You heard right! With the recent warm weather clam digging in Southcentral Alaska is not as far fetched as one might think. On the lower minus tides the clam beaches from Clam Gulch to Ninilchik can yield a bucket full of tasty bivalves with very little competition out there. The main problem with clamming in mid winter is the fact that most of the clam tides occur during darkness and require one "digger" to hold the lantern while the other digs. This bucket full of razor clams was dug by Sheepdog down on the Ninilchik beaches during the recent minus daylight tides. For those wanting to get a jump on the "clam season" the next set of daylight Minus Tides begins at 9:22am on February 28th and runs through March 4th at 12:19pm. By that time we should have hoodie weather and be able to drag the kids along. Photo courtesy of Sheepdog.

When you got the itch you just have to scratch it. Even if it means trekking cross country on a snowmobile in a disorienting ice fog to find your way around that special lake you enjoy fishing. Dave Mcqueen headed out to Crosswind Lake last week with a couple of fishing buddies for a three day outing with the expectations of capitalizing on the trophy fishing this lake is renown for. Sometimes it just doesn't work out as expected and Dave remained low angler on the totem pole for most of the trip with one of his partners bagging two burbot and a laker while the other landed three lake trout. He was bringing up the rear with a single small laker until he decided to do the unorthodox and fish in 20 feet of water instead of the typical 60 to 100 feet that most anglers focus on. The group was even discussing how fishing this shallow was probably a mistake and waste of time at this time of year when this 38 inch monster hit Dave's Big Doc Spoon. Needless to say this is the way you should always conclude a fishing trip....with the biggest fish you have taken through the ice to date. Photo courtesy of Dave Mcqueen.

WINTER FEEDER KING SEASON OFF TO AN EARLY START!

Chris Creglow headed to Homer to visit a friend who just purchased a local lodge and then took the time to bug Coho Dave about hitting the saltchuck to rack up a few more halibut and maybe a coho or king along the way. Fortunately for Chris it doesn't take much to talk Dave into heading for the boat slip with some fresh bait and taking in another super Fall day on the water. Fairly flat seas and a blue bird day gave them the opportunity to run up to Bluff Point and start the halibut search a few miles out. After a false start at the first location they made a move and dropped anchor on a good producing spot that put some good eaters in the boat. Time for trolling and searching for the illusive feeder kings the area is noted for. Sweet success was soon to come with this nice 14 pound hen feeder king Chris nailed on the downrigger that wasn't wired with the underwater camera. They also took a halibut on that same troll line a bit later. As long as the water and weather will cooperate I'm sure we will continue to see feeder king reports on and off throughout this winter and spring. I've got a sneaky suspicion that Coho Dave is going to be a formidable contender in the spring Homer Feeder King Derby next year. Watch out! Photo courtesy of Coho Dave.