A slow start to season

As I write this on Wednesday evening, flood warnings are still in place for the Susitna River and are expected to remain in place until Friday afternoon. All the extremely warm weather Southcentral Alaska has experienced the last several days may be the salvation of those living along the river corridors by breaking up the ice jams, but was also instrumental in causing the jams to begin with. This has been a really odd year.

I called Jeff Boatright at Susitna Landing Wednesday afternoon to see if he had noticed any hooligan migrating up the Kashwitna River. What he told me was interesting. Jeff said the landing was just on the verge of flooding caused by ice jams downriver on the Susitna backing up water levels into the Kashwitna. Apparently, the Kashwitna itself is open since he said boaters had been able to run upriver with no real problems.

Jeff commented that if even a small rise in water levels on the Kashwitna occurred, he “would be getting wet.” The campground was almost empty and Jeff was busy moving a few boats to more secure locations on site when I called. Let’s hope by the time this sees print, the flooding dangers are history, with no harm done, and a normal summer can begin.

I was glad to hear Jeff relate that his Memorial Day weekend business was much better than last year’s. He said the campground was about two-thirds full and, if there had been any fishing, he would have been completely full and turning folks away. With the current king salmon regulations in place, I was concerned that Susitna Landing might have been a ghost town over the holiday weekend. Apparently, the facility is becoming known for being more than just a fishing access site.

The main entertainment over the holiday weekend, Jeff said, involved folks sitting in their lawn chairs along the banks of the Kashwitna and watching the ice floes move downriver. An otter was spotted on one floe enjoying the free ride south. Jeff commented that folks really seemed to enjoy watching the ice break up and the river open up.

Regarding my question about hooligan – Jeff said the water was so turbid that nothing could be seen. Until things settle down and the waters clear, the hooligan could be anywhere.

Andy Couch sent me a copy of his column earlier this week and he discusses yet another facet of angler access concern in the Valley. I’ll not steal his thunder by going into any detail here, but read his column to find out about a chronic early season access problem for one of the premier fishing locations in the Northern District of Cook Inlet.

I also heard from Andy Wednesday evening. He’s been fishing since the weekend and has yet to either see a king or even get a bite for any of his clients. If Andy can’t get a customer at least a bite, then the fish just aren’t there. However, being the dedicated professional that he is, even on his free time Andy is still looking for that first strike and landing. He was planning a Thursday “busman’s holiday” trip to the Deshka and trying his hand at catching a king. I hope he made it over and back safely in light of the ice jam situation on the Susitna.

Here’s something that doesn’t involve water – in fact, it’s much easier to do standing on dry ground – the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) state championships will be held at the Grouse Ridge Shooting Grounds located just a little north of Wasilla next week. The theme of this year’s competition is 2013 SCTP Clay Target Safari. So far, 97 shooters are registered, and that’s not counting the Fairbanks group that is expected to attend.

There are 13 SCTP teams statewide and 12 of those are expected for the state championships. The newest team is from Sitka and won’t be attending this year’s matches. According to Lindy Moss, one of the founders of the SCTP program in Alaska, there are more than 200 kids involved in the SCTP shotgun sports statewide and the number is growing almost daily.

I don’t have a detailed schedule of events yet, but I believe there will be some level of competition almost every day next week. The main events will be finishing up on Saturday with an awards banquet for the shooters being held that afternoon. Call Grouse Ridge for details at 376-2473.

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Leave him a message at sports@frontiersman.com.