The Maine Sportsman August 2022 Digital Edition

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2 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

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Boggy Brook Outfitters on Pristine Branch Lake Boggy Brook Outfitters is a family-owned and operated Maine Guide Service with a main lodge and cabin, located in Ellsworth, Maine. This is a four-season operation, providing year-round adventures and lodging to their guests.

Since 2006, owner Jesse Derr has offered client-tailored hunting and fishing trips, wildlife observation tours, and luxury lakefront accommodations.

Nestled in a quiet cove on pristine Branch Lake, the main lodge offers luxury, log-home accommodations, exceptional sunsets, hunting, fishing, swimming, boating, kayaking, canoeing and wildlife viewing.

The convenient location presents clients not only with a tranquil lakefront retreat, but also close proximity to ex-

plore such must-see attractions as Acadia National Park, Baxter State Park, and much more.

A Maine Master Guide Jesse and his son Christopher take pride in the exceptional services provided by Boggy Brook Outfitters to their guests from Maine and around the world. They provide fully-guided bear hunting, deer hunting, turkey hunting and moose hunting trips, as well as four-season freshwater fishing trips.

Boggy Brook Outfitters offer deer hunting in all three of the available seasons in Maine (Bow, Rifle, and Muzzleloader). They hunt over active food plots and well-traveled deer trails, and offer metal ladder tree stands, shooting houses and ground blinds. The guides work hard planting and maintaining food plots all year. Trail cameras are placed in hunting areas and food plots. Throughout the year, Boggy Brook Outfitters check over their well-established 1,500 gated acres of hunting land.

Jesse and Christopher look forward to serving each client with professionalism and experience, with hunting and fishing adventures and with memories that will last a lifetime. Lifelong friendships are

often created during these adventures.

Boggy Brook Outfitter’s goal is not just to meet their clients’ expectations, but to always exceed them. For more information, or to contact Boggy Brook, check out their website at boggybrookoutfitters. com, or call (207) 667 -7271 (Office), (207) 266 -0685 (Cell), or email jdcon@yahoo. com.

Bald Mountain Camps – Four Season Resort Bald Mountain Camps (BMC) rests on the scenic shoreline of Mooselookmeguntic Lake – a gem in the mountains of Western Maine. Owned and operated by the Philbrick family, BMC carries on a family tradition of providing gorgeous lodging and outstanding services for all of their guests.

The Philbricks have maintained the rich heritage of the camps that started in the 1800s when the facility was first established as a sporting camp. Stephen and Tyler Philbrick, along with other local guides, are available to their guests for fall hunts, fishing trips and boat tours on the big lakes.

BMC’s lakeside resort, rich with local history, consists of fourteen completely furnished log cabins with comfortable accommodations for 2 - 8 guests. Each

cabin offers a private porch, fireplace, private bath, spacious living room, and individual bedrooms. Efficiency cabins come equipped with microwave, refrigerator and coffee maker, while housekeeping cabins have a stove, refrigerator and small kitchen area. All cabins are set up with Rinnai heaters as well as a wood stove and fireplace.

Relax on the lakeside porch with rocking chairs to enjoy the spectacular sunset views over majestic Mooselookmeguntic Lake.

BMC’s main lodge boasts a full menu and full bar available for guests and those stopping by. The dining room is open daily for lunch and dinner, offering delicious gourmet meals served in BMC’s cozy dining room, outside on the waterfront deck or in the pub. Offerings include grilled steak, vegetarian dishes, and Katahdin-style (mountainous) haddock sandwich. Don’t miss BMC’s perfectly battered deep-fried or broiled seafood right from the coast of Maine, or a tasty traditional grilled cheese for the kids.

Enjoy free Wi-Fi, watch TV or just cozy up to the warmth of the massive stone fireplace.

Other BMC activities to enjoy during

your stay include boat rentals (including 8 new Pontoon Boats), paddle board and kayak tours, hunting, fishing, skiing, hiking, snowmobiling, and BBQ parties to accommodate large groups. Get in on fall wildlife photography, fishing, hunting and good ol’ relaxing. And winter snowmobiling is right around the corner.

Make your lodging reservations NOW for Moose, Bear, Upland Bird and Deer Hunting, and all Maine has to offer in the winter!

Lodging renewal for summer of 2023 opens the end of October 2022.

BMC is located at 125 Bald Mountain Rd., Oquossoc, ME 04964-0032. To make your reservations: Phone: 207 864-3671; Email: info@baldmountaincamps.com, or go to www.baldmountaincamps.com.

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4 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Editorial

A Plan Comes Together to Locate a New Maine Fish Hatchery

New England’s Largest Outdoor Publication

Sportsman The Maine

ISSN 0199-036 — Issue No. 597 • www.mainesportsman.com PUBLISHER: Jon Lund MANAGING EDITOR: Will Lund will@mainesportsman.com OFFICE MANAGER: Carol Lund carol@mainesportsman.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Kristina Roderick kristina@mainesportsman.com ADVERTISING DIRECTOR: Nancy Carpenter nancy@mainesportsman.com DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR: Deb Lund Carter distribution@mainesportsman.com

Thanks to the political savvy of Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, and the influence and support of Senator Susan M. Collins and her staff, Maine is poised to take a big step toward building a clean, efficient and productive fish hatchery.

An appropriation of $700,000 is included in Sen. Collins’ list of proposed “Congressionally directed spending requests,” the process formerly known as “earmarks.”

Available to non-profits such as SAM, the grant request will be placed into the upcoming budget bill in Washington. Given Sen. Collins’ senior position on the lawmakers’ funding committee, there’s every reason to expect the hatchery appropriation will be part of the final, enacted budget.

The plan is for SAM to provide the funds to the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife to allow completion of studies on specifically where to site a new, environmentally-friendly salmonid hatchery. Locations are being explored along the Penobscot, Kennebec, Androscoggin and Saco Rivers.

“Maine has always been a good steward of our lakes, ponds, and rivers, and our state operates some of the most productive hatcheries and rearing stations in the country to keep these habitats well stocked,” Sen. Collins told The Maine Sportsman. “In order to maintain this success, however, it is vital that we continue to invest in Maine’s hatchery program.

“As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, I requested funding to lay the groundwork necessary for the eventual construction of a consolidated, technologically advanced, and environmentally friendly fish hatchery, which will benefit current and future generations of anglers. I will champion this funding as the appropriations process moves forward.”

David Trahan of SAM expressed equal optimism. “For over twenty years, Maine has needed to invest in our existing eight state hatcheries and build a new modern facility to increase production,” Trahan told us. “Thanks to the Governor and the Legislature, $20 million in needed improvements to our existing hatcheries will occur over the next three years.

“Given the very significant increases in fishing pressure and the growing popularity of freshwater fishing, our organization has formed one of most experienced hatchery committees ever assembled,” Trahan continued. “In partnership with Senator Collins, the SAM Hatchery Committee and the leadership at Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, we’ve never been better-positioned to build a new state-of-the-art hatchery.”

A tip of The Maine Sportsman’s cap to SAM for promoting this long-needed project, and to our senior Senator for her ability to make things happen.

¶

On the Cover: Maine’s 2022 bear hunting season gets underway at the end of August.

Youth Bear Day is August 27. Hunting with bait starts August 29 and ends September 24. The general season runs August 29 through November 26.

Bear trapping runs September 1 through October 31. Hunting with dogs starts September 12 and ends October 28. Black bear photo by Presque Isle wildlife photographer Paul Cyr. www.MaineSportsman.com

Second class postage paid at Scarborough, ME 04074 and additional entry offices.

All editorial inquiries should be emailed to will@mainesportsman.com Phone: 207-622-4242 Postmaster: Send address changes to: The Maine Sportsman, 183 State Street, Suite 101,­ Augusta, ME 04330 12-Month Subscription: $30 • 24-Month Subscription: $49

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Almanac by Will Lund.................................................... 14 A Ranger on the Allagash by Tim Caverly.................. 55 Aroostook - “The County” by Bill Graves..................... 36 Big Game Hunting by Joe Saltalamachia.................. 33 Big Woods World by Brian Conner............................... 32 Central Maine by Steve Vose....................................... 60 Cooking Wildly by Kate Krukowski Gooding............... 41 Downeast Region by Jim Lemieux............................... 57 Editorial.............................................................................. 4 Freshwater Fly Fishing by William Clunie...................... 53 Jackman Region by William Sheldon.......................... 45 Jottings by Jon Lund........................................................ 9 Katahdin Country by William Sheldon......................... 42 Letters to the Editor.......................................................... 6 Maine Sportswoman by Christi Holmes....................... 40 Maine Wildlife by Tom Seymour................................... 31 Maine Wildlife Quiz by Steve Vose............................... 35 Midcoast by Tom Seymour........................................... 59 Moosehead Region by Tom Seymour......................... 48 New Hampshire by Ethan Emerson.............................. 72 Nolan’s Outdoor World by Nolan Raymond............... 30 Off-Road Traveler by William Clunie............................ 43 Outdoors & Other Mistakes by Al Diamon.................. 75 Quotable Sportsman by Will Lund................................ 24 Rangeley Region by William Clunie............................. 66 Riding Shotgun by Robert Summers............................. 76 Saltwater Fishing by Barry Gibson................................ 28 Sebago to Auburn Region by Tom Roth..................... 62 Self-Propelled Sportsman by Jim Andrews.................. 69 Shooter’s Bench by Col. J.C. Allard............................. 50 Smilin’ Sportsman by Will Lund...................................... 76 Snapshots in Time by Bill Pierce.................................... 13 Southern Maine by Val Marquez................................. 63 Sporting Environment by David Van Wie.................... 56 Sportsman’s Journal by King Montgomery................. 11 Tidewater Tales by Randy Randall............................... 64 Trapping The Silent Places by David Miller.................. 68 Trading Post (Classifieds)............................................... 77 Trout Fishing by Tom Seymour....................................... 52 True Tales from the Warden Service by Ret. Lt. Doug Tibbetts.65 Vermont by Matt Breton............................................... 74 Western Maine Mountains by William Clunie.............. 70 Young Maine Guide by Luke Giampetruzzi................ 47

GUEST COLUMNS & SPECIAL SECTIONS

ATVing in Maine by Steve Carpenteri......................... 17 Bear Hunting in Maine: Successful Bear Hunting by Steve Carpenteri....... 20 Why You Should Bear Hunt by Staci Warren.......... 22 Gear Up for Muskie by Bill Graves................................ 39 Saltwater Fishing by Sam Wheeler............................... 25

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6 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Letters To The Editor

Togue in Sebago – “Don’t Blame the Biologists”

To the Editor: This is a comment on Spencer Belson’s article “Learning from Fisheries Mistake of the Past” (see June, 2022 issue’s Guest Column, page 31).

I do not fault Spencer for blaming Maine fisheries biologists for stocking togue in Sebago Lake, because he is too young to know how this actually happened.

At the time, Dick Arsenault was a Region A fisheries biologist and my friend. Dick was a farsighted person, not diplomatic, always telling it as it is.

Being an excellent fisheries biologist, Dick recognized the devastating effect togue would have on the salmon population in Sebago Lake.

It was the Maine Legislature, and not the fisheries biologists, who caused the introduction of togue in Sebago. The legislature, being skilled in what they

do but lacking experience in the area of wildlife management, mandated togue to be stocked to appease out-of-state fishermen, since those anglers have a positive effect on the state’s economy.

Both out-of-state anglers and Maine fishermen were catching very few salmon, and the ones they were catching were small. In reality, it was the insecticide DDT that was causing the problem throughout the northeast.

The fisheries biologists tried to pick the best of a bad situation to a “fishless Sebago Lake” problem. They stocked togue from the Finger Lakes of New York State because this sub-species preferred deep water (>150 ft) and also spawned in deep water.

The biologist and every diehard togue fisherman knew “togue will be togue” and in fall, winter and spring, when the water is cold, they will go where they want, competing with salmon for the same food sources, many times eating the small salmon.

Smelts are a critical food source for producing large salmon. Dick studied the smelt population in Sebago for years.

He had a paper published on the subject, “The Life cycle of Rainbow Smelt in Sebago Lake.”

In a few years, togue ate all the smelt and white fish. Biologists were left with

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the problem and tried many solutions: togue protection, slot lengths, derbies, and almost a “kill them all” philosophy.

Togue are in Sebago to stay, and they grow large, many over 15 pounds.

Bottom line: Biologists did not cause this situation; the Legislature did.

Respectfully submitted, Thomas Berube – Poland ME Editor’s note: Thomas is right – Maine togue grow big. Below is a photo of 6-year old Eli Feldpausch, who reeled in (and released) a 33-inch, 15-lb. lake trout in July. Eli was accompanied by his father, Maine Guide Anthony Feldpausch.

Little Man; Big Fish Here’s Eli Feldpausch, age 6, with his dad Anthony Feldpausch of Rome, Maine.

Eli caught and released this 15-lb, 33” lake trout after a tense battle during which the young man struggled to turn the reel’s handle, and proclaimed, “The fish is going to take out all the line!”

Watch a video of young Eli catching the lunker by going to our website, www.mainesportsman.com/blog.

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Put Fish Back in the Streams To the Editor: I was saddened and frankly appalled by the multiple pictures of dead brook trout and articles condoning – and in (Continued on next page)

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Put Fish Back III

fact openly encouraging – the killing of wild native brook trout in small streams.

TMS is a source of information and inspiration to fishers and hunters all over the state. As such, your publication can and should set the bar much higher. Maine’s wild native brook trout deserve better.

Emily Bastian, President Maine Chapter – Native Fish Coalition (NFC)

To the Editor: The recent photos of dead brook trout in TMS are the last thing we need or want. It’s like reading a 1980s Field & Stream, harkening back to the bad old days.

Bob Mallard – Executive Director Native Fish Coalition

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Put Fish Back II To the Editor: This is a comment on the July “The County” column.

I enjoy Bill Graves’ columns and look forward to each new issue. With respect to the July column, I have to say that I am disappointed to see a picture that appears to feature a stringer of brook trout (10 in all) apparently caught in a remote stream system (not put-and-take fish). The photo appears old, so I assume this is a past memory.

Nonetheless I find this a disturbing image to celebrate in 2022.

To me images such as this beckon back to the bad old days of the 1800s when the Rangeley waters were depleted of large trout and have never fully recovered. I am sure you agree that we do not wish aspiring fishers to take home stringers of wild native brookies. Or believe this should be the primary purpose of a day on a stream.

Thanks for Bill’s and your good work and consideration.

Burt Adelman Concord, MA and Rangeley ME

As shown here, the Sportsman embraces both keep-to-eat and catch-and-release fishing practices.

Our ebullient “Big Game” columnist Joe Saltalamachia released this 4+ pound brookie caught in a northern Maine pond in June, 2021.

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Short and Sweet To the Editor: Thank you for your wonderful magazine.

Jeff & Marge Miloski – Calverton, NY —

Feeling Disenfranchised by New Antlerless Deer Lottery Process To the Editor: I am a lifelong hunter and I’ve been applying for doe permits each year ever since the program started.

The process was always simple and fast, and you could apply for the cost of a postage stamp.

Now, DIF&W has gone to an email-only application process, and you have to apply for a doe permit online.

I do not have access to the internet, and I do not have an email address. I expect that many folks in my age group are in the same situation. For that reason, I was initially prevented from applying for my “antlerless deer” permit.

After two days, I was able to find someone who has an email address.

That person let me “borrow” the address and apply online.

I also have concerns about the security of electronic information, and I am reluctant to enter my personal information into a computer and have it transmitted to the state.

For these reasons, I hope in the future the state will offer an alternate paper-based means of applying for a doe permit, for those hunters like me who do not have access to the internet.

I enjoy the Maine Sportsman, and I purchase it each month at our local store.

Larry – Eddington, ME Editor’s response: We posed your question to the good folks at DIF&W, and they had four recommendations: (Continued on next page)

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8 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Letters (Continued from page 7)

Enjoyed Rod McGarry Story

To the Editor: I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed King Montgomery’s Cast and Blast article (see Sportsman’s Journal; July 2022 • issue), for a variety of reasons.

First, my wife and I have shot sev• eral times at Setter’s Point, and it is a terrific place. We were there in the early fall when pheasant are available and the grounds are excellent, Dennis is friendly — and helpful, and the hunting is great fun.

Second, I have been part of some of Rod McGarry’s fly-tying classes, which were very interesting and educational, but more important, it was Rod who taught my wife, Barbara how to fly cast. He is a great teacher, and she loves fly-fishing.

Third, we had the pleasure of being guided by Frank LepYou’ve been successful at the hunt, ore for some grouse and woodnow wear your pride by entering one of cock hunting at Grant’s Camp The Maine Sportsman’s and on another occasion, he was EXCLUSIVE PATCH CLUBS! kind enough to let us accompaTo find a club and download an application, go to ny him on a scouting trek. Lexie and Sophia were great to watch, and Frank let us run our young to download, print and mail your application with $10 to: The Maine Sportsman English Springer, Toby, who 183 State Street, Suite 101, Augusta, ME 04330 managed to put up a couple of Don’t have a computer or printer? No problem! grouse. Frank is a true gentleGive us a call at (207) 622-4242 and we’ll mail you an application.

• •

Using a computer at your local library Using a computer at work during lunch or a break Asking a friend or relative with a computer for help in applying, or If none of the above approaches is available, calling or visiting the nearest DIF&W location, and asking for assistance, which will be provided.

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Rod McGarry

man.

My one minor disappointment was none of the photographs showed Rod wearing one of his signature bow ties. It was from him that I learned that a woolen vest and a bow tie are the height of sartorial elegance.

Thanks for the article.

Lawrence Furbish – Sanford, ME

¶

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 9

Trout Fishing, Early Conservationists and Trojan Horses During the discussions regarding the proposed CMP power line across Western Maine, I noted a criticism that the route would come close to a remote trout pond by the name of Beattie Pond. I knew I had heard the name of the pond before.

I had to turn back the pages of my memory to the 1960s. At that time, the practice of the law firm in which I was an associate included representing insurance companies.

A portion of that practice was the defense of medical malpractice lawsuits.

Jerome Daviau was a Waterville lawyer who often represented plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases. I was aware of his name, but I had never met him.

One day, Daviau

In his 1958 book, Jerome Daviau cited examples of individuals who became influential members of sportsmen’s clubs and state environmental boards, and who were later revealed to be paid lobbyists for industries that sought to hobble Maine’s growing environmental movement. called me and asked if I would be interested in going trout fishing with him. I responded in the affirmative, and we agreed on a time and place to meet. As it turned out, our destination was Beattie Pond.

Jeep Station Wagon Daviau’s vehicle was a Jeep station wagon – one of the few 4-wheel drive vehicles on the market at the time. We got into Daviau’s Jeep wagon, and soon we were tooling along on backcountry gravel roads.

Our route took us across railroad tracks where there was no

conventional crossing – a new experience for me. Jerome stopped the Jeep just short of the tracks, set the brake, got out of the vehicle and started searching through the nearby brush. He soon emerged carrying several short timbers, four by fours, which he carefully placed close to the steel rails.

Climbing back into the driver’s seat, he slowly drove over the timbers and across the tracks. After we crossed the tracks, he stopped again, set the brake, turned off the engine and climbed back out, gathered up

the timbers, put them away out of sight, and got back into the driver’s seat.

We continued along an old tote road. Eventually we came to our destination, Beattie, a pond perhaps a third of a mile in length surrounded by spruce and fir trees, with a small cabin nearby tucked into the woods. Beattie Pond was indeed a lovely sight.

In short order, we were out on the pond in separate canoes, with the surface rippled by a light breeze.

Brook trout were rising to my wet fly. I had tied on a small squir-

rel tail streamer that had been recommended to me by the proprietor of the Rangeley Fly Shop. It is still my favorite go-to fly.

I was experiencing steady action and noticed that Jerome was having a slower time, so I paddled close to his canoe and showed him my fly. He tied on a similar fly, and soon we were each catching trout.

The passage of 60 years has dimmed the details of that expedition, except for the memory of the excellent brook trout fishing. We enjoyed a pleasant and productive time catching brook trout. We didn’t discuss politics or conservation issues.

I did not fish with Daviau again, a fact that I have come to regret.

(Continued on next page)

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10 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Jottings

(Continued from page 9)

Daviau’s Book Some time later, I learned that Daviau had written a book entitled Maine’s Life Blood. It was a private printing, and I did not buy a copy.

I recently obtained a reprint version of Daviau’s book and read the small volume.

It is copyrighted 1958.

It is highly critical of our state’s failure to effectively manage its natural resources, water pollution and water flow challenges, and to lessen the political clout of our existing industries and public utilities before the legislature and the regulatory mechanisms of state government.

Daviau’s views were radical for the time and did not generate a lot of public notice.

Beware the Trojan Horse His favorite metaphor to describe society’s failures was the Trojan horse.

Wikipedia tells us the myth that after a fruitless 10-year war,

the Greeks left behind a huge wooden horse and pretended to sail away. The Trojans pulled the horse into the city as a victory trophy. That night, Greek forces crept out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed back under cover of night. The Greeks entered and destroyed the city of Troy, ending the war.

Metaphorically, a Trojan horse has come to mean any trick or stratagem that causes a target to invite the enemy into a securely protected place.

Historically in Maine, one of the obstacles to strengthening the political hand of hunters and fishermen was the lack of unity and common purpose of the local fish and game clubs, whose members treated many problems as local issues.

In order to overcome this obstacle, the Maine Fish and Game Association was started. However, an early draft of the M.F. and

G. constitution provided that members or parent organizations should not engage in political activity. This fundamental roadblock provision caused much internal strife until it was finally eliminated.

Industry Hobbles Environmentalism Daviau opines that a Trojan horse had caused the limiting provision to be inserted into the initial constitution, since whoever inserted that limitation into the draft would not have wanted the organization to be effective.

The author goes on to cite many other examples of individuals who became influential members of local and state boards and committees, when it was later revealed they were paid lobbyists for industrial blocs.

Daviau saw that in various ways, the power structure representing industry sought to hobble the growing environmental movement in the state.

Jerome Daviau was indeed a man

Daviau’s small but powerful book about the challenges facing effective conservationists, is available in original or reprinted versions from online sources.

ahead of his time, by at least a generation or two. He passed on in 1999, but he left a wonderful, powerful publication. His words in the book’s “Preface” are telling: “In our modern society,” he wrote, “it is impolitic to expose; impolite to speak bluntly;

frowned upon to tell the painful truth; and bad taste to critically appraise one’s own state. Yet this I have done, with the hope that it will contribute to new thoughts and new considerations of Maine’s old problems.”

¶

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��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 11

Fish & Other Four-Letter Words This time I’m not sitting on the front porch of the cabin on the lake reflecting on the meanings of fish and life – two concepts inseparable in my mind. Instead, my musing spot is a balcony overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Just beyond is an emerald-green bay where the most amazing sea birds, white-tailed tropic birds, dance gracefully just above the calm, bejeweled waters of the early morning light. More on this special creature later.

The air temperature already approaching 80 degrees and, according to the report, it’s in the 50s in Maine.

No, I’m not chasing fish on this trip except for prowling the rocks and beaches looking for them, but rather spending time with a great lady. Yes, I researched the angling opportunities here at the paradise known as the Pompano Beach Club on the southwest side of

On a regular basis, even lifelong, diehard anglers must remember to set aside the eat-sleepfish routine, looking around and appreciating the people and places that make up the nonpiscatorial aspects of a happy life and marriage.

The final approach into Bermuda makes you smile as you see the jade and azure clear tropical waters that teem with life and all sorts of possibilities including just looking at it. All photos by King Montgomery

Bermuda. There are bonefish, hogfish, and other desirable fishes nearby, and other noble offshore species of sailfish, tuna and wahoo not far away. Maybe next time, I muse, but for now it’s other four-letter words besides “fish” that occupy my thoughts.

Sometimes, we anglers obsess about our sport, spending

Bermuda stands out as the best place I’ve visited for a family vacation where there is something for everyone including unique half or full day fishing opportunities for the angler(s) who wish to partake.

time, money and effort – probably excessive amounts of all three – to satisfy our quests for piscatorial pleasure. If we are alone in our lives, fine, because the idea of eat-sleep-fish can consume us, affecting no one but ourselves.

But, if another person is involved in our life, our behavior calls for a modification or two to

help the relationship work and grow.

“Talk” and “hear” are four-letter words that mean communication, the single most important factor in a successful relationship. Sure, I could spend a day or two out of this week fishing in this tropical heaven, and she probably would join me on the salty flats – she

Dramatically perched on limestone cliffs overlooking the southwest coast, Pompano Beach Club has been owned and operated by the American Lamb family since its beginning in 1956.

does like to fish, and she’s good at it. But somehow it wouldn’t seem right, although she says it’s okay. So I don’t, and feel very good about it.

Now, those of you that know me realize this is totally out of character, both for the not fishing and being in a wonderful relationship parts. All of my life, probably like many of you out there, much of the time I’ve chosen the fishing over just about everything else. I have come to realize there actually is a balance – you can have both with a little “give” and “take” – two more four-letter words that put the icing on the communications cake.

It’s been a great respite from the cold and short days back in the lower forty-eight, but now my reflections are over for awhile and it’s time to saunter down to the beachfront restaurant for the killer breakfast buffet. Yes, we’ll come (Continued on next page)

Sunset always draws a crowd to the beach, the bar, and the dining room; but we like just the two of us on our room’s balcony, libation in hand. www.MaineSportsman.com

12 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

The dance of the longtails is one of the most beautiful and peaceful natural events we’ve ever seen, so much so that the bird has become our aerial totem since our honeymoon here years ago.

Our view from breakfast often includes a school of mullet swimming in a daisy-chain as they feed in the rich, shallow waters.

Sportsman’s Journal (Continued from page 11)

back to this beautiful place sometime soon, and we’ll fish the pristine flats, drop lines in the numerous reefs, and perhaps troll the offshore canyons. But, as for now, the primary word is “love.” And who said four-letter words are bad?

The Place Pompano Beach Club is a wonderful base of operations for your visit to Bermuda. It is also self-sustained enough to stay there your entire visit.

It is the ideal venue for romantic get-a-ways, for historic sightseeing and super shopping, or for a fishing adventure you’ll not soon forget.

(See my “ Sportsman’s Journal” column in the January 2018 Maine Sportsman issue for a description of

fishing in Bermuda.)

Dramatically perched on limestone cliffs overlooking the southwest coast, Pompano, owned and operated by the American Lamb family since its beginning in 1956, has 75 comfortable rooms, and all the amenities found in larger worldclass resort. The private pink beach beckons, the championship golf course next door calls, and any place with three dining areas and two bars gets my attention every time. And they will cook your fish catch for dinner, which I highly recommend.

Oh, and did I mention the weather?

There is no rainy season, periodic showers are brief, and rainbows over the water are quite the sight, ap-

This sport-fisher heads offshore to the nearby famed Argus and Challenger Banks, non-active volcanic mounts on the ocean that have natural coral formations on top, attracting many game fish species. www.MaineSportsman.com

pearing for us several mornings of our last stay.

Temperatures seldom top 85 degrees F and seldom drop below 65 degrees – folks still wear Bermuda shorts at Christmas and New Years – although water and air temperatures in winter will be cooler than in the Caribbean. And it’s all available with a short non-stop flight from airports along the east coast and inland.

The Bird We watch as white tern-like pelagic sea birds with long, expressive tails perform an effortless and mesmerizing ballet, first a solo, then a duo, then a Pas de trois, chirping engagingly all the while. They are delightful birds. These Bermuda longtails come home to court, roost, and raise young along the rocky cliffs

A two-foot long rainbow parrotfish cruises the shoreline looking for something to eat. Gorgeous fish, they are protected by the conservation-minded government of Bermuda.

before heading back out to sea for another seven or so months.

The dance of the longtails is one of the most beautiful and peaceful natural events we’ve ever seen, so much so the bird has become our aerial totem since our honeymoon here years ago, and a strong symbol of everything we love about Bermuda.

Bermuda Longtails, officially called white-tail tropic birds, average 18 inches long, with three-foot wingspans. Their lower parts are all white, and the black marking on their backs and wings on top readily are visible. They feed on fish, squid and crustaceans, and dive for their food like other pelagic seabird species.

This engaging bird is one of the main reasons why we return every couple of years

Bermuda’s tropical climate is perfect for beautiful vegetation including the Royal Poinciana or Flamboyant whose flowers cover the entire, often very large, tree.

to these enchanting islands.

Mark Twain wrote the following after spending time in Bermuda in the late 19th Century: “You go to heaven if you want; I’ll stay in Bermuda.”

I couldn’t have said it better, but as far as I’m concerned, Bermuda is heaven.

Bermuda Info • Pompano Beach Club, 1-800-343-4155, www.pompanobeachclub.com.

• Bermuda Tourism: http://www.gotobermuda.com/.

Superb website with everything you need to know about “Bermy.”

Find accommodations to fit all pocketbooks.

Parts of this article are taken from my “Front Porch Musings” column in the November 22, 1996 issue of Virginia Outdoor Weekly. KM.

¶

The JetBlue Airbus takes off from the island paradise and heads home to Maine, a place we love. And “home” is also a four-letter word!

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 13

“Snapshots in Time”

Historical Glimpses from Maine’s Sporting Past Compiled by Bill Pierce, Former Executive Director, Outdoor Heritage Museum

Alligators in Maine If you have never read “We Took to the Woods” by Louise Dickenson Rich, do yourself a favor and get a copy. It’s a wonderful story about the isolated and simple existence of a small family, their neighbors, and a colorful “woods life” found on the Rapid River in 1940s Western Maine. It has been reprinted countless times, which ought to tell you something about its readability.

The short but delightful little book was reprinted with an olive drab cover for distribution to G.I.’s as a morale booster in WWII. What it depicts was worth fighting for.

“We Took to the Woods” is a Maine classic. It paints wonderful pictures in the mind of the reader of an idyllic landscape and an enviable lifestyle from a bygone era.

If you visit the Rapid River and walk down the Carry Road towards Louise’s beloved Forest Lodge, just below Old Lower Dam you will see a small driftwood sign on a tree in the shape of an alligator. It points down a short path leading to Pond-in-the-River just 50 yards away.

There on the shore you will find the rusted bones of the old steam winch barge once used during log drives to pull booms of logs across The Pond. The logs would then be sluiced through Lower Dam into the Rapid below, on their journey to the mills located downriver on the Androscoggin.

Enjoy this tale of the “Alligator” and its irascible captain. Special thanks to Steve Smith for his research and vintage photo.

Louise Dickenson Rich wrote about the “Alligator,” a scow-shaped, steampowered amphibious warping tug designed to tow up to 60,000 logs at a time across lakes or slow-moving stretches of rivers. The machine’s winch was so powerful the device could skid itself over land at a speed of two miles per day. The remains of a few of these boats can still be found in Maine.

We break into the tale with Louise sharing how she had helped a friend with “the hair of the dog”…. ***** I went into a lunchroom and got him a can of beer. His face twisted. “You know, that God damned Jees’ly beer pizened me, so I’m just through with all that stuff!” We left him alone with his hangover and continued up to the Alligator.

There was a great deal of commotion there. Steam was up and the winch cable was hitched to a deadman across the Cove. The Alligator was creaking and groaning and rumbling and not budging an inch. A head appeared through the after hatch, the sulfurous blue haze

of profanity thinned a little when the owner saw me out of respect to my sex.

It’s simmered down to a few heartfelt “Comical Christs,” “God Damned blue bottom old tubs,” “Desprit Jesuses” and “Christless Onerry Bitches,” which in the woods is practically parlor conversation. What he needed, it seemed, was some grease for the ways. “You ain’t got no grease?” he asked Ralph hopefully.

“If I had a little grease….”

This didn’t seem to be my department, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask. “I’ve got some old donut fat. Would do you any good?”

“How much you got?”

“A kettle full, 10 pounds about.” He climbed down onto the ground. “Lady, you saved my life! I’ll have the Cookie return it to you soon as he gets his in.”

So, the Alligator, that first year we were there, slid down the cinnamon-scented ways into the Pond, and a few days later the Cookie delivered at our door an equal quantity of lard and an invitation from the cook to come to lunch. “10:00 o’clock or two, don’t matter.” On the log drive there are four meals a day: breakfast at 6, first and second lunch, supper at 5 and then, if the men have to sluice after dark, another lunch before they go to bed, which may be anywhere from 10:00 p.m. until two the next morning. ***** So, readers – be sure to get outside and make some outdoor history of your own and when something has got you frazzled, feel free to let loose with some “Maine woods parlor talk.”

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14 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Almanac

“Find a nice log about the size of your leg, toss it in and watch it go down – usually that will show you everything you need to know.”

Compiled and Edited by — Will Lund —

Two Minutes with a Maine Guide

Is That Drop Runnable?

by Lisa DeHart

It’s a question canoeists ask themselves all the time. Here are some other key questions to ask yourself before you decide whether or not to run it.

Question #1: If you ran it, how would it affect “the good of the trip”? Paddling abilities aside, depending on the circumstances of the trip, that drop may not be runnable.

Question #2: What’s the water temperature?

Question #3: How remote are you?

Question #4: Do you have the skills to rescue a boat?

Question #5: Are you carrying $60,000 worth of sponsored video and electronic gear, so you can share your experiences with the world?

Once you decide the answers to

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Lisa DeHart heads through rapids in Souadabscook Stream – which runs 7-1/2 miles through Hampden and Hermon – while Mike Patterson observes from the ledge.

these questions as canoeists, let’s say you decide to run it. More questions arise: What is the exit like? Is it a nice

big eddy where it’s easy to rescue people, boats, gear, or is it a rock garden?

What’s around the corner?

Let’s say you know exactly what you’re looking at – a technical, but doable nice Class III+. Get a game plan, including setting up a throw bag spot, if available. And if there is a muddy looking spot, with a possible rooster tail or keeper, find a nice log about the size of your leg and toss that in and watch it go down – usually that will show you everything you need to know.

Take your time; go slow. Run one boat at a time, starting with the most experienced. Nine time out of ten as soon as you see a canoe go through, it doesn’t look so ominous. Once those canoeists have run it, they will have good information to share with the next boat.

Most important, remember that you are the Captain of your boat, and if you see other canoes go through and decide you don’t want to run yours “for the good of the trip,” that’s perfectly legitimate.

Line it, send it (send the canoe without a person, but hooked to the 65 foot throw bag line, through a section or a drop), portage, or have someone you trust run your boat down. There’s no one at the end of the river with a scorecard of what you did to make it safely down a remote (Continued on next page)

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river. You work as a group, an expedition, and keep each other safe.

—

Move Quickly – Antlerless Deer Permit Lottery Ends August 1st For the first time this year, according to DIF&W, a licensed hunter with an antlerless deer permit can harvest an antlerless deer in the designated WMD/ subunit and an antlered deer statewide.

Antlerless deer permits may be acquired through a lottery, and any remaining permits will be available for purchase on the MDIFW website.

This year’s lottery closes within a few days, on August 1, 2022 at 11:59 PM. For more information and the lottery link, go to Maine.gov/ifw, and click on the “Antlerless Deer Permit Information” tab.

There is no fee to apply to the antlerless deer permit lottery. Those hunters selected in the lottery will be required to pay a $12 permit fee plus a $2 agent fee to claim their permit. Lottery winners will be notified on the IFW website on September 1st and will also be sent an email shortly after that with instructions on claiming their permit.

Those who do not claim their permits

by September 29th will forfeit those permits, which will be sold to other hunters.

Transfers and swaps of antlerless deer permits are no longer allowed.

—

New “Oversize ATV” Law Maine law now restricts the sale and use of “oversize” ATVs, meaning those machines that are wider than 65 inches

Big, but not “Over” At 64.0 inches wide,”only” 1667 lbs., and featuring three-wide seats, Yahama’s Viking VI side-by-side does not trigger Maine’s new “oversize” ATV restrictions, which define an oversize ATV as exceeding 65 inches in width, or 2,000 lbs. Photo: ATVIllustrated.com

or that weigh more than 2,000 pounds.

Folks who owned oversize ATVs prior to January 1, 2022 can continue to register their machines, and can legally sell those ATVs to others. New oversize ATVs cannot be registered.

A legally registered (grandfathered) oversized ATV may operate on land where the operator has permission from the landowner or lessee, on frozen waters of the state, and portions of state approved ATV trails which do not limit the use of oversized ATVs. Additionally, written permission of the landowner or lessee is required for use of an ATV on cropland or pastureland or in an orchard.

Unregistered ATVs, whether oversized or not, can be operated only on land the operator owns or leases, although the law was subsequently amended

at the request of farmers and loggers to create an additional exception: If written permission is obtained from the landowner or lessee, and the ATV operator is engaged solely in a business activity other than a business activity involving recreational use of the oversized ATV, oversized unregistered ATVs may be operated on that land.

ATV dealers are required to notify purchasers of oversized ATVs (new and used) of this law, and ATV registration agents are required to notify ATV owners and provide education on oversized ATVs at the time of registration.

The same law increased resident ATV registration fees from $45 to $70 per year. Amounts raised from the increase are intended to be spent on ATV trail improvement, expansion and maintenance.

— Wilderness First Aid

Heat Exhaustion

by Stacey Wheeler, RN Bowdoin, Maine Maine summers often include several days of extremely hot and humid weather. Before trekking out to summit your favorite mountain peak, take note of the day’s weather.

Heat exhaustion and heat stroke can quickly ruin your family activity. Being prepared for the heat and implementing prevention strategies will keep you out of trouble.

(Continued on next page)

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16 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Almanac

August 2022 Sunrise/Sunset

(Continued from page 15)

Prevention

Portland, ME DATE 1 Mon 2 Tue 3 Wed 4 Thu 5 Fri 6 Sat 7 Sun 8 Mon 9 Tue 10 Wed 11 Thu 12 Fri 13 Sat 14 Sun 15 Mon 16 Tue

RISE 5:28 5:29 5:30 5:32 5:33 5:34 5:35 5:36 5:37 5:38 5:39 5:40 5:42 5:43 5:44 5:45

SET 8:05 8:04 8:03 8:02 8:00 7:59 7:58 7:56 7:55 7:53 7:52 7:51 7:49 7:48 7:46 7:44

DATE 17 Wed 18 Thu 19 Fri 20 Sat 21 Sun 22 Mon 23 Tue 24 Wed 25 Thu 26 Fri 27 Sat 28 Sun 29 Mon 30 Tue 31 Wed

RISE 5:46 5:47 5:48 5:49 5:51 5:52 5:53 5:54 5:55 5:56 5:57 5:58 6:00 6:01 6:02

SET 7:43 7:41 7:40 7:38 7:37 7:35 7:33 7:32 7:30 7:28 7:27 7:25 7:23 7:21 7:20

August 2022 Tides DATE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed

Portland, ME HIGH AM PM 1:56 2:29 2:33 3:05 3:15 3:44 4:01 4:28 4:52 5:17 5:48 6:11 6:50 7:11 7:57 8:14 9:03 9:17 10:04 10:17 11:02 11:15 11:57 — 12:10 12:49 1:04 1:39 1:56 2:28 2:47 3:18 3:41 4:08 4:37 5:00 5:34 5:54 6:34 6:50 7:35 7:48 8:35 8:45 9:28 9:35 10:15 10:20 10:57 11:02 11:36 11:41 — 12:12 12:17 12:46 12:53 1:19 1:29 1:52 2:08 2:28

www.MaineSportsman.com

• Cool off in a pond. or pour water over head and clothes • Rest until symptoms subside

LOW AM PM 8:13 8:23 8:49 9:06 9:29 9:53 10:12 10:44 10:59 11:39 11:52 — 12:39 12:50 1:44 1:53 2:49 2:57 3:51 3:58 4:48 4:56 5:42 5:52 6:34 6:47 7:24 7:40 8:12 8:33 9:00 9:27 9:49 10:24 10:40 11:21 11:33 — 12:21 12:29 1:23 1:28 2:24 2:27 3:19 3:20 4:06 4:06 4:48 4:47 5:25 5:26 6:00 6:03 6:33 6:40 7:05 7:17 7:39 7:57 8:16 8:39

1. Drink fluids – remember that alcohol can dehydrate your body and reduce your ability to sweat 2. Plan activities in early morning or late afternoon, avoiding the hottest part of the day 3. Wear lightweight clothing, and protect from sunburn 4. Take extra caution if you are at increased risk due to medical conditions or medications

The author climbs one of Mt. Katahdin’s steep rock fields. It’s easy to become overheated and dehydrated in challenging, highaltitude terrain.

Recognize the Warning Signs of Heat Exhaustion • Muscle cramps • Dizziness, feeling faint and tired • Pale, clammy skin with excessive sweating • Nausea • Rapid pulse that is weak • Headache Treat Immediately • Stop activity • Get into the shade, and lie down with feet elevated • Hydrate – not with gulps, but sips. Water or sports drinks are the best.

Seek Emergency Medical Treatment if These Symptoms Occur Vomiting Rapid breathing and racing heartbeat • Confusion, delirium, or slurred speech • Flushed, hot red skin • Body temperature >than 104° F • Lack of sweating • Extreme thirst Left untreated, heat stroke can cause serious or even fatal medical issues. Youngsters and those over 65 are less able to manage body heat.

Whether hiking, fishing or enjoying other outdoor fun on excessively hot days, stay hydrated, limit extreme activities, and keep enjoying the Maine outdoors safely.

• •

¶

Correction on Striper Slot Limit A column on Maine’s striped bass season in the July issue (page 35) mis-stated the minimum size for a “keeper” bass.

The correct description of the limit from the regulation is as follows: The fish must be equal to or greater than 28 inches, and less than 35 inches, total length.

The Sportsman thanks sharp-eyed readers who “caught” the editor’s error.

Stripers have been running big off the Maine coast this summer. Even if Ian Sawyer of Lyman was not a “catch and release” kind of guy, he would have had to let this one go, since at 45” long, it’s 10 inches longer than the 35” maximum slot limit. “Best June ever,” reported Sawyer.

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 17

ATV Maintenance Basics

by Steve Carpenteri

Chad Whittemore of Whittemore & Sons opined that the single most useful modern accessory for any ATV is a winch. “When you get a full-size fourwheel-drive ATV stuck in mud, water or sand, the only practical way to get it out is with a winch,” he said.

It’s a common joke among owners of any mechanical device that the first thing to be ignored is the owner’s manual. Failing to properly maintain a toaster, blender or similar household device can often be overlooked, but when it comes to bigger, mo-

torized tools and toys, the Gods of Maintenance are not so forgiving.

Letting your snowblower, lawnmower, rototiller or plow go without regular, annual routine maintenance can result in frustrating breakdowns and costly re-

ATVing, Fishing, Hunting, Hiking & Wildlife Viewing!

pairs that can only shorten the life of the machine, void the warranty and ruin your investment.

The same goes for ATVs, snowmobiles and other recreational vehicles. “Used but not abused” is a great selling point when these machines go on

A brush bar coupled with a 1,000-pound winch are among the more practical accessories for a Maine sportsman’s ATV. Photos by Steve Carpenteri

the second-hand market, but in most cases it is “buyer beware,” because few original

Moose Trail ATV System

owners of these products spend the time and money it takes (Continued on next page)

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ATVing in Maine (Continued from page 17)

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LEWISTON Central Maine Powersports 845 Main Street 207-689-2345 www.centralmainepowersports.com WARNING: Polaris® off-road vehicles can be hazardous to operate and are not intended for on-road use. Driver must be at least 16 years old with a valid driver’s license to operate. Passengers, if permitted, must be at least 12 years old. All riders should always wear helmets, eye protection, and protective clothing. Always use seat belts and cab nets or doors (as equipped). Never engage in stunt driving, and avoid excessive speeds and sharp turns. Riding and alcohol/drugs don’t mix. All riders should take a safety training course. Call 800-342-3764 for additional information. Check local laws before riding on trails. ©2022 Polaris Industries Inc.

www.MaineSportsman.com

Follow the Instructions Every new ATV comes with an owner’s manual that contains all of the necessary annual maintenance recommendations, instructions and specifications designed to keep the machine running smoothly season after season. It’s a good bet that most new owners will follow the instructions on changing the oil and filters, but many of the other routine maintenance suggestions are likely to be overlooked or even ignored unless the machine is returned to the dealer for updates each year.

In most cases, dealer maintenance is the easiest, cheapest and most dependable route to ensure long-term, dependable operation and performance. In addition, well-maintained ATVs are also the most valuable when it comes time to sell or trade many years and miles down the road.

According to Chad Whittemore at Whittemore & Sons in

Skowhegan, failure to properly maintain an ATV is the most common issue plaguing those with ATVs, even though most maintenance procedures are clearly explained in the owner’s manual.

“Sometimes something as simple as replacing the air filter can make all the difference,” Whittemore said, noting that in extremely dusty conditions, the filter should be cleaned or replaced as often as every 200 miles.

Whittemore also said that routine inspections of tire pressure and CV joints can noticeably extend the life of the machine.

DIY – or Not? ATV owners with a mechanical bent and the proper tools and facilities can perform the majority of maintenance procedures on their own. The owner’s manual will spell out which tools and supplies are needed, as well as when parts, belts and other equipment should be changed or replaced.

Most manuals include a maintenance schedule that includes when or how often these procedures should be implemented. If the owner has the time, knowledge and tools necessary for successful completion of these (Continued on next page)

ATV SXS 6-Wheel 8-Wheel 232 Jericho Road, Berlin, NH (603) 215-6002 www.JerichoOutdoors.net

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 19 (Continued from page 18)

tasks, their new ATV should perform flawlessly for many years when operated and maintained per the manufacturer’s instructions.

Best Improvements Chad Whittemore noted that ATVs have vastly improved since the late 1960s. Some of the early machines were downright dangerous. Not only were those early ATVs heavy, awkward, poorly balanced and difficult to operate, but they were also generally unsafe and prone to frequent breakdowns.

“Over the years, manufacturers have put a lot of work into stability, improved suspensions, safer cab designs and other innovations that were aimed specifically at ATVs and their users,” Whittemore said.

“Today’s ATVs are not only bigger and more stable, but they are much safer and easier to use.”

Safety Accessories All things considered, Whittemore said that the single most useful modern accessory for any ATV is a winch.

“When you get a typical, modern fourwheel-drive ATV stuck in mud, water or sand, the only practical way to get it out is with a winch,” he said. Other common methods, such as using planks and logs, shovels and other excavating tools invariably damage the machine or create additional problems that can reduce the value of the machine.

The Right Choice Anyone entering the ATV market will immediately notice the wide variety of machines available, ready to meet the needs of a broad spectrum of uses and riders. Some ATVs are designed and meant for off-road use, racing or back-country exploring. Other, larger units are designed for use on flat ground, or on properties with established roads and trails that allow

ATVs to travel (safely when applicable) at speeds up to 45 mph.

Some ATVs contain roofs and windshields, dump bodies, trailer hitches and various other adaptations, de-

pending upon where and when they will be used.

Because ATV prices can run well over $10,000, it is important for the buyer to consider all options

and expectations before deciding on the machine that best suits the purchaser’s needs.

¶

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©2022 Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP). All rights reserved. ®, ™ and the BRP logo are trademarks of BRP or its affiliates. In the U.S.A., products are distributed by BRP US Inc. Some vehicles depicted may include optional equipment. BRP highly recommends that all ATV drivers take a training course. For safety and training information, see your dealer or, in USA, call the ATV Safety Institute at 1-800-887-2887. In Canada, call the Canadian Safety Council at (6131 739-1535 ext 227. Read the Operators Guide and watch the Safety DVD before riding. Wear appropriate protective clothing and helmet. For side-by-side vehicles, fasten lateral net and seat belt at all times. Never engage in stunt driving and avoid excessive speed. Always observe applicable local laws and regulations. Side-by-side vehicles and ATVs are recommended for drivers aged 16 and older, and passengers aged 12 and older only. For off-road use only. Never ride on paved surfaces or public roads. Always ride responsibly and remember that riding and alcohol/drugs don’t mix.

www.MaineSportsman.com

20 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Successful Bear Hunting –

Patience is the Key

by Steve Carpenteri

Maine’s bear-baiting industry took off in the 1980s right around the time that the spring bear season was eliminated. In short order, bear hunters (and guides) discovered that bears not only came to baits routinely and frequently during the August and September season, but the season itself (early fall) proved so popular with hunters that

Dan Wood at Woody’s Guide Service in Mayfield, Maine (207-212-9676) encourages hunters to use the bait site’s surroundings to help judge the size of a bear. “Experienced hunters spend a lot of time on their sites and let a lot of smaller bears go,” Wood said, noting that most of the biggest bears are often taken on Thursday and Friday each week. it continually produces some 70 percent of the state’s annual bear harvest.

As far as numbers are concerned, the

bear baiting season is a rousing success, but there is a glitch – Season after season, hunters tag young or immature bears rather than

mature adults, which means the breeding population is not being affected by the harvest.

Biologists have

been searching for ways for hunters to kill 1,500 more bruins per season, in an effort to stabilize the bear population. Unfortunately, too many immature bears are being taken by over-anxious hunters who, despite the earnest recommendations of their guides, shoot the first bear that shows up at the bait site.

(Continued on next page)

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Basic Training for Bear Hunters The majority of guided bear hunts include a pre-hunt training session in which the head guide explains the basics of hunting over bait, the best shots to take at baited bears and, most important, how to “size up” a bear that visits the bait site.

A common Maine scenario has the guide pick up his hunters after a hearty lunch.

He then delivers them to their stands for the day. The hunters remain at the bait site till legal shooting time ends (one-half hour after sunset).

In late August, for example, sunset is around 7:45 p.m. This means that a hunter might remain at the bait site for 6 hours or more (especially if he elects to hunt all day to intercept sneaky bears that come to the site during daylight hours).

That is a long sit by any standard, but this gives hunters plenty of time to size up bears that may come in at any time during the day.

Again, as a general rule, the biggest bears don’t show up till near dark. Smaller bears (cubs, sows with cubs, and yearlings) often come in early and eat their fill before the adult, mature bears come in for their share of the bounty.

This is why guides encourage their hunters to pass up smaller bears and look over the stand’s entire complement of bruins before taking a shot.

Hunters are reminded that the standard bear hunt over bait in Maine takes place from Monday through Saturday, giv-

If the bait bucket is 30 inches off the ground and the bear’s back bumps the bucket, he’s a shooter!

Photos by Steve Carpenteri

ing hunters plenty of time to look things over.

What Constitutes a Shooter?

In most cases, today’s bear guides set up their baits so a hunter can see a bear coming in and can measure its size based on the dimensions of the bait barrel, bucket or other enclosure. Some guides hang the bait bucket from a tree limb so it’s 30 inches or more off the ground. If a bear can walk under the bucket or into the barrel without touching, it’s a small bear; if its back bumps the bucket or if the bear can walk up and stick its head into the bait opening, it’s a shooter.

Be Patient!

Most reputable guides place their hunters on active bait sites where several bears may be coming in on a regular basis. The guide can’t possibly know when each bear will show up, but if he says there’s a big one using the site (based on bait use and trail-cam images), be prepared to wait it out. That biggest bear may show up right away, not for three hours or perhaps (and most likely) not till dusk. Some sites may have no activity for two or three days, but eventually that dominant bear will make an appearance. Use your full week of hunting time to

From the Hills of West Virginia

This looks like a nice bear, but he’s only a “tworinger” (about 150 pounds). Wait for a bear whose back is higher than the bait barrel.

your advantage.

Dan Wood at Woody’s Guide Service in Mayfield, Maine (207-212-9676) encourages hunters to use the bait site’s surroundings to help judge the size of a bear.

“Experienced hunters spend a lot of time on their sites and let a lot of smaller bears go,” Wood said, noting that most of the biggest bears are often taken on Thursday and Friday each week.

“We hang our baits so the bottom of the bucket is at eye level,” Wood added. “This makes a bear stand up, and gives the hunter a good look at the vital areas. Any bear that

can stick his head in the bucket at that height is a shooter.”

It’s not necessary or even advisable to shoot the first bear that comes in early Monday afternoon. This is why so many young, immature bears are taken each year.

In one camp last year, eight hunters tagged out the first day, and the biggest bear weighed in at 68 pounds – still just a yearling. Every hunter in camp shot the first bear they saw, and they were done hunting by the second day, leaving four days of good hunting opportunities hanging in the wind.

¶

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22 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

— Bear Hunting in Maine Special Feature — Here’s Why You Should Consider Bear Hunting

by Staci Warren From 2005 to 2010, Maine’s bear population experienced a 30% increase. According to Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s Harvest Report for 2020, licensed hunters need to harvest between 3,500-4,000 bear every season just to offset the rise in population from year to year.

With the exception of the last two years, Maine hasn’t been able to meet that objective.

In 2021, preliminary numbers indicate 3,768 bear were harvested. In 2020, 3,883

Bear hunting over bait accounts for 73% of all bear taken. Hunting with dogs takes 20%, while trapping and all other methods tied for 5%. The author expects the trapping percentage to steadily increase over the next few years. bear were harvested, resulting in 310,000 pounds of meat for freezers, which is approximately 79 pounds of processed meat per bear harvested.

The average boar weighs between 250 and 600 pounds, while sows range from 100 to 400 pounds.

Despite these num-

bers, Maine hunter participation remains low, at 33% of all big game licenses sold.

Three additional findings from the study: • Maine guides provided services to 89% of non-Mainers, who in turn accounted for 59% of the total bear

•

•

harvest.

Adult bears made up 94% of the harvest, and more boars than sows were taken.

With bear hunts ranging from $1,200 to $1,800, a significant amount of revenue comes into the State, which benefits

more than DIF&W. If you’re uncertain about bear hunting, then consider hiring a guide, at least for the first time. You’ll find it at least as addicting as all the other hunting you do, if not more.

Bait, Dogs or Trapping?

Bear hunting over bait remains the method with the highest rate of success at 73%. Hunting with dogs takes 20%, while trapping and all other methods tied for 5%.

With the new bear (Continued on next page)

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��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 23

A sow with cub showed up while I was trapping. The cub is standing near my trap. I pulled the trap when this happened, and trapped on another site. Staci Warren photos (Continued from page 22)

trapping education and permit system, along with increasing interest in bear trapping, I suspect the trapping percentage to steadily increase over the next few years.

Hunting over bait and trapping are the easiest methods for do-it-yourself hunts, and those tactics can be successful even for novice bear hunters.

How to Avoid Taking Sows with Cubs Hunting over bait provides the hunter with the ability to size up a bear using the barrel, allowing hunters to refrain from harvesting the first bear they see. I have experienced firsthand the benefit of hunting over bait to avoid taking a sow with cubs.

Another great way to make sure you don’t take a sow is the use of game cameras. As long as I don’t have a sow and cubs coming to my bait, I’ll put out my pipe trap; however, I have pulled my trap more than once due to late-season sow and cubs showing up. I also set my loop larger than normal, so if I do catch an unexpected sow, the bear has a good chance of getting free.

This bear came in during daylight hours and I wasn’t there! Not all big bear come in only at night. You need to be there, too.

Proper Care of the Meat and Hide Many hunters opt out of bear hunting because they are concerned they won’t know how to handle the meat properly. The most important thing about bear hunting is shot placement. Avoid penetrating the gut cavity, and to make certain to cool the bear down immediately to prevent spoilage.

This means you can’t hang it outside

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in the heat overnight, and you need to pack it full of ice just like you would a moose, especially if you have to transport it any distance.

The hide must be cooled down before it’s rolled up and put in the freezer. Otherwise, it could still slip and ruin a great mount.

Try Some Tasty Bear Meat Recipes For years, we used an old refrigerator to

help us keep the meat cool, but last year we built an insulated room in our barn that uses an air-conditioner and CoolBot® (https:// www.storeitcold.com/) that drops the temp to 40 degrees, so we’ll be able to use for all of our game.

Our freezer is full of bear meat that we’ve been using for lots of great recipes such as bear pot roast (Continued on next page)

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24 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Bear Hunting (Continued from page 23)

We called this fellow “Little Bear.” We knew he was coming in, so we were able to pass on him, avoiding the mistake of misjudging his size in the excitement of seeing a bear.

Quotable

Sportsman

by Will Lund

“What are you doing here in the woods?”

“Counting deer droppings. I am a wildlife biologist.”

“So you went to college for that?”

Exchange between Ron Joseph, as a young wildlife biologist, and a woman he encountered in the woods, after he explained that his assignment that day was to estimate whitetail populations by counting piles of deer droppings on designated milelong lines through the forest. This anecdote is one of

in a crock-pot, pulled bear meat, chili, tacos, meat for spaghetti, and meatloaf. We’ve also made several types of sausage, and this year, we’re going to have some of our bear made into bear bacon! These types of recipes ensure you’re getting the meat thoroughly cooked but still delicious.

many found in Joseph’s book, Bald Eagles, Bear Cubs, and Hermit Bill: Memoirs of a Wildlife Biologist, scheduled for release next month, and currently available for pre-order through Islandport Press.

— “The constitutional right to bear arms in public for self-defense is not a second-class right, subject to an entirely different body of rules than the other Bill of Rights guarantees.”

U.S. Supreme Court, in the case New York State Rifle & Pistol Assoc. v. Superintendent of the NY State Police. The ruling struck down New York’s law requiring any applicant for a concealed weapon permit to first show “proper cause” why such a license should be granted.

— “Having 18 pounds with three bass is unreal. At the tackle store, they said that they’ve never even heard of 18 pounds coming from three fish.”

Fallon Clepper, age 17, of Texas, the first-ever female high school national

So let’s get that Maine hunter participation rate higher; and if you are moose permit holder, you have to try it so that you can get your Grand Slam patch in addition to some great meat for the family!

¶

Fallon Clepper

fishing champion, describing her team’s good fortune on the first day of the tournament. Clepper and her boat partner, fellow student Wyatt Ford, bested 235 other teams in a three-day competition last month on Pickwick Lake in Alabama. Washington Post story by Caroline Pineda. Clepper said she hoped her success would serve as an example for girls across the country who want to pursue outdoor sports.

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��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 25

Charter Boats Located in Mid-Coast Maine

by Sam Wheeler

Marsh River Outfitters

Based out of Monroe, Marsh River Outfitters offers fishing excursions in both the morning and afternoon, with customary trip lengths of four and six hours. The primary saltwater species targeted are striped bass, mackerel and pollock.

Locations range from the Kennebec River to different spots along Maine’s Mid-coast.

This year, Captain Andrew Gibbs has

In the second of three charter and head-boat regional profiles, the author ventures to the MidCoast, where boat captains bring anglers to areas including the Kennebec River, the New Meadows River, the coast off Reid State Park and Popham Beach, and even Belfast. put a lot of his focus on the Belfast area.

His primary methods of catching the highly sought-after gamefish are spinning and trolling rods.

Gibbs, who founded his guide business in 2015, says he wel-

comes people of all experience levels to come out for a day of fishing on the water. One of the things the avid outdoorsman says he enjoys most about guiding fishing trips is the challenge of putting other people on

fish and the end result of them reeling one in.

Gibbs says there is a lot of preparation that goes into a successful trip before his clients even set foot in the boat.

“We’re constantly looking for different

coastal areas, finding out where the fish are moving. We spend quite a bit of time beforehand trying out different lures, bait and techniques,” he said.

Trips are offered primarily June through August, with a few in September also.

Gibbs said the best way for people to book their fishing adventure is by phone at (207) 323-9713.

(Continued on next page)

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26 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Charter Boats (Continued from page 25)

North Creek Guide Service

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One of Captain John Nowinski’s favorite things about his job is the look of excitement that appears on a client’s face after the customer catches a fish.

“I love making people get excited,” said Nowinski, who’s run North Creek Guide Service since 1992.

His 20-foot Carolina Skiff is currently docked at New Meadows Marina in Brunswick on the New Meadows River – one of the two primary spots he guides clients, with the other being the Kennebec River.

Nowinski is an avid fisherman whose experience with charter services dates back to the late 1970s. He says he devotes about 90 percent of his time targeting stripers, but if bluefish are around, he’ll spend a little time chasing them, too. However, as of late, there have not been enough bluefish around to make them worth chasing.

“I haven’t seen dependable numbers in a while,” Nowinski said.

Recently, the case has been if he’s caught one, which happens a few times each season, it will occur inadvertently while his boat is fishing for stripers.

His typical striper season runs from late May to late September, and he says a lot of his trips these days are with families.

His usual methods of catching stripers consist of tube and worm rigs, and trolling and casting with Rapalas and various types of jig

lures.

On the occasions he gets fly fishermen looking to catch some stripers, which is usually earlier on in the season, he’ll take them to the flats at daybreak to see if they can hook one.

And when it comes to another favorite part of job, it’s all about the kids.

“One of the reasons we take out a lot of kids is because of the excitement they experience once they hook a nice striper and it’s all they can do to hang on to it,” he said.

People who want to get in on the fun can book a trip by simply calling the Captain at (207) 831-2922.

Obsession Charters

Dave Pecci caught his first striped bass when he was ten years old, and to say he’s been obsessed with targeting these fish ever since, may be an understatement. Now a captain with more than thirty years’ experience, Pecci says there are few places remaining in the Kennebec River where fish can hide from him.

He has two the boats, Obsession and Obsession II, with the former being the larger. If people want to fish just artificial lures or if the group is on the larger side, he’ll use his 22’ cuddy cabin, while if customers want to fly fish, which Pecci says is the most popular method among clients, he’ll gas up his 18’ skiff boat.

The captain says he targets mostly stripers, but will fish (Continued on next page)

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 27 (Continued from page 26)

for bluefish if they are present. He also used to guide offshore shark fishing trips, but now he prefers staying closer to the coastline.

Usual destinations for stripers are the Kennebec River, or near Reid and Popham Beaches, waters Pecci has fished most of his life.

“The neatest thing for me is seeing my home water through someone else’s eyes who’s never seen it be-

fore,” Pecci said.

A typical season for him runs from late May/early June to the end of September.

He offers four and six hour trips, and prefers morning trips whenever possible.

“With flies and artificial lures, you got to get out early,” Pecci said. “A typical day is five a.m. to noon.”

The captain admitted that although it’s challenging to get clients into the boat that early, it’s also some of

the best times to catch fish.

“The low light conditions mean fish will be up in the water column and closer to the surface, and in the early morning they also won’t have as much boat pressure on them,” he reveals.

People can book their trip by texting, calling or emailing Pecci, or by visiting his website, ObsessionCharters.com.

¶

A client of Marsh River Outfitters poses with a nice striper. Photo: Marsh River

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28 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

“Chunking” is Deadly on Stripers!

One of the most popular techniques for taking striped bass along the Maine coast is also one of the easiest – tossing out a hunk of baitfish.

Known widely as “chunking,” it’s simply impaling a chunk – usually of fresh or frozen mackerel, pogy, herring, or harbor pollock – onto a hook, and casting it out into productive striper territory. It may sound like a

no-brainer, but there are a few tips and tricks that can help you “up” your catch that are worth passing along.

First off, fresh bait is best. Period. I know, it’s not always possible to obtain fresh bait, but I’ve found that it usually out-fishes frozen bait. You can buy frozen mackerel, and sometimes pogies, at bait shops, and the only advice I have is to

keep the fish as cold as possible for as long as possible, so they don’t turn mushy.

A lot of striper sharpies freeze their own fresh bait, particularly mackerel. If you want to do this, you can increase the quality of the chunks dramatically if you brine the fish first.

You can make a brining solution out of water mixed with kosher salt and baking soda,

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Jeff Pendleton of Wiscasset displays a big striper taken on a chunk of mackerel fished on the bottom from the author’s boat. Chunking can produce some of the biggest bass of the season.

Steve Rubicam photo

or use a commercially-available powder product such as Bionic Brine. Follow the directions (or check out YouTube) before you freeze your macks, and when you’re ready to use them they’ll be firm, reasonably tough, and bright colored.

Steaks Are High The most basic chunking method is to cast out a 1” to 3” “steak” of mackerel (my hands-down favorite) or other fish, and let it sit on the bottom. I like 3” chunks of a 12” or so mackerel, or the whole body

(minus head and tail) of a smaller mackerel, because I want enough weight to be able to cast the bait out where I want it without having to add a sinker. I make up a 24” leader of 25-pound fluorocarbon, and snell on a 6/0 to 8/0 circle hook.

I snap the leader into a ball bearing snap swivel tied to the end of my fishing line, and I’m ready to roll.

A couple of tips: I don’t use a whole mackerel, even a small one, because I like some scent to leach into the water from the cuts where I “steaked” (Continued on next page)

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 29 (Continued from page 28)

the bait. I don’t use the head of the baitfish by itself – no real reason; it’s just that I’ve always had better luck with a baitfish’s mid-section. I also cut off the tail, as it adds wind resistance and cuts down on casting distance. Also, I’ll hook the chunk through the bait’s backbone so it’s less likely to fly off during the cast, and I’ll leave plenty of bend and barb exposed in order to better hook the bass – hence the relatively large hooks.

Getting Crabby Crabs? I hate ’em!

Often, especially when the tide is slack at low water, crabs will start crawling around looking for a nice juicy chunk of mackerel to eat. And they’ll find one. Yours. You’ll need to reel in your bait every couple of minutes to check it, and perhaps disentangle a teed-off crab that has wrapped its claws up in your leader.

One crab remedy is to slide a small foam float with a hole in it onto your leader about 6” up from the hook, and fasten it with a toothpick. You may have to experiment with the size of the float, but it can raise your bait up off the bottom, and (sometimes) out of reach of the crabs.

Wait For It! Bottom-chunking for bass is a game of “Wait for it!” There’s little you can do except stare at your rod tip. I fish my rods in rod holders with the bails closed and the drags set at about five pounds. When a bass picks up the chunk, it’ll move off with the bait in its mouth, but

as soon as there’s resistance from the line, the bait will start to be pulled out of its mouth and the hook will usually catch in the fish’s jaw hinge. That’s when the rod will arch over, indicating a hooked bass. So, no need to try and set the hook.

In fact, attempting to set the hook is counter-productive, as you’ll actually lose a lot of fish by doing so.

You can also fish a chunk under a foam or hard-plastic bobber.

I’ve had my best luck in four to ten feet of water, with the bait three or four feet under the float. This is also a good way to beat the crab problem. When the bobber abruptly goes under, point the rod tip at it and start reeling as fast as you can. This will pull the bait out of the striper’s throat, and the hooks should, again, catch harmlessly in the jaw hinge.

Although not technically chunking, another deadly method is to drift along a rocky shoreline with the tide

and toss a mackerel fillet right in tight against the rocks.

Bass feed in this zone, grabbing morsels dislodged by wave action. Cast the fillet (no sinker) and wait for a

striper to pick it up.

Again, point your rod tip where you think the fish is, and simply reel fast.

Chunking for stripers. It might not be sexy, and purist fly

fishers might turn up their noses, but it sure produces lots of big Maine bass each season!

¶

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Backpacking the Right Way Something always comes up at the last minute, says the author, to mess up weeks of planning. Two days before his most recent trip, one member of their trio bailed out. The author won’t name names (Gavin), but he says the late notice was difficult to accommodate.

It’s tough to plan a backpacking or camping trip. It seems like something always causes it to fall apart: weather, gear issues, weddings, funerals, flaky friends … sound familiar? Let me be clear. I’m not encouraging you to skip a wedding to go camping (especially if it’s

your own). But these adventures are tough to keep together; they deserve their own set of squares on the calendar.

Whether you’re planning for a weeklong outing along the Allagash, or an overnight in the wilds of Eastern Maine (that’s me), there’s a lot to

Trophy Gallery

Joseph Vanadestine of Hartland, ME earned his “One That Didn’t Get Away” club patch by pulling this lunker togue out of Moosehead Lake on May 30, 2022. The fish, caught on a smelt, weighed 15.8 lbs, and it was 33” long with a 20” girth. It was certified and witnessed by the folks at Moosehead Trail Trading Post. www.MaineSportsman.com

consider. If you’re standing in your garage, looking at the stack of brand new gear that’s at least twice the size of the backpack you have, don’t worry! We’ve all been there. Well, I have, at least. There’s a lot to getting packed for a trip like this, but here are some basics: • Get the right pack. It may seem insignificant, but your pack is the backbone of your trip. If you’re going to be backpacking any distance, comfort is vitally important.

After much searching, I recently purchased an external frame pack. They’re considered “dated” by most, but wine is supposed to get better with time, why wouldn’t this? I went the external frame route, over the modern, sleek, internal frame route, because of durability and versatility. With a metal frame on the outside, you can secure more to the outside of your pack; it’s much easier to access. My fly rod doesn’t fit inside the pack safely, but I can lash the rod tube to the frame, and off I go, causing recreational hikers with their internal-frame packs to stare in wonder.

The author (left) prepares to head out on a backpacking trip with a friend.

• Plan for the worst, hope for the best. I live by this motto. I recently hiked to a remote trout pond for an overnight camping and fishing excursion. I had planned it all out, months in advance, with two of my friends. We picked a weekend, and the weather just kept looking better and better. Warm and a lot of sun. Not the best trout conditions, but great for camping.

Two days before the great send-off, one friend (yes, I’m talking about you) bailed out on us.

I won’t name names (Gavin), but the late notice was difficult to work with. We decided to proceed with the trip, despite the tragic absence of our friend. On the morning of the trip, I woke up to steady rain and a grumpy remaining friend. What a combo!

I’m glad I packed a rain suit, even though the forecast called for clear skies. It ended up being damp all weekend. My camping hammock got swinging violently in the night, as well, as a thunderstorm passed over our campsite. I

was well-prepared, despite the fact that the weatherman had done a woefully inadequate job predicting the meteorological conditions.

• Unpack early.

When you arrive back to civilization, unpack your gear right off the bat. Don’t let it sit outside, or inside, for weeks on end. A shower will take priority over unpacking, but once that’s out of the way, your gear should be organized and put away. This is better for your gear.

If your tent got damp, set it up to dry. It will grow mildew if left wet. Same with all of your other gear – put it away clean and dry after every use, and it won’t disappoint you.

Camping and backpacking are complex undertakings, and this quick guide doesn’t cover all of what you should know. However, it’s worth keeping some of this in mind on your next adventure.

If you pull it off successfully, your friends might even think you know what you’re doing.

¶

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 31

Maine Wildlife:

Maine Woodpeckers

by Tom Seymour

Maine is home to seven different woodpeckers. These are yellow-bellied sapsuckers, downy woodpeckers, hairy woodpeckers, three-toed woodpeckers, black-backed woodpeckers, northern flickers and pileated woodpeckers.

Below, I discuss four of them.

Northern Flickers One of these birds that qualifies as a woodpecker doesn’t really do as much pecking as the others. Northern flickers do probe under tree bark for insects, but are equally as happy on the ground foraging for ants, crickets, grasshoppers and beetles. Flickers will also feed on wild fruit.

In October, during bird season, flickers have the annoying habit of foraging in woodcock covers and flushing where the hunter would expect woodcock. This makes the old warning about making sure of your target doubly important.

My grandpa referred to flickers as “high-holes.” This was a common, turnof-the-century name or flickers, and it was based upon their habit of occupying nesting holes high atop dead or dying trees.

Pileated Woodpeckers Pileated woodpeckers, crow-sized woodpeckers, get into pecking wood in a big way. Instead of leaving sawdust or small particles on the ground beneath where they peck, pileated woodpeckers leave large slivers of wood. Their holes, rather than being round, are roughly oval, and large enough that a gray squirrel or even a somewhat larger animal could fit in them. When a pileated woodpecker begins its springtime ritual of drumming on a standing dead tree, such as the thousands of poplars killed during the ice storm of 1998, the resulting sound is similar to someone playing a snare drum. It’s loud, and if the woodpecker is within hearing range, it’s annoying, especially at first light, when they begin their day.

I once had to prove to a friend that pileated woodpeckers only pecked on dying or compromised trees. He wrongly maintained that the woodpeckers were

Pileated Woodpecker

the cause of dying conifers on my woodlot. To prove my point, I cut down a large number of fir trees that exhibited pileated woodpecker holes. And as you might guess, every tree had heart rot and was filled with carpenter ants – one of the big woodpeckers’ favorite foods.

Pileated woodpeckers have a long, rasp-like tongue with barbs like porcupine quills. When it locates an insect, it shoots its tongue forward, impaling the hapless insect. The skewered insect can’t slide off the tongue because of the barbs.

Pileated woodpeckers are easily identified in flight by their metered, sweeping wingbeats, and their brilliant-red crest, or topknot. Pileated woodpeckers are considered uncommon in New England, but in Midcoast Maine where I live, they are quite common. Big, colorful, pileated woodpeckers are the quintessential “Woody Woodpecker.”

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers I can’t help but think of Miss Jane, the birdwatcher, on the TV show The Beverly Hillbillies. Miss Jane was always depicted, binoculars in hand and wearing safari gear, exclaiming, “A yellow-bellied sapsucker!” This got me and countless other viewers to thinking that yellow-bellied sapsuckers were some kind of rare bird – perhaps visitors from the tropics. The reason sapsuckers seemed so foreign to me was that they are shy and reclusive. It is possible that I saw them in flight, but was as of yet unable to identify them on the wing.

However, while I had yet to identify a yellow-bellied sapsucker on the wing, I had certainly seen signs of their presence. Sapsuckers feed by drilling symmetrically aligned holes in trees, notably apple, birch and sometimes poplar. These hole patterns look very predetermined, almost manmade.

Sapsuckers drill these holes not only to drink the sap that flows out of them – they only drill on live trees – but also to feed on the insects that are attracted by the sweet sap. This all came together for me many years ago and it neatly summarized the mystery of those intriguing patterns on trees.

Immediately it all made sense. Also, it appears that sapsuckers make regular visits to the same tree, because I have seen trees that were absolutely riddled with sapsucker holes, both old and new.

It might be that such trees have sweeter sap than others, owing to nutrients in the soil where they grow, amount of sunlight and who-knows-what?

It’s too bad Miss Jane created such an air of suspense concerning what otherwise is a fairly common and likeable woodpecker. And no, you needn’t wear khaki and pith helmet to spy a yellow-bellied sapsucker.

Old Fidgety Hairy woodpeckers, common visitors to suet feeders, drive me nuts with their fidgeting and posturing.

A hairy woodpecker will land near a suet feeder and act as though it is deliberating whether or not to proceed any further. If it finally does hop on the feeder, it turns its head this way and that, seemingly afraid to take the first bit of suet because some unseen force may attack it. Watching, I holler, “Come on. Do it. Don’t worry.”

Woodpeckers don’t have sweet songs, but their habits, their colors and their antics are enough to endear them to us. www.MaineSportsman.com

32 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

The August Salmon Bite

by Brian Conner

For most Maine sportsmen enduring a hot summer, August doesn’t call to mind prime salmon fishing.

But for Rick Labbe, the fishing is as hot as the weather. In fact, August is his favorite month—other than May—for salmon. “A lot of people think this month is dead because it’s been such a hot summer and all the fish are down deep,” Rick said. “But the fish seem to be really hungry.”

“I think they bite the best in the middleto-end of August,” he continued. “They’re going into the transition from summer to the fall spawning season, and that’s why they’re really hungry. The females are putting the

www.MaineSportsman.com

eggs on, and the males are building up their strength.”

Rick primarily fishes Moosehead Lake from his camp in Rockwood, trolling in 60- to 100-foot depths, with his downriggers or lead core line at around 50 feet, where the salmon are in early August. “When I’m trolling for salmon, I troll about 2.2 to 2.5 miles per hour with lures and spoons,” Rick said. “That seems to be the magic speed.”

Technique is Everything In the middle of August, as the nights start to get cooler and the surface temperature of the lake drops from 70 to 60 degrees, Rick finds that the salmon move up to

around 30 feet, hovering just under the thermocline and moving up above it to feed on warmwater baitfish. “Fish always look up, so you might see fish on your fish finder at 35 feet, and you want to put your bait at 30 feet,” Rick said.

“I always try to set my downrigger three to five feet above where the fish are.”

“Trolling at 2.2 to 2.5 mph, my lead core line sinks 5-6 feet per color,” he continued.

“So when I want to be at that 30-foot mark, five or five-and-a-half colors is what I usually run my lead core.”

Rick uses both downriggers and lead core line, but he prefers lead core. “You get different action

Rick Labbe of Rockwood with a Moosehead Lake salmon. This month, Labbe recommends using a downrigger or lead core line (or both) to troll a spoon or lure about 50 feet down, in water that’s between 60 and 100 feet deep. Moving at 2.2 to 2.5 miles per hour is what he calls the “magic speed.”

on your lure when using lead core,” Rick said. “It gives it a belly and causes the lure or spoon to act a little bit different.”

And although Rick has been salmon fishing his whole life, he picked up a new technique this past spring from fellow Big Woods Bucks team member Neil Pendleton: use lead core on the down-

rigger to get that desirable lead core action. As for lures and spoons, Rick prefers Northeast Trollers and DB Smelts.

Trophy Fish What makes for a trophy salmon in these parts? According to Rick, any fish in the 20-inch range is a good (Big Woods World continued on page 35)

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 33

A Case to Open Archery Season Sooner August has always been my favorite month to scout deer. Sure, daytime temperatures often top 80 and even 90 degrees early in the month, but because of the fast-changing food sources, deer become more visible by month’s end. Green fields and maturing cornfields in my area become destination food sources, and deer move quickly to take advantage of these high-protein and high-carbohydrate foods. On a calm, cooler evening, there’s no

If recruiting new hunters, selling more licenses and harvesting more deer is a goal of Maine’s DIF&W, an earlier archery season opener makes a great deal of sense, argues the author. better place to watch bachelor groups and get an idea of what caliber bucks live on a particular farm.

Currently, if a Maine bowhunter wants to hunt before October, they must hunt in an expanded archery zone. Unfortunately, most Maine bowhunters don’t live close enough to expanded archery areas,

and we’re forced to watch deer in September instead of hunting them. In my opinion, there’s never been a better time to expand opportunities for our bowhunting crowd.

Recruiting More Hunters It’s obvious there’s a desire to recruit new hunters. In recent years, Maine DIF&W has changed the age

requirements and allowed our youngsters to hunt while under the supervision of an adult. We’re now allowing the use of crossbows during regular archery season.

Has this opportunity increased the numbers of hunters? I’m certainly seeing more people hunting deer in October than I have since I arrived in

Maine 30 years ago.

Archery season, especially warm-weather hunting, is a great way to introduce new hunters to our sport.

Sitting in a stand, wearing a lightweight shirt and camouflage pants, beats ascending a tree in cold weather wearing bulky garments. A comfortable hunter is more likely to have an enjoyable experience.

When hunters enjoy an experience, they’re more likely to continue.

There’s almost nothing that’ll turn a new (Continued on next page)

www.MaineSportsman.com

34 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Big Game

(Continued from page 33)

The author’s good friend, Thierry Bombeck, with an unusual antlered doe, taken during Maine’s September coastal archery hunt. Bombeck harvests does in September for his winter meat supply. He enjoys hunting in lightweight clothing, not having to worry about getting cold.

hunter away from our sport faster than getting chilled in cold weather.

The opportunity to see lots of deer is better early, as these animals are still in a summer feeding pattern.

Deer are easier to pattern when they’re focused on food and not on reproduction. Big buck hunters already know this phenomenon. Adult bucks are often at their most vulnerable during the rut, but most easily seen in early season when they’re focused on food. Deer that haven’t yet been disturbed by

small game and bird hunters are also less alert to the presence of man. This also makes them easier to harvest.

Shot opportunities are great, but increased sightings also keep new hunters coming back.

Never a Better Time for Our Deer Herd The increased deer numbers we’ve seen in central and southern Maine over the last few years present an opportunity to harvest more deer. A new antlerless deer permit system is clearly designed to increase the

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number of does and young-of-the-year taken each year. An earlier open to the archery season would present archers and crossbow hunters with an opportunity to contribute to the antlerless harvest.

For years, the biggest thing stopping archers from harvesting a doe was the fact they only had one tag. Shooting a doe was an option, but a kill meant there would be no chance at a buck.

That’s no longer true, at least for those hunters holding an antlerless deer permit.

Here’s an opportunity, just like our expanded archery hunt, to get bowhunters more involved in thinning our herd and contributing in a more meaningful way toward harvest goals. By lengthening archery season, we potentially increase hunter effort. That should increase the harvest numbers, especially those of antlerless deer.

I realize this won’t be a popular idea with some hunters, and I also realize many will like the idea enough to push it with IF&W. Critics will ask why archers should have more opportunity. My response is, we all (Continued on next page)

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��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 35 (Continued from page 34)

have the opportunity. Whether someone chooses to hunt deer with a recurve, long bow, crossbow, shot-

gun, rifle, in-line muzzleloader or flintlock, is an individual choice.

If recruiting new hunters, selling more licenses and harvesting

Big Woods World (Continued from page 32)

trophy salmon, “and anything bigger than that is an awesome fish.”

At Moosehead Lake, where Rick’s camp is located, the fish look the best he’s ever seen them: “They’re really fat,” Rick said, and he’s even seeing baitfish balls on the fish-finder which he’s never seen before there. “Moosehead is coming back around.”

Rick’s personal best? “I’ve caught salmon seven-and-a-half pounds, but not in Maine—up in Canada,” Rick said. “In Maine, my personal best is right around five-and-a-half pounds, and I’ve caught around 25 five-and-ahalf pounders in my life. But an average, really nice salmon, is 20 to 22 inches long here.”

According to Rick, there’s also good action to be found on the streams in

more deer is a goal of IF&W, an earlier archery season opener makes a huge amount of sense. Expanded archery season opens

in early September.

It’s my hope, someone within the department feels similarly and will push the idea. I believe it’s a winner

August with a fly rod and some dry flies. “August still has some hatches going on, and the salmon start to move around in those deeper pools,” Rick said. “They’ll be in those deep pockets, and right in the evening, fly fishing for salmon or brook trout, they’ll be in the head or the tail of the pool, at the first hour of daylight in the morning or the last hour of daylight in the evening. If there’s a hatch going on—brown moth, white moth, even mayflies—I fish a lot of multicolor mayflies.”

Hal’s Thoughts Rick Labbe is an all-around sportsman. He’s someone who spends most of his free time in the woods or on the water, somewhere.

I’ve always said that if you are a good hunter, then you will be a good fisherman. I say this because when you fish, you are actually hunting for fish, or at least you should be.

and it’ll bring Maine’s deer season more in line with other states where archery hunting is more popular.

¶

Early on in my lobstering career, I realized that I had to hunt for lobsters. I had to set my traps where they liked to live or hide. With a sounding machine to read the bottom, I could see the ridges and gullies just as if I was in the woods. This would change throughout the season, so moving traps around was the key to being consistent in catching them.

Rick is also on the hunt when he’s fishing. He has learned where the fish like to live at different times of the year, whether it’s depth or location. Experience has taught him that his lures or flies have to resemble their favorite food. Experience has taught him trolling speed and type of line used or presentation of a fly.

Don’t give up on fishing when the summer warms up, as the fish are somewhere in the water.

¶

MAINE WILDLIFE QUIZ: Maine’s Woodpeckers by Steve Vose

There are over 200 species of woodpeckers that can be found all around the globe – every place except in Australia, New Zealand and Madagascar.

Maine is home to 7 different types of woodpeckers, including the Downy, Hairy, Northern Flicker, Pileated, Yellow Bellied Sapsucker, American Three Toed, and Black Backed.

Maine’s woodpeckers range in size from the diminutive Downy (6 inches tall) to the hefty Pileated (19 inches tall), which is the largest woodpecker in North America.

The most common plumage colors for all woodpeckers are black, white, red and yellow. A few species also have orange, green, brown, maroon and gold in their coloration.

Neither gender of woodpeckers produces vocal songs. Instead, they drum on hollow trees and other resonant objects to attract mates, establish territories and communicate, and both males and females are known to drum.

Woodpeckers live in forests and

backyards, and have adapted to various other types of man-made habitats. In urban areas, woodpeckers are frequent visitors to suet feeders or nut feeders.

In the wild, woodpeckers hammer away on dead or decaying trees in search of wood-boring insects, while sapsuckers target live trees and eat the sap that runs out of the holes they make.

Due to a critical evolutionary trait,

Questions 1. How many species of woodpeckers are found around the globe?

2. How many species of woodpeckers exist in Maine?

3. What are the names of Maine’s woodpeckers?

4. Do woodpeckers produce vocal songs?

5. What evolutionary traits do woodpeckers possess that protect them from

Downy Woodpecker

woodpeckers don’t get headaches from pecking. Instead, they have reinforced skulls and cushioned brains that spread the impact force and protect them from injury.

Woodpecker breeding season begins in March and extends into May. During the start of the breeding season, males become increasingly threatening to other males and will aggressively defend breeding territory.

Woodpeckers are cavity nesters and create nests by excavating wood from trees. Excavation of holes typically takes woodpeckers 10-28 days. This construction is usually done by both the male and the female; sometimes the pair will produce one hole for breeding and another for roosting later in the year.

Woodpeckers are prey for feral cats, bobcats, foxes, hawks and coyotes.

Those woodpeckers lucky enough to avoid predation and accidents can live from 4 to 11 years, depending on the species. injury while pecking in trees?

6. When is woodpecker breeding season?

7. How long do woodpeckers typically live?

Answers on Page 51

www.MaineSportsman.com

36 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Time for Bronzebacks and Water Wolves This month features casting with poppers for acrobatic smallmouth bass, and trolling for huge “water wolves” – aka muskies – in the St. John River.

If you want to pick up the pace of conversation at a table full of Aroostook fishermen, wonder out loud if brook trout or landlock salmon is the more popular quarry.

I’ll confess to leaning toward wild brookies, mostly due to my adoration of wading woods-lined streams casting a dry fly or wet fly a good distance from civilization. I’ll also admit to enjoying fairly consistent action, so when dog day’s hot, humid weather and warming water conditions occur this month, I change quarry and locations.

Downrigger trolling isn’t really my cup of tea, although I

endure a couple of August outings to pass time; more often I haul my boat to Aroostook’s southernmost waterways for smallmouth bass or far North to the “Crown of Maine” for muskie. It’s a haul, and the price of gas is horrendous, but the topwater bass casting is fabulous, and it only takes one hookup to a double-digit size muskellunge to make the trip worthwhile.

Medway Madness Lakes comprise the bulk of bass waters in The County, and truth be told, a few are actually “Aroostook adjacent” but very close to the county border. One of the easiest waterways to drive to, how-

Allagash Lakes Region

ever, with a terrific launch area and boat ramp, and ever-dependable top water action, is actually a river. Drive I-95 from the south or either Route 11 or Route 1 from the north to reach I-95 and then take the Medway exit. Drive about a mile, and turn right onto the local riverside park loop, parking areas and launch ramp right on the big, beautiful Penobscot’s East branch.

There’s a wonderfully large launch turnaround and parking for a dozen trucks and boat trailers, a long stable wharf and a solid, wide launch ramp that will accommodate anything from

Bronzebacks are plentiful all along the rocky shoreline of the Penobscot River near Medway, and once in a great while, two fish will try to grab a topwater plug at the same time. All photos: Bill Graves

a bathtub to a barge.

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cover much more water.

There’s good fishing upstream from the boat ramp, but large boulders, old bridge stanchions and submerged rock piles require very careful navigation and slow travel as you toss baits.

Once anglers motor downstream under the large I-95 bridges, the river deepens and widens, offering dozens of bass-filled coves, backwaters and bogans. There’s also the chance to explore the West Branch, Salmon Stream and Pattagumpus Stream to get off the main river. It’s possible to fish well over a mile of this stretch of the Penobscot until the old Dam and Power Station blocks farther progress.

Boffo Baits Wacky-rigged 5-inch Senko worms (Continued on next page)

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 37

Here are a few of Bill Graves’ favorite noisy surface popper and chuggers for smallies on the Penobscot River.

(Continued from page 36)

are everyday fish takers and a great option for novice casters. But for my money, nothing beats August topwater casting and explosive strikes with Heddon Torpedos, Rebel PopRs, Rapala Skitter Props and dozens of other surface agitating, noisy, hard-body plugs. As soon as the sun drops behind the tree line, I head for a stump-strewn, lily pad-laden cove, and break out my fourpiece 5-weight fly rod and some surface poppers – then the fun really begins!

Generally, there are three of us casting from my 20’ Lund Alaskan, and we hopscotch from spot to spot from midafternoon to dusk.

An average outing is 25 smallies and 10 pickerel caught and released, and if we spot three other fishing boats, it’s rare. A handful of the acrobatic, aerobatic bronzebacks are always over 3 pounds. Check DeLorme’s Atlas, Map 43, grid B-5 for the boat launch area and Map 44, C-1 for the coves and streams downriver from the I95 bridge.

The hard-fighting, high leaping bass are always worth the extended drive.

Massive Muskie

Roger Shaw fights a bass in the 4-pound class while Clair Sylvester, also from Mars Hill, serves as net man during a Penobscot River outing.

Drive to the sign that signifies Mile 1 of Route 1, and you’re in Fort Kent and the heart of St. John Valley, looking out on the St. John River and the chance to catch huge muskellunge and big bronzeback bass.

There are a couple of boat launch sites at either end of Main Street to float a big canoe or moderate size V-hull, and bass can be boated all along this stretch. Don’t forget, the opposite riverbank is Canada – you can fish the water, but it’s illegal to go ashore without having gone through immigration procedures.

About 20 years ago, when muskie first appeared in the St. John River and tributaries, as well as Glazier and Beau Lakes, anglers and fisheries biologists were not pleased. Since that balloon couldn’t be unpopped, everyone has made lemonade from lemons, and double digit “water wolves”

have become accepted – even sought-out – gamefish. There’s now even an annual tournament with multiday community events that draw fishermen from far and wide.

The International Muskie Derby with some big money prizes will take place in Fort Kent August 12th to 14th. What a concept – an exciting, fun fishing outing, and a chance to get paid! Trolling is the key method for about 80% of the fish caught, while casting accounts for the rest, and about the same differential applies to muskie from the river compared to the lakes. The long, wide St. John abounds with great trolling runs and seems to produce more muskie each season, and crowding or overfishing are unlikely problems.

Even first-time fishermen won’t need a map to find the St. John River; it’s actually the hairline along the entire Crown of

Mary Morris of Augusta travels north to fish with her father, Sherby, on the St. John River.

Still going strong, octogenarian Carl Sjoberg of Caribou continues to put big bass in the boat from Aroostook ponds and rivers every chance he gets.

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��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 39

Gear Up for Muskie

by Bill Graves

When it comes to selecting muskie baits for trolling, the author says it’s “Go Big or Go Home.” All of his hard baits and plastic bait fish imitations are 5 to 10 inches in length.

When muskellunge from Canadian waters somehow infiltrated Maine’s St. John River, its tributaries, and several connected lakes and ponds, it was considered a terrible blow to the local trout and salmon fisheries.

Fast forward a couple of decades, and Maine fishermen as well as anglers from across the U.S. and a bunch of foreign countries flock to the St. John River Valley communities to fish muskie. There’s even a big money annual tournament (see promotion on previous page), and these mammoth, toothy denizens weighing 30 pounds and more that were earlier much maligned are now the center of attention.

When it’s time for your first venture, plan ahead and rig up with sturdy gear. Muskies are referred to as “the fish of 10,000 casts,” and equipment failure is never a good way to

end the story of a rookie outing.

The Rod Since most Maine “water wolves” are caught while trolling with large, heavy plugs and lures, a fairly long rod with plenty of backbone is a must.

I use an Abu Garcia 7’9” graphite one-piece Veritas with titanium guides and long fighting butt. The rod power is heavy, and the rod action is fast.

Reel and Line This rod may be used for casting or trolling, which is a great asset, and I can switch over quickly by simply changing reels.

I much prefer a spinning reel for casting long, hard-body plugs.

For trolling, I fitted my rod with a low-profile bait casting reel – a Revo Beast by Abu Garcia made specially to handle big fish, and loaded it with 40 lb. test Mark V braided line manufactured by Berkley.

Muskie make long runs and fight fierce-

First-time muskie anglers should acquire a few pieces of gear that will help attract, hook and play this large, toothy quarry.

ly, especially in a swift river, so select a reel with 6 to 10 bearings, an easy-to-reach-andoperate star drag of at least 25 lbs. and a minimum 5-to-1 gear ratio, with a 25” to 35” line retrieve per handle rotation.

A wide double handle with large, soft grip knobs is an asset for long fights. The braided line has no stretch or give at the strike and during the tug of war, so is superior to monofilament and level lines, and it’s also more abrasion-resistant.

snap lock for the bait eye.

Wire “Shock Leader” Regardless of the line selected, few will endure the friction against a muskie’s sharp dental equipment for very long; thus, it is imperative to use a wire shock leader between line and lure. My choice is a 12”, 20-lb. test, nylon-coated wound wire Berkley leader, with a barrel swivel for the line knot and a sturdy

Lures When it comes to selecting muskie baits for trolling, it’s “Go Big or Go Home” in my book. All of my hard baits and plastic bait fish imitations are 5 to 10 inches in length.

Two sets of trebles are OK, but a trio of hooks improves your odds.

Savage Gear offers a truly realistic 10” soft-body sucker, and Storm flat stick and Thunder stick hard

Saul Morris of Fort Kent, the author’s nephew, caught this monster muskie while trolling Glazier Lake. Sturdy equipment is a must to withstand the battle of a hard-fighting “water wolf.”

Rod, reel, braided line, steel leaders and the right baits all combine to successfully bring Maine’s largest freshwater game fish to the net.

plugs are very realistic in color and movement through the water.

Check out Cotton Cordell, Sennett Tackle and Sebile for their diverse muskie bait options.

Big, strong, toothy quarry require tough equipment and a good bit of angler perseverance, so gear up and visit the St. John Valley to do battle with Maine’s largest freshwater gamefish this summer.

¶

Writer Bill Graves snapped this photo of Tom Wolters as they trolled the St. John River near Van Buren for muskie last fall. Note the extra rods on the seat, rigged and ready should a line break or a lure hang up and be lost. www.MaineSportsman.com

40 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Maine’s Most Commonly Overlooked Outdoor Laws Even the most conscientious sportsmen have probably broken some laws over the years. Here is a list of Maine laws you may not know about.

Fishing • Possession Limit: A person shall not possess at any time more fish than may lawfully be taken in one day.

Note: This means your possession limit is the same as your daily limit, and fish in your freezer count, so get eatin’!

• Possessing Gift Fish: A person who does not possess a valid fishing license issued under chapter 913 may not possess a fish or any part of a fish given to that person except a person may possess in that person’s domicile a gift fish that was lawfully caught and is plainly labeled with the name of the person who gave the fish and the year, month and day that person caught the fish. This section does not apply to baitfish.

Note: Just so long as I don’t have to divulge where the fish was caught ….

• Advance Baiting: It is unlawful to deposit any meat, bones, dead fish, or other food material in inland waters for the purpose of luring fish.

Note: This applies to inland waters, and baiting a baitfish trap is exempt.

• Removal of Heads and Tails: It is unlawful to alter the length of landlocked salmon, trout, togue, lake whitefish, or bass, unless the fish are being prepared for immediate cooking. It is unlawful to possess or transport fish dressed in such a manner that the species of fish cannot be identified, unless the fish are being prepared for immediate cooking (smoking does not constitute cooking).

Note: So put that filet knife away until you’re ready to eat! www.MaineSportsman.com

are required to report to your local game warden, and surrender to MDIFW any that are taken during legal waterfowl hunting activities. There is no penalty for reporting this incident.

Note: It does, however, count in your bag limit.

The author is breaking at least two laws here. Number 1: She does not have a life jacket on board; Number 2: She does not have a whistle on board. And Number 3: If she is collecting payment for teaching a SUP yoga class, she must first obtain a Recreational Guide license. Photo: Travis Elliott

Hunting • Possessing Gift Meat: A person may not possess any part or parts of a deer, bear, moose or turkey given to that person unless that gift meat is plainly labeled with the name of the person who registered it and the year that person registered the animal.

Note: This would be a good idea even if it weren’t the law.

• Hunter Orange Exceptions: A person may not hunt with firearms or crossbows during the open firearm season on deer unless that person is wearing 2 articles of hunter orange clothing … , except that a person hunting waterfowl from a boat or blind or in conjunction with waterfowl decoys is not required to wear hunter orange clothing.

One article of clothing must be a solid-colored hunter orange hat. The other article of clothing must cover a major portion of the torso, such as a jacket, vest, coat or poncho, and must be a minimum of 50% hunter orange in color.

Note: So when archery hunting, you are not required to wear orange.

Ever. Even during rifle

season. However, by far the best choice is to wear plenty of orange while moving to and from your stand.

• Transportation: Prior to registration, a person may not transport a harvested bear, deer, moose or wild turkey unless that animal is open to view. For purposes of this section, “open to view” means the animal is not concealed and can be readily observed in whole or in part from outside of the vehicle or trailer being used to transport the animal.

Note: So you’re not showing off your big buck; rather, you’re just being legal.

• Small Game Hunting License: A small game hunting license permits hunting for all legal species except deer, bear, moose, raccoon, and bobcat.

Note: So you need a regular license to hunt racoons, but only a small game license to hunt coyotes.

• Barrow’s Goldeneyes: It is illegal to hunt Barrow’s Goldeneye ducks, however, if a hunter mistakenly shoots a Barrows Goldeneye, hunters

Boating • Guide License to teach SUP Yoga? “Guide” means a person who receives any form of remuneration for that person’s services in accompanying or assisting a person in the fields or forests or on the waters or ice within the jurisdiction of the State while hunting, fishing, trapping, boating, snowmobiling, using an all-terrain vehicle or camping at a primitive camping area.

Note: So yeah, SUP yoga teachers are required to be Registered Maine Guides.

• Watercraft Safety: All watercrafts, regardless of size (canoes, SUP, kayaks are watercrafts) must have a sound-producing device, such as a whistle.

Note: I’ll bet you don’t have a whistle in your canoe!

• If you’re over 21, it’s legal to have an open container while operating a watercraft, but it’s still illegal to operate any watercraft, including kayaks, canoes and SUPs, with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher.

Note: This must be why people float the Saco River on inner tubes.

Other • The Great Pond Access law: No person on foot shall be denied access or egress over unimproved land to a great pond.

Note: The pond must be more than 10 acres, and you must travel over un(Continued on next page)

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 41

Bear Sausage and Birthday Cake Breakfast can be anytime, especially with these maple bear sausage patties.

And for dessert, another breakfast item that has eggs, and lots of fruit – CAKE!!!

Enjoy, and Bon Appetit!

Ashley’s Raspberry, White Chocolate Birthday Cake

***** Sweet and Spicy Breakfast Bear Sausage

The Bear Breakfast Sausage is a perfect addition to a robust breakfast of eggs and hash brown potatoes. The subtle yet very detectable Maine Maple Syrup flavor, is a necessary layer in this recipe. And it’s delicious on bagels with cream cheese!

Ingredients: • 2 ½ pounds bear meat, ground • 1 ½ pounds pork, ground • ¼ cup maple syrup • 4 teaspoons Apple Wood Smoked Sea Salt • 2 teaspoons dried sage • 2 teaspoons black pepper • 1 teaspoon dried thyme • ½ teaspoon garlic powder • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves • 1/8 teaspoon liquid Applewood Smoke Directions: Combine all ingredients in medium bowl; form into patties and fry slowly so as not to toughen the meat. Enjoy!

Maine Sportswoman (Continued from page 40)

improved land (i.e., not someone’s driveway). If there’s public access to the pond, you must use that.

Once you arrive at the pond, you cannot remain on land, but must go onto the pond (e.g., swim, canoe,

My niece Kirstie (Kirstie Bakes) told me her sister Ashley loves her homemade raspberry and white chocolate scones. I decided to create this decadent, very rich and delicious, teeth screaming birthday cake.

This comes with a child warning-DO NOT FEED KIDS THIS AT NIGHT. Ingredients: • ¼ cup whole milk • 12 ounces white chocolate, chopped • 2 cups all-purpose flour • ¾ teaspoon baking soda • ½ teaspoon salt • ¼ teaspoon baking powder • ¾ cup white sugar • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened • 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract • 4 large eggs • ¾ cup sour cream Raspberry Filling: • 1 ½ cups heavy cream • ¾ cup fresh raspberries • 3 tablespoons white sugar • 1 ½ cups raspberry jam White Chocolate Frosting: • 8 ounce chevre (or cream cheese) float tube, walk onto the ice – not casting from shore).

• Nest or eggs of wild birds: A person may not take, possess or needlessly destroy the nest or eggs of a wild bird.

Note: There are some species exceptions, but no exceptions for old nests, or fallen, discarded nests. ***** How did you do? Did any surprise you? If you know a law that’s common-

• • • •

¼ cup unsalted butter, softened 6 ounces white chocolate, melted ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract 2 cups powdered sugar

Directions: Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Line two 9-inch round baking pans with parchment or wax paper.

Pour milk over chopped white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave in 30-second intervals until it whisks smoothly.

Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder in small bowl.

Beat white sugar and butter together in large mixing bowl until fluffy. Gradually blend in chocolate mixture and extract. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture alternately with sour cream. Pour evenly into cake pans.

Bake in oven until a wooden toothpick in center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes; don’t overbake. Cool 15 minutes; remove cakes from pans. Cool completely in freezer for 30 minutes (makes them easier to cut the layers).

Combine heavy cream, raspberries, and sugar for filling in a small mixing bowl; beat until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Beat chevre and butter for frosting in large mixing bowl on medium speed until well blended. Add melted chocolate and vanilla; mix well. Add powdered sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy.

Split cake layers horizontally in half.

Place 1 layer on a cake plate and spread ½ cup warmed raspberry jam and 1/3 raspberry filling over top. Repeat with two more layers and remaining filling.

Top with last layer and frost cake. Decorate with fresh raspberries.

¶

ly overlooked, or seemingly random, email it to me at christiholmes87@ gmail.com. Laws are written the best they can be, and lawmakers strive to clear with little gray area.

However, we live in a world of nuance. In the end, wardens use their discretion on how to address a violation and take into account the totality of the circumstances.

¶

www.MaineSportsman.com

42 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Katahdin Lake is a Perfect Introduction to Baxter State Park At 209,501 acres, the Pine Tree State’s crown jewel, Baxter State Park (BSP), has countless adventures from which to select.

Newbies to the park instantly eye summiting Maine’s tallest peak, Mount Katahdin.

I’ve climbed that mountain and enjoyed every step. That epic hike was my first experience visiting the park. What I learned

When the time came to introduce his wife to Baxter State Park, the author put a lot of thought into their introductory hike. So they selected a flatwalking, scenic and do-able hike, and a secure lean-to. Katahdin Lake features all the comforts of home and then some – a beach, a canoe, and an allimportant clean and comfortable outhouse. hiking from the valley to the peak was that BSP had so much more to offer than one breathtaking view from the mile-high

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summit.

Folks often ask me about hiking in BSP, and I’m quick to tell them that while everyone would do well to visit Mount Katahdin, the rest of the park rates as nothing short of magical.

When the time came to introduce my wife, Denise, to BSP, I put a lot of thought into that introductory hike. Looking not to overload her and make it a one-time and “never again” hike, I searched for the perfect “first” experience to try cultivating a hiking partner.

Gear-Up Lite Denise, not unlike many of our spouses, had a few misconceptions of backcountry travel. I tiptoed around

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a few realities of summer hiking in BSP. She hates bugs (who doesn’t?), doesn’t really like hot weather, is afraid of bears (who isn’t?), and doesn’t enjoy being a pack mule.

So I designed a trip around these common preferences.

First, I wanted to keep the hike short. I average between two and three miles an hour, depending on terrain and how chipper I’m feeling. I knew Denise doesn’t really like sleeping in a tent, so I made sure to rent a park lean-to.

Backpack weight was another issue.

Two people traveling together do not need to replicate certain (Katahdin Country continued on page 44)

The trail into Katahdin Lake runs level and flat.

Some “bog bridges” to navigate help make this trail a perfect introduction to backcountry hiking -- basically, all the fun without the climbing related to chasing mountain peaks. The risk is minimal, and the reward at the end of the short 3.2-mile hike is solitude on one of Baxter State Parks premier clear water lakes surrounded by nature. Bill Sheldon photo

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 43

William is Loving His Truck Bed Cap Now that he has a cap to keep gear dry in his truck bed, the author plans to cover the floor of the bed and the tailgate floor with a padded indoor/outdoor carpet. A simple carpet with some padding helps avoid sore knees resulting from crawling around in the back, and also stops gear from sliding around in the bed during travel.

Last month I talked about getting a pull-behind camper … something lightweight that could be easily towed with my Tacoma. I stressed the fact that I’d be waiting for the terrible economy to settle down a bit before making any kind of major purchase like a camper.

After many unsuccessful years of looking for a used cap to fit the bed of my 2010 Tacoma, I finally decided to just go out and get a new one. As soon as I made that decision, I noticed that someone had listed a used LEER cap for sale that would fit my truck. The color even

matched my truck, so I went out, found that it fit perfectly, and purchased the slightly used cap/camper shell for my truck.

I could not be happier. The cap slid right on, fitting the truck bed perfectly. I drove home with the cap on in a huge rainstorm and found the truck be

After years of searching, the author found a used cap for covering his truck bed ... one that is in good shape and doesn’t leak. William Clunie photo

completely dry after the hour drive.

The only thing I need to do now is install a lock on my tailgate and change out the locking handles on the hinged window of the cap. After install-

ing these locks, I’ll be able to secure all of my tools and retrieval gear in the bed of the truck, rather than behind the seats in the cab. I have so much gear that my dog is having trouble (Continued on next page)

www.MaineSportsman.com

44 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Off-Road Traveler (Continued from page 43)

finding space back there, so this moving of gear will give her extra room.

I want to separate this gear into individual tote boxes – one for cooking supplies, one for retrieval tools, one for fishing or hunting gear, and one for sleeping bag, pillow and extra blankets.

The memory foam mattress folds up into thirds and takes up little space. I will also carry my huge “Roadhouse Tarp” by Slumberjack (slumberjack. com).

Details in Design I’ve done a fair amount of truck cap camping, so I’ve learned to make a few important tweaks for camping comfort.

Once you start driving around the dusty, remote logging roads in the North Maine

Woods, you will understand.

The fine dust sifts into the back of a truck cap and infiltrates everything with a fine powder of dirty grit.

I’m going to install a tailgate seal upgrade that should keep this dusty dirt situation to a minimum.

I also have some very small holes in one of the screened windows on the cap. I’ll fix this with a sewing needle threaded with fine fish line to keep out hungry insects.

I’ve done this before, and it works pretty slick. Having a bugfree sleeping area is a MUST for back country camping.

I will also cover the floor of the truck bed and the tailgate floor with a padded indoor/ outdoor carpet. I can’t stand crawling around

Katahdin Country (Continued from page 42)

items. No sense in carrying two stoves, two tents, two first aid kits and two water filters.

So I loaded my pack with all those items, and came in at my usual 39 pounds. A lightweight pack with 18 pounds fit nicely on Denise’s smaller frame. A good pair of hiking boots, and she was almost ready.

Maine State Bird I worried bugs would chase her out of the park for good. A Sea to Summit head net and an assortment of bug spray made up a portion of her 18-pound pack. I hoped for a nice breeze to keep Maine’s state bird, the black fly, grounded.

We rented one of the two lean-tos on Lake Katahdin for two nights. From the trailhead located on Roaring Brook Road, it’s a fairly level 3.2- mile walk into Katahdin Lake. We chose the leanto on the southern end of the lake.

We caught good weather and, thankfully, enough breeze to keep the bugs away. For some folks, bugs can be a deal breaker. I’m fortunate – they www.MaineSportsman.com

with my knees on the bare floor – it’s just too painful and becomes worse the longer you are out in the woods.

A simple carpet with some padding helps ease this minor problem and also stops everything from sliding around in the bed during travel.

Cargo Shift So now, how do I go camping while carrying my kayak or canoe? I could move the gear around and shove the kayak/canoe into the truck bed like I usually do – there’s still enough room, even with the cap in place.

I don’t think I want to go through the trouble of moving the gear in and out of the truck bed each time I want to transport the kayak/canoe, so I am looking at a small trailer from Harbor Freight.

They have a model that doesn’t cost too

much, and with a few modifications it will carry two kayaks/canoes easily.

The trailer will also help by carrying larger items if I feel like taking them along – items such as extra water jugs, extra gas containers, a chain saw, larger tools, the spare tire, and any other bulky items that take up too much space in the truck bed.

Taking the kayak/ canoe requires carrying bulky gear like, paddles, PFDs, anchors, and a spare trailer tire. The trailer will assist by providing plenty of extra space for these kinds of items.

I will also be sure to install some kind of visual assistance for backing up the small trailer.

Sometimes backing up a small trailer is more difficult than doing the same with a larger trailer.

don’t seem to like me. In fact, my newest bug suit hasn’t seen the light of day in five years.

I kiddingly tell anyone who will listen that the notion of lots of bugs in Maine is just a rumor the locals spread to keep the tourists away. However, I have seen some friends eaten alive and badly swollen after going 15 rounds with the state bird.

Outhouse Review The Katahdin Lake Trail runs relatively flat, has a few bog bridges, and seemed ideal in length and terrain for a beginner hiker. When introducing Denise to backcountry hiking, I thought back to my sore knees from my summit climb.

We arrived after a little over an hour – just enough of a hike to get a taste of BSP, but without a side dish of exhaustion. An inviting lean-to, sandy beach and a park-provided canoe awaited us. Not to mention the all-important outhouse.

The outhouses I’ve utilized in BSP have all been top notch. I found them clean, placed a reasonable distance from the campsite, and well-lit with clear corrugated roofs. I always sweep

The smaller trailers are hard to see – their low and narrow profile can be hard to find in truck mirrors when backing up.

I’ll install an antenna whip with a brightly colored flag of some sort to the rear of the trailer. It will at least give me a reference for where the trailer is at while navigating tricky back-up maneuvers.

Overall, this set up will do just fine until I graduate to the towable camper.

Even after purchasing the tow-behind camper, I’ll probably keep the cap in place. It’s a clean and dry place for storing gear for any trip, and it offers a good space for sleeping on a moment’s notice if necessary. I never know when I’ll find myself way back in the woods, in need of a dry sleeping space.

¶

the pine needles off the roof and try to leave them in as good or better condition than when I arrived. I suspect others are doing the same.

Once we got to the campsite, we immediately set up camp. While it’s tempting to splash the canoe into the water and start enjoying the lake, I have learned to set up camp first.

The weather can change quickly in the mountains, and setting up tents and other gear goes a lot easier in nice weather, as opposed to in a pouring rain shower. To keep us off the damp ground, I set the tent up in the lean-to.

I bought some aluminum “T” pieces that slip between the cracks in the lean-too base and allow for attaching ropes or tent loops. BSP policy prohibits using nails or permanent mechanical fasteners.

We spent a full day watching moose, wetting our fly lines, and doing some short hikes toward the northern end of the lake.

Our foray into Lake Katahdin turned into the perfect primer for Denise’s trip to BSP’s Little East campsite a few years later.

¶

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 45

Wyman Lake, Upriver from Bingham, Offers Productive Fishing I thought we were done for the day. Steve Carter and I had just finished floating the Kennebec River with guide Chris Russell.

It took an early start to slide Russell’s raft down a steep slide to the depleted water’s edge.

Fishing the Kennebec River Gorge requires starting ahead of sunrise in order to float it before the inevitable turbo-release of water makes the river un-fishable.

Adrenalin junkies live for the turbulence created by mega gal-

lons of water roaring through the gorge.

Good for them, and it looks like a ball of fun.

However, us fisherman-types are there for the low water and great fishing that takes place pre-release.

We drifted up to the take-out at the Route 201 bridge with the usual end-of-theday reflections. I always take a few minutes while breaking down my rod and review my efforts.

Memorable Points On that day, a few memorable events

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made the trip a huge success. First, seeing the Kennebec River change from a docile float to a whitewater thriller in a relatively short time gave me new respect for the hydraulic power of water.

Catching my largest brook trout to date was icing on the cake.

And, per usual, the fish flipped out of my hand before Russell could snap a hero shot.

Oh, the fish was destined for release anyway, but a good photo would have helped (Continued on next page)

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46 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Jackman Region (Continued from page 45)

with bragging rights.

Chris told me not to feel bad. The late George Smith had the exact same exact thing happen to him. Nice fish ... no proof. I’m in good company.

“It must be a writers’ thing,” he told me

with a grin.

On to Wyman Lake That’s when Chris surprised us and offered to burn up the afternoon fishing for smallmouth bass on Wyman Lake. Simple enough, dropped off

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his fishing raft and hooked up to his motorboat and headed to the boat ramp located along Route 201 in Caratunk.

The dam in Moscow backs up the Kennebec River to form Wyman Lake. We fished from the Caratunk Boat Ramp to south of where the Appalachian Trail crosses the Kennebec River.

The lake has multiple access points with boat ramps detailed on Map 30 of DeLorme’s The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer.

Russell’s motorboat moved us effortlessly up and down the river portion of the lake, and we caught smallies until the sun tickled the

treetops.

Great Access As regular readers know, I’ve finally managed to acquire a motorboat. A return to Wyman Lake seems like a no-brainer. At 1,819 acres, the lake should offer plenty of elbow room.

Depth maps put out by LakesOfMaine. org define the lake as starting from the dam in Moscow and ending around the Route 201 boat ramp in Moscow.

I was curious where the “river” ended, and the “lake” began. Practically speaking, the dam backs the river up for approximately 15 miles.

In fact, I suspected we were fishing some

of the same water that slid by our raft hours earlier. After all, it’s on its way to the ocean.

A boat ramp on Ridge Road along the western shore provides immediate access to the wider, deep portion of the lake.

With depths up to 140 feet, I’m contemplating strategies for fishing.

Wyman Lake has a variety of fish species to target. Brook trout, landlocked salmon, lake trout, rainbow trout and smallmouth bass shine as the headliners. White and yellow perch, along with chain pickerel and splake, round out (Jackman Region continued on next page)

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��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 47

Florida is Home to Monsters Part 2 of 2

Note: Last month, Luke introduced us to fishing in the Florida Keys, catching barracuda, tarpon, grouper … and sharks. His story concludes this month. ***** The sharks were really fun to catch, and they were very plentiful. You wouldn’t catch me swimming down there for anything. We caught bull sharks, blacktip and nurse sharks.

The bull shark was actually one of the first fish I caught in the Florida Keys. That was a long hard fight. It ended up being 7 or 8 feet long, and I can’t even imagine how much it must have weighed – maybe 300 pounds was our guess.

But what a fight! There really wasn’t much you could do to get that fish to turn or do much of anything. It was a lot of chasing it with the boat and yarding on it trying to get it off the bottom, and eventually we did. It’s hard to say if I will ever catch anything bigger than that in my life.

But we also caught a few blacktip sharks. They were a lot smaller – around 40 to 100 pounds – but they were awesome. You would see them coming from a mile away – the black tip on their dorsal fin was a dead giveaway, Back and forth they would go, getting closer, sensing the vibrations, and when they found your bait, it was all over. They would have it in no time, and the fight was on.

They would jump and make huge runs; it was such an impressive fight.

Another cool thing about blacktips is they’re actually really good to eat, so we kept one of the smaller ones. They dress out so easy – by far one of the easiest fish

Jackman Region (Continued from page 46)

some additional options.

After trolling Grand Lake this spring I’m eager to wet a line in Wyman Lake and try dragging a combination on flies and hardware. A few boat modifications helped that effort.

Fishing Accessories An inexpensive Garmin fish finder gave me some valuable information.

Just knowing the depth, water temperature and trolling speed added a

The author and his girlfriend Sam are all smiles as Luke holds what he terms a “smaller” tarpon. Photo by Tonya

I’ve ever cleaned. No rib bones; just meat down both sides. Trim up the bloodline a little, and it’s good to go.

Luke Discovers Blackened Fish Tacos A big thing I noticed down in Florida is that “blackened” fish seasoning is huge when it comes to how they cook fish. Every restaurant had it for an option, and that was the first time I had tried it. It’s by far my favorite way I’ve ever eaten fish. It was just seasoning, so it wasn’t heavy like a batter coating.

It was spicy, with a crispy black (as the name states) coating.

Now, I make my own with the recipe accompanying this column. It’s just a mixture of herbs and spices. You just fry it in a little oil on high heat till it’s crispy. You can eat it just as is, or in a fish taco – which is another thing I definitely recommend trying and preparing this way. I can’t wait to try it on striper.

But honestly, the shark was just as good as haddock. And there’s so many other great eating fish down there, inlevel of confidence to my efforts.

I resisted buying an expensive model because I navigate pretty well with my phone and Garmin inReach. Aside from that, I wouldn’t discourage anyone from spending the money to have charts and enhanced GPS performance.

The trolling plate I installed on the back of my outboard motor worked as advertised. It easily slowed down the 70 horsepower Evinrude to a leisurely one mile per hour.

For the most part, I kept the boat moving at two miles per hour. That’s an enjoyable speed for fishing and

cluding grouper, Mahi Mahi, and snapper.

Unforgettable Tarpon But one fish I can’t forget to tell readers about is the tarpon – huge fish, and pound-for-pound the hardest fighting fish I’ve ever seen, with unstoppable runs, jumps, and violent head shakes.

Getting one of these beasts to the boat is not an easy task.

As soon as these fish know they’re hooked, hold on! They are masters at throwing a hook, but if you do everything right, you might get a close-up look at one of these monsters.

I landed one that I caught on a fly rod, and it definitely seems easier to land them with a rod with a little more give to it – it makes it easier to keep a hook in them when they jump, compared to using a heavy spinning rod.

There’s so much stuff to see down there in Florida – it really does make for a cool adventure. I’m already trying to figure out financially how I’m going to get my boat down there next year.

In Florida’s waters, you’re surrounded by civilization, but it’s still wild in many ways.

• • • • • • • •

Ingredients for Blackened Fish Spice Rub 1 ½ tablespoons paprika 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon onion powder 1 tablespoon ground dried thyme 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon dried basil 1 teaspoon dried oregano

¶

scanning the shoreline. Establishing just the right trolling speed continues to be a mystery to me.

At times, I’ve noticed others on the water going significantly faster. For now I’ll keep varying speeds until the rods start bending.

The deep, cold waters of Wyman Lake have me contemplating one last accessory ... a downrigger. Fishing for salmon utilizing downriggers on Lake Ontario in New York during the summer has proved productive, so why not on Wyman?

¶

www.MaineSportsman.com

48 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Bright Outlook for Late-Summer Fishing on Moosehead Lake The togue fishing, says the author, can be extraordinary this time of year. One day, he and Eric Holbrook boated nearly 20 fish during a four-hour trip. That’s an impressive score any time of year!

For those who haven’t gone out on Moosehead Lake yet this season, here’s news to cheer you. Eric Holbrook, a Master Maine Guide fishing on Moosehead Lake, sends his assessment of this year’s sport fishing outlook.

Eric said that the early river fishing this spring on Moose River in Rockwood was better than last year, with more hits per trip. Also, shoreline fishing was improved, as well. Eric went on to say that summer began with good fishing, featuring numbers of Moosehead’s famous oversized brook trout showing up in various locations.

Again according to Eric, someone took an 18-pound togue in early June. Finally, Eric tells us that salmon are strong, with fish of a “decent” girth showing up in good numbers in different parts of the lake. However, salmon are not spread out evenly over the lake, so you will need to put in some time in order to find the charmed spot.

Togue, however, are ubiquitous throughout Moosehead, and as this month’s photo attests, are in good condition.

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said about Moosehead Lake, which is that you are bound to catch at least some species on any day on the water.

What that something might be only adds to the allure of this huge lake.

I would go so far as to say that togue are almost guaranteed. And while some anglers target salmon, togue are hard fighters and always fun to catch.

Plus, that 18-pound monster goes to show what is always possible on Moosehead. Admittedly, the biggest togue, the double-digit variety, are more regularly taken through the ice. But the possibility of hooking a leviathan in open water always exists.

Let me say, too, that when you hook a togue of that size, you don’t just reel it in. For the better part

Togue like this are almost guaranteed on a day fishing Moosehead Lake. Tom Seymour photo

of the battle, the fish has the upper hand.

Landing a monster togue requires a lot of give-and-take, with a constant eye on the drag to ensure the line doesn’t break at the critical moment when the fish makes a lastditch run. Landing a 10-pound and heavier togue is a worthy accomplishment of which anyone can be proud.

This great togue fishing doesn’t take away from the salmon

fishing, either. Salmon of two pounds and over always put up a memorable account of themselves. And if you happen to find where salmon are congregated, get ready for some of Maine’s finest fishing. Also remember Eric’s comment about salmon now having “respectable girth.”

The fish have to be fat and sassy for Eric to make that comment.

And what about brook trout? In spring, we can target Moosehead brookies by fishing near shore, but in summer, when the water has stratified, brook trout can show up almost anywhere.

The possibility of a 4-pound or more brook trout always exists, and while I never count on taking one of that size, it’s reassuring to know it might happen. Consider a lunker brookie as icing on the cake – something to complement (Continued on next page)

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 49 (Continued from page 48)

the total package.

Summer Days I have a particular fondness for being out on Moosehead Lake in August. It’s about as warm as it is going to get now, which doesn’t necessarily mean sizzling hot, but rather good, comfortable, shirtsleeve weather.

Also, except for a few pleasure boaters, angling pressure dwin-

dles in August. People have other summertime pursuits, and it is possible to go out on Moosehead on a sunny, 76-degree day and only see the occasional angler.

This doesn’t mean that fishing isn’t good now, because it is. I have had extraordinary success in August. One day, while fishing with Eric Holbrook, we boated nearly 20 fish during a

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four-hour trip. That’s an impressive score any time of year. Eric said it was not that unusual to see double-digit numbers come to net during one trip. I will add that the above-mentioned trip was the best I have ever had. Some of the togue bordered four pounds, with even larger fish coming off the hook.

Which brings up something to note

about fishing in August. According to Eric, anglers need to play their fish lightly, because the hooks tend to pull out with any great amount of pressure. Indeed, this happened to me several times. In fact, during one August trip, my first fish, which we estimated was probably 4 pounds or more, got off when the hook pulled out. I didn’t think I was be-

ing heavy-handed, but Eric said that was the cause.

So use a light touch when playing your fish. Also, you will probably need to go down to depths nearing 50 feet for togue and brook trout.

Salmon may hit at any depth.

Above all, get out this August. The fish await you.

¶

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50 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

.300 Weatherby Magnum – All the Power Needed, and Then Some George halted the side-by-side four-wheeler in front of the huge blownover hemlock and said, “Looks like we’ll walk from here.” The tree, a victim of an early spring windstorm, effectively blocked the old tote road that meanders through my woodlot.

We exited George’s Honda and worked our way around the fallen hemlock, with its vicious tangles of broken branches and the edge of its root system now pointing toward the sky. We followed the

The .300 can achieve velocities up to 3,800 feet per second, and muzzle energy of a devastating 4,175 foot pounds. track as it wound its way to the far edge of my property, halting on a small rise where converging stone walls marked the boundary and the tote road faded into a dim path maintained by passing deer.

George led the way across the imaginary line onto his property. We were scouting early for this fall’s deer hunt, and sealing

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our handshake deal for me to purchase George’s parcel. A Yankee farmer to his core, George wanted to walk the boundaries, all the while teaching me from his years of hunting experience on the land. He wanted me to know the location of the three deer stands he planned to leave in place and why they were sited as they were. He wanted me to understand the carpet of acorns and beechnuts that fell from the canopy above to feed much of the area’s wildlife.

Amid the hemlocks, beeches and abundant mature oaks, George schooled me on the bedding areas, watering spots, and places where the deer travel. A passionate archery hunter

and a dedicated participant in the annual muzzleloader season, George surprised me with his declaration that during the regular firearms season, he prefers to use a .300 Weatherby Magnum.

Reportedly Weatherby’s most popular offering, the .300 Magnum is not without its controversies, as with all of the Weatherby line-up. Frank Barnes wrote of the .300 Weatherby in Cartridges of the World, “Barrel life can be short, some might classify recoil as severe, and ballistics suffer greatly when shorter barrels are tried.” Still, true fans are never easily dissuaded.

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really hit the market once consumer manufacturing resumed after World War II. Commercial sales of the Weatherby-branded Norma-loaded ammunition began in 1948 and eventually spread to other ammunition makers.

In 1989, Remington offered its Model 700 rifle in .300 Weatherby. Until then, Roy Weatherby rifles were the only commercially available U. S. made rifles in that caliber, although the .300 Weatherby Magnum has enjoyed a good amount of popularity among custom rifle makers.

The .300 is a belted Magnum second only to .30-378 Weatherby on the .30-caliber pyramid. Today it will handle bullets from 110 grains upward to 250 grains, though most hunters would choose something in the range of 150 grain, 165 grain, or 180 grain. The .300 can achieve velocities up to 3,800 feet per second, and muzzle energy of a devastating 4,175 foot pounds.

The .300 Weatherby can have a global reach. It is suitable for non-dangerous game not just across North American but around the world. If local regulations allow, the .300 Weatherby could be used on any cloven hoof species. In some countries, long-stand(Continued on next page)

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 51 (Continued from page 50)

ing (some might say archaic) game laws require bullets of a certain specific weight and caliber for legal shooting. These rules often fly in the face of modern bullet design, and achievable velocities and energies.

Otherwise, the .300 Weatherby might enjoy more popularity in Africa and Asia.

Before calling it a day, George showed me a small stand of rare black gum trees on the property. He pointed out a faint game trail that skirted the trees and a swampy area before it turned in the direction of one of his tree stands hidden in big hemlock. Excited by the presence of scarce gum trees, I couldn’t quite dismiss George’s

revelation about the .300 Weatherby.

Powerful Punch Most veteran New England deer hunters like George would choose the .30-’06 Springfield, .270 Winchester, or .308 Winchester. No small number still rely on the .30-30 Winchester or the .300 Savage.

The younger, more up-to-date crowd likely gravitates toward the 6.5 Creedmoor, .260 Remington, or perhaps the .300 Ruger Compact Magnum.

Big-belted Magnums show-up somewhat infrequently in the woods of New England and Eastern Canada, though they make a decent choice for the hunter who wants a single cartridge capable of taking any game around.

A belted Magnum, the .300 Weatherby is a bruising round capable of taking any non-dangerous game around the world. Photo: Weatherby Arms

Since 1963, the belted .300 Winchester Magnum has made steady progress with some shooters against its .30-’06 competitor. However, the .300 Winchester never quite achieves the same level of bal-

listic power as the .300 Weatherby, and neither can be said to hold tremendous influence locally.

Too busy discussing the land as we reversed course back over the tote road to the waiting four-by-

four, I did not ask George why he prefers the Weatherby powerhouse when otherwise he prefers the bow and arrow, or a muzzleloader with a traditional round ball. But I will.

¶

Wildlife Quiz Answers: Maine’s Woodpeckers 1. Around the globe there exist over 200 different species of woodpeckers.

2. Maine hosts 7 different types of woodpeckers.

3. The names of the 7 Maine woodpeckers are the Downy, Hairy, Northern Flicker, Pileated, Yellow Bellied

Sap Sucker, American Three Toed and Black Backed.

4. No, woodpeckers do not produce vocal songs.

5. Woodpeckers have reinforced skulls and cushioned brains that spread the impact force of pecking, protecting them

(Quiz on Page 35)

from injury.

6. Woodpecker breeding season begins in March and extends into May. 7. Woodpeckers that avoid predation and accidents can live for between 4 and 11 years.

Trophy Gallery

Mike Barry caught and released this mammoth striped bass, which he calls “Big Bertha.” The fish was 55 inches long, and weighed more than 50 lbs. “It’s going to be hard to beat this one,” Mike said, “but that won’t stop me from trying.”

Heather Dombrowik and Mandy Marriner Everett caught and quickly released these small striped bass during a trip with other members of the Maine Women Hunters group. The two anglers were fishing off Kennebunkport, using live mackerel for bait.

Christi Holmes photo www.MaineSportsman.com

52 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Spring Holes and Sea-Runs Don’t quit trout fishing just because it’s August, says the author. Find spring holes and deep pools.

Understand that rainstorms can trigger fish to move upstream, and receding waters can bring those same fish back down. And don’t measure temperatures to decide which spots will be productive – just fish them all!

August on your favorite trout stream – it seems far removed in time and space from springtime fishing.

Streamside vegetation that wasn’t there in April and early May now makes for difficult walking and even harder casting. The classic notion of brook fishing seems terribly out-of-place.

And yet, trout haven’t fully abandoned brooks and streams.

Instead, those that haven’t dropped down to lakes, ponds, and even the sea, have con-

gregated over spring holes. Such places exist in many streams, and they are not necessarily restricted to the deepest water, although deep holes can and do hold trout.

How, then, do we locate these coldwater “honey holes?” You might try taking the temperature of each pool, but I have an easier and more enjoyable way. Just fish each pool, even those that appear too shallow to hold fish. Depths are often deceiving in ginclear water. It can be

deeper than you think.

When approaching a pool now, use extreme caution, since fish are extra-vigilant and extremely spooky.

Walk lightly so as not to transmit vibrations, and make sure your shadow does not fall on the water, since that will send trout to the nearest cover.

Approach slowly, on hands-and-knees if necessary, and before casting, take time to look around. You may well spot trout holding in the current.

Also watch for swirls

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Streams in August many still offer exciting fishing.

Tom Seymour photo

and rises. Only then should you cast, but make your first few casts short and then gradually extend them until you have covered all the water. If you have found a spring hole, you may take two or three fish before the action puts the others down.

Opportunistic Trout The character of a brook or stream can change in an instant.

Just add water. That is, a heavy downpour can, at least for a brief moment, revive a stream. Trout are always ready to respond to any change in oxygen level, water level and temperature changes. As such, fish can leave their spring holes and spread out throughout the stream in search of food. In essence, while water remains at an above-av-

erage level, trout might be anywhere.

Also, an influx of fresh water can spur on fish that have taken sanctuary in the cool depths of downstream lakes and ponds. It does not take long for trout to move several miles. I know one such place where trout leave the stream about mid-July and don’t return until September. But sometimes, a heavy rain can beckon them to make a hasty visit, and if you are in the right place at the right time, you might take advantage of that movement.

Just as quickly as a summer freshet attracts trout upstream to their springtime haunts, fish can and do head back downstream as soon as water levels recede. Trout are opportunistic, and (Trout Fishing continued on page 54)

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Fly-Fishers Forge Strong Bonds of Friendship What makes a true fishing friend? Someone who’ll listen to your long story, sympathize with you when needed, and ridicule you good-naturedly when appropriate. The author hopes everyone – even city-slickers – have an opportunity to experience the person-to-person connections that are made while folks fish together on Maine waters.

One of the greatest things about the fly fishing I’ve done in my life revolves around the friendships I have made. My true fishing friends, those that have tolerated me up to this point, are just that – true fishing friends.

The tolerant few are a hardy lot … they often put up with my forgetful nature, my long stories, my hyper-excitement over new gear, and a host of other silly fishing-related disorders.

Let me explain one incident that crystalizes my theory of fishing friendships. Rangeley angler Steve Marsters was listening to me tell a story about how I caught two brown trout right at the shoreline … one right after the other.

The story dragged on longer than it should have, and at one point I made a technical error saying, “…and I guess when brown trout are spawning in the spring like that, they can be found right up against the shoreline of lakes and ponds.”

The conversation was about how weird it seems, to catch so

many brown trout in such an odd place on lakes and ponds – within a few feet of the shoreline. Marsters didn’t bring my lengthy story to a screeching halt, he just quietly interjected, “Hmm, that’s puzzling. I’m not sure why they like hitting a fly so close to the shore.

I’ve noticed that, too.”

Then he slipped in, “…and browns spawn in the fall,” and went

on like nothing happened.

He could have laughed and made a big thing of my error, but he understood my mistake because he was listening to the bigger part of my story. It’s a common courtesy, a break of sorts, given to your fishing buddy. I would do the same for him. He’s a knowledgeable and kind fishing friend that gave me my one

Angling buddies Gene Bahr and Bill Fisher on a gorgeous stretch of the Androscoggin River.

William Clunie photo

mulligan that day, the golfing term for a “gimme.”

Polar Opposite So now, let me explain another complicated dimension to my fly-fishing relationships … sometimes it

is good to get slammed by your friends. At certain points in my fly-fishing life, my fishing buddies downright humiliated me into utter laughter – laughing at yourself is (Continued on next page)

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54 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Freshwater Fly Fishing (Continued from page 53)

awesome therapy, and it helps a person get a better look at their true self.

Here’s the story (I’ll try to limit its length). I was fishing with my buddy, the legendary fish-carving artist Gene Bahr and our fellow friend, Sebago deer hunter Bill Fisher. They decided to spincast for fish that day, with me preferring a fly rod.

Well, the obvious debate over fly fishing versus spin fishing came up immediately.

I fished from my kayak, and they fished out of Gene’s canoe, so the two of them had a little time to talk

about me from a distance, then approach me having already prepared some comments like; “Look at that yuppie, flat-lander kayaker with all his fancy fly fishing gear … looks like he just stepped out of the Orvis catalog. Hey fella, you can remove the plastic from your fancy cork-handled fly rod … and take the price tag off that cute little bug-resistant shirt – you’re not going to impress us. We are here to catch some fish.”

Knowing these two friends well, I was prepared with a few, short come-backs.

“Could you two banjo-playin,’

Trophy Gallery

worm dunkers keep it down, I’m trying to concentrate on the migration of the recent redneckatus hillbillitus hatch on this river.”

Gene and Bill keep me in line, and I imagine I keep them from wandering too far from reality, too. They humble me and keep me grounded in a funny way. Our friendship has grown over the years, and they realize that I’m just as crazy as they are … and I won’t let them get away with anything – and they do the same for me. We have come to an understanding – even though the truth hurts, there can be nothing other than complete truth.

Pondering Personalities On the rare occasion when these friends and I happen to come too close to civilization and get a glimpse of a real city slicker, we often feel the same kind of sorrow. When a wellgroomed, well-dressed fellow rolls by in his snazzy BMW and remarks to his girlfriend, “Look, some fishermen right there. I told you we were getting close to the wilderness.

I knew we should have purchased some fly-fishing gear at Bean’s when we drove through Freeport,” we feel the same sadness.

The same truth resounds throughout any group of my fishing buddies … the sad truth that some of these city folk will

Trout Fishing (Continued from page 52)

trout anglers need to be opportunistic as well. Take advantage, if you can, of these brief windows of opportunity.

I am occasionally privileged to cash in on an August heyday, and it always amazes me how plump fish have become. That 8-inch brook trout taken in April appears skinny and malnourished compared to the corpulent trout of August. This points out that length is not always the determining factor in quality of trout. Overall condition often trumps length, and the footballs of August, even fish of a similar length, are of a much higher quality than those of the early season.

Jaxson Sparrow, age 6, used a twin-tailed hulaskirted grub to catch and release this 14-inch largemouth bass on May 29, 2022. Jaxson was kayaking on Great Pond in Cape Elizabeth.

Richard Sparrow photograph; Information supplied by Jim Simpson, proud grandfather and Maine Sportsman subscriber. www.MaineSportsman.com

Salty Visitors Few would pursue sea-run trout in August, since the best fishing usually occurs in spring, which is when the main migration occurs. But little trickles occur in summer, particularly in August.

Again, a heavy rain can trigger the urge to come into brooks and streams, but as long as there is sufficient water, sea-run trout are possible any time in August.

never get to appreciate the wonderful wild things we get to be impressed by on a daily basis. These urbanites will be limited by the paved streets that surround their city, never taking the risk of reaching out beyond the sterile skyscrapers and crowded shopping centers that fill their treeless communities.

My prayer is that the occasional few city lovers that do break away from that life and briefly step into the glory of the forest-filled mountains around here realize what they are deeply missing … and that they somehow can forge true friendships with our fishing community in this wonderful state.

¶

However, trout do not ascend as far upstream as during the springtime runs. In fact, I once stood by the diving line between freshwater and saltwater. This was a flat rock that spanned the brook, creating a small waterfall.

Above this was freshwater and below, tidal water. I took a brilliantly colored trout just below the rock.

This fish was in excellent shape, but what I remember most were the vivid colors, fiery reds and eye-popping blues. Besides that, the flesh was as red as a Mother’s Day geranium. Interestingly, fish taken above this point evidenced white flesh. Time spent at sea had worked wonders in this trout.

Sometimes, sea-run trout will ascend a brook as far as the nearest spring hole. I once found such a pool that was loaded with perhaps 20 or more trout. One of these stood out from the rest. It was a sea-run, fantastically colored and with red flesh.

Don’t quit trout fishing just because it’s August. Put on the bug spray, grab your fishing rod, and have at it.

¶

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 55

Wilderness Tenting The brochure for the Allagash Wilderness Waterway identifies 81 campsites spread throughout the corridor.

Recognized by brown wooden triangular signs with white lettering, each campground has a picnic table, a tarp or shelter pole, a stone fireplace with steel grill, and a rustic outhouse.

Many have been used for generations because of their proximity to such attractions as fishing holes, bubbling springs, or portage trails. While the number of tenting grounds may sound minimal for the ninety-two mile-trip, several offer multiple cells, or separate campsites, within a single encampment.

In checking the Bureau’s map, readers will find that Shady on Chamberlain can accommodate one camping party, while the Jaws site on the narrows between Churchill and Heron Lakes, will hold 5 parties of up to 12 people each.

That number of sites is a hold-over from the days when float planes delivered voyagers and canoes to Churchill Lake.

Designing Campsites Scanning the pamphlet, it soon becomes obvious how some campsites were named. One example is the historic Lock Dam, created when the river was diverted from its northern flow to float logs south toward Bangor.

Other campsites were named for individuals, landmarks, or events of historical significance. A 1965 Maine Forest Service map of Chamberlain Lake identifies one campground as the McDonald site, later renamed Shady. On Eagle Lake, today’s Thoreau site was once called Pillsbury Island Southeast.

And other subtle changes can be found.

The 1960s map delineates a campsite on the east side of Allagash Stream, north of the railroad trestle. The camping spot, near a trout hole, was closed years ago. In 1969, Chamberlain’s Crowsnest site was occupied by a log cabin.

Then Came Lost Popple After Maine citizens voted to establish the Waterway, rangers soon discovered travelers had created a hodgepodge of construction on overnight grounds.

Some had rocked up fireplaces dispersed throughout. Others featured a variety of rustic tables made from small softwood poles, framed by nail-ridden trees from which broken clothes lines hung limp.

Further proof of inexperienced travelers was the partially-burnt green hardwood found in fireplaces, as well as the high stumps left behind in the woods.

Visitors often found a variety of unsanitary latrines. Sometimes hand-dug cat holes served the purpose, while at other areas two softwood poles nailed horizonal between trees with wide cedar shakes nailed V fashioned, served as a seat. And there were other designs, such as crude buildings with walls and canvas covered roofs. In the early days, a famous one was called Merrill’s arial privy. That shelter sat perched in white birches on Long Lake.

In addition to dumps speckled throughout the woods, visitors were apt to find broken bottles, rusted cans, and broken canoes such as one I removed from Chase Rapids in the 80s. Some discarded items took years to clean up.

Regardless of the cleanup effort, there were still those who resisted State control.

From the 1970s into the 80s, folks continued with haphazard designs. One such spot was Lost Popple on Harvey Pond in T12R13, southwest of Long Lake Dam. When I was hired in 1981, guide Ethan Grand claimed the Long Lake Dam site as his own. If Ethan arrived and found people set up by the old dam, he harassed the paddlers until they left.

If he happened to find the site empty, he would wave away anyone approaching, forcing them to either paddle three miles back south, or continue north to the single party site at Cunliffe Island.

After rangers made Ethan share Long Lake Dam with others, he decided to build an unauthorized campsite on Harvey Pond, which made it easier to send anyone packing to the new site.

At the time, rangers weren’t allowed to issue summons, so their only option for illegal construction was to tear apart the man’s tables, outhouse, other wikiup fabrications, and issue warning slips.

If Grand had been allowed to continue building, that would have set a precedent along the ninety-two-mile corridor for others to rearrange camping accommodations. With chainsaw in hand, Grand would build, and rangers would tear apart.

Eventually, the Bureau of Parks decided to allow the site to be included on their brochure as Lost Popple. But only if Ethan promised not to make any more unsanctioned improvements. However, that vow did not last long, as described in my April 2021 column titled ‘Troublesome Guide.”

Today, rangers, guides and visitors work together to ensure the Allagash is well kept and that it offers a world-class wilderness experience.

Tim Caverly (www.allagashtails.com) has authored eleven books about Maine’s northern forest.

1965 map

1965 map

¶

www.MaineSportsman.com

56 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Are We in a Golden Age of Wildlife?

An article in the Boston Globe recently declared that we are enjoying “The new golden age of wildlife in New England.”

The article correctly pointed out that New England is witnessing the benefits of more than a century of scientific wildlife management.

Yes, the good news is that Maine and other New England states have viable and visible populations of many species that were much rarer not so long ago.

Examples include wild turkeys, black bears, ospreys, and beavers.

But the claim of “golden age” in the article was mostly anecdotal. The author cherry-picked a few big, cute “charismatic macrofauna.” The species highlighted include those wildlife species that thrive in suburban environments: foxes, whitetailed deer, raccoons, coyotes, and even bobcats have learned to tolerate humans and exploit the habitat and food sources that abound in semi-developed areas where hunting pressure is low.

The article briefly mentioned, but largely ignored, many species in decline, including migratory songbirds, the northern bog lemming and the little brown bat. We still have too many species struggling to survive impacts of human dewww.MaineSportsman.com

It’s difficult to evaluate the current state of wildlife in the US and in Maine. Sure, there are more foxes, raccoons and coyotes, but many of them are in rural and even urban areas where hunting is restricted. Federal legislation and federal dollars have cleaned our waters and prevented certain species from becoming extinct. But, the author says, we still have work to do.

Photos: David Van Wie

velopment and climate change. Unfortunately, moose are trending in the wrong direction due to the winter tick problem, a result of a warming climate.

Conservation Matters In his classic book, A Sand County Almanac (1949), Aldo Leopold recounted how wildlife populations were decimated by human exploitation and development from the mid-1800s into the mid-1900s. After the tremendous pressure of over-hunting and habitat loss in the late 19th century, many native species were wiped out in some states, or hit all-time lows.

Appointed as the

nation’s first professor of wildlife management in 1933, Leopold pressed for a “Land Ethic” that considers humans, animals and land as part of a single interdependent community. His ideas were reflected in many of the wildlife laws enacted during his lifetime and in the years following.

The first conservation laws were passed at the state and federal level around the turn of the 20th century. The first wildlife refuges were set aside starting in 1903. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 prohibited hunting of listed migratory species, and set limits and seasons on migratory game birds, including ducks

and geese, which were being overhunted for markets.

In 1911, after years of political wrangling, the Weeks Act was passed, allowing the federal government to buy private land for conservation purposes. The new law made possible the creation of the Green Mountain and the White Mountain National Forests, where decades of heavy logging and farming had wiped out habitat for many wildlife species.

The habitat protected in national forests, wildlife refuges, parks and land trusts has been critical to the restoration of populations of numerous species of birds, mammals and reptiles.

$portsmen Provide Ca$h Beginning in the 1930s, sportsmen got more heavily invested in conservation and protection of habitat.

The 1934 Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act provided funds from the sale of duck stamps for wildlife conservation purposes.

In 1937, the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, or Pittman-Robertson Act, established a federal excise tax on hunting equipment and firearms to generate funds that are apportioned among the states for management and restoration of wildlife resources and habitats.

All of these conservation efforts began to have a remarkable effect, restoring populations of various wildlife species across the country. With funds available to establish fish and wildlife agencies, states began to re-introduce populations of species that had been lost, such as wild turkey, elk, and fishers.

Setbacks from Pollution Following World War II, a new era of industrial and urban expansion threatened wildlife and fisheries with air and water pollution, toxic chemicals, and habitat loss. Pesticides such as DDT and (Sporting Environment continued on page 58)

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 57

Striper and Lake Trout Fishing Heats Up in Downeast Striper populations are increasing. In the past two years, Guide Joe Rego said his clients have caught thousands of stripers each year from Penobscot Bay and the Damariscotta River.

Six o’clock in the morning, and the river was rising on an incoming tide. My friend and striper-fishing guide, Joe Rego of Prospect, was navigating his boat, Punky’s Comet II, down the Damariscotta River. My son Rick and I were about to experience a memorable striper-fishing adventure.

The fog was just rising off the surface of the river as the sun began to peek through the mist. Within minutes after attaching a Binky tube (an eel imitation) and hooking on a sandworm, my rod arched with the unmistakable quiver created by a hooked fish.

I had my first striper hit.

My reel peeled off yard after yard of 20-pound test monofilament line before I set the drag on my salt-water reel. The fish took several dives before it came close enough for me to see what was causing all the excitement. On the other end of my line was a 26-inch striper. Joe carefully unhooked the fish and released it back into the water. I caught and released 5 more stripers; however, my son outfished me by catching

a dozen or more 18- to 26-inch fish.

According to Joe, stripers are experiencing an upward population swing. Captain Joe mentioned that seven or eight years ago, he and his sports were only catching a couple hundred of stripers each year. In the past two years, Joe said that he and his clients have caught thousands of stripers per year from Penobscot Bay and the Damariscotta River.

Downeast Stripers Several top-notch striper haunts exist near the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory. Families here can discover the historical features of Fort Knox, take an elevator ride to the top of the 420-ft high observatory, or enjoy the picnic facilities.

Another excellent piece of water, up from Bucksport, according to avid striper angler and Bucksport resident Clay Ames, is

located slightly downstream from the South Orrington Boat Ramp.

This area of the river requires a boat; however, it contains several deep holes where striped bass hole up.

Still another good bet to hook into one of these ocean bass lies within sight of the Verona Island Boat Landing. The shoreline from Fort Knox upriver is a good place to troll a live eel to entice a few battling bass. Other striper anglers have success by using salt-water lures or eel imitations.

Shoreline angling is difficult; however, Bucksport has a brand-new fishing pier adjacent to the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge.

This pier allows anglers easy access to the river.

There are many other Downeast tidal waters that hold healthy populations of striped bass. Bass anglers fishing from Bucksport to Cutler

The author’s son Rick, a resident of Standish, shows off one of his dozen fish on a productive day. In the foreground is striper guide Joe Rego of Prospect.

Jim Lemieux photos

boat schoolies in the 20- to 26-inch range.

Togue Fishing at “My Toddy” The fish took my smelt. It dove for the bottom several times before I could reel it close to the boat. Once I got it to the surface, I realized that I had hooked a keeper.

The togue took several more runs before I could net the 24-inch lake trout. Carefully, I released the 5-pound, 3-oz. laker back into the water.

Twenty minutes later, my Fenwick rod began to quiver, the drag kicked in, and

the line started racing off the spool. Once the reel stopped releasing line, I carefully I set the hook and felt the characteristic tension of another togue.

I caught and released several more fish that August morning. I realized then that I had found another togue-filled honey hole on Toddy Pond.

My cottage on Toddy Pond in Orland (DeLorme Atlas, Map, 23, E-4) has been my summer residence for over 30 years. I have been catching late-summer lakers there for over (Continued on next page)

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58 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Downeast

(Continued from page 57)

45 years. My Dad rented a cottage on Toddy Pond in the 1970s. He showed me where to fish on the pond, how to handline native smelts for bait, and how to set up my rod to fish near bottom.

My present-day fishing techniques are still very much the same. However, now I have a few more pieces of technical fish-finding equipment to help me locate the fish.

For the rest of the summer, I plan to spend many mornings fishing for togue on First Toddy. I have upgraded my 17-foot aluminum boat by installing Sea-Board flooring, a newly pur-

The author caught fewer fish than his son that day on the river, but he caught this trophy – the largest fish caught that day.

chased 25 hp- Mercury 4-stroke motor, and a new Bimini top. My plans also include putting my Master Maine Guide License to good use this summer.

First Toddy Pond is a prime salmon, brown trout and togue water. First Toddy has a maximum depth of

Sporting Environment (Continued from page 56)

complex, persistent chemicals including PCBs, lead in gasoline, and mercury from fossil fuels, caused devastating harm to birds and wildlife. Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962) sounded the alarm that raised public awareness about industrial chemicals and pollution.

The federal Clean Water Act (1972)

122-feet and contains most game fish sought by anglers. Brown trout, salmon and lake trout are commonly part of a day’s catch.

The southeast shoreline, locally known as Whiskey Springs, is a good spot to troll for lake trout. Another area that harbors a

Quoddy Pond, where the author has a camp, can be tranquil in the evening, and is also a productive fishery.

lot of lakers is located from the Knights of Columbus cottage to the Balsam Cove Campgrounds.

Second and Third Toddy has historically been a warm-water fishery; however, brown trout and splake have been stocked here for over a

reduced pollution discharges to rivers, streams and coastal waters, and protected wetlands from dredging and filling. The Clean Air Act (1970) restricted emissions of toxic pollutants from factories and vehicles. And, finally, the Endangered Species Act of 1973 focused protections on the most imperiled species, reversing the decline of more than a dozen species that were headed toward the brink of extinction, including peregrine falcons, grizzly bears, gray wolves, bald eagles and black-footed ferrets.

decade. Several ledges on the east shoreline construct deep water pockets that offer good habitat for trout during the hot summer months. This area also offers good white perch and smallmouth bass angling.

¶

Golden Age If we are enjoying a golden age of wildlife today, it is because of more than a century of hard work by conservationists, sportsmen, environmentalists and ecologists who have put Leopold’s Land Ethic into practice.

Today, our children enjoy an abundance of wildlife species that were much rarer in the early to mid-20th century in much of New England. But we still have work to do.

¶ Grand Lake Stream Area

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��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 59

Forever Chemicals Big Game-Changer In a poignant essay, the author reveals that he’s heartbroken over the discovery of high levels of PFAS chemicals in Maine, including in his favorite crappie pond. He says his sense of security that Maine is safe because our state is far away from more polluted areas of the country, has vanished.

So-called “Forever Chemicals” (per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances, or PFAS) have made their way into Maine soils and waters as well as the bodies of fish and wildlife, and perhaps even people.

These PFAS chemicals are particularly obnoxious because, being synthetic, they don’t occur in nature.

Also, they don’t break down, or degrade, in any measurable sense.

These toxins have shown up around the world in the blood and breastmilk of both people and wildlife. And now they have come to Maine.

Most, but not all, of the PFAS here in Maine is present as a result of the practice of spreading composted sewer sludge on fields.

Cheap and abundant, sludge has partly supplanted animal manures for spreading as fertilizer. Unfortunately, while the process of composting may kill bacteria in sludge, it does not eradicate or even alter chemicals – in this case, PFAS. Mainers were recently blindsided by a report detailing the presence of PFAS in several Maine waters.

Now, The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (DIF&W) has posted warnings about consuming fish from the newly designated waters. This hits home for me, since Unity Pond in Unity is one of these waters affected

by PFAS contamination.

Fish Fry For me, nothing beats a homemade fish fry, whether white perch, black crappie or even chain pickerel. As a lifetime forager, I revel in totally homegrown or foraged meals, and very often, some form of panfish would constitute the main course.

And then a dark cloud cast a pallor over my joy. A study showed that trace amounts of mercury began showing up in some Maine waters. I immediately procured a copy of that study, and found that some ponds and lakes had very little mercury contamination, whereas others had high levels of toxins. My solution was to seek fish from the waters with the lowest mercury numbers.

The mercury problem was bad enough, since who knows how

many of us have consumed dangerous amounts of mercury-containing fish flesh. Also, some ocean fish have shown high levels of mercury contamination. As a person who has consumed seafood all his life, where does it leave me?

And now, there is a new elephant in the room – PFAS. Sure, we just recently learned of the dangers of eating fish contaminated with PFAS, but what about all those fish we consumed prior to the PFAS announcement?

And if some of us are full of contaminants, there probably isn’t much we can do about it.

As a fish lover, I would routinely go out in spring and catch massive numbers of black crappies, mostly from now-contaminated Unity Pond, and take them home to fillet and freeze for the winter. Lots of other local anglers have done the same. This new threat not only poses health hazards, but it also raises food costs, since a significant part of our yearly diet is now out-ofbounds.

The author crappie fishing on Unity Pond. Fish in this pond have been found to be contaminated with toxic “forever” chemicals. Tom Seymour photo

pointed out that while catch-and-release has its place, it doesn’t belong in the world of spiny-rayed fish, because populations of fish such as perch and crappies tend to become stunted if their ranks are not regularly thinned. Now, with the advent of PFAS, I predict that fish populations in affected waters will eventually become stunted as a result of too many individuals competing for a finite forage base.

Unity Pond will number among these waters.

There’s another side to this, too. Some of my finest memories are of early mornings at Unity Pond, gliding

Unity Pond For many years I have written about Unity Pond and its great crappie fishing.

Now, it seems, my goal has changed. Now I need to warn anglers away from this lake and its resident panfish. This hits me like a punch in the gut, and I feel anger mixed with a pinch of sadness. To think that our wonderful natural resources could be despoiled by some unseen – and until now, unknown – chemical, is more than the mind can grasp.

Of course there always were those who promoted catch-andrelease above all else, so this news, while unpleasant, won’t affect them the same way. I have always

(Midcoast Report continued on page 63)

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60 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Bear Hunting in Canada As he is occasionally wont to do (with the editor’s permission, of course), the author departs the friendly confines of Central Maine and travels north to participate in Canada’s springtime bear hunt.

Here, he tells his tale, and also presents a primer on bear hunting, providing information that’s helpful wherever you hunt.

Bear hunting provides an adrenaline-pumping adventure, guaranteed to raise goose bumps on even the steadiest and most reserved outdoors-people.

An urge exists deep within the primitive mind that triggers an instinct to run when an immense meat-eating animal lumbers out of the woods. Few other North American creatures appear quite so mighty and powerful

as a massive black bear.

New Brunswick Bears New Brunswick, Canada is an extremely productive black bear habitat and is well known for growing trophy black bears. After a two-year COVID 19-induced hiatus, I was excited to return to St. Stephen, NB for the spring bear hunt.

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my fourth trip with Tim Daley of Riverside Guide Service (904-8000), and once again it was a fantastic experience. The last week of the spring bear season in Canada still produced 314 lb. and 165 lb. boars for our small four-person group. Two of our party could have shot 125 - 150 lb. bears but passed on the opportunity to wait for larger specimens.

Canadian Paperwork It seems at first a little overwhelming preparing for a hunt in a foreign country; however, with Tim’s assistance in navigating the paperwork, everything worked out fine. Two of the biggest changes since my last visit to Canada in 2019 include the ArriveCan app, and the Canadian outdoor card. The ArriveCan app can be downloaded to your smart phone from the app store. It is free, and to use it you are required to add pertinent information about yourself and others traveling in your party.

I took the entire family, and our infor-

The author and his 165-lb. Canadian black bear from the spring, 2022 hunt.

mation included passports, birth certificates and vaccination cards.

You are also required to enter the day, time and port of entry.

Overall, it was a very straightforward process.

The outdoor card can also be ordered online. It’s a one-time application certifying that you have completed mandatory hunter safety requirements.

Once you have completed the application, you are provided with a unique card identification number that can be used to purchase your hunting license.

What I Learned Here are a few things I learned or relearned about bears from the spring hunting season: 1. Bear hunters need to be patient and wait for a good shot opportunity to present itself. Bait sites typical-

ly offer hunters shots at 20 yards or closer.

High-power scopes can also cause problems.

This tends to be an unusual hunting situation for most hunters, so practice at this yardage.

2. Select a firearm that offers sufficient knockdown power.

Favorites include the .30-’06 Springfield, .308, .270 Winchester, .45-70, and the .444 Marlin. No matter your caliber choice, however, remember that shot placement is more important than caliber selection.

3. Low-light situations often exist at bait sites, so use quality optics or open sights.

Test your sighting choice in close range practice sessions in light conditions similar to those you expect to encounter at bait sites, including about 30 minutes after sunset.

(Continued on next page)

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 61 (Continued from page 60)

4. People have shot bear while smoking cigarettes and with little care for personal hygiene. My method of scent management is significantly more aggressive. My system includes making sure that body and clothes are washed in no-scent soap. When not being worn, boots, backpack and primary clothing layers are packed in garbage bags filled with pine or cedar branches.

5. Limit your move-

ments while on stand.

Pack to be comfortable by being properly prepared. Bring water, cough drops, food, a pee bottle and other necessities designed to make your long sit enjoyable. Have a Thermacell insect-chaser, and a comfortable seat. There is nothing worse than trying to remain motionless while mosquitoes drill into your face and a wooden plank bites into your posterior.

Camouflaged clothing matched to your sur-

rounding will mask any small movements that you make.

6. Bring your GPS as well as your map and compass, and know how to navigate using both methods. Ask your guide where you will be hunting and what is in the immediate area for roads, streams or other landmarks. Prepare for an emergency should one arise, and understand how you will contact assistance should it be necessary.

7. Should you be fortu-

nate enough to shoot a bear, plan for extracting the animal and determine your role in the process.

8. New Brunswick’s weather can be fickle; during my week of hunting, temperatures ranged from 40 to 70 degrees F. To combat Mother Nature, wear layered clothing matched to the anticipated weather conditions. Bring a winter hat even if warm weather is predicted, as it takes up almost no space, and is in-

Mid-Coast Report (Continued from page 59)

This sinkful of white perch may be unsafe to eat because of “forever” chemicals.

Tom Seymour photo

along in my boat and casting to schools of crappies. Sometimes I would cruise down Sandy Stream, a slow-moving stream that wends its way through the wetlands below the pond. There, wildlife reigned supreme. Spring warblers, bitterns, herons, snapping turtles and muskrats lulled me, while multitudes of crappies swam beneath the streamside brush, swirling and sometimes

valuable if you begin to get cold.

9. Guides want you to be successful, so listen carefully and be receptive to their ideas.

10. Don’t leave the stand until the time designated by your guide. If possible, wait for the pick-up vehicle to arrive, and scare away any bears in the area so that you don’t have to accomplish this task while leaving. It’s best not to educate the bear that someone was at the stand site.

¶

even picking insects from the surface.

Now, these cherished memories will not be repeated. It would irritate me too much to visit my favorite pond, only to have to release my mouth-watering quarry. No – better to write it off as a victim of our chemical-laden, technological society.

Like others, I always found comfort in feeling that Maine was protected by geography. That sense of security has vanished.

¶

Trophy Gallery

Don Sayward caught and released this 25” sea-run brown trout in Ogunquit on June 29, 2022. Sayward was fishing with spinning gear for stripers using a black Sluggo. Photo by Sean Bragdon

Alex Cookson of Acton tagged this 278.6 boar on September 21, 2021 with a .308 in Lebanon. The hunt was supervised by Alex’s father, Stephen. The black bear’s weight was certified by John Larson, at Springvale Hardware.

Ed Gooldrup caught, measured and released this 25-inch brown trout on May 24, 2022 while fishing Great Pond, earning him a Catch-and-Release club patch from The Maine Sportsman magazine. www.MaineSportsman.com

62 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Summer is Here in the Lakes Region Salmon, togue and smallmouth bass drop down into the lake’s depths in August, says the author, so anglers have to go deep to find them. And if possible, go out early or late, but steer clear of the mid-day sun.

Now that August is here, summer is in full swing in the Lakes Region. In fact, most anywhere in Maine that there is water, summer has settled in. Boaters outnumber anglers on most lakes, and my home base of Sebago Lake (DeLorme Atlas, Map 5, C-1) is no exception.

Anglers have to hit the lake early to get the water to themselves, but that’s when the best fishing is, anyway. Every year I get calls from clients wanting an afternoon fishing trip. Because the lake get so busy, I shy away from these trips, and try to do my fishing in the morning.

That’s not to say you can’t catch fish midday, but you are competing with all the recreational users of the lake.

Last month my buddy was doing some

work on his camp and he wanted to go for a boat cruise in the afternoon. I motored over to his camp, but he wasn’t ready. I decided to do a bit of midday trolling, and went out into 80 feet of water. I slowed the boat, engaged my iPilot trolling motor, and played out two lines on the downrigger.

In no time, a boater pulling a tube dropped his passengers off right in front of my path. I readjusted my course and then started out, and again he dropped tubers in front of me. Taking the hint, I reeled in and headed toward my buddy’s camp to wait for him.

I do take anglers for sunset cruises and fishing trips starting at 4:00 or 5:00 PM. They typically bring along a sandwich and beverage of choice, and

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we ply the waters until dark, enjoying the famous Sebago Lake sunset. Sometimes we even catch a few fish.

Last summer, I hosted a husband and wife from Virginia who were camping at Sebago Lake State Park. I picked them up at the park, and we trolled around Inner and Outer Islands. We got to see the eagle that was nesting on the island, and we even caught a few lakers by trolling spoons along the bottom. I had a planer board set with four colors of lead core on each side with spoons, as well.

As the sun set, one of the planer boards plunged underwater, and my client dragged in a nice four-pound salmon. To top the evening off, one of the residents at Thompson’s Point put on a spectacular fireworks show that we enjoyed as we putt-putted toward shore. A successful evening, to say the least.

Go Deep This month, I troll for lakers in deep water. That means depths of 100 to 140 feet. The fish seem to drop deep in August, and we adjust to find them. Copper-plated lures seem to work wonders, as do nickel/copper combinations. Live shiners

Spencer Belson of Massachusetts, also a regular guest columnist in The Sportsman, caught this whopper lake trout while fishing with the author.

Photo by Tom Roth

dragged on bottom using a bait harness also work well. My pal Dan Hillier of Songo River Guide Service has been doing well with Gulp minnows trolled along bottom.

Another tactic is to troll a flatfish lure behind the downrigger. This takes skill, as the flatfish dives and you need to accurately gauge the depth the lure runs at and subtract that from the downrigger cannonball depth to make sure you are just skimming the bottom, Try to concentrate on an area that has a soft bottom when employing this technique. For flatfish colors, I have the best luck with green frog pattern flatfish or orange ones.

Salmon are unpredictable this time of year, but I do like to run my planer boards with four to six colors of lead core line out to cover some water. Orange lures and Oink lures seem to work this

season. A Mooselook wobbler in fluorescent orange or the newest “orange crush” pattern from Northeast Troller lures work well. Again, live shiners or even frozen smelt or shiners are also productive.

Bass have dropped off in deeper water, so if you want them, you need to target structure down deep. Submerged rock piles like those in and around the Dingley Islands are a good first stop.

Ned rigs, tube jigs and Gulp minnows fished on a jig head get the offering down to where the fish are, enticing strikes. Another good spot is the rock hazard just before you enter Frye’s Gut. This boulder field is a good hiding spot for smallies this time of year.

August is busy on the Big Lake, but anglers can carve out a few hours in relative peace. Fish early, fish late and fish often!

¶

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 63

Where to Hunt Bear in Southern Maine On an evening earlier this summer, around 10 p.m., a bear tried to destroy Harold Denis’s bird feeder here in Shapleigh.

Harold was going to step outside and try to scare the big bear away, but he decided to stay inside, knocking on a window and yelling – a good choice, as it turns out, because the bear growled and displayed aggression.

His feeder is reparable, but the bear will soon be back for Round #2.

This is a typical bear encounter in this region; reports of bear incidents from Wells to Porter occur nightly throughout the summer months.

A spring bear hunting season would eliminate most of these encounters – bear are much easier to bait during the spring.

Maine’s “spring bear baiting season” stopped many years ago, and bear populations have increased ever since.

DIF&W reports that statewide, 3,768 black bear were harvested during the 2021 season, and that 3,883 bear were harvested during the 2020 season, one of the largest harvests since 1969.

For sure, Maine’s bear population is on the increase. Bear numbers are on the rise here in southern Maine, as well.

• During the 2006 season, 0 bear were harvested in Shap-

leigh. However, during the 2020 season, 1 bear was killed.

• In Acton, in 2006, 1 bear was killed, while 5 bear were taken in 2020.

• Parsonsfield, in 2006 5 bear were tagged, while that number jumped to 17 bear in the 2020 season.

• Porter has experienced consistent harvest numbers, including in 2006 (5 bear), 2007 (12), 2013 (14) and 2020 (12).

Overall in the last 15 years, 45 bears were harvested in Shapleigh, 34 in Acton, and 156 in Parsonsfield.

Clearly, the northern towns in York County offer the highest bear numbers and hunter success rates.

Between the Numbers But, for folks looking for a new area to bait, there’s more than these numbers to consider, including 1) the hunting pressure in an area; 2) hunting methods allowed; 3) available land to hunt; and 4) terrain.

These factors all influence hunters who are considering where to bear hunt. All things considered, a location with a lower bear harvest may be a better choice.

As an example, after checking the harvest report, a bear hunter looking for a good spot to hunt would normally consider northern towns like Parsonsfield or

Porter. I think this is a poor choice because of hunting pressure.

Hound hunting for bear is popular in these sections. Before the season starts, many houndsmen train their dogs in the area. This activity can spook bear from bait sites – not always a bad thing for bait hunters. Bear move around when chased, and even if you are set up in a relatively quiet area, a bear chased out of another location may find your bait and offer an opportunity for a shot.

Bad Experience Not all bear hunters using dogs are ethical. Last year, I had a bear that I had baited for weeks killed a few hundred yards from my bait site. I had placed the bait in an area with no vehicle access to avoid dog hunters who drive the road network there.

This isn’t about sour grapes. I have friends who enjoy hound hunting, and I’ve hunted with them before and will again if I get a chance. But the group that killed that bear was in two trucks full of dogs, still no problem. And they were hunting an area gated and posted “No vehicles allowed,” but they simply drove around the gates.

I had packed in bait, with landowner’s permission, for over a month. I would have loved to drive to the bait site, but I followed

The author killed this bear with a 75-pound compound bow when it came to his bait site.

Val Marquez photo

the law. The first truck to drive around the gate was from outof-state – Virginia, I believe – and the next was from Maine.

Overlap Issues Maine’s bear season runs 13 weeks.

Baiting season is from August 29 to September 24, and hound hunters get to hunt from September 12 to October 28. Trapping season runs from September 1 to October 31.

Because of the overlap between bait and hound hunting seasons, baiters have a dog-free-time to hunt of only 14 days – no issue in large sections of northern Maine, but here in southern Maine, with our smaller sections of available hunting lands, it can be an issue.

So hunters looking for a place to hunt should consider the type of hunting pressure in the area, and not just harvest rate numbers.

Another consideration is just because very few bear are taken in a town, like Shapleigh, that doesn’t mean there are no bear in the area. There are bear around my home feeding at bird feeders.

Bear show up on my trail camera all summer long.

Hunters looking for a place to bear hunt in this southern region should check out locations in the middle of York County – towns like Waterboro, Shapleigh, and Acton all have bear populations, and very little hunting pressure.

¶

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64 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Growing Up with Baked Beans The author says he has tried cooking bean hole beans himself, at his family’s remote cabin. Over the years, he reports he’s had some successes, as well as some “stunning failures.”

“Beans, beans the musical fruit ….!” Oh, how we kids used to laugh and giggle when we sang that ditty. We thought we were being so naughty, and that made it all the more fun.

Not to mention we loved the baked beans.

Who didn’t grow up in Maine eating beans and franks on Saturday night? There were probably some who didn’t, but most of the families we knew baked beans on Saturday and enjoyed their soldier beans or red kidneys and steamed red hotdogs for supper.

Back in the 40s and 50s, housewives had their cherished bean pots that spent the entire day simmering in a slow oven. Grandmother had an ancient bean pot, and so did Aunt Mae. These crockery pots, brown with patina, had been handed down through their families.

Mom baked her beans faithfully up into the 1980s.

We received a brown bean pot as a wedding gift and continued the baking tradition for a while.

Nowadays, we get ours from a red tin can that says B&M. They taste delicious and are easy to warm up.

Depending on your family traditions, some cooks sliced the www.MaineSportsman.com

hot dogs up into the beans. Others steamed the franks and served the beans over them.

Some even put the hot dogs into buns and served beans on the side.

History and Tradition Depending on what history you read or hear, Saturday night beans go back to colonial times in Boston, when the strict Puritans forbade doing any work on Sunday, the Lord’s Day; and this meant kindling no fires, so no cooking. The beans were baked the day before, eaten for Saturday supper and served cold on Sunday. That’s one story.

Another story says the good housewives prepared their bean pots and delivered them to the local baker who had his oven going on Saturday, and for a nickel he baked off the neighborhood beans.

Bean Hole Beans In Maine, we grew up with the tradition of bean hole beans – beans baked in a hole in the ground. And that story says the pioneers learned the technique from the native Indians.

The lumber camp cooks of yore brought the bean hole to perfection, turning out gallons of steaming

hot beans for the hungry lumberjacks and river drivers.

These days, bean hole beans are a popular attraction for tourists and locals alike, at the various county fairs, firemen’s musters and snowmobile club diners.

I’ve had a fling at bean hole beans myself at our remote cabin. Over the years, I’ve had some successes and some stunning failures.

Baking beans in a hole in the ground is an art.

Church Bean Suppers Another venue for steaming hot beans and brown bread is the local church or grange supper.

We helped put on the monthly bean suppers at First Parish.

The church ladies prepared the beans and the coleslaw and the homemade pies, and the men helped with the heavy lifting and the dishwashing.

One dear lady concocted the most delicious brown bread you ever put a tooth into.

She steamed them in coffee cans.

Our nephew’s wife grew up in Biddeford.

She and her four sisters groaned when their mom and dad ushered them all down the street to St. John’s

Each pot of baked beans prepared today represents centuries of history and family tradition.

Photo: Crosby Molasses Co. Ltd.

Parish for the weekly bean feast. She admits it was one way her dad could feed his large family on a mill worker’s pay.

Aunt Mae’s Beans As I said, our mom baked hers all day, and I remember the wonderful smells that filled the kitchen when she slid the pot out of the oven to add water.

When we were very small, Mom and Dad would take a Saturday drive up to Limington to visit Uncle Fred and Aunt Mae on the family homestead.

This was a hardscrabble farm turned into apple orchards.

Uncle Fred raised apples, and Aunt Mae baked the finest beans in all of York County.

Mom and Dad knew this.

We also lived on a worn-out farm in North Saco where sometimes the cupboard could be rather bare at the end of a long week. Dad knew if we timed things right, Aunt Mae would be baking her beans,

and we’d be invited to stay for supper.

I remember the big oak dining table with the tall chairs in Aunt Mae’s dining room.

She put a pillow on one chair for me, and the big dictionary on the other for my little sister to boost us up to the table. Ruthie and I feel asleep in the car on the long drive home, and behind us in the trunk was a crate full of apples.

Well, most of those old traditions are gone these days. I doubt too many women today spend most of Saturday tending and coddling a bubbling pot of baked beans in the oven; and we are no longer prohibited from working and kindling fires on Sunday.

But the beans out of the can are still tasty, and whenever I tuck into a plateful it brings back memories of a wonderful childhood filled with warm kitchens, first class cooks, and delicious smells.

¶

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 65

Norm’s New Car In the early fall of 1974, Warden Norm Gilbert arrived at my home in Corinna to meet up with me and head out on our nightly routine in pursuit of illegal hunters.

Norm always had some sort of candy in his jacket pocket, and my daughter lit up with excitement when he arrived, but I was also excited because he drove up in his brand-new Plymouth Fury patrol vehicle. It was a beauty, and came with a great big V-8 engine and of course that wonderful new-car smell.

As I was looking it all over, he said, “We’ll take this tonight instead of your Rambler.” I told him I was counting on that, and asked if I could drive it that night. I was a little surprised that he said yes, so I eagerly got behind the wheel and we headed out.

It wasn’t a great night weather-wise, as it was raining lightly, but I told Norm I had a new spot all picked out for us to work and had checked it out a couple

of days earlier.

As we drove along, I gave it a little gas, and told Norm that I was really liking his new ride. That prompted him to tell me to be careful with his new car. I said, “Don’t worry – I won’t hurt it.”

Cow Manure We arrived at the spot in St. Albans that I had scoped out, and proceeded to the wood-line on the west end of a green field of about six acres in size.

I knew just where I wanted to park, so I turned and backed up toward the woods with a fair amount of authority, since I knew just where I was going.

When I got to the edge of the tree-line, the car’s rear wheels began to spin, and my progress was halted. I couldn’t imagine why, and tried to pull ahead, but I was hung up for some reason.

I opened my door and was half out of the car and discovered that I was smack in the middle of a big pile of FRESH cow manure.

“Not Here Yesterday” I got back in and tried rocking the car back and forth to free ourselves, but it was no use. We got out to further survey our situation, and I was really hearing it from Norm, but all I could say was, “That pile of crap was not here yesterday.”

Upon looking things over a little more, I discovered that the chain link belt that belonged in the bottom of a manure spreader was also in the manure, except now it had wrapped around the inside of our left rear wheel. Apparently the manure spreader had broken down, and everything had been somehow dumped out right there.

Using the Bumper Jack Now, there was no way we were going to call anyone for assistance and describe what kind of a mess we (or I) had gotten into. We decided to get the brand-new bumper jack out of the

The brand-new Plymouth Fury patrol car had a 440 c.u. V-8 engine, but all the power in the world won’t help you if a heavy-duty manure spreader chain is wrapped around one of your rear wheels.

brand-new car to jack up the wheel and free it from the spreader bed chain. You can only imagine performing this action in the soupy manure with a soft rain falling.

I finally got the chain disconnected, but had to take the tire off to do it. Then, after throwing the dirty jack back into the trunk and spinning around a little more, I got the car un-stuck.

As we got back into the car, covered with you-know-what, all Norm could say was, “Just take me home.”

He didn’t speak to me all the way back to my house.

I tried to lighten things up a little by saying, “Well, so much

for the new car smell,” but received no reply.

Boots Off Arriving home, I just got out and said, “Sorry, Norm” and told him that I would come over tomorrow and help him clean his car, if he wanted, but he just replied, “I will give you a call.”

As I went into the house (after removing by boots), my wife came out of the living room, commenting, “You guys weren’t gone long.” I said, “Yep, and Norman is mad at me.”

“Why, what’s the matter?” she asked, and in almost the same breath, added. “Wow – what’s that smell?

¶

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66 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Peace on the River; Tranquility on the Lake

Once a Rangeley angler achieves the proper mind-set, peace and tranquility can reign. William Clunie photo

Many seasoned anglers, long-time fishing friends, and fly fishermen who have been at it for longer than I have, tell me about a certain process that affects most fly fishers after they’ve got three or four decades of fishing under their belts.

Stage One Typically, these

The author was fishing one day and a revelation hit him. “Perhaps,” he thought to himself, “I really don’t need all 30 pounds of gear that are in this vest!” Thereafter, he removed the unnecessary gear (including some items he’d been carrying for years but had never used), and as a result he became calmer and happier he became. fly fishers start out in a “gathering” mode … they learn as much as

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they can – and gather as much gear as they can – in a hurry. I did it when I first started fly fishing, I tried to catch up to the rest of the fly-fishing world by studying like a madman. I was a true sponge, absorbing all the fly-fishing information I could, as fast as I could, and I’m still learning.

I also gathered gear like a madman.

I started tying flies and filled boxes full of all kinds of fly-fishing ammo. I went through

several pairs of waders and boots trying to find the right pair.

I owned numerous vests, and went back and forth trying different sling packs, chest packs, plain old vests, and fly-fishing fanny packs.

I gathered all sorts of nippers, hemostats, knot tying tools, polarized sunglasses, hats, rods, reels, lines, nets, belts, tippet material, indicators, and probably lots of stuff I have forgotten about long ago.

I saved all the items that worked for me, and gave away the rest of the gear that just didn’t cut it. I still try out any and all new things that come along, and I’m amazed at some of useless junk, as well as all the great innovations that have come forth.

Stage Two The next segment of my fly-fishing lifetime revolved around trying to trim down the massive amount of gear I dragged along with me when I went out fishing. I mean it – my vest must have weighed thirty pounds!

As a fly-fishing guide, I had to carry more than I ever needed. Now that I’ve retired from guid-

(Continued on next page)

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 67 (Continued from page 66)

ing, I find that I have no excuse for carrying around all that gear … including some items I have never used. I had to laugh one time when I found some kind of knot-tying tool that I didn’t even know I had in the vest … I never could figure out how to use it, but evidently, I thought I needed to have it in my vest.

After much mental anguish, I tossed the excess and unneeded items into a small pack and was left with a vest that weighed much less. I’m actually going to purchase a lighter and smaller vest to accommodate the new

“downsized” angler that I have evolved into.

For smallmouth bass fishing from a boat, all I now carry is my rod, reel, a box of flies, nippers, and hemostats … I don’t need a vest full of everything. When I wade for smallmouth, I have a small chest pack that carries all I’ll need … no more heavy vests for this guy.

Trout fishing is another story. I’m in the process of trimming down as I write this column. Trimming my trout fishing gear down has been happening for a few months now, and I’m wondering it if will go on forever.

I carry the same gear for trout and salmon fishing no matter where I’m fishing. Fishing in the Rangeley Region could find me on a trout pond after some brookies in the morning and wading a stream for landlocked salmon in the afternoon, so I must carry a lot of gear.

One thing I have done is put everything into a backpack that holds all my gear. If I’m hitting a pond and will be in a canoe, I haul the whole pack in – if I’m going to be wading a stream, I strip the vest, rod, reel, and wading staff out of the pack.

My waders and boots are always in the truck,

so I’m all set when the switch from pond to stream happens.

Stage Three This final stage (I think it’s final) is more about attitude than it is about trimming down the amount of gear. It happens when an angler finally realizes the pleasure in minimizing his or her fly-fishing system.

The gear has been reduced, but also a certain calming attitude takes place. I think it’s from bypassing the thought that more gear means the possibility of more fish. The angler comes to enjoy the fact that they are still catching fish, hav-

ing rid themselves of useless gear. It is very much like the theory of the guy with one gun – fear him, because he will be really good with that one gun, since it’s all he’s got.

The same goes for the minimalist angler – fish fear the guy with a minimum of gear because he’s trimmed it down to a simple system that really works.

At least that’s what I’m working on – a simple system of fly fishing that works for me.

I’m still at the stage where I’m finding out if it works or not, and I hope to see you there soon.

¶

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Trapper Events, and Another Item of Interest A trapper rendezvous is an opportunity for those in the business to stock up on supplies, and for interested members of the public to learn about this historic, traditional outdoor activity.

Trapper associations across the country hold rendezvous annually. The associations usually hold their membership meetings and elections of officers during these gatherings.

Many vendors attend in order to sell their wares, and trapping demonstrations are given to teach the correct trapping methods for the various furbearers. Other activities of interest for children are normally held.

Trapper rendezvous originated during the historical period in North America known as the Era of The Mountain Men. These annual events are well recorded in our history. Trappers and Indians gathered at var-

ious locations across the West to sell their furs from animals caught during the year and to buy supplies for the following year’s trapping.

According to historical records, participants demonstrated their many talents, including shooting and horseback riding.

Today the tradition of rendezvous is carried on at the state and national levels by various state associations and by the National Trappers Association.

NTA – August The National Trappers Association (NTA) will hold an annual meeting, auction, and related activities this year at Neal Olson’s 44th Annual New England Trappers

Weekend, August 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st. This is a first-time NTA event for Maine. Also, the Maine Trappers Associations (MTA) will have a larger involvement than usual, including an auction.

There will be demonstrations related to the art of trapping Thursday through Saturday.

The demonstrations will be given by wellknown trappers from many states, including Maine. Vendors will be present, dealing in everything from trapping supplies to antiques.

This event will be held at 760 East Bethel Road, Bethel, ME 04217. It should be of interest to all outdoor enthusiasts.

More information will be

This small, rustic trapper’s cabin was built in Leonards Mills by members of the Maine Trappers Association to demonstrate how trappers spent nights after walking trap lines during the day. It’s open to public viewing. Photo: Maine Trappers Association

available on the MTA website, mta.homestead.com.

NHTA – August The New Hampshire Trappers Association (NHTA) will hold their annual rendezvous in August.

This year it is scheduled for August 26th and 27th. It will be held at the Sandwich Fair Grounds, located at 7 Wentworth Hill Road, Sandwich, N.H. 03227.

They will hold their annual NHTA membership meeting, election of officers and a country auction, along with trapping demonstrations from nationally-recognized trappers, and various vendors. More information is available on their website, nhtrappers.com.

MTA – September The Maine Trappers Association (MTA) will hold its Annual Rendezvous at the Windsor Fair Grounds, 82 Ridge

www.MaineSportsman.com

Road, Windsor, Maine 04363 in September.

This year it will be held September 16th and 17th.

The annual membership meeting and officer elections will be held during this meeting. There are trapping demonstrations during the two-day event, with vendors present selling trapping supplies and other items of interest to outdoorsmen.

The MTA has a museum and an oldtime trapper’s line cabin on the Windsor Fair Grounds, which is open to the public during the Windsor Fair and the Rendezvous.

Trapper line cabins were designed for an overnight stay while checking the trap line. These cabins were built by trappers and were very simple. They were meant to provide temporary (Trapping continued on page 71)

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 69

Why New England Sportsmen Should Care About Uvalde and Buffalo On May 15, 2022, an 18-year-old boy shot and killed 20 people in a Buffalo, NY grocery store, with a semi-automatic, military-style rifle that he purchased on his eighteenth birthday.

On May, 24, 2022 an 18-year-old boy in Uvalde, Texas took a similar, legally-purchased rifle to an elementary school and killed 19 third and fourth graders.

The FBI reports that from 2019 to the end of 2021, the number of active shooter incidents in the U.S. rose more than 80%.

That number does not include domestic assaults; it also does not include shootings related to gang or drug violence.

Six of the nine deadliest mass shootings in the United States since 2018 were committed by people who were 21 or younger. All of those shooters used semi-automatic firearms.

Who cares? Show of hands?

It’s not our fault.

None of it.

Those of us who responsibly own and use firearms are not at fault for the deaths of innocent children in Texas. It’s not our fault that people targeted for the color of their skin were murdered in cold blood by a man-child dressed in body armor at a grocery store.

Any proposal to impose age restrictions on the purchase of semiautomatic firearms creates instant controversy. This column is intended to evoke thoughtful discussion and debate on the subject.

The views of the author are his own.

Safe and sound. Jim Andrews photo

Rights Come with Responsibilities But just because it’s not our fault doesn’t mean it’s not our responsibility. As American gunowners, we exercise one of the greatest basic rights ever explicitly granted to the citizens of any nation.

It’s wrong to pretend that exercising that kind of important right doesn’t come with great personal and social responsibility. Maine hunters know that we are individually responsible for the safe storage, use and control of the firearms we own. And we legally impose that responsibility on other hunters. It’s why we require hunter safety training before anyone

can obtain a license to hunt. Who doesn’t feel safer in the woods because of this?

But it’s a sign of our ruined gun culture that we permit a kid – too young buy beer – to legally purchase an AR-15 with high-capacity magazines, several hundred rounds of ammo, and some body armor. No training required, no registration, no examination of juvenile criminal records, no adult supervision or parental consent necessary.

This all remains legal, under the protections of the 2nd Amendment.

Reality is Still a Thing Your dad didn’t hand you your first

gun and tell you to go do whatever you wanted with it. Mine didn’t, either. The nation’s founding fathers, likewise, didn’t create a right to bear arms that was somehow absolute and immune from responsibility and reasonable regulation. “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state …”

In fact, no right granted in the Constitution is an absolute right. Instead, they are all part of a compact – a compromise between freedoms granted, and responsibilities imposed.

I fully understand the argument that any small-scale tinkering with any law involving guns represents a slip-

pery slope that would inevitably lead to the destruction of the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms.

But imposing a hunter safety requirement didn’t destroy hunting in Maine – it made it safer. And prohibiting 18-yearolds from buying or possessing beer didn’t lead us back to prohibition days. One sure way to guarantee that any new restrictions are arbitrary or non-sensical is to not even participate in the negotiations.

Responsible gun owners need to take back our gun culture.

We need to help figure out how to prevent 18-year-old-boys from committing future carnage against 10-yearolds and grocery shoppers.

If we don’t acknowledge the dangers of unfettered gun ownership, and accept the responsibility of adopting the same common-sense constraints we already abide by personally, then we risk losing our voice in the debate.

We may cause more harm to the exercise of our constitutional gun rights by ignoring reality, than we would by agreeing to certain restrictions narrowing the current unlimited access to semiautomatic firearms by unsupervised young purchasers.

¶

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70 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Counting Down the Days to Bird Season So, what does a bird hunting addict do during the off season? These dog days of summer force me to schedule my dog-training activities during the cooler, early-morning hours of the day. I get my dog out early, before the sun heats things up too much.

I usually avoid taking my dog to the woods when birds and other animals are raising their newborn in the spring and early part of summer. The month of August is a good time to return to the woods and let the

The author says he plans to schedule a session with a professional shooting instructor to sharpen his shotgunning skills before October 1st. In fact, he might “get serious” and join a shooting club that offers sporting clays, such as the Wilton F&G Club, or the Rangeley Guides and Sportsmen’s Association. bird dog stretch its legs. It’s also a good time for us humans to get in shape for the upcoming season.

A simple maintenance routine of walking in the woods with your dog for a few miles every other day is a good starter. I like to also take my dog

kayaking routinely through the summer months. I boot her out of the kayak and let her swim behind me.

It’s a good impact-free workout, and at the same time, it cools her off.

Shotgun Skills Most folks (like

me) pick up their shotgun on October 1st and use up about a month of hunting discovering just how rusty their shotgun shooting skills have become. In other words, they miss a lot of game birds.

This year, I’m going to get a jump on my shooting skills and

go to a professional to get some quality shooting instruction. I figure if I get in a good session or two with a professional trainer and then continue shooting clay pigeons with my buddies, I’ll be well on my way to successfully dropping birds by October.

I might even really get serious and join a shooting club that offers sporting clay shooting. There are several shooting clubs in this area that offer trap, skeet, or sporting clays; some that imme(Continued on next page)

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diately come to mind are the Wilton Fish and Game Club, and the Rangeley Region Guides and Sportsmen’s Association.

A simple day out with a few friends, taking turns tossing clay pigeons from different angles, can increase your success in the woods come fall. I also just purchased a little device that flings the clay pigeons for me if no one is there to throw a few for me … we shall see how this goes.

Shotgun Maintenance I often will take my shotgun out of the safe and do a little dry firing with snap caps in place (they protect the firing pin when dry firing).While I have the shotgun in my hands to dry fire it, I practice pointing and shooting, but I also inspect the shotgun for any hint of

rust or other maladies.

One thing I recently noticed during one of my dry fire sessions was that the stock on my new 20-gauge double got pretty scratched up last season. I guess fighting through thick, brushy swampland takes its toll on a wood stock.

Well, I found a cure for all that ails wood stocks.

I purchased a small bottle of “Timberluxe” (timberluxe.com) oil finish and followed the video instructions to refinish the scratched areas of the stock. I have refinished a sizable number of stocks in my life, but let me tell you, “This stuff is great.”

The solution takes the fine sawdust that you remove from the stock as you are sanding, and pushes it back to fill the pores and smooth the surface perfectly. After the ini-

Trapping (Continued from page 68)

shelter only.

Information on the rendezvous will be available at the MTA website at mta.homestead.com.

VTA – September The Vermont Trappers Association (VTA) hold their annual rendezvous in September. This year it is scheduled for September 24th and 25th. It will be held at the Barton Fair Grounds, located at 278 Roaring Brook Road, Barton, VT 05822.

They will hold their annual membership meeting, election of officers, a country auction, along with trapping demonstrations from well-known trappers, and various vendors will be on site. More information is available on their website at vttrappers.com MTA – October The Maine Trappers Association (MTA) maintains a Trappers Line Cabin at Leonards Mill in Bradley, Maine, which shows what a typical trapper’s

Timberluxe oil finish really brings out the fine features of a wood stock.

William Clunie photo

tial oiling/sanding, the stock sets for 24 hours to dry. After drying, a second, thin coat is simply applied with your fingers. Let this coat dry for 24 to 48 hours, and you are all set. Additional coats can be added to make it glossy if preferred.

If I remember correctly, I bought a small, ½-ounce vial of this Timberluxe oil finish for $15.95, but don’t worry – a few drops go a long way.

You spread the drops on really thin with your fingers – the thinner you can spread it the better. I figure I could finish three or four shotguns (forearm and stock) with this single vial.

I like to add a coat of furniture wax over the oil finish to really protect the wood.

Don’t get the wax into the checkering, or you will have a hard time getting it out … it will dry to a white powder

line cabin was like during the early days of trapping.

Trappers could cache food supplies, fur stretchers, extra traps and tools needed to maintain equipment in these small, simple cabins. Leonards Mills holds their “Living History Days” each year on the first weekend in October.

Members of the MTA’s Union River Chapter provide staffing for the cabin during this event to talk about trapping to the general public.

Leonards Mill is open year-round for self-guided tours, picnics, and hiking on their nature trails. Check their website for other events, more info and directions to the Maine Forest and Logging Museum at Leonards Mills. www. maineforestandloggingmuseum.org ***** Skunk Odor Removal Effective methods of eliminating the odor of skunk from items ranging from your dog to a skunk’s pelt, are few and far between.

The best way is to oxidize the scent into a water-soluble and odorless solution.

that sticks in the fine checkering, and looks awful.

So, between maintaining my shotguns, keeping me and the dog in shape, and getting out to practice my shotgunning skills, I still have to figure in some time for fishing before winter is upon us … because you see, I have the pleasant affliction of a dual addiction – bird hunting, and fly fishing.

¶

The odor is produced by the glands of the skunk, and it’s basically a chemical compound of mercaptans and disulfides.

This odor is best addressed with a solution consisting of water, hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and Dawn dish washing soap. The approximate proportions are one quart of peroxide and ¼ cup baking soda, mixed into a waterand-soap solution of approximately two gallons of water. The amount of soap in the water should be increased or decreased, depending on its use – weaker for your dog or other pet, and stronger for other applications such as a skunk pelt.

¶

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72 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Feathers and Fur...in August!

New Hampshire’s crow seasons run March 16-31, and Aug. 15 - Nov. 30. Maine has a longer spring season, the dates of which vary depending on WMD, and a consistent second season from Aug. 1 – Sept.

23. Vermont has a long spring season from Jan. 17 – Apr. 11, and a long second season from Aug. 19 – Dec. 19. Oddly, in Vermont you can hunt crows only on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

Hunting season is coming! And it may be here sooner than you think.

Most of us think of September as the opener for all things wild and woodsy: the start of goose hunting, bear season, gray squirrels, and upland birds. But that’s because you haven’t been taking advantage of the feather-and-fur combo that August has to offer; namely, crows and coyotes!

Whacky Seasons One doesn’t typically think of crows as being a highly sought-after game bird. I think many hunters would even be surprised to find out that their hunting is regulated. Even more surprising is the narrow and odd placement of their hunting seasons.

It is a bit tough to even locate the rules on crow hunting in the regulation books and websites. Their seasons are typically found under the heading of migratory birds.

But Maine follows this up with the below asterisk, so there’s no confusion: www.MaineSportsman.com

* Crows are neither migratory waterfowl nor migratory game birds.

The use of lead shot and the use of a shotgun capable of holding more than three shells is permitted. A migratory waterfowl stamp is not required. Use of electronic calls is permitted.

This treatment generally applies across other states, but check your local laws to confirm.

As you’ll see, the way states structure their crow seasons is whacky and particular to each state. NH has a very short spring season running only from March 16-31, and a moderate second season from Aug. 15 Nov. 30. Maine has a longer spring season, the dates of which vary depending on WMU, and a consistent second season from Aug. 1 – Sept. 23. Vermont has a long spring season from Jan. 17 – Apr. 11, and a long second season from Aug. 19 – Dec. 19. These date choices may seem odd, but it gets even odder.

In Vermont, you are also limited to hunting crows only on Friday, Saturday, Sunday,

and Monday.

No, this is not the April Fools edition of T.M.S.!

Caw-Caw! Readers of my July 2022 T.M.S articles will remember how I stumbled onto crow hunting this past spring by way of my Remington SP-10 10 gauge. The same tactics apply for the summer, but I’ll wear a greener camo. I plan to hunt hay fields (since the corn in the fields will be five feet tall now). I use three plastic crow decoys, a hand crow call, and my electronic FoxPro. Start with just the hand call, and then ramp up into some of the crow/raven fight sounds. Good camo and a setup where you can easily swing and shoot is key. Tuck into a hedgerow or brushy drainage ditch if you can.

In Central and South America, crow can be considered a delicacy. I have a friend who swears that it tastes great—like a little steak. (Not sure if I believe him—or if I’ll ever find out….) If you plan to eat your

The writer uses plastic decoys, a hand crow call, and an electronic FoxPro with crow and raven fight recordings to call crows to within shotgunning range.

harvest, don’t set up to shoot over water. I’ve been told that even good retrieving dogs won’t touch a crow.

I’ve yet to put this theory to the test, though.

Not-So Wily Coyotes Many coyote pursuers wait until colder weather to blow on their howlers. If you want to harvest thick, pretty pelts, then this is well warranted.

But if the objective is

simply for population control, then late summer/early fall is prime time.

Getting out before the crowds disrupt the woods is helpful.

If calling in August, it’s likely been four months since coyotes have heard a dying rabbit squealer. By mid-winter, they’ve got every FoxPro sequence memorized.

Usually by August, (Continued on next page)

This August coyote was called in after being spotted running up a bank in a gravel pit where the writer and friend, Jack Cormier, were target shooting.

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 73 (Continued from page 72)

the pups have been kicked out of the litter.

But they are still young and dumb. On multiple occasions, I’ve encountered young coyotes on logging roads in August that refuse to run-away, even at the noise of a pistol.

On one hot August occasion, I was shooting with a friend of mine in a remote grav-

el pit. As we rounded the bend of the driveway to leave, a young coyote went running up the bank, only 75 yards from where I had just been hammering away with my 35 Rem only a couple minutes prior!

We drove past and then walked back and played a coyote pup in distress sound—very effective on young canines. In a matter of

minutes, the curiosity got the better of him.

And so did my friend’s 25-06 Sendero.

Location Though out on their own, during the early weeks and months after separating from the litter, young coyotes, I’ve read, will stay close to their previous den location. So calling setups this time of year should focus on areas

of known dens. If you don’t know any specific dens, try calling near gravelly areas: sandpits, riverbanks, and moraines.

Combo Hunting A good idea to combination-hunt coyotes and crows is to set up before daylight on a riverbank field hedgerow. Use your crow decoys. Start calling at daylight with coyote howls or rabbit/mouse

distress calls, then transition over time to crow calls. Coyotes may think that a kill was made, then see your crow decoys and think that the carcass has been abandoned.

It may pay to bring both a shotgun and a rifle in this scenario.

Shoot whatever game comes in first!

¶

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74 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Hiking the Long Trail Hiking the trail is not like a walk in a city park.

Be prepared for rugged country and weather changes. Water can be limited, so bring some with you or a quality filter. Plan your time carefully and bring headlamps, because if you get caught out in the dark, there are no streetlights. And let someone know where you’re headed.

Not every mile is the same. For my money, the miles I put on in August get me ready for hunting adventures in the fall.

This time of year, I like winding trails of dirt and rock that head uphill. A scenic vista at the top is a bonus. Overnights can be great, but shorter hikes will do. I have some two-hour stomps when I have some time after work, as well as some all-day excursions for the weekends.

A backpack adds to the challenge and is especially important from a training standpoint if you’re headed to the Rocky Mountain west to hunt. Unless you’ve got horses or mules, those bulls and bucks don’t pack themselves out.

Walk a Mile in your Boots If you’re headed west to hunt early in the fall, I recommend wearing the same boots on your hikes here that you’ll be using on your hunt.

Trekking poles are a good addition as well, especially if 70-pound elk or moose quarters are in your future.

A good pair of dedicated hiking boots is handy if you’re not www.MaineSportsman.com

headed west to hunt.

I prefer leather boots that I keep well treated, with a decent Vibram sole for traction.

I figure my rubber boots will be there for me in October to get ready for long November miles, and I probably don’t need to wear them for a sweaty training hike.

Vermont Trails In many respects, I consider Vermont over-trailed. Too many trails for every user group out there.

It can be pretty hard to go more than two miles in any direction without crossing a road or a hiking, biking, or snowmachine trail. All of that makes a trip into a remote lake to fish a pretty rare and special adventure.

I get it – there are lots of users out there, and I use those trails too, but enough might be enough. That’s above my pay grade to decide. But I do like them when I’m on them.

The Long Trail is the nation’s oldest continuous footpath.

It runs from Massachusetts all the way to Canada.

According to the Green Mountain Club, which manages the

Long Trail, it stretches 272 miles of direct travel, within a system of trails that covers 438 miles total.

The trail was started in 1910, with the last mile cut in 1930, predating the completion of the Appalachian Trail by seven years. All but 6.5 miles of its length have been permanently protected.

In the southern half of the state, much of this footpath through the woods exists within the Green Mountain National Forest, making the trail and trailhead accesses a nice place to start for hunters and anglers getting into the woods at all times of the year.

Hiking as Training I’m what is known as a section hiker, covering bits and pieces of the trail as time allows. Someday I might get the whole thing done. Until then, I’ll keep covering ground.

Depending on the day, I enjoy a simple ramble through the woods. On other days, I seek out scenic vistas.

If you’re new to hiking, there are a couple of things to remember.

Many of these trails are on pretty rough

The author packing out half of his Colorado mule deer buck in 2018.

ground with decent elevation, so be prepared for rugged country and weather changes. Water can be limited and of questionable cleanliness along the spine of the Green Mountains, so bring some with you or a quality filter.

Give yourself plenty of time to complete your route, because if you get caught out in the dark, there are no streetlights. Emergency equipment is good to carry. Take a space blanket, fire starting equipment, a light and an extra layer. Let someone know where you’re headed.

As I start out the year, I keep my ambitions low and pick short routes. I typically hike one day per week, perhaps twice if my schedule allows, with walks and runs filling in the other training days. I slowly build up distance and

start to add weight to my pack to simulate a western hunt, increasing each by a max of 10% per week.

Even if I’m not headed west, adding a pack to my hikes leads to strong legs in November.

Close to home, I like hiking Jay Peak.

It can be crowded at times, but if I get an early start, I’m usually done as the crowds show up. As I’ve mentioned, there is no shortage of trails out there.

Hiking is enjoyable as its own activity, and also as a good way to get legs trained up for fall hunting seasons.

A lot of the demands of hiking, especially if you overnight out there, simulate a western hunt. This gives you a chance to test out gear, too, from clothes to packs and (Vermont continued on page 78)

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 75

Horns of Plenty The author believes it’s time we started turning a profit from the thousands of antlers shed in the Maine woods by moose and deer each winter.

There are lots of reasons why someone might want a set of elk antlers.

If you happen to be a bull elk, you need them to fight other males and attract a mate.

If you don’t happen to be an elk, you might find they look good hanging over the fireplace.

They could be assembled into an interesting gun rack, chandelier or gardening implement.

They’re probably useful as back scratchers.

Health Benefits, or Dog Chews?

And then, there are these other things.

Elk antlers are used in China for medical research into regenerating limbs, and are said to have anti-inflammatory qualities. In Korea, ground antlers are given to children to promote growth.

Maybe that stuff works. Maybe not.

But there’s a more lucrative market for elk antlers: chew toys for dogs. Companies that make those things buy tons of antlers for Fido’s gnawing enjoyment. And there’s one place where they can be sure to find a large supply.

R Elks” ”Us. Or they could go to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where there’s

an annual auction of shed antlers collected by local Boy Scouts, as well as those seized from poachers and recovered from roadkill.

“Big Bucks” According to news reports, these pieces of calcium and phosphorous sell for big bucks (no pun intended), with a nice rack going for $1,500 or more, and a set attached to the skull earning returns well into five figures.

Less desirable pieces still sell for as much as $30 per pound.

According to a New Yorker article, in recent years, the auction has generated over $200,000 in revenue, which is split between a wildlife refuge and the Scouts.

But even all those antlers don’t begin to meet demand. So, the industry resorts to alternatives, such as antlers from deer farms, moose and those furry Viking helmets worn by assorted kooks.

Opportunity for Maine This presents an opportunity for Maine to exploit our natural resources. We may not harbor any elk, but we have plenty of shed antlers from deer and moose that are every bit as attractive as decorations, and just as tasty when pooches want treats (I’m told).

I have a nice rack of moose antlers hanging in my office, purchased years ago at a flea market for $25.

At 30 bucks a pound, those things would pay my electric bill for a couple of months, or my bar tab for one excellent evening.

Or maybe not. According to the Boston Globe, the market for moose antlers in New England is more in the neighborhood of $16 a pound, so maybe my set would cover my monthly cable bill or a couple cases of PBR. Nevertheless, it’s time this state got in on the action.

Semi-Secret Society of Shed Hunters Each year, the Maine woods are littered with deer and moose antlers. These aren’t quite as numerous as those discarded nip bottles of Fireball, but little liquor bottles are only worth a nickel.

Woodland creatures begin chewing on the sheds almost from the minute they hit the ground. Squirrels, mice and other calcium-deprived rodents love those discarded antlers as much as dogs do. The competition for them is nearly as fierce as at that annual auction in Wyoming.

There’s a semi-secret society of shed hunters operating in

Forrest Wardwell, who lives in Hancock County, has trained his yellow labs to seek out moose and deer antlers. According to the author, Forrest may be sitting on a gold mine. Wardwell photo

the state each spring, but it’s past time to make the hunt official.

Maine should emulate Wyoming’s success by turning the stuff deer and moose are discarding into cash.

Each year, Boy Scouts or work-release convicts should be sent into our public lands to retrieve the shedders. Their haul can be added to whatever game wardens recover from poachers and the remains of roadkill.

Then, we could hold our own auction to dispose of this bounty.

The Scouts (or convicts) would earn a portion of the proceeds, with the rest going to preserve deer yards, fund research to halt the spread of winter ticks that are reducing the moose population, or to cover the bill for one blowout night of drunken

debauchery.

I’m inclined to vote for that last one.

Depriving Nature of Nutrients?

There will be those who oppose this plan, and not just because they have moral objections to making whoopie. Some environmentalists believe reducing the number of antlers on the forest floor might have an adverse impact on the ecosystem.

The New Yorker asked a Wyoming scientist if that state’s auction could be depriving plants or animals of essential minerals. He said, “Maybe. Not for certain. No idea.”

That’s definitive enough for me.

Of course, Maine’s woods aren’t the only (Outdoors & Other Mistakes continued on page 78) www.MaineSportsman.com

76 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Smilin’ Sportsman

Doctor: “Okay, now stick your tongue out as far as you can, and walk over to that open window.”

Patient: “Sure, Doc, but why?”

Doctor: “Because I don’t like the guy who lives across the street.”

— Confucius say: Sexual harassment in an office elevator is wrong, on so many levels.

—

www.MaineSportsman.com

Did you hear about the veterinarian and the taxidermist who went into business together?

Their slogan was, “Either way, you get your pet back.”

— The teacher was asking the children questions about their families.

Teacher: “Little Johnny, what does your father do for work?”

Little Johnny: “My father is a stage magician, and he saws people in two.”

Teacher: “And how many brothers and sisters do you have?”

Johnny: “I have a half-sister, and a couple of half-brothers.”

— Several weeks after a young museum curator had been hired, she was called into the personnel director’s office.

“What is the meaning of this?” the director asked. ‘‘When you applied for this job, you told us you had five years’ experience. Now we discover this is the first job you’ve ever held.’’ ‘‘Well,” the young lady replied, “in

your job posting, you said you wanted somebody with a vivid imagination.”

Eb: What’s the best thing about Switzerland?

Flo: I don’t know, but their flag is a huge plus!

��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 77

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(Trading Post continued on page 79)

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78 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Trophy Gallery

“Striped bass are consistently available,” says Captain Nowinski of North Creek Guide Service. “There are very few slow days.”

Learn more about North Creek Guide Service on page 25 of this issue. Photo: North Creek

Outdoors & Other Mistakes (Continued from page 75)

possible source of an antler windfall. I can’t count all the dive bars I’ve visited that had decorated their walls with jackalopes. Those

Obsession Charters offers two separate boats for different fishing experiences -- clients can fly-fish from the 18-foot skiff, or cast plugs aboard the 22-foot boat equipped with a cuddy cabin.

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creatures are far rarer than deer, moose or even elk, so their antlers should command a premium.

After all, mythical animals seem the most likely species to harbor medical miracles.

Al Diamon can be emailed at aldiamon@herniahill.net.

¶

Vermont (Continued from page 74)

food to filters.

August is not too late to get out hiking and get some benefit for fall hunting seasons, even if you’re headed to the Rocky Mountains in September or have a New England moose tag.

Check out www.greenmountainclub.org/hiking for more info on the Long Trail and other associated hikes.

¶

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��������������������������������������������� The Maine Sportsman • August 2022 • 79

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(Continued from page 77)

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¶

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PARKERTOWN TWP – Three-season fishing/ hunting camp on owned land with 100’ gradual entry shore frontage on Aziscohos Lake. Off-grid insulated two bedroom camp with knotty pine throughout, gas appliances/lights, Empire wall heater, wired for generator. Storage shed for your gear, gravity-fed indoor shower and toilet. Sold furnished. Spacious deck overlooking the panoramic lake, mountain and sunset views. MLS #1532449 $249,900 SANDY RIVER PLT - Looking to get away from the hustle & bustle of daily life, check out this large acreage parcel located behind the gate on Red Moose Lane! The 31.77 acre wooded timber tract offers seclusion and privacy on semi-remote road not plowed in winter. Live off the grid, get back to nature! Deeded access to association waterfront on Beaver Mt Lake, super spot in the heart of recreation heaven, snowmobile friendly. MLS #1530298 – $100,000 SANDY RIVER PLT - 2.34 acre wooded land parcel offers potential views of scenic Beaver Mountain Lake! Several possible building sites to choose from and a babbling brook to enjoy. Located directly across the road from deeded lake access with small boat launch. Town maintained year-round road, plus low plantation taxes. Nice spot close to Rangeley amenities, Saddleback ski area. MLS #1475451 – $79,900

GREENVILLE – This beautiful 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home sits on 5+/- acres with 281’ of owned water frontage on Prong Pond. Living area features a cathedral ceiling, wood stove and lots of windows. Open concept kitchen, dining and living areas, as well as two bedrooms and bathroom finish out the main floor. Huge loft area for more sleeping or living space. Walk-out basement has a refrigerator and sink, bathroom, utility room, and two other rooms that could be used for more sleeping area or office space. Home has radiant heat, central vacuum and a shed for your storage needs. This area provides great fishing, swimming, kayaking, boating, hiking, climbing and the deer are very plentiful. Moosehead Lake and Lily Bay State Park are only a 5-minute drive with a boat launch and sandy beach. Only a short drive to in town Greenville. MLS #1525052 – $775,000 NORRIDGEWOCK – Spacious, meticulously maintained 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom log home in the countryside. Well-appointed kitchen, large dining area, and a spacious living room. Enjoy deeded access to the Sandy River just down the road. The Kennebec River and a public boat launch are also nearby, as well as other recreational opportunities. MLS #1536390 – $349,000 HARTLAND – Surveyed 10.3 acre wooded lot on a paved, public road with town water. Power available at the road. Over 400 feet of frontage on Athens Road. MLS #1532083 – $44,900 WEST FORKS PLT – Four-season 12’x20’ camp on 3.59 acres. Sleeps at least eight people. No power, water, or septic; just grey water system. Wired for lights and outlets for a generator. On-demand propane hot water heater, outdoor shower, 110 gallon rain water catch system, and a generator shelter.

Plowable access available year round or you can snowmobile in. Propane stove, heater, and lights.

Camp is fully insulated and heats very quickly in the winter time. Appalachian trail and snowmobile/ ATV trail access near by. Public beach at Pleasant Pond about a mile away. The camp is about a mile and a half off of pavement and about 5 miles from route 201. MLS #1529310 – $74,000 WELLINGTON – Cute two bedroom camp that is just waiting for your finishing touches! Fully wired and power available a short distance away. Survey and new deed description already complete.

Driveway entrance in place. Less than a 15 minute drive to Kingsbury Pond. Taxes are TBD. MLS #1512343 – $66,900 BURNHAM – 14.1 surveyed acres with 534 feet on the Sebasticook River. Small off-grid camp on the property in the woods that needs some work but could be a nice getaway. Drilled well on the hill offering the possibility to build near the road or use the waterline to feed the camp. Deeded access road that is easily traveled on ATV bringing you to the camp but also has road frontage on the Perkins Road so you could build your own driveway if you choose. The land is well wooded and has not been harvested in decades. MLS #1528160 – $65,000 EAST MOXIE TWP – 2.78 acres of land with 244 feet of frontage on Moxie Lake. Property is surveyed and soil tested and has a southern exposure. Power is available at the road. Direct access to ATV and snowmobile trails is the outdoor enthusiast’s dream! More land is available to purchase, that being 6.15 acres in total for $150,000. See MLS #1530079. ROW from Shirley Road to property. MLS #1536379 – $80,000 BINGHAM – ATV and snowmobile from this 68 acre parcel of land and offering approximately 1500 feet frontage on Johnson Brook. Currently in tree growth for tax purposes and tax amount is estimated. MLS #1532285 – $106,000 08/22

Mt. Chase – Two quaint cabins with picturesque trout pond in front. Separate shower house with toilet. Private setting on 5.4 acres at the foot of Mt, Chase just off Mountain Road, great ATV and snowmobile area. $139,000

Lincoln – Four years old home on Caribou Pond. Three bedrooms, the master bedroom has a master bath, and full foundation. Year round home with open concept and 9 ft. ceilings. Enjoy all this property has to offer. $369,900

T4 R7 – Looking for remote pristine waterfront? Enjoy seeing a perfect starry night sky? Do you enjoy hunting and fishing? This leased camp on Seboeis River could be just what you are looking for. Call today for your appointment to see. $49,000

Burlington – A nice, seasoned driveway and a 16’x24’ concrete pad. Madagascal Pond is a good warm water fishery and excellent direct access to ATV and snowmobile trails. $69,000

Springfield – Remote. Well-wooded acreage. Direct ATV and snow mobile access right on McGinley Road. Clean northern Maine air, wildlife outside the front door and the chance to feel free. Call today for a look at this traditional Maine cabin. $69,900

Grand Falls – This cabin was landed on this lot two years ago and ready to finish off and use.

This 41 acre lot sits high on a hill with great views on Lord Brook Road. ATV and snowsled from this location. Take a look. $79,000

Lee – 4.3 acres lot on hardwood ridge, nice views, snowmobile and ATV trails, fishing and skiing nearby, electricity available, owner financing, sited on Skunk Hill Road. $18,900 Lincoln – 1.56+/- acres, field, electricity available, 4 lakes in 1 direction, all of Cold Stream Ponds in another, few miles from downtown, corner frontage on Transalpine Road and Folsom Pond Road. $19,900 Lee – This private, well-wooded lot on Old Steamboat Road has year round access and electricity. It could be the property you have been looking for! $37,500 Lincoln – A nice lot on the high side of Route 6. Surveyed with driveway already in place and electricity available. Plenty of room for a small home or mobile home on the currently cleared driveway. Priced right and ready for you. $12,500

R E A L

E S T A T E

5 LAKE STREET, P.O. BOX 66, LINCOLN 207-794-2460 www.cwalakestreet.com E-mail: cwa@cwalakestreet.com

1-800-675-2460 Call any of our brokers to work for you!

“Tate” Aylward ............. 794-2460 Peter Phinney............... 794-5466 Kirk Ritchie................... 290-1554

FOR COMPLETE INFORMATION ON OUR PROPERTIES VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT CWALAKESTREET.COM

www.MaineSportsman.com

80 • August 2022 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

www.MaineSportsman.com