Went deer hunting the past 3 days by boat. Been tied to home here since Oct. as Sara had her hip replaced. She’s having a quite miraculous recovery, and already back to work part time and swimming. Then our friend Paul Bowen came to town to have his knee replaced, and he had some complications not related to surgery. So, I’ve been nursing family and only day hunted behind the house.

A friend who recently started hunting wanted to go, and that was all I needed to plan a trip. I hunted on Friday, and conditions are pretty nice. Although there’s no snow, the ground is frozen and so footing is as good as it gets. It’s a little noisy sometime, but otherwise the cold, dry days have been wonderful to hunt. You can hike all day in 28 degree weather.

My first day I knew would be a little short, as I was skiffing from Douglas Island over to our cabin. Plus our days are short already. So, I stuck mostly to the lowlands. I saw alot of buck rubs, but no deer the first day. Still, I thought to myself it was one of the best days I’d spent hunting as the conditions were so nice. I did see a sawhet(?) or pygmy owl, which is a rare sight.

Next day I went back to Douglas Island to pick up my friend, who was going to hunt Sat and Sun with me. We got back to our hunting spot about 930 am, and started up the hill. It was another dry, crisp day, and perfect for hiking. We got to the big muskeg at the base of the ridge, and decided to rest and call for while. On my 3rd or 4th series of bleat calls, “BANG”. I looked over and saw he’d shot at a deer, and soon signaled the deer was down. I never saw the deer nor maybe would have if I were alone, and I am more and more seeing that 4 eyes are better than 2. His was a button buck, and he was thrilled to get his second deer ever.

We dressed the deer and hung it from a tree to cool and keep away from the eagles and ravens. We went a short ways up the ridge, then side-hilled a ways, then back down to the base. We came into a small valley there with lots of brush, and a place that seems to be a deery place. We separated somewhat, and soon it was clear he had headed off course and not back to his hanging deer.

I got back to his deer, and then was blasting on my call as loud as I could. I was getting nervous the boat would be left dry on the out-going tide, and then we’d be stuck there till the evening as our skiff is too heavy to push down the beach, or get up on log rollers. When he finally came back from down hill, he said he’d not heard me calling. This was interesting in that he wasn’t that far away, and so maybe deer don’t hear the call when they aren’t too far away.

He also said he’d seen a big buck, but the deer was locked onto him and had him handcuffed. He didn’t have time to chamber a shell before the buck took off, and it didn’t come back when he tried calling. So, 1 buck in the tree and another big one seen – a great day by our standards.

The next morning I thought we’d better check the weather forecast just in case. I needed to be back on Tuesday to get Paul discharged and on the plane so couldn’t miss it. The forecast was for 20 kt north winds, increasing later in the day. We decided then we’d better do the dishes and plan to return to town today instead of staying another night.

When we got to the beach to hunt, the only place safe to put the boat was already being hunted by another cabin-owner. So, we decided to look for another place or go home. We decided to try finding safe anchorage along Douglas Island and hunting there. I’d hunted little on that side of the island, and knew it would be good for me to hunt other places since we hunt the hill across from our cabin mainly for convenience.

We found what we hoped was a good anchorage, anchored out the boat, then headed into the woods. The first 100 yards or so was a train wreck of blow downs and past logging. When we got past that, we found some nice areas of open areas and forest stands and nice buck rubs.

After calling in several spots, we were about half way up to the ridge, and decided to try again. I sent Matt uphill from me, and I called to the downhill. After the third series, I saw a deer slinking in the brush over to me, and stopped calling. When it came out across from me on the edge of the brush, I could see it was a nice buck. It stopped with it’s vitals directly behind a tree, and locked on to me. I had a good rest, and the crosshairs right between his eyes. It would need to be a precise shot, or I’d miss altogether. I looked at what body was visible, and it would have been only a crippling shot. So, I hoped the deer would just inch forward and give me a clear shot at his neck.

After a minute or 2 of not twitching even an ear, and me continuing to hold on his nose, the buck faced forward. My eye had started to blur, and the buck was in the darkness of the brush edge in an already darkened spruces stand. I couldn’t make a shot, and the deer walked off. Calling would not bring it back. That deer came all the way in and left without making a sound on the crunchy, dry forest floor.

I walked down to where he’d stood to see if I could see him again, but no luck. I walked back to Matt and told him of the big buck, which he’d not seen, and we were both excited to see something.

We worked our way up to the base of the ridge, calling in a few spots as we went up. When we got to the base of the ridge, there was a big expanse of open canopy with blowdowns everywhere. I had Matt posted at one end and me at the other, and started calling. After the third series, I thought I saw something flicker about 30 yards to my right, but could not see anything behind the blowdown.

I made a fourth soft call, and up comes a monster buck like you see on Genesee Beer signs. It was 20 yards away, and stopped when it saw me. I aimed and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. After a split second assessment, I realized the safety was still on. I flicked it off, and dropped the big buck. He looked like the king of the hill, with a hugely swollen neck and even had porcupine quills in his snout. Never, ever heard of that.

After the shot, I called to Matt, and simply said “Monster”. He came over, and his jaw dropped as I sat next to the Chief. Now how to get it back to the beach. I had several options – drag it, carry it, or butcher it on the spot. I wanted to take the whole animal out, so first tried to rig it for dragging. About 10 feet of that told me it wasn’t going to happen. We were 6/10 of a mile uphill in the Tongass and had to go over blowdowns and through the puckerbrush.

Next, I tried making a pack out of the deer. I couldn’t quite get it right as my brother in law had shown me. The front hocks wouldn’t lock into the back leg tendon for some reason.

Next we tried to tie the deer to my Bull Pac frame. After securing it, I had Matt help me up, and found I could walk with the deer on my back. So down the hill we headed.

I had to stop numerous times to rest and drink water. If I fell, it was a comical scene because I couldn’t get up. Matt would have to help again. When we finally reached sight of the beach, I had Matt go on and see that the boat was still floating so we wouldn’t be tided. I finally made it out to the beach, dropped the pack and deer, and staggered down the beach to the boat. Luckily, it was still floating. We brought the boat over to where I’d dropped the pack, retrieved the deer, and headed for town The PBR’s Matt brought never tasted so good.
–
Mark Stopha
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
www.GoodSalmon.com

Sara is having hip surgery on Thurs, so I’ve been trying to get out deer hunting since I returned from Prudhoe as it might be awhile before I can go again.  The weather here has been pouring rain and wind.  I finally took off on Monday about mid-day to hunt Tue and maybe Wed.

It rained all day and till about midnight on Monday.  Tue was nice, with a higher ceiling, some blue sky and no rain or wind.  I drank my coffee, cleaned the dishes, and headed out of the cabin.  When I got to my spot on Admiralty, I anchored the boat off shore.  Once in the woods, I thought I’d better try my deer call before I headed up the hill.  My call was a home made job with a flagging tape reed.  When I first tried, the call was garbled, so I adjusted the tension on the reed.  I tried several tensions until I got a tone that would work.  I shouldered my pack, took about 10 steps, and saw a flash of white.  I’d called in a deer while practicing.

I saw the deer go on the opposite side of the small creek that drains some beaver ponds, but didn’t see it go up the hill.  I noticed from the wind direction it shouldn’t have winded me, so I softly called, and tried changing positions from side to side and squatting to see if I could see if the deer had just run a few bounds then held to see what I was.

As I was scanning the small flat between the creek and the start of the hill, I locked on to the deer standing stone still, broadside, looking at me.  I dropped to one knee for a prone shot.  I cranked up the scope from 3 to 9.  I was having a hard time holding on him, but uncharacteristically told myself to calm down, breath slowly, and just get a good bead on him, since the deer didn’t look like it was going anywhere.  I got my breath, a steady enough aim, and knocked it down for good with one shot.

As I might be coming back this same way on my way out, I thought I’d better take the deer out by the beach to dress it since I’d have a better view if a bear showed up later. I dressed the deer, pulled back in the skiff, put the deer in with the belly down to drain, re-set the skiff, then back up the hill.

I didn’t see any more deer that day. I did find sign of a large buck at the base of the ridge – a 2 foot rub on a large alder that still showed the saw dust. Would like to see that deer some time.

When I got out of the woods, I debated whether to go home or back to the cabin and come in tomorrow. The weather was nice, and I thought Sara would have less to worry about if I came in yesterday, so that’s what I did.

I pawned the heart off on Ranger Dug, who is in from Bethel. Ron told me to save the liver for our mechanic, which I also did. Lungs will go for trapping bait.

Might be my only deer this year, so glad to get out and a good story to go with it.
–
Mark Stopha
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK  99801
www.GoodSalmon.com

Winter has set in here in on the Beaufort Sea in a hurry. Two days ago the weather was in the higher 30’s and open water. Just the fresh water ponds were starting to freeze. Yesterday, we went inside at 9 am and there was just a little ice starting on the shore. When we left again at 945, the bay had mostly iced in with a few open areas – just that quick. It’s not hard ice yet, but never saw ice form that fast.

Today the sow and 2 polar bear cubs we saw here last year appear to have come back again – at least from the size of the cubs, it seems they’re the same animals. First ones I’ve seen all season.

Daylight is fading fast, and with the westerlys gusting around 30, the windchill was reading below zero on our weather station thermometer today. I went from thinking we’d be running boats till the end of Oct to wondering if we’d make it now to the end of Sept

Winter has set in here in on the Beaufort Sea in a hurry. Two days ago the weather was in the higher 30’s and open water. Just the fresh water ponds were starting to freeze. Yesterday, we went inside at 9 am and there was just a little ice starting on the shore. When we left again at 945, the bay had mostly iced in with a few open areas – just that quick. It’s not hard ice yet, but never saw ice form that fast.

Today the sow and 2 polar bear cubs we saw here last year appear to have come back again – at least from the size of the cubs, it seems they’re the same animals. First ones I’ve seen all season.

Daylight is fading fast, and with the westerlys gusting around 30, the windchill was reading below zero on our weather station thermometer today. I went from thinking we’d be running boats till the end of Oct to wondering if we’d make it now to the end of Sept

My cousin from Olean, NY came through on the cruise ship with his wife, wife’s brother, and wife’s brother’s wife – who is now good friends with a high school classmate of mine because she is her hairdresser.

Had beautiful weather. Wasn’t sure all 4 would fit in my skiff, but it worked out fine. Mainly because we didn’t catch any fish so the rods weren’t having to be adjusted all the time. Great to catch up with my cousin, who I did not know very well until now.

After they left in the evening, went to my cabin and woke up and hunted today on another glorious day. I hiked all the way to the top of the ridge we hunt, missing a head shot on a doe that couldn’t have been more than 20 yards. But, the shot was off hand, and I thought it would be laying there when I got to the spot, but I never scratched it and didn’t see where it went in the steep brush terrain. The top of the ridge was amazing, with fall colors and able to see the other mountain tops in the area. Snoozed for awhile hoping I’d see a deer in the open semi-alpine, but maybe too hot for them to be out in the open.

I started down after about noon or 1 pm. The route I took down was longer than the one up. I called in one deer, but it saw or heard me first, and was moving away when I finally saw it. I could not follow it through all the brush to take a shot, so oh for two today.

Not sure how many more years I’ll be able to make the top of the ridge, so glad to do it today. Lots of big blue and huckle berrys still around. No bear sign in the woods, so they must still be on the rivers and creeks eating salmon. Deer – hard to tell. Hard to see this time of the year. We’ll see when the leaves drop.

Our senator – who was appointed by her dad when he ran for governor – just can’t stand the thought of work in the real world so she’s going to try a write-in campaign. This should virtually assure the Democratic candidate the seat when the two republicans split the vote, but I’m sure the D’s will find a way to screw it up – they almost always do. What’s Lisa Murkowski going to do if she loses again – try a coup? I was going to vote for her challenger just to get someone else in that seat until Sarah Palin endorsed him – then I grabbed the non-Republican primary ballot instead. I hope the Sitka mayor wins.
–
Mark Stopha
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
www.GoodSalmon.com

Ron and I went to his brother Roy’s place in Haines to subsistence fish for sockeye in the Chilkat River. Last year we got one sockeye and one chum fishing a net down at the mouth of the river. This year, we decided to try upriver where Ron and Roy had done pretty well a few weeks earlier. We boarded the Alaska ferry Matanuska in Juneau, taking Ron’s Ford Explorer so we had something to bring back any fish in, and another vehicle in Haines.

We arrived Saturday evening after a 4.5 hour ferry ride. We are in the midst of a beautiful week of Indian Summer, with temps near 70 and light winds. Sunday we all were up early. Roy and dog Riley took off up the mountain first thing, and Roy and I drank coffee and ate Roy’s chicken’s eggs for breakfast. When Roy returned, Ron harrassed him for being “late” and after Roy got some coffee we headed to the river.

A 50 ft net is allowed in the river, and it’s a lot less of a load than the 300 feet net allowed at the river mouth and out in the saltwater. The river is not wide where we fished – maybe 200 to 300 feet, so 50 feet is plenty. We made 1 pass, and had nearly 20 fish. So I got out and started cleaning on the bank while Ron and Roy made a second pass. When they returned, I had cleaned a third or so of the fish from the first haul, and the boys had about the same number of fish on their second haul. Ron and I continued cleaning fish while Roy remarked that it sure was nice to have “crew”.

When we finished cleaning, we thought we’d make one more drift downstream a few miles near the boat launch. That drift produced the nicest fish – bright and bigger – than the first two drifts. We got those fish in the boat, hauled out the boat, and headed right to Roys to clean them as we were out of container to hold them on the boat. It was in the 60’s already, and could not have been a nicer fall day. The decidous trees were in full color – mainly yellow with a few reds – and the mountains around Haines are magnificent. There are not many places as beautiful as a clear day in Haines. Mountains – some with glaciers – all around, the smell of autumn in the air, and tooling up a river are about a perfect day. Catching 50 sockeye and a few coho and chum made it all the better.

We got back to Roys and finished cleaning the last haul of fish, and then rinsed the earlier fish that we’d “dry” cleaned on the bank. Ron and I went and bought some more ice, while Roy called a few neighbors he’d promised fish. Ron and I packed our fish in ice in our coolers, and put all in Roy’s garage so the bears wouldn’t get them.

Roy has a few cherry trees that were over flowing with cherries. I’d not seen cherries like this before. They are like marachino cherries, with soft, flame-red skin. I picked nearly 3 gallons, as did Ron. Then Roy got out the magic cherry pitting machine, which Ron and I used to clean the cherries. Ron got cherries the last trip up, and his wife sent up a pie for Roy that was out of this world. I’m going to make jam with my batch, and guessing Ron will have Jeannie make pie again.I have a moose tag for the Delta River area that I plan to hunt in Oct. Roy said he could go, so I tentatively have a partner for the hunt.

Heading back to Juneau on the Monday morning ferry now. I started a brake power booster replacement on my truck on Friday that went way too well. Identified the problem part, got it off easily, then took it to O’Reily’s. They asked me all the info on the truck, including the vehicle weight. I put the booster on, then my master cylinder holes wouldn’t line up with the mounting bolts on the booster. They said they had the master cylinder that was what I needed. So after the second trip out there for the part, that master cylinder, too, would not fit. On call number 3, I got a different clerk who said “we often run into this problem”, and he asked what booster I had and my vehicle weight. The booster was for the lighter model of my truck. So, I had to take off the booster that I’d already painstakingly installed twice already (forgot to put on a part after the first try), and return it to them.

Of course, not one of the 4 parts stores in town (or the Haines store) had the one I needed in stock. I asked O’Reily’s how fast they could get me one and what it would cost. They said they had one in the Anchorage store, but could not tell me for 24 hours how much shipping would be. I called up to the Anchorage stores, only to find out they did not have the part there either. Needless to say, I went to the “home town” parts store, who ended up getting my the part overnight and didn’t even require pre-payment. I generally go with small and local, but the new O’Reily’s is much closer to my home than the other stores further, so I usually check with them first. Now I see it was no savings in time – in fact, would have been a lot quicker to go with the local store with experienced clerks – so a lesson learned.

So, back to Juneau to hopefully put the truck brakes back together, and get my fish processed up. Not sure what yet to do with them. Might decide to can a bunch since I haven’t done that in a long time, and canned fish is less of a worry. If you do it properly, the fish is good for years and years and never a worry about freezer burn. But, what you can make with it is somewhat limited.

Hope to head out on an overnight deer hunt on the ridge across from my cabin on Wed, opening day for “doe season” as we call it. Deer season opens for bucks only Aug 1, then either sex Sept 15 to Dec 31. We always hope for a buck, but having the option for either sex is a bonus since there’s usually a lot of country to cover to find a deer. The leaves are still on the blueberry and devil’s club plants now, making visibility poor, and spotting a deer even less likely. With the warm weather, the deer will likely still be in the high country, where visibility is alot better above the treeline.
–
Mark Stopha
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
www.GoodSalmon.com