Study up before you hunt
The bustling cabin of the 737 was dripping with anticipation.
And adult beverages.
Loquacious anglers from the Northwest, California and a handful of other places were sprinkled throughout the flight heading from Seattle to the Southeast Alaskan burgs of Ketchikan, Sitka and Juneau. One angler would wax poetic about his exploits in backcountry Idaho or the far reaches of the Pacific, only to be trumped by another fellow who amazed everyone with stories of bruin encounters while fishing -- and his modified shotgun for such meetings.
Then there was the tallest Scandinavian I've ever seen, who was heading north for a 10-day, bear-hunting adventure. He gave us his perspective on the European hunting scene.
But the most colorful story centered on a fishing excursion to Mexico that included a couple of long and dusty side trips, which can't be repeated in this column.
The point is there might've been more outdoors expertise and know-how in that jet than in any place on the planet at the time.
Of course, the chap to my left had to go and shoot off his mouth about how all the regulations in Alaska had changed in the last month and throw out numbers that puzzled everyone else, including me. He also said he'd been in Sitka within the last two weeks and that the place was swarming with wildlife enforcement and Coast Guard officers who had nothing better to do than dole out citations with extreme prejudice.
Normally, the part about wildlife enforcement officers gets the blood flowing for some anglers and hunters, but in this case, the declaration about the limits in the Southeast and the thought of unforeseen alterations to them caused a mild clamor that soon turned into a back-and-forth uproar.
There were freaked-out guys from California who said they'd done research on the Web six weeks ago, but hadn't heard of any recent changes and were fretting over their investment in a weeklong fishing outing. There also was a trio from Washington who told the fellow to check his regulation handbook and talk to them later. Then you had a native Alaskan who didn't seem to care who was wrong or right, but threw out his 2 cents because he likely wanted some cheap entertainment and figured this would do for the time being.
While there are plenty of debatable points in the outdoor world, nothing seems to draw a line in the sand as quickly as talk of fishing and hunting regulations. Things like bag limits and means and methods are on the books -- there's no debating what's right and wrong -- but in some cases the interpretations or views of those rules are what can spur heated talk between folks who've never met.
In this case, the controversy hinged on what the bag limit was for king salmon in and among the islands of the lower Southeast, whether the limit had changed or not and if it would be altered again.
The debate slowly died down, eventually being replaced by a sense of puzzlement at what the numbers specifically were. Seeing as how no one had a regulation book handy, it was tough to officially prove the argument either way, and it probably caused the parties involved to find the nearest Internet access or license dealer at their respective port as soon as they deplaned.
Whether you're a seasoned outdoorsman or someone who has never had a fishing pole or hunting rifle in their grip, the best advice I can hand out is to study up and know the regulations for whatever species you'll be targeting. Better yet, know the rules for species you won't be after. It sounds like common sense, but hunters and anglers can save themselves some trouble by simply putting in a little bit of homework before heading to the field or water.
Game wardens I've talked to say the most common violations of hunting and fishing rules are minor infractions that are easily avoidable and spelled out line by line in each state's wildlife laws.
The easiest allocation of your time is to spend a few minutes each day in the weeks leading up to a trip or season boning up on this readily available knowledge. You never know when or where it will come in handy.
• Will Leschper's e-mail address is wleschper@yahoo.com.
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