Hunting Alaska News & Tips
December 2005

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

We're starting a new approach to providing these news and tips.  Starting January first, we're moving to a blog format.  Blogs are all the buzz, of course, but as we looked at this we recognized some advantages.  First, it is easy for a team to participate in.  No HTML editing software required.  We can post audio content easily.  People can find it outside of OutdoorsDirectory.com.  People can read it using aggregator software.

Please take a look at the new Alaska Hunting News and Tips blog.  We'll be posting to it regularly in the days and months ahead.  One note: we may be changing the way it looks to better integrate it with this website.

Well known Alaska author and guide Tony Russ is managing next year's Mat-Su Outdoorsman's Show.  It looks like a good arrangement, as it is in conjunction with the annual builder's show.  It will be the earliest of the Alaska outdoor shows in 2006, and a welcome break in winter.  The well-known Great Alaska Sportsman's show follows shortly after in Anchorage, and then the Kenai and Fairbanks shows.  It's going to be a busy spring, now just a few months away. 

Northerners keep an eye on the sun at this time of year.  Around December 21, day length starts the long climb back to its summer maximum.  Although the days are still pretty dark in most parts of the state, it feels good to know that they are getting longer.

Mike Strahan has a good tip this month on getting away from it all -- where to hunt in Alaska. Mike has some good ideas on how to start your process of selecting hunting locations.

As the schedule now stands, I'll be at the SCI Reno Show in January.  Mike Strahan and I are collaborating on some audio projects, and he invited me to join him there.  You'll find us both at the float hunting seminars each day.

Good luck hunting.....David

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

TIPS

Getting Away From it All

Perhaps the most common question asked of Alaska wildlife biologists is, “Where is a good place to hunt?” It doesn’t take a new hunter long to learn that a question that broad will usually net an equally broad answer. In a state twice the size of Texas, with over a dozen species of big game, there are literally thousands of places to go. Let’s look at some techniques that will put you on game and give you that hunt you’ve been dreaming about.

THREE KEYS

The three keys to successful hunt planning are asking the right people the right questions at the right time. Begin your research here on the Outdoors Directory website. Search the archives for the species you’re hunting. You’ll pick up information on the hot locations people are hunting, and will learn about the best air charters, hunt timing and more. Armed with this information, tentatively select one or two regions of the state on which to focus your research. Post specific questions on the Alaska Hunting Forum about those areas; ask about specific locations, air charters, guides and times of year. Once you begin to focus on a particular area, contact the area biologist responsible for that area. Ask about hunting pressure, guide activity, and harvest statistics. You’ll probably pick up some air charter referrals from your research on Outdoors Directory, but if not, go ahead and post a question about that. Don’t be afraid to post a private email to specific forum posters, asking about their air charter experiences in the area. Though forum rules prohibit negative public posts, you’ll get both good and bad from direct contact with customers who’ve used commercial services.

Whitewater rapids are clearly identified on color infrared photographs.

USE HIGH-ALTITUDE MAPS

Go the Anchorage BLM office and ask to see their high altitude infrared photos of the area, or do a search on Google Earth. This will give you a good look at the area without the expense of a charter flight. If you’re planning a float hunt, use the high-altitude photos to scan for white water, logjams, and other hazards that could give you trouble.

GO LOCAL

If you’re on a tight budget, research locations close to urban areas. For example, it’s possible to hunt caribou, moose, grizzly, black bear, Dall sheep and goat within a short drive from Anchorage. Though popular areas will be crowded, hunters willing to work can find good hunting opportunities and little pressure close to town. You’ll have to be circumspect in your research, because urban hunters are very protective when it comes to discussing such locations. If you live in the area, spend some time during the off season driving around. Bring your hunting regulations with you and study pocket areas on foot. You’d be surprised what lies nearly at your doorstep.

Michael Strahan has been an Alaska hunting guide, author, and regular presenter on hunting topics at sportsman's shows and other venues.  He is frequent contributor to the Alaska hunting forum.

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NEWS

NEWS: December 14, 2005 -- The Fairbanks Daily News Miner reports that Alaska's plan to kill up to 400 wolves in various parts of Alaska is back in operation with six wolves taken so far.  The plan will benefit moose and caribou populations and hunters.

NEWS: December 13, 2005 -- The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has closed the moose registration permit (RM059) hunting season on the Nunatak Bench in GMU5A (Yakutat area, in SE Alaska) due to a lower than expected moose population in the area.

 NEWS: December 2, 2005 -- The Alaska Board of Game announced revised dates for its spring meeting in Fairbanks, and issued a call for proposals.  The new meeting dates are March 10-20.  The proposals requested would be for changes in hunting, trapping and use of game in the Interior region.  Proposals are due December 9, 2005.  The Game Board is also meeting in Anchorage January 27-29, 2006.   

PUBLICATIONS: December 2, 2005 -- The Alaska Division of Wildlife Conservation has updated Upland Game Birds of Forest and Tundra, a 1968 agency publication, and renamed the result The Grouse and Ptarmigan of Alaska: A guide to their identification, habits and habitat.  The new designed-for-hunters booklet is 42 pages and available from ADFG offices around Alaska, or by mail.  Another recent publication, Upland Hunting in Alaska: The Bird Hunter's Guide, goes in even greater detail.

EVENTS: December 2, 2005 -- The Mat-Su Outdoorsman Show -- the first Alaska outdoor show of 2006 -- is scheduled for March 31-April 2 at the Wasilla Sports Complex.  The show runs in cooperation with the Mat-Su Home Builders' Show (which brought in 11,762 visitors in 2005).

NEWS: December 1, 2005 -- The Division of Wildlife Conservation recently published a new wildlife notebook series leaflet on an infrequently seen subspecies of reindeer, Rangifer tarandus saintnicolas magicalus.  There is a picture of a specimen, notable by its red nose.

NEWS: December 1, 2005 -- ADF&G and the USFWS are announcing a winter antlered bull hunt in a portion of GMU 18, in the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta area.  The hunt is open on federal public lands, and only rural residents of the area qualify for the hunt.

NEWS: December 1, 2005 -- According to the Hunting Report new Dall sheep hunting areas are being opened for the Governor's permit. These permits are auctioned to raise money for Dall sheep research and management.

NEWS: December 1, 2005 -- The federal government has made appointments and reappointments to seats on the Eastern Interior Alaska Subsistence Regional Advisory Council. The regional advisory councils advise the Federal Subsistence Board on subsistence management regulations and policies and serve as a forum for public involvement in Federal subsistence management. The councils are comprised of subsistence, sport and commercial users from within each of the 10 regions.

Alaska hunting news from November 2005 >>>

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NEW ON WEBSITE

DIRECTORY: 30 December, 2005: RdM Pilot/Guide, Ltd., 420 Front Street, Ketchikan, A K 99901, Tele. and Fax: 907) 225-1974, Toll free: (866) 858-BEAR, Email: bigbruin@rdmpilot.com Air Taxi, Transporter and Big Game Guide Service providing both outfitted and or guided hunts for Black Bear, Sitka Deer, and Wolf on Prince of Wales Island. Camp gear skiff/outboard rental.

DIRECTORY: 13 December, 2005: Black River Hunting Camps  (PO Box 872371, Wasilla, AK. (907) 892-4554. Email: brhc1911@yahoo.com) offers personally and professionally guided hunts in remote areas of Alaska. Although we specialize in grizzly bear and mountain goat, we also offer hunts for Dall sheep and brown bear. All hunts are personally guided by registered guide Jake D. Jefferson. If you’re looking for a small outfit whose purpose is the success and satisfaction of your adventures, Black River Hunting Camps is the place. Great success rates, great experiences.

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HOT FORUM THREADS

Goat Hunting Mania Ak Steve Dec 30 2005
Float hunting out of Kotz Broomedram Dec 29 2005
Goat Gear ptarmigan Dec 28 2005
"Pressure" and "Success" Chuck375 Dec 28 2005
Sheep Tips Michael Strahan Dec 27 2005
Same day airborn Caribou, Jan 1 martentrapper Dec 26 2005
What is best for the resource??? Akres Dec 21 2005
Steese Caribou art Dec 21 2005
Defining Fair Chase Michael Strahan Dec 20 2005
Bear Round for .44 MAG gus Dec 19 2005
Hurricane Hut Tent? skydiver_99654 Dec 18 2005
Another aerial wolf hunting iniative martentrapper Dec 17 2005
Comments on hunting license and tag fee increases Michael Strahan Dec 15 2005
Moose - a therory on their behavior when frightene 379 Peterbilt Dec 15 2005
Hunting Sheep in the Brooks Range! powered-parachute Dec 13 2005
SLEEPING BAG FALCON Dec 13 2005
Cat photos elknut Dec 12 2005
Moving to Alaska --- Questions wildwilltx Dec 12 2005
The topic that won't go away DanC Dec 11 2005
CABELAS "XWT" STELHED Dec 08 2005
Seeking your thoughts and opinions jpost Dec 08 2005
New hunting partners rimfirematt Dec 07 2005
people backing out on hunts fishermann222 Dec 07 2005
A Meat Salvage Ethic Michael Strahan Dec 06 2005
Wiggy's Arrow one and two tents AkHunter45 Dec 06 2005
Back up hangun for bear defense hunter1339 Dec 04 2005
Blunders we've learned from... Michael Strahan Dec 04 2005
Fletching troubles H20FWL Dec 04 2005

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