any help?

[Tyler D]

So I am contemplating a move to Alaska for work in the next couple of years and have a couple of questions for anyone that can answer them.

first of all I am an avid ice fisherman, is there any ice fishing that goes on up there at all? and what kind of fish are there to catch through the ice?

Second of all how is the hunting for the general public? I really want to hunt dall sheep, mountain goats, probably moose, or blacktails as well, is it hard to access the areas that will hold these species or is it more fly in than anything?

Thanks for any help!

[Ufatz]

Please spend a LOT of time learning about Alaska before you head up that way. Do a little reading. Send for free information from the State Of Alaska. Please don't go until you are better prepared. No insult intended, but at this point you don't even know what to ask! Ha. Enjoy the information hunt.

Forty + years in the North.

[fivebucks]

There is some ice fishing but it all depends on where in the state you are. Alaska is huge. If you cut Alaska in half you would make Texas the 3rd largest state so that gives you some perspective. Also remember in regards to hunting, the areas you can drive to so can everyone else. There will be more restrictions and the game will not be there in numbers that you associate when you think "Alaska" (same with the fishing to some extent). When I lived up there 15 years ago I moose hunted on the Kenai penn., drove up the beach 15 miles to a friends remote cabin. We were allowed to shoot spikes or moose over 50" spread. We hunted hard for a week and only saw a few cows.

It can be a great place to live, fish and hunt but don't go up without a well thoughtout plan. There is work to be had in the summer but the winter time is another story. Good Luck!

[SalmonJedi]

I would check out alaskaoutdoorjournal.com.... They are usually a bit slow this time of year but there has always seems to be a lot of interest in ice fishing throughout the winter up there. Actually, a lot of people target northern pike or Lake trout. Also read about a fair amount of folks after char, rainbows, and landlocked salmon.

Can't speak much to the hunting as I don't hunt much myself so never paid too much attention.

If I was single (or my wife was willing ) I'd love to move up there. Been up there 7 or 8 times over the last 6 years and can't get enough. Anchorage seems like a really nice town as do the areas on the Kenai Peninsula I've been to. Good luck with your decision!

[Tyler D]

Looking for work wont be a problem for me I graduate from colege this spring, and I already have an offer up there if I ever want to take the guy up on it. Mostly I am just looking to move away for a couple years and experience a new part of the country, and some different kinds of hunting than what I do right now, I would be in the anchorage area if I want to take the job. Also thinking about montana so I can bow hunt some of those giant mule deer ive seen out there, I guess I'll have to do some more research when im up there this summer. Thnks for the replys.

[fishermann222]

Tyler it is a great place to live. However there are some major drawbacks. You know those eelpout that you hate so much in minnesota/ they are called Lush up here and that is the number 1 ice fishing target. As far as the hunting goes for mountain goats, mostly draw hunts unless you are talking southeast. Dall sheep are also quickly become a draw hunt deal. areas that are not draw hunt are HEAVILY hunted by guides and locals. Also access to both of these usually means fly out. Hunting is not like minnesota where you drive up to your land and hike out and hunt. The hunts up here are usually fly out and cost a heafty amount. That is not saying animals can't be harvested from the roads, they can, however alot of those areas are also draw areas. As the state becomes more and more crowded the hunting opportunities become few and far bewteen without spending money to fly out.

I go on a fly out hunt every year simply because it is worth it to me to spend the money to be completely alone, and to have a better opportunity to harvest game.

The fishing in the summer on the roads usually means "combat fishing". THere are many areas where you can be alone or close to it on many rivers, however you will have to fly to them.

I am currently looking at moving to the road system after 4 years in the bush. It will be nice to be near the modern conviences, however my hunting and trapping opportunties are going to be TERRIBLE, and I am not looking forward to that at all.

Also you can not become a resident of the state until you live here for one year. So if you move up in may, you don't become a resident until the following may. So your first year here you would be hunting as a non-res which means even more restrictions and higher costs. No goat, sheep, or brown bear hunting until you are a res unless you get a guide.

All that being said, I love it here and doubt I would move anywhere else.

Give us some more info on where your job offer is.

[traveler]

Tyler; DO IT! Most of us don't get the chance. You're young and obviously able, so go now and you won't be sittin around 20 years from now thinking "what if". heck, you can always come back, or go to Montana...

[Down Deep]

I was fishing the Kenia last year. One of the guides we hired said he did a lot of ice fishing. Mostly laker and northerns. If you have a job waiting, why not go. You can always quit and come back. Most of the residents I met up there were from somewhere other than being a native born Alaskan.

I was reading a magazine article on living in Alaska. The author in a

"toungue & cheek" manner stated that when someone moves to Alaska they sit around and look at the scenery for a year. Then they spend the next 10 years doing all sorts of odd jobs trying to make a living. Then they write a book about thier struggles and live off the royalties till they die.

[big musk411]

I am curious about the cost of living up there. I have thought about moving up there too. I work for a large corporation and they seem to pay about 15-20% more in Alaska than they do for the same positions here in MN. It makes me think that it's probably very expensive to live up there.

[fivebucks]

Tyler,

I would also agree with what Traveler said. If you have some work lined up - go for it. One of the best things I did was move up there. I have since moved back to MN, got married etc. but if I had never lived up there prior to "settling down" I would always be wondering "what if?" As some of the locals up there say "Living in Anchorage is great, you're only 2 hours from Alaska". Do a bunch of research before you go. The ice fishing opportunities are not as good as here in MN in my opinion. There are the Swanson Lake area down near Soldotna and handfuls of lakes around. Most lakes are trout lakes that I fished. You get northern up towards Fairbanks and as was mentioned earlier, you have eelpout. They love them up there and will make weekend fishing trips just for the pout. Good luck in whatever you chose to do.

[fishermann222]

Everyone is right and I got the same advice 5 years ago. People told me "do it now when you don't have financial obligations in MN, because you can always come back." Just like others said you don't want to be 50 years old saying "what if".

[Tyler D]

Well we will see what happens I guess, if I go up it wont be until probably a year from now so in the mean time I guess I will do some more research. The main reason I would like to go up is for the chance at a dall sheep, if I could get one while I'm up there for relativley cheap, by the time I come back to minnesota I should have enough preference points built up for bighorns and desert bighorns to be drawing a tag out west which would mean I would only need a stone for the grand slam. So I beleive my decision is going to rest on the sheep hunt factor, so for now I guess i need to do some research to figure it all out.

thanks for the replys.