.

The new boat looks like it will work great for what we
need. It was hard going further into debt at the end
of the season knowing the boat will now sit until we
can use it next spring, but I’m confident it’s exactly
what we need and the price was right.

Wow, what a lot of rain over the last 14 months, even
for the rainforest. I’m really looking forward to
some deer hunting once the leaves drop. With all the
rain, even if you get a day of relief and go hunting
when the foliage is still lush, you get soaked unless
you wear raingear as all the leaves hold the water
from the previous days rain.

–
Mark Stopha and Sara Hannan
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
Wild Salmon and Salmon Pet Treats
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-3115
www.GoodSalmon.com
“GET OFF THE SOFA and VOTE FOR STOPHA!”
for Juneau Assembly, Oct. 2006
Download Campaign Sign at www.GoodSalmon.com

It’s been a manic three days. At my first candidate
forum, I was the only candidate talking about the
harbor situation. I was frantically trying to get
some support the next day with a few phone calls, and
doubting I was getting my message out. However, the
next day, we all were talking about it, and again
today we talked about it. So, if I can get the
mayoral candidates talking about it, along with the
the other candidates vying for the 2 assembly seats,
I’ll have achieved what I set out to do. It’s really
fun not running to win, but just running. I feel like
I’m a lot less guarded in what I say. People are
coming up to me and thanking me for informing them on
the situation.

The forum yesterday was the Chamber of Commerce, and
probably one of the most important. One of the former
assembly members called after the meeting and
helpfully told me I had all kinds of Alaska Public
Offices Commission violations going on. I called APOC
and got the straight skinny, then did what I was told
to keep on the straight and narrow. We made the front
page of the newspaper today, complete with what looks
like a pitcher of beer in front of myself and David
Stone.

Hope to get the boat ready to buy fish this Sunday.
The boat is so freakin big on the trailer it scares
me. It’s going to take some getting used to. And, my
wife told me last night I was not to sell the skiff as
she thought it would be a waste to use the big boat
for short trips hunting and that it would be better to
leave the skiff unattended on anchor than the bigger
boat. What a woman!

Two days in a row with no rain. We even dipped to 30
degrees last night, and it finally feels like deer
hunting time. Doe season opened today, but I don’t
see me hunting till after the election.

–
Mark Stopha and Sara Hannan
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
Wild Salmon and Salmon Pet Treats
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-3115
www.GoodSalmon.com
“GET OFF THE SOFA and VOTE FOR STOPHA!”
for Juneau Assembly, Oct. 2006
Download Campaign Sign at www.GoodSalmon.com

Up to Anchorage to talk to the Marine Advisory Program
assessment team on Sunday and back last night. Flight
delayed 3 hrs north and 45 minutes south. The MAP
asked me to speak to the assessment team about how I
use MAP in my business. One of the assessment team
members is an old Peace Corps buddy, and it was great
seeing him.

Returned to find my boat in my driveway. My friend
Ken pulled it off the ferry and hauled it home. He
parked it just off the road, and I needed to back it
out to the road shoulder, move the hitch to the front
of the truck, and push it up the driveway. In doing
so, I took out my neighbor’s mailbox and newspaper
box, so off to the lumber yard to fix his roadside
post.

Had an interview with the local public radio station
today for the assembly election. I may have to watch
my coffee intake prior to these… I’m more than
certain I got across my issue of the harbor funding
and management, and probably offended many other
people with my stance on the nearby mine.

–
Mark Stopha and Sara Hannan
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
Wild Salmon and Salmon Pet Treats
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-3115
www.GoodSalmon.com
“GET OFF THE SOFA and VOTE FOR STOPHA!”
for Juneau Assembly, Oct. 2006
Download Campaign Sign at www.GoodSalmon.com