Youth program on target

Tuesday’s Frontiersman ran a story on the SCTP, or Scholastic Clay Target Program, state championships held at the Grouse Ridge shooting facility this past weekend. Tim Rockey did a nice job of discussing the championship shoots. I was out there Friday evening and can add some information.

The more than 70 youth shooters represented seven teams, six of which are member teams of the Alaska SCTP program. The Grouse Ridge Rangers represented Wasilla; Kachemak Bay Skeeters represented Homer; Peninsula Shooting Stars represented Soldotna; Rabbit Creek Youth League represented south Anchorage, while a team from the Birchwood Shooting Range represented the northern Anchorage area; and a team represented Ketchikan. Fairbanks fielded a team as well, but has not yet officially joined SCTP.

As Tim mentioned in his article, last year’s championship match only had two or three teams (if memory serves, they were Wasilla, Anchorage and Homer), so the program has doubled in a year. Four or five other locations around Alaska have expressed interest in starting SCTP teams, so next year’s championships could be even bigger.

The bottom line for SCTP is to get kids involved in the shotgun shooting sports. The program is structured so that students can earn college scholarships and other benefits by shooting well while maintaining their grades. If you or your kids are interested in learning more about SCTP in Alaska, call Neil or Lindy Moss at Neil’s Lock & Safe in Wasilla at 373-0961. Neil is the state director for Alaska SCTP and the head coach of the Grouse Ridge Rangers.

Kings update

Retention of king salmon has closed for the season in all Unit 2 Susitna drainage rivers and tributaries. It’s catch-and-release only now. The closure went into effect this past Monday at 11 p.m. My wife and I made two trips to the Kashwitna River hoping for a chance at a king while bank fishing, but had no luck. We also had to deal with a couple of rude boating anglers while we bank fished.

The boaters decided to either anchor up or drift through the actual areas where my wife and I were actively casting. The guy who drifted through didn’t seem to have a clue that he was cutting off my fishing until I asked him if he minded if I fished. When my next comment was that he was drifting right through the area where I had been casting, he turned his back to me and continued his drift downriver. I could have easily hit him with my lure (I thought about it) — he was that close.

The other guy who anchored up actually was about 10 feet beyond my casting range. I really didn’t begrudge him too much, other than if I did get a hook-up, I would have had to possibly deal with the fish tangling my fishing line in his anchor line. And, to add insult to injury, his passenger hooked into a 10- to 12-pound king, which they landed and kept, within about three minutes of anchoring. As we watched them land the fish, my wife whispered to me that we should have brought the boat. Ouch.

I have heard some folks talking about the king runs in the Northern District being a little better than last year and saying it like it was a really good thing. I, too, would like to see stronger runs than last year’s. The 2011 season saw only five of 17 systems tracked by Fish and Game make minimum escapements of king salmon. Speaking of weak returns, I just got word Fish and Game has closed the Little Susitna River to all king salmon fishing for the remainder of the season, effective today at 6 a.m. Maybe things aren’t so good after all.

One way you can help offset the financial damage being done to several businesses because of the poor king returns would be to patronize the local campsite/fishing facilities around the area. Most of the sites have some access to trout or Dolly fishing, and just camping out and sitting by a campfire can be a stress-relieving break from the everyday grind of life.

Goodbye, Ron

A “burial at sea” will occur at Susitna Landing at 8:30 p.m., June 22 for Ron Wilson, a well-known fishing guide and former operator of the Susitna Landing facility. Plan to attend, pay respects, camp out and enjoy an evening of reminiscing with his wife, Marilyn.

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