Summer to fall transition a busy time for outdoorsmen

We are beginning another seasonal transition. As I write this, the rain is falling steadily outside and the leaves are starting to take on their fall colors in the front yard. With this transition comes a new burst of outdoors activity.

My wife and I went fishing recently. No, we didn’t have any luck bank fishing, but we watched probably a dozen silvers caught by boaters out in front of us. Virtually all the fish I saw on stringers had some color to them, indicating they had been in the river for awhile and hadn’t just arrived from saltwater. This is one sign of the coming fall.

The leaves changing color is another. However, the one plant transition that always catches my eye involves fireweed, probably my favorite wildflower. As the top begins to blossom, I know silver fishing either has begun or will shortly. When the blossoms begin to whither, I know the fishing is peaking and that hunting season isn’t far off. Once the fireweed begins to release its seeds to drift with the slightest breeze, I generally begin my own shift from the things of summer into fall activities. Some of those fall activities actually involve work.

I finally started bucking up the main pile of firewood in the backyard this past week. The chainsaw hadn’t been used for awhile and it took a little effort to get it going. Once it ran smoothly, the logs started to become blocks. I’ve already figured where I’ll set up the electric splitter (yeah, I know, but I’m not as young as I used to be) to make the blocks into usable firewood. And then there’s the stacking. I’ve still got a fair amount of bucking to do, but at least I’ve finally started on the project.

Picking up my harvest tickets is another fall chore I’ve recently almost completed. I say almost because, while I have the brown bear drawing permit and the moose registration permit I wanted, I’ve yet to buy my $25 brown bear tag, as required by the drawing permit. It also dawned on me that the Sept. 1 opening of the waterfowl season is fast approaching. That means I’ll have to buy both the state and federal duck stamps too. This will be my last year for buying the state duck stamp — that’s one good thing about turning 60.

I’ve also started to plan some upland bird hunting trips. They can range anywhere from simply driving the back roads early in the morning to perhaps a couple-day trip in the RV to some areas I know where there are good numbers of birds and easy public access. If I do make that longer trip, there’s also a good chance for some snowshoe hares to possibly make the return trip home in the cooler.

I’m waiting for the order to come in for some new hunting clothes I found online. I probably didn’t really need them, but how can you pass up $10 heavyweight camouflage jeans? I can’t buy beater pants for that price. The little gadget I ordered that fits in the wide mouth of a plastic water bottle will make drinking easier and less sloppy too.

I need to check and make sure I have the proper ammunition for one of the two rifles I want to hunt moose with during the general season — which, by the way, opens today here in Subunits 14A and 14B. I know I sighted it in earlier this summer, but I can’t remember which bullet weight I used (remember my comments about turning 60) — another thing to check on in the next couple of days. The other rifle is good to go, so I may start with it if I get out this first week.

We haven’t stopped fishing yet either. In fact, we’re making plans to take the boat out this coming weekend to try for some late season silvers. We’ll probably make it an RV camping weekend too, just to get a little more use out of the motorhome before freezing temperatures start setting in.

My seasonal timing got messed up this year with the poor king returns to the Valley. I couldn’t justify catching a fish for the freezer when there was a good likelihood there wouldn’t be enough kings to make escapement goals, so Debby and I never went king fishing. Now that the silvers have been showing up in good numbers, we’ve fired up the fishing effort, but this is normally when we both start thinking about cleaning the gear and storing it for the year rather than making another trip. My wife commented that this is the latest we have ever fished for silvers. She gets cold easily and I’m usually thinking hunting, but a little change is probably good for the routine.

Lake fishing for rainbows should be picking up too. I’ll have to add a fishing trip to the lake a mile from the house to my list of stuff to do before September is over. And then there’s the pile of icefishing gear I haven’t used for a couple of years to sort through and organize.

This is definitely a transition time.

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.