The Maine Sportsman - November 2017 by The Maine Sportsman - Digital Edition

Sportsman The Maine

BUCK SPECIAL

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Rattle Them In ...19 New Baiting Law ...25 Tracking ...26 and LOTS more!

November 2017 • $4.99

What’s Next

for $500K “Alone” Winner Fowler? Page 28

Best Warden Page 7 Deer-Tracking Dachshund Page 27

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�� The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 3

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Editorial

4 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Katahdin Woods and Waters Monument Needs to be Left Alone, not Timber-Managed

New England’s Largest Outdoor Publication Readership

Sportsman The Maine

ISSN 0199-036 — Issue No. 542 • www.mainesportsman.com PUBLISHER: Jon Lund MANAGING EDITOR: Will Lund will@mainesportsman.com GENERAL 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 Advertising and business information: 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

Will anglers, hunters and canoe-paddlers come to the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument if the area becomes just another industrial working forest? Here, the East Branch of the Penobscot runs low by Lunksoos Camps. King Montgomery photo

Oh come on, now, Mr. Secretary of the Interior Zinke! Do you seriously recommend that timber management be carried on the new Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument? First of all, this is not Federal land that is being re-designated – it is a gift to the United States from a private owner. Don’t you suppose that the donor, along with a large number of supporters, expected this land to be administered for outdoor recreation in a fashion similar to our national parks? Do you believe they will hesitate to go to court to fulfill their expectations? Maine has thousands upon thousands of acres of forested land where timber is harvested. If large-scale cutting is encouraged, how would Katahdin Woods and Waters land be any different from countless square miles of “industrial forest” currently being managed in Maine? Are tourists and their dollars going to come to see this particular parcel of timber–managed land? Why should they? A prominent Maine official was critical of the proposed gift a while back, saying this was mosquito-infested, cut-over land. And you want to cut it some more? Maine’s problem is not a short supply of wood, but rather finding profitable markets for the wood we have. The Legislature has just finished appropriating millions of dollars to prop up a faltering biomass industry, and you are proposing to add more timber from this National Monument? How do you believe the hunters and anglers, hikers and bicyclists, snowmobilers and birders are going to be happy to share their activities alongside of mechanical harvesters and logging trucks? Will they have a lot of fun? In short, your recommendation of timber harvesting is a dumb idea – a really colossal boo-boo. We hope the President will hear that from Maine people, and decide to move on, leaving this National Monument as it is for hunters, anglers, snowmobilers and vacationers to enjoy.

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Almanac by Will Lund........................................................ 12 Aroostook - “The County” by Bill Graves......................... 34 Big Game Hunting by Joe Saltalamachia...................... 37 Bird of the Month, by Erika Zambello............................... 14 Bowhunting by Chris “Bubba” Johnson.......................... 39 Capitol Report by George Smith..................................... 17 Danger in the Outdoors by David Van Wie.................... 58 Editorial.................................................................................. 4 Freshwater Fly Fishing by Lou Zambello........................... 44 Greater Penobscot Bay by Jim Lemieux......................... 59 Jackman by William Sheldon........................................... 47 Jottings by Jon Lund............................................................ 8 Katahdin Country by William Sheldon............................. 40 Kate’s Wild Kitchen by Kate Krukowski Gooding........... 57 Letters to the Editor........................................................ 5, 61 Maine Wildlife by Tom Seymour....................................... 24 Maine Wildlife Quiz by Steve Vose................................... 36 Midcoast Report by Tom Seymour................................... 60 Mid-Kennebec Valley by Shawn Simpson...................... 53 Moosehead by Tom Seymour.......................................... 42 New Hampshire by Ethan Emerson.................................. 74 Off-Road Traveler by William Clunie................................ 54 Quotable Sportsman by George Smith........................... 18 Rangeley Region by William Clunie................................. 67 Riding Shotgun by Robert Summers................................. 52 Saltwater by Barry Gibson................................................. 63 Sebago to Auburn Region by Tom Roth......................... 62 Self-Propelled Sportsman by Jim Andrews...................... 66 Shooter’s Bench by Col. J.C. Allard................................. 50 Smilin’ Sportsman by Will Lund.......................................... 47 Smilin’ Sportsman - Kids Edition by Will Lund................... 71 Sportsman’s Journal by King Montgomery..................... 10 Southern Maine by Val Marquez..................................... 65 Trapping The Silent Places by David Miller...................... 46 Trading Post (Classifieds)................................................... 76 Trout Fishing by Tom Seymour........................................... 69 Washington County by Steve Vose................................. 56 Western Maine Mountains by William Clunie.................. 72 Young Maine Sportsman by Luke Giampetruzzi............ 70 Young Maine Sportswoman by Alyssa Sansoucy........... 71

SPECIAL SECTIONS

Deer Hunting - Deer Baiting by Steve Vose.................... 25 Deer Hunting - Rattling for Bucks by JP Falzone............. 19 Deer Hunting - Snow Tracking by Alan Haley................. 26 Sporting Dogs by Michael Browning................................ 29 Snowmobiling in Maine by Cathy Genthner.................. 31 On the Cover: Youth hunter whitetail deer day is Saturday, October 21; Maine residents-only deer day is Saturday, October 28; and the regular firearms season for all hunters begins Monday, October 30.

Letters

�� The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 5

To The Editor

Likes Dave Miller’s Wind Power/Forestry Practices Column

To the Editor: I just read David Miller’s article (“Changing Landscapes and the Outdoorsman”) in the July, 2017 issue of The Maine Sportsman, and I would like to congratulate him. It’s about time someone had the courage to tell the true story about wind power and forestry practices in our state. I live in Kingfield and own about a mile of frontage on Rapid Stream, which drains all of Rapid Stream Valley (the back side of Sugarloaf, Abraham, Spaulding, Owls Head and Burnt Mountains). I lose shore property every year due to erosion, and the amount of silt transported downstream is astronomical. Fishing now is non-productive over the entire stream and into the West Branch of the Carrabassett River. And it’s all the fault of too much timber harvesting and improper timber management. Foresters are not doing their jobs properly. They shouldn’t be employed by the timber contractor – they should work for the State of Maine, and they should be held accountable if they authorize poor management practices. I’m also very familiar with most of the wind farms across Maine, since my company furnishes some steel parts for the tower foundations. Anyone who thinks wind power is “green” should go to the sites during construction. I dare say that the total carbon footprint of wind farms – once you include manufacturing the components, sitework at the construction site, and erection of the towers, blades and turbine houses – is probably close to that of coal-fired generation. And like Miller said in his article, it’s permanent damage to otherwise wild and remote locations. If everyone wants to continue constructing wind farms, we should build them along the median strip on I-95 between Bangor and Houlton and around airports and at Loring AFB and Brunswick AFB and along Old Orchard Beach and other places which are already developed – not in unspoiled remote areas of our state. It would be easy to blame others for these results, but the ones who need to take responsibility for this happening are all of us I’d be happy to get involved with Mr. Miller in an endeavor to initiate legislation to change the rules of timber harvesting on sloped and mountainous areas and around water flowage and around deer yards. I’d also be happy to join his effort to fight any future wind farms in our state. We should be pro-

moting solar generation more and more. Beginning in October, 2017, my company will be installing a solar array that will produce enough power to run our complete operation at ARC Enterprises, Inc. We need more of that type of thinking, before it’s too late for us to save what’s left of our wonderful state. One example is the wind farm in Dixfield along Rte. 2. I believe there are twelve turbines at that location, producing a maximum of 42 megawatts of power. It takes up hundreds of acres of ridgeline, and it’s an eyesore to look at. The solar array at Madison Electric produces 4.5 megawatts of power, and takes up only 10 acres of land. So to produce the same amount of energy as the Dixfield wind farm, you could build a solar array on 100 acres of land. It could be constructed at only 15% the costs of a wind farm and probably about 1% of the environmental impact. Why are we still building wind farms, and not solar farms? Walter Kilbreth, President ARC Enterprises, Inc. Steel Fabrication Kingfield, ME —

Doesn’t Like David Van Wie’s ATV Danger Column To the Editor: As I read the article by David Van Wie (“On-Road Use of ATVs – How Safe Is It?” in the September issue of The Maine Sportsman), I can’t help but wonder why a paper for sportsmen is attacking other sportsmen. Van Wie assumes the national average of on-road ATV accidents is the same here in Maine. He also assumes the national averages are from those legally using the roadway. I doubt those numbers! I can’t remember the last time I heard of an ATV accident on the roadway by someone legally using such a roadway! He then stated often local rules are not followed. Well, motor vehicle laws are also often not followed. So do we punish all users and remove all vehicles from the roadway? No, we handle those violations individually. All ATV users are required to pass a safety course. I wonder how the small towns needing the revenue from ATV users would feel about this article? If Mr. Van Wie doesn’t like ATV use on the roadway, then that’s his opinion, but maybe he should write for another magazine before he attacks someone such as myself that purchases such magazine! Gary Stevens The editor responds: Thanks for your note, Mr. Stevens. I’m glad you are reading and thinking about the content of the columns, and you raise some very good points. I don’t agree that David Van Wie was “attacking” anyone in his piece. I know I learned

a lot from editing the article, such as the five factors that the Maine Department of Transportation recommends be considered by municipalities that are designing on-road ATV access. You are correct about the author’s use of national accident data rather than Maine-specific information. However, as is clear from the column, Van Wie contacted several Maine government officials and learned that such statistics are not maintained here in this state. I believe the author expressed valid questions about safety – questions that town planners will have to face in the future as, for example, towns like Greenville see an increase in both automotive traffic and ATV traffic (it won’t be too long before we have double the number of cars and double the number of ATVs vying for the same space). Again, thanks for writing and for expressing your concerns. —

Krissy’s Big Bass To the Editor: On an August day five years ago, my fiancé Seth Babb took me fishing for the first time. I can remember the day as if it were yesterday. It was my first time bass fishing (I prefer rainbows). Four of us – me, Seth, Seth’s friend Drew, and my dad Bruce – walked a quarter-mile to the pond. During the entire hike to the pond, Seth heckled me about the pink fishing hooks I had just bought that morning. “Pink hooks will never catch a fish!” he predicted. We fished for a couple of hours, and each caught several small fish. The others began packing up to leave, but I begged for one more cast, and they obliged. As I begin reeling in the final cast, I felt a strong bite. I got so excited I had a hard time catching my breath. Behind me, I heard Seth say, “You’re caught on a log – break the line and let’s go.” I pressed on with my fight. Their disbelief turned to amazement when a huge bass jumped mouth-first out of the water. I turned around to catch a quick glimpse of all three jaws dropping! After battling for a few minutes, I got the fish to the dock, but I couldn’t lift it out of the water. Seth knelt down and reached under

(Continued on next page) www.MaineSportsman.com

6 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Letters to the Editor (Continued from page 5)

the dock to grab the fish. I had never caught a fish this big before – six pounds! Seth helped me hold the fish for a few photographs, and then we released the monster bass. Fast forward to this year. Seth went through a taxidermy course and received his license to practice taxidermy. He surprised me with a replica of my biggest-ever fish.

It was shot in WMD 8, off the Brocha Road. She got the bear, her moose and her deer with a Ruger American rifle in .308; her turkey was taken with a 12-ga. Tom St. Pierre —

Productive Labor Day Hunt To the Editor: I had a productive Labor Day hunt this year. I shot this black bear at 5:47 a.m. with my 7mm-08 in Hancock County. The bear’s chest featured an unusual and beautiful heart-shaped blaze (see photo).

We still laugh about how I used pink hooks, and that no one would ever have guessed that a fish that big could come out of such a small pond. Kristina Creeger, Gorham, ME —

der where the deer and moose go when the food source is destroyed. There are still some big boys about but a lot fewer then the good old days. Please do not print my name and address, since the owner permits access to the land and allows bear bait sites, but does not like attention to be brought to the effects of the spraying. I do not want to be responsible for others being denied access to the property. Name withheld upon request —

Worth the Wait To the Editor: I wanted to share some good news from Arlene and Bob Marston of Harrison, Maine, who are in their early 80s and who have been married for 50-plus years. Both Arlene and Bob are avid hunters. Bob retired from Paris Farmers Union, where he worked with us for more than 20 years. The good news is that Arlene bagged her first black bear on opening day of Maine’s 2017 bear hunting season. Hunting from a 15-foot high tree stand with Bob, Arlene used her .308 bolt action rifle to drop the bear, which weighed 225 pounds field dressed, with a live weight at about 270 pounds.

Nice Bear as Part of Grand Slam To the Editor: I hope your readers will join me in congratulating Nicole St. Pierre on her 2016 grand slam. I have enclosed a photo of Nicole and her bear – a 254-lb. (dressed) sow she got on the 7th evening on the stand. She was hunting over bait with Maine Guides Lloyd May and Todd Harrison.

This nice black bear was part of Nicole St. Pierre’s 2016 Grand Slam. www.MaineSportsman.com

Gwen Carey, Bangor, ME —

Clearcuts Hurt Wildlife To the Editor: I was moved to write this letter after reading Joe Saltalamachia’s great recent columns on food plots. I wanted to share a food plot story. I’ve been scouting three two-year-old clearcuts in my area up north. Several does, a few small bucks and a huge bull moose are seen regularly. Last month I carried in a stand in preparation for bow and rifle season. This week I took a drone up there and parked about 200 yards from my favorite cut. I was blown away by how much detail from 150’ up I could see. If there had been s any wildlife, I could easily spot them. After covering this 200-acre cut, I came up empty. Totally perplexed, I packed up the drone and drove down to the clearcut. There I was greeted with the answer of why the detail in the cut was so clear and why there were no deer or moose –it’s all covered by small fir and spruce. I went to all three of other cuts...same results. We will never see animals in those cuts again, because the fir and spruce will be head-high before the hardwoods return. Multiply these three cuts by another dozen within 5 miles of my camp – all treated with herbicides – and one needs not to won-

Bob and Arlene Marston, with Arlene’s bear.

Arlene worked hard for this bear. She’s spent many years in the Maine woods waiting for the opportunity. She will add this trophy to her deer-hunting trophies, and will move one of Bob’s many deer heads to the shed to make room for this impressive mount! Mike Rogers, Oxford, ME

�� The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 7

— Guest Column —

Charlie Davis – The Best Game Warden You Never Met – Part 1 by Ron Joseph On a cold winter night in 1988, Maine Game Warden Charlie Davis knocked on my door, interrupting a doze in front of the wood stove. Davis was a Shirley Village neighbor and colleague at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife office in nearby Greenville. “Ron,” he said, stepping inside, “sorry to trouble you. A Great Northern Paper Company forester would like to speak with you privately at your home, if that’s okay.” Charlie was well aware of my battles with GNP officials in Millinocket to protect deeryards. “He’s a good man,” Charlie added, “and he’d like to share sensitive information with you.” The following night, as Charlie had arranged, the forester [who wishes to remain anonymous] walked into my kitchen. He carried three-foot long cardboard tubes filled with forest cover type maps detailing future timber harvesting operations. “I could lose my job for sharing this information,” he said, “but Charlie assured me that you can be trusted.” The forester spoke freely about GNP’s 10year plans to harvest deeryards that were not yet surveyed by my office. “I like to hunt deer, and there’s no reason for us to clearcut these mature spruce-fir stands that are critical to deer winter survival,” he said, pointing to large deeryards on several maps. “I’m sharing this information so that you and others can study and document these deeryards before

“I could lose my job for sharing this information about plans to harvest timber in deer yards,” the forester told me, “but Charlie Davis assured me that you can be trusted.”

Warden Charlie Davis with Huck at Division Headquarters in Greenville. Photo courtesy of Davis family

timber harvest crews destroy them.” Years later, after the deeryards were surveyed and protected by LURC regulations, I asked Charlie about the risks he and the forester had taken to protect deer. Had paper company officials learned that Charlie had been my liaison with the forester, both men could have been severely disciplined. “Sometimes,” Charlie replied, “we need to take calculated risks to protect public resources, but I knew you would keep the conversations confidential.” Catching Poachers Charlie was always about protecting deer, trout, furbearers and other wildlife. He once burrowed into deep snow in a deeryard to nab a nighttime poacher. “Poachers are their own worst enemy,” Charlie often said. “You might be surprised by the number of tips people pass along to wardens after

Warden Charlie Davis (in uniform) with retired warden Chick Howe in front of Howe’s Spencer Pond Camps. Photo courtesy of Davis family

overhearing poachers brag in cafés or bars. That tip was a significant piece of the puzzle to making an arrest.” The poacher was very surprised when I followed the lantern light after hearing gunshots,” he added. Being a good warden—fair and firm, not just one who issued many summonses—was always his goal. One of the Best Last October, Charlie Davis died of cancer at age 79. He was a good friend, a generous presence in the community, a wonderful family man, and one of the best game wardens I ever worked with during my career. Charlie was beloved and highly-respected by fellow wardens, biologists and the general public, as evidenced by the fact that 400 people attended his memorial service in Greenville. A graduate of Rumford High School in 1955,

Charlie worked as a forester for Oxford Paper Company before becoming a Maine Game Warden in 1962. In 1964, he became one of the original members of the Maine Warden Service Search & Rescue and Dive Teams. Charlie was named Warden of the Year in 1981, and was described by Chief Warden John Marsh as “steady, dependable, and dedicated.” In 2002, long after retirement, he was named Legendary Warden. Moosehead “Get Acquainted” Tour For those of us privileged to work with Charlie, he embodied the words “woods wise.” In an era when many biologists and wardens often clashed or avoided each other, Charlie welcomed me with open arms the February day I began working for IF&W. I hadn’t yet settled into my office when Charlie convinced me to hop into his truck for a get-acquaint-

ed-with-the-region tour around Moosehead Lake. We ate our lunch that day at Pittston Farm with a GNP caretaker, a close friend of Charlie’s. Pittston Farm, once a thriving logging outpost and now a popular hunting and snowmobiling destination, was a quiet place in 1988. When we turned onto the farm road, the white-bearded caretaker sat on a rock maple chopping block inside the open doors of an old barn. As large snowflakes gently fell, the old woodsman was making cedar shakes with a froe and mallet. It was a scene that would have inspired an Andrew Wyeth painting or an E.B. White essay. Leaving Pittston Farm, Charlie told me that it was the caretaker who a year earlier had provided a second crucial tip leading to the arrest of the deer poacher. The caretaker had heard gunshots one night coming from the Canada Falls deeryard, less than a mile from Pittston Farm. He passed that information on to Charlie during their weekly luncheon. Next month – Ron Joseph’s tribute to Charlie Davis concludes, with stories about Charlie’s concern for wildlife, his difficult work on the Department’s dive team, and the day he saved Ron Joseph’s life after the two men were unexpectedly flushed through a 4-foot culvert following the destruction of a beaver dam. Ron Joseph, retired wildlife biologist, worked with Charlie in the late 1980s.

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8 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Murphy’s Law and Folding Iron Sights The doe walked right in the middle of the gravel road toward the oncoming young hunter. Snow was falling lightly, and the four inches of powder snow on the road muffled all sounds from the hunter’s boots and from the deer’s hooves. The hunter’s .35 Remington pump rifle was cradled in the crook of his right arm. A light layer of snow had settled on the shoulders of his heavy red plaid wool jacket. The hunter was hurrying to return to Kibby camp before sundown and had jogged for short distances to warm his chilled limbs. His gaze was focused on the roadbed.

With iron sights, the farther back on the receiver or tang the rear sight is attached, the better the accuracy – assuming, that is, that the rear sight is locked in the fully-upright position. Then he glanced up and saw the doe some 50 yards away. He stopped in his tracks. The doe saw the hunter through the falling snow and it stopped. The hunter pushed off the safety on his rifle, slowly raised it and took careful aim. He looked through the tang peep sight, centering the front bead on the doe’s chest, and squeezed the trigger.

Clean Miss – But Why? The report of the shot echoed along the open roadway. The doe reared up, made a 180-degree turn and made long jumps down the roadway as the hunter fired several follow-up shots at the galloping deer. The doe left the open road, jumped into the dense woods and disappeared. Then all was quiet. The hunter hurried to where the doe had stopped and studied the

snow for signs of blood. He followed the tracks down the road to where the deer had leapt off the road and into the wood. He saw no signs of blood. The hunter retraced his steps and looked for some sign that the deer had been hit. He found nothing. The hunter examined his rifle, and saw that the tang-mounted peep sight was not in its normal upright position. It was an-

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gled forward so that the line of sight was at least a quarter-inch lower than normal. He pushed the sight back and it clicked into its proper position. The hunter realized that some point in his walking or jogging, his heavy wool hunting jacket coat had caught the rear sight and pushed it forward. His first, carefully-aimed shot traveled well below the deer’s chest. The snow continued to fall, and he slowly resumed his march back to camp. Whatever Can Go Wrong …. As a general rule, with iron sights, the greater the distance between the front sight and the rear sights, the greater the accuracy of the aim. For this reason, a rear sight mounted on the receiver, or farther back on the tang, usually offers better accuracy than a rear sight mounted on the barrel of the rifle. (Continued on next page)

�� The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 9 (Continued from page 8)

Lessons learned by the hunter: The above rule about accuracy holds true only if the rear sight is immovable, and Murphy’s Law always applies. “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” A bitter lesson for the young hunter. The galloping doe would have been his first deer. Maximizing Front Sight Visibility Before the time when telescope sights had become as much improved and as popular as they are today, a lot of attention was paid to the design and effectiveness of iron sights, both the front and rear sights. Before the advent of fiber optics, which concentrates light so the shooter can see the front sight in dim light, the front sight was usually round in shape, and either ivory or gold. Gold reflected light better. The globe-shaped

gold front sight had a drawback – in certain light conditions, the reflected light made the shooter shoot “away from the light.” Astute shooters addressed the phenomenon by using a flat gold front sight, rather than a round one, which avoided the problem of shooting away from the light. Back in the days of primitive muzzleloaders, the shooter often blackened the front sight with smoke to avoid altogether the problem of reflected light. Best Rear Sight? The best choice of rear sight was often the source of discussion among hunters. Many deer rifles came with buckhorn or semi-buckhorn rear sights fitted into a dovetail slot in the barrel. These sights included a notch into which the shooter could align the round front sight. The drawback with the buck-

horn is that this sight obscured the view of much of the terrain below and around the game animal. Target shooters using iron sights often used peep sights – large discs with a small hole. The shooter instinctively centered the front sight in the small hole. That peep sight worked fine for the target shooter, but the small hole in the large disc made it difficult for a hunter to find the game animal, or follow moving game, so was not well suited to hunting. Many peep sights came with an insert that screwed into the sight, reducing the size of the opening. Frequently, hunters left off the insert, providing them with a rear sight that provided a view of the terrain surrounding the game and a better opportunity to follow – and sight in on – moving game. Target handgun shooters avoided the com-

On a snowy day 70 years ago, this Lyman tang sight, mounted on a Remington Model 141 rifle, was not in its full upright position when a young hunter took careful aim at what would have been his first deer. The result was a clean miss.

plexities of sight choice by adopting the “patridge” rear sight and the six o’clock hold. The rear sight is a square notch and the front sight is a flattopped blade. The shooter centers the front sight in the rear sight and brings the front sight up so that

the top of the front sight is even with the top of the sides of the rear sight. Then the front sight is lined up so that the round black target fits just above the top of the front sight – like the number six on a round clock face.

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10 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Labrador: Squaretails & Water Wolves The yellow-white caribou moss 1,200 feet below the float plane carpeted the ground under the alder, spruce and tamarack that define the sub-arctic forest in the western part of Labrador. Interspersed with a trail network carved by countless generations of caribou hooves, the moss, actually lichen, once fed a huge herd, but is now decimated by man-made and environmental causes. Ribbons of endless water and lakes slipped under the aircraft as the Beaver’s engine droned on. Mention Labrador to someone, and they usually make a reference to a large dog, but few know where the place is. Labrador, about the size of New England but with only 17,000 people, is part of northeastern Canada’s Newfoundland – Labrador Province. The western quadrant of Labrador is a whole lot of water interspersed with some land. The water teems with the native wild brook trout of your dreams; plenty of huge and feisty northern

Newfoundland’s waters teem with native wild brook trout, huge northern pike, togue and whitefish.

Three Rivers Lodge is perfectly placed to optimize fishing opportunities for brook trout, lake trout, and northern pike. Arctic char are available on an optional flyout in the camp Beaver. All photos by King Montgomery

pike you can catch on the fly or with spinning gear; plus plenty of togue, and some whitefish too. Woods River System Three cool, clear rivers—the Eagle, Victoria, and Rick’s Run—form the headwaters of the Woods River system that flows over 70 miles to empty into the huge Smallwood

The Three Rivers Lodge DeHavilland Beaver lands on Crossroads Lake. I took this photo from the porch of my cabin. There are at least two flyouts included in a week’s fishing package, and others can be arranged. Other fishing is done from outboard-driven boats. www.MaineSportsman.com

Reservoir to the southeast. These don’t look like rivers to me, but rather appear as channelized sections of fast water between long, thin lakes that softly flow toward the reservoir and beyond. Here in these ‘rapids’ the brook trout, which prefer running water, concentrate to feed and

grow, and to spawn in the fall. The Three Rivers Lodge, now in its 18th year of operation, is a very comfortable and well-run facility with all the amenities, great guides and excellent home-cooked meals. It sits on a peninsula that juts into beautiful Crossroads Lake.

The lodge is very comfortable with all the amenities, including hot-cold running water, showers, flush toilets, and wood stoves in the cabins. The staff and guides are superb, and the meals are absolutely scrumptious. The views are free!

The lodge is open spring to fall for fly anglers, and once hosted caribou hunters. The lodge is my favorite fishing establishment on the entire planet, and one of the few I keep returning to year after year. The Lodge A lodge is not just a physical structure plopped onto a piece of terrain. A good one is the synergy of time, location and – most important – the people associated with it. Three Rivers Lodge is a very homey place with nice cabins with woodstoves, flush toilets, and showers with hot water. The dining hall is large, well-appointed and, best of all, houses the large open kitchen where Frances Barry, who manages the lodge with her husband Kevin, and usually a sister (Dot or Judy), put together fabulous meals and make box lunches to take fishing. When not cooking, they clean and make up the cabins while guests are off with the guides. Kevin manages, and is (Continued on next page)

View across Crossroads Lake in the morning twilight.

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 11

This is the same Eastern brook trout that populates Maine streams, only these are larger in Labrador -- much larger. I’ve taken most of my Labrador brookies on dry flies, though sometimes nymphs or streamers are needed. (Continued from page 10)

a jack-of-all-trades, and handles just about everything including any maintenance when needed. This simply is the finest-run sporting lodge or camp I ever have encountered. The Fish & the Gear The # 8 Royal Wulff alighted softly on the surface, and tethered to the 2X tippet, it bobbed merrily along. A dark shape quietly porpoised over the gaudy fly and took it down. Stung by the hook, the brook trout went berserk. I also use the #8 Royal Wulff for giant, wild, native rainbows in Alaska, and the fish there react to the fly with a similar level of enthusiasm. My largest first-visit brookie, a handsome female of 7 ¼ pounds, took a #6 Bomber in tan with orange hackle. Don’t dead-drift these flies all the time. Skate and dart them along with the line hand and the rod tip, but keep a taut line, or the fish will catch you short. If the fish aren’t coming up to the fly, use a weighted nymph under a strike indicator, or cast a streamer across and downstream. Leave your 5 and 6 weight fly rods at home when you come to Labrador. A 9-foot rod for a 7 weight is okay, but an 8 weight is better, particularly if the wind kicks up, and it often does – I bring

There are humongous and nasty northern pike everywhere the water slows a bit. You can catch them very near the camps, and they are delicious. My largest is so close to 50 inches, that’s what I call it!

both rods with attendant reels. A brookie over 4-pounds will test your skill, and smaller rods aren’t fair to these great fish: sure, you can land them on lighter gear, but they become stressed and could die slowly or become easy prey for a large pike as the result of their exertion. When you consider the appropriate tackle for these fish, think big largemouth bass—the rods, lines, leaders and tippets work equally with either type of fishing. Lake trout and whitefish are also here, and Arctic char are within range of the lodge’s resident float plane. The char fly-out to Mistastin Lake is an added option, and its availability depends on whether the char have moved in or not. The lake trout gather in the tail-outs of the rapids, and will take

deep drifted streamers and woolly buggers. The lakers, up to about 15 pounds or so, occasionally take a dry fly such as the afternoon hatching bluewinged olives in size 12 and 16 (sometimes both sizes hatch at the same time). Going for Northerns – “Water Wolves” Sometimes the squaretails just can’t bother with a fly, so I head for one of my favorite coves where the water wolves (northern pike) hang out like toughs on a city street corner. At one such place, the water was tannic colored, sort of like weak tea, but we could see the rocky bottom down to about three feet. I readied a cast toward the shoreline, but we spotted a pike hovering motionless one or two feet under the surface, and I sent a large red-and-white streamer

A Gene Bahr carving of a Labrador brook trout caught out of Three Rivers Lodge by owner Robin Reeve of Vermont. The fish measure 17-3/4 inches girth and 27 3/4 inches in length -- and weighed between 11 and 12 pounds. Mainer Gene Bahr is at 207-647-5238, genebahr.com.

to the front of the fish. The pike streaked from a dead stop to at least 60 miles an hour, and smashed the fly in a huge boil of water. After a few good runs, the fish was netted headfirst, but it was necessary to grab its tail in one hand since the net was too small. This scenario continued unabated for the next 120 minutes and, by my guide’s conservative count, 31 large pike came to net. All but two were over three feet long, and eight were over 40 inches. Three would push almost to the 50-inch mark. You’ll need wire for the toothy critter, and I really like Scientific Anglers wonderful Esox Special Premium Wire Leader (Esox is the pikes generic name meaning). I was too worn out to continue and it was getting on toward the cocktail hour. Plus I would pre-

A typical sunset in Labrador in a photo taken from the camp looking over Crossroads Lake.

pare deep-fried pike pieces for appetizers. The lodge guides, some of the best and nicest people you’d ever hope to spend time in a fishing paradise with, mostly are from Newfoundland and some from Quebec. They know their business. They helped me get around, since my mobility is limited from an old war wound and bouts with poor health. Their kindness went far beyond their job descriptions, for which I was very thankful. A nice place, superb fish, wonderful people, and nice everything. It just doesn’t get any better than that! Labrador Information For more information on Three Rivers Lodge, see trophylabrador.com; call owner Robin Reeve in Vermont at 617-791-5614. The Labrador West Tourism Development Corporation has maps and information at (709) 944-7631, labradorwest.com. The Newfoundland-Labrador Department of Tourism is at 1-800-563-6353, newfoundlandlabrador. com. TFO fishing rods is at 800-638-9052, tforods. com. Scientific Anglers, 866-587-6747, scientificanglers.com. Any questions, please contact me. I occasionally ask folks along on my trips to Labrador, so if interested, let me know.

www.MaineSportsman.com

Almanac

12 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Compiled and Edited by Will Lund

“Snap Shots in Time,” from the Written Record of Maine’s Past

by Bill Pierce, Executive Director Outdoor Sporting Heritage Museum, Oquossoc The following is an excerpt from an interesting article entitled “FOLLOWING DEER AND CARIBOU” (with the sub-title; Panthers and Wolves are said to be Coming Back into Maine). It can be found in the Thursday March 19, 1896 issue of The Rangeley Lakes newspaper we have here in the museum’s archives. It refers to status of Maine’s deer, moose and caribou populations in the 19th century. U.S. Fish and Wildlife has estimated that in 1900, the whitetail deer population may have dipped to as few as 250,000 animals nationwide. The anonymous writer of this piece published by William P. Dill expresses both his concerns and his experience on the subject. His thoughts on wolves and panthers are unabashed, to say the least: “It was after the deer had been killed off and the caribou driven away that the backwoods farmers had the most reason to remember the visit of the wild beasts from Canada. “[W]olves … are fierce and cunning and forever on the track of the deer and caribou. When they come —and they are sure to come, sooner or later— … they will make sad havoc among [Maine’s] antlered game. (From the March 19, 1896 issue of “The Rangeley Lakes” newspaper) In the absence of their natural prey, the hungry creatures came into the pastures and farmyards, and there never was another time in the history of Maine when so many colts, calves, sheep and pigs were killed by wild animals.

This led to the offering of bounties for wolf and panther scalps, and many a farmer made his losses more than good by the wild beasts he shot or trapped or poisoned. Many were killed; others, I suppose went back to Canada or followed the caribou over the New Brunswick border. At any rate they mostly disappeared, although some wolves were still in the Maine woods as late as the time of the civil war. The last panther killed in Maine was shot thirty years ago, near Eagle Lake, in Piscataquis County, by a hunter named Noyes. Those people who think that the fine hunting of today in Maine – and it is firstclass, and no mistake – is going to continue until nothing more of hindrance than comes from human poachers, are likely to have an awakening before the year 1900 gets along. There’s no special trouble to be feared from the Indian. He kills deer, to be sure, but he does not exterminate them or drive them out of the country. With wolves, it is another thing. They are fierce and cunning and forever on the track of the deer and caribou. When they come —and they are sure to come, sooner or later—there will be a good many of them, and they will make sad havoc among the antlered game. There are plenty of them beyond the Canadian line and some already on this side of the border, and in one winter of deep snow they would make the count of deer, moose and caribou in our forests mighty small. I hope it may turn out better than I prophesy. But wait and see!” —

Zebco’s Classic “De-Liar”

by Will Lund One of the more sobering aspects of getting older is seeing items you acquired new as a youngster, now being termed “classic” or “vintage.”

Zebco’s “Vintage” De-Liar Model 208

And so it is with the venerable Zebco De-Liar, a perfect product that first found its way into my and my siblings’ tackle boxes in the 1960s. The compact black device came packaged in a cardboard box printed with the catchy slogan: “It weighs! It measures!” And it did, with a surprisingly-accurate spring scale that went all the way to 8 pounds, and a tape measure that extended 24 inches. And what a great name – De-Liar. Even as a youngster I understood the widespread belief that fishermen tend to exaggerate, magnify, amplify, embroider and embellish, so the name De-Liar was intended to counteract that reputation. At first, we kids would lay the tape measure right down on the just-caught fish, causing the tape’s steel surface to quickly rust and become nearly unreadable. Then we learned to oil the tape lightly after each use. Growing up summers on a central Maine lake, I could not imagine the need for a scale exceeding 8 pounds, nor a tape longer than two feet. However, Zebco must have felt consumer demand for a heavy-duty model, so the compact and convenient Model 208 (8-pound maximum) was succeeded by the model 228 (28-pound scale, and with a tape nearly three feet long). The De-Liar’s popularity spawned competitive versions from other companies, and Zebco even put out a subsequent model under the De-Liar name that looked like something designed by NASA, and which did not look like it would fit easily in a tackle box. But if the Smithsonian ever offers an exhibit featuring timeless fishing gear, the (Continued on next page)

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that accept MasterCard credit cards. In addition, Platinum Plus cardholders will still earn 3% or World MasterCard will still earn 5% back on qualifying purchases at all Bass Pro Shops locations. For the latest information, customers can visit basspro.com/together, cabelas.com/together or cabelas.ca/together.

(Continued from page 12)

original Model 208 Zebco De-Liar deserves a place in the glass case. —

What’s Going On with Bass Pro Shops Buying Cabela’s? An Update

—

IF&W Wants You to Take Proper Care of your Moose

Submitted by King Montgomery It’s been many months since the rumors began floating around about Bass Pro Shops buying out Cabela’s. Here’s the latest on the issue. Bass Pro has acquired Cabela’s and the spin is not one of takeover, but rather of a close union of these two titans of the outdoor world under the watchwords “Moving forward together.” I asked my contact of more than two decades at Bass Pro Shops, Katie Mitchell, what the latest is on the joining of the two companies, and she responded with the following answers to some frequently asked questions: This is an opportunity to create a “best of the best” shopping experience for all outdoor enthusiasts. It means more selection as we are bringing together the best in fishing with Bass Pro Shops, the best in hunting with Cabela’s and the best in boating with Tracker Boats and other boating brands. Increased buying power will also help us deliver greater value to our customers. At the same time, it means continuing to provide unmatched expert service. In general, we plan to retain and grow everything customers love about both brands. As a bonus, we also plan to be a powerful, unified voice for conservation and become a stronger advocate for the outdoors and sportsmen’s rights. We will continue celebrating and promoting both the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s brands as we bring our two great companies together. Customers can convert a Bass Pro Shops gift card to a Cabela’s gift card for an equal amount and vice versa. Gift cards are exchanged at the customer service counter in either store or by contacting our online cus-

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tomer service centers. To exchange a Cabela’s gift card that you would like to use at Bass Pro Shops, call 1-800-211-6440 to have it exchanged. To exchange a Bass Pro Shops gift card that you would like to use at Cabela’s, call 1-800-237-4444 to have it exchanged. We are working to improve this process moving forward. In addition, Cabela’s purchases can be returned to our customer service counters at Bass Pro Shops and vice versa or by contacting our online customer service centers. Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s have strong national proprietary brands in several categories. Our goal is to continue developing and growing our brands to ensure we provide the same exceptional quality, service and value that customers have come to know and trust from Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s exclusive products. At this time, the rewards structure of the Cabela’s Club Visa will not change – cardholders will continue to receive 1% back for purchases made at Bass Pro Shops. At this time, the rewards earned on purchases at Cabela’s locations using your Bass Pro Shops Outdoor Rewards MasterCard will not change. Bass Pro Shops Outdoor Rewards MasterCard holders will earn 1% back on all purchases made at Cabela’s and all locations

Much of Maine’s moose season takes place in warm weather, so Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife wants moose hunters to be prepared to process their animals quickly in order to preserve the meat. They point out that hunters probably waited years to get their moose permit, and that moose meat is a valuable food source – protein-packed, free of antibiotics and growth hormones, and low in fat, cholesterol and calories. IF&W states that replacing the meat of a successfully-harvested moose, which on average would be about 300 pounds of steaks, burgers and roasts, could cost a hunter more than $1,800 at the grocery store. Here’s a summary of information and tips from the Department: 1) While registering the moose is required by law, no law requires that the moose be weighed. It’s more important to get the moose field-dressed and quartered to allow the meat to cool quickly. 2) Hunters should plan ahead and know where they are going to tag your moose. Tagging stations for most counties (including western York County) are found at www.maine.gov/ifw/docs/moosetaggingstations91517.pdf 3) Contact a meat cutter or processor ahead of time. Know where they live, how to get there, and their hours of operation. IF&W posts the names and addresses of more than 30 moose meat processing facilities at the following link: www1.maine.gov/ifw/docs/2017_ moose_meat_processing_facilities.pdf (Continued on next page)

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14 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Almanac

(Continued from page 13)

4) Moose are 101 degrees F on the inside, and this heat must escape to allow the rapid cooling of the carcass. Removing the hide and quartering the animal will allow it to cool more quickly. 5) Consider cutting up the moose in the field, and bringing out the parts in coolers. 6) IF&W warns that at air temperatures above 40F, meat starts to spoil, and if temperatures exceed 70F, bacteria doubles every 20 minutes. 7) At 50F, hunters may have between 3 and 6 hours to get their moose completely cooled down (40F) before the meat begins to spoil – that means hide off, and the moose cut up and placed in a cooler or freezer. 8) Bags of ice in the cavity will not protect the back straps or cool down the quarters, no matter how much the hunter stuffs in there. 9) Use game bags to protect and help cool the moose meat. They can be purchased, or hunters can use a clear cotton pillow case. 10) Keep dirt and dust off the moose. The woods road will be extremely dusty, and moose hauled out on trailers and truck beds will be covered in dust – so take precautions to keep dust off the meat. The department refers folks who want to learn how to field dress and quarter your moose, to a video filmed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game: www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=hunting.meatcare All of this is a lot to remember in the excitement following a successful moose hunt, so as in many aspects of hunting, advance preparation and knowledge is the key to preserving the large amount of quality meat provided by Maine’s largest land animal. —

Wireless Man-Overboard Systems Many of us are familiar with the red coiled safety tethers or lanyards found on personal water craft and many sport-fishing boats, in

which one end of the cord gets clipped to the skipper, while the other end is connected to the boat’s electrical system such that a yank on the cord (as when the skipper falls overboard) brings the boat to a rapid stop. But those lanyards can be constricting and problematic, with the result that many boaters don’t use them. In response, a company called Fell Marine has introduced a “wireless man overboard system,” in which the physical connection is replaced by an electronic sensor. If the wearer of the device gets too far from the boat, or if the device is submerged, the craft slows to a stop. While wireless systems are not new, the latest development (called “MOB+” is a “multiple fob” system enabling up to four separate passengers (including pets!) to each be wearing the device. If the captain goes over the side, the boat stops; if a passenger falls in, an alarm sounds.

Crestliner, Edgewater, and Brunswick CGP will offer the systems as options on their 2018 models.

Bird of the Month by Erika Zambello

Great Cormorant November harkens the start of winter birding in Maine. Though temperatures are dropping, leaves have fallen and snowstorms begun, the chilly season is an excellent occasion to head to the coasts to see the returning birds.

Great Cormorants

Components of a man-overboard system.

The system can be manually overridden if a fob gets lost or is forgotten back at the dock. According to Fell Marine, the new device will be available through West Marine and Bass Pro Shops. Boat manufacturers such as

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One of the largest returning seabirds is the Great Cormorant, which is similar in appearance to the related Double-crested Cormorant but which bobs off Maine’s shoreline only in the winter months. The Great Cormorant can be found in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, in addition to the Atlantic Coast of the United States, feeding exclusively on fish. This cormorant is made for its marine life. Wary of predators, they breed on rocky cliffs or isolated stone islands, ever on the lookout for their fishy meals. With a wingspan that can exceed 60 inches and a body length between 33 and 35 inches, the Great Cormorant is definitely large. Cloaked almost completely in black, the mature birds have beautiful emerald eyes to complement their orange bills. I primarily tell Double-crested Cormo(Continued on next page)

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rants and Great Cormorants apart by season; in the spring, summer, and fall, the dark seabirds I spot slipping beneath the waves in search of prey are probably the Double-crested variety; in the winter, I’m more than likely looking at the Great Cormorants. If one wants to be really sure, however, Great Cormorants have an additional white boarder around their orange bills. The Atlantic population of Great Cormorants has been estimated at nearly 12,000 birds. Though their numbers are currently stable, they were hunted in the 1800s. There are reports from Europe that cormorants were sometimes used as tame fishing birds. A strap or ring was placed around the bird’s neck to prevent it from swallowing the caught fish, which would then be transferred to the fisherman in the boat. Another tactic involved training cormorants to scare fish into waiting nets. Given their strong, hooked bills, I probably wouldn’t want a trained cormorant, but I do enjoy watching them on a cold but sunny November morning! —

Book Review by George Smith

Maine-ly Bird Hunting, by Brad Varney You’ll enjoy these 60 years of bird hunting stories.

I love it when people write their hunting and fishing stories, and not just because North Country Press published A Lifetime of Hunting and Fishing, my own book of hunting and fishing stories this year. Often, as people tell me their stories, I’ll encourage them to write those stories down. And many will say, “Oh, I can’t write.” To which I respond, “Of course you can. You just told me a wonderful story. Write it down!” I am so pleased that Brad Varney has done just that, in his new book Maine-ly Bird Hunting. Brad’s 60 years of bird hunting adventures give us some awesome stories. I’ve known Brad a long time, and I’ve benefitted from his shooting lessons at Varney’s Clay Sports in Richmond. He is a superb teacher, and he took me from a pathetic wing shooter to a pretty good one. I don’t want to give away too many of his stories, but the one where he simply pointed his gun straight up and shot a pheasant flying over his head was one of my favorites. And the story in which he shot three ducks with a single shot is amazing. Brad had some wonderful hunting dogs through the years, and many of his stories feature them. There was the time, however, when his dog Champ couldn’t find a dead woodcock anywhere on the ground. Turned out the bird had gotten hung up in the high crotch of an alder branch. And there was the time his dog Herc, one of his best, brought the dead woodcock to Brad, opened his mouth, and the woodcock flew off!

All I can do is thank Brad profusely for writing and sharing his wonderful stories with us. You will really enjoy them. You can obtain a book directly from Brad: 207-737-4993, www.varneysclaysports.com.

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16 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

— November 2017 Hunting & Fishing Information — Hunting Seasons and Rules Ruffed Grouse, Bobwhite Quail and Pheasant season runs October 2 – December 31. Deer Firearms season runs October 30 through November 25. Maine Residents-Only Day is Saturday October 28. Youth Deer Day is October 21. Muzzleloader season for deer starts November 27. In southern WMDs the season ends December 9; while in WMDs 12, 13, 15 – 18; 20 – 26 and 29, the season extends another week, through December 9 Crow season ended September 22. Hunting Bear with Bait (general season) started August 28 and runs through November 25 (bait could be placed starting July 29). Expanded Archery for Deer began September 9 (designated areas) and runs through December 9. Hunting Bear with Dogs started September 11 and runs through October 27. Moose season in WMDs 1 – 6, 11 and 19 begins September 25. Deer Archery season started September 28 and runs through October 27. Fall Wild Turkey in most WMDs runs October 1 through November 7. Canada Geese: Early Season (September 1 – September 25) North Zone: Daily limit: 6; Possession limit: 18 South Zone: Daily limit: 10; Possession limit: 30 Coastal Zone: Daily limit: 10; Possession limit: 30 Canada Geese: Regular Season North Zone: October 2 - December 21; Daily limit: 3; Possession limit: 9 South Zone: October 2 – October 26 and November 1 – December 26; Daily limit: 3; Possession limit: 9 Coastal Zone: October 2 – October 26 and 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 season starts October 1. Fox season starts October 16. Night Hunting for Coyote – Night hunting ended August 31, 2017. 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. 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 game birds. —

Fishing Seasons and Rules

Season – Rivers, Streams and Brooks From August 16 through September 30, artificial lures only; combined limit for all salmonids (togue, landlocked salmon and trout) is one fish. From October 1 through March 31, rivers, streams and brooks are closed to all fishing. Season – Lakes and Ponds North Region – From April 1 through September 30, general law; From October 1 through March 31, closed to open-water fishing and ice fishing. South Region – Open to ice fishing and open-water fishing; 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 and brown trout of 25 inches in much of Washington and Hancock Counties); for togue: 18 inches; for brown trout: 14 inches

in lakes; 6 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 Androscoggin, Cumberland, Franklin, Hancock, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Oxford, Penobscot, Sagadahoc, Waldo, Washington and York Counties. 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); 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 length (2.5 inches) and/or 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 and use of bare lead jigs not exceeding the length (2.5 inches) and/or weight (1 ounce) requirements is prohibited.

Remember to Set Your Clocks Back! Daylight Savings Ends at 2:00 AM Sunday, November 5, 2017.

November 2017 Sunrise/Sunset

November 2017 Tidal Chart

Portland, ME

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

RISE 7:16 7:17 7:19 7:20 7:21 6:23 6:24 6:25 6:27 6:28 6:29 6:31 6:32 6:33 6:34

SET 5:32 5:31 5:29 5:28 5:27 4:26 4:24 4:23 4:22 4:21 4:20 4:19 4:18 4:17 4:16

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DATE 16 Thu 17 Fri 18 Sat 19 Sun 20 Mon 21 Tue 22 Wed 23 Thu 24 Fri 25 Sat 26 Sun 27 Mon 28 Tue 29 Wed 30 Thu

RISE 6:36 6:37 6:38 6:40 6:41 6:42 6:43 6:44 6:46 6:47 6:48 6:49 6:50 6:51 6:52

SET 4:15 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

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

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

HIGH AM PM 9:15 9:37 10:00 10:25 10:43 11:12 11:28 — 12:00 / 11:14 11:50 — 12:02 12:42 12:54 1:37 1:50 2:36 2:50 3:39 3:55 4:46 5:04 5:52 6:13 6:54 7:18 7:51 8:16 8:42 9:09

LOW AM PM 2:59 3:25 3:45 4:13 4:30 4:59 5:15 5:47 5:01 5:35 5:49 6:26 6:40 7:20 7:35 8:17 8:34 9:18 9:39 10:23 10:48 11:29 11:57 — 12:32 1:03 1:31 2:02 2:24 2:55

DATE 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

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

HIGH AM PM 9:27 9:55 10:08 10:38 10:46 11:18 11:22 11:56 11:57 12:33 12:33 1:11 1:11 1:51 1:52 2:34 2:37 3:20 3:25 4:09 4:17 5:00 5:13 5:52 6:10 6:44 7:07 7:35 8:03

LOW AM PM 3:12 3:43 3:55 4:26 4:35 5:06 5:12 5:43 5:48 6:20 6:24 6:57 7:02 7:36 7:42 8:16 8:26 9:00 9:14 9:47 10:06 10:38 11:02 11:30 12:00 12:24 12:57 1:16 1:52

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 17

Anti’s Attack Beaver Trapping Hunting, fishing, and trapping are key parts of Maine’s outdoor economy and an important part of our heritage. So it troubles me greatly when I hear or read ugly statements about these outdoor activities. In an opinion column published the Kennebec Journal in August, Karen Coker of a new anti-hunting and anti-trapping group, WildWatch Maine, sharply criticized beaver trapping, claiming “Mainers are becoming increasingly intolerant of the brutal methods used to trap these charismatic animals.” I sure hope that is not true. And I’ve certainly never known beaver to be described as charismatic. Destructive, certainly; aggressive, yes; damaging, for sure; but not charismatic. And today’s trapping methods are not brutal. Beaver flood our roads, cut down our most valuable trees, and even chase us out of our favorite trout pools. At least, I was once chased out of a favorite pool by a very aggressive beaver. And I had to put metal sleeves on some of the trees on our lawn to protect them from beaver that live in the stream passing ∆by our house. Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Chandler Woodcock recently complained “We have beaver everywhere. They are a nuisance.” North Country Press recently published my new book of hunting and fishing stories, titled A Lifetime of Hunting and

Fishing. The stories were written over the last 30 years about my lifetime of hunting and fishing. The book includes a story about trapping. “Dad taught me to trap,” I wrote. “Early mornings before school, he always accompanied me to check my traps on a nearby stream. It was exciting to find a muskrat in a trap. And we returned to that same stream to hunt ducks. I have a vision of a flock of black ducks flying low over our decoys, and Dad saying ‘Shoot!’ We shot at the same time and each got a duck.” WildWatch Maine has also been very critical of hunting in the past. I do respect anyone’s opinions about our hunting and fishing heritage, when they are respectfully presented, but that is not the approach taken by Coker and her group. I can only wish that they would read my book and understand and respect my outdoor heritage. I do know that hunting has changed a lot in my lifetime. One story in the book is a column I wrote after hearing a TV newscaster say, while introducing a segment at the end of the deer season, “Some of the images might be disturbing.” That news piece showed a dead deer in the back of a truck. I wrote, “My, how hunting has changed in my lifetime. We would mount our dead deer on the front hood of our car and parade up Winthrop’s Main Street, then

hang the deer in the front yard for all to see and admire. Yes, admire. I don’t believe anyone found the dead deer to be disturbing.” On the good side of change, hunters today are much more attuned to conservation and actually pay for most of the good work of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife on behalf of the wild critters we all enjoy seeing. And most of us are really focused on maintaining good landowner relations, realizing how fortunate we are to be able to hunt on private land.

They Need to Kill More Deer in Eastport The special December deer hunt in Eastport will be expanded this year, in an attempt to reduce the high populations of deer that have become a nuisance there. Last year’s special hunt, during the last two weeks of December, authorized only 30 hunters to shoot one deer each. And just 11 does were killed. “As anticipated, the 2016 special hunt did not result in significant reduction of does or a reduction in deer-human conflicts,” reported the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. This year’s hunt is

still limited to 30 hunters, although after each one shoots a deer, another 60 permits will be available. The hunt is limited to bows, and hunters are required to sit in designated stands, rather than hunt through the area. The DIF&W believes the increase in deer-human conflicts in Eastport is the result of three combined factors: • No hunting for does in WMD 27, to which Eastport was assigned in 2005; • A municipal “no discharge of firearms” ordinance that restricts hunting to bows; and • Limited areas to (Continued on next page)

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18 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Capitol Report (Continued from page 17)

hunt outside of the congested residential neighborhoods on this 3.6 mile island. The 2017 hunt is scheduled for the two weeks in December immediately following the regular firearms season. And hunters will again be limited to specially-placed stands. Last year there was a debate about allowing the hunters to place deer bait in front of their stands, but the people of Eastport decided not to allow that. It seems to me that baiting makes sense, given that the entire goal is to kill deer. This is not hunting – it is killing. 27 permits will go to Eastport residents and just 3 to nonresidents. The permits are issued in a lottery. Last year 141 hunters applied for a permit. The permits allow only does to be killed. DIF&W will distrib-

ute a survey to Eastport residents to assess their satisfaction with the special hunt and the current population of deer. “We’re going to measure success by the satisfaction of residents, not the number of deer killed,” said Judy Camuso, DIF&W’s Wildlife Division Director. She also reported that during the regular season, Eastport hunters will be allowed to shoot does. That should help. Kill More Bass and Protect More Brook Trout A lot of interesting issues were discussed a recent meeting of the Fish and Wildlife Advisory Council, the group that must approve all new rules governing hunting, fishing, and trapping. One of the most interesting parts of the meeting occurred when council members had the

Quotable

Sportsman

by George Smith

About 351,000 oral rabies vaccination baits are going to be distributed over a 2,400-square-mile area in northeastern Maine. Associated Press story, July 30, 2017, about a project to vaccinate raccoons to reduce rabies. — “Oh please, I have a boa constrictor stuck to my – my face!” Ohio woman’s plea to 911 dispatcher. The woman had recently brought the snake to her home. Responders had to cut off the snake’s head to rescue the woman. Washington Post, July 30, 2017. — We have about 5,000 bodies of water in the state of Maine and 3,000 brooks and rivers. Now at any given time we probably have no more than 40 game wardens on duty. You’re more likely to be hit by lightning than to run into a game warden. Matt Dunlap, Secretary of State, who also www.MaineSportsman.com

opportunity to raise any issues and ask any questions they wished. They had quite a discussion about bass. One council member questioned new rules of no size or bag limit on bass in northern Maine waters. Fisheries Division Director Francis Brautigam responded that IFW “does not want bass in those waters.” Advisory Council member Jeff Lewis of Hancock County complained about the spread of bass, especially largemouth bass, and cited the loss of native brook trout in many waters in his region. Council member Lance Wheaton said, “It’s time you biologists get the hell out of the office and see what’s happening in our lakes.” Lance, a Maine guide, reported finding lots of fish with rubber or steel in them, including salmon. He does not let his anglers use rubber or steel lures.

“It’s killing our fish,” he said. Instead he uses lures that deteriorate if they are lost in the water. “I don’t think the bass industry should be able to kill all our fish,” he said. “We need to protect our bass.” He also said lots of bass have been lost since the introduction of alewives to his Grand Lake Stream area waters. Turning to the fisheries biologists, Lance said, “You guys got a lot to learn.” Councilor Lawrence Farrington of Piscataquis and Somerset Counties lamented “There’s probably more bass boats on Moosehead Lake than trout and salmon boats.” Bass were illegally introduced to Moosehead Lake some years ago. “I hate bass in Moosehead Lake,” said Farrington, arguing for more protection of trout by placing more trout ponds on the state’s Heritage list. “If you are going to make a mistake,

noted that 98 percent of anglers purchase a fishing license. Bill Nemitz column, Maine Sunday Telegram, August 6, 2017. — I hear some complaining from my guys that they don’t know about the bears from a year ago. But 3,000 teeth have to be segmented and looked at under a microscope. Don Kleiner of the Maine Professional Guides Association, on the Montana lab that collects bear teeth from around the country and tests them to determine the age of the bears. In 2016 they tested 260,000 black bear teeth, indicating a boom in the black bear population. — White-tailed deer overabundance is a threat to millions of acres of forest land in the Northeastern United States. US Dept of Agriculture report, January 2016. — Police in New Hampshire this week were able to corral a llama who had escaped his farm in pursuit of a bear, then wandered onto a nearby golf course, the Conway Daily Sun reported. Jackson, New Hampshire, police Chief Chris Perley told the Daily Sun that the llama is protective over a flock of

I’d prefer to make it on the conservation side,” he said. “The brook trout is the one thing that anglers come to Maine to catch.” In general, we learned that the department has changed its approach to focus on no length or bag limits with special rules on some waters. Commissioner Chandler Woodcock reported that the agency is working to simplify fishing rules, focusing on waters where they want to remove more fish. Brautigam said, “What we find on remote waters is no fishing pressure, resulting in smaller fish.” They want to encourage anglers to take more fish out of those waters. “I honestly think we could take more than five fish from some of those remote waters,” Francis told council members.

ducks at a Moody Farm Road farm, and leapt its electric fence to chase off a wild bear he perceived as a threat to the ducks. John Holyoke news story, Bangor Daily News, August 18, 2017 — Approximately 10,000 beaver lose their lives each year…. Mainers are becoming increasingly intolerant of the brutal methods used to trap these charismatic animals. Karen Coker, WildWatch Maine, Kennebec Journal, August 26, 2017. — What we find on remote waters is no fishing pressure, resulting in smaller fish. I honestly think we could take more than five fish from some of those remote waters. Francis Brautigam, DIFW Fisheries Division Director, speaking to the Fish and Wildlife Advisory Council, August, 2017. — I hate bass in Moosehead Lake…. The brook trout is the one thing that anglers come to Maine to catch. Lawrence Farrington, Fish and Wildlife Advisory Council member, arguing for more protection of trout by placing more trout ponds on the state’s Heritage list. Council meeting, August 2017.

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 19

Rattling for Bucks the Most Productive as Team Effort by JP Falzone Click...Click... CRACK! To a true deer hunter, there is not a more magnificent sound in the autumn woods than hearing whitetail antlers crash together. This music to our ears is what we often dream about or hear on hunting television shows as we watch bucks fiercely duel. However, even those of us who spend a great deal of time in the woods each fall could probably count on a couple of fingers the number of times we’ve witnessed this spectacle with our own eyes and ears in the wild. I have personally heard the sound of this

Start with a single, loud crash of the antlers, and then wait for a reaction. A wily buck will know exactly which direction the sound came from, so both hunters must stay absolutely still, moving only their eyes to scan the territory. November ritual several times. On one occasion – with about one minute of legal hunting light left – I heard antlers tickle a few times, and then a light clash of them come together. I desperately tried to locate the two bucks in my scope. About 75 yards away I briefly saw the blurry outline of two deer moving around, head to head. Then the final rays of daylight faded, and my hunting day came to a

close. The Art of Rattling To intentionally create this sound in a quiet deer woods setting with a pair of authentic deer antlers or a synthetic rattling device such as a rattle bag is also something that will most definitely get your heart pumping. Whether you’re in a swamp or the hardwoods, the art of rattling is certainly something that can really get bucks moving, producing results when

things don’t seem to be happening on their own. I sometimes hear people say, “It’s too early to rattle,” or “It’s too late to rattle – the rut’s over.” But must rattling only coincide with the middle of the rut? I’m not sure anyone knows the answer as to when the right time is to start or stop rattling in November. To my knowledge, there is no software package currently available for your iPhone or

GPS to alert a hunter as to when the rut begins or ends in Maine based on any sort of scientific data. No device displays a blinking pop-up message to inform you, “The rut starts today, Saturday November 11th at 10:03 a.m. – START RATTLING AT THAT TIME!!” Conversely, there’s no notice when the rut ends – no alert that reads “Please refrain from rattling again this season and hang up your antlers now – thank you.” As far as I’m concerned, if the calendar says “November,” it’s game on!! (Continued on next page)

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20 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Rattling for Bucks

hands, or bodies.

(Continued from page 19)

Better with Two Hunters I thoroughly enjoy rattling. While it’s a lot of fun to do on your own, when two people work together as a team it can make for a very productive experience for both parties. It also can create some great lasting memories for a father and son, a mother and daughter, or even two spouses who want to hunt together while enjoying the fall season outdoors. Big swamps are my absolute favorite place to rattle. Large bucks prefer these locations, and such an area can make it very easy and convenient to hunt as a pair. To get started, I suggest poking around the edges of the swamp, looking for any fresh sign, such as scrapes, rubs on trees or fresh droppings. If you do happen to locate any of these indications of recent deer activity, it is a good spot for both of you to get to work. If there’s no fresh sign in the area, pick a location that provides the best visibility toward the area where you believe the deer will be present. If possible, find a tree to stand behind where the two of you can see all, or at least the majority of, the area. Another benefit of the tree is that the tree itself, or a branch of the tree, can act as a rest for

your rifle if a shooting situation arises. If no trees are handy, find a large bush to either stand, kneel, or sit down in front of in order to blend in with the background to break up your figures (as opposed to standing in an open area where it would be easier for a buck to discern your outline). Tactics Have the person working the antlers watch one side of the swamp, with the person hunting watching the other. For example, the rattler takes the left side, and the gunner takes the right side. I recommend starting off with a couple of quick grunt calls, as this may grab the attention of a buck that is very close by. After grunting, wait for ten minutes or so. If this doesn’t produce any results, begin to rattle lightly. When rattling, I prefer to start off with a single loud crash of the antlers, and then stop and wait for a reaction. Once this sound traverses your chosen location, it’s very important to limit any and all movement. A wily old buck present in the area will know EXACTLY where the sound came from, so it is critical for both people to move only their eyes, and not their heads,

Patience is a Virtue A buck may hear the sound and look out into the swamp, but may wait for 5 or 10 minutes before stepping out into an open space to get a better look at what’s going on. For that reason, it’s very important for both hunters to be patient and still. Movement can blow your cover in a heartbeat. Big bucks did not get big by being stupid, and they have most likely learned from past hunters’ mistakes. A buck will most definitely head for the hills once it realizes the sound it heard was not caused by two bucks sparring, so it’s imperative to be discreet. After 10 minutes go by, try a couple of more crashes together, stop, and once again scan the area with your eyes while remaining still. The idea is to slowly increase the rattling over a period of time to simulate two bucks testing each other out before engaging in a more spirited contest. Attempt this a couple more times, and if it does not produce any results, find another section of the swamp and try again in the new location. Lastly, less can be more when rattling, so avoid over-rattling. Sometimes, one clash of the antlers or some light rattling is all it takes to pique a buck’s interest, causing it to run or step out into the clear, and

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Here, the author keeping a close eye on the right side of the swamp. JP English rattles while simultaneously monitoring the right side.

The author rattling on a solo mission in one of his favorite locations.

present a shot for the hunter to seal the deal for a successful day afield. Hunt safely – be sure to both wear a sufficient amount of hunter orange, and good luck to you and your companion on your next tandem rattling adventure.

If you try this plan and achieve success, or if you have additional suggestions on rattling, drop out editor a note – we’d enjoy hearing from those readers who try this collaborative approach to rattling this fall.

Sportsman The Maine

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��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 21

A True Maine Tradition...

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22 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

— The Maine Sportsman’s Featured Maine Sporting Camps —

Whisperwood Lodge & Cottages Located in the beautiful Belgrade Lakes Region of Maine, on resplendent Salmon Lake, Whisperwood has served as a relaxing seasonal getaway for countless family vacationers and fishermen since 1927. Eleven lakeside cottages are nestled on a wooded hillside overlooking picture-perfect Salmon Lake, a serene setting to enjoy wildlife sightings. Whisperwood offers a perfect mix of seclusion and peaceful surroundings, yet its easy access to I-95 allows for more time relaxing and less time traveling on the road. Traditional American Plan dining offers guests a generous home-cooked breakfast and

dinner served in the central dining room, plus a fully-packed, hearty picnic lunch for noontime enjoyment while out for a day of fishing or another outdoor adventures. Guests enjoy free use of canoes and kayaks and rowboats, as well as the swimming area, the recreation hall and nightly campfires. Rental motor boats are available to enhance the boating and fishing experience, or guests may bring their own boats. Whisperwood offers free launching service and a 20slip docking facility, with electricity supplied at each boat slip. The enjoyment of Salmon Lake draws guests to Whisperwood year after year, and

the superb fishing is a major part of the attraction. Experienced Maine guides are available to enhance the angling experience, while guests pursue trout, salmon, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass or northern pike on any of the lakes in the Belgrade Region. Open May through September, Whisperwood promises a great Maine experience for your next family vacation, fishing trip, or just a relaxing week or weekend. Join your hosts, Cameron & Renee McCafferty, at Whisperwood Lodge & Cottages, 103 Taylor Woods Rd., Belgrade, ME. 04917. Call 207-465-3983 or visit whisperwoodlodge.com.

Chandler Lake Camps We are located within the North Maine Woods of Northern Maine – a working industrial forest of approximately 4 million acres. We are situated in Township 9 Range 8 (T9R8), about 30 miles in the woods from the town of Ashland, Maine. The camps were originally built starting in 1902 by Almond Currier and Roach Adams, Guides from Oxbow. We purchased them in 1997 and have worked on and operated the camps since that time, for the last 20 years. We operate from May 1st until the end of the first full week in December. We are a full-service American Plan (providing all meals) sporting camp and lodge, specializing in fishing for wild Maine brook trout and landlocked salmon in lakes, ponds, streams and rivers, as well as hunting for grouse and woodcock, whitetail deer and moose. We are the only camps on Chandler Lake. We have a number of experienced, professional Maine guides, and for upland hunting they provide quality English pointers, setters, Brittanies and other hunting dogs. We offer private lakeside cabins of handpeeled spruce logs with private baths. All meals are served in our dining room. Meals are of the highest quality, from appetizers to desserts, home-made on site daily. We cater to smaller groups – weekly numbers averwww.MaineSportsman.com

age fewer than 12, and corporate and private groups up to 20. We offer the traditional sporting camp atmosphere with a few modern conveniences. Satellite telephone and Wi-Fi is available as needed, and electricity is provided 24/7 by generator or inverter/solar. Fall for us starts in September, with fall fishing for brook trout and salmon, followed by the first moose hunting week. Guests are able to fish a different body of water every day, with more than 30 canoes on various remote ponds and lakes in the area. October into the first two weeks of November is prime upland game hunting for grouse and woodcock. We complement that activity with afternoons or days of limited October fishing on a few select area waters. November is for our “Big Woods” whitetail hunting.

We are a unique operation. Starting this year, we are also the only licensed Upland Hunting Preserve within the North Maine Woods. With this designation, we offer upland hunting on 250 acres for pheasant, chukar partridge, and quail – pen-raised birds. Offered from May to December, there is no season, no license required and no bird limit. Any day and every day. Hunters use our bird-hunting dogs or bring their own. We supplement this preserve hunting with our “Grouse Walk,” a five-station sporting clay course with automatic throwers to simulate a grouse hunt in the wilds of Maine. It’s a challenging and fun course for all ages and genders. What is our sporting camp advantage? • All youth 16 and younger stay at no charge with a paid adult • All inclusive rates with no minimum stays • No fly-outs needed • Canoes, kayaks and boats with motors are offered at no additional charge • Your schedule is our schedule. Fish, relax or hunt early or late. We will accommodate your schedule. • No additional resort fee Please review our website: ChandlerLake Camps.com, or contact us at 207-731-8938.

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 23

— The Maine Sportsman’s Featured Maine Sporting Camps —

Boggy Brook Outfitters

Boggy Brook Outfitters is a family-owned and operated Maine Guide Service with a main lodge and cabin, located in Ellsworth, Maine. This is a four-season operation, providing year-round adventures and lodging to their guests. Since 2006, owner Jesse Derr has offered client-tailored hunting and fishing trips, wildlife observation tours, and luxury lakefront accommodations. Nestled in a quiet cove on pristine Branch Lake, the main lodge offers luxury, log-home accommodations, exceptional sunsets, hunting, fishing, swimming, boating, kayaking, canoeing and wildlife observation. The convenient location presents clients not only with a tranquil lakefront retreat, but also close proximity to explore such must-see attractions as Acadia National Park, Baxter State Park, and much more. Maine Master Guide Derr and his son Christopher take pride in the exceptional services provided by Boggy Brook Outfitters to their guests from Maine and around the world. They provide fully-guided bear hunting, deer hunting, turkey hunting and moose hunting trips, as well as four-season freshwater fishing trips. Boggy Brook Outfitters offer deer hunting in all three of the available seasons in Maine (Bow, Rifle, and Muzzleloader). They

Friday, March 30th Saturday, March 31st Sunday, April 1st Augusta Civic Center

hunt over active food plots and well-traveled deer trails, and offer metal ladder tree stands, shooting houses and ground blinds. The guides work hard planting and maintaining food plots all year. Trail cameras are placed in hunting areas and food plots. Throughout the year, Boggy Brook Outfitters check over their well-established 1,500 gated acres of hunting land. Jesse and Christopher look forward to serving each client with professionalism and experience, with hunting and fishing adventures and with memories that will last a lifetime. Lifelong friendships are often created during these adventures. Boggy Brook Outfitter’s goal is not only to meet their clients’ expectations, but to always exceed them. For more information, or to contact Boggy

Brook, check out their website at boggybrookoutfitters.com, or call (207) 667 -7271 (Office), (207) 266 -0685 (Cell), or email jdcon@yahoo. com.

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Mark Your Calendars for Maine’s Premier Outdoor Show! Outdoor enthusiasts wait all winter long for the spring thaw and what better way to spend one of those spring weekends than at Maine’s biggest outdoor trade show, the 38th annual State of Maine Sportsman’s Show! Tens of thousands of outdoors-minded folks will gather for an entire weekend of everything outdoors March 30, 31, and April 1. There truly is something for everyone: over 100 exhibitors, kid zone, demonstrations, seminars, taxidermy, art, photography and carving contests, and LOTS MORE! STAY TUNED TO OUR WEBSITE AND FACEBOOK PAGE FOR UPDATES!

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24 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Maine Wildlife:

Little Brown Bat by Tom Seymour

Only one group of mammals – bats – rate as true fliers. Flying squirrels glide, but are incapable of actual flight. Bats are capable fliers, but even so, they are erratic in flight. Nonetheless, equipped with built-in sonar, bats can perform dips, twists and turns that would make a woodcock envious. Feeding on flying insects, colonies of little brown bats, Myotis lucifugus, Maine’s most numerous bats, leave their colonies in the evening and head out for a night of prowling the skies for mosquitoes and other flying insects. Scientists tell us that a single little brown bat can eat 1,000 mosquitoes per night. Additional information, this time from Penn State University, reveals that little brown bats eat from 300 to 3,000 mosquitoes per night. (I’ve always wondered about such definitive figures. How can anyone accurately measure how many mosquitoes a bat eats? Do they count them?) But suffice it to say, bats eat a lot of mosquitoes. Resident Bats I’m fortunate to have resident brown bats near my place. It’s uncertain where they roost. It might be a in a hollow tree on my woodlot. I like to leave such old, cavity-filled trees as homes for wildlife, and my property has several of these. Or perhaps the bats are using the bat house on the west-facing side of my house. But either way, the bats are regulars, and it pleases me to sit and watch them fluttering over my lawn, catching mosquitoes in mid-flight. Hibernating animals, bats seek cool, dark, protected places to spend the winter. These can include people’s attics and barns. One family I knew had a large bat colony in their barn, and the great number of bats soiled the floor and farm equipment with their droppings. But instead of seeking ways to drive the bats out or make the barn an untenable place for them to live, my friends decided to suspend a large tarpaulin beneath the bats. Lowering and emptying the tarpaulin became just another regular chore, and both my friends and the bats came out the better for it. My friends were the exception, however – all too many people do everything they can to www.MaineSportsman.com

Bats can eat 1,000 mosquitoes a night, and they are not the scary animals of folklore, so we should do what we can to coexist with them. drive bats away and keep them away. That’s not surprising, given the myths and scary folklore surrounding bats. Bat Folklore While people may panic if a bat flies close to them, the animal is probably just pursuing insects that were attracted by the person’s body heat. That knowledge, though, does little to reassure those who have heard and believe all the superstition surrounding bats. A little brown bat, or any bat for that matter, won’t purposely get wound up in a person’s hair. While it’s difficult to say unequivocally that that didn’t happen a time or two throughout history, it seems quite unlikely. After all, bats locate prey through echolocation, something similar to radar. This allows the bat to describe all manner of circuitous paths without bumping into solid objects. The last thing a bat wants or needs is to have a “close encounter of the hairy kind” with a human. My own grandmother was, unfortunately, one of those people who accepted bat-based folklore as genuine truth, and even though she warned me of all the dire consequences that could occur during a bat encounter, I never really believed her. It turned out my intuition was correct. But during the early years of the 20th century, many people held on to such silly beliefs, and my grandma was one. And of course we need to examine the notion that any Maine bats suck human blood. That is absolutely untrue. Bats drink water, not blood, and they do so by flying low over water and dipping water as they go. Bat Diseases It’s a fact that as mammals, bats can and do carry rabies. But rabid bats are uncommon, and there’s really no need to run or hide when a bat makes a close pass. After all, the animal is only catching mosquitoes that might otherwise bite us. As for the number of rabies-infected bats in Maine, wildlife biologists estimate that fewer than one in 20,000 Maine bats becomes rabid. The best way for people to protect themselves from rabies carried by bats is to never pick up a bat. When a bat contracts rabies, it soon becomes paralyzed and falls to the ground. Picking up such a bat can result in the animal using what mobility it has left to defend itself by biting or scratching. So just let bats on the ground stay on the ground, and chances of contracting rabies will be zero. A new disease to Maine, the deadly whitenose fungus disease, threatens Maine’s bats. In 2011, bats found at two Oxford County sites had visible signs of the disease. White-nose syndrome causes hibernating

bats to awaken numerous times during hibernation. This causes the animal to expend stored fat that would otherwise contribute to keeping the bat alive during hibernation. An analogy here might be when dogs or coyotes chase a deer in early spring. At that time, deer’s fat reserves are at an extreme low as a result of living on less-than-nourishing forage during the winter. A deer thus stressed will frequently die some time later. It’s the same with bats. Helping Bats All bats are protected and may not legally be killed, trapped or hunted. There are exceptions for bats that enter people’s houses. Swatting at low-flying bats outside in your yard with a broom is definitely banned. But hopefully, after learning how bats are generally harmless and how they contribute to our well-being by eating flying insects, such reflexive actions will seem totally unnecessary. In fact, we should all seek to do our best to help bats. And we can do that in several different ways. One option is to do as my friends did with those bats in their barn – learn to co-exist with them. Another option, especially for those who own woodlots, is to leave a few large dead or dying trees as wildlife habitats. Lots of other critters depend upon hollow trees too, so two or three of these on a woodlot can help countless forms of life. Little brown bats – and indeed all Maine bats – face difficult times. What with whitenose syndrome now in our state and loss of habitat through development and clear-cutting, our native bats need all the help they can get.

A little brown bat asleep in its cave.

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 25

Baiting Deer by Steve Vose Baiting deer in Maine is considered a serious offense that carries with it severe penalties. LD 1083, “An Act To Increase the Penalties for Hunting Deer over Bait” (effective November 1, 2017) increases the penalty for anyone convicted of placing bait or hunting over bait, creating a mandatory one-year hunting license revocation from the date of conviction on a first time offense, and a permanent hunting license revocation for a 2nd offense. While some may feel these penalties are severe, at least they are straightforward and easy to follow. In other words, don’t feed deer; don’t get punished. Now if only we could figure out how to make the fishing laws this simple. Language in the new law states that “a person may not place salt or any other bait or food in a place to entice deer to that place from June 1st to the start of an open hunting season on deer and, if all open hunting seasons on deer are closed before December 15th for that year, from the close of the last open hunting season on deer to December 15th.” In other words, no baiting deer from June 1 through December 15. The prohibition also

Under the revised law, you can’t put out supplemental feed during the summer, which until now has been a routine practice in many parts of the state in order to improve deer survival and enhance antler growth. encompasses those who hunt over bait: “Baiting deer by placing salt, grain, fruit, nuts or other foods or bait known to be attractive to deer, or hunting from an observation stand or blind overlooking such bait, is prohibited from June 1 to December 15.” Different Approaches by Different States While baiting deer is illegal in Maine, in many other states the act of baiting deer is seen as an effective way of managing deer populations,

much in the same way that Maine allows the use of “bait” to be used to hunt bear or coyotes. While deer may not be baited using “food” during prescribed times of the year, it is considered perfectly legal to dupe deer into effective range of rifle or bow using sexual scents, decoys, electronic game calls and antler rattling. Also permitted are established “growing” baits such as apple orchards, food plots or agricultural fields.

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It is certainly interesting to see what are deemed “acceptable” and “unacceptable” hunting practices by various states and their lawmakers. Supplemental Feeding OK Dec. 15 – June 1 Deer maybe provided with supplemental food sources, outside of the time constraints enforced by law (in other words, after December 15 and before June 1) to help them survive the winter, to promote antler growth or to provide additional

nutrition for does preparing to birth fawns. The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, however, discourages sportsmen from this practice even during the late winter and spring, instead encouraging citizens to “best help Maine’s winter deer herds by taking an active role in managing their lands to improve deer habitat naturally.” This stance, combined with the recent changes in the baiting law, cause me to wonder just how long it will be before the Maine Legislature creates a law dictating that deer cannot be fed “food” at any time during the entire year. (Continued on page 27)

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26 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Old-School Snow Tracking for Big Bucks – Part 2 by Alan Haley Editor’s Note: Last month, long-time Maine Guide Alan Haley described the first three stages of tracking big bucks through the snow: First; find the “right” track, to ensure you are following a bruiser buck; Second, start moving as quickly as possible, to close the distance between you and the deer; and Third, keep your eyes up, using your eyesight (that’s actually superior to a deer’s), and not worrying too much about making noise in your pursuit. This month, the author concludes his tutorial, covering the fourth and fifth techniques learned over the course of many years guiding sports out of Wayne Hockmeyer’s remote tent camps. Fourth, figure out when to slow down and look harder. Although you may get up

Deciding when to slow down and look carefully is the hardest judgment to make, and the one that will take you years to get really good at.

The author is shown here in the early 1980s at Wayne Hochmeyer’s camp on Roll Dam on the West Branch. The area received a fresh dusting of snow each night, cleaning the slate for new tracks in the morning. Three sports, guided by the author and Wayne, each shot a buck using the tracking techniques described in this two-part series.

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won’t. It usually takes an hour, sometimes a couple of hours, to get close, and few people can keep their concentration up for that long a time period.

You have to learn to see the signs that the deer is near. Its tracks might start meandering as it browses a little. This will tell you that the buck

slowed down dramatically a few minutes ago and that you are closing the distance. You might have a change in weather or temperature that lets you accurately gauge the age of the track; you might just come to some old ancient beech ridge where you can see a few hundred yards. Deciding when to slow down and look carefully is the hardest judgment to make, and the one that will take you years to get really good at. Fifth, don’t take the first shot you see. Almost always, if you have been careful in your approach, you are going to see the deer at the limit of your vision. Your heart will be racing, adrenaline will be engorging your muscles and your emotions will tell you to act fast before the deer steps away. But the reality is that now, you have the upper hand. You know the deer is there, but it’s is not aware of you. You’ve got time to look the situation over and decide what you want to do. Long shots through the woods are tricky things. There are thousands of branches between you and the deer; several of them are likely (Continued on next page)

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 27 (Continued from page 26)

in the bullet’s path. You are probably going to be breathing hard, which will make an offhand shot very dicey. It’s unlikely that you will have a clear chest shot. Get yourself under control and think your plan through. If you need to get closer, figure out how to do that. If the buck walks into the brush or over the ridge, you have been given a breather and an opportunity.

Deer are on guard at all times, but they have a tendency to watch their backtrack more than anything else. If you are sure the deer is out of sight, you can approach from a different angle, away from its backtrack. ***** Wayne Hockmeyer used to say that you had to do this fifty times before you started to get good at it, and that was pretty much my experience. I was in his hunt-

Baiting Deer (Continued from page 25)

While both the issue of prohibiting the use of bait (food) for deer while allowing the use of other attractants such as sexual scents, food plots and decoys could likely be debated back and forth for a long time, my primary purpose is to provide sportsmen with information on the significant increase in the penalties for violating our state’s deer baiting law. Sportsmen and landowners should not be concerned that they were violating the new law if they were offering supplemental feed to deer up to the September 2017 start of the expanded archery season. That’s because the new law doesn’t officially become “enforceable” for 90 days after it is signed into law. According to Emily MacCabe, IF&W’s

When you finally see the big buck, your emotions will tell you to act quickly before the deer steps away. In reality, however, you have the upper hand – so get yourself under control and think your plan through. ing camp three or four years before I could really snow-track well. It’s an old fashioned and exhausting technique that you will bungle repeatedly. Tree climbing stands, doe urine, buck calls and game cameras are far less demanding, and those

techniques are effective in their own ways. But once you are successful on your first snow track – once you taste the exhilaration and pride of craft – everything else will be the second option. About the author: Alan Haley got his Maine

guide’s license in 1976, and for the next 11 years he guided deer, bear and moose hunters for Wayne Hockmeyer, owner of Northern Outdoors. Haley worked out of remote tent camps between Seboomook and Caucmagomic Lake.

Say what you will about the new strict anti-baiting laws – at least they are straightforward and easy to follow – don’t feed deer; don’t lose your license. Now if only we could figure out how to make the fishing laws that simple. Media Supervisor, the 90 days delay (which is automatic for all but “emergency” legislation) is intended to make sure that new laws are properly explained to wardens and IF&W personnel, and that the general public is also made well aware of the changes. IF&W also circulates critical law changes on its social media outlets, and lists law updates each year’s in the printed hunting law books. Sportsman should carefully review the section, “128th Legislature (2017): Summary of Hunting-Related Laws” found on pages 2 and 3 of the 2017-18 hunting law book, to make sure they are well aware of all changes.

I hope sportsmen will help spread the word on the baiting law change, as I know a large number of us have in the past provided supplemental feed to deer throughout the summer months to help strengthen the herd and promote anther growth. G i v e n the severe penalty now in place for violating the baiting law, it would be extremely unfortunate for any of our hunting brethren to lose the right to hunt simply because they were ill-informed. Good luck to you all this deer hunting season!

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28 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

— Guest Column —

How I Survived the History Channel’s Alone, and Won $500K – Part 2 by Zachary Fowler, Appleton and Union, Maine Our story so far: Zackary Fowler (who prefers to be called simply “Fowler”) competed against 9 other contestants on the History Channel reality show, “Alone.” Participants were given 10 tools of their choice, and dropped in the cold wilderness of Patagonia, a region of Argentina and Chile that includes the southern Andes Mountains. Fowler, a boat-builder by trade, found that he could catch trout by sending baited hooks out into the middle of the nearby lake using a small model boat with a paddle wheel, powered by the spare rubber band off his slingshot. At the lake in Patagonia where my bamboo camp was located, I discovered three types of trout: rainbow, brook, and then the oh-so-coveted pink-fleshed trout. The pink ones were the best-tasting – reminiscent of salmon. Half the trout were filled with fish eggs, and those were a treat – Patagonia caviar. My three-foot long, rubber band-powered boat (“Duck Hunter 3000”), originally intended to hook and capture waterfowl, worked much better when used to transport baited hooks out into deeper water where the big fish swam. Modifications to “Duck Hunter 3000” As time went on, the Duck Hunter was modified to increase its efficiency. I constructed a dock to service it and to provide a launching platform that got it farther out into the water. Unassisted, the padwww.MaineSportsman.com

To replace my boat’s small paddle wheel, I used my multitool to carve a propeller about four inches in diameter. Then I heat-straightened a bamboo shaft, mounted the propeller, made couplings and shaft guides out of bamboo, and added a rudder.

Duck Hunter 3000, now named “Sparrow” after the author’s daughter, is still capable of catching fish here in Maine, as shown by the successful capture of this sunfish.

dle wheel would take the boat out about 20 feet. However, launching it from the end of my 15foot dock, I was able to get it out 35 feet into the lake. Remembering how my first fish had caused the boat to overturn, I ran the fish line through an eye on the deck so the boat would not capsize

when a fish took the bait. I made special outriggers to keep the trailing line I used to retrieve the boat out of the propulsion system, so it wouldn’t get tangled. It was choppy on the lake more often than not – sometimes when I sent the small boat out, the waves would push it right back in. But when it was

calm, it would just sit out there fishing. Sometimes I would come down from my camp in the morning and find the Duck Hunter 3000 motoring back-andforth, powered by the fish that were on the end of the lines. Salvaging and Improving “Duck Hunter 3000” About Day 60, I found

The re-fitted Duck Hunter featured a propeller and shaft in place of the original paddle wheel. A rudder was added for directional stability, while an outrigger prevented the tether/retrieval line from tangling in the prop.

my beloved craft washed ashore and damaged after a night wind storm. The paddle wheel was missing. I had a new idea, and decided to take her back to my shelter for a major refit. I had been playing around with the idea of removing the paddle wheel and replacing it with a propeller, driven by a single elastic slingshot band from my slingshot. The refit took me more than a week. With my multi-tool, I carved a propeller approximately four inches in diameter. Then I heat-straightened a bamboo shaft, mounted the propeller, and made couplings and shaft guides out of bamboo. I also had to make a rudder to keep the boat’s course straight, since the propeller was off-center. And because the propeller was not as durable as the paddlewheel, I made big bamboo cage to protect the prop when the boat washed ashore on windy nights. When it was all finished, I had to wait to launch until day 76 because of continuing bad weather. “A Thing of Beauty” It was a thing of beauty. I made it so I could wind up the shaft and set a trigger attached to the trailing line. When I pushed it out, just before it would stop I pulled the trailing line, and the propeller would fire up and take the bait out to deeper water to fish. However, when I relaunched her on day 76, she went three feet and (Continued on page 30

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 29

Dog Training on a Budget – A Quail and Some String – Part 2 by Michael Browning Our story so far: In our first installment last month, the cost-conscious author struggled to figure out how to train his young dog using quail. He started with two quail, but one ran off into the tall grass, with the puppy hot on its trail. The bird escaped into the thick brush and was never seen again, so the author is now down to one quail and still has no recall pen. It was a couple of days later, and I engrossed myself in several bird dog training books to find a way to use my single

remaining quail. I read about a gentleman who tied a light cloth about 10 inches long to the quail’s foot to prevent it from flying far off. I tried this, and while sometimes the bird would flush, other times it burrowed under grass or other obstructions, getting the cloth caught in the sticks in the process. Yes, I could pick up the quail after it had flushed, but it still wasn’t a dependable flush every time. I felt my luck was running out, but finally I had an idea that sounded great – at least in theory. I decided to dip into my

Loop string and place around the leg. Photo by Michael Browning

“dog training” budget to purchase a remote bird release trap. I then went to the hardware store and bought a spool of silk string. My idea was to place the string on the quail’s foot with 60 or 70 feet of slack line, to prevent the bird from escaping. I then cut one of my sweatshirt hood clasps, using it to adjust the string on the quail’s foot. I reasoned that if I put the quail in my release trap, with the string attached to its foot, it couldn’t fly off, and it would be a dependable flush every time.

Once I pushed the button and the bird flushed from the trap, I could go scoop up the quail, and do it over in another spot. This all sounded great, in theory, but I still needed to put it to the test. Trial Run I went and grabbed my last quail and hooked the string on his foot and placed him in the trap. I then placed the trap in a likely cover. Next I went and got my puppy Tess and headed back towards the cover. I began to doubt whether this final scheme would work, and my self-skepticism caused sweat to roll

down my face. As Tess approached the cover, she locked up on point. I stroked up her tail and whispered “Whoa” several times. I then stepped back, grabbed the trap remote in one hand and her check cord in the other and pushed the button. The quail came exploding out of the trap and kept ascending to the top of the cover and headed off at an angle with the slack line trailing behind. Finally after that 5-second rush, the quail landed 70 feet away, with Tess still at my side with (Continued on next page)

All you need to start is a quail trap, spool of string, hood clasp and one quail. Photo by Michael Browning www.MaineSportsman.com

30 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Sporting Dogs (Continued from page 29)

the check cord tight. Success! As I stood there in relief that that everything worked, I wanted to try it again. I followed the string that led me into a blowdown where the quail was hiding. I reached down, picked the bird up and looked it over for any injuries. The quail seemed fine. I tied Tess to a tree, put the quail back in the trap, and moved to another spot. This time we were a couple of hundred feet away from the quail. I let Tess go, with the check cord dragging behind. I knew she couldn’t grab the quail this time, so I let her find it by herself. Heading toward the trap and searching the ground around her as she went, Tess suddenly did a ninety-degree turn towards the quail. She

locked up on point fifteen feet away, same as before. This time I let her stand for several minutes holding point and inhaling as much bird scent as possible. I grabbed her check cord and pushed the button … up came the bird, with Tess still holding point. After a couple of flushes, I decided to give everyone a break – including the quail, which I did not want to stress unnecessarily. But my plan had been successful! This training method works well if you’re on a limited budget and can’t afford to purchase numerous quail or pens. It’s also a great system if you live in a populated area where you can’t let quail roam around. To this day I still use this method when train-

Alone (Continued from page 28) stopped! The power stored up in the coiled elastic band was not released because friction caused all the moving parts to lock up. I needed grease, but I had none. (Heck, if I’d had any sort of fat available, I would have eaten it myself to slow down my weight loss, which in the end totaled 73 lbs.) Then I had an idea for a lubricant – “bush wax” (a/k/a ear wax). Ear wax has many survival applications, from treating wounds to my intended use – working as a friction-reducer on the Duck Hunter 3000. It worked perfectly, and she was propelled out to her farthest distance yet. I used the re-fitted Duck Hunter for the final 11 days of my stay in Patagonia. Although the weather was cold and windy, I managed to catch five or six fish. Those fish provided the sustenance to allow me to survive 87 days, and it was very satisfying seeing my idea of a self-propelled boat come to life. ***** It’s been a year now since the adventure, and six months since the rest of the world saw the moment on TV when I prevailed over the competition, won $500,000, and was reunited with my family. Using the prize money, my wife Jami and I said good-bye to the off-grid yurt in Appleton, and bought a conventional house in Union, Maine. www.MaineSportsman.com

Bobwhite quail are great training birds -- they don’t fly far, and will return to a recall pen after the trainer and dog leave the area. However, when the author first began training dogs many years ago, he learned that nothing is ever as easy as it’s supposed to be -- especially if you don’t have a recall pen. Susan Young photo

ing my puppies, and the results have paid off in the long run. Give it a try – you won’t be disappointed.

A registered Maine guide, Michael Browning owns a business called Grouse Haven Wingshooting. In 2014, he became an Or-

Here in Union, we have set up a whole new life for ourselves. The prize winnings enabled me to pursue my life-long dream of making things. Becoming a Video Producer After 87 days of filming myself making stuff for the Alone show, it seemed natural to start producing YouTube films as a full time job. Now I make whatever I want and share it with the world, inspiring others to get out there and pursue their big adventure. I’d completed a few YouTube videos before I left for Patagonia, but it was a big step to leave the world of building wooden boats, something I had been doing for 19 years, to be a full-time YouTube creator. Just because you are TV-famous does not directly correlate to YouTube views. After the airing of Alone Season 3 and the revealing of my win, I was able to purchase all the equipment needed to make a fully-professional production. However, there were a lot of obligations involved in being the winner of such a show. For the first three months, my time was fully consumed by interviews and appearances. I wanted to get outdoors and show in greater detail all the things I’d made on the TV show that caught so many viewers’ interest. I put out on average a video a week with the “vlog” (video blog), covering everything from my family’s life as it was out in

vis-endorsed wing-shooting guide.

a 12-foot yurt up a mile-long driveway, to the receiving of the half-million dollars into my bank account and the new mansion we bought. (It’s not really a mansion, but when you’ve been living in a 12-foot yurt, anything feels like a mansion!) New Show – “87 Days” Now that things have settled down a bit, I have been getting back out in the woods and started a new series on my YouTube channel, “Fowler’s Makery and Mischief,” titled “87 Days.” It’s a re-enactment of my time on Alone, except it’s as if I did it here in Maine. After all the vlogging, it has taken me a few episodes to really find my voice and produce something everyone can enjoy. As I am writing this for the Maine Sportsman, I’m up to Episode 6. I put out new episodes every Sunday morning, as well as videos on other things that interest me throughout the week. But the two most recent episodes are my favorites. Episodes 5 and 6 in my “87 Days” series focus on making and catching fish with a new Duck Hunter 3000, this time christened the S.S. Sparrow in honor of my daughter Sparrow. In the future on my YouTube Channel, I will remake all the contraptions that people saw on the show. I will also continue to Vlog about my slingshot shooting, adventures, life, and my family.

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 31

Experts Anticipate Great Snowmobile Season, Stressing Safety and New Laws by Cathy Genthner Snowmobilers are just waiting for the first major storm of the season to arrive so they can head out on the trails. There is optimism in the air for a great season, as well as a few words of caution, according to Bob Meyers, the executive director of the Maine Snowmobile Association. “Last season was pretty darn good for safety, and there were 85,000 snowmobiles out there,” said Meyers. “It was a long season, and in the early part of the colder weather, some riders went through the ice on their sleds.” “Last year we experienced a dangerous combination of heavy snow before things froze,” he continued, “resulting in a thin coat of ice and making for treacherous conditions. However, people will still go out no matter what we say. They end up in the drink, and if they are lucky they get right out. These situations are completely avoidable if folks use caution.” Record Numbers of Registered Sleds For the first time since the 2010-2011 sea-

Snowmobilers are looking forward to a long, snowy season on Maine’s 14,500 miles of groomed trails. Genthner photo

son, more than 80,000 snowmobilers were registered last winter. Registrations were up by 44

percent overall, with outof-state registrations up by 60 percent. “There were poor

sledding conditions in many other states last season, so many people came here where condi-

tions were great,” said Meyers. “I think Maine is regarded as the premiere snowmobile destination in the northeast. People want to ride on the best trails, and that’s what we have here.” “If people are passionate about the sport,” Meyers concluded, “they will travel crazy distances for some good riding. We had registrations from 27 states and provinces last season, including four registrations from West Virginia – and that is (Continued on next page)

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*Offer valid August 28, – November 17, 2017 at participating U.S. dealers to U.S. residents on new 2013-2017 Arctic Cat snowmobile models excluding youth, race, rental, government and special services models. See dealer for details. *FINANCING AS LOW AS 0% FOR 60 MONTHS is valid on 2013-2017 models and financed through Sheffield Financial. Financing is subject to credit approval; not all applicants will qualify for credit. Consumers will be charged a $50 consumer document fee. Financing promotions void where prohibited. REBATES UP TO $4,000 valid on 2013-2017 models is based on model purchased. Offer subject to change without notice. Excludes tax, freight and dealer setup. Always wear a helmet and don’t drink and ride. © 2017 Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc.

www.MaineSportsman.com

32 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Snowmobiling (Continued from page 31)

commitment to the sport. Once people get up here,

they tell us they’ve never experienced sledding like

this.” This enthusiasm keeps the lodges and restaurants full. An increase in registrations last year also helps clubs this season with trail grants. There have also been changes in capital equipment grants, so money is more accessible for those clubs that want to upgrade equipment Prepare Your Sled and Yourself Your machine should be checked over before hitting the trails. You can take it to a shop for a tune-up and inspection from a local dealer or – if you have the mechanical skills – do it yourself.

“Before you start the season, get your sled serviced, including an oil change,” said Ozzy Osmond, sales manager at Reynolds Sports in Buxton. “Perform other routine maintenance, including checking the belts and make sure the track is in good shape.” Osmond also had some safety advice: “Wear the right gear out on the trails, and be safe. Look out for other people, and most of all, be prepared. You can’t call Triple-A for a tow home if there’s a problem or breakdown on the trail.”

Brownville Trail Change One major trail move this season involves the ITS trail out of Brownville (northwest of Bangor; east of Dover-Foxcroft). It is being relocated from a three-mile section on a plowed road (with vehicle traffic) to a new trail that is closed to traffic. The relocation is designed to improve safety. In addition, snowmobilers will no longer risk harm to their sleds caused by riding in the dirt. New Laws Take Effect The Maine Legislature enacted two laws (Continued on next page)

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��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 33 (Continued from page 32)

this past session that directly impact snowmobiling. One measure was the result of concerns over sleds with loud exhaust, resulting from snowmobilers who modified their sled exhausts in an effort to improve performance. The results of these modifications were much louder sleds, and it’s unclear whether there was actually any improvement in performance. Enforcement of sound limits in the field was challenging for wardens. The legal noise limit in Maine is 78 decibels, but using decibel readers, it was difficult to determine exactly how loud the sleds were, since those instruments are subject to varying conditions. The law that passed requires any sled made in 2007 or later to feature an exhaust that’s been certified by the Snowmobile Safety Certification Committee. It was a nationwide-industry standardizing effort as part of a consent decree with the Environmental Protection Agency to maintain reasonable exhaust volumes. Now if a law enforcement officer investigates a report of a loud sled, rather than attempting to get a decibel level, they can look at the seal on the exhaust. If it has been popped and modified, then the snowmobiler could be in violation of the new law. In other legislation, Maine has eliminated the reciprocal free snowmobiling weekend with New Hampshire and Vermont. Instead, the IF &W Commissioner can designate a weekend that allows free snowmobiling for any sled registered in any state or province. This move is intended to help

increase Maine’s tourism, opening the free snowmobiling weekend to a larger population of sledders.

Changes in the Sport Maine has more than 14,500 miles of groomed and signed trails, including 4,000 miles of the ITS (Interconnected Trail System). The sport has changed greatly since its infancy in the 1970s and early 80s, when most snowmobilers rode on fields or went bushwhacking through the woods. Today there are 289 local snowmobile clubs. “In 1969, I lived in Gorham and my family had land,” said Maine Snowmobile Association’s Meyers. “That was the year my father brought home a Rupp snowmobile. I had no idea at the time what influence that snowmobile would have on my life.” “With many riders, wire cutters were standard equipment to get through fences back then,” Meyers admitted. “That created landowner problems, so in response clubs were formed. The ITS trail system was created, registrations were required and trail-grooming was undertaken.” In the late 70s and early 80s, a large folding wooden map of the ITS was transported across the state to snowmobile clubs, wardens and others involved in the sport to determine where the trails should be located. The amount of work that went in to developing, expanding and modifying the system is demonstrated by the fact that the vintage map includes patches of whiteout, showing where trail routes were initially indicated but then subsequently changed.

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34 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Deer Camp Memories, and Cold-Weather Canada Geese Deer Camp. If you’re a child of the 50s in Aroostook County, then those two little words might just have special meaning – even more so to your father and grandfather in their day. For a week or two each fall, these remote ramshackle buildings with wood heat, multiple bunks, family style table, gun racks and a game pole across from outhouse were a vacation Shangri-La. Sort of a combination country club, vacation resort, diner, poker club and spa for the rifleand-wool-clothing group. Such secluded spots and their autumn congregations wane a bit more with each passing

Sixty years ago, the train would make a special stop in the middle of nowhere to drop off my Dad, his hunting buddies and all their gear. Two weeks later, they’d prop a red flag trackside, and the train would stop and pick them up – together with any deer they’d shot. generation as decades fly past and logging operations extend roads like spider webs through the densest, distance forest. Nonetheless, the Crown of Maine still offers dependable deer hunting for trophy whitetail, and even a few traditional deer camps, if you know where to explore. Weeksboro Woods Back when I was just a tyke, Dad and a group of buddies from Mars Hill spent two full weeks deer

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hunting from an old-time deer camp in Weeksboro. Just to give you perspective, they drove to Oakfield, then boarded a train with all their hunting gear, camp equipment, food and other paraphernalia for 14 days with no electricity, running water or refrigeration. The train made a special stop in the middle of nowhere to disembark sportsmen and duffle, and would stop to pick them up when a red flag

was placed trackside two weeks hence. Any deer would be transported in the attached freight car, for only a penny per pound! It was a mile from trackside to the Beal’s camp over a rough trail through thick woods, and the cadre of deer hunters used backpacks and bicycle-tired carts with handles fore and aft to move their dunnage – a minor chore for two weeks in paradise and a whitetail

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All-Day Hunt Each of the men in camp had favorite areas to hunt, often leaving camp before dawn after a hearty breakfast with a sandwich for lunch in their pocket, not returning until dark, unless their help was needed to drag a deer. They could hunt all day and seldom see one of their camp mates, and during the first week, any deer with fewer than six points was overlooked. Weeksboro Ridge and the dark growth hear Smith Ridge at the northern edge of the ridge were and are good deer cover. My Dad favored North Brook Ridge as well as the woods between the B & A railroad tracks and Little Smith Brook. These are still good locations for sneak-and-peek, still-hunting enthusiasts. There are several old logging roads and twotracks off the Cut Pond Road worth investigation. Once snow arrives, the region near a cedar swamp offers well-traveled deer trails worth setting up a tree stand – or

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wonderland full of bragging size bucks. For many years now, it’s been possible to drive to this region, and while access improved, the hunting pressure remains low-to-moderate. A fair number of whitetails still prowl the woods, and some impressive long-tined, wide-beamed bucks are tagged each November, perhaps a relative several generations removed from the venison reaching our freezer all those years ago.

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��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 35

Bob Lento of Blaine takes a minute to pose and rest after dragging this big buck back to his truck. If there’s no tracking snow by mid-November, Bob drives farm roads and two-tracks around Central Aroostook agri fields before work. There are plenty of whitetails taking advantage of the small woodlots and nearby crop fields. (Continued from page 34)

at least stump-sitting for a few hours. Delorme’s Atlas, Map 58, D-5 and E-5 overview the entire Weeksboro region and its several approach roads. Route 11 is closer, but the Harvey’s Siding Road from Jewell’s Corner on Route 1 near Monticello works, too. A fair number of whitetails are spotted just traveling the roads. At least you won’t have to take a train ride! Hard Ground Honkers November goose hunting can be fast and furious throughout Aroostook County, but it’s a far tougher endeavor due to deteriorating conditions. Early morning frost and sometimes snow and frozen topsoil make setting up decoys tough. Push-in stakes become useless,

Some years, Mother Nature holds back the snow and freezing weather and the geese hang around all the month of November. Find an open, ice-free roost pond, and there will be honkers to hunt. Graves photo

and stands that sit on top of the ground are a must. A whisk broom or brush becomes a necessity to keep frost and snow off the decoys, and a long-handled broom or shovel to clear snow on several spots to show open ground and exposed food among the decoy flock helps attract passing birds. Farmers have plowed under a lot of harvested grain fields, so it should be easier to scout and find optimal hunting lo-

cations. That’s often not the case, because with cold weather, the geese start spending more time in dug potato fields, and these are tough to set up in and get proper camo cover for blinds. Also, on cold, wet, windy days the flocks of geese tend to fly later in the morning and then spend the rest of the day feeding in one location, so hunters need to be in the right spot to intercept the initial flights. There’s very little trading from field to field to wa-

Extra layers of clothes and a real desire to hunt geese despite the snow and cold resulted in some great gunning for Beaver Pierce, Steve Hitchcock and Nick McCrum of Mars Hill. Graves photo

ter during the day this month. These late-season geese have migrated in and won’t leave the plentiful food plots until the ground freezes or a foot of snow accumulates. Be rigged in the right fields, and these hungry honk-

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THE CROWN OF MAINE

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36 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

The County (Continued from page 35)

lent shooting sites. Check out the triangle of agriland around Crouseville, Washburn, and Wade for great late season goose gunning. Map 64, coordinates C-4 & 5 and D-5 offer plenty of options – check out the potato and grain fields bordering Route 227, 228, and 164. Most local farmers are agreeable to waterfowl hunters accessing their fields – more so this month than earlier in the year, since most harvesting and land prep are over until spring. Another plus for intrepid, weather-resistant goose hunters this month is lighter pressure due to more local sportsmen being occupied chasing whitetails, rabbits and late-season partridge. November geese remain wary regardless of how hungry they become,

many decoy spreads. I’ve found that at least five dozen decoys contribute to steady action. I regularly spread out 75 magnum size, full-bodied feeding, resting and alert poses which are fully flocked and positioned on motion stands to add a bit of realistic movement. Don’t forget an inexpensive white sheet to cover yourself or your ground blind when snow is on the grounds and a waterproof, lightweight tarp to lie on in order to stay dry. Layer your camo clothing to stay warm, as you may need to stay motionless for an hour or two. Make sure you have your two duck stamps, steel shot, and a thermos of hot beverage. Shoot straight and often, and get them before they head south!

There’s still a few weeks of partridge hunting to be enjoyed, especially if you tag your buck. Snow works in favor of the hunters as the birds show up well on the ground and also spend a lot of time in the trees budding.

MAINE WILDLIFE QUIZ: LITTLE BROWN BAT by Steve Vose

The Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus) is one of the eight different species of bat that live in Maine. The range of the Little Brown Bat stretches across the northern half of the continental United States and southern Canada, but has also been spotted in Alaska, the Yukon and even Iceland. Both male and female Little Brown Bats, as their name suggests, have uniformly dark brown fur and matching dark brown wing membranes. A diminutive bat species, adults rarely exceed a length of 4 inches and weigh less than half an ounce. Contrary to popular belief, fewer than one bat in 20,000 has rabies, and no bats in Maine feed on blood. Instead of being viewed as diseaseridden, blood-sucking vermin, bats should be respected for the critical role they play in helping to maintain healthy ecosystems by preserving the natural balance of insect populations like mosquitoes, blackflies,

wasps and midges. For example, a Little Brown Bat typically consumes its body weight in insects each night during active feeding. Scientists estimate bats save the U.S. agricultural industry $3 billion a year in pest control.

Questions 1. How many species of bat live in Maine? 2. What is the range of the Little Brown Bat? 3. What color is the Little Brown Bat? 4. How much does the Little Brown Bat weigh? www.MaineSportsman.com and most have viewed

In the summer, Little Brown Bats sleep about 20 hours a day, conserving their small fat reserves of energy by primarily hunting during dusk and dawn when insect prey are most readily available. Little Brown Bats possess the ability to survive harsh climates like Maine winters by both migrating and hibernating. When fall arrives, Little Brown Bats fly to more southern locales where they join hundreds of other bats in a hibernaculum, or “winter quarters.” These hibernacula typically include caves and mines, where they hibernate for the winter. If successful in avoiding predators, like fisher cats, weasels, raccoons, birds, rats and snakes and disease, Little Brown Bats live for about 6 to 7 years. White-nose syndrome has decimated Little Brown Bat populations since its apparent origin in 2006.

5. How many insects does the Little Brown Bat consume every night? 6. How much money does the Little Brown Bat save the U.S. agricultural industry in pest control every year? 7. Does the Little Brown Bat hibernate? 8. How long does the Little Brown Bat live? Answers on Page 39

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 37

Meggie, the Deer-Tracking Dachshund It was the final Friday of the 2016 Maine deer season. The fall had been very productive as far as deer sightings. I’d managed to deer hunt at least 20 times since early October. I was fortunate to have seen does, fawns and some young bucks on all but two occasions. The sightings kept me vigilant and made my time in the woods very interesting. After 30-plus years deer hunting, I’m still amazed by the behavior of these elusive animals. I guess that’s what keeps me going. My plan for the late afternoon hunt was to sit on the north end of a long, cut cornfield. The does were still venturing into the field during daylight to search for the last remaining kernels. If a hot doe came out, perhaps she’d drag a good

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Meggie began to bark loudly, signaling she was hot on the trail. Did I mention it was now pouring rain, there was no blood trail and we were in the thickest, nastiest part of the property? buck out with her. This field was long – exactly 642 yards from the north end to the south end. With a light southeast wind, sitting on the landowner’s log trailer at the northwest end was a great strategy. The trailer had sat for over a month in this spot. The deer were used to seeing it there. The bed of the trailer was four feet off the ground. Sitting on it afforded me the opportunity to see every inch of the field, including spots normally hidden by small knolls in the center of the field. I was very confident in my choice of stand for the late afternoon.

Things Heat Up and Cool Down Quickly! The forecast showed a front approaching. That should get the deer moving. Unfortunately the heavy rain, which wasn’t supposed to arrive until after sunset, was now predicted to start about a half-hour before dark. That’s never a good thing while deer hunting. The first two hours passed with no deer sighted. I actually spent a half-hour texting with my father and going over a click (drop) chart for my .300 WSM (Winchester Short Magnum). I purposefully brought my new longrange rifle that evening,

knowing I could shoot the entire length of the field with confidence. The 8-25 power Leupold longrange scope was designed for this type of hunting, and so was my new rifle. If a good buck happened to show itself under suitable shooting light, I was ready. At 2:30pm, a large doe and two fawns made their way to the field from the swamp on the west side of the field. Thirty minutes later, another doe and fawn entered the field. With less than an hour of daylight remaining, it started to sprinkle. I glanced at my phone to check the radar. There

was heavy rain coming. Another doe and two fawns entered the field just 60 yards to my east. I had eight does and fawns feeding 100-150 yards from me, with rain on the way and time running out. I was losing confidence when I caught movement to my left. At first I thought he was a small fork horn. I was mistaken. By the time I realized he was the big six point I’d seen during bow season, he was chasing does at 150 yards. As I raised my rifle to the shooting sticks, I dropped my binoculars, which I’d been covering on my lap to keep them dry. The binoculars hit the floor of the trailer with thud … the jig was up! Every deer in the field was staring toward me. (Continued on next page)

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38 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Big Game (Continued from page 37)

I was able to get the buck in my crosshairs just as he started to run. I fired and knew immediately that my shot was too far back. I fired one more time and missed as the buck ran into the woods at 240 yards. The first shot was likely lethal but not perfect. I knew exactly what I needed to do. Bringing in the Experts Wasting no time, I found my list of deer trackers and called the legend herself, Susanne Hamilton. Susanne has over 15 years of experience in tracking wounded game for Maine hunters. A few of my friends utilized her services. They raved about her demeanor and precision work. I reached Susanne, explained my situation and agreed to meet her in three hours. When Susanne arrived, I went over the whole scenario with her and took her to the first blood which I’d marked

with flagging tape. Did I mention it was now pouring rain? Susanne and her German Wirehaired Dachshund Meggie got on the blood immediately. Meggie began to bark loudly, signaling she was hot on the trail. After about 250 yards, we came to three beds. My buck wasn’t in them. We likely jumped him. After a quick search, we determined the buck ran across a stream and into some very thick cover. We decided to head home to dry off and give the buck two more hours to expire. Though I was nervous because of the rain, Susanne was completely confident. She assured me Meggie would find the buck when we returned. She even said we’d likely find him within 200 yards. Susanne exuded confidence in her dog. Arriving at the spot the buck had crossed the stream, Meggie once

again began barking. Even though there was no sign of blood, this little Dachshund followed the trail without issue. As predicted, in less than 200 yards, we found my buck. It was in the thickest, nastiest part of the property. Short thick fir regeneration would have prevented us from seeing the buck unless we were right on top of him. I doubt I’d have ever found him without Susanne and Meggie. Before any of our readers find themselves in a similar predicament this fall, I highly recommend exploring the website UnitedBloodTrackers.org. Use the find a tracker portion of the site, select “Maine,” and identify a couple of trackers close to home. After working with Susanne, I’m a believer in the art of tracking. These four-legged friends and their owners have earned a spot in our sport. This was by far, one of the best experiences in my hunting career.

The author, with his 6-point bruiser of a buck, holds Susanne Hamilton’s dog Meggie. Meggie, a German Wirehaired Dachshund, is an amazing tracking dog. Without the services of Hamilton and her dog Meggie, Joe believes it would have taken lots of luck to find the buck.

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��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 39

“Pigs” Say Crossbows Have NO Place in Maine’s Archery Seasons If the Maine Legislature and DIF&W agree that crossbows shouldn’t be used during any archery season, then I believe them. Ten years ago this month I harvested my first animal with a crossbow. I had been tracking a group feral pigs through the brush of southeastern Texas when a large boar made a wrong move. I had taken hogs before, but the crossbow was a first for me. My step-brother, with whom I was hunting that day, congratulated me on getting a hog with a bow. I responded: “this isn’t bowhunting.” I didn’t feel one smidgeon of satisfaction I would have otherwise felt had I harvested that animal with a vertical, ‘regular’ bow. I still-hunt here in Maine with my compound in October, and I can say doing so with a crossbow is no comparison. There are skills needed to hunt with a regular bow that no crossbow hunter will ever need. Granted, bowhunting, by definition is the act of hunting with bow and arrows, which technically, is a category under which crossbows fall. But any traditionalist— myself included—will argue that bowhunting equipment should be defined as devices that are drawn by hand, held at full draw by hand, and released by the motion of the hand. Shooting a crossbow is nothing like that and, in fact, is much closer to the act of shooting a gun. They’re held and aimed like a gun and have triggers and scopes like guns. That said, there are people who enjoy shooting and hunting with crossbows, and for good reason. The good folks at Inland Fisheries & Wildlife have allowed hunting deer with crossbow

in Maine for years during regular firearms, but like me, believe they have no place during regular or expanded archery seasons. But they certainly serve a purpose to many, including convicted felons who otherwise wouldn’t be able to hunt at all with a firearm. The Great Debate A debate among sportsmen and women is whether or not crossbows should be allowed during regular archery season. As it stands now in Maine, unless folks are 70 or older, or can prove a physical disability precluding them from drawing back a regular bow, you can’t. However, in some states—most recently Illinois—folks can now use crossbows during regular archery season. Generally speaking, it’s been my experience that bowhunters using regular equipment are against the use of crossbows during any archery season, myself and obviously the Maine Legislature included. My opinion isn’t so much that a crossbow would give anyone an unfair advantage, but rather, it would allow non-bowhunters to easily hunt during ‘our’ season. As bowhunters, we know the amount of preparation it takes to become good at what we do, and the allowance of crossbows during any season would negate any of the otherwise necessary groundwork. If the law changed, anyone who takes the required classes and purchases mandatory licenses, could literally just go buy a

crossbow, walk out the door, hunt, and be successful. To the contrary, no one can do that with regular bowhunting equipment. Practice, patience, skill, and wisdom of the woods is what we carry out each year prior to the season’s opening. That’s the beauty of bowhunting, and it’s also what gives us the satisfaction when harvesting an animal with a bow that gun hunters don’t feel. To this point, when a non-bowhunter tells me crossbows should be legal during regular and expanded archery seasons, I often feel that person wants the extra ability to hunt without spending the necessary time to become a ‘real’ bowhunter. Call it laziness. Pigs in the Maine Woods As far as the above is concerned, I read an article titled, “Pigs in the Maine Woods?” in a regional outdoors magazine some time ago that really irritated me. As I was reading it, I knew

It’s fine if this hunter wants to use a crossbow during firearms season, says the author, but in his opinion the weapons are too much like guns to be used by young, able-bodied individuals during the regular or expanded archery season. Credit: OpenClipArtVectors/Pixabay

I would quote it in a column when the time comes. That time is now. “Did you know that the Maine woods has a number of pigs? I don’t mean feral hogs or wild boar, for the real pigs in the Maine woods are bowhunters.” The writer continues to argue that bowhunters are ‘pigs’ because we successfully fought a bill to allow crossbow use during regular and expanded archery seasons. “Bowhunters have a special archery season

during the whole month of October…and they can take deer of either sex…But that’s not enough. They have an expanded season which runs for a full three months from September into December… they can take additional deer above and beyond the deer they may take during [regular] seasons.” “Surely these extensive seasons and the opportunity to take an unlimited number of deer would be plenty for (Continued on page 41)

— Maine Wildlife Quiz Answers — 1. Eight different species of bat live in Maine. 2. The range of the Little Brown Bat stretches across the northern half of the continental United States and southern Canada, and has also been spotted in Alaska, the Yukon and even Iceland. 3. As their name suggests, the Little Brown Bat has uniformly dark brown fur and matching dark brown wing membranes. 4. A diminutive species, Little Brown Bat adults rarely exceed lengths of 4 inches, and weigh less than half an ounce. 5. The Little Brown Bat typically consumes its body weight in insects each night during active feeding. 6. Scientists estimate bats save the U.S. agricultural industry $3 billion a year in pest control. 7. Yes, the Little Brown Bat hibernates. 8. Little Brown Bats live for about 6 to 7 years.

Quiz on Page 36 www.MaineSportsman.com

40 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Acreage, Water, Define Katahdin Deer Country Hunters arriving in the Katahdin Region this month can count on plenty of acreage to hunt and a network of waterways running though all that land. While the big waters pop out on any topographical map, astute hunters study the smaller tributaries that feed those major bodies. Swamps and bogs feature inlets and outlets, and frequently these channels offer deer hunters access to large, relatively open flowages that deer frequent. At the very least, hunters using these narrow waterways can delve deeply into the region’s vast forestland. A few years back, I spent a great deal of time learning to hunt a bog. This particular bog was about four square miles with a twisty, curvy stream that wove through the center. A mix of conifers and hardwoods lined the edges. It was that transitional edge cover that provided success, but it was

A properly equipped and modified canoe allows the author to slip up narrow waterways and into deer country virtually undetected.

The author, who has had success canoeing deep into prime deer habitat, gets ready to load up and float home some venison.

the access by water that allowed me into the local herd’s playground. The grass was tall enough to shield a deer’s body, but those horns danced just above the reeds. Before long, I had their travel patterns figured out. Of course, my low sil-

houette in the canoe provided an advantage – no deer could spot me until I poked my head above the reeds. That certainly let me ease into position totally undetected. Canoe Modifications In order to slip in as quietly as possible, I made a few modifications to my canoe. I hunt from a 13-foot Mansfield that measures 40 inches across at the

thwart. It’s a wide, stable canoe, and it lacks any type of speed – which makes it perfect for stalking deer. First, I put an old piece of carpet on the floor in the center of the canoe to deaden any errant foot noise. Next, I took more old carpet and built a scabbard to hold my rifle. The short little Remington Model 7 slips in and out of the scabbard

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smoothly and quietly. My biggest learning curve involved working the paddle so I didn’t hit the gunnels or make a lot of noise splashing while propelling the canoe. Canoe hunters must learn to paddle silently for best results. I would stop the paddle at the end of the J-stroke and let all the water drain BEFORE lifting it clear of the water. Later on I put some foam along the gunnels. Because these minor waterways always seem to have a fair share of beaver dams, I wear a pair of waist-high waders with neoprene booties. For footwear, I’ve got a set of the 17-inch tall LL Bean rubber bottom, leather top boots. So far this has kept my feet dry and warm. Hunting by canoe is not a newfangled tactic. Check with the Native Americans on that. It does, however, require a certain amount of planning and preparation and – to put it bluntly – it’s a lot of work. Although it’s not illegal, I don’t recommend shooting out of a canoe if you’ve got other options. I’ve successfully done it while kneeling in a canoe, but I was alone, and the deer was moving the same direction the canoe was drifting. Had I been carrying a passenger, I would have tried to beach the canoe and shoot from solid ground. Now that I’m older, balance is more of an issue, and I would definitely look for solid ground.

Deer Harvest The higher harvest (Continued on next page)

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 41 (Continued from page 40)

totals unquestionably come from the southern reaches of the Katahdin Region. The areas around Dover-Foxcroft (131 deer last year), Sebec (44), Milo (42) and Brownville (48) have the better deer harvest totals. A perusal of The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer, pages 32 and 33, show the areas north of both the Sebec and Piscataquis River, as well as the many tributaries that feed the main flows. The previously mentioned areas receive a bit more hunting pressure and proportionately offer a higher concentration of hunter-related services. That’s a testament to the guides in the area knowing what they’re doing and getting their clients in a position to succeed. Many of these guides advertise on the pages of The Maine Sportsman. Farther north, from Millinocket to the tip of the Scientific Management Area in Baxter State Park, the harvest numbers are greatly reduced. The deer up here are spread out over millions of acres, and they don’t receive a lot of pressure. If you find one and manage to drag it out, however, it will be big enough to give the weighing scales – and the scale operator – a real work-

In the northern part of the region, deer are fewer and farther between, but they can be massive. Hunting here evokes memories of canvas wall tents, smoky fires and bent game poles.

Bill Sheldon gets ready to float home with some venison. The author has learned it’s easier to paddle a deer back to camp than it is to drag one over terra firma.

out. Hunting big bucks way up here is really for that hunter who’s looking to enjoy the journey more than necessarily getting to the destination. Success may not weigh-in at the check-in station. It’s an experience that evokes memories of canvas wall

Bowhunting (Continued from page 39)

bowhunters, right? Not for these oinkers. They don’t want to allow the use of crossbows in the archery seasons because more hunters would participate due to the…ease of use of a crossbow… the [DIF&W] should lift the restrictions on crossbows and sweep the pigs aside.” Let me be clear: I understand everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion—including the personal injury attorney who authored this article—but this one really got under my skin. First, although I may not agree with every law the DIF&W has in place, I’m the first to admit they know a heck of a lot better than I do how to manage Maine’s wildlife. So regardless of my opinion, if the DIF&W agrees that crossbows shouldn’t be used

tents, smoky fires and bent game poles. Hunters looking for Wi-Fi need not apply. Step Away from Civilization It’s interesting to note the Scraggly Lake Maine Public Reserved Land (DeLorme Atlas, Map 57,

during any archery season, then I believe them. But regardless of what DIF&W says, as a traditionalist, I don’t want crossbows to have a place in archery-only hunts either. To me, it’s not bowhunting. And it’s also my opinion that this guy knows enough about bowhunting to mention the “ease of use of crossbows.” Clearly, if he knows that using crossbows is a heck of a lot easier than real bowhunting, he’s implying that he’s probably bowhunted before with regular equipment and didn’t succeed. If money were an issue, I could see a bit of an argument. But crossbows are no cheaper than regular bows. This guy is just looking for a way to hunt more, but is too lazy to become a decent bowhunter. Thus, we’re all pigs and he’s not.

E-2) showed an uptick in harvest totals over the surrounding townships. I speculate that the five campsites located around Scraggly Lake result to more hunting success. For me this means there’s a decent deer population for those who are willing to step away from civili-

zation for a week or two. Often the canoe works as a ticket to quickly access real estate that otherwise receives little or no pressure. Sometimes, just having a blind or stand set up on the opposite shore of a small pond puts success just a few paddle strokes away. I’d be remiss if I didn’t include a few cautionary tales concerning canoeing in colder weather. For example, I always carried a dry-bag with fire starter, a first aid kit AND a complete change of clothes. Oh, and a hand full of those chemical hand warmers. An unexpected dump in near-freezing water could end badly. Hypothermia is nothing to experiment with. Have a way to get warm quickly if things go bad. Strap the dry-bag to the gunnels. Always wear a Personal Flotation Device (PFD). The newer inflatable ones perform well and don’t impede shooting as much as the older-style PFDs. Hunters looking for a deep woods deer experience have plenty of acreage and miles of water from which to harvest a Katahdin Region buck this season.

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42 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Deer Prospects Good for Moosehead Region Hunters Things are looking up for deer hunters in the Moosehead region. According to Jamie Brown of Indian Hill Trading Post, a deer-tagging station in Greenville, Indian Hill finished the season with 126 deer being tagged. Of these, 20 were bucks weighing over 200 pounds. That’s impressive for any one tagging station. The largest of these big bucks weighed 263 pounds and carried a 12-point rack. Jamie said that this is the first time since a string of consecutive

harsh winters caused the herd to crash that Indian Hill has registered more than 100 deer. So what does this mean? Well, it’s no secret that a healthy deer herd depends upon good winter habitat. And in the case where habitat becomes compromised due to large-scale timber-cutting operations, weather takes precedence. A long winter with deep snow, followed by a late-arriving spring, puts the deer herd in jeopardy.

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Deer Prospects Unfortunately, the big woods keep getting thinner and thinner. My annual moose scouting/ bird-hunting fall trip with Moosehead region guide Bob Lawrence has served to impress upon me just how much habitat we lose on a yearly basis. Places that were thick woods, prime deer habitat one year, become cut-over bramble jungles the following year. So deer have to seek what remains of protective habitat and hope for the best. And as long as winters remain mild or even moderate in intensity, deer can survive. Besides that, deer can rebound quickly if given a chance. And that appears to be just what has happened over the last several years. Of course there always were select pock-

ets of productive deer habitat. Most of these places are found near and around settled areas surrounding Moosehead Lake. Here, open areas mixed with thickets allow for browsing on green forage and protection from winter winds. Couple this with a better survival rate in the unsettled areas of the big woods, and we have just what Jamie Brown’s report indicates – an increasing deer population. As for big racks, the Moosehead region has a long history of producing some of the most outstanding racks in Maine. And as long as there are deer in the area, that will probably remain the case. In addition to reports from Indian Hill and my own reconnaissance, anecdotal evidence from friends indicates that white-tailed deer around

Moosehead Lake, particularly the east side from Greenville to Kokadjo, are present in good numbers. So take heart this season, since the animals are there. And that includes those 200-pound-plus bucks with huge racks. Tom’s Favorites Fishing and bird hunting, two of my favorite activities, remain alive and well in November in the Moosehead region. Grouse hunting now calls for a tight-shooting shotgun, since an absence of leaf cover allows the birds to detect hunters sooner, and consequently to flush sooner. But even that doesn’t hold true every time. I’ve shot close-flushing, late-season grouse on windy days. The wind distracts the birds and allows hunters a closer (Continued on next page)

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��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 43 (Continued from page 42)

approach. Something about this late-season hunt appeals to me. Oh, I love October’s crisp days and cerulean skies, its brilliant foliage and the scent of newly-fallen leaves. But November brings with it a relaxing time to hunt. Now there’s no push to flush a certain number of birds, no rush to get out and hunt from dawn to dark. None of that. November hunting equates to casual hunting. Even those without bird dogs can get in on the action. Grouse, often spooky in the eleventh month, flush in full view, and a hunter with good eyesight and quick reflexes can do well. November often sees cold temperatures. It’s one thing to push through an alder cover in October in 50-degree weather. But it’s quite another thing to face a biting November wind with the mercury hovering in the low 20s.

And for that reason if for none other, hunters walk just a wee bit faster now, allowing the exercise to increase body heat and thus find comfort even in somewhat difficult conditions. Roast Grouse – Gourmet Eating Now it’s time to mention how I treat November-shot grouse. For me, one grouse is more than ample for one person, and it’s nice to accord these noble birds the dignity they deserve. So instead of just skinning the bird and removing the breasts, I take care to pluck every feather and pinfeather. After this, the cleaned bird is singed over a gas flame to remove those little fuzzy hair-like feathers that remain after plucking. Then, after employing an old Maine stuffing recipe that relies upon cutup apples and fall spices along with homemade breadcrumbs, the grouse is roasted in the oven

and basted frequently to prevent drying. In recent years, I’ve begun placing one or two strips of bacon atop the breast to help keep moisture in. I have had grouse prepared this way as the main course of a Thanksgiving dinner, and did not feel at all let down because it wasn’t turkey. West Outlet While the West Outlet of the Kennebec River as it leaves Moosehead Lake in Rockwood remains open year-round, November is the final practical month of the season for open-water fishing. Other braver souls can and do score here in colder times, but that’s just pushing it a bit too far for my taste. It’s a two-fish daily bag limit now, with an artificial-lures only rule. But spinners, the heavier the better in order to get down near bottom where trout lurk, and of course Trout Magnets continue to take plenty of fish. And in November,

Grouse make for fast shooting in November. Dave Small, Photos by Chance

winds coming off the lake and whistling down the outlet make for a brisk experience. But a Thermos of hot coffee and even some thin gloves allow for a fair degree of comfort. Any trout taken in November seem like a bonus – a reward for an angler’s perseverance. Taken from the icy-cold

Photo by

water of West Outlet and placed on ice for the trip home, the orange flesh tastes even sweeter than summertime fare. Find West Outlet on the DeLorme Atlas, Map 40, B-5. I do hope you come and experience the Moosehead Region this November.

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44 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Remember the Thrill of Catching Your First Trout? As I grow older, I feel the need to give back to the fly fishing pastime that I love. One way to do this is to introduce young people to the sport – it is the newest generation who will be the future stewards protecting our valuable water resources. Historically, outdoor knowledge was passed on, generation to generation, from older family members to the younger folks. But with the decline of the nuclear family, and more kids living in urban areas with the lure of digital entertainment, the transfer of fishing wisdom and an overall love of the sport is happening with less and less frequency.

Guiding Request Earlier this year, I

Our time was up, and I had failed to guide him to his first-ever trout. As we turned to go, the young man said he thought he saw a trout in the riffles. “Try a cast to the deeper channel on the side of that rock,” I instructed. was asked by a friend to take a 12-year old boy for a half-day of fly fishing, because apparently the boy (let’s call him Ethan) had expressed a real interest and no one in his family had any fly fishing experience. I am always a little leery about such situations, because as a guide, I have frequently found that reality turns out to be different than what is described. But I heard from both his parents and step-parents that Ethan spent hours at local fly shops, just asking questions and soaking up what knowl-

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edge he could. They also told me that he had fly fished on his own for two years, and while he had hooked a variety of species on his fly rod, he had never caught a trout, and that was his dream. As a sucker for a good hard-luck tale, I agreed to meet him at his local river – a middlin’, put-andtake mid-coast Maine trout stream – primarily because I was in that area on a family get-together. I dislike guiding on unfamiliar water because, well, it is unfamiliar. No home court advantage. The kid showed up with a bunch of beginner fly fishing stuff, and an eagerness that was

palpable. I asked him to demonstrate his casting in the field by the edge of the road, and it was clear he needed instruction – his stroke was wristy, hurried, and rarely reached fifteen feet. Between his inexperience and the marginal water that he fished, it wasn’t surprising, but perhaps still a little unlucky, that he hadn’t landed a trout yet. After some quick instruction, his casting improved, so we headed to the water. Ethan pointed out a spider web that was decorated with a few caddis fly carcasses and suggested that maybe we should start out with caddis patterns. I was im-

pressed. The water looked good – free-flowing, shady and cool, with riffles intermixed with a few deep runs. I showed Ethan how to drift a dry fly down the current seams, and how to work a streamer through the deeper runs. Useful instruction, to be sure, but he didn’t get one take. Fish Hooked We moved down to a deeper run. I rigged two nymphs under a Thingamabobber (strike indicator), and demonstrated how to lob it upstream and follow it downstream with his rod tip. On Ethan’s second cast, the Thingamabobber disappeared. Ethan expertly set the hook and played an energetic fish that fought up and down the small run of water. (Continued on next page)

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 45

The author says it’s important to mentor young anglers, since they are tomorrow’s stewards of the outdoors. Zambello photo (Continued from page 44)

Eventually, I liplocked a feisty smallmouth bass. I hadn’t known there was smallies in this stretch of stream. Ethan was excited to catch his first fish nymphing, but it still wasn’t a trout. Unfortunately, our time was up because I had guaranteed his mother I would have him back home by dinner time. I had also failed him and his quest for his first trout, and I was not happy about it. As we started up the stream towards the car, I was thinking furiously. Is it possible that the smallmouth had driven the trout out of the deeper runs into the riffles? Just then, my newfound friend indicated that he thought he had

once seen a trout in the riffles upstream. “C’mon Ethan,” I implored. “Let’s try three more casts in the riffles. See that slightly deeper channel on the side of that rock? Try there.” First Trout His first short cast was on the mark, and the Copper John nymph drifted down stream naturally. Suddenly Ethan’s rod tip bent, and he soon slid a small fish across the surface of the water into his clutching hands. “Is it a trout”, He asked? I looked down at the squirming fish, took note of the brownish color and faded red spots, and was able to confirm to Ethan that “Yes, it is a trout – a brown trout, in fact. Congratulations” To myself silently, I

said, “Goodness, on the last cast. What luck! Thank you, fishing gods.” As we released the 8-inch fish, I thought his smile was so wide it might split his face in two. I showed him certain spots in the riffles and pocket water upstream that might hold trout, now that I knew they probably wouldn’t be in the more obvious runs because of the bass. And then it was a run to the car to get him home on time. Although I obviously received a great deal of satisfaction from instructing Ethan and helping him hook his first trout, I felt an even greater high, a week later, when I received a text from him. It was a photo of him holding an even big-

A young person will always remember their first trout, no matter how big. Zambello photo

ger brown trout, nymph clearly visible in the corner of its mouth, with a familiar looking riffle in the background. His mother had taken him back to his site of success, and he had landed another fish, all by himself. Another step in what would hopefully be a lifetime of experiences and memories of fish.

eration of anglers how it is done. If any of the readers of this column want to teach young people how to fly fish and enjoy the outdoors, join your local Trout Unlimited chapter. They will provide many opportunities to do just that.

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46 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Predator Control and Whitetail Deer Management If the people of Maine want to give the deer a fair chance of recovering to the numbers we once had, then a reduction in coyote numbers – by instituting an extended trapping season – is the way to do it. I often wonder about government policies that run contrary to what the majority of the people really want. An example of what I am talking about here is our efforts in Maine to control predators (coyotes and bears) to help our deer herd not only survive but to expand. Anyone who has been hunting Maine for 50 years or more, remembers the great deer hunting Maine use to have. Years ago only Pennsylvania and Texas had better whitetail hunting because of the number of deer available, but they did not have the quality deer that we had. Maine was famous for its deer and was a place that hunters from away wanted to hunt. The second largest whitetail shot in the country back then came from Maine. It was shot on Fletcher Mountain across the Kennebec River from Bingham by Horace Hinkley in 1955 and weighed 355 lbs. The largest whitetail even taken back then was from Minnesota in the 1920s – it weighed in at 402 lbs., if I remember right. Both weights were of the deer

field-dressed. A Role for Trappers? Maine trappers have repeatedly asked for an extended coyote season, which would greatly benefit our deer herd. I would like to address the coyote part of the predator equation, seeing that trapping is the most proficient, reliable and well-documented method to decrease coyote predation. The hunting of coyotes with hounds and hunting over bait sites is also two very productive methods to take coyotes, but cannot produce the numbers taken that trapping can. Why is it that we here in Maine can’t trap longer into the winter months? This would increase the coyote take. As winter progresses, coyotes become more susceptible to trapping, because they are hungry. Learning to trap them in snow with foothold traps would, at first, be challenging for many inexperienced trappers, but once the techniques are mastered they would be very effective. One has to assume that those who would be out trapping in deep

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winter are those with the most experience or those who have the desire to learn the skills necessary to successfully trap in severe weather conditions. Trap size restrictions currently in place could be a problem when trapping in snow. The Incidental Take Permit (ITP) allows a larger trap, but Maine has kept the restricted inside jaw spread (no greater than 5 3/8 inches) as designated by the court decree prior to the ITP being issued. As a result, trap configurations are restricted to this size, therefore limiting the number of traps suitable for use in snow. Longer Season Needed Many eastern states have much longer coyote trapping seasons, and trappers in some states are allowed to use more efficient methods for winter trapping. When this subject has been brought up by trappers with the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IF&W), concerns have been raised that if a Canadian Lynx is caught in a foothold trap for a period of time before it can be released, it may suffer frozen digits (toes). However, in other cold-weather states that does not seem to pose a problem. For example, Minnesota has lynx restrictions in place, but there is no closed coyote trapping season in that state. New Hampshire has 22 weeks of coyote

To increase the number of deer in Maine, the author advocates for a longer coyote trapping season -- a proposal that’s been adopted in many other states.

trapping, running from 15 October to the end of the following March. Apparently these other states are not concerned with the issue of a frozen digit on furbearers, including the Canadian Lynx. My review of published material has not revealed any research into the matter.

weeks, 1 Nov to 15 Feb. Michigan has no closed coyote season with traps, and they are allowed to use snares from 1 Jan to 1 March. Indiana has 20 weeks, 15 Oct to 15 March. Illinois has 10 weeks, 5 Nov to 25 Jan. All but two of these states have longer coyote trapping seasons than Maine.

Other States Have Extended Seasons Other eastern states that have freezing temperatures during their coyote trapping seasons include Rhode Island, which has no closed season on private land. Vermont has the same length of a coyote season (10 weeks) as Maine. Connecticut has a 17-week long season, 6 Nov to 15 March. New York has 15 weeks, from 25 Oct to 15 February. Pennsylvania has 15 weeks, 22 Oct to 18 February. Both Ohio and Virginia allow coyote trapping all year long. West Virginia has 15 weeks of trapping, 5 Nov to 28 Feb. New Jersey has 16 weeks of coyote snaring (no traps), 15 Nov to 15 March. Maryland has 14

No Yarding in Other States In most of these states, the deer do not move into wintering yards like our Maine deer. Only a couple of the states have long and severe winters like Maine. We all are aware that there are several other important factors affecting our deer numbers, such as those periodically really bad winters where we lose a lot of deer, and the excessive forest harvesting in and around some of the critical deer wintering areas, but deer can recover from these factors over a number of years. What they cannot do is recover from heavy predation when these other conditions occur. (Continued on page 49)

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 47

Big Woods – Jackman’s Greatest Allure I tucked the red plaid jacket into a cardboard box. At barely 18 years old, I finally got a spot at deer camp, so my handme-down wool jacket and a borrowed 30-30 constituted the crown jewels in my limited arsenal of deer hunting gear. Back then, getting a bunk at deer camp required a combination of lineage, luck, and the twisted-head nod of approval from the senior hunters in the group. Yup, that barely noticeable nod that if looked at sideways sure looked like a yes but deep down had some “no” mixed in. Looking back I now realize if I weren’t my father’s son

I’d have never crossed that loose, well-worn threshold that reeked of deer camp smells. Head North, Hunters While today’s hunters may have something better than an old cardboard box to pack gear in, rest assured that serious deer hunters both from away and in-state will point their vehicles north and make the trip up Route 201 to hunt the big woods that make Jackman a deer-hunting destination. Back in the day, those deer camps found a way to fit a dozen guys. Some years we had to haul campers in, just to handle the overflow. For some

reason these days it just seems like the size of our groups have shrunk. Now it’s just two or three of us. Deer hunting the vast acreage along both sides of Route 201 can overwhelm even the most accomplished hunter. And with deer spread out among hundreds of thousands of acres, where to find this wide-horned needle in a hay stack can turn into a frustrating task. While the deer per square mile ratio may not favor hunters, it often results in bigger deer, due to less competition for the available food source. And consider – bucks (Continued on next page)

The author poses with a nice eight-point buck that he harvested well off the beaten path.

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Jackman

(Continued from page 47)

might just have to roam a little farther to find the does dispersed in those large tracts. So how does a hunter come to the big woods in the Jackman Region and not just wander around aimlessly for a week or two? Well, I recently read that 80 percent of the deer spend most of their time in 20 percent of the acreage. If that’s true, then the big woods of Jackman just got a lot more manageable.

Map It! To target those areas that big bucks will likely have to take advantage of to survive, acquire a good paper or electronic topographical map. First, look for natural funnels that un-pressured deer would naturally navigate. These include saddles along ridges, strips of higher ground that run through swamps, and thin strips of woods that divide clear-cuts. With all the logging that goes on up here, it

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makes sense to pay close attention to those thin strips of woods between cut-off areas. Recent cutoffs won’t show up on topographical maps, but they just might show up on Google Earth. For trip planning, a topographical map combined with the satellite imagery of Google Earth gives hunters a great deal of information to digest. The maps reveal the elevations using the contour lines, while the spyin-the-sky gives hunters an advance peak at the vegetation conditions. While some funnels may look painfully obvious, it’s a mistake to overlook the more subtle

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swales and gullies. Sometimes it’s an easy stream crossing or large boulders that provide good cover between open areas. Food At the end of the day, 200-pound bucks need a steady diet. Find their food source connected to a reliable funnel, and things will get interesting. Deer like mast, such beechnuts and hickory nuts, and it’s no secret that sweet-tasting acorns from a white oak tree top the list of a buck’s favorite food sources. In the fall, white oak trees turn a golden yellow. A little bit of fall leaf-peeping in the Jackman Region can help

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hunters identify patches of white oaks along the various mountainsides. Another trick that occasionally works – sometimes the Google Earth imagery was recorded in the fall – just a subtle detail that can allow the hunter to identify tree species from the sky. With the steady stream of logging activity, astute hunters also pay attention to recent clear cuts and the new growth browse that results. More than one big buck has stepped out of a strip of woods bordering a clear-cut and surprised a waiting hunter. When I was a young lad, the old-timers in camp instilled in me a respect for the beg Maine woods and a healthy fear of getting lost in the thick forest. I believe many hunters today have at least some trepidation concerning going too far from a road.

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��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 49 (Continued from page 48)

Getting In; Getting Out It’s mandatory that hunters heading into the big woods have good map and compass skills. I also think if they want a little confidence boost that learning to efficiently run a Global Positioning System (GPS) is well worth

the effort spent. I thoroughly enjoy using both. In fact, the larger scale of the paper map for the “macro” view has advantages over the small screen on my GPS. However, hunters who learn to use a GPS effectively can chart a course right to that patch of white oak trees they spotted on Google Earth

Trapping (Continued from page 46)

Once their numbers are reduced to a certain point, recovery is not possible. Why Not Maine? If other states such as Minnesota and New Hampshire that have lynx allow trapping into winter longer, why can’t we? If there is no solid research evidence suggesting frozen digits are a real problem, then why can’t we also trap longer into the winter months?

Smilin’

or while leaf peeping last month. Finding rubs requires boots on the ground. However, hunting in areas with identifiable funnels and food sources usually leads to finding a rub or two. Locating all three means its time to slow down, study tracks, figure out the wind and start hunting.

I miss the old guys in deer camp. Clearly, they took me under their wing. When I look back I realize that one by one they all gave me a tip or two. I remember “Papa” Bud telling me to sit against a tree or brush pile to break up my “man” image. Another one of the guys told me to hang that red wool jacket

Currently we trap from mid October to the end of December (10 weeks). We have below-freezing temperatures occurring in November and December and frozen digits are not a problem, then why can’t the season be extended? If the people of Maine want to give the deer a fair chance of ever recovering to anywhere near the numbers we once had, then a reduction in coyote numbers is the way to do it. An extended trapping season would help the rural economies, and with coyote pelts currently bringing more money than many of the other fur bearers, trapping ef-

Sportsman

in the barn at night so I wouldn’t smell like “deer camp” in the morning. On October 30 (October 28 for residents only), deer hunters in camps across the Jackman Region will share tales of old and create memories anew.

fort would be increased if a longer trapping season were allowed. If several things were to ever come together; such as a longer coyote trapping season, an increased bear harvest, the state owning or controlling many of the deer wintering areas and more private land owners participating in active deer management programs, those steps would surely improve the deer herd statewide. Private landowners can get assistance from IF&W in evaluating their properties and instituting a deer management plan.

Send your best hunting & fishing stories, and your favorite jokes, to the editor at will@mainesportsman.com

A man had been hunting for a month when he climbed to the top of a mountain. There he encountered a beautiful woman. “I know you’ve been in the woods for a month,” purred the woman, smiling seductively, “and you must be very lonely. I can help you to not be lonely anymore.” The hunter’s heart started pounding. “Do you mean,” he asked, “that I can actually check my e-mail from here?” ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• A dirty, unkempt transient man approached a businessman on a Portland street and asked for a few dollars. “If I give you money, will you buy whiskey?” asked the businessman. “I have not had a drink in 20 years,” the transient responded. “Will you gamble it away?” “No – I don’t gamble. I need whatever money I can get just for food.” “Will you use it to go hunting?” “Of course not – I haven’t gone hunting since I was a youngster.” “Well,” said the businessman, “I’ll tell you what – rather than giving you a few bucks, I am going to take you home and you’ll have a great dinner with me and my wife.” “But won’t she be mad if you bring home someone like me?” asked the transient. “It will be worth it,” said the businessman. “I just want her to see what happens to a man who gives up drinking, gambling and hunting!” ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• The big-city lawyer shot a duck, which fell into a farm field. As the lawyer was climbing over the fence to retrieve the duck, the wizened old farmer drove up on his tractor and inquired what was going on. “I shot that duck and I’m going to get it,” said the lawyer. “Well, since that’s my field, that would be trespassing,” said the farmer. “Listen, old man, if you don’t let me get that duck, I’m going to sue you for everything you have, and I’ll own this farm and evict you!” declared the lawyer. The farmer replied, “Around here, we settle minor disputes with the ‘Kick Rule’.” “What’s that?” asked the lawyer. “Well, since this is my property, I get to kick you, they you kick me and so forth until one of us gives up.” Knowing he was much stronger than the aging farmer, the lawyer agreed to the alternative dispute resolution. The farmer wound up and planted a kick to the lawyer’s groin with his steel-toed boots. The lawyer dropped to the ground in pain. After a few minutes, he got slowly back on his feet and said, “Okay, you old man, now it’s MY turn!” “Nah, that’s alright,” replied the farmer. “I give up. Here – you can have the duck.”

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50 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Winchester’s #1 Rival Still Taking Deer Somewhere between reading Edwin Way Teale’s groundbreaking natural history Autumn Across America and Dean Bennett’s spiritual memoir of family and Maine deer hunting, Ghost Buck, the subject for November just appeared – the timeless Model 336 by Marlin. Known before World War II as the Model 36, the post-war Model 336 has played a large part in Maine’s deer seasons for almost 70 years. Descended from a line

Rifles like the Marlin lever action are as much a part of the Maine deer season as the familiar creak of the cabin door, the smell of the wood fire or a steaming mug of coffee on the oil cloth-covered table. of successful lever-action rifles that span the winning of the West, the technological switch to smokeless gunpowder, the sales impacts of the Great Depression and the production hiatus forced by both World War I and World War II, Marlin rifles ran a close second

to Winchester’s more famous lever actions. However, by the 1980s and 1990s, Marlin actually surpassed Winchester as the largest-volume seller of lever-action firearms. Founded by John Marlin in the 1870s, the company occupied facilities in New Haven, Con-

necticut until 1969. From 1969 to 2010 the firm’s manufacturing took place in North Haven, Connecticut. For most of its long life the company remained a family-owned business. Back in 1917, Marlin bought the older Hopkins & Allen Arms Compa-

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ny. In 2000, they bought Harrington & Richardson and New England Firearms of Gardner, Massachusetts. But in 2007, Remington Arms acquired all the assets of Marlin, and moved the company headquarters to Madison, North Carolina and manufacturing to plants in Ilion, New York and Mayfield, Kentucky. No longer a family business, Marlin management now answers to executives at Remington and The Freedom Group, Inc. Ownership seems not to matter to consumers. Sales of Marlin branded lever-action rifles remain strong, now dwarfing new sales of Winchester’s Model 94. Old Rivals In a 1965 article pub-

(Continued on next page)

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��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 51 (Continued from page 50)

lished in Gun Digest, C.H. Helbig and P.B. Cain wrote, “The lever action rifle is a classic American firearm that seems destined to live on and on. Sure, some say it is doomed, but today it is as popular as ever.” They go on to state, “[w]hen most men speak of a deer rifle, odds are they visualize a lever action.” That same sentiment applies more than fifty years on. Winchester got a head start with their Model 1894 and the 1895 launch of the .30-30 rifle cartridge. They struck again in 1902 with the .32 Winchester Special. However, Marlin scored some points for versatility in 1906 with their adoption of the heftier .35 Remington cartridge. When Marlin came out with the post-war Model 336 in 1947, Winchester far and away led the field with the Connecticut-made Model 94. But Marlins, which were available in .30-30, .32 Special or .35 Remington, gained ground fast. Initially the Marlins came with a 24-inch barrel and a 2/3 tubular

magazine. Carbines with 20-inch barrels and full length six-round magazines soon followed. Other Marlin features include rifles with checkered walnut stocks, Monte Carlo buttstocks, detachable sling swivels and straight or pistol grip stock. After 2000, a few versions of the Model 336 include either 18-inch or 16½-inch barrels, laminated stocks, stainless steel, oversized Rooster Cogburn style actuating lever, and hammer block safeties. Features aside, Robert K. Sherwood wrote in 1988, “the design type has lasted, and lever actions are selling better than at any time since 1929…. A gun rack without one is like a pie without apples or a flag without stars.”

Something Special The Model 336 now

residing in my gun cabinet arrived about the same time Sherwood wrote his lever action/apple pie testimony. Bought from a young soldier at Fort Lewis, Washington for $200, it came with an inexpensive 4X Tasco scope (Marlin’s side ejection port allows many sighting options over the Winchester), and 400 rounds of assorted .30-30 ammunition. Bearing serial number 18,083,1XX, this straight stock, uncheckered variant has hunted deer in four states. Its 18½-inch barrel pinpoints the date of manufacturer as 1983 – the only year Marlin made a Model 336 with a barrel of that length. In the mid-1990s, the old Brunswick gun shop removed the Tasco scope (Continued on next page)

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52 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Shooter’s Bench (Continued from page 51)

and the original buckhorn leaf sight, replacing both with an adjustable Williams receiver sight. The smith there also clamped a sling swivel to the magazine tube forward of the forearm band. Anecdotal experience tells me this Marlin with its “Micro-groove” rifling is more accurate than either of my Model 94 Winchesters and on par with my longer-barreled Model 64 Winchester. It

comes to point quickly, and the receiver sight works well in low light or against thick evergreens. The distinctive rectangular finger lever fits smaller hands to a “T,” and remains smooth after thirty years on the job. The side ejection tosses spent cartridges away from the line of sight, unlike the Winchester competition.

Living On Deer camps across

Maine and much of the rest of the country host a full complement of hunters now. Day hunters slip in a few precious hours with the dawn and before heading off to work. Youngsters head into the woods after school, hoping to bag a buck before darkness ends hunting for the day. Some will carry new firearms designs like the many variations based on the AR-15 platform. Many of these chamber new cartridge innovations, such as the .300

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Whisperer, .300 AAC Blackout, .30 Remington AR and .308 Marlin Express. But the old, tried and true – some would call them “traditional” – cartridges such as .30-30, .32 Special, and .35 Remington continue downing game in every corner of the state. Rifles like the Marlin Model 336 remain viable and preferred by many. As much a part of the deer season as the familiar creak of the cabin door, the smell of a wood fire or a steaming mug of

coffee on the oil cloth-covered table, a well-loved veteran rifle adds to the depth of the experience. Sure, there are some ballistic shortcomings, but the old lever gun can do anything today that it was capable of in 1948 or 1983. Helbig and Cain got it right in 1965. The lever gun does seem “destined to live on and on.” And that should be just fine with the fellas up to camp.

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Email: will@mainesportsman.com Photos to be published at Editor’s discretion. Not all photos may be published.

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 53

Central Maine Deer Population Continues to Rebound This past winter proved a relatively easy one for Maine whitetail deer, particularly in the Mid-Kennebec Valley Region, allowing our local herds to continue their recovery from several devastating winters of a few years back. As a result, hunters in this area will find more deer available this November than any time in recent memory. Last winter did see a huge amount of snowfall during a short period of time in February, but several factors helped minimize the negative impact on deer. Those included a heavy acorn crop last fall that help send the deer into the winter in excellent physical condition, a late start to the snows that allowed deer to move and feed freely longer than usual, and a relatively-early departure to restricting snow cover that also enabled whitetails access to nutrient-rich young grasses that prove so critical to avoiding a late-winter kill from lack of food. Reflecting the strong population, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife made another huge increase in the any-deer permits available to hunters. Statewide, they raised the total number

DIF&W greatly increased the number of any-deer permits in Central Maine districts, reflecting a healthy whitetail population. Hunters holding any-deer permits are successful between 30 to 35 percent of the time, compared to the 8 to 12 percent of hunters holding bucks-only tags who get their deer.

A large allocation of any-deer permits will improve the chances for success by hunters in the Mid-Kennebec Valley region this whitetail season.

of permits to 66,050, a whopping 44% increase over 2016 levels. And that’s on top of the 59% jump we saw last year. Central Maine hunters fared even better. Wildlife Management Districts (WMDs) 13 and 17, which lie at the northern edge of the region, didn’t do quite as well, but WMDs 16, 22 and 23 all saw increases far above average. WMD 13, which

historically receives a far fewer permits than the other four, actually saw a decrease of 15 percent in its allocation, and WMD 17 “only” increased 31 percent, but Districts 16, 22 and 23 enjoyed huge jumps of 166 percent, 126 percent and 75 percent, respectively. Combined, these five WMDs saw an increase of 79 percent (11,775 permits), well over the state-

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wide average of 44 percent. Hunters holding anydeer permits typically enjoy success rates in the 30- to 35-percent range, versus just 8 to 12 percent for hunters without permits, so the large increases in these zones

should result in a much higher deer harvest locally this month. Plentiful Food Sources As for conditions, the region has once again seen a huge acorn crop this fall, perhaps even stronger than last year’s bumper production. Whitetails focus heavily on this mast crop when available, so hunters can expect the oak stands to get plenty of play this month. But with such a large crop, the deer won’t concentrate as much as in years when fewer trees produce, creating a bit of a challenge for hunters. Folks can overcome that challenge with a little knowledge and plenty of scouting. For starters, Maine has several species of oaks that largely fall into two broad categories, “red” oaks and “white” oaks. Deer generally prefer to eat acorns from white oaks, often ignoring red oaks altogether until such time as they’ve eaten all the white oak acorns available in their home range. And for whatever reason, even among (Continued on page 55)

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54 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Deer Hunting with the Off-Road Traveler My off road vehicle provides the perfect base unit for Maine’s deer-hunting season. The four-wheel-drive pickup truck takes me safely to specific hunting locations and allows me to move from one area to another if I feel the change as necessary. I can also choose to travel the spider web of logging roads that lace the backwoods of the more remote parts of the state. As I travel, I keep an eye peeled for big buck tracks in the snow or mud on the side of the roads, and stop to hunt where it looks good.

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My ATV is equipped with a separate, air-tight tote box for my hunting clothing. I wear one set of clothes when riding the ATV, then park the ATV and change into scentfree clothing when I get near the hunting area. That’s because ATV-riding clothes will absorb odors from the gas, oil and exhaust of the machine. Some folks actually hunt from their truck the whole season, only getting out of the vehicle to shoot the deer when the opportunity presents itself. If I became so physically disabled that I couldn’t get around in the woods, I would definitely consider this approach. I’d trailer an ATV and ride in to more remote areas via ATV trails that

connect the big sections of forested land across the state. When perfectly healthy hunters resort to road hunting for deer rather than getting out into the forest, most folks call this lazy method “heater hunting,” and label the sluggish hunters as road hunters or heater hunters. I don’t want to pro-

mote any kind of lazy hunting method within this column, but certainly want to help deer hunters take their game successfully and legally. A hunting vehicle, just another tool in the hunt, can be used as a lazy way of hunting for healthy folks or as a real blessing for those hunters who are unable to physically walk around in the woods.

4WD with Clearance The first requirement for a deer hunting vehicle, four-wheel-drive, allows the hunter to travel on some of the more challenging roads. I’ve had many decent-looking logging roads start out as easy-driving gravel roads, but after a few miles they turn into sloppy, muddy sections of road that border on impassable. With two-wheeldrive, crossing these rough and sloppy sections of the road would not be attempted, but the four-wheel-drive vehicle has no trouble moving through mud or snow (Continued on next page)

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 55 (Continued from page 54)

as long as the frame-toground clearance is sufficient. I think most standard pickup trucks have at least a foot of ground clearance. Tires Four-wheel-drive and good ground clearance take care of most any rough road issues – and then consider a tire upgrade. I would flat-out suggest getting the best tires you can afford for driving in the back woods. No one wants to mess with a flat tire way back in the “willy-wacks.” A good six- to eightply tire with a real aggressive tread will do just fine. They don’t come cheap, but they pay for themselves by getting you to and from your hunting destination, no matter how rough it gets. Follow the Rules I never plan on taking my truck directly through the woods, either. Remember, driving off-road

in Maine is illegal unless you are riding an ATV on an approved ATV trail. Folks can’t just go mudding across someone’s property because they have a tricked-out truck that can handle anything. Keep it legal and stay on the roads made for vehicle traffic. When I get to a good looking hunting area that cannot be accessed by my pickup, I check the map to find an ATV trail that gets me deeper in the woods and closer to the desired hunting location. Over the past decade, the number and length of ATV trails have increased, providing hunters with additional opportunities. Be as Scent-Free as Possible Deer hunters have a few options when it comes to hunting with the pickup as a base. I like to camp right in the bed of the truck (with a cap cover) and use the ATV to get closer to my

Mid-Kennebec (Continued from page 53)

the white oaks, deer have favorite trees or stands that get more attention than others, likely due to slight differences in soil chemistry that affect the flavor of the acorns from some trees, or perhaps the proximity of better security cover near those trees. W h a t ever the reason, with some scouting work, hunters can still find particular oaks with higher deer traffic than others in their hunting grounds. In addition to acorns, apples and beechnuts have done very well – far better than last year – giving the deer even more desirable food alternatives and potential scattering the whitetails all the more. Deer don’t tend to give beechnuts as much attention in abundant food years, but apples definitely rank high on their list of preferred items. Statewide, commercial apple growers in Maine projected a harvest increase of nearly 30 percent over last year’s totals, thanks to far more favorable growing conditions than last year’s serious drought, and the wild crop appears to be following suit. These abundant mast crops mean that fewer deer will spend as much time grazing in this region’s farm fields as in many other years, so folks who favor this type of hunting may want to rethink their strategies. Oh

actual hunting location. I take a separate tote box specifically in order to keep my clothing as scent-free as possible. This way I can avoid riding the ATV while wearing the clothes I’m going to hunt in, since odors from the oil, gas and exhaust of the machine permeate clothing. Once I get closer to the actual hunting location, I park the ATV and change into scent-free clothing. From there I continue farther into the woods on foot, hunting as scent-free as possible. The other option is to drive in via the pickup to where an ATV trail crosses the road. Then you can load the ATV up with camping and hunting gear, and ride it into the woods to a camping location near the hunting territory. Once the hunter gets the camp set up, the he or she can strike out on foot and later return to camp for the night. The only time they would have to

go to the truck would be for resupplying the campsite or when it was time to abandon the campsite and travel to a different area altogether to hunt. Traveling Gear Even if I decide not to camp overnight and just make it a day hunt, I always have some items that improve the deer hunting trip. Of course I pack a lunch, but a few items can make that even better. I take a thermos of hot tea, and I use a cookstove to serve up a soul-warming hot meal. Nothing helps keep you out there like a warm lunch. If you find yourself way out in the woods without the cookstove, just build a small fire (where legal) and warm your sandwich up over the coals. A warm midday meal will help keep you going all day. Good maps and an easily-understood GPS mapping unit make off-pavement travel more

sure, deer will still feed in fields, especially those containing preferred crops such as alfalfa, clover or corn, but unless an area is completely devoid of acorns and apples, the deer certainly will spend less time in open fields, cutting down on sightings for hunters focusing their efforts there. Trophy Bucks Most hunters dream of shooting a trophy whitetail buck, so where best to do that in Central Maine? Well, the answer “Just about anywhere” does ring true, in that a large number of local towns produce at least one or two specimens each year that qualify for the Biggest Bucks in Maine Club (which requires a buck to weigh 200 pounds or more fully dressed), but a review of those listings over the last five years points to some hotspots. The first standout would be Vassalboro (Delorme Atlas, Map 13, A-2), which in the last five years has produced at least a dozen bucks that qualified for the club, including three last year and five the year before. And because not all hunters choose to register their trophy bucks for this recognition, the number of mature whitetails harvested significantly likely exceeds those listed in the pages of this publication each year. Vassalboro contains a large number of active and inactive farms – just the sorts of habitat in which whitetails thrive. It has

safe and sound. With these, a hunter can focus on hunting rather than the constant concern of getting lost in unfamiliar territory. Take twice as much water as you think you need; the demand to quench your thirst always increases as the day goes on. Also, if a hunting area turns out to be better looking than expected, you can stay longer and increase your chances of dropping a big buck. Lastly, make sure to do the most important thing of all before you leave home to go hunting … leave information about your trip with a responsible adult. You should indicate your planned route, GPS coordinates, contact information and return dates. That way, if anything goes wrong, your friends will have an idea where to start looking for you.

also seen a fair amount of residential development in recent years, cutting off “easy access” for hunters and thereby reducing hunting pressure somewhat, which in turn helps more bucks reach maturity. But with a little effort and landowner courtesy, hunters find no problem securing access, and those who do so enjoy good results. Just to the northeast of Vassalboro, nearby Albion (Map 21, E-4) and Unity (Map 21, D-5) have also produced a good number of trophy bucks in recent years. The second area for trophy-minded hunters to check out includes the towns of Norridgewock (Map 20, B-5) and Skowhegan (Map 21, C-2), which abut one another. Norridgewock tied Vassalboro for the regional lead in club buck listings over the last five years, and Skowhegan was close behind. Farmlands and hardwood covers dominate these towns, plus they are part of a habitat that has long had a reputation for consistently producing huge bucks, thanks to superior genetics and outstanding whitetail habitat. Other towns in this track, such as Canaan, Pittsfield and Palmyra (all to the east of Skowhegan) ranked high in the club listings as well, so the trophy-producing elements of this stretch deserve a good look this month.

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56 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Fox Hunting, Perceived Outdoor Dangers, and Lead-Free Ammo For dedicated sportsmen, the winter season means a relentless pursuit of coyotes. With Maine’s low deer densities, this activity ranks high on everyone’s to-do list. While pursuing coyotes is a noble endeavor, I also enjoy occasionally hunting red fox. While certainly no dummy, Red can typically be more easily duped than its larger cousin, the coyote, making shot opportunities slightly more plentiful. Fox season runs from October 15th to February 28th, affording predator hunters ample time to harvest one of these truly beautiful canines. Attention should be paid to blending into your environment and this time of year, snow camouflage is king. For those not looking to spend a

For those not looking to spend a fortune on snow camouflage outfits, military surplus stores offer budgetpriced white nylon cover suits. In a pinch, white painter coveralls from Home Depot will suffice. fortune, military surplus stores offer budget-priced white nylon cover suits. In a pinch, white painter coveralls from Home Depot work quite nicely. Electronic calls, set on low volume and transmitting the sounds of a wounded field mouse, crying rabbit or kitten usually bring old Red running within minutes. For increased success, do not begin calling until you’re completely ready, as many a fox has arrived with the hunter never anticipating such a quick response! Calling sequences start low and steadily increase in volume over a period of 20 to 30 minutes. If you get no

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action, move to another location and try the entire sequence again. Fox are nimble and extremely fast, so it should be no surprise that veteran hunters pursue them with shotguns, modified chokes and loads firing Hevi-shot #2. As with coyotes, fox prefer approaching calling set-ups with their noses pointed directly into the wind; therefore having good visibility and shot options on the downwind side become critical. Field edges, railroad tracks and power lines all offer hot spots for chasing Red this February. While hunting, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for other predators, as you some-

times never know what will respond to a calling sequence – both coyotes and bobcats have been known to investigate a fox calling sequence. The Great Outdoors – Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself? At what point did the human race decide it would be a good idea to vilify the outdoors and stir up national panic? Where did the days go of unstructured play, riding bikes, kicking the can and building dams? Have we as a society finally decided that these activities are considered dangerous? With everything that parents must now do to “protect” their kids, are we instead doing them a disservice and creating

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unnatural fear? Like little soldiers preparing for chemical warfare, my children go outside in bug suits, bathed in Deet, carrying Thermacells and wearing helmets. Even gloves protect their little hands from biting insects and poison ivy, and upon entering the house those bodies are thoroughly inspected for ticks, and little hands are scrubbed with antibacterial soap. All parents want to be considered “good” parents. With just a few moments thought, I created a list of everything I now feel I need to worry about whenever my kids partake in exploring our natural world. (Please feel free to plug any of these concerns into Google to receive a full and complete warning of the impending dangers associated with each item. If I have missed something, please make sure to email me, lest I forget some critical danger or unseen hazard yet unrecognized.) Dangers in Maine’s woods and waters include, but are certainly not limited to: West Nile, poison ivy, poisonous berries and plants, ticks/Lyme disease, Equine Encephalitis, mercury in fish, contaminated play sand, Giardia and Cryptosporidium, Nalgene bottles w/ PBA, pesticides, swine flu, lead fragments in game meat, lead fishing sinkers, falls, bumps and crashes received while not wearing a bicycle helmet, rabid animal attacks, brown recluse spiders, dry drowning, loss (Continued on next page)

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 57

Roasted Cumin-Rubbed Bear and Cabernet Glaze Simple combinations on roasting the cumin – Cumin is native from (this means India conresult in a very flavorful you will be rewarded. I the east Mediterranean sumes 63% of the world’s palate! In this month’s always have a small jar to South Asia. India is the cumin!) recipe I have taken a around, because a pinch main user and producer Remember that all favorite of mine, bear can jazz up a dish. This of cumin. It produces 70% dry spices will last longer steaks, and layered them rub is also excellent for of the world’s supply and when purchased from a with spices. Do not skimp ribs. consumes 90% of that reliable source with in————————————————————————————————————————————

ventory turnover, stored in glass and kept in a dark place. I have been spoiled by the fresh dried spices, herbs and combinations of spices at TheSpiceHouse.com.

Ingredients • 4 lean bear steaks • Salt and pepper for seasoning steaks • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil • 2 tablespoons butter • Cumin rub (see recipe below) • ½ cup minced shallots • 1 tablespoon minced garlic • 1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon red wine • 1/3 cup chives, chopped (for garnish) Preheat oven to 200°F and heat plate. Season bear with salt and pepper. In cast iron skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat, heavily sear bear on both sides, about 2 minutes. Place bear on warmed plate from oven while cooking all steaks. Rub cumin rub on all steaks, let sit. Sauté shallots and garlic in same skillet for 2 minutes. Add wine and deglaze, about 7 minutes. Return bear back to pan to heat through. Place steaks on plates and cover with sauce. Great with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Serves 4 Substitute Critters: Venison, Moose, Caribou, Beef or Elk. Wine: 1996 Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon ———————————————————————————

Roasted Cumin Rub • ¼ cup roasted cumin • ¼ cup roasted coriander • 2 tablespoons ground black pepper

Washington County (Continued from page 56)

of sight from staring at a solar eclipse, stepping in dog poo, bee stings and anaphylactic shock, and being eaten by bears. I guess the only safe activity left is sitting on the couch playing video games. Oh wait – I forgot about childhood obesity, carpal tunnel, diabetes and heart disease! We as a society are most certainly creating unnatural fears in our offspring. This remains an unfortunate trend that seems to be quickly building a following. As more and more of us distance or even remove ourselves from the natural world and traditional outdoor pursuits, we are developing unnatural fears of the great outdoors. These

• ¼ cup dark brown sugar • 2 tablespoons minced dried garlic • 3 tablespoons minced dried shallots • 1 tablespoon sea salt

fears are then passed on to our offspring and the entire cycle perpetuates. Don’t foolishly ignore the hazards of the outdoors, but also don’t let them rule your existence and scare you into living a life devoid of a more “natural” world! Lead Fragmentation in Game Meat Of all of the fears listed above, one that I truly feel is justified, as well as easily preventable, is lead fragmentation in game meat. While many sportsmen feel this is simply the media using scare tactics to place another nail in the coffin of the sport of hunting, I do not feel the same. Lead is nasty stuff and not a substance that should be consumed by adults, but even more critical is its negative effects on the health of children.

Roast cumin and coriander, separately in cast iron pan. Cool. Then grind. Mix all ingredients together. To preserve, store in glass jar.

Since I have two small children who regularly consume the meat of the various animals I harvest, it made sense to simply make the change to lead-free bullets. For me that choice meant selecting the Hornady Super Performance, Gliding Metal Expanding (GMX) Rifle Ammunition. Out on the range, these bullets perform at the same high level of shot-aftershot accuracy as their lead-based brethren, and when hitting game animals (like my 177-pound spring black bear) they are simply lethal, possessing both high expansion and deep penetration. At $42 a box, GMX is comparable to other high-end rifle ammunition, so do you and your family a favor – go lead-free this hunting season!

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58 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Stranded in the Woods at Night There are a hundred ways to get stranded in the woods. Most of them can happen to anyone: a stuck vehicle, a wrong turn, or a snowmachine bogged down in deep snow. Perhaps you simply fell and injured yourself. You’re immobile, in pain. And here you are. It’s getting dark. It’s cold. The forecast calls for rain or snow. And nobody knows where you are. You’re not even really lost! You know exactly where you are. But you’re out of cell phone range and miles from the nearest house or paved road. Or maybe you are lost. You went off the marked trail and got “turned around” while trying to take a short cut. Suddenly every direction looks the same on a cloudy day as darkness falls in the dense woods. What Next? So, what happens next? Logic says there are only a few possible outcomes. 1. You stay put and someone finds you before the night is over. You told someone where you were going and when you’d be back. After you failed to show up, they called for help and the Warden Service knew where to look. Your emergency LED strobe light and whistle guides them in. 2. You stay put and wait for help, but you aren’t so easy to find. This means spending the night with whatever shelter and supplies you have. If you have a good emergency kit, perhaps the night will be less miserable 3. You start walking and find your way out. You follow a road or trail, or head cross counwww.MaineSportsman.com

try to that truck. The light you next day they can see in walked nine the distance. miles to an Luckily you unoccupied brought camp. a flash It took anlight and other night a compass. and day for 4. You searchers to start walklocate the ing and get two men and tired, wet, bring them and even home safely to more lost. their worried Now things families. have gone Last fall, from bad to another huntworse. er got lost Experts not far from recommend his own camp that you stay near Old put and wait Town. He had for help un- The author’s emergency survival kit. Van Wie photo two compassless you’re es, but still when we finally saw the sure you can get to a safe couldn’t find his way back bridge near the take out. place. in the dark. He used up After clunking over rocks his ammo firing shots for Won’t Happen To Me! the last quarter mile, we help. After a miserable We’ve all seen the used headlamps to load night in the woods, resstories with people who the truck and got back to cuers found him the next never thought this would camp just as our friends morning, cold but okay. happen to them. But even were heading out to look experienced outdoorspeoWinter Woes for us. ple get stuck. Last January, a twen What if we’d had to On big trips, many of ty-something snowmobilpaddle for an hour in the us plan for the worst and er decided to check out dark? We had headlamps do all the right things. a side trail during a ride but was that enough? But often we assume the near Pittsburg, NH. His If we dumped the canoe best, thinking we can friends didn’t see where and got stranded, could handle whatever comes he’d turned off the trail. we have found our way along. He later bogged down in through the boggy woods This fall I canoed a fafive feet of snow while to the road? vorite river with a friend, trying to turn around. I always have a coma trip I had done several His friends reportpass in my fishing vest, times before. We left at ed him missing at 5 pm, but I’ll admit, we hadn’t 3 pm and had more than but the young man spent really planned for the four hours until dark. We a very cold night in the worst. It was such a paddled along, stopping woods, using handwarmbeautiful day, what could to fish now and then on a ers and the snowmobile’s go wrong? We were fortubeautiful afternoon. engine to stay warm. He nate to get to camp safe On this meandering was found safe by volunly. river, it’s very hard to tell teer searchers the next Not So Lucky how far you have gone morning. Many others are not and how much longer These are just a few of so lucky. remains. When the sun the many ways to get lost In 2013, two hunters dipped beneath a hill, we or stranded in the woods got their pickup stuck on picked up the pace beat night. It can happen a logging road near Allacause we didn’t want to to anyone. All it takes is gash Lake. With no cell cut it too close. a little bad luck and sudphone service, they had But we did. denly you’re staring at to spend the night in the It was almost dark the reality of a long night

with no shelter. What Can You Do? The best way to avoid an unwanted adventure is to let someone know exactly where you’re going, what route you plan to follow, and when you’ll contact them to let them know you are safe. This even applies to hunting the woods out behind your house or camp. Even with these precautions, always be prepared for an unplanned night in the woods! Dress in layers, and make a small waterproof emergency kit that you can take with you on every trip: • A compass and map of the area. • LED headlamp and extra batteries. • LED emergency strobe light and whistle. • Space blanket or emergency bivy (windproof, waterproof, reflects body heat). • Handwarmers • Energy bars • Pocketknife. • Butane lighters and strike-anywhere matches in a sealed container. • Small candle and dry fire starter material. • Iodine pills or water filtration kit. • Extra Smartwool™ socks, knit hat and gloves. The list can go on, but these few items take up little space and can be carried anywhere. They might mean a quick rescue, prevent hypothermia and frostbite, or even save your life. You never know when you might be unlucky enough to be stranded in the woods at night.

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 59

The Frustration of Losing a Wounded Deer The sun was rising on the first day of deer season. Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of movement to my right, about 45 yards from the oak tree behind which I had concealed myself. I could clearly hear the sound of deer hooves on the brittle leaves of the forest floor. I turned deliberately and discerned the image of two deer. The sound of crunching leaves continued, now coming from just on the other side of a stone wall caught my attention. I cautiously aimed my Remington .30-06 and focused one of the deer into the center of my Redfield scope. The first deer, a doe, stopped, looked in my direction and bolted off into some evergreen trees. The second deer, a crotchhorn, slowly and cautiously trotted down the same trail the doe had taken. The 4-point buck came to within 40 yards, and stopped broadside. I squeezed off a shot and the buck faltered, took a few steps and fell to the ground. After waiting for a few minutes, I walked over expecting to see the deer; however, I saw only the tell-tale signs of red blood spattered on the leaves. Five minutes of searching the area led me to the realization that, yes, I’d hit the deer; I had a little spotty blood; but to my dismay, the buck did not appear to be fatally wounded. My son Rick and my nephew Mark Lemieux came walking down the skidder trail about ten minutes later. I told them I’d wounded the deer and had showed them where small amounts of blood were visible on the

At the shot, the buck faltered and fell to the ground. Then it got up quickly and led the three of us on a 2-hour, milelong trek. ground. We searched the area for over two hours following tiny specks of blood for about a mile, before the blood trail stopped. That was my only good opportunity of the entire deer season to fill my tag, and I had failed. One message I always preached to more than 2,000 of my Maine Hunter Safety students was, “If a hunter doesn’t feel a little remorse after shooting an animal, then they shouldn’t be in the woods hunting.” One of the worst experiences for me as a hunter is to wound a deer and not get it. This year I was drawn in the Super Pack antlerless any-deer permit lottery. Therefore, I can shoot a buck anywhere and an antlerless deer in my chosen district. Hopefully, if I get a deer this year, it will be a clean kill. More Any-deer Permits This year, thousands of hunters applied for the 66,050 any-deer permits that were issued statewide. According to the Department of Inland Fisheries (DIF&W) biologists, this number will reflect an increase in the availability of anydeer permits in many of Maine’s Wildlife Management Districts (WMDs). Hunters in this district were allotted 7,725 anydeer permits. Some of the top deer harvests in the state occur in WMD 23. This district includes parts of Knox, Waldo, Kennebec and Penobscot County. These four counties con-

tain thousands of acres of cultivated fields, apple orchards and recent logging operations, all capable of supporting a healthy deer population. Deer Plentiful An examination of Delorme’s The Maine Atlas, Maps 14 and 23 should help sportsmen and women to select prime deer-hunting habitat. A high deer-density exists on the forest and farmlands between Routes 137 and Route 3 (Map 22, E-2). Deer are plentiful near the less-traveled roads that branch off these two routes. Other top-notch hunting habitat lies within the boundaries of Waldo County. Here, thousands of acres of cultivated fields, apple orchards and small woodcutting operations provide abundant habitat for deer to thrive. WMD 23 has traditionally claimed the highest adult-buck kill in the

state. Many of the trophy bucks shot in this region qualify for Maine’s Big Buck Club. In WMD 26, which includes my residence, 175 any-deer permits were issued. This number is a decrease over last year; however, deer populations still appear to be stable. In the towns of Bucksport, Orland and Castine, deer have become so numerous that they are considered major road hazards and an agricultural nuisance. This area of the state contains hundreds of acres of hayfields, cultivated farmlands and an ample amount of prime cover to sustain a healthy deer herd. Top-hunting areas to track a whitetail are also found on the outskirts of Orrington or Holden. Penobscot Bay Duck Hunting For those hunters who prefer feathers to

fur, this is prime time to hunt migrating or native ducks in the Greater Penobscot Bay Region. Black ducks and mergansers should be plentiful on most area lakes, ponds and streams. By checking Map 23, hunters can find numerous freshwater duck habitats that contain some fast wing-shooting. Most of these waters are suitable for a canoe or a small boat. Preliminary fall sightings forecast a banner year for duck hunters. According to DIF&W biologist Brad Allen, the outlook for duck and goose hunting should be favorable this season. One area where migratory-duck populations abound is along the inlet stream of Alamoosook Lake, locally known as the Dead River (Map 23, D-3). Duck gunning is often fast and furious at the point where the river empties into the lake.

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60 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Deer Numbers Look Good For Midcoast Hunters If summer sightings of deer are any indication of herd health, this will be a banner year. Setting aside the large numbers of garden-raiding nuisance deer – the kind that stay near houses all year and rarely make themselves available to hunters – we should have plenty of deer to choose from this fall. Almost every trip I took around the Midcoast area this spring and summer resulted in at least one deer sighting. These incidental sightings are much more numerous this year than in the past. Where to hunt remains the big question. For one thing, the mast crop appears to be scanty in this region, and because of that, hunters working oak ridges will probably have a hard go of it. Because of the poor

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Whether deer hunting, trout fishing or grouse hunting, Tom says Maine’s Midcoast region has it all in November. mast crop it seems likely that deer will do their best to fatten up on green grass, and those who hunt fields in the late afternoon might find good hunting. Also, those hunters fortunate enough to own or have permission to hunt old reverting apple orchards should find plenty of animals. Apples, then, could vie with acorns for top billing on deer’s’ menu of preferred foods. A public place that abounds in old apple trees, the Frye Mountain Wildlife Management Area in Montville makes a good choice for those who like to sit near apple trees, especially those that deer have recently

visited. As long as a tree has apples left, deer will continue to check in to pick up drops from the ground. And while Frye Mountain sees wall-to-wall upland hunters in October, the place seems almost deserted in November. So my best suggestion for Midcoast hunters in 2017 is to find a few hot places on Frye Mountain and work them hard. Look for Frye Mountain on the DeLorme Atlas, Map 14, A-2. Hot Action Many Midcoast lakes and ponds offer yearround fishing for trout. Most of these are specially regulated, and these regulations include artificial lures only and no-kill.

Among these, Megunticook Lake in Camden and Lincolnville stands as a top choice. Megunticook contains lots of trout, mostly rainbow trout with a lesser number of brown trout. Rainbow trout here can average between 17 and 20 inches. Those numbers, though, don’t reflect smaller 14- to 16-inch fish stocked in fall each year. The smaller fish still fight well, and when interspersed with larger ones, can make for redhot action on a cool November day. In summer, the fish-holding layer of water in Megunticook, the thermocline, forms about 30 feet down. But now, in late fall, trout often swim much closer to the surface. Because of that, lots of anglers dispense with deep-trolling gear, and instead opt for a fly rod and sinking line. Small streamer flies are a good bet for taking Megunticook’s brown and rainbow trout, and some patterns that work well for me include Joe’s Smelt, Warden’s Worry and Wood Special. In summer I fish these behind a dodger, but now, in November, a dodger isn’t necessary. Megunticook has two public boat landings – one on Route 52 and one on Route 105. The steepness of the ramp on Route 52 makes it quite difficult – almost to the point of being scary – to negotiate. But the Route 105

landing has a friendlier incline, and that’s where I recommend anglers launch their boats. Find Megunticook Lake on Map 14, D-3 and C-3. Small Ponds Some of our smaller lakes and ponds permit year-round trout fishing under general law. Quantabacook Pond in Searsmont is one of these, and while the brown trout stocking program was discontinued because of poor angler return, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife continues to stock brook trout at “Quonny.” Here again, I would choose single-hook streamer flies fished on a fly rod with sinking line. My first choice, Edson Tiger Light, remains a topshelf brook trout killer. After that, try Pink Lady, Warden’s Worry and Mickey Finn. Fish should stick fairly close to shore, and some will take advantage of November’s cool water by hanging just outside of weedbeds. In addition to trout, Quantabacook holds lots of white perch, and these sometimes bite well in fall. For these, just drift along using panfish jigs. Also, an old-time favorite, the spinner-and-worm combo, does well on white perch. Quantabacook once held lots of big – as in 18 inches and over – chain pickerel. But most of those fish have succumbed to competition from largemouth bass. However, Quonny still holds a few good pickerel (Continued on next page)

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 61 (Continued from page 60)

and they, too, bite well in November. To find a pond or lake where trout fishing remains open under general law regulations, look for the name of that water in the current fishing lawbook. If the water you wish to fish has no “S” (special) regulations, then that water is governed by general law. And that means it’s okay to keep a trout for the pan. One caveat, though, and that is that a number of different lakes and ponds share the same name. So just make sure

your lake or pond is the correct one. Other than that, be advised to wear a life jacket when out in a boat, because the water is so cold that getting dunked can quickly lead to hypothermia. November Pats With the season on ruffed grouse lasting through December, those who have already taken their deer – or those who simply prefer upland hunting to deer hunting – can do well in November. Grouse are pretty well spread out this year, but come November they will likely concentrate on ap-

ples. So the same places where you might make a ground stand for deer will also hold partridge. Partridge now flush farther away than they did in October. A lack of leaves on deciduous trees allows the canny birds to detect hunters from a good distance away. For this reason, it pays to use a gun with at least a modified barrel. My L.C. Smith 16-guage, side-by-side double has modified and full-choke barrels, making it the perfect grouse gun for November hunting. Also, try hunting in

A pair of rainbow trout taken while trolling Megunticook Lake. Seymour photo

thick spruce/fir thickets. Look for grouse to burst out of the treetops in these places. Whether deer hunt-

ing, trout fishing or grouse hunting, Maine’s Midcoast region has it all in November.

In the 2016 Biggest Bucks Record Books To the Editor Please let me share the story of how I got the 9th biggest buck of 2016 – 252.5 pounds – up in Eustis, after 23 years of hunting the area. I was staying with my friends Jim and Tim Manley of Massachusetts in a rental camp in Eustis. I’ve been going up to the area with them since the mid 1990s, but I’d never tagged a deer there. For four days, I hunted in a swampy area off some timber company roads. The day I shot the deer was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It had snowed earlier in the week, and a picture emerged of all the animal activity in the woods. That day, it was freezing cold and the wind had picked up considerably. After sitting for a while, I walked around at noon to warm up and got some hot lunch by the truck, after which my friend John “Hightower” Harmon gave me a lift to the drop-off spot. I was able to find the productive-looking spot from my very first day hunting the previous week. I found a really nice track near the spot and began to follow it, but then thought better of it. These are big woods, and it would get dark soon. I found the stump I’d sat down on the very first day, brushed off about six inches of snow and took a seat. It was blowing a gale, and the trees were bending with the wind. I was thinking about what would happen if a tree fell on me – I hoped someone would come looking for me – when I noticed movement about 65 yards away from me. I was shooting a Ruger M77 30-06 rifle my older brother Tom had sent me, loaded with Winchester 150 Grain Core-Lokt ammo. The deer was walking, and paused for a

quick look around. I could see it was a buck and I lined up on where I thought he would clear a line of raspberry whips and give me a clean shot. I don’t believe he ever saw me or winded me. He took three steps, and his neck and shoulder filled my scope. I took a nice deep breath and let half out slowly. I pressed the trigger and I was amazed that I never really heard the shot. I was surprised at how fast I jacked another round in the chamber and lined up down the row of trees to try for a follow up shot.

Timothy Butts and Hightower admire Tim’s “Biggest Buck” 8-pointer.

I heard the deer stumble and then… silence. I stopped, put the safety on and then started thinking. My cell phone battery was sucked dry from the cold, and I figured I’d have to wait for the others, who had likely heard the shot. I walked over to where I thought the deer had run and found three cranberry-sized drops of blood. OK… so I know I hit him. There were still about 25 minutes of shooting time left. My mind was racing, when all of a sudden I heard a voice calling my name asking if it was me who’d fired. Hightower had come looking for me. I told him what had happened. We started to follow the tracks to see if we could find the deer. We hadn’t gone more than 15 or 20 yards when he exclaimed, “Oh, WOW… He’s HUGE!” I’d hit the buck in the neck, through his lung and out the shoulder. A good clean shot. Soon, Jim Manley arrived, and we all took turns dragging him out. It was quite a workout. The deer was an 8-pointer with a 31.5inch neck. It wound up making the Biggest Bucks of Maine Club, weighing in at 252.5 lbs. – number 9 in the Top Ten Bucks in Maine. The deer was so big we had nowhere to hang him, until Scott Belfore and Sons showed us hospitality by letting me hang the deer at their home. Very special thanks to James and Timothy Manley and John Harmon for making last season an experience I will never forget. Timothy A. Butts, Silver Lake, NH

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62 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Deer Season at Center Stage in the Sebago to Auburn Region There is one type of deer sign that really gets Tom’s attention for scouting, and that’s the state’s “Deer Crossing” signs along roads – clear indications of food sources on one side of the road, and bedding/shelter on the other side. We were doing what we have done for more than 25 years – playing a game of leap-frog in the woods. Rene Lavoie of Lewiston, my hunting partner, would walk to a known point, cautiously watching for deer or deer sign. I would wait a set amount of time and then make my way toward him along some other route. We know these woods well, so we know where the deer traditionally run

from and run to. In some instances, our plan works and one of us gets a shot at a deer. Many years we have tagged out this way, more often we were skunked. In any case, we like hunting this way and it’s how we do it. We each have our sitting spots when then other isn’t available, but I really like these times afield. Rene struck off and chided me to walk slowly when I commenced my

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trek. My long legs can’t seem to walk slowly, but I try. I waited the prescribed time and started my way toward him. Instantly I saw deer tracks in the dry oak leaves, and it looked like they had been feeding here this morning. I walked with my rifle against my chest – port arms, for those who were in the military. I scanned every line in the forest, sure I would see a deer at any moment. I spied Rene’s orange vest in the distance and walked closer. Pointing to the ground was the sign that I had seen fresh deer activity. He nodded, and I went on to my next spot to wait for him. Running Deer After about five minutes, I heard running in the woods. These were deer, one or a bunch. I had a doe permit, but not for the zone we were hunting. Rene had one for this zone, but appar-

For a place to start scouting for deer, you can’t do much better than to begin with properties near the most obvious type of “deer sign.”

ently these deer didn’t stick around for him to shoot. The trotting slowed, and I saw two does running head down toward me, but angling to my left. I tried to paint antlers on them as best as I could through my scope, but they were baldies. We pushed that piece all day and I tried to create a shot for Rene, to no avail. That was last season, and the scenario repeated itself a number of times in various spots. Neither of us tagged out. But fast-forward to

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the present. This year we both have an any-deer permit for this productive zone, AND mine is a Superpack bonus permit, so I can take a buck, too. I’m not the only elated hunter, as more than 66,000 fortunate hunters have some form of anydeer permit in their pocket this season. Permits Galore The Sebago to Auburn region encompasses several Wildlife Management Districts (WMDs) and they all fared well with any-deer permit allocation for the 2017 deer season. In the south, the area around Sebago Lake (DeLorme Atlas, Map 5, C-1) is primarily WMD 21. In this district, hunters received a whopping 9,550 permits! I usually put in for this district as I can hunt across my street in Auburn, hunt my spots in Freeport and hunt near the family camp in Raymond, all in the same district. Only WMD 20 got more permits than did 21, and only by 100. (Continued on page 64)

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 63

Striper Tips from the 2017 Season From all reports I’ve received, striped bass fishing in Maine ranged from good to excellent this past season. Again this year the majority of fish caught ran between 12 to 22 inches, but there were also plenty of bass in the old mid-20s “slot,” plus a fair number of keepers over 28 inches. The biggest fish I can confirm taken in my area (around Boothbay) was a 44-incher caught on Capt. Mark Stover’s Redhook. In any event, a few new tricks and tactics come to light every season, so I’ll share a few that worked on my boat. Bridle Sweet First off is a product called “Ultimate Bait Bridle.” This ingenious little device allows you to pin a live mackerel, herring or pogy to a hook while keeping the entire hook outside the bait where it’s better able to catch in the jaw hinge of a striper. Basically, it’s a big safety pin. You open it up, run the straight “pin” section through the baitfish’s eye sockets or jaw, then snap it shut. The other end of the gizmo slides over the barb and onto the bend of your hook, and has a rubber “boot” that you snug up to prevent the bridle from slipping back over the barb. With this rig, as mentioned, the hook is completely outside the baitfish, reducing the chances that the hook will turn and bury itself into the bait when a striper grabs it – the cause of a lot of missed strikes. It’s ideal for slow-trolling a livie, free-lining one, or fish-

A few new striped bass tricks and tactics come to light every season, says the author, and he shares a few that worked on his boat this year.

The Ultimate Bait Bridle allows the angler to position the hook outside the live bait, such as a mackerel or pogy (shown), reducing the chances of the hook point becoming buried in the bait on the strike. Dean Delle Donne photo

ing one under a float. My mate Larry Grimard and I have become big fans of this simple little rig. The Bait Bridle may be offered in tackle stores in Maine (not sure about that) but if you can’t find them you can order online at www.ultimatebaitbridle .com. An eightpack of the large size (ideal for stripers) runs $5.50, and you can also get smaller ones as well as the “offshore” size for bridling tuna and shark baits on larger hooks. Soft & Hot The hottest artificial lure for stripers in 2017? In my humble opinion it’s the Tsunami four-inch Split Tail Minnow. This soft-plastic, holographic lure (my favorite color is pearl/spot, which mimics

a peanut bunker) imparts a tantalizing action when retrieved slowly with short, rhythmic twitches of the rod tip. We find it works best on eight- or 12-pound mono and fished in four to 10 feet of water. It can be hopped along the bottom or retrieved middepth, and bass seem to hit it with real authority. I will admit right up front that I didn’t catch any keeper-size stripers with this lure in 2017, but my customers and I probably caught 100 smaller ones on it. It’s fun to work with light spin tackle, and often seems to produce when a top-water popper just isn’t doing the trick. Many tackle stores stock Tsunami lures (you might have to check the

fresh water section) or you can order them on line. They run around $10 for a six-pack. Smaller Floats We use a lot of mackerel chunks on my charter boat, and often fish them under floats in shallow water. One thing we

started noticing this year was that we were getting a lot of short hits and spit-outs when we used the larger foam floats we normally employ with full-size live baits. We figured the large floats exerted too much pressure on the bass when they initially mouthed the bait (especially with the smaller fish), so we switched to two-inch diameter, round, natural-cork floats (which work fine but can be hard to find and are somewhat expensive) and four-inch, slotted foam popping floats offered by Betts Tackle and Shur Strike. The popping floats quickly snap on and off your line, and can be adjusted easily. The elongated, tapered design (the tapered end is towards the hook) appears to reduce the pressure the striper feels as it takes the bait, and we found our hook-up rate increased significantly. Lip Service Although we don’t often use lipped swimming lures for striped bass aboard my charter (Continued on next page)

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64 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Saltwater (Continued from page 64)

Schoolie bass like this one taken by Mike Gibson in July will readily hit a Tsunami Split Tail Minnow worked with twitches of the rod tip in shallow water. Erin Gibson photo

boat, I heard from several anglers who switched over to time-tested balsa and plastic plugs this past season and did really well. These folks cast and retrieved these lures from shore, and although most of the stripers were small, there were no com-

plaints. The five-inch “Original Rebel Minnow” (don’t we all have at least one of these languishing in the bottom of our tackle boxes, complete with rusty hooks?) was a favorite, as was the Rapala Original Floating Minnow in black

Sebago to Auburn (Continued from page 62)

To the “left” of Sebago Lake, as far south as Newfield, and from the New Hampshire border all the way up to Stoneham lies WMD 15, where 2,375 hunters were selected for permits. Brothers-in-arms Ricker and Greg Hamilton hunt the woods in and around Denmark by Ricker’s camp. I get text updates every Saturday and most years, one or both tag out. This is WMD 15 country, and this region also covers the area behind my house in Auburn. Plenty of woods and plenty of deer exist, but this year, a sparse allocation of permits put the brothers Hamilton onto their second choice of WMD 21. At least they got a permit. Greg tells me they plan to hunt near his house in Gorham. www.MaineSportsman.com

Dennis Blackman of Boothbay lands a schoolie striper that fell for a Tsunami Split Tail Minnow. The author found this to be an effective lure for small fish this summer. Steve Rubicam photo

back with a silver belly. These lures weigh only 1/4- to 1/2-ounce, and don’t always cast very far, especially into the wind, but they have a proven, enticing action when simply retrieved steadily, and will run as deep as four to six feet.

Another hot-lipped lure that took loads of huge stripers down in the Boston Harbor and North Shore areas this past summer was the Rapala X-Rap Magnum. These are trolling lures, ranging from 4-3/8ths inches to 6-¼ inches, and their

Above WMD 21 and to the east of 15 lies WMD 16 (Map 11, C-5), with parts of Lewiston and the “deery” hamlets of Turner, Leeds and Greene (portions thereof). A sizable 4,550 hunters drew permits for this region. Hunters in the southern part of Lewiston down to Lisbon and Topsham are in WMD 22, and they drew a whopping 7,700 permits. With this many permits, it’s hard not to be optimistic about this season. Deer Sign Sage hunters know to be on the lookout for deer sign. Hunters are always scanning for droppings, tracks, rubs and scrapes. I look for a different kind of deer sign; the bright yellow ones warning motorists about traditional deer crossings. I hit a deer on Route 4 in Turner a few years ago coming back from a bird hunt. It was dark and I never had a chance to react to the fat doe that found the front of my truck.

aggressive, oversized lips allow them to run as deep as 30 feet. I’m going to try a couple of them up here next summer. Hey, only six more months until striper season!

The next time I was in that area, I noticed that there was a well-worn game trail from one side of the road to another exactly where I hit the deer. The trail connected a bedding area with cropland. Police submit accident reports to the state, and the Department of Transportation (DOT) tracks this data. Areas with high frequencies of car versus deer collisions often see signs erected to warn motorists. These are great places to start scouting for deer, as historically something draws deer to these specific locations. Data from 2006 through 2015 indicates that more than 32,000 deer were struck by motor vehicles in Maine in that 10-year period. That’s a lot of data and a lot of scouting locations! So if you see my vehicle parked on the side of the road near a deer crossing sign, you know what I am up to.

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 65

Massabesic Experimental Forest – From Ashes to Outdoor Mecca Massabesic Experimental Forest in Alfred and Lyman is public land maintained and managed by USDA Forest Service. It consists of 3,600 acres in two parcels. The forest was once owned by B.C. Jordan. When he died in 1912, he willed the forest to Bates College. A massive forest fire in 1947 burned large tracts of land from Limerick to the coast, destroying the forest as well as many farms in Alfred and Lyman. This often-overlooked parcel of public land offers outdoor activities for hikers, bikers and hunters. Anglers can find some fishing, if they are willing to hike to its hidden brooks. The forest is gated, so its tranquil environment is free of roadside litter and vehicular traffic. The forest’s boundaries are not posted, but the land is located between Route 111 in Alfred and Lyman, Old North Berwick Road, and Mouse Lane. The Old Kennebunk Road, which is gated on each end, runs through the middle of the forest and offers access to its remote sections (see DeLorme’s Maine Atlas and Gazetteer, Map 2). I hunted this area extensively during my younger years, but lately I’ve concentrated on more remote northern sections of southern Maine. My last trip to the Massabesic forest revealed the gates, so I plan to hike to some of my old stand locations this deer season and hunt around the moss-covered stone foundations I remember from

Southern Maine offers several large tracts of public and private land available to deer hunters who are willing to push through wetlands and swamps, and across streams and rivers. my youth. There are a few old faint roads that run between the Walker Road and Old Kennebunk Road that I enjoyed hunting along. The remains of old burnt-down farms dot the area along with forgotten cemeteries, rusty tractors and half-buried Ford Model A trucks, as well as cars dating in to the ’30s and ’40s. Carlisle Brook flows through the forest, and its deep pools hold trout. Along the southeast, at the intersection of Walker and Old North Berwick Roads, you’ll find large active farms with massive green fields boarded by large oaks. This is private lands, so hunters need permission to hunt there. The middle of the forest is swamps and bogs, surrounded by mature hardwoods. Oak trees will be dropping mast along the ridges this fall – this all but guarantees good deer hunting. Brownfield Bog Farther north is also a large tract of public land that offers good hunting opportunities. The Bog, located in Brownfield and Fryeburg (see Map 4) is a 5,624 acre parcel consisting of mature upland forest and wetlands – perfect whitetail environment. Grouse also thrive here, and the property offers some of the best hare hunting in the region. The Bog will generally have snow cover later in the season – perfect

conditions to jump and track deer. The area is mostly flat, with wetlands, swamps and rivers. Once waters freeze over enough, hunters can hunt deep into the wetlands where the big boys hang out. But until the thick ice forms, deer will quickly evade hunters by slipping into wetlands and swamps or across rivers like the Saco. Tracking deer during lightly falling snow as the animal meanders along, and then coming to the spot where it has detected you, then seeing its reaction and escape actions, is thrilling hunting experience. But enter these areas only if you are comfortable and prepared – swamps and lowlands are easy places to become lost, so a well-stocked emergency kit and survival gear is a must. Mount Agamenticus Another good location for a traveling hunter to check is Mount Agamenticus. This WMA is comprised of 1,117 acres located in York and South Berwick (see Map 1). It is also surrounded by heavily-wooded areas ideal habitat for all manner of wildlife, including whitetailed deer. It’s a great outdoor recreation destination that offers multiple activities such as hiking, biking, winter sports, and of course hunting and fishing, as well. Although snow depths are

generally low – if there’s any accumulation at all – during our rifle season, deer will still be active during daylight feeding on the abundant acorns littering the forest floor. Stalking along the many south-facing ridges at midday, especially during cold, windy days, is a good way to see a rutting buck. Does are trying to build up their fat and energy levels and are programmed to feed all day long. Bucks will be nearby, so the colder the weather, the better the hunting can be. What Time of Day to Hunt? When and how to hunt these areas? It has to do with how you prefer to hunt, each hunter evolves differently, I myself, prefer to still-hunt combined with long sets in likely spots when the weather turns cold. I bowhunt during the firearms season and admit it is not the most effective hunting methods available. I’m at the age when hunting shouldn’t hurt. Sitting in a treestand all day is not only boring but totally torturous late in

the season, at least for me. I have seen more deer from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. than at other times – although that could be because I concentrate most of my hunting efforts within that timeframe. Dawns are generally calm and quiet during firearms season; leaves are covered with frost and will telegraph each step taken for a half mile. Once the sun covers the forest floor, around 8 a.m., frost melts and woods become noisy with daily activity from feeding birds and small game. Most days the forest is loud at midday, and this creates an opportunity to slip into the forest undetected. It is all about staying within the natural tempo that particular day – no two days are alike. So both out-of-state deer hunters and natives have large areas of public lands to hunt in southern Maine. The whitetail rut is at its peak during the middle of November, during which bucks are venerable (but not stupid). Deer move during daylight at this time after having been nocturnal up until now. Combine this with a light snow cover, and it can be a perfect time to deer hunt in southern Maine.

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66 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Maine’s Still-Hunters Make Their Own Luck My neighbor, Tink, was a lucky deer hunter. Everyone in town knew that. His small, neatly-kept house was on Main Street in the village proper and sat close to the roadway. Each November he would hang his buck to season near the edge of his paved driveway. It was always a buck, and it was always a bruiser. At the time we were neighbors, I was in grade school. But I remember standing in his driveway and admiring those massive, deep-chested carcasses from below – staring up at the thick antler bases, and touching the dark, scuffed surface of the buck’s hoof. My family soon moved out of the village to an area of fading hillside farms on the edge of town. But keeping track of Tink was easy – we now lived in his hunting area. Beginning in early October he would regularly drive the dirt road past our place in the evenings after work. He carried a shotgun in the rear window rack of his truck and was ostensibly bird hunting. We saw his truck even more frequently in November – until we didn’t see it at all. Then a drive through the village would confirm that he had scored again. A huge buck would be hanging outside of his small, neat house. Solo Hunting Equaled Still-Hunting This pattern went on for years. I never hunted with Tink, and as far as I know, nobody else ever did either. His solo style www.MaineSportsman.com

If sitting on stand is statistically more productive, why do Maine hunters instead choose walk slowly through the woods in pursuit of whitetail deer? The author believes actively pursuing game brings a satisfaction that can’t be experienced by those who sit in a ground blind waiting for a buck to walk by.

Why still-hunt? According to the author, it’s because you can go where you want, with a minimum of equipment, and on your own schedule, doing your best to match wits with a trophy buck. Andrews photo

was a rarity even back in those days. But it spoke volumes about his skill and self-reliance. Tree stands and tent blinds were non-existent in that time period – and the very idea of sitting or standing in one spot until a deer happened by was a foreign concept. This was in part because deer densities in western Maine were low enough to make stand-hunting almost pure folly. Instead, solo hunters moved slowly through deer habitat, using their wits to spot a deer before being detected. Nobody called it “still-hunting” back then – it was just deer hunting alone. And even then, only a very

few hunters, like Tink, mastered the art. A Different Time I learned to hunt deer during this era of one-deer-either-sex regulations. Most of us roamed the woods with open-sighted rifles and relied on small family groups, or the general Saturday herd of hunters, to get deer moving around so that someone eventually got a shot. We meat-hunters had no need to identify a buck by its headgear, and we blasted away freely at any deer that crossed our path. Our main technique was to figure out when and where the deer were moving around. Those deer were usually moving

due to hunting pressure, not as part of their normal activity. With low deer densities and high hunter populations, the most popular tactic was to follow the shooting. I remember, as a young hunter, agonizing over the fact that I had obviously chosen to hunt the wrong side of a woodlot or – for that matter – the wrong side of town. I knew this because I could hear all kinds of Saturday-morning shooting from some distant spot. Meanwhile, Tink’s pickup could reliably be spotted parked miles from the crowds near some mountaintop.

Technique Over Equipment Hunters like Tink were no better equipped than their fellow nimrods. And still-hunting today remains the least gear-intensive method of deer hunting. A rifle, a knife and a piece of rope are often enough. The massive amount of paraphernalia we buy from national retail outfitters can stay home. We live – and hunt – in complicated times. The best proof of this might be to glance at a deer hunting catalogue. The things we purchase may be the best indication of how we hunt. And clearly, what we buy a lot of is tree-stands, ground blinds, trail cameras, scent eliminators, decoys, two-way radios, long-barreled rifles, high-powered scopes, hunting stools, camouflage seats, chairs, shooting sticks and tripods. Simply shouldering an iron-sighted carbine and striking off alone into the deer woods has become a foreign concept for most hunters. We focus on tiny plots of land where we use 21st-century technology to pattern the habits of a specific deer or group of deer. Then we conceal ourselves and wait for that deer to make a mistake. What’s the Appeal? The appeal of still-hunting is sometimes difficult to explain to young hunters or those new to the sport. This is partly because southern Maine enjoys record deer densities these days – along with ever-shrink(Continued on page 68)

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 67

November Buck Hunters Looking for Greener Grass I always have a CB radio tuned into channel 19, the channel used by most loggers and truckers, so I can hear the truckers call out their location on the gravel roads. When they approach, I’m already on high alert and pulled over and out of their way. Don’t you just love it when a plan falls together and the desired outcome takes place successfully? It doesn’t always work out that way for me, but when it does, I really get a thrill watching things fall into place – let me give an example here. I was driving slowly along a real nice ATV trail a few seasons back, and noticed that one side of the trail had a large number of fresh deer tracks in the mud, near the ditch. One set of tracks appeared obviously larger than the rest, and that got my blood churning. Long story short – I came back later that October to bird hunt, and noticed enough sign to indicate that the deer had stayed in that area. I set up a mock scrape with “The Ultimate Scrape Dripper” (wildlife.com) a few hundred yards off the ATV trail and shot a nice eight-point buck later during rifle season that tipped the scales at just a hair over 200 pounds. The moral of the story is to keep your eyes open in the woods at all times. During summer hikes and October bird hunts, I always look for deer sign, locking the information in the back of my head (which is mostly filled with hunting and fly fishing stuff anyway!). I really get passionate about bird hunting, but when I walk through

the autumn leaves in October, I always have an eye opened for deer sign. My equally-intense passion for deer hunting gets so overpowering that I often wonder how I ever hit a grouse or woodcock. Thinking about deer hunting just takes up so much of my thought process throughout the year – it’s just how I’m wired, and I’d have it no other way. Deer Territory Over the years, plenty of big bucks from the Rangeley Region have fallen to lucky (and skilled) hunters. The woods around here get worked by the loggers enough to provide deer with plenty of nutritional, new-growth browse, and I believe each year the top-quality gene pool produces new deer with superb genetic traits. Every year the woods change and the deer move from one location to the next. Sometimes it seems like deer inhabit one location year after year, but if you are around long enough you’ll notice how, over time, their whereabouts constantly change. The topography stays the same – elevation and mountains – but the actual cover changes due to logging, fires, severe weather and insect damage. Logging companies can still cut pretty big chunks of the woods these days, and that

opens up the undercover to light, producing plenty of browse for game animals. The wildlife moves with the changes, following the food where ever it leads them. One place I’ll definitely check out this year is the land that has been cut along the Green Top Road (See DeLorme Atlas, Map 28, D-2), a little north of Cupsuptic Lake. Logging operations have been pulling wood out of that area for a few years, and the timber work should be finished in some spots. Once the cut-over areas of the woods start filling in, the deer will surely follow … and then the hunter (me) will surely follow the deer come November. Bird Cover The cutting helps provide cover for grouse and woodcock, too, so I hunt areas like this in October and check for deer sign at the same time. One area that always seems to hold plenty of new-growth browse for both deer and birds is all along the road leading into the waterway between Mooselookmeguntic Lake and Upper Richardson Lake at Upper Dam (Map 28, A-2). Past logging operations have removed mature trees to open the forest floor to the sun, creating a buffet of vegetation for wild game all along this old logging trail. Always play it safe

The colorful forest throughout the Rangeley Region changes from one season to the next, offering a variety of nutritional browse created when logging operations open up the forest canopy. Clunie photo

when driving on logging trails … no one can ever be sure when they will meet a logging truck or some other kind of vehicle right around the next bend in the road. I always drive slowly and stay to the right whenever possi-

ble – ready to dump the truck in the ditch to avoid a collision with a vehicle on my side of the road. Another handy trick to help avoid an accident on logging trails works great. I always have a CB (Continued on next page)

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68 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Rangeley Region (Continued from page 67)

radio tuned into channel 19, the same channel that most loggers and truckers use. This way, I hear the logging truckers call out to indicate their location on the gravel roads. If I approach them or they approach me, I’m already on high alert and pulled over and out of their way. Those big rigs just can’t stop quickly or maneuver

like a smaller truck or car. Go High Even while does can be seen feeding in low lying areas around the Rangeley Region, the big bucks will be hanging up high. The big guys avoid areas of low elevation around the Rangeley Region where the main body of humans hang out. Ma-

Self-Propelled (Continued from page 66)

ing blocks of habitat. Under those circumstances, a well-placed blind or tree stand will always be the most productive hunting technique. So why spend our precious hunting time using demonstrably less- effective hunting tactic? Shouldn’t we just treat Tink and his kind as historical anomalies? We Hunt in Maine We certainly would be justified in doing just that. But we hunt in Maine – one of the few remaining states where large blocks of

ture bucks prefer to bed down and live out their lives up high and out of the way of human activity. Deer hunters searching for bucks would do well to travel throughout the woods in Davis Township (Map 28, D-4), north of both Rangeley and Oquossoc. The rolling mountains here hold plenty of high-elevation bedding locations for big bucks. Much of this land was

worked by loggers in the past, and it provides sufficient cover and food for hungry deer populations. Each year some lucky or skilled hunter drops a big one in that area – I’d like to be that guy this season. Burnt Mountain (Map 28, C-2) also contains miles and miles of acreage to hunt – over the years, this area also has traditionally brought in plenty of trophy-sized bucks to hang on the

public land and generous private landowners allow us to follow a different path. We can still pull on a wool shirt, grab Granddad’s lever-action and walk off alone into the big woods. Maybe we will do it only out of a sense of duty or nostalgia. Or maybe we’ll get tired of those long days on stand, and strike out in a fit of frustration. No matter the reason, we have some things to look forward to. First, we will be moving over the terrain – often slowly – but we will stalk, seek and pursue … we will be hunting, not lying in ambush. Second, there are no time limits – no meeting places, no property boundaries, no

game pole. Keep at it – persist – and enjoy this season of deer hunting and bird hunting. Remember to keep an eye peeled at all times for new deer-hunting territory. A real hunter never quits, but instead always searches out new, green grass on the other side of the hill – you know it’s always greener there.

expectations that we will be in a particular place at a particular time. We won’t rely on others. We can change direction or tactics at will. Third, we will necessarily pay attention to important things –to the sun, the wind, the food sources, the footing, the topography, the deer sign, the constantly changing view, and to the sounds of the mostly empty woods. Still-hunting makes us into naturalists, meteorologists and woodsmen. And fourth – although our statistical chance of bagging a deer will be lower, we will gain satisfaction that could never come from sitting on a stand – deer or no deer.

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All the Bells and Whistles There’s trolling, and then there’s trolling. While trolling with a plain old streamer fly, lure or baitfish takes fish, some folks opt for more spice in the mix, and that comes in the form of little add-ons. While fishing this past summer with my pal Matt Gillie, manufacturer of DR Brake downrigger brakes, I picked up several useful tips. Some of Matt’s tricks really do seem to improve the score. Note that I write about these tips with Matt’s permission. Matt trolls with both downrigger rods and lead-core line. The leadcore line of preference is the new, super-thin line that I wrote about in a recent column. I wasn’t sure how it would stack up against the old tried-and-true, thicker lead-core stuff. But now there is no question that the new line works as well or better than what we used previously. And besides that, when fighting a fish on this thin line it’s as if you’re not using lead-core

The submersible camera attaches to the downrigger cable just above the cannonball. It allows anglers to watch as fish contemplate whether or not to strike. I watched Matt’s video of a 6-pound salmon as it followed with its nose to the lure. at all. So after a season’s experimenting I can say that I heartily recommend the new, slick, thin, lead-core line. Ding-A-Ling While trolling with Matt, I noticed that he had little bells attached to the end of his downrigger rods. These he made up by attaching a tiny bell to an alligator clip. I’d seen this trick once before being used by a man I met on a local lake. As it turned out, the guy was a friend of Matt’s and he had picked up the practice from Matt. So why put little bells on the tip of a downrigger rod? After all, it almost sounds like that joke about joggers wearing bells to alarm bears. But it’s no joke. The purpose of the bells is to alert the angler when a fish strikes, the line re-

leases from the line clip and the rod springs up. “Unnecessary,” some might say. Well, when trolling, it isn’t always possible to keep an eagle eye on the rod or rods. But at least with these little bells, the angler, even if back-to to the rod, can quickly drop everything, grab the rod and begin fighting the fish. Not having the necessary tools to fashion my own clip-on bells, I might need to impose upon Matt for one or two of his devices. Lake Trolls Lake trolling sets, spinner blades strung out upon a stranded-wire, were once within the exclusive domain of those who trolled with heavy rods and reels and leadcore line. But that has changed. Trolling sets can and do attract fish – of that

Downrigger, double line release and cannonball with lake troll set attached. Seymour photo

there’s no doubt. Sometimes, especially in the hot summer when salmonids are lethargic and not disposed toward exerting themselves much in order to grab a baitfish, lake troll sets take fish when nothing else will. On the other hand, most anglers would rather not use such heavy, water-resistant gear. But weight is no longer a consideration. Matt showed me how to use lake troll sets in conjunction with a downrigger rod. Matt attaches a lake troll set directly to the “cannonball,” the lead weight used on downriggers to take the line down to a desired depth. The drag produced by the troll set is insignificant and barely noticeable. Then, using a two-clip line release situated two feet above the cannonball, Matt attaches his line

and trolls as usual. But the setup, as seen from a trout’s point of view, is virtually the same as when using a lake troll set with lead-core line. That is, the lure or bait rides directly behind the fish-attracting lake troll set. Later, after watching Matt’s setup, I tried it myself. And sure enough it worked, as demonstrated by the 20-inch rainbow trout that nailed my little shiner that being fished behind a lake troll set attached to the downrigger cannonball. Great Flick Matt sent me a link to a “movie” that he made using a submersible camera. The camera, available from major tackle outlets, attaches to the downrigger cable just above the cannonball. This rig produces real-time images of just what’s happening below the surface. I never imagined how many trout and salmon viewed my lure without hitting it. But according to Matt, the percentage (Continued on next page)

This rainbow trout took bait fished behind a lake troll set attached to a downrigger cannonball. Seymour photo www.MaineSportsman.com

70 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Spruce Budworm – a Threat to Maine’s Spruce Trees? The spruce budworm is among the Northeast’s most harmful insects found in the northern spruce and fir forests. The newly-hatched budworm larva is very small and difficult to find because it bores into – and feeds on – needles or the trees buds. The larvae can cause severe damage to the tree’s buds. As the larva grows, the tree’s needles are chewed at the base and left hanging in a thin silken web. Then the needles turn brown, giving the tree a scorched look. This can occur from midJune until late August. Early in an outbreak of spruce worms, the bugs strip the needles off the tree. This is usually most noticeable in the top portions of the crown. After several years of heavy defoliation, the forest turns gray, as dead tops become clearly visible. Individual trees die after one or more years of heavy defoliation and the removal of the tree’s leaves or needles. The adult spruce bud-

After several years of heavy defoliation by spruce budworms, the forest turns gray, as dead tree tops become clearly visible. Individual trees die after one or more years when all their leaves or needles are removed.

Spruce budworm.

worm moth has a wingspan of 2 centimeters. It is usually grayish, with dark-brown markings, although some moths are brown or reddish with gray markings. Males and females appear in about equal numbers. The light green eggs are about 1 millimeter long by 2 millimeters wide, laid in long masses of 2 to 60 averaging about

Trout Fishing (Continued from page 69)

is quite sobering. During the course of any fishing trip, countless trout and salmon give the lure or bait a look-see without hitting it. But once in a while a fish does hit. If it weren’t that way we wouldn’t bother fishing. And on a previous fishing trip, Matt’s underwater camera recorded one fish, a 6-pound salmon, as it contemplated the lure. Watching the movie, we saw the salmon suddenly come into view from behind. It was easy for me to imagine myself in the angler’s place at this point. My muscles tensed and I gripped my chair with a grim determination. www.MaineSportsman.com

20, with the eggs overlapping one another. The larvae go through six “instars” – which is a phase between 2 periods molting while the insect larvae is developing. The first larval instar, about 2 millimeters long, is yellowish green with a lightto medium-brown head. The second instar is yellow with a dark brown or black head.

During the next four instars, the body of the larva changes from a pale yellow to a dark brown with light colored spots along its back. By the sixth instar, the larva is about 2.5 centimeters long, and the head is dark brown or shiny black. The pupa is pale green at first, later changing to reddish brown. It is marked with

The fish, keeping pace with the moving lure, drew closer and closer. “He’s going to hit it,” I hollered to no one in particular. Then, with its nose almost touching the lure, the salmon dropped back and sunk out of view. I released my grip on the chair. Then, after a short interval, the salmon reappeared. Again, it came close to the fleeting lure. This was a real nail-biter. And finally, without warning, the fish hit the lure. After that, the flick was all bubbles and thrashing salmon. Whew. Time for popcorn. To view Matt’s video, visit DRbrake.net and click on the photos/videos page. Fish Attractant We’ve all heard about rub-on fish attractants. I was always skeptical regarding the use of the stuff for trout.

darkened bands and spots. The spruce budworm has a high reproductive capacity, but natural factors such as adverse weather, diseases, predators and parasites play an important part in holding budworm populations in check. For example, high rates of parasitism of mature larvae by tiny parasitic wasps caused the decline of the budworm population in Maine and New York. But successive years of favorable weather (warm, dry springs), plenty of food and suitable hibernation sites can lead to an outbreak beyond the control of these and other natural agents. Once a spruce budworm outbreak begins, it usually continues until the larvae eat much of the available foliage. Time will tell whether the spruce budworm population in Maine increases to a level that causes harm to our spruce and fir.

However, some years back, someone gave me some crappie attractant, and I used it by stuffing it into the hollow body of a Squirmin’ Squirt crappie jig. The number of cooperative crappies convinced me that it worked. But for salmonids? Well, Matt disabused me of my skepticism. Matt uses artificial lures rather than bait, and every time he sets out his line he rubs some smelt-flavored fish attractant on the lure. The stuff is called Smelt Wand, and it’s offered by BIOEDGE Fishing Products, Hampden, Maine. I saw this product in action, and am convinced that it absolutely elicits more strikes.

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 71

Alyssa, Age 15, Loves the Deer Hunt I have been deer hunting with my dad ever since I was 7 years old (but couldn’t shoot until I was 10). I have always had a love and interest in the outdoors since I was very young, and we have old pictures of me posed with my dad’s deer. All kinds of hunting are fun, but for me, deer hunting is among my favorites. Some of the reasons are 1) it is such a long season; 2) you can use different calibers of guns; 3) deer are easier than some other animals to come across in the woods; and 4) they can be called in. It is a very fun sport for anyone to learn and participate in. You need to be sure you are properly equipped and have the sufficient experience and knowledge before heading out into the woods alone. Pre-season Preparation Prior to the season – at least a month or so ahead – you should start looking for a spot to hunt

and make to hopesure you get fully draw permission to in a buck. hunt there. It worked, Once you because a do get per9-pointer mission (if came in from needed), you my left. should scout My dad out the area saw it first, and make and he got sure you my attention. know it well I quickly before the but carefully hunting sea- Alyssa transformed her early-season 2016 9-point buck turned and son begins so into a beautiful, award-winning work of taxidermy art. aimed at the you don’t get deer. they are always moving lost. If it’s too big of an As it stepped out in around. area or difficult to find front of a stump, I took This year will be my your way around, it is ima shot. It dropped in its last junior day because I portant to have a GPS or tracks and didn’t go anywill be turning 16 during map with you. where. I moved in on it November. I haven’t de Once you have your because it needed a fincided for sure yet but I spot picked out and know ishing shot – my first shot might use my muzzle the area, it can benefit hit the spine. loader instead of my .308 you to put trail cameras I couldn’t believe I to start off the season. out so you can see if there got such a nice buck only Last Year’s Success are deer in the area. I 20 minutes into the first Last year on junior usually put trail cameras day of deer season. I still day I set up in a clear out a month or two in adgot to hunt the rest of the cut. I knew there were a vance. season for a doe because few good bucks that were I have been hunting I had a bonus permit, but hanging in that area each a particular piece of land didn’t end up getting one. morning because of the for many years now, so I was fine with this betrail cameras. I already know the area cause I was lucky enough I was set up for about quite well. Every year is to have the opportunity 15 minutes rattling antdifferent for the number at the 9-pointer. When it lers and using a doe call of deer there, because was tagged, it weighed in

at 138 pounds. Making Trophies into Art I ended up mounting my 9 pointer myself for the Northern New England Taxidermists competition that was in August. I took first place with it in the novice division, and that isn’t the only thing I’ve mounted. I have done fish, mammals, and a few reproductions. I enjoy mounting my own pieces because not only did I shoot or catch it, but I also was the one that made it a piece of artwork. Deer hunting is also something that you can teach and show kids how to do. Now you can let kids shoot when they are younger because there is no longer a law that states that they have to be 10. Kids can easily learn the safety factors of using a gun, as well as how to use a map and GPS to learn to navigate through the woods.

The Smilin' Sportsman Youth Edition Kids! Send your best hunting & fishing stories, and your favorite jokes, to the editor at will@mainesportsman.com

First magician: “Who was that lady I sawed with you?” Second magician: “That was no lady – that was my half-sister!” •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The doctor said to his patient, “I have some bad news and some worse news. First the bad news, your test results said you need emergency treatment within 24 hours.” “What’s the worse news?” asked the patient. The doctor replied, “I’ve been trying to reach you since yesterday.” •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Did you hear the Invisible Man married the Invisible Woman and they had a family? Their kids aren’t much to look at! •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The big rat in our barn died after drinking a gallon of varnish. I’m sure it was an unpleasant way to go, but what a lovely finish!

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72 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

November in the Western Mountains Means Deer Hunting As I sat in the cold November woods, I watched the early-morning sun begin to light up the silent and dark forest. As soon as I heard a crunching sound coming from the field to my right, I gripped my shotgun tightly and checked my safety. I stood, quietly walked to the edge of the field and peered above the tall weeds. Several does stared directly at me from only 20 yards away, and a huge buck stood broadside at 50 yards. I didn’t have time to get buck fever – I immediately raised the Remington 870, 20-gauge shotgun and started firing.

After the experience with the buck – the biggest one I’ve ever seen in my life – I vowed never again to go hunting with a weapon without first taking the time to do plenty of target practicing. I emptied the shotgun, completely missing the big buck with all five slugs! As a new hunter, I never thought to do a little target practicing with my new shotgun before the season opened. I could hit all sorts of game with bird shot, but the brass bead on the front of the barrel didn’t work well enough to hit anything with a slug from the new pump shotgun – and I never did any tar-

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get practicing with the expensive shotgun slugs. Missing the huge buck, probably one of the biggest deer I’ve ever seen in my life, ingrained a simple training skill in my mind that still sticks with me today … never go hunting with a weapon without first taking the time to do plenty of target practicing. Spending time at the range familiarizes a hunter with the basics of safely handling the weap-

Dearest Deer For most sportsmen and women in this part of Maine, November means deer hunting. I’m not sure which I like the most – fly fishing, upland bird hunting, or deer hunting; each of them stand as tops in my book.

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on, and also tunes in the hunter’s eyes and muscles to lock in a subtle memory of aiming that is so necessary to accurate shooting – especially under stressful conditions.

All I know is that when the leaves start changing colors and covering the ground in the fall, I want to be hunting in the woods with my rifle. This year will probably be the same as any other – I usually scout out a few prime locations in the Western Maine Mountains (WMM) while bird hunting in October, then set up a scent dripper over a scrape and post-up 50 or more yards to the downwind side. I can’t walk very far through the woods like I used to, so I’m relegated to sitting and watching a scrape site. I do occasionally en-

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74 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Writer Views Umbagog Refuge as a Symbol of Unconsitutional Federal Government Overreach In my view, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) are operating contrary to the fundamental ideas of limited republican government and a free society. I feel they are also counterproductive to the goals and values of tax-paying citizens, nature recreationists, and sportsmen alike. It is time to shine the light on the land acquisition and operational practices of these federal operations. Land Grab The Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge has been acquiring land at

In a wide-ranging opinion piece, our New Hampshire columnist questions the expansion and operations of the Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge, challenging the constitutionally of its growth, the efficiency of its spending and the appropriateness of its rules governing trapping, ATV use and hunting. an unprecedented rate in Errol, NH over the past few years. Two recent acquisitions have added 7,500 acres to their ownership, which brings the full size of Refuge-owned lands to approximately 25,000 acres—40 square miles. And this figure does not include the privately-owned lands on which they’ve obtained conservation easements – an additional 23,000 acres.

Constitutionality The United States Constitution is the governing document of the land. It enumerates powers that the federal government has: what the government can do. The Bill of Rights, on the other hand, enumerates certain things that the government absolutely cannot do. The 10th (and last) Amendment in the Bill of Rights reads, “The

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powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Simply put, if the Constitution didn’t mention it, the Feds can’t do it; that authority is retained by the state and its citizens. So where in the governing document of the land does it say that the Federal government has

Northern New Hampshire!

the authority to buy or acquire land that belongs to private citizens and private companies? It doesn’t. The constitutionality of these agencies’ actions supposedly rests upon what is called the Property Clause, which reads, “The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States.” It’s likely this language was originally intended to encompass only that property already owned by the US government in 1787 (the newly-ceded western Ap(Continued on next page)

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��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 75 (Continued from page 74)

palachian lands). Taxes The Umbagog Refuge now occupies over 25,000 acres, but still pays no local property taxes. They have acquired land from private citizens and private company owners who previously paid those local taxes. The result? Everyone else has to make up the difference in lost tax revenue. The Refuge argues that their participation in revenue sharing payments from timber harvest will outweigh the potential tax loss. In actuality, however, it hasn’t. When Coos County did an economic impact study of the Wildlife Refuge’s current and proposed lands in 2014, it found that from 2006 to 2012, the revenue-sharing pay-

ments dropped from over $3.06 per acre to $0.98 per acre. Essentially, the refuge managers weren’t cutting enough timber to pay what they said they would. The county study also estimated that refuge harvesting will generate between $5,203 and $22,854 in timber taxes annually. If the refuge lands were in private hands, the timber taxes are estimated to be $8,366 to $36,747 annually. “On the low end,” stated the report, “this represents a loss in timber tax revenue of roughly $3,000 annually; on the high end (assuming more valuable sawlogs are harvested), $13,893 in lost revenue annually.” This may not seem like much, but in a town of only 300 people, this

Western Maine (Continued from page 72)

joy slowly still-hunting areas where I see a lot of deer sign, but can’t put the miles on that are necessary for successfully tracking down a big buck. That said, I do sometimes find a great buck track and spend a day following it around. Even though I may never finish the hunt successfully, I still go as far as I can before my body gives out – I can’t help myself, I just love it. I wish I would have learned how to track deer when I was younger. I met and hunted with Hal Blood several years ago and learned what it takes to successfully track deer, but at the time my body had already started to fail me. Without going into details and whining about my medical issues, let’s just say that by the time I really caught on to his system of hunting, I couldn’t physically do what it takes to be successful. Hal Blood, a living legend to all deer hunters in this region, stresses patience and persistence – and also highly recommends plenty of preparation and practice – something I really needed as a young deer hunter. Hal’s New Book Hal Blood, and his friend Chris Dalti, have formed a business called “Big Woods Bucks” (BWB), a company aimed at helping deer hunters become successful by applying traditional woodsmanship skills that have almost become lost to our modern society. To check out Hal’s system of deer hunting and deer hunting products, books, and vid-

could mean the difference in funding or not funding a handful of valuable school programs. The above should be enough for any economic conservative to oppose the expansions of the refuge, but this is all not to mention what I view as wasteful day-to-day spending of federal (our) dollars. The Umbagog Refuge hosts a fleet of new vehicles, a pontoon boat, and a visitor center. They use only the most expensive products and tools for all their management and maintenance in order to comply with a host of complex environmental regulations. And they do most all woods-work with hand tools that require ten times the energy and time exerted and thus more money to pay the laborer, apparently

to avoid spilling a drop of gas from a weed-whacker or leaving a four-wheeler track in the mud. Regulation Regulation is the straw that breaks the camel’s back for me. While I am a strong believer in reasonable regulation, I feel that activities that do not harm the property or other users should not be regulated—especially if they are permitted by state or local law. When given the choice between more freedom and more restriction, Americans like myself should naturally choose more freedom, right? The NWRS disagrees. Let’s take a look at some of the rules and regulations of the Umbagog Refuge. • Hunting over bait, including lures

eos, go to their website at: www.bigwoodsbucks.com. I’ve read all of Hal’s books and seen just about every video they’ve put out, and now Hal’s got a new book coming out that looks like another winner. I’ll read it and review it in a future issue. BWB has also taken some time to carefully work with an outdoor clothing manufacturer to create their own line of clothing, made specifically for tracking deer. Using virgin wool and superb craftsmanship, they’ve produced clothing that will comfortably take a deer hunter through the woods at temperatures ranging from below zero to above 40 degrees. Most any hunter has heard or experienced the tremendous value of wool clothing, but the “devil lies in the details.” Certain wool is better than others, and BWB’s wool line uses the best available – I can’t express how much of a difference it makes when it comes to comfort in fit, how long the material lasts, and especially in its insulating capability. This Season I don’t know if I’ll get a chance to hunt with Hal again this year, but I sure will be using the information he has provided me over the years. I can’t thank him enough for his tremendous ability to pass the information along to me and others in an understandable way – he’s such an easy-going guy, down to earth and in-tune with the woods and the animals around him. I know that most of the BWB deer hunters always use Remington pumps for all of their deer hunting, but I’ve never used

and salt licks, is prohibited. So even though NH has several different legal baiting seasons on several species, you can’t do it here, on publicly-owned land. Categorizing scents as baits could be a trap for the unwary. If I spray doe scent on my boot today while hunting paper-company land, and tomorrow find myself in the refuge with scent still lingering to some degree, am I a criminal? • The use of ATVs is prohibited. This is fine, but no exceptions? Paper-company lands, even if they don’t allow ATVs for recreation, generally allow their use to retrieve a harvested animal, especially moose. There is, though, another option for moose retrieval; you can hire a draft horse, right? No. (See (Continued on next page)

one. I’ve mostly deer hunted with a Remington 700 in .308 Winchester, but this year I might try something different. I used to deer hunt with Marlin lever actions; over the years I’ve owned several Hal Blood’s new book – their model should be another winner 336 in .30-30 for deer hunters. Credit: BigW i n c h e s t e r , WoodsBucks.com one in .308 Marlin, one in .444 Marlin, and an 1895 CB model in 45/70 Government. I really enjoyed hunting with the Marlin CB, but it weighs over seven pounds and had a long 26-inch, barrel. This year I might try hunting with their latest lever-action, the Marlin 1895 CBA. This 45/70 lever-action has a much shorter barrel (18 1/2 inches, but still octagonal) and only weighs around six pounds – much handier for moving through the brush. I’ll report back here on the results of this year’s deer hunting, and I look forward to hearing from others about their season, also. One thing for sure – I’ll be hitting the range and doing a lot of shooting before the opening of deer season rolls around.

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76 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Welcome to The Maine Sportsman

TRADING POST Subscribers may place one free 20-word classified ad per month, limited to two months. Items for sale must include a price. Real estate ads must include an address or location. The regular rates are $15 for up to 20 words and 50¢ for each additional word. Include a black and white photo for an additional $10. Check, money order, MasterCard or VISA (Credit or Debit) are accepted. You may submit your ads by: Phone: 207-357-2702 • E-mail: classifieds@mainesportsman.com • Mail: 183 State Street, Suite 101, Augusta ME 04330

SUBMIT AD AND PAYMENT BY THE 30TH OF EACH MONTH AND YOUR AD WILL APPEAR IN THE NEXT ISSUE. BOATS FOR SALE 14’ FIBERGLASS TDBDUCK BOAT Excellent shape with pop-up camouflage blind & 15 hp Yamaha motor. $6,000. Call: 207-6885022 19’ LUND ALASKAN Open deck with 50HP Mercury & 6 HP Johnson and Load-Rite trailer. Good, stable boat for fly-fishing and duck hunting. $5,000 Call 778-4374 ––––––––––––––––– DECOYS FOR SALE COASTAL COCK DECOYS 12 Black & Mallards & 6 Goose. Exc. cond. Will sell as set. Or separately: Duck $75/ea, Goose $100/ ea. call: 207-782-8615 ––––––––––––––––– DOGS ENGLISH COCKER SPANIELS Field Bred. Best for Upland, Home and Plantation. Fall 2017. $1,000

856-305-5179 or 609-8057993 ––––––––––––––––– FOR RENT IN WMD 17 Comfortable, clean, secluded CABIN for rent, with all amenities. Sleeps 4-5. Available May-Dec $450/wk. Call:207-2774565 BENEDICT WATERFRONT COTTAGE Full kitchen & bath, 2 Queen beds. Dish TV. Excellent bass fishing, moose, partridge, deer hunting. $650/week. Recently remodeled. CALL: 207-951-6648 LAKEFRONT CABIN FOR RENT On the Little Narrows Basin of Upper Cold Stream Ponds in Lincoln, 4-season cabin w/cable, internet, kayaks, canoe, access to ATV & snowmobile trails. Depending on season, can be rented nightly, weekly or month-

New Hampshire (Continued from page 75)

next paragraph.) • The use of horses is prohibited except on designed trails. Umbagog doesn’t have any “designated trails.” • Discharging of firearms is only allowed for hunting purposes. Target practice is prohibited. Doesn’t practicing to hit your target constitute a hunting purpose? • Possession of firearms is prohibited in all refuge buildings. So the Second Amendment, which was confirmed to be an individual right in Heller v. DC, doesn’t apply here? And NH’s constitutional carry laws that we fought so hard to pass just months ago don’t apply here either? • Hunters must wear hunter-orange clothing in compliance with State of Maine regulations. Sure, the one time www.MaineSportsman.com

ly. More info & pictures on Craigslist under Vacation Rentals/Lincoln. Call Tate 207-794-4208 PARKMAN, ME BUCKS CROSSING WMD 17 Rental Cabins Turkey, deer, moose, upland game. All amenities included. Great ratesnightly, weekly, monthly. $75/night for two people. 207-277-3183 ––––––––––––––––– COMMERCIAL PROPERTY FOR SALE CENTRAL MAINE FRANCHISE SNOWMOBILE & ATV BUSINESS 33 years as Dealer. Building & Contents with years of inventory-New and Used. Retiring. Call FMI: 207-782-4917 LIVE IN NORTHERN MAINE AND MAKE MONEY Grammys Restaurant Linneus. $1.2 million

average food-only gross sales last 6 years. Opportunity for sales gross with addition of alcohol. Featured in Down East, Bangor Metro, Yankee Magazines. Named Top 10 Restaurants in Maine. Over 35 awards. 65+ year restaurant tradition, 28 years under same ownership. This is a step-in opportunity! Price reduced $999,000. 207-532-4500 www.firstchoicerealestate.com ––––––––––––––––– REAL ESTATE HUNTING/FISHING CAMP FOR SALE 15’x15’ camp on 10 acre wooded land. Electricity. Well. LaGrange, ME. DelMap 33. $29,500. wdhalverson@aol.com FLAGSTAFF LAKE AREA in WMD 7 & 8, Cabin on a .92 acre with deeded access to Flagstaff Lake. Nancy 207-491-3089

they defer to the state, it’s the wrong one! NH doesn’t require hunter orange ever, but now hunters have to wear two articles of fluorescent orange during deer season—even if hunting in remote northern NH. • Hunters may only possess non-toxic shot when hunting waterfowl, migratory birds, or upland game (using a shotgun) on refuge lands. Despite the fact that hunting grouse with non-lead shot not even remotely required or suggested by NH law, you must either foot the bill for tungsten, or risk missing with steel. And what’s the definition of possession? I always have shotgun shells, loose or otherwise, somewhere in my truck. Does this count as possession? If they were drugs, it’d be possession. • The refuge is not open to trapping. Just like that; an entire population, culture, and heritage is disallowed. Beaver dams cause expensive road wash-outs, but

HUNTING/FISHING LODGE FOR SALE Active commercial hunting and fishing lodge with 7 cabins, 10 acres, 50 leased bait sites. $250,000. 802-738-3877 WATERFRONT PROPERTY- 6.1 ACRES IN OLD TOWN, ME. 300ft. deep water frontage on Pushaw Lake, 250ft. on Rd, Power, 3-4 house lots. $250,000. Call FMI: 207-745-4518 LOG CABIN CAMPS FOR SALE T 14 R8, Fish River Lake. 2 log cabins, bunk house, boat house, miles of shorefront with no neighbors, generator, great fishing, hunting, snowmobile and fully furnished. Bring your tooth brush and move in. Pictures available. $159,000 OBRO. 207-745-0191 ––––––––––––––––– (Continued on next page)

licensed trappers can’t remove the beavers. The list goes on and on. I recommend readers research their local federal refuges and learn the risks posed to their freedoms to practice their outdoor passions. Research this nation’s history, and our founders’ ideals for a small, limited federal government. And review Refuge budgets to determine whether tax funds are being spent as efficiently as possible. Below are a couple of links to get you started: Economic impact study: www.cooscountynh.us/sites/coosconh/files/file/file/coos_ county_report_final_4-18-2014.pdf Hunting regulations: www.fws.gov/ northeast/lakeumbagog/hunting.html Property acquisition manual: www.fws. gov/refuges/realty/laws.html Congressional research study: fas.org/ sgp/crs/misc/RL34267.pdf

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 77 (Continued from page 76)

WANTED WANTED DEER/ MOOSE ANTLERS BUYING any size deer & moose shed antlers/ racks or antlered skulls. All grades bought by the

pound. 802-875-3206 ––––––––––––––––– ❤ SINGLES ❤ SEEKING SINGLES

For friendship and/or long-term relationship. Since you are reading this magazine, I know you love the outdoors, just like I do! I live in Cumberland County and am a registered Maine Guide with a sporting camp up

SINGLE, WHITE FEMALE, AGE 57 SEEKING SINGLE MALE, AGE 47-67

Noyes Real Estate Agency 2388 Main Street • Rangeley, ME 207-864-9000 • info@noyesrealty.com www.noyesrealty.com

398 Main Street • Presque Isle, ME Chuck Johnston • 207-764-4600 cbjohnston72@hotmail.com

— GREAT HUNTING LOCATIONS! —

bigbearrealestatecompany.com

You won’t find this much camp for under $50,000 in the North Maine Woods. 3+ bedrooms, full bath with engineered leach field, garage, wired with generator, insulated, partially furnished and rock solid. Call Chuck at 207-227-2305.

SANDY RIVER PLANTATION #303 – Cabin and 41 acres in Sandy River Plantation. Off-grid with all amenities. Quad, sled and water access. Drilled well. $122,500 #590 – Great camp with easy access to hunting, sled and 4- wheeler trails. Near Rangeley Village. $87,000 #427 – Private lot, with a camp in Avon. Over 255’ of water front on Mt. Blue Stream. Level lot, wooded, and more! NEW PRICE $55,000 #423 – Charming, vintage, 3 season camp with renovations, on Haley Brook. $99,000

visit www.kerseyre.com to view our complete listing

RIV

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

WIL

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

NEW 12’X32’ CAMP with 8’ ceiling. Located on 1.62 surveyed acres with direct access to ATV and snowmobile trails from your property. You might want to hurry if want to catch a peek at this one! Listed at $29,900

NEW 14’ X 36’ CAMP with 6’ screened porch. Located on 4.18 acres with direct access to ATV and snowmobile trails from your property, plus you’re in the heart of Maine’s recreational area! $34,900

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

I ELL

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

— HARMONY — 1304664 – Custom built home on 5.9+/acres. Open concept with sunken living room, cathedral ceiling, deck overlooking inground pool 1273789 – BROWNVILLE: 123+/- acres lo- and attached 2 car garage. $219,900 cated on seasonal road. Schoodic Lake — ATKINSON — and recreational trails nearby. Possible 1160692 – Cozy owner financing. $125,900 cabin on 11.87+/1286545 – LAGRANGE: 3+/- acres with acres. Power at concrete mobile home pad, 2 car ga- road side. Great locarage, drilled well and septic system. getaway Nice country location. Short drive to I-95. tion. Located in 4 seasons recreation. $65,000 $38,000 — MEDFORD — 113848 – SEBEC: 40+/- acres with frontage on 2 roads. Power at roadside. Just a short 1153436 – 10.60+/acres with 560’+/drive to Sebec Lake and Dover-Foxcroft. of frontage on $49,900 the Pleasant River. 1018525 – BROWNVILLE: 124+/- acres. Newer cabin on Build your own hunting retreat. Great rec- seasonal road. Lots of privacy. Perfect reation location. Short drive to Schoodic location for that outdoor enthusiast. Lake. Possible owner financing. $125,900 $52,995

CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE FOR OVER 100 LAND LISTINGS!

— Luxury Mountaintop Retreat —

207-585-2411 207-585-2412

NEW CAMPS!

TON

“No Blarney Spoken Here”

506 West Side Road • Weld, ME 04285 •Mike Kersey, Broker BB

and education. A sense of humor is critical! If interested, please email me at MaineGuide207@gmail. com.

Looking for acreage? Call us or check out our website. Lots sizes from 10 to 500 acres available!

Kersey Real Estate WE

north. I like to hunt, fish, hike, canoe, camp, snowmobile and ATV. I work full-time in the healthcare industry field and am a registered Democrat who supports gun rights. I value faith, honesty, a strong work ethic

Caryn Dreyfuss, Broker • (207) 233-8275 Beautiful place to spend all the seasons Maine has to offer this home is currently being used for three seasons but could be converted to year round living. Come see whats in store for you at the waters edge with dock, great swimming and magnificent sunset views.This property has wonderful inclosed porches that offer easy access to the front yard,dock and lake... Don’t miss the boat! $249,000. MLS #1293994

— BUILDING LOTS WITH ATV & SNOWMOBILE ACCESS — 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

Weld - Looking for a remote spot for your cabin or camper? Here it is! 8 acres w/ easy access, nice view right in the heart of the Western Mnts, a few miles to Mt Blue State Park & Webb Lk. $18,500. MLS #1282348

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

Carthage - Excellent building lots w/ easy access to ATV & 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 Phillips 40 acre lot with over 1900 feet of paved road frontage in the Western Mountains near Rangeley Lakes, Webb Lake and State Parks. Located on Rt 142 only 7 miles to Webb Lake. Listed at....$49,900. MLS #1204173 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. $95,500 MLS #1244326.....$95,500 26.2 Acres, Roxbury Pond, paved and private access .............................................$69,500

Paul Howe 207.625.3222 • 207.929.9358 81 Maple Street • Cornish, ME www.cotehowe.com Serving Western & Southern Maine

Weld - Large 13 acre camp lot with trail accessible from the property, gravel road frontage in great recreation area for snowmobiling, ATVing, hiking and hunting. $24,500. MLS #1244750. PENDING

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

Baldwin, ME — This luxury mountaintop retreat offers outstanding craftsmanship and extreme attention to detail. Designed as a true rustic getaway home with ample room to entertain guests. Bar/Billiards room plus huge fireplace and beamed ceilings in great room.Enjoy the new heated inground pool and fire pit just steps from the farmer’s porch.Easy access to Portland (45 minutes), Boston (2 hours), North Conway NH (30 minutes). Cornish village only 8 miles and Sebago Lake just 5 miles. Retreat to the Saddleback Hills of SW Maine! $575,000. MLS #1285344.

1,356 ACRES

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

WOOD LOTS & RECREATION LOTS #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

www.MaineSportsman.com

78 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

Thank you to all of our Veterans for their service to our country! Jackson, Maine

Classic hunter’s camp on 6+ wooded acres. Access to trails. Solar panel and generator. Gas lights, wood stove, shower stall with gas hot water heater. Also includes: chemical toilet and outhouse, attached storage shed and porch overlooking your domain. A first floor bedroom, bunk bed and loft – sleeps five. Not far to Belfast, Bangor and Waterville. Hunt, fish, ski, ATV. MLS#1321478. $29,900

Want to See Your TROPHY PHOTO or OUTDOOR TALE Published in The Maine Sportsman? Send your photo with details or your story to us and you might see it in an upcoming issue! Email: will@mainesportsman.com Photos to be published at Editor’s discretion. Not all photos may be published.

Call Direct: George Faulkner at 207-930-0287 Email Direct: gfaulkner@jaretcohn.com

RARE FIND! 105+/- ACRES IN MOSCOW, ME Great location loaded with springs and wildlife.1/4 mile frontage on town-maintained road with utilities, also 1/4 mile frontage on a gravel road. Quiet, peaceful area two miles from town. Great place for someone who wants to hunt on their own property, and fishing is available in any direction from the property. ATVing and snowmobiling right from your front door. Whitewater rafting very close by, or just simply relaxing. This old farmland would make great house or camp lots, and with 2 roads for access it could easily be converted into 3 lots, or more. Low taxes. $95,000 ________________________________________ Frank Nichols Real Estate 207-672-4821 or 207-717-3959 • Bingham, Maine

SEBEC - Enjoy year-round living with quality constructed Ameri Link log home. Kitchen with corian counters, appliances, and 1st floor laundry. Breakfast nook, dining area and living room with stone chimney, hearth/wood stove hookup. Master bedroom with bath. Open staircase to loft and bedrooms area with bath. Partially finished basement for added living area. Standing seam metal roof, wrap-around porch with beautiful view of the 200’+ frontage. 3 car detached garage. Also included are 2 back lots. Generator and dock included. MLS# 1328196 - $399,900

SANGERVILLE - Private, 3 bedroom cape located in the country with 40 acres. Kitchen with breakfast nook, formal dining room with door to back deck overlooking back yard and small pond, den, formal living room, mud room with closets, bath and office area. Master bedroom with full bath and closets. 2 additional bedrooms and bath. Full walk-out basement with room for expansion and door to back yard and pool area. Attached 2 car garage with entrance to mud room. New laminate floors and close to ATV trails. MSL#1306787 - $194,900

Lakeville - Seasonal camp on 16.6+/acres. Drilled well and septic. Wooded except a lawn by the camp. Near ATV and snowsled trails, as well as the boat landing on Lower Sysladobsis. Priced to sell on Hilltop Road. $39,900

Lakeville - Cute 2 bedroom camp with windows across the front providing natural light, electric and phone, sheds, low taxes, recreation at the doorstep, wooded lot sited on Bearce Road. Reduced to $19,900

Macwahoc - Open floor plan camp, loft, generator included, ready to use, sited next to little pond, fish or hunt Molunkus Stream, easily accessible, low taxes, 4.2+/- acres on Smith Road. Reduced to $32,500

Sakom Twp. - 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom log cabin on 0.79 acres. Modern septic system and dug well. Great frontage, 195’ on a beach on Sysladobsis Lake. $129,900

Mattawamkeag - Newly built small camp, covered porch, heats and cools easily, generated power (electricity is close by), situated across the Mattawamkeag River on a 1.35+/- acre lot on River Road. $29,900

Lincoln - 3 bedrooms with 1 full bath downstairs, ¾ master bath and ½ bath upstairs. Paved drive, attached 2 car garage, enclosed porch, covered porch, and patio all overlooking 191’ frontage on Cold Stream Pond. $310,000

Betty Richardson 207-717-8296 bettyr@midmaine.com

BINGHAM. Well-maintained 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home. New 2017 propane forced hot air heating system and 2 propane heaters. Many very recent updates throughout. Ramped entrance to front door, nice sized deck area on side. 1-car attached, over-sized garage for your vehicle and your toys. Attic space could be finished to add living space. Make this your next home or your easy access vacation property with trails nearby. $59,900 MOSCOW. Snowmobile and ATV from your front door! Nestled in the woods - perfect place to enjoy Maine. Main road is ATV access road where you can jump onto the rail trail system in Bingham and snowmobile trail runs right off the front deck. Enjoy the privacy here – only two camps on the road and your own frontage on Austin Stream.There is a finished bedroom and space for a loft upstairs with your finishing touches, round beams and pine interior. Incinerator toilet, propane heat, stove and lights and wired for generator. $49,000 WELLINGTON. Wanna go upta camp?? This property is for you! 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 four-wheel-drive will get you in. Come hunt, hike, four-wheel, snowmobile, or whatever outdoor activity suits you! Call for more info. $55,900 BINGHAM. Once a one-room school house. The building is basically a shell. Metal roof and 0.62 acres of land. Great spot for hunting, snowmobiling and ATV trails. Water is from a spring but not currently hooked up to building. There is a septic system. $40,000 EMBDEN. Privacy and waterfront don’t always go together, but this lot has it all. There are 9 acres of land with 224’ of water front on Sandy Pond waiting for you. Deeded restrictions protect your investment but do allow you to have campers and RVs seasonally. Rather you want a summer get a way or a place to build your home this lot is worth checking out. $67,500 ATHENS. Surveyed 26.68 acres of land, soil tested, open and wooded land with about 860 feet of frontage on a country road. Electricity is available at the road. Good hunting in this area. Close to ATV trails. $36,900 LEXINGTON TWP. Approximately 106 acres of land with about 3,000 feet frontage on Route 16. Nice mountain views! Property is in tree growth for tax purposes. (Hb336) $109,900 SOLON. Approximately 54.91 acres of land on town maintained gravel road. Flat and level land, great for home or camp. Currently in tree growth for tax purposes. (Hb 357) $69,500 CARRYING PLACE. Approximately 108 acres of land with about 250 feet of frontage on Middle Carry Pond and Sandy Stream. Loads of room to hunt or build a camp and retreat for a few days. Fishing is always an option here. Currently in “Tree Growth” for tax purposes. (Hb165) $159,900

www.MaineSportsman.com

Burlington - Driveways, gravel pads and some clearing complete on these inexpensive 1.5 to 2.7 acre lots, owner financing, long frontage along Eskutassis Pond. $42,500 each Lakeville - Great 4-season 18.2+/- acre parcel for recreation, close to public access to lakes, ATV trails, electricity close by, year round road, low taxes, 700’ on Dill Brook. $16,900 Medford - 52+/- acres, driveway, gravel pad, large cleared area, nice brook as boundary, bordered by paper company land, on ATV/snowmobile trail, long frontage on Railroad Bed Road. $29,900 Winn - 2.1 acres on a pretty stretch of the Penobscot River. Only ten minutes from Lincoln. Wonderful spot for a home or cabin with electricity available at the road. Route 2. $29,000

R E A L

E S T A T E

5 LAKE STREET, P.O. BOX 66, LINCOLN 207-794-2460 www.cwalakestreet.com E-mail: cwa@cwalakestreet.com

1-800-675-2460 Call any of our brokers to work for you!

“Tate” Aylward ................ 794-2460 Peter Phinney.................. 794-5466 Kirk Ritchie...................... 290-1554

FOR COMPLETE INFORMATION ON OUR PROPERTIES VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT CWALAKESTREET.COM

��The Maine Sportsman • November 2017 • 79

From our family to yours, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! Be Sure to LIKE The Maine Sportsman on Facebook!

MONSON: Abutting Appalachian Trail 15 miles south of Moosehead Lake, start of 100 Mile Wilderness. 40 acre lots, 35 mile panoramic views of lakes and mountains. Rolling terrain with southern exposure. Gated gravel road 5 miles to village. Close to local snowmobile trail and ITS 85. Starting at $1250 per acre with owner financing 20% down.

FMI Call 207-343-2797 or Visit Greyledgelodge.com

www.MaineSportsman.com

80 • November 2017 • The Maine Sportsman ��

IT’S TIME TO GET OUT THERE Pick up the gear you need at our Hunting & Fishing Store, open 24/7

GAME-CHANGING GEAR, DESIGNED BY HUNTERS

We’ve been setting the standard in problem-solving, innovative hunting gear since 1912.

RIDGE RUNNER STRETCHFIT CAMOUFLAGE HAT

MAINE WARDEN DAY PACK

A breathable style with moisture management and a secure fit

Designed with the help of Maine State Game Wardens, it’s the same one they carry on the job

NEW FOR 2017

BOA TECHNICAL BIG-GAME VEST Innovative Boa system is easy to adjust for a custom fit

RIDGE RUNNER HUNTER HIKER GORE-TEX BOOTS

NEW FOR 2017

Our most athletic hunting boots, built for the active hunter

RIDGE RUNNER SOFT-SHELL HUNTING JACKET

NEW FOR 2017

Quiet, water-resistant layer that blocks wind, breathes well and resists odors

TRUSTED GEAR. LEGENDARY SERVICE. EXPERT ADVICE. ALL AT OUR HUNTING & FISHING STORE. Looking for a new or used long gun? Come in and check out our extensive selection firsthand, available from over two dozen manufacturers. We can also special order firearms, ammunition, optics and more. Contact our firearms experts at usedguns@llbean.com or call 207.552.7728. Find store directions and see our calendar of free clinics & upcoming events at

LLBEAN.COM/FREEPORT www.MaineSportsman.com 17SPAD5363.indd 1

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