The Maine Sportsman August 2024 Digital Edition

Special Issue: Hunting Black Bears

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Deer Driving in the 1970s P. 61 Fishing’s Hot on Sebago P. 62 Trophy Striped Bass P. 31

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Editorial

Northern NE States Must Continue to Work Together on Fish and Game Issues We at The Maine Sportsman are fortunate to have readers – and columnists – in our neighboring northern New England states of New Hampshire and Vermont. And although many of us tend to focus on the differences among the three states, those differences are far outweighed by our commonalities. Sometimes it’s necessary to look at a map to remember that ME, NH and VT are not stacked up south to north like building blocks, but rather arranged generally east to west – shoulder to shoulder, as it were. All three states are blessed with bountiful natural resources, and we each have histories and traditions of utilizing those resources with sustainable practices. Our respective fisheries and wildlife agencies use scientific data to establish seasons and limits to ensure hunting and fishing opportunities into the future. Another element we have in common is influence “from away” – influence that intensified as thousands of folks from densely populated states moved to Northern New England during the pandemic, delighted at the infrastructure improvements in our states that permitted them to work remotely. However, some of them – supported by big-money organizations back in their states of origin – began agitating for changes and limitations – especially on hunting and trapping – in their adoptive states. That trend – combined with the pervasiveness of social media, which often allows anti-hunting “campaigns” to spring up overnight, and allows folks to comment without accountability – poses threats to the Northern New England states’ outdoor traditions. In this issue, our Vermont columnist, Matt Breton (p. 70), discusses the aftermath of legislation known as S.258 – a bill that would have mandated seats at the table by “non-consumptive” representatives on the council that establishes hunting rules and hunting seasons. Apparently, only the threat of a potential veto from Vermont’s governor, and a lack of time, derailed the bill. How did the legislation get as far as it did? “Because this is the way the anti-hunting community is attacking the hunting way of life now,” says Mr. Breton. There is good news, however – all three states employ outstanding policy-makers, and all three states utilize quaint and old-fashioned processes called “public hearings.” Public hearings require in-person (or on-screen) appearances, in which speakers identify themselves, make their pitch, and are then subject to questions – such as who or what is paying their expenses. More good news? Our columnists feel empowered to advocate for chances that will increase outdoor opportunities. Stacey Warren (p. 22), for example, urges policy-makes to alter the bear-hunting rules, expanding the season while avoiding the current overlap between those hunting bear over bait and those using dogs. And Joe Saltalamachia (p. 36) asks that if it’s true bowhunting, and now crossbow hunting, don’t have much impact on deer harvest numbers, why are bowhunters required to wait until October 5th for their season to start? Clouds of doubt attenuated by rays of optimism and hope – it’s a dynamic process. And if hunters, anglers and policymakers from Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont continue to share information, tactics and philosophies, our states’ outdoor traditions will benefit.

On the Cover: Bear Season’s Almost Here! Maine’s 2024 bear season gets underway with Youth Day on Saturday, August 24. The general season runs August 26 through November 30. Bait can be placed starting July 27, and the general “hunting with bait” season runs August 26 through September 21. Bear trapping season starts September 1 and runs through October 31. Hunting with dogs is permitted September 9 through November 1. Bag limit: two bear per year, but no more than one by hunting and one by trapping. Resident hunters do not need a bear permit to hunt bear during the firearms season for deer; however, outof-state residents must purchase a permit to hunt bear. Photo by Don Jones, www.donaldmjones.com www.MaineSportsman.com

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ISSN 0199-036 — Issue No. 621 • 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: Jon Mulherin distribution@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: $33 • 24-Month Subscription: $54

TABLE OF CONTENTS Almanac by Will Lund.................................................... 12 Aroostook - “The County” by Bill Graves..................... 38 Big Game Hunting by Joe Saltalamachia.................. 36 Big Woods World by Matt Breton & Hal Blood............ 34 Editorial.............................................................................. 4 Freshwater Fly Fishing by William Clunie...................... 44 Jackman Region by William Sheldon.......................... 54 Katahdin Country by William Sheldon......................... 51 Letters to the Editor.......................................................... 6 Maine Sportswoman by Christi Elliott........................... 49 Maine Wildlife by Tom Seymour................................... 17 Midcoast by Tom Seymour........................................... 58 Moosehead Region by Tom Seymour......................... 56 New Hampshire by Ethan Emerson.............................. 68 Off-Road Traveler by William Clunie............................ 52 Outdoors & Other Mistakes by Al Diamon.................. 73 Petzal Logic by David Petzal........................................ 60 Quotable Sportsman by Will Lund................................ 16 Rangeley Region by William Clunie............................. 63 Ranger on the Allagash by Tim Caverly...................... 46 Riding Shotgun by Robert Summers............................. 72 Saltwater Fishing by Bob Humphrey............................ 29 Sebago to Auburn Region by Tom Roth..................... 62 Self-Propelled Sportsman by Jim Andrews.................. 47 Shooter’s Bench by Col. J.C. Allard............................. 41 Smilin’ Sportsman by Will Lund...................................... 72 Snapshots in Time by Bill Pierce.................................... 11 Southern Maine by Val Marquez................................. 65 Tales from the Warden Service by Ret. Lt. Doug Tibbetts. 61 Tidewater Tales by Randy Randall............................... 59 Trapping The Silent Places by David Miller.................. 48 Trading Post (Classifieds)............................................... 73 Trout Fishing by Tom Seymour....................................... 43 Vermont by Matt Breton............................................... 70 Western Maine Mountains by William Clunie.............. 66

GUEST COLUMNS & SPECIAL SECTIONS ATVing in Maine by Steve Carpenteri......................... 18 Bear Hunting in Maine by Staci Warren...................... 22 Boating by Bob Humphrey............................................ 25 GUEST: Bass Fishing by William Catherwood............... 71 GUEST: Fly Fishing in Scotland by Joseph Coleman..... 8 GUEST: Southern Maine ATV Trails by Andrew Dumond .21 Moose Hunting in Maine by John LaMarca................ 32

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6 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Letters To The Editor

Shaken, Not Stirred To the Editor Thanks to Col. J.C. Allard for his article on the updated AR-7 survival rifle. I was pleased to read his praise for the accuracy of the current Henry model. I had an opportunity to shoot one of the original models, and found it to be approximate at best. It made me smile to read the article teaser which described the rifle as “looking like something out of a James Bond movie ….” In fact, the AR-7 made appearances in several early James Bond movies: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and Goldfinger. And in From Russia With Love, Bond uses an AR-7 to dispatch a helicopter full of evildoers. Given my own experience with the inaccuracy of the early model, I always wondered how Bond was able to coax that sort of performance from the rifle. A. Michael Moriarty, Farmingdale ME

Sean Connery prepares to do battle against evildoers, using a bored-out AR7. Photo source: 007.com

The Editor responds – Dear Mr. Moriarty: Thank you for this information. Regarding the caliber of Bond’s anti-aircraft spy rifle, it’s our understanding that through the magic of Hollywood, his AR-7 was rechambered to .25 ACP – not much of an improvement in velocity, but apparently sufficient to bring down a helicopter. —

Three Generations in NH To the Editor: As we discussed on the phone, here’s a photo of my grandson, Daniel Cox, with his first tom turkey. Accompanying

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Successful young hunter Daniel Cox, shown here with his father Andy, shot his first turkey in NH on May 5, 2024. Photo by John Cox

Daniel in the picture is my son, Andy Cox. The bird weighed 17.5 lbs., had an 8.25” beard and 1” spurs. It was shot in New Hampshire on May 5, 2024. As the proud grandfather, I took the photo – three generations of hunters. I’m a lifetime Mainer, born in Stratton Maine in 1946. I raised my children to enjoy the outdoors and hunting and fishing. I believe that it is important to support our youth in outdoor sports, because there is a lot of negative pressure against hunting from all directions. The recognition of young hunters through The Maine Sportsman’s youth patch clubs helps to support the hunting tradition. In fact, I believe you should expand the clubs to include young readers in NH and Vermont. Jon Cox, Oakland, ME — (Continued on next page)

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�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 7 (Continued from page 6)

Ethan Nailed It in Smart-Phone Photo Column To the Editor: Ethan Emerson nailed it! His Maine Sportsman article, “Smartphone Trophy Photos Interfere with Traditional Storytelling,” was right on the mark. I am 72 years old, and I can still vividly recall kitchen table gatherings with my grandfather, uncles, and dad telling about the chase. They (the people and the stories) were the best. I wanted to hear the stories I’d heard dozens of times before, just because of how the teller developed them. The details were everything. Deer season at the camp. Getting out of bed, and freezing until the fire got going. Bacon frying. Coffee brewing. Eating breakfast. Deciding where to hunt that day. Putting a candy bar in a coat pocket, along with some extra cartridges. Walking out to Gravelly Rock as the sun came up. Ravens and blue jays squawking. I’ve noticed that even those of us in camp now tend toward a more abbreviated description of our day, and it saddens me. To hell with it! This year, they are getting the whole story, whether they want to hear it or not. I’m doing it in memory of Uncle

Forrest … one of the best storytellers ever. E.B. Leland, Kittery, ME —

Annual Popham Report from Mike Wing To the Editor: Good morning from Popham. This photo shows Justin Pecar of Colorado, with a 39” striper caught on a top water lure.

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8 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

— Guest Column —

Fly Fishing in “The Borders” of Scotland by Joseph Coleman, Registered Maine Fishing Guide, Freeport I was in London with my wife, who was rehearsing a play, and I was kindly asked to hit the road for a week. So I packed my bags and took a train from Paddington Station, London, to Waverley Station, Edinburgh, Scotland, and caught the X62 bus at Surgeons Hall, getting off an hour later at the Post Office in the small village of Peebles in the hills of the Scottish borders, about 300 miles north of London, just in time to see hung carcasses of sheep being rolled across the street towards the local butcher’s shop. It was November, 2023 and the air was crisp with the smell of wood fires from the local taverns. The

A Mainer with Scottish roots allows himself to be taught how to fish like a Scotsman.

The author, double spey casting, River Tweed. Photo by Fin Wilson

spawning salmon of the River Tweed, one of the finest Atlantic salmon fisheries in Europe, were now in

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the upper river, and the leaves were just on the tail end of their turning color. That evening, over roast grouse and game chips with creamy leeks, I did a quick internet search for fishing guides in Peebles. I was in luck. Fin

Wilson, a local fishing guide, was in town on break from touring with the Scottish punk band, The Skids. We met up the following day at the town hall in Stobo Village in the upper Tweeddale Valley on Fin’s Tweed River beat (a beat is

a private stretch of water, usually owned by a large estate, and to fish the beat you need to pay a fee – in this case, to Fin Wilson, who manages the 3-mile stretch). We set up our rods, an 11’ 3” L.L. Bean 7 weight switch rod, and a 10’ 6” Bean 3 weight Euro rod. Then we hopped a fence, crossed a pasture filled with sheep, hopped another fence, and entered the river. The water sparkled as the autumn sun reflected off the gravelly bottom. Fin taught me the double spey cast (used when the wind is blowing downstream) and single spey cast (wind blowing upstream). These casts, on rods up to 15’ long, are roll casts, so you don’t have to worry about getting your fly hooked in a bramble on the bank. Good speyers can easily cast (Continued on next page)

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�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 9 (Continued from page 8)

70 feet across a wide Scottish river. Two battered cock salmon jumped, but were not interested in my swinging fly. They were bright red, though scarred and gashed, gathering their waning strength for one more push before the ultimate release next to a quivering hen salmon dumping her eggs over a gravelly nest, after which the males would ease down in the shadowy pool and slowly slip away into eternity. “It’s nature – nothing dirty about it,” I could hear my aunt Polly Mar say in her thick western Maine mountain accent. By then the skies opened up and the Tweed began rising fast, turning the color of Yorkshire Tea. Not good for fishing. Fin then took me to Dawyck Mill bridge, and we Euro-nymphed. Euro-nymphing differs from traditional nymphing. The nymph hangs straight down off the tip of your longer rod with no indicator, which means you have more control over the connection between your fly and line. Leaves and flotsam were whizzing by, but we did catch a beautiful grayling that Fin said would have been the largest grayling for most fishermen, and a beautiful bonny brown trout bursting with color against the drab landscape.

Joe Coleman holds a grayling, caught near Dauwyk Bridge, along Fin Wilson’s beat. Photo Fin Wilson

Fin had to go to a Skids zoom rehearsal, so I fished alone the rest of the day. That evening, while I warmed by a fire in the study and my host prepared venison (they like their game in the borders), a red Highland cow tapped her nose up against the window pane. She was framed in silhouettes of sheep high up on the rim of a berm as they settled in for the night, their guttural baas rolling down the hill.

The author holds “a beautiful bonny brown trout, bursting with color.” Photo by Fin Wilson A curious Highland Red. Photo by Joe Coleman

I fell in love with the Borders. The mercurial weather, the sparse solitude, cold rivers with trout and salmon, birth of livestock everywhere, the smell of agriculture, shepherds, working dogs, an abundance of heather, gorse, foxes, badgers, red deer, pheasant, grouse, and the smallness of a town where the local butcher knows your name and gives you a book on salmon fishing. It felt like how Maine might have been, 100 years ago. Being the great, great, great, great, great, grandson to the bastard son of the Scottish Earl of Mar (the cemeteries of the western foothills of Maine are filled with my relatives – the Mars). It felt like I had returned.

I am a registered Maine fishing guide, and I’m fortunate enough to guide in the Rangeley Lakes region. I guide through Grants Camps, an historic, classic Maine brook trout and landlocked salmon fishing lodge on Kennebago Lake. One day, I asked an elderly gentleman, Mike, a retired attorney whom I guide, if he’d be interested in my guiding him in Scotland in May of 2024. He jumped on the opportunity. When he asked me if a doctor friend of his, Irl, could come, I replied, “Of course!” Next month, I’ll tell you about that adventure. Suffice to say that I was not prepared for what was in store for a Maine Guide in Scotland.

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10 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

— Maine Sporting Camps —

Boggy Brook Outfitters 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 yearround 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 observation. The convenient location presents clients not only with a tranquil lakefront

retreat, but also close proximity to explore such must-see attractions as Acadia National Park, Baxter State Park, and much more. Maine Master Guide Derr 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 only to meet their clients’ expectations, but to always exceed them. F o r 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.

Macannamac Camps

Tradition. It is a word associated with Maine sporting camps. When the first sporting camps were established nearly two centuries ago, traveling to and staying at such camps was considered an exotic experience undertaken by elite members of society from far-away places. Today, however, sporting camps have evolved into destinations for folks from all walks of life. In the current modern-day culture, a quiet camp in the remote backcountry provides a place not only to hunt and fish, but to relax and live unconnected from the grasp of high-tech advances that surround. When Macannamac Camps came into existence in 1983, it broke the mold

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of a traditional sporting camp. In addition to a full-service lodge, its camps were set up individually and separately from one another, allowing for the rental of a camp independent from the lodge. It introduced a new option for vacationers, providing the space and privacy to enjoy one’s own camp, nestled on the lakeshore, front porch and all. Macannamac Camps are centered in the grand landscape known as the north Maine woods. The profoundly unique expanse of privately owned woodlands is made available for public use through cooperative efforts of landowners and land management companies. The landscape continues to provide ample opportunity for hunting and fishing in a wide variety of ways. Beyond that, Macannamac’s location is ideal for such outings as exploring the locomotives on Big Eagle Lake, visiting Churchill Dam and museum, and hiking places such as Allagash Mountain, just to name a few. But the best of it all can be found in the realm of being “in camp.” The front porch, the cribbage board, the loons’ calls, sunsets, moon rises, the clear and dark star-clustered sky, shared with family, friends, or with one’s own soli-

tary company. Those of us who live here in Maine do not need to travel to far-off places to find the wilds of woods and waters. We have it all, and are blessed with the opportunity provided to us, as respectful admirers who revere the natural world as well as pursuing the fish and game to consume in our role as hunters and gatherers. The space and solace found in the out-of-doors is nourishment for the human condition. Take some time and come to camp. Call Macannamac Camps any time at (207) 307-2115 and follow us on Facebook. We’re also happy to have completely redesigned our website, www.macannamac.com.

�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 11

“Snapshots in Time”

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

It’s Summer – What Better Time to Think About Old-Fashioned Winters?

The heat of summer is upon us. This time of year, big blizzards and frigid temps are about as far away from our consciousness as they ever get. So, let’s cool down for a moment, and review a piece printed in the December 31, 1896 edition of the RANGELEY LAKES newspaper. It shares interesting recollections by the elders of the day about extreme weather and other natural phenomena. Interestingly, it closes with a bit of wisdom regarding the topic of climate change, circa 1896. Stay cool, and be sure to get outside and create some great outdoor history of your own! —

out of sight, so that the indwellers would have to dig for days before they could get any light! Likewise, the hailstorms of that old time were just terrific. The stones were often as large as hens’ eggs, and would smash the glass where there was any exposed and drive all living creatures under shelter lest it destroy them. Hailstones and Frost The eclipses of eighty or a hundred years ago were just as surprising! These were want to render the day so dark at noon as to set the dogs howling and the cats yawling, inducing the birds to sing their vespers and the fowls to rush for their roosts.

The Wonderful and Extraordinary are Seldom Forgotten by S. H. McCollister The aged delight to tell how it used to be when they were young. The cold of winter and the heat of summer, the snows and rains, the whirlwinds and earthquakes, the thunder and lightning, the accidents and escapes were far more remarkable than any in modern days. The stories of our sires thrill the hearts of grandchildren as they tell how they came into the woods and settled, living in log huts and raising their corn among the stumps and carrying it to mill on horseback far off through the forests before there were any roads except the trails whose course was marked by spotted trees. Oh, the bears and wolves that used to chase them! Oh, these wild creatures frequently would render the nights hideous! And the snowstorms are not to be matched anymore! Why, the drifts were like mountains and often buried camps

Shoveling out a country lane after a blizzard.

A sleigh team makes its way through the deep snow.

The great frosts of 1813-14 were described not long since by a veteran who said that the “cold was so intense as to freeze up everything here in the north, even the voices of men, the report of guns, and the blasts of trumpets, which did not thaw out for a long while.” Unbearable Heat Sydney Smith describes the same summer as being so hot that a man in the middle of the day, just to endure the heat, was forced to take off his flesh and sit in his bones. May 17th, 1780, and June 17th, 1804, are frequently mentioned as dubious days without sunlight. The darkness came on about ten o ‘clock, causing the cattle to seek the barnyards. Candles were lit in the houses. Owls hooted as though it were midnight. The year of 1833 is memorable for its marvelous display of shooting stars. During its winter, several nights were tendered brilliant by meteors flying in all directions, as though the heavens

were “waging fearful battles.” Many were frightened and felt that surely the world was fast coming to an end. The red snow of the same year, occasioned by the northern lights streaming its zenith from all points of the compass, will long be remembered, and described as startling. Boys and girls did not care to be out upon the ice, or sliding down hill, while the “Lumanae Boreale” was staining the snow scarlet, as if the very elements were shedding blood. Gaining Perspective Are not just as wonderful phenomena taking place now-a-days as ever hereto fore? Some are declaring that it is an old fashioned winter, just like one fifty or sixty years ago, when December was so severely cold that the ice froze two and three feet thick on the lakes and in the rivers; and when March came in like a lion, how the heavens did let fall the snow! It was piled up in the roads and streets in many of the rural towns, as it was here a few weeks ago. The present winter is likely to be one that will be quoted as remarkable in the years to come. The blizzard of 1888 is already spoken of as the most remarkable winter occurrence that has ever visited New England. It seems that a good share of our land was so deeply buried in snow that it questions if the suns of summer would give forth a sufficient heat to bare the meadows. When we have a mild winter, it is natural to infer that our climate is becoming warmer, and we attempt to account for the change by the cutting off of the forests, tilling the soil, and the probable nearer approach of the Gulf Stream to our shores. But let a winter like the present come upon us, and our logic is prone to an entirely different conclusion. If the Pilgrim Fathers did nearly freeze to death the first winter they spent on Cape Cod, we are not ready to admit from any changes since, that Plymouth Rock can be a very hot place in the present season. The old people of the next generation will no doubt have wonderful stories to relate to the young people about new natural phenomena. www.MaineSportsman.com

Almanac

12 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Three Minutes with a Maine Guide by Lisa DeHart

Portage Safety I only ever knew one Maine Guide who liked to portage – Martin Brown. Most voyagers would risk life and limb rather than portage. I kind of fall betwixt and between the two. Never been a fan, but not willing to risk something foolish, either. Here are some safety things to look out for, and some good techniques for carrying. First warning: Land that gets roto-tilled with ice every year makes for terrible footing. The last vestiges of ice will make their home in round, paintcan sized holes that are invisible once the grasses come in. Ankle, knee and foot injuries are never good, but they take on a whole new color in the middle of nowhere. CARRY ONLY SMALL STUFF ON THE FIRST TRIP. Take a paddle in one hand to use as a probe and to steady yourself, and keep the other hand free for any kind of self-rescue. Go slowly. Use the same path for each trip. Scope out all the slippery rocks, poking sticks and sink holes, while carrying the small

Compiled and Edited by — Will Lund —

stuff and a paddle, before you have to do it with the heavy, uncooperative canoe on your head. Take a roll of flagging tape and a compass/GPS … always. Wear a hat and sunglasses – eye injuries are as big a deal-breaker as a sprained knee.

the time you get to the portage trail, it’s later than you thought or wanted it to be, don’t push it. Camp at the head of the trail, pack, and go in the morning. Maybe all you needed was a rest and a good dinner, and there’s enough good light to take the boat stuff down, and wait until morning to take the rest. Last and most important – you can sing, or you can gripe, but that portage is still gonna be there. If you have the choice, I hope you sing. — Guide Talk by John LaMarca

Making Memories with Dad

Take smaller gear first, says the author, before returning to carry the canoe. Use your paddle for support, and to probe for ankle-twisting holes along the riverbank. Photo by Clifton Curtis

Everyone wants to “Let’s just get this done.” No phrase other than “Watch this!” has preceded more injuries. If by

For many, hunting, fishing or trapping starts when we are young. In my experience, most sportsmen and -women get their love and knowledge of outdoor pursuits passed down from their parents and grandparents. I can’t count how many stories I hear from people that start with the words, “I was in the woods with my Dad .…” or “My Papa used to take me with him to the pond to fish ….” or “I was out hunting with my grandad, and ....” I, on the other hand, come from a non-hunting family – while we were never opposed to hunting in any way, it just was not an activity we did. However, I was always interested in hunting and being an outdoorsman. When I turned 18, I took my shotgun and started hitting the woods to “become a hunter.” The rest, as they say, is history – after devoting all my spare time to learning and understanding the woods, and ways of the Maine outdoors, I’m not only a hunter but a guide to boot. So, for those intimidated about learning to hunt without the background while growing up, it can be done! But there was something missing. After hearing literally hundreds of stories about people going out with their dads hunting, I came to the realization that I wanted a “Dad story” too. So this spring, I called my dad and said, “Hey – can I take you out turkey hunting this year?” My father was ecstatic about the idea. He said he considered it a great way to spend time with me, and to get a glimpse into the world of hunting that I’m so passionate about. Hunt Day (Continued on next page)

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�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 13 (Continued from page 12)

Dad and I woke up at 3 a.m. to prepare for our hunt. Camo on and coffee in hand, we drove to a spot I had scouted to set up and wait for “fly-down.” We made our way to a spot where I could set up the blind under an overhanging pine tree branch across from the roost tree. We let the woods settle. The songbirds were waking up one by one as I began gently hen purring on my pot-call. All of a sudden, five different toms erupted in an uproar: “GOBBLE-GOBBLE-GOBBLE!” My dad was stunned, not only at the number of birds and the decibels of their calls, but also by watching his son “talk turkey.” The birds flew down, and proceeded to give us the full show – fanning at the decoy spread, gobbling their heads off, and strutting around. All the while, I used my diaphragm calls and pot call, trying to sound like a lonely hen was interested in a liaison with one of the roving toms. Suddenly, the toms began to walk away, following a live hen. A sense of let-down began to develop. However, I laid out a series of calls that must have been exactly what they were waiting for. They all turned around and trotted 100 yards back to the decoy spread – five turkeys, all now 20 yards from us. Dad took a deep breath, took aim, and POW!

Dad is now among the ranks of successful hunters. I’m so thankful for that turkey for giving us our own “Hunting with my Dad” story – truly a memory we both will always cherish and will never forget. —

What Makes a Firearm Cartridge Explode? by Will Lund It was a short news item in midJune (“Exploding Cartridge Injures Man’s Hands”) written by an excellent Lewiston Sun Journal reporter, Donna M. Perry, about a fellow who was target practicing with his pistol at the Wilton, Maine Fish & Game Club, when one of the shells exploded. Both hands were injured, one seriously enough to warrant a Life Flight, presumably to bring the patient to a surgeon who specializes in the complicated and delicate task of reattaching fingers. Local law enforcement did not identify the injured person, issuing a statement that they considered it a confidential medical matter, rather than an incident warranting additional information about the patient or the circumstances of the accident. We here at The Sportsman have no new details on the case, and we extend our sympathies and sincere wishes that the club member experiences a full and speedy recovery. However, it did get us thinking about the reasons that such incidents occur.

Many Such Cases Involve Re-Loaded Ammo We spoke with several individuals who have a great deal of experience in this area, and a consensus emerged that many similar incidents in the past have involved reloaded ammo (“handpressed,” in the popular vernacular). One expert told us that when this type of event occurs, it’s sometimes the result of double-charging a load while reloading. Ironically, however, a similar danger can occur from putting too small a charge of powder in the shell. “In most reloading instances,” our authority explained, “you try to fill the case with enough powder to keep it from shifting around. If you are loading light target loads, you dump a smaller amount of powder into the cases, and fill the rest with a filler. Some use a poly stuffing. That way, each round has a more consistent powder burn, because the powder sits in the same position upon discharge. “The problem when loading light target loads is that you can inadvertently put another charge in the case, because it doesn’t look full after filling it with the smaller target load. Careful reloaders do a visual check before dropping a bullet on top of the powder in the case. Most do a second check while setting the case in the die for bullet seating.” Secondary Pressure Excursions (SPEs) Another Maine resident, one who has reloaded thousands of rounds, agreed, (Continued on next page)

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Columnist John LaMarca with his father, Mike LaMarca, after a successful first turkey hunt together.

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14 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Almanac (Continued from page 13) and added more details: “These types of incidents are most commonly the result of a double charge of powder, or an obstructed barrel. With rifle ammo, it’s much less common to throw in a double charge, because a regular load fills the case almost to the base of the bullet, or up into the neck. “However, I have long made it a habit to look into the case with each and every round before I seat the bullet, to make sure it’s a full charge. “Half-charges of powder, especially slow powder, can produce an effect called Secondary Pressure Excursion (SPE). What is believed to happen (no one is absolutely certain) is that with a half charge, the powder lies in the down side of the case, and the primer flame, rather than igniting all of it, runs along the surface, generating enough force to expel the bullet and wedge it firmly in the rifling, but not enough to send it out the barrel. Then the rest of the charge ignites, but because the bullet is stuck, pressure skyrockets and the action blows.” The expert concluded: “Bottom line? I am damned careful when I handload.” National Authority Weighs In In his video “10 Reasons your Gun Could Explode,” Michigan’s Jordy Buck of GunTradition.com lists a wide range of possible causes for these incidents. The four most common: • Inserting a shell of smaller diameter that slides down the barrel – like .300 Blackout instead of .556. [Here in Maine, bird-hunting scenarios have occurred when a supervisor uses a 12-ga while a youth hunter is using a 20-ga. The youth hunter

•

• •

picks up the 12-ga and attempts to load it, causing a 20-ga shotshell to slide into the barrel of the 12-ga, out of sight, and become lodged there.] Double-charge (or overcharge) of powder – occasionally occurs with factory loads; but more frequently with hand loads. It’s easy, says Jordy Buck, for a loader to get distracted part-way through the process. Using a different type of powder – one with a faster burn rate. An extremely dirty barrel or chamber, or build-up of lead or copper metal bits, which can reduce the interior volume and thereby increase pressure.

Light Loads in Magnums Cause Problems A Maine authority provided some recent historic perspective: “I think most of the SPE (secondary excursion event) accidents occurred back when magnum cartridges were becoming popular, which would be the early 1960s. There was a fad for loading the colossal cases way, way down, so you could practice without getting your head knocked off. The problem was that shooters would simply cut their slow-powder charges in half, and BOOM. If they had switched from slow powder to medium/ fast powder, there would have been no problem, because it ignites much more easily.” ***** We hope readers will learn from these observations, taking care while hand-loading, while handling firearms (especially models of different calibers), and while shooting – including wearing safety glasses to reduce the possibility of eye damage if the unexpected occurs at the range or in the woods. —

Collectors Take Note: We Need Old Issues of The Maine Sportsman by Jon Mulherin, Assistant Office Manager Are you someone who has a hard time parting with things you love? We are looking for people who have back issues of The Maine Sportsman magazine stored in cabinets or storage spaces. We are working on a project with the Maine State Museum to digitize back issues of our magazine, and to make those issues available online at no charge. As an incentive, we will provide oneyear subscriptions to readers who provide: • The oldest issue of the magazine (we have been publishing continuously since 1971 – 53 years ago).

Photo by Jon Mulherin

The most issues with all months in consecutive years (for example, if you have every issue from January, 1990 through July, 2024). If you think you have what we (and the library) need, we will work with you •

(Continued on next page)

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�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 15 (Continued from page 14)

to make arrangements to pick up your collection, and either add them to the state’s archives, or return them to you once they are scanned and cataloged. Email the details of your collection to me at Distribution@MaineSportsman. com. Thank you! —

Guidelines for Potential State Record Freshwater Fish

Wilderness First Aid by Stacey Wheeler, RN

When Nature Calls, Wipe with Caution Mountain hikes, long hours of scouting, or full-day sits in a hunting stand, can all lead to a call from nature while in the Maine woods. So you check in your pack and lo and behold, you realize you have no toilet paper. You search the surrounding area for a viable substitute. There are leaves all around you, yet do you know which are safe and which would leave you with a feeling of misery when taking a seat in your favorite recliner at the end of the day? There are 16 toxic plants found in the Maine woods, waterways and backyard gardens. Eleven of these plants contain urushiol or furanocoumarins, substances that are known to cause skin symptoms ranging from mild irritation to blisters, burns and – in extreme cases – permanent scarring when your skin comes in contact with the sap of the plant and your skin is then exposed to sunlight. And serious eye damage can occur if the sap is inadvertently rubbed in your eyes. According to the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry the “don’t wipe with these” list is as follows: 1. Giant Hogweed (Heracleum Mantegazzianum) 2. Poison Hemlock (Conium Maculatum) 3. Poison Sumac (Toxicodendron Vernix) 4. Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron Radicans)

Do you think you’ve caught a new state record fish? Special rules apply to applications for state fish and game records, to ensure the integrity of the process. 1) When comparing your fish to the current record, make certain you are looking at the official record list. Computer search engine results often lead to outdated, inaccurate and unofficial record lists. The state’s official game and freshwater fish records are maintained by The Maine Sportsman magazine; that list is found at www. MaineSportsman.com/hunting-fishing-records. 2) Your catch must be examined by a Maine game warden or a Maine state fisheries biologist. This is to confirm correct identification of the species, since many species can look alike (e.g., whitefish vs. white perch vs. oversized shiners). The state official will ask to review the angler’s license, to ensure it was issued before the catch was made. The state official will ask where, when and by what means the fish was caught, to make certain the catch was made during a legal fishing season and using an angling method that’s permitted in the waters from which the fish was taken. 3) The fish must be weighed on state-certified scales. Such scales can be found at meat or fish counters at grocery stores, at some game tagging stations, or at post offices. Accuracy is extremely important, since records are sometimes determined by fractions of an ounce. Questions about your potential rewww.sun-mar.com cord? Call The Maine Sportsman at 207 622Come Visit Us at Our New Location Just 2 Doors Up! 4242. Now owned and operated by Gary Coleman, who has been doing

According to medical sources, Giant Hogweed is among the “worst of the worse” in terms of getting it on your skin. It can cause severe burn-like blisters.

5. Queen Anne’s Lace/Wild Carrot (Daucus Carota) 6. Wild Parsnip (Pastinaca Sativa) 7. Cow Parsnip (Heracleum maximum) 8. Stinging Nettle (Urtica Dioica) 9. Water Hemlock (Cicuta) 10. Wild Lettuce (Lactuca spp.) 11. Milkweed (Asclepias) Many of these plants can look similar in their presentation. It is important to study their leaves, stems, berries and flowers for proper identification. You can learn more at maine.gov or https:// www.maine.gov/dacf/php/horticulture/ hogweedlookalikes.shtml If skin exposure occurs, wash with water and rubbing alcohol within 30 minutes. Do not use soap, and keep all affected areas (such as your hands) out (Continued on next page)

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16 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

August 2024 Sunrise/Sunset

Almanac (Continued from page 15)

Bangor, ME DATE RISE SET 1 Thu 5:20 8:02 2 Fri 5:21 8:01 3 Sat 5:22 7:59 4 Sun 5:23 7:58 5 Mon 5:24 7:57 6 Tue 5:26 7:55 7 Wed 5:27 7:54 8 Thu 5:28 7:52 9 Fri 5:29 7:51 10 Sat 5:30 7:49 11 Sun 5:31 7:48 12 Mon 5:33 7:46 13 Tue 5:34 7:45 14 Wed 5:35 7:43 15 Thu 5:36 7:42 16 Fri 5:37 7:40

DATE RISE SET 17 Sat 5:39 7:38 18 Sun 5:40 7:37 19 Mon 5:41 7:35 20 Tue 5:42 7:33 21 Wed 5:43 7:32 22 Thu 5:44 7:30 23 Fri 5:46 7:28 24 Sat 5:47 7:27 25 Sun 5:48 7:25 26 Mon 5:49 7:23 27 Tue 5:50 7:21 28 Wed 5:52 7:20 29 Thu 5:53 7:18 30 Fri 5:54 7:16 31 Sat 5:55 7:14

August 2024 Tides Portland, ME 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

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 Thu Fri Sat

HIGH AM PM 9:33 9:44 10:28 10:36 11:19 11:25 — 12:04 12:09 12:46 12:50 1:24 1:29 2:00 2:07 2:35 2:45 3:11 3:26 3:49 4:10 4:31 4:58 5:15 5:51 6:05 6:48 7:00 7:49 7:59 8:49 8:57 9:43 9:51 10:33 10:42 11:22 11:33 — 12:10 12:24 12:57 1:14 1:44 2:05 2:32 2:59 3:24 3:57 4:20 4:59 5:19 6:04 6:22 7:12 7:29 8:19 8:34 9:20 9:32 10:13 10:23

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LOW AM PM 3:20 3:24 4:16 4:19 5:07 5:08 5:53 5:54 6:34 6:37 7:12 7:17 7:47 7:56 8:21 8:35 8:55 9:17 9:32 10:00 10:12 10:47 10:56 11:38 11:44 — 12:33 12:37 1:34 1:36 2:35 2:35 3:30 3:31 4:21 4:24 5:09 5:16 5:56 6:07 6:42 6:59 7:29 7:51 8:16 8:45 9:06 9:42 10:00 10:43 10:57 11:47 11:59 — 12:55 1:06 2:04 2:14 3:08 3:15 4:02 4:08

of direct sunlight, since sunlight makes matters much worse. That’s because the sap makes the skin extremely UV-sensitive, intensifying the blistering (in the words of scientists who study this phenomena, the plants are “phototoxic”). About 85% of people are susceptible to these toxins, but taking care of nature is not the time to find out if you are in that club!

Quotable

Sportsman

by Will Lund

“I love the smell of Hoppe’s No. 9.” Jordy Buck, of Sand Lake, MI in a firearms video. It’s a sentiment to which folks who grew up in sporting families can relate. For videos covering rifles, pistols, scopes and ammo, readers can find Buck’s work at GunTradition. com. “I try my best to benefit the firearms and outdoor community,” Buck recently told The Maine Sportsman. — “The trail is simply too narrow for the machines now being built and sold.” Brian Bronson, the state’s ATV coordinator, referring to the closure of a 20-mile ATV loop at Mt. Blue State Park, including trails in the towns of Carthage and Phillips, according to an article by Steve Sherlock in the July 4, 2024 Lewiston Sun Journal. The current trail, and its bridges, are 50 inches wide, according to the Journal. In 2021, the standard width for trails was increased to 65 inches, to handle larger machines. — “The good old ‘ThuttyThutty’ [Winchester Model 1894] has taken quite a bit of game. This lever-action rifle is reliable, fast handling, and

easily stored. Ranchers and outdoorsmen cherish the 1894’s reliability. At modest range, the .30-30 or .32 Special are all about shot placement.”

Source:, “Ten Greatest Rifles – 1860 to1920”; CheaperThanDirt.com; July 1, 2024 — “Given it has now been 25+ years since the last stocking event, Aziscohos Lake meets all Heritage List eligibility criteria and is proposed to be added to the State Heritage Fish Waters List.” Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife proposed rule change. Other water bodies that may be added include Upper Hudson Pond, Aroostook County; Upper South Branch Pond, Piscataquis County; and Thomas Lake, in Aroostook County, southeast of St. Francis. The designation means signs will be posted letting anglers know of the self-sustaining trout populations, and reminding anglers and biologists that no live bait can be used, and no future stockings can occur. Statewide, more than 580 water bodies are currently identified under the designation.

�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 17

Maine Wildlife:

The Ubiquitous Harbor Seal

Look, and photograph from a distance, but don’t touch, even if a baby harbor seal appears to be abandoned.

by Tom Seymour

First-time visitors to the Maine coast thrill to the sight of a harbor seal or seals, while the average Mainer barely heeds them. To most of us, seals are like gulls, in that they are there in numbers, and because they are commonplace, they don’t elicit much attention one way or the other. On the other hand, one of my nowlong-gone friends, a lobsterman, despised seals because of the damage they did to lobster traps. This was particularly true in the days when most traps were made of wood, and therefore susceptible to breakage. Seals would shatter the traps as they forced their heads in them to steal the bait. Seal damage was just one more challenge facing hard-pressed lobstermen. Most everyone else was ambivalent. For many, seals were an item of interest, and so they remain for most people. Wildlife photographers, especially, like harbor seals, because they are such interesting and sometimes comic subjects. Besides that, their large, soulful eyes make for compelling images. Seals can seem extremely personable, and can easily charm onlookers. Who hasn’t chuckled while watching a harbor seal’s antics, perhaps swimming on its back, seemingly without a care in the world? Despite this perception, seals are not the gentle, unassuming creatures some might consider them to be. Seals are large wild animals, and it is never good to interfere with them, both for our own good and for theirs. There is nothing wrong, though, with standing on shore and taking seal photos. That way, the seal is in its element, and you are in yours. Seals on land should always be left alone. Most Common Four different kinds of seals are found along the Maine coast, with the harbor seal, Phoca vitolina, being the most commonly seen. The next most common, the gray seal, Halichoerus grypus, a much larger animal (up to 640 pounds, as opposed to 255 for a harbor seal), stands as an imposing

Gray seals, like this one photographed off the shoreline in Rockland, are less common than harbor seals. They can grow to an astounding 640 lbs., more than twice the size of the largest harbor seal. Image by Maine photographer Dave Small

sight. I once saw one cruising down a tidal river on an ice floe. It looked so huge I could hardly believe my eyes. The other two seals seen in Maine are the harp seal, Pagophilus groenlandicus, and the hooded seal, Cystophora cristata. Don’t expect to see either harp seals or hooded seals, though, since they are uncommon. You will always see harbor seals, and the chance to spy a gray seal is always there. But it’s harbor seals that we all think of when we hear the word “seal.” Seals, having such a thick layer of fat, don’t mind cold temperatures at all, and are quite content swimming in Maine’s icy waters in winter. One of my past favorite winter activities was going along with Dave Small, a wildlife photographer friend, visiting various harbors in the Midcoast region and photographing seabirds and seals. Even on days when walking was treacherous because of ice and freezing spray, the seals still played about, undaunted by the cold. One winter, I followed a harbor seal swimming underwater for a great distance. This was in Rockport Harbor, and a seawall along the mouth of Goose River allowed me to follow the submerged seal all the way up to head of tide. The seal left a huge trail of bubbles as it went. Bubble trails, we found, were key to locating seals. See a bubble trail and train the camera to that area. Most of the time, a harbor seal would show itself.

Seal Etiquette Despite their nonchalant appearance, harbor seals don’t always appreciate human presence. In spring, during pupping season, when numbers of harbor seal young, or “pups,” show up on beaches and shores, it is a mistake to think that they need our help. Seal mothers will give birth, and leave for up to 24 hours to feed, only then to return to their pup. There are several reasons to leave these newborn seals alone. First, it is illegal to touch or interfere with them, and second, seals have teeth and can (and will) bite. So if you find a baby seal, or seals, by themselves on a beach, just stay a reasonable distance away. For pictures, just use your zoom or telephoto lens. But if you suspect a seal has truly been abandoned – that is, it remains on the site for longer than 24 hours, or if it appears sick or hurt – then call The Marine Animal Reporting Hotline, 1-800-532-9551. You will be directed to someone who can help. Otherwise, when scouting for harbor seals to observe or photograph, look first for the animal’s head as it moves through the water. This can appear deceptively like a large sea bird. With a little practice, you will soon recognize the difference. In still water, remember to watch for the line of bubbles. Finally, look for seals sitting atop large boulders at half-tide. Enjoy Maine’s harbor seals and their charming ways. www.MaineSportsman.com

18 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

A Visit to North Country Powersports by Steve Carpenteri

If positive energy and enthusiasm were all it took to sell ATVs in Maine, the crew at North Country Powersports on Belfast Avenue in Augusta would win hands down. Step through the front door, and the outdoor enthusiast is transported to a busy, active atmosphere

This Augusta dealership exudes enthusiasm, promoting goodwill through customer service and its support of area ATV clubs, while also making certain to focus attention on young and future riders. where everything offroad, on-road and recreational riding greets the customer with a feeling that it’s Christ-

mas morning, even in July and August. Leading the charge is co-owner Chris Reynolds, whose love of

riding is evident from the first hello. Since 2009, he has worked his way up from sales to general manager

and finally part-owner of the shop. His experience and knowledge of ATVs, side-by-sides, snowmobiles, dirt bikes and motorcycles comes through in a wave of excitement that clearly says, “This guy loves this stuff!” All in the Family Reynolds is also (Continued on next page)

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Offer valid through 8/31/24. *Financing is subject to credit approval. Void where prohibited. Terms and restrictions apply. Visit our Consumer Financing Page or contact your local dealer for more information. Excludes CFX-2E.**Includes select MY22-MY24 motorcycles and select MY21-MY23 CFORCE, UFORCE, ZFORCE models. Excludes CFX-2E. Restrictions apply. Visit your local dealer for more information.***Includes select MY24 CFORCE, UFORCE, and ZFORCE models. One year factory warranty plus two years CFMOTO Care extended warranty.

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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. ©2024 Polaris Industries Inc.

�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 19 (Continued from page 18)

obviously passionate about the “family” aspect of his dealership. “We don’t just stand by and try to sell a customer on a particular model,” he explained. “We ask them what they want in an ATV, where and how often they plan to ride, whether or not they have kids, and what their ultimate ATV expectations are. “Some folks plan to ride alone on short trips close to home, while others want to take an extended family vacation with their ATVs,” Reynolds pointed out. “We want to help them choose the machine that will make their off-roading

North Country Powersports offers a complete line of youth-model ATVs along with accessories, clothing and after-market add-ons designed to fit the youngest generation of riders. Photos by Steve Carpenteri

experience as satisfying and enjoyable as possible.”

He concluded: “We pride ourselves in instilling our core values

in our salespeople as well. Our number one focus is in fulfilling

our customers’ needs. We give the same treatment to all our customers, whether they are buying a new helmet, a youth-model beginner’s ATV, or one of our top-of-the-line models.” In keeping with the family-oriented theme, Reynolds said the company offered a 6-hour ATV rider’s course last year that included 20 children and their parents. “We are all about paving the way for the next generation of ATV riders,” he said, noting that the company holds a number of events, and annually donates to community trail-building projects (Continued on next page)

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©2024 Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP). All rights reserved. ®, ™ and the BRP logo are trademarks of BRP or its affiliates. Offers valid in your state only from July 01 2024 to September 01 2024. The terms and conditions may vary depending on your state and these offers are subject to termination or change at any time without notice. See an authorized BRP dealer for details. † Get up to a $1,500 rebate on eligible 2024 Can-Am Commander 1000R, Defender HD9, Defender HD10, and 2023-2022 Commander 700, Defender HD7 models.: Consumers who purchase an eligible model during the promotional period are eligible for a $1,500 rebate. BRP recommends that all ATV-SSV drivers take a training course. See your dealer or call the ATV Safety Institute at 1-800-887-2887. ATV and SSV can be hazardous to operate. Never carry passengers on any ATV-SSV not specifically designed by the manufacturer for such use. All adult model Can-Am ATVs are Category G ATVs (General Use Models) intended for recreational and/or utility use by an operator age 16 or older. Carefully read the vehicle’s operator’s guide. Follow all instructional and safety material and observe applicable laws and regulations. ATV and SSV are for off-road use only; never ride on paved surfaces or public roads. For your safety, the operator and passenger(s) must wear a helmet, eye protection and applicable protective clothing. Always remember that riding and alcohol/drugs don’t mix. Never engage in stunt driving. Avoid excessive speed and be particularly careful on difficult terrain. Always ride responsibly and safely. See your authorized BRP dealer for details and visit www.can-am.brp.com.

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20 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Members of the sales and service crew at North Country Powersports are willing to go the extra mile to meet the needs of their customers. They offer a full menu of ATVs, side-by-sides, dirt bikes and motorcycles.

ATVing in Maine (Continued from page 19)

throughout the region. Side-by-Sides Rule! Reynolds said his most popular rigs are the Can-Am Commander, CF Moto and Honda models. Reynolds’ operation features a wide vari-

ety of outdoor recreation vehicles, motorcycles, dirt bikes and youth-model ATVs, but he said side-by-sides are his top-selling ATV products. “These versatile, multi-purpose units can

do it all,” he said. “They are easy to drive, useful for yard, farm and camp work, and feature a number of accessories, including snow tracks, plows, dump-bodies, heaters, radial tires for better handling, stereo systems, power steering – you name it.”

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WARNING: Arctic Cat® vehicles can be hazardous to operate. For your safety, all riders should always wear a seat belt (Side-by-Sides), helmet, eye protection, and protective clothing. Riding and alcohol/drugs don’t mix. Arctic Cat recommends that all operators take a safety training course. For safety and training information, please see your dealer or call 1-800-887-2887 (ATVs) or visit www.ROHVA.org (Side-by-Sides). Arctic Cat vehicles are for operators age 16 years and older with a valid driver’s license, except the Alterra 90, which is intended for operators 10 years of age and older. ©2024 Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc. All rights reserved.

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This is just one of many off-road vehicles offered by North Country Powersports. Their goal is to fit customers with the machine that will get them there and back no matter what the destination.

Service is Goal One Other accessories riders want to discuss are GPS systems, in-helmet communication systems, and custom clothing. “Everything in our store is geared toward the ultimate ATV experience,” Reynolds said. “If we don’t have what a customer needs on hand, we will get it to them as quickly as possible. “In addition, we don’t just sell a unit and walk away. When our customers need service, we get them in and out quickly. And if an ATV breaks down on the trail, we don’t tell the customer to bring it in – we send out a truck and go get it for them. “Because ATVs are our premier product, we want our customers to be satisfied right from the start,” Reynolds said. “We assist all buyers in their customization and accessorizing efforts, so that they will go home with a machine that they are happy with. “Following the sale, we encourage customers to come in, have a cup of coffee, and tell us about their trips. Also, we want them to send us pictures of their ad-

ventures, so we can all take part in the fun. “We think this is what makes ATV riding so great. It’s a community, family philosophy that we want to build on.” Building for the Future Reynolds said that part-and-parcel of the ATV industry is partnering with landowners and state agencies to ensure that private property is respected and trails are well-maintained. “Courtesy on the trail is very important to us,” he said. “We want riders and landowners to be in lockstep to ensure that there is no trash left behind, no property damage, and no negative confrontations. We are proud to sponsor ATV events, and our dealership is here to support riders everywhere.” According to Reynolds, “Big toys are supposed to be fun, and we do our best to make that happen.” Chris Reynolds and North Country Powersports are located at 3099 N. Belfast Avenue in Augusta; telephone (833) 612-4260.

�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 21

— Guest Column —

Southern Maine – Where Have All the Good ATV Trails Gone? by Andrew Dumond Having recently rejoined the ranks of Maine ATV trail riders, I began my search for long, winding trails leading off into the cool, shadowy woods. I imagined casual days roaming with my trusty hound Rosco in tow. We would stop to fish, and enjoy shore lunches. We would run trap lines and set deer stands. In short, we would ride off on trails to new adventures. Alas, these dreams appear to be just that – dreams. This Springtime This spring, we eagerly waited as trails slowly began to open for the season. This led to a few excursions to test out equipment and to help maintain storm-damaged roads. I began to take careful notice, and realized many of the trails I have been hiking were marked for snowmobile use only – no ATVs. This led to a little online digging, including consulting the onX Offroad mobile app. Using as much technology and information as I could gather, I began to realize there just isn’t much by way of ATV opportunities in York County, Maine. Nowhere to Go? Toggling between yellow dirt trails and purple snowmobile trails, I quickly discerned that landowners are apparently not

The author is all geared up and ready to ride, but finds that ATV opportunities in Southern Maine have dwindled.

Ensuring or regaining ATV access to private roads and trails requires constant effort. ATV clubs are often in the best position to organize that effort.

overly friendly to offroad usage. Locally in Sanford, many of the trails have been permanently closed. Area news sources cited several reasons for landowner complaints, including • trails being used outside of the season • excessive speed on narrow trails • land and property damage, and • unregistered machines. Those types of allegations make it seem as if ATV riders exhibit a general disregard for the laws, rules, and etiquette of this sport – an erroneous assumption based on generalizing a viewpoint to a larger, primarily-responsible group, based on the behavior of a

few rogue riders. This presented a problem for me – where was I going to ride? I have wheels and time, but nowhere to go – not a good situation. To add to the woes of local riders, a Facebook post at the end of May conveyed the announcement that the Sanford, Maine ATV club is disbanding, and that all local trails in Sanford have been closed to ATV traffic. Remaining Options In the Facebook post, interested parties were encouraged to check out Mousam Valley Trail Riders, operating out of Shapleigh, and also to consider other local clubs, including: • Saco River Riders

• • • • • •

(Buxton) Hollis Freewheelers Southern Maine ATV Club (Lebanon) Limington Wheelers Massabesic ATV Club (Lyman) Land Share Riders (Parsonsfield), and Ossipee Mountain ATVers (Waterboro).

Is Reputational Damage Reversible? What can we do to improve the situation, and to change the perception of ATV riders? It seems to me there are two important approaches. The first is to be a good neighbor, realizing that 80% of the trails and woods roads are

on private property, and that individuals or clubs have sought and obtained permission from the landowners to access the property. This approach also requires complying with the list of etiquette rules regarding riding – keeping speed and noise down, and respecting other users of the trails. Properly registering your ATV also comes under this general category, since the state uses the funds to secure and ensure access. The second, and equally-important initiative, is to join, support and participate in your local ATV club. When a club is in existence and is active, it becomes a self-regulatory entity – a place to resolve issues, with a slate of officers who can speak (and advocate) for the group in dealing with landowners, or state officials, or even lawmakers, if legislation affecting riders is under consideration. Wishing for more trails and access won’t make it so. It will come from hard work, dedication, and a massive amount of trust. Efforts to build landowner relationships are ongoing, but will require our involvement. Call your local club today, and ask how you can help. Let’s bring back the great trails of Southern Maine.

www.MaineSportsman.com

22 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Should Maine’s Bear Season Be Expanded? by Staci Warren Should Maine’s bear season be expanded? To that question, I respond with a whole-hearted YES! If you bear hunt, then you know August is the most exciting time of the year. As a DIY hunter, months of thinking, planning and finally baiting for the last four weeks brings a lot of anticipation, since the bear

The harvest goal for bears that’s established in Maine’s Big Game Report has been reached only once since 2004, and with a significant decrease in the number of permits purchased, the author says it’s time to consider other options. are usually slamming the bait at all hours of the day. Like many hunters, I save some of my vacation time just for bear hunting, and take the entire first

week of bear season off. And if you’ve hunted for any amount of time, you know that can be a risk. All season, we watch the

beechnut and wild berry situation. Will it be a banner year, or a scant one? Sitting in a stand listening to beechnuts drop is painful, and the inevitable lull in

bear activity that occurs afterwards makes it feel like hunting when nuts are plentiful is a waste of time. And if you’re a Registered Maine Guide offering bear hunts, it can be a quick way to get bad reviews when customers aren’t happy, despite it not being the guide’s fault. I love bear hunting, but the (Continued on next page)

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�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 23

August bear. All illustrations provided by the author

September bear.

Bear coming in. by Staci Warren

(Continued from page 22)

pressure of knowing I can take time off for only one week makes it that much more disappointing when bear disappear. After all, no matter how much you offer, or what you offer, natural food is the first choice for hungry bear, and if a bear isn’t hungry, they don’t eat what you’re offering. The state’s Big Game Management Report combines hunting over bait with hunting with dogs in

many of their statistics, and only keeps track of them separately in how they were harvested, not their individual success rates. Whether you hunt over bait or hunt with dogs, the permit requirement is the same. Hunting with dogs has far fewer participants compared to hunting over bait, since it usually involves hiring a Registered Maine Guide. I suspect that the actual success rate for bear hunters using

dogs is higher than reported, since I seldom see dog hunters report no success unless a hunter decides to pass on a treed bear, and websites boast a greater than 90 percent success rate. According to Maine’s DIF&W in the Big Game Report (BGR), “Since 2013, we have seen a higher harvest by hunters using dogs that may be attributed to availability of natural foods later in the season” (BGR, p. 18). Current bear hunt-

ing consists of four weeks of hunting over bait; hunting with dogs gets six weeks, overlapping with the third week of bait season; and trapping is open for two months, from September 1 through October 31. Originally, game management plans were reviewed every five years; that is now approximately fifteen years, and the Maine Legislature holds the authority to set opening and closing dates for bear hunting, legal

methods of harvest, bag limits, and license fees. MDIF&W and its Advisory Council have the authority to set the time when baiting is permitted within the current season structure, legal hunting hours and hunting implements, and can also shorten or terminate open seasons. According to the latest MDIF&W Big Game Management Report, the new plan began in 2017, so (Continued on next page)

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24 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Bear Hunting (Continued from page 23)

there won’t be another big game management plan review until 2027, while Maine

continues to not meet the harvest goals set forth in its report. In 1990, changes to

bear hunting laws that remain in effect today involved restriction on time and areas open to training dogs (limited to first 9 weeks); establishment of a bear hunting permit for hunting prior to deer firearm season; bait and trapping seasons were reduced from 9 weeks to 4 weeks; hound season was reduced from 9 weeks to 6-7; and still-hunting

season reduced (from 14 weeks to 4). The harvest goal has been reached only once since 2004, and with the total number of permits purchased significantly lower, it’s time to consider other options. I suggest we extend hunting over bait with an earlier start for all of Maine, and remove the overlap between hunting over

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bait and hunting with dogs. This will not only extend the bait season, but will remove a continual dispute between bait and dog hunters. Even Maine’s BGM report states, “Options to extend the season (e.g., start the season a week earlier in northern Maine) and increase bag limits may be effective at increasing harvest” (MIFW Big Game Management report, p. 23). If this works, and Maine reaches its harvest goal, they can always stop it early. I welcome your thoughts! I’ll be making the most of the seasons we get, and – fingers crossed – I’ll get a bear this year (or if I’m lucky, maybe two).

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�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 25

Quick Fixes Often Remedy Boat Problems by Bob Humphrey

Boat not working? Many of the more common maladies the author has witnessed on the water can be cured without great expense. Idling up to the center console that was drifting across the channel, I recognized a panicked look on the operator’s face. “Everything okay?” I asked. “I don’t know what happened,” the fellow explained. “It stalled. Now, when I turn the key, nothing happens. It’s dead.” Thoughts raced through my mind, then experience took over. “Is it in neutral?” The operator looked down at the shifter, pushed it back and forth, then stopped it in the upright position, turned the key and the engine fired up. He gave me an embarrassed but relieved look. I just smiled and said, “Been there; done that.” It is said that BOAT is an acronym for “break out another thousand,” referring to the sometimes-substantial cost of owning, maintaining and repairing one. Mechanical and electrical failures occur frequently on the water, but a little experience, knowledge and a quick fix can often

save you from the embarrassment of a tow job and subsequent expense of repairs. The opening passage is one example that occurs quite often. If you turn the key and nothing happens, your first reaction should be to check that the shifter is in neutral. Then look around to see if anyone is paying attention to your gaffe. Another common problem is when someone inadvertently tugs on the coiled lanyard attached to the ignition “kill switch” on the center console or outboard motor handle, pulling out the plastic clip. If you are new to a boat, take the time to learn how to re-attach that clip. Electrical Woes Frequently, an operator will discover that the bilge pump, the livewell pump or the running lights don’t work. Electrical problems can be extremely frustrating. Fortunately, there’s often an easy solution – check the ground. Salt, corrosion and loose wires can all in-

terrupt connections. Clean them well at the start of the season, and check them periodically. A little WD40 or some lithium grease will also help with things like slidein plugs and sockets. If it’s not the ground, check the inline fuses and if necessary, replace them with the spares you always carry. No Flow Not Always the Impeller It’s the first trip of (Continued on next page)

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Boating (Continued from page 25)

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hook will often do the trick. Tilt and Fuel Problems Maybe you didn’t even get that far – you tried lowering the motor, but it won’t go down. First, check that you disengaged the trailering support bracket (Doh!). If you did, there’s a big screw on the side that will release the pressure and the motor should go down. Just make sure it goes back up before you launch. The engine cranks but won’t start, or runs rough and stalls. It could be something serious, but it’s far more likely a result of bad fuel, especially if you trailer your boat and fill up at a gas station, and let it sit for long periods without running. Ethanol is a bane to boat fuel, particularly smaller twostrokes. You should be

adding fuel stabilizer on a regular basis. If you didn’t, add it now, and run the motor for a while until it smooths out. There could be another cause, whether it’s fuel, oil or water that’s not flowing freely. When was the last time you checked/ changed the filters? Aha! It doesn’t take much, especially with the aforementioned ethanol, to clog a filter. And if your livewell intake doesn’t have a screen, it can suck up seaweed. Hazards at Sea You’re out on the bay zig-zagging through the gauntlet of lobster pots when you’re momentarily distracted. The engine suddenly changes pitch, and you hear a rapid thumping underfoot – caught in a pot! (Continued on next page)

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�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 27 (Continued from page 26)

You could call Sea Tow or BoatUS, or you could simply break out the sharp knife and mask you always carry on board for just such an occurrence. Caution is advised. Make sure the engine is off and you have a spotter, then jump in and cut yourself loose, carefully retying the loose ends of the pot warp so the trap can be recovered. Motoring in after a morning sea duck shoot, the engine revs up and forward motion slows, then ceases. You cut the engine, trim up, and all appears well. However, when you lean out and tap the prop, it spins freely with no resistance – a sheared-off shear pin! The task of replacing a shear pin is simple, if you have the right equipment – es-

pecially a spare pin and a pair of pliers. It’s better if you can paddle to the nearest shoreline first, but the process can be done afloat. Simply remove the cotter pin, pull off the prop, and install a new pin. (I also carry a spare prop, just in case.) These are just some of the many maladies you might experience on the water. Some are preventable with proper maintenance. Others are easily fixed if you know how to do it, and now you do. There’s almost no limit to the number and type of things you could keep aboard, but a basic tool kit, as well as fuses, hose clamps, a shear pin, duct tape and a sharp knife will get you out of many jams and get you safely to shore.

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28 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

— THE MAINE SPORTSMAN —

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Think Outside the (Fish) Box What is it that makes certain fish more desirable and attractive than others to anglers? Size is certainly a factor for sport anglers who seek the biggest or the most aggressive, but a 20-pound pollock fights every bit as hard as a similar-sized striper. Table fare is another factor, but even that doesn’t always pass muster. Few folks I know would bring a pogie or river herring home for dinner, but will eagerly lay a sardine on a saltine for a snack. Sometimes it’s regional, and sometimes it takes some recognition and initiative to promote under-appreciated species. The fact of the matter is, those who turn their noses up at “less desirable” fish may be missing out. Whiting (Silver Hake) A prime example is the whiting or silver hake, a relatively common groundfish off the coast of Maine. We use them as tuna bait, and when a friend of mine from Alabama found out, he was astounded at the size of the fish we caught, and that we put them on a hook instead of saving them for a meal. In the Gulf Coast states, people travel long distances to fish the beaches for whiting, which they relish as a food fish.

It’s all a matter of perspective, says the author – one angler’s cat food is another’s delicious sushi.

men and give it a try. The results were not disappointing. The flavor and consistency were much like a freshwater perch – not bad for a fish I had previously considered valuable only as bait. Cod, Haddock, Pollock Cod is, or was, the foundation of New England’s commercial fishery, not to mention one of the primary reasons Europeans first came to – and eventually settled in – North American. They’re even considered sacred, and superior to the lowly haddock, whose black spot is called “the Devil’s thumbprint.” I grew up on the ocean, and as kids we always gave the cod away and kept the haddock, so it was not until later in life that I got to appreciate cod. Then along came the pesky pollock, another nuisance when fishing for bait, or even for groundfish. We always considered them inferior, until I took one home and put it on the grill. From then on, the ones too big for tuna bait got filleted and eaten.

Cusk can be a nuisance when fishing for more desirable species, but I’m told they make a great chowder. Photos by the author

On my Alabama friend’s recommendation, I tried it, and was pleasantly surprised, finding it firmer and milder in flavor than some other more-preferred groundfish spe-

cies. It was only afterwards that I learned their whiting and ours are two entirely different species. Ocean Perch Whether fishing for tuna bait or target-

ing groundfish, we’re often plagued by pesky bait-thieving nuisances like the cunner or ocean perch. Ever the experimentalist, I decided to save one particularly large speci-

Monkfish; Dogfish Next on the list is the lowly monkfish, sometimes referred to as a goosefish by old timers. They were long considered a nuisance and a bane to commercial draggers and (Continued on next page) www.MaineSportsman.com

30 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Saltwater Fishing (Continued from page 29)

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trawlers. But as stocks of preferred species dwindled, some entrepreneurs managed to create a market, and now the species is actually targeted. (I have to admit I tried it, but wasn’t too impressed.) There are limits to how far you might go in experimenting. Dogfish or sand sharks are a bane to most anglers, especially charter and headboats. When they arrive, often in droves, they drive off other species, tear up tackle, and cause anglers to lose valuable fishing time. While they haven’t gained popularity on this side of “the Pond,” they are quite popular in Europe, and like the monkfish have a sizable commercial fishery. Unlike the bony fish, certain sharks urinate through their skin, which gives them a “tangy” flavor. Thanks anyway, but I’ll pass on the dogfish and chips, Limey! Bluefin This brings us to the bluefin tuna, top of the food chain in the Gulf of Maine. I started fishing for them in the 70s, when they were referred to

as “horse mackerel.” They sold for 10 or 15 cents a pound, and were trucked off to be used as cat food. One day, I talked one of our captains into saving and cooking a couple of head steaks. We were in awe. The rest, as they say, is history. The Japanese knew the value of this fish, and when they came to New England, demand and prices skyrocketed. Be honest – have you ever tried it? Sushi is now quite popular, but most of that tuna is ahi – yellowfin. Bluefin is superior in flavor and nutrition. Despite what you may have heard, stocks are not only healthy, but are actually robust. Perhaps more important, the fishery is local and sustainable. And, it’s delicious! St. Augustine stated, “It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men angels.” If you’re too proud to sample some of the more “coarse” or “rough” fish, you’re missing out on some heavenly delights.

�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 31

~ Saltwater Trophies ~

Steven Fitton of Thorndike is a skilled fisherman, and he is also a repeat patch recipient in The Maine Sportsman’s Saltwater Anglers Club. This striper was caught on July 2, 2024. The lunker was 44”, and was caught off York, ME using live bait, while Steven was fishing from the SS Chaos. Nice job, Steven!

Dustin Barber caught and released this nice striped bass in Harpswell on June 19, 2024. The bass was 32-1/2 inches long, and was caught on a live mackerel. “This fish was just one of many we caught that day that exceeded the 31-inch maximum slot limit,” Dustin told The Sportsman. The photographer for this excellent image was Nate Sawyer. Congratulations, Dustin!

Capt. Jeffrey Trudeau of Wells was recently awarded his Maine Sportsman “Saltwater Anglers Club” patch for boating this 50” striped bass off the Wells coast. Jeffrey was using a mackerel for bait, fishing from the charter boat Reel Nice Surprise.

Glen Rich of Auburn caught and released this lunker 36”, 33-lb. striped bass on July 2, 2024. Glen and his father, Mike Moreau, who is a member of The Sportsman’s sales team, were using bloodworms while fishing with North Creek Guide Service (Capt. John Nowinski). www.MaineSportsman.com

32 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Maine Moose Hunting: Preparing for the Hunt by John LaMarca So, you are lucky enough to be taking part in the Crown Jewel of Maine’s big game hunting scene – chasing a big bull moose. Congratulations! For many, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it’s important to prepare for it in a manner that sets you up for the best chance of success. In short, it’s your

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A moose hunter’s choice of rifle, scope, footwear and clothing can make a big difference, since if you are comfortable in the woods, you’ll be able to focus on enjoying a quality hunting experience. job as the hunter to make the right choices when selecting your personal gear. What to Bring As a moose guide, I frequently field the question, “What

should I bring on a moose hunt?” For those choosing to hire a guide, many of the items you may need or that would make the hunt easier and more enjoyable

will be provided by the outfitter. When you hire a guide for a moose hunt, it’s for more than just the knowledge of where the moose are located. It’s also for the gear

and the proficiency of its use, not only to locate moose, but also to lead the hunter to the moose, and then to extract the 1000-lb. game animal from the deep woods. Whether you choose to hire a guide or not, there is some gear that you truly need to consider. These items and equipment (Continued on next page)

�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 33

There’s no need to go out and purchase heavy armament that you don’t know how to handle, says the author – your .30-’06 deer rifle will work perfectly for moose hunting. Photo: PewPewTactical.com

Moose routinely weigh over 1,000 lbs, so whether you plan to remove it whole or in quarters, sure your body is ready to work. John LaMarca photo (Continued frombe page 32)

are the hunter’s responsibility. The first thing is not an item at all. Bring cardiovascular health! The days where a moose hunt is comprised of riding dirt roads and shooting a monster bull right off them are, for the most part, a thing of the past. These days, if you want to give yourself the best chance at shooting a moose, you need to be comfortable putting miles on your boots, and getting in the woods after the animals. The thick parts of the Maine woods where these moose reside can be very difficult to navigate. It’s important your body is up to the task. Firepower Big question: “What rifle should I take?” I get it, moose are big, so people tend to think they need a big caliber rifle, like a 300 Win Mag. I’ll be the first to tell you that your .308 or .30-’06 deer rifle is perfect for moose

hunting. As a guide, I prefer it when people say they will bring their deer rifle, since it usually means they are already familiar and proficient with the firearm. On the other hand, when people say, “The minute I heard that my name was drawn, I went out and bought a brand new 300 Win mag rifle,” I cringe. Why? Because this often means they have taken fewer than ten shots to sight in this rifle, and now we are relying on this equipment on which you may not be as proficient as you should be, when it comes time to take the shot. I would much rather it be the ol’ 30-’06 deer rifle that you have been using for so many years that it’s almost an extension of the hunter. Scope Along the same lines as the rifle is the optics. Big animal? Big rifle? Then big scope! Wrong! Many times, people bring these big 4-12X

+ zoom scopes. In the dense Maine woods, a 2-7X zoom scope is the perfect strength for those who would like to use an optic. Don’t discount the use of open/peep style sights, as well. Clothing Correct clothing is a must. Moose are not nicknamed “Swamp Donkeys” for nothing. Be sure to bring plenty of spare clothes, especially socks. You will most likely get wet.

Blistered, soggy feet can turn your hunt into a painful slog. In addition, I recommend bringing two sets of boots. This way, you can alternate days wearing them, so one pair is drying while you are using the other pair. The weather during the moose hunt can vary wildly as well. You need to plan for frosty mornings, as well as 80 degree days. Wool clothing is the best option. Stay clear of synthetic materials. Wool is warm when wet, it’s breathable, and it can be layered as needed, based on the conditions. Save the cotton for camp. Be sure to also

bring your blaze orange hat, as it is a requirement when moose hunting. Your hunt is only a week, and if that week is rainy, it looks like you’re hunting in the rain! Be sure to bring rain gear, and make certain it is comfortable and breathable when moving in the woods. You Can Always Ask If you’re concerned about what to bring, ask a guide! They will be happy to point you in the right direction. This can be a once-ina-lifetime opportunity, so use all available resources to help get things right.

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34 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Ghosts of Deer Season by Matt Breton & Hal Blood

Good hunters take motivation from many sources. In the end, however, it’s a lot more rewarding to prepare for the upcoming deer season by visualizing how you are going to succeed, rather than dwelling on the memories of the missed bucks of past seasons. Despite the dog days of summer now being in full swing, the shortening days of August let me know that another hunting season is nearly here. The ghosts of deer season future flicker through my mind. I picture the buck that I’m going to chase and kill. He is roaming his small summer range on some far-off mountain, browsing the back side of a 4-year-old cut, his velvet strained with the last weeks of its growth. He knows fall is coming, too. The Preparation Process The ghosts of deer seasons past haunt me

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as I work to get ready for the fall. The buck I missed last year came at the end of a long season, so I know the demands I’ll face. I try to be ready for all of them. Long hikes make up the bulk of my physical training, with some sandbag lunges and log drags thrown in for good measure. I go over my gear and make sure everything is ready, from my wool clothes to my headlamp, through to my boots and socks. I go over my spring scouting, and highlight a couple of fall spots I know I want to hit in bird season, just to check on things as the leaves come off.

My shooting gets a lot more attention this time of year. I practice pulling up and getting on target quickly. I’ve been messing around on a local sporting clays course with my pump shotgun the last couple of years. I don’t shoot for score; I’d rather focus on hunting scenarios, so I mount and swing on every target, shooting mostly singles. Before summer is over, we’ll find a gravel pit where we can shoot some rolling tires. Running Deer I feel like I’ve missed deer just about every way possible. The last couple of misses have been running shots – more ghosts of deer seasons past. Last season, I missed a buck with my muzzleloader at 65 yards as he was running through a bunch of saplings, which was very disappointing, but I didn’t feel too bad about that miss. The season before, I missed a good one coming out of his bed on top of a mountain – I just plain shot in front of him. That might be the only downside to shooting sporting clays – bucks up close don’t need any lead. The funny thing

A youthful Matt Breton with a buck he shot on the run, a couple of decades ago.

is, the first two deer I shot in my hunting career were on the run. The first came scooting up out of a little draw and went by me at about 30 yards, and I was able to make the shot, hitting a bit high, but knocking him down. The second was being tracked by my uncle, and I was sent ahead to watch a good crossing. That buck was chasing a doe. Thirty years after the fact, I can still see him in the crosshairs, quartering toward me as I feel the pull of the trigger. I’m going to let the ghosts of deer season present guide me. I’ll spend the rest of August getting back to the simpler times of not overthinking shots and just letting things play out how they’re supposed to. I’ll adhere to a mantra attributed to the Navy SEALs – “Slow is smooth; smooth is fast.”

Hal’s Thoughts Deer hunters think about the pursuit of our quarry yearround, but as summer wears on, it brings us closer to the season. It’s time to get serious about deer season preparation. Make sure your clothing and gear are in good shape. Don’t wait until a week before the season to find out your wool socks or long johns have holes in them. Like Matt said, get some range time in, because shots at a good buck don’t come often, and that’s not the time to be practicing. Hitting your target is of course critical, but even more critical is that you can get your gun into your shoulder in a split second. When the time for a shot finally comes, split seconds can make the difference between getting a shot off, and watching the buck disappear unscathed. (Continued on next page)

�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 35 (Continued from page 34)

Keep Plenty of Ammo Just make certain that after you have wrapped up your practice, you have plenty of ammo left for when it’s go time. Nowadays, certain ammo can be hard to find on short notice. Years ago, after guiding through deer season, I broke out my muzzle loader

on Sunday morning to get ready for the next day’s hunt. At that time, I had a Gonic Arms .45 caliber inline. The Gonics had their own specific bullets, and you couldn’t use any other 45 caliber bullets. Anyway, when I was getting my gear ready, I discovered that I only had 3 bullets. Worse than that,

I needed to shoot one to check my zero. I decided instead to dig out my old Thompson Hawken rifle. Being unprepared cost me a beautiful buck that week. I was tracking in a snowstorm, when he went up a steep ridge. I knew he would be lying up there, so I eased up, one step at a time. As I neared the top, the buck stood

up from behind a log, 20 yards from me. As I brought the Hawken up, thumbing back on what I thought was the hammer, the buck stood there, staring at me as if he knew he was safe. Not feeling the hammer click back, I looked down to discover I was yanking on the Lyman peep mounted on the tang! As I reached over

to pull the hammer back, the buck bolted off. Later, I missed two running shots at the buck, and headed out, hanging my head! If I had the Gonic, I would have laid him out where he stood in his bed. Some lessons are painful, so be prepared before the season.

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36 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

A Whitetail Fanatic Alone with His Thoughts I’m a little early with this one, but I’m hopeful some of my whitetail fanatic readers will be able to relate. Or perhaps I need to see a health professional about the levels of mental hyperactivity my mind and imagination reach whenever I think about deer season. For example, when I start planning for deer season, my mind starts moving constantly from one hunting topic to another. Sometimes I internally switch topics with such frequency that others can’t keep up. Worse yet, sometimes I don’t know why or how I started thinking about a specific topic. So please permit me to use you, dear readers, as a psychological sounding board. I am going to offer you

When the author’s mind races and meanders simultaneously, and when the topic is whitetail deer, the result is that he touches on an issue, and then often moves on to related subject matter so fast the audience must try to keep up. And it’s only August! a rare and unprecedented peek into what goes through my mind when I start thinking about whitetails as the end of summer and early fall approach. August is usually a month when family vacations and back to school shopping are front and center. In my world, the topic of deer hunting is never more than a few words away from being discussed. Though expanded archery doesn’t start for over a month, there’s still work to do. Archery Season is at Hand August is the last month we can use spotlights to scout for

deer in Maine. This month, I’ll do all I can to get out at least three to five times and see what the fields near my hunting properties hold for adult bucks. Many of these bucks will disperse from these summer haunts by the time archery season arrives, but knowing they’re in the region gives me confidence in areas I’m hunting. Speaking of the opening of archery season, this year’s regular archery opening date has me so angry, I’m spitting nickels. Why does IF&W open regular archery so late? Expanded archery

season opens September 7. Regular archery doesn’t open until October 5. That’s three weeks after turkey hunters start, and a full week after grouse season begins. It’s difficult enough to kill a whitetail with archery equipment. The pressure from upland hunters, small game hunters and even waterfowl hunters, all of whom start weeks ahead, makes it more difficult. Low-Cost License for First-Timers? Proof of the difficulty can be seen in the total archery harvest numbers. Less than 1,700 whitetails were

taken by bowhunters last year. No wonder some biologists don’t consider archery as an answer to lowering deer numbers. If that’s the case, however, what would it hurt if our regular archery season just began the same time as expanded starts? I’d love to have the answer from someone in IF&W. If the goal of IF&W is to bring new people into the sport of hunting, this presents a great opportunity. The weather is warmer in September. Warmer temps might bring out those who despise the cold. Now that crossbows are legal to use in Maine, the learning curve is less steep. Maybe IF&W could help promote the sport by encouraging people to participate. Perhaps a reduced-price license the first year, if someone has never held an archery license before? There are plenty of deer, and it’s obvious IF&W wants to reduce numbers further. Did I see an increase of just under 20,000 permits this year? 128,030 total antlerless tags (Continued on next page)

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statewide, and I believe bowhunters could help, if given the opportunity. It’s not like they’d shoot 10,000 deer and mess up the math. Obviously, some WMDs don’t have any antlerless permits allocated to them. WMDs 1, 2, 4 and 5 get zero, and WMDs 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 18, 19, 26A, 27 and 28 are allocated less than 1,000 permits. Howev-

er, WMDs 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 are each allocated between 3,995 (26) and 18,470 (25). There are plenty of deer to provide hunter opportunities. There’s no need for our seasons to remain stagnant any longer. Technology has changed. Demographics have changed. Let’s change with them. Change isn’t always a bad thing.

For years, I swore a crossbow would never be held in my hands, and there would be no crossbow hunting for me. Well, that changed last year when a shoulder injury prevented me from using my compound any longer. I didn’t want to miss my favorite time of the year, so I purchased a crossbow and killed a doe. A successful season, and it was only

October. Fortunately, my job allows me to hunt many weekdays and weekends each fall. Unfortunately for most hunters, this isn’t the case. Most hunters seem to have Saturdays only, and our harvest reports clearly show this. Well, if the powers that be will not allow for Sunday hunting, why not offer three or four more

weeks of archery season? That’s three or four more weekends for the working hunter to get out there. With the archery harvest being so small, we wouldn’t have to worry about taking too many deer. More licenses sold, happier hunters, and a reduction in deer numbers. What’s not to like? (Big Game continued on page 40)

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Time for Bronzebacks, Brookies and Bear If there’s any positive trade-off for the haze, heat and humidity of Aroostook’s August “Dog Days,” perhaps it’s the notable uptick of topwater smallmouth bass fishing. As most other gamefish seek deeper depths or cooler creeks, smallmouths bask in the warm water, where they investigate and attempt to eat any surface disturbance that resembles a food source. The surface explosion of a feeding bass is only surpassed by the acrobatic, aerobatic fight that follows. Border Bass Bass-casting enthusiasts from Central Aroostook need to drive more than 90 minutes south to access reliable smallmouth waterways this month. Prime sites that offer steady action include Baskahegan,

Smallmouth bass hit surface lures hard, and they jump acrobatically. Brook trout will attack oversized terrestrial flies. And hurry if you want to set up a bear bait site, since the regular season starts August 26th. East Grand, Pleasant, and Mattawamkeag Lakes, as well as a very accessible stretch of the Penobscot River at Medway. For more remote bronzeback locales that receive less pressure, check out Crooked Brook Flowage, Wytopitlock Lake, and Upper and Lower Hot Brook – lots of area, plenty of structure, and bass galore. A location that many sportsmen overlook for smallmouth, due to its prime muskie fishing reputation, is the St. John River. For most Crown of Maine fishermen, some sections of this long, wide waterway will require far less travel than heading

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cast reel work well for spinner baits and buzzbaits, I like the ability to cast a surface lure accurately and with finesse that I can achieve with the spinning set-up. Proven topwater baits for enticing St. John bass to strike include Rebel POP-Rs, Heddon Torpedos and Spooks, Rapala Skitter Props, and Arborgast Hula Poppers and Jitterbugs. The St. John’s rocky shoreline and extensive structure abounds with 2- to 3-pound bronzebacks, and occasionally a brute over 4 pounds. On rare occasions, a huge, toothy muskie will grab a surface bass plug; seldom do they reach the net, but Oh! what a thrill for

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a short while. Routes 11, 161, and 1A bring fishermen north, while Routes 1 and 161 parallel the river for miles. To overview Maine’s longest river, follow its course using DeLorme’s Gazetteer, from Map 66 easterly through Maps 67, 68 and 69, then south to Map 65. You’ll be able to identify dozens of town and village launch sites. Terrestrial Time Bass aren’t the only gamefish grabbing floating baits – be on the right brook or pond for a dawn or dusk insect hatch, and the dry fly action is breathtaking. Timing is everything for floating a fake insect, and hot, bright days aren’t prime; cloudy days with light rain, and any day at twilight, are my two favorite times for small dry flies. I’m partial to dapping a gray Slim Jim, Mosquito, Blue Dun, Henryville Special or an Adams over deep pools, ledge seeps and creek inlets. Prestile Stream in Robinson, St. Croix Stream south of Masardis, and Fall’s Brook and Ponds north of Allagash, are all excellent dry fly options this month. Plenty of brook trout, lots of remote woodlined runs, and light pressure during August’s sweltering doldrums, generally make each low-light outing rewarding. I often em(Continued on next page)

�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 39

ploy a different tactic that produces some of my largest trout of the summer – even in the middle of the brightest day, using larger-than-normal dry flies, I catch fish! Regardless of temperature and bright conditions, trout in cool water creeks and brooks that flow near farmland attack any terrestrial that

inadvertently ends up afloat. An imitation’s large, natural size only makes them more realistic and enticingly tasty. I use bumblebees, crickets, beetles, caterpillars and my favorite, colorful grasshoppers. I tie my grasshoppers with a couple of variations from the old Joe’s Hopper pattern, using yarn bodies on some, foam on others. Yel-

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and small wood lots. There are hundreds throughout Aroostook farmland, and many not wider than your fly rod will produce footlong trout. I often gently toss my terrestrial into grass on the opposite shoreline, then pop it free into the brook, making it wiggle like a struggling bug as the current floats it along. Strikes are fierce and frequent! Try a terres-

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trial for August action. Bruin Season Brewin’ Outfitters, guides and individual bear hunters have been doing site maintenance and placing bait since late July; Youth Day is August 24th, and the general season is just two days later, but there’s still time to rig a bait barrel. After an extraordinarily mild (Continued on next page)

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(Continued from page 38)

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40 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Other fish may become lethargic during hot-weather, low-water August days, but bragging-size smallmouth bass are banging baits all along the St John River. All photos provided by the author

When the bass are bashing topwater baits this month, the author likes to mix it up and throw out a few bass bugs on a fly rod. Shown here are some proven options.

The County (Continued from page 39)

winter and an early, dry spring, hunting should be above average for all Aroostook’s big game. If you’ve ever considered setting up your own bear bait, this month would be a good time to jump in. The black bear population in The County is so burgeoning that a

rookie can easily find a promising location within a 20-minute drive from home. Essentials include a bait container, a source for bait, and either a tree stand or a ground blind. From decades of trial and error leading to experience and success, I urge every novice to faithfully use

Big Game (Continued from page 37)

Okay, that made my head hurt. As I look back at the draft of this article, it

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dissolves for at least 60 days. Northwood’s Bear Products, also in Wisconsin, offers dozens of flavors of sprays, powders and hanging Power Blocks as surefire attractants for bruins. Northwood’s also has a liquid called Gold Rush that mixes with fryer grease that is ambrosia to bear when spread around a bait site. And the local suppliers that advertise in the pages

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a self-made or commercial scent attractant at their bait site. One sure-fire option is an old tactic called a honey burn – it’s easy and inexpensive, and it draws bears from miles away. Go online to Bear Scents LLC in Wisconsin and buy a scented bait ball to hang over the bait barrel – the aroma will travel on the wind as the semihard sphere slowly

Tom Tardiff of Robinson prepares to toss a grasshopper imitation onto a small holding pool near a spring hole along a farm fieldlined creek in Aroostook.

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�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 41

New 12-Gauge from FABARM is Worth Considering Even occasional readers know The Shooter’s Bench is the realm of tradition, and here we hold a certain reverence for blue steel and hand-wrought stocks of close-grained hardwoods. Plastics and Cerakote generate little excitement around this shooter’s bench. That is, unless there is some particular reason to take up the modern synthetics. The principal reason to turn to synthetics involves the environment. Water, mud, cold, salt, dust and other additives of the outdoors world are all valid reasons to shift to a firearm that features an exterior at least as tough as its interior. Price sometimes constitutes a secondary reason to choose synthetics. Modern machining often produces a cheaper-tobuild and therefore cheaper-to-purchase firearm when compared to the labor-intensive requirements of manufacturing a conventional firearm. Accepting all of that, I remain an “Old School” kind of shooter. Which is precisely why my reaction to a recent advertisement in Ducks Unlimited magazine surprised me and sent me digging a bit deeper. New for 2024, and Italian-made, the XLR5 12-gauge shotgun by FABARM is a firearm

A wide range of features – and a tough but comfortable stock and forearm – make this new semi-auto worthy of a good, long look, says the author. that demands Maine bird hunters’ attention. Designed as a waterfowler, the XLR5 has features perfect for the tough waters of Cobscook Bay, Muscongus Sound, Merrymeeting Bay, or any of the big inland lakes

and marshes where migrating waterfowl alight. The XLR5 offers late-season partridge hunters in our part of the world the features they need as well. Founded in 1900 in Brescia, Italy by the Galesi family,

FABARM (an acronym of the Italian name for the company) poured more than a century’s experience and evolving technology into the XLR5. The result is an impressive array of features and capabilities that have few rivals among semi-auto-

matic shotguns today. Competitive Heritage The XLR5 descends from a line of competition shotguns designed for maximum performance on high volume sporting clays courses where, as the company says, “malfunctions are not allowed, harsh recoil is not tolerated, and a gun must incorporate (Continued on next page)

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42 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Shooter’s Bench (Continued from page 41)

features that make it easy to shoot precisely.” FABARM literature goes on to proclaim, “At the heart of the high performance XLR5 platform is the revolutionary Pulse Piston system that acts as a progressive brake, thereby eliminating any valve system and allowing for the functioning of varying types of ammo. Additionally, the braking of the pulse system progressively slows the action with heavy loads, reducing

felt recoil. Most significantly, the reduction in recoil and enhanced reliability is achieved in what is the fastest cycling semi-auto hunting gun on the planet, at just 31 one-hundredths of a second for five rounds.” The XLR5 combines a chrome lined tapered barrel that FABARMS calls their Tribore HP, with their Exis DK competition choke that’s especially tuned for non-toxic shot. This means that shooters

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can use any choke, up to and including “extra full,” with no detrimental effects on the firearm or shot pattern. Given the tough hunting (or what Grandpa called “gunning”) conditions across our region, some of the most appealing features of the XLR5 appear on the gun’s outside. This is one of very few shotguns ready for the extremes of wintry conditions and salt spray. The XLR5’s receiver, end cap, and sighting rib are covered in matte-black Cerakote. The True Timber camouflage finish in-

cludes Soft Touch for a rubberized feel that makes for a better grip in snowy or rainy conditions. The oversized trigger guard and competition-style bolt handle are made for operating with heavy gloves, as is the bolt release button. With these features, the XLR5 seems a perfect fit for hunting in Maine, or anywhere east of the Great Lakes and from the Chesapeake northward, during the sometimes-brutal days of November, December, and January. Bold Move In a final nod to

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the XLR5’s competitive roots, the designers enhanced the sighting plane by incorporating 4½-inches of the receiver top into the plane of the barrel rib. This significantly cuts down on glare and extends the line of sight, making it easier to acquire the red fiber-optic sight at the muzzle. Available with either a 28-inch or 30inch barrel, all XLR5s make use of a 3-inch chamber. Sling swivels and shims for the user to adjust the length of pull are included accessories. FABARM offers the XLR5 in either leftor right-handed versions, which is a huge point with left-handed shooters. Nothing comes cheap these days – certainly not top-quality Italian shotguns. However, the MSRP for the XLR5 seems in the ballpark with other shotguns of its class. FABARM offers the right-handed version at $2,250. Southpaws pay more, at $2,470 for the left-handed version. Those are hefty prices for most of us, but this is a shotgun of both quality and features to provide a lifetime of great shooting in harsh conditions. A full package of features such as the XLR5 embodies is not easy to find, no matter where the gun is made or whose name is on it. As the saying goes, this is not your father’s semi-automatic.

�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 43

Hot-Weather Brook Trout Fishing You have to work a little harder, and fish a little deeper, to find trout in August. The author tells you exactly where, how, and at what depths to catch brookies this month, whether you are fishing streams or ponds. It’s August, and it’s hot outside. Water temperatures have mostly warmed to levels uncomfortable for trout, forcing them to retreat beneath shady banks and to cool springholes. Catching trout now puts undue stress on them, which is why the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife suggests immediately releasing fish without even taking them out of the water. No matter how quickly you release a fish, it will suffer some stress – stress from which it may not recover. What’s the answer? Don’t practice catch-and-release when the water is too warm to ensure that released fish will sur-

vive. Does this mean that you should not go trout fishing in the hot summer? Absolutely not. If you want a trout, or perhaps two small ones, to take home, there is no practical reason not to do so. I employ the same philosophy no matter the season. That is, I like to eat trout. Trout is a natural food, with lots of healthful properties. When I go fishing, it is for the express purpose of catching a trout or two, no more than that, for the pan. Of course I love catching them, too. And the peace and solitude of a largely forgotten stream in late summer always casts its spell on me. Additionally, I don’t put pressure

on any one stream. I distribute my efforts among many different waters. No one could rightly claim that I am doing the trout population any harm, because I am not. I am in my late 70s and have fished the same streams from when I was too young to drive and my grandpa had to drop me off. Sometimes I would walk great distances, just to go trout fishing. And yes, I have seen trout numbers decline in certain waters, but that was not because I took a few trout from them every year, but because of human incursion, development, and situations where people built their new houses on streamsides and cut all the ripari-

In summer, approach still, shady pools with caution. Photo by the author

an vegetation. Weekend Warriors Contrary to popular thinking, August makes a good time to go trout fishing in brooks and streams. The weekend warriors of spring are long gone, and streams flow quietly along, uninterrupted by human activity. Saving for game trails, not a blade of grass is bent nor a rush broken. Those who enjoy fishing in complete solitude have it at their fingertips now. Some of these brooks and streams,

being spring-fed, still have cold water. The difficulty now being that given that the water is low, trout have become extra-cautious – spooky to an extreme. Casting without disturbing trout requires extreme stealth. For example, always face the sun. That way, you won’t cast a warning shadow across the water. Watch your step. A light tread does not send vibrations through the water (Trout Fishing continued on page 45)

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44 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

A Fly-Fishing Vest That Saves Lives In my Rangeley Region column in this issue, I discuss personal floatation devices (PFDs) and life vests. I have several brands of these lifesaving units and will be testing them over the course of the summer. For now, I have decided to always wear my auto-inflating life vest. When water hits a sensor on the vest, a charged CO2 cartridge instantly deploys and inflates a floating vest from within the shoulder straps. My problem is this strap-style vest must be worn over the top of my fly-fishing vest. If anyone has tried to fit this combination together, they’ll understand the issue – wearing the two articles, strap vest and fly-fishing vest, creates a bulky mess that

The author wants to invent and patent an autoinflating PFD that will double as a fly fishing vest, and that will also keep him face-up in the water if he can’t fend for himself. inhibits the freedom of movement that’s required for comfortable fly fishing. I’d like to invent, or wish some company would invent, a fly-fishing vest that incorporates an auto-inflating life vest. This life-saving vest would have to offer enough pockets for carrying materials and tools necessary for fly fishing, without an overabundance of bulk. Temporary Solution I am working on a temporary solution that will carry me through this fishing season and into the next, if nobody starts

manufacturing this new, dual-purpose vest. If I am the first one to create this new vest, I’ll call it the “Fly Fishing Flotilla Vest.” For now, I’m going to empty the overfilled vest I use at present, sort out some of the unnecessary bulky items, and fill up a smaller chest pack I just ordered. I think the life vest straps will comfortably fit around the sides of the chest pack, and allow me to easily fish while wearing both units. The floating life vest deploys out the sides of the shoulder straps to inflate, and the chest pack doesn’t

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seem to get in the way of that process. I will jump in the pond wearing both items in the near future, to see how things go, and I’ll report back here. I see only one bad outcome that might occur when I’m wading. The auto-inflate sensor is located at waist level, limiting my wading depths, since contact with water would make the PFD inflate automatically. I might be able to solve this by rigging something to lift the sensor up to a higher level on the vest, but then the concern would be an unnecessary deployment if I slip and fall into shallow water while wading. Just for Clarity I know I could simply wear a PFD vest made to carry fly fishing gear while also having the capacity to

This is the armed CO2 unit that deploys and automatically inflates the life vest when the wearer is submerged. The vest can also be inflated manually. William Clunie photo

keep an angler floating. I have a couple of brands that work great that way, but none of those types of vests will keep my head above water if I’m unconscious. I’m looking at this new vest as a cutting-edge piece of life-saving gear that anglers could use – one that maintains (Continued on next page)

�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 45 (Continued from page 44)

comfort and also promotes security since it would save their life if they fall in the drink unconscious. I have a large number of life vests and PFDs that are very useful for keeping a conscious person afloat if they fall in the water. I’m just not convinced that any of these vests/PFDs will keep an unconscious

victim’s water.

head

above

Buddy System Now this whole idea of mine is quite unnecessary if the person is on the water with a friend. If I bump my head, become unconscious, and wind up face-down in the water, my buddies will certainly come to the rescue and flip me upright so I can breathe fresh air instead of wa-

Trout Fishing (Continued from page 43)

that alert trout. And if the situation requires a hands-and-knees approach to a pool, then approach it on hands and knees. Thin lines result in more bites now – the thinner and more supple the better. Brook trout may not be as sophisticated as brown trout, but during low-water times of midsummer, a thick line can put them down for the duration. As often as not, by month’s end, a hint of fall makes us aware of the waning summer. Trout pick up on this, too. Precursors to fall rains may elevate stream levels in late August, making for exciting fishing – a great way to end

It’s always a good idea to go boating, fishing, kayaking or canoeing with a friend, but often I am alone or with only my dog. At these times, I sure will feel comforted knowing my auto-inflate life vest will save my life no matter my state of consciousness. I’m sure there are plenty of readers who might laugh at me for being so concerned

about safety, but in covering all bases, I can really clear my mind so I can fully engage and enjoy whatever activity I’m involved in. When I’m fishing, my mind seems to reach some kind of “alpha” state, like I’m in my own world. It’s so relaxing, but I can’t get to that ultra-relaxed state if there’s an unresolved concern in the back of my

the month. Ponds, Too Brook trout in lakes and ponds don’t necessarily go dormant in August. Still mornings make for good times to troll with either downrigger or leadcore line. Brookies don’t always hold as deep as other trout. Where fish congregate now depends upon the depth of the thermocline – that often-thin strata of water with just the right mix of dissolved oxygen and cool temperatures. Those using fish locators can simply note the depths where most fish are showing. But because fish locators cannot indicate species of fish, what we think are trout may be anything from white perch to suckers. A truly reliable method of determining thermocline depth is to contact

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mind. Taking care of safety issues upfront clears my head and has always been the way I operate. When I was a guide, I had to think this way … to make sure everybody got home safely. I’ve carried this safety mantra over into my personal life, and I’m happy with that. I’ll get back to you soon with a follow-up report.

a fisheries biologist at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, and ask them for information on thermocline depth on the water you plan on fishing. I did this once, and was amazed to learn that the thermocline on my favorite trout lake was only 30 feet down. And here, I had fished at 40to 50-foot depths and even deeper for a whole season. I took the biologist’s advice, and immediately began taking trout. My favorite lure for brookies is a medium-size Mooselook Wobbler in either all orange or half-orange and halfgold. Fish one of these slow, in the right zone, and you will take brook trout. Don’t quit fishing for brook trout in August. Fish are waiting.

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46 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Ollie Goes to Work – Kind Of He was a sharp dresser, and he worked hard, but only to impress barmaids in Quebec. Over my 27 years as an administrator for Maine’s Bureau of Parks, I offered employment to many people who wished to work for the park service. One such couple was Jim and Glenda Kelly, from Allagash Village.

Two of the hard workers –Allagash Ranger Jim Kelly, and his wife Glenda. T. Caverly Collection

Most of my employees, including the Kellys, were dedicated to their duties. However, on rare occasions there were a few employees who had to be dismissed. The month is September, and the time has come to send Assistant Ranger Ollie home. How Ollie Got the Job Late one summer, an Allagash Assistant Ranger resigned for personal reasons. I spent days reviewing applications, checking references, and conducting interviews. Eventually I hired a very qualified person, whom I expected would move up the ranks someday to become an Allagash Ranger or Supervisor. However, little did I know that my Augusta boss, the Director of Operations and Maintenance, had a different idea. Within two weeks, I received orders to terminate the new employee, and fill the position with Assistant Ranger Ollie. He had been working in a southern Maine park for a brief time, and he wanted to transfer into the Allagash. www.MaineSportsman.com

Complaints The employee was a sharp dresser, but that was as far as his abilities went. Within a few weeks of his arrival, I started receiving complaints about Ollie’s work. One instance occurred when Ollie was working with others to jack and level a camp. While taking a break to get a drink of water, he set the four-foot level on top of a hot wood stove, boiling the bubbles out of the tool. That may not seem significant, until you understand that an employee had to drive 70 miles one way to purchase a replacement from the Ashland Hardware Store. Then came accusations from canoe travelers and guides. First, it was his visiting campsites, begging for food and drinks. From there, he pressured females to visit his camp. After many complaints, I radioed Ollie and made an appointment to meet with him the next morning at 8:30. Arriving in his driveway early, I thought it was odd that the Assistant Ranger was nowhere to be found. Around 9:15 a.m., forty-five minutes late for our meeting, Ollie’s car came roaring into his yard. When he stepped out of the vehicle, I noticed that his face was crisscrossed with little square check marks. Silently I wondered, “What in the world has happened now?” Ollie immediately began to apologize for being tardy, but I stopped him in mid-sentence to ask about the splotches. He explained that his friend, a local forester, had heard my radio communications and stopped by for a visit. Quebec Pub Based on the radio communication and additional factors, the woods worker surmised that the Assistant Ranger might be fired. Ollie agreed. So, the forester invited his colleague to celebrate their friendship in a Quebec pub just across the U.S. and Canadian border, a scant 40 miles away. At the saloon, Ollie – after consuming too much alcohol – began pressuring the waitresses for dates. He admittedly told one of the girls that she was pretty enough to be considered a “10.” The server thanked him and walked away. A half-hour later, he called her back

to the table and recanted his earlier appraisal. “I really think you are only a 5, but I will consider you a 10 if you prove yourself to me.” The waitperson wasn’t having anything to do with the customer and told him to bug off. Now drunk and mad, the unruly individual picked up a chair to smash over a table. It was then that his friend decided it was best to return the intoxicated individual to his Umsaskis Lake camp. Head Net Back in their truck, Ollie passed out, and rested his head on the driver’s shoulder. The friend wasn’t having any of that, so he placed a nylon fishnet over the passenger’s head. Then he took the net’s nylon string, and tied him in place to the back window’s gun rack. Ollie spent the night sleeping with the mesh netting over his head. He woke up the next morning, still in the truck and still wearing the net. Remembering our appointment and understanding that he was late, Ollie jumped into his car and roared over dusty woods roads, finally arriving at his driveway. There we had a brief conversation, during which he was told it was time for him to return to his former job in southern Maine.

Ollie had spent the night passed out in a truck with a fishing net on his head.

Later that day, I decided to check Ollie’s camp, and found the cabin in good shape, except for four moose legs that had been stored under the bench in the camp’s tool shed. We’ll have more information on the moose legs in a future column. Tim Caverly has authored thirteen books about Maine.

�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 47

Self-Propelled Tips for an Adaptive Unit Moose Hunt This fall, a total of 550 moose hunters will crowd into Zone 4A to pursue a cow moose during the Adaptive Unit Hunt. The boundaries of the adaptive unit hunting area encircle parts of Maps 54 and 48 in DeLorme’s Maine Atlas. It’s the western half of what was once WMD Zone 4. The influx of hunters will occur over three consecutive weeks – from October 21 to November 9. Permitting so many hunters to hunt in such a relatively small area is part of the point. The adaptive hunt is designed to test whether significantly lowering moose densities in the experimental zone will reduce mortality from winter tick impacts on the population, resulting in an overall-healthier moose herd. But the logistics of more hunters, progressively fewer moose, and the relatively late post-rut season will create a challenge for those hunters who participate. Management Hunt Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is careful to point out that the Adaptive Unit Hunt is a “management hunt.” Therefore, it’s different from conventional hunts in other zones. The statistics bear that out. In the three-

Hunting moose in Adaptive Unit 4A may be the ultimate challenge. Fewer than 30% of hunters will succeed. The hunt calls for different tactics, and a different mindset. Here’s how to approach that challenge, and beat the odds. year history of the adaptive unit hunt, the success rate on cows has declined from 52% in 2021 to less than 30% in the last two years. That’s compared to 64% last year for statewide moose hunters. All of which makes perfect sense if the goal is to reduce moose densities in this zone. Reduced success rates should not be unexpected for a unit that has seen over 1,500 cow moose hunters converge on a relatively small area over the last three years. The point is that Adaptive Unit 4A hunters are challenged with a geographically smaller hunting area, an intentionally reduced moose population, and an artificially high hunter density.

Clearly, the usual tactics will not prevail.

Look for fresh sign, especially in soft mud found along streams. Photos by the author

They are also hindered by the post-rut timing of the adaptive hunt. Plus the three consecutive weeks of the hunt make advanced scouting difficult for hunters not lucky enough to have Week 1.

Cows are Different Female moose are much less susceptible to calling, even during the early-fall rut. By the time the adaptive hunt rolls around, most available cows have already been bred, and they are entirely focused on feeding to fatten up for the coming winter. Post-rut cows will be where easily available food can be found. If that means cleaning up the last green remnants of water lilies or pond weed along a waterway, that’s where they might be. Unit 4A doesn’t have a ton of navigable water – but traversing even a small pond or bog by canoe can open up new areas to hunt, often

Moose are drawn to waterways long into October, often to eat the last of the pond lilies and pickerelweed. A canoe is one way to access these areas without relying on roadways.

untouched by other hunters. The conventional wisdom that moose leave waterways after the rut is overstated. It’s always worthwhile to explore regenerating wood harvest areas that are covered with moose favorites, such as maple, willow, young poplar and birch. Red osier dogwood, pin cherry and mountain ash are the equivalent of moose candy. Boot Leather and Legwork One place those cows are unlikely to be is near a road of any type. These are the most heavily hunted moose in the Maine woods. The jury is still out on whether moose become truly gun-shy like deer seem to. But a fair test of this theory might be to try and hunt Unit 4A on the third week of the Adaptive Unit hunt. Instead of hunting along roadways, even on foot, try striking off cross-country, with the idea of hunting through a patch of woods from the edge of one road to another. Lay your course into -- or at least crossing – the prevailing wind. Focus particular attention on that part of the terrain that is upwind from your position. Move slowly and quietly. (Self-Propelled Sportsman continued on page 50) www.MaineSportsman.com

48 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Fur Prices Rebound This past winter (2023 - 2024), fur prices rose a little, as predicted. At the Maine Trappers Central Maine chapter spring fur auction held April 21 in Palmyra, the trappers who brought in their remaining furs saw an upturn. Furs didn’t bring what they had in the distant past, but prices were a lot better than they’ve been in the last few years. Trapping effort in both the United States and Canada has dropped off in recent years, due to low fur prices. Many trappers are recreational types who couldn’t pay their expenses, so they hung up the traps, hoping things would improve. Most of the trappers who trap full time hung in there, and the volume of the fur they take helps pay the bills

During COVID, some farmed foxes and minks contracted the virus, and farmers were forced to close their facilities. Bad news for them, but potentially good news for prices of Maine’s wild furs. and puts a few dollars in their pockets. A couple of decades ago when fur prices were high, many folks quit their regular jobs and trapped full time. Fur prices have always gone up and down like a yoyo. This is the result of domestic demand, foreign markets, and world affairs. Today, the high cost of doing business in all levels of the fur industry, together with increased government regulation, have caused many of the smaller manufacturers to close up shop. Until recently, trapping money was a big help for lot of rural people to help pay

their way through college, buy or repair vehicles, pay household bills, and put clothes on their backs. The fur sale in April, with its small step-up in fur prices, gave hope to trappers that the upswing trend will continue. The prices paid are in the chart below. ***** Trends and Predictions The current trend reflects a slow increase in the prices paid trappers for their wild fur. This should start moving up faster, as the commercial mink and fox furs are about out of inventory.

During Covid, the fur farming industry was hard hit when it was discovered that the animals were contracting the disease, and farmers were ordered to eliminate their stock. This was a financial disaster to the farmers, who as a result totally shut down and got out of the business. The result of the lack of commercial fox and mink means that the price of our wild fox, along with mink, should start increasing. Muskrat is used in the same clothing market as mink, so it should advance also. For first-time trappers who generally start

out chasing muskrat, the catching of a mink is quite a thrill, and hopefully will soon be a boost to their fur revenue. The last Fur Harvester auction saw price increases in most furs. The June edition of Fur Fish and Game’s Fur Market Report indicates that this coming winter, fur sales should continue to advance. Of interest is that marten rose better than expected last season in both the North American and Eurasia markets, and that marten and fisher are predicted to be in strong demand next season. Marten and fisher are two of our most sought-after furs here in Maine. Our bobcat and otter are worth trapping, and (Trapping continued on page 50)

April Fur Sales Number Species Average of Furs Trapped Price 387 Beaver $30.75 2 Bobcat $101.00 1 Male Fisher $75.00 7 Coyote $12.50 3 Gray Fox $15.50 9 Mink $9.90 235 Muskrat $2.30 33 Otter $35.50 14 Raccoon $8.00 6 Red Fox $18.30 46 pounds of beaver castor (partially air dried) averaged $23/lb. Total sales: $15,600 www.MaineSportsman.com

In this photo, a large raccoon stands its ground in close proximity to a bobcat. “This picture was taken at a coyote bait site just down the road from me, near a small beaver flowage,” reports David Miller. “I could not believe a raccoon would confront a bobcat, but then again, I’ve seen similar sights in the past, like the time I saw a fisher face off against a bear at a bait site.” Trail camera photo courtesy of Jim Taylor

�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 49

Mushroom Foraging for Beginners Foraging for mushrooms is a great summer activity. It’s like gardening, but you didn’t have to plant, water, or weed – just harvest! It may seem overwhelming and dangerous at first, but there are a few mushrooms that you really can’t go wrong with. Still, accuracy is key, so always be 100% certain with your identification prior to eating. Here are some easy and delicious mushrooms to learn first: Morels -- Morels are probably the most desired mushroom in the world, due to their distinctive appearance and delicious, earthy taste. They are extremely rare here in Maine, but you should still know what they look like, in case you’re lucky enough to spot some. They can be found from late April to mid-June, near apple trees or dying elms. Morels are conical and honeycombed, and hollow when cut in half vertically. Chanterelles – Chanterelles’ bright orange or yellow color make them easy to spot. These 3”- 4” tall and wide mushrooms grow near hardwoods (usually oak) and conifers. They have asymmetrical false gills, and grow directly on the forest floor from July to October. Black trumpets – These small, 1”- 4” tall, black mushrooms are funnel-shaped, and the top edges roll

Other Tips and Resources • Always ask permission when foraging, and never trespass. Different public lands in Maine have different rules about foraging. • Beware of lawns, roadsides, or working apple orchards, where pesticides are used, or near questionable water sources. You do not want to eat mushrooms from these areas. • With many mushroom species, where you find one, there’s usually more, so when you spot one, slow down and search around diligently. • Find a mentor who is confident with his or her mushroom ID. They may invite you to forage with them, or you can bring them a mushroom you found to help identify, or simply be someone you can text mushroom photos to. • Buy a mushroom field guide, like “Foraging Mushrooms Maine” by Maine Sportsman columnist Tom Seymour, or “Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms of New

It’s like gardening, says the author, except you don’t have to plant, water or weed the crop – just head for the woods with your mushroom guide in hand, and start harvesting!

The author with a Maine once-in-a-lifetime haul of morels from earlier this year. All photos provided by the author, unless otherwise noted.

outward, resembling a trumpet. They’re smooth and thin, without gills, and have a hollow stem. They grow in shaded, damp forest floors. I usually find them in July and August. Chicken of the Woods – Chicken of the woods is orange or yellow. It grows in a fan shape on shelves on the sides of dead or mature hardwood trees. They are commonly found from June through October, and yes – they do taste a bit like chicken! Hen of the Woods – Come fall, look for hen of the woods, or maitake, growing on the forest floor at the base of dying oak trees. They

are shaped like a head of lettuce, and can grow quite large. Mushroom Care, Storage and Cooking Proper care starts in the woods. Use a knife to cut the mushroom away, versus plucking it out of the ground, which results in a dirty stem. At home, store mushrooms in the fridge in a paper bag, or vegetable saver Tupperware with holes for ventilation. Don’t rinse your mushrooms until just before cooking. You can dehydrate your mushrooms, or even freeze them. Wild mushrooms must always be cooked thoroughly. No wild

mushroom is safe to eat raw. Start by eating a small amount, then wait a day to make sure your body agrees with the new food. Like any new food, even edible mushrooms may still cause some irritation to certain people. I enjoy mushrooms sautéed with butter, mixed with scrambled eggs, or in a mushroom soup!

(Continued on next page)

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50 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Black Trumpet

Hen of the Woods

Chanterelle

Maine Sportswoman (Continued from page 49)

England” by David Spahr. • Join the “Maine Mushrooms” Facebook group, where you can post photos, ask questions, and learn from other people’s posts. • Grow your own mushrooms with a kit from Westbrook-based

North Spore mushrooms. Also, check out their “events” page for any upcoming mushroom ID walks. • Look for in-person classes/mushroom walks. Pineland Farms in New Gloucester offers a class in the spring, but

Self-Propelled Sportsman (Continued from page 47)

Sounds like deer hunting. Because it is like deer hunting. When you locate fresh sign, stick to that area, and plan approaches from downwind. Use the road system to get to the best jumping-off spot for travel-

Trapping (Continued from page 48)

it appears that our fox (both red and gray) may see a price uptick. The market for coyotes has hit the bottom, and they are currently not worth trapping for their fur. For those trapping them, however, know that you are helping our deer herd. Raccoon Raccoon in the past had been a major fur, but the sanctions on certain Eastern European countries (primarily Russia) caused a huge decrease in demand for this fur. This caused the bottom to drop out of that market. It made raccoon trapping unprofitable for trappers. After some years of a lack of interest www.MaineSportsman.com

some upcoming classes this month and into the fall are hosted by: -Forage River Outfitters -Maine Primitive Skills School -Bowdoinham Merrymeeting Adult Education -Fields Pond Audubon in Holden -Gardiner Adult Education -Coastal Rivers

Chicken of the Woods. Photo by Georgette Tillinghast

Conservation Trust in Damariscotta, and -Maine Forest and Logging Museum in Bradley An online search for the above organiza-

ing across wooded areas, taking into consideration wind direction and terrain. Consider finding a high point that overlooks fresh sign, and take a stand. A mountainside ledge is great, but even the top of an erratic boulder will do. Good binoculars could make your hunt. Attitude is Everything The odds of success for a moose in raccoon, there is now a real interest in our “larger size northern raccoon.” If you happen to pick up some nicely prime jumbo raccoon in you trap sets, they will be worth skinning. Smaller sizes, and those not prime, currently still have little value – they are best released. If you think we don’t have some big bad jumbo raccoons in Maine, accompanying this column is a photo of one confronting a bobcat at a bait site. Most people wouldn’t believe a raccoon would confront a bobcat over dinner. It wasn’t hunger that drove them to this, as they both appear well fed. A big raccoon, as well as a fisher, are animals to be respected. Beaver, Ermine Beaver have again become profit-

tions should bring you to their websites for more information and how to sign up. Happy foraging!

hunter in the adaptive unit are still roughly double those of the average deer hunter in Maine. Also, a moose hunt is a moose hunt! We get to hunt North America’s largest herbivore in a very remote and wild part of our favorite state. There are no bad moose hunting days.

able for trappers. Some buyers bid on a collection of furs by the value of the individual pelts contained in the collection, while many today bid on a collection of furs by weight. Most all beaver today end up being sheared and used in the manufacture of felt. Even the long tail ermine brought up as high as $10, and the more common short tail brought almost $5. This is a great way to get the young kids out of the house into fresh air and into trapping. It is important that they learn they can make some money by their own work. They can have fun (under supervision) making the weasel boxes to place the traps in, and running their very own mini trap lines.

�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 51

Take the Trekking Pole Challenge The author’s hiking buddies implored him to replace his single walking stick, with two adjustable trekking poles. The author was resistant to make the change, but gave the poles a try on a trip up Katahdin. Here’s his report. My first experience backpacking in Baxter State Park involved a ton of preparation. I met with my two cohorts, Dave Gadoury and Steve Carter, multiple times pre-trip to make sure everything from gear to food was accounted for. We planned extensively, even setting up mock campsites in our back yards to test every scrap of gear. When all looked good, we weighed our packs and anxiously waited for our departure date. Intervention Before we set off, however, Carter and Gadoury approached me together. I guess you would call it an

“intervention.” “You’re not taking that walking stick,” started Carter. About then, Gadoury handed me a set of trekking poles. “Of course I’m taking my walking stick,” I replied defensively. That walking stick, a tapered piece of ash made by my late buddy, Lenny Potvin, had accompanied me on every outdoor excursion since he handed it to me sometime in the 1990s. I’ve even taken it with me on hospital stays. I regularly use it as a walking stick, and it does double duty as a wading staff. It’s got character and its own

story. I DO NOT go anywhere without it. Of course, with two experienced hikers staring me down, I needed to at least hear them out. In the end, I graciously accepted their gift, and reluctantly left my trusty walking stick home alone. About halfway up the trail to Chimney Pond, I was thanking them for their intervention. Sometimes, it pays to listen to people who know what (Katahdin Country continued on page 53)

Bill Sheldon took the “trekking pole challenge” over a decade ago, and hasn’t looked back since. While hiking Baxter State Park, he grew to appreciate the many advantages of a serviceable pair of hiking poles. Here, he stops to take a break at one of Baxter’s many remote ponds. Photo provided by the author

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Concealed Carry Considerations for Cross-Country Travel I remember maintaining bait sites for black bear when I first started guiding years ago. I had a 1994 Toyota Tacoma and put many miles on that truck just to keep the bait sites full and the bears happily returning to the remote sites. I remember for the first few years of this baiting activity; I didn’t have a concealed carry permit, which meant I had to load and unload my revolver at each bait site. At times, we had 14 bait sites going, so you can imagine my

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Don’t rely on secondary sources for information on gun-carry or possession laws in various states, says the author. Instead, check directly with the authorities, since the penalties for making a mistake can be severe. impatience over this process. Although I never got harassed by a bear while filling the bait sites, I always knew there could be a chance of surprising an angry mother bear with cubs, or worse, an angry cow moose with a few young ones. A few years ago, Maine enacted the

Constitutional Carry Act, giving Mainers the right to carry handguns concealed or open without a permit. This would have allowed me to carry a loaded revolver while baiting, without going through the unloading and reloading process. So now, while driving my vehicle through the wonderful

countryside, I can legally do so with a fully loaded handgun on me or in my vehicle. If approached by a member of law enforcement, I simply declare that I’m carrying, and go from there – not a problem at all. Cross Country Travel Now, traveling across country or into

Canada will require a little research on your own. Never trust legal issues like this to hearsay – check it out for yourself. Plenty of folks go to social media sites with questions like this and might just get in trouble – that goes for my writing on the subject here in this magazine. I claim no authority to be passing legal advice to the readers of my columns, I just want to get you started in the right direction for doing your own due diligence. (Continued on next page)

�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 53 (Continued from page 52)

I found several websites claiming that folks who travel across these United States of America in RVs and campers are guaranteed their right to carry firearms in their vehicles through the “Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986” (Safe Passage Provision). Please read this law and decide how to proceed, then read each of the states’ own gun laws regarding traveling through their state with a weapon in your vehicle. Some states, like New York, have very strict gun laws. Traveling across the Canadian border from the United States requires even more preparation and caution. Please contact the U.S. Border

Patrol for information on how to legally travel through Canada with a firearm. My research indicates that handguns are not permitted in Canada, and long guns for hunting purposes must be checked in at the U.S. Border Patrol office, and a permit must be obtained, requiring payment of a fee. In general, most states in the U.S.A. allow folks to travel through their state with the firearm unloaded, broken down, and in a locked case. This would be the safest way to transport a weapon across state borders, in my opinion. Camping Stops Stopping to camp overnight while traveling presents another issue that can be resolved by planning

Katahdin Country (Continued from page 51)

they’re doing. By the time we hit the Saddle Trail, I was thankful for two friends who saw an accident waiting to happen and intervened. Trekking Pole Advantage So, what’s so special about trekking poles? For starters, they really help protect a hiker’s knees. Most folks think of this protection going up the trail. I’ll venture to opine that trekking poles offer the most protection going downhill. I call them shock absorbers for the knees. Research has shown that trekking poles reduce the impact on body joints by at least four percent. That doesn’t sound like much, but it really adds up over the long run. Poles help reduce the chance of injury on hips, knees and ankles. Foot fatigue can ruin a trip. On the way up to Chimney Pond, I quickly discovered the advantage of employing a little arm strength to help the ascent. It made the trip up faster and significantly easier. Keeping up with my two buddies was important. Because we did a through-hike, we

Know the law before heading out on a cross-country trip. William Clunie photo

ahead. Many campgrounds do not allow weapons on site, so please call ahead to check. Also, a lot of state or national parks and campgrounds don’t allow guns, so plan ahead and make

calls to be sure the campground you are going to stop at is okay with firearms. A lot of travelers plan a route that includes camping overnight in the parking lots of various big box stores that allow this, including Walmart, Home Depot and Cabela’s. Do some research to find a complete list before heading out the door on your cross-country trip, to help map out a route of travel. It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to purchase one of those books that includes the gun laws from each state, to keep in the vehicle. Read up on the gun laws for the states you’ll be traveling through before beginning the trip, and then have the book with

had to deal with multiple water crossings. By the second crossing, I had forgotten about my ash wading stick. When I was balancing a 38-pound backpack, the trekking poles kept me upright in the fastest of current. Above the tree line, Baxter’s trails have plenty of rocks and loose gravel underfoot. Trekking poles excel at keeping hikers upright as they navigate slippery footing. On the way down to Davis Pond, a light rain turned the trail dangerously slippery. I silently thanked Steve and Dave. Double Duty Trekking poles certainly aid in safely navigating backwoods trails. Hikers have found multiple uses for trekking poles that have them doing double and triple duty. Minimalists let their poles do double duty for tent and shelter set-ups. Why carry tent poles? Most trekking poles (except for my one-piece ash classic) are adjustable. Good for the trail, and good for setting up shelter. In a group setting, three poles can be lashed together to form a tripod. This works great with gravity-feed water filters, especially when hiking above the tree line. Video and camera buffs have engi-

you if any questions arise on the road. Make sure to read up on the law before uncasing and loading your firearm when you stop to camp. Protecting yourself and your family while on the road is a constitutional right in most states within our nation – just be sure to do it legally. Navigating your way through each of the state’s gun laws for cross-country travel is your own responsibility. Failing to do so could lead to jail time, monetary penalties, impounding the vehicle, and confiscation of the weapon. Check well ahead of leaving for the trip to be sure you are legal wherever you travel, to assure a safe and penalty-free trip.

neered multiple ways to attach phones, cameras and Go-pro units to hiking poles. I’ve seen the previously mentioned tripod system used for a handsfree photo. A phone or camera holder makes an excellent accessory. I know I’ve used my classic ash wading staff to ward off over-aggressive dogs. Any trekking pole can also handle this situation, should it arise. On rainy days, I use my poles to push back wet undergrowth before proceeding ahead. Ditto for low, wet, overhanging foliage that promises to slap me in the face. Trekking poles range in price from economical to pricey. Figure the lighter they are, the more they will cost. Some units have a built-in shock absorber. Adjustable heights seem pretty standard. I have adjustable trekking poles so I can set them at comfortable heights for me. It’s important to use the hand straps on the handles. To be fully effective, the straps should support one’s weight when pushing down. Don’t overlook this important step. Like Steve Carter and Dave Gadoury did to me, I now implore readers to take the trekking pole challenge.

www.MaineSportsman.com

54 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Glamping Along the Kennebec It seems “glamping” has taken the outdoor world by storm. The dictionary defines glamping (the phrase is derived from “glamour” and “camping”) as a form of camping involving accommodations and facilities more luxurious than those associated with traditional camping. Okay, let’s start with “traditional” camping. Having spent a lifetime camping in everything from a primitive lean-to all the way to a motor home, I want to offer a baseline for what constitutes “traditional.” For the record, I always try to make all my camping expeditions “comfortable,” regardless of the definition. Never have I wanted to leave a campsite due to unforeseen or uncomfort-

Not ready to backpack all your camping gear, and sleep on the ground? Then how about doing a trial run, enjoying comfortable camping in a framed, canvas wall tent, alongside one of Maine’s mighty rivers? able circumstances. Preparation will take care of the worst situations. Let’s rule out survivor-type shelters that serve only one purpose – keeping someone alive during harsh, unexpected weather. It’s safe to say gas-guzzling motor homes and tow-behind campers stretch the concept of “traditional.” Something in-between seems to fit the bill. My early days of camping involved a simple tent with a sewn-in floor. It kept the bugs and creepy crawlers out. A nearby campfire and some

basic gear supplied my every need. I’m going to confine my definition of “traditional” camping to gear I can carry in my backpack. I worked hard to whittle my Gregory backpack down to 38 pounds. It did, however, have everything I needed to spend three or four days in the backcountry. The “glamping” crowd has no need to carry anything on their backs. Most glamping units consist of a fully-furnished wall tent erected on a wood platform. They have amenities that range from folding cots

to real double beds. The furnishings run the gamut. Some look eerily similar to a well- decorated room in a tasteful home. Like Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz, there’s no place like home. Those looking to dip their toes into the magical world of camping might do well to sample some soft camping before heading down the trail with just a backpack full of gear. Kennebec Glamping Northern Outdoors, located in the West Forks, has fig-

ured this out. They have constructed multiple “glamping” units, and set them up along the banks of the Kennebec River. Their furnishings range on the no-frills side, with just a few folding cots. Tenants need to bring their own sleeping bags. Don’t forget that all-important pillow. From that spartan interior, one can step out the door to see and feel the mighty river as it roars toward the ocean. In many ways, this compares to car camping without bringing or setting up the tent. It also offers folks the opportunity to experience camping, or glamping as it’s now called, without sleeping on the ground or making too deep of a (Continued on next page)

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�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 55 (Continued from page 54)

commitment in purchased gear. Of course, Northern Outdoors, a leader in the whitewater rafting community, has figured a way to combine a bit of glamping with floating down Maine’s third-longest river (behind only the St. John and the Penobscot). Whitewater Adrenalin Rush Rafting dominates the summer scene. The Kennebec River easily splashes away the dog days of summer associated with the eighth month. Rafting companies servicing the river have various packages designed to accommodate most any itinerary. They also have combo trips that include all ages, for those looking to bring the family along for a glamping/rafting experience. While fishing the waters between Harris Dam and the takeout at Route 201, I’ve witnessed all smiles from passing rafters. We usually launch

Northern Outdoors had taken the initiative to set up wall tents along the shores of the Kennebec River. This ramps “traditional” camping up a notch, and allows visitors to experience next-level camping. It’s an evening of campfires and being rocked to sleep by the “Kennebec lullaby.” Photo courtesy Northern Outdoors

five hours before the expected dam release. By then, we have fished our way past the heavy rapids. One point to keep in mind – Before the release, the water gurgles through at a comfortable pace for fishing. Once we feel the water level rapidly rising, we pause our fishing so we can watch the rafters who just went through the whitewater. Again, it’s all smiles.

Not all sections of the Kennebec have the adrenalin-pumping whitewater that fuels adventure-bound rafters. For those of us looking for a kinder, gentler river, some southerly sections offer lazy, relaxing floats.

atunk and were drifting south to the ramp in Moscow. What got the conversation going was their raft – a Su-

Lazy Float Last season, I met a couple who showed up with a raft, a dog and a cooler. They put in at the boat ramp on Route 201 in Car-

per Puma 13. I have the same exact raft, fitted with an aluminum fishing frame. Theirs simply had three removable, inflated seats. Mine is propelled by oars, while they kept their raft in the current with a couple of paddles. They were content to just bob down the river, stop somewhere along the way – perhaps one of the islands – and enjoy whatever that cooler held. The dog also seemed to enjoy the trip. Glamping and floating the Kennebec River makes for an enjoyable, satisfying combination.

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56 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Go Deep for Lake-Fishing Success It’s the same each August. Most of the coldwater game fish have descended to deeper water. There, they find cool temperatures and healthy amounts of dissolved oxygen. Anglers fishing area lakes know to use downriggers and lead-core lines to get their offerings down to the magic zone – that strata of water where salmonids have congregated. If this is the case, and the best way to take fish is by deeptrolling, then why do I love lake fishing in August so much? Consider the situation. No more streamers on top. That’s replaced by specialized fishing with specialized tackle. Sounds burdensome and cumbersome, perhaps even difficult. Despite these lessthan-flattering aspects of deep trolling, it really isn’t all that hard to do, and better yet, it takes fish – sometimes big fish. Sometimes lots of fish.

Moosehead Region

tions. No ice or snow. Summer shirts and shorts (except for me – I don’t own a pair of shorts, and have a suspicion I was born with blue jeans on) is the normal summertime trolling outfit. When a flag springs up, the ice-angler rushes to grab the line, excited about what may have hold of the other end. When a downrigger rod pops up, it’s the same thrill, the same sense of anticipation and excitement. The big difference between the two methods is that instead of pulling a fish up by hand through a hole in the ice, the troller gets to play the fish in open water, on a fishing rod. Speaking of rods, the moth-eaten notion that lake trollers must use heavy rods more suited to ocean fishing, gets thrown out the window, because with the use of downriggers, we can employ any kind of rod we wish. Light-tackle enthusiasts can use the rod of their liking, as long as it is capable of accepting heavy enough line to haul in a potentially trophy-size fish. Most rods come labeled with line-test capacity. Far from being dull, the potential always exists for doubles – fish biting on two different rods simultaneously. When fishing alone, this presents a problem, but when

(207) 349-0366 • www.HolbrooksGuideService.com

(Continued on next page)

Using downriggers, says the author, is not as hard as it sounds – it’s like ice-fishing, only warmer. In both cases, you patiently wait for a fish to hit, and then haul it in to see what you’ve got.

The author and his friend Muriel share doubles at Moosehead Lake. Photo by Eric Holbrook

I have counted enough 12-plus-fish days to recommend trolling in August to anyone willing to listen. There’s something special about fishing

during the warmest time of year, and holding a just-caught, icecold togue or salmon in your hands. It seems like a dichotomy, but in fact it stands as a positive link between angler and fish. And there’s certainly something truly satisfying to that.

Doubles, Too Lake trolling with downriggers somewhat resembles waiting on the ice for the flag on an ice-fishing trap to spring up, signaling a fish on the other end. The difference between ice-fishing and trolling is that trolling takes place in mostly comfortable condi-

Holbrooks Guide Service Fishing • Moose Watching • Bird Hunting Eric Holbrook, Master Maine Guide

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�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 57 (Continued from page 56)

fishing with a partner, it becomes more manageable. Last year while fishing Moosehead Lake on area guide Eric Holbrook’s boat, two rods popped up at the same time. My friend Muriel, whom I had brought with me to experience the beauty and excitement of a day on Moosehead, took one rod, while I managed the other. In my mind, doubles is a beautiful thing, something to be savored. Muriel was fortunate to enjoy this on her first time out. Size Versus Quantity Here’s a general rule of thumb that

stands true in most cases – artificial lures elicit more strikes and thus more fish, while bait takes fewer, but larger, fish. The reason for this eludes me. All I know is that it is so. This poses a quandary for many of us. Do we want a funfilled day with lots of strikes, or are we willing to take a slow and deliberate approach, and try for a trophy? Before answering, certain considerations must be met, in case you opt for the natural bait method. Here’s the problem. We can run artificial lures at any speed. The same does not hold true when using

baitfish. We can only pull bait, live or dead, at slow-to-moderate speeds. Any faster, and the bait twists and spins, or comes off the hook altogether. Not every boat can troll down slow enough to efficiently fish with bait, but any boat can find a suitable speed for artificial lures. Smaller boats, generally speaking, can troll down to very slow speeds – ideal for fishing with bait – while larger boats have difficulty with slower speeds, for several reasons. First, some of the larger motors on bigger boats aren’t capable of slow trolling. For that, the angler needs an addi-

Moosehead Region rainbow. Photo by Eric Holbrook

tional motor, or “kicker,” to achieve the slow speeds needed for fishing with bait. And second, many high-sided larger boats are susceptible to wind shear, and must go faster in order to keep a con-

stant bearing. If your boat meets the criteria and can troll slowly, then try bait, and you might land a trophy. The choice is yours.

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58 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Perchin’ Prediction Calls for Red-Hot Action in August White perch fight hard, are relatively easy to catch, gather in schools, and taste really, really good. So what’s not to like? I have written for a Midcoast newspaper chain for something like 40 years, and one of my regular features is my “Perchin’ Prediction.” Here, I give updates on fishing prospects in the area. This feature has become quite popular, and has made me a number of friends and acquaintances. While my predictions covers all fish species, I do try to always give an update on white perch. Typically, in August, my prediction calls for “red-hot action” on white perch. And for good reason – the weather may be red-hot and sweltering, and so is white perch fishing. Perch have longsince congregated in large schools, and they hold in water depths between 20 and 50 feet. Locate a school, and you will find that fish will hit your bait or lure one after another. Key to nonstop action is to keep the fish interested. Fortunately, other fish are attracted to a fish fighting on the line. For that reason, it is important to unhook and dispatch your fish, and get your line back in the water as quickly as possible. If a fish swallows the hook, don’t waste www.MaineSportsman.com

time trying to unhook it, because time spent doing that will lead to the school wandering away. The same applies if your hook becomes stuck on bottom. Don’t bother trying to free it. Instead, just grab a second, pre-rigged rod and get back to fishing immediately. Striper Cousins What’s in a name? A lot, if you consider that white perch, Morone americana, are not true perch at all, but rather, temperate basses, along with striped bass, Morone saxatilis. This explains why white perch fight so well. All temperate basses (this family does not include largemouth or smallmouth bass) put up a spirited fight, which makes all members of this extended family, prized sport fish. What’s more, the proof is in the frying pan. White perch in the 12- to 14-inch range have a flavor similar to striped bass. Smaller white perch have not yet acquired this flavor. Suffice it to say, if you enjoy a meal of striped bass, you will also like the larger varieties of white perch. As with striped bass, white perch run in schools, usually

of individuals of the same year-class. So if you locate a school of white perch of a smallor medium-size, don’t expect to take larger fish. For that, you will need to locate another school, hopefully made up of older fish. Time of day matters, too. In spring, you can take perch most any time of day, but when fish gather into schools in summer, time of day can make a difference. I have spent many blistering-hot summer days fishing for white perch and never took many fish. Were I to have returned to those same spots around sundown, the fish would have cooperated. During cloudy or cool times, even in August, you can find fish all day long. Perch Tactics While white perch normally travel in schools, very large individuals often prefer to separate themselves from other fish. Or you might find what could loosely be termed “schools,” that is, a smattering of scattered individuals, spaced out well apart from each other. This usually occurs in deep water – depths down to 50 feet. Try slowly drifting with a live shiner hooked lightly

These large white perch will taste like stripers when broiled or fried. Tom Seymour photo

in the membrane between lips and head. Speaking of shiners, any legal baitfish will take white perch. I like Northern Redbelly dace. When I can find them, Eastern Silvery Minnows and Common Shiners, also known as “Redfin Shiners,” come in a close second. White Suckers in a small size also make prime bait for white perch. Years of “perchin’” have shown me that the biggest perch take live bait. Earthworms work well too, but not as well as baitfish. For earthworms, it helps to use a hook-andspinner rig – the kind featuring a string of red beads just above the hook, with a small spinner blade fastened above. Eagle Claw makes a time-honored spinner-and-worm rig. Also, if you can’t find real earthworms, Leland’s Lures, maker of Trout Magnets and Crappie Magnets,

offers an artificial “Trout Worm” that works almost as well as the real thing. Artificial lures work well for those who eschew live bait of any form. Believe it or not, the ubiquitous Swedish Pimple jig takes lots of perch, and its weight makes it ideal for fishing deep. For general fishing, which includes casting to fish swirling on top, dropping the lure down to a school, or drifting, standard panfish jigs work well. Finally, the bigger the pond or lake, the bigger the white perch. For instance, Moosehead Lake currently produces mammoth-size white perch. Most Midcoast lakes and ponds hold white perch, and some of them, especially deeper ones with depths of 50 feet or more, hold huge perch. So get out and enjoy some “perchin’.”

�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 59

Campfires I Remember The “Wedding in the Woods” had been a roaring success. Earlier in the day, I had married Jeremy and Shannon on the beach in front of our log cabin at Spectacle Pond. Now, in the evening, they had a bonfire going on the beach, and all their friends were gathered around sharing a bottle of extraordinarily good St. George Absinthe. After a while, they smelled burning rubber. “Hey, Ben,” his brother yelled, “your Crocs are on fire.” Sure enough – Ben had stretched his legs out just a little too far toward the flames, and his rubber Crocs were melting. He jumped to his feet and stomped around on the sand. Twenty years later, his brothers still won’t let him forget that time when he melted his shoes at the wedding campfire. Re-Purposed Washing Machine Tub The bonfire on the beach was unusual, because we normally use a firepit we made with the tub from a washing machine. The old washing machine makes a great fire pit, because it’s filled with holes for ventilation. The tub also holds a good charge of firewood, and you can balance a grill across the rim for cooking steaks. The guys and their friends almost always kindle a campfire when they’re at the cabin. Something about the woods and the scent of the pines and the rustic cabin means you have to have a campfire. Actually, backyard campfires have become popular during these past years, even in the suburbs. People buy metal fire pits with wire covers to arrest the sparks, or they build elaborate masonry patios with a fireplace and a brick pizza oven. Not a New Idea The ancient desire to be together and sit by an open fire facing the dangers in the dark has never left our psyche. Campfires were always part of scout camping. Usually, the troop had their own fire pit at their campsite and, at Camp Hinds at least, they burned a big council fire for the opening and closing ceremonies of camping week. Every unimproved campground will

Want to gather some family and friends together quickly for a social occasion? Just build a campfire. Like the baseball diamond in Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.”

have a fire ring where campers can get a smudge going. Funniest Home Videos? If you watch enough YouTube bushcraft videos, you come away with the notion that a whole lot of people these days don’t have a clue how to make a campfire, indoors or out. Well, people like me are old, and we grew up in rural Maine, and our families heated with wood and maybe even cooked with wood. Splitting firewood, cutting kindling and filling the wood box were chores we kids got to do, whether we liked it or not. Making a wood fire was an everyday activity; now it’s practiced as a survival skill. Thoreau Wrote by Firelight If you read Henry David Thoreau’s accounts of his three canoe trips into the Maine woods, you’ll be surprised by the monstrous campfires the guides made. Thoreau tells how he could see to write his botanical notes by the glare of the monstrous campfire, and when they broke camp, Thoreau wrote, they left the fire going, not making any effort to put out the flames. In her book The Penobscot Man, Fan-

nie Hardy Ekstorm tells of a river rescue. Men were stranded on a rock in midriver, and when their rescuers arrived on the scene in the dark, the farmers started huge bonfires on the bank of the river so they could see how to maneuver their boat. Lifesaver A campfire has saved my butt more than once. One time was during an early spring, and we were on the Machias River when we ran into an old pulp-driving dam and flipped our canoe. The water was freezing. We rescued ourselves by clawing our way up the riverbank. It didn’t take long to pile some blowdowns together, and get a fire going. That campfire warmed us up and prevented the onset of hypothermia. Family Skills Our son Matt carries on the campfire tradition. He starts fires in his backyard, and spends hours with his friends, swapping stories, drinking beers, swatting mosquitoes, playing cribbage and dodging woodsmoke. It’s amazing, really, how once you get a campfire going, it attracts people like moths to a candle flame. It’s that ancient inborn instinct that goes back to when we lived inside caves, and dancing flames cast shadows on the rock walls. Years ago here at the marina, we burned our old docks. On a day in the summer, Dad invited friends and relatives for a lobster bake, and we boys cut up the old docks to make a large campfire for cooking the lobsters and clams. We used an old cast iron sink for a steamer. We raked the hot coals underneath, and when the water was boiling, we threw on the seaweed, lobsters and clams and other eatables, and locked in the steam with an old tarp. I have to admit as far as campfires go, the ones that cooked those lobsters and clams were memorable, as were the campfires that saved my life, and maybe that time when Ben burned his Crocs. Even today, a campfire still draws us together, and keeps the bogeyman away.

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60 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

The Role of Luck Every year, I hunt deer near Eustis with a collection of geezers who have been doing it for anywhere from 40 to 60 seasons. After breakfast, as we file out the door, everyone says “Good luck” to each other. As I leave, I always reply, “No luck; it’s all skill,” and my fellow coots break into smiles, because they know that’s the biggest load of crap they’ll encounter that day unless they fall into an outhouse pit. I don’t mean to downplay skill and preparation. My former battalion commander used to remind us of the importance of the Six Ps – “Proper prior preparation prevents piss-poor performance.” If an officer neglected the Six Ps, the Colonel would provide him with a life-altering experience. But for all that, we must not discount luck. The Good-Luck School Bus Luck, for big game hunters, means having an animal do something stupid when you’re close enough to take advantage of its mistake, and it comes at odd moments and for odd reasons. In Montana, while hunting, I ran into a woman friend who was doing the same thing, and we stood near a big patch of mountain mahogany speculating on where all the deer had gone, since www.MaineSportsman.com

What role does luck play in hunting success? The author believes it’s an important factor, but you still need to practice “the Six Ps.”

The author may have been lucky to have spotted the 303-lb. buck from his tree stand just after daylight, but what happened after that wasn’t the result of luck. The author’s reactions to his good fortune earned him a “Biggest Bucks in Maine” patch. Dave Petzal photo

neither of us had seen anything. Below us, maybe a quarter-mile away, a school bus drove down a dirt road carrying a load of screeching kids. A nice whitetail buck, finding the racket intolerable, bolted from his hide in the mountain mahogany, not ten yards from where we stood, and my woman friend had him for dinner due to his lapse in judgment. Improving Your Luck Luck does seem to follow a particular pattern. If you put in the time, there’s a better than good chance that your luck will change suddenly, and with a vengeance. One of

the Eustis gang went for something like 15 years without collecting anything, and then he shot a buck so big that you could have harnessed it to a plow and it would have done good work for you. The best deer I’ve ever taken in Maine was a prime example of luck. In the dark of the morning, I parked a tasteful distance away from my stand, and clumped down the logging road wearing the 55.7 pounds of clothing necessary to survive the day. I lumbered up the ladder into the blind, got the door open, squeezed myself and my rifle and my daypack inside, and opened the front window.

Then, what to my wondering eyes should appear, a buck so big that one of his parents was undoubtedly an elk, standing in an open field, watching the road, waiting for a logging truck to go head-to-head with a moose or do something else entertaining. I checked my watch. I was legal. I snapped a magazine into my rifle and cycled the bolt, making sure it picked up a cartridge. I found the deer in the crosshairs, and turned on the little red LED light at their center. Then, because the best shooting is done with an empty mind, I cleared my brain of all its usual thoughts – including lust, greed

and envy – held high on his shoulder, and squeezed the trigger. He weighed 303 pounds on the checking station scale, and got me a Maine Sportsman’s Biggest Bucks patch (see rack and patch in accompanying photo). Even with Luck, You Have to Produce Now let’s put all this in perspective. The buck was where he was because of luck. He was pausing on a regular deer trail, and if he’d halted 50 yards in any other spot, I never would have seen him. It was mostly by luck that I didn’t spook him. I have no clue why he didn’t hear me. However, what luck had nothing to do with was the fact that in the face of incredible good fortune, I didn’t screw it up. I did the whole shooting drill correctly. I could have dumped my ammo on the blind floor, or closed the bolt on an empty chamber, or thought I was holding high on the shoulder when I was aiming at nothing at all, but such was not the case. We can joke about luck, or lack thereof, and for certain it is a Force, but in the end, it’s only half of the equation. The other half is summarized by the Six Ps.

�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 61

Driving Deer – a Warden’s Nightmare Driving deer used to be a common occurrence. It’s frustrating today to try to describe to others how difficult and complicated it was 50 years ago to enforce the prohibition against driving deer. In the olden days (prior to about 1980), it was a given that just about every rural Maine town had at least one large group of deer hunters who could be counted on to gather up for their fall ritual of driving deer. These groups would range from four or five hunters to as many as twenty. It seemed like half the town was somehow connected to – or sanctioned – this activity, while the other half felt it was aggravating, illegal, non-sporting and dangerous, and they demanded the wardens put a stop to it. Caught in the Middle The end result for the wardens, when they tried to enforce the law, was a lose/ lose situation. Deer-driving hunters resented interference with their time-honored group activity, while the population opposed to the practice expressed their frustration that more was not being done to curtail driving. This latter group demanded action from the wardens, but they often did not understand all the complexities involved with pursuing a successful prosecution of the violators. Thus, most of the townspeople were upset with the wardens, but for opposite reasons. Notwithstanding the local controversies, however, enforcing the law was always the wardens’ objective. A Violator Became a Warden On a personal note, I understand one reason why some of the deer-driving community was unhappy with my efforts to prevent deer driving. That’s because I grew up in the area, and during a portion of my mis-spent youth, I partook of a little deer driving myself. In fact, I hunted with some of the very same people I was later required to dissuade from that endeavor. Positioning the “Standers” People who hunted the same areas for years knew the locations that were conducive to having success, as deer that have been “started” would usually make their escape to the same outlet or “crossing.” The standers, who were among the most accurate shots, would be positioned along those exit paths. In

“Just imagine a group of four or five whitetail deer running through the woods, with multiple hunters shooting at them from different directions. Bullets and buckshot flew all over the place, and those pulling the triggers did not know where their fellow hunters were located.” other words, the operation could be – but was not always – very efficient in taking deer, and the crack-shot standers killed many deer, most of which were eventually tagged by someone else. Many times, those tagging the deer were not part of the hunting party, or didn’t even go out hunting themselves. A Dangerous Activity Without question, the lack of safety involved with driving deer was always a major concern. Just imagine a group of four or five deer running through the woods, with multiple hunters shooting at them from different directions. Bullets or buckshot would often be flying all over the place, with those pulling the triggers not knowing just where their fellow hunters were located. Over the years, I was involved with investigating a number of incidents where hunters were shot by one of their hunting companions while participating in a deer-driving operation. Four come immediately to mind: a fatal incident in the town of Carmel; a hunter shot in the leg in the town of Corinna; a hunter shot in the leg in the town of Stetson; and a near-fatal incident in the town of Stetson, where a hunter was struck in the chest with buckshot that, miraculously, lodged in his breastbone right over his heart. Those are just a few that I was involved with – you can imagine how many similar incidents occurred though out the entire state! Another result of driving deer was the large numbers of wounded deer being left in the woods, due to many of the shots being taken when deer were running. Additionally, it would have been

nearly impossible for hunters to be able to distinguish between antlered and non-antlered deer under those circumstances. Landowner Relations Suffered I also need to touch on the impact this activity had on landowners, other hunters and the general public. Besides creating fuel for anti-hunters, it was a major contributor to the increase in posted land. I don’t think I can overstate how much of an influence that had over the years, as many landowners told me that deer driving was a major factor in their decisions to post their properties. Difficulties in Apprehending and Prosecuting These cases were difficult to prosecute. Those involved were always family or friends, and they would scatter at any sign of a warden. If later questioned, they would disavow any connections to other hunters in the same vicinity. Of those driving deer cases that I have been involved in that actually went to trial, I would consider a fifty percent conviction rate a success. One exception to my previous statement regarding convictions, is that on rare occasions an undercover warden was able to infiltrate the hunting group, and could later testify as to the group’s intent. Times Have Changed A number of things have contributed to the gradual demise of deer driving. To begin with, society has changed. The public no longer condones this type of hunting, and hunter safety classes for new hunters have instilled a higher standard of ethics. Posted land and urban sprawl have put a damper on access to the traditional places these large groups invaded. These factors, plus the aging out of the old-time, dyed-in-the-wool deer drivers, have changed the hunting landscape in this regard. So we have awakened from this enforcement nightmare, but as is often the case, new challenges have arisen in its place – challenges that will require the attention and innovative approach of everyone concerned with our hunting heritage in Maine.

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62 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Big Lake Still Producing This Summer Spring started out with a bang on Sebago Lake (DeLorme Atlas, Map 5, C-1). We started catching lake trout AND salmon in front of the Songo River outlet, along with many other spots on the lake. Then spring became summer, and we were still catching lakers AND salmon all over the lake. And although these fish were at the depths where the cool water hides, they were also, in many instances, right on the surface. I enjoyed one unusual day. I had no clients, and no one was available to fish, so I went out solo. I used to love solo days, but now I’m accustomed to having anglers on my boat. I made the best of it, filled a big thermos with coffee, and headed out to Fry’s Gut, where you generally find salmon cruising along the granite cliffs that extend deep into the lake. I set out a fly line on the starboard side

all season long. There you have it – the word on the lake from those in the know!

Mark Carroll of Hingham Beach, MA, formerly of Falmouth, ME, fished with the author one morning and caught this beautiful Sebago salmon. Tom Roth photo

and was preparing my port side downrigger, when the fly rod went off. I had just hooked the downrigger line to the release above the lead weight, but hadn’t had time to send the ball to the bottom, so I let it ride behind the boat. I played the fish – a feisty, jumping salmon – but it threw the lure during one of its many tail dances. I turned my attention to the downrigger, and I could see the line pulling. I had hooked an-

other salmon that was on the surface, and this one made it to the boat. My morning was starting out smashingly! Guides’ Theories Several of us guides have been celebrating the great salmon year so far, and we all share similar theories. Glen Gisel from Sebago Sport Fishing got intel from the Fish and Wildlife biologists that a recent spin net survey geared at estimating the population of lake trout indicated

lake trout numbers are down 30 percent. Dan Hillier of Songo River Guide Service noted an amazing smelt run in the Songo River this spring, stating that the river “ran black with smelt,” something we haven’t seen for many years. Guide CJ Harmon of Burnt Meadow Guide Service feels that the combination of more smelt and fewer lake trout equals better salmon fishing, and he has been putting clients on some decent salmon

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Bait; Lures In most years, last year being no different, I like to run live bait. I started out doing so again this season, but my guide buddies started having good luck on lures, so I made the jump. We all chat amongst ourselves, as we want the clients to have a good experience, no matter whose boat they are on. I have been running DB Smelt in the pearl color on my fly lines, pearl-colored Mooselook Wobblers on lead core line, and Northeast Troller orange crush and the silver/nickel pattern on my downriggers. All have worked equally well, so I haven’t changed lures yet. One strange thing I noticed is that I’ve been catching salmon on bottom in 50 feet of water. Most of the fish are coming in 30 to 35 feet, and many more up close to the surface, but I’ve caught a good number of fish in the deep. Likely there is a spring with cold, well-oxygenated water, where the salmon are holding temporarily. Also strange is the number of lake trout I’ve caught in my shallow sets like the fly line (Sebago to Auburn continued on page 64)

�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 63

Will a PFD or Life Vest Save Your Life? In a worst-case scenario, a boater wearing a PFD is not only knocked overboard, but is also knocked unconscious. What then? The author plans to simulate an emergency situation to find out. Most of us who enjoy kayaking, canoeing and pleasure boating are aware of the requirements and rules surrounding the possession and wearing of life vests or personal floatation devices (PFDs) while navigating the many waterways across the state. These safety devices help save lives and should always be part of watercraft safety on lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams. Many boaters purchase the required number of PFDs for the boat, and call it good. Same with canoers and kayakers, except some of them enjoy the comfort of fitted life vests that allow more freedom of movement when paddling. Fishermen also personalize their PFD purchases, making

sure to get ones similar to fly-fishing vests, except with floatation. If they are like me, they immediately fill the PFD with all sorts of fishing tackle and bug dope, clip on a line snipper and hook remover (hemostat), secure a diving knife, and prepare to battle massive fish. One thing they often overlook (me included) is how the vest will work to keep them afloat if they ever fall overboard. Most folks simply assume that if an angler is wearing a Coast Guard-approved PFD, they’ll be safe. However, this may or may not be the case, based on a single variable – namely, whether the boater is conscious when he or she hits the water, and can therefore manage to keep their head and face out of water. A

boater can be knocked unconscious before entering the water, either as a result of a sudden medical emergency, or because they strike their head on the way out of the boat. Water Test I checked numerous PFD/life vest reviews online, and discovered there are only a few detailed videos that show actual testing in the water with a simulation of an unconscious victim. In my view, the in(Continued on next page)

The author says he’ll be wearing this strap-type, auto-inflatable life vest any time he’s alone on the water. William Clunie photo

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64 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Rangeley Region (Continued from page 63)

dustry, regulators and consumers need to investigate this matter. Testers Simulate Unconsciousness The videos I watched showed a fellow jumping in the water with several types of PFDs and life vests. The guy would hold his breath, go limp, and pretend to be unconscious. The only PFD/ life vests that operated to keep his face up were the auto-inflating, strap-type of vests that are charged with a small CO2 cartridge. The PFDs/life vests that failed didn’t roll the “unconscious” victim over on his back

from a face-down position. In fact, some of the vests actually held the floating person facedown, forcing them to inhale water. The auto-inflatable vests rolled the person onto their back in the water and held their head up and out of the water so they could breathe. Combo Fish Vest and PFD I have an auto-inflating vest, but just recently purchased a “Chinook” life vest from NRS (nrs.com), because I wanted a PFD to also double as a fishing vest. After watching the videos and searching online, I finally found a small note on an ob-

Sebago to Auburn

(Continued from page 62)

and lead core, which I run out 2-3 colors. At my lure speed running between 2.5 and 3 MPH, these lines range from 10 to 25 feet deep. My guess is that the lakers are up chasing smelt which are running near the surface, or that the fish are targeting hatching insects. Whatever the explanation, the

scure website indicating the vest will keep my head above water even if I’m unconscious. I emailed the company to confirm this, and am awaiting their reply. In the meantime, I’m going to conduct a little research myself. I have several types of PFDs/life vests, and I’ll try them all out, jumping in the water while remaining limp as if I’m unconscious. I’ll see which ones roll me over on my back to keep my face above water, and report back to you. Safety Tips I remember hearing a theory years ago that claimed a high percentage of drowning victims were inebriated male boaters. When their bodies were re-

covered, the rescuers noticed that in a large number of these tragic incidents, the victims were found with their pants unzipped. The theory was that they had slipped and fallen overboard while urinating off the side or stern of the boat. As they fell, they apparently also banged their head, and were knocked unconscious. The saddest part is most of them weren’t wearing a lifesaving PFD or life vest of any kind. I have not seen statistics to learn what percentage were wearing a PFD or life vest that failed to keep their face above water. For many years, game wardens have told us drinking and boating don’t mix. It’s

bite has been good for both lakers and salmon. If it continues at this rate, I expect we will have good angling into and through the fall. Perhaps the management of liberal limits on lake trout (essentially no limit except only one fish over 26 inches), a 16-inch limit on salmon, and a good smelt run, have all combined to make this a perfect storm for salmon angling, with lakers benefiting from the increased smelt. Whatever the explanation, I hope it is sustainable, as I’d say we’ve enjoyed

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some of the best salmon fishing the lake has seen since the 1980s. While I usually say “go deep” during the August doldrums, give some closeto-the-surface tactics a try for salmon and lakers, and you may be rewarded. If not, those big lakers are always hanging on the bottom watching for a big flatfish or large shiner behind a Murray spoon, or whatever your favorite set-up is. Get after them!

Rangeley Lakes Region MCountain View &g s

an easy fix – save the drinking for when the boating activity is over and dry land is underfoot. In any case, wear a PFD/life vest that keeps your face above water if you fall in. Check it out for yourself. Take a swim with the PFD/life vest on, and make sure it rolls you over onto your back with your face out of the water if your body is completely relaxed. I’ll be doing my own water research within the next few months, and I’ll document my findings here in this column. Be safe and smart, and enjoy Maine’s wonderful lakes, rivers, streams, and ponds.

�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 65

Crossbows are Now Considered Archery Equipment in Maine Before I started writing this column, I placed a “Post-It” note on the right corner of my laptop’s screen. On the note, I had written “Don’t overreact; remain calm.” I had just learned that crossbows are now considered archery equipment here in Maine – even during expanded archery seasons along Maine’s southern coast. Why was the law changed? I don’t really know. A cynic might suggest that policymakers and legislators were lobbied hard by crossbow manufacturers and dealers. Or they might say that Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife viewed this change as a way to increase revenues through the sales of additional licenses. But for whatever reasons, what’s done is done. I have accepted it – I’m staying calm. Crossbows are Too Easy However, after studying the Maine hunting law book, I found that archery and crossbow law is still pretty confusing, since a crossbow is basically a way to keep a bow at full draw. However, if I am reading the law correctly, a hunter can’t modify a regular or compound bow to hold back an arrow, since that would constitute a “set bow” or “draw lock,” and state hunting law addresses these devices in a section titled “Illegal Devices: “Draw locks

But the tree still didn’t know it was a bow yet – it was time to teach it.

The author is unhappy about this development, and he believes he’s not alone – that there are other bowhunters who prefer to use real archery equipment during archery seasons. To calm himself down following this perceived injustice, he built this one-piece, fire-hardened maple long bow, and he plans to bow-hunt small game with it. Val Marquez photo

and set bows are illegal, unless otherwise permitted for disabled hunters.” I think crossbow hunters should have to wait until they see game, before drawing back their bows and inserting their bolts (short, stocky arrows). This is only fair, since drawing a bow on game at close range has been a challenge archers have had to face for thousands of years, and it is one of the reasons that archery seasons were established in the 1930s. Bowhunting is supposed to be difficult. Crossbow hunters want to take the easy way out, avoiding the practice and work involved in killing game with a bow and arrow. They want to use a cocking device before entering the woods, sit in a treestand, aim with the aid of a powerful rifle scope, click it off safety, place the cross hair on the deer, and pull the trigger. This is more like hunting with a firearm than with a bow and arrow. Let it be known that I’m not anti-crossbows. They are

fine, effective hunting weapons, and older and disabled hunters should be allowed to hunt with them during any season. But they should never be considered as archery equipment. Logs to Longbows As a coping mechanism to help me deal with the loss of true archery seasons in Maine, I started building bows again. Not fiberglass laminated bows like in the past, but all-wood self bows (so named because the single-piece bow “itself” provides the power, without any bracing or reinforcement). I staged my hand tools, including an ax, a draw knife, rasps and hand saw. Then I set up my workshop. Finally, I headed to the woods with saw in hand. It was a warm day with a slight breeze, just enough to keep the bugs away. It felt good to look for bow wood again. Then I saw it. The tree called out to me – a six-inch diameter, straight maple without any branches along the first eight feet. I studied the tree trunk

looking for twists and knots, but it was flawless. It looked good. After cutting and dragging the log back to my little shop, I used my draw knife to strip the bark from the log, and then split the log using ax and wedges. Then I set the staves aside to dry. The staves were still full of moisture and sap, and needed to air dry for at least a year – a frustrating time for a bowyer. Fire Hardening Crossbows and other issues began to creep back into my mind. I needed to start working the staves into bows, so I decided to fire-harden the wood. Native people fire-hardened wood bows for thousands of years, and they perfected it to a science. I started a hardwood fire behind my shop, and when the fire burnt to red-hot coals, the roughed-out bow was placed on two forked sticks over the fire. It worked fine. This is the time when the tree learns to become a bow. I stood ankle-deep in wood shaving for hours until the tree became a bow.

Tillering The grunt work was done, now it was time to tiller the bow. Tillering a bow is an art – it takes time and patience, which for me are hard pills to swallow. You need to carefully scrape the limbs until they bend the same, plus hit the desired draw length and weight desired. The bowyer needs to string the bow and slowly bend limbs, and then measure the distance between each limb to ensure they work together – not an easy task. This is when the tree learns to become a bow. Acceptance Studies have shown that crossbow hunting has no effect on deer harvest numbers in Maine, although these statistics were gathered before crossbows were allowed in expanded archery zones. But the goal in these zones is to reduce deer numbers, so that shouldn’t matter. I have accepted the fact that crossbows are part of evolution, like electric automobiles and artificial intelligence. Still there are many folks, like myself, who prefer stalking the forest with stick and string. The good news is there’s room for everyone to hunt with the equipment they prefer.

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66 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Get Range-Ready for the Upcoming Deer Season How many deer hunters are truly prepared to take a running shot at a big buck? I pondered this question while searching for the perfect scope to attach to a rifle I plan on picking up soon. I’m seriously looking at a used Savage 99F lever-action rifle in .308 Win. and will be scoping it before this deer season. The previous owner is selling it to me with a scope that just doesn’t suit me … especially for quick shots at close

The author learned a great deal at a deer-tracking school put on years ago by Lanny and Shane Benoit. Now, he’s ready to use what he learned to select a “lighted dot” rifle scope. range, with the possible running deer shot. The previous owner scoped the rifle with a reticle that features a single post. While the post works for many that need a scope for quick and close shooting, I’m going to go with a scope that has a lighted dot. I always wondered how a scope with a lighted dot would

work when shooting at something up close, or when the target is moving. I attended a deer tracking school at Bob Howe’s Pine Grove Lodge in Bingham years ago, put on by the famous Benoit brothers, Lanny and Shane. One portion of the deer tracking school had the students shooting at moving

targets. Mr. Howe and the Benoit brothers attached cardboard targets to vehicle tires, and rolled them down a huge hill in a gravel pit while we fired our rifles. I had an unusual forward-mounted scope on my rifle that allowed me to shoot with both eyes open – a system that really works for hitting mov-

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ing game. I had Lanny shoot my rifle, and he liked it … but then he had me shoot his rifle, which was outfitted with a scope with a lighted dot in the center of the crosshairs. Halographic Effect Lanny had me shoot his rifle and told me to keep both my eyes opened while shooting at the bouncing tire targets. I actually shot better using his rifle … the glowing dot in the scope allowed me to aim with both eyes open, so I (Continued on next page)

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could easily see the moving target. The lighted dot in the scope acted like a floating holographic sight while facilitating my aim at the bouncing tire targets. If a longer, stationary target presented itself, I could easily adjust my eyes to the fine crosshairs for a more regulated shot. If a hunter has ever tried to aim a typical 3x-9x powered scope at a moving target, they will quickly realize the difficulty presented. Moving targets, and even stationary game animals at thirty yards and under, cause problems. Even when the hunter sets the scope at 3x and attempts to aim at a deer under thirty yards, all they are going to see in the scope is hair. I’ve done it before, and I found it very difficult to determine exactly where on the animal the scope is aimed. Hit the Swinging Can While I was at the Benoit deer tracking school, the highly successful tracking brothers also had us shoot a Remington “Nylon 66” .22LR with open sights for practice. Shane Benoit took a big tin coffee can, tied it to a string on a branch, and started swinging it. The object was to

see how often you hit it while the can was in motion. Most all the shooters initially missed the can and then discovered the trick to hitting the can by leading it a little. Eventually the whole group of student shooters got better at hitting moving targets. Skinner Sights Solution Skinner Sights (skinnersights.com), owned by Andy Larsson, makes a scope called the “Skinner Optics Scope.” The 1-6x24 scope offers a battery-operated lighted dot, centered on a #4 German crosshair reticle. I plan on using the Savage 99F rifle and Skinner Scope combination on deer this fall. Most of my shots at deer have been under fifty yards, and a running deer is always a possibility. This combination should work perfectly for me. I’ll write more about this set-up once I get it put together and get it to the range. I’m pretty excited about it, and can’t wait to see how my aging eyes work with this new (for me) lighted dot reticle. I hit the target with Lanny Benoit’s lighted dot scope, and should be able to do the same with this one. Some folks might

Skinner Optics 1-6X24 Scope reticle view, showing center lighted dot and MilDot markers. Illustration courtesy of Skinner Sights

worry about battery-operated scopes, but like Andy Larsson mentioned, “Even if the batteries fail, you can still use the crosshairs in a conventional fashion to shoot your

deer.” I’ll probably carry a few spare batteries somewhere on the rifle, just in case – maybe in a hole under the butt plate? Otherwise, I’ve dropped many of

deer using a regular crosshair system. I just want the option of a lighted dot sight for the occasional moving deer, or close shot under 30 yards.

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68 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Stands and Blinds: NH’s New Laws Effective January 1, 2024, a slew of new laws took effect in New Hampshire regarding treestands and blinds, bears, and game cameras. Each of these measures has caused quite the hubbub, and deserves its own article. In this piece, I’ll address treestands and blinds; watch for the bear and camera columns in upcoming monthly issues of The Maine Sportsman. Labels The new laws require all treestands and hunting blinds to be labeled with the owner’s name and contact information, much like how bait sites have been treated for years in the state. This is pretty straightforward, and the intent is understandable. From a landowner’s perspective, if I find an eyesore of a triple ladder stand in my back orchard, I’d want to know whose it is and be able to ask them to take it down if I didn’t want it there. From a law enforcement perspective, it also makes a conservation officer’s job a lot easier. If a report comes in about nefarious activities, and they find a treestand nearby with a name and phone number on it, it’s a pretty hot lead. From a hunter’s www.MaineSportsman.com

Are New Hampshire’s recently-enacted laws requiring labeling of treestands, and limiting the times such stands can remain in place, really just anti-hunting measures in disguise?

Many instances of treestand or blind use in NH will now require this landowner permission slip that will need to be renewed every year. Source: NH Fish & Game

perspective, however, I’d understand if a hunter wanted to be secretive about his spots and not want everyone who goes into that orchard to know that he, specifically, is the one who is hunting it. And if he is wellknown for his success, soon word could get around, and the entire hunting community knows where he hunts – and other treestands start popping up all around him. I also understand human nature. Some people are jealous or vengeful. If they see a name on a sign that

they recognize and they don’t like the person whose name appears on the label, they may be inclined to tamper with that person’s equipment, whereas, if it was an anonymous stand, they would just leave it alone. To take things a step further, say a person who really doesn’t approve of what you are lawfully doing, finds your stand. Now they know your phone number and where you live. Could instances of hunter harassment increase? I raise these last

two points because I have made some enemies with some of the unpopular opinions I’ve shared in my writings here in The Sportsman. Say, for instance, if one of the humorless Tacoma-driving Vermonters, who like to hunt within shouting distance of wherever they see another vehicle parked, came across a treestand of mine and saw the name, they might be inclined to spray-paint it fluorescent orange because I’ve spoken ill about the pumpkin army before. Or they might

intimidatingly park by the end of my driveway while my wife is home alone, because now they know my address from the treestand sign. (Yes, this actually happened after I wrote that article in 2022, and some Facebook warrior leaked my address and truck description.) Seasons The other half of the stands-and-blinds laws deals with time limits or “seasons” that you can have a stand or blind out. The new law defines that time period as being from April 25 through June 1 (for turkey season, presumably) and from August 1 through December 31. Again, from a landowner perspective, I understand this motivation: you don’t want people leaving junk on your land indefinitely. Treestand straps can girdle and kill trees after years of being left up, and unused blinds eventually collapse and look like junk. From a conservation officer’s perspective, it seems like it would be a headache to enforce. Having to respond every time somebody finds a rusty treestand while out walking in the offseason, could be a fulltime job on its own. From a hunter’s (Continued on next page)

�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 69 (Continued from page 68)

perspective, I can see where it would be considered responsible to remove stands and blinds in the off-season. But I can also see where it would be a major inconvenience to do so – especially if you have limited time. Folding up a pop-up blind on a field’s edge is one thing. Hiking a mile up a ridge to take down and carry out a frozen tree stand when there’s two feet of snow in December is another – especially if you want to use the stand in the same location next season and will have to lug it back in and hang it back up.

Of course, there is an exception to the limited season if the landowner allows permanent stands. But you’ll need to acquire written permission stating so. Is that too much to ask? Maybe. Maybe the landowner wasn’t aware you were hunting there at all, and by asking for permission to keep a treestand up, you’ve somehow aligned them against you or the use of their land for hunting. Perhaps not only do they deny your treestand request, but they also then post their land. It isn’t an unheard-of story.

Personal Impact Personally, I don’t do much with stands and blinds. I prefer to be mobile. But I do have one treestand that I’ve used for maybe a total of five hours in the past three years. If I happen to be still hunting through the area, I may climb up into it for 20 minutes or so, which is about as long as I can stand it. I’ve had the stand in that same tree for three years. I’m not skilled at hanging treestands, and despise the effort it takes to do so. After the first season, I took it down because of some logging

All treestand and blind use in NH now requires signage with contact information of the owner/user. Could this lead to issues such as spot-burning or hunter harassment?

activity in the area, but after getting it rehung on the second year, I vowed I was going to leave it there, rather than deal with that frustrating, sweatfilled, mosquito-bitten process again. So, I think I’ll participate in

civil disobedience by ignoring the new law. If someone finds it and tattles on me, and the warden hikes in there to take it down … then I will deal with that contingency if and when it happens.

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70 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Lessons Learned from a Bruising Legislative Session Vermont’s legislative session wrapped up in May. With that, a bill that had scary implications for the future of hunting and fishing died in the House Committee on Energy and Environment. That bill originated in the Senate as S.258, and it set out to entirely revamp the makeup and role of our Fish & Wildlife Board under the auspices of being more inclusive of a wider swath of voices around wildlife management. Additionally, there were pieces in there to outright ban trapping and coyote hunting. The wording of the original bill created two separate categories for members of the new advisory board – consumptive and non-consumptive users. There was a lot to take issue with in that bill, including its origins and assumptions. Many members of the hunting community felt like this legislative action was directly related to the sour grapes that the anti-hunting community felt after some legislatively mandated “Best Management Practices” were established last fall. So for some vocal anti-hunting groups and legislators, new legislation was the next step. Ultimately, to many hunters, the bill seemed like a solution in search of a problem. After a lot of work by the hunting community through March, www.MaineSportsman.com

Apparently, only the threat of a Governor’s veto derailed a bill that would have made large philosophical changes in how fish and game rules would have been made in Vermont. Why does that matter to readers of The Sportsman? “Because this is the way the anti-hunting community is attacking the hunting way of life now,” says the author. the bill left the Senate radically altered, but still viable. Thankfully, a lot more testimony and communication by hunters at the House level led to its death in committee. This was probably due to a likely veto by Governor Scott, along with a lack of votes to override it, and more pressing issues to work on. Moving Forward Why should the inner workings of Vermont’s democratic/ progressive majority legislature matter to the broader community of readers of The Maine Sportsman? It’s because this is the way the anti-hunting community is attacking the hunting way of life now. It isn’t going to stop. If it hasn’t happened where you are, it will, and you (and your local hunting community) had better be ready. Thankfully VT does not have ballot box initiatives, which is an approach that is frequently used by activist anti-hunters, and one the Maine community is quite familiar with. These folks are generally well funded from national organizations with deep pockets, and can bring to bear

a lot of advertising and lobbying dollars. They skillfully spin the press, and put out slick ads to the public, attempting to sway enough of the 80% of the folks in the middle to see their side. Hunters Can’t Rest on Laurels Hunters have had it pretty good for a while. There has historically been broad support for hunting and fishing. Fish and wildlife have been well managed with a process that seemed clear and workable. Sure, there might be disagreement about the number of permits, or focus on an antler point restriction, but it was never an issue of whether hunting would be allowed. Times have changed. Everyone needs to put in a lot more work to keep this way of life; simply paying a license fee doesn’t cut it anymore. Recommendations Coming from this fight in Vermont, here are a few recommendations for every hunter to consider: • Every hunter should reach out to their representatives in government at every level to establish

a relationship. Let them know you’re a concerned citizen and where you stand on issues. These interactions must be respectful and polite, regardless of political affiliations. Yes, these folks represent you, but they’re human and deserve to be treated well – we’ll get more flies with honey than with vinegar. • The hunting community at large needs to focus on what got us where we are today. We need to follow the principles of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, which are basically the things our grandfathers taught at hunting camp. Eat (use) what you shoot, don’t be greedy, and leave enough for everyone. Look it up, if you aren’t familiar. • These activities need to fit into society at large. Despite a constitutional right to hunt and fish, doing these things we love continues because people generally see us behaving ourselves. It’s time to clean up the “Yeah, Baby!’ and “Dirt Nap” comments and the other overblown, hyper-commercialized nonsense that gets posted primari-

ly to drive clicks and views. • As part of that, we need to lessen the siloed way we do things and promote our rural way of life, tactfully showing how we care about the resources we’re using, focus on family and food, and show respect. • Nobody but us cares about tradition, so we need to make sure our activities have relevance moving forward. We shouldn’t try to justify things in disingenuous ways. The tired statements about “He wouldn’t have survived the winter” and other cliches really don’t land with anyone. Everyone needs to take a hard look at what we do, and run it through the lenses of non-hunters and anti-hunters, then assess those areas where we’re not looking good. It seems bold and proud to put things out on social media with a lot of bravado and chest thumping, but it isn’t doing hunting, writ large, any favors. Hunters probably need to give a little in VT to take some more wind out of the sails of the anti-hunters and show that we can regulate ourselves well, as we have since the end of market hunting in the 1800s. For example, that might take the form of giving coyotes a hunting season, and having them fall under our wanton waste standards.

�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 71

— Guest Column —

Best Way to Fish for Largemouth Bass? “Slow and Easy” by Bill Catherwood I have never fished in a bass tournament or even owned a bass boat, although my buddy John has one, and I’ve had great times in it. My boat is a 12-foot canoe, and I’m happy with that. As far as a bass tournament goes, yes – I would like to try it. I mean if nothing else, because of my preferred slow pace, I could provide a lot of laughs for anyone watching me. My favorite type of bass fishing is to relax, and fish slow and easy. In other words, fish seriously, but have fun. For me, the small canoe is perfect. It’s light and stable and also quiet. I have put that canoe into places where you could never get a bigger boat. I could have hit a bass on the head with the paddle. Again, please don’t think I am knocking bass boats, but I’m an old-fashioned kind of guy. One might say that I’m slow, and I like things easy. Dad Waded and Cast Streamers When my brother Bob and I were boys, my dad would take us and our buddy Winfield to a local pond after supper to fish and swim. We boys would fish for a while with spinning rods, then go swimming. Dad would wade, while casting his handtied bass bugs. He mostly used hair-head-

ed slider-style streamers, which were deadly. He always claimed that he could fish a limited area far more thoroughly by wading. I believe he was right. My Biggest Bass The biggest bass I ever caught was when I was fishing late one night with my son Billy. It was a spur-ofthe-moment trip, and we didn’t even bring a boat or a canoe. I noticed where a small stream fed into the pond. It was a very hot night, and I reasoned that the water in the brook might be cooler and therefore attractive to a fish. I cast a 7” Power Bait worm up in the brook, and reeled in a 5-pound bass. Another time, Billy and I took my tiny canoe up into the backwater of a local pond. Billy said, “Dad, this isn’t a pond – it’s a swamp!” I then cast a jointed Rapala at a stump, and produced a nice bass. Most people wouldn’t think you could catch a bass over there. Guide Treasures Rowboat Memory My good friend John Starkey, who is a New Hampshire guide, owns a bass boat. However, he admits that his most memorable bass fishing adventure was in a 12-foot rowboat with his nephew Danny. The two fishermen

went fishing to escape the heat, and spent a late afternoon rowing around a pond, casting plastic grasshoppers. The bass wouldn’t stop hitting. Again, this is coming from a man who has guided many clients in his large bass boat.

Patience is a Virtue Wading for bass always reminds me of still hunting for deer. I remember an old Native American guide advised a still hunter to “walk a little, but look a lot.” When wading for bass, you move very slowly, and fish hard. It works! I hope I haven’t

offended anyone who owns a bass boat. You can really cover a lot of water with them. We should all enjoy our sport any way we can, but don’t stay home because you don’t have a big boat. Just get out there and fish, but remember to go slow and easy.

Trophy Gallery

Moosehead Lake has been producing some huge trout this summer. Here, Steve Williams holds a 5-lb. 11 oz., 24-inch lunker caught along the Moose River in Rockwood on May 14, 2024. Congratulations, Steve! www.MaineSportsman.com

72 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Smilin’ Sportsman

A man walked into a bar and loudly said to the bartender, “All lawyers are dipwads!” A customer sitting at the bar responded, “I resent that remark!” “Why, are you a lawyer?” “No … I’m a dipwad!” — Teacher: “Little Johnny – give me a sentence that includes the words Defense, Defeat and Detail.” Little Johnny: “That’s easy, Teach – When a horse jumps over defense, defeat

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go first and detail goes last.”

— Four women were socializing at a church tea, bragging about their sons. “My son’s a priest,” said the first one. “When he walks into a room, the women all call him ‘Father’.” The second woman explained that her son is a bishop, and when he walks into a room, the women call him “Your Grace.” The third woman related that her son is a cardinal, and when he walks into a room, women refer to him as “Your Emi-

nence.” After a pause, the fourth woman said, “I’d like to introduce you to my son,” and into the room strode an incredibly handsome, 6’3” bodybuilder. “My God!” exclaimed the other three women. — Eb: “It’s times like this I wish I’d listened to what my Dad always said.” Flo: “What did your Dad always say?” Eb: “I don’t know; I wasn’t listening.”

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Eavesdropping on Moose It’s not Paranoia – somebody really is listening to every sound they make! I can understand why the government is tapping my phone, monitoring my Internet use, and going through my trash. It’s vital for our national security to make sure I’m not undermining democracy by communicating with terrorists, communists or players betting on baseball games. I don’t trust me, and neither should the FBI. I state this so you’ll know I’m not one of those namby-pamby civil libertarians who think foreign agents should be allowed to operate with impunity in their never-ending crusade to destroy freedom. I’m all for the CIA, the NSA or even the NFL maintaining strict surveillance on everything I say, watch, write or even think in order to head off espionage, insurrection and whatever Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are really up to. But I admit I had some initial doubts when I learned about a project to bug the woods to eavesdrop on moose. Acoustic Sensor Network According to the Boston Globe (is anybody keeping an eye on that liberal rag?), the University of New Hampshire (another radical cult) through its College of Life Sciences and Agriculture (an obvious North Korean front) has established “an acoustic sensor network” in the northern part of that state near “moose hot spots.” The Globe reports these microphones in waterproof cases have a range 300 times greater than trail cams, and by listening to the sounds moose make, researchers can determine the animals age, sex and political persuasion. Laura Kloepper, assistant professor of biological science (code name for master spy) told the Globe, “These animals are vocalizing in their habitat to communicate, and we’re eavesdropping on the sounds they’re making.” There you have it – a full confession. Kloepper also admitted her shadowy organization has conducted similar security missions against penguins, terns, bullfrogs and bats – all species with-known foreign counter-intelligence sympathies.

Of course, Kloepper claims this intrusion on the animals’ privacy is merely designed “to understand more about their behavior and population,” but that’s what all repressive regimes use as thinly disguised code for making sure nobody steps out of line. Secrets Revealed What has the Moose Intelligence Service (or whatever it’s really called) learned so far? Plenty, and it’s pretty disturbing to anyone concerned about the future integrity of our way of life. For example, during mating season, female moose make ghostly “protest moans” that are clearly detectable by Russian spy satellites. Males issue forth a sort of barking sound that is disturbingly similar to certain coded Red Chinese communications. Moose calves, already indoctrinated before they’re even weaned, send out high-frequency noises that are uncannily like those used in underground messages sent by terrorists. Please understand – I’m not contending that Maine’s majestic state animal is in any way disloyal. As I’m sure further research will discover, the moose herd is most likely the victim of duplicity on the part of hostile agents intent on undermining America. Or possibly collecting antlers. So, after further research, I reject my earlier, ill-informed criticism of Kloepper’s project. It’s obviously vital to our national interests.

Wild Turkeys Next? What remains to be learned is if the evil alliance that these scientists have discovered infiltrating our forests is content to limit its espionage activities to moose, or whether it will soon begin luring other unsuspecting species into its web of deceit. Imagine if you will the threat we’ll face if the turkeys turn on us. Consider the implications if we’re compelled to subject deer to loyalty tests. Can bears be co-opted into cloak-and-dagger doings by offering them stale doughnuts? Are we even sure we can trust our native trout and salmon not to start acting fishy? Don’t Even Trust the Family Dog I don’t mean to cause mass panic or spread what might be disinformation (warning: previous phrase about truthfulness may be less than truthful), but clearly Kloepper and others of her intelligence ilk need to expand their surveillance networks to include more species. Until additional monitoring is completed, I won’t be surprised if they uncover Hamas among the hamsters, Hezbollah among the boas, and Taliban among the tarantulas. Vigilant security experts should not rest until we have microphones aimed at every living thing in the United States larger than a microbe. We can only protect ourselves by assuming all other creatures are hostile agents intent on our destruction. Not even the family dog can be considered a trusted ally until he’s thoroughly vetted (the security kind, not the medical kind). Also, as long as this crisis endures, he shouldn’t be allowed on the couch. As for cats, I’ve always suspected them, and no amount of surveillance is going to convince me they’re not feline-supremacists at heart. Al Diamon is a loyal American (he says) who writes the monthly column Politics & Other Mistakes for The Bollard magazine.

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74 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————

— TRADING POST — • Subscribers may place one free 20-word • The regular rates are $15 for up to 20 line classified ad per month (2-month limit) words and 50¢ for each additional word • Items for sale must include a price • Check, money order, MasterCard or VISA (Credit or Debit) are accepted • Real estate ads must include an address or location

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CAMPS FOR RENT CAMP RENTAL IN SOLON, MAINE Deer and Bow hunts. Small game hunting. Fishing. Camp sleeps 6. Full amenities, wifi. $1000.00, plus tax, for 7 days- Sunday to Saturday. 207-399-1317. www.buckspointsportinglodge.com. —

DOGS DRAHTHAAR PUPS German registered

and tested since 1984. Spectacular duck dogs, stylish upland pointers, wounded big game trackers. $1800 to $2200.www. deutschdrahthaar.us. —

FIREARMS RUGER SCOUT RIFLE .308, bolt-action with extra mags, synthetic stock, blued. $800. Call/ Text 207-364-6487. —

HELP WANTED

pets, wildlife, etc. Check out our Facebook page: Emerson’s Remote ReCreations @ remotenh.

LOOKING FOR GUIDES AND KITCHEN STAFF For sporting camps in Zone 4 North Maine Woods. Help needed August–October. Meals and lodging provided. Call 207-474-2644. —

DAISY POWERLINE 880 PUMP BB GUN/ 177 CAL. By Daisy Rogers. Excellent condition, $45.00. Call: 603-582-2277 —

MISC.

TRUCK/AUTO ACCESSORIES

CUSTOM WOODBURNED SIGNS AND ARTWORK Portraits of camps,

FIVE NEW WHEELS

Field Trial & Hunt Test Bloodlines True Gun Dog Labs Owls Head, Maine Puppies, Started & Finished Dogs

AND TIRES 225/75 by R17 Summer, Jeep five hole pattern. $1200. Phone 207-4615704. —

WANTED SKI DOO, ELAN OR TUNDRA Any Condition. Have Cash. Will Travel. Call Or Text 207-522-6940. MOOSE OR BEAR MEAT Been looking for 20 years, never found it. If somebody wants to get rid of moose or bear meat from their freezer (up to 4 years old) I can pick it up myself. It is a big appreciation. Call 303-241-6862.

Shane Patrick | 907-317-0888 | www.whitetailproperties.com

David Eaton

(207) 542-1485

Ed’s Sheds & Cabins CABINS • SHEDS • GARAGES • HORSE BARNS

WHY RENT When You Can Lease-to-Own One of Ed’s Sheds?

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SCREEN PRINTING & EMBROIDERY

T-Shirts $6.00 Heavyweight 100% Cotton Pre-shrunk

The Genuine. The Original. Serving the Bangor Area Since 1948

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FREE set-up on orders of 72 pieces or more! Prices on 36 pieces ($20 set-up) Price includes garment and 1 color 1 location screen print Rush Service Available ~ Call for free catalog

Hats $7.00

Residential & Commercial Garage Doors & Openers Sales, Service & Repairs

T-Shirts-Jackets-Sweatshirts-Sweatpants Hats-Aprons-Totes and more

Bangor (207) 738-5315 edwardl@edssheds-cabins.com

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BERG ACTIVEWEAR 852 DEXTER ROAD • CORINNA, MAINE

1-800-242-2374 • 207-278-7740 WWW.BERGACTIVEWEAR.COM

56 Liberty Drive Hermon, ME

(207) 848-2866

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Be sure to visit our website www.MaineSportsman.com! www.MaineSportsman.com

�� The Maine Sportsman • August 2024 • 75

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“The County to The Coast”

HARTLAND – Lakefront at its absolute finest with 200’ of pristine waterfrontage on Great Moose Lake. Convenient heat pump, a newer standing seam roof, and a recent concrete basement underneath the camp. For over two centuries now, Great Moose Lake or “Moose Pond’’ has been a popular destination for sportsmen and recreational tourists. Another 1.69-acre parcel across the street can be purchased. MLS# 1590839 – $374,000 BYRON – Three furnished cabins fully equipped for efficient yearround, off-grid living with a well and two septic systems. Property is powered by gas, solar panels, and a generator shed. Main camp boasts 3 bedrooms and 1 bath. Other two cabins each have1 bedroom and 1 bath. Garage, shed and outbuildings also on the property. ATV trails and other outdoor recreation close by. Smaller cabins currently being rented at $125 per night. MLS #1574474 – $425,000 ACTON – Business Opportunity! 41+/- acre parcel with several manmade ponds, gorgeous rock walls, and lots of wildlife throughout the property. Remodel the post and beam gambrel home into a clubhouse or leave as is and live and operate a business. Sellers willing to purchase and negotiate additional materials and equipment for the right offer. Verify permitted uses with the town of Acton zoning ordinance. See residential listing MLS#1592890. MLS# 1592882 – $2,200,000

(207) 532-4500 www.FirstChoiceRealEstate.com — PLEASURE ISLAND —

Lindsey Brann Associate Broker, REALTOR®

B Pond Upton, ME

cell 207-441-9317 | office 207-213-6650 lindsey@integrityhomesregroup.com www.integrityhomesrealestategroup.com Specializing in building lifelong relationships with buyers and sellers, representing their best interests in Maine real estate!

Oxford County

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A once in a lifetime opportunity to own a piece of Western Maine History! Historic 1.5 acre Pleasure Island is located at B-Pond, a 471 acre, 110 feet deep, cold water, spring fed pond, boasting wild native brook trout, and landlocked salmon. With historic catches of Brook Trout in the 5 pound class and salmon 4 to 7 pounds, this location is a sportsman’s paradise. Once owned by the historic Oxford Fishing and Hunting Club, in addition to Lakewood Camps at Middle Dam, it has been under private/ protected ownership for the past 80 years. This is a very unique property, a private Island with no other camps on the pond. Deeded rights around the entire pond to the high water mark. Adjacent to Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge, the historic Rapid River, and many high elevation trout ponds. In addition to hundreds of river and stream fishing opportunities. Not a fisherman? The outdoor opportunities with this location are unlimited, on the water or adjacent lands. A very private family compound, seasonal rental, investment property, or your imagination can be your guide, the possibilities are endless. No deed restrictions, new owners can update with the amenities that are important to them. The current cabin is a two story wood frame structure used primarily as a fishing camp. Four bedrooms, kitchen and dining area, large family room with fireplace. One bathroom with shower, front porch to relax and enjoy the peace, tranquility, birds and wildlife, and of course the magical sunrise over C-Bluff. Contact us for more details about this magical opportunity. Email rickmills2140@gmail.com or call 207-418-7907. Asking price $899,000.

Caryn Dreyfuss, Broker • (207) 233-8275 caryndreyfuss@morton-furbish.com www.realestateinrangeley.com

RANGELEY PLT – Fully year-round two bedroom cottage. Recent updates include new heat pump, gas fireplace, flooring, interior/exterior paint, appliances. Furniture is included in sale. Ideally located for 4-season recreation – snowmobile trail access from your door, minutes to Saddleback ski area, Rangeley/Oquossoc public boat ramps, and restaurants, shops. This new to market gem is sure to please – don’t miss out on this one, inquire today! MLS #1592423 – $299,000 RANGELEY – Quiet subdivision off the beaten path! Walk to no-motors, fly fishing only Quimby Pond, snowmobile, snowshoe, X-C ski from your door, watch the local deer! Bring your building plans, this nicely wooded 1 acre lot has been surveyed, soils tested. Great 4-season location between Rangeley and Oquossoc. Come see what makes this area so special. Don’t miss out on this one, inquire today! MLS #1586097 – $78,000 RANGELEY – Brand new home on nicely wooded 1.42 acre parcel boasting jaw dropping views of Spotted Mountain. The 3 bedroom, 2 bath home offers comfortable floor plan all on one level, plus walkout basement (plumbed for 3rd bath) can be finished for additional living space. Easy snowmobile trail access from your door. Great spot for your get away or full-time home, just off the beaten path and yet minutes to town amenities, Saddleback, 4-season adventures. MLS #1588753 – $589,000

T5 R7 Wels – Wonderful cold water lake with views across the entire water and of Mt. Katahdin. Nice frontage on Lower Shin Pond and year round access (privately plowed). $209,000

Burlington – This is a large waterfront property on Madagascal Pond. Driveway has been installed and lot was recently surveyed. Nice frontage with views across the water. With access also to the association’s sand beach and wonderful warm water fishing. $119,900

T5 R7 Wels – Gorgeous frontage. Wellbuilt 2BR with 3 full baths, a laundry, enclosed screen porch and open covered porch on Lower Shin Pond. Generated power and propane. $509,000

Passadumkeag – Authentic Maine hunting cabin on 3 acres on Caribou Road. Accessorized with two sets of bunk beds, propane lights and wired for a generator and electric lights, a barrel woodstove mean all you need is a cooler full of food and beer and you are in business. $48,000 Drew PLT – Building has been broken into and ransacked. Stairs are gone, siding needs to be replaced, and entry threshold has rotted away. But, has great potential and gorgeous land right on Andrews Road. $129,999 Lincoln – Rural and quiet on Pierce Webber Road. Peaceful and less than a 1/4 mile from the landing to Upper Pond with a 12x16 shed, drilled well, gray water bed for your camp, 11000 watt generator and easy and direct access to recreational areas. $49,900 Lincoln – This is a large lot in one of Lincoln’s most desirable neighborhoods on Evergreen Drive. Mature trees and long road frontage make this the place to build your new home. $29,000

207-794-2460 • 1-800-675-2460 cwa@cwalakestreet.com R E A L

E S T A T E

5 Lake Street, P.O. Box 66 LINCOLN, ME

— Call any of our brokers to work for you! — “Tate” Aylward 207-794-2460 Peter Phinney (207) 794-5466 • Kirk Ritchie (207) 290-1554

Visit www.cwalakestreet.com for more listings! www.MaineSportsman.com

76 • August 2024 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————