Santiam River and Guide Eric Smith

©Bert Gildart: Our Northwest Outdoor Writer’s (NOWA) Conference, held in Salem, Oregon, is over for yet another year, and again, Janie and I leave with some vivid memories.

We’re in agreement that the most significant presentation was John Martin’s overview of global warming. The title of his talk was “Climate Change and Development: Salmon Caught in the Squeeze,” and essentially he said that the future of salmon in the Northwest was bleak. “Only by protecting the headwaters of salmon habitat,” said Martin in part, “can we expect to find salmon in the year 2100.”

Martin was a passionate speaker, and though I doubt all NOWA members agreed with his thesis, Martin certainly held everyone’s attention. As well, he generated constructive debate, and that, of course, is a positive thing.

There was, however, no debate with Martin, who was like an apostle on conditions that could help eliminate global warming. Tragically, he said that so much warming had already occurred that we were “hard wired” for the remainder of the century. He said modifications in energy use would not so much benefit us as it would our children’s children. “But that,” he said, “is a worthwhile reason to modify our life styles.” Though I’m certain many know where I stand, you can go to the annual produced by the Wilderness Society and read my story on Global Warming. You can also link to other blogs (click and click ) I’ve posted on the subject, and hopefully, they’ll add more constructive information.

TO SHOOT OR TO FLOAT

For Janie and me, some of the more memorable activities began Thursday with a float down the North Santiam River, one of the primary salmon fisheries in the state. Because the day was rainy and chilly, many members originally scheduled to be included in the float declined, in part because the weatherman’s predictions for favorable weather had been wrong. In short, the weather was rotten.

Dennis Phillips (R), Dennis Clay and new Scopes

Janie and I had, however, had packed our Airstream for many different varieties of weather. When you’re gone for four months, you’ve got to, and so we had foul weather clothing, and were able to enjoy all the river offered. Eric Smith, our guide, pointed out osprey, hooded mergansers, nesting geese and eagles. He said the Santiam was a great salmon fishery and that we should come back. Certainly we will, for fishing is one of our passions (click “Fishing Fools ).

For those not wanting to float, NOWA offered a shooting contest, and the opportunities were many. Later we learned that supporting members had provided over 1,000 rounds of shotgun ammunition. I also enjoy shooting activities, so it was a toss up as to which event I’d attend. However, the river guides had gone to so much work I decided to float rather than to shoot.

NEW PRODUCT

The next day, our sponsors introduced to us their many new products, which included new boats, rifle scopes, state of the art GPS systems and Toyoto trucks and SUVs. Dennis Phillips was the GPS man, and over the years, he and I have become good friends. Dennis works for the Walker Agency, which also represents Yamaha, and the summer Janie and I spent on the Yukon, their help was vital.

Humorist Alan Leary & "What the Heck" items

Through the years, I have tried to reciprocate, with literally dozens of stories about our adventures on the Yukon and McKenzie rivers. Saturday night when NOWA acknowledged Dennis’s contributions to our organization, Janie and I felt accolades were certainly warranted.

WHAT THE HECK IS IT?

Our big moment was presentation of items for our “What the Heck Is It” contest. With the exception of one or two items, everything came from the Northwest, Exceptions included alligator poop and a tarpon scale. We included those items, however, as many not only belong to NOWA but to the Outdoor Writer’s Association of America (OWAA) and have attended national conferences held in Florida and in Louisiana.

Aging Turkey by length of spur

Items from local areas include turkey spurs, a bone turkey call, and skulls of various types. Also included were various lures and the spent casings of various calibers. All totaled, our contest had 25 possible points and the winning table totaled 12. In view of the fact that most members have been exposed at one time or other to all the items, that may not seem like a very good percentage. However, they see many such items infrequently, and so the recesses of the memory must be deeply probed.

As always, we learn much by attending NOWA conferences, but at the end of the day, it remains the opportunity to see old friends that we value most. Already, we are looking forward to the OWAA convention to be held this year in Bismarck, North Dakota, and seeing once again our many good friends–who also belong to NOWA.

Extracting fish from 70′ net

©Bert Gildart: Stringing a net beneath 70 feet of ice in -30°F temperatures, and then returning to a remote Athabascan Village located immediately adjacent to Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with well over 200 pounds of fish should certainly rank as an “extreme” experience.

For me it was the ultimate ice fishing experience, and I’m reminded of it now as I’ve just enjoyed some darn good outings with my group of Grumpy Old Men . What’s more, we’re soon to depart on another Airstream adventure , and such outings seem to prompt reflection.

But serving as even more of a reminder was a telephone visit this past weekend with my very good native friend, Kenneth Frank, of Arctic Village, Alaska , the man who invited me to accompany him several years ago. Whenever we visit long distance, as we’ve done many times over the past 18 years, we always visit about some of our many adventures together, none the least of which was our trip to Old John Lake on one very brutal Arctic day.

EXTREME LOCATION

To better envision the setting, first you must fly to Fairbanks, then transfer to a small nine passenger bush plane and fly to Fort Yukon on the Yukon River. This is the latitude designating the Arctic Circle, that point at which the sun neither rises nor sets on the day noted by the equinoxes.

Checking ice on Old John Lake

But we were flying further north; we were flying yet another 100 miles north to the Gwich’in Indian village of Arctic Village, inhabited by a group of about 80 men, women and children. Here, because we’d be so far north, in winter, the sun is obscured far longer than just the one day experienced at Fort Yukon. Here the sun is obscured for months.

Maintaining hole in ice

In this setting live the most northern of all Indian groups, virtually all of whom we know from having worked in a summer school teaching program there in the early 1990s.

Residents befriended us, and now we continue to remain in constant contact, once having spent four months on the Yukon in our Johnboat visiting Kenneth and Caroline and other Gwich’in Indians in other villages, all of whom we’ve come to know well. But Arctic Village is the point to which Janie and I returned for my extreme ice-fishing trip

This particularly ice fishing trip, however, was made in November, and several days after Janie and I reached Arctic Village, Kenneth and I loaded his two snowmobiles, then rode them over Datchanlee Mountain arriving 13 miles later at Old John Lake.

The temperature was -36°F, and on this late November day the sun just barely rose above the level of the horizon, where it then floated for several hours before dipping down below the horizon to create what is known as Civil Twilight.

“Look hard and enjoy it,” said Kenneth. “In another week the sun will be gone and we won’t see it until February.”

Northern lights

Time was critical for Kenneth that day, but first he tested the ice by walking out about 100 yards, listening for any signs of weakness. Satisfied, we drove the snowmobiles to a point where he said he knew from summer experiences that a drop off existed.

POSITIONING NET

Kenneth then dug out his ice auger and we took turns drilling 10 holes over a distance of about 70 feet. The holes were all in a straight line facilitating placement of a net beneath the ice. To do so, Kenneth then took a pole about 12 feet long, attached one end of the net to the tip, and then shoved it to the next hole where I was waiting.

Reaching into the water, I’d grab the pole with net, anchor it until Kenneth moved up to where I was, then we’d repeat the process with Kenneth now shoving the pole toward hole number three where I was again waiting–and looking.

Ultimately, a 200 pound catch

In this way we positioned a 70-foot-long net beneath the ice, which was weighted on the bottom to keep it open, giving it (if you were underwater and could see it) a fence-like appearance.

Then we returned to Arctic Village. By now it was dark, and northern lights blazed overhead, creating all the light we needed to find our trail.

KENNETH‘S HAUL

Next day Kenneth and I again returned to Old John. We cracked open the holes now skimmed with ice with an ax, and then grabbed the far end of the net. We attached a 70-foot-long rope so we could easily reposition the net later by pulling. Then Kenneth pulled the net up through the ice at the far hole.

“Anchor the rope,” called out Kenneth in the clear Arctic air. “Then come see what we’ve got.”

Walking over to the net I could see fish of various species to include lots of whitefish, trout, and one Kenneth called a lush. When finished Kenneth and I calculated he had about 250 pounds of fish that would augment his supply of caribou meat and so feed his family.

I’ll never forget the experience, nor will Janie and I forget Kenneth, Caroline, Tishina, and Crystal–his entire family–who once visited us here in Montana. They remain among some of our best friends and we are hoping to see them again this summer.

And then, who knows, perhaps we’ll plan another extreme ice fishing trip, or perhaps a river-boat trip to Old Crow, Yukon Territories , where the Gwich’in Gathering will be held this summer.

Otter makes excellent shelter

©Bert Gildart: Becoming a grumpy old ice fisherman (see previous post) requires years of perseverance and real honest-to-goodness dedication, but not a tremendous outlay of equipment, much of which is available from your local sporting good store.

Though you won’t need all the items shown below, you will certainly need some of it. So here’s a list for both the Minimalist and the Maximist.

John Clay tends to be more of a Maximist, while the other two ice fishermen of my last posting (though not absolute Minimalists) certainly fished with less. Sometimes it’s just a matter of preference.

Obviously you’ll need a fishing pole, and all of my friends from the other day had two, which helps optimize the action. These rods are much shorter than the spinning rod you use in the summer. They are also more sensitive for bait presentation and for fish strikes.

Because you’ll often be venturing some distance over the ice you’ll need a sled to haul your gear. If you are a Maximist, you’ll also want a gas-powered ice auger, unless you want to invest more time chopping with an ax than fishing. The minimalist might just use a hand-operated ice auger or an ice chisel. On some occasions the hardcore Minimalist might just use an ax. StrikeMaster makes augers, both gas- and hand-powered ones.

For comfort, you’ll appreciate a fold-out ice tent (mounted on a sled) and John Clay, who has researched the line, purchased an Otter. It’s a two-person tent, but Otter makes tents both smaller and larger. Inside that tent he placed a small portable “Mr. Heater.” When the wind started blowing (he let me in), I for one appreciated the heater. When the wind really starts blowing, Clay anchors his tent with “Ice Locks,” which Cabella’s carries.

You’ll appreciate a fish finder and a number of companies make them, but each of my three companions had a Vexilar so, obviously, that brand has made a hit with this group.

VEXILAR FISH FINDER

From the Internet I learned about Vexilar’s 200kHz system, which reads depths to 200 feet and can pick out targets as small as ½ inch! This detail allows you to follow the path of your lure and to then position it above an individual fish or a school of fish. The ad with this model says that with the “live action, 3-color sonar display, you’ll have an amazing window on the world of the fish!”

For more information follow the link, above.

Vexilar fish finder

All totaled, becoming a grumpy old passionate ice fisherman requires an outlay of about $1,000, if you want to be a Maximist. Of course, you can get by with much less, and another good friend of mine, Bruce May, a retired fishery biologist, gets by with a pole and a bucket on which to sit. Sometimes he carries a Thinsulite pad on which to lie. He’s a deeply philosophical person and questions the wisdom of standing when you could be seated–and the wisdom of sitting when you could be lying.

He uses no Vexilar, but then he’s one of the most frugal people I know. In fact, if there were a nominating committee for inducting friends into the hollowed league of Grumpy Old Men, Bruce–for reasons other than frugality–would be my first nominee.

Elaborate gear is not necessary to catch perch

For those of you who follow my blog you may be wondering why we’re not yet on the road and the answer in short is: weather. As a result, I’ve immersed myself in ice fishing.

COUNTDOWN FOR DEPARTURE

But we are on a countdown and are hoping we can pull out next Wednesday for an extended trip into the southwest. Though I’ve pulled our Airstream (Airstream Life Magazine is example of why we venture out) over snow-packed roads, it’s nerve racking, and because we’re not under any real time constraints, we’ll bide our time.

However, the plumber is scheduled to winterize our house next Tuesday, so we are trying to lock everything into place. But if the weather doesn’t cooperate, expect a few more tales from Montana’s winter woods .

Note: For links to other informative ads on ice-fishing equipment provided by Google, click on my title, above, colored orange.