Fishing in AK: the Hooligan
Caught Off Guard In spring of 2021, when I decided I would be more proactive with my fishing knowledge and become more of an active fisherman, I came across several Facebook pages about fishing in Alaska. This was roughly late March 2021. Similar posts continued all the way into late May. I was caught off guard. Several people were posting about how the Hooligan were running and showing very large ice chests and coolers full of these little silver fish. I didn't understand, and I did a little research then, but the "runs" were over by the time I got any planning. I had many questions about Hooligan, what they were used for, etc. The biggest question is how do I participate in this event? What is a Hooligan? A Hooligan is a small silver fish, also known as an "eulachon" or "candlefish" and are a species of smelt. They are usually average 8-10" in length. They are like Salmon in that they spawn in freshwater and live in the ocean, howe...