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Fishing Alaska News & Tips
September 2005

This month's tip | News | New on Website | Index of past months

The summer frenzy of Alaska fishing tapers off during September, although fishing opportunities never really go away.  Salmon runs continue in some areas even into October, and winter fishing is possible in saltwater and is a pleasant pastime for many Alaskans fishing through the ice.

I'm pleased to announce the first of what I hope can be regular  monthly tips.  These are short items designed to help you get more out of your Alaska fishing.  This month, Bernard Rosenberg pens some practical advice on taking care of fishing gear at season's end.  Good rods and reels are expensive, and these tips will help maintain that investment.

Good fishing.....David

David M Johnson
Publisher / OutdoorsDirectory.com
PO Box 609
Delta Junction, AK 99737

TIPS

RODS & REELS: Care and storing for long life

 

Days are shorter, nights are longer, and the frenzy of summer fishing is just about over. As we wind down toward the last cast, it’s time to think about caring for the gear.

Rod care is easiest. Daily use always begs a wash and visual check, but seasonal storage demands more. Follow these tips to keep a high performance stick.

• Hand wash with mild soap and soft cloth, and rinse clean. Remove the reel so that the seat can be scrubbed and lightly oiled. Be judicious; oil can damage finishes.
• Inspect your guides and scrub them with a toothbrush. Apply a small amount of oil to rollers on saltwater rigs. Ferrules can be checked for abrasion by running a strip of panty hose through them. If it snags, replace them as nicks abrade line.
• If your handles are cork, an alcohol wipe cleans well. If not, use fine grit waterproof sandpaper.
• Never lean your rods. They are stored best on a coat hanger in a sheath or bare in a closet. Do not store in tubes.

Reel care is critical. Corrosion never sleeps, and the reel's biggest enemy is exposure to saltwater and sand.

• Remove spools and rinse in fresh water. Never high pressure spray because this drives salt or sand into gears and removes oil and grease. Dry reels with a soft cloth.
• Thoroughly clean your reel and spray with aerosol lubricant. If necessary, get an overhaul. Too much oil or lube will impede performance.
• Always loosen the drag when you store your reel, and find a cool dry area for storage.

Line preservation or replacement is essential. Nicks, sunlight, and mechanical wear take their toll. Twists become monofilament memories and fly lines have limited life. Line is generally a low budget item, so when in doubt about quality, replace.

• Spin fishermen can untwist monofilament by trailing unweighted behind a boat. Limpness can be improved by soaking an entire spool overnight in a fabric softener. Mono spools are best bound by wide rubber bands like those wrapped around green vegetables. Mark the test with ink on masking tape under the spool. Rinse and dry all and store like your rods and reels.
• Fly fishermen should soak line in hot soapy water (baby shampoo) for several hours and then rinse and dry on a large arbour vented spool. Commercial line dressing is recommended since lines lose their slick due to the natural wear of shooting out, but with care you can get several seasons. Fly lines should never be stored on small diameter spools. Use large arbours. Inspect your backing for rot if you fish saltwater, and replace if necessary.

This month's tip is by Bernard Rosenberg, an Alaska fishing enthusiast and author.  Rosenberg is a prolific poster on the Alaska Fishing Forum, and author of Alaska Fishing on A Budget.

NEWS

NEWS: September 26 & 30, 2005 -- Beginning September 27, the entire Buskin River drainage is open to salmon fishing. Silver salmon escapement past the Buskin River weir has increased now that stream conditions have begun to improve.  A September 29 news release announces that the daily silver bag limit on this drainage has increased to five.

NEWS: September 21, 2005 -- The Alaska Outdoor Council is urging Alaska sport fishermen to voice their concern over a proposal to limit halibut catches by charter fishermen.  The council reports this is NOT a conservation concern; sport caught halibut constitute less than 10% of the fishery.

STORIES: September 18, 2005 -- Anchorage Daily News writer Craig Medred reports that the worlds largest halibut come from Alaska's Dutch Harbor area, far out the Alaska Peninsula.  The largest halibut ever measured was longer eight feet, and it came from this area.

NEWS: September 17, 2005 -- Anchorage school children will be able to learn much about Alaska salmon biology at a demonstration outdoor egg take as part of the ADFG aquatic education program September 19-24.  The Saturday egg take is open to the public.  School egg takes are also scheduled for Palmer, Seward, Homer, Valdez and Kodiak.

NEWS: September 16, 2005 -- ADF&G is reminding sportfish charter and guide business owners that 2005 logbooks are due no later than October 15, 2005.

NEWS: September 16, 2005 -- The Federal Subsistence Board is holding meetings around Alaska in September and October to review proposed changes in fisheries regulations, and is calling for proposals for changes in wildlife regulations for 2006/2007.

NEWS: September 15, 2005 -- Visitors are normal in Kodiak, but some unusual finny visitors have brought some strange looks.  Fish normally from warmer climes have turned up in Kodiak this summer, as well as an albino pink salmon.

NEWS: September 9, 2005 -- In order to help anglers harvest the rest of the hatchery silver salmon, snagging will be permitted in the Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon (Homer area) beginning at 12:01 p.m. (noon), Wednesday, September 14, until 11:59 p.m. (midnight), Saturday, December 31.

NEWS: September 7, 2005 -- The Division of Sport Fish announced recently that the Klawock River, downstream from the ADF&G regulatory markers, will be open to the use of bait by anglers from 12:01 a.m. Thursday, September 15, through November 15, 2005. These regulatory markers are located 300 feet downstream of the weir at the Klawock River Hatchery.

NEWS: September 3, 2005 -- ADF&G is inviting sport fishing business owners, guides, and others interested in the sport fishing business and guide licensing program to meet with its staff to review the 2005 guide licensing program and discuss possible changes for 2006.  In SE Alaska, meetings will be held in Sitka, Juneau and Ketchikan during September.

Alaska fishing news from August 2005 >>

New on OutdoorsDirectory.com

AREAS: 28 September 2005: We have added considerable new information to our pages about fishing in the Seward area of Alaska.  Seward calls itself Alaska's Favorite Seaside Town, and while other coastal Alaska communities might question that, it's certainly not far from the mark.

PRODUCTS: 23 September 2005: Salmon Recipes Here are nearly 250 recipes--some very simple, some quite audacious--to guide the willing chef through some of the wonders of the wild Pacific salmon.

PRODUCTS: 23 September 2005: Alaskan Halibut Recipes Alaskan Halibut Recipes celebrates this creature that haunts Alaska's sea-bottoms and blesses its tables. Included here are more than 200 recipes of hors d'oeurves, soups, stews, roasts, fillets and some whimsical dishes for the culinary adventurer.

PRODUCTS: 23 September 2005: On Patrol Take to the air with veteran Bush pilot and game warden Ray Tremblay in these lively adventure stories of Alaska's early game-law enforcement.

PRODUCTS: 13 September 2005: Fishing for a Laugh - Reel Humor From Alaska.  Fishing Alaska's streams, lakes and salt water is often anything but a placid experience.  Sometimes anglers are hapless players in a  comedy, ducking flying hooks, dodging competitive bears, and diving in to retrieve runaway fishing poles. Here's a  collection of wacky tales from the water's edge.

PRODUCTS: 7 September 2005: Fishing Alaska's Kenai River is a definitive guide to angling the state's most popular sport fishery.  Perhaps no other river in the world can present such profuse sport fishing opportunities coupled with easy access, affordable accommodations, and beautiful vistas.  Anglers line the riverbanks in summer hoping to land one or more of the hundreds of thousands of red and silver salmon caught every year while both power and drift boats navigate the turquoise waters in search of trophy king salmon to 90 pounds or more and 35-inch rainbow trout.

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