Fishing and firing: what’s new

Andy Couch has returned to the Frontiersman with his fishing report column. I’ve known Andy for many years and he is arguably the most knowledgeable fisher I know. I have spoken with several people Andy has guided over the years, and everybody compliments his efforts to find his clients fish. Nobody can guarantee someone fishing with them will catch a fish, but nobody tries harder than Andy to make that opportunity available to his anglers.

Andy also knows what’s happening around the Valley, and where. His contacts in the sport fish community are extensive and Andy makes a point of telling his readers the way it is every week. I read his column (usually the first thing I look for in Friday’s paper) to stay on top of what’s happening and plan my own fishing trips accordingly.

For years, Andy has invited me to go fishing with him for either king or silver salmon. And every year, something has come up which prevented me from going. Well, enough of that! This year, I’m planning to take Andy up on his offer for some king salmon fishing on the Little Susitna River. I’ve only been downriver one time over the years, so I’m looking forward to the trip as much as the chance of catching a fish.

If you’re looking to book a guided fishing trip in the Valley, give Fishtale River Guides a call and reserve a spot. Rain or shine, you’ll be glad you did!

While we’re talking fishing, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has been releasing a weekly sport fishing report for the Northern Cook Inlet area for a couple weeks now. This week’s report states that a few kings have been caught at the mouth of the Deshka River, but king activity is still slow. Fish and Game says things will pick up as the month progresses.

The report also says pike fishing is improving, along with trout, grayling and Dolly Varden. The stocking trucks are out and several lakes have already been stocked with catchable rainbow trout. If you enjoy hooligan (the fish, not the thugs), schools have been seen at the mouth of the Yentna River. Dipnetting for these fish should pick up as the schools migrate upriver to spawn. Historically, Memorial Day weekend has been the time to catch fish in Willow and drainages further north.

Now that Andy’s back, I won’t comment too much on the day-to-day, local fishing activities. He’s better at getting the “where, when and how” information out to you, the reader. I’ll still comment on some of the fisheries politics though.

In the last couple weeks, I’ve written about blackpowder cartridge rifles and hunting in Alaska. That Sharps rifle in 50-90 caliber I mentioned was originally purchased about 30 years ago. At the time, I had open sights, along with a tang sight and a blade front sight installed.

Over the years, I’ve found I can better see a globe-style front sight with a pin, so I switched over about 15 years ago. I’ve kept the tang sight but also had a period-correct scope installed too. I couldn’t afford the really good Malcolm-style scopes (starting at over $1,000), so I bought the “poor man’s version” (priced around $450). This lower-price-range scope was fine, but the mounts (at least the early versions I had) left a lot to be desired.

I’ve arrived at the age where I don’t see iron sights very well, so I started looking for a good set of mounts for the Malcolm scope I had. When I called the “Cadillac” scope maker for bases, I was told that I could buy a complete scope, mounts, and bases setup for only a “little” more than just the mounts and bases.

The Winchester “B” series-style scope I ordered is correct for the Sharps rifle, but historically, would date more toward the end of the bison hunting era rather than during the peak period. That’s fine! Once the setup arrives and I have a gunsmith mount the scope, I will have a blackpowder rifle where I can actually see both the sights and the target when shooting!

I also have a replica Winchester 1885 single-shot rifle in a more modern but obsolete caliber that I was finally able to find a decent set of mounts for to put my other Malcolm-style scope on. I’m working on a good lead bullet load, because I’m hoping to take it out bear hunting this spring.