Arctic Adventures: Volume 35—Spearfishing

I’ve mentioned this before, but my Uncle Fred has lived in Alaska for 40+ years, so he’s been our mentor and introduction for all things Alaska. One of his favorite fall pastimes with friends is spearfishing!

As with dipnetting for salmon (which we’ve personally only done once), spearfishing is not the Alaskan fishing displayed in those fancy tourism catalogues. The key to spearfishing is to go at night, as the fish are drawn to your lantern light. So we plunge into the river donning full gaiters and a 6-foot pole with a 5-pronged spear on the end. You might wonder is this could lead to a catastrophic disaster, but the truth is most Alaskan activities could. 

 

We’ve now gone twice—in October 2020 and October 2023. We tried to go in October 2021, but it was too snowy already, and in 2022, no one scored permits from the lottery. Alaska Department of Fish & Game usually issues about 225 permits annually, and then opens the fishing from mid-September to mid-October. 

You can catch several whitefish varieties, with a limit of 10 per household. In our two years of outings, our group landed a solitary fish collectively. It’s clear the fish population has dwindled over the years, while the number of anglers has grown. Uncle Fred and his friends reminisce about the good old days prior to the limits when they hauled 60+ fish in one night! Uncle Fred even took Justin out waaaay back in 2003 after his first summer working in Alaska, and Justin successfully caught one!

I’m fairly convinced I’ll never snag a fish, but am happy to tag along for the camaraderie. Just one more way Alaskans recreate outdoors in the Last Frontier!