October is usually a month spent preparing for next year’s guided May – early September salmon fishing trips. Once again I’m building a some new custom fishing rods guests will have the opportunity to fish with on our summer salmon charters. Typically my winter ice fishing trips do not start until late November.
October 2 – 10, 2017 Ben Allen and I traveled to Oregon to experience some fall salmon fishing with Martin Thurber of Willakenzie Guide Service. We fished at 4 different locations and used a variety of techniques. We caught good numbers of fresh-from-the-ocean silver or coho salmon and Ben also caught a couple steelhead. On 3 days of the trip we saw several deer along the Umpqua River, and on one of those days we spotted three flocks of wild turkeys while driving to the river. Two of our days were spent traveling to and from Oregon, and we fished every other day of the trip. Somehow we had beautiful sunny weather on each day of the trip — although each morning was cool as we got started on the water.
October 12, 2017 — I attended a Matanuska -Susitna Borough Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting as we prepared for attendance at next week’s Board of Fisheries fall work session. On the agenda for the Board of Fisheries is considerations for agenda change requests and the decision of where the next Upper Cook Inlet Board of Fisheries Meeting will be held in the fall / winter of 2019–2020.
October 13, 2017 — After my vacation to Oregon, I took Frede to the airport as she traveled to Hawaii for a quick trip — meeting up her sister in Seattle and then traveling of from there for some sun and relaxation. Daylight hours are getting shorter in Alaska and the weather is cooling down considerably especially if the sky is clear at night.
October 14, 2017 — I started constructing and gluing on the fish rod handles for most of the custom rods I’m planning to build this winter. Will start wrapping and finishing the guide wraps as time permits.
October 15 , 2017 — I traveled to Anchorage for a health fair where I got some blood tests done and an annual flu shot.
October 17, 2017 — I traveled to Anchorage with Terry Nininger, Larry Engel, and Brianne Blackburn as we attended the Alaska Board of Fisheries meeting representing the Mat-Su Fish and Wildlife Commission. We had the opportunity to network with several Alaska Department of FIsh and Game staff members and talk with Alaska Board of Fisheries members during the breaks.
October 18, 2017 — I attended and took minutes for a Matanuska Valley Fish and Game Advisory Committee meeting that dealt primarily with new state-wide game proposals. During discussions at these meeting I found myself behind on preparing for the meeting. Our next meeting occurs in one week on Wednesday October 25. and I plan to be better prepared.
October 19, 2017 — Along with some other members of the Fish and Wildlife Commision, the borough mayor, an assemblyman, and public relations staff, we met with Alaska governor Bill Walker and talked about concerns we had with attaining adequate salmon to meet both Northern Cook Inlet spawning escapement needs and to provide reasonable harvest opportunities for people fishing Northern Cook Inlet waters and tributary streams. We shared our vision of the Department of Fish and Game using the Conservation Corridor on a more regular basis to pass adequate number of salmon North on a more regular basis while managing the commercial drift gill net fishery. Governor Walker shared his vision of user groups working together on a task force to see what we could work out together.
October 20, 2017 — I’ll be attending another Fish and Wildlife Commision meeting this afternoon, as we prepare questions for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to be answered at an annual Mat-Su fisheries season summery meeting. At this point it looks like that season summery public meeting will likely occur on the evening of Monday November 27. I’ll attempt to add more details as far as time and place for that meeting as I learn them.