As the bears awake, the outdoor projects begin

The bears are emerging from their winter dens and starting to move about. There have been a number of media cautions recently reminding folks to leave the bears alone and clean up any attractants that may be present in backyards and on decks. Cleaning up bird feeders and storing household garbage either in bear-proof containers or indoors until disposal are common sense recommendations. You'll be doing everyone, including the bears, a big favor by heeding this advice!

Speaking of bears, the bear-baiting season is open. If you tend to wander in relatively non-frequented places, be on the lookout for signs indicating a bear bait site is near. Somebody has established a bait site and is watching it for signs of bear activity. Leave the site unmolested — it's a violation of the law to interfere with lawful hunting activities. Besides, there is currently an over abundance of bears in our area and thinning the ranks some will help with moose calf survivals as this spring continues.

I was hoping one of the uses I could put my six-wheeler to would be establishing and hunting a bear bait station this year. I hadn't foreseen the shoulder replacement and eye surgeries I've had over the past few months so, yet again, things are on hold for this year. I have a general area in mind and will probably do more exploring through the summer months. Let's hope next spring sees me healthy and better able to accomplish this task. Bear baiting, done properly, is a lot of work but can yield good results and great memories.

I have started some of my outdoor toy projects. The boat trailer winch is mounted and operational. I had to slightly redrill one hole to get the electric winch mounted where the manual winch had been. I also had to make a "pigtail" connector between the truck wiring and the winch wiring because of slightly differing plug-in connectors between the two. Now I need to figure out a way to conveniently carry that pigtail and the emergency hand crank with the trailer since I also occasionally tow the boat behind the small motorhome for fishing trips. Keeping the pigtail and hand crank with the trailer rather than the boat just seems to make more sense to me.

My experience doing these projects has generally involved finding that a "simple" modification often leads to even more work than originally planned. I don't mind that fact unless it delays the use I had intended for the toy in a timely manner. I'm learning to start projects early and think them through as best I can prior to even picking up a tool to begin working!

The summer season is starting to get active! In addition to fishing, boating, camping, spring bear hunting (I wish), gardening preparations (I need to roto-till our old garden area so my wife can plant wildflower seeds), yard clean-up, gear modifications and all the other stuff I've mentioned before, I'll be helping teach some hunter education classes in May.

Fish and Game currently offers three different hunter education certifications: basic, bowhunting, and muzzleloading. Starting this fall or next spring, a fourth option will be available: crossbow. Alaska, unlike the majority of other states, classifies crossbows as a separate hunting tool, not included under the bow-and-arrow definition. The Board of Game passed a regulation requiring that all hunters using a crossbow must have a hunter education crossbow certification by July 1, 2018.

The hunter education staff is currently developing a crossbow curriculum and will begin certifying instructors this fall. I'm already signed up for the first instructor training class scheduled for late September. Once enough instructors are in place, classes for the public will be scheduled, probably beginning either late fall 2017 or spring of 2018.

Most of the active crossbow hunters I am aware of are folks who, for whatever reason, have applied for and received a methods and means exemption from Fish and Game allowing them to use a crossbow during a bow-and-arrow hunt. Most of these folks are older and can no longer draw a hunting weight "vertical" bow, due to age or disability. My shoulder surgery puts me squarely in that group and, yes, I have already applied for and received the exemption.

I figure I ought to help others learn to use a crossbow safely and properly. Do you have any idea how much damage a crossbow can inflict on a thumb held above the "deck" when a bolt is fired?