Have an '€˜ice'€™ time fishing in the New Year

I can remember as a child how time seemed to drag by.

I dreaded the mandatory afternoon naps and some days seemed to last forever, like the last day of school before summer break or having to go shopping with my mother for clothes or shoes. Now that I’m on the other end of my life, naps don’t seem like such a bad idea. It also seems time passes sometimes before I even know it is happening. Another year is almost over and I’m still consciously remembering to write 2009 on checks rather than 2008.

If your sense of time is similar to mine, I’ll pass on a few reminders.

First, the deadline for submitting your drawing permit hunt application online is Thursday. Since the application process is online, I suspect you have until midnight, but to be safe, I would suggest you complete and submit your application by end of business at 5 p.m. The deadline for submitting a drawing hunt application by mail was two weeks ago. After today, paper applications postmarked by Dec. 15 will no longer be accepted.

I wrote about the various permit hunts and requirements back in November and suggested everyone apply early. I then promptly forgot my own advice. I submitted my online application this past weekend after remembering I hadn’t yet applied for my usual three antlerless moose hunts. One of these years I might even draw one.

The second item is also calendar related. You’ll need your 2010 hunting or fishing license to participate in these activities starting this Friday, Jan. 1. Lots of folks are ice fishing and a few are chasing hares or ptarmigan or perhaps some furbearers like fox or coyote. The wildlife enforcement folks will be out checking, so don’t forget to get the new license. It’s cheaper to buy the license than to pay the fine for failing to have a current one.

If you’re actively pursuing the various furbearers, make sure you have a current trapping license as well. The time period during which a trapping license is valid is different than the hunting license, so make sure you check current copies of both the hunting and trapping regulations for an explanation of the license timeframes and differing bag limits and methods and means between licenses for various furbearers.

A combination of the weather and other commitments has prevented me from doing much outside so far this winter. The weather always seemed to be too cold, too snowy or too warm. When the weather did cooperate, I had something else scheduled. I haven’t even inspected my icefishing gear yet. However, I have been looking at some of the websites, like Fish and Game’s, describing some suggested lakes and ice conditions.

Most of the lakes I’ve seen listed had ice thicknesses of 13 to 15 inches. That’s adequate for walking and for vehicles like snowmachines or ATVs, but I’d still be leery of driving a highway vehicle out onto ice of that thickness, especially since the warm spell we’re experiencing may be weakening the ice. All the websites further caution about being careful around stream inlets or outlets on the lakes and being aware of springs and other thin ice situations. Better to be cautious than the alternative.

But enough talk about ice. I have promised my wife for the last three years, at least, that we would go to Hawaii for a break during the winter. For one reason or another, in addition to me being too cheap to pay for the trip, we haven’t gone. This new year is different. The reservations are made and the credit card has been charged. We’re going for a couple of weeks in January.

After some negotiations about who wants to do what, we finally settled on a short stay in Honolulu to do the touristy thing and then spend the rest of our time on the Big Island of Hawaii. I’ve been interested in the various hunting and fishing opportunities that are available and will investigate them while we’re on the Big Island. I’m not holding my breath about actually doing any hunting because of Hawaii’s laws about firearms importation and hunter education certification, but I’ll find out while I’m there. If things do work out, maybe I’ll get a half-day of bird hunting in on one of the private ranches that cater to these types of hunts.

I’m actually hoping to do some fishing there. As I understand it, a license is not required for saltwater fishing and surfcasting is a common method the locals use. They have charter boats available also, but the pricing might be a little beyond my modest means. I’ll investigate that aspect as well and, if the opportunity presents itself, I’ll try that too. At this point, though, I’m just hoping to enjoy either some surfcasting or fishing from shore in the public fishing areas.

I’m planning to visit the local fish and game office to learn the rules and hopefully find a local sporting goods store with a selection of fishing gear and some folks willing to offer advice to a “newbie” to the Hawaiian recreational fishing experience. I’ll share whatever I learn in future columns.

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. You can leave him a message by e-mailing sports@frontiersman.com.