Souxath Xayasone swings his dipnet after scooping up a hooligan from the silty waters of Turnagain Arm near Portage on Sunday, May 12, 2024. (Bill Roth / ADN)
Dipnetters lined the silty banks of Turnagain Arm and the Twentymile River on Sunday, methodically bouncing their nets along the bottom and scooping up hooligan.
How to cook them? “Deep fried is the best way,” said Souxath Xayasone. “Like in chicken batter, flour and cornstarch.” Xayasone planned to cook them that night. “It’s better to cook them when they are fresh.”
John Truchan of Wasilla, who fished the Twentymile River upstream from the railroad bridge, said he uses an “air fryer or smoke them after brining them.” Truchan also uses the hooligan as bait while ice fishing for northern pike in the Susitna Valley.
Hooligan caught in the Turnagain Arm near Portage rest in a bucket. (Bill Roth / ADN) Dipnetters line Turnagain Arm while fishing for hooligan during an outgoing tide near Portage. (Bill Roth / ADN) Dipnetters cross the Seward Highway at Mile 83, north of Portage, after fishing for hooligan on Sunday. (Bill Roth / ADN) Dipnetters line the silty bank of Twentymile River while fishing for hooligan during an outgoing in the Turnagain Arm on Sunday. (Bill Roth / ADN) A hooligan that jumped from a bucket faces John Truchan of Wasilla as he dipnetted in the Twentymile River. (Bill Roth / ADN) Jessy Toilolo, left, and Amani Naea carry buckets of hooligan. (Bill Roth / ADN) Dipnetters leave their fishing spot after scooping up hooligan upstream from the Twentymile River bridge. (Bill Roth / ADN) Dipnetters line the silty bank beneath the Twentymile River bridge while fishing for hooligan during an outgoing in the Turnagain Arm on Sunday. (Bill Roth / ADN) Dipnetters line the silty bank of Twentymile River while fishing for hooligan during an outgoing in the Turnagain Arm on Sunday. (Bill Roth / ADN) Jaden Charles, 12, left, and Drake Charles, 10, carry a full bucket of hooligan as they walk along the muddy Twentymile River on Sunday. (Bill Roth / ADN)
