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Alaska Hooksetters is the best all-inclusive value on the Kenai Peninsula, offering vacation packages that ensure you have everything you need for an unforgettable adventure. From comfortable lodging, delectable meals showcasing local flavors, and all essential fishing equipment, including bait, tackle, rain gear, fish processing and waders, let Alaska Hooksetters provide you with the unparalleled joy of hooking the finest catches in the Last Frontier. They are not just any fishing lodge – they’re your gateway to a tailor-made adventure. Alaska Hooksetters staffers pride themselves on crafting personalized vacations attuned to your unique desires. Whether it’s aligning with ideal dates and seasons, specific fish species or working within your budget, they have you covered. Allow them to design your dream getaway, where the majestic beauty of Alaska will meet the thrill of the catch. For guests who prefer not to fish daily or even at all, they can arrange other outings, including kayaking on Resurrection or Kachemak Bays; whale watching; guided glacier hikes; Iditarod sled dog rides: gold panning; fly-in bear viewing; and more.
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ON THE COVER
Dan Adler’s guide/outfitter business, Prescott, Arizona-based Diamond Outfitters, is considered the largest in North America, with a focus on guided trips in several Western states. But Adler has a special connection with Alaska and loves hunting caribou and other big game when he visits the Last Frontier. (DIAMOND OUTFITTERS)
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The iconic Alaska Highway spans deep into the Canadian wilderness, and many Last Frontier visitors and residents have experienced outstanding fishing (including for hard-fighting trophy northern pike like this one), wildlife viewing and even winter glimpses of the northern lights at Northern Rockies Adventures lodge. Our Tiffany Herrington caught up with the family-owned business’s second-generation co-owner, who shares what lures travelers to the north.
19
After Dan Adler’s active-duty Air Force tenure ended, he vowed to create a topnotch guiding/outfitter service. Today, his Diamond Outfitters is believed to be the nation’s largest operation, with hunts in several Western states and international locations. Adler sat down with us for a wide-ranging interview to talk about his professional successes and personal love of hunting big game in Alaska in his free time.
40
Not even a bout with cancer could derail angler Brian Kelly from returning to Alaska, a destination the Pennsylvania resident has visited 16 times, with a 17th trip set to take place in fall. As Kelly prepares to fly into Southeast Alaska, he relives memorable past salmon fishing adventures rife with coho, bears, moose and even a nickname bestowed upon his fishy self.
With autumn in Alaska here, Scott and Tiffany Haugen are ready to target prespawn male coho, an underrated fishery as the summer crowds vacate the water and in-the-know anglers can score some tasty, great-fighting silvers. Haugen provides the details on how to fish for these bucks, and his wife Tiffany has your fall big game harvest menu plan set with a zesty stew flavored with Indonesian spices.
The old adage is to never meet your heroes, since you never know when said hero is going to big time you, or worse, blow you off, and thus ruin the moment and tarnish that admiration forever.
As a California kid living near San Francisco, I remember Saturday afternoons at my dad’s house watching Fishing With Roland Martin on Superstation WTBS and hoping that someday I could hitch a ride on Roland’s boat and bass fish with the legend. (I also belonged to the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society and wanted him to sign my patch.)
I was also a massive baseball fan, and one year my youth baseball team got us not only tickets to a San Francisco Giants game, but also postgame access to the fenced-in player’s parking lot. Nevermind that I eventually would become a
now heartbroken Oakland Athletics supporter, but the Giants happened to be playing the Montreal Expos, the club of my alltime favorite player, Expos catcher Gary Carter (at the time, I too was a catcher, but a very unathletic one). I was able to get the autographs of some Giants players, but I was convinced the Montreal guys would also stroll out of that area and board the team bus back to their hotel.
At one point, standing around with my fellow 10-year-old teammates, I could have sworn Carter approached us alongside who I thought was teammate Andre Dawson, who like Carter would eventually be a Baseball Hall of Famer. But I didn’t dare break away from the group and hold up a pen while wearing my team’s uniform and dare to ask for this idol’s autograph. Who knows if Carter would have finger-wagged me away.
I bring this up because my interview subject for this month’s issue, successful outfitter/guide business owner and Alaska fan Dan Adler (page 19) told a great story about a prank involving baseball royalty.
Here’s the recap: Hall of Famer Robin Yount, who is baseball’s only Most Valuable Player to win playing two different positions, joined other baseball luminaries on an Adler-led hunt in the state of Sonora, Mexico. Adler’s best friend Greg’s wife’s family is from Milwaukee, where Yount played his full career with the city’s Brewers.
“Greg is very shy toward strangers, and we’re in the truck and his wife’s parents sent him down here with two 8½-by11 photos of Robin and asked if he could sign them,” Adler recalled. “I said, ‘Are you kidding me? He’s super friendly; he’ll be humble. Absolutely. You’ve got to do it.’”
During the first few days of the hunt, Greg was too petrified to bother asking this baseball god to sign, and that drove Adler to approach Yount, who spent a career being part of clubhouse hijinks, with a plan to make Greg sweat out the process after he said how reluctant he was to ask for the signature.
“We’re in camp, and the first two days Greg doesn’t ask him. By the third day when he doesn’t ask him, I say, ‘Greg; what’s your problem?’ He said, ‘I don’t know if I should do this.’ By the fourth day, I said, ‘This is my moment.’ I go to Robin’s tent and knock on the tent and Robin has spent 30 to 40 seasons in locker rooms and has said it all, heard it all. When you tell a dude like that, he knows what to do next. ‘If
you can just unload on him.’ As soon as I started to say that, Robin was like, ‘I got this.’”
You know what’s coming next. With a camera crew around to chronicle the hunt on the TV outdoors show that featured Adler, he clued in his camera guy to capture what would happen at breakfast in front of the group.
“Greg said, ‘Hey Robin; I almost didn’t want to ask you this ... ,’” Adler recalled with a laugh. “So Robin just unloads on him, and just when you think he’s done, he does it again. ‘I came down to Mexico to escape this!’ Greg is practically in tears. Robin takes it so far before he just starts cracking up.”
“Robin Yount is an amazing human. He’s the real deal and he’s got the it factor when he walks into a room.”
Of course, Yount happily signed the photos, which Greg’s in-laws would then frame and presumably scored him a lot of goodwill with the wife’s family. It’s part of what makes hunting adventures like that so memorable for Adler.
For me, I never got to meet Gary Carter, who sadly passed away from brain cancer in 2012.
I salvaged some faith in humanity when in college, some friends and I were in a record store and ran into another favorite player at the time, slugging first baseman Mark McGwire of my then beloved Oakland A’s, who we found out was in town visiting his girlfriend. He couldn’t have been more gracious and friendly.
So meeting your heroes isn’t always as stressful as it was for Greg, despite Adler’s and Yount’s tomfoolery. -Chris Cocoles
Twelve-year-old Addyson Lyons, who’s from Post Falls, Idaho, had quite a summer while visiting Valdez, catching two big coho, including this 15.14-pound beauty that won her the Valdez Women’s Silver Salmon Derby “Queen of the Silver Salmon Sisterhood” grand prizes. (VALDEZ FISH DERBIES)
Recent years have seen the children’s uprising at Alaska fishing derbies. The kids are still all right.
In back-to-back Homer Winter King Salmon Tournaments, the Marley brothers, then 11-year-old Andrew, and Weston, 15, caught the largest Chinook to win the titles in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Up in Valdez, home of several summer derbies, youth has been queen. Last year, Fairbanks resident Summer Ruge, 12, took the lead in the Valdez Halibut Derby in late May. Her 159.4-pound beast won her weekly prize for biggest fish, and held onto first place for more than a month.
The youth movement continued into this summer. The August 9 Valdez Women’s Silver Salmon Derby, as usual, celebrated fish, fashion and female power. But 12-year-old Addyson Lyons of Post Falls, Idaho, stole the show. She was among 411 anglers who entered into the popular derby, and she caught the biggest of the day, a 15.14-pound coho.
The silvers were biting big time on that day, as Valdez Fish Derbies reported many of the anglers caught multiple salmon – many weighing double digits. And Lyons herself, who was visiting her aunt Barb in Valdez for the summer, had already caught a summer-long Valdez Silver Salmon Derby prize-winning coho. She won the July 25 first-place fish, which happened to be on the event’s Big Fish Friday contest, winning her an extra $500 payout.
Then she struck again to win the Women’s Silver Salmon Derby.
“She is not sure what she is going to do with the money, but said she would give half to her cousin, who netted the fish all day,” Valdez Fish Derbies said in a press release. “In addition to the $1,000 in cash and $1,000 in prizes for the Women’s Derby, Lyons will also get a tiara and pink bathrobe embroidered with ‘Queen of the Silver Salmon Sisterhood.’” She led the overall Valdez Silver Salmon Derby until the last week or so, when a 15.32-pound fish just edged out her big coho. Still, Addyson’s summer swag also added $3,000 more in second-place winnings. Way to go!
Looks like a great day on the water from our friends at Whittier Charters (907-440-9510; fishwhittier.com).
Something here suggests the Jets and the Sharks wouldn’t tangle with this group of local toughs.
hunting and fishing,” says the org’s Aaron Kindle. (NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION OUTDOORS)
One of the most frustrating aspects of detailing the potential consequences of climate change is the skeptics who don’t buy what the experts see and the public at large acknowledges is occurring. Then again, Aaron Kindle, director of sporting advocacy for the National Wildlife Federation Outdoors, has gotten used to the notion that not everyone will be onboard with his opinion that “things are changing.”
“In our line of work we’ve got thick skin. I don’t get too worried about it, but the science is pretty damn clear. We’re seeing these issues, and even for someone who doesn’t want to call it climate change, they know there are problems. And we invite them to be a part of the solution,” Kindle says. “And I think one of the coolest things that we
10,700
Pounds of halibut five commercial fishermen were charged with illegally harvesting around the Yakutat area. They were scheduled to appear in federal district court at a later date.
have an opportunity with – and all of us who care about the outdoors – is natural climate solutions and climate resilience work. And I say that because those things improve fish and wildlife habitat. And that improves hunting and fishing.”
Still, some in important positions, such as members of Congress, have refused to or at best not acknowledged that something sinister has accounted for events like increasing wildfires, which in recent years have wreaked havoc in drought-stricken Western states. Blazes have also burned throughout Alaska this summer, including the second largest amount of land scorched in June, which accompanied a record-dry late spring.
“One thing about being outdoors people is we’re used to living through adversity. What’s most heartbreaking is people who don’t want to acknowledge
THEY SAID IT
it. Because that’s the first step to doing something about it. ‘We’ve got some issues. What are we going to do about it?’” Kindle says.
“And for me, particularly the hunting and fishing communities, we’re out there all the time. We see this stuff. We’re the ones who return to landscapes year after year and see how they change over time and how animal behavior is changing – more than people who don’t do this.”
“When people are seeing those things and say, ‘Well, things just change,’ even though the science is right next to them saying, ‘Well, things are changing because of this.’ To get folks to kind of accept and then start talking about it and forge solutions with our knowledge, that’s kind of what this is all about.” -Chris Cocoles
“There are no words to describe the impact this has on his family, friends and ADFG with the loss of one of our own. Our deepest condolences are with John’s family and loved ones.”
small plane shortly after takeoff. RIP.
The community of Kenai and the Kenai River will host the Kenai Silver Salmon Derby from September 9-14. Go to kenaisilversalmonderby.com for more. (KENAI SILVER
1 Black bear season opens in Game Management Units 1 (Southeast Mainland), 2 (Prince of Wales Island), 3 (Petersburg/Wrangell) and 5 (Yakutat)
1 Wolverine season opens in GMU 4 (AdmiraltyBaranof-Chichagof Islands)
1 Moose season opens in GMU 5B (Yakutat) and GMU 7 (Seward)
1 Brown bear season opens in GMUs 5, 6A, -B and -C (North Gulf Coast and Prince William Sound) and 14A (Mat-Su Valley)
1 Bison season opens in GMU 11 (east of the Copper River, south of the Klawasi River and west of a line from Mount Sanford to Mount Wrangell to Long Glacier, west of the Kotsina River)
Over 20 years ago, Rob Leahy, co-owner of Simply Rugged Holsters, was having trouble finding a holster to fit his favorite revolver, a S&W N-Frame. It was this that led him to invent his own way to carry a large revolver. Using design elements from Roy Baker’s excellent Hidden Thunder Pancake design, Leahy made his to cover more of the gun, simplified it and eliminated the thumb break. Finally, Leahy made the leather holster from thicker, high quality leather. A comfortable design to help support guns from large to small, whether worn inside-the-waistband (IWB) or outside-the-waistband (OWB), your gun will be held
1 Goat season opens in GMU 14A (south and east of the Matanuska River) 9-14 Kenai Silver Salmon Derby (kenaisilversalmonderby.com) 11-13 Kenai Women’s Classic, Kenai River (krsa.com/program/womens-classic)
15 Brown bear season opens in GMUs 1 and 3
15 Moose season opens in GMU 3
15 Deer season opens in GMU 4 (Chichagof Island east of Port Frederick and north of Tenakee Inlet and remainder of unit)
25 Elk season opens in GMU 8 (southwest Afognak Island)
For more information and season dates for Alaska hunts, go to adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=hunting.main.
firmly between two pieces of leather. The wide set belt slots hold the firearm in close to your body and apply tension to the gun. This is a very stable design concept; the gun rides with your body, it becomes part of you, and does not flop around. These features provide good retention and concealment, which causes less fatigue for the user.
Simply Rugged Holsters create a wide variety of outdoors, training and concealed carry holsters, belts and pouches for long guns and pistols.
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Outfitter and hunting guide
Dan Adler’s Arizona-based Diamond Outfitters is believed to be the largest in North America, and while he mostly hunts Alaska caribou like this one off the clock, in his earlier years he spent plenty of time in the Last Frontier as a meat packer for guides. (DIAMOND OUTFITTERS)
BY CHRIS COCOLES
Had fate gone in a different direction, perhaps Dan Adler’s hunting outfitter/guide business that’s now considered North America’s largest might have taken him to Alaska full time.
Adler’s Arizona-based operation was still in its infancy about 20 years ago when he first discovered what an
addiction the Last Frontier’s wide-open spaces were becoming for him.
But these days, the 49th state represents mostly pleasure trips for Adler, whose Diamond Outfitters (520-730-8147; diamondoutfitters.com) hosts big game hunts in several Western states and branches out into international adventures as well.
A United States Air Force veteran, some of Adler’s early times in Alaska were spent assisting a new friend, longtime Fairbanks outfitter Joe Letarte of Alaska Wilderness Enterprises (wildernessenterprises.com).
“I didn’t qualify for any of the Alaska guide rankings, so I just went up there as a meat packer, where I didn’t
even draw a paycheck,” Adler says of doing unpaid grunt work for Letarte. “I financed my own way and helped glass for sheep and moose and bear guides, and I was just there to pack meat off the mountain and did that for several years, and I had to decide if I wanted to become an assistant guide or a master guide outfitter (in Alaska).”
But then, after some early struggles, he says his Arizona guiding business “was growing and growing and growing” between 2007 and 2009, and has blown up in the last 15 years.
“So I never got into Alaska from the business side of it, but I’ve gone back and done multiple hunts,” he says of a state that he’s only scratched the surface of in about a dozen visits since. It’s become a special playground when he gets to stare down the big game he’s helped clients get within range of.
“Alaska is a big part of my fishing and hunting heritage, but also spiritually. If I didn’t live in Arizona, I always said that I’d be in Alaska for summers and maybe Wyoming as the only other places I could see myself living,” he admits. “But
After his active-duty Air Force career ended, Adler and his wife Terri had some early growing pains starting their business, but great clients and word of mouth allowed Diamond Outfitters to grow into an operation that employs about 60 guides leading hunts in multiple Western states and across international borders. (DIAMOND OUTFITTERS)
Alaska is such a special place.”
And he’s had a special journey along the way to get there.
ADLER HAS NO REGRETS about serving his country during a decade-long active-service stint. A University of Arizona graduate who participated in the school’s Air Force ROTC program, he’d become an Air Force second lieutenant and then served as a flight line maintenance officer, working on iconic planes such as the F-15, A-10 Warthog and AC-130.
It was exciting work, taking Adler around the world and which he called “an amazing 10 years.”
After growing up in Phoenix, part of Adler’s Air Force stint saw him return to nearby Tucson, Arizona, where his college alma mater is located, to continue assignments at Davis-Monthan AFB.
But as his military career wound down and with a wife and soon two kids joining the family, Adler wanted to know what was next. A hunting trip with buddies would soon resolve that.
Adler and friends from Arizona met up in Colorado for a guided mule deer hunt. Halfway through the trip, the guys had scored some nice bucks and also filled a couple of elk tags they picked up over the counter. Adler, who’d already considered starting his own guiding business, had an epiphany one day when they were hanging around camp.
“This was the unguided portion of the hunt, and I was kind of looking around and thinking, ‘We’re really good at this glassing thing,’ and not in an ego way. I kind of halfway joked to the guys and said, ‘Hey, if I get out of the military and start a guiding business and do all the legwork, would you guys help me guide?’ They laughed about it, but they said, ‘Yeah.’”
The next year, Adler went on a solo Colorado trip with another guide, but he was left unimpressed by the experience.
“There were a lot of things within this outfitter’s control, and I was thinking to myself, ‘Boy; I hope the bar for quality isn’t this low in the industry, and if it is, what a sad place for the reputations for guides to be.’” Adler says. “‘I want to give this a shot, and if the bar is this low, we’ll have a shot.’”
“There’s no force more beautiful in the world than Mother Nature,” Dan Adler says of his Last Frontier experiences. “But she’ll also kill you without remorse.”
(LISA HUPP/U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE)
In his Alaska meat-packing days, Dan Adler remembers one client who realized how different the Last Frontier can be compared to the Lower 48.
“He was an executive from a big retail store (chain). And he had booked this hunt three years in advance,” Adler recalls. “When he got off the plane he looked a little pale and I thought maybe he didn’t like flying in a Super Cub. I didn’t think much about it, but we’re gathering our stuff. The plane took off, and as soon as he didn’t see it anymore, he looked at the mountains, looked at me, looked at the mountains and then he became even more pale and broke into a cold sweat.”
Adler could tell this hunter wasn’t ready for how intimidating this state and its surroundings can be for less experienced outdoorsmen. Adler, who is sharing his memoirs in a soon-tobe published book, wrote, “This is the moment the hunt ended.”
The hunter would last about twoplus days in the bush, then called the outfitter on the satellite phone and
wanted to go home.
“He wanted out of there. He had that Alaska moment. It was just too remote for him,” Adler says.
Indeed, while Adler’s Diamond Outfitters hunts have taken place in some rugged areas of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming, he’s realized Alaska is a unicorn.
“Everywhere I’ve been to you can get a truck to, a side-by-side to, horses to. In Arizona or New Mexico, you can walk in any direction 3 or 4 miles away and usually hit a road. There’s just so much access,” he says.
“But in Alaska, you do have to remind yourself and remind clients, even if I call an SOS button on the sat phone, we can be looking at hours before anyone shows up. Then they have to be able to find us,” Adler notes.
“One of the things that I always talk about, whether I’m standing on a fishing boat or at a hunting camp in Alaska, I always – no matter how beautiful it is – make a comment that there’s no force more beautiful in the world than
Mother Nature. But she’ll also kill you without remorse,” he states.
Alaska is even more of a threat to unprepared anglers or hunters. Adler understands that he has to be on his A-game at all times when in the Alaskan bush. He’s learned much about the state’s hunting as well as survival skills and more from those he’s interacted with, particularly trappers.
“I’ve always respected trappers because it’s a really neat craft. But it wasn’t until I started meeting people in Alaska and then had trappers who hunted with me (that it resonated with me),” he says.
“I have never, in 20 years of guiding and 40 years of hunting, had a trapper who wasn’t an excellent hunter. I don’t mean just a good hunter; every trapper who has come to my camp has been an excellent hunter. They come in all shapes and sizes and personalities, but they’re excellent hunters. That was my biggest a-ha – talking to Alaska trappers and hunters and incorporating them into my life and my hunting world.” CC
AS A YOUNG BOY in the Phoenix area, Adler and his family would escape the oppressive Valley of the Sun summer heat for the cooler California temperatures in San Diego. (The city’s naval connections and a love for boats had Adler convinced he’d pursue a career in the U.S. Navy, but fate intervened when at the U of A, his Navy ROTC appointments got canceled, cinching his Air Force route.)
When he was 6, young Dan fished on a San Diego charter boat, the Fisherman III.
A few years later, at just 12 years old or so, he approached the captain in the boat’s wheelhouse and asked if he could help out as a deckhand during the family’s California getaways. He’d soon get that chance.
“That’s where I learned that fishing could be more than a hobby. It could
be a way of making an income,” Adler says. “That kind of planted the seed that the outfitting world is something that people can actually (pursue). It’s not just a dream and people can do it as a job and that it could be done.”
While still in Tucson, he and his wife Terri got the ball rolling on their fledgling Diamond Outfitters around 2006.
“We had a lot of years of ups and downs and losing money – all the deployment money I had saved up while we’re building a business,” Dan Adler says.
Tucson was a bit of an outlier spot to have an effective home base. While it was within a short distance of some good Coues whitetail deer camps, it was a bit of a hike to elk country, a key species in the guiding cosmos for the Southwest. But location wasn’t the only hindrance in those early days.
“There were a lot of growing pains, not only financial but also in launching a business being new to entrepreneurship,” Adler admits. “We read a lot of entrepreneur books and spoke to a lot of mentors who had been hunting guides in the business in just trying to build this.”
But things would get better – a lot better. Attracting quality clients and, even more importantly, good word of mouth from those clients, made a big difference in the company’s rise until about 2010.
The Adlers would eventually score another game changer in 2011, when a Sportsman Channel TV show, Best of the West, brought Adler aboard to be an integral part of its programming. Something special was happening.
Around 2015, the Adlers migrated
up in Phoenix, Arizona, Adler always loved the outdoors, and as a teenager during summer trips to California he worked as a fishing boat deckhand, an experience that “planted the seed” in terms of someday pursuing a job as a guide/outfitter. (DIAMOND OUTFITTERS)
multiple Western states and in Sonora, Mexico. Globally, the company has branched out with hunting opportunities as far away as Ireland, Argentina and New Zealand.
Factor in podcast work and speaking engagements, and Adler proclaims there’s “no dust on my boots.”
Adler’s white whale in Alaska is a wolf. “The ongoing joke from me was you can have all the sheep and the caribou; I want a wolf,” he says. “That’s my bucket list for the world.”
(LISA HUPP/U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE)
their headquarters to more elk-friendly central Arizona habitat in Prescott, where Adler has also worked as a search-and-rescue pilot for the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Department.
“I’ve got a lot of stubbornness when it comes to never quitting. That paid off big dividends in college, and it paid big dividends in the military, and it paid
big dividends as an outfitter,” Adler says. “It probably was the fourth or fifth year into it that things kind of blew up, because we’re getting big trophies; more importantly, we’ve got a great team and staff, and great clients. And it just snowballed from there.”
Today, Diamond Outfitters employs about 60 guides who cover hunts in
“We went from just me and my wife to over 20 years having over 60 guides in six states, two countries and growing; 42 million unfenced acres that we’re hunting,” Adler says. “For a while we were North America’s largest veteranowned guide business, and now I’m told the largest outfitter in North America, which is crazy to think about now.”
ADLER GETTING TO ALASKA for the first time involved one of the few big game species that isn’t hunted in the Last Frontier: feral pigs.
After meeting some friends who lived in California, Adler started heading there for hog hunts, often bringing buddies along to get in on the action.
Adler is 48 years old, but he still loves being out in the field and leading some of the many hunts his operation offers. Before he embarked on his new life, he went on a very uninspiring guided Colorado deer hunt. “‘I want to give this a shot, and if the bar is this low, we’ll have a shot,’” he recalls thinking. (DIAMOND OUTFITTERS)
“On a podcast, someone asked me, as North America’s largest outfitter, what my job description was. I started asking my guides the same question,” says Adler (second from right). “At Diamond Outfitters, our job is to make our clients’ dreams come true. That’s it. That’s what we do.” (DIAMOND OUTFITTERS)
The outfitter started offering him commission for the hunters who’d tag along with Adler.
“In the summer these guys were always gone. I asked them and found out they do bear hunts and fishing trips on Prince of Wales Island out of Wrangell,” Adler says. “I went on a trip and, of course, fell in love with Alaska.”
He’d eventually meet Letarte and do his meat-packing work on the Last Frontier guide’s hunts before his own business popped. But more often than not, his Alaska getaways are for fun. In August, Adler and his son had planned a Kenai Peninsula trip to fish the saltwater out of Homer and then they would head
inland for a Kasilof River fishing outing. He also recently was a guest speaker at the Safari Club International Alaska chapter banquet, and regularly works with and contributes to the Alaska Wild Sheep Foundation.
And he’s not done with the Alaskan outdoors. At least one elusive feather in his cap remains.
“That’s an easy answer. I want to get a wolf so bad. I love hunting predators,” he says.
Adler’s thirst to harvest one of Alaska’s wolves took another turn when he was on a big game hunt. After crossing a river earlier in the day, on the return across the river, he spied the
remains of a caribou that clearly was killed by a wolf pack.
Back at the cabin, when he ran into other members of the hunting party who had gone their own way that day, he excitedly mentioned seeing the scene of wolf-on-caribou violence.
“They all kind of laughed and smiled. ‘Yeah; well, you’re not going to believe what we saw. We were 500 yards away from when the attack happened. We heard it first, then we got to the high ground and saw the wolves taking down the caribou.’ They were 250 yards away but they missed three shots,” Adler says.
“The ongoing joke from me was you can have all the sheep and the caribou; I want a wolf. That’s my bucket list for the world.”
And as he continues to oversee his company, Adler will also savor the busy work-hard, play-hard life he and the family have established.
Now 48, he considers himself young compared to the big names in the outfitter world.
“I still do have the energy, and you know what it is? I feel called to serve. As a veteran, when you leave the military –and I’ll speak for myself – there is this component of you that says, ‘I’ve served my country; what do I do and identify with now?’ For me personally, ‘How do I match that level of pride?’” Adler says of his career change that now sees him helping others harvest the biggest, baddest bulls, bucks or bears.
“It’s incredibly satisfying. On a podcast, someone asked me, as North America’s largest outfitter, what my job description was. I started asking my guides the same question. At Diamond Outfitters, our job is to make our clients’ dreams come true. That’s it. That’s what we do.”
“To have those clients in that moment and see a fully grown man fall to his knees and break down in tears and gratitude and happiness, it’s a joy and fulfilling a life’s dream. It really is a blessing to be a full-time outfitter.” ASJ
Editor’s note: Follow Diamond Outfitters at facebook.com/Diamond OutfittersZeroOutfitterFees and on Instagram (@diamondoutfitters_zof).
Author Scott Haugen took this Dall sheep ram using his late grandfather’s .30-06 while on a subsistence hunt when he lived in Anaktuvuk Pass in the 1990s. “When it comes to big game hunting in Alaska,” he writes, “what constitutes the best all-around rifle caliber has been a topic of conversation for decades.” (SCOTT HAUGEN)
BY SCOTT HAUGEN
Iwas headed home to the small Arctic village of Anaktuvuk Pass, driving a snowmachine through the valley. Temperatures were below zero and the crusted snow glistened white. I stopped, turned off the machine and enjoyed the silent beauty. With the sun slipping below the towering peaks of the Brooks Range, I couldn’t help but get lost in all the great moments I had had in this majestic land.
From where I sat, I could see where I’d taken a stunning grizzly bear as it ambled through the spring snow and dug for Arctic ground squirrels. Not far from that spot two years prior, I called a bull moose to 12 yards, an animal that provided my wife Tiffany and I, along with other families, some great-eating meat through winter.
Many great caribou hunting memories also came back to me. And I could stare into the rocky peaks and see where
I’d taken Dall sheep, a number of them. Sheep meat was my favorite. That’s what I was hunting on this day.
Before firing up the snowmachine, I glassed the pinnacles for rams one more time. I saw nothing. Then, from nowhere, the most grand Dall sheep I’d ever laid eyes on stepped from the snow onto a rocky point. It was big in horn and body.
I scampered up the hill, afraid the crunchy snow would give me away in the quiet, calm valley. I closed the gap to
nearly 200 yards, then waited.
One shot from my .30-06 dropped the ram. It toppled over, slid down a snow chute and came to rest 50 paces from where I shot. The year was 1996.
That grand ram was the last animal I shot with that rifle. I retired it. The coveted gun was one my grandmother gifted me when I turned 12 years old. It was my grandfather’s favorite rifle, one they found cradled in his arms when he suffered a massive heart attack while deer hunting. Grandpa’s pre-1964 Model 70 Winchester was good to me over the years of living a semi-subsistence lifestyle in the Arctic. It never failed me in Anaktuvuk Pass.
When I lived in Point Lay – prior to Anaktuvuk Pass – I killed a man-eating polar bear using that rifle. One shot with 220-grain handloads put the polar bear down. All the other animals were taken with 180 Nosler Partition bullets, also handloads.
WHEN IT COMES TO big game hunting in Alaska, what constitutes the best allaround rifle caliber has been a topic of conversation for decades, something that will continue to be long after I’m gone.
Collectively, I’ve lived in Alaska for nearly a decade, but I have hunted there for more than 30 years. During that time I’ve taken many big game animals around the state.
I’ve also had the luxury of making my living as a TV host and outdoor writer for the past 25 years, appearing on hundreds of big game hunts around the world. So when it comes to choosing the best calibers for big game hunting in Alaska, I’m basing my picks on personal experience, not what fellow hunters or ballistic charts tell me.
Keep in mind that what might be one hunter’s favorite caliber may not be the same as the next. Recoil, bullet weight and long-range performance are just some of the factors that go into what makes an ideal, all-around caliber for Alaska’s big game.
My picks aren’t in any order. They’re also not heavy on today’s wildcat rounds. Of course, the calibers that follow are suitable for any big game in Alaska save for coastal brown bears, which need their own caliber and bullets; I like noth-
ing less than a .375 for those beasts.
I think one of the best all-around calibers for big game hunting in Alaska – if not the continent – is the trusted .30-06.
One friend took the entire North American Slam with his .30-06 Springfield, including polar bear, brown bear and grizzly.
As with any rifle, shot placement is everything when it comes to efficiently killing big game. In order to efficiently kill, a thorough understanding of animal anatomy is necessary. You must also trust the gun and bullets you choose to do their job. Fail to master these and it doesn’t matter what the best all-around caliber is.
I’ve shot more big game around the world with a .300 Winchester Magnum than any one caliber, so I can best speak to its performance. I’ve shot this one many times in Alaska – having taken
moose, several black bears, many deer, elk, mountain goat, African lion, leopard and loads of heavy-boned African plains game while using a .300 Win. Mag. I love the flat-shooting performance of this caliber, which translates to precision accuracy and optimal bullet performance, provided recoil doesn’t bother you.
An overlooked cartridge is the .30 TC. My wife loves shooting this caliber, as did our sons when they were young. Loaded with custom 165-grain SST Hornady ammunition, Thompson/Center’s .30 TC Icon was one of the best calibers I’ve ever shot. I took a record-book Sitka blacktail on Kodiak Island with it. It also accounted for elk and black bear. It’s easy to handle and light on recoil, yet hits hard.
A fourth option also has applications of light recoil and flat-shooting accuracy. It was famed Jack O’Connor’s favorite
caliber, with good reason. I’m talking about the .270. I’ve shot deer and black bear with this caliber and have seen it effectively take caribou and moose. Introduced in the 1920s, the .270 Winchester is a necked-down version of the .30-06 Springfield. It’s a flatter, faster-shooting caliber than the .30-06 with less recoil and better ease of handling.
While on the topic of the .270, one I really like for hunting big game in Alaska, is the .270 Weatherby Magnum. I’ve taken deer, elk and moose with this caliber. The .270 Weatherby Mag. was the first belted magnum based on the .300 H&H Magnum. It was developed back in 1943 by Roy Weatherby. The rifle has a longer barrel in order to maximize the velocity by taking advantage of the extra powder.
ONE OF MY FAVORITE shooting rifles is Nos-
ler’s Model 48 chambered in .325 Winchester Short Magnum. Yes, it’s a bit heavy for Sitka blacktails and caribou, but it doesn’t result in meat damage to the level I’ve seen in some other hyped-up calibers.
The .325 WSM is a very accurate, extremely efficient elk gun, and I love its performance on black bear, especially in rugged, brushy country where I want to put them down on the spot. I’d not hesitate using the .325 WSM on inland grizzlies and big-bodied Roosevelt elk.
The 7mm Remington Magnum is another proven caliber that’s withstood the test of time. I’ve seen this caliber effectively take caribou, deer, moose, elk, black bear and wolf at long distances. It’s my hunting partner’s favorite caliber to hunt with in Alaska. I sat by him one day when he hammered a moose and wolf with it.
The 7mm can pack a punch, which is the reason some folks aren’t overly fond of it. It’s a belted magnum designed to provide precise headspace in order to achieve precise shooting and extraction. If recoil is a concern but you still want to shoot the 7mm Remington Magnum, make sure you choose a bullet that has optimal weight retention for the game you’ll be targeting.
The 7mm Rem. Mag. was actually derived from the .375 H&H Magnum. Many hunters would choose the .375 as their top choice for hunting any big game in Alaska. The reason behind this is simple:
bears. If you want a caliber that effectively kills brown bears and grizzly bears, and will handle lesser animals, then the .375 H&H might be for you. I’ve seen it cleanly kill grizzly bears and moose. Many hunters regard this as the best choice for an all-around big game caliber in Alaska, especially when in bear country.
THREE YEARS AGO I had my dream rifle built. Curt Mendenhall of Curt’s Custom Guns in Oakland, Oregon, crafted a 28 Nosler for me. In over 45 years of hunting, it’s the best-performing, most accurate, lightweight big game rifle I’ve shot. I’d use it to hunt any big game animal in North America except for polar bear and coastal brown bear. Even at that I would trust my life with it should I find myself in a predicament with an unruly bruin.
A full-titanium Pierce action was used on my 28 Nosler. The Benchmark matchgrade barrel sits in an MPI Kevlar stock, which weighs only 15 ounces. Hawkins Precision aluminum rings are machined with a 25 MOA to extend the range. A TriggerTech trigger completes the build,
which weighs in at a mere 5.5 pounds.
Topped with a Trijicon AccuPoint 4-16x50 scope with a capped elevation adjuster, scope caps, scope dust cover, and a slender custom sling created by Oregon Paracord, overall weight of the setup is only 7.25 pounds. I shoot 175-grain Nosler AccuBond Long Range factory ammo that moves at 2,900 feet per second.
I have been very happy with this bullet’s performance on every animal it’s hit, including elk, deer and black bear. Mendenhall’s craftsmanship is top-notch. It’s a luxury rifle, but it’s worth it.
There it is: My top picks for all-around big game rifles in Alaska. Of course, know that the ammunition and scope are nearly as important as the caliber, so don’t try cutting corners. The right setup will last a lifetime. ASJ
Editor’s note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s best-selling book, Hunting The Alaskan High Arctic, visit scotthaugen .com. Follow Scott’s adventures on Instagram and Facebook.
What would be your one caliber of choice for hunting big game in Alaska? “Keep in mind that what might be one hunter’s favorite caliber may not be the same as the next,” Haugen reminds. “Recoil, bullet weight and long-range performance are just some of the factors hinging on what makes an ideal, all-around caliber.”
(SCOTT HAUGEN)
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y 17th trip to Alaska has been booked. It feels crazy to even write that, as the memory of that first hike down a thick, brushy trail along the Little Susitna River is still
I have so many great memories along the way – the places, the people and, of course, those wonderful fish. Having caught all five Pacific salmon species – from sea-lice-laden chromers to fireengine-red spawners and every shade of blush in between – I paused to wonder how many more trips and casts I have left.
While I am in my early 50s and in relatively “decent” shape, an ordeal with prostate cancer last year seemed to bring out the emotions of all the past trips and what I can look forward to with the time I have remaining.
While I have a clean bill of health, the sins of my youth are catching up to me. It’s amazing how we take every cast for granted when we’re young, but we start to savor every cast as we age, as we never know when or where that last cast will occur. It’s not like a retiring sports star who takes a last shift on the ice or throws a final pass to a great deal of fanfare. For a fish bum, the shoulders, knees and back eventually wear out and the days of casting are done. But until that dreaded time comes, the next trip awaits, and thoughts of the next year’s trip are already crossing my mind.
That is the first question I get when I meet someone and tell them I go
to Alaska every year. My long-time fishing partner, Jim Stepulkoski, when asked that very question, used to tease, “There’s a bear behind every tree in Alaska!” My early trips were all in bear country and, yes, my head was on a swivel and I was wary of Boo-Boo hiding behind the tree around the next river bend, just waiting to get me!
My first interaction with bears in Alaska was on the famous Russian River. Jim loved to fish the red run every year and we made the trek down there on my first trip. We hiked down the steps at the Grayling parking lot, and in the first pool, there they were! Three young grizzly bears were in the middle of the river; two of them were playing like small children in a swimming pool. They splashed and swatted each other on that warm August afternoon without a care in the world. The third bear seemed annoyed by his partners’ antics, as he was hell bent to get a fresh red and start chowing down.
After watching these youngsters for a while, we decided to head downriver and see what awaited at the confluence, where the Russian flows into the Kenai. Our hike was briefly interrupted by a sow with cubs across the river. Fortunately, they stayed put on that side and eventually went back into the bush and onto greener pastures.
We ended up spending a few days in Cooper Landing, as the tail end of the sockeye run was in full swing and a few silvers were in the mix as well. As we hiked back down the next morning,
there were fresh, wet bear tracks on the raised wooden platform along the Russian. Nothing wakes one from an early-morning haze quite like that.
FORTUNATELY, WE NEVER RAN into that bear, but we had a close encounter later that morning. We had set up on the bottom end of the Russian, just above the confluence. This was a weekday; there was no one around a pod of fresh
reds and silvers that were eager to play.
After we each landed a few fish, we heard some commotion from around the bend and, sure enough, here he came! A young grizzly was walking along the banks of the Kenai, looking for a meal. The few anglers who were lined up in that section were yelling at the bear and he just kept slinking along, like a dog that was scolded by its owner. I couldn’t see him, but Jim could and
waved me over to the other side of the river. The bear didn’t seem to mind us; we just did the usual Alaskan angler bear tactic of shouting “Hey bear!” repeatedly as he sauntered on by. We then resumed our cast-and-drift routine until we heard loud splashing coming from upstream.
There he was again – this time chasing all the blush reds on gravel, resembling a dog chasing the neighbor’s cat! At one point, he seemed to forget we were even there as he chased a pod of salmon to within 50 feet, at which our “Hey bear!” got loud enough to get his attention. He stood up, looked at us and then caught a glimpse of a school of reds racing upriver behind him and off he went; back to fishing. I never felt any fear at all during the entire experience; we just remained calm and took it all in.
THE ONLY NERVE-RACKING EXPERIENCE I had during any of my trips wasn’t with a bear, but rather a cow moose. Jim and I had gotten the bite dialed in on the beautiful bend hole downstream from the Burma Landing boat ramp on the Little Su River.
We would hike in there with headlamps blazing in the predawn darkness because the first light bite had been exceptional that week. I wouldn’t
… Speaking of bears, “My early trips were all in bear country and yes,” he writes, “my head was on a swivel and I was wary of Boo-Boo hiding behind the tree around the next river bend, just waiting to get me!” (BRIAN KELLY)
Juneau has become Kelly’s go-to destination, and buddies would eventually look at all of his successful silver salmon catches and tab him “Coho Daddy.”
(BRIAN KELLY)
say we were nonchalant, but we hadn’t run across any bears or bear sign along the river to this point in the trip. The hike became more of a race to get to the hole rather than stopping to look for bears that didn’t exist.
It had only taken less than an hour for us to get one fish away from our daily limit when suddenly, the brush behind us was stirred up by something coming
our way, and in a bit of a hurry. We dropped our rods and stood back.
Jim was armed with his .44 Mag Super Redhawk and I with my trusty can of bear spray. I was shaking like a leaf and fumbling to get the top off the bear spray so I could thwart the oncoming intruder. But much to our surprise, it wasn’t an angry bear but a cow moose that looked a bit annoyed by the two
humans pointing and yelling at her. She never stopped and walked right into the river in front of us. Across the way, two moose calves popped out of the bush to greet their mother. She did stop midriver to look back at us, then kept on going to be with her young.
YOU MEET SOME INTERESTING folks while wearing waders in Alaska. During my
dreaded Covid trip of 2020 to Juneau, my long-time steelheading partner from Michigan, Eric Greiner, and I met a smiling Texan while casting one afternoon. Hunter Drozd had the opportunity to work remotely during this time and chose to do so in Juneau. He picked one hell of a place to land.
While the state’s capital isn’t thought of as a highly sought-after fishing destination, it does have one hell of a good hatchery salmon run for kings, chums and silvers thanks to the efforts of the fine folks at the Douglas Island Pink and Chum Inc. hatchery. I stumbled into this place after the Cook Inlet fisheries started to nosedive, and I always wanted to visit Juneau again after a work trip in 2007 first brought me to town.
After a scouting trip in 2016, I fell in love with the place and now visit on an annual basis. Eric and I had the bite dialed in after a couple of days and the freezer was filling quickly. Our friends on Douglas Island hadn’t been out much, so we decided to fish the outgoing afternoon tide with the purpose of bonking a grill-worthy silver for them.
As we walked out to our favorite gravel bar, we ran into Hunter, who we had chatted up on a previous outing. I stepped in the water, fired a cast and hooked a silver, to which Hunter infamously proclaimed, “Damn, you must be Coho Daddy!” And a nickname was born!
We went to the local watering hole that evening and the three of us have been friends ever since. Last year, poor Hunter decided to bring a sizable portion of his relatives on this annual excursion, and he was left to play “guide” for his parents, aunts and uncles, all of whom are wonderful people, but they do require a bit of assistance on the water.
After an amazing bite on the incoming tide, we set up our cleaning table and got to work. We weren’t too far into the process when Hunter set down his knife and started to charge out to the rapidly disappearing gravel bar, shouting, “I gotta get my mom.”
Apparently, Jeri “Momma Tex” was so focused on getting that last fish for her limit that she neglected to pay attention to the conditions around her
with the incoming tide. Jeri swore up and down that Hunter was coming out to save her string of silvers, but we all know better!
BUT BY FAR, THE best Alaska trip was the one with the lightest fish box and the biggest memories to date. I was long overdue in getting my wife Anne to Alaska. She had put up with my trips for years and it was time for her to see what all the excitement was about. And, per usual, Alaska didn’t disappoint. Seals, sea lions, orcas, humpbacks, halibut and the Hole in the Wall Bar on the solstice. Oh, and the bear at the hatchery. We checked so many boxes that week.
Juneau is next on our list together. I want to take the chopper ride up on Mendenhall Glacier, but only with her. After what we have gone through together, I am so amazingly blessed to have her in my life and can’t wait to experience more of what that greatest chunk of planet Earth has to offer.
Thank you, Alaska, for what you have shown to this point, I am looking forward to more incredible adventures. ASJ
Whether it’s taking in the view of Mount Redoubt showing on a clear day over Cook Inlet, this gorgeous rainbow trout he caught on the Kenai River, or enjoying a cold beer after a day on the water, Alaska has been special over all the years. “It’s amazing how we take every cast for granted when we’re young,” Kelly writes, “but we start to savor every cast as we age, as we never know when or where that last cast will occur.” (BRIAN KELLY)
BY SCOTT HAUGEN
Halloween, freezing temperatures and the onset of winter throughout Alaska signal the end of coho season, so with September here, don’t put away those rods just yet. Instead, grab some big bling and head to the river for one last crack at monster bucks.
October marks one of my favorite times to get after coho – specifically, big prespawn males, or bucks. While most coho have pushed through Alaska’s many streams, there are still plenty of rivers and tributaries in which to catch them. From the mighty Kenai River to smaller streams on the Kenai Peninsula, down through Southeast, there’s a chance to experience coho action.
This time of year a majority of hens are well along in the spawning process. Many of their bodies have transitioned to focusing purely on egg development, leaving them lean and their meat faded. I prefer keeping bucks instead.
A late-season buck coho is also as close as the species comes to fighting
like a king salmon. While they obviously lack the size of a big Alaskan king, a late-season coho buck is both good sized and can use its weight well in a fight. Surprisingly, late-season coho bucks can be exceptional eating. Look for what I call velvet bucks – male coho that are just starting to lose their slime, absorb their scales and take on a slight pink hue of the skin. When cutting into bucks like this, the meat can be surprisingly orange. That, along with plenty of body fat, means good-flavored meat.
When targeting big bucks, think of large, slow-moving presentations. The water is cold and the salmon’s body is shutting down, so they’re not as aggressive as earlier in the season. This means they’re slow to react. Rather than ripping spinners through a hole or quickly passing small jigs or beads through a section of river, try slowly presenting bigger offerings.
One of my favorite late-season presentations for silvers is a Mag Lip. Early in the season a Mag Lip 2.5 or 3.0 works
Put a stringer of coho bucks on your late-season bucket list and you’ll be glad you did. Not only do they fight great, their meat can be “exceptional eating,” author Scott Haugen writes. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
BY TIFFANY HAUGEN
In 1997, following seven years of living a semi-subsistence life in Alaska’s high Arctic, Scott and I moved to Sumatra, Indonesia. I was eager to delve into cooking game meat in this part of the world, and I quickly learned why the region was dubbed the Spice Islands.
Over four years, I learned how to cook up all sorts of flavorful game and fish. This recipe is one I first tried with wild boar, then venison. It’s still a fave.
Slow-cooked cuts of moose, caribou, deer, mountain goat and elk work well in this uniquely flavored Indonesian stew. Be it the shanks, neck meat or a roast, a Crock-Pot or slow cooker will deeply infuse flavor into the meat, and it will stay moist and tender. Time can be cut in half if using
a more tender cut or cubes of meat.
2 pounds venison
2 tablespoons coconut or olive oil
One onion, chopped
Two shallots, diced
Half a red bell pepper, diced
8 to 10 whole garlic cloves
2 inches fresh ginger, diced
One 13.5-ounce can full-fat coconut milk
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon palm sugar or honey
1 tablespoon beef bouillon
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon chili sauce
2 stalks lemongrass, optional
2 inches galangal root, optional
Fresh cilantro for garnish
A stint living on the Indonesian island of Sumatra introduced chef Tiffany Haugen to an entire new world of Southeast Asian spices, which add a unique flavor to Alaska game meat in a hearty stew. (TIFFANY HAUGEN)
Cut venison into large chunks or bite-sized pieces. In a skillet or instant pot, sauté onions, shallots, pepper, garlic and ginger in coconut oil until onions begin to caramelize. Add venison and brown on all sides. If using a slow cooker, transfer ingredients from the skillet into the CrockPot and add the rest of the ingredients. If using an instant pot/pressure cooker, add coconut milk, soy sauce, palm sugar or honey, beef bouillon, sesame oil and chili sauce. Stir well to coat meat with spices.
Cut lemongrass into three large sections. Pound with a mallet to tenderize lemongrass and tuck into the stew (this can be removed prior to serving). Chop galangal root into three to four large pieces (this can be very woody, so it may need to be removed prior to serving).
Set the instant pot to one hour and 15 minutes at high pressure. Allow pressure to release naturally before serving. Slow cook on high heat for four to five hours, or until meat has reached desired tenderness.
Garnish with fresh cilantro if desired.
Editor’s note: For signed copies of Tiffany’s popular book, Cooking Big Game, and other best-selling titles, visit scotthaugen.com.
create dry aged steak and cured meats from home
well, but late in the season try upsizing to a 4.0. These bigger plugs are easy to cast far. When slowly retrieved, their action drives big bucks nuts.
If standing on the bank and fishing a deep hole, cast beyond the target holding water – or as far as you can into it – and quickly reel to get the plug diving. The faster you reel, the deeper the
plug dives. Once it digs into the bottom or you think it’s close, slow the retrieve. Reel just enough to keep the plug slowly moving close to the bottom; occasionally ticking the bottom is fine. Coho are holding on the bottom in deep holes this time of year, conserving energy. Moving a big silver or pink plug in front of them can be just what it takes to trigger a bite.
Twitching jigs is a great approach for covering a lot of water and targeting big
bucks. There are two styles of jigs I like for late-season twitching. The first is a ¾-ounce Twitcher Jig by Yakima Bait Company. Pinks, purples and chartreuse are hot this time of year. The rabbit hair body with tinsel and silicon tails of these jigs are eye-catching to big coho.
Another jig I like for twitching is an all-silicon-skirted Twitching Jig by BnR Tackle. I like a ¾-ounce jig for getting down in deep water, with a ½-ounce in shallow, smaller streams. These jigs can be scented without hindering the
Big presentations late in the season are great for turning on a coho bite. Here, a wrapped Mag Lip 4.0 did the job on this chilly day on the river.
(SCOTT HAUGEN)
Sskirt action. Avoid a fast, upward jerking motion, as that snags fish. Fish hit jigs on the fall, not when rising up.
In rivers that allow bait, drifting cured eggs is a great way to catch big bucks. A bright pink- or orange-cured egg is tops, and adding scent like anise, shrimp or herring oil is even better. Salmon have an incredible sense of smell, and presenting a bait they can smell and see greatly increases the chance of a bite. In my last two seasons in Alaska, I’ve been very impressed with Keith Archer’s Ultimate Egg Cure by Pro-Cure. I’ll be using it again late in the season. Where bait isn’t allowed, try drifting BnR Tackle 32mm Soft Beads. Cerise and natural orange are go-to colors. If fish aren’t hitting those, downsize to the company’s 25mm Soft Bead. You may need to add a split-shot sinker to keep these neutrally buoyant beads in the strike zone. With coho season winding down, grab some big gear, head to the river and get ready to battle big bucks. Then enjoy eating these late-season gems. ASJ
Editor’s note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s popular book, Bank Fishing For Salmon & Steelhead, contact him at scotthaugen@yahoo.com. Follow Scott on Instagram and Facebook.
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BY TIFFANY HERRINGTON
Perched on the jade-green shores of Muncho Lake in northern British Columbia, Northern Rockies Adventures is the gateway to one of the most remote and pristine wilderness regions in North America.
Just a short floatplane hop from the Yukon and not far from Alaska’s border, this family-owned operation is more than a lodge, as it’s a launching point for once-in-a-lifetime fishing expeditions, scenic floatplane adventures and Northern hospitality at its finest.
At the helm is Daniel Schildknecht, a second-generation bush pilot, wilderness guide and co-owner of the lodge. We caught up with Daniel to learn more about their fly-in adventures, the legacy of Northern Rockies Adventures lodge (1-800-663-5269), plus what it’s like to operate on the edge of the Last Frontier.
Tiffany Herrington Northern Rockies Adventures has a rich family history. Can you tell us how it all started and how you became involved?
Daniel Schildknecht My parents, Urs and Marianne, started this adventure over 40 years ago when they immigrated to Canada from Switzerland and fell in love with the wilds of northern B.C. They started as a small floatplane operator and, over the years, purchased the floatplane base at Muncho Lake after offering day-trip flyouts and charters from the location. With the Muncho base came an old lodge and cabins on the Alaska Highway – a totally new business for my parents. Quickly they found themselves in the hospitality business, with modest success on all-inclusive fishing trips. However, the old lodge didn’t meet the
standard of our guests. In 1995 they completed our lodge, and the business almost doubled in size overnight. This was the world I grew up in – helping in the restaurant, cleaning rooms, fishing with Dad and hiking in the mountains with Mom. These days, I help lead Northern Rockies Adventures with my parents and brother. Our specialty is offering guided fly-in trips into some of the most remote and beautiful areas in British Columbia. In the winter, we have exclusive northern lights tours!
TH What was it like growing up around bush planes and the lodge? Did you always know you’d take on this role?
DS It was a pretty incredible way to grow up – waking up to floatplanes, meeting guests from around the world and flying into remote lakes while other kids were in school. I didn’t always know I’d take this on and took it for granted at
the time. I eventually realized there was nothing more meaningful than helping others experience the same wilderness I grew up in.
TH How has the lodge evolved over the years, and what has stayed the same?
DS We’ve gone from a rugged highway lodge built in the 1950s to a comfortable modern lodge resort over the past 20 years, with premium accommodations and a full range of tours. What hasn’t changed is the spirit of the place. We’re still on the brink of B.C.’s great wilderness; we just don’t have to rough it anymore.
Now, with all-inclusive packages from Vancouver, our little remote slice of wilderness heaven has just gotten closer to the world, as our private flight brings guests to the lodge in utmost convenience on our now year-round trips! Yes, in addition to fishing, we now run exclusive winter trips. We have
some select northern lights trip dates, with my favorite being New Year’s Eve! It’s a total blast celebrating the past and coming year at the lodge. It’s a winter wonderland, and we cap it off with gourmet meals, fireworks, a bonfire, and, with a little luck, northern lights. I can’t think of a better way to ring in the new year!
Our family goal has always been to offer authentic, personal wilderness experiences in this beautiful area. There’s something timeless about this place, and it never ceases to amaze us and our guests time and time again.
TH You fly anglers into some of the most remote backcountry lakes in British Columbia. What makes these fly-in fishing trips so special?
DS It comes down to remoteness and the pristine nature of this wilderness. You know that secret fishing spot your grandfather told you about; the
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Northern lights viewings are one of the big amenities guests can experience here, particularly if they show off on New Year’s Eve. “It’s a winter wonderland, and we cap it off with gourmet meals, fireworks, a bonfire, and, with a little luck, northern lights,” co-owner Daniel Schildknecht says. “I can’t think of a better way to ring in the new year!” (NORTHERN ROCKIES ADVENTURES)
tremendous catches he had made? And how it got ruined by too many anglers and development? Well, our fishing trip is like stepping back into a time capsule and experiencing this phenomenal, undisturbed fishing yourself. Sometimes a lake hasn’t seen an angler in years. We rotate spots in and out throughout the season, and with over 70 locations to fly to and only 150 guests annually, the fishing is as pristine as ever.
It’s trophy fishing for wild native fish in big Rocky Mountain country, backed by my family’s over four decades of guiding experience. The floatplane ride is just the beginning of an unforgettable fishing story. Guests get to experience this all and return to the comfort of our lodge resort each day. It’s pretty magical.
TH Tell us about the “Grand Slam” fishing experience. How do you help guests target such a range of species?
DS Our “Grand Slam” means catching four trophy species in one trip. We fish for wild native trophy rainbow trout, Arctic grayling, northern pike, and bull or lake trout. When I say trophy, I mean big and hard-fighting fish. We get anglers into waters where 24-inch rainbows and 42-inch pike are common. If numbers are your thing, we’ve got spots for that too. Want to catch 40plus fish in a day? We’ve got spots for that, with multiple fly-out rivers and
lakes. We can match guests with the right waters, depending on conditions and what they’re hoping to catch. Whether someone wants the finesse of fly fishing or the thrill of casting for big predators, we make it happen.
TH What’s one of your most memorable days in the air or on the water?
DS One that stands out is the day my wife caught her first fish here in the Rockies. She came along on a quick flyout and had maybe 10 minutes before we had to take off again. It was her first time fishing with a fly rod, and she landed a rainbow trout on the fly within minutes.
Seeing her land that fish, in that kind of place, was so memorable to me. We’ve been fly fishing together ever since.
TH You operate a full-service lodge with fishing, hiking, wildlife viewing and floatplane tours. How do you and your team juggle so many moving parts in such a remote location?
DS That’s just the tip of the iceberg! Our lodge also serves the Alaska Highway; our planes are available for charter and we even have the winter northern lights tours. We handle everything in-house, from the flights to the meals and tours. This allows us to ensure quality and value for our guests. Our team knows the rhythms of this place well. It’s a lot of moving parts, but we love what we do. How can you complain, when you’re living in such a beautiful place?
TH What’s the season like for you? When do you start flying, and what are the peak times for guests?
DS We start flying June 1 and run wilderness and fishing trips through mid-September. Mid-July to August is peak for fly-in fishing. Then from late August through the winter, we offer northern lights and hot springs trips. We’re one of the few fishing lodges in the Rockies that stays open through winter. As our lodge also serves the Alaska Highway, we’re an essential service to travelers since not much else is open in the region.
“We’ve gone from a rugged highway lodge built in the 1950s to a comfortable modern lodge resort over the past 20 years, with premium accommodations and a full range of tours,” Schildknecht says. “What hasn’t changed is the spirit of the place.” (NORTHERN ROCKIES ADVENTURES)
TH Your lodge is located just off the Alaska Highway. Do you get many Alaskans or road-trippers coming through?
DS Definitely. A lot of our guests are on the classic Alaska Highway road trip. We see travelers from Alaska, the Yukon, and states like Texas and Montana. We also get a lot of travelers from all over the world! Some plan to stop for a night and end up staying for days. Once people discover us, they usually come back. It’s a pretty memorable place!
TH What kind of wildlife can guests expect to see while visiting or flying with you?
DS Right near the lodge, you’ll often see stone sheep. We also get plenty of moose, bison, caribou, eagles and black bears. From the air, guests get a full picture of the wilderness, often spotting wildlife in the alpine. My favorite thing while flying is pointing out mountain
goats to guests. It’s fun to see them on these rugged peaks. On our trips, you’re guaranteed to see wildlife. It’s always impressive to guests.
TH As a family that’s been rooted here for decades, how do you approach conservation or sustainable tourism in such a pristine ecosystem?
DS We’ve always taken the long view to help protect our natural surroundings. Our family has been here over 40 years, and we want to preserve the wilderness for generations to come. That means running low-impact trips, educating guests and practicing responsible tourism. We’re in North America’s largest protected wilderness area –the Muskwa-Kechika – and we take conservation seriously.
TH What advice would you give someone who’s thinking of taking their
first true wilderness adventure?
DS You don’t need to be a seasoned angler or experienced hiker or outdoors person; that’s what we’re here for. Just come ready to unplug and connect with nature. This kind of trip can shift your perspective. You’ll leave with memories that stay with you for life.
TH How can folks book a trip or learn more about what you offer?
DS Visit nradventures.com or reach out to me directly at daniel@nradventures .com. We’re always happy to help guests build unforgettable trips, whether it’s fly-in fishing, a nature tour or to chase the northern lights. If you’re ever driving by Muncho Lake on the Alaska Highway, stop in for a chat; we’d love to show you around this beautiful area. And be sure to stop by Liard Hot Springs. Follow the lure of the North and let us take care of the rest! ASJ
