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Volume 16 • Issue 5 PUBLISHER James R. Baker

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ON THE COVER Each summer, the Bristol Bay lodge Fish The Nush, whose owner Pete von Jess served as a US Army Special Forces colonel, hosts Warrior Week, which brings together Green Berets for a week of fishing, camaraderie and reflection they won’t soon forget. See page 30 for how this tribute to our armed forces members and veterans came to be. (FISH THE NUSH)

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CONTENTS

VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 5

WARRIOR WEEK ON THE NUSH

Just in time for Veterans Day, we celebrate the heroes of the armed forces with a feature on our friends from Fish The Nush, a Bristol Bay lodge formerly known as Nushagak River Adventures. Lodge owner Colonel Pete von Jess is a retired 22-year US Army Special Forces officer who along with some fellow soldiers created a nonprofit, Warrior Sportsmen, which each summer hosts Green Berets for a week of epic fishing, bonding and cathartic experiences.

(FISH THE NUSH)

FEATURES

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

KINGS OF THE KASILOF Guide Trevor Torppa knows the ins and outs of the Kenai Peninsula’s Kasilof River and the anadromous fish that call it home. One of his favorite client trips is targeting the river’s Chinook. Torppa shares top ways to catch these salmon and recalls one of the best guiding trips for Kasilof kings he can remember.

Editor’s Note: Finding getaway accommodations you’ll come back to again and again The Alaska Beat: News and notes from around the Last Frontier Outdoor Calendar Protecting Wild Alaska: Lawsuits challenge road and logging projects in remote areas

21 24 WHEN DARKNESS FALLS ON THE KILL After a long day of hiking, glassing and stalking, with the sun now teetering on the brink of setting, you finally down that elusive big game animal you’ve set your sights on. But are you ready to butcher and pack it out in the dark? Scott Haugen has plenty of tips for preparing to work the night shift. And Chef Tiffany Haugen contributes a waterfowl-based pasta recipe and has best practices for field dressing that harvested bird. FALCONRY IS FOR THE BIRDS Among a collection of essays he’s compiled into a new book, celebrated author Michael Engelhard provides an inside look at one Alaskan’s effort to keep alive the ancient tradition of training birds of prey for hunting purposes. Engelhard tagged along outside Fairbanks for a fascinating demonstration by falconer Bennett Wong and his majestic gyrfalcon Chimkee of a practice whose “mystique bridges three millennia.”

Alaska Sporting Journal is published monthly. Call Media Inc. Publishing Group for a current rate card. Discounts for frequency advertising. All submitted materials become the property of Media Inc. Publishing Group and will not be returned. Copyright © 2026 Media Inc. Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher. Printed in U.S.A. 10

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EDITOR’S NOTE

t seems insane to me now, but when I was a kid my family would often leave for vacation getaways to popular destinations in the middle of the summer with no lodging reservations. That destination happened to be Lake Tahoe, the resort area straddling the California/Nevada border, about 200 miles from our home near San Francisco. Somehow we got away with winging it and always found somewhere to sleep. This is how these trips would work: My dad would drive up and down the main thoroughfare that circles the big lake and he, my sisters and I would look for a vacancy or no vacancy sign – plus ascertain if the motel had a swimming pool or not, which for us kids was a necessity. On one such occasion, in the small lakeside community of Tahoe Vista, we stumbled onto a property known as Cedar Glen Lodge. The sign out front not only displayed that there was a vacancy, but also the word Willkommen, the German translation for welcome. By the time my dad walked inside to check on getting us a cabin, he’d found out that one of the owners was indeed originally from Germany and had raised a

Fish The Nush lodge’s “40-Inch Club” celebrates those guests lucky enough to catch the biggest fish, many of whom return for more epic Bristol Bay fishing. (FISH THE NUSHAGAK)

“We have about a 70-percent return rate. We have a great return rate,” Fish The Nush owner Pete von Jess says. “A lot of them are the people who are up on that wall. They’re bringing someone else to have an experience.” (FISH THE NUSH)

family in Lake Tahoe. We loved the vibe there right away. Of course, they had a pool – or my sisters and I would have likely whined enough to move on – and the owners also had kids about our age. So that first trip we played volleyball with them in the pool, as well as staged competitive pingpong tournaments and listened to music on our boombox while sitting on the lawn chairs outside our cabin. Each morning we were greeted with a San Francisco Chronicle newspaper on our front porch, and we walked down to the office to grab a delicious continental breakfast. This was in the early 1980s, and I don’t remember any of the Tahoe lodges we’d previously stayed at

ever providing a complimentary morning meal. (One time the owners even cooked up the kokanee my dad and I caught from the lake so that we all got to eat the fish together.) So we then went back to that same Cedar Glen Lodge year after year, growing up along with the owners’ kids until I graduated high school after my sisters reached young adulthood and the family trips aged out. But it provided a sense of comfort knowing that a welcoming atmosphere awaited on our annual Tahoe trips. This month, I wrote about Fish The Nush owner Pete von Jess’s work with fellow US Special Forces veterans for their annual Warrior Week fishing trip to

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ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

the Bristol Bay lodge formerly known as Nushagak River Adventures (page 30). During our extensive chat, von Jess talked about his own loyal guests who have made return trips to Fish The Nush and continue to experience some outstanding Alaska fishing, especially those who are lucky enough to add their names to an exclusive big fish plaque. “We have a 40-inch club on our wall for those people who catch a 40-incher, which is rare – we maybe get two to five a year,” von Jess told me. “You have to let that fish go and breed to get that DNA out there (almost all indeed send the giant catch back into the water). There’s only one guy who didn’t let his fish go, and he didn’t go up on the wall.” Not surprisingly, von Jess said that particular guest didn’t come back, but his lodge has a far better overall batting average. “We have about a 70-percent return rate. We have a great return rate. A lot of them are the people who are up on that wall. They’re bringing someone else to have an experience,” he added. “It’s the same thing with the Special Forces guys. Once you have a great experience up there, they want to bring someone they want to sponsor, so that’s what happens. They come back, or they bring their families back or bring a buddy back.” I haven’t returned to my family’s beloved Cedar Glen Lodge for years upon years now (one sister did take her family and friends back one more time), but like von Jess’s Nushagak River operation, it’s a great feeling when you find special accommodations that indeed feel like a home away from home. -Chris Cocoles

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ALASKA BEAT SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE MONTH

Hail to the chief chunky critter Backpack (bear No. 89), your 2026 Fat Bear Week champion. (N. BOAK/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE)

FROM THE BACK(PACK) TO THE FRONT OF FAT BEAR WEEK GLORY

he votes are in, and Backpack headed to the front of the class as the 2026 Fat Bear Week chunkiest champion bruin, coincidentally taking over the crown for aptly named 2025 winner Chunk. The annual bracket-style voting contest saw Backpack – aka bear No. 89 – narrowly defeat bear 910 by around 5,000 votes. In total, more than 2.5 million votes were cast this year in the contest that brings together the most plump brown bears in Katmai National Park and Preserve with an adoring public. In fact, votes were coming so fast and furious at the start of the competition that the website server crashed, prompting Katmai officials to post on Facebook, “BREAKING: THE BEARS HAVE BROKEN THE INTERNET.” Backpack, whose sow Holly won the 2019 Fat Bear Week crown, already had genetics - and perhaps fate – on his side, and the boar had proven to be a worthy challenger as he continued to pack on the pounds entering this year’s event. Backpack also became a bit of a sentimental favorite with voters. “Fat Bear champ Backpack has never been known as the bear who picks the biggest fights. He tends to find his place a little more quietly, using his size and persistence to get where he wants to go,” Katmai Conservancy, which runs the contest, stated in a press release. “That quiet toughness has served him well alongside some of the biggest bears at Brooks River. He doesn’t always need to make a scene to hold his ground.” Backpack’s road to robust glory was helped when defending champion Chunk was smoked by bear 164 Bucky in their first-round matchup. Backpack then dominated two competitors before a semifinal showdown against Bucky, with the former winning by a margin of 79,945 to 75,805 votes. That set up Backpack to outlast 910 in the championship round and earn his own place in the hall of flab. “Backpack’s story is one of persistence. Season after season, he returns to Brooks River, finds his place, and gets to work. This year, that persistence carried him all the way to the championship,” Katmai Conservancy said. “Now, this understated bear has solidified his place in Fat Bear Week history. It’s been part of Backpack’s story from the beginning, and this year, it brought him all the way to the championship.”

Is this heaven? No, it’s Alaska, courtesy of our friends at Tikchik Narrows Lodge, home for epic Bristol Bay fishing in Wood-Tikchik State Park. Check them out at tikchiklodge.com.

NOTABLE NUMBER

$59,000 Funding from NOAA Fisheries for a Trout Unlimited Alaska-led program to “manage aquatic invasive species in Alaska and educate anglers about how to prevent their spread.”

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ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

While much of the rest of country awaited fall colors and baseball fans geared up for the World Series, Alaskans in early October were already preparing to shovel lots of snow. A memorable hunt for five Purple Heart recipients who were wounded in combat provided camaraderie, brotherhood and lots of moose meat. (OUTDOORS FOR OUR HEROES/SAFARI CLUB INTERNATIONAL ALASKA)

FROM THE ASJ ARCHIVES – NOVEMBER 2020

MOOSE HUNT HONORED SERVICE, SACRIFICES

“

n opening morning, each hunter teamed up with their support people and headed out to the field. Jon Harmon was first up with our primary guides and the provided UTVs. It seemed like no sooner than they had left camp, he had his bull down. This was in the first 20 minutes of hitting the woods! Immediately the banter began between the guys on who would prevail with the most impressive moose. For the others, they saw many animals, but there was no more action to be had quite yet. The first bull was skinned and quartered that afternoon, giving the others a great opportunity to see firsthand just what was involved in processing such a massive animal. After a meal, the other hunters set out for an evening hunt. Barely an hour in, Ryan Caldwell spotted a bull bedded down in the road. He made short work of taking his bull down within a few hundred yards. The others began to arrive and help Ryan begin the work of butchering his bull. Jon, wearing his specially made “shorty” prosthetic legs, stumbled over some small brush and trees and fell over. Immediately he began laughing, with Franz Ulrich Walkup right behind him. Franz and Jon were in rare form, telling jokes the whole way there. Franz moved ahead and while looking back at Jon cracked to the rest of us that he looked like “Godzilla” smashing tiny trees back there. This set the mood for the rest of the time that night, with Jon and Franz providing endless comedy relief as Ryan’s bull No. 2 was processed. Brady Jackson and Jim Sursely continued to hunt nearby, as there was still plenty of daylight to be had. About an hour into processing Ryan’s bull we heard gunshots not too far away. Sure enough, Brady had taken the third bull, even while there was still significant processing to do with Ryan’s animal. The hard work of retrieving these massive creatures had begun. They spent many hours late into the night getting everything back to camp. -Tony Leingang

THEY SAID IT

“The Trump Administration’s plans for the Western Arctic will seal an unsafe future for us. The lands we rely on for hunting caribou and moose, fishing, gathering, and teaching our children would be opened up for reckless oil and gas development with absolutely no consideration for the impacts. There will be no limits to this development, which means no limits to the air pollution it causes. How could we possibly accept this?”

”

-Dr. Rosemary Ahtuangaruak, executive director of Grandmothers Growing Goodness, reacting to a US Department of the Interior report suggesting, according to a press release, “that unlimited oil and gas exploration across (Alaska’s National Petroleum) Reserve does no significant environmental harm and will be used for every future project without examining any of them.”

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ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

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OUTDOOR CALENDAR NOVEMBER 1 ■ Hunting draw application period for 2027 hunts opens ■ Deer season opens in Game Management Unit 5 (Yakutat) ■ Resident goat season opens in GMU 8 (Kodiak/Shelikof) ■ Resident grizzly bear season opens in GMU 9E (all drainages into the Pacific Ocean between Cape Kumliun and border of Units 9E and 9D) ■ Resident late caribou season opens in GMUs 9C and 9E (Alaska Peninsula) ■ Resident antlerless moose season opens in GMU 14A (Mat-Su Valley) ■ Late moose season opens in GMU 15C (southwest of a line from Point Pogibshi to the point of land between Rocky and Windy Bays) ■ Moose season opens in GMU 20A (muzzleloader only; Ferry Trail Management Area, Wood River Controlled Use Area and the Yanert Controlled Use Area) ■ Moose season opens in GMU 22B (east of the Darby Mountains, and including the Kwiniuk, Tubutulik, Koyuk and Inglutalik River drainages) NOVEMBER 1-14 ■ Late goat season dates in GMU 7 (Seward; may be announced) ■ Deer season dates in GMU 8 (bow and arrow, crossbow or muzzleloader only; Kodiak Road System Management Area) ■ Resident goat season dates in GMU 15 (Kenai; may be announced) NOVEMBER 15 ■ Late elk season opens in GMU 3 (Etolin Island) NOVEMBER 16 ■ Youth deer hunt season opens in GMU 8 (bow and arrow, crossbow or muzzleloader only; Kodiak Road System Management Area) NOVEMBER 20 ■ Late resident moose season opens in GMU 19E (McGrath, Lime Village Management Area) NOVEMBER 21-27 ■ Second bull moose season dates in GMU 20B (within Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge) DECEMBER 12 ■ Safari Club International Alaska Chapter Christmas Party, downtown Anchorage Marriott (aksafariclub.org) DECEMBER 15 ■ Hunting draw application period for 2027 hunts closes

Several moose seasons open this month in various Alaska game management units.

For more information and season dates for Alaska hunts, go to adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=hunting.main.

(NATIONAL PARK SERVICE)

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MORE LAWSUITS CH TONGASS LOGGING, AMBLER ROAD CON BY CHRIS COCOLES

eparate lawsuits filed in October are challenging the administration of President Donald Trump, which has vowed to develop various projects in Alaska despite objections from tribal interests, the fishing and hunting industry and both environmental and conservation organizations.

BLOCKING TONGASS LOGGING The president’s controversial repeal of the Roadless Rule would open the door for large-scale logging in America’s largest national forest, Southeast Alaska’s pristine – and for decades protected – Tongass. Within that large footprint,

the US Forest Service announced in the summer plans for a timber sale on Revillagigedo Island near Ketchikan. According to the suit, detailed in a press release, the scale of the South Revilla Integrated Resources Project “spans more than 40,000 acres on the southern part of the island, (and) would be the largest old-growth logging project in the Tongass in more than a decade.” “The South Revilla Integrated Resources Project will help meet demand for wood products and support local operators in Southeast Alaska,” said the Forest Service’s Cathy Tighe, Ketchikan Misty Fjords district ranger. “Our integrated for-

Revillagigedo Island’s vast woodlands, part of the Tongass National Forest, are at the center of a lawsuit against the Trump Administration’s plans to repeal Roadless Rule protections and open up portions of the island near Ketchikan to large-scale logging projects. (ANITA GOULD) 24

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

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PROTECTING

CHALLENGE G, NSTRUCTION

WILD ALASKA

Legal action taken against the state is challenging the proposed Ambler Road, which would connect the Dalton Highway and a mining district over 200 miles to the west, traversing pristine habitat along the Brooks Range. (BJORN DIHLE) aksportingjournal.com | NOVEMBER 2026

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

est management approach brings together programs and partners to maintain a productive, resilient national forest.” In response, legal action was taken by the Ketchikan Indian Community, Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, Earthjustice and Center for Biological Diversity, with a warning about what such a massive timber production operation would risk on the island and presumably other sections of the Tongass National Forest. “Logging and roadbuilding authorized by the project would harm subsistence ways of life, allow clearcutting in important recreation areas, fragment the forest and harm important wildlife species, including salmon, deer, goshawk, wolves, marten and black bears,” a press release stated. “Old-growth trees are important in the Tongass for carbon storage, wildlife, hunting, fishing, cultural traditions and watershed protection.” Representing a tribal voice in the local community, Ketchikan Indian Community President Gloria Burns Ilsxilee Stáng cited the generations of Native tribes in Southeast Alaska that have utilized Revillagigedo Island. “We carry a responsibility to our ancestors who cared for these lands before us, and to our children and the generations yet unborn who deserve to inherit healthy forests, clean waters and the ability to continue practicing our traditional ways of life,” she said. Added Earthjustice attorney Olivia Glasscock: “This massive logging project was a terrible idea six years ago when the Trump Administration first proposed it and remains a terrible idea today. This project threatens to destroy the most valuable remaining old-growth forests on Revilla Island and yet the Forest Service says it doesn’t even pencil out for the timber companies. In approving this, the Forest Service ignored key laws and a management plan designed to prevent this kind of harm. We’re suing to safeguard critical old growth within the Tongass.”

STOPPING CONSTRUCTION OF THE AMBLER ROAD Along Alaska’s vast and wild Brooks Range, the Department of the Interior has long sought to permit the Ambler Road, a proposed 211-mile gravel corri26

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NOVEMBER 2026 | aksportingjournal.com

“W

“We’ve known for years that the proposed 211-mile Ambler Road would be a disaster for Gates of the Arctic National Preserve and the Western Arctic Caribou Herd that crosses it,” said Naawéiyaa Tagaban, Alaska campaign director for the National Parks Conservation Association. (BJORN DIHLE) aksportingjournal.com | NOVEMBER 2026

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

dor connecting the Dalton Highway and the Ambler Mining District to facilitate the extraction of copper and other precious metals. In May DOI conveyed 1.4 million acres of public land to the state for it. The road would traverse important fish and wildlife habitat along the Brooks Range, one of the Last Frontier’s most rugged wilderness areas. There are now multiple legal challenges filed against the Ambler Road, the latest coming in early October during the project’s public comment process, when seven environmental groups joined forces to sue the state of Alaska over its “decision to grant an easement on state lands for the Ambler industrial road.” “The lawsuit asserts that the Alaska Department of Natural Resources violated the Alaska Constitution when approving the easement by failing to protect the

public interest and take a hard look at all of the project’s impacts on land, water, wildlife and local communities,” according to a press release announcing the suit. “The agency also failed to provide essential information about the project’s details or harms when holding a public comment period, making it impossible for Alaskans to meaningfully participate.” The seven organizations filing legal action against the state include the Northern Alaska Environmental Center, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Alaska Wilderness League, Center for Biological Diversity, National Parks Conservation Association, Sierra Club, and Winter Wildlands Alliance. “A project such as the Ambler Road cannot be evaluated in isolation; rather, it must consider what activities such a road would enable,” Anneka Williams, policy

“There’s no way to undo the damage this sale will bring; we’re looking at the loss of irreplaceable old growth, which will be devastating to wildlife, fish, and the people who rely on healthy forests here,” said Maggie Rabb of the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council about the South Revilla project. (ANNE BEEMAN/US FOREST SERVICE)

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

NOVEMBER 2026 | aksportingjournal.com

director for Winter Wildlands Alliance, said. “If constructed, the Ambler Road would not only fragment wildlife habitat, disrupt traditional hunting grounds for Alaska Native communities, and threaten the integrity of one of the largest wild, snowy landscapes out there, it would also open the door to numerous gravel mine sites and other infrastructure projects in this sensitive Arctic ecosystem. The public deserves a decision that accounts for the project in its entirety, including cumulative impacts.” Some of the state’s top political leaders have long supported making the Ambler Mining District road-accessible, seen as critical for mines there to function, given their isolation from Alaska’s road system. “This milestone represents a leap forward in advancing Alaska’s ability to responsibly develop its resources and advance economic opportunity across Alaska,” said Governor Mike Dunleavy, who is not seeking reelection to his post in this month’s gubernatorial race, a fact that could affect Ambler and several similar divisive proposals in Alaska. “We appreciate our partnership and collaboration with President Trump that made this transfer possible, and we look forward to putting this corridor to work for the benefit of all Alaskans. President Trump delivered when other presidents did not.” But opponents have criticized both the Trump Administration and state for risking the natural resources local subsistence users have long utilized, from caribou calving grounds to local fishing waters that could be compromised and subjected to pollution. “We’ve known for years that the proposed 211-mile Ambler Road would be a disaster for Gates of the Arctic National Preserve and the Western Arctic Caribou Herd that crosses it,” said Naawéiyaa Tagaban, Alaska campaign director for the National Parks Conservation Association. “The road is opposed by Alaskans across the state, including over 80 Alaska Native communities. That’s why we’re fighting the Alaska Department of Natural Resources’ approval of this project without basic information on how this would impact fish and wildlife, or even a consistent plan to look at. It’s another terrible example of wasting state money to benefit foreign mining companies and hurt Alaskans.” ASJ

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FISHING THE NUSH WITH WARRIOR SPORTSMEN INSIDE BRISTOL BAY LODGE’S CONNECTION WITH SPECIAL FORCES VETERANS

Each summer, US Army Special Forces soldiers get to experience a weeklong fishing trip at Bristol Bay’s Fish The Nush lodge through an organization cofounded by lodge owner Pete von Jess, himself a retired Green Beret colonel. (FISH THE NUSH) 30

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The lodge’s Team Room, filled with flags and memorabilia from past Warrior Week events, has become a central gathering spot for activities. “They know it’s home,” von Jess says. (FISH THE NUSH)

BY CHRIS COCOLES

f Alaska fishing lodges could talk, you wouldn’t be stunned if they couldn’t stop blabbering about … well, the fish. After all, the Last Frontier is first and foremost an angler’s yellow brick road, his treasure of the Sierra Madre, her Maltese Falcon – the “stuff that dreams are made of” for fishermen who dream of landing massive numbers of salmon while sharing a remote river in one of the world’s most remote places with bears and who knows what else. Of course, Fish The Nush has its own fish tales to swap. But there’s a spot within owner Pete von Jess’s waterside nirvana in Bristol Bay that can hold its own for compelling dinner party conversation. Von Jess calls it the “Team Room.” For a week every summer, the Team Room hosts a special collection of visitors who head north to the lodge, formerly known as Nushagak River Adventures. Von Jess, a retired US Army Special Forc-

es colonel, started a tradition at his lodge called Warrior Week, when fellow Green Berets are treated to a fishing and bonding adventure of a lifetime. And one of the first places these VIP guests check out after flying into the lodge? The Team Room. An American flag greets visitors to Fish the Nush when they arrive via floatplanes, but when it’s Warrior Week, Old Glory has a companion banner when the Green Berets land. “We put up the Special Forces flag when they’re with us. When they come off the airplane, the first thing they notice is the flag, and then the second thing they notice is the Team Room,” von Jess says. The Team Room’s decor includes a US military challenge coin collection that von Jess has collected over the years from his own Special Forces background. There are also ball caps adorned with pins from the various units that have participated

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in this program, which means so much to von Jess and the rest of the Fish the Nush family, several of whom have also served in the military over the years. Besides the nostalgia of the memorabilia that serves as an impromptu museum, if not time capsule of past guests who participated in Warrior Week, the Team Room represents so much more. “They know it’s home,” von Jess says. “Inside, there’s a whole wall of Green Beret stuff and there are little mementos from the last 10 years. They know it’s their Team Room. They become very comfortable right off the bat, which is good. And after they’re comfortable and well fed and we go on a little fishing trip, they come back with smiles.” And those smiles are what makes this program so important for von Jess and the Green Beret soldiers who have experienced Bristol Bay’s fishing via the nonprofit organization von Jess and two Special Forces buddies founded together. Von Jess understands what the military participants’ needs are to make an Alaska trip to the lodge so therapeutic. He was one of them.

COLONEL PETE VON JESS spent 22 years in the Army Reserve, and while in Special Forces he was deployed internationally in places like Afghanistan, Bosnia, Croatia and Honduras. He knows what Green Berets have endured while in uniform, including those who have seen heavy combat. “I get it … I can see the stress and I can see the tension amongst those who were in there kicking the doors open,” von Jess says. “And I can do something about it, and that’s why we invented this program.” In the mid-2010s, von Jess went to Bristol Bay for fishing trips at Nushagak River Adventures. One trip coincided with fellow guests who would change his life. “At the same time I was there, there were a couple of wounded warriors from the Marine Corps. Both of them had lost their legs. They were from the Explosive Ordnance Unit. They lost (their legs) when they were dismantling IEDs,” von Jess says. “They were up there with prosthetic legs and were helping each other around, doing their thing. I just took note

Fish The Nush guide Kasey Robbins (middle) is also a Green Beret veteran who von Jess says is “point man” for making his fellow soldiers comfortable, including before they arrive at the lodge. (FISH THE NUSH)

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of it and said, ‘What a great idea.’” The next year, when he returned to the lodge, von Jess offered to sponsor the soldiers’ visit, and when the then owners said the US Marine Corps nonprofit footed the bill for them to fish in Alaska, he was told he could sponsor a future trip for other veterans, which meant two more could experience it. That lasted about two years before the lodge’s previous owners went bankrupt following the 2016 season and left employees unpaid. After some encouragement, von Jess eventually bought the lodge himself (see last December’s issue for more). “Once I bought it, I decided I was going to keep the (service members’ fishing) program that was going on. So for the first year, in 2016, I continued the same program and it was pretty much, at that point, a combined IED and Explosives Ordnance Device (program) and for anyone else that was injured,” he says. It’s no surprise how inspired von Jess was by the veterans who had a Fish The Nush experience: one without an arm, another who lost a leg below the knee.

Von Jess and two of his Team A colleagues, Ron Baldwin and Doug Frank, worked together to come up with an idea to start an organization while they were at Fish The Nush together. Two of the Special Forces soldiers who’d previously visited the Nushagak lodge were solicited to design a logo for this venture to expand what they’d already been building towards. “When we were doing this, it dawned on us and we started a conversation of, Why not create a not-for-profit? And to

do what we’re doing by sponsoring veterans and making it Special Forces veterans, because they’re on the pointy end of the spear all the time,” von Jess says. And for a longtime Army man who made quite a successful career out of his time in the armed forces, combined with a newfound passion for the Alaska fishing lodge life that drew him in, blending his new business venture with an admiration for vets made for a quintessential partnership for von Jess. “I own a defense contractor govern-

ment services firm and we donate money all the time to veteran organizations, so it was not out of the wheelhouse,” he admits. “But witnessing the joy … the concept of the happy place – everybody has some place that gives them joy, and in this case it’s that lodge, because of the fishability and that there are millions of salmon that go up the river. It’s not exactly shooting fish out of the barrel, but there are a lot of fish up there.” Hence, Warrior Sportsmen was born thanks to the team’s collaboration (while

“We look for folks who quite honestly just need to hit the reset button,” von Jess says of the soldiers who make the trips to Alaska. “Maybe they’re getting a little too loud at their home; maybe they just need a little break and need to be with some guys and talk about it if they want.” (FISH THE NUSH) 34

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on a pheasant hunting trip to South Dakota, von Jess, Baldwin and Frank designed a challenge coin for the organization). After discussing it, von Jess, Baldwin and Frank had very specific reasoning for that name. They understood that the service members they’d be accommodating would be recovering from combat injuries. But in an era when terms like “wounded warriors” are commonly used, the Warrior Sportsmen moniker seemed to fit better with the guys’ mission. “We don’t like the word ‘wounded,’

because some of our guys don’t like that terminology. There’s a whole lot of prestige – you can call it ego – but there’s a lot of prestige in what they do and the amount of training that they have, and even if they’re still doing it, they could have been Purple Heart guys,” von Jess says. “So we look for folks who quite honestly just need to hit the reset button. Maybe they’re getting a little too loud at their home; maybe they just need a little break and need to be with some guys and

talk about it if they want.” Because von Jess is already chief operating officer of three other organizations, Frank became Warrior Sportsmen’s executive director, and they jointly operated as a not-for-profit organization for almost five years. Lieutenant General Francis Beaudette, who was the commanding general of the US Army Special Operations Command from 2018 to 2021, was brought aboard as president of the board for the nonprofit. After running the organization as a

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standalone entity for a couple of years, Warrior Sportsmen’s leadership decided the program would be better served to be affiliated with one of the two Green Beret-led nonprofits, which turned out to be the Green Beret Foundation. “The Warrior Sportsmen mission is to advance physical and emotional healing, provide camaraderie and mentorship, help transition heroes from the battlefield or long-term overseas deployments back to life at home, and develop fishing and hunting skills for lifelong enjoyment,” the organization’s website states.

WHEN THE SOLDIERS SHOW up at the lodge hard on the Nushagak River 40 miles upstream of Dillingham and Bristol Bay, von Jess knows he’s more host than miracle worker. These are hard-core

Green Berets who have been through various forms of combat trauma – some worse than others. Nobody at Warrior Week is under any pressure to open up about what happened on the battlefield. But after a couple days of perspective in the Alaskan bush, the mood can often swing. “We’re not sociologists and we don’t probe, but usually what happens on a five-day trip is on day two you see them letting their guard down. And on day three, you can see they’ve exhaled. And then you can start a dialogue about what’s on their mind,” von Jess says. “‘Do you need any help that you’re not getting? Which pressures are on you?’ They talk to each other.” Von Jess refers to the scene as “Green Berets talking to Green Berets.” It’s also

“It’s great to see these guys catch fish,” says guide Robbins. “It doesn’t matter the size. From the time they hook until they reel it into the boat, every smile is a release of the armor they have built around themselves.” (FISH THE NUSH) 36

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a case of Army veterans hosting other Army veterans. The founders of Warrior Sportsmen understand what being in the Special Forces requires of those select few who serve in those roles. Traumatic injuries are always a possibility when combat becomes extremely dangerous. Frank also had assignments in Afghanistan, first arriving in the country's second largest city of Kandahar in January 2002. In July of that same year, von Jess was also sent there. “I have learned quite a bit about the PTSD problem through (Frank), and then I have basically applied whatever dose needs to be applied, because each person is different. They all have a common base point, which is the camaraderie of the group and the mission, and everything else is truly just getting back to nature, being in a non-threatening, non-probing, no-expectations (scenario). Just hit the off switch,” von Jess says. “On day one I tell them, ‘Just hit the off switch. It will happen. I will tell you when it has happened and you’ll be breathing easier and you’ll be sleeping more comfortably, and you won’t be so rattled. By the time you leave here, you’re gonna be feeling like you want to stay another five days.’”

ONE OF THE KEY components for making Warrior Week run so smoothly is Kasey Robbins, a guide at Fish The Nush. Nobody in camp knows Green Berets better. Robbins was one of them. An Oklahoma native, Robbins was in the Army for two decades as a Green Beret and infantry paratrooper. He too saw some heavy combat in his tours and was among Fish The Nush’s Special Forces guests who came up to Alaska for the Warrior Sportsmen program before he was hired by von Jess. “Kasey was in one of our perfect scenarios, because he needed that trip,” von Jess says. An experienced outdoorsman who also guides hunting trips in Colorado during Alaska fishing’s offseason, Robbins found purpose and a niche in Bristol Bay as a guide. “It’s been very special to me, first being a client and loving it so much that I wanted to guide at Fish The Nush. I got to see both sides,” he says. “As a client I saw

For von Jess, who besides owning the lodge operates a defense contracting firm, creating Warrior Sportsmen following his own military career has provided perspective and purpose. “I don’t take it for granted, because each year is a little different. Having the opportunity to give back is at least the same joy as watching it happen and unfold,” he says. “Participating in that process, it’s an end-to-end great experience. It’s good for the soul.” (FISH THE NUSH)

how things went with a great experience from the guides and from the staff. Now I get to be a part of helping others come out and get to enjoy the experience.” Robbins is the go-to guy leading up to and throughout Warrior Week at the lodge (von Jess refers to him as “point man sponsor”). Recently, Robbins got a head start with a meet and greet with the Special Forces candidates who were chosen for a spot on Fish the Nush’s fishing excursion. “I sent him on the airplane this last summer to meet with the guys the night before they all flew over as a welcome committee,” von Jess says. “He took 38

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them out to dinner. Kasey is the perfect contact and host. He brings the guys into the camp and we take care of them.” Robbins takes pride in his role, both in helping his brothers and sisters load up on Bristol Bay salmon and making them feel comfortable on the long migration north given the circumstances of their service in the Army. “To watch them start to relax by the second day is exactly what I felt,” Robbins says. “The welcoming environment and the thrill of the adventure doesn’t take long to set in, and I enjoy getting to see the huge smiles and laughter that come from them feeling totally comfort-

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able. I completely understand where they are coming from. Not taking away from anyone else, but I’ve walked in those same shoes.”

AND ROBBINS ALSO HAS a unique perspective during that special week that his boss doesn’t get to experience – witnessing the joy of the participants getting into some of North America’s, if not the globe’s, best fishing. Since von Jess doesn’t go out on the boats with Fish The Nush’s clients, he leaves the heavy lifting to his guide staff. He’s on the shore to launch all eight of his lodge’s boats, and he greets them back

on dry land when the vessels beach on their return – usually within 15 minutes of each other – at the end of a long day. “I meet them on the shore and help pull fish out of the boats. You see all their smiles and them telling stories of what happened that day,” von Jess says. “When they’re on the boat, it’s not like what goes on in the boat stays on the boat, but sometimes it does. They’re talking to each other and those stories are not relayed again necessarily to the bigger group. But they’re talking to one another, and that’s where it starts.” Robbins provided a little insight about getting a first-hand look at these Green

Berets who have endured some of the worst moments anyone can imagine now experiencing the simple joy of reeling in a big fish. He too admitted that what happens on his boat stays on his boat. “It’s great to see these guys catch fish. It doesn’t matter the size. From the time they hook until they reel it into the boat, every smile is a release of the armor they have built around themselves,” he says. “It’s like you can see them let it all go, start to relax and have fun, and then they open up. It’s amazing because I know I was the same way. I know how freeing that feeling is, because it’s how I felt when I first came up as a client. I didn’t

want to talk; I was guarded.” It’s incredible what a few days at a quiet fishing lodge will do for the soul.

ASKING VON JESS TO share his favorite story out of all the stories his Warrior Sportsmen journeys have spawned is indeed a difficult proposition – like parents singling out their favorite offspring. But one sticks with him to this day, even though this particular trip didn’t happen at the same time as the traditional Warrior Week activities. “The Green Beret Foundation has a chapter in Cincinnati (Ohio). It’s pretty big and was formed by one of the parents

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of a fallen Special Forces guy from Iraq, a captain. They do a fundraiser every year and they raised a couple hundred thousand dollars each year during the Labor Day window. They asked me if I would donate a cabin so that they could auction it off. Through that process, sometimes corporations will purchase it and they will send their own people, but sometimes it’s a family that will buy it because it’s open to whoever the highest bidder is. “One time a corporation bought it and they donated it back to the Green Beret Foundation and they sent back the Green Berets. What we received were four guys who were on staff to help the Green Berets when they’re getting out with their medical records so that they could get what they should receive from the VA in disability pay. So they are guys who used to be on the pointed end of the spear and want to continue to give back. The four of them went into that cabin, and that was a lot of fun.” And fun is what it’s meant to be for what von Jess, Frank and Baldwin set out to accomplish. They’ve hosted veterans from as far back as the Vietnam War,

which provides even more nostalgia for von Jess. “They have the same bond. It’s different training; it’s different weapons; it’s different radios; it’s different tools nowadays from even when I was there and the generation before me. We’ve tried to put an end-to-end program together so that we can take care of all those generations, because once they’re together, they tell stories,” he says.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THAT week of fishing is up to individual participants, as camaraderie and reflection can only accomplish so much. They know it’s been a tough road in the past with at times an uncertain future. But what Warrior Sportsmen envisioned has come to fruition. “Some of them are much more likely to make contact after the fact,” von Jess says. “Some of them go back into the bushes.” Indeed, Warrior Sportsmen can’t solve the world’s problems in a week. But it’s all about the slow, steady healing process. With every day that goes

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by, rarely has von Jess not seen some form of cathartic progress by most, if not all, of his new friends chosen to participate in the program. “We feed them a great dinner, they take a hot shower and start it all over the next day,” he says. “They’re sleeping two to four people in a cabin. Those guys who they did not know, now they know. And when they leave they have new friends.” And that’s what makes it all worthwhile for von Jess, his Warrior Sportsmen partners and Fish The Nush staff members, who strive to provide a week the Green Berets will cherish – from the Team Room to the river and back again. “I don’t take it for granted, because each year is a little different. Having the opportunity to give back is at least the same joy as watching it happen and unfold,” von Jess says. “Participating in that process, it’s an end-to-end great experience. It’s good for the soul.” ASJ Editor’s note: For more information on Warrior Sportsmen and how to donate, go to green beretfoundation.org/warrior-sportsmen. The lodge’s website is fishthenush.com.

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DON’T K WRITE OFF THE KASILOF

EXPLORING KENAI PENINSULA’S RESTRICTIVE KING FISHERY

BY TREVOR TORPPA ings are the top of the food chain when it comes to Alaska’s five salmon species. These fish have historically been what people have visited the Kenai and Kasilof Rivers in pursuit of. It used to not be a big deal to catch a king over 50 pounds on any given day. Between overfishing commercially and not limiting harvests caught by rod and reel, these fish now have many limitations that ultimately lead all Kenai Peninsula king anglers to the Kasilof. Where we have a short season open to retention of one fish a day – and five total a year – bait or scent is usually not allowed during the fishing season, hurting some anglers who may rely on it.

“Kings are the top of the food chain when it comes to Alaska’s five salmon species. These fish have historically been what people have visited the Kenai and Kasilof Rivers in pursuit of,” guide Trevor Torppa writes of targeting these iconic fish on the Kenai Peninsula. (RYAN HAGERTY/US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE)

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KEEP THE FISH COMING While the Chinook fishing has been cut short of what it used to be and gear restrictions alter anglers’ success rates, these regulations are in place not only to help the salmon run recover to what it used to be, but they also prevent the depletion of other species that live in the river during that time of year as well. For instance, before wild steelhead head back out to the saltwater to “rebright” after they spawn in spring, they begin feeding in order to gain the strength to go battle the elements again at sea. The no-bait and single-hook rules we have during this time help the steelhead survive and be able to return in great numbers each and every year. When using bait, fish of all species may swallow the hook, bleeding out before you can get a safe release on them. All things aside, the Kasilof provides

anglers of all skill levels with the opportunity to catch Chinook salmon on multiple non-bait applications, including spey casting, bobber fishing, twitching jigs and back-trolling.

BACK TO BASICS Back-trolling is the main method on the lower Kasilof, as this fishery is frequented by guided vessels that all work together in order to allow equal opportunities for everybody. Back-trolling is very intricate and precise, but it can be done in many ways. The way I rig my rods up each and every day that my clients choose this technique starts with an 8-foot, 6-inch G.Loomis E6X medium-fast-action-rated 15– to 30-pound rod paired with an Okuma Cold Water low-profile linecounter reel. This rod provides the action we prefer to let the plugs and divers we hang behind

them work freely and effortlessly. I spool my reel up with 50-pound braided line to two 10mm red beads and a six-bead beadchain. The two beads allow me to hook a duolock along the main line between them for when I may want to run a diver, plus a 20-inch leader to my offering, which is usually a Yakima Bait SpinN-Glo or a spinner blade.

PLUG AND PLAY While the diver works well, the Kasilof king fishery’s main attraction for decades has been the plug setup. Attach a 5-foot leader of 30-pound fluorocarbon with a duolock on each end to your bead chain, then pick your desired plug to add to the end of your line. This method is called flatlining – running your plug freely downstream of the boat with your bow pointed upstream. This allows the current to work those lures where they need to be, while

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the butt of the lure and thus hook is facing up, limiting your chances of snagging the bottom while moving these lures back into the current. Once you get your desired rod spacing and plug letout distance down and your setup is fishing, pick your anchor up and begin backing these lures where you want them to go. We like to run these plugs all the way down into the tailout, then row to the bank and either row back up or walk the boat upstream to make multiple passes in order to increase our chances at swinging our presentation by a king and ultimately get bit.

JUNE 17, 2025: A FISHING DAY TO REMEMBER This day was one me and my buddy who also guides in Alaska will remember forever. Along with another guide, Aaron, we had a “group trip” made up of seven anglers, meaning one of us took three out and the other fished with four. We’d fish near each other the whole day in order to keep the feel of the group going.

The Kasilof is one of Southcentral Alaska’s premier and popular fisheries for big kings. (WIKIMEDIA USER “BEEBLEBROX”)

These clients were from Michigan and consisted of two couples, a dad/grandpa and two other close friends. Whether we caught fish or not this day this crew was going to have a fun time, which they

Torppa’s guiding trips have made dreams come true for visiting anglers seeking a true Alaska experience. (TREVOR TORPPA) 44

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did by passing meat sticks to each other between the two boats and sharing our first lunch break under a bald eagle’s nest. We then proceeded to hook kings in every single hole we fished. Aaron made a pass in the first hole in front of me and hooked a great big wild Chinook, which he landed on the side of the river, tailing it with his bare hands and keeping the net away from him knowing we had to release the fish. Our boat packed up the rods and went over to check it out, and everyone was ecstatic about the sheer size of this fish, which weighed around 15 pounds – which our clients had never seen before, so it seemed like a monster to them – and featured a bright red color, since it was getting ready to spawn. We released the salmon and proceeded down to the next piece of water. This next hole hadn’t been prevailing for us this year, but it is one of those spots where you have to stop and fish at least once. We made a first pass through this hole and were all the way down to the tailout when our outside rod slammed over. The patriarch of the group picked it up and had an epic fight with a nice keeper hatchery king. When we landed it, I had to give the net to one of the other anglers within the boat, jump out of the vessel into the middle of the river and drag it to shore by foot, as the current was too fast and we were too far down to do it any other way. The reason I did this

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is because I wanted to row back up and make another pass through that hole. So that’s what we did. In all we hooked four fish within that one section of river until we got pulled down and out of it by a bigger fish, which checked in at well over 20 pounds. We ended up bumping boats downriver and fishing side by side as we went. We hooked up with several more salmon, which made for an awesome day of king fishing on the Kasilof. We turned the motors on, headed

downstream to our boat ramp and fileted a pile of Chinook meat for our clients to take home. Bagging their filets and keeping the eggs that came with some of the fish, we were all happy this day, as we had some fresh bait to cure and they had a freezer full of salmon. This was a great fishing experience, but more than that I remember them being the best people to share it with. These clients were the best we could have asked for as guides. And they also savored fishing with us. They would not only remem-

“The Kasilof provides anglers of all skill levels with the opportunity to catch Chinook salmon on multiple non-bait applications, including spey casting, bobber fishing, twitching jigs and back-trolling,” the author writes. (TREVOR TORPPA) 46

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ber the fish they caught, but their guides. This is the best part of it for me, and why I never forget any trip I take, whether it’s in Washington or Alaska. And in the Last Frontier, king salmon fishing on the Kasilof River is about as good as it gets. ASJ Editor’s note: Trevor Torppa is the owner and operator of Soldotna Fishing Guides in Alaska (soldotnafishingguides.com) and Chrome City Guide Service in Washington (chromecityguideservicellc.com).

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ARE YOU REA WORK THE NIG

If a shot on big game presents itself at dusk but you’re not ready to field dress the animal at night, don’t pull the trigger. “The more prepared you are to break down big game in the dark,” author Scott Haugen writes, “the smoother the process will go and the cleaner the meat will be.” (SCOTT HAUGEN)

ADY TO NIGHT SHIFT? PREPARATION KEY TO BEING ABLE TO BREAK DOWN BIG GAME WHEN DARK FALLS

BY SCOTT HAUGEN

efore pulling the trigger on a big bull, I played out the recovery in my mind. It would take the better part of an hour to reach the bull if it died where it stood. That meant navigating in the dark. If the shot wasn’t perfect, the bull could end up in a bad spot that would mean an arduous pack. If all went well I’d finish quartering and bagging meat by 11 p.m., then return the next morning to complete the packing. The first shot punched the bull in the lungs. A quick followup hit next to the first. I watched, confident it would fall on the spot. But the big bull regained its strength, turned and slowly walked back toward the timber. I shot for the

neck but missed. As the bull reached the crest of the hill, 5 yards from where it was first hit, it fell. An hour after I started navigating the rugged mountainside, I reached where the bull had fallen. It was pitch dark, as it had been for a while. The bull was gone. Blood – good blood – glowed in the headlamp. Scuff marks revealed the bull had rolled over, then toppled down the backside of the mountain. The bull was piled up 300 yards downhill. Thankfully, a buddy joined me. We skinned, quartered and bagged the meat and got it hanging. We made it back to camp at 2:30 a.m. By 7 a.m. we were packing out the bull. We finished at 3:30 that afternoon.

MEAT AND GREET Meat recovery often becomes the most taxing part of a hunt, especially in Alaska. I’ve experienced long nights with mountain goat, Dall sheep, moose, bear, deer, caribou, and more. Going into each hunt prepared is the key to alleviating stress, optimizing the workload and retaining the best-quality meat possible, even if it means working through the night. When hunting rugged land, shot opportunities often come minutes before dark. Be prepared to spend much of the night breaking down an animal so the meat doesn’t spoil. If you’re not willing to work in the dark, don’t shoot. An animal should never be left to

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Careful field dressing is critical to get the best flavor out of dishes such as Tiffany Haugen’s duck breast spaghetti recipe. (TIFFANY HAUGEN)

PROPER WATERFOWL CARE LEADS TO DELICIOUS MEAT BY TIFFANY HAUGEN

emember, the game we eat is only as good as the product we start with. This is especially true with waterfowl. Fresh or frozen, be sure any bloodshot and pellets are removed from the meat. When a bird is shot in the head, it often flops on the ground, which can break a leg and/or wing and damage the sockets, connective tissues and even the meat. This leads to the coagulation of blood. Be sure to remove all blood prior to cooking or the end product can taste gamey. Waterfowl is very lean, so don’t overcook it. Overcooking ducks and geese can lead to stronger flavors and tough meat. Breast meat is the best to grind for a variety of recipes; stick to the slow cooker – low and slow – to make waterfowl legs and thighs.

1-1 1/2 pounds ground or minced duck breast 2 tablespoons olive oil 50

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One onion, diced 6 cloves garlic, puréed 1 teaspoon salt 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes 1/4 cup tomato paste 1/2 cup chicken or beef broth 1 tablespoon parsley flakes 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon onion powder 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes Fresh herbs and Parmesan cheese for garnish 12 ounces spaghetti noodles Clean duck breasts well and grind or mince. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until translucent, four to six minutes. Add garlic, salt, crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Continue to sauté for six to eight minutes until tomato liquid begins to evaporate.

NOVEMBER 2026 | aksportingjournal.com

Push tomato mixture aside and add duck to the middle of the skillet. Brown meat evenly on both sides in two to three minutes. Add broth and bring mixture to a boil. Add remaining spices and turn heat to low. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes while cooking noodles according to package directions. Thin sauce with additional broth if desired. Mix sauce with spaghetti or serve meat sauce on top of spaghetti and garnish with Parmesan cheese and herbs if desired. Editor’s note: To order signed copies of Tiffany Haugen’s popular book, Cooking Game Birds, visit scotthaugen.com for this and other titles.

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recover the following morning, especially in winter. Animal hides are insulators. As hair thickens through fall and winter, it becomes even more important to get the animal broken down and quickly cooling.

ASSESS THE SCENARIOS Prior to every hunt, assess the possible breakdown scenarios and prepare accordingly. I often strap a daypack to a packframe so I can bring one load of meat out. There are packs on the market designed for this. If moose hunting in Alaska from a boat where space isn’t a concern, I’ll try to take a tarp to lay the massive amounts of meat on. If on horseback in the backcountry, saving weight and space are a priority, so rope and game bags are key pieces of gear. Typically, game bags, rope, a knife and sharpening steel are all you need to break down any big game animal. All bones can

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

Once a big game animal is down, the real work begins. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

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ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

be disarticulated at the joints. A saw is only needed to cut off the skull cap from antlered and horned game.

muscles attached to leg bones is preferred in cool situations. It’s best to age meat on the bone, as the loss of moisture stretches and breaks down the cells, making the muscle tissue tender. If outside temperatures are under 50 degrees, I’ll leave meat attached to the bone for transporting. Hanging meat on the bone in 34 to 44 degrees for a minimum of five days is ideal.

BEST FIELD DRESSING METHOD

LET THERE BE LIGHT

I use the gutless method of field dressing, as it’s quick and clean. Remove all bloodshot as you go. In warm conditions with big-boned game like moose, elk and bear, separate the large muscles on the hindquarters, leaving them attached by the tendons at the knee. Prior to putting in game bags, hang by the exposed femur in the shade so the muscles fold over the lower leg. This allows the meat to cool from the inside and outside. Big bones retain heat, and the quicker muscles can be separated from them, the faster they’ll cool. If there’s snow on the ground, lay meat and all four quarters on it to cool. Leaving

For a nighttime breakdown, have a good headlamp, even two. Remove the batteries before putting the light in your pack. It’s a helpless feeling seeing a dim glow in the pack, the light having been accidentally turned on hours prior. Take extra batteries. With the quarters and all body meat in game bags, hang them in the shade on sunny days so air can circulate around them. Never place meat in plastic bags and don’t pile game bags atop one another, as this traps heat. In bear country, have enough rope to hoist game bags into trees. If hunting the tundra and you have to overnight near the kill, stash it a safe distance from your tent;

Just as important as being prepared to break down an animal is having a good plan for quickly transporting it out of the field. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

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NOVEMBER 2026 | aksportingjournal.com

grizzlies will smell it from miles away. If you have to make multiple trips to pack out meat, mark the kill site and trail on a GPS so you can navigate in the dark, fog, clouds, heavy rain or snow.

GAME PLAN AHEAD OF TIME Before every hunt, develop a plan of how you’ll get meat from the field to the trailhead, to the truck, into cold storage in the nearest town, and finally home. A detailed plan is especially important in hot weather such as early fall and late spring. The more prepared you are to break down big game in the dark, the smoother the process will go and the cleaner the meat will be. You’ll know you’ve done it right when you sink your teeth into the tender, tasty meat. That’s the true litmus test to proper field care. ASJ Editor’s note: Scott Haugen’s popular DVD, Field Dressing, Skinning & Caping Big Game, shows multiple ways to break down and cape game and can be ordered at scotthaugen.com. Follow Scott’s adventures on Instagram and Facebook.

F IS FOR FALCONRY WITNESSING A HUNTING BIRD’S MAJESTY BY MICHAEL ENGELHARD

Gyrfalcon Chimkee at a preflight weigh-in. The 4-yearold bird is being trained to hunt waterfowl on the wing. (MICHAEL ENGELHARD)

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

NOVEMBER 2026 | aksportingjournal.com

he first time I see Bennett Wong in the Creamer’s Field parking lot, he is pushing a buggy with his dog, a black Newfoundland, in tow. His ready smile splits a face between a strong jaw and hair forming a sable helmet. On his fist then perched Chimkee, a gray gyrfalcon with boldly flecked underparts. Wong was readying the bird to hunt waterfowl heading south on their annual commute. Behind the old Fairbanks dairy farmhouse, the bird refuge center where he sometimes gives demonstrations, he clips Chimkee to a 50-yard “creance.” “Are you gonna fly it like a kite?” a watching boy asks. “No; we’re just training her,” Wong replies. The kid turns to his mom: “He’s gonna fly it like a kite!” Raptors enrapture, “seizing by force,” the roots of those two words remind us. You can’t fly them without spectators gathering. Wong has raised this 4-yearold since her chickhood. He says she reasons “as much as a falcon can.” He’s also flown a “cast” of peregrine twins, perhaps the country’s only falconer having done so. He took them legally, as a licensed practitioner, from a cliff eyrie near Salcha, southeast of Fairbanks. Tandem flying had been tricky, because, “They would have liked to eat each other.” He learned to sync their orbits, playing air traffic controller, juggler of porcelain angels with dagger claws. Wong often partakes of his

Falconer Bennett Wong releases his gyrfalcon Chimkee at Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge near Fairbanks, keeping a vintage hunting tradition alive. “In an earlier age,” author Michael Engelhard writes, “Wong might have ridden in Genghis Khan’s retinue, pointing a falcon at herons and stoats.” (MICHAEL ENGELHARD) aksportingjournal.com | NOVEMBER 2026

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

birds’ catches, as if in communion, though he cooks his Canada geese. The journey from feral to semitame changed him as much as it did his charges. Helen Macdonald, in her bestseller about gentling a goshawk, H Is for Hawk, describes “thinking, seeing, imagining hawk all day long.” For her, “Surprising things come to light, not simply memories, but states of mind, emotions, older ways of seeing the world.”

AFTER I UNHOOD CHIMKEE, lifting the small leather skullcap that keeps her calm, the instant Wong’s whistle shrills, she leaps off the short utility post, strokes low across the lawn toward him, 2-foot sickle wings soughing, climbs,

loops back, dives, stalls briefly like a dragon torching a city, and then nails a quail morsel twirled on a cord. Once she returns reliably to the lure, he’ll fly her offleash. With her radio-GPS ankle transmitter and trailing antenna, she may resemble a remote-controlled drone. She’s anything but. One of Wong’s peregrines absconded with hundreds of dollars in electronics. We chill afterwards in a northwesterly breeze at the split-rail fence near a pond where Wong lets his bird survey future hunting grounds. Unlike their flexible, skyscraper-dwelling cousins, gyrfalcons breed in Arctic landscapes exclusively, and she visibly blossoms in this weather, all eyes, head-bobbing

Tinker Bell, one of the Fairbanks falconer’s peregrines, on the author’s fist. (MICHAEL ENGELHARD)

excitedly. From my perspective, brittle reeds screen any geese or ducks present. With the pond and scrim of glowing fall vegetation as backdrop, our conversation in skipping-stone fashion touches on ethics, respect, the environment, as it will when discussing wildlife. Wong, who was born in Malaysia and came to the US as a toddler and once owned a baby yak, says certain falconers care genuinely for their birds and the species, even releasing birds back into the wild. Others regard them as tools. 58

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NOVEMBER 2026 | aksportingjournal.com

Chimkee in action on a leash, or “creance,” flies to the lure during training. Once she returns reliably to the lure, Wong will fly Chimkee off-leash. (MICHAEL ENGELHARD)

“Might as well use a gun,” he says, which is much more efficient. Directing Creamer’s Field’s Camp Habitat for youths and holding a master’s degree in biology, he’s also surprised that fellow falconers deny the climate emergency, despite being self-professed preservationists and subject to dire new circumstances.

IT’S SHOWTIME, THE CULMINATION of months-long patience and toil. Steve Bodio, the author of the classic A Rage for Falcons, calls a trained adolescent

bird’s maiden free flight “the single scariest moment.” Wong doesn’t toss Chimkee upward; Chimkee unfurls when she’s ready, always into the wind, encouraged by Wong, who raises her with his arm as if to broaden her prospect. Swish, swish, swish … She scopes out the pond first but, alas, all fowl have departed – the forecast calls for flurries. Ascending, she then sails along the hayfield’s far edge. Wong, worried about the refuge visitors’ dogs, whisks the lure around, a rod bait-

ed with quail wings and breast meat on a steamrollered catcher’s mitt instead of a Woolly Bugger. Swinging this fake to hook his partner’s attention requires dexterity. A sloppy style can cripple a darting incoming bird. Chimkee, heeding the whistle – deciding the beakful in the craw beats the feast her inner search image promises – boomerangs in, a scrap of the overcast, hurtling down. The main point of refinement cresting within minutes, at least for Wong, was never the kill. It’s the display of steely drives, aer-

aksportingjournal.com | NOVEMBER 2026

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

Wong, working the pole lure at Creamer’s Field, “says certain falconers care genuinely for their birds and the species, even releasing birds back into the wild,” writes the author. (MICHAEL ENGELHARD) 60

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

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obatic flair, and above that, connection with an alien life form. Brass ankle bells formerly signaled falconry birds’ doings and whereabouts. Between those tinkling relics and today’s telemetry beeps, the sport’s mystique bridges three millennia. In an earlier age, Wong might have ridden in Genghis Khan’s retinue, pointing a falcon at herons and stoats.

THE DAY OF THE actual hunt is anticlimactic, riddled with slapstick à la Keystone Cops. Four pintails and two swans have lit on the still surface, unaware of the nearby threat. Students of Wong and their parents have gathered, and he enlists them as drivers to spook the ducks, which Chimkee will only take on the wing. The swans, 30 pounds each, are too much to bite off for a gyr or any raptor besides an eagle. Before we can even ring the pond, with Chimkee still blind, two ducks decamp for a different one. Because there are no swans there, it becomes the new

center of attention. We all hare toward it, but the ducks, afloat in the middle, fail to rise despite the ruckus. So, it’s back in a hurry, to the swan pond. Caught up in the excitement, trying to keep up with my eyes on the prize, I trip in the bumpy field and, hitting my head, see stars – I never before realized how apt that image is. At the first pond, Chimkee, coming to the call of the whistle, strafes the unperturbed swans while those pintails escape. Wong, deciding to end this wild goose chase, waves the pole lure, which promptly breaks. But he still brings down the gyr to be hooded again. Such are the vagaries of an urban aerial chase. ASJ This story is part of a new essay collection by Michael Engelhard, Northerners: Alaskans Yesterday and Today. Order it at shop. ingramspark.com/b/084?params=dndyyZ FEPgXTP9kY7kowfe5VsqhdPNDUCX3UG kmt1Qm. For more on Engelhard’s other work, check out his website, michaelengelhard.com.

Chimkee gets her reward at the lure “kill” training demonstration on this day. When the real thing happens, “Wong often partakes of his birds’ catch, as if in communion, though he cooks his Canada geese.” (MICHAEL ENGELHARD) aksportingjournal.com | NOVEMBER 2026

ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL

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