You are responsible for your own safety in bear country. In any outdoor activity - fishing, wildlife viewing, hiking, hunting, picnicking, berry picking, even going to work - you may encounter bears. Be aware of your surroundings and conditions, especially in times of low light and areas of low visibility. Look up and around every few minutes. Check the immediate area for fresh bear signs. Consider moving to a different spot if such signs are encountered. Make plenty of noise. Go out with a friend or a group of friends. Let someone know your trip plans. Don't make it easy for bears to find food - garbage, birdseed, picnics, fish, or game, for example.

When you catch a fish you intend to harvest, immediately kill your fish, then bleed it into the water. Bleeding into the water quickly clears the blood from the fish, thus improving quality. It also reduces the chance that blood, which may attract the attention of bears, will get onto clothing or the stream bank.

Don't let fish flop around in the boat or on the bank. It bruises the flesh and the noise may attract the attention of nearby bears.

If you have a cooler with ice, clean, but don't filet, your fish. Filets on ice absorb water, which reduces meat quality. Filleting at home also produces cleaner meat than filleting in the field.

Do not leave entrails on the bank. Toss into deep, fast-moving water, or put in designated cleaning stations, or put into air-tight container to dispose of properly in cleaning stations, or bring home and put into freezer until the morning of garbage day. Put fish in cooler and pack body cavity with ice. Don't let cleaned fish sit in meltwater. Use a rack to elevate fish and ice.

If you don't have a cooler with ice, keep your bled, but uncleaned fish on a stringer in a shady spot in the water, OR wrapped in damp cloth in a shady spot. Clean your fish at a designated cleaning station, or at home. If home, put entrails and carcasses into freezer until the morning of garbage day.

When you are fishing and you see a bear, and if the bear approaches you, give the bear plenty of room to move on. If the bear continues to approach, stop fishing and move away. Give a splashing fish slack, or cut the line. Take your equipment and fish so bear does not associate angling activity with food.

For more information on how to live, travel, hunt and fish in bear country (most of Alaska), visit the Alaska Bear Facts webpage and State Parks website "Bears and You".