28 replies to this topic

[Rangley]

That sounds like a decent plan. Planes and boats are big up here, and there is a definitely a nitch to fill in the service and repair roles for both.The Kenai Peninsula is a great area, that's where I would suggest you look if your planning to move here. There are decent sized air fields in several of the cities here. Kenai, Soldotna, Homer, and Seward would probably be your best bets. Kenai's airport is the largest on the peninsula by far, and has a fair sized commercial terminal as well.And there are two sides to every coin, cuz while the economy is not at its best right now, the housing market has dropped, and you can get a house and property here relatively cheap compared to most places in the US.Please feel free to ask any questions that I can help you with brother.

Honestly I aiming at a subsistence lifestyle. I’m looking at the Kenai Peninsula due to its small towns, multiple airports and access to Anchorage by road. Although I want to live off the land as much as possible I’ll work my way there slowly. I have read that the bush is hungry country. I have heard within each area around Alaska each species to hunt has its time there. Am I about right? With Alaska having many types of climates certain animals move a lot, and some are only found in a certain area. For us down south that would mean going a county or city over to hunt. I guess in Alaska it will be a plane ride. Question there.. I have heard some areas and people barter and some do not. Being an Avionics technician I might be able to work for some bush pilots in exchange for rides. Anyways, from what I have seen on paper the Kenai peninsula could provide my family with meat year round due to a diverse range of land and sea species. For larger species and hunts I can fly out being conveniently located next to many airports. I know the best advice on animal movement and behavior will be from the locals though. That will come after many beers, and hunting stories. As I hear Homer is a nice place to grab some brews.

My brother is a real estate agent who specializes in very large tracts of agricultural land. We have been watching several properties of just land, and some with homes. The price is unbeatable, and later I can get more land further into the bush for cheaper than the property around the city.

Edited by Rangley, 07 April 2018 - 12:42 PM.

[Juthro]

The major sources of game meat on the peninsula are moose and salmon (reds, silvers, kings, and dogs). And to a lesser degree caribou, and halibut. Their are plenty of other kinds of fish and game, but these are the staples.

Between moose and salmon you can keep a family fed pretty easy. You can even get signed up on a list to collect road killed moose. When the troopers find a freshly killed moose at an accident scene, they contact the people running the program, and they contact someone on the waiting list and tell'em where to pick up their animal.

[Rangley]

Here is a cool link that I used to track the lights when I was there. It may be helpful in planning a visit too if you consider going during winter. The light are truly something to look forward to during the long winters.
http://www.ronnmurra...AlaskaAuroraCam
http://www.ronnmurrayphoto.com/

Thank you Mikey! We aren planning a 5 day summer trip, 5 day winter trip, and a five day hunt.

I still have much to research and legal issues are the most daunting. Especially in a wildlife state like Alaska. There are a few things I do not like. The year minimum of living in the state before you can get a resident hunting license. If I’m moving to contribute to your state, in multiple ways, including getting an Alaskan drivers license, and I can provide proof of employment or a lease, mortgage agreement I should be considered a resident. Another thing I do not like is the 50% disability required to get a free hunting license as a veteran. I hunt where I am now and can get one with no cost due to being a disabled veteran. Although I choose not to and pay so the funds can be used for wildlife management around my state. Others cannot work and therefore have limited income. Only because I know veterans and some badasses will get out there, how many can get out there to hunt and fish at 50% disabled.

[Rangley]

The major sources of game meat on the peninsula are moose and salmon (reds, silvers, kings, and dogs). And to a lesser degree caribou, and halibut. Their are plenty of other kinds of fish and game, but these are the staples.Between moose and salmon you can keep a family fed pretty easy. You can even get signed up on a list to collect road killed moose. When the troopers find a freshly killed moose at an accident scene, they contact the people running the program, and they contact someone on the waiting list and tell'em where to pick up their animal.

Thanks for the great information Juthro! It’s good to know that big game like a moose will not be too far of a trek. It’s fascinating to me learn about the different climate, culture, and cuisine. Down here I eat a lot of red meat, pork, and chicken. Throughout this learning process I am going to find things I like or can deal with and some that I can’t, and the same for my family. However I love challenges, and am a very good cook. As far as fish go the south is boring and there are not a lot of species. I fish every year for sport, but rarely eat them. We fish large creeks, rivers, and lakes. Mostly going after small mouth and large mouth bass which most people do not eat. It’s considered a sport fish. Crappie is a good eating small-medium sized panfish/sunfish, but they don’t have a lot of meat. So we usually catch them in numbers when they spawn and have a large fish fry . Catfish which is a delicious bottom feeding fish with a lot of meat, and no scales !

The dilemma being I only eat two species of freshwater fish. As far as salt water goes I love crab, lobster, and shrimp! The only salmon I have ever tasted was not caught by me “fresh”, was not cooked by me “over cooked I believe” so I’ll save my opinions on salmon. I’ll just say I have never had a good one. I cannot wait to take one from the river and put it on the stove. I’ll only eat certain things if I cook it. Lastly, when your hungry you eat lol so I think I’ll be fine. However my wife does not eat anything from salt or fresh water.

I through the thread up at random one night with just a sentence to immediately start with discussion and information from locals of AK. I didn’t outline it, and will do that later. As local information is the best information. I wanted to start with that and some banter. However, while we are mentioning local wildlife and hunting I am very interested in the caribou as well. To contribute to the difference in wildlife, like the fish, we have white-tail deer here in the appalachians. A lot of my Appalachian heritage and skills will cross over to AK. I also use those as multiple streams of revenue throughout the year. Later on I will post a list of skills I have and products I make to subsidize my income. How some may have to be modified for Alaska, and how I may have to say goodbye to others. A lot of information will be in this thread.

Back to the topic however. Concerning Caribou, I may be wrong and will one day be able to quote the law, but you can sell and barter the antlers if they are made into a product. Here I harvest my white tail antlers and produce full tang antler, and railroad spike knifes. They sell for quite the pretty penny, and cost me a .308 round to make. One rack can make multiple knifes. These little streams of income add up!

[Juthro]

I would advise looking for yourself as I'm not a 100% sure, but I think you can sell all the shed antlers that you want, worked into art or not. I think it becomes an issue if they are still attached to a skull plate, IIRC.

Only had catfish once before (it was good), but bottom fish are often tasty. Some fairly plentiful ones up here are cod, and halibut. Both are delicious. Crab and shrimp are fairly plentiful, though most clam and mussel harvesting on the peninsula has been shut down the last 3 years or so, due to poisonous parasites. Though the oyster farmers in Homer have not been effected.

With the way they run the personal use fisheries is, you can dip net (or set net, depending on where you are at) 25 salmon, and 10 flounder, plus another 10 salmon for each additional member of your household, per year. (there are additional rules affecting king salmon). This permit is free to all full time state residents.
All you need is your basic fishing license, and to fill out the required paperwork. So you can see where salmon becomes a staple for a lot people here.

[Rangley]

I would advise looking for yourself as I'm not a 100% sure, but I think you can sell all the shed antlers that you want, worked into art or not. I think it becomes an issue if they are still attached to a skull plate, IIRC.Only had catfish once before (it was good), but bottom fish are often tasty. Some fairly plentiful ones up here are cod, and halibut. Both are delicious. Crab and shrimp are fairly plentiful, though most clam and mussel harvesting on the peninsula has been shut down the last 3 years or so, due to poisonous parasites. Though the oyster farmers in Homer have not been effected.With the way they run the personal use fisheries is, you can dip net (or set net, depending on where you are at) 25 salmon, and 10 flounder, plus another 10 salmon for each additional member of your household, per year. (there are additional rules affecting king salmon). This permit is free to all full time state residents.All you need is your basic fishing license, and to fill out the required paperwork. So you can see where salmon becomes a staple for a lot people here.

Yeah I believe you are correct, and forgot to mention that! I wouldn’t sell the skull to an animal I killed anyway. I already looked at some caribou antler knifes online. They go for $150-$500. I have around ten thousand rail road spikes left lol. Just have to beat on them a little. I’ll also be able to build a forge in AK, meaning my only bill for my product is my time.

I cant handle clam or oysters so that won’t bother me too much.

You say the permit is free? Is that not connected to a normal fishing license or is it just a program from the state. I plan on keeping dogs for mushing, as I train and house several breeds down here. I know they are going to need a lot of fish? That sounds like a hell of a limit - 25? What about those in Alaska who use fish wheels?

[Juthro]

You have to have your normal fishing license (cheap, for a resident), and you also have to fill out the paperwork (you can do it on line) for the personal use fishery, but that part is free.
At the end of season you also have to fill out some more paperwork, declaring what you caught, and when/where you caught it at. Your required to turn the end of season report in, even if you didn't catch any fish. Failure to do so can disqualify you from next years permit.

They figure it one permit per household. So with my wife and I, our household is entitled to 35 Salmon and 10 flounder, but that's the total your allowed for the year in the personal use rules. You can however continue to sport fish with a rod and reel to whatever your daily limit is for where your fishing at. There is no overall yearly limit for salmon caught under sport fishing rules (with the exception of King salmon).

You also have to mark personal use fish as soon as you take them out of the net. You have to clip a fin even before you even put them in your cooler. If you dip net a fish and put it in your cooler without clipping the proper fin, its considered poaching. They take their fish and game rules real serious around here. The fines are outrageous, and even worse, you loose your fishing and hunting privileges for years.

Edited by Juthro, 07 April 2018 - 09:31 PM.

[Juthro]

Personal use fishery rules. This way you get'em from the horses mouth, cuz I'm sure to miscommunicate some part of them, as there are a bunch.

http://www.adfg.alas...ersonaluse.main

[Rangley]

Personal use fishery rules. This way you get'em from the horses mouth, cuz I'm sure to miscommunicate some part of them, as there are a bunch.http://www.adfg.alas...ersonaluse.main

Thank you, I have printed that out, and the hunting laws. Quite a lot of information but you can tell the state has conservation on their mind. To me it is a great idea to have residents send reports whether they harvest any fish or wildlife. I’m going to need to get almost all new fishing equipment. Down south we have no reason to fly fish. However I have a Remington 700 that I have never been able to use to its full capacity. I’m sure it’ll love the distance shots in AK.