I just recieved the message confirming that the Coast Guard is sending me to Alaska for the next three years. This will be my last duck season in S. Louisiana for a while. I'm going to be living in the small fishing village of Cordova Alaska. There are 2500 people that live there and it's only accesible by boat or float plane. Valdez Alaska is the closest "big" city and it's a 6 hour ferry ride to get there. Anchorage is the closest airport where a commercial flight can be caught and it's a mere 150 miles from Cordova. Small town living is an understatement here.

On the good side is the fact that the fishing is phenominal!! Halibut, salmon, rainbow trout, and dolly varden can be caught most of the year here. Big game hunting opportunities are all around with moose, bear (grizzly and black), dahl sheep, mountain goat, wolves, and sitka black tailed deer making up the majority of the game. Squirrel, rabbit, and ptarmigan are the main small game species found in the area.

Now what am I really going for you ask? Cordova Alaska was my #1 pick on my dream sheet. This was mainly due to the 14-16 million waterfowl that migrate through the area each fall. Every species you can imagine are there along with some you probably couldn't imagine.

"The water-fowling season in Cordova is among the most liberal in this hemisphere. The bag limit for puddle ducks is typically 8 a day, with no sex restrictions. Canvasbacks are the only exception, and only 1 per day is allowed in the bag. Sea ducks are available, though restricted to two of each species or a total of 4-8 per day in addition to the puddle duck limit. Bag limit for geese is 2 brant, 3 light (snow), and 4 dark (honker and white-front) a day, plus 2 sand hill cranes per day. There is also an 8 snipe limit per day. Waterfowl season starts September first, and runs the full 107 days (to mid-December) allowed by international treaty. Cordova is one of the few hunting destinations where one can expect to fill a limit of birds each and every day of the season."

So who's ready to go on an out of state trip to come visit me next year?