The Maine Sportsman - December 2017

The Maine

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BLACK POWDER BUCKS Pages 30, 49, 57, 59, 71

Fowler’s Fire – Part 1 –

Speedy Snowmobiles Page 19

Pike Through the Ice

“Alone” Winner Struggles to Light Fire at Damp Campsite

Great White Shark Strikes

Page 75

Page 53

Page 23

2 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ———————————————————————————————————————————————————

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———————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 3

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New England’s Largest Outdoor Publication Readership The Maine

ISSN 0199-036 — Issue No. 543 • www.mainesportsman.com PUBLISHER: Jon Lund

Jensen Bissell – He Took On a Tough Job as Director of Baxter State Park, and Did It Well

MANAGING EDITOR: Will Lund will@mainesportsman.com OFFICE MANAGER: Linda Lapointe linda@mainesportsman.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Kristina Roderick kristina@mainesportsman.com ADVERTISING DIRECTOR: Nancy Carpenter nancy@mainesportsman.com ADVERTISING ACCOUNT MANAGER:Chris Brawn chris@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 Fax: 207-622-4255 Postmaster: Send address changes to: The Maine Sportsman, 183 State Street, Suite 101, Augusta, ME 04330 12-Month Subscription: $30 • 24-Month Subscription: $49

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Baxter Peak and the Knife Edge, the crown jewels of the 200,000-acre park.

Our lead “Letter to the Editor” this month celebrates the tenure of Jensen Bissell, who has served as Park Director for Baxter State Park for more than 12 years, and who recently announced he will retire at the end of the year.

In his retirement note, Bissell told his friends that it had been “a privilege and a pleasure to help manage such a timeless idea and beautiful landscape.” He also gave credit to his co-workers, whom he said “continue to inspire me in both my work and my life,” and who provided “help, understanding, and inspiration.”

Just managing the park’s annual 70,000 visitors would be challenge enough, but in this era of social media, an exponential increase in Appalachian Trail thru-hikers, and technological inventions (think, e.g., visitors who expect to be able to fly drones around Baxter Peak), those challenges were magnified during Bissell’s time at the helm.

Throughout his time as director, Bissell allowed himself to be guided by the near-religious tenets of Governor Baxter, who conditioned the many deeds to the property by mandating that the park lands were to be “maintained primarily as a wilderness,” while “recreational purposes are to be regarded as of secondary importance” toward the goal of keeping the area “forever wild.”

Jym St. Pierre, who wrote to our editorial board about Bissell, called him a “quiet but persistent force” who carried on Percival Baxter’s vision. St. Pierre termed Bissell “professional, fair, humble and dedicated,” and wrapped up by characterizing the outgoing director as “not flashy,” but deserving of an “enormous credit for a job well done.”

We could not agree more. In our view, Bissell has faithfully carried out the vision of Gov. Baxter, quietly and without fanfare.

A tip of the Maine Sportsman cap to Jensen Bissell. www.MaineSportsman.com

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Almanac by Will Lund ....................................................... 11 Aroostook - “The County” by Bill Graves ........................ 30 Big Game Hunting by Joe Saltalamachia ..................... 33 Bird of the Month, by Erika Zambello .............................. 13 Bowhunting by Chris “Bubba” Johnson ......................... 37 Capitol Report by George Smith .................................... 16 Editorial ................................................................................. 4 Freshwater Fly Fishing by William Clunie ......................... 44 Greater Penobscot Bay by Jim Lemieux ........................ 49 Jackman by William Sheldon .......................................... 42 Jottings by Jon Lund ........................................................... 7 Katahdin Country by William Sheldon ............................ 35 Kate’s Wild Kitchen by Kate Krukowski Gooding .......... 48 Letters to the Editor ............................................................. 5 Maine Wildlife by Tom Seymour ...................................... 18 Maine Wildlife Quiz by Steve Vose .................................. 45 Midcoast Report by Tom Seymour .................................. 51 Mid-Kennebec Valley by Shawn Simpson ..................... 46 Moosehead by Tom Seymour ......................................... 38 New Hampshire by Ethan Emerson ................................. 63 Off-Road Traveler by William Clunie ............................... 40 Quotable Sportsman by George Smith .......................... 47 Rangeley Region by William Clunie ................................ 59 Riding Shotgun by Robert Summers ................................ 69 Saltwater by Barry Gibson ................................................ 53 Sebago to Auburn Region by Tom Roth ........................ 57 Self-Propelled Sportsman by Jim Andrews ..................... 54 Shooter’s Bench by Col. J.C. Allard ................................ 55 Smilin’ Sportsman by Will Lund ......................................... 69 Smilin’ Sportsman - Kids Edition by Will Lund .................. 69 Sporting Environment by David Van Wie ....................... 58 Sportsman’s Journal by King Montgomery ...................... 9 Trapping The Silent Places by David Miller ..................... 61 Trading Post (Classifieds) .................................................. 76 Trout Fishing by Tom Seymour .......................................... 62 Washington County by Steve Vose ................................ 50 Western Maine Mountains by William Clunie................. 64 Young Maine Sportsman by Luke Giampetruzzi ........... 70 Young Maine Sportswoman by Alyssa Sansoucy .......... 71

SPECIAL SECTIONS Ice Fishing in Maine by Steve Vose ................................. 23 Snowmobiling in Maine by Cathy Genthner ................ 19

GUEST COLUMNS Charlie Davis - The Best Game Warden by Ron Joseph 15 Fowler’s Fire by Zachary Fowler ....................................... 75 Grandfather’s “Extra” Trout by Randy Randall .............. 74 Thanksgiving Buck by Jason Tome .................................. 72

On the Cover: A muzzleloader’s dream – fresh snow, a big buck, dry black powder and a fresh percussion cap.

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———————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 5

steady leadership. He may not be flashy, but he deserves enormous credit for a job well done.

Jym St. Pierre, Board Secretary Friends of Baxter State Park

To The Editor Accolades for Jensen Bissell, Retiring Director of Baxter State Park To the Editor: I have been going to Baxter State Park for half a century. I have visited the Park in all seasons, including 34 winter backcountry ski treks and dozens of summer/fall hiking and fishing adventures. I have served on the Friends of Baxter State Park board of directors and have been involved with a number of the difficult management issues the Park has faced in recent decades. So I have been able to observe the Park and its stewardship during much of its history.

Jensen Bissell [who announced October 18 that he would be retiring as Park Director on December 31] has done an exemplary job at Baxter State Park. From his early work on the Scientific Forest Management Area, to his efforts to put the park on a solid financial footing, to being a quiet but persistent force to carry on Percival Baxter’s vision, Jensen has been professional, fair, humble and dedicated.

Given different public demands, no park can completely avoid controversy. The fact that Baxter Park has had so few controversies in recent years is noteworthy.

One high visibility issue has been the growing number and the behavior of Appalachian Trail thru-hikers, which have presented challenges to the unique wilderness character of the Park. At the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s gathering this summer in Maine, I watched Jensen speak to a roomful of AT advocates who were not happy about new requirements that he crafted and the Park Authority put in place for AT thru-hikers climbing Katahdin.

By the end of his presentation, I sensed even the most skeptical people there finally understood why Baxter Park was implementing the restrictions. Jensen successfully persuaded them through thoughtful logic and a self-depreciating sense of humor. They gave him a round of applause.

A lot of Baxter State Park Authority members, of widely divergent political persuasions, have come and gone, but Jensen has worked well with them all. While some public officials pick fights, Jensen strives for peace and cooperation. While managers at other parks are struggling, Baxter Park has continued to get better each year at realizing the founder’s vision of a park where nature comes first, but where visitors can experience a magnificent natural setting.

Much of the credit goes to Jensen Bissell’s

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Adz and a Couple of Broadheads To the Editor: I enjoyed the piece on the double-bitted axe (“Almanac,” October issue). I thought you might be interested in seeing a few other woodworking tools, including an adz (left), a broadhead axe and a broadhead hatchet.

The blade on the adz is perpendicular to the handle, and it’s used for smoothing out areas on a log or beam. I think the user straddled the log and chopped down and toward himself – a potentially dangerous endeavor!

The broadhead axe and hatchet were used to hew square sides onto logs when building log cabins.

These three tools came from a relative’s 1700s farm in rural New Hampshire.

Anne Holmbom, Monson, ME —

Likes Col. Allard’s Model 290 To the Editor: I read Colonel Allard’s “Shooter’s Bench” column in the September issue of The Maine Sportsman (“Winchester .22 Rimfire Has Columnist Reconsidering View of Autoloaders”), and must say that is the most beautiful Winchester Model 290 I have ever seen.

Most of the 290s I had looked at were not that great. They were manufactured during the post-’64 years, and stuff that was coming out of the plants during the 70’s left much to be desired.

As far as the AR-15/M-4 stuff goes, I am not much of a fan. Fifty-three years ago, one was thrust into my hands, and it failed at the worst time a week later. I turned the remnants of it back in and “acquired” a Stevens Model 77 pump 12 ga.

Let me define “acquired” for you – stole.

You know the military term for it: “Midnight acquisition.”

I was able to trade a couple of cases of C-rats (ham & limas) to some Marines for 12 ga. buck shot (in brass cases!!!) to keep the 77

going.

Yes, I have some semi autos but still favor the bolt, lever and pump action stuff. I’ve got pistols, too but it seems that the revolvers get the nod.

Very nice article by Col. Allard, and I am glad that 290 is now in a home that appreciates it.

Wayne Dengler, Danbury, CT —

Young Hunter Meservey is Quite the Hunter To the Editor: My name is Hunter Allen Meservey. I live in Palmyra.

Last year, when I was 16, I was hunting specifically for a deer we called “Tines.”

Starting in August 2016 and right through to archery season, we kept getting pictures of Tines on our game cameras.

My father and I put up a tree stand where we thought we had the best chance of a shot during bow season.

I put in multiple mornings and evenings, passing on several smaller bucks because I wanted Tines and Tines only.

The big buck finally showed up one evening, but stayed 100 yards away, out of range.

Bow season went by and we were into rifle season. Again, I passed on several smaller bucks waiting for Tines.

On the morning of November 21, I got in before sunrise, and chose to sit overlooking a clover field. When the sun came up, I could not believe what I saw – Tines, standing behind a bedded doe, feeding on clover.

Just then, a 6-point buck came out of the woods and headed for them. Tines noticed the other buck, then turned and stood tall, posturing.

The 6-pointer turned and ran off. I gathered myself and took aim with my 7mm mag.

At the shot, I could tell I hit the deer, but it took off into the woods.

I waited a long time, then went to get my grandfather, Roger Burke, to help me find the (Continued on next page) www.MaineSportsman.com

6 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ———————————————————————————————————————————————————

Letters to the Editor (Continued from page 5)

buck. Together, we went no farther than five feet into the woods before finding the huge buck down.

It weighed 214 pounds dressed, and scored 150 6/8.

This was the buck of a lifetime. Patience does pay off.

Hunter Meservey, Palmyra, ME

Mike Gets His Bear (Or Is That Joe?) To the Editor I’ve been taking my twin boys Mike and Joe bear hunting at Bobby Hafford’s Allagash Wildlife Sporting Camps in Allagash, ME for the past 3 years.

This year on Youth Day, my son Mike shot his first bear – 176 pounds.

He was ecstatic.

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Usable Heirlooms To the Editor: I just wanted you to know that Col. Allard really stirred things up here with his article on favored firearms (“What Makes a Certain Firearm your All-Time Favorite ?,” August issue).

During the heat of late summer I try not to handle my firearms too much, because although I wipe them down after handling them I’m always afraid I’ll miss a spot and leave a fingerprint (I have two heirlooms with corroded-in fingerprints, but not my fingerprints).

But after his article I was in discussions with family members, which led to going through the safe and finding heirlooms that we’d forgotten we had, including my grandmother’s Ithaca 20 ga. double barrel, and a third shotgun with 3-inch chambers that I can use steel shot in for woodchucks in my crops.

Late summers don’t have to be boring if we all just spend more time with the family heirlooms.

Bart Schairer, Hammonton, NJ —

Accurately Predicted Clunie’s Truck Brand Choice To the Editor: I know your “Off-Road Traveler” writer, William Clunie, has been looking for the perfect truck to get himself into the back country, and to be able to sleep in the truck bed.

In case he’s still on the fence, my vote is a big one for the Tundra. I’m a Toyota car and truck guy, and have never been disappointed.

I always buy used, to save valuable cash, and add a matching cap to the Tundra.

Great for work and play, with almost no time lost for repairs. Hope that helps.

Jim Owen, Registered Maine Guide, Hope, ME Editor’s response: Dear Mr. Owen: You win the “Closest to the Truck” award for your recommendation of a Toyota. As you will read in this issue’s “Off-Road Traveler” column, William Clunie selected the slightly-smaller Tacoma rather than the Tundra, but he is pleased with the choice of a Toyota for many of the reasons outlined in your letter. www.MaineSportsman.com

Mike (the one with the orange shirt under his camo, holding the bear) was using a Ruger .308 Mike won a lifetime hunting and fishing license 3 years ago through a raffle from The Rangeley Guides Association.

I have taken my boys hunting and fishing since they were 4 years old.

Mark Maimaron, Raynham, MA —

Does Anyone Know the Origin of a Maine “One That Didn’t Get Away” Gold Pin? To the Editor I recently picked up this old pin issued at some point in the history of the Maine Sportsman’s “One That Didn’t Get Away” fishing trophy club.

Can you tell me anything about this pin and how old it may be?

I purchased the pin from a gentleman who lives in Brookville, PA. He found it, along with some bamboo rods, when he was cleaning out an old house.

The pin is only a ½-inch in diameter, and is in great condition. It is stamped “Murchison Newark” on the back, which was a gold pin/ring maker.

It’s hard to estimate a date of manufacture – likely sometime between 1930 and 1960.

Can you run the photo and see whether any of your readers can identify the pin and when it would have been distributed?

Please keep up the good work with the One That Didn’t Get Away club. We need guys and gals out fishing, and they need to bring their kids along, also!

Ron Komlenic, Pittsburgh, PA. Editor’s response: We will let you know if any of our readers identify when these pins were available.

They pre-date the involvement of The Maine Sportsman with the club, which means before the early 1970s. We have reached out to several seasoned IF&W fisheries biologists, but they all claim to be too young to remember that far back.

Readers – we need your help solving this mystery!

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A Rare Buck Triple Play on Opening Day To the Editor: My father Brian, my younger brother Kevin and I have been hunting in Southern Maine for years.

Prior to Opening Day of firearms season, 2017, we had not been successful.

This year was different, as shown in the photograph.

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t On that day, October 28th, each of the three of us downed a buck before noontime.

The bucks were all taken within Cumberland County.

My father (orange sweatshirt) shot a 5-pointer, Kevin (in the middle) shot a 7-pointer and I (wearing the red shirt) shot a 10-pointer.

It was a very special day for us, and it will likely never happen again in our lifetimes.

Nick McLellan, Scarborough, ME

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Otter Trawl – Illegal in Maine, but VERY Effective It’s likely most of our readers haven’t seen an otter trawl being used in fresh water. I encountered the device in the country of Norway years ago, and concluded it was the ultimate fish-catching rig, so I brought one back with me.

The device is usually operated from a boat, and features ten dropper flies trolled off the side of the craft.

I should note that its use is illegal in Maine.

But in Norway, unlike Maine, a person who owns the land surrounding a pond can catch as many fish as he wants, using whatever means he wishes to employ because he owns the pond.

In Maine, as we know, the state owns all “great ponds” (those greater than 10 acres), and regulates the size and number of fish caught and the methods used to catch fish.

In Norway, we fished for trout using gill nets and an otter trawl, as well as a fly rod.

A gill net is rigged with small sinkers along the bottom edge, and small floats at the upper edge. The outer end of the net is anchored to the bottom, and the inner end is tied to a tree, bush or rock on shore. This creates a vertical fence, which sits next to the bottom of the pond.

Fish try to swim through the openings in the net, but it catches them behind the gills.

The net is often set out in the late afternoon hours when the daylight is fad-

Fully deployed, the rig looks like a giant rake, and it certainly can rake in the fish. They can’t be used legally by recreational anglers in Maine, but if an IF&W biologist wants to borrow it to survey a pond, I’d be happy to lend them my Norwegian otter trawl.

The otter trawl is fastened to a stiff leader using a jointed three-element wire arrangement and a sliding ring. The user can pull, then release, the leader, causing the trawl to change direction and cross to the other side of the rowboat’s stern. Lund photo

ing, and retrieved the next morning.

Fishing on a family-owned mountain pond, my father learned that folks had been setting the gill nets in traditional locations, but the catches were declining. He set out gill nets in new loca-

tions, and the sets were more productive. Apparently trout had learned to avoid the net in the traditional locations.

How it Works An otter trawl consists of a weighted board, often hinged for ease in transporting, which

floats in the water like a rudder, with a jointed three-element wire arrangement and a sliding ring. The line is tied to the sliding ring. Ten flies, usually double-hook flies, each on an 18-inch long stout leader, are tied to the line spaced about 18 inches apart.

Towed behind a rowboat, the board floats out at an angle to the course of the boat, and the flies hang down with just the fly in the water, barely touching the water. On a calm water surface, it looks like a giant rake, and it does rake in fish.

If a fish hits a fly, its struggles cause the remaining flies to jiggle, which seems to increase their effectiveness.

If the angler wants to avoid an obstacle, or wants to fish on the other side of the boat, the angler pulls briskly on the line and lets it go slack, which shoots the board forward, causing the sliding ring to slide to the rear, which reverses the direction of the trawl and it moves to the other side of the boat.

To bring in his catch, the angler pulls in the line hand-over-hand, and hooks each fly as it comes in to a strip of wood along the gunnel.

(Continued on next page)

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8 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ———————————————————————————————————————————————————

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Jottings

(Continued from page 7)

Practical Use for IF&W Biologists?

The process sounds complicated, but in practice, it is not. It is exciting, and requires some skill in handling. If the angler gets too enthusiastic reeling in the rig and forgets to hook each fly to the gunnel, he is likely to end up with a hopeless tangle of line, ten flies and leaders.

Fish are unlikely to be spooked by the sturdy leader because it usually is not in the water. Only the fly is in the water. If trout are feeding within sight of the surface, an otter trawl can be an effective way to put a lot of trout in the creel in a

short time.

It might be an effective way for a fisheries biologist to obtain samples of a fish population in a pond. If DIF&W fisheries biologists were interested in trying it out, I’d be happy to lend them my Norwegian otter trawl.

If it is used on a river, the otter trawl allows an angler to stay in one spot while the current carries the trawl out from the shore. If deployed on a pond with a clear shoreline, the angler can walk the shoreline and send the trawl out into deeper water.

Planer Boards A simpler version

The otter trawl is hinged, and folds up for easy transport. Because it uses ten flies at a time, once deployed it must be hauled in with skill to avoid a tangle of leader, lines and hooks. Lund photo

of the otter trawl is the planer board, which can be used when trolling

JANUARY

26-28 2018

with a conventional rod and reel to send the lure away from the boat wake and over boulders or shallow bottom where the navigation is hazardous.

A smaller version of the planer board, an adjustable disc about the size of a mustard bottle cap, can be used to send a trolled lure off an angle to the path of a boat.

Most of the trolling I

have done in past years was for Rangeley landlocked salmon. I’m not sure how important it is to get the lure away from the wake of an outboard motor. In fact, we often had salmon strike sewed bait quite close to the motor’s slipstream.

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———————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 9

Good Stuff & Great Places Every now and then I like to recommend some great outdoors gear I’ve come across, and tout some superb outdoor sporting destinations that I’d return to in a heartbeat.

I can’t write good things about sporting gear – or places to use that gear – unless I’m convinced they both are extremely good or even better. The stuff and places in this column rank up there with some of the very best I’ve encountered in many years.

If you have any questions on the gear or the destinations, let me know.

Gear Best Fillet Knife Ever: The Cutco filet knife is far and away the finest blade I’ve ever used to clean and filet fish. I do love fresh fish on my dinner plate, and this knife helps me put them there.

Cutco is the largest manufacturer of kitchen cutlery in the United States and Canada, and has been in business since 1949. They have a select line of sporting cutlery for hunting and fishing applications. All products are American

Just in time for the holidays and for planning next year’s adventures, our “Sportsman’s Journal” columnist describes a few of his favorite things and favorite locations.

Grand Lake Stream’s waters hold some nice smallmouth bass and they’re all in range of Leen’s Lodge guides in their Grand Lakers. All photos © King Montgomery

made.

The Cutco Fisherman’s Solution® has more features than a multiplex theater, and all of them are clever – and very useful. First, you have three blade lengths to choose from – 5, 7 & 9 inches – and you can make the adjustments by raising a small lever on the handle, sliding the blade to the desired length, and locking it firmly in place.

Thus, you can go from a little legal brookie to an

The Cutco Fisherman’s Solution® simply is the finest fillet knife on the planet, period. Pricey, it will last several lifetimes so pass it along. Here it’s shown in the two colors, and blades are extended 5-inches and 9-inches.

offshore tuna, and be able to properly filet in the easiest and most efficient way. And, yes, there’s even more.

The blade is a high-carbon, stainless steel beauty that holds an edge and sharpens to surgical precision. As part of the Forever Guarantee, Cutco sharpens your knife at no charge, and will fix or replace your knife, if necessary.

The sheath for the knife is sturdy, and has

a gripper jaw, a notched line-cutter, and a builtin whetstone fish hook sharpener. The knife and sheath do everything except catch the fish and cook the fillets!

The Cutco catalog is online at www.cutco. com, or call 1-800-8280448. The Fisherman’s Solution is $99 and worth every penny. It will last several lifetimes.

Foldable Filleting Board: This Polish-made plastic fillet board se-

WoundSeal Powder comes in individual use packets, and is a dynamite solution when you break the skin any number of ways, including cutting, gouging, scraping, animal bites and scratches.

curely holds small to medium-size fish with a strong clip while you use your Cutco fillet knife to prepare a fresh catch for the skillet, hot oil, grill or roasting pan. It folds in half and has a stainless steel scaler that is very friendly to use on all kinds of fishes. It is a snap to clean and even is dishwasher safe.

Anplast Fishing, a Polish company, has been in the business of making things plastic for anglers since 1985, and is a member of the European Fishing Tackle Trade Association. They provide innovative, affordable and practical fishing items such as plastic fly and tackle boxes, fishing line and leader spools, bait boxes and holders, rig winders, float tips, hook disgorgers, and other items for the fisher.

There are at least two ways to use the board: Some like to fillet their catch by clipping the tail down to the board and working the knife one way or the other. I prefer to clip down the head/ front jaw and work from shoulder to tail.

(Continued on next page)

Anplast Fishing, a Polish company, has been in the business of making things plastic for anglers since 1985 and is a member of the European Fishing Tackle Trade Association. Their folding cutting board is well designed and constructed. www.MaineSportsman.com

10 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

Sportsman’s Journal (Continued from page 9)

Either way, this handy fillet board is perfect. The board surfaces are non-slip, and the product is very wellmade.

See www.anplast.eu or call +48 52 381 04 60.

Click on English option on website for online catalog. Cost is around $7, which sounds low, but that’s what the company tells me.

WoundSeal Powder for when you cut yourself filleting fish on the fillet board. This product comes in individual-use packets, and is a dynamite solution when you break the skin any number of ways, including cutting, gouging, scraping, animal bites and scratches.

If injury occurs, you can open a packet, pour the powder on the wound or use the handy disposable applicator, apply some pressure, and the bleeding soon will stop.

This first-aid product is FDA-approved, and a number of clinical trials have shown it to be effective at quickly stemming bleeding. It also will not cause any side-effects or allergic reactions.

WoundSeal is an overthe-counter product.

One packet treats up to a 2-inch wound. If bleeding is particularly profuse, more may be applied and more pressure rendered. Once the wound is sealed, any excess powder is brushed off lightly.

WoundSeal is available at Walgreen’s, CVS, Rite-Aid, Wal-Mart, and other retail stores. It also is sold online at www. woundseal.com, www. amazon.com and other sites. Cost varies for a box of four packets from about $7 to $10.

Destinations In 2017 – yet another year that seemed to whip by so fast – I had the pleasure of visiting www.MaineSportsman.com

two superb Maine sporting camps, and I’d like to introduce them to you in this column.

In 2018 Sportsman’s Journal columns, I’ll do more in-depth articles.

Meanwhile, I suggest you go ahead and book your own adventure at one or both of these Down East lodges.

Maine sporting camps are the finest representatives of our proud Maine outdoor sporting heritage, and also the very best places to experience the ultimate in hunting and fishing.

Both camps below have been around for a while, but facilities have been upgraded and the camps possess all the amenities. The breakfasts and dinners are scrumptious, but it’s the shore lunches that I dearly love. At both lodges, shore-cooked lunches are the standard procedure, and are they ever good!

The kitchens will pack you a sandwich or two if you wish, but you’d be missing a huge, wonderful experience.

Wheaton’s Lodge in Forest City and Leen’s Lodge in Grand Lake Stream are first-class operations for angling and upland bird hunting, as well as for other outdoor activities such as hiking, canoeing, kayaking, and

Bonnie Holding, DIF&W’s Director of Information & Education and Master Maine Guide, with typical Spednic Lake smallmouth bass caught on wacky worms while fishing out of Wheaton’s Lodge.

outdoor and nature photography.

Both facilities have relatively new owners.

Scott and Kris Weeks from Pennsylvania took over Leen’s in early 2017 from Charles Driza, who kindly remained on for the season to show the new folks the ropes.

Dale Wheaton passed on the lodge to Patrick and Sandy Patterson from Presque Isle and the Upper Mid-West, respectively, about seven years ago. Dale still regularly guides out of the lodge, so his expertise always is close by.

Whereinhellisforestcitymaine? The Wheaton family owned the camp for well over 60-years and parts of the property date to the early part of the 20th century.

Forest City, a scenic vil-

lage in the northern part of Down East abutting New Brunswick just below the southeast tip of Aroostook County, sits astride East Grand Lake and just up from Spednic Lake. These are two of the finest fishing bodies of water in the Pine Tree State for coldwater and warmwater gamefish such as landlocked salmon, smallmouth bass, and both yellow and white perch.

The guides all use the iconic Grand Laker, a long, wide-beam, hand-crafted wooden canoe powered by 9.9 - 15 hp outboard motors, and it is a very pleasurable craft from which to fish.

I had the distinct pleasure of fishing with Dale Wheaton, Mark Danforth and Andy Brook. Hopefully I’ll share a Grand

Leen’s Lodge sits on West Grand Lake in Grand Lake Stream. Here, sports enjoy the sunset while nibbling on appetizers and enjoying adult beverages on the dining cabin’s deck. (Note: Leen’s is bring-your-own alcoholic beverages.)

Laker with them another day. (Wheaton’s Lodge: 207-448-7723, www. wheatonslodge.com.)

Grand Lake Stream is about an hour down from Forest City on Route 1 toward Calais and, like Wheaton’s, Leen’s Lodge sits on a lake, West Grand Lake, a beautiful and productive fishery that holds a similar species makeup as its East Grand Lake cousin. Driza owned and ran the lodge for about 17 years, and now the Week’s family, young Abby and Kyle included, are carrying on the tradition.

Grand Lakers dominate here as well, and I fished out of them in both West Grand and nearby Big Lake concentrating on smallmouth bass. This too, is a very dynamic fishery, and the guides know it well –most of them were raised and live on or near one lake or the other. I fished East Grand with Dave Irving, who has a marvelous camp on the lake – it was the site of our shore lunch. Gary Santerre took me out on Big Lake in his Grand Laker on a dreary but fish-productive day with a wacky worm rig fished on light spinning tackle.

(Leen’s Lodge: 1-800-9953367, www.leenslodge. com.

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——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 11

Compiled and Edited by Will Lund Trout Caught in Dry Pools Submitted by Lou Zambello As 2017 draws to a close, it is important to note that in parts of Maine, the weather this fall once again brought stress to our beloved cold-water trout. August, September, and early October brought hot and dry conditions once again to south, central, and western Maine, just like the previous year (2016).

This dropped river and stream levels to historic lows for this time of year, particularly in western Maine.

For example, the Swift River near Roxbury in late September had a stream flow of 5 CFS (cubic feet per second) compared to a historic level of 50. The Ellis River, typically at 60 CFS at end of Sept. was at 15. The Wild River in Gilead in mid-September typically has a temperature in the mid 50s – this year it was in the mid 70s.

To compound the problem, in early September of this year a brief spell of cold weather and rain initiated spawning runs in some rivers as the water briefly rose and cooled.

However, with no more rain or cool weather, streams rapidly dropped and warmed, trapping pre-spawn brook trout (and salmon)

Can’t Get to a Tagging Station? There’s a New Law for That!

This photo, taken with an underwater GoPro camera, shows the trout crowded together with no escape. Zambello photo

It seems logical to conclude that two dry and hot summers and falls in a row have taken a tragic toll on trout in certain streams and rivers where they didn’t have access to thermal refuges in ponds and lakes.

Let’s hope 2018 brings more rain to the parts of central and southern Maine.

The Power of Bears

by Will Lund

f Hundreds of trout are trapped in a pool by dropping water levels. Zambello photo

pressive reminder of the power of a bear’s claws. The large tracks in the area, together with the damage done to the log, made it clear that this was a sizeable, strong bruin that had been snacking a mere 100 yards away from the cabin.

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for a month in small pools.

These schools of trout were then harassed and eaten by all sorts of predators, including otters, mink, herons, and ospreys. For anglers, it was literally like shooting fish in a barrel.

Cutting wood on a hillside above the family’s remote camp in Monson, I noticed an old log on the ground. When I kicked it over, I saw that was full of ants.

Several days later when I returned, it was clear that something else had noticed the ants, also.

The sight of the destroyed log was an im-

In late October, just in time for the opening of regular firearms deer season, galeforce winds rocked the State of Maine. One unexpected result was the many hunters fortunate enough to get a deer in the first days of the season had nowhere to register their deer, since many of the outlying tagging stations were closed because they had no power.

Maine’s DIF&W provided help in two ways. First, they issued a press release with links to all tagging stations, and urged hunters to call ahead to determine whether the establishments were open. They said that if necessary, a warden could be contracted by calling the Maine State Police and having the police relay a message to the wardens.

Second, the department used the situation to remind hunters of a new law, a 2017 statute titled, “An Act to Amend the Laws Governing Tagging of Harvested Animals.”

The law amends Maine’s tagging requirements by allowing hunters to possess unregistered animals, if circumstances prevent the hunters from getting their animals to tagging stations.

The law adds the following sentence to the Title 12 chapter addressing tagging: (Continued on next page)

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12 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

Almanac

trout carry out their life cycle at Eagle Lake and to explore how fishing influences these populations.

“A person may keep an unregistered animal harvested by that person if that person notifies a game warden within 18 hours as to the location of that animal and the circumstances preventing the person from registering the animal ….”

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(Continued from page 11)

How Big is that Bear?

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Maine Biologists Tag, Track Brook Trout and Togue at Eagle Lake From information provided by Frank Frost, DIF&W Fisheries Biologist Brook trout and lake trout (togue) in Aroostook County’s Eagle Lake were the subjects of an intensive study this fall, as fisheries biologists with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife initiated a long term study on these native fish species.

Eagle Lake is the third largest lake of the Fish River Chain and is immensely important to the region. The lake is actively fished

The fish are anesthetized, and then biologists cut a small incision in order to place the radio tag transmitter in place. Biologists use sutures to close the incision and keep the transmitting tag in place.

www.MaineSportsman.com

A brook trout with a surgically implanted radio tag.

by the residents of the nearby towns of Eagle Lake, Wallagrass and Fort Kent, but is also frequented by anglers from all over Aroostook as well the rest of Maine and New England.

Best known for large togue, Eagle Lake also supports a large population of lake-dwelling brook trout, landlocked salmon, cusk and smelt. All of these species are highly sought by anglers, making Eagle one of the most diversified fisheries in northern Maine.

Radio telemetry is a commonly employed tool utilized by fisheries biologists in Maine.

In northern Maine, we’ve utilized it on the Fish River, Scopan Stream, Munsungan Lake, and Big Reed Pond, all of which provided in-depth knowledge of fish movements and spawning habitat use, which allows us to better protect and enhance these fisheries.

The current study will focus on lake-dwelling brook and lake trout at Eagle Lake.

In late September, trapnets were set in three locations around the lake where in years past we have effectively captured fish.

When the proper-sized brook trout and lake trout were captured, the fish were anesthetized for a few moments while a radio tags were surgically implanted into their body cavities. The fish were then revived, released back into the lake, and monitored closely for a period of 24 hours or so.

Thereafter, we monitored periodically to locate each fish, and we’ll be documenting their movements over the next two years. If you happen to catch and keep a tagged fish, please let us know at 207-435-3231.

We focused intensive effort during October-November in 2017, and we’ll do the same in 2018, to locate spawning congregations for both species. Knowing where fish spawn is very important when conserving and managing our wild native fishes.

It allows us to actively monitor the population, and in some instances, protect spawning areas. We can also determine how well each species survives the rigors of spawning (commonly called post-spawning mortality). Also of interest is how many are caught and kept by anglers, which will allow us to calculate an “exploitation rate.” In all, we’ll gain valuable insight into how brook trout and lake

It’s very difficult to estimate the size and weight of a bear that a hunter sees in the wild.

This has led to the infamous phenomenon of what’s called “ground shrinkage” – namely, when a bruin that appears to be a monster when it appears below your stand, diminishes greatly in magnitude after the kill.

It’s important, therefore, for bear hunters to learn how to objectively judge a bear’s size.

According to Bill Wiesner, who has hunted black bear for 40 years and who wrote the book, “The Bear Hunting Obsession of a Driven Man,” “black bears are the most misjudged big game animal in the woods.”

He attributes this to the “self-imposed stress” of seeing a bruin up close, as well as to a bear’s four-inch hair coat that can magnify its size. If a novice hunter sees a bear stand erect, that, too, is unusual enough to cause misperception of size.

Wiesner provides several clues that a hunter can employ: 1) If you are hunting over bait, compare the bear to the size of the bait barrel.

2) If the ears look small (“cookie size”) in comparison with the head, and if the muzzle appears relatively short, you’ve got a good bear.

According to expert bear hunter Bill Wiesner, in addition to using facial triangulation and other clues to determine a bear’s size, measuring tracks is also revealing. A black bear with a front paw width of five inches, he says, is a good bear. Photo courtesy of Target Communications

3) If the bear’s belly is close to the ground, and if it walks with a rolling gait or waddle, those are signs of sizable girth.

4) And finally, facial “triangulation” – if the distance between the ears is roughly the same as the measurement between the ears and the nose, that’s a big bear. Smaller bears have a longer distance between the ears and the nose than the measure between their ears (i.e., smaller bears have longer faces, while older, larger bears’ faces are blockier).

(Continued on next page)

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——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 13

Bird of the Month – Great Gray Owl

by Erika Zambello

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Birds can be cute, cuddly, ugly, awkward, graceful, or just plain weird. Few however, are as otherworldly as the Great Gray Owl. Seen periodically in Maine, the Great Gray Owl can reach over 80 cm in height, with a wingspan of over 150 cm. Gray overall, they sport bright yellow eyes in the center of their very large heads, looking almost human-like when their gaze is turned right on you. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology describes their overall facial expression as “surprised,� but I think “watchful� is a more apt description.

These owls hunt in open areas like meadows or bogs, but also within forests. Because they are large birds, they

need to eat often – again, according to the Cornell Lab, in the winter months Great Gray Owls can eat up to seven small mammals each and every day.

Though Maine is outside the Great Gray Owl’s normal range, a few turn up in our state every year. In 2017, one was observed at the Brunswick airport by a birder in March, another by dozens of observers in Searsmont during February and into March.

Farther north, one was spotted at the Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in January, while still others found a Great Gray Owl in Acadia National Park at the end of April.

If you are looking to add a Great Gray Owl to your Maine list, pay close attention when walking through pine and fir forests. However, your best bet is to monitor rare bird alerts on ebird. org. Remember – don’t disturb an owl by approaching it too closely!

Because of the Great Gray Owl’s reclusive nature and homerange in the far northerly latitudes, studies on their populations are few and far between.

One organization – Partners in Flight – estimates there are 190,000 breeding Great Gray Owls across the world, including 50% in Eurasia, 43% in Canada, and 7% in the United States.

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A broken wrist didn’t slow down 12-year-old Wyatt Gradie of Waterville, ME when he bagged his first deer, a 102-pound doe, while hunting with his dad in Central Maine on November 4, 2017.

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14 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

— December 2017 Hunting & Fishing Information — Hunting Seasons and Rules Deer and Bear Regular Firearms season ends Saturday, November 25.

Muzzleloader season for deer begins Monday, November 27. In northern WMDs (1-11, 14 and 19), the season ends Saturday, December 2, while in southern Maine WMDs (12, 13, 15 – 18; 20 – 26 and 29), the season extends another week, through Saturday, December 9. Muzzleloaders cannot legally take a bear during muzzleloader season.

Moose season (permit only) has ended in most WMDs, with the season in the southernmost zones (WMDs 15 and 16) ending Saturday November 25.

Fall Wild Turkey ended in all WMDs on Tuesday, November 7.

Ruffed Grouse, Bobwhite Quail and Pheasant season runs through December 31.

Woodcock season ended Thursday, November 16.

Canada Geese: Regular Season North Zone: October 2 - December 21; Daily limit: 3; Possession limit: 9 South Zone (second season): November 1 – December 26; Daily limit: 3; Possession limit: 9 Coastal Zone (second season): November 10 – January 4, 2018; Daily limit: 3; Possession limit: 9 For more waterfowl information and a Zone map, see: www.maine.gov/ifw/ hunting_trapping/hunting/laws/ Squirrel, Raccoon and Hare seasons run through December 31.

Fox season runs through February 28, 2018.

Others: There is no closed season for coyotes (daytime hunting), red squirrels,

porcupines and woodchucks.

Hunting is prohibited at all times for cottontail rabbits, lynx, spruce grouse and ravens.

Falconry season begins December 22 in the North Zone, and January 28 in the South Zone and the Coastal Zone HOURS: 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset, except for migratory game birds (1/2 hour before sunrise, to sunset) and raccoons (night hunting allowed in season).

Ammunition: Non-toxic shot only for migratory waterfowl.

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Fishing Seasons and Rules Season – Rivers, Streams and Brooks From October 1 through March 31, rivers, streams and brooks are closed to all fishing.

Season – Lakes and Ponds North Region – From October 1 through March 31, closed to open-water fishing and ice fishing, unless ice fishing is permitted under a Special law (“S” code).

South Region – Open to ice fishing and open-water fishing all year; general law.

Size Requirements Minimum size for brook trout, splake and arctic char: 6 inches; for landlocked salmon: 14 inches (with a maximum size for salmon of 25 inches in much of Washington and Hancock Counties); for togue: 18 inches; for brown trout: 14 inches in lakes; 6 inches (with maximum of 25 inches) in streams and rivers; for rainbow trout: 12 inches in lakes; 6 inches in streams and rivers.

Bag Limits Brook Trout: Daily bag limit 2 trout on lakes and ponds in South Region (Androscoggin, Cumberland, Franklin, Hancock, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Oxford, Penobscot, Sagadahoc, Waldo, Washington

and York Counties); otherwise, 5-fish limit. Five-fish limit in rivers and streams statewide.

Other Fish Other daily bag limits and minimum lengths (if any): Bass (2 fish; 10-inch minimum; only one longer than 14 inches); Whitefish (3 fish); Smelts (2 quarts); Pickerel (10 fish; no minimum size); Northern Pike and Muskies (no size or bag limit); Eel (25 fish); Shad (2 fish); Striped bass (one fish; minimum 28 inches); Alewives (25 fish).

Go to www.eregulations.com/maine/ fishing/general-law-information/ , find the lake, pond, river or stream you want to fish, and interpret the codes that apply.

Look up the “S” (special rules) Codes.

Learn the open-water season, the ice fishing season (if any), whether you are limited to artificial lures, or catch-and-release, and whether there’s a slot limit. ***** Atlantic Salmon can’t be targeted, and if caught they must be released immediately.

Current saltwater fishing regulations are found at www.Maine.gov/dmr/ recreational-fishing/regs-tips/index.html.

Use of Lead Tackle 1) Lead Sinkers: The sale or use of lead sinkers not exceeding the designated length (2.5 inches) and weight (1 ounce) requirements, is prohibited.

The definition of a lead sinker does not include artificial lures, weighted line, weighted flies or jig heads 2) Bare Lead Jigs: As of September 2017, the sale or use of bare lead jigs not exceeding minimum length (2.5 inches) and weight (1 ounce) requirements is prohibited.

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December 2017 Sunrise/Sunset

December 2017 Tidal Chart

Portland, ME

Portland, ME

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

RISE 6:54 6:55 6:56 6:57 6:58 6:59 7:00 7:01 7:01 7:02 7:03 7:04 7:05 7:05 7:06 7:07

SET 4:06 4:06 4:06 4:06 4:05 4:05 4:05 4:05 4:05 4:05 4:05 4:06 4:06 4:06 4:06 4:07

www.MaineSportsman.com

DATE 17 7:07 18 7:08 19 7:09 20 7:09 21 7:10 22 7:10 23 7:10 24 7:11 25 7:11 26 7:11 27 7:12 28 7:12 29 7:12 30 7:12 31 7:12

RISE 4:07 4:07 4:08 4:08 4:09 4:09 4:10 4:10 4:11 4:12 4:12 4:13 4:14 4:15 4:16

SET 4:14 4:14 4:13 4:12 4:11 4:11 4:10 4:09 4:09 4:08 4:08 4:07 4:07 4:07 4:07

DATE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

8:24 9:14 10:03 10:53 11:45 12:27 1:22 2:21 3:22 4:24 5:27 6:28 7:25 8:16 9:03 9:45

HIGH AM PM 8:56 2:08 9:49 2:58 10:41 3:48 11:33 4:39 — 5:30 12:39 6:24 1:35 7:20 2:35 8:19 3:38 9:23 4:44 10:29 5:51 11:37 6:55 12:05 7:54 1:04 8:48 1:58 9:35 2:47 10:18 3:31

LOW AM PM 2:45 3:25 3:36 4:13 4:27 4:59 5:18 5:47 6:11 5:35 7:05 6:26 8:01 7:20 9:00 8:17 10:01 9:18 11:04 10:23 — 11:29 12:42 — 1:42 1:03 2:36 2:02 3:24 2:55 4:07 2:02

DATE 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

10:23 10:59 11:34 12:11 12:46 1:23 2:02 2:43 3:27 4:15 5:07 6:02 6:58 7:54 8:49

HIGH AM PM 10:58 4:11 11:35 4:48 — 5:24 12:09 5:59 12:46 6:36 1:24 7:14 2:05 7:55 2:50 8:40 3:38 9:29 4:32 10:23 5:31 11:21 6:32 — 7:33 12:39 8:32 1:36 9:31 2:32

LOW AM PM 4:46 3:43 5:23 4:26 5:58 5:06 6:33 5:43 7:08 6:20 7:45 6:57 8:25 7:36 9:08 8:16 9:55 9:00 10:47 9:47 11:41 10:38 12:22 11:30 1:22 12:00 2:20 12:57 3:16 1:52

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——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 15

— Guest Column —

by Ron Joseph

Charlie Davis – The Best Game Warden You Never Met – Part 2 In late winter 1988, Warden Pilot Later landed a plane with skis on Moosehead Lake to pick up Charlie for a flight up the lake to dispatch a blind, brainworm-infected moose. The moose, reported by ice fishermen, had been wandering in tight circles and bumping into fishing shacks.

Charlie made room for me in the back seat of the plane and we flew to Northeast Carry, about 20 miles north of our office.

We landed 100 yards from the sick moose.

Charlie calmly walked up to the animal, double-checked to ensure that no fishermen or cabin was in the flight line of a stray bullet should he miss, and fired once into the animal’s neck. The moose died instantly.

Charlie dug out the bullet— it had severed the spinal cord— with a buck knife. “I’m removing the bullet and all fragments,” he said, “because eagles and ravens will feed on the carcass.

If they accidentally ingest lead, they’ll die of lead poisoning.” Charlie was always thoughtful of wildlife.

Thoreau’s Spring One August day, when Moosehead Lake and my office were dead calm, Charlie took me on a boat ride up the lake to check fishermen. Somewhere north of Spencer Bay, Charlie beached the boat and said, “Follow me – I’d like you to see something.”

We hiked ten minutes over ancient cedar roots, up a slight incline to a mature hardwood forest, and then stopped at a spring bubbling with icecold water.

trucks over C h a r $400 Hanlie reached cock beaver into his shirt live traps to pocket and claim the deremoved a vices didn’t folding aluwork. Charlie minum cone solved nuicup, which he sance beaver dipped into complaints the spring, the old fashtook a drink ioned way: and handed hard work. it to me.

Working “ H a v e a drink of Wardens Charlie Davis (right) and Bruce Farrar share a mostly alone water,” he laugh during a moose hunting season in the early 1980s. in chest waders, he would said, “from a Photo courtesy of the Davis family unplug a beaspring that give me nightmares, too.” ver-plugged culvert, and Henry David Thoreau Delivering Bad News then install PVC pipes in drank from in 1853 when One morning in Authe beaver dam to prevent he and his Penobscot gust 1989 Lieutenant water levels from flooding Indian guide paddled Warden Steve Hall took logging and camp roads. a birch bark canoe up me aside to ask a favor: It could be dangerous Moosehead Lake. We call “Please take Charlie to work too, as we discovthis ‘Thoreau Spring.’ He the Boom Chain Restauered one day. Charlie and stopped here many times, rant for a coffee. I have I were hunched inside a and so have I.” a conference call with plugged four-foot diameTough Work on the Augusta and can’t break ter corrugated metal culDive Team free.” Charlie had spent vert prying apart a large Those who teased part of the night leading a beaver dam with potato Charlie for having the search-and-rescue effort, hoes. best job in Maine—opwith spotlights combing The usual signal to erating a warden serthe 75,000-acre Moosehexit the culvert safely is vice boat on Moosehead ead Lake for a man and a when water starts slowly Lake—probably never boy clinging to a capsized running through a few resaw or heard about Charsailboat. moved sticks. But on this lie’s role on the warden That morning, warday, the dam suddenly service’s dive team. He dens had found the bodies broke prematurely, flushand other wardens on of the man and his son, ing us through the culthe team often dove in victims of hypothermia. vert in a wall of muddy scuba gear to recover Charlie had delivered water and wooden debris. the dead bodies of snowthe difficult news to the Charlie made it to mobilers beneath the ice man’s heartbroken wife shore; I did not. A large of Moosehead, Rangeley before returning to the stick that was lodged and other water bodies. office. He didn’t say much partway in my waders In 1988, he made a in the restaurant other had been driven into the dive in Chesuncook Lake than those conversations stream bottom, pinning to help free a worker tragwith family members me underwater. But beically sucked partway were the hardest part of fore I had time to panic, into a breach at the botany warden’s work.

Charlie’s bear paw-like tom of Ripogenus Dam. hands grabbed the back Dangers of Charlie never talkof my waders and lifted Animal Control ed about the failed resmy head into the air. He Charlie was one of cue to pull the man from freed me by cutting the the few wardens who the hole when all other stick with commercial never complained about options had failed. His loppers. handling nuisance beawife Carmen told me the When I emptied my vers. He also never once death was gruesome, bewaders on the bank, a criticized fellow wardens fore adding, “He didn’t nine-inch brook trout who shot beavers with want to tell me about it flopped onto the ground, .357 handguns or backed because he said it would prompting Charlie to

remark, “Looks like I’ll have to summons you for an illegal fishing technique.”

When I stopped laughing, I said, “You saved my life, Charlie, but now I’m indebted to you.” For many years, he reminded me, “One day, I’m gonna collect on that debt.”

Indebted to Charlie And I am indebted to Charlie. He taught me to be a better biologist and a more compassionate human being, not by his words, but by the way he approached work every day with dedication, humility, and gratitude.

The deeryard poacher arrested by Charlie offered the best compliment I’ve ever heard of a warden. “You know,” the man said, “when I shot that deer and Charlie caught me, he never belittled me. And when he wrote out the summons and handed it to me, I was embarrassed and ashamed. But he made such a positive impression, I thanked him for the ticket. I’ve never broken another game law.

Maybe you think that’s B.S., but it’s the God’s honest truth.”

I’ve often wondered how many wardens have reformed poachers solely by their professional conduct.

There have been many outstanding game wardens in the long history of the Maine Warden Service. But you’d be hard pressed to name a better man than Charlie Davis.

Ron Joseph, retired wildlife biologist, worked with Charlie in the late 1980s.

¶

www.MaineSportsman.com

16 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

Lessons Learned During My Outdoor Career I was very honored to receive an award at this year’s Evening for the Environment, sponsored by the Maine Conservation Voters. The award is the 2017 Harrison L. Richardson Environmental Leadership Award for “writing, speaking, advocating, and inspiring all of us to care for the nature of Maine and her wild places.�

I was especially pleased to receive this award because it’s an important recognition that sportsmen and -women share the same values and goals with environmentalists. In fact, we are all environmentalists. From protecting

wildlife habitat to securing our very best places, we all share those goals as Mainers.

Top 5 Principles of Activism In my acceptance speech, I listed the lessons I learned during a lifetime of political activism, and I’d like to share these lessons with you in this column: 1) Winning is everything. If you don’t win, you don’t get to implement your ideas. Losers get stuck on the sidelines, not even making the cheering squad.

2) Aggressive action is often essential.

I was regularly criticized

for being tough and aggressive at the Legislature, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and elsewhere.

If everyone loves you, you are not doing the job.

3) Don’t make enemies if you can avoid it. Today’s opponent may be tomorrow’s ally. Show appreciation and respect to all people and points of view. This is not inconsistent with the need to be aggressive.

4) Persistence pays off. Many of the most significant outdoor achievements in Augusta came only after years of effort and many setbacks.

5) Compromise is not a dirty word. I am

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groups and leaders both inside and outside the hunting and fishing arena. Alliances between groups that represent us and groups that represent environmentalists, landowners, and the business community, and good relationships with the Governor, legislators, and state agency leaders are critically important.

2) Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife serves all Maine people, not just those of us who hunt, fish, trap, and ride snowmobiles and ATVs. 3) Get onto the field and into the game. Most sportsmen and women believe they are experts on outdoor issues and are not hesitant to complain about things that are going badly. But few belong (Continued on next page)

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——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 17 (Continued from page 16)

to a sporting group and even fewer have talked with their legislators or DIF&W staff.

4) Resident and nonresident sportsmen and -women have a lot in common – most especially our outdoor heritage. We must respect each other and work together. When we fight over issues like who should get to hunt on the opening day of the firearms season on deer, we are all diminished and weakened.

Ich Bin Ein Environmentalist When I served on the SAM Board in the late 1970s, it was drilled into me that environmentalists were our enemies.

However, somewhere along the line, perhaps while sitting in the woods hunting deer, it occurred to me that I was really enjoying the environment that surrounded me. I was an avid wildlife-watcher and a traveling birder. I loved to kayak. I even hiked.

Yikes! I was an environmentalist!

Seriously, we are all on this planet together, and the natural environment sustains us.

We can’t afford to fight about this. And that was my message at the MCV event, and my message to you in this month’s column in The Maine Sportsman. ***** White-tailed Deer are a Threat to Millions of Forest Acres “White-tailed deer overabundance is a threat to millions of acres of forest land in the Northeastern United States.” That first sentence in a report from the U.S. Forest Service really grabbed my attention. And as I read the report, I was even more astonished.

White-tailed Deer in Northeastern Forests: Understand and Assessing Impacts, was prepared by Thomas J. Rawinski. It tells a tale of massive destruction by deer in the northeastern United States. Deer have been particularly devastating to forests in Pennsylvania. “Now, because of deer, many forests are disintegrating,” notes the report.

The report is designed to help us understand the impacts of deer on forests and plants, including lots of information on how to detect deer damage. It’s really a very interesting report, even if you think you know a lot about deer.

The good news was the encouraging sentence, “White-tailed deer and forests can coexist in a healthy balance.”

I learned that the U.S. deer population has “skyrocketed in recent decades to reach an estimated 30 million animals.” Wow! Degrading the Understory At high populations, deer “degrade nearly every square foot of understory vegetation. Suffering the consequences of their own overbrowsing, whitetails become undernourished, undersized, and more susceptible to winter die-off.”

A Pennsylvania study found that deer begin to have serious negative impacts on forest vegetation when density is 20 deer per square mile.

It was noted that “most of northern New England would fall into low-impact categories.” I guess there is some good news in Maine’s low population of deer, at least for our forests, although not for our outdoor economy.

The report notes that “the minimum home

range for a whitetail is about 200 acres, and the maximum can approach 1,000 acres.” That surprised me because the deer in my neighborhood roam freely on much more than 200 acres.

In the report’s final section, titled “Mitigating Negative Impacts,” I read the following: “With harvests approaching record levels in many States, deer hunters are enjoying unprecedented success.”

Maine is certainly not one of those states!

Venison Abounds in Many States, But At What Cost?

The final section also reports: “By traditional

measures, wildlife managers should be delighted. And yet, the bounty of venison and recreational hunting opportunities all too often come at a cost – a cost to native ecosystems, a cost borne by woodlot owners, and a cost understood by people old enough to remember when tick-borne diseases were unknown, when crops could grow without fencing, and when deer-vehicle collisions were rare. Segments of society enjoy benefits of deer aplenty while other segments are left to pay the associated costs.”

“In much of the country, the challenge today

is returning deer densities to ecosystem-friendly levels,” concluded the report, giving us a final quote from Stephen Horsley that is troubling: “It doesn’t matter what forest values you want to preserve or enhance – whether deer hunting, animal rights, timber, recreation, or ecological integrity – deer are having dramatic, negative effects on all the values that everyone holds dear.”

You can read the entire report here: www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/ special_interests/white_ tailed_deer.pdf

¶

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18 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

Maine Wildlife: Yellow Perch

by Tom Seymour

Yellow perch rate as a most user-friendly fish. Always cooperative and plentiful, yellow perch are a favorite of early-season ice fishermen.

Indeed, when winter favors the State of Maine with safe ice in December, people – sometimes entire families – flock to warmwater lakes and ponds in search of yellow perch and chain pickerel. This stands as a prelude to the more demanding sport of fishing for salmonids, something that in most places begins on January 1st.

Even these early-season hopefuls, though, don’t always keep the yellow perch they catch. Most people leave their yellow perch on the ice, justifying their actions by telling themselves they are “feeding the eagles.” The main reason most folks seek yellow perch in the early season is because of the predictable fast action that these spinyrayed fish offer.

A few people, though, have discovered just how tasty yellow perch really are, and these individuals keep their fish to take home and fillet. Yellow perch fillets are white and flaky and lend themselves to being fried either in a batter or simply by rolling in flour or a seasoned fish-coating mix and then being fried in a skillet. I can stuff myself on fried yellow perch fillets and still ask for more. They are that good.

Alternate Method Given my druthers, I would rather catch one trout in open water than 10 trout through the ice. Because of that, instead of heading to the nearest trout lake, my wintertime excursions take me to places that hold yellow perch, white perch and as of late, black crappies.

And as much fun as we all get from seeing flags flying, I much prefer catching fish on a rod-and-reel combination rather than pulling them in by hand, as we must do when using ice-fishing traps. Something about that pulsating, tugging sensation on a short fiberglass or carbon jigging rod teases my senses like nothing else can.

And yellow perch readily fall to slowly fished ice-fishing jigs. Sometimes a single hole will produce up to 10 or more fish, one after another. And that kind of fast action, especially when using a lightweight jig rod, makes a trip out on the ice well worth the effort. www.MaineSportsman.com

Native Fish As much as we love our trout and salmon, it is interesting to note that two species of trout, brown trout and rainbow trout, are not native to Maine. Rainbow trout hail from the American west, while brown trout are transplants from original European stock.

Even landlocked salmon, the darling of most salmonid fans, are only native to a handful of Maine waters. Most of our salmon lakes depend upon stocked fish to provide the fishery.

Big Perch Perhaps size has something to do with the lack of angler participation regarding yellow perch. Most people just can’t get too worked up over an 8- to 9-inch yellow perch.

However, those same folks who eschew yellow perch eagerly spend much of the night in smelt shacks, angling for a few dozen fish that are considerable smaller than the smallest yellow perch.

For those who might consider trying yellow perch, here’s something to consider.

Yellow perch might run small in one pond, but another lake or pond may well hold fish that come in at twice the size. Indeed, my Peterson Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes says that yellow perch can measure up to 16 inches long. That, in anyone’s book, is a huge yellow perch.

While chances of landing many 16-inch yellow perch are slim, lots of Maine ponds hold yellow perch of 12 inches and more. A 12-inch yellow perch fights well and gives us two beautiful, thick fillets.

When fishing for yellow perch or any other panfish, it helps to match the size and weight of the fishing tackle to the size of the intended quarry. An ultralight spinning outfit, fitted with no heavier than a 4-pound-test line, makes the perfect tool for landing feisty yellow perch. A fish of 10 - 12 inches puts up an excellent account of itself when taken on tackle commensurate with its size.

Dan Baty pulled this yellow 1.88-lb. yellow perch out of a Lincoln County pond on march 26, 2017 -- the fish is currently being certified by The Maine Sportsman as a new state record.

Unsung Charm While mostly unrecognized as such, yellow perch, with their yellow sides and dark bars, present a striking picture. But because they are common and scorned as “trash fish,” few people even recognize the subtle patterns and color shifts on yellow perch. Yellow perch, Perca flavescens, are present throughout Maine. Even mighty Moosehead Lake contains yellow perch.

Also, when thinking of a survival food, yellow perch come immediately to mind. Easily caught, even from shore, these ubiquitous panfish represent a vast, untapped source of protein.

Yellow perch spawn in very early spring and can be taken from shore by casting out near downed trees or other, similar structures. Females, usually the larger of the two, lay their eggs and then move on. Males quickly move in to fertilize the eggs.

A parasitic yellow grub, Clinostomum, sometimes attaches to yellow perch. While unsightly, these are easily removed, don’t affect the quality or taste of the flesh. Note that perch from some waters, particularly cold, deep lakes and ponds, see little or no Clinostomum infestations.

So this December, if ice conditions permit, grab a rod and give yellow perch a try.

They deserve your attention and efforts.

Jigging with a panfish jig, the plastic-bodied kind, works fine, as does fishing with a metal jig such as that old standard, the Swedish Pimple. And remember, yellow perch, like Atlantic mackerel, are attracted by another fish’s efforts to shake the hook. So by catching a fish, quickly unhooking it and dropping that jig right back down to waiting perch, we may keep a school engaged for quite some time.

And spiny-rayed fish, too, include their share of non-natives. Largemouth bass are imports that, mostly through illegal introduction, have become commonplace in the bottom half of Maine. Likewise black crappies, which are a fine panfish but a non-native nonetheless. Black crappies can and do compete with native species – a real shame and a headache for fisheries managers (see further discussion in my “Midcoast” column in this issue).

Yellow perch, however, are native to Maine and even much of neighboring Canada. Why this species, which has every right to live here in Maine, isn’t more popular among anglers is a mystery.

¶

—

——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 19

Get Ready for the 2017-2018 Snowmobile Season

by Cathy Genthner

Maine is known as the premiere destination for snowmobiling in the northeast because of our state’s interconnected network of wide, groomed trails. Genthner photo

Advances in technology are leading to faster, more powerful snowmobiles. Yamaha came out with a turbo sled in 2017, calling it the “Sidewinder.” The machine sports a 200-horsepower engine and can reach speeds of 120 miles an hour.

In fact, high-power machines from all manufacturers are getting a great deal of attention again this year. Arctic Cat has its go-fast versions – the 9000 Series models, including the Thundercat. Polaris offers speedy models such as the 800 Rush Pro-X, while Ski Doo competes

Go fast on the lakes, go off-trail where allowed, take advantage of Maine’s renowned ITS network, be safe, dress comfortably, find accommodations that fit your style, and if you’re a beginner, the State and MSA have great training programs and materials just for you! with the 850MXZ and other powerful and innovative models.

Yamaha’s Sidewinder comes in a mountain version designed to go off-trail. Other manufacturers also offer off-trail models, since more and more riders are seeking a “wilderness” or “outback” experience.

“On an open lake, where it is safe, there

are no speed limits,” said Ozzy Osmond, sales manager at Reynolds Sports in Buxton. “People like the excitement of going different places, including off-trail with deep powder over your head, because it is a new kind of challenge.”

Osmond also described the enthusiasm with which some riders head into the winter sea-

son. “Snowmobile buyers can be a very hardcore group,” he explained, “and a lot of these people will get a new sled every year, or every other year.

They invest a lot of money into the sport, and it’s their passion.”

Maine’s Great System of Trails While it is trending to go off-trail, local snowmobile clubs put a lot of

money and effort into an interconnected trail system that allows landowners to know where people are on their property.

“The sleds designed for off-trail riding can be great in a place like Wyoming where there are a limited number of trails, but in Maine snowmobilers who go off trail often go to places where they shouldn’t be, and that can create landowner and safety issues,” said Bob Meyers, executive director of the Maine Snowmobile Association.

He described the importance of the extensive, (Continued on next page) www.MaineSportsman.com

20 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

Snowmobile Special (Continued from page 19)

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interconnected trail system in Maine. “We have been working with landowners and the Warden Service to encourage people to stay on the trails,�

Meyers said. “If riders call the MSA office and ask about where to go off trail, we don’t make any recommendations. From a safety aspect, they might think their cell phone is going to rescue them.

They are more likely to be tired and hungry at the end of the day, and the temptation is to drive on a plowed road to town,� said Meyers. “It is an issue we are trying to deal with by working with landowners to see what we can do.�

Safety’s the Key to Enjoying the Sport By law, snowmobilers must operate on the right of center on the trail, whether on a straightway or corner. Experts caution to ride defensively, because even though you are doing everything right, another rider sharing the trail could be using poor judgment.

Experienced riders say that safe traveling means remembering several tips, including: • Keep an eye out for wild animals on the trail. Hitting a moose, deer or bear won’t do either of you any good, so give animals plenty of room and keep your distance. • Ride at a safe speed for the existing conditions. These can vary greatly, depending on the time of day, temperature and amount of precipitation. • Drinks are for after the sleds have been put away for the day. • Always fill out an itinerary form before leaving for trip (available from the MSA), or at the very least, tell someone where you will be and

when you plan to be back home. • Don’t snowmobile alone. • Hand signals are critical on the trail, and a publication showing illustrations of these standardized hand signals are available from the MSA. • Carry a basic repair kit, map, compass and emergency supplies in case of a breakdown on the trail. • Check weather reports before heading out, as well as ice thickness with locals before crossing a lake or pond. • Dress appropriately in layers, and wear a helmet, which can save your life in the event of an accident, or prevent you from injuring yourself, whether from frostbite or from low-hanging tree branches.

Lodges, Outfitters and Accommodations Even if you don’t own a snowmobile or the equipment and clothing needed to hit the trails, there are a number of lodges and outfitters that can supply you with everything you need to enjoy a day on the trails for around $200 a day, per person.

Lessons are often included for free.

Maine is a desirable destination because of the diversity of experiences it offers – everything from mountains to big woods and wide-open farming country. Weather permitting, there are even some coastal areas available for sledding.

The same can be said for comfortable accommodations. You can find everything from rustic lodges in the deep woods to full-service hotels featuring indoor pools and saunas, depending on the experience you are seeking and how much you are willing to spend.

(Continued on next page)

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——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 21 (Continued from page 20)

Safety Course, and Inexpensive, Interactive CD The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife offers a sixhour snowmobile safety

course. The course is recommended for everyone – especially novices – although it isn’t required by law. The course can help riders feel more comfortable before they get out on the trails.

The snowmobile safety course consists of instruction in areas including 1) proper operation and handling of the machine; 2) snowmobile laws; 3) emergency and survival; 4) map and com-

pass; 5) self-help first aid; and 6) environmental and landowner ethics.

Those who complete the course and pass the final exam receive a certificate. Courses are offered at different loca-

tions across the state.

There is also a CD available to help the beginner snowmobiler become more familiar with the sport. Several years ago, the MSA produced (Continued on next page)

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—

Snowmobile Special (Continued from page 21)

a CD titled, “Ride Right, Ride Smart.� The CD is interactive. It’s made for home computers, and takes the rider on a virtual snowmobile trip across Maine.

The CD utilizes video and text to help the student learn the basics of snowmobile safety. At various times during “the trip,� riders must “refuel� their sleds by taking a quiz.

Upon completion of the course, the rider can print out test results and a completion certificate.

The CD “Ride Right Ride Smart� is available

free of charge, although MSA requests a $5 handling fee to cover postage and packaging. Send your request along with $5 per CD to Maine Snowmobile Association, PO Box 80, Augusta, Maine 04332. “This summer was like last summer, and we think we are going to have a lot of snow,� said MSA’s Bob Meyers. “We are very bullish on another good winter. It is climate change we can believe in.�

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Ice Fishing for Large Northern Pike; a/k/a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Water Wolvesâ&#x20AC;?

by Steve Vose Northern pike (Esox lucius, which taxonomists confirm translates roughly to â&#x20AC;&#x153;pitiless water wolfâ&#x20AC;?) is a freshwater species native to the northern hemisphere. The elongated and pointed head of the northern pike bears a resemblance to a pole-like weapon known as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;pike,â&#x20AC;? resulting in the common name for these fearsome fish.

Anglers refer to northern pike using a variety of other unofficial names, including â&#x20AC;&#x153;green snake,â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;northernâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;gator.â&#x20AC;?

Equal Opportunity Eaters Pike are whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s known as â&#x20AC;&#x153;ambush predators.â&#x20AC;? They use their olive-green shading to blend into shallow vegetated areas where they quietly wait to attack unsuspecting prey species.

Once an unsuspect-

2006

Successful ice fishing for huge, toothy pike requires a sturdy ice fishing trap equipped with 45-pound black backer line, a 25-pound black steel leader, and a 2/0 reinforced hook.

A 34-inch northern pike hauled out of the Androscoggin River by the author, Steve Vose.

ing animal swims within striking distance, pike move with surprising speed and voracity, using

their razor-sharp teeth to capture and decimate any small creatures unfortunate enough to cross

their paths.

Scientists studying pike have examined their stomach contents and

found all manner of creatures, including ducks, muskrats, mice, baby loons, amphibians, invertebrates and numerous varieties of fish.

Unwelcomed (by Some) Import to Maine Pike were initially introduced into Maine in the 1970s, as the result of an illegal introduction into the Belgrade Chain of Lakes. Subsequent migration within the Belgrade Lakes drainage, and additional illegal introductions, have expanded the distribution to many lakes and ponds throughout the central and southern parts of the state.

Pike are among the largest freshwater fish in Maine, with larger specimens topping the scales at more than (Continued on next page)

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lectable to eat and fine table fare when breaded and deep fried, pickled, or made into chowder.

Ice Fishing Special (Continued from page 23)

30 pounds.

While many angling purists refuse to pursue pike, due to the fishâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s involvement in reducing salmon and trout populations in many Maine lakes and ponds, others see pike as a species worth of catching.

For me, I well under-

stand that pike are here and here to stay, and while I do not want to see the species further spread to other waters, I enjoy catching and dispatching them on the bodies of water they currently inhabit.

Unknown to many sportsman, pike are de-

Ice Fishing for Pike My favorite way to catch pike is through the ice. Those wishing to pursue these leviathans on the hard water, would be well-served to make sure they have the gear and terminal tackle hardy enough to hold up to

these powerful creatures.

This means having a sturdy ice fishing trap with a large spool filled with 45-pound black backer line. I prefer the black because feel it is harder to see underwater than the dark green.

Next, make sure the spool spins easily and doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t snag or catch.

Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important, because once a large pike

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While I have tried all of these different selections over the years, my favorite bait for BIG pike are 6-inch emerald shiners. Emerald shiners flash and shimmer in the water, creating a vibrant

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hits, it will likely spool line off the reel at a great rate of speed. Many an inexperienced pike angler has been â&#x20AC;&#x153;spooledâ&#x20AC;? by these powerful fish, so make sure to completely fill spools with backer line.

Next, the backer line should be tied to a 25-pound black steel leader, and to the other end of the leader should be attached to a 2/0 reinforced hook. These â&#x20AC;&#x153;pre-madeâ&#x20AC;? leader/hook assemblies can be found at Dickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Wal-Mart and many country stores throughout central Maine.

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——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 25 (Continued from page 24)

visual attractant that pike are unable to resist.

If you bait your hook with an emerald shiner that’s so big it keeps tripping your ice trap flag all by itself, trim off a portion of the shiner’s tail fin with a sharp knife to reduce its leverage against the hook.

By working together in this way, more pike will be caught.

Tough Tackle Improves Chance of Success Through the years, I have been successful in pulling three pike in the 36-inch to 38-inch range through the ice using this exact set-up, and I’ve encountered no problems.

Where to Fish During the early weeks of the ice-fishing season (December), pike can be found in shallow water near weed edges and points.

As winter progresses (January), pike move to deeper water near offshore humps and bars.

By the end of the season (February), pike begin moving back to shallow waters again near weed edges and points.

Be especially sure to look for pike near river mouths, where bait fish congregate.

While I understand their argument, I still prefer to use the heavy steel backer line, for two reasons: First, I have fished with these individuals, and I’ve not noted that their catch rate on BIG pike is higher than mine.

(I will, however, admit that their catch rate on small pike [5 to 6 pounds] is greater than mine.)

Second, if I do get lucky enough someday to hook a pike weighing 30 or 40 lbs, I want to know I have the VERY BEST and HEAVIEST terminal tackle possible, in order to give myself the best chance to land the trophy behemoth.

¶

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Designate one person to play the fish. A second angler manages the reel and makes sure the line doesn’t become tangled, while a third person holds a gloved hand to each side of the hole, making sure if the line snaps at the last moment, the pike doesn’t escape.

Some of my angling brethren prefer to go lighter than this set-up, instead employing 20- to 30-lb monofilament line instead of steel leader.

Their reasoning is that they feel more pike may be lost with their set-up due to breakage, but ultimately more fish will be caught because the pike are less likely to feel the line upon striking.

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See state-of-the-art Fisher® Plows at these locations: ARUNDEL Weirs Motor Sales GMC 1513 Portland Road 207-985-3537

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MANCHESTER Manchester Motors 1011 Western Avenue 207-622-2400

WEST BATH Bath Auto Parts 116 State Street 207-443-4274

AUGUSTA O’Connor GMC Chevrolet 187 Riverside Drive 800-452-1911 www.MaineSportsman.com

WISCASSET Wiscasset Auto Parts 693 Bath Road 207-882-6389

—

——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 27

A True Maine Tradition...

Sporting Camps Trophy Fishing, Hunting & Four-Season Recreation!

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Allagash Lakes Region Quality Cabins and Lodge on Haymock, Spider and Cliff Lakes American Plan Lodge • Housekeeping Cabins • Year Round

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28 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

— The Maine Sportsman’s Featured Maine Sporting Camps —

Welcome to Matagamon Wilderness Matagamon Wilderness is located 26 miles west of Patten, and 1-1/2 miles from the North Entrance of Baxter State Park.

Nestled on the East Branch of the Penobscot River, and featuring a private boat launch on Grand Lake Matagamon, the cabins and campground are right off ITS 85, known for its scenic snowmobiling.

For sportsmen, Matagamon specializes in guiding hunters as they participate in trophy black bear, moose, whitetail deer, coyote and partridge hunting, in some of the best habitats in Maine. The region also offers native brook trout and landlocked salmon fishing on some of Maine’s most pristine waters.

The camp is currently booking for 2018 spring and fall hunts.

There are plenty of other outdoor activities available, for each season of the year: • Spring/Summer: Boating, canoeing, fishing, hiking, kayaking, mountain biking, swimming, relaxing, tubing in the river, and camping fun.

• Fall: Hunting, fishing, leaf-peeping, and relaxation.

• Winter: Ice fishing, snowmobiling, cross country skiing, snowshoeing and relaxing.

The Cabins at Matagamon Wilderness are located on a quiet road across the river from

the store. Two of the cabins, Deer Yard and Bears Den, have new bathroom facilities. All the cabins are great four-season getaways.

Cabins include the “Moose Shed,” the largest cabin, which offers an indoor full bath, running water and refrigerator. Its combination of double beds, twins, queens and bunks sleep 12 people.

For those who prefer camping out to cabins, Matagamon Wilderness Campground is a nice quiet, family friendly campground, and the owners welcome all campers to come and enjoy the facilities.

There are plenty of campground activities in which to participate all year long, including: Annual Lobster Bake: On the Saturday of

the 4th of July weekend, they hold a huge lobster bake, with all sorts of food – lobster, hamburgers, hot dogs, potatoes, corn, eggs, onions, chips, soda, and blueberry cake.

Pot Luck Dinners: They hold a pot luck dinner at the picnic area in front of the store periodically throughout the camping season.

Bean-Hole Bean Dinners: They also periodically have bean-hole dinners, and provide the bean-hole beans, homemade bread or rolls, and water, lemonade or ice tea.

Joe & Sue Christianson have owned Matagamon for 19 years. Joe is a Master Guide, and Sue is a Master Cook.

It’s a family operation, including the assistance of their son, Allen, who is a Master Maine Guide and who works at the camps, as does his wife Brandi. Also on site is one of their daughters, Katie Gowell and her husband Sasha. Sasha has his Maine Guides License, and provides guiding services for guests at the camp. Katie is the Owner of “The Moose is Loose Ice Cream Shoppe,” and both Katie and Sasha tend Gowell’s Bait, where they sell night crawlers all year round.

Call to book your stay at Matagamon, 207446-4635.

¶

Welcome to Bowlin Camps Lodge A Maine Sporting Lodge, remotely situated on the East Branch of the Penobscot River serving hunters anglers and outdoors enthusiasts, since 1895.

Located in Township 5, Range 8, Maine, Bowlin Camps Lodge is a full service sporting camp, open year round with nine comfortable cabins with indoor plumbing. Situated on the last piece of real wilderness left in the lower 48 states and adjacent to thousands of acres of the Katahdin Woods & Water National Monument lands, Bowlin Camps offers a true wilderness experience without sacrificing comfort. Registered Maine Guides and staff work hard to ensure their guests have an enjoyable, safe stay in the Big Woods of Maine.

Bowlin Camps Lodge Welcomes Anglers Bowlin Camps Lodge has everything a fishing enthusiast could ask for, and something for every class of fisherman. The East Branch offers some of the best fly fishing in Maine, with naturally-reproducing brook trout, landlocked salmon and smallmouth bass. Hundreds of lakes, streams and ponds make up the watershed of the area. Since the spring of 2010, at least 250,000 Atlantic salmon fry have been stocked from the shores of Bowlin Camps Lodge each year.

West of Bowlin Camps Lodge lies Baxter State Park, 235,000 acres with excellent fishwww.MaineSportsman.com

ing for brook trout, salmon and lake trout/ togue in over 40 ponds, and Grand Lake Matagamon, a few miles upriver from camp, that runs to a cold 95-feet deep.

Bowlin Camps Lodge Welcomes Snowmobilers Bowlin Camps Lodge is one of the highlights of the North Woods of Maine, with wellgroomed trails and an accessible location.

Stay in the woods in one of the nine cozy cabins, directly on North ITS-85 trails. Cabins are kept toasty warm while their guests are riding the trails. Kitchen staff will fix breakfast and lunch, and take your reservation for dinner!

Just passing through? Stop in and warm up in the heated lodge with a public bathroom, perfect for your sledding group to fuel up, warm up, and be on your way. Or stop in for breakfast or for their famous grilled,

homemade round-bread sandwiches, hot soup and chili, and whoopie pies. During snowmobile season, the kitchen is open seven days a week, 9 AM to 3 PM, serving breakfast and lunch. Dinners are by reservation only and require 24-hour notice.

Bowlin Camps Lodge Welcomes Hunters Traditional Maine deer hunting along the Penobscot River is an experience to remember – true wilderness hunting in remote but accessible T5-R8 and surrounding unorganized territories.

The area has a healthy herd of deer with some big old bucks that have never seen a human. Bowlin is adjacent to the thousands of acres of the Katahdin Woods & Water National Monument protected lands, allowing the bucks to grow to huge sizes, with some dressing out well over 200 lbs. and scoring consistently in the 140 range.

Deer this size do not grow big by making mistakes, so the hunter must be flexible, determined and ready. There are no attractants or food plots. A week in the woods after these deer will teach you a lot about yourself. No wimps allowed on this hunt!

Bowlin Camps: Ph: (207) 267-0884, info@ bowlincamps.com; www.bowlincamps.com, P.O. Box 251, Patten, Maine 04765

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——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 29

— The Maine Sportsman’s Featured Maine Sporting Camps —

Bradford Camps: What’s So Exciting About the Middle of Nowhere?

Are you kidding me? Not only does the Middle of Nowhere have a lot to offer that you cannot find anywhere else; it also does NOT have all those things that you cannot get away from!

What Bradford offers: • One of the best wild salmon fisheries in Maine, Munsungan Lake • Wild trout ponds with no one else in sight

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Sunsets that are soundless, except for the loon’s call Miles and miles of woods, and the largest old-growth forest in New England Floatplanes and pilots to show you how big 3.5 million acres really is Moose, bear and birds for the true hunter Fun hospitality, clean cabins, and delicious meals

What Bradford doesn’t have: • Traffic – not even a stop sign • Reception… no, really – no Wi-Fi • No pressure, no boss, no desk Contact Bradford Camps at 207-7467777, Maine@BradfordCamps.com or visit BradfordCamps.com You will feel like you are on a great vacation, because you are!

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Mt. Chase Lodge & Cabins Situated on the shores of Upper Shin Pond, in the north Maine woods, Mt. Chase Lodge lies just down the road from Katahdin Woods & Waters national monument lands bordering the eastern side of Baxter State Park.

The national monument lands offer incredible opportunities for fishing, mountain biking, cross country skiing, hiking and exploring.

Your hosts, Mike & Lindsay Downing, bring many years of experience in the hospitality industry and the outdoors. Lindsay was raised at Mt. Chase Lodge, roaming the woods and interacting with guests as a child.

Lindsay’s parents, Rick and Sara Hill, operated the lodge from 1976 to 2015, laying a solid foundation for Mike and Lindsay to carry on the family business. In 2011, Mike and Lindsay together completed the Appalachian Trail, and they are well prepared to help you plan your next adventure. Be sure to check out the option of staying in a yurt at Mt. Chase!

Mt. Chase Lodge has become increasingly popular for group events, such as waterfront weddings, business conferences, family reunions and group retreats, and can comfortably accommodate up to 45 guests, with full bathrooms, automatic heat, electricity and cooking equipment.

Mt. Chase Lodge offers eight private rooms, and five private cabins, with a rustic

yet elegant feel. Guests staying in the lodge or cabins have a choice of meal plan. Guests wake up to the smell of freshly-brewed coffee and baked goods fresh out of the oven. And evenings, guests relax in the lounge and enjoy a leisurely family-style meal in the dining room, overlooking the water.

New England’s best kept trails run hundreds of miles in any direction, and breathtaking scenery awaits you around every turn.

Begin your next snowmobiling adventure at Mt. Chase Lodge, with easy trail access to ITS 85 and ITS 114, right from your cabin door.

Mt. Chase can accommodate riding groups in the lodge, with plenty of parking for vehicles and trailers. Ride in from a long day on

the trails to find a warm fire and your favorite beer or wine, along with a much-deserved three-course meal with warm artisan bread.

Relax and rejuvenate with a dip in the hot tub, then start all over again in the morning!

Upper Shin Pond is an angler’s dream.

Rental boats are available for a nominal fee, or you can bring your own and launch right from Mt. Chase Lodge. The Pond has a unique structure where brook trout, landlocked salmon and smallmouth bass co-exist in excellent numbers. The East Branch of the Penobscot River, the Sebois River, Hot Pond, Grand Lake Matagamon, Grand Lake Sebois, Snowshoe Lake and Hay Brook are just some of the many waters available at Mt. Chase Lodge.

For the fly fisherman, early morning and late afternoon fly hatches provide for fast action all summer long with wet or dry flies.

The inlets, shoreline and outlet of Upper Shin Pond are the best areas for the avid fly fisherman.

Mt. Chase also offers a new dining experience for locals and visitors alike. Call in advance to schedule a dinner for one, or a dinner party with a group. For reservations: 1517 Shin Pond Rd, Patten, ME 04765; (207) 5282183; mtchaselodge.com

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www.MaineSportsman.com

30 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

Aroostook’s Late Hunting, Early Fishing Options I was 13 years old when I shot my first whitetail –a memorable occurrence for a skinny, myopic, outdoor-oriented freshman in high school.

What makes the event truly noteworthy are the facts that the deer weighed 207 pounds and the one shot double-lung kill was at just over 210 yards with my Dad’s .270 Husqvarna on a foggy, rainy, 32° November morning.

It was also the first of many three-day Thanksgiving weekend hunts we shared at a remote and rustic deer camp at the tip-top Crown of Maine.

for the last-ditch effort of tagging a whitetail using a muzzleloader.

The Allagash-to-Escourt woodlands rank among my favorite three late-season deer haunts, especially for the last-ditch effort of tagging a whitetail using a muzzleloader.

Allagash to Escourt The vast wooded wilderness beyond Allagash village was just that in the early 60s – thousands of acres of thick forest land with little or no access except by foot, horseback or a sparse number of rough trails suitable for a four-wheel drive.

That all changed a couple of years before my memorable big buck was tagged, as two major logging operations descended on the region. As lum-

Prime Areas for Black Powder Hunters My dear departed father-in-law, Gil Bouchard, was a logger and mechanic extraordinaire, but an even better deer hunter! A black-powder hunter well before the sport’s current heyday, he related to me on more than a few tall-tale sessions that his most satisfying bucks were the ones taken with a “smokepole.”

Being a Fort Kent native, he haunted the North Woods beyond Allagash, enjoyed lifelong

wasn’t so simple, but that’s always part of the thrill of pursuing wary whitetails, even when the area is prime and populations burgeoning.

Conditions have certainly changed notably over the last half-century – most significantly, far better and more extensive access, but fewer numbers of deer. Yet the Allagash-to-Escourt woodlands rank among my favorite three late-season deer haunts, especially

bering continued, new hunting areas opened to public access, and some of the finest whitetail woods in Maine became available.

During the mid-60s, it was almost impossible to drive the logging roads for a full day without spotting a deer. Employing stalk-and-spot tactics along recently harvested skidder trials frequently provided sightings as well.

Connecting for a shot

(Continued on next page)

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The wooded area from Allagash to Escourt produces many fine bucks each year, especially for those hunting with muzzleloaders during the first week in December.

(Continued from page 30)

success, and downed some big deer. We shared some great outings, and I’ve a few areas to recommend for this year’s black powder gunners.

South of Allagash village between Pelletier Brook and the Allagash River are a spiderweb of woods roads, ridges and dark-growth cedar swales. Investigate near Gerald Brook, and a bit farther south along East Twin Brook. Old tote roads and hauling roads offer access as well as great spots to track and trail or set up a ground blind along a well-traveled trail.

On the other side of the St. John River, just past Dickey and before Little Black Checkpoint, turn onto the Walker Brook Road to Dickey Checkpoint, then take the Camp 106 Road.

Off-shoot trails and twotracks abound for the last week of whitetails and black powder.

To reach my favored forest and woods roads of Escourt, head up Haffey Road past Little Black Checkpoint and then onto Rocky Brook Road. Spend time hunting along the Beaver Brook and Boat Landing Roads for a high percentage chance at sighting a buck.

Study Delorme’s Atlas Map 66, B-1, and Map 70, B-5 for an overview the Escourt locations, while

Map 66, E-4 and D-1 cover the Allagash hot spots.

Last-chance muzzleloader hunting promises far fewer hunters to contend with, so less spooky deer, and a good chance of fresh snow cover for tracking and trailing.

And well, worst-case scenario, it’s an extra week of communing with nature!

Fresh Ice I’m not a big fan of long winters, more so as

decades pass, but I’ve lived in Aroostook County all my life so I make the best of it.

One of the December events I do appreciate is fresh ice, thick enough to safely support a smelt fisherman.

While I enjoy all types of ice fishing, for some reason Maine’s smallest game fish brings me a great deal of enjoyment – these sometimes finicky, (Continued on next page)

Scott Carlin of Presque Isle truly ended his deer season last fall on a high note -- not only did he take a deer with a muzzleloader, but it was a brute, with a braggingsize rack.

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Aroostook County (Continued from page 32)

A folding ice shanty on a tote sled offers the perfect outfit for smelt jiggers who enjoy visiting different lakes. Only a few are open to smelting as soon as safe ice forms, and in the authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience the best jigging is within the first week or two. A portable shelter allow anglers to hopscotch around as each lake becomes safe to fish.

always feisty silver-darters are as tasty to eat as they are fun to catch on a handline.

While there are always peaks and valleys of action throughout the long season, past endeavors prove that for two or three weeks after ice forms, smelt jigging is generally fast and furious, day or night.

Being able to go smelt fishing after work or even after supper if you live

Smelt may be Maineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s smallest gamefish, but they are great fun to catch. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re real taste treat as well, and they are often the only quarry on local lakes as soon as safe ice forms. Anglers who work days can enjoy an evening outing after their jobs are done.

Sometimes, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not all about the ice fishing.

Here, Dave Ash, Brad Barbarula and Josh Ash enjoy marinated moose tenders cooked on a Coleman stove right out on the lake.

As soon as a safe layer of ice forms on certain Aroostook lakes, local smelt jiggers can drill a few holes and pull a few tasty silver tidbits onto the ice.

With only a handful of of Aroostook lakes open to smelting as soon as a safe layer of ice freezes in, many local fishermen with their own portable ice shanties and snowmobiles can load up and visit the first available location for a day trip.

When shuffling across â&#x20AC;&#x153;first iceâ&#x20AC;? to your smelt camp, check ice depths carefully and frequently â&#x20AC;&#x201C; unplanned polar bear dips are a no-no. close to a smelt-populated lake or pond is another pleasing option for working folks.

Pleasant Pond in Island Falls remains a favorite for early season smelting â&#x20AC;&#x201C; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one of a trio of Aroostook lakes open as soon as safe ice builds up.

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Birch Point Lodge offers a lunch counter, bowling alleys, and sundries to visiting fishermen. They also rent comfortable cabins along the shoreline as well as smelt shanties in the cove behind the main building.

The cove boasts a long gravel bar about 14-20 feet below the surface.

Smelt gravitate to this structure and constantly swim along its length.

Whether you rent a hut, take your own portable pop-up or fish in the open, drill holes along

this bar for sure action.

Along with their other offered amenities, the folks at Birch Point Lodge always have up-todate info on fishing and ice conditions.

Smelt-Catching Gear & Locations I prefer monofilament hand lines of 6- to 10pound test, with a small, non-lead split shot about a foot above the hook.

Gold hooks are my favorite, red next and ordinary black if thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all there are â&#x20AC;&#x201C; size 10 works excellent. Often, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll at-

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tach a second dropper hook 18-20 inches above the lower one to up my odds.

A piece of hot dog, Vienna sausage or canned shrimp make a good starting bait â&#x20AC;&#x201C; then filet and cut chunks from the first smelt caught for fresh meat that these voracious little cannibals love.

Drive I-95 on Route 2 north or south, then take Pond Road to the lodge with lakeside parking.

View DeLormeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Map 52, B-4 for approach roads and an overview of Pleasant Pond.

Other first ice smelt jigging options include Portage Lake in Portage as well as Big and Little Machias Lakes beyond 6-Mile Checkpoint.

December weather conditions differ every year in The County. However, what we never seem to lack, however, is frozen water.

Check ice depths carefully and frequently as you shuffle onto â&#x20AC;&#x153;first iceâ&#x20AC;? smelt lakes â&#x20AC;&#x201C; thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fun fishing to be enjoyed this month, and unplanned polar bear dips are a nono.

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——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 33

Oregon Elk Hunt – Third Time’s a Charm for Joe – Part 1 Back in August of 2016, my good friend Kevin Sultair from Torrington, CT sent me a text, asking “You interested in going on a bowhunt for elk in Oregon in 2017”?

My first text back: “Hell yes!” My second text: “Let me ask my boss at work and get back to you.” You see, the hunt would be taking place in late September, and unfortunately for me that’s one of my busiest times at Unity College.

September is the time of year my team of college counselors travels across the country in search of future game wardens, wildlife biologists, fisheries biologists and future environmental professionals. I’m left holding down the fort while they’re doing the hard work of recruiting.

The elk were less than 150 yards away, and coming fast!

Just then, I felt a breeze kiss the back of my neck. Suddenly, every animal on the hillside did an about-face. As quickly as it had started, my first morning’s hunt was over.

For the past 18 years, a September vacation has been nearly impossible.

In fact, I’d only been able to escape once in 2011 to bowhunt elk in Idaho.

I feared my boss would say no, and I’d miss out again.

Thankfully, my boss was sympathetic to my plea. She only asked that I come up with a plan to cover my absence and she’d grant my request.

Within the week, the plan was created, and she gave me the green light.

After chatting with Kevin about the specifics, I committed. We were ready to book the hunt.

A Dream Come True?

Kevin had located a reputable guide in Oregon who offered a DIY bowhunt for elk. Sportsman’s Dream Adventures, M2D Camo Properties and Sparky Sparks (yup, that’s his name) promised lots of animals and a little help for its DIY hunters.

I was slightly nervous about committing to another DIY hunt, as my last two elk hunts hadn’t ended in success. This bowhunt, like my previous two, was far less expensive than a fully-guided bowhunt for elk.

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Anticipation We stayed in touch with Sparky all year.

He sent us pictures, answered our questions and kept us excited about the hunt.

I had to prepare. I

(Continued on next page)

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These days, elk bowhunts during peak rut at a can cost upwards of $10,000, not including a license. This one was less than a third of that.

After speaking with the guide, seeing pictures and learning about the rules of the ranch, I was absolutely confident this was the right choice. We booked the hunt.

needed to practice shooting and I needed to be sure I was in shape.

For reader’s familiar with my column, I wrote about my 2011 elk hunt and confided I was not in good enough physical condition to truly enjoy myself in Idaho. There was no way I would let that happen this time.

I came up with a training plan that included four days a week of running and sprinting, and a healthy diet that would help me lose 15 pounds.

In June, I began shooting my bow regularly. From my communication with Sparky, I knew proficiency with my bow out to a minimum of 60 yards would give me a good chance at success.

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34 â&#x20AC;˘ December 2017 â&#x20AC;˘ The Maine Sportsman â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

Big Game (Continued from page 33)

be hunting did contain quite a bit of timber, it was also very open in places. Think of large expanses of sage brush and prairie grasses.

I practiced shooting out to 80 yards in an effort to become extremely confident at 60 yards. By September, I was ready!

From the day we booked, to the day we left for Oregon, time flew by. Though Kevin and I stayed in touch all summer, planning and strategizing, I almost felt rushed when the day arrived. I guess anticipation of this hunt had

scrabbled my brain a little. This would be our best chance at bagging an elk to date, and both of us knew it.

Northeast Oregon â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Beautiful, and Loaded with Elk! Our flights to Oregon were mostly uneventful.

The weather was cold for September, and a little rain greeted us as we pulled into town.

We quickly caught up with our host â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ike,â&#x20AC;? who was a worker on the ranch weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be hunting.

Ike toured us around, explained the patterns multiple herds of elk had been

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following, and pointed us in the right direction for our hunt the next morning. Our confidence levels soared as we spotted a couple of cow elk with calves the first evening as we glassed the ranch.

First Hunting Day On our first morning of the hunt, we were immediately into a scattered herd of roughly 200 animals. As the elk made their way up a sagebrush-covered hill into the timber, Kevin watched from the east and I waited in the pine forest to the west. The damp air was filled with the sounds of chirping cows and bugling bulls.

Was I going to get my chance on the first morning?

As I still hunted with the wind in my face toward the sounds of the closing herd, I was very excited. The calls were getting closer. There was a super loud, raspy bull sounding off every 10-20 seconds and getting clos-

Joe and his good friend and elk-hunting compadre, Kevin Sultair of Connecticut, are pictured here as they spend a windy afternoon on a hillside glassing for elk.

The pair got into the elk each day of their 2017 trip. Afternoons were spent glassing the hills and open grasslands in search of elk approaching the large alfalfa and timothy fields being grown by farmers. The strategy is to spot approaching animals soon enough to get in front of them and set up for a shot.

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I knew I had to be careful. As long as the wind stayed steady, my chances were good.

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appearing and opening into tall sage brush and grass.

I could move no farther. The elk were less than 150 yards away, and coming fast! From my small tree, I could see about 80 yards upwind.

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Shortly after the first cow came into view, I felt a breeze kiss the back of my neck. As fast as it started, my morning hunt was over. The changing winds of the Oregon hills thwarted my efforts.

Every animal on the hillside did an about-face, gathered 400 yards away, and headed off to an adjacent ranch via a short draw and large open area.

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Katahdin Country Night Life Howling at the Moon Coyote hunting has evolved into a serious year-’round sport, and the Katahdin Country – and its Registered Guides -- welcome hunters looking to match wits with these wily predators.

Predator hunting in the Katahdin Region has exploded in recent years, with no closed season on coyotes during daylight hours and a special coyote night hunting season that opens December 16 and runs through May 1.

With liberal season dates and no bag limits, it’s clear that the effort to reduce coyote numbers has the full blessing of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (DFI&W).

The DIF&W charges a small fee ($4) for the night hunting permit as an add-on to the standard hunting license.

The Eastern coyote gets justifiable credit for decimating Maine’s deer herd, causing many deer hunters to oil their rifles, stock up on lead and take serious aim at these cagey predators.

In order to make a significant dent in the population, coyote hunters need to cull large numbers of the wild canines in order to help the deer herd recover.

One biologist I talked to claimed it would take a 75 percent reduction in the coyote population to seriously impact the following year’s litters.

He claimed a 50-percent eradication would result in an equal population after the spring litters.

Even if his numbers are off a bit, that’s some scary statistics to consider.

Guides Now Specializing in ’Yote Hunts Hunting the four legged canine has turned into a sport of its own, and dedicated varmint hunters use specialized tactics to take down the ’yotes. In fact, many of the local guides now devote a portion of their resources specifically to cater to coyote hunters.

Yes, coyote hunts now rate as mainstream in the guiding world. A perusal of Registered Maine Guide websites confirms their active role in promoting this fast-growing sport.

While outfitters have flawlessly made the transition to guiding for coyotes, deer hunters have an even easier time taking the leap. Any good deer rifle will do, and

standard hunting attire works just fine. In fact, putting time in on a favorite deer rifle can only prove beneficial next fall.

A few inexpensive items that I’ve noticed dedicated coyote hunters utilizing include 1) shooting sticks; and 2) a white, one-piece coverall for blending in with the snow.

For longer distances and aging eyes, I also bring along a set of binoculars. ’Yote Guides Guides take the time to set up stationary blinds that overlook bait sites.

Some blinds actually feature a little bit of propane heat to take away that chilly Katahdin breeze that licks the cold off the snow. This meth(Continued on next page)

Katahdin Country coyotes make great sport, both during daylight hours and under the stars (with a special night hunting permit). Harvesting these cagey predators also helps the region’s deer herd. Sheldon photo

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36 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

Katahdin Country (Continued from page 35)

od provides comfort even when the weather turns crummy.

They often supplement the blind with some type of hand-held or electronic call.

The client is at an advantage here, because the guide freshens up the bait selection frequently in order to keep coyotes interested in the area.

The old saying goes that coyotes live their lives hungry, and die hungry.

Remember that adage when dealing with these opportunistic canines.

Outfitters graciously let the client choose between day hunting and night hunting. It’s really rewarding to squeeze the trigger on one during the daylight hours as the whole hunt unfolds in full view. I’ll venture to say that it’s a tad safer, too, and the trophy

photos look better in the sunlight. However, that same daylight that exposes them also reflects off the hunter – something to keep in mind.

With that said, night hunting provides an adrenalin rush that every coyote hunter should experience.

It makes sense to do some test night-shooting before the hunt. Figure out the best position/ angle for the light so it doesn’t glare. The light shouldn’t shine into the back end of the scope.

Many guides use a red lens, which they say helps to keep the wild dog from running at the first sign of artificial light.

A good light man goes a long way.

Outfitters will assist in the decision to hunt coyotes during the day or evening, based on moon

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phases and weather.

They all have their preferences, but who wouldn’t want to shoot a howling coyote on a full moon.

Run ’n Gun For those who don’t like to sit and wait, a tactic called roaming and calling has turned into an effective strategy.

Speaking “wolf” has turned into an art form. Electronic calls, perfectly legal in Maine for coyotes, take some of the work out of learning to converse with these predators. With that said, read the directions before pushing buttons.

I have both a handheld dying rabbit call, and an electronic call. By listening to the well -researched electronic call and practicing a bit with the hand held unit, I feel comfortable with either unit. Both of those simple calls have lured in coyotes and foxes.

The internet provides

a great deal of information on what type of call to use and when to use it. For best results, do a little research before conversing with these wild dogs.

When roaming and calling, it’s my experience that things happen real fast or not at all. For that reason, I use a “run and gun” tactic in order to cover a lot of ground.

With no action or return calls within 25 minutes, I’m on to the next spot.

Most dedicated coyote hunters believe concealment rates as a top priority. A good blend of terrain-matching camouflage works well. Once snow covers the ground, consider the previously-mentioned white coveralls.

Coyotes mate from January to March, so as winter progresses, those big male coyotes will respond to a solicitous female by voicing a highpitched whimper. Guides

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can help zero in on exactly when the mating season kicks in locally, but don’t shy away from using specialized tactics at the key moment.

Monitor Wind Direction Hunters need to take the wind into account, just as in whitetail deer hunting.

Coyotes often circle around and try to come in from behind. Once they get behind a stand or blind, the wind starts working in their favor.

I figure I have no more than a 300-degree cone to monitor before the wind turns me in.

That means monitoring multiple shooting lanes in that 300-degree cone.

Coyote hunting has evolved into a serious year-’round sport, and the Katahdin Country welcomes hunters looking to match wits with these wily predators.

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——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 37

Dominant Dave Cousins, and Christmas Toys First off, a year-end congratulations from the Maine Sportsman to Maine’s own professional archer, Dave Cousins.

Likely the greatest archer that’s ever lived – but unfortunately unknown to most Mainers – Cousins continued his exploits in 2017 despite having battled through injury for much of the season.

I first wrote about Cousins in last year’s April issue, and revealed that his long career is slowly winding down.

But even as his professional years are nearing an end, he can still dominate world archery competition, and possesses the ability to even render Robin Hood ordinary.

In 2017, Cousins won two more national championships at both the USA Archery and National Field Archery Association’s (NFAA) Outdoor Field Championships. This brings his total national titles to approximately 40 (I’ve have lost count).

At the NFAA Championships in July, he ran away from the field beginning on day one after “bullseyeing” four arrows at each of the 70 and 80yard targets, then doing it again on day two, equaling the national record (which was already his).

He also returned to competition in Europe at the Pro-Archery Series events “Cartel Classic” in Mullenborn, Germany and the “Fort van Lier” event in Belgium. These events are invite-only, and boast the top 50 archers around the world.

The archery courses include targets placed at

volved, so extreme disbecoming a tances and better shot angles, somehappens reltimes requiratively swifting archers to ly. And we all shoot through know having tunnels, up children be mountains, successful or off the whenever rooftops of they learn a tall buildnew skill is ings. Couskey to repeatins ran away Dave Cousins with 4 arrows through the bullseye of an 80ed efforts and with the title yard target at the NFAA Outdoor National Championships. at the Cartel His two fingers indicate it’s the second day in a row he having them Classic, also arrowed bullseyes at this distance, helping him devastate stay interested in any acwinning the the competition. Photo courtesy of D. Cousins tivity.

Beiter AccuAs Dave often says, racy Award for shooting Keep it Simple & Stay “Success occurs when the most X-rings (bullTraditional preparation meets opporseyes) during the weekI’m a compound shoottunity.” I know I’ll enjoy end long competition. er through and through. his successes as long as In August at “Fort van I like tinkering with my he chooses to compete.

Lier” in Belgium, despite setup, trying the newest Christmas for the Kids being in extreme discomand greatest gadgetry on Tired of the kids fort with a broken foot, the market and adjusting spending too much time Dave held a three-point things ever so slightly in front of the latest techlead over Thomas van Eil to see how it affects my nological gadgets? Get of the Netherlands after groups. That said, I tell them into archery!

Day 1 of the competition. all parents when purOver the years, I’ve The last day showed lead chasing a first bow for a noticed many parents changes between the two child to buy a traditional get kids involved in aruntil the final, 80-yard bow, not a compound. chery only when they’re target that sat high up on At the end of the day, old enough to hunt. In my a 3-story rooftop (shoottraditional equipment is opinion, this is too late, ers shot from the ground). simple and easy to goof because by then most Cousins dropped a off with. And who doesn’t kids are participating in point on his last arrow, like to goof off? other sports and don’t and thus took second to Despite the fact that I have time for archery. the champion. He did, always practice with my Getting kids involved however, win another Becompound bows, whenat younger ages also iter Accuracy Award for ever a kid comes over I increases the chances hitting the most X-rings take out my recurve or they’ll continue with the over the course of the self-made PVC bow besport their entire lives. competition – 11 more cause, as an example, Archery is healthy, than the next-best. with these, I can shoot safe and fun, and it’s a I don’t know how standing, kneeling, lying great way to divert focus much longer Dave Couson my back or even upon something simple yet ins will compete on the side down. While sitting, satisfying. I know when world stage, but for any I can even put my feet on I practice, my entire conarchery lovers out there, the riser and draw back centration is on the shot I suggest following him with my hand and shoot. process, which allows my at his competitions, Kids love it. mind to escape the daily which are often streamed I shoot cheap arrows headaches society brings live online. Watching off the shelf of my trato us every day. the world’s best archers ditional bows so I don’t Also, the learning is certainly a humbling need a rest. I don’t worry curve in archery is quick experience to average about sights, because all when first getting inshooters like myself.

shooting is done instinctively. If I break a string, it literally takes less than a minute to change to another. I shoot with fingers so no need for a release. I can toss my recurve on the ground without worrying about how it will shoot when I pick it back up again. To the contrary, if I dropped my compound, I’d have a heart attack.

For these reasons, it’s easier to get a kid interested in archery through traditional equipment, and just as importantly, going traditional is generally much cheaper than getting outfitted with a compound. Quality traditional youth bows, along with all paraphernalia, can often be purchased for less than $100.

Another thing to keep in mind – although it’s now winter in this beautiful state, there are many indoor shooting facilities throughout Maine. A quick Google search or a review of the www.mainearchery.org website will provide a list of places to go.

Also, with ice fishing season around the corner, grabbing a bow and target and bringing it out on the ice is a great way to pass the time while waiting for flags to pop.

At the end of the day, getting a child interested in any outdoor activity is important. The sport of archery has existed for thousands of years, and the greatest archer of all time lives right here in Maine. He will likely retire soon, so we need to get the next one practicing now to take his place.

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38 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

Fishing Regulations Are Just Too Complex By mid-December, deer season has come and gone, and outdoor enthusiasts look to early-season ice fishing for fun and relaxation. And while Moosehead Lake doesn’t open to hardwater angling until January, regulations on other local ponds allow for ice fishing in December.

And speaking of regulations, I sometimes have to scratch my head for a moment while attempting to decipher our fishing laws. For instance, in checking this year’s fishing regulation booklet, the one paragraph on general fishing laws for lakes and ponds in the North Region states: “From October 1 – March 31: Closed to open water and ice fishing.”

I hadn’t paid attention to this little blurb up until now, so it’s easy to see why it startled me.

Small trout ponds make great place to introduce children to fishing. Larry Farrington photo

After all, “Closed to open water and ice fishing” seems pretty emphatic.

So taken at face value, we might easily conclude that lakes and ponds in the north close on October 1 and don’t reopen

until April 1.

Of course I knew this wasn’t the case, but saw how this stand-alone paragraph could convince new or prospective anglers to look no further.

If that one little line

included words to the effect, “For exceptions, see special season codes at bottom of this page,” that would avert confusion by directing readers to the A and B seasonal regulations.

The A code allows for ice fishing and open water fishing from December 1 through April 30, while the B code permits ice fishing and open water fishing from January 1 through March 31.

So an understanding of the A and B codes give the answer to the puzzle, but why should this all be so difficult in the first place? Most of us are familiar with the A and B regulations, but those new to navigating the labyrinth of rules may well end up totally confused.

A final thought on this topic is that if you ever have the least amount of doubt regarding fishing regulations, call your regional office of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife (DIF&W). Phone numbers for the regional (Continued on next page)

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offices are listed on the inside of the back page of the fishing laws booklet.

And by the way, if politicians eventually succeed in allowing us to file our taxes on a postcard-sized sheet of paper, maybe in time our fishing regulations will follow suit. We can hope!

Early Hotspots Mountain View Pond, six miles north-west of Greenville, sees frequent and heavy stockings of brook trout throughout the season. Two stockings this past spring placed 5,400 9- to 10-inch brook trout in Mountain View Pond (called “Fitzgerald Pond” in the online stocking report), along with another 1,400 13-inch brook trout released this past fall. That’s a whole lot of brook trout for a 550-acre pond.

The beauty of placing so many trout in a small body of water such as Mountain View

Pond is that they, being contained in a relatively small area, are more available to anglers than if that same number of fish were released in a much larger pond or lake.

Remember, too, that in most instances, brook trout are stocked in waters where they have little chance to carry over or where there are limited spawning opportunities.

So even using a smaller figure, say 500 trout, in a small pond, means more angler opportunity than those same fish being released in a large lake.

This tactic represents an economical use of sportsman’s dollars.

Placing fish where anglers have every chance of catching them gives us some great fishing that wouldn’t exist otherwise.

Mountain View Pond has a brand-new boat ramp and parking area.

Look for it in the DeLorme Atlas on Map 41, C-1.

Prong Pond Prong Pond in Beaver

Cove, on the opposite side of Moosehead Lake from Mountain View Pond, gets managed for trout in a similar manner.

Springtime stockings of brook trout this year saw 4,200 10-inch brook trout released here, and another 1,100 13-inch brook trout stocked this past fall. Prong Pond covers only 427 acres.

So here again we have lots of catchable-size brook trout being released in a relatively small pond, increasing greatly the odds of angler success.

While Mountain View Pond holds only brook trout, Prong Pond also contains lots of white perch and smallmouth bass, a near-guarantee that flags will fly on any given day.

As with most stocked trout ponds, including both Mountain View Pond and Prong Pond, an “A” special law code is in place. An “A” listing signifies that the bag limit

on trout is two fish per day.

Given their relative proximity, an angler could easily fish both Mountain View and Prong Ponds on the same day. Find Prong Pond on Map 41, C-3.

Shirley Pond Shirley Pond, a 60acre pond located in a Currier-&-Ives setting in Shirley Village, also sees – for its size – a large number of stocked

Welcom ome to

trout each year. This past spring, DIF&W released 600 10-inch brook trout here, and later in fall, stocked another 300 13inch brook trout.

Being somewhat off the beaten path, Shirley Pond doesn’t get a lot of angler use. On the other hand, that’s the beauty of this picturesque little pond. It is possible to go out, especially on a week(Continued on page 41)

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New Truck for the Off-Road Traveler I finally took the big leap and purchased a “new-to-me” truck for getting way back the big woods hunting and fishing. The old Chevrolet Avalanche (2003) had served its purpose well, but its time of usefulness had simply come to an end.

I purchased a 2010 Toyota pickup from a family member. He always takes good care of his vehicles, and the truck is in great shape with around 115,000 miles on it. Toyotas are known for their reliability all over the globe, and I’m confident that I’ll

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I’ll soon be installing other features I need for backwoods travel, including a locking differential, skid plates, lift kit, premium struts and springs, roof rack, bumper guards and a flat olive drab paint job that I can touch up with a spray can. easily get another couple hundred thousand miles from this tough truck.

The truck has the basic features I need for what I do – four-wheeldrive, a tow package, six-cylinder engine, access cab and bed liner.

Right away, I would like to set it up with some super-aggressive tires, a lift kit, a cap to cover the bed and a good undercoating.

In the future, I’m sure

I’ll look into installing other features that I feel I need for backwoods travel, including a locking differential, skid plates, lift kit, premium struts and springs, roof rack and a bumper guard.

I bought the truck on October 11, and I just had to get it in the woods the very next day. As I slowly crept through the along the logging road looking for grouse, I smiled and

thanked myself for holding out for an automatic transmission. Although some traditionalists may disagree, I hate trying to sneak through the woods in a truck when you have to constantly play with a clutch and stick-shift.

I just put the truck in low and creep along with my eyes focused on the woods.

This new truck is a heater-hunter’s dream.

Heater Hunting I’m not really what you’d call a “heater hunter.” I actually get out of the truck and walk through the woods chasing wild game wherever they take me.

For the true heater hunter, leaving the vehicle is not an option. The term “heater hunter” says it all – this kind of hunter will not abandon the source of heat. In this case, it’s the warm and comfy inside of the cab of the truck.

And let me make myself perfectly clear here … I’m not against hunt(Continued on next page)

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ing in this fashion, but I only employ this method when it’s absolutely necessary. Sometimes an old hunter can’t get around in the woods anymore, or they acquire some kind of physical condition that doesn’t allow them the luxury of hoofing it through the forest, so they cruise the back roads and get out every once in a while to shoot.

When my time comes – and it’s not that far away – I’ll become the old duffer with the trickedout, camo-clad, grandpa truck – cruising every backwoods road available; searching for all sorts of game animals as soon as the season arrives.

The heater hunter who appalls me – and we all know who they are – is the lazy guy who doesn’t really have a true hunter’s heart. This is the guy who just wants to kill something in the easiest-possible manner.

If these hunters can quickly step outside of their heated trucks in their sweat pants and t-shirts, take a shot, and then get right back into their warm trucks, then

A new purchase for the Off Road Traveler columnist -- a 2010 Toyota Tacoma. This is the BEFORE photo -- watch for modifications and improvements that will be detailed in future columns. William Clunie photo

they are happy and feel like real hunters.

Right Reasons I certainly don’t want to come off as some kind of hunting elitist. If you like to drive all day and call that hunting… please, have at it – it’s just not for me.

The trucks I own take me to the places I like to hunt or fish. When I get there, I get out and hit the woods like any other self-respecting outdoors person.

This doesn’t mean I won’t stop along the way to my destination and get out and blast a partridge that happens to be offering me a safe and sound shot. I love eating partridge – and my wife en-

Moosehead (Continued from page 39)

day, and find no other anglers there. It’s like having your own private trout pond.

Access the pond couldn’t be easier. A parking area near the dam just off the Upper Shirley Corner Road allows anglers to park just a stone’s throw away from good trout fishing.

joys the taste of partridge – so I will drop a grouse every chance I get.

During the month of October, I will always have an orange hat and vest in the truck. I keep a cooler filled with a few water bottles and gallon-sized Ziploc baggies (perfect for cleaned grouse breasts), as well as a few extra snacks.

I’m prepared to hunt birds all of October, November and December.

At a moment’s notice, I can easily grab my shotgun and hunting vest, get in the truck and head out the door to chase grouse.

When I get a bird, I find a little stream, fielddress the bird, rinse it off, pat it dry, bag it and put it in the chilled cooler.

Post Hunting Season I’ve got a few ideas for the new truck that will have to wait until after hunting season. I’ll be busy shooting grouse, chasing that big buck, and then helping the crew from Western Maine Coyote Control drop coyotes this winter.

However, as soon as spring comes around, I have some big plans for the new truck.

I’d like to get it upgraded for the woods by adding on an off-road package that includes skid plates and bumper guards in the front and back. Then I’ll add a locking differential and any other features that will make the truck better at creeping through the

Note that an “A” code is in place at Shirley Pond. Also, it’s only two lines per person, not a big deal at all, given the amount of trout in a small space. Find Shirley Pond on Map 41, E-2.

New Business To close, let me present an idea that might make it easier for anglers to better understand our often-complex fishing regulations. I see that in recent years, guide

rough spots.

My new truck came with a great paint job, but it won’t take long to scratch that up. I want to finish the truck with a military-style paint job in a flat, olive drab that I can easily touch up with a can of matching spray paint. Off road travelers always beat up the paint jobs on their trucks, so I want a durable finish that can handle this rough treatment and then be easily re-finished with a quick touch-up job by me.

I figure I can keep the truck’s finish in good shape with a spray can of the flat olive drab, as well as a can of flat black for all of the remaining trim work.

If I don’t go with this unique paint job, I’ll look at a complete wrap job in a similar color combination.

Whatever I finally decide, I’ll outline it all here in this column to let readers see the progression from the purchase to the finished product.

In the meantime, I’ve got to get out in the woods and shoot some birds for supper!

¶

schools have grown in popularity. These instruct participants in the ins and outs of passing the Maine Guide test. This gives me an idea.

What if someone began a half-day course on understanding the fishing laws? It could be a lucrative sideline for an enterprising individual, and it would help de-mystify our often-confusing fishing regulations.

¶

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42 â&#x20AC;˘ December 2017 â&#x20AC;˘ The Maine Sportsman â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;White Ghost of the Backcountryâ&#x20AC;?

Disappears on Bill With the sound of Art Corsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Swiss rabbit hounds bawling in the distance, I eyed three head-high balsams to break up my human outline. Too many times, the fleet-footed snowshoe hare has spotted me and made last minute moves â&#x20AC;&#x201C; leaving me behind and alone in Maineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s winter playground.

Each season for the last few years, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve hired Corson and his team of bunny-busters to chase down the elusive Lepus americanus. Both Corson and his hounds do a good job of keeping the bunnies moving, but more often than not, the rabbits find a way of staying just

I hire a guide to help me pursue snowshoe hares, since it would be difficult for an average sportsman like me to own enough hounds to successfully orchestrate a Maine snowshoe hare hunt without ending up in divorce court. out of pellet range. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why they call them the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;White Ghostâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;,â&#x20AC;? chuckled Corson. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m fairly sure the likeable guide was just trying to soothe my bruised ego.

My original â&#x20AC;&#x153;Stand in the woods and shoot the rabbit when it runs byâ&#x20AC;? theory immediately failed. After each near-encounter, I had tried to get a little stealthier.

No Plowed Roads Last season presented some additional chal-

lenges. It seems that Weyerhaeuser Corp, who bought out the Plum Creek Corp. and much of the land in the Jackman Region, doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t keep the roads open (as in â&#x20AC;&#x153;plowedâ&#x20AC;?) like Plumb Creek did. Two of the areas we previously hunted now required a snow machine and traditional snowshoes to access.

Unfortunately, this tends to congregate hunters on the fewer plowed roads. We drove as far

as we could and donned snowshoes for the rest of the trip. Snowshoes, a small backpack and a 16-gauge side-by-side make for an enjoyable excursion just the same.

First-Time Hunter My son, Matt, accompanied Corson and I on the outing. Matt had attended two other hunts without getting off a shot.

With that in mind our skilled guide paid a little extra attention to this â&#x20AC;&#x153;virginâ&#x20AC;? rabbit hunter.

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The three balsams formed a triangle, and had a little bit of a depression in the center.

Slipping in between the trio of trees, I matted down a three-foot circle with my snowshoes, and inconspicuously waited.

Matt positioned himself along the edge of a clear-cut some 200 yards away, under the watchful eye of Corson.

With the stage set, we listened to the sweet sound of three rabbit hounds in the distance, headed our way.

Of course, just because the hounds sound way off doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to take a nap. Of(Continued on next page)

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——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 43 (Continued from page 42)

ten, the rabbits have a 15 to 30-minute lead on the pack. That’s right – the “white ghost” shows up when the hunter least expects it.

Hunting snowshoe hares in front of sharpnosed hounds has really piqued my interest in recent years. Training and running the hounds takes a special skill set, not to mention mega-hours of preparation. Huntsmen also have a large selection of dogs to work with, and that makes a big difference as the hunt wears on.

For example, Corson will run three to four dogs at a time, but bring six or eight with him.

Sometimes he replaces a dog that acts tired.

Usually the afternoon hunt has a new team, while the morning crew rests. Occasionally he’ll run a younger dog with the experienced group to evaluate the young gun’s

performance in the big leagues.

Still a Chance for “Average” Hunters And, of course, the information age includes tracking the zigs and zags as these hounds follow their quarry through

the thick underbrush.

Because the bunnies take the dogs on a cross-country excursion usually measured in miles, they each have a GPS tracking collar feeding real time data back to Corson. It also helps him to position

of the guides who advertise here on the pages of The Maine Sportsman can provide this important service.

Hunters who don’t have the time or resources to do a professional

hunters into favorable shooting lanes.

It’s difficult for the “average” sportsman like me to own enough hounds to successfully orchestrate a Maine snowshoe hare hunt without ending up in divorce court. Many

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(Continued on page 45)

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Fly Fishing Etiquette for Beginners – and Those of Us Who Should Know Better Anglers should always be considerate of the other folks they fish with – always being careful to avoid tangling lines, splashing your fly within their casting area or worse yet, walking through that space, chatting too much, or the ultimate mistake….hooking them.

Some anglers might think, “Well that etiquette stuff is fine for groups, but I enjoy fishing by myself.” That’s great, but even a solo angler will sometimes meet another angler on the stream or at the boat launch.

Below are a few thoughts that will help you become a more considerate angler.

1) Don’t talk too much – fishing time is precious and might be the only time an angler has to enjoy the babbling brook rather than someone babbling.

2) If you walk up a stream and encounter another angler, walk around the fellow using the land rather than splashing through the water.

Once past the person, move well away from

Always cast to either side of the boat, never forward or backward. Clunie photo

them before fishing.

3) Never cast into water that another angler is trying to fish … it is rude and you know it.

4) At the boat launch, help the folks ahead of you launch their craft. If someone is coming in and you are waiting to launch, help them get their boat loaded on the trailer safely.

If everybody took this attitude, the fishing world would be a better place.

Drift Boat Etiquette Drift boat fishing requires its own rules of etiquette: 1) Don’t wear cleated boots in a drift boat.

2) Before the guide launches the boat, inform them of any time constraints so they can

Gene Bahr

tailor the float to your schedule. Hopefully you have worked this out well ahead of time.

3) Never allow your cast to go over the head of the guide rowing the boat.

4) Don’t hog the bow position all day.

It’s the best spot, and usually anglers switch throughout the day.

5) All casting is done directly to the left or right of the boat, to avoid tangling lines or hooking the guide.

6) The bow angler can cast to the rear ONLY as far as the oar (middle of the boat); the stern angler can cast approximately the same distance back, but must lift the line when it drifts near the oar. This avoids tangling line in the oar or tangling the other angler’s line.

7) When passing

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another drift boat or wading angler, get your line out of the water and don’t cast again until the guide tells you to. Keep conversations low and to a minimum, both with the fellows in your boat and the others you are passing.

8) Don’t ask too much of your guide while he’s rowing/navigating the boat – he’s concentrating on keeping the boat afloat. Tie your own flies on, get your own drink/food out of the cooler, and let the guide do the rowing.

9) Don’t just stand there when the guide is loading or unloading the boat. Ask how you can help launch or bring in the boat.

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11) ALWAYS LISTEN TO THE GUIDE. They know “their” water, what flies are working, where the fish are and the techniques to catch the fish, and how to keep the boat afloat. If you don’t want to listen to the guide, you should have just gone out and tried to catch the fish on your own.

Special Note Sometimes these rules can be altered, such as on those occasions when a particular guide might not want his anglers to get in the way of loading or unloading the boat, or launching or bringing in the boat. Just ask what the guide prefers, and honor his or her wish.

Some of these rules might seem kind of picky, like this one: Don’t ask the guide a question when they’re busy with something. I don’t know how many times I’ve had a client’s tippet between my teeth while tying on a fly and had them ask a deep and involved question. Remember, the guide has his back to the stern angler and the bow angler has his back to the guide – neither angler can see the guide’s face, so communication can be tricky.

A good rule for all anglers in any situation would be to simply listen and listen closely, and then try your best to do exactly what the guide (Continued on next page)

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——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 45 (Continued from page 44)

asks of you. The guide will then determine the angler’s limitations and be able to position them accordingly.

An angler’s success when fishing with a guide really is determined by how closely the angler can follow instruction.

Anglers who attempt to “take control” of the fishing or try their own method of catching fish will ul-

timately lose.

Saying that, it is just fine to ask about trying different methods or techniques – guides don’t know everything, and I have guided plenty of highly-experienced anglers who certainly didn’t need my help at all.

Let me tell you something, though … these expert anglers were always the first to ask a question about what was working the best. They listened

Jackman Region (Continued from page 43)

Maine snowshoe hare hunt can still get in on the action by putting boots on the snow.

Rabbits wear travel lanes in the snow and leave tracks and droppings for astute hunters to take advantage of. Find an area with plenty of sign, and the stalk is on.

Rabbits frequent low-slung conifers and the swale associated with the edges of bogs.

A perennial favorite, Johnson Bog (Delorme Atlas, Map 40, E-2) serves as a good example of prime snowshoe hare habitat.

The recently state-purchased Cold Stream (Map 40, D-2) drainage offers thousands of acres of bunny cover. The acreage north of the Moose River Road (Map 40, B-2)

closely and then did their thing. It’s all about respecting the guide on “his” or “her” water.

Be Honest A final rule: Be truthful about your fishing skills.

This is an issue I have encountered mostly during the initial phone conversation, after a client has committed to coming up to fish and we begin working out the

details of a fishing trip.

I want to learn about the client’s level of fishing experience, and find that many anglers attempt to impress the guide with a lie about their fishing ability.

When an angler lies about fishing prowess, it confuses the guide and wastes valuable fishing time. I’ve been fooled sometimes to the point where I almost get halfway through a fishing

also provides viable rabbit hiding spots.

Bunny-busters looking to move rabbits will need to strap on a pair of snowshoes and head towards these classic covers. During daylight, rabbits need a reason to move, so plan on covering some ground. It’s slow, methodical work, much like still hunting for deer.

“Got ’im!”

Before long, I caught some movement out of my right eye. I twisted my head and looked at the stopped rabbit – BUSTED! – looking right at me. A right-handed shooter, I needed to shoot left-handed to have any chance for a shot.

I looked down, closed my dominate eye and swung hard to the spot – the empty spot. The “White Ghost” was gone. One minute we were eyeball-to-eyeball, and the next

trip before I realize the angler I have in the boat cannot even cast a line properly. What a waste of good fishing time!

It usually doesn’t take me that long to figure things out, and once the angler’s level of ability is determined, the guide can adjust accordingly and a better fishing experience can be had by all parties.

¶

second he had disappeared. Apparently the three balsams had betrayed me.

A few minutes later, while I analyzed my failure, I heard Matt’s 20-gauge empty both barrels. The next sound working through the balsams was music to my ears.

“You got ’im!” yelled Corson.

By the time I wiggled my way loose from the trio of balsams and broke into the clear cut, I could see Corson and Matt celebrating a successful hunt. That bunny disappeared from my view, only to head in Matt’s direction. By then the dogs had gotten closer, forcing the “White Ghost” to pick up the pace.

Matt earned that bunny, as it was on the move full throttle when he fired.

“Matt’s a ‘virgin’ no more!” a smiling Art Corson exclaimed.

¶

MAINE WILDLIFE QUIZ: Yellow Perch by Steve Vose Yellow perch (Perca flavescens) belong to the Percidae or perch family of fishes. They are native to the North American continent, but due to their popularity as a sport and commercial game fish, “bucket biologists” have caused them to become dispersed widely from their original predominant range of the eastern United States and Canada.

Yellow perch have gold- or yellow-colored bodies, with distinctive dark vertical stripes.

This unusual color pattern has given them the nickname “tiger trout” by some anglers.

The dorsal fin contains several sharp spines that work to protect the fish from predators and provide unsuspecting anglers with an unpleasant surprise.

Yellow perch are a relatively diminutive species of game fish, averaging 5-8 ounces.

It is not uncommon in health yellow perch waters to occasionally catch large adults reaching 10 inches and weighing 10 ounces.

Prior to this year, the largest yellow perch caught in Maine was a monstrous 1 pound 10 ounce specimen taken out of Worthley Pond in East Peru. However, the Maine Sportsman is currently evaluating the documentation for angler Dan Baty’s perch, which weighed in at 1.88 pounds (1 pound, 14.08 ounces).

Once certified, this will stand as the new state record.

A gregarious species, yellow perch often travel in large schools, making fishing for this delectable game fish exciting once anglers locate them. Rarely taken from

Wildlife Quiz Questions 1 To what family of fishes do yellow perch belong?

2. What is the primary defense weapon of the yellow perch?

3. What is the native range of the yellow perch?

4. What do male yellow perch release on the yellow perch eggs to fertilize them?

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

waters deeper than 30 feet, yellow perch prefer feeding and breeding in shallow waters.

Perch are prolific breeders, with male yellow perch reaching sexual maturity at three years of age, females at four. Perch spawn in the spring, typically in April and June. Mating occurs with females first releasing a sticky, gelatinous mass of eggs that adheres to dense vegetation and fallen trees. Males release milt around the eggs to fertilize them. Eggs and sperm are randomly mixed, and soon after fertilization, the young hatch. Yellow perch typically live 9-10 years Body size predominantly determines the diets of yellow perch. Juvenile yellow perch eat small insects like mosquitoes, while the larger adult yellow perch dine on crayfish and the eggs and fry of other fish. In turn, bass, walleye and northern pike all prey on perch.

What’s the weight of the biggest yellow perch caught in Maine?

What is the average weight of an adult yellow perch?

When is the mating season for the yellow perch?

What is the average life span of a yellow perch?

What fish species prey on yellow perch?

Answers on Page 47

www.MaineSportsman.com

46 â&#x20AC;˘ December 2017 â&#x20AC;˘ The Maine Sportsman â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

Windsor, Mt. Vernon and Manchester Ponds Offer Sensational December Brook Trout Fishing Thanks to a robust stocking program and liberalized fishing regulations, the Mid-Kennebec Valley Region now provides outstanding fishing for brook trout during December, a month in which anglers at one time could pursue just pickerel and perch â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and then only if Mother Nature cooperated by providing sufficient ice, as open-water fishing wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t allowed.

Most of the brookie angling this month targets fish that were stocked sometime during the fall, predominantly in October and November, although on certain waters there remains the very real possibility of anglers taking holdover fish that were stocked the prior spring or possibly even the previous year or two back.

For some folks, the idea of catching recent-

of warm-water species that usually outcompete brookies for food.

Still, holdover trout remain possible. As of this writing, fall stocking of brookies hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t begun, but if Savade receives similar plantings of trout in the next couple of months, look for it to produce more great angling this month and throughout the winter.

Regarding angling methods used this month, look for the bulk of the brookies in shallow water, cruising near shore in search of insects and small minnows. Generally, brookies like small offerings from anglers, but weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen some notable exceptions, including numerous times when a 12- to 14-inch brookie has attempted to ingest a 10inch ocean smelt we were using in hopes of enticing a brookie twice that size into biting.

Of all the area ponds that are fishable this winter, Savade Pond in Windsor took honors for the highest planting rate among fall-stocked brookie waters â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 425 trout stocked, a density of 7 trout per acre! ly-stocked fish doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hold much appeal, but the majority of anglers love the fishery. Of course, it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hurt that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re talking about decent-sized fish here.

Fall-stocked brookies commonly measure in the 12- to 15-inch range.

Better yet, some waters receive a handful of retired brood stock, fish that often measure 18 to 22 inches in length and routinely weigh in the 3to 5-pound class.

It probably goes without saying, but anglers looking for the fastest action this month should target waters with the densest stocking rates.

Last year, Savade Pond in Windsor (Delorme At-

las, Map 13, C-3) took the honors for the highest planting rate among fallstocked brookie waters of Kennebec County open to fishing this month. This 59-acre pond received 400 13-inch brookies in October 2016, plus another 25 18-inch trout in November 2016 for a whopping density of over seven trout per acre!

A couple local ponds, including Tyler Pond in Manchester (Map 12, B-5) and Kimball Pond in Vienna (Map 20, B-3) received more fish per acre last fall, but neither is open to any form of fishing in December.

Surprisingly few anglers knew about the good brookie fishing in Savade

last year, but those who did enjoyed solid catches during the fall and winter months. Folks with long memories might think of Savade as a brown trout water, but it hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t received browns since 2007, and for several years prior to 2015 it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even receive any brookies.

With a top depth of 52 feet and a population of smelts in its depths, Savade sounds like a pond that could potentially produce a few big trout in a season; however, its waters are marginal for supporting trout due to issues with dissolved oxygen, water quality and the fact that Savade holds large populations

Other Bets This region has a couple-dozen waters that receive fall stockings of brookies, all of which will produce decent to fantastic action this month, but a couple others with high stocking densities stand

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out.

Minnehonk Lake in Mount Vernon (Map 12, A-3) last year received 300 13-inch brookies in October, 250 7-inch trout in November and 20 18inch fish in December.

With a surface area of just 99 acres, those totals come to over five fish per acre.

And Jamies Pond in Manchester (Map 12, C-4) last year received 400 13-inch brookies, plus another 20 18-inch fish, for a stocking rate of nearly four fish per acre on that 107-acre pond.

On both waters, the stocking rates prior to 2016 have been at least equal, and sometimes far higher, for years, so anglers can count on good numbers of freshly-stocked fish this year.

And besides brookies, both Minnehonk and Jamies were each stocked with 100 13-inch splake for at least the last couple of years, further increasing the number of fish available to fall and winter anglers.

December Partridge This past spring proved quite wet with lots

of heavy rains, a normally bad situation for the success of ground-nesting birds such as turkeys and ruffed grouse. However, hunters this fall have been pleasantly surprised with the numbers of both species available throughout the region, so despite the stacked decks against them, the birds appear to have enjoyed a productive nesting season hereabouts.

Turkey hunting has long since ended for the year, but December is a wonderful time to hunt partridge. If apples remain available and aren’t frozen solid, hunters will find plenty of birds in the vicinity of apple trees.

Otherwise, the birds feed heavily on the buds of hardwood trees this month, with poplar and maple being two of their favorites. Stands of these species on south-facing slopes often provide fast gunning this month on sunny days as the birds soak in warming rays while feeding.

And if snow holds off, deer sign, particularly buck scrapes and rubs made a month or two earlier, often remain visible,

Quotable

by George Smith Comparing the roe deer take in Germany with the white-tailed deer take in Maine shows just how active hunting is, and how large the German roe deer population is.

Germans shoot 7.2 deer per square mile, while we shoot 0.6. Maine now takes about 20,000 deer annually. If we had German level deer populations and hunting activity, we would take 260,000 per year. If we had boar at their numbers, we would be taking 136,000 per year.

Si Balch report, Maine Woodland Owners newsletter, October 2017.

— A lot of transportation departments, not just in Maine, are more and more interested in working to undo some of the damage roads have done to wildlife populations.

Derek Yorks, DIF&W reptile biologist, on a $400,000 project to build a tunnel under Route 236 in Eliot, to allow Blanding turtles and

enabling hunters to gather valuable information for use in future years.

Some of this writer’s best deer-hunting finds over the years have come while partridge hunting during December.

Farewell Readers This will be my last Mid-Kennebec Valley Region article, as I’ve decided to hang up the writing pen for a while to focus on other activities, although at some point, I hope to dust it off again to write a few articles from time to time for the special sections that appear in The Maine Sportsman.

I’ve written this

monthly piece for nearly three decades, and I’ve enjoyed countless wonderful connections with readers over those many years. You all have made this such a terrific experience, and I will miss our conversations and correspondence.

That said, my passion for the outdoors has only grown over those years and my contact information will remain the same, so those of you who are so inclined, please stay in touch, as I would love to continue hearing from you.

There are far too many folks to thank for their great support over the de-

cades (geez, I have to stop using that word, as it’s making me feel old!), but I would like to make special mention of two. Both Ken Allen, the former editor, and Will Lund, the current editor, have been incredibly supportive and encouraging. Ken laid a great foundation in his work for The Maine Sportsman, and under Will’s guidance since Ken retired, the publication is headed in a fantastic direction. Thank you both!

And thank you again to all you readers as well.

Good luck afield and on the water!

¶

Wildlife Quiz Answers 1. Yellow perch belong to the Percidae or perch family of fishes.

2. The primary defense weapon of the yellow perch is a dorsal fin, containing several sharp spines that help protect the fish from predators.

3. The native range of the yellow perch runs across the eastern United States and Canada.

4. The male yellow perch releases milt onto the female’s eggs to fertilize them.

5. The previous yellow perch record in Maine was 1 pound, 10 ounces; The Maine Sportsman is in the process of certifying an even larger fish – 1.88 pounds (1 pound 14.08 ounces).

6. The average weight of an adult yellow perch is 5-8 ounces.

7. The mating season for the yellow perch runs from April to June.

8. The average life span of a yellow perch is 9-10 years.

9. Yellow perch are preyed upon by bass, walleye and northern pike.

(Quiz on Page 45)

other critters to move between bogs without crossing the busy road. Peter McGuire story, Maine Sunday Telegram, October 1, 2017.

— I was ecstatic. I was very honored to take a bear like that. That’s a once-in-a-lifetime trophy to take.

John DeSantis III of Wallkill, New York, hunting with Maine guide Paul Laney and his hounds. The bear was named “Big John” after John Holyoke, who wrote two stories over the years about the huge, 538-lb. bear. Bangor Daily News, October 5, 2017.

— We’ve been at many meetings where people expressed concern about what it would look like and whether it would be mud flats there forever, and it’s not. It’s a really beautiful stream.

Landis Hudson, executive director of Maine Rivers, on the removal of a dam to allow alewives into China Lake. Madeline St. Amour story, Kennebec Journal, October 8, 2017.

— I miss all of the animals that we had in our wetland pond. Those included beavers,

eagles, ospreys, ducks and great blue herons.

We’ve got a stream, but no form of life. The entire habitat has been destroyed.

Charlie Hartman, Vassalboro. Same story.

— Bowmaking is very therapeutic. And I’m good at this. And this is my favorite group.

This is a special place. It changes you.

Bob Brooks of New York, a teacher at the Maine Primitive Skills School in Augusta.

Deirdre Fleming story, Maine Sunday Telegram, October 8, 2017.

— As a Mainer and a former police officer, I grew up with firearms. My father taught me to shoot a rifle at a young age, and I enjoyed hunting just like any other native. As a police officer, I saw the importance of respect for guns of all types and also the prudence of some types of limits on firearms. No limits based on mental illness, ethnicity or national origin – simply limits on high-powered, rapidfire firearms.

Thomas McLaughlin, UNE professor in Portland, Kennebec Journal, October 8, 2017.

www.MaineSportsman.com

48 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

Heat Up with Scorpion Pepper Sauce on Moose Steaks; Cool Down with Tasty Chocolate Truffles Let’s warm up inside to combat this winter cold. I have a dish for you that will keep you warm from head to toe!!

Straight from the depths of hell, Trinidad Scorpion Moruga Pepper, a/k/a “Moruga Scorpion,” a rare sought-after pepper discovered by the New Mexico State University’s Chili Pepper Institute in 2012.

This pepper is native to the lands of Moruga, in Trinidad and Tobago.

Once you take a bite of this formidable pepper with 2,000,000 Scoville Heat Units, the heat never stops building. This pepper

is second only to the hottest pepper in the world, the “Carolina Reaper,” which boasts 2,200,000 SHU. Loving challenge, and mostly taking them, I grew this intimidating pepper this past year. They were tolerable when they were small, but when they grew large and ripened over the summer, I was very happy to have yogurt and milk on hand to dull the fire burning in my mouth.

Once the seeds are dried, I will be taking orders if you would like to grow your own. If you want them fresh, write to me!

Trinidad Scorpion Moruga Pepper

Moose Steaks with Spicy Chocolate Merlot Sauce Are there any Scorpions in Maine? I hope not. The only ones I know of I grew this summer on the deck! And that would be the Trinidad Scorpion Moruga Chile Pepper!

• • • • • • • • •

While this pepper may lack the Reaper’s stinger, it tastes every bit as hot as The Carolina Reaper. Really, what’s a few thousand Scoville Heat Units among friends? If you are willing

to test this pepper, please be careful! Also, the longer the pepper sits in the sauce the hotter it gets. (I take no responsibilities for your silliness, nor you mine. Just saying.)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped 2 cups Merlot wine 1 tablespoon game stock (or beef stock) 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped** ¼ teaspoon Trinidad Scorpion Moruga chili pepper, fresh or dried* 4 moose steaks, 1/2 - inch thick 1/4 cup taco seasoning mix

Heat oil over medium-high heat in saucepan. Add onions, garlic, and sauté until soft, about 4 minutes. Add Merlot, bring to a boil and reduce by half. Reduce heat to low and stir in salt, stock, chocolate and pepper. Stir until smooth. Keep warm on very low heat until ready to serve.

Preheat grill pan over high heat. Rub taco seasoning on steaks.

Spray grates with cooking spray and grill to desired doneness.

Serve steaks with chocolate Merlot sauce.

Cook’s Notes: *Substitute your favorite hot pepper and test for desired heat. **I liked the Lindt bittersweet chocolate better than Bakers for this dish. Bakers left a bite where the Lindt, even at 99% chocolate, resulted in a smoother sauce.

Simply Perfect Truffles Who does not like a little sweet bite once in a while? This simple recipe is great to have on hand for the holidays when unexpected company stops in. This with coffee or a Syrah is a welcome invitation for all.

• •

1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped* 1 cup cream, hot

www.MaineSportsman.com

• •

1 teaspoon espresso powder Dark chocolate cocoa powder

Slowly pour hot cream into chocolate and espresso and continuously stir until melted.

Cool 1 hour.

Using a small cookie scoop, drop on parchment then roll into balls. Then roll

truffles in good cocoa powder. Store or serve. *Cook’s Note: I like to use the Bakers Bittersweet in this recipe – the flavor with espresso powder is so delightful. You REALLY can’t eat just one! These can be made ahead and frozen up to 2 months.

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——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 49

It’s the Season for Iced Pickerel, Snowshoe Rabbits and Grouse Most Decembers, I replace my fishing hooks, put on new 8-pound test monofilament line and tune my Heritage ice traps to perfection while sitting in the heated comfort of my Bucksport home.

However, at other times I cut a few ice holes on a nearby pond and rig my traps with bait to fish for pickerel or perch as soon as freeze-up occurs.

When I choose to fish, I often begin my ice-fishing season by drilling a few holes on Silver Lake in Bucksport (refer to Delorme’s Atlas, Map 23, D-2). This lake offers some of the best early-winter fishing prospects in the area.

White perch and chain pickerel are the main bait-stealers on this lake. December days usually produce a high number of flags, by the end of the day I have usually caught and released a dozen or more pickerel.

Most cold-weather anglers catch a few pickerel through the ice on Sliver Lake; however, the most frequently-targeted species are largemouth and smallmouth bass, with a few white perch as part of a day’s catch.

Access to this water can be gained all along the Silver Lake Road in Bucksport. In fact, because of Silver Lake’s road-side location, it is easy to tend your ice traps from the comfort of your pickup or car – although keep them close by and in sight, remembering Maine’s law that all lines must be under the “immediate supervision” of the person who set them.

The cove at the boat landing usually freezes first and produces the safest and the best early-fishing action.

Hares Aplenty in Millvale Other sporting opportunities exist in Silver Lake area also. Rabbit hunter Eric Peddle of Bucksport recently mentioned that rabbit populations seem to be somewhat stable in our region of the state. In a recent conversation with Eric, he mentioned that he had experienced many successful hunts at several locations in the Penobscot Bay area.

Peddle mentioned that rabbit covers in the Millvale region often ensure some fast shooting. Several small streams feed this low-lying landscape creating ideal habitat to sustain a healthy population of snowshoe hare.

The boggy edges provide ample opportunities to release a beagle. Within minutes experienced hounds are often in hot pursuit of an ever-circling rabbit.

A few logging roads provide access to this location; however, the dense cedar makes bushwhacking the only way to get around in this area.

Refer to Map 23, E-3 to pinpoint this region.

Another hotspot where Eric has even better success running his beagle is off the Stud Mill Road (Map 34, E-1). Having hunted here several years ago with Eric and his beagle, I can attest that the covers there contain a high population of bunnies.

Toddy Pond Grouse Another prospect that keeps sports afield is partridge hunting. Grouse season continues until December 31, 2017.

Gunners can find gravel-picking partridge by hunting along many of the country or camp roads on either side of the Penobscot River. By traveling any one of these country and camp roads, feather-hunters find locations where birds are still available.

According to dedicated bird hunter Don Lynch of East Orland, among the top choices for folks in this area are the roads leading to Toddy Pond (Map 23, D-5).

Other productive locations for grouse mentioned by Don are the camp roads surrounding Alamoosook Lake (Map 23, D-5). Hunters can usually pick up a few budding grouse by hunting either one of these birdy habitats.

A second excellent area to find grouse is on the camp roads providing access to Swan Lake or Halfmoon Pond (Map 22, E-5). Prospect resident Keith Kelley recently informed me that he saw quite a few road-side partridge while deer hunting in this area. There are quite a few people living in this area year-round these days, so use caution when trying to bring down a partridge.

Muzzleloading Season Upon Us Deer hunting begins November 30 and ends December 12 for smokepole carriers in our part of the state. Productive white-tailed deer habitat

lies within the boundaries of Wildlife Management Districts (WMDs) 23 and 26. This region of the state contains hundreds of acres of hayfields, cultivated farmlands and an ample amount of prime cover to sustain a healthy deer population.

Deer gunners looking to fill their tag on the west side of the Penobscot River should select one of these towns in WMD 23 to begin their search for a black-powder buck, especially the back roads branching off from Routes 3 and 137. This region boasts the highest deer-per-square-mile in the state.

Some top-hunting areas to pursue a December white-tail are found on the outskirts of Freedom, Unity and Montville. Refer to Map 23 and Maine’s hunting regulations for more precise details on the season dates for the WMD where you choose

to hunt.

Coastal Ducks If fresh-water lakes and ponds ice-over early, then die-hard duck gunners can continue their season by placing decoys on the coastal waters of Penobscot Bay. It’s a sure bet that the old squaws, eiders and coots will give hunters good shooting prospects.

Two of the most popular locations where hunters find ducks plentiful are Flye Point (Map 15, C-5) and Naskeag Point (Map 15, D-5). These are traditional sea-duck haunts; however, several more out-of-the-way locations feature fewer camouflaged hunters and equally high sea-duck populations.

By checking Maps 15 and 23, duck hunters are able to put themselves in position to experience prime sea-duck hunting.

¶

Deven Pendexter of Poland, the son of the columnist’s nephew, had a productive, two-turkey day this past October. www.MaineSportsman.com

50 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

—

How to Build a Legal Campfire on the Ice As memories of my ice fishing childhood flooded back to me, I asked, “Hey Dad – did you bring any of those red hotdogs and marshmallows?”

“There’s something not quite right with you!” declared my Dad loudly, thus starting an interesting conversation one blustery Saturday afternoon while we were ice fishing.

Surprised, I paused a moment, then asked, “Why would you say that?”

The old man took a deep breath and then started in on his tirade.

“Well, you and your friends layer up in all this newfangled super-insulated clothing, and then proceed to sit out in the middle of the lake all day long, in weather conditions not fit for man nor beast.

“Then at lunch time, you heathens chow down a can of sardines, a couple little Debbie snack cakes and call it a meal?

“Lastly, if you do manage to catch a fish, you take it home and throw it in the freezer where it may not get eaten for months!”

I stared blankly at my Dad, trying to figure out exactly what was wrong with the sequence of events he’d just related.

Clearly exasperated, the old man took another deep breath and continued, “I taught you better than that! Don’t you remember all those times fishing pickerel ponds as a kid? Don’t you remember warming frozen toes and fingers on a warm lakeside fire? Don’t you remember eating freshly-caught fish wrapped in tinfoil and gently steamed on the coals of a fire? Don’t you remember cooking hot chocolate in an old tea pot? AND lastly, PLEASE tell me you

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remember eating red hotdogs and marshmallows cooked on freshly cut alder branches!”

I again stared blankly.

Now near-frantic in his level of disgust, my aging father staggered across the deep snow and dragged a large dead tree limb out of the shoreline brambles. As I drilled holes and prepared lines, he worked tirelessly to organize a sheltered “hangout” area by piling up blocks of snow to make a windbreak and constructing a small teepee of sticks to serve as the beginnings of a small fire.

Now I Remember!

Scientists have proven that the sense of smell is the sense most closely linked to memory, and of that I am not surprised.

As I finished baiting the last hook, the smell of acrid wood smoke began drifting across the hard water, bringing with it a lifetime of happy ice fishing memories that slowly began leaking back into my mind.

As I walked over to

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Author’s nephew “Wild Child” discovering his inner patience. When fishing with small children, it is critical that a fire be built so toes can be warmed and bellies filled with hot food and beverages.

the old man, I asked “Hey Dad – did you bring any of those red hotdogs and marshmallows?” A wide smile appeared on his face. “Certainly,” said Dad. “I thought you’d never ask.”

I wanted to share this

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story, as it really is interesting how ice fishing has changed tremendously from my Dad’s generation to mine. He and his friends were without snowmobiles and ice augers, they would hike up to 5 miles through deep snow to access good ice fishing waters. They enjoyed only tea (who likes to walk 5 miles on snowshoes after drinking beer?) and ate almost everything that they caught fresh from the icy waters over a blazing lakeside fire.

When I compare that to our “modern” ice fishing lifestyle, I begin to (Continued on page 52)

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Social Media Creates Bedlam Conditions Illegal introductions of any fish, not only non-natives, threaten traditional fisheries.

But when the illegally introduced fish can weigh well into the double digits, unexpected and unpleasant consequences often occur.

The fish in this instance, northern pike, have a growing number of adherents, despite their illicit origins. It seems that everyone wants to catch a big fish. That’s a natural desire for any angler. But when people land wallhanger-size pike and post their photos on social media, the outcome can become catastrophic.

Jason Seiders, regional biologist for Department of Inland Fisheries And Wildlife (DIF&W) at the department’s Region B Sydney office, drew my attention to this growing problem.

Prior to the digital age, word of mouth, in addition to reading the Maine Sportsman magazine, was the best way to learn of developing news concerning Maine’s freshwater fisheries. But now, with the advent of instant posting of not only large fish but also details of where the fish was caught, people can flock to the site within a matter of hours of viewing the post.

At the outset this doesn’t sound like a big problem. But it is. So many anglers, guided by information they receive on social media, descend upon specific waters, that those fishing for traditional fish species are overpowered and

Photos of anglers displaying huge invasives, such as northern pike, are posted on social media, leading to crowds of people in the ice, disruption of traditional ice fisheries, and – according to the author – an incentive for future illegal stockings of invasives. overwhelmed.

Heavy Usage Consider the following comparison.

During the winter of 2017, both Moosehead Lake, the largest lake inside any one state east of the Mississippi, and Sabattus Pond, saw an equal number of angler days (days people spent ice fishing). These figures are taken from creel census surveys completed by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries And Wildlife (DIF&W).

So here we have Moosehead Lake at 75,000 acres, and Sabattus Pond at 1,900 acres, both seeing an identical amount of angler activity.

But why such disparate numbers?

After all, Moosehead Lake holds plenty of coldwater game fish, including wild brook trout, togue and salmon.

Brook trout of 4 pounds and over have become, if not commonplace, at least not unusual. That alone should suffice to draw large crowds to the big lake.

But Sabattus Pond has something entirely different.

Up until recently, Sabattus Pond was known for largemouth and smallmouth bass and white perch. But on the other hand, lots of ponds in Central and MidCoast Maine contain these same warmwater species.

Unfortunately, bass and perch are not the big

draw at Sabattus Pond.

The real crowd pleasers are illegally-introduced northern pike, and to a lesser but growing extent, black crappies.

The next question, then, is how did these legions of anglers learn about pike and crappies at Sabattus Pond? The answer is, through social media. People catch big, illegally-introduced fish and post their photos online. And literally, within a day, anxious anglers flock to the place.

Future Prospects These record numbers of crowds on our lakes and ponds, at a minimum,

destroy much of ice fishing’s aesthetic appeal.

In one account, a local angler on Messalonskee Lake had set up his icefishing shack in an area where he liked to fish for trout. But after people posted photos of large pike on social media, the lake became overrun with anxious anglers.

As a result, the man making use of the traditional trout fishery had problems even reaching his ice shack, due to the swarms of pike anglers who descended upon the lake. This led him to spend far less time in his shack.

So in an indirect way, illegal fish stockings are ruining local fisheries. Of course these spiny-rayed fish also harm existing, coldwater species by competing for forage. And when that forage includes smelt, real problems can develop.

Here’s an example of a nascent problem caused by an illegal introduction.

Wassookeag Lake in Dexter, a productive salmon and togue water, now contains black crappies, the result of an illegal introduction.

A recent trapnetting by DIF&W revealed that these crappies were loaded with smelt.

Up until now, the lake’s robust smelt population kept this excellent coldwater fishery in top shape.

But what might happen (Continued on next page)

www.MaineSportsman.com

52 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

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Midcoast Report (Continued from page 51)

if crappies become so numerous as to become serious competitors with salmon and togue for the lake’s smelt?

When this happens, the smelt population goes down and, correspondingly, the size of coldwater game fish shrinks too. Then, DIF&W must take serious measures in order to try to revive the traditional fishery.

Bottom Line The takeaway from all this is that any illegal introduction whatever has a deleterious effect upon existing fisheries.

And when these illegally introduced species become glamorized by virtue of appearing on social media, the damage becomes enhanced.

At the root of this problem is a certain mindset that says if the local water doesn’t contain the fish species that someone wishes to catch, then rather than driving to the nearest place where these species

do exist, it’s much easier just to fill a cooler with the non-native species and release them into the home water.

Of course this is and always was illegal. And it always harms the traditional fishery. Why, when Maine employs skilled professional fisheries managers, do some individuals feel they know better than the pros? And what makes these folks think it’s okay to tamper with a fishery?

A little-know fact is that members of the sunfish family – and that includes black crappies – have a propensity to swim downstream from their natal water at every opportunity. So illegally stocked black crappies can eventually appear far downstream from where they were first introduced.

Nightmare Scenario Maine, known for its pristine waters, has a well-deserved reputation as the last frontier for native brook trout.

Washington County (Continued from page 50)

feel a little bit dismayed with what I have allowed to be stolen from the enjoyment of this great outdoor activity.

With eyes now open, I vow to make more of a concerted effort this season to embrace the “old” ways and make sure these excellent traditions and treasured memories are passed on to my children.

Building a Legal Fire I had believed for many years that a fire on the ice was not permissible under Maine law. A review of the Maine statutes and an email to the Maine Warden Service proves my belief incorrect. Maine’s law on open burning (12 MRS, sec. 9325) reads that “recreational campfires kindled on frozen bodies of water” are allowed without a permit when not prohibited by state rule, local ordinance or water utility regulation, and as long as no nuisance is created.

The Maine Warden Service reported that “a fire on the ice is permissible, except when specifically prohibited, such as on [lakes that serve as municipal] water supplies.” www.MaineSportsman.com

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In addition to northern pike, a second invasive species -- black crappie -- is making an impact on some Maine water bodies by competing for food that would otherwise be available to trout and salmon. In this photo, an angler plays a salmon while fishing at Wassookeag Lake. Will illegally stocked black crappies compromise the lake’s thriving smelt population? Seymour photo

Besides that, togue and salmon are better represented here than in any other state.

But this can all change due to pressure from illegally introduced,

non-native species.

It’s still not too late to salvage what’s left, and the best way to help is not to popularize illegal introductions.

And remember, illegal

stocking of any fish is a crime. Responsible anglers don’t do it, and don’t support it.

¶

The Warden Service also stated, “Litter left behind is generally what creates the greatest issue, such as beer cans and other non-burning materials.”

Ultimately, according to the law and law enforcers, if ice fishermen are not on a regulated water supply, and if they act responsibly, there is no reason they can’t build warming/cooking fire on the ice.

shorelines.

Live trees should never be cut, and bark should never be stripped from trees. Unless you’re in a very remote area, dead trees should be left standing.

Most of the time, a small cooking/warming fire can be constructed from driftwood and dead branches salvaged from 300-400 yards of shoreline.

Every Shoreline Belongs to Someone Now before heading for the shoreline to collect firewood to build a raging bonfire, please make sure you are acquainted with the law on the frozen body of water on which you are fishing, and even more importantly, be prepared to follow good sporting ethics when building a fire on ice. Remember that every shoreline belongs to someone, so being respectful and thoughtful should be high on everyone’s priority list.

Being responsible means keeping fires at a manageable and easily controllable size. The law permits “campfires,” not bonfires. Fires should not be constructed in close proximity to camps and other shoreline structures. Wood for fires should either be brought in or deadwood salvaged from

Keep it Dry For the uninitiated, building a fire on the ice is an act in futility unless the person first understands a couple of critical construction details. First, heat from the fire melts the surrounding ice, creating steam that makes starting a fire and keeping it going almost impossible.

Secondly, a pool of water forms directly under the fire pit, due to the heat from the fire melting the surrounding snow and ice, and this also will eventually extinguish the fire.

Before building a fire on the ice, create a platform of wooden logs on which the fire sits. Doing this eliminates both the issues discussed above.

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Great White Attacks Hooked Giant Tuna “We saw the shark, and we were certain it was a great white. It was about 15 feet long. It had nearly severed the tuna’s tail.”

Every so often I’ll get a phone call from someone who has a good fish “tale” to tell that’s worth passing on.

The most recent came one evening this summer from my good friends John and Judy Shostak in Augusta. John runs the tuna boat Lion’s Den out of Brown’s Wharf Marina in Boothbay Harbor, where I also keep my boat. I’ve known John for 25 years or more, and besides being a straight shooter, he’s a heckuva tuna fisherman.

“I just spoke with my friend Steve Getto from Massachusetts,” John reported. “He hooked a tuna a few days ago and it was attacked by what we all believe was a great white shark. I’ll email you a photo, and you might want to call Steve to get the details. It would make a good story for The Maine Sportsman!”

The Proof The photo arrived minutes later, and I rang Steve up. He’s another ardent tuna fisherman who operates out of Green Harbor on Boston’s South Shore, and he told me what happened.

Steve prefaced his story by recounting an earlier event that took place in July of 2016. He was fishing on Stellwagen Bank off Massachusetts from his 35-foot Duffy tuna boat Hannah G, when he and his crewman, Eric d’Hedouville, hooked a giant tuna. Everything went normally during the fight, and the fish was circling below the boat as

they often do when they get tired, but suddenly it streaked off with a sudden burst of energy. “But then we simply couldn’t budge it,” said Steve.

“It fought exceptionally hard. Then the tuna came to the surface, and suddenly a great white came up between the fish and the boat. Then the tuna broke off and we lost it.”

Round Two Fast-forward to July 9, 2017. “Again, we were set up and fishing, this time on the northern tip of Jeffreys Ledge,” Steve told me, “and we ran into the same situation.” The northern part of Jeffreys is off southern Maine.

“We caught a keeper tuna and had it hanging over the side,” Steve recalled. “Then we hooked another one, and Eric worked it for a while, but after about 45 minutes it really started to put up a fight. Then it just wouldn’t give up. It moved back and forth for a short period, and then Eric started to gain some line. Then it started going in small circles below the boat, but suddenly stopped. Eric said he felt a ‘bump.’ It behaved much like the tuna we had caught on Stellwagen the year before, but at the time we didn’t make the connection that it could again be the result of a shark.

“Eric reeled in about 100 feet of line fairly easily, and there was the tuna, its tail attached by just a thread. We saw the shark, and we were certain it was a great

white. It was about 15 feet long. It had almost severed the tuna’s tail, and also left a number of distinct bite marks on its torso. We knew the shark would stay in the area, so we quickly winched the tuna head-first through the transom door with a meat hook. There was no way we could tail-tope it.

“We immediately became concerned about the other tuna hanging over the side and figured the shark was now eyeballing that one, so we steamed off about a halfmile and then and hauled it aboard.”

Great White ID’d Steve and Eric landed their fish in Kennebunkport, where they documented the damage to the tuna inflicted by the shark (see accompanying photo). Steve then transmitted the photo to Bill Chapralis of Cape Cod, a long-time, high-line tuna fisherman and shark expert who has years of experience tagging great whites.

“I asked Bill whether a porbeagle or mako shark could have left those bite marks on the tuna’s torso,” Steve explained. “He said ‘No way – no other shark could grow large enough to have jaws that big. That was a great white!’”

Steve believes there are more great whites swimming in the waters off New England than people may realize. “A lot of guys down off Cape Cod, fishing near shore, have had 40-pound striped bass bitten in two,” he

Steve Getto’s and Eric d’Hedouville’s giant tuna as it’s lifted from the Hannah G into the buyer’s truck in Kennebunk this July. Note the size of the crescent of tooth lacerations along the side of the fish’s body just ahead of the severed tail, and consider the size of the jaws necessary to make such an impression. Steve Getto photo

says. “They’re here. A few weeks back, off Chatham, I was towing a giant tuna behind the boat on a rope in order to bleed it, when I suddenly realized I was basically trolling for great whites with a nice juicy tuna hors d’oeuvre.

I got the fish in the boat

in a hurry.”

Steve hopes he won’t have any more encounters with great whites snacking on his hooked tuna. “I’ve had two episodes of Jaws, and hopefully that’s my lifetime quota,” he chuckled.

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www.MaineSportsman.com

54 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

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When is a Deer Rifle Not a Deer Rifle?

I hunted deer with a semi-automatic rifle for about thirty years. My dad bought the Model 742 Remington as a gift for me back when I was a teenager. The 30-06 carbine sported an 18-inch barrel and open sights – which I quickly replaced with a Williams peep sight.

I took out the sight’s screw-in reticle and threw it away, just as my deer-hunting hero, Larry Benoit, suggested in his 1975 book: How to Bag the Biggest Buck of your Life.

I knew from the book that Larry favored the pump-action Model 760 carbine. But the little gun shop in town only had the one used Model 742 – and anyway, I knew (again from the book) that Larry’s son Lanny used the semi-auto model.

The detachable clip magazine that came with the rifle carried only four cartridges. I bought a new spare clip with my first box of cartridges.

And I carried a full extra clip on every hunt – but never used it in all those years.

When I cracked the wooden stock after slipping on a granite ledge, I replaced it with a black fiberglass aftermarket model. And when I started to take still-hunting more seriously, I mounted a low-power scope on the receiver.

But then, years later, I returned to the peepsight and used the gun for foul-weather days when a scope was just too much trouble.

I attached a simple leather sling – just like Larry. The rifle was so www.MaineSportsman.com

The author opines that hunters and gun enthusiasts need to take the lead, regaining our traditional gun-owning culture by supporting a government buy-back of bump stocks, large-capacity magazines and noise suppressors.

The author’s Remington Model 742 semi-automatic. Andrews photo

short that I could carry it with the muzzle down and the sling on my right shoulder. If necessary I could flip the sling off my shoulder by lifting and twisting the rifle with my right hand and then raise the rifle quickly to the shooting position. I practiced this maneuver in the off-season.

I’ve carried the rifle for an untold, and unknowable, number of miles. And I shot my biggest buck with it (just like Larry promised).

“Assault-Style Rifles” My classic deer gun, and the 12 most lethal rifles recovered from a Las Vegas hotel room after the massacre in October of this year, are essentially the same weapons.

Most folks who would like to ban “assault-style weapons” don’t realize this.

The basic function of the action hasn’t changed much in the last 100 years. The exploding gas from a fired cartridge is used to cycle the action, introduce a fresh cartridge to the chamber and reset the trigger for the next shot. This happens instantaneously, and the

rifle will fire as fast as the shooter can pull the trigger.

Specialized Equipment But no experienced shooter could mistake my deer rifle as the weapon of choice for mass murder. Killing and wounding as many people as the Vegas shooter did within a period of less than 12 minutes requires specialized equipment.

First, the deranged shooter would install a bump stock, or some other aftermarket device, that effectively converts the rifle to be fully automatic. Instead of just aiming and firing individual shots, the killer could lay down a machine-gunstyle field of fire – delivered in long, uninterrupted bursts – to the crowd below.

Of course, changing out empty clips takes time and interrupts the potential flow of mayhem.

So huge-capacity banana clips with thirty or fifty rounds each would replace the 4-cartridge clips I use for hunting. Having multiple rifles outfitted this way, and then having each of them locked

and loaded, would ensure that very little interruption to the death and destruction need occur when each of the big clips was exhausted.

The longer a shooter could remain undetected, the more bloodshed he could cause. A noise suppressor might reduce muzzle volume enough so that the shots couldn’t be heard over the music – 400 yards away – at the victims’ last concert.

My Deer Rifle or Yours Any skilled shooter could use my everyday deer rifle, or yours, to do a lot of damage. But let’s focus right now on the shooter who was intent on mowing down the largest possible number of Sandy Hook Elementary School first-graders in a short period of time.

Or the guy who wanted to wipe out every occupant of a night club in Orlando. Or the guy in Vegas.

Let’s focus on the worst of the worst – and let’s try to make things more difficult for them in the future.

We can’t make it impossible – but we can do better. These three shooters killed an almost un-

imaginable number of people in a very short period of time.

Hunters and gun enthusiasts need to take the lead here. We need to take back our reasonable, traditional gun-owning culture.

Let’s ban the devices that convert simple hunting rifles into weapons of mass murder. Prohibit the manufacture, importation, sale, possession or use of bump stocks, large capacity magazines and noise suppressors by federal law. Fund a government buy-back of those existing devices, and crack down on any burgeoning black market.

Prohibiting these devices would not require us to relinquish a single gun from our collection. These items have nothing to do with hunting. The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution does not protect the possession of these devices, the same way that it doesn’t protect the possession of fully automatic weapons.

Or for that matter, rocket-propelled grenades.

Fully automatic firearms have been banned from use by the public since 1934. Modern mass shooters don’t use fully automatic weapons.

Why? Because it’s very difficult for anyone to obtain one – legally or otherwise.

Why should we continue to allow devices that mimic the killing power of a weapon that is already banned?

The family members of the victims in Sandy Hook, Orlando and Las Vegas would like to know.

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——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 55

A Winter Project Blends with Holiday Cheer Season’s Greetings!

Many thanks, once again, to you, the reader, for another great year at “The Shooter’s Bench.”

You make this job fun.

Before diving into the topic du jour, I’d like to throw out a few suggestions for those still planning their holiday shopping. As always, this year brought a plethora of new and traditional products to warm the hearts of sportsmen everywhere.

As in past years, copies of the latest editions of The Blue Book of Gun Values by S.P. Fjestad, and Cartridges of the World, now edited

by W. Todd Woodard, make great gifts for shooters. Bore snakes and small packages of cleaning supplies make grand stocking-stuffers.

In most cases, refinishing and rebluing a firearm will diminish its value. However, some guns have been so catastrophically abused or neglected that restoration is only way to salvage them.

Or surprise them with some of the innovative new 3-in-1 cleaning tools from “Swab-its” that replace rods, jags and normal cleaning patches. A multi-pack of shot shells makes a good gift for sporting clays shooters, as does a “brick” of .22 rimfire cartridges for the many shooters of the ubiquitous rimfire rifles and pistols.

Every Maine sportsman ought to have a copy of Dean Bennett’s 2015 memoir, Ghost Buck.

This brilliant book follows the history of multiple generations of a western Maine family and their beloved hunting camp.

Any reader with a love for the Pine Tree State will enjoy adding this story to the bookshelf.

Time for a Project?

Along with the holidays, this time of year also sees a gradual winding down of many shooting sports.

In northern New England, things tend to go quiet about now. Most hunting seasons come to an end.

Less daylight and more winter weather means fewer trips to the range or clays field.

However, now may be a time for some selfindulgence with a winter project. Even surrounded by seasonal traditions,

something unexpected may beckon.

Contemplating Restoration I never wanted the battered old shotgun standing in the corner.

Included in a newlyacquired collection, there was little option for leaving it behind. The ugly duckling came along with the pieces I really wanted.

A late 19th century 12-gauge side-by-side, the old thing shows signs of hard use, a degree of abuse, and plenty of neglect. I felt I was doing its previous owner a favor in carting it away.

Through the spring,

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summer, and most of the fall, it lay across the arms of a chair, inconvenient but with nowhere else to go. With its swan-like external hammers and tiny little initial plate on the underside of the stock, I thought it might look okay hanging above a fireplace.

The old-timer’s metal finish has long ago faded to a muddy brown, and the hand-cut checkering is smooth from ten thousand rubbings. Even the numerous dents and scratches in its wood have turned black from gun oil and sweat.

Much worse, several of its necessary screws were replaced at some point with common wood screws, and steel straps hold the fractured buttstock to the receiver (Continued on next page)

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56 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

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Shooter’s Bench (Continued from page 55)

in three places. The whole surface of the tang remains covered in the black tar-like goo of some long-gone cloth friction tape.

Closer inspection reveals no trace of a serial number. The word “Belgium” is inscribed in little block letters toward the rear of the smooth solid rib.

The left side plate carries the inscription “W.H. Hamilton” – likely some gritty factory near Liege, Belgium built the gun for a now-disappeared American retailer named Hamilton. The shotgun’s 30-inch double barrels include extractors, and at the muzzle are choked full and full.

Tough Decision Anyone familiar with collecting firearms or the PBS television show “Antiques Roadshow” knows that original

condition determines value.

Refinishing a piece often destroys its monetary value.

Refinishing a firearm’s stock or rebluing its metal parts may improve the look of a gun, but more often than not, will spoil its interest for a collector.

The same holds true for after-market drilling and tapping for scope mounts, or removing and replacing original iron sights, adding recoil pads, or screwing in nonoriginal sling swivels.

However, some guns see such rugged service or suffer from near catastrophic neglect that restoration becomes the only way to preserve the piece. In these cases a quality restoration will add viability to an old, abused piece – and in many cases may reinstate much of the lost value.

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The trick is in knowing how much to do and how much to invest in a given piece.

Rebluing a barrel and action, or refinishing a stock is one thing, but a complete, quality restoration is something near akin to raising the dead. Restoration entails making a relic into something new again.

Few folks possess the skills and patience to undertake a full restoration process.

It is time-consuming, expensive, and laborintensive, but depending on the motives behind the decision, it may be well

worth the investment.

Proud Few Doug Turnbull made his name restoring antique lever-action rifles in an upstate New York shop started by his father.

Today, Turnbull reigns as the best-known American firearms restoration specialist.

But others such as Pete Mazur in California, and the father/son team of Patrick and Frederick Norton of Collectable Firearms Restoration, LLC in Canterbury, New Hampshire do similar work.

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Which Option to Choose?

Restoration, like marriage, should not be “entered into lightly” – although either event holds a lot of promise.

If someone truly desires to bring a beat-up old firearm back from the brink, then the road to restoration may be the path to take.

These long winter nights and brief winter days seem like a fine time to consider a restoration project’s pros and cons.

The prospect of turning a piece of junk into an heirloom is a powerful urge, as is the desire to remake the useless into the usable.

Far too damaged for mere refurbishing, the old 12-bore leaning here against the desk waits for a decision. The unsalvageable buttstock demands replacement.

The darkened side plates and trigger guard must be freed from the straps and screws that affront the maker’s art.

I need to pour a cup of egg nog and go sit by the fire for a while. I have some thinking to do.

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Sport Aplenty Remains this Last Month of the Year As I flip the calendar to the last page, I think back on the past year of sporting adventures. I enjoyed all my regular sports – ice-fishing, iceout trolling, trout fishing, bird hunting, duck hunting and finally deer hunting. Some sadness creeps in as I realize I didn’t get out as much as I wanted to. But as I stare at the calendar and thumb through the Summary of Hunting Laws, I have reason to rejoice.

Almost all of my favorite fall sports are still available in the month of December. The ice traps can wait – I’ve got some more hunting to do!

Second Chance Deer Deer hunters have one last chance at tagging out before the 2017 season closes. This year, the muzzleloader season in this region runs from November 27 through December 9, giving hunters two more weeks. Now there is no arguing that deer are cagey by now, and we don’t have the benefit of a full rut, but there’s no excuse not to get out with the old smokepole if your license isn’t punched.

This region has some good last-ditch deer habitat. To the south, hunters around the Sebago Lake Region have the swamps surrounding the big lake to hunt. Spots like Tucker Brook in Standish (DeLorme Atlas, Map 4, D-4) are a haven for crafty

Whether you want to carry a muzzleloader for one last crack at a deer, or feel like chasing pheasant, grouse or ducks, the author says December has enough in it to keep all of us busy until the start of ice fishing. whitetails that run into the thick stuff to escape hunting pressure.

In Sebago, the area around Hill Brook and Mill Brook (Map 4, C-4) are also bound to hold deer. To the north, farm towns like Turner, Leeds and Greene still have deer left over, but the wise hunter will have to push farther in from the fields to find them.

Yes you may still catch a deer out in a back field at sunset or early morning, but those chances are few and far between. The skilled December hunter will find the “secret” bedding spots in out-of-theway locations.

Archery hunters can still tag a deer in the “suburbs” of Portland, Lewiston and Auburn until the 9th of this month. Check on the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (DIF&W) website for location information.

Hunters who were successful in November can even purchase more doe tags and hunt the expanded zone for more larder for the freezer.

Birds Still Legal Every deer season I am startled half to death when a grouse explodes nearby while I am hunt-

ing. I always make a note of the area that the bird was in and tell myself I’ll come back after I tag out.

I rarely follow through, but I’m the fool for making that choice.

Cold December mornings anchor partridge to the ground, and they hold tight if you walk slowly. Concentrate on thick spots you had to walk around during your whitetail hunts. If you still find apples determinedly clinging to a tree or left over on the ground, camp out here for birds.

Nothing calls a grouse in like a soft, fermented apple.

Pheasant hunters with dogs can still bag strays left over from the DIF&W stocking program in York and Cumberland counties. Visit the website for stocking locations, and bring Fido out one last time now that the majority of deer hunters are out of the woods. I know a few diehard bird hunters who still catch the leftover rooster or hen in thick areas around the stocking sites. Pheasant and grouse hunters have until the last day of the year to chase their quarry.

Duck Holdouts Late season duck

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hunters can still hunt, but they need open water.

Weather is tough to predict, but if you can find a pocket of open water on a swampy spot, or better yet, a river, you will likely find ducks. These latein-the-year birds are big, too!

Duck gunners in this region benefit from having north and south zones close by. I’m even luckier – I live on the boundary road separating the two.

For goose hunters, the north zone season is open until December 21 – plenty of time to harvest your Christmas goose. South zone hunters can hunt through the day after Christmas.

Some fields still draw geese in after clover or what little bit of scattered corn that remains after harvest. Watch these fields like a hawk, and you may be able to pattern the birds.

Duck hunters in the north zone can only hunt through the second day of

December, while waterfowlers in the south zone have until December 26 to chase their web-footed prey. The Androscoggin River from Turner to Durham may have some open water to draw late-season ducks in.

Other Sport A few hunters still chase gray squirrels, and the season remains open until the end of the year.

Four squirrels, the daily limit, make for a great Brunswick stew.

Likewise, hare season is open all month and until the end of March, so a little snow on the ground lets the hunter (with dog or without) see where these quick hoppers have been.

There’s no reason to rush and get the ice-fishing gear ready. December has plenty of sport left in it. Whether you want to get one last crack at a deer, feel like chasing birds and ducks, or just want to plink squirrels, this month has enough in it to keep any of us busy until hardwater season starts.

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58 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

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Living Up to the Land Ethic Everyone has a hero, or so we say. My heroes are not your typical sports or military heroes, nor people who performed superhuman or ultra-courageous feats.

My heroes are people who change the way we think about the world, thereby making our world a better place. They are people who give society hope for a brighter future. Sometimes changing the way people think takes great courage.

So it should come as no surprise that many of my heroes have made great contributions to how we think about nature and the environment.

Voices for the Earth My list includes Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, Teddy Roosevelt (a courageous leader for conservation who gets extra credit for traditional hero status), Rachel Carson, and many others who have been voices for the earth.

One of my greatest heroes is Aldo Leopold, who wrote A Sand County Almanac. Published in 1949, Sand County is considered a bedrock of the conservation movement and a stepping stone toward the environmental movement of the 1960s and 70s.

I’ve been teaching Sand County in my environmental studies class at the University of New England. This summer I traveled to Wisconsin to visit the Aldo Leopold Center and see “the Shack” where he wrote Sand County.

Hunter and Fisherman Leopold was a lifelong www.MaineSportsman.com

As corporate money pours into politics, it has become difficult to find political leaders who will stand up for the environment. We need hunters, anglers and outdoor sports enthusiasts to speak out for the land, the fish, the wildlife, the water and the air.

The author stands in front of The Shack where Aldo Leopold wrote A Sand County Almanac in the 1940s.

hunter and fisherman. He also was a forester and wildlife ecologist who authored the first textbook on “game management.”

He was appointed the nation’s first professor of wildlife management at the University of Wisconsin.

During his early career with the US Forest Service and later at the university, Leopold was a leader in land conservation. He pioneered new forms of forestry, ranching and agriculture that featured a holistic watershed approach to protect soils, vegetation, habitat and water quality.

Sand Farm In 1935, Professor Leopold bought a desolate, worn out “sand farm” near the Wisconsin River so he could put his land management

practices in place on his own property. His family planted trees and worked to restore native prairie vegetation. They turned an old chicken coop into a cabin, called the Shack, where Leopold eventually wrote his master work.

Part memoir and part manifesto, Sand County Almanac recalls Leopold’s long career working to restore lands damaged by destructive management practices. In his most important essay, “The Land Ethic”, Leopold expressed what many of us feel – that humans must consider themselves to be a part of the natural community around us, not separate from it.

He argued that the well-being of human society depends on the well-being of the physical and ecological systems

that support us. He recognized the value of keystone species and apex predators. He appreciated the essential roles that tiny unnoticed plants and creatures played in the complex web of life.

In a beautiful, lyrical style, Leopold conveyed his love for the natural world and his wonder at the mysteries of ecological systems. He then translated his love and wonder into an ethical framework of respect for animals, plants, soil and waters, which he called The Land Ethic.

A Moral Code The Land Ethic is a moral code of conduct – a way to distinguish right and wrong actions – that grows out of our interconnectedness with the land and the recognition that humans and the land are

part of a singular community: “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”

Leopold illustrated with example after example the disastrous consequences that occur when we fall short in this ethical code and instead exploit the land and our natural resources solely for their economic value.

Or when we fail to consider the sometimes predictable, but often unforeseen, impacts of our actions, like polluting the waters and the air, or draining wetlands that support a diversity of flora and fauna. Soil erosion, invasive species, and plant and animal extinction are but a few of the resulting consequences.

Elusive Ideal Sadly, almost 70 years later, Leopold’s Land Ethic remains an elusive ideal. Today, we still find our progress in environmental protection and land conservation compromised by those who are motivated more by self-interest and economic gain than by an appreciation of what is right and wrong for the natural systems on which we depend.

As corporate money has poured into politics, it has become harder to find political leaders who will stand up for the environment and wildlife. Despite the demonstrated success of our federal and state laws in cleaning up our air and water, we face (Continued on page 60)

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——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 59

Blackpowder Bucks, Birds and Bunnies Fill Rangeley Region I’ll never forget the most surreal sight I ever witnessed while hunting with a muzzleloader – a sight that also led to the most frustrating outcome I’ve experienced in all my blackpowder hunting adventures.

The heavy snow seemed to fall in fist-sized clumps, coming down hard and fast as I pulled off the logging road and turned my truck down the narrow skidder trail that led to a group of several openings in the dense forest.

As I crested a hill and came into an opening, I had to brake hard. A huge buck chased a doe right across the path in front of the truck, completely oblivious to me and my pickup truck.

I watched the scene before me and couldn’t believe my eyes … the would-be breeding pair came back across in front of me while I hurried out of the truck to load my Thompson/Center, .50 caliber Hawken rifle.

The author’s still-vivid memory of the two deer frolicking in the falling snow as he struggled to exit his truck and charge his blackpowder Thompson/Center .50, and the frustration that soon followed, is something he’ll never forget.

I could hardly see the two deer as they frolicked in the clearing. The thick snowfall was coming down so hard that it almost obliterated my view of the whitetails even though they stood a mere fifty yards away as I scrambled to charge the blackpowder rifle.

The beautiful creatures slipped off silently into the woods as I put a primer in place and put the hammer in a half-cock position. I tried to quickly catch up with the deer to get a shot, but found that the heavy snowfall immediately filled in the tracks.

I couldn’t believe that snow would ever come down so hard that I couldn’t follow a track. It did that day, and I’ll never forget the surreal and peaceful setting of the

two deer during a heavy snowfall – like a snowy, hunting scene from inside a dime store snow globe.

Easy Stalking A quick scan of the big country north of Rangeley provides late-season deer hunters with loads of great opportunities for finding that December buck. Load up the front stuffer, get into your wool, slip on a pair of boots that offer comfort over a wide range of mileage, and let the blackpowder hunting begin.

Look at the old logging roads that follow the Cupsuptic River from where it intersects the Lincoln Pond Road (Delorme Atlas, Map 28, D-2) and see how they run just about all the way to Canada (Map 28, B-2).

Park near the start of a

dead-end trail and hike in on the quiet surface of the roads. Hunters who sneak along these trails can often hear or spot deer without giving away their own location.

Trails and roads north of the Tim Pond Road (Map 28, C-3 to Map 29, B-2) provide miles of access to the hiking hunter. Gated roads

stop vehicle traffic from ruining a hunt, yet allow for easier stalking. Some of the trails lead hunters directly into the best deer hunting areas in the region.

Gates or impassable bridges on these roads or trails frustrate hunters who try to spot deer from their trucks. Go one step further than the vehicle traffic by parking the truck and walking in beyond the obstructions to find quality hunting areas. A little foot-power (Continued on next page)

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60 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

Rangeley Region (Continued from page 59)

takes hunters into relatively-untouched hunting territory.

Bigwoods Birds Late-season bird hunters can follow this same advice to find grouse in December. Grouse must fill their crop with gravel from the roads to aid in digesting whatever they’re eating. Hunting the graveled paths makes sense if a hunter wants to bag a bird or two.

If the high ground and ridges contain beechnut trees, it would pay off to hunt the trails in these locations. By December, though, the snow cover probably inhibits the birds from foraging at ground level. Look for trails and roads that skirt swampy lowlands. The birds find thermal protection in the heavy cover of the lowland conifers and browse for available food sources there.

The same trails that follow the Cupsuptic

River, mentioned above, offer bird hunters miles of hunting opportunities. Especially note the swampy areas right down by the river itself, and focus any bird hunting in those locations. Where a road or trail intersects a branch of the stream, hike in along one side of the waterway and come back out to the truck on the other side.

Actually, if one takes a close look at the maps above Rangeley, a large percentage of the roads parallel streams or stick to the shoreline of standing water. It probably reflects the logger’s way of working in the woods.

Why would they build an extra bridge if they didn’t have to? It would be simpler for them to just continue a path along side of the waterway, rather than keep crossing back and forth over the many streams and brooks in this region.

Peaceful white-tailed deer browse heavily before a big winter storm. Clunie photo

Hare Covers Snowshoe hare find similar comfort in conifer swamps even before cold weather sets in. Hare hunters who follow the Canada Road north of that bridge can find loads of swampy hare cover where the road gets close to the river. Recent logging operations have also opened up a road on the west side of the river that takes hunters even farther back into prime hare hunting land.

The trails and roads around Jim Pond (Map 29, A-1) also allow hunters access into swampy territory conducive to

good hare populations.

Tributaries to the North Branch of the Dead River have corresponding trails that parallel the waterways, with surrounding lowland. Dropping a rabbit dog in any of these frozen swamps could produce the desired barking music that hare hunters love to hear.

Plenty of lowland surrounds the Dead River near Grand Falls (Map 29, A-5). Hunters looking for more of the same swampy territory can follow the trails around Spencer Stream just north of there for more hare habitat.

Each of these systems of roads takes hunters way back into the wild woods of this region.

Make sure to take precautions when traveling on these remote roads.

Tire chains, four-wheeldrive, and a cell phone or CB radio must be carried to ensure a safe trip. For most of the way, a hunter must understand that they travel at their own risk. Wherever a hunter decides to travel in this region, play it safe and enjoy the beauty of the quiet system of logging roads and trails.

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Sporting Environment (Continued from page 58)

continual assaults at the federal and state level from rollbacks of air and water pollution regulations to the unravelling of protections for wildlands and wildlife.

Despite the consensus among scientists and global leaders that we must halt and reverse emissions of greenhouse gases, the US government today is violating the Land Ethic by rejecting the ecological realities of climate change. Politicians are putting the earth’s long-term well-being at risk in favor of short-term economic protectionism.

Losing Touch As Leopold noted even in 1948, too many people see the land as “the space between cities on which crops grow.” Our citizens and leaders are losing touch with the land.

And a majority of the people alive today are too young to remember the stinking rivers, the smog and filthy air that were the norm in the 60s and 70s. We take too much for granted in our reality TV world.

Yes, a growing contingent is trying to promote sustainability by recycling, installing solar panels, going organic, and buying smaller cars and efficient houses. But their numbers are dwarfed by those who simply www.MaineSportsman.com

Leopold’s holistic watershed approach to land management has restored water quality and trout habitat.

This osprey and fish illustrate Leopold’s Land Ethic and reminds us of the interdependencies within our environment.

greenwash their consciences, or remain oblivious to the impacts of our growing population and economy.

persist in parallel with our human world.

In these troubled times, we need hunters, anglers and outdoor sports enthusiasts to speak out for “the land.” We must give a voice to the fish and wildlife and water and the air.

We, who understand our connection with the natural world, must be courageous enough to speak up to support strong environmental laws and protections.

We need to live up to Aldo Leopold’s Land Ethic more today than ever.

We need to be the heroes.

Our Own Connection Many sportsmen feel a connection to the land and the ecosystems that support the fish and wildlife that are integral to our favorite outdoor activities.

Many of us love to hunt, fish, hike and photograph precisely because doing so accentuates and strengthens that connection.

These activities immerse us in nature, forging a direct link to the life and death struggles and harsh realities of existence that

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——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 61

Two Lesser-Known Tick-Transmitted Diseases It is important to begin treatment early to prevent serious, potentially life-threatening complications.

One of the reasons small and large mammals are trapped and hunted is to reduce or eliminate dangerous conflicts between humans and wildlife.

One of the “dangerous conflicts” is the transmission of diseases from wildlife to humans.

By now, everyone has heard of Lyme disease.

Its cause, symptoms and the ongoing efforts at treatment are well-documented.

Less well known, however, are two other “tick diseases” that outdoorsmen may encounter, and those are the focus of this column.

Avoiding Tick Diseases Sportsmen, be they trappers, hunters, anglers or others wandering around in the outdoors, may be exposed to a variety of diseases, including those related to ticks.

Our behavior in the woods and fields, including what we’re doing, how we are moving and the steps we take to protect ourselves, are directly related to whether or not we contract tickborne diseases. So how do we prevent them?

The two most important steps are: 1) Wear clothing sprayed with repellent such as Permethrin (after carefully following application guidelines, and avoiding spraying the substance on the skin, or in the eyes or mouth); and 2) At the end of the afield or in the woods, perform careful bodychecks for ticks.

By now everyone is familiar with Lyme disease, but here are two more reasons to take all reasonable steps to avoid tick bites.

Trappers as Citizen-Scientists In the past, Maine trappers have taken an active part in several studies done by the Vector-borne Disease Laboratory of the Maine Medical Center Research Institute in Scarborough, ME. This was accomplished by trappers collecting and furnishing ticks from various species of furbearers to the research laboratory.

Disease #1: HGE/HGA The first “other-thanLyme” disease is known as Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis (HGE), or Human Granulocytic Anaplasmosis (HGA).

HGE/HGA was first described in the upper Midwest in 1994. It is

currently found in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and upper Midwest.

This recent-emerging rickettsial disease is established by serial blood passage in a mouse host.

Larval deer ticks acquire the infection by feeding on mice, and then effectively transmit the bacteria through their life stages to adult deer ticks.

Mice serve as “reservoirs” for the bacteria, as well as for several other diseases, including the well known Lyme disease.

Symptoms; Treatment As is the case with most rickettsial diseases, HGE/HGA is associated with nonspecific signs and symptoms. Fever, malaise (general feeling of the onset of illness), myalgia (muscle pains)

and headaches (that do not get better with overthe-counter medicines) are the most common symptoms reported by those patients with HGE/ HGA. Less commonly, affected individuals may experience anemia, chills, confusion, cough, fatigue, fever, headache, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting or weakness.

Most patients have reported a tick bite, but only a few report a rash (such as with Lyme disease). Symptoms usually appear 7 to 14 days after being bitten by an infected tick.

Appropriate antibiotic intervention is effective for management of HE/HGA. The recommended schedule and dosages are the same as that for treating Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

Disease #2: Human Babesiosis Human babesiosis is another important emerging tick-borne disease.

In Europe, cattle are the most common agents of human babesiosis in Europe. Here in the U.S., babesiosis microti, a babesial parasite of small mammals, has been the cause of many cases in humans since 1969, resulting in mild to severe disease.

The first identified infection found caused by babesia in a human was in 1957 in the former Yugoslavia. The first in the U.S. was in 1969 in Massachusetts.

In the U.S., babesiosis is endemic in the Northeast. Additional cases have been reported in the Midwest and West Coast.

Babesiosis is a zoonotic (mammal to human) disease, requiring transmission from an animal reservoir to humans via a tick – the same as Lyme disease and HGE/HGA. Of more than 70 species worldwide in the genus Babesia, human infections are largely due to rodent strain B-microti (found in the U.S.), and cattle strain B-divergens, and B-bovis (found only in Europe). Several cases in California and Washington State have been described from an unknown species of babesia (designated as WA-1) which is closely related to B-gibsoni, a canine bacte(Continued on page 63) www.MaineSportsman.com

62 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

Warden’s Worry – A Classic Pattern Revisited With new trout flies and lures coming on the market on a regular basis, it seems little wonder that some great old-time fish-catchers should fall by the wayside.

But when this happens it often isn’t the trout that have forsaken the old offering, but rather it’s the anglers who have let a good lure or fly pattern fall into disuse.

And who can blame them? The world of fishing lures and flies contains a mind-boggling array of choices. But sometimes an old triedand-true trout-slayer gets a new lease on life.

As an example, I wonder how many anglers have a Warden’s Worry bucktail in their tackle box or fly collection? If my guess is correct, the answer is very few.

when nothing else works.

Want a bucktail that’s great for brookies, togue, brown trout and even smallmouth bass? Then rediscover Maine’s own orange, red and yellow Warden’s Worry For many years it was brook trout fans who cast their Warden’s Worry bucktails to waiting brookies in tannin-stained beaver flowages and small, shady, mountain ponds. The big attraction of this venerable fly pattern is its color. Orange was always a wise bet for brook trout, and it remains so today.

And Warden’s Worry certainly contains its share of orange. Likewise trout favor red and yellow, two other prominent colors found in the Warden’s Worry.

Deep Trolling But casting in the traditional manner isn’t the only way to take fish

with a Warden’s Worry.

Having used another orange-bodied fly, the Wood Special, to good effect while trolling, I decided that Warden’s Worry should work at least as well. And to my delight, it does.

Fishing with the assistance of a downrigger, I recently began trying some old favorite bucktails and streamers. The technique entails tying a fly about 18 inches behind a size 00 silver dodger. Flies don’t have any inherent action and so are most effective when trolled quite fast. But fast doesn’t work well when fishing 30 or 40 feet down.

But with the help of a dodger, the fly becomes alive, wiggling up and down as the dodger wobbles its way through the water, transferring its energy to the fly. And trout find all this irresistible.

I spent much of the past open-water fishing season experimenting with a Warden’s Worry, just to see what might bite on it. First off, a small pond gave up a goodsized brook trout. It was an off day (there were an unusual number of these this year) and that was the only fish that bit. But it showed how deep-trolling with an old-fashioned bucktail can elicit bites

Alan Gallant, a friend of Maine Sportsman columnist Tom Seymour, pulled this 10-pound, 4.2-ounce brown trout from the waters of Alford Lake in early August. Gallant had the trophy weighed on certified scales at Morrill General Store. www.MaineSportsman.com

Universal Appeal Then I found that rainbow trout fell all over themselves for the dodger/Warden’s Worry combination. And when these hefty exotics hit, they didn’t fool around. Rainbow trout, like salmon, never really quit fighting, and when taken on relatively light tackle, via a downrigger, the battle quickly becomes heated.

One day I had two rods out, one with a live baitfish, the other rigged with a dodger and Warden’s Worry. What happened next was something rare. First one rod sprang up, the one with the baitfish. About halfway through the fight, the other rod began bending and throbbing. But there was nothing to do but try to land the first fish and hope that the other remained on the hook.

And wonder of wonders, I was able to net the first rainbow trout, drop the rod and net and grab the other rod. And to my amazement, the trout was still attached. After finally tiring the second fish, it was necessary to upend the net so as to remove the first fish and then quickly net the other. The episode was one I’ll remember for a long time.

Another day found me out deep-trolling for togue. Again I used two rods, a live baitfish on one, a Warden’s Worry on the other. After more than three hours without as much as a bite, it seemed that none of my (Continued on next page)

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——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 63 (Continued from page 62)

store of tricks could interest a togue. And then at the last minute, the rod with the Warden’s Worry began thrashing, and I landed a handsome togue.

Finally, back at the rainbow trout lake, a fish hit that – while strong and powerful – didn’t convey the “electric” feel that a trout does. What was it? The answer came after a lot of give-and-take of my line. It was, to my dismay, a smallmouth bass of considerable proportions. The worst of it, though, was that the fly hook was so thoroughly imbedded in the bass’s maw that removing it bent my fly into a pretzel shape, an ignoble fate for a great fly.

Maine Flies Maine, with its long history of trout and salmon fishing, spawned a number of streamer and bucktail fly patterns.

Accordingly, Warden’s Worry was the brainchild of then-Maine Warden

Supervisor Joseph S. Stickney, back around 1930. And while primarily designed to take trout and also, salmon, Warden’s Worry takes a back seat to no fly pattern regarding its universal fish-catching prowess.

But time has a way of dimming even the brightest lights, and bucktails – while still used for fly casting – are rarely used for trolling. That, however, should change once new generations of Maine anglers rediscover the fish-catching nature of Warden’s Worry and other bucktails.

And while I’ve outlined Warden’s Worry’s use behind a dodger for deep trolling, this fly also takes plenty of trout when fished alone on a sinking fly line. Trolling with streamer flies has a long and honorable history, but most anglers use feather-wing patterns.

However, for those seeking brook trout, colorful old bucktails make an excellent choice.

As well as Warden’s

Trapping Silent Places (Continued from page 61)

rium or virus.

A fatal case of babesiosis occurred in Missouri from a strain (NO-1) that is closely related to the B-divergens strain. Test for B-microti do not detect infections due to these other strains.

In the northeastern U.S., the black legged deer tick (the same tick that transmits Lyme disease) is the principal vector for transmitting B-microti. Babesia species from rodents, primarily the deer mouse (but also field mice, vole, rat and chipmunks) are transmitted to humans during tick bites.

How the Disease Spreads The tick has three developmental stages: lava, nymph and adult, with each stage requiring a blood meal for development into the next stage.

As larva and nymph, the tick feeds on rodents, but as an adult, ticks prefer to feed on whitetail deer. Female ticks are infected while obtaining their blood meal on deer, and can pass on the infection through their 20,000 eggs.

Human infection is primarily produced by the bite of the infected “nymph” during a

The venerable Warden’s Worry took this fine rainbow trout. Seymour photo

Worry performs on brook trout, it’s also a prime pattern for brown trout and rainbow trout. Brown trout, in particular, often prove difficult to take.

So any offering that can attract wily brown trout has a promising future.

Warmwater Ponds Since brown trout and rainbow trout can

withstand higher water temperatures than brook trout, these non-natives fill an important gap, since they do well in lakes and ponds where brook trout cannot survive. With Warden’s Worry’s bright, alluring colors, trout may well take the bucktail for a juvenile yellow perch or other

blood meal.

The proximity of deer, mouse, and the tick create conditions that result in increased human infection. Curtailment of deer hunting in many areas has increased the risk.

The incubation period after a tick bite is usually is 1-3 weeks, but occasionally can be as long as 9 weeks. Because the nymph (primary vector) is only 2mm in diameter when engorged, most patients do not recall a tick bite.

Babesia species in the host vary in size, and may look pear-shaped, oval or round.

Their ring form and peripheral location in the red blood cells of the host frequently lead to their being mistaken for a similar-appearing malaria parasite.

Babesiosis is rarely acquired through blood transfusions. The incubation period in those transfusion-associated diseases appears to be 6-9 weeks.

Immunization transmission has also occurred in rare cases. The spectrum of disease manifestation is broad, ranging from a silent infection to a malaria-like disease, which results in severe dissolution or disintegration of red blood cells and occasionally death. The precise mechanism of hemolysis

coarse fish.

Flies designed as smelt imitations for salmon fishing can and do take all species of trout. But better, I think, to use a fly that emulates the native forage base. And Maine’s own Warden’s Worry fills that bill admirably.

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is unknown.

Human Body Has Own Defenses The spleen offers a critical host defense against this infection, as suggested by higher incidence and greater severity of babesiosis in asplenic patients. The spleen traps infected red blood cells, and the cells ingest and consume the foreign bodies. The disease itself alters cellular immune function.

In the U.S., infection with B-microti in otherwise healthy individuals is rare; however, symptomatic infection is common in patients who are asplenic, older patients, and those with underlying medical conditions, including human immunodeficiency virus infections.

Disease manifestations range from asymptomic infection in healthy individuals to severe illness and death in those who are asplentic, elderly, or immune-compromised.

Age also plays a factor in the severity of the clinical response, as most previously-healthy individuals who contract babesiosis are older than 60.

So as you can see it’s important to repel ticks if possible, and otherwise remove them quickly – and not just because of Lyme disease!

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64 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

The Importance of Maintaining a Written Logbook at Your Wilderness Camp

.Co L .

Now’s the Time Maybe you’ve considered keeping a diary or log, but just can’t find the time to do it during the fall when you are spending every daylight hour you can afield.

Now that it’s early winter, fill that lonesome time gap with the thrill of reliving the memories of the past fall’s hunts while they are still fresh in your mind. Even if no one ever reads them, the writing—and embellishment—processes alone are sufficiently entertaining and rewarding to justify the effort.

If there is a sake of posterity, then that’s

even better.

Camp Log Provides History My great-grandfather built a camp on a remote mountain pond in the early 1960s. Before the camp was even built, a log was started.

The first entry describes his exploration of the lot and ideas for potential building sites.

Since then, every visit in the last fifty-eight years has been recorded in fair detail. (You can also find the score of nearly every Red Sox game played for a thirty-year period— who needs Google, anyway?)

I have spent many a time at camp under the glow of a propane mantle reading the surreal tales of bountiful breakfast feasts; charred walls over the stove; flying squirrels inside; bullet holes in the camp ceilings and walls; incredible shooting; terrible misses; frozen firing pins; game warden stakeouts; lost hunters; big bucks; trophy trout; snapped leaders; whiteout blizzards; collapsed bridges; heart attacks; moose attacks; panic attacks over mice; and thousands of other heart-wrenching and hilarity-ensuing episodes.

This is what keeps me

coming back. This is what sustains me.

The Log as a Research Tool Even if you don’t find the detailed process of story-writing worthy of your time, there are still some practical applications for a brief written record. I know several hunters and fisherman who record the statistics of their successes (or failures) in relation to the location, date, weather and moon phase. They then reflect upon their years of data to target specific locations and times to hunt or fish—making their efforts all the more effi(Continued on next page)

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Once December rolls around and the depressing darkness of the cold winter is upon us, many sportsmen find themselves at a loss. The major hunting seasons are over. Now what do you do?

If you don’t shedhunt, ice fish, chase coyotes or run rabbits, you need to find something else to sustain you. You need something to keep that fire burning inside your adventurous soul, longing to be back exploring the autumn woods.

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——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 65 (Continued from page 64)

cient.

Even if you don’t have a camp log, you don’t have to look too far for a good read. Many local sporting goods stores sell books containing local histories or tales by local outdoor adventurers.

Best Store-Boughten Books This past summer, I encountered one of the best reads of my life in Paul Doherty’s Smoke from a Thousand Campfires. Doherty, a late “fish cop” in the Gorham, NH area (where I live) tells the tales of the 1950s and 60s townsfolk and outdoorsmen. The characters and stories he recounts are of wonderful entertainment—leaving the reader longing for the times gone by of a hardworking, tough, tellit-like-it-is, small-town America. This really was the greatest generation.

Another of the best reads I’ve encountered

dred yards is The Young from where Moose Huntmy camp is ers (by C. today. They A. Stevens; were fishing 1882), a firstthe same rivhand account er bends and of several hunting the Maine college same ridges kids, who had that I have no outdoor been trampexperience, ing over for trapping in years. I can the wild wilread a pasderness of sage from Parmachenee Lake (where The author’s great-grandfather, Ralph Emerson, built this the book and my family camp in Philips Brook Valley, NH in the mid 1940s. Photo then literally retrace their has had a circa 1950. If only the walls could talk... steps to the camp for the ment of their first moose exact locations, given the past fifty years) in order sighting, bear trapping, description of physical to pay for their schooling. and being robbed at gunlandmarks.

The sheer amount of time point and left naked to Maybe it’s just the and sweat it took for them die by French fur-traphistory teacher in me— to get to the NH-Canada ping bandits. but I find this to be pretcorner of the state at a The most exciting ty dang neat! At the very time in the 1860s, where parts of these kinds of least, it’s exciting enough the farthest north settlespecifically local books is to ease the passage of a ment was Bethel, is inthat it gives the modern dull winter. comprehensible. adventuring sportsmen a If the local outdoor Stevens recounts the different perspective on texts are too obscure (or incredible tales of being places they have actually expensive) for your area, stalked by catamounts, been and explored. The one can still find enjoyhunting caribou (yes, young moose hunters set ment in the classics: the there were caribou in up camp just a few hunBenoit books, Hal Blood’s Maine!), the bewilder-

books, or quite a few great books about Adirondack big woods buck hunting. Also, there are many options out there written by retired Game Wardens detailing funny stories and cat and mouse experiences with poachers that are much more entertaining than CSI, or NCIS. I’ve found that reading and writing outdoor anecdotes, though still not the same as hiking the ridges with a rifle in hand, is just about as close as it gets. My blood still gets pumping and my thoughts carried away. And when I resume my trekking in the spring, summer, or fall, a new level of excitement, direction, and purpose has assumed command of my meanderings.

And though it may not necessarily lead to a big buck, the rewards of experience, adventure, discovery, and reflection are just as rewarding.

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66 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

Staying on Stand Longer Requires Proper Preparation I don’t know about other deer hunters, but I have a hard time sitting still for hours at a time – we’ll actually, I have a hard time sitting still for minutes at a time. In light of that, I’d like to dedicate this column to those of us who sit in a stand during the freezing-cold month of December.

Even in warm weather, sitting still for any length of time can be difficult for most of us. I need a drink of water occasionally, to clear my throat and quench my thirst. If I don’t take a drink now and then, I often find myself struggling to avoid a disruptive coughing session.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not the nervous, anxious type who just can’t sit still. I usually can outdo most at keeping really still when focusing on a shot at a deer or something similar; it’s just that I have some medical issues that get my legs and back muscles cramping if I sit for too long of a period of time.

Over the years, I have discovered several various tricks to get around this problem that might also help other hunters who take a stand in the woods during the cold months of November and December.

Let me first explain how I set up a stand for taking deer in Maine.

Typical Stand Hunting First of all, I don’t hunt from a tree stand; it’s just not for me. I have tried them all, and will only climb a fixed ladder stand on occasion. I’ve tried climbers, too, and found them to be very awkward for me. During warmer weather I might use one, but probably never will – I can set a ground blind up just as easily.

I like to wander the woods bird hunting in October with a small backpack carrying a small saw, 550 line, and a small axe. When I locate an area of heavy deer sign (rubs, scrapes and big buck tracks), I find a place downwind (to

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the southeast) about fifty to seventy yards from one of the scrapes and build a small blind on the ground.

I like to surround the blind with some kind of cover that breaks up my silhouette if I’m standing, but also allows me to see when I’m seated. That way I can slowly stand up and sit down occasionally without alarming the deer. I believe deer often spot stand hunters well before they get into range simply because a hunter moves a little and gives away their position.

Even with this kind of cover surrounding the blind, I still minimize my movements and always move very slowly while keeping my eyes open for any incoming deer. The security of cover, even when standing, allows me to move a little and stay warmer and more comfortable for a longer period of time – a cure for a problem that I believe causes failure when stand hunting. Most hunters abandon their stand too early because they get cold or uncomfortable way too soon.

Fight the Freeze While sitting in one position can cause discomfort, getting cold remains as one of the biggest problems to overcome when stand hunting in chilly weather. Hunters can do several things to fight the freeze and remain on stand longer.

Always eat a good breakfast before heading out the door in the morning. Eating a breakfast of eggs and bacon or cornedbeef hash with homefries will get your body creat-

(Continued on next page)

Dixfield resident Mike Palmer read about the author’s stand-hunting methods in The Maine Sportsman and found great success with this big 241-pound buck in 2012. Clunie photo

ing some heat of its own.

Also, take a good lunch to keep you from getting hungry later in the day. Just make sure to avoid noisy wrappers or stinky food items. I seal my lunch trash in a Ziploc bag and then wipe or spray the bag down with a scent-eliminating product after lunch.

Get to the stand and put on more clothes than you think you’ll need for the day. I regard wool as one of the best clothing products for the woods, and this year I’ll be snug and warm in a hunting suit from Maine’s own Big Woods Bucks (bigwoodsbucks.com) – a

three-season suit creatively stitched for layering by outdoor clothing manufacturer Silent Predator (silentpredator. ca). The premium wool used in this top-quality BWB product effectively fights the coldest temperatures a Maine winter can throw at a hunter.

I find that for me, and probably many other cold-weather hunters, keeping my feet warm sure helps to keep the rest of my body warm. I always wear sock liners, then a pair of premium wool socks over the liners.

Don’t skimp on spending some big bucks on a pair (Continued on next page)

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——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 67 (Continued from page 66)

of high-quality boots – a good pair of insulated boots will be well worth it when the temperatures drop.

A Few Tricks I use a few tricks to help stay warm that seem kind of funny, but they work for me, such as trying my best to remain as scent-free as possible. I understand that I’ll never be able to completely eliminate my scent and that a deer will always

Fifty to seventy yards downwind from an area containing lots of big deer sign, I build a small ground blind, which I surround with some type of cover that breaks up my silhouette if I’m standing, but also allows me to see when I’m seated. smell me because of their awesome nose. I just do my best to eliminate as much as I can, with the thought that every little bit helps in getting a wily white-tailed deer close to my position.

I chew spruce gum to cover my breath odors, and always have a spray

bottle of scent-eliminating solution to occasionally use during the stand hunt.

Eliminate caffeine products to avoid excessive urination that produces a heavy scent. I fill a pee bottle one quarter full of scent-eliminating fluid so that when I use

the bottle, the scent from the urine immediately gets eliminated.

I always carry in my backpack a closed-cell foam pad to sit on, even if I’m not hunting from a fixed location. Also, I use those heat-producing packs whenever the temps get way down

there. It’s amazing how much those things help to take off the chill.

Most of all, a hunter needs to set their mind to the task before them – prepare for sitting out there all day in any temperatures. Hunters who are fully confident in their preparations can stay out longer and maintain a better attitude while waiting for the buck of a lifetime to come into view.

¶

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Smilin’

Send your best hunting & fishing stories, and your favorite jokes, to the editor at will@mainesportsman.com

A stranger walked into a Greenville bar, approached three big men and said, “Hey fellas, want to hear a good Warden joke?”

“Actually,” growled the nearest patron, “I’ve been a Warden for 25 years. Bruno here has been a Warden for 30 years, and Arnold, to your immediate right, has been a Warden for 35 years. Now, do you still want to tell us your Warden joke?”

“Nah, I guess not,” said the stranger. “I wouldn’t want to have to explain it three times.”

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Said one mechanic to another: “You know, I used to think I was addicted to brake fluid.”

“But …?”

“But now I realize I can stop any time I want!”

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• So much has changed since Pete the Poacher read in The Maine Sportsman that he’d been indicted.

For instance, his name, address and telephone number!

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• I didn’t realize my hunting buddy was a construction site thief, but when I got to the cabin, all the signs were there.

The Smilin' Sportsman Youth Edition Kids! Send your best hunting & fishing stories, and your favorite jokes, to the editor at will@mainesportsman.com Said one hunter to another: “My wife gets upset when I steal her kitchen utensils and bring them up to camp.”

“But …?”

“But it’s a whisk I’m willing to take.”

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• What do you call a magic dog? A Labracadabrador.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Did you hear the one about the loud-talking Amish man who prevailed upon the mildmannered Amish woman to marry him?

Six months after the wedding, he was driving her buggy!

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• What do you call a fish that’s not very smart?

A dumb bass!

www.MaineSportsman.com

70 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

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The Struggle of Early-Season Duck Hunting I was excited for the early duck hunting season, counting down the days till Opening Day, making sure my calls were good, the decoys were all set and we had plenty of shells.

This was also going to be the first time I hunted with a semi-automatic shotgun – the Benelli Super Black Eagle 3. I couldn’t wait to shoot it.

I liked everything about this shotgun. I could shoot clay pigeons just fine with it. Before that, I used an 870 pump action shotgun – still a great gun, but I really liked the new Benelli.

Tough to Sleep On the Friday night before Opening Day, I

In his first experiences in the marsh with a new Benelli semi-automatic shotgun, our young hunter goes through a box of shells before coming to the realization that it’s quality of shot, not quantity, that brings the birds to hand. was with my buddy Andrew, and everything was ready. The boat was loaded up, the decoys were in the back, and we set the alarm for 4:00 a.m.

But I just couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking – did we put the blind in the right spot? Am I going to mess up my calling?

What if the ducks don’t like the decoys? These thoughts circled through my head, and then morning came before I knew it.

We got up, got dressed, drank our coffee, and checked over

our gear one last time to make sure we had everything. Then we put on our waders on and headed to the lake at 5:30.

Ignoring the Decoys After we were all set up, I could hear mallards quacking. We waited until shooting time, and then we saw lots of ducks flying.

But none would even look at the decoys. I think they just didn’t want to be where we were. So we went home.

Try, Try Again My dad and I located

what we hoped would be a better spot. We waited till the last Saturday of the season, got up early and went through the usual process of packing up and then going out.

We started seeing ducks. They came through the marsh, flying by. I was excited, but when the ducks came in shooting range I just couldn’t hit anything! I had lots of good chances, good shells, but at the end of the day I figured that that what I really needed was more practice.

Another thing – with the semi-automatic, it’s easy to keep pulling the trigger and empty your three shots, while before, using a pump, you can’t do that.

When second season comes, I will remember to think about my shots.

Pick one bird instead emptying my gun when I’m not even hitting anything.

And practice is important. It’s no fun emptying a box of shells for one bird. It doesn’t work.

It’s easy to do, especially if you don’t have experience shooting semi-automatic shotguns ... not to mention, it’s also embarrassing.

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Luke and his buddy Andrew take up a concealed position in the swamp. www.MaineSportsman.com

Once he gets more comfortable with his new Benelli semi-automatic shotgun, the author is certain to have more days like this.

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——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 71

The Young Maine Sportswoman with Alyssa Sansoucy Colder Weather Doesn’t Slow Down Home from Home ThisAway Young Sportswoman

183 State Street Suite 101 Augusta, ME 04330

There are many things you can do during the winter months, including muzzleloader hunting, ice fishing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, and rabbit hunting. In this column I want to tell you a few of my favorites.

Muzzleloading Muzzleloader hunting is your second chance at getting a deer if you were unable to get one during the regular bow and rifle season.

I have only hunted during the muzzleloader season one year, but this is my third year of owning a blackpowder firearm. During the regular deer season, I use a .308 Remington.

The one year I did hunt with a muzzleloader, I found it really fun – but it was also really cold.

However, one good thing about it is there’s more likely to be snow on the ground, so it’s easier to find fresh tracks in the snow and to track deer.

Also, after a light snow, it’s very quiet walking in the woods compared to stepping on loud, frozen leaves earlier in the fall.

Using a muzzle loader is not much different from using a regular rifle, except you have to handpack the bullets in, and you only have one shot before you have to reload.

Bottom line? You’ve got to make the first shot count!

Ice Fishing Every Weekend My favorite thing once hunting ends is waiting for the ice to get thick enough to go ice fishing.

Once it’s safe, I am on the

The bottom line when using a muzzleloader for deer -make the first shot count!

This is the muzzleloader my Dad bought me three years ago so I could extend my hunting season into December.

ice almost every weekend.

I usually start out by sticking close to my house until the bigger ponds and lakes freeze up enough to take a wheeler

or truck out on.

My favorite spots to fish are Ossipee, Kennebunk Pond, Estes Lake, and Lake Sebago.

I am always on the ice an hour before sun-

rise so all my traps are in the water and have hopefully gotten a flag before the sun comes up. After my dad makes the holes with the auger, I follow behind and clean out the

These are four trout we caught one day. We kept them only because they had swallowed the bait and weren’t going to live if released. We usually release all fish unless they won’t live and are legal to keep.

ice chunks left behind.

Then we each take a sled containing traps and bait, and begin setting up our own traps.

On really cold mornings, it takes us a while to get fully set up because of how cold it is – after placing each trap, we warm our hands up and take breaks.

Even if we don’t catch much during a day’s fishing, I always have fun, especially if friends join.

We ride around on the snowmobile or wheeler, or walk along the smooth ice, waiting for the fish to trip the flags.

Hare Hunting A final activity I really enjoy is rabbit hunting and trapping. I have been rabbit hunting only a few times, and so far I have not been successful.

I’ve never been trapping, but I’d like to learn how.

So this year I plan to try rabbit hunting again, and maybe even learn how to trap.

These are just a few of the fun things you can do during the winter months, but there are tons more.

Even if there’s not snow on the ground, winter can be fun. The real trick is just to dress up warm and get outside, because you won’t have any of this fun if you sit around inside.

So this winter, tell yourself you are going to get outside and enjoy winter. You’ve just got to decide that you enjoy the outdoors, and you’ve got to be willing to try new activities.

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www.MaineSportsman.com

72 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

— Guest Column —

by Jason Tome

The Thanksgiving Buck A pressured mature white-tailed buck is arguably one of the toughest game animals to harvest in the world. They make few mistakes and are adept at avoiding hunters. They have been conditioned to use the wind in their favor and stay in the thickest cover available. Their powerful nose can identify human scent a quarter-mile away under the right conditions.

They adapt their behavior by becoming mostly nocturnal during the onslaught of hunting season in order to avoid hunters during legal hunting hours. Their instincts and skills gained from surviving many previous hunting seasons are what makes harvesting one of these mature bucks a great challenge.

“The Stump” My passion for this challenge had me sitting on an old snowy rotted stump during the late morning of Thanksgiving 2016. This stump is located on my grandfather’s property, and it’s a stump on which I’ve sat many times before. The hunters in my family refer to it simply as “the stump.”

It earned this title – and our admiration and appreciation – for the impressive results it has offered in the past, as it is located next to a natural escape route. Every time I sit there, I reminisce past hunts, both the successful and nearly-successful, which can be recalled in exquisite detail.

I brushed clean the six inches of accumulated snowfall from the night before, and took a seat. It was a comfortable-enough place to sit and wait 45 minutes for www.MaineSportsman.com

The author spent last Thanksgiving hunting from a perch on “The Stump,” a traditional spot used by his family for many years, while his dad tried to push deer toward him.

That day, the author played a big role in taking a massive 9-point buck – but not in the way he’d intended!

The author’s father dragging out his buck on a beautiful Thanksgiving evening.

Dad. The Plan The plan was for him to walk a piece of woods toward me, in order to move any deer in my direction. This tactic is called a “push.” Forty-five minutes is the length it usually takes the pusher to push this piece of woods and regroup with the sitter. I had dropped him off earlier with the truck, about a half-mile down the road.

While waiting on the stump, my focus began to drift away from deer hunting and toward my surroundings. The forest had a sense of beauty I had not noticed before – the sensation materialized as I became aware of it, and I soon became immersed.

The crisp air, dampening effect of snow and lack of wind made for one

of the quietest days in the woods I’d ever experienced. The only sounds in the forest came from the occasional fluff of snow falling from warming boughs of balsam and spruce trees, or the frequent black-capped chickadee chirps followed by their fluttering wings and rustling nearby.

So Where’s Dad? Over an hour had passed since Dad started his march in my direction, and I was getting uneasy about the time it was taking. We had done this push many times before, and it had never taken more than 45 minutes.

I stood up and decided to text him. I attempted to get my phone out of my pocket quietly, which was no easy task due to the sticky rubber phone case that clings to fabric

like a magnet, compounded by my poor decision to put it in the same pocket as the brass-encased ammunition. On such a still morning, the clang of ammunition would send any deer in the immediate area to hightail it out of there.

After a few minutes of fumbling around in my pocket, I got my phone out silently, and then promptly dropped it into the snow. Displeased with my stupidity, I leaned over to pick up my phone, resulting in all the ammo falling out of my pocket, since the pocket was half turned inside-out as the result of my earlier wrestling with the phone.

The cartridges landed on the stump and they all clanged together. With my wet phone in hand and cartridges strewn everywhere, I couldn’t help

but chuckle to myself. I was glad nobody else had witnessed what had happened.

No Witnesses?

Confident there were no deer around me at this point, I wiped my phone off on my orange fleece hunting vest and managed to send Dad a text message: “Where are you?”

He replied, “Heading into the second piece of woods.”

Shocked, I texted back “Hold on – I’m still at the first piece!”

Apparently, there was some miscommunication, and he thought he was supposed to go straight to the adjacent piece of woods to push without meeting up with me first.

This was bad news, because it’s crucial to be in the right spot before the push happens in order to intersect deer as they run out of the area.

Dad is known for not looking at his phone, so I knew I had to get to my second location fast – there was a good chance he wouldn’t read my last message and would continue the push.

The Sprint I grabbed my rifle and hurriedly made my way toward my second spot, which is strategically situated for this specific push. When I got a quarter of the way there, I noticed there were fresh tracks all around.

One easily-distinguishable set of tracks was mixed in with the others. They were big, and showed a side-to-side swagger and splayed toes with deep dew claws, which are tell-tale signs (Continued on next page)

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of weighty whitetail buck.

Coupled with the fact that I could smell the unmistakable musky scent of buck tarsal glands, I knew the buck couldn’t be far.

I was overcome with excitement.

I looked ahead at the direction of the tracks, squinting as my eyes followed them across a bright snowy apple orchard into the forest on the other side. This was the piece of woods dad was pushing!

Boom!

Quickly, I hustled through the deep snow and across the orchard, frantic to get into position. Out of breath after a 250-yard dash, I finally made it to my spot. I situated myself where I could overlook a large gully that had also acted as a natural escape route for deer many times before.

No sooner had I got into position when the roaring BOOM! of a rifle pierced through the morning air. My heart pounded as I prepared for that big buck that was no doubt bounding down the gully toward me.

Seconds later, the sound of loud thrashing and branches snapping came from my left, and two deer erupted from the thick brush down through the gully. I pulled my rifle up, took the safety off, pulled the cold stock into my cheek and brought the crosshairs to the first deer – a doe. Then to the second – another doe.

Sinking Heart When the excitement was over and I realized a buck wasn’t going to pass by, I lowered my gun and my heart sank. After the woods calmed, I remembered the shot that rang out – it had clearly been in Dad’s direction.

I got my phone out of my pocket, which was beaded with water and sweat from the run, and

The author (right) and his father would agree -- the hunt may have not gone as planned, but the outcome was better than expected.

texted Dad: “That you?” but I didn’t get a response.

Dad Reappears A half-hour or so passed but I hadn’t heard back. I assumed Dad was checking up on his shot to see if his bullet had connected with the deer.

I was getting anxious to hear about what had unfolded, and my legs were starting to ache from standing, so I wished he’d hurry up.

For safety reasons, I remained where I was so Dad would know where I’d be in case he needed a follow-up shot.

Moments later I saw blaze orange slip into the gully. It was Dad, with a big smile on his face.

When dad met up with me he was shaking, both from the excitement and from the cold heavy snow that kept falling

down the neck of his jacket from brushing against the softwood boughs. His shoulders had accumulated at least an inch of snow.

He said, “The buck was watching you run across the field like a wild man and had no idea that I was coming up behind him.”

In other words, both my dad and the deer had seen me running!

Shaking in Admiration and Respect “Did you make a good shot?” I asked. He nodded, and led the way to where the buck had fallen.

I sat in the snow holding the large, thick-tined antlers of Dad’s buck.

I counted nine points, which were polished from the year’s rubbing activity and glistened in

the now-afternoon sun.

I watched Dad as he sat behind the deer and smoothed out the deer’s coarse hair. His hands were still slightly shaking from the excitement.

He was in deep admira-

tion and very thankful for the animal.

By the time we were done field dressing, we were late for Thanksgiving dinner. We hoped Mom wouldn’t scold us too badly for being late for Thanksgiving dinner, but agreed it was well worth the trouble.

Dad and I each grabbed a side of the antlers and started the drag out of the woods back to the truck. The large-bodied deer slid easily over the thick snowfall.

As we dragged, we passed “the stump,” and I thought to myself that this special place had provided yet another memorable hunt I would reminisce on during future stump hunts to come.

As we dragged out the buck, I realized I was both hungry and chilled. I imagine Dad was thinking the same thing I was – how much better a heaping plate of oven-baked turkey, stuffing and warm apple pie was going to taste after we completed this hard work.

Jason Tome recently graduated from the University of Maine with a degree in wildlife ecology, and works for an environmental consulting company.

¶

The author’s father holds the buck up one last time before the two hunters make their way to Thanksgiving dinner. www.MaineSportsman.com

74 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

— Guest Column —

by Randy Randall

Grandfather’s “Extra” Trout Grandfather went fishing any day that was decent. He was a fairweather fisherman, but still he went fishing so often he caught a lot of fish.

None of his catch was wasted.

Grandmother was as good a cook as Grandfather was a fisherman. She expertly prepared and served just about everything he brought home: brook trout, mackerel, cunner, cod, flounder, white perch, crappie, and even boney old pickerel. No matter what the fish, Grandmother had a recipe.

Cleaning Fish – “A Process” But before Grandmother could work her magic, it was up to Grandfather to clean the fish, and that was a process. I helped him many times and remember his preparations and routine.

He began with two pails – one full of flounders recently caught in the Scarborough Marsh, the other with fresh water for rinsing.

He pulled a rickety sawhorse into the opening of the barn door where there was bright sunlight. He sat on an overturned bucket with an old lifejacket for a cushion.

Grandfather owned an LL Bean fisherman’s folding knife.

The handle was boneyellow, and there was a hook sharpening stone embedded in the side.

There were two blades: one a long thin filleting blade, and the other serrated for de-scaling fish.

He laid old newspaper over the sawhorse and set a small whetstone www.MaineSportsman.com

I adored Gramps, and we saw eye to eye on everything – except bag limits. That day at the pond we had our limit within an hour, but Grandfather kept fishing. He slid the bonus trout into the tops of his waders. nearby.

Just before picking up the first fish, Grandfather reached into his pocket and pulled out a small block of Day’s Work chewing tobacco.

Grandfather had no teeth, so he could not bite off a chew the way his buddies did. Instead, he used his knife to carefully carve slivers from the block of tobacco and transfer those pieces, balanced on the blade of the knife, into his mouth.

He did not have a spittoon, but spit the tobacco juice out the door into Grandmother’s flowerbed.

Now he picked up the first fish, laid it on the sawhorse and cut this way and that, dressing the fish and slicing off neat white fillets. The bones and guts were pushed to the side, while the meat went into the pot of clean water.

One after another, Grandfather picked flounders out of the bucket, cleaning them and tossing the white

fillets into the pot. Every so often he’d pause just before grabbing the next fish, and give his blade a few swipes across the sharpening stone.

When all the fish had been cleaned, he folded his knife closed and rolled up all the scales, guts and waste in the newspaper.

Limits Didn’t Apply to Gramps?

I don’t believe there was a limit on flounder, so Grandfather caught all he could on the incoming tide.

There was a limit on trout, though.

I adored Gramps. He taught me how to hunt, fish, paddle a canoe, and camp and cook outdoors.

We saw eye to eye on almost everything – except bag limits.

I obeyed the law but he didn’t. Not always.

The state had just stocked Swan Pond with a few hundred ten- and twelve-inch brook trout, and Grandfather and I found them schooled up near the shore where the

overflow from a natural spring dribbled into the pond. The trout had not dispersed, but were hanging there right at the edge of the cold water.

They were hungry and feisty and we had a grand time catching them.

We had our limit within an hour, but Grandfather kept right on fishing, catching extra.

I was young and foolish and a little conceited and thought I knew better and laid my rod in the bottom of the canoe.

Gramps – From a Different Era Grandfather said, “They’ll never be any easier to catch,” and tossed his line back into the water. He wore hip boots, and when he rolled down the tops, the boots formed a kind of pocket around his legs. He slipped his bonus trout into those folds in his boots. If we did chance to meet the warden, Grandfather would gladly show him the fine legal trout inside his creel.

I didn’t understand, and I challenged him on taking so many fish. He didn’t say much, just that you should catch what you can when the time is right.

All those trout piled up in Gramps’ bait pail and in his waders were pulled out and cleaned and slid into Grandmother’s chrome pot filled with clean water. Knowing the two of them, I suspect they got at least two – maybe even three or four – good meals out of those trout.

The years went by.

I went off to college, and Grandfather and Grandmother began to show their age. Eventually I came to realize that my Grandparents lived below the poverty line. Like many elderly in Maine, they had little money in the bank and managed to get by on meager Social Security, some charity, assistance from my parents, and their own resourcefulness.

They were proud people. Grandfather was born in 1893. Game laws and legal limits were just being talked about when he was a boy. He grew up in a world where wild game was there for anyone to harvest.

For him, taking a few extra trout was like putting money in the bank.

As I said, he went fishing or clamming or berry-picking almost every day with decent weather. He brought home a lot of fish, and he and Grandmother ate every one of them.

When I was quite young I thought I knew a lot, but as I grew older, I decided I didn’t know everything.

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——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 75

— Guest Column —

by Zachary Fowler

Fowler’s Fire – Part 1

“Alone” Winner Zachary Fowler Struggles to Light, Maintain Fire at Damp Patagonian Campsite One of the skills that allowed me to survive, prevail over 9 other contestants and win $500,000 on the 2016 reality show “Alone” was the ability to build and maintain a fire.

As I mentioned in my earlier columns in The Maine Sportsman, a lot of the knowledge I used to stay warm and fed on my own for 87 days came from studying old books.

Never was this more true than in the case of my fire.

When I was a kid and we’d go to deer camp, Dad would give us one match and tell us to start a fire.

My brother and I would do our best to follow all that he had shown us, and we would run around gathering wood for our fire. “The higher up, the drier up,” he would say.

We became proficient at starting our fire with one match, but when it came to going to out on “Alone” and being dropped at my site that first day in Patagonia, I didn’t have even one match.

Ferro Rod We were allowed 10 survival items, and everyone chose a ferro rod as their fire starter. Not that a lighter was not allowed – it’s just that nobody wanted to look like a wuss on TV. And truthfully, there are far more guaranteed fire starts in a ferro rod than a lighter, which could fail at any point and would not work

When I went to light the tinder bundle with the ferro rod, I hit a snag. You see, I’d never used a ferro rod before. I thought it would be easy – that it would shoot out sparks like a kid’s sparkler on the 4th of July. But I was wrong -the tinder was damp and would not light.

Zachary Fowler in Patagonia, holding his “Wizard Staff.” Fowler carved each day’s events on the staff, including keeping a record of his eventually-successful efforts to start a fire using a ferrocerium (“ferro”) rod.

when wet.

So, when I landed that first day, I looked around for about an hour then set up my base camp, which I called “Fish Camp.” After erecting my tarp as a tent and organizing my gear, I set to the task of making

a fire. I collected all the dead lower branches at eye-level from the trees around my site. I broke them into piles of diminishing sizes, so I’d be completely prepared once I got my tinder bundle lit.

But that’s where I

hit a bit of a snag. I had never used a ferro rod before in my life. Sure, I’d seen it used and read all about it; somehow in all my preparations I just figured I would know how to use it. After all, the fire kit I used at home was

a flint and steel, and if you have ever used that method you know how difficult it can be.

Every time I had seen someone use a ferro rod, they dragged the back of their knife down the length of the 6-inch rod, and the sparks that came off made it look just like a kid’s sparkler on the Fourth of July. I just figured that it was a no-brainer – if I couldn’t start a fire with the likes of that, then I shouldn’t be here.

Moisture Level Too High I couldn’t light a fire, or at least not that first day. The materials I found to make my bird’s nest were perfect, but the level of moisture in the materials was so much that I just couldn’t get it to take. I went to bed thirsty, and a good bit dejected.

The next morning I woke to the splashing of my first fish caught on the one line I’d placed out after giving up on the fire. This presented me with the drive I needed to get a fire going.

It must have taken me three hours to get my first fire going. I wore a sizable divot in the side of that ferro rod before succeeding.

From Frustration – Success!

In the end, it was my frustration that got the fire going. Instead of striking the rod meticu(Continued on next page) www.MaineSportsman.com

76 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

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Fowler’s Fire (Continued from page 75)

lously and smoothly, I went berserker on it and threw off a continual stream of sparks as I repeatedly drove my striker down the side of it and BAM! … it lit up my bird’s nest and I had it from there.

I put my first and last plain pot of water on to boil so I could have safe drinking water. I say “last” because after that first container of water, the pot always held fish head soup, which I drank daily.

I held the greatly-diminished ferro rod in my hand, enjoying the warmth of my success. The fish was smoking, I would have drinking water before too long, and it wasn’t even lunchtime yet. My confidence was restored, but I knew I didn’t want to have to go through that again.

I made two new tinder bundles and dried them by the fire to ensure that wet tinder would not be a problem again. But I discovered that even dry, they were difficult to light.

So I moved on to coals, and found that coals from rotten sticks were quite easy to spark up, and once glowing, they could light www.MaineSportsman.com

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Since you are reading this

the tinder bundle fairly easily.

How to Keep the Fire Going?

But some days with the dampness, even this was tedious. I played around with loading the fire up fairly heavily before bed and then tending it in the night for a week or so, but that required a great deal more wood than I was collecting. Also, waking up and getting out of a sleeping bag in the cold night to tend my fire just wasn’t fun. And at this point I was sleeping for 12 hours a night.

I was eating about six big trout, most with eggs, each week at this point. At almost a fish a day and fish head soup 3 times a day, it was only about a third of the calories that a grown man needs.

That limited diet took its toll on me, and my first 12 days were rough, as my body cleansed itself. My body hibernated to make up for the lack of calories, and keeping the fire going while I slept for that long was not easy.

Turned the Corner, Physically I snapped out of it on Day 13, and actually started gaining strength and mental agility. It was like a switch was flipped, and

I was now a new man. The fog that hindered the smoothness of my thoughts lifted, and my mind jumped into high gear.

As this continued, I began to exercise my mind intentionally each day. At night I would lay in bed and think of what went wrong that day and what I might try on the ’morrow to make it right. I thought of traps that I would build. Then I set off the traps in my mind to envision whether there were any issues with their action.

One of those nights led me to thinking about how nice it would be not to have to struggle with my fire so much. As I lay there thinking of all I had tried and what had worked and what I may have read about how to best keep a fire going, I remembered an old book I picked up at a garage sale. I remembered it so vividly that I could practically see in my hands the yellowed paper and paperback cover of a booklet, only about 3/8 of an inch thick, with an illustration of a wood stove on the front cover.

Next month – The conclusion, in which we learn whether and how Fowler solved the challenge of keeping his fire lit through the night.

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——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 77

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Well maintained cabin off the grid surrounded by stonewalls and old growth trees. If you have been looking for a camp well here it is. $59,900. MLS #1307502

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Acres

Price

10

$16,000

704

Power, wooded, Philips

water access, trails

0.92

$19,500

130

Wing Community, Eustis

0.2

$20,000

driveway, Dallas PLT, road frontage

102

garage, slab, Phillips

1.1

$25,000

138

167

driveway, power, New Portland

18

$30,000

108

107

brook, driveway, Farmington

17.5

$32,000

136

easy road access, Industry

615 100

192

near Saddleback, Dallas PLT

1.8

$37,000

115

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2.23

$39,000

768

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1.96

$41,500

694

on Nile Brook, Rangeley

6.5

$49,000

683

Sandy River PLt, trails

5

$49,000

592

small camp, Anson

53

$49,500

197

Long road front, Oquossoc

5

$49,500

199

Roads,power, Jay

58

$55,000

766

views, roads, well marked, Jay

58

$62,500

600

access Quimby Pond, Rangeley

1.8

$63,000

698

Mooselook acccess,dock, driveway

1.2

$69,000

List # Amenities

Acres

Price

92

$69,900

4.85

$70,000

Avon, Dustin Road, elevated

75

$79,000

some roads, New Vineyard,

78

$84,000

506

modular, foundation, barn, Phillips

13

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611

driveway, Rangeley Plt

20

$89,000

139

near Loon Lake, Rangeley, 3 lots

13.5

$95,000

712

roads, views, sled trails, North Jay

130

$99,000

702

power, Wheeler Hill Rd, Phillips

151

$99,900

703

views, power, wood, Phillips

160

$139,900

715

Rangeley West, lake views

2

$149,000

900

Aziscohos Lakefront, Parkertown

1.2

$160,000

967

Beaver Mt Lake -292 ft.

Rangeley

2.28

$185,000

433

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200

$190,000

965

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5.7

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Looking for LARGE ACREAGE (300 to 5000 acres) including waterfront?Call for information!

Caryn Dreyfuss, Broker • (207) 233-8275 If you have been looking for a nice getaway here it is very well built camp tucked away on a sleepy road with access to state park land, snowmobiling, ATVing, hunting, fishing, hiking and all of what the western mountains has to offer! $75,000. , MLS #1324555

Extremely well built cabin nicely tucked in the woods overlooking the Webb River. Located in the heart of the Western Mountains with easy access to hunting, ATVing, snowmobiling, hiking and all the activities around Webb River & Webb Lake. $144,900. MLS #1282498

Log cabin on 96 acres abutting state park with access to snowmobile and ATV trails on the property.

Camp offers three bedrooms and bath with compost toilet. This cabin is off the grid with gas lights, stove and refrigerator. Enjoy the peace and quiet while sitting on the farmers porch! $127,500. MLS #1325274

— BUILDING LOTS WITH ATV & SNOWMOBILE ACCESS — Andover South Arm Road 20 Acres with INCREDIBLE frontage on Black Brook a very rare find deep water pools for fishing or cooling off on those hot summer days. $129,500. MLS #1329025 Woodstock. An absolute dream come true! 97 Acres near Sunday River. This property has nice brook meandering through the lower portion of the property and a series of old roads and trails will lead up to spectacular views from Mollyockett Mountain in Woodstock. Come enjoy all the seasons and activates Maine has to offer! $69,900 MLS #1326728 Near Bethel in Albany Township. This 40 Acre lot has several hidden building site well off the paved road with beautiful Southeasterly views. Some areas would make great spot for passive solar cabin. The Crooked River meanders on through the lot for great wildlife watching. Only 7 miles from downtown Bethel. $45,000 MLS #1325975 Weld - Looking for a remote spot for your cabin or camper? Here it is! 8 acres with easy access, nice view right in the heart of the Western Mnts, a few miles to Mt. Blue State Park & Webb Lake. $18,500. MLS #1282348 North Rumford - Very private 17 acres with great brook frontage and a common area on Meadow Pond located deep in the Western Mountains. $36,500. MLS #1269352 Carthage - Excellent building lots w/ easy access to ATV and snowmobile trails. All lots surveyed and have driveways into building site. Ready for your new cabin in the woods? Then come check em’ out. $26,500. MLS #1205057

South Rumford - Very nice 95 acre wooded lot with views of the Androscoggin River Valley. A well-built gravel road will bring you up the mountain side to several plateaus and building sites. Priced right at $139,500. MLS #1261656 Carthage 160 Acres with views of Tumbledown and Webb Lake absolutely gorgeous spot for a cabin or two great recreation area for snowmobiling,ATVing and hunting.

You gotta see this one. $89,500. MLS #1244326 Phillips 40 Acres - Set up your camper next to the fire pit while you pick your building site. This 40 acre lot offers privacy, views and a wonderful babbling brook an acre or so of nice field with some small planted trees. $59,500. MLS #1309063 Fayette 179 Acres - Great property with old stonewalls, views, gravel also some fields and hidden locations for that hunting camp you’ve been looking to build...don’t miss this very private, huge 179 acre lot at a very attractive price. $71,500. MLS #1315323 Bethel King Lot - This land boasts exceptional development potential or enjoy the vast land with your friends and family, excellent road infrastrucure and beautiful views of local ski areas. 1356 acres offered at $1,250,000. MLS #1149583 #1282270 - Byron, 99 Acres .........................................................................................$55,000 #1282273 - Byron, 116 Acres ......................................................................................... $74,900 #1282275 - Byron, 28 Acres..........................................................................................$29,900 #1282237 - Hartford, 574 Acres...................................................................................$299,00 #1282239 - Hartford, 91 Acres......................................................................................$63,900 #1282230 - Jay, 136 Acres.............................................................................................$88,900 #1282243 - Peru, 191 Acres............................................................................................$161,900 #1282246 - Peru, 322 Acres....................................................................................... $206,500

caryndreyfuss@morton-furbish.com www.realestateinrangeley.com 2 RANGELEY LAKE CAMPS FOR THE PRICE OF 1!

Offering 2 bedroom camp with open floor plan, lakeside deck with awning and 2-bay drive-thru garage with 2 bedroom apartment above, raised lakeside deck. Both are fully year-round, well maintained, move-in ready, furniture included. Frontage on Hunter Cove with dock, small boat launch. Sweeping lake/mountain views. Easy snowmobile trail access, minutes to Oquossoc and Rangeley.

MLS# 1325550 – $299,000 AZISCOHOS LAKE remote hunting/fishing camp on owned land with 200’ frontage and small beach. Off the grid A-Frame has gas appliances/lights, large wood stove for heat. “Bath House” out building with privy, shower stall, storage. “Boat House” shed for small water sport accessories. Beautiful setting with unspoiled lake/mountain views - listen to the loons sing, gaze at the stars, enjoy the peace and quiet in this private location. Awesome spot to get away from it all! MLS# 1328229 – $225,000 MOOSELOOKMEGUNTIC LAKE AT UPPER DAM. Fantastic setting on private peninsula! Seasonal cottage with septic system and water from lake, solar power, indoor plumbing. Fisher wood stove for heat, main floor bedroom, large 2nd floor bunk room, spacious screened porch. Level lightly wooded lot with broad lake vistas, gradual entry sandy bottom waterfront, dock system.

Sold fully furnished and equipped. Union Water Power leased land. MLS# 1324271 – $150,000

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Lincoln - This cute cabin is located on an easily accessible lot that is in close proximity to snowmobile trails and directly on an ATV trail. This is your new four season headquarters for fun!

Madagascal Pond Road. $27,500

Prentiss - The camp sits on a 21 acre ORW LQ D TXLHW DUHD 7KLV FDPS LV Ă&#x20AC;Qished very nicely on the inside and is ready to use. Bring your ATV and enjoy the outdoors. Independence Circle. $29,900

Lincoln - Wonderful, well maintained 3 bedroom home, large kitchen, dining and living rooms. Sited on 2.68+/acres with paved driveway, nice landscaping, 2 garages and over 300â&#x20AC;&#x2122; frontage on cold water Big Narrows.

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Mattamiscontis - 1.6 and 2.4 acre lots, year round access, close to I-95 & /LQFROQ¡V DPHQLWLHV RZQHU Ă&#x20AC;QDQFLQJ HQMR\ Ă&#x20AC;VKLQJ SDGGOLQJ DQG KXQWLQJ along the Penobscot River. $19,900 each

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Paul Howe 207.625.3222 â&#x20AC;˘ 207.929.9358 81 Maple Street â&#x20AC;˘ Cornish, ME www.cotehowe.com Serving Western & Southern Maine

HARMONY. Off the grid, or possible on the grid living. This property is insulated and offers a very well-built, classic Maine pine interior. ITS 84 snowmobile trail goes right by the house. A perfect recreational retreat or get-away house on 7.4 acres. Could easily be a two bedroom home. Bathroom is plumbed in. Well on site and is hooked up seasonally. This is perfect the way it LV RU XSJUDGH LW WR Ă&#x20AC;QLVK WKH Ă&#x20AC;QDO WRXFKes. Generator on site. $64,999 WELLINGTON. Camp built in 1990 on 43 acres. Generator hook-up and wood stove give this camp year-round use.

Sleeps 5. Road in is unmaintained but 4wd will get you in. Come hunt, hike, 4 wheel, snowmobile, or whatever outdoor activity suits you! Call for more info. $55,900 SKOWHEGAN 0DSOH V\UXS RSHUDWLRQ WKDW LQFOXGHV HYDSRUDWRU KROGLQJ WDQNV Ă&#x20AC;OWHU V\VWHP DQG WXELQJ (OHFWULF stove included along with cut and split wood pile. 20 acres of land, 19 of which are in tree growth. There is quite a bit of hardwood on the property. Snowmobile trail meets up at the back of the property. 12 X 28 building on concrete slab, heated by a wood stove. $69,900 ATHENS. Year â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;round home/camp on 2 acres with many unique features. Kitchen with double bowl farmhouse sink, KDQG PDGH SLQH ZRRG WLOH Ă RRULQJ DQWLTXH FU\VWDO FKDQGHOLHU ZKLWH SLQH EXWFKHU EORFN FRXQWHU WRS DQG EXLOW LQ VWRUDJH VKHOYHV 2QH IXOO EDWKURRP ZLWK DQWLTXH VOLSSHU WXE DQG VODWH Ă RRULQJ 5DUHO\ IRXQG VKLS VWDLUV ZLWK VWRUDJH drawers to upper level loft area. Yard with raised gardens for the outdoor enthusiast. Two out buildings for storage. $69,900 HARTLAND. 8.65 acres of land on Great Moose Lake. 200.12 feet frontage just waiting for your home or camp. This LV D PRVW EHDXWLIXO ODNH WKDW LV JUHDW IRU Ă&#x20AC;VKLQJ FDQRHLQJ ND\DNLQJ DQG LFH Ă&#x20AC;VKLQJ $79,000 WELLINGTON. Well-wooded 11 acre lot located in the Wellington countryside at a great price. Frontage on both the Ward Ridge Road and the Lawrence Road. Perfect spot to build your cabin or weekend getaway. Great hunting area with plenty of game trails. Great ATV and snowmobile access nearby. Only a short distance from Kingsbury Pond. $15,500 ANSON. 3.966 surveyed acres of land without about 562 feet of road frontage. Looking for a camp lot or home lot?

This is the place. Close to enter ITS and snowmobile trails. Relatively easy drive to Sugarloaf USA Ski Hill. Protective covenants. $19,900 MOSCOW. 10.5 private acres on Austin Stream. Two driveways enter the property with one septic system in place DQG DQRWKHU VHSWLF V\VWHP UHDG\ WR Ă&#x20AC;QLVK 6QRZPRELOH WUDLO ELVHFWV WKH SURSHUW\ DQG $79 DFFHVV LV DOORZHG ULJKW RQ the main road. Great place to build your home or weekend getaway. Property is well wooded and ready for the outdoor enthusiast. $39,900 EUSTIS. Approximately 33 acres of land with about 2000 feet front on North Branch Dead River. This is an excellent property for a waterfront home or camp with power at the road. The 4-wheeler and snowmobile trains are directly DFURVV WKH URDG *UHDW IRU Ă&#x20AC;VKLQJ KXQWLQJ FDQRH DQG ND\DNLQJ &XUUHQWO\ LQ WUHH JURZWK IRU WD[ SXUSRVHV $95,000

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Prentiss - This lot has driveway installed.

A great area with easy access. Power is a 3800â&#x20AC;&#x2122; +/-. A woodlot for the future, or build a getaway camp to hunt, atv DQG PRUH 2) DYEOH WR TXDOLĂ&#x20AC;HG EX\ers. Independence Circle. $14,900 Lincoln - Listen to the loons from this beautiful location close to Folsom Pond. A good sized lot that is a great spot to build. Careful stepping out the front, you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to bump into a moose. Stoney Drive. $18,500 Burlington - Located very near the Saponac Pond boat landing and recreation abound, 2.73 acres great for a camp. Year round access, elecWULFLW\ DYDLODEOH RZQHU Ă&#x20AC;QDQFLQJ ¡ along Route 188. $7,900 Springfield - 50+/- acres, remote area in recreational paradise for hunting, Ă&#x20AC;VKLQJ $79LQJ DQG VQRZPRELOLQJ QLFH views, interior roads, Bog Brook frontage, located off Moores Road. $29,900

R E A L

E S T A T E

5 LAKE STREET, P.O. BOX 66, LINCOLN 207-794-2460 www.cwalakestreet.com E-mail: cwa@cwalakestreet.com om

1-800-675-2460 Call any of our brokers to work for you!

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tateâ&#x20AC;? Aylward ................ 794-2460 Peter Phinney.................. 794-5466 Kirk Ritchie...................... 290-1554

FOR COMPLETE INFORMATION FORMATION ON OUR PROPERTIES VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT CWALAKESTREET.COM

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——————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Maine Sportsman • December 2017 • 79

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80 • December 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ——————————————————————————————————————————————————

Outdoor Gift Guide

Give the gift of time spent outdoors to all the sportsmen and women on your list. We’ll be happy to help.

VISIT OUR HUNTING & FISHING STORE, OPEN 24/7 IN FREEPORT, MAINE

2.

RIDGE RUNNER HUNTING BOOTS Waterproof and insulated to keep toes warm all the way to -30°

1.

WATERFOWL SWEATER VEST Naturally water-repellent merino wool is perfect for raw, wet conditions

4.

BUCKSKIN CHOPPER MITTS Traditional double-layer style resists wind, water & wear

10

$

5.

MAINE GUIDE SHIRT WITH PRIMALOFT Tightly woven of premium wool with nylon for durability and an extra-warm lining

WE BUY & TRADE USED LONG GUNS PROMOTIONAL

GIFT CARD E X P I R E S F E B R U A R Y 7, 2 0 1 8

FREE $10 GIFT CARD

with purchase of $50 or more* when you shop by December 24.

Check out our extensive selection of new and used long guns firsthand · Available from over two dozen manufacturers · We can special order firearms, ammunition, optics and more

CONTACT OUR FIREARMS EXPERTS AT USEDGUNS@LLBEAN.COM OR CALL 207.552.7728

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MAINE WARDEN DAY PACK Designed with the game wardens, it’s the same one they carry on the job

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L.L.BEAN PATHFINDER LED CAP Hands-free lighting for those predawn hours

CAN’T MAKE IT TO FREEPORT? FIND MORE GIFT IDEAS AT

LLBEAN.COM

*One (1) $10 promotional gift card will be provided for orders of $50 or more until 11:59 p.m. ET, December 24, 2017, while supplies last. Limit one card per customer per 24-hour period. To qualify, orders must total $50 or more before any discounts, taxes, shipping, oversized delivery or duty charges are applied. Gift card purchases, exchanges, return labels and orders placed at our outlets or through our global.llbean.com website, Direct to Business RU -DSDQ %XVLQHVV RI¿FHV GR QRW TXDOLI\ 3URPRWLRQDO JLIW FDUGV UHFHLYHG IURP SKRQH RU RQOLQH RUGHUV DUH UHGHHPDEOH XSRQ UHFHLSW WKRVH UHFHLYHG DW RXU VWRUHV DUH UHGHHPDEOH KRXUV DIWHU UHFHLSW 3URPRWLRQDO JLIW FDUGV ZLOO be valid on future L.L.Bean merchandise purchases in US dollars until 11:59 p.m. ET, February 7, 2018. Cards cannot be redeemed on the original qualifying order. For complete details, please visit llbean.com/promocard.

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