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Northwoods Sporting Journal
Page 3
On The Prowl
Coyote’s Listening Skills
Justin Merrill, Cherryfield, ME
but true. I’ve even seen my Grandmother’s cat run to the window and anxiously stare out waiting for her master to pull in the driveway. Sure enough about a minute later my Grandmother arrives. The ears on the four-legged critters
heard the forest erupt once the crunching sounds from a fast walk in the snow resonated through the frosty air while on a predator hunt? By doing so, you most likely inadvertently started a ripple effect like that of the concentric rings
Janet tells us that, “a coyote’s hearing is so acute that they have been known to hear a hunter three miles away... Have you correlated your predator hunting success with the amount of noise you made during the hunt? You might be surprised to know the majority of animals you harvested fell to your surprise ambush for the mere fact they never heard anything alarming. Are you a coyote hunter? This article touches on the ‘Song Dogs’ hearing capabilities. Similar to the way we can distinguish someone’s voice apart from others, coyote, too, can discern whether or not yips, howls or distress calls are from a pack member or an intruder. Brian Mitchell, a professor at the University of Vermont, through his field research found out a that coyote’s hearing is far more advanced than people thought. Brian also found that given keen hearing it is likely coyotes can discern individual howls at much greater distances – three miles or more on a calm night. I’m quite sure you’ve heard the saying that goes something like: “dogs can hear ten times greater than humans”. I can remember
hearing this thirty years ago when I was a teenager. Brian’s research confirms this. A canine’s hearing, like that of a coyote, clearly has us baffled. Precisely why folks like Brian Mitchell research the topic. It’s crazy how a dog whistle works – we can’t hear anything! I never did understand how a dog could. The anatomy of a canine’s ear allows them to pick up frequencies of sounds that we can’t. Maybe the “Coyote Lady” can shed some light. Janet Kessler is an ethologist based out of San Francisco who locals call the, “Coyote Lady”. Janet has studied coyote with over a decade of extensive field research and photo documenting. Janet tells us that, “a coyote’s hearing is so acute that they have been known to hear a hunter three miles away – their large outer ears are able to capture sounds that we humans are not attuned to”. It’s clear to me now that I might need to reduce the amount of noise I make when hunting coyote. You too will benefit greatly from noise reduction.
Do you recall ever witnessing a dog’s ears perk up, abruptly stand up and start getting excited for what appeared like for no reason at all? Minutes later you hear the car pull into the drive. Dogs learn to recognize their master’s vehicle noises. A dog can hear the vehicle through the walls of the house and a mile down the road. Crazy
are like sonars are for ice fishing. On the technical side, coyotes can hear about 40,000 cycles per second (hertz) more than humans. Supposedly we’re only hearing in the frequencies of 20 and upwards of 20,000 hertz. The canines are able to pick up noises in the range of 40 to 60,000 hertz. How often have you
in the water after tossing a rock. Your presence and noise caused a bird to sound the alarm. The bird’s alarm chirps got a nearby red squirrel chattering setting off more distant birds. A deer comes to full alert and circles downwind that eventually sets off the alarm snort while stomping its front hoof. This louder noise alerts distant critters (Skills cont. pg 22)
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On The Cover
Me & Joe Help Senator Cloture Make Misleading Reality Show - Pg 6 Maine Gobblers Galore! - Pg 46 NH Record Lake Trout - Pg 10 Early Fishing Tips - Pg 29
Contents
3. On The Prowl - Justin Merrill 5. Cookin’ With New England’s WildCheff - Denny Corriveau 6. The Adventures Of Me & Joe - Bob Cram 9. The Bird Perch - Karen Holmes 11. “A Hiker’s Life” - Carey Kish 12. Northwoods Voyager - Gil Gilpatrick 13. Best Bassin’ - Bill Decoteau 14. The Allagash - Matt LaRoche 16. The Gun Cabinet - John Floyd 17. What’s In Your Woods - Bud Utecht 18. Outdoor Sporting Library - Jeremiah Wood 20. Aroostook Woods & Waters - Mike Maynard 23. Maine Tails - Jonah Paris 24. Question Of The Month - Steve Markwith 26. Ramblings From T8 - R9 - Benjamin Rioux 29. Against The Current - Bob Romano 32. The Buck Hunter - Hal Blood 33. Guns & Ammo: A Guide’s Perspective - Tom Kelly 34. Maine Outdoor Adventure - Rich Yvon 35. Women In The Woods - Erin Merrill 36. Salt Corner - Doug Jowett 37. Post-Script From Pocasset - Josh Reynolds 38. Mass Wanderings - David Willette 39. Old Tales From The Maine Woods - Steve Pinkham 40. Outdoors In Maine - V. Paul Reynolds 42. Fishin’ Lake Ontario - Capt. Ernie Lantiegne 44. Northwoods Sketchbook - Mark McCollough 45. South Of The Kennebec - Stu Bristol 46. Flight Feathers - Brad Allen 47. Muzzleloading Afield -Al Raychard 48. The Back Shelf - Jack Gagnon 49. “Just Fishing” - Bob Leeman 50. Vermont Ramblings - Dennis Jensen 52. Outdoors In Vermont - Gary W. Moore 53. Kineo Currents - Suzanne AuClair 55. Fly Fishing - Joe Bertolaccini 56. Blaine’s Outdoor Journal - Blaine Cardilli 58. Flight Of The Arrow - Jerome Richard 60. Marsh Island Chronicles - Matthew Dunlap 61. The Singing Maine Guide - Randy Spencer 63. The Tyer’s Corner - Hugh Kelly 64. Malarkey Cabin Chronicles - Ray Dillon 66. SAM - David Trahan 67. New Hampshire Outdoors - Peter St. James
Other Great Stories & Information
Northwoods Sporting Journal
April 2020
The Sportin’ Journal The Outdoor Paper For “Maine Folks”
The Northwoods Sporting Journal is the Northeast’s most comprehensive and readable monthly outdoor publication. Published at the trailhead of Maine’s sprawling North Woods, the Sporting Journal prides itself on being an independent voice for the region’s outdoor community for more than 20 years. Some of our writers are seasoned and specialized outdoors people who will share their know-how and insights; some of our contributors are simply lifelong outdoor people with interesting stories to tell. Our aim every month is to capture the essence of Northern New England’s remarkable outdoor heritage by stirring memories, portraying outdoor humor, and sharing experiences and outdoor knowledge. We also keep our readers up to date with late-breaking outdoor news and hard-hitting editorials about fish and wildlife issues. Anyone who loves to hunt and fish, or simply finds the Great Outdoors a treasured place, is more than likely to find some special connections amid the pages of the Northwoods Sporting Journal.
www.sportingjournal.com
Main Office Phone: (207) 732-4880 E-mail: info@sportingjournal.com Fax: (207)732-4970 Vol 27 Issue 4 is published monthly by Northwoods Publications, 57 Old County Rd. North, W. Enfield, ME 04493 Periodical Postage Paid at W. Enfield, ME. and additional mailing offices. The Northwoods Sporting Journal (ISSN#1548-193X) Postmaster: Send address changes to: Northwoods Sporting Journal, PO Box 195, W. Enfield, ME 04493 Northwoods Publishing Group Victor Morin - Susan Morin - Diane Reynolds - V. Paul Reynolds Publishers - Victor Morin Jr. - V. Paul Reynolds Editor - V. Paul Reynolds Director of Marketing - Victor Morin Assistant Editor - Josh Reynolds Associate Editor - Donna Veino Graphic Arts Manager - Gayleen Cummings Subscription/Distribution Manager - Alicia Cram Operations Manager - Annette Boobar Webmaster - Mike Morin General Sales Manager - Victor Morin Jr. Sales Department; Thomas Schmidt, Paul Hatin & Michael Georgia Regional Advertising Manager - Jim Thorne The Northwoods Sporting Journal invites submissions of photographs and articles about the Maine outdoors. Manuscripts should be sent with a self-addressed envelope to: NORTHWOODS SPORTING JOURNAL P.O. BOX 195, W. ENFIELD, MAINE 04493 The Northwoods Sporting Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited photos or manuscripts. Photos submitted without a stamped, self-addressed envelope will not be returned. All rights reserved, 2020. Written permission must be obtained from the Northwoods Sporting Journal to reprint any part of this publication. Any errors or omissions in ads or editorial matter will be corrected in the next issue of NWSJ. The views and opinions expressed by our monthly columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of this publication.
The Bird Perch - Pg 9 By Karen Holmes
Maine Tails - Pg 23 By Jonah Paris
8. Editorial/Letters 10. Outdoor News 41. Trading Post 44. Carroll’s Corner - Carroll Ware 68. Real Estate
Cover Photo:
“Morning Thunder” A painting by Vermont sporting artist Dustin Dattilio
Flight Feathers - Pg 46 By Brad Allen
Malarkey Cabin Chronicles - Pg 64 By Ray Dillon
April 2020
Northwoods Sporting Journal
Finding Comfort in Your Game
Webster’s dictionary; the source for all definitions. How do you define comfort in your wild game? Noah Webster, in the early version of the dictionary he created, describes the word comfort as “to strengthen; to invigorate; to cheer and enliven”. He further states that comfort relieves pain, provides ease, rest, and distress of mind. I’d say he was pretty accurate in his thought process, as I have always found a sense of comfort in my wild game for several reasons that align with his definition. Though it can be elevated to a very high level on the plate, wild game still provides a rustic feel. It lends itself to menu options that truly bring comfort to your soul. Wild game, in my opinion, is the true essence of what food should be; flavorful, pure, and has the ability to be cooked in a variety of ways, so it can bring constant joy to you every time you eat it. I occasionally reflect on the countless recipes and experiences that game has brought into my life and lives of others I have shared it with. Weekly meals like shepherd’s pie, venison Bolognese, game burgers, fajitas and tacos. Stews, pot pies, poutine, gyros, steak and cheese sandwiches, sloppy joes, Salisbury steak, roasts, and grilled venison or wild turkey tips are just scratch the surface of how I have enjoyed wild game in comforting ways
with family and friends. Community, gun club and private game dinners celebrate and strengthen the core of who we are as hunters and gatherers. I equate it to Sunday family dinners where food ushers in a comforting atmosphere, where stresses are forgotten and we enjoy time well spent together. I recall a couple that reached out to me. They were getting married at the top of the mountain above their family cabin. They wanted to hire me to create a unique game dinner at the cabin for the wedding meal. As they descended from the mountain after the ceremony with their family and guests, they could smell the aroma of game cooking, as it was carried up the mountain while I prepared this special coursed meal. We celebrated their special moment that evening. Watching an amazing sunset that cascaded over the mountains in front of the cabin. I served them a game dinner with this beautiful backdrop. It was just one of many one-of-akind venues that I have had the privilege of creating for others over the last few decades. While this particular was very exceptional, it really paralleled the comfort that I experience every time I eat game. Simply or complex, wild game brings its own special meaning every time we enjoy it. The level of comfort it brings to us individually, will be treasured moments will be etched in our memory book.
WildCheff’s Venison Mac & Cheese Ingredients 1 lb. of ground game burger (deer, moose, bear) 1 box of Barilla Protein PLUS elbows 1 quart of heavy cream 1 – 8 oz. bag of Italian blend cheese 1 – 4 oz. bag of Parmesan, shredded 1 tsp. of WildCheff Cinnamon ½ tsp. of WildCheff Nutmeg 1 T of WildCheff Tuscan Blend seasoning 1 T of WildCheff Shallots 1 stick of butter 3 T of flour Olive oil Breadcrumbs Salt and pepper
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Cookin’ With New England’s WildCheff by Denny Corriveau, Kennebunkport, ME
Directions Boil 4-6 quarts of water. Season water with salt. Add elbows and cook for approximately 7 minutes until al dente. Remove and rinse. Place 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil and a tablespoon of real butter into a large skillet. Heat until butter is melted, and swirl butter into the olive oil. Add ground game into skillet. Season with salt, pepper, Tuscan seasoning and shallots. Sauté, while breaking up meat until it is cooked. Remove and set aside. In a stockpot, melt 3 tablespoons of butter over
medium high heat. Add 3 tablespoons of flour and whisk until flour absorbs the butter and is cooked. Add cream to the roux and whisk until the flour mixture is incorporated into the cream. Once cream is thoroughly heated, whisk in the nutmeg and cinnamon. Now add all shredded cheese to the hot cream and whisk in the cheese until it all melts into the cream. (The cream sauce should be thickened and resemble a cheesy sauce). Remove from stove. In a large casserole (Game cont. pg 19)
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Northwoods Sporting Journal
The Adventures of Me and Joe
The Indian Chief
by Bob Cram, (Alias T.J. Coongate) Medway, ME
Amanda Clouture slammed a well-manicured hand down on the tabletop. The silverware jumped. I jumped. Joe sipped delicately at his coffee. “You have to do it!” “No, Senator,” Joe said mildly, between sips. “We don’t have to do anything.” “All right, all right,” Amanda sat back in her chair. Around the dining room of the Five N’ Diner the breakfast crowd, startled by her sudden outburst, turned back to their meals. “But will you do it as a favor to me? All I want you to do is provide transportation for the producer and cameraman for a few days. After that, we’ll have additional support up here and you can go back to…” She lifted an eyebrow, “… whatever it is you do.” The attitude that had brought her success in the state senate was wasted on Joe. He looked at her thoughtfully. “What I don’t understand is, why Tom Bear?” “Well, the production company approached me with the idea and, since I have connections in a wide range of legislative de-
partments, I told them I’d see what I could do. This will be a great opportunity for northern Maine. Just think of it; a new reality television show with the star being an actual Native American. I mean, it’ll be like Northwoods Law, but with an Indian Slant. “They’d orta call that show ‘Southwoods Law’, although I guess they did git north of Bangor once or twice.” “Anyway, I talked to Harold Streams, the tribal representative at the legislature, and he recommended Tom Bear. Said he was staying in the north woods somewhere near here on some sort of spiritual retreat. Everybody says you know Tom Bear pretty well.” Joe nodded. “Well enough ter be surprised he’d go along with somethin’ like this.” “Oh, he agreed right off the bat. Now what about it? Will you lend a hand?” Joe glanced at me and I nodded slowly. He sighed. “Alright Senator. Where and when?” “This afternoon. Pick up the producer, the cam-
April 2020
This will be a great opportunity for northern Maine. Just think of it; a new reality television show with the star being an actual Native American. I mean, it’ll be like Northwoods Law, but with an Indian Slant. eraman, and me in front of the emporium as soon as you can.” “You?” Joe frowned. “Sure, me! You don’t really think I’m gonna sit at home when there’s a television camera around, do you?” She shot us each a smile, dropped a few bills on the table for her coffee, and hurried out the door.
If you just can’t get enough of reading our Me & Joe Adventures, check out the All Outdoor section of our new Northwoods Sporting Journal website:www.sportingjournal.com You’ll find an ample supply of Me & Joe stories to keep you checking for a long time.
I looked at Joe and he grinned. “Busy, ain’t she?” he said. That put it mildly. Amanda Cloture made frequent and exhausting trips between the legislature in Augusta and her modest home at Clayton Lake. She spent long days traveling around her district, visiting all the remote hamlets in the Allagash at regular intervals. If anything, she was a little too dedicated to the legislative process, and her penchant for oddball causes was well known. She had sponsored the American Reality Network’s idea of a show about a Maine Indian’s life in the north woods from the first. The production company was already here, staying in the Northern Myths Hotel on Main Street in Moose-
leuk.
A few minutes later we pulled up in front of the hotel in my battered old Bronco. We’d decided not to try and fit five people into Joe’s little Jeep. Amanda introduced us to the producer, Harold Pitch, and the cameraman, Lou Focus, while Focus busied himself piling gear into the rear of the vehicle. Finally, we all piled in and I drove out of town heading north. Harold Pitch kept up a constant stream of conversation, seemingly without the need for input from anyone else. “We’re setting up at this Hemlock Lake place, where Chief Bear has his camp.” (Me & Joe cont. pg 7)
April 2020
Me & Joe (Cont. from pg 6) “Chief Bear?” I asked innocently. “Yes, the Chief has set up a traditional Native American camping place on the shore and we will start filming there. Our director, Milton Cinema, is already on sight, setting things up with Chief Bear.” Pitch warmed to his subject. “This is going to make a great series! If we get enough episodes in the can, we’ll be introducing it just before the fall sweeps. Our projections are, it’ll take off like wildfire. Reality shows are all the rage right now, and a show that features a Native American in the lead roll, showing how his people have lived in the wilderness for eons, will resonate with a broad audience. It simply can’t lose.”
Northwoods Sporting Journal
“And Tom Bear is going to be doing all this?” Joe said. “He’s just the man for the role,” Pitch replied “Tall, well-built, with that far-reaching look in his eyes. Why, the name of Chief Tom Bear will be on every tongue in the nation by Christmas!” We pulled in to the boat launch at Hemlock Lake and unloaded the Bronco. Harold Pitch led the way north along the shoreline on a path marked with orange flagging tape. In a few hundred yards, we came to a small clearing by the water. To one side, a brush shelter hugged the edge of the trees. In front of it, the makings of a campfire were stacked in a small fire pit surrounded by stones. Near the pit, Tom Bear stood, dressed in worn leather pants with a fringe along the seam. A beaded leather
vest with tassels covered his torso. His shaggy mane of hair was held back from his bronzed face with a colorful band that crossed his forehead just above the eyebrows. He was about 22 years old and seemed the epitome of a stalwart Indian brave. The director, a small, reed-thin man with coppery hair and glasses, came hurrying toward us. “There you are! Good! Let’s get the camera set up. The Chief is about to start a fire and we want to get the process on film. You all know the Chief?” We all nodded and Joe muttered “Doctor, lawyer…” Tom Bear flushed under the tan and Joe continued, “Chief. I talked to your father a couple of weeks ago.” Tom Bear looked a little uncertain, and said “uh…that good,” but Milton Cinema interrupted.
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“We’ve got the camera all set up. Now, Chief, if you could just show us how you start a campfire, we’ll get it all down.” As Tom Bear walked turned to the fire pit, I glanced across the clearing and spotted a long green canoe pulled up on shore. I started slightly, but Joe touched my arm and shook his head once. At the fire pit, Tom Bear picked up a small bow and a length of dry limb. Wrapping the bowstring around the stick, he set its point against a flat piece of wood buried under the kindling. He began to work the boy back and forth, the
string turning the stick rapidly back and forth. After only a moment, he laid the bow and stick aside, knelt down, and blew softly at the base of the bundle of twigs. A tendril of smoke drifted into the air. After a few more puffs, a small tongue of fire showed in the tinder, quickly growing into a substantial flame. Tom Bear sat back and added larger sticks to the fire. He grunted. “Good. Now me cook fish for meal.” He got up and walked over to the canoe. Pulling on a rawhide string hooked to the gun(Me & Joe cont. pg 15)
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Northwoods Sporting Journal
April 2020
The Sacred Bird
Our national bird, the American Bald Eagle, has been getting its fair share of media attention lately. Maine Game Wardens are still investigating the illegal shooting of one of our national symbols in western Maine. And, in a soon-to-be released story in the April issue of the Northwoods Sporting Journal, columnist and USFWS wildlife biologist Mark McCollough, writes a most fascinating article about the eventual fate of a 36-year old state resident bald eagle that had to be euthanized by wildlife officials. Sadly, the old bird, according to McCollough, was suffering the same ravages of age familiar to some of us graying, long-in-the-tooth bipeds: osteoarthritis.The aging eagle just couldn’t get around well anymore. The good news is that the dispatched bald eagle will not wind up being scattered to the four winds or winding up in a vase on somebody’s mantle. Frozen and carefully packaged, the eagle has been sent along
Eagles and Lead To the Editor: I think the first way to deal with the supposed lead issue with eagles is don’t gut your kills out in the field. Then we shall see if lead ammo is the problem. Personally I think this is another anti hunting scheme against hunting. Patrick Cormier
Hunter Orange for All? To the Editor: When I was a young teen, there was no requirement to wear blaze orange, but there also were a lot of hunting incidents where folks were shot. The law
with other deceased eagles to the National Eagle Repository located in the Rocky Mountains not far from Denver, Colorado. By federal law, it is only legal for Native Americans to possess eagle feathers or body parts. In 1994 President Clinton issued an executive order mandating that all deceased eagles be sent to the National Eagle Repository. McCollough writes, “There the federal biologists carefully clean and prepare the eagle carcasses for shipping across the country to tribal members. The eagle remains are used (by tribal members) to create intricate headdresses, dance shawls and other pieces for religious and cultural ceremonies. Many eagles have made the return trip to Maine to be distributed among various state tribes. Sometimes tribal elders apply to the repository and disperse feathers to honor other members.” Annually, the eagle repository receives about 3,500 eagle carcasses and fulfills
drastically reduced these incidents, and until this past deer season, I thought little of it until I went hunting on some public land near home. While hunting, I witnessed a jogger, dressed completely in black, running down a woods road; several folks walking dogs or cross country skiing without any bright clothing on themselves or the dogs; and a couple of ATVs, where the riders had no blaze on. I talked to one gentleman with a large bull dog/retriever mix, who thought firearm season was over. (It was the second week of muzzle loading) Now don’t get me wrong. I think they have just as much right to be
about 4,500 orders. For those of us who are not tribal members, who do not share a religious or ancestral connection to this magnificent bird, it is nonetheless easy to appreciate the wonder, worshipfulness and mystique of this soaring symbol that represents courage and strength to a Native American. Why anyone in their right mind would purposefully kill one as an act of pointless vandalism is difficult to fathom. Under the Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle Protection Act the penalty for the wanton killing of a protected eagle is up to a year in jail and a $100,000 fine. As for the old Maine eagle that had to be put down, it’s interesting to know that its processed feathers, talons, etc. continue to have value for generations and will be put to good use by Native Americans throughout the United States. _ VPR
feel it is important to add my two cents worth. As we all know, you can find an article on the internet to support any viewpoint you wish. I have used both copper and traditional ammo on deer, bear and one moose. I took a couple of bear recently and felt they did not expire as quickly as they should have, which got me to looking for other opinions as to why. That led me to the following research, which is too long to quote so here is the link; www.ballisticstudTom Bryant, ies.com/knowledgebase/ Holden, Maine homogenous copper bulCopper Bullets lets can be inhumane.html Revisited And www.nssf.org/eating game taken with traditional To the Editor: ammo does not pose a In response to the ar- health risk. ticle on copper bullets, I there as I do. I also think they should be required to wear an article of blaze orange visible from 360 degrees. Just seems to me this is a common sense safety precaution. Not so much to be mistaken for a deer or bear and shot, but to let another person know they are around, as I enter my 69th year on this earth, I don’t know how often I will be able to hunt, but I dearly hope it will be as wonderful as it always has been.
I hope you read what they have to say. It is some very detailed research. We should know ALL the information before giving up our traditional ammo. Also the California Condors were found to be ingesting lead from fire tower paint, and more died after the lead ban than before it was in effect. I am not trying to start an argument, and I respect other opinions, but the article seemed one sided. Respectfully submitted Carl Stock Bearsville, NY
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April 2020
Northwoods Sporting Journal
Sandhill Cranes
In April I always hope I will see one of the newest nesting bird species in Maine. Sandhill Cranes have been documented during the breeding season (April - July) since 1992 here in Maine. The first confirmed nesting pair was in 2000. Sandhill Cranes have been sighted as far north as Aroostook County and as far south as York County. The majority are seen in the southwest corner of Maine. Seeing any is a novelty in Down East Maine especially. But if you were birding near the Platte and North Platte River Valleys in Nebraska, you could easily see over 500,000. Indeed during this migration in April, 75 percent of the population can be found along a 75 mile stretch on those rivers. One of the greatest natural spectacles for birders is to watch the arrival of thousands of Sandhill Cranes flying in. Their wings sound like thunder and their guttural bugling calls are awesomely loud.
habitats have expanded eastward. But they still are a rare sight in Maine. They are tall and stately birds, standing over 4 feet tall with wingspans typically 5 to 7 feet in length. Adults look alike being gray overall with red foreheads, white cheeks, black long pointed bills and long legs. In flight those long legs trail behind and their long necks are kept out straight. Sandhill Cranes need freshwater wetlands, sedge meadows and bogs for nesting and open and agricultural lands for foraging. Most of their diet is plant material but sometimes they consume rodents, snails, crayfish, fish, worms, and insects. Sandhill cranes are monogamous, generally mating for life. One brood is raised per year. Both parents build the nest and incubate usually two eggs over a 30 day period. The precocial newborns are ready to leave the nest soon after hatching. Both parents feed the young who remain under their care for up to 10 months. Sandhill Cranes are known to be one of the oldest known bird species with fossils being found over two million years old. I hope every year to see these interesting and majestic birds at my home of Down East Maine.
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The Bird Perch by Karen Holmes, Cooper, ME Cooper,Maine. She is enjoying having more time to write and do volunteer wildlife research. Her new home of 74 forested acres provides plenty of opportunity to roam. She is the Washington County, Maine
Annual Loon Count Coordinator, does the annual Breeding Bird Atlas for Maine Audubon and the Breeding Bird Survey for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
During the late 1800s, Sandhill Cranes were hunted and their numbers plummeted. Wildlife managers had to set up procedures to protect and restore habitat and to limit how many birds could be hunted. These procedures worked and now nesting Sandhill Cranes are seen in central Siberia across Alaska, northern and central Canada, the Great Lake states, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada and Oregon. Thousands winter in the Central Valley of California, southern Georgia and throughout Florida, northwest and coastal Texas, southern New Mexico, and Arizona. Some states now have fall hunting seasons. Karen Holmes is a Because of this inretired educator living in creased population, their
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Edited by V. Paul Reynolds April is – depending upon whether you are an optimist or a pessimist – the month of the Seasonal Awakening or the month of the Big Mud. Even the pessimist can take heart that at least in April there is light at the end of the tunnel. For our hard-pressed deer population and other wild critters, April can be a make or break month. An early green up can make the difference for them between survival or death. Most outdoor folks take enjoyment in the slow but inexorable coming of spring – the budding, the smell of damp earth, and the formations of geese winging north. Fishing can be slow, especially when winter ice still hugs the stream banks and the biting north wind discourages all but the heartiest boat anglers. There are some good things in Maine in April, though: turkey season is near and camps can be opened without bugs to deal with. So bring on April, and then we can embrace May with all of
Northwoods Sporting Journal
Outdoor News - April 2020
the real blessings of spring EMTs performed CPR at in Maine. the scene in attempts to save Over, who was then Pennsylvania Man transported to AR Gould Dies In Snowmobile Hospital in Presque Isle by Presque Isle Ambulance. Crash Over died at the hospital A 25-year old Pennfrom injuries sustained in sylvania man is dead after striking a tree on a snowmobile trail in Aroostook county this winter. David Over, age 25, of Sligo, Penn., was traveling south on ITS 105 in Mapleton with a group of nine other snowmobilers from Pennsylvania at approximately 4:00 p.m when he passed the two snowmobiles in front of him. Another snowmobiler riding behind Over folthe crash. The crash relowed him, and the two mains under investigation men were riding side by by the Maine Warden Serside at a high rate of speed vice. No other information when the two sleds made is available at this time. contact. The crash investigation initially suggests Snowmobile Crash that Over overcorrected, veered to the left, came Kills Wiscasset Man off his sled and struck a on Moosehead Lake tree. Game Wardens and A Wiscasset man died Record lake trout: Thomas Knight and Anthony Riciputi are celebrating this state record Lake Trout catch through the ice in late February from Big Diamond Pond in Stewartstown, in northern New Hampshire. Tipping the scales at 37.65 lbs, the laker shatters a 62-year state record. The fish was 42 inches long and boasted a 27” girth! Knight was fishing a live sucker. The Maine state record for lake Trout is 32 lbs.
Feb 23 following a fatal snowmobile crash on Moosehead Lake. Gregory Lamar, age 59, from Wiscasset, was operating a late model Arctic Cat 800 snowmobile toward Rockwood from Greenville shortly after 5:00 this evening. His wife, Wanda Lamar, was on a second snowmobile following behind. Initial findings by game wardens indicate Gregory Lamar impacted a pressure ridge at a high rate of speed southeast of Hogback Island. Snowmobilers in the area attempted to render aid following the crash. Rockwood Fire and Rescue as well as C.A. Dean Ambulance members out of Greenville responded. Gregory Lamar was pronounced dead at the scene. Lamar was wearing a helmet. The incident took place approximately five miles from Rockwood Village. Lamar’s body was taken to Lary Funeral in Greenville for examination. The Feb 23 crash makes for seven fatal snowmobile incidents this riding season in Maine. Over the last ten years in Maine, an average of six snowmobilers die each year in snowmobile related incidents. Yearly snowmobile registration averages during that same period, to include resident and non-residents, total nearly 75,000 annually. Fatal snowmobile incidents this riding season: 1. January 19 - Moosehead Lake 2. January 25 - Solon 3. January 31 - Lynchtown Township 4. February 14 - Bachelder’s Grant Twonship
April 2020
5. February 21 - Rangeley 6. February 21 - T2 R9 WELS (near Baxter Park)
Another Snowsledder Killed
A Pennsylvania woman died this winter in a snowmobile crash near Rangeley. The 41-year-old woman was operating a 2014 Ski-Doo 900 Grand Touring snowmobile on Bald Mountain Camps Trail when the crash took place around 11:00 a.m. A male passenger, also 41 and from Pennsylvania, was seated behind her when she failed to negotiate a turn in the trail. As a result, the snowmobile rolled to its side and struck trees along the trail. The female operator died at the scene as a result of her injuries. The two had been riding toward Rangeley along with three other snowmobiles in their party who were behind them. Rangeley Fire and Rescue responded and assisted at the scene. Game wardens continue to investigate the incident and say speed does not appear to be a factor, however, operator inexperience may have been a contributing factor. Due to circumstances of the victim’s family being in Pennsylvania, notifications have been delayed significantly. Names of the victim and the male passenger will be released when notifications to next of kin are made.
Bay State Sledder Dies Near Baxter Park
A second fatal snowmobile crash south of Baxter State Park kills a Massachusetts man. Alan (News cont. pg 38)
April 2020
Northwoods Sporting Journal
On the Appalachian Trail in Georgia
Editor’s note: Carey Kish is a twotime Appalachian Trail thru-hiker and recently completed the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail through California, Oregon and Washington. The 76 miles of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia traces a northeasterly route through the Chattahoochee National Forest, 800,000 acres of jumbled mountain terrain that ranges across the northern part of the state from the Tennessee and North Carolina borders east to South Carolina. At 4,461 feet, Blood Mountain is the highest point along the AT in Georgia. This part of the southern Appalachians is known as the Blue Ridge Mountains, and from outlooks along the trail it’s easy to see how they got their name, with beautiful bluehued mountaintops stretching off into the distance as far as the eye can see. Much of the AT in Georgia lies in the 3-4,000-foot elevation range and follows the winding and often narrow crest of the Tennessee Valley Divide. The Appalachian Trail officially starts atop 3,782foot Springer Mountain.
A 9-mile approach trail connects to the peak from Amicalola Falls State Park, and that is where my journey began on March 18, a beautiful late winter day. Around 11 that morning I registered at the park visitor center, the 538th hiker intent on hiking to Maine to do so since January 1 (more than 1,200 hikers would eventually register in March alone). That first day’s walk took me eight miles to a shelter at Black Gap, and by 10 the next morning in a cold rain, I was on top of Springer Mountain at the bronze plaques and the first of thousands of white blazes marking the trail. My second AT thruhike had begun, some 38 years after the first, and for ten glorious days through Georgia I enjoyed a wave
Page 11
“A Hiker’s Life” by Carey Kish, Mt. Desert Island, ME the daily distance is low, usually 8-12 miles. Most everyone makes the threesided shelters their home at night, staying inside or tenting nearby. The company of others, privies and a reliable water source draw people to these sites. Those seeking more solitude opt to camp at the numerous unofficial campsites inbetween. Days on the trail are long and hard for everyone, and hikers are in bed by dark, if not long before. “Hiker midnight” is a term bandied about at shelters; it refers to sundown, which in March in Georgia is around 8 p.m. It’s not unusual to sleep 12 or more hours. Water is gathered mostly from springs, but there plenty of streams too. I’m probably one of the few hikers that has rarely treated my water with chemical drops or by filtering. To me, water right out of the earth is the nectar of the gods and as good as
of nostalgia. I had lots of company during those early days on the AT, hikers with trail names like Giggles, Woodstock, Young Gun, Jamaica, Drop Bear, Low Tech, Wild Turkey and Mr. Don, people from around the U.S. and some from around the globe. I started the hike with Hobbit as my trail name, but that quickly morphed into Beerman; more on that down the trail. Georgia is a shakedown for most hikers, a time to get in shape and get used to the trail, so
it gets. I’ll treat my water more often when sources get sketchy further north. A couple of outfitter/hostel operations, at Neels Gap and Dicks Creek Gap, make enticing semicivilized waysides. Both offer pack shakedowns, just the thing for the many novice hikers out here. I’ve seen folks completely re-outfit themselves with lighter gear and send a small mountain of unnecessary stuff home. “Trail magic” at four road crossings has included cold beer and soda, hamburgers and hot dogs and other goodies, kindly provided by enthusiastic former thru-hikers. Carey Kish is the author of “AMC’s Best Day Hikes Along the Maine Coast” and editor of the “AMC Maine Mountain Guide.” Follow more of his outdoor adventures on Facebook @Carey Kish
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Northwoods Sporting Journal
Northwoods Voyager by Gil Gilpatrick, Skowhegan, ME I can truthfully say in my 35 plus years of guiding on Maine’s rivers that 98 to 99 percent of my guests were people I enjoyed and I would gladly call my friends. But this is about that other one or two percent. It is something new guides or prospective guides should realize; that not everyone in their care will be likable and easy to get along with. How they handle them will have a lot to do with their success in guiding. Preventing a guest from being lost is always a top priority. I remember one couple on a four-day West Branch trip. On the first day out, I was out gathering wood for our campfire. When I returned to the
campsite the newly married couple were nowhere in sight. I asked if anyone knew where they went. No one did. I was at a loss because I didn’t even know which direction they headed. It was early in the day so I decided to give them
April 2020
That One or Two Percent
they headed as they left the campsite and hope for the best. It all turned out OK, but they were a constant worry to me for four days. On an Allagash trip one in my group was a very large man (fat) who showed up with what looked like enough soft drinks, and some beer to supply everyone in our group. This, however was not to be the case. He constantly
applying fly dope or sun screen or whatever. She showed a lot of tolerance in just keeping quiet and paddling on. In my days with the camp kids I had an adult on the trip who was a lastminute hire by the camp to accompany the kids. It turned out she was not cut out to be a counselor because she constantly harassed the kids about
It is something new guides or prospective guides should realize; that not everyone in their care will be likable and easy to get along with.
a little time to see if they showed up. They did. I politely talked to them about the importance of letting someone know where they were headed. They listened politely, but their actions in the following days indicated they had no intention of revealing their plans. I could only be careful to keep track of the direction
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was drinking something, but never offered any to anyone in the group. Apparently, I was not the only one to notice this because when were camped the night before reaching Allagash Falls, the big guy went around offering drinks to everyone as he realized he would have to carry it all around the falls. I was amused to see that no one took a sip! On the river one day this same big guy complained to Dot, his bow partner, that they were falling behind. Dot turned around and saw him with his paddle across his lap
inconsequential things and it became apparent the kids hated her. I did my best to keep between her and the kids until I could decide what to do. She was not the type to accept subtle suggestions. Near the end of the second week of a four-week trip she came to me with a solution to my problem that I could never have anticipated. I still remember her words: “I had an insatiable desire to paddle. I’m satiated.” Then she asked if it would be possible to go out when the supply plane came in. I said I would ask while
I tried hard to hold in my delight at the prospect. When the plane came in the camp director was there. He was not pleased with the idea of her leaving until I explained the situation. He agreed and my problem was solved and the kids were very, very happy. There were a few more over the years, but I prefer to think of all the friends I made over the years and not dwell on the negatives. So, it was a wonderful career! Gil Gilpatrick is a Master Maine Guide, and is the first living recipient of the Legendary Maine Guide award. He is a life member of the Maine Professional Guides Association, a founding member of the Maine Wilderness Guides Organization, and served as a member of the Advisory Board for the Licensing of Guides from 1996 to 2010. He is a member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association and is the author of seven outdoorrelated books. Contact him at Gil@GilGilpatrick.com
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April 2020
Northwoods Sporting Journal
Targeting Docks during Pre-Spawn
them!” Savvy bass anglers know pre-spawn bass will be heading towards shallow spawning flats. However, Champion Bass Anglers like two-time Bassmaster Champion Elite
Page 13
Best Bassin’ by Bill Decoteau, Hampden, MA Bassmaster Classic Contender Brandon Cobb, “Once the water temperature rises to the 50-degree range I start targeting docks in pre-spawn areas.” While
When skipping your bait under a dock, feed off-line allowing your bait to free-fall vertically straight to the bottom.
Early spring prespawn tactics and techniques usually consist of targeting hard bottoms and rocky areas along sudden shallow to deep contours. “These areas are
quality areas because they warm up fast plus they hold the heat,” says Bassmaster Elite Pro Brandon Cobb.“These same warmer areas attract the baitfish and the bass are right behind
Pro Angler Brandon Cobb know exactly what to concentrate on and where to cast their baits. “Big bass hangout in the same places, in many situations these bass will be in the same vicinity twelve-months of the year.” And, Brandon Cobb says, “These areas are docks!” According to 2020
Cobb fishes docks all year long, he utilizes specific presentations for each seasonal transition. “Just about every lake in America has docks, and they are obviously easy to find. Docks provide shelter, security, shade, ambush points and forage for food...Pausing for just a second Cobb continued, “Every dock has a
shallow and deeper section, truly big bass love to stay shallow and docks provide every habitat requirement needed. Especially for big females!” One key factor to success during the springtime pre-spawn transition is to concentrate only on those docks situated in areas receiving plenty of sun and having rocky banks leading into spawning flats. “Until I have discovered precisely where the bass have transitioned to I look for specific shallow docks with rocky banks and sandy areas. These shallow sandy docks can be awesome because baitfish such as bluegills (Pre-Spawn cont. pg 62)
Page 14
Northwoods Sporting Journal
The Allagash
AWW Superintendent, Matt LaRoche, ME
I was twelve when my family moved into the lodge on the western shore of Umsaskis Lake. The lodge set up on a high bank overlooking the lake. My siblings and I would spend the next five summers exploring the outdoors there. As long as Mama had a general idea of where we were, we were allowed to be free-range kids. We did a fair amount of canoeing, berry-picking, and hiking, but most of my free time in the out-of-doors was spent swimming and fishing off the dock in front of the lodge. We could swim or we could fish, but never at the same time. I now realize that Mama didn’t want to be digging fishhooks out of my younger brothers. In the first couple of summers, I would wormdunk with a spinning rod.
We caught buckets of chubs and snagged an occasional brookie. There would be lots of cheering when we caught a trout. We really didn’t care what we caught. We just loved to fish. Once in a while, I was asked to accompany Dad on an excursion – usually to Ashland to pick up Park
April 2020
Fishing with Dad
By: Ruth LaRoche for Matt LaRoche ferent reward and changed brought home to Mama the 40 plus years later, he has how I wanted to fish for- next day. become my lifetime fishing ever. He took me with After that trip, I began buddy. I still enjoy fly fishhim on a working tour to practicing my fly-casting ing, but I now leave the flyEagle Lake. We loaded a down on the dock. I also tying up to my husband as canoe, an outboard motor, became interested in how he is much more scientific food, and overnight gear into the truck. We traveled to Churchill Dam to start our water journey. After a while, we arrived at the Eagle Lake Ranger station. Dad and the ranger left to do whatever rangers do, and I got to stay with the
On the way, Dad thought it would be a good idea to wet a line at Thoroughfare Brook. I had never used a fly rod before, and Dad thought it was time that I learned.
supplies, buy groceries. There was also lots of waiting because at the same time, he made phone calls to the Augusta office from a payphone. But being Dad’s helper for the day had its reward of eating lunch in a restaurant! I remember one trip with Dad that had a dif-
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ranger’s wife. I helped her with her chores. All the while, she entertained me with stories about her own life. Dad returned for me late in the afternoon, and we made our way back to Churchill Lake. On the way, Dad thought it would be a good idea to wet a line at Thoroughfare Brook. I had never used a fly rod before, and Dad thought it was time that I learned. I didn’t have to cast very far as the trout were jumping all around us. Dad said, “Ker-Smash!” every time a trout would bite. It all was exhilarating. All the fish we caught that night were 12”-14” brook trout. We took our limit down the lake to Camp Arthur and cooked a couple up for our supper. The rest, we
to tie flies. I got pretty good at making grasshoppers and black ants. Wait a minute…maybe that was Dad’s plan all along. He knew that I had a passion for crafting. Perhaps that’s why he didn’t mind helping me hunt down fly tying supplies on his trips to town. Maybe he figured that I might be able to keep his fly box full. I received my first fly rod as a graduation gift from my fiancé. And
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about it than I am. I’ll even let him pick out which fly for me to use as he loves to “match the hatch.” Dad left this earth far too early at the age of 64. I am forever grateful that he took the time to teach this girl how to fish. And every time that I visit Thoroughfare Brook, it will always be like a little visit with Dad. Teach a kid to fish. The rewards will last a lifetime. Matt LaRoche is Superintendent of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, a Registered Maine Guide and an avid outdoorsman. He can be reached at 207695-2169 or at matt.laroche@maine.gov
April 2020
Me & Joe
(Cont. from pg 7) nel, he drew a fat 3-pound togue out of the water. Bringing it to the fire he dropped it onto a broad piece of bark. Reaching to his waist, a sudden look of panic crossed his face. Joe, who was standing just behind him, made a slight movement. Tom Bear slid a hand behind his back and, when it reappeared in front of him, it held a worn, hand-made knife. Tom knelt and quickly filleted the fish, stuck the fillets skin side-down to pieces of bark, and stood the bark slabs up at an angle near the fire. The aroma of roasting fish filled the air. “Cut!” yelled Milton Cinema. “Okay Chief, we’ll get some shots of you eating the fish later. Right now, I’d like to get some footage of you polling the canoe. Stick near shore and we can keep up with you as you move along.” He scratched his head. “I still don’t see why we can’t film you polling through some fast water.” “No can do film,” Tom Bear said hastily. “Too hard for cameraman to go along shore. I be gone downstream out of sight. No picture,” he swept an arm along the shoreline, “Here water calm, I pole slow, you keep up good.” “That makes sense,” Milton nodded. “Okay, let’s get set up.” For the next hour we watched Tom Bear slowly pole the canoe back and forth along the shoreline as the cameras rolled. Later, he ate the togue with his fingers, explaining the filleting and cooking process to the camera in halting English. Then Lou Focus followed him as he explained
Northwoods Sporting Journal the shelter and how he had set up the campsite. I had to admit Tom seemed like a natural in front of the camera, appearing stoic and knowledgeable at the same time. Finally, the filming was done for the day. The production crew picked up their equipment and prepared to head down the trail. Joe stopped Harold Pitch for a moment. “Why don’t you guys go back to the hotel together. We’ll be along and drop off the Senator as soon as we get tomorrow’s schedule straight with the Chief.” Pitch agreed and the film crew disappeared down the trail. Senator Cloture looked at u s uncertainly. Joe walked over to the fire and sat down on a log. Tom Bear sat across from him and smiled crookedly. “So, Tom…or should I say Chief? How’s it going?” Joe said. Tom Bear grinned sheepishly. “Good, I guess, Joe…you?” “Oh, I’m doin’ fine. How’d you git yourself into this thing, anyway Tom?” “Well, they just came and asked me if I’d be interested in doing it. I mean, it seemed simple to begin with.” “Where’d you git the clothes?” “Pants came from the Salvation Army place in Bangor. I got the vest from Wal-Mart. They got a sale going on promoting the hippie movement in the 1960s. A lot of beaded vests and stuff. The headband’s from my do-rag on the bike.” He shifted uncomfortably. “But I’m starting to feel a little guilty about the whole thing.” “Then why’d you agree to do it?” “Hey, the money’s
great, and I got college loans to pay.” Amanda Cloture’s jaw lay on her chest. “How come you speak so well now…I mean…college loans?” she puttered. “Yeah,” Joe said looking first at Amanda, then at Tom Bear. “Tom’s doing his graduate work at Georgetown. Yore dad told me it’s real expensive.” “It is, and this money would come in really handy, but I’m starting to feel really guilty about the deception. Oh, by the way, here’s your knife. Forgot mine on the motorcycle.” He handed the hunting knife over to Joe, who slid it back into the sheath on his belt. “Good thing you didn’t try polin’ in whitewater fer the camera,” Joe smiled again. “Yeah,” Tom smiled back. “Remember the time I dumped you and dad in the middle of Crow-Foot Pitch?” “Motorcycle?” Amanda Cloture was still at sea. “What about the spiritual retreat?” Tom looked puzzled. “What spiritual retreat?” “Harold Streams said you were up here on some kind of spiritual retreat.” “I came up to get some fiddleheads and togue for my father.” Amanda stared. “Fiddleheads…and togue?” “My dad had a camp on this lake years ago. It’s long gone but he used to spend a lot of time here when he was young and he always swore the fiddleheads on Hemlock Stream and the fish in the deep holes of the lake tasted better than anywhere in the state. So I told him I’d get him some fiddleheads and togue.” “I think,” I said deli-
Page 15
cately, “that Harold was just going along with the idea of a TV show with a Native American. The spiritual retreat thing kind of enhances it.” “What do you prefer to be called,” Amanda asked curiously, “A Native American or an Indian or what?” “I don’t really care. That seems to be more important to you white-eyes than to me,” he grinned. “Well,” Amanda said, trying to work up some indignation. “This can’t go on.” “No it can’t,” Tom said sadly. “I got to tell the truth. But I’ll sure miss the money.” It was a serious group that rode slowly into town and parked in front of the Northern Myths Hotel. Amanda called upstairs and asked for Harold Pitch and Milton Cinema to come down and meet with us in the lobby. We waited near the door as the two men exited the elevator and came across the room. “Senator…Chief… what can we do for you?” Harold Pitch beamed at us. Tom started to speak but Milton interrupted. “We were just looking at the rushes from today’s filming. They looked just great! If it keeps up like
this, we’ll have a real hit on our hands!” “Yeah,” Tom cleared his throat. “That’s kinda what I wanted to talk to you about.” “What?” said Pitch. Then he scowled. “Say… your English seems to have improved. Tom took a deep breath. “Yeah, well, here’s the thing…You guys seem to need a 19th Century Indian brave for your show and I’m, well, I’m a 21st Century kind of Indian. I go to college and I drive a motorcycle. I mean, my dad and Joe have taught me a lot of outdoor stuff but, if it weren’t for Joe loaning me his knife and his canoe, I wouldn’t even have enough Indian equipment to do the show. I’m sorry that I misled you, but I don’t want to keep fooling the two of you.” “Well!” Harold Pitch sputtered. “We were certainly sold a bill of goods!” He stared at Amanda Cloture. “I expected better than this from an experienced Senator.” Amanda flushed a beet red. “Uh…I think we’d better just leave…” Tom turned toward the door. “You speak excellent English,” Milton Cinema interrupted. “Well, thanks, but…” (Me & Joe cont. pg 27)
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The Gun Cabinet
Northwoods Sporting Journal
Overlooked Fishing Laws
by John Floyd, Webster Plantation As open water fishing season begins, it’s a good time to review the new Maine Fishing Laws handbook and any new rules and laws in effect this year. While bait rules and bag limits get a lot of attention, it’s also a good idea to brush up on existing general fishing laws. Here’s a look at three most common mistakes I see anglers make under some of the not-so-well-known Maine general fishing laws and rules. The law: Removal of Heads and Tails “It is unlawful to alter the length of landlocked salmon, trout, togue, lake whitefish, and bass unless the fish are being prepared for immediate cooking. It is unlawful to possess or transport fish dressed in such a manner that the species of fish cannot be
April 2020
identified; unless the fish are being prepared for immediate cooking (smoking does not constitute cooking) (Title 12, §12601).” This law is one that a lot of anglers stumble over – Maine residents and visiting sports alike. You may be keen on daily bag limits, diligent about minimum and maximum length limits and gladly conform to all fishing regulations as you understand them, but if you bring your two salmon home, cut them into steaks, vacuum seal them and stick them in the freezer next to your venison loin for a Maine style surf and turf next weekend – you just broke the law. The same applies to filleting your fish and freezing them for later. Unless the fish is being prepared for immediate cooking, the heads and tails must stay on – freezing and
smoking do not count as immediate cooking. While this rule specifies the fish which may not be altered in length, it also prohibits the dressing of any fish in a manner that causes the species to be unidentifiable by a game warden. So don’t think about freezing your perch fillets either. The law: Possession Limit (All Fish) “A person shall not possess at any time more fish than may lawfully be taken in one day (Title 12, 12602-2).” In my experience, this rule is the most overlooked by visiting sports who are fishing without a guide. Most anglers have identified size and length limits and the daily bag numbers for the species they are after, but few realize that Maine’s possession and daily bag limits are one in the same. I remember returning to the dock at a sporting camp with my clients one afternoon and seeing a group of nonguided anglers hauling a pile of fish with them back to their cabins. They had each limited out on smallmouth and were having a great time. I knew they were only on their second day of a weeklong trip so I brought their group leader aside and gently
gave him the lowdown – if they wanted to keep any fish tomorrow, especially a potential trophy; they had better eat some fish tonight! Everyone ate fish that supper. The law: Failure to Label Fish / Possessing Gift Fish “It is unlawful to keep bass, landlocked salmon, togue (lake trout) or trout at any sporting camp, hotel, public lodging place or any place other than a person’s residence without attaching the name and address of the person who caught the fish (Title 12, §12608).” “A person who does not possess a valid fishing license issued under chapter 913 may not possess a fish or any part of a fish given to that person except a person may possess in that person’s domicile a gift fish that was lawfully caught and is plainly labeled with the name of the person who gave the fish and the year, month and day the fish was caught by that person. This section does not apply to baitfish (Title 12, §12613).” This law is the one that makes my smallmouth bass clients grin and ask if I’m pulling their leg when I inform them about the labeling requirement if they bring their catch back to camp. Most are used to fil-
leting and vacuum sealing their fish for later consumption. Even after I detail how to package and freeze the fish whole (remember they cannot be altered until immediate cooking) and provide a Sharpie to label the freezer bag, at least half of the anglers still think I’m joking. When the bite is hot and a white perch fish fry is planned, anglers sometimes keep more fish than they should. Naturally, the idea of gifting some fish to a friend or neighbor comes to mind. If the receiver of the gift fish holds a valid Maine fishing license, all is well. If the recipient does not have a fishing license, the angler must label the fish in accordance with the rule above. A simple act of kindness can put an unaware person, who may not even fish, outside of the law. The temporary lodging rule can also be a costly one; every fish counts as a separate violation. John is a Registered Maine Guide, an NRA Certified Instructor and is the owner of Tucker Ridge Outdoors in Webster Plantation, Maine. He also works as a freelance outdoors writer and can be reached at john@tuckerridge.me or on Facebook @writerjohnfloyd
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April 2020
Northwoods Sporting Journal
Wireless Trail Cameras
Every month, I receive requests for cellular camera information, and why not, as they are the hottest device going right now. I will admit, right up front, that I don’t use them on a regular basis. Getting out in the woods for
carriers. You may have a choice in the carrier for your cell plan. This is very important because not all carriers work well in all areas. So you need to know what company has the best coverage for the area you intend to place the camera.
the quality of the photos in order to use less data per picture. If your picture is is 20 mega pixels and you send it “as it is” you will use up all your data very quickly. If you chose to send thumbnail pictures, your data will last for thousands of photos. Remember that the picture that is on
Page 17
What's In Your Woods by Bud Utecht, Dedham, ME tive. This new technology makes it easier to harvest as the hunter knows exactly when the wildlife is present. This has become an issue in some states as
is, “do you want to hunt from the recliner or in the woods?” Bud Utecht is a register Maine Guide, avid
This has become an issue in some states as they view it as a fair chase issue and bans on cell game cameras have been implemented during the hunting season for this reason.
me is what my trail cam passion has always been about. However, I see many benefits to using cellular cameras. One of which is you are not leaving scent at the location constantly. All the major players have cell cameras now and choices are plentiful. When these cameras first went on the market you would purchase the camera, and sign up for a cellular plan from the company that the camera was set up by. For instance; you have Verizon for your phone supplier but the camera comes with AT&T software you would have to go to AT&T to buy the camera plan. This was not always ideal for the customer and it was costly. The camera companies came up with a brilliant plan to solve this issue. They would buy large blocks of cell data and resell it to their customers. Today you buy a camera from your favorite trail camera manufacturer and buy the data plan with it as well. Most companies today have cameras that are compatible with multiple
You do not need to match the carrier of your cell phone. Let’s say you live in Maine but intend on hunting Illinois. Your phone plan is with U.S. Cellular in Maine, however the area in Illinois does not have coverage for U.S. cellular. The advantage now is you can purchase a Verizon camera and have it send the pictures to your U.S. cellular phone. Many questions come up. You have purchased a camera, how do you choose your plan? Your plan is just gigabytes of data which translates to the amount of how much space each of your photos takes up digitally. You will likely have options of reducing
the SD card will be the highest quality regardless of what you chose for your plan. Make sure you read and understand the data plans as they can get expensive. There are companies that offer inexpensive cameras and really make it up on the data plans. If you don’t like the data plan you will not be able to switch to another supplier like you can with your cell phone. Check the reviews on the brand you intend to buy. Understand how long the batteries will last as cell cameras are quite hard on batteries. Many of them take a lot more batteries than the regular cameras. This can be quite costly. Now for the ethics part. People using wireless trail cameras to track wildlife. They can tell where and when the game is ac-
they view it as a fair chase issue and bans on cell game cameras have been implemented during the hunting season for this reason. On the other hand it will tell you if someone does mess with your camera. So, I guess the question for me
wildlife enthusiast and trail camera consultant. His trail cameras are strategically placed throughout the Maine Woods. Feel free to email Bud for trail camera tips or to discuss what’s in your woods. bud@whatsin-
yourwoods.com
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HELP US FIND
The elusive Northwoods Sporting Journal’s moose Marty. He has wandered into the northwoods. Find Marty somewhere in the Northwoods Sporting Journal (Hint: he will be located in one of our ads) Send us the page number he’s on and you could be a WINNER! Win a FREE Northwoods Sporting Journal Marty Hat. We will draw one winner from all correct entries submitted each month. We will announce the winner in the next issue.
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PLEASE MAIL THIS FORM TO: Northwoods Sporting Journal P.O. Box 195, West Enfield, ME 04493
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Page 18 Northwoods Sporting Journal
Outdoor Sporting Library
Alaska is a vast land filled with adventure and opportunity, but it’s also a state of mind, a symbol of freedom, and a home for some of the more adventurous characters out there. Jim Rearden was a unique and special Alaskan. He not only experienced the state and its outdoor paradise in its infancy, he also met many of the legends and crazy characters that make the place so unique. Through a series of seemingly crazy life choices, Jim was able to share Alaska and its people with folks from the outside, and helped tell stories that otherwise would never have a chance of reaching most of us. Jim Rearden first went
Jim Rearden’s Alaska
to Alaska in the 1940’s, working as a stream guard on some of the state’s coastal salmon rivers. He trained in fish and wildlife management, earned
the north. It took several years for Rearden to realize what many of us outdoors folk find. Standing in front of a blackboard in a classroom is enough to drive a person crazy! Though he was molding young minds and shaping future fish and
a Masters Degree in wildlife at the University of Maine at Orono. In 1950, he moved his young family to Fairbanks to take on a huge challenge: start up a brand new wildlife management degree program at the University of Alaska. It was a huge task for a young man fresh out of school, but such challenges were common in the frontier land of
wildlife management in the state, and building towards a nice comfortable retirement, Jim couldn’t take it anymore. He needed the freedom to spend more time outdoors. By the time Rearden quit his University job he’d been writing magazine articles about the Alaska outdoors for some time. He came to realize that his
by Jeremiah Wood, Ashland, ME
April 2020
It took several years for Rearden to realize what many of us outdoors folk find. Standing in front of a blackboard in a classroom is enough to drive a person crazy!
true passion lie in sharing the outdoors with fellow Alaskans through his writing, and jobs as a freelance writer and magazine editor helped him work toward that end. Rearden admitted he may have been a bit crazy to leave such a good career: “Looking back, it wasn’t a prudent move; in fact, it was probably foolish, but I was following a dream. Alaska is a land that encourages dreamers and adventurers, and I happily took the plunge.” In addition to writing, Rearden practiced photography, guided hunters, and
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did carpentry work and other odd jobs. It wasn’t easy, but he scraped by, and spent the next several decades carving out a legacy in the Alaska outdoors. He even worked as a fisheries biologist for a decade and later served on the Alaska Board of Fish and Game. Perhaps most notably, though, Jim Rearden left his mark through the stories he told about the unique characters that called Alaska home. He wrote hundreds of articles and more than two dozen books. Most notable are his books on Alaska’s wolf man Frank Glaser, legendary Koyukuk native Sidney Huntington, and bush pilot Andy Anderson. Rearden passed away in 2017, but his writing lives on. To get a taste of it, I’d recommend “Jim Rearden’s Alaska”, a collection of his stories published in 2001 and 2005. You’ll get an education on wildlife, meet some colorful folks, and share in more than a handful of laughs. We won’t all make it to Alaska, but reading Jim Rearden’s stories is close to the next best thing.
Northwoods Sporting Journal
April 2020
Game
(Cont. from pg 5) dish (9x13), place the macaroni, followed by the cooked ground game burger, and then top with the béchamel sauce. Use a baking spatula to mix all the ingredients evenly. Melt some butter in a sauté pan and add plain bread crumbs and garlic powder to it and stir until butter is mixed into the
breadcrumbs. Top the mac and cheese. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. When heated, place mac and cheese into oven and cook until everything is heated through and bubbling. (15-20 minutes). Enjoy this comforting game meal! WildCheff - Denny Corriveau is Award-Winning Celebrity Game Chef, Iron Chef Winner, and the
Founder of the Free Range Culinary Institute, the only national wild game cooking school in the country. As a Wild Game Evangelist and trendsetter for cooking wild game - Denny is a nationally noted authority regarding his “best practice” methodology regarding the culinary side of wild game. You can learn more @ www.wildcheff.com or visit him on Instagram @ thewildcheff
Page 19
The Sporting Journal is the gift that Keeps on giving!
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Northwoods Sporting Journal
Page 20
Aroostook Woods & Water
by Mike Maynard, Perham, ME April, 1st! The opening day of fishing season! Unfortunately, for those of us in the County it’s simply a date on the calendar. April is just another word for February here. The snow is still waist deep, with the promise of more to come. If our weather patterns of past years hold true, our lakes won’t see ice out until the second week in May. Our favorite streams, even if open water can be found, are bordered by deep snow and dangerous shelves of rotting ice. Water tempera-
tures are still wallowing in the 30’s and trout and salmon are sluggish if they move at all. By now, all my gear has been cleaned, checked, and checked again. My fly lines washed, old leaders removed and new ones tied. I spend far too much time in front of the wood stove practicing blood knots; you’d think I’d be better at it by now. I’m not. My fly reels have all been oiled, my trolling gear has all been thoroughly serviced. My fly boxes have
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April 2020
Waiting Out April
all been restocked. Old faithful patterns that have always produced have been retied in all the right sizes. New patterns that looked so enticing in mid-January have been tied and readied for a trial run. All those spoons I lost at the bottom of St.Froid last summer have been replaced, …a
here and I’m no closer to a solution then I was 30 years ago. My best guess is that I’ll have to buy another form of vestment and see how it goes. “Sorry, Honey, I need the check book … again.” And then there’s the boats… several of them. I want more, I need more,
remote pond, seeing trout rise to an evening hatch, only to find you can’t get on the water. My wife and I have just added two more grandchildren to the mix; 18 month old twin boys. I can’t wait to teach them how to dig worms from under the wood pile. I spent a lot time
My fly boxes have all been restocked. Old faithful patterns that have always produced have been retied in all the right sizes. New patterns that looked so enticing in mid-January have been tied and readied for a trial run.
cannonball, too. Long trips down to Alvin Theriault’s fly shop in Staceyville have been made and at this point I get dirty looks from my better half when I mention I need to go again. “Please, Honey, …just one more soft hackle cape, I promise!” I keep my fly fishing gear in a big plastic tote. I can fit my waders, net, rug, wading jacket, size 15 wading boots, wading jacket, hats, gloves, and my sling pack in there. At this point in the winter I’ve dumped it out and reorganized it a dozen times. I’ve emptied everything out of my sling pack and tried to find a better solution to the age old storage issues that haunt us all. In December I went off the rails and banished the sling pack to the Island of Misfit Tackle and went back to a vest. By the end of January I couldn’t even remember why I wanted the vest and retrieved a previously banished fanny pack from the Island. By the end of February my back was already aching from the thought of carrying the extra dunnage that a suitcase encourages, and I remembered why it was in the closet in the first place. Now, April is
but I’ve been warned that domestic tranquility will suffer if I bring another one home. They were lovingly washed and winterized before going into hibernation in the barn. New fish finders were installed. A new deck for the older boat. The motors were serviced. A wheel bearing changed on a trailer. Santa brought a new downrigger at Christmas and the last month have birthed a host of new ideas on how and where to mount it. Cold nights in the barn anticipating the first big togue of the year. Great fun. …and here they sit. Here I sit. Snowed in still. The canoes and kayaks hang from the wall in the barn. A rudder for my wife’s favorite ride, a 16’ tandem, is on the list of things to do if winter persists in hanging on much longer. I took my float tube out and checked it for holes. I did that when I put it away but you never know, right? It’s a good thing I checked the tube’s foot pump last week; after years of faithful service it managed to shuffle off the mortal coil sometime this winter while I was inside tying flies. Image the horror of hiking in to a favorite
this winter researching the best sleeping bags for kids. I bought them each a good life jacket; they’ll grow into them. When I started looking at kayaks for them my wife shut me down. I’m going to wait until she goes to see her mother and then I’m going to buy them their lifetime hunting/fishing licenses. I’ll probably be stir crazy enough by April 1 st that’ll I’ll brave the roads and the weather and head for GLS. Meet up with friends, maybe I’ll even fish a little. I really just want to be among my peers, standing around the parking lot at the dam, drinking hot coffee from a battered thermos, talking about the season to come and the big fish we caught last season. So here’s to a new season in the County, to our favorite waters and all those thin blue lines yet to be fished. Mike Maynard is a part time farmer, grandfather of several, and an incorrigible water logged stream rat. He lives in the woods of Perham, Maine and can be reached at: perhamtrout@gmail.com
Northwoods Sporting Journal
April 2020
Page 21
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Northwoods Sporting Journal
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April 2020
Skills
(Cont. from pg 3) like that of a coyote. The concentric rings did you in and ruined your hunt. I can’t begin to recall how many times I’ve started the concentric rings in the forest. Those were the days I had little to no wildlife encounters. I challenge you, my fellow hunter, to begin paying attention to all the different noises you make during your hunts. Write it all down if you must. Don’t forget what those noises were the next time you head a field. Try your darnedest to not duplicate those sounds. Try to become noise free. I will do the same. It won’t be easy but we’ll obviously become much better hunters. We’re being too loud during our hunts. Now we need to find ways to cut out the noise if we are to be more successful coyote hunters. You will approach your coyote hunts a whole lot differently now. I just know it. Justin is a member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association (NEOWA) and authored two books. He is the CEO of an all exclusive digital TV show called, “SPIKES and GILLS”. You may learn more by visiting, www. WildMaineOutdoors.com
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April 2020
Northwoods Sporting Journal
The Pushaw Pike of 1945
A Red Sox game would be playing on the TV when we walked through the front door. Dressed neatly in blue jeans and a flannel, Grandpa Mitch, tall and lean, would rise from his rocking chair, a youthful grin spread across his
theless, over the course of several years, Mitch became a grandfather to me as well. He belonged to an increasingly shrinking cohort of New England outdoorsmen who had long since mastered the art of storytelling. Born in
to his beloved stomping grounds to fish, hunt, and visit family. Like many rural Mainers of the time, Mitch and his family relied on whatever fish, game, or forage they could procure to feed themselves throughout the seasons. He was as likely to dunk worms for brook trout or pick wild blackberries, as he was to run his beagles for hares, or track a buck through a swamp. Though Mitch was known
Page 23
Maine Tails By Jonah Paris, Scarborough, ME those... Pushaw Stream?” I told him he was correct and asked how he had pinpointed our location so easily. Mitch cracked a smile. “I caught a big one out of there when I was much younger.” While the November winds blew briskly outside the house, the old man’s eyes danced
from his family’s home on French Island, Mitch traded his book bag for a cane pole and tin of night crawlers. He headed west to a stretch of Pushaw Stream where he had an Indian-crafted canoe stashed away on the shore. Over the course of several hours, Mitch filled
Like many rural Mainers of the time, Mitch and his family relied on whatever fish, game, or forage they could procure to feed themselves throughout the seasons. He was as likely to dunk worms for brook trout or pick wild blackberries, as he was to run his beagles for hares, or track a buck through a swamp.
Grandpa Mitch, a lifelong fisherman, with a hefty New England bluefish (circa 2010). (Photo courtesy of his family.) wrinkled face at the sight Old Town, ME in 1933 to of his young visitors. He a large French-Canadian would hug his granddaugh- family, Mitch had accumuter and offer me a hearty lated a seemingly endless handshake. Then he would collection of stories detailfetch cans of Moxie and ing the adventures of a boy usher us towards the couch. coming of age in DepresI always looked forward to sion Era Maine. Despite our visits. eventually moving south Grandpa Mitch was to New Hampshire, Mitch not my grandfather - he never strayed far from his was the grandfather of my Penobscot County roots. girlfriend, Ashley. None- He often made trips back
to occasionally stray north to Millinocket and west to Brownville, Old Town and the surrounding area proved to be the setting for the majority of his stories. One late fall afternoon a few years back, Ashley and I had gone to visit Grandpa Mitch and his wife, the endearing matriarch of the family affectionately known as “Grammy.” Ashley presented her grandfather with a handful of photos we had taken during a recent fishing trip. Pointing to the northern pike in the photos, Mitch looked up and asked me, “Where’d ya get
and sparkled. He was entering into the enchanted depths of a distant memory. Sometime around 1945 (our narrator figured himself to be about 12 years old), Mitch had conspired to skip school and spend the day fishing instead; a sin most of us have unregrettably committed at least once or twice. As soon as he was out of sight
a stringer with perch and pickerel. He then caught a small perch, and this time, instead of adding it to his pile, he swung it back out under a wooden float in the hopes of luring in a big pickerel. After a while, the float plunged under. The short line attached to the cane pole kept the fish near the canoe and the (Pike cont. pg 31)
Northwoods Sporting Journal
Page 24
April 2020
Question Of The Month April 2020 Turkey Tactics: What is an E-Call Gauntlet? By Steve Markwith The sun was still below the horizon when we broke out into a narrow field that penetrated a mix of softwood and oak. Although it offered promise, my two sons and I resisted the temptation to set up and continued onward toward an oak ridge. Three hundred yards further, we stopped and spread out in a line, roughly sixty yards apart, with me in its middle. Positioned slightly below us were two separate pairs of decoys and two electronic calls. With turkey scratchings everywhere and chilly but calm conditions, the prospects for early-season action seemed encouraging. From center-stage I keyed my remote to a series of hen yelps, prompting my right-flank son to fire
up his e-call. Our turkey imitations echoed through the still morning air and, before long, distant gobbles chimed in. The scene quickly evolved to nearpandemonium as a chorus of excited replies drew near and began mixing with our calls. We toggled
thunderous blast. As inverted turkey wings beat upon the ground, another shot rang out to my left. The confusion generated by our gobbler gauntlet had allowed both of my sons to score - and the morning had barely begun. Granted, electronic
danger from overhunting!. I sprung for an “ecall” more than a decade ago. It’s been a valuable acquisition, although turkeys were really an afterthought. Most of its sounds were
For example, a natural wooded bowl can serve as an amphitheater if the e-calls are located just below its ridgelines. Turkeys may approach along the higher features, but the “gauntlet” can position accordingly - as long as safe fire zones are maintained! through repertoires of cuts and purrs in an effort to sort out live turkeys from our digital renditions. Suddenly, amidst this chaos, a thunderous gobble erupted out of sight to my right - followed by an equally
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calls are a major departure from classic turkey hunting methods. In fact, one friend and maestro of the art is horrified by this practice. As an early Maine practitioner, he’s spent years refining his skills. His extensive collection of calls includes several handmade examples, all neatly tucked within his vest. By contrast, the act of lugging our prerecorded sounds into the woods seems abhorrent. But, if busy work schedules limit refinement of skills, an e-call can engender less embarrassment than poorly executed squawks. Also, in Maine, electronic calls are legal. And, ethics aside, here in the Midcoast Region, turkeys are in no immediate
geared towards predators and crows, but enough capacity remained to add several turkey calls. As it turned out, they became a mainstay resource in the quest to tag spring birds amidst other pressing obligations. I had some experience with conventional calling methods and even managed to bag a few good toms. But, after the e-call arrived, I decided to give it a try. Upon establishing a hide along the edge of a field, I simply placed it Mon. - Fri. 8am - 5pm Closed Sat. & Sun.
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on the ground near a pair of decoys located twenty yards out front. Once back in position, I keyed the remote to activate a series of excited hen-yelps and was quite surprised when they were answered by enthusiastic gobbles. Shortly thereafter, a trophy tom appeared on a beeline to the decoys, c o m pletely unaware of my presence. One shot sealed the deal while providing a valuable lesson; namely, turkeys will be drawn to the call. If the source emanates from decoys, wary birds will focus on that setup, reducing odds of being busted. E-Call Basics Today, e-call choices abound. Well-established manufacturers like FoxPro offer extensive product lines. Most cater to predator hunters, competing through feature-laden offerings, sometimes with hundreds of sounds to choose from. By comparison, my nowaging FX-3 is fairly basic, offering only 32 sounds. However, many more options are available from FoxPro’s on-line library for creation of a custom menu, using a PC and USB (Gauntlet cont. pg 25)
April 2020
Gauntlet (Cont. from pg 24) connection. I opted to have my preferences loaded in at the time of the e-call’s purchase. Since this service was free from a dealer specializing in predator products, I chose several turkey sounds. The call arrived with its sound-list affixed to the exterior. Each is assigned a number. A dial turns on the call and regulates its volume. Sounds are selected by key-pads and a numerical LED display. Built-in speakers on each end produce plenty of volume; enough that I usually only dial up 50%. A small folding antenna permits operation by an included wireless remote control, which is labeled with a duplicate call list. The remote functions similarly through its own LED display. Its series of key-pads input sound selections and regulate the e-call’s volume. A useful mute button is also provided. A small toggleswitch offers two frequencies; invaluable when two e-calls are employed! My call runs on eight AA batteries. I sprung for Fox-pro’s rechargeables which are sold with their 120-volt charger kit. Full charge-time depends on use, but can require 7+ hours. However, run-time is more than ample; I’ve called crows non-stop for an entire morning during Maine’s harsh winters. The remote is powered by a 9-volt battery, which also provides long life. I always bring a spare but, so far, haven’t needed one. When traveling on foot, the call is carried in a fanny-pack with the strap looped over my neck and a shoulder. I hang the remote around
Northwoods Sporting Journal my neck with a decoy-line loop, adjusted so it can drop in a breast pocket. Each numbered turkey sound is committed to memory for speedy selections during action. General E-Call Strategy Turns out, the trick is to locate the decoys and e-call so turkeys won’t approach head-on. Diagonal approaches are better, but best are lateral setups that offer broadside shots while turkeys are locked on the decoys. My e-call has a camo finish so I often just set it on the ground near a pair of decoys. Or, if possible, it will hang from a low branch so the sound will carry further. Ideally, it will also be near a distinctive feature for insurance from collateral damage. Mine isn’t waterproof, but it will survive rain showers if placed inside a plastic bread-bag with its antenna poking through. After positioning the call, I’ll manually switch it on. Once the correct sound is established, I’ll mute it with the remote and then finish setting up. When ready, another push of the mute button will be followed by final volume adjustments - usually well below full blast. The remote’s operational distance has never been an issue but, regarding turkeys, the call will be well within shotgun
range anyway – usually no further than 25 yards. Running The Gauntlet One e-call is effective, but two units can generate an exponential increase in action. Using the opening scenario as an example, the three of us effectively covered a 200-yard swath of woods! Let’s assume an effective shotgun range of 40 yards (although many new loads will reach further). It’s best to have a team leader, who should occupy center stage. If the other two hunters spread out 60 yards off each flank, the resulting line can create three intersecting cones of fire, well within range of someone. Plus, each flanking hunter can safely extend coverage outward by another 40 yards - with a greater safe-radius to boot. Assuming I’m on center, I’ll locate my decoys and call at 10:00 roughly 25 yards forward of the line (dictated by terrain). The other set will go at 2:00, its e-call controlled by the right-flank hunter. When possible, we’ll also use terrain to control the approach of turkeys - and to amplify our calls. For example, a natural wooded bowl can serve as an amphitheater if the e-calls are located just below its ridgelines. Turkeys may approach along the higher features, but the
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Page 25
“gauntlet” can position accordingly - as long as safe fire zones are maintained! The center leader can initiate calling after allowing for adequate setup time, beginning with standard hen yelps, etc. The second caller may choose to remain quiet at first, depending on what happens next. Without some restraint, the tendency is to over-call, however, responses should govern the strategy. At times, we’ll abandon convention and shift to more aggressive techniques including replication of reallife turkey brawls. Action can escalate to a state of frenzied bedlam if live turkeys join the fray. The resulting confusion often presents shots for several hunters if calling continues. The key here is a setup within the woods, which helps reflect sounds while hamstringing a turkey’s main defense; vision. When using multiple calls, test them first to avoid interference! It’s also helpful to agree on some signals for initiation, silence, or termination of calling sessions (woodpecker, crow, etc.) - but be familiar with the sounds! Keying “bobcat in heat”
is seldom advantageous. Conventional calls can also be added to the mix, either for signaling, to add a bit more drama, or for insurance against “technical difficulties”. Conclusion Conventional calls can also backup a single e-call. For that matter, one e-call is often sufficient – or sometimes even preferable. That’s the method I’ll choose for the sake of simplicity, especially when hunting solo. The previously described field setup is a classic example and easier to execute on the fly. And, actually, some of today’s e-calls can play multiple sounds simultaneously. I always charge my e-call just before its use. I also run it through the intended call series after prolonged storage. Initially, some strange issues may appear (mostly skipped calls), but they quickly disappear after a “wakeup session” on the deck. The remote gets a fresh 9-volt battery each spring whether it needs one or not. So far so good with these precautions. Steve Markwith lives in Warren, Maine.
Greenville
Northwoods Sporting Journal
Page 26
Ramblings From T8-R9 by Benjamin Rioux, Millinocket Lake Getting excited about the first day of open water fishing in northern Maine is more often than not a waste of energy. March 19th is the first day of spring in 2020, but Aroostook County seldom gets that memo. Winter hangs on in our
neck of the woods a little longer than most places, so the official start of our open water fishing season usually falls somewhere towards the middle of May. By then, most (not all) of the snow has disappeared and high-water levels have
Fishing: When’s the Peak?
started their descent back towards safe and fishable levels. This is the time when we typically host our first sports of the season at Libby Camps. I answer a fair bit of emails, phone calls, and messages on social media from potential clients who are interested in spending some time with us over the course of the season. always revolves around has the best fishing, but I Their first question almost what part of the season suspect very few realize how loaded of a question that truly is. The short of
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it is that there really isn’t a bad time to visit us for ERS Restaurant fishing. I like to tell people that it depends on what type of fishing they enjoy, and what their expectations P.O. Box 254 Portage, ME 04768 are for the trip. Everyone Tel: (207) 435-3701 deansmotorlodge.com is different, but generally after those two basic questions I can give people the lay of the land and suggest what weeks they should visit based on their wants and needs. The end of May through the first few weeks of June water levels in our rivers are usually higher than average but trending down towards normal levels. Our ponds are finally WELCOME SNOWMOBIL
(Peak cont. pg 28)
Northwoods Sporting Journal
April 2020
Me & Joe
(Cont. from pg 15) “That makes it even better!” He smiled ear to ear. “What?” said Harold Pitch angrily. “These people have…” “Shut up Harold. Don’t you have the brains to see that this makes it even better. I was worried all along that working with a primitive culture with a language barrier was going to be the biggest obstacle to the show. Now we don’t have those problems. “Tell me, Chief…” “I’m not a chief,” Tom said sheepishly. “You are on television,” Milton said glibly. “So tell me, Chief, can you still do the work? I mean, can you dress the part, fish, hunt, and live off the land and keep speaking the broken English like you did today?” “Yeah, I can, but it would be fake.” “That’s just another name for television. We put on what people want to see, not what it is. Now we can include you in the planning sessions. I’m sure you’ll be able to contribute a lot of fresh ideas. You know, from a Native American perspective.” Harold Pitch had caught on to the concept quickly and his entire demeanor changed. “That’s right! This is going to be even better than before! Why don’t you come up with us, Chief, and we’ll talk. I think an
increase in pay may be in order. You know, commensurate with your education.” He threw an arm across Tom’s shoulders and the three men headed off toward the elevator. Tom looked over his shoulder at us with a growing smile. Joe took Amanda’s shoulder and turned her toward the door. Come on, Senator, we’ll give you a ride back to Clayton Lake.” “I just don’t believe it!” she said on the hotel steps. “I thought all of this was going to be straightforward and aboveboard. Now it looks like it’s going to be,
well, not dishonest, exactly, but certainly misleading and distorted.” “Kinda sounds just like the legislature, don’t it?” Joe said, smiling. “The legislature?! I’ll have you know that the legislature is a patriotic calling, a pure example of democracy in action!” “Cameras ain’t rollin’ right now, Senator. You kin go back to yer civilian talk with us…you know… kinda like with Tom Bear.” “There’s no comparison! That show will present a distorted picture. We, on the other hand…”
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“Are already distorted. Yeah, I know…” Joe headed off toward my Bronco, Amanda hanging off one arm and shouting in
Page 27 his ear. I dug the keys out of my pocket and followed along behind. It was going to be a long, noisy trip to Clayton Lake.
Northwoods Sporting Journal
Page 28
Peak (Cont. from pg 26) free of ice as well, and water temperature everywhere are starting their warming trend. This combined with smelt runs can bring about some of the fastest, most productive fishing of the season. Early Spring is also is a fantastic time to visit because we can offer the widest variety of fishing options and locations. It is during this time that we enjoy spectacularly productive fishing in our area rivers. I highly recommend these early weeks for streamer junkies and fishermen that enjoy wading
technical rivers in search of heavy landlocks and big native brook trout. Lake trout feed in the shallows during the early season as well. As we continue through June, spectacular Caddis and BWO hatches can also pop off without warning and turn an already banner day into a truly unforgettable experience. If you are looking for the most consistent fishing and want to split your time between rivers and ponds, mid to late June can provide the most well-rounded experience of what we have to offer. Day one can be spent streamer or nymph fishing while hopping between rivers and streams
with the help of a 4x4 and canoes, while day two might consist of a flyout to a trophy pond where you’ll fish with sinking lines in the morning and switch to dry flies as the temperatures climb and the hatches start popping off. This is our most buggy stretch, which means black flies are right there alongside some of our most prolific hatches of the season. Trust me when I say that planning your trip around avoiding black flies is a mistake. Bring a bug net, some bug spray, or your favorite cigars and you’ll spend less time worrying about getting eaten, and more time worrying about releasing the fish that
just ate your dry fly so you can get it back out there to catch another one. The hatches of early July are what our pond fishermen and dry fly enthusiasts wait for all year. If you’ve never caught a hex hatch during the last hour of daylight on a Maine pond, calling and booking that trip immediately is strongly advised. The largest brook trout of the season are almost always taken on the surface during this bug buffet, and our guides return to camp regularly during these weeks with stories about having to drag clients off the water well after dark. Expect to fish sinking lines leading
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April 2020 up to the hatches, then switching to floating lines as fish start crashing the surface. You’ll hear the splashes of feeding brook trout long after you’ve departed, and we guarantee it won’t be long before you make plans to return and experience it again. In the middle of July when temperatures reach their peak, we wind down and close up shop for a few weeks to give our guides a much-needed breather before the back half of the season. Be sure to catch next month’s column where I’ll highlight what to expect when you book a fishing trip in August and September! Just remember, if you are one of those people who puts your fly rod away after the hatches die down in July, you’re doing it wrong. In the meantime, more information on our fishing packages are available at the Libby Camps website – www.libbycamps.com or by calling 207-435-8274. Ben is an avid fly fisherman, registered Maine Guide, and the Marketing director for Libby Sporting Camps. When he’s not exploring T8-R9 in search of new water, he can be reached at ben@libbycamps.com
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Northwoods Sporting Journal
Page 29
Early Fishing: Flexibility is Key
You can leave your dry flies at home when the fishing season opens on April 1st. The brook trout and landlocked salmon of our region won’t be looking toward the surface for their food until sometime during the last few days of May, and depending on the weather, not until early June.
I also like to cast wet flies during the early part of the season. I sometimes use a method known as the Leisenring Lift that is named after the Pennsylvania toolmaker, Jim Leisenring, who provides added action and well-known guide in the region, and author of a is far easier to tie. made it famous.
Although there is no number of books, turned In the past, I began surface activity this time me on to a dry fly pattern the season casting streamof year, Lou Zambello, a he calls a Parachute Smelt. ers to imitate smelt that are our baitfish. The smelt leave the lakes and enter the rivers to spawn shortly after ice out. Find the smelt and you’ll find the big fish following them out of the lakes. I use a sinking leader to bring my patterns down to where the brook trout and salmon can usually be found this time of year. Although this will not get my flies as deep as a sinking line, they are easier to cast and in the past have worked fairly well for me. We all have our favorite streamers, but I prefer those with white wings during the early season. Years ago, I replaced the saddle hackle on many of my traditional streamer patterns with marabou. I believe that the marabou
Central Maine Region
Against The Current by Bob Romano, Rangeley, ME It’s tied on a streamer-sized hook, with white dubbing and a Crystal Flash rib. Use white calf tail for the fly’s tail and post, and a white hackle feather for the wing. Floated in the surface film, the pattern is meant to imitate a dead or dying smelt. Suckers will spawn a week or so after the smelt, their eggs adding to the trout and salmon’s menu. Most egg patterns in this region tend to be the color of creamed corn. Of course, nymphs are always active and so make up another element of the fish’s diet. Everyone has a theory on which nymph pattern works better than another. For my money, a tandem
rig, with a large weighted fly and a smaller fly above it, allows you to work the bottom where the fish will be feeding. Not long after the suckers appear, fall fish, also known as chubs, enter the rivers to spawn. These fish grow as large as some of the largest brook trout. Many an angler has been fooled into thinking he or she had hooked a trophy until they discover the trout’s plain-Jane distant cousin at the end of their line. Nothing makes me angrier than to see a disgruntled angler throw a chub on the river bank to die a slow death from suf(Key cont. pg 30)
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Page 30
Key (Cont. from pg 29) focation. Chubs are part of the natural ecosystem, and yes, it can be disappointing to find that the hellacious bend in your rod was caused by a four-pound fall fish, but next time, why not think of it as a freshwater tarpon. I also like to cast wet flies during the early part of the season. I sometimes use a method known as the Leisenring Lift that is named after the Pennsylvania toolmaker, Jim
Northwoods Sporting Journal
Leisenring, who made it famous. The name of this technique can be misleading. After targeting a trout, “Big Jim” would cast a number of feet above the fish and allow his fly to drift naturally down so that at the end of the drift, the current would lift the fly toward the surface like a rising nymph thereby triggering the trout’s reaction. This is what became known as the Leisenring Lift. The name has confused many anglers who believe it requires them to lift the rod at the end of the drift to impart the desired action,
but Leisenring specifically wrote that it is the current that makes the action possible, at the end of the drift naturally raising the fly toward the surface without any action imparted by the rod. Although I use this technique during those infrequent times when a brook trout or salmon makes its presence known, I have found our brook trout to be far more aggressive than Pennsylvania’s brown trout. More often than not, a fish will ignore a dead-drifted #12 wet fly until I twitch the tip of my fly rod and then, watch out! Sometimes, I take a fish on a slow, fast or finger-twisting retrieve. Almost always, it’s the action of the fly more than the particular pattern that provokes a strike. Either way, you should include a
number of wet flies in your early-season arsenal. Last May, I began swinging a Black Ghost through my favorite runs, but found the action lacking. I switched to a wet fly, but didn’t fair much better. I soon discovered that the fish were more interested in egg and nymph patterns. Anglers who were using the Czech method of nymphing were highly successful. It was only later that I discovered the high water and unusually cold temperatures had adversely impacted the smelt’s spawning run. I was taking fish, but not nearly with the frequency of other anglers, who were casting egg and nymph patterns. With less smelt in the river, the fish were not as interested in my Black Ghost, Ballou Special or gold-ribbed hare’s ear wet fly. Also,
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April 2020 the guys using weighted nymphs were better able than I to get their flies to the fish that were hugging the bottom because of the colder than normal water temperature. With so many factors affecting a fish’s response to our efforts, the angler must be flexible. Although, over time, we come to rely upon certain fly patterns, techniques, and lessons learned from past experience, whenever we think we’ve solved the day’s puzzle, the trout prove us wrong! For this reason, I recommend that you carry not only your favorite streamers and wet flies, but also a few egg patterns and plenty of nymphs if fishing the Rangeley Lakes Region early in the season. Located on Maine Street in Rangeley, The Rangeley Sports Shop can fill your fly box with the proper patterns. Brett and Susan Damm will be happy to answer your questions, as will the folks working the counter at The River’s Edge Sport Shop, in Oquossoc. L.L.Cote, located across the border, in Errol, New Hampshire can also supply the flies you’ll need to take fish early in the season.
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Pike
(Cont. from pg 23) water turned white as the leviathan thrashed about. Eventually, Mitch managed to drag the fish over the gunnel of the canoe and dispatch it with the paddle. As our narrator recalled, the northern pike exceeded the length of yardstick; he guessed it close to 40 inches. Mitch strode down Main Street in Old Town holding his prize and quickly drew a crowd of spectators. Excited as a boy could be, he crossed the bridge onto French Island. Once home, his father asked him where he acquired such a fish. Mitch proudly replied, “I caught him up in the stream this morning.” “[Smack!] You were supposed to be in school, son!” Both the pike and the spanking remained vivid in the old man’s memory. The nostalgic spirit lingered in the room, sweet and rich like the smoke of a fine cigar. Naturally, it was I who disrupted the precious moment. I asked in the most innocent and naive tone I could manage “...And you are sure that you caught a pike - it wasn’t a big pickerel was it?” Grandpa Mitch, whitehaired with wit, snapped back: “A 40 inch pickerel?! It was a northern pike... just like those are,” as he pointed back to the photos Ashley had handed him. Any doubt I had in our narrator’s potential species misidentification suddenly disappeared vanished like the leaves of the wind-whipped birches outside Grammy’s polished windows. Now, the State of Maine claims that northern pike were discovered in the
Northwoods Sporting Journal
Pushaw Lake Watershed in 2003 - the result of an illegal introduction. However, Mitch’s story offers another take on the curious history of this toothy invasive in the region. If you choose to believe that a young French Island boy, playing hooky from school, caught a trophy pike in Pushaw Stream in 1945 - nearly 60
years prior to the formal “discovery” - then perhaps “gators” have been lurking in the Penobscot region for a bit longer than originally thought. Whether Mitch’s pike and those found in the watershed today are linked to the same illegal stocking, we cannot be sure. Unfortunately, we lost Mitch in the spring of 2019
at the age of 86. When the snow melts and the rivers rage this month, I will take my first casts of the season and fondly recall our visits with Grandpa Mitch. The stories of his youth live on with the next generation of Maine outdoorsmen.
Page 31 is currently illegal.)
Jonah Paris is pursuing a master’s degree in Teaching from The University of Maine. A four-season outdoorsman, Jonah lives in Scarborough, ME with his girlfriend, Ashley, and beagle, Aurora. Jonah (Note: Using spiny- can be reached at jonafinned fish for bait in Maine heparis@gmail.com
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Northwoods Sporting Journal
April 2020
A Good Coyote Hound
The Buck Hunter by Hal Blood, Moose River, ME Winter is finally beginning to release its icy grip on the north country. We had some March weather the last week of February when the thermometer hit 50 degrees for two days and 40 the following day. That time
winter and all its activities but having snow on the ground for six months can begin to wear on a person’s spirits. If only we could snap a switch on April first and the snow would be gone! As you know, coy-
There are many things that make a great coyote dog…cold trailing ability, speed, and grit to stand up to a coyote that wants to fight.
of year, those temperatures are short lived, but it still feels good to us as well as the animals. My hope is that this spring the snow will melt fast and we will see bare ground by the middle of April. The past two springs, we were still fighting with snow into the early part of May. I like
ote hunting with hounds has become my favorite winter sport. Not only is it fun and challenging, but it gives me a good feeling to help the deer herd when they are most vulnerable. Like any type of hunting, the more you do it, the more you learn about it. We have a great bunch of
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guys that either live around Jackman or travel up to be part of the hunts. The dogs are the most important part of the sport. Without good dogs, you might have some chases, but you will probably not shoot many coyotes. I’ve always loved watching hounds work, whether it was beagles chasing snowshoe hares or the larger hounds running bears. You can see when watching them how much they love what they are doing. There are many things
that make a great coyote dog. These are things like cold trailing ability, speed, and grit to stand up to a coyote that wants to fight. A hunt starts by finding a track made in the night. Obviously the closer it was made to daylight the better, but a good cold trailing dog should be able to work out any track made in the night. It works best to let one dog do this job so they can focus on the track without having to sort though other dog tracks. Once the coyote is jumped, it’s time to add
another dog or two. Sometimes this can be difficult as the coyote has to cross or get near a road or trail you can bring the dogs to. In this country where the snow can get deep, a light, long legged dog works the best. Dogs that weigh much more than the coyote will sink in the snow further and will not be able to keep up with the coyote. If the coyote gets a half a mile or more ahead of the dogs, it becomes hard to get in position for a shot. When the dogs are close to the coyote, it’s a lot easier to get a good position for a shot. The best coyote hunting conditions are when the snow is deep enough to make the coyote jump instead of run. In those conditions it often ends with the coyote baying up and the hounds hold him there until you can get in there to finish him off. Also, when the snow is deep, the coyote will most likely run a snowmobile track or plowed road to try and put some distance on the dogs. By posting up on a trail, the coyote might run right to you. (Hound cont. pg 41)
Northwoods Sporting Journal Guns & Ammo:
April 2020
New Hard-Hitting Turkey Loads
Mercifully the days are slowly but surely getting longer. This yearly reprieve from the cold and darkness of winter known as spring means it’s time to get ready for turkey season. Some people consider this a passion. Specialized hunting like turkey hunting, has a full compliment of unique products, not unlike fly fishing or waterfowl hunting. This is also the time of year that the outdoor industry introduces new products. I have selected a few innovations that caught my attention. Ammunition companies have developed some dedicated shot loads designed to improve your shotguns’ performance on the big birds. Federal Ammo is offering a load called 3rd Degree. It features a 3-stage payload with three different shot sizes in the same shell. It is designed to have an open enough pattern to make those close shots as well as a tight core pattern of heavier shot for the long range head shot. It is
currently available only in 12 gauge, 3” 1 ¾ oz or 3 ½” 2 oz. Winchester Ammo has an offering called the Long Beard XR. It features something called Shot-Lok technology. This consists of a hard resin coating on the lead pellets that virtually eliminates pellet deformation. Forty yards has long been the benchmark for
available in 10 ga., 12 ga., and 20 ga. Interesting developments in shotguns from Savage last year and Mossberg this year, are a downsizing trend in shotguns. Both of these companies are offering very slick, specialized shotguns in .410 bore. These feature full chokes. I have received a great deal of positive
Winchester Ammo has an offering called the Long Beard XR. It features something called Shot-Lok technology. This consists of a hard resin coating on the lead pellets that virtually eliminates pellet deformation.
performance from a turkey load. Winchester claims to have extended that to 60 yards. This product in 3” 12 ga. #5 shot boasts 1200 fps. Remington Ammunition. This offering is called Premium High Velocity Turkey loads. These offer copper plated lead pellets. This is also designed to eliminate deformation of the pellets, thus producing truer flight, denser groups and longer range. They are
feedback as well as photographic proof of their effectiveness on turkeys. I would suggest however, that these are guns for expert level turkey hunters and NOT beginners. I am still an advocate of the old saying, “Use enough gun.”. So, for now, color me skeptical. Specialized choke tubes are not new, but these are more than just tighter chokes.
Page 33
A Guide’s Perspective by Tom Kelly, Orient, ME
Carlson is offering a replacement tube designed for the new high tech multi size shot loads. It is called the Heavyweight TSS Choke Tube. It is available in 12 ga. and 20 ga. It retails for about $45.00. Truglow, the sight people, are offering a tube called The Head Banger Long Range Tube. This tube features a grooved multi-level choke that is ultra-tight. The grooves engage the wad and hold the shot column together longer for longer range and tight patterns. They are compatible with most modern shotguns and hightech loads. Suggested retail is about $60.00. On a non-shooting note, I have seen an ultrarealistic turkey decoy. It is from Primos. It is called a Photo-Form decoy available in jake and hen styles. It is a 3D moulded form with a photo-printed image applied to the form. Very realistic.
So, that’s a quick rundown of some cool new products. I will leave you with a final recurring thought. Turkey hunting is a perfect sport to introduce a new hunter. Please just remember to be safe, and courteous to your fellow hunters. Come and see us at the lake. Tom is a Registered Maine Guide. He is the owner/operator of Shamrock Outfitters in Orient Maine with his wife Ellie. He is a retired police officer as well as a retired manager from two major firearms manufacturers. He is an NRA Certified Instructor as well as a Hunter Safety Instructor in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. You can reach Tom at Shamrock Outfitters (207) 694-2473. Please visit our Facebook Page: Shamrock Outfitters and Properties and come visit us on East Grand Lake.
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At camp, this guy and his gundog - after a morning of chasing pa’tridge - found a comfy place to spend some time with their favorite read, the Northwoods Sporting Journal.
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Where do you read your copy of the Sporting Journal? At camp, in the boat, at the ice shack? We’d love to see a photo of you with your copy of the Journal at an unusual place. If we like it, we will publish it in the Journal. If we select your best shot for publication, we’ll send you an exclusive Sporting Journal hat created just for the occasion. Send your Jpeg photo and a short blurb to vpaulr@tds.net. Please include your contact information, too.
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Page 34
Northwoods Sporting Journal
Maine Outdoor Adventure
Every spring is a unique time in Maine’s frontier. The four seasons offer new perspectives and opportunity for the all living things. Lobsters are back in season, sap is flowing in maple trees, woodcock dance and the rebirth of all living things commence! The land locked smelt in Maine start their annual spawn run leaving their deep, cold, lake water to swim up along river banks. Triggered by the amount of day light, they run up to the origin of their birth. The salter smelt, leave their ocean homes and run up fresh water tributaries to spawn. The rainbow smelt is a predatory fish native to the north Atlantic coastal regions of North America and a few lakes in the Ottawa Valley in the St. Lawrence River watershed. For years, the smelt have
by Rich Yvon, Bradford, ME
been propagated inland by man. The introduction of smelt in water other than their native water, has had catastrophic results of decimating native species like Maine’s Arctic Char. The rainbow smelt is a predatory, carnivorous fish, which feeds on just about anything. They will compete with native fish for food, literally starving a native fish to death. It is considered invasive and doesn’t belong where not historically found. Maine has two distinct rainbow smelt, an anadromous salter and a freshwater land locked version. Rainbow smelt populations occur in northeastern North America, with differences in life history. Historically, smelt had been abundant along the coast for farming, with populations as far south
April 2020
Chasing the Rainbow Smelt
as Chesapeake Bay. Today, some populations are threatened due to loss of suitable spawning habitat, warming of the ocean, predation and over fishing. The populations are dwindling so researchers continue to look for definitive answers. The smelt populations are now only found as far south, just north of Long Island Sound and remain popular forage and bait fish. Typically in Maine, ice out starts in late April and by the beginning of May for lakes. Anglers from all over the state are itching to get their lines wet and partake in an annual ritual of ice out. So as ice melts and rivers swell, Maine’s Rainbow Smelt gather in an annual ritual of spawning. As a spring evening comes into darkness, these small fish come from the lake into the river to spawn. During this time a highly regulated and monitored smelt harvest occurs in the Maine Highlands. For the past 30 years, harvest limits have decreased along with smelt populations. Populations have decreased due
to habitat loss and destruction. Conservation laws ensure the survival of smelt with a balance of a family tradition that has been ongoing for generations by Maine Sportsmen and their families. As ice melts and daylight changes, the primary food source for Maine’s highlands fishery, the Rainbow Smelt, starts to spawn. The land locked Salmon and Lake Trout are now taking the opportunity in feeding on these fish. Fishing for salmon in Maine has traditionally been done in several ways. By trolling flies such as Black Ghost, Grey Ghost and basically anything that imitates a smelt has been a favorite amongst fly fishers. Spinning lure fishing is yet another way to be productive by trolling spinners or spoons like Dare Devils, Laker Takers, Blue-Fox or an old favorite, The Mooselook Wobbler. Whatever method you choose, getting out and shaking off the cabin fever is always a welcomed event in the spring of the year! Another springtime favorite in the Maine high-
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lands is the beautiful, wild and native “brookie” or “square tail”. As glacial lakes begin to have ice out, spring creeks and rivers flow and begin new life for our most revered fishes in Maine. Brook trout come into swollen spring creeks to feed on smelt, spawning sucker eggs, and insect hatches. These fish are very opportunistic, carnivores. The brook trout stream fishing remains very good as long as oxygen and temperatures remain sustainable for the fish. Most fishing takes place in daylight due to the fact that the feeding fish is relying upon their eyesight. As spring runs into summer and water levels reseed, warm and lower oxygen levels take over. The fish now travel back into more cooler, oxygenated bigger rivers, ponds and lakes until fall rolls around and the annual spawn ritual begins. Along with other Maine Char, the brook trout spawn in October and into November. Much like salmon, they lay eggs in stream gravel beds and depressions called redds. The fresh water fishery is one of the best in the U.S., offering a unique world class fishing experience. Rich is a full time, Registered Professional Maine Guide and Luxury Sporting Lodge operator. He is a “Certified Yamaha G3 Guide”. Located in Bradford, Maine, Rich guides World Class Maine hunting, fishing and recreation adventures.
Northwoods Sporting Journal
April 2020
Researching Maine’s Deer
Connor held up his hand to signal there was a deer, then ran at the cage. The other two crew members joined him and with my snowmobile boots and wool on, I tried to keep up. It was a beautiful day in the north woods of Maine and I was fortunate enough to be spending the day with Maine’s deer crew as they
slipped a cover over the deer’s eyes to reduce stress and Justine began prepping a collar. We were silent. In less than four minutes, the doe was collared and bounding away through the cedar swamp. When I asked Connor why they did not drug the deer, he explained that they would need to wait almost
Since the program began six seasons ago, more than 215 collars have been put on deer across three different WMD’s. Currently, there are “between 50 and 60 active deer collars”...
collared deer. We a r i n g h o c k e y masks to protect their faces from stray hooves, they worked quickly and efficiently. Connor entered the mesh cage, called a Clover trap, and bear hugged the young doe, keeping her body on the ground and her legs under her. Jordan
eight minutes for the drug to take affect and then another 30 to 40 for it to wear off. That made sense based on what I had seen the bear crew do during their spring trapping season. The deer crew could go in to the 3.5x4x6 foot mesh cage, pin the deer safely on the ground, collar it and get
out back out of the cage in under five minutes. It puts less stress on the animal and is a better use of time in the field. The field work begins annually after muzzleloading season in early December and ends around the beginning of April depending on the weather and road conditions. Biologists also work to ensure that does in their third trimester are not overly stressed prior to giving birth. Since the program began six seasons ago, more than 215 collars have been put on deer across three different WMD’s. Currently, there are “between 50 and 60 active deer collars” said IFW Deer biologist Nathan Bieber. The collars represent a snap shot in each deer’s life. It can help to monitor where they are traveling, where they yard
Page 35
Women In The Woods by Erin Merrill, Portland, ME
up in the winter, habitat trends as well as give biologists info on mortality. The information also helps the Department determine the number of any-deer permits that will be issued in a given year. The collars transmit data every day. If a collar has not moved in more than four hours, biologists are notified and a field crew gets dispatched to see if the collar has fallen off or if it is a mortality, in which case the field necropsy would take place to determine how the deer died (vehicle collision, predation, malnutrition etc.) We went to 14 different trap sites to check for deer throughout the day. There were two recaptured deer that were quickly re-
leased and the one new deer that I watched be collared. We saw more than 20 deer as we snowmobiled through the backwoods of Maine. It was a great experience to see how another one of Maine’s big game species is so carefully managed and studied. Erin is a member of the OWAA and the New England Outdoor Writers Association. She is a senior writer for Drury Outdoors’ DeerCast and is the President and co-Founder of the non-profit group Women of the Maine Outdoors. You can read about Erin’s adventures and contact her at www.andastrongcupofcoffee.com
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Page 36
Salt Corner by Doug Jowett, Brunswick, ME
I began tying flies around 1963. Back then there weren’t the resources available to learn with like there are today. There were a few books covering basics, by today’s standards, materials were mostly natural furs, feathers and few flash items. My first book was Universal Fly-Tying Guide by Dick Stewart.
Northwoods Sporting Journal
April 2020
Fly Tying Resources
to copy. The best source many sporting organizawas fly fishing catalogs like tions. It was beginning L.L. Bean and Orvis. easier and easier every year During the follow- to find a learning venue ing years, more very good to begin tying flies. The The 48 pages covered the books were published, vid- internet now dominates basics. It contained descent The internet now dominates the quest color photos of popular flies and clearly established for instructional videos. Some are free basic tying techniques. and others fee based. I never use the Step by step photos show fee-based internet resources. I’m a each basic step to tying a self-professed tight ward. fishing fly. With these basics, I eos were produced and the quest for instructional began easily tying flies on some fly-fishing businesses videos. Some are free and my own. But I wanted more saw the wisdom of offering others fee based. I never photos to use as examples free fly-tying classes as did use the fee-based internet
resources. I’m a self-professed tight ward. Some of the books published surfaced are: Dick Surette’s Trout and Salmon Fly Index which contains 140 classic fly patterns illustrted in full color, Fly Patterns of Umpqua Feather Merchants by Randall Kaufmann, Flies for Saltwater by Dick Steward and Farrow Allen and their companion book, Flies for Atlantic Salmon, Fly Tying and Fishing for Panfish and Bass by Tom Keith, Peter (Tying cont. pg 43)
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April 2020
Northwoods Sporting Journal
Page 37
Carburetor Head
When I was a kid, there was a term my family used for people like me, people who liked things with engines. We were called carburetor heads. My earliest carbureted memories were around snowmobiles and boats. Blending the fun and adventure of
the fishing boat. Though I was exposed to the wonders of 2 stroke powered outdoor fun, I was also a frustrated young carburetor head. For my family, the snowmobiles and boats were there for utility, not for fun, simply a way to get in and out of
He wasn’t familiar with this engine, but when I fired it up in the yard, his eyes lit up, he couldn’t find the wad of cash fast enough, there is just nothing better than the sound of that motor. the outdoors with gasoline and 2 stroke smoke always fascinated me. We did a lot of ice fishing when I was young. At the time, I cared a whole lot more about driving the old snowmobile around the lake than catching fish. We spent our summers on the lake, we had a bunch of sailboats and a 14ft aluminum fishing boat with a 15hp Evinrude on the back. If given the choice, I preferred tooling around in
camp and to the fishing. My dad had friends with fancy, new snowmobiles and on the lake, I had friends with fancy, fast boats. I spent a lot of my youth yearning for something fast and fancy of my own…or at least one I could use. It never happened. The handful of times I was given access to someone’s fast snowmobile or a sparkly cool ski boat, I was mesmerized and also scared as heck that I’d damage someone else’s toy
that I could never afford to fix or replace. Enter adulthood, but first, some background. In 1962, 10 years before I was born, Mercury introduced perhaps the coolest outboard motor ever made. The “tower of power” was an inline 6-cylinder two stroke making 90-115 hp. This engine was produced until 1984. Any carburetor head alive today aged 40 and older knows this engine. It’s tall, skinny, powerful, thirsty, responsive and makes the sweetest racket. I had to have one, so I found and old ski boat a few years ago with a low hour, original attached. This motor pushed my boat well over 50mph and even barefoot skied my brotherin-law. I put hundreds of trouble-free hours on this thing over a 12-year period. I sold the boat last year to a millennial carburetor head. He wasn’t familiar with this engine, but when I fired it up in the yard, his eyes lit
Post-Script From Pocasset by Josh Reynolds, Wayne, ME up, he couldn’t find the wad of cash fast enough, there is just nothing better than the sound of that motor. As for snowmobiles, most serious riders are born carburetor heads. Today, people go out of their way to make them even louder with aftermarket “can” exhausts. In the old days, trying deliberately to make a sled loud wasn’t an issue, they were all loud.
In 1983, I was 11 and my father bought a pair of Polaris snowmobiles off his good friend Duncan, one of which was a 1978 Cobra 440, a huge upgrade from the ’69 bubble hood skidoo it replaced. The new to us sleds were already pretty beat up but the Cobra had a great sound and was quick for its time, I was pretty excited when we brought (Head cont. pg 43))
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Northwoods Sporting Journal
Page 38
Mass Wanderings by David Willette, N. Adams, MA It is said that every man deserves at least one great dog, and for Peter Spear of Wilton, NH that dog was a black lab named Tess. Born in December of 2005 Tess was the fourth generation of labs bred by Peter. He had hunted over Tess’s mother Molly for six years now. So you would think that he knew what he was getting when Tess was born. But that wasn’t the case. “Tess was 10 months old in the very first bird season that I hunted over her and she put up a woodcock right next to a raging trout stream, that I couldn’t cross wearing waders,” Spear said. “The bird was flying across the stream when I shot and landed in some overhanging alders, suspended above the wa-
ter. I gave Tess a direction and she plunged into the river without hesitation. She ended up downstream from the bird then swam upstream along the far bank and plucked the bird from the alders and brought it to my hand. It was then that I knew that I had something special”. The following year Tess, still a very young dog, added to her resume of fantastic retrieves with two triple retrieves. One in the early season and one in the very late season. The first one, Tess fetched not one cripple, but two ducks as they drifted downstream. The second retrieve involved ice on the edge of the river. “ It was extremely cold that morning, Spear said”. “Not only did I have the thermal vest on Tess
A Dog Named Tess
but she was also wrapped in an old sleeping bag. It was a mix of Mallards and Black ducks that caught me by surprise. I knocked down two into the 70 yard wide river but the third duck landed in the cattails across the river. Tess got the first two in due time. I really thought that she had forgotten about the third bird. I cast her off and she knew right where to go but the cattails were surrounded by edge ice and she had never encountered it before. She struggled with the ice but then the duck flopped a little bit and that was all the incentive that Tess needed.” Not only did Tess love to hunt, she also loved to show her affection. “This is the fourth generation of this bloodline and Tess was by far the most expressive of her devotion to me“, Spear said. “I’d come home after being away and she would practically do back flips
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when she saw me. I never saw that kind of happiness in any of my other labs.” Of course this love carried over to when Tess gave birth to eight pups, one of which Spear kept, named Jenny. Spear bred Jenny two years ago when she was six and Jenny gave birth to four pups, one of
“She was always on the hunt,” Spear said. “Even if I was out doing yard work, Tess was working the hedgerow looking for something to flush.” I saw this for myself in Tess’s last trip afield. We were hunting woodcock in the same cover mentioned before. Tess’s hips were almost
Not only did Tess love to hunt, she also loved to show her affection. “This is the fourth generation of this bloodline and Tess was by far the most expressive of her devotion to me,” Spear said. which Spear kept, named Katy. But the surprise of this litter was how Tess relished the role of Grandmother. “Tess would lie there and let the pups sleep on her belly”, Spear said. “ She would suckle them as if they were her own. The pups weren’t getting any milk from Tess, but neither the pups or Tess seemed to mind. At the end of the day though, it was hunting birds that Tess loved most.
gone, but she persevered. The going was slow, but you don’t need a fast dog to hunt woodcock. For the day she put up five timber doodles and she retrieved all five. Not a bad days work for a grandmother. Tess finished strong like all great dogs do. RIP Tess.
News
of three snowmobiles in is party when he failed to negotiate a turn in the trail and collided with several trees. Game wardens say unfamiliarity with the trail and speed likely contributed to this deadly crash. Baxter State Park rangers and Millinocket Ambulance members provided (News cont. pg 42)
(Cont. from pg 10) Paquette, 55, from Ashburnham, Massachusetts, was killed shortly before noon this winter when the snowmobile he was operating crashed on Interconnecting Trail System (ITS) 86, about 3.5 miles East of Abol Bridge. Paquette was riding last in a group
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April 2020
Northwoods Sporting Journal
An Exciting Hunt
The following story was printed in the Maine Sportsman magazine at Bangor in February 1895. One of the last moose legally killed in Maine this season was a 1200-pounder with good-sized antlers, brought down by Dr. Heber Bishop of Boston in the Moose River Valley, about 20 miles from Jackman
any of them. The men were well spread out on watch for a yard when Douglass started a big bull moose. He cried out for Sylvester, who was about 150 yards away, to help him head the animal off and keep him in place till Dr. Bishop could come up and kill him. The snow was about two feet deep, with just enough to make
He made for a big tree, but the bull overtook him before he reached it, caught the pack with his antlers and sent Sylvester flying through the air as if he was a football.
station, Monday, the 31st of December. The Doctor had with him three guides from Eustis, Andrew Douglass, Joe St. Ober and John Sylvester. The last named had an exciting time with the big bull and considered himself fortunate to escape with his life. Douglass is one of the oldest guides in Maine. When Dr. Bishop reached Eustis, he offered to take the Doctor to a moose yard made since the last snowstorm. The whole party started on snowshoes for Spencer Lake, and on the way over killed a small caribou, which they cut up for meat. Six cow moose were started, but no attempt was made to shoot
progress slow and difficult. The bull was headed off time and again till he fairly foamed with anger. Sylvester, who is an expert on snowshoes and just a bit reckless got a little too near, and the bull charged at him. He had a heavy pack on his back, and having no gun, was obliged to run. He made for a big tree, but the bull overtook him
Old Tales from the Maine Woods by Steve Pinkham Quincy, MA
of blood showed that he had been hit. All four men followed. In three-quarters of an hour they came in sight of the moose, who was halting every now and then to lie down—a sure sign he was hard hit. They followed him for five or six miles, till, completely fagged, the moose stopped, wheeled half around, and waited for them to come. At a distance of from thirty to fifty yards the Doctor drew his bead on his neck with a .45-70, and the shot was a good one. The animal needed but to be bled after that.
At a logging camp they hired a team of horses with which the moose was dragged out to a tote road, where they put him on a sled and pulled him to Jackman. There he was bonded through to Boston, and on January 10 members of the Megantic Fish and Game Club had a chance to see him whole at the annual dinner of the club in the Hotel Vendome, Boston. Steve is an avid hiker, paddler and historian, having collected over 25,000 Maine Woods articles to date.
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before he reached it, caught the pack with his antlers and sent Sylvester flying through the air as if he was a football. The pack was torn from its fastenings and trampled under the bull’s hoofs. He charged again and struck at Sylvester just as the guide dodged behind a tree. As the bull passed, the guide ran around the tree and away in another direction, out of sight. In the meantime Douglass, who was also without a rifle, was yelling for Dr. Bishop to come up and shoot. His cries attracted the attention of the moose, who looked at him and made a movement as if to charge in his direction. Not caring to take chances, Douglass crawled under a blow down, and the moose started to trot away down the steep of the ridge just as the Doctor and St. Ober arrived. A snap shot was taken at the bull, and a trail
Page 39
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Northwoods Sporting Journal
Outdoors In Maine
by V. Paul Reynolds, Ellsworth, ME Most of us who hunt for wild meat or pick wild berries and mushrooms, and take profound pleasure from the hunter-gatherer act, recognize that there is an ancestral or antediluvian connection. Your cave man lineage is likely to take on
death! During the research, the ice man took on a nickname: Otzi. Spindler’s detailed account is fascinating, not only for its insights into what life may have been like in the Neolithic era, but for what it demon-
April 2020
The Man in the Ice
fashioning a new one when sleep overtook him after dining on some Ibex meat. He never woke up, apparently death by freezing. The ice man’s half-finished bow was made from yew wood, which was the bow wood of choice in that age. Yew has no resin and is tough, but elastic and does not splinter. The handle of Otzi’s axe, which, surprisingly, had a copper blade,
This is a photo of the real Otzi after he endured more than 5,000 years buried in the ice.
shoes filled with straw, a much more elaborate loin This is an artist’s cloth than Tarzan wore and Here is a puzzle for you. Around Otzi’s wrist was a leather rendering of what Otzi a heavy cloak made from thong containing dried mushrooms. Was this a decorative may have looked like woven straw and other device? Did the Alps man enjoy some sauteed Portobellos from a study of his natural fibers. well-preserved corpse. with his Ibex loins? The ice man was also a new focus if you spend strates about the astonish- was also fashioned from fashioned belly pouch that a big fan of tattoos, insome time with a book ing potential of forensic yew. Spindler writes,”As contained flint and other cluding a cruciform tattoo titled “The Man in the science to unravel puzzles for the wooden objects (in fire-starting material. There on the inside of his right Ice” by Konrad Spindler. that may seem at first to be the ice man’s possession), also was a leather quiver of knee. He still had most of Dr. Spindler is an Austrian utterly inscrutable. the variety of tree species arrows and a backpack with his teeth, though, as you might expect, his teeth archaeologist. Otzi, in all probabil- represented is astonish- a leather pannier. Spindler is one of ity, was on the lam, fleeing ing.” He also explains that Here is a puzzle for were ground down because the scientists who was from danger and violence the chosen raw material you. Around Otzi’s wrist of his diet. “The Man in the Ice,” intimately involved in the encountered at his village was a matter of survival was a leather thong conpreservation and study of in the lowlands. (To this for Neolithic man and thus taining dried mushrooms. Conrad Spindler, published the ice-preserved corpse of day, the Alps and its un- his knowledge about the Was this a decorative de- by Harmony Books of the Neolithic man discov- predictable weather, claim nuances of best-suited tree vice? Did the Alps man New York. Included in the ered in a melted glacier in close to 200 mountaineers species surpassed modern enjoy some sauteed Porto- book are some remarkable the Austrian Alps in 1991. a year.) The forensic evi- man’s. bellos with his Ibex loins? color photos. It provides Carbon-14 dating estab- dence suggests that Otzi, None of the above, at an informative and intriguFound near Otzi’s inlished that the middle-aged with some broken ribs, was credibly preserved corpse least according to Spindler. ing glimpse at one of our mountaineer was 5,300 in pain. He had lost his bow was a number of other He theorizes that this was hunter-gather ancestors and years old at the time of his and was in the process of interesting items. A birch Otzi’s meds. The fungi was a compelling testimony to bark container held cold known to have been used as the marvelous strides of embers that had been a an anti-biotic by people of forensic science. Don't miss the method to transport his the Stone Age. Maine Professional Guides Association's camp fire from site to site. Otzi was well clothed th in leather leggings, leather The ice man wore a hand40 ANNUAL BANQUET & MEETING The author is editor of the “Northwoods Sporting Journal.” He is also a Maine guide and host of P.O. Box 500 Island Falls, ME 04747 207-463-2828 a weekly radio program HUNTING SUPPLIES — “Maine Outdoors” — Jeff's Catering HUNTER ORANGE CLOTHING heard Sundays at 7 p.m. 15 Littlefield Way, Brewer on “The Voice of Maine AMMO, CAMO, BOOTS & MORE!!! 5:00PM - Happy Hour/Cash Bar News - Talk Network.” He 5:30PM - Welcome Speech and Annual Meeting Open Mon. Wed. 7-6, COME has authored three books; 6:00PM - Dinner VISIT online purchase informaThurs. - Sat. 7-7, Sun. 9-5 SEATS GO QUICKLY! tion is available at www. OUR Full Line of Grocery & Meats Email: pgross@maineguides.org for reservations maineoutdoorpublications. LARGE Deli, Beer, Sandwiches, Chips Send check to: MPGA, c/o Pat Gross com. or at www.sportingBEER Liquor Store, Pizza To Go and 3 North Stonington Road, Stonington, ME 04681 journal.com CAVE! Hardware See you there!
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Jerry’s
April 2020
Hound (Cont. from pg 32) Sometimes a coyote is just mean and will turn on the dogs and fight them. This is especially true when a coyote is bayed up. This is where that grit comes in. A dog that is not intimidated by the coyote and will fight with him is a real help, especially if they are running with a younger dog that has not seen any of this action. Like anything
Northwoods Sporting Journal else it’s the older generation teaching the youth the ropes. Watching hounds work is a really a special experience. I can really see that our coyote hunting over the past few years is making a big impact on saving the wintering deer in this area. I have only heard of a few deer killed by coyotes all winter and there was never one driven out on the lakes and killed. I can remember a year when I found 14 dead deer on one
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lake in a 2-week period. So, our crew will continue to do what we can to save one deer at a time, all the while enjoying the winter. I would also like to thank all of my fellow hunters who are doing the same. Until next month, good luck on the trail! Hal is a Master Maine Guide and Author. He lives in Moose River Maine with his wife Deb. Hal can be contacted at hal@bigwoodsbucks.com
Layla Pickering, 15, of Blue Hill caught this 2.65 lb White Perch at Branch Lake in Ellsworth. Although it is a pound short of the state record, state fisheries biologist Greg Burr said it was the biggest he’d ever seen in his career. (Photo courtesy of Bangor Daily News)
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Northwoods Sporting Journal
Fishin’ Lake Ontario by Capt. Ernie Lantiegne, N.Y.
After fishing for landlocked salmon in New York State’s inland lakes and ponds since 1954 and for kings and landlocks in the Great Lakes since 1977, one thing I’ve learned is that what catches kings catches landlocks and both are suckers for dodgers and flies.
years starting back in the early ‘80s when I trailed them with squids and later, beginning in 2001, when I rigged mylar trolling flies behind them. I still remember one of my first Lake Ontario trips fishing dodgers and flies for spring kings. It was May 18, 2001, and we were
Dodgers have been a go-to salmon attractor on my charter boat for many years starting back in the early ‘80s… Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of chinook salmon trolling techniques come and go, but one that hasn’t gone is the dodger and fly. It is especially deadly for king salmon and landlocks, but this attractor fly combo also catches cohos, browns, lakers, and steelhead. Dodger/flies are deadly trolled alone or in combination with spoons on down riggers, Dipsy Divers, lead core and copper line, and flat lines, deep or near the surface. Dodgers have been a go-to salmon attractor on my charter boat for many
New
(Cont. from pg 38) significant assistance in this incident. Paquette was operating a 2019 SkiDoo Renegade 850 and was wearing a helmet. Paquette’s body was taken to Lampson Funeral Home in Millinocket.
Pair Survive Broken Ice
Brian Sutch, 53, and his daughter Falen, 16, from Manchester, Connect-
in 150 feet of water east of Oswego. The early morning brown trout bite had been hot in shallow water, but after moving offshore to fish for kings, we had trolled for an hour without a nibble. Gary House and his three fishing buddies were starting to have some doubts about the dodgers and flies we were trolling. Then, just as the first school of bait showed on the fish finder, the screech of the drag on a Penn reel signaled, “Fish on! Ten minutes later, a 21 lb. king salmon was thrashing in the net along with a chrome/ icut, were traveling northwest on North Twin Lake when they broke through thin ice shortly before 7:00 p.m. Feb 18. Both were operating their own machines when they quickly became submerged. They managed to get themselves out of the water and onto safe ice while wearing full riding gear and helmets. They were then able to call 911. A game warden and members of Millinocket Fire Department responded and located the subjects
April 2020
Dodgers and Flies for Landlocked Salmon
silver prism #0 dodger and an aqua Howie fly. As we re-rigged the thumper rod, more bait showed on the fish finder and more rods fired. At the end of the trip Gary and his buds had 10 delicious, silvery spring king salmon in the cooler, every one caught on a dodger/fly. Dodgers and flies work just as well today. On April 19, 2019, we were in 30’ of water 50 feet off the end of Oswego Harbor’s detached break wall. The center rigger was down 25 feet when the rigger rod doubled over and line peeled off the Penn reel. Minutes later the first king salmon of the 2019 season came aboard along with a chrome/silver prism #0 dodger and aqua Howie Fly. Some things never change. Over the years aboard my charter boat many, many king salmon along with a good number of landlocked salmon have fallen prey to dodgers and flies. There aren’t a lot of landlocks in Lake Ontario compared to kings, but if
I’m targeting Salmo Salar Sebago, there are always one or more dodgers and flies in the water. One of my favorite rigger spreads for landlocks includes at least two dodgers and flies along
rigger weights. Either 8” #0 or 6” #00 dodgers trailed by mylar or standard New England trolling flies are fished 6 to 8 feet behind the ball with a spoon rigged on an 8’ cheater leader attached to the main line 4 to 6 feet above the dodger/fly. For landlocks, short leader lengths from the dodger to the fly usually work best. A good starting point is a 12-16 inch leader for #00 dodgers and a 16-21” leader for #0 dodgers. My favorite dodger colors…, chrome/ A sublegal Lake Ontario landlocked salmon about to be silver prism when it’s overreleased. cast and silver glow in the with spoons. A 2-rigger spread with dodgers on the sun. Simple, deadly! main lines directly behind the downrigger releases and spoons cheated above Capt. Ernie Lantiegne them is ideal for small has operated Fish Doctor boats in inland waters. If depths fished are Charters on Lake Ontario 45 feet or less, as in most for 37 years, and worked as inland landlocked salmon a fishery biologist/manager waters, 6 lb. downrigger for the NYS Dept. of Envion the west side of the balls are ideal and actually ronmental Conservation lake; map and location at- more effective than larger for 22 years. tached. The Sutch’s were www.fishdoctorcharters.com taken by rescue sled to an awaiting ambulance and Lake Ontario Trout & Salmon transported to Millinocket EXPERIENCE Says It All! -30 years USCG Captain/Guide Regional Hospital where -22 years NYS Fishery Biologist/Manager they were treated for mild QUALITY Sportfishing hypothermia. Both are recovering and have been released from the hospital. The Sutch’s snowmobiles, a 2015 Polaris 600 and a 2009 Ski-Doo 600, remain Captains Ernie and Carol Lantiegne on the bottom of the lake in 239 Fravor Rd. Mexico, NY 13114 about 25 feet of water. Email: elantiegne@twcny.rr.com
315-963-8403
April 2020
Tying (Cont. from pg 36) Keane’s Guide To Fly Fishing, Fly Tyer Pattern Bible, Striped Bass Flies by David Klausmeyer, Saltwater Flies of the Northeast by Angelo Peluso and many more, including Northwoods Sporting Journal’s own Bob Leemans book Trolling Flies for Trout & Salmon. As fly-fishing interest exploded during the late 1970’s and into late 1990’s, enterprising fly shops, guides and fishing outfitters began filming television shows and CD’s focusing of fly tying. Fishing conservation organizations began offering fly tying classes. The idea really caught on. The center piece of tying fishing flies is the
Head (Cont. from pg 37) them home. Enter adulthood again. For sled-head, carburetor heads, there is nothing better than a 2-stroke triple – triple, meaning triple cylinders with triple exhaust pipes. The late 1990s to the early 2000s were the heyday of this platform. Arctic Cat, Polaris, Ski-doo and Yamaha all made their own versions. Everybody has their favorites, for me, the Yamaha takes the cake. If you want a snowmobile that sounds like a Ferrari, goes 0-90mph like a funny car at the dragstrip, and is pretty much bullet proof, it’s the “red-top” Yamaha triple – named for the red
Northwoods Sporting Journal vise used to secure a hook in the meaningful manner to allowing attachment of materials to it. The Thomson AA vice was an early and functional tying vise which wasn’t expensive and still holds true today. Newer vises began to hit the market, well designed, precision made and functional with specialty attachments. Most vices used a “C” clamp to attach it to a bench or table followed by weighted pedestals. Next to become popular were rotary vices which allowed a hook to be turned on an axis as you tied the fly. Tools are numerous. I always buy very good scissors. You will need one for rough cutting of course fur and a finer pair for trimming and cutting feathers. Somewhat complete tool kits are available with wood or leather
cases for travel. One can tie flies on the living room table or have a permanent table with plenty of storage draws. Roll top desks have always been popular for a man cave or she shed. My first quest in tying flies was to save money. Forget that thought. Over the years I have spent way more on materials, hooks, tools, vices, books, videos and other stuff to more than cover the cost of the flies I would have purchased. But it’s fun.
paint color of the cylinder heads. I’ve never purchased a new snowmobile, boat or any other carbureted toy – I’m either too thrifty, too short on funds, or too conservative, take your pick. Last year I did something dumb, no, I didn’t buy a new sled, but I did trade my 2000 ski-doo tundra straight up for a Yamaha 700 triple. The Tundra was practical, bullet proof, slow and boring. Being the carburetor head that I am, I couldn’t take it anymore. The Yamaha popped up on Facebook marketplace. The guy wanted to trade for an ice fishing sled. I called him and said, “I’ve got just the thing you need.” We met, I rode the Yamaha and was immediately hooked on that screaming triple.
My “new” sled is a 2001 with over 10,000 miles on it. I told you it was a dumb move and I couldn’t be happier, if it blows up tomorrow I’m fine with it. So far, it’s given me nearly 400 trouble free miles and I’m not sparing with the throttle. So cheers to all you carburetor heads out there. The day is coming when all that will remain is quiet, clean 4 strokes - they’ll still be fast, powerful and much better for the environment – but nothing will ever stir the carbureted soul like the Mercury tower of power or the Yamaha red topped triple.
Captain Doug Jowett is a Master Maine Guide holding a USCG Captain’s License who charters striped bass anglers on the coast of Maine and Cape Cod.. He may be reached at: www.mainestripedbassfishing.com
Josh Reynolds is the assistant editor of The Journal. He can be reached at jreyn207@gmail.com
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Oswego
Northwoods Sporting Journal
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Northwoods Sketchbook by Mark McCollough, Hampden, ME Life as a bird rehabilitator is not always pleasant. On a day in May, Marc Payne and Diane Winn at
April 2020
The National Eagle Repository
dering on the shore near Mount Desert Island. It did not resist capture by Warden Joe McBrine. Multiple
By federal law, you and I cannot possess eagle feathers or parts. Native Americans are the only people who can. In 1994 after meeting with 300 tribal leaders, President Bill Clinton signed an executive order that required all deceased eagles be sent to the National Eagle Repository.
This was no ordinary eagle. It was wearing a Avian Haven said good- wounds on the wing and bye to an old friend. A right leg indicated that the heavily worn aluminum month previous, an adult bird was injured in a ter- band. Tracing the faded numbers 629-12255, Marc bald eagle was found floun- ritorial dispute.
Carroll’s Corner How Much Does That Trout Weigh? One of the questions that always comes up when larger fish are discussed, is what did the fish actually weigh? Many years ago, during our days at the Broadback River in Quebec, we learned a method of determining, most importantly accurately, how much a fish weighs. This method was taught to us by nationally-renowned taxidermist, Dave Footer. Dave was regarded as one of the leading fish taxidermists in the entire country and for many years, he mounted dozens of very large brook trout that came from the Broadback. Dave’s method was very accurate for fish in the salmonid family, specifically trout, salmon and togue. This method requires two measurements. The first is to take a careful measurement from tip of the nose to the tip of tail. The second measurement is taken around the body, directly in front of the dorsal fin. With either measurement, pull the tape snug, and take the measurement quickly. I keep a pen and a small note pad in my tackle bag so that I can record the numbers. Write the numbers down and then do this: The measurement in front of the dorsal fin is called the girth. The formula is girth times girth times length, divided by 800. As an example, a trout with a 15” girth, and 20 inches long will weigh approximately 5 ½ pounds. This formula is extremely accurate, typically within a couple of ounces. Take a picture, time allowing, of both sides of your fish if you want to have a reproduction mount by your taxidermist. Care must be taken during this entire process because the first concern should be for the fish. Getting the measurements is a part of this but releasing the fish successfully should be the priority. When handling the fish, keep your fingers away from the gill plate area. Lift the fish by supporting his head, the other hand holding him just ahead of the tail and, and carefully lower him into the water. Hold him facing upstream so that fresh water can flow through his gills. Give him plenty of time and he’ll tell you when he is ready to swim, usually flipping his tail and giving you a face full of water. Catch and release promotes improvement in the fishery and it is great feeling to watch them swim away. For bass fans, Maine’s IF&W Fisheries Division used to publish a chart for weights of small and largemouth bass, based on body length. Take the picture and enjoy those memories! Next month: Get The Dogs Out Carroll M. Ware is a Master Maine Guide, holder of forty-eight world fly-fishing records and a two-time Maine Professional fly-casting champion.
and Diane learned it was banded by Maine’s eagle biologist, Charlie Todd, in a nest in New Brunswick in 1983. At 36 years-old, this eagle was the oldest known living eagle in Maine! Unfortunately, the old eagle did not recover from its injuries, and it was deemed non-releasable. Marc and Diane hoped to keep the mild-mannered bird at their facility as a surrogate to help calm other eagles that were healing, but it developed osteoarthritis in the left knee and could not stand. Its quality of life in captivity was no longer deemed possible, and a difficult decision was made to euthanize the eagle. But this is not the end of this eagle’s story. Somewhere in this country it is still soaring. By federal law, you and I cannot possess eagle feathers or parts. Native Americans are the only people who can. In 1994 after meeting with 300 tribal leaders, President Bill Clinton signed an executive order that required all deceased eagles be sent to the National Eagle Repository. Eagles have long held great
importance among Native Americans. They can obtain a permit to obtain the carcasses and feathers of bald and golden eagles for use in religious and cultural ceremonies. Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife froze and carefully packaged Maine’s oldest eagle. In early summer it was sent with other deceased eagles to the National Eagle Repository located at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Denver. There U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service forensic biologists clean and carefully prepare eagle carcass for shipping across the county to tribal members. The eagle remains are used to create intricate headdresses, dance shawls, and other pieces for religious and cultural ceremonies. Many eagles have made the return trip to Maine to be distributed among the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Micmac, and Maliseet tribes. Sometimes tribal elders apply to the repository and disperse feathers to honor other members. Using eagle parts (Eagle cont. pg 59)
April 2020
Northwoods Sporting Journal
South Of the Kennebec by Stu Bristol, Lyman, ME
Tips from the Crappie Commander Friends are beginning to call me the “Crappie Commander” and that doesn’t bother me. Over the years as a freelance outdoor columnist I’ve been given a number of different labels. If, by targeting black crappies in my guide service tags me as a crappie commander, so be it. Black Crappies are becoming one of the most sought after of Maine’s invasive fish species. For years I offered trout and salmon trips as well as guide services on southern Maine lakes and ponds. Most of the time it was necessary to make long trips to the Rangeley Lakes Region or farther north due to the fact that local lakes warm up dramatically during the summer months. Then I recognized the growing interest in crappie
Assortment of crappies lures
(Photo byStu Bristol)
Spend any amount of time on southern Maine lakes and ponds and you will quickly learn that different fish species can be targeted by habitat. If you wish to fish bass, find the underwater wood or rock piles if you want small-
What is more attractive to guide clients than a species or two or three of fish that are almost always hungry, affording double digit catches, and are close to home? and perch fishing by nonresident clients. It was like a light bulb went on over my head. What is more attractive to guide clients than a species or two or three of fish that are almost always hungry, affording double digit catches, and are close to home? Add to those qualities the fact that crappies, white perch and northern pike are very good fried, baked and just about any way you prefer to cook them.
mouths. Fish the tall reeds and heavy cover, if you want northern pike, and find the shallow weed beds and loose rock, and find flooded brush if you want white perch and crappies. Not to dwell on the disadvantages of having black crappie in ponds and lakes, but they could very quickly overpopulate and drive down the cold water species. A single female black crappie lays between 20,000 and 50,000 eggs
each spawning period. While crappies feed primarily on suspended insect life and zooplankton, the more mature fish feed on minnows, especially sunfish, bass and, yes, even trout and salmon fry. Crappies can be found year-round in large schools. Concentrate on shallow weed beds, brush piles and heavy vegetation. Use your fish finders during the summer to locate submerged stumps, trees and brush. Then, in winter target these areas by making a circle of traps roughly 25-50 feet in diameter leaving a couple holes in the center to jig. Bait, both summer and winter, range from small minnows to 1/16 oz. to 1/8-ounce jigs dressed with chennile and maribou. I find that red, white, chartreuse and black are popular colors. Because crappie bite (Crappie cont. pg 51)
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Northwoods Sporting Journal
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Maine Turkeys: Less Conservative Hunt Plan
Flight Feathers by Brad Allen, Bangor, ME
a harvested turkey, and dramatically increasing bag To all my wild tur- lations (recently estimated limits. I will say that much key hunting and watch- to be approximately 65,000 of the pressure we experiing friends out there I’d birds) with a responsible enced over the years has like you to know that the science-based manage- moved the needle to a less Department’s wild turkey ment plan. To get here we conservative, hunt plan. management program is have the support of our My goal all along has been right on track. First, In- agency’s senior manage- to maintain one of the best
Many years ago I argued to maintain the noon time hunting day closure to protect nesting hens. I lost that battle and today I will admit that I was wrong. All day hunting has been well received, a small percentage of birds are taken in the afternoon, and the population continues to grow. land Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW) spearheaded restoration activities back in the 1970s with the support of many individuals associated with the National Wild Turkey Federation. That support continues today as we attempt to balance abundant wild turkey popu-
April 2020
ment helping us fund the research and address the annual Legislative actions when good intentioned individuals push potential law changes for significant hunt plan adjustments like eliminating the wild turkey hunting permit, removing the requirement to register
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spring wild turkey hunts in the country. I receive this feedback frequently from individuals who have hunted in numerous other states. “If it aint broke, don’t fix it”. Many years ago I argued to maintain the noon time hunting day closure to protect nesting hens. I lost that battle and today I will admit that I was wrong. All day hunting has been well received, a small percentage of birds are taken in the afternoon, and the population continues to grow. Perhaps faster than we might have suggested we have opened up areas to hunting and increased bag limits on several occa-
Photo by Brad Allen
sions. These changes have increased hunting opportunity the wild turkey population has not suffered. Most importantly in 2017, the Maine legislature granted IFW the authority over season setting and harvests of wild turkeys. So today I repeat, we got this. We a r e n o w p o sitioned to make sound science-based wild turkey management decisions into the future. IFW game bird biologist Kelsey Sullivan is working closely with researchers at the University of Maine investigating the size and important biological processes supporting a healthy wild turkey population. Their major objectives are to develop tools for wild turkey population
and harvest estimation, assess population parameters (survival and nest ecology studies) under varying landscape conditions and evaluate the prevalence of wild turkey diseases in Maine. The researchers just released their year-two findings, I’ll summarize this below. Using various turkey capture techniques and with the help of graduate students, wildlife technicians and IFW regional biologists, they captured and banded 124 wild turkeys in 2018 and 395 in 2019. The researchers fitted 155 of the female turkeys with radio transmitters to monitoring movements and nesting. Blood samples (Plan cont. pg 57)
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April 2020
Northwoods Sporting Journal
Why Hunt Elsewhere?
I’ve had the opportunity to hunt wild turkeys in a number of states in recent years. I experienced good luck in Virginia, had to hunt hard my first time
England. Depending upon whose estimate you go by, Maine is home to 50,000to 60,000 birds, some quote up to 70,000. Whatever the
non-residents, although a hunting license is also required. In most wildlife management districts hunters are also allowed two bearded birds in most wildlife management districts and hunting is allowed all day, from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. With everything considered it is somewhat surprising that
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Muzzleloading Afield by Al Raychard, Lyman, ME
in the fall, or two bearded birds in the spring and none in the fall. If two birds are taken in the spring, the first can be taken statewide but the second must be taken Wildlife Management Units H1, H2, J2, K, L or M which cover the south-
Valley, White River Valley and around Lake Champlain. A hunting or combination license is required in addition to turkey permit with turkey permits costing $23 for residents and $38 for non-residents. Spring hunters are allowed two
Depending upon whose estimate you go by, Maine is home to 50,000- to 60,000 birds, some quote up to 70,000. Whatever the number it is an impressive increase from the handful initially released some 40 years ago. With plenty of birds, long seasons, affordable license fees and generous spring limits the author hunts close to home these days. in Ohio and New York number it is an impressive and departed both states increase from the handful empty handed. Despite a initially released some 40 population over 250,000 years ago. I don’t know at the time I hunted there about everywhere, but in and plenty of encouraging my neck of the woods here gobbling in north-central in York County we see Pennsylvania, I didn’t pull turkeys everywhere and the trigger on a bird. The the hunting opportunities birds in the Keystone State are excellent, more than simply proved smarter enough to keep me home. than I. I have yet to hunt Add in the fact that hunting the states typically on the pressure is relatively low top 10 list of “best tur- compared to many other key hunting states,” states states, finding a patch of like Missouri, Georgia and woods with birds to hunt is Alabama and others in the relatively easy. The spring middle and upper mid- season is generously long west, but despite each of opening May 4 and stretchthese hot spots is home to ing to June 6 this year more turkeys and hunters Maine is tough to beat. The in those states kill more only down side I can see birds each spring than all is Sunday hunting is still six New England states not allowed. There is also combined, I see little need the fact that turkey permits to. In fact, these days I are a giveaway at just $20 rarely leave northern New for residents as well as
Maine has so few turkey hunters and produces so few spring birds, just 6,612 in 2019. The spring hunting across the border in New Hampshire is excellent, too. With an estimated population of 40,000, there’s more than enough birds to go around, and finding them is generally no problem. About 4,000 spring birds are taken annually there. The New Hampshire spring season opens May 1 and ends May 31 and Sunday hunting is allowed. Resident turkey permits sell for $16 and non-resident permits for $31. Although hunters must also be in possession of a regular, combination of archery license in addition to a turkey permit, it is still a good deal. Each turkey permit comes with two tags. Hunters can take one bearded bird in the spring and one bird of either sex
ernmost regions of the state Sunday hunting is also allowed in Vermont. As in New Hampshire spring hunting activities must end at noon, but with a turkey population in excess of 45,000 it is seldom a handicap. Turkey distribution in Vermont now exceeds their historical range and the spring hunting opportunities are excellent throughout much of the state, especially along the middle and lower Connecticut River
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bearded birds statewide and success rates run about 25 percent. More than 35 percent of hunters taking a first bird take a second bird with spring hunters taking between 5,000 and 6,000 birds annually. Hunters should check the regulation in each state for more particulars but with spring turkey season just around the corner I see little reason to hunt anywhere else. Good luck and be safe out there!
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Northwoods Sporting Journal
Page 48
April 2020
Fly Fishing: Getting Started
THE BACK SHELF
been at it a decade or two From the files of the Northwoods Sporting Journal has perfectly good fly rods The best hunting and fishing columns going back 25 years and fly reels they haven’t used in years, tucked away in drawers and closets. There might be a better By Jack Gagnon used for something else, deal across the street than So you’re going to like high quality waders. you’ll find anywhere else. take up fly fishing. You’ll We’ll get to that. You will want new need equipment. Thumbing A used rod should flyline. Line finishes dethrough catalogs is fine, have unfrayed wrapping grade over time, making but before you take out the on the guides, and fer- them tougher to cast. Worn credit card and reach for rules that fit well. A used fly lines also absorb wa-
You’re going to need backing on the reel if it doesn’t already have it. Backing isn’t just extra running line in case you hook a fish that bolts to the other side of the river. Backing increases the diameter of the spool, allowing more line to be retrieved with each turn. the phone, consider buying a used rod and reel. New isn’t necessary. New doesn’t catch more fish. The major difference between a brand new fly rod and reel and a comparable used outfit that’s been well maintained is the packaging you get to discard. The money you save can be
reel should be free of rust, with a drag that functions properly. When you look at used equipment, take someone with you who already flyfishes. They’ll know what to look for. And don’t overlook friends and neighbors as an equipment resource. Every fly fisherman I know who’s
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ter; sinking lines get too heavy and floating lines sink. I would suggest you start with just a floating weight-forward fly line. For general stream fishing, it will handle wets, dries, nymphs, and even streamers, with a little weight attached to the leader when needed. You can easily spend a hundred dollars or more on a fly line, but you can spend less than half that and still get a quality line with a good guarantee. And this is a great time of the year to find tackle on sale. You’re going to need backing on the reel if it doesn’t already have it. Backing isn’t just extra running line in case you hook a fish that bolts to the other side of the river. Backing increases the diameter of the spool, allowing more line to be retrieved with each turn. You can put the backing and fly line on the reel yourself. If you Google “fly fishing knots” there are numerous websites that show you how to do it. If you have a fly fishing shop nearby,
Part 1
buy your line and backing there, and let them do this for you. Ask them to also attach a hard mono loop to the end of your fly line. The mono loop will allow easy attachment of leaders for the life of the line. Waders are personal. You live in them when you fish. They have to fit. They have to keep you dry. If someone wants to give you their old waders, a simple no thank you will suffice. People buy new waders for one reason: Their old ones leak. There’s no item of fly fishing equipment that is more important for your comfort, and your safety, than your waders. Buy the best waders you can afford. No leak is acceptable, ever. On a warm spring day, when the water temperature is in the fifties, or even the sixties, a damp foot or knee will transition from a minor irritation, to shivering, faster than you can wade out of the stream. Waders come in many styles. Boot foot waders that have the “shoe” built in tend to be the least expensive. If they feel right and have a reasonable guarantee, they might be all you need. If you prefer a bit more ankle support, stocking foot waders with separate wading shoes and ankle gaiters (gravel
guards) might be the way to go. Whatever you choose, be sure the soles have some version of felts attached. Felts give you traction on slippery surfaces. Plain rubber soles are treacherous. Without felts, slippery rocks on the stream bottom feel like greased bowling balls. Note that we’re talking about chest waders. Not hip boots. Hip boots have their place but wading a trout stream beyond knee deep is not one of them. Some waders have the required suspenders attached to them, some don’t. And don’t overlook the purchase of thick socks that cushion your feet and insulate you against the stream temperature. Take your time assembling your wading gear. Be sure it all fits. Put your socks and waders on and walk around in them before you buy them. They should fit as well as your shoes. In next month’s column, I’ll discuss some other things you’ll need to get started. Have a grand New Year! Jack Gagnon is an avid fly fisherman and upland bird hunter. He has written for a number of national sporting publications.
April 2020
Northwoods Sporting Journal
“Just Fishing” by Bob Leeman, Bangor, ME
Those Were the Days, My Friend
The call was “ICE OUT” at your favorite fishing lake. In Maine and the Northeast, the call probably came in mid-to-late April, or thereabouts. It was time again for trolling the chilled wa-
to attract an inquisitive fish. Sometimes a live smelt was sewed on a hookrig with care, dropped over the opposite side, and checked for too much rolling, too little rolling, or no
a bit faster this time, and closer in. Then “POW” – a STRIKE! A fish hit the streamer-and is into the air back there! Get the net! Oh, man! A nice four-pounder!
First things first. The first streamer fly was mulled over and selected, probably being a Grey Ghost, Barnes Special, or a local favorite. ters for landlocked salmon and trout. For sure, it was cold, and mostly assuredly windy, and raw, angry wind at that. But, no matter, boats and motors were readied for action, and hauled and launched with anticipation to the water’s edge, along with all the gear a horse could haul, including, of course, the favorite trolling rods, books of streamer flies, and a fully loaded tackle box of lures. Too, a few live smelts were procured from the local bait dealer-just in case. First things first. The first streamer fly was mulled over and selected, probably being a Grey Ghost, Barnes Special, or a local favorite. It was fastened carefully on with a clinch knot, and tested for leader strength. Then it was flipped over the boat side and watched for the right motor trolling speed
Iceout Trolling. rolling at all. A check of Those were the days my the reel with lead core line friend. And it still happens let out and maybe just one and one-half colors would today. Maybe not quite like it used to. But the be just right, for now. Okay, we’re ready to interest is still there: new troll, as we head for those streamer flies with glistenfavorite “grounds” -like ing flashabou and importnear and slightly off those ed outboards with funny lake inlets and outlets, names. The boats are not where lake smelts would just boats anymore. These be spawning soon, if not days they’re slick crafts already. And later, do a of molded plastic mostly. little deeper water inspec- The days of the wooden tion and trolling time-all row boats and twenty-foot depending on where the canoes are not quite gone action is. Also, adjusting as yet, but slipping fast. those motor speeds someUsed to be, there were boat landings on many of times made a difference. It’s a pretty good day our northeast lakes, but outside on the lake for early not any more. Many, if not season fishing: a slight most, have gone. It surely breeze with a salmon chop, was no way of making a water temperature still very yearly living as the service cold, but clear, outboard provided only a seasonal humming slick as a whistle. living. One such place was Nothing yet. Maybe Hanson’s Landing at big (Friend cont. pg 59) another run by that inlet-
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Northwoods Sporting Journal
Page 50
Vermont Ramblings
by Dennis Jensen, Vermont
I once hunted fall turkeys with a guy from Connecticut. He was a decent fellow, a businessman who enjoyed our time up in turkey camp, way up on a remote hill in Pawlet. One afternoon he told me that, every time he pulled an embedded tick from his body, he went off to a doctor for treatment. I told him that, if I practiced what he did, I would have paid anywhere from 90 to 100 trips to the good doctor. That’s how many embedded ticks I have removed from my body, maybe more. I couldn’t even count how many ticks, hundreds in fact, that I removed from my pants, jacket, shirt, etc.
One guy I like to hunt with said he never heard of anyone getting anywhere from 15 to 20 ticks off his clothing and body after a single outing in the woods. He called me “the tick magnet.” But what really strikes me as strange is the fact that, while some half a dozen people who live on my little dirt road — including my wife and a young grandson — have been diagnosed with Lyme disease, I have never experienced any of the symptoms. And I got to wondering: Is there a possibility that I have some kind of resistance to the disgusting, blood-sucking fiends that are known as ticks? Who
April 2020
Foiling Spring Ticks in the Turkey Woods
knows? Anyway, three years ago I heard of this stuff that you can spray on your clothes. It is called Permethrin Insect Repellent. Now I am not one of those outdoor writers who, with the goal of getting some
pulled a tick off my clothing or my body. How effective is it? One day, after a morning of spring turkey hunting in Pawlet, my son glanced at his shirt sleeve and saw a tick but it was acting strangely. He watched as
pants, shirt, sweat shirt, light jacket, backpack and turkey hunting vest. I really put the spray to the cuffs of my pants and the bottom of the sleeves. The instructions say you should wait two hours before using the clothing
Anyway, three years ago I heard of this stuff that you can spray on your clothes. It is called Permethrin Insect Repellent. Now I am not one of those outdoor writers who, with the goal of getting some stuff for free, goes out of his or her way to push any product. All I am saying is this liquid spray works, for real. stuff for free, goes out of his or her way to push any product. All I am saying is this liquid spray works, for real. And get this: Not once, since I began using the product, have I EVER
the tick staggered like a drunken sailor and, shortly thereafter, went stone dead. True story. Using less than one bottle of the product (at $10 it is well worth it), I spray my gloves, boots,
but I like to spray my outfit and store it in the wood shed for two or three days. Applied correctly, the product claims it will last for at least 42 days, including several machine washings. (Ticks cont. pg 51)
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April 2020
Ticks
(Cont. from pg 50) I use the stuff starting in late April when I go afield to scout for the May turkey season and on into May. My clothes get treated again in October for the archery season and the fall turkey season. Another application goes for the November firearms buck season. Anyone who hunts the spring turkey season knows that, if you are going to be successful while trying to call in a reluctant long beard, you will be sitting smack dab in tick land with your back against a tree and your legs stretched out against the ground. It is only a matter of time until you find one of these tiny critters, capable of crippling a healthy adult for the rest of his or her life. How potent is this stuff? I guess it must be pretty strong if it both repels and kills a tick. Am I taking a health risk by applying the repellent? Maybe. But, at this point, I don’t care. The alternative — a lifetime of severe pain, agony and, yes, in some cases, even death — of not using the stuff is a no-brainer. I can remember those days, not too long ago, in the spring turkey woods when I would stand up from a place where I was calling to a tom and then go through the disgusting ritual of trying to find a tiny tick crawling about in a hard-to-see jungle of camouflage clothing and worrying if any of the filthy critters was, at that moment, biting into my body. I, for one, am convinced that the product called Permethrin is something that has changed my days afield from April until
December.
Northwoods Sporting Journal
Dennis Jensen is the outdoor editor for the Rutland Herald and the Barre Times Argus, a freelance writer and a longtime member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association.
Crappie
(Cont. from pg 45) very lightly, I use light line, either 4 or 6 pound test on a jig pole with a fast tip. It doesn’t hurt to also spray with fish attractant or add a few Berkley crappie bits or maggots, even a garden worm.
Crappies spawn in early May, in Maine and can be found in large schools alongside heavy weed cover and brush. The most active times for feeding is at daybreak and dusk although they will take food almost any time of day. After spawning the crappies will be found in large schools in deeper water, just under the surface, feeding on insect and zooplankton. Look for fish dimpling the surface on a calm day and stay just outside the school to avoid sounding. Many anglers complain that crappies are bony
and difficult to clean. Not so! Cut diagonally behind the pectoral fin down to the spine. Turn the knife and cut along the dorsal, right through the rib cage and out the tail. Turn over and cut out the ribs and when ready to cook, slide the knife under the fillet and skin for a boneless fillet. Due to the number of fish I clean daily, I use an electric fillet knife. The flesh of crappies is delicate so I prefer a fineseasoned flour for cooking. Deep fat frying using canola oil is good, but simply rinse the fillet in cold water dust with a fine flour such as Autreys seafood flour
Page 51 (Walmart) and serve on a hamburger bun with cheese and or tartar sauce. Due to the rapid increase in crappie numbers, especially in trout and salmon waters, I urge other guides to begin targeting the species. They are great fun on light tackle and in summer on light fly rods. Stu Bristol is a Master Maine Hunting, Fishing and Tidewater Guide and outdoor writer. He operates Orion Guide Service out of southern Maine. His outdoor features have been published nationwide for more than 50 years. Stu was recently inducted into the National Wild Turkey Hunting Hall of Fame. Visit his website at www.deadlyimpostergamecalls.com
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Northwoods Sporting Journal
Page 52
Outdoors In Vermont by Gary W. Moore, Bradford, VT Opening day of trout season in Vermont is seldom very productive as the waters are apt to be high and cold, but serious anglers must fish on that day. Following a long winter, dreams of open water fishing become a reality that we enjoy no matter what the conditions or the catch. We know both will soon get better and that spring will
come and that the grass will get green. One of my earliest and most pleasant memories of opening day occurred back in the early fifties when Dad deemed me old enough to go with him. The morning is indelibly engraved in my memory. Soon after daylight we drove to Fairlee and the north end of Lake Morey to fish the little brook that en-
April 2020
Opening Day Memories ters the lake near Lanakila. The morning was cold and the fog wafted through the area, but I was happy to experience my first opening day. We did catch a few small trout, but it was the experience that was important to me not the catch. I felt that I had passed a milestone and the morning is as clear to me nearly sixty-five years later as it was then. Back then the trout season opened later and
thus the conditions were different. The trout season in Vermont ran from the last Saturday in April to September 30. In 1974 the season was lengthened considerably to its present
in Orleans at the time and standing on the bridge on the road to Brownington watching the anglers. Dad and Uncle Huck would tell fishing stories, most of which were probably just
There is no way to know what opening day will bring. Fishing slowly and deep often works best. It all depends on how fast the snow melts and that depends on the temperature over many days. second Saturday in April to October 31. Another pleasant experience from my early childhood involves the pre-1974 opening dates. A section of the famed Willoughby River in Orleans opened on the second Saturday in April and was the only water open to trout fishing for two weeks. It thus attracted anglers from all over the region who stood in the frigid ice choked waters in hopes of landing one of the big spawning rainbows. I never fished the Willoughby as a youth, but I remember visiting my aunt and uncle who lived
that, and I would dream of a future time when I would be old enough to fish the Willoughby on opening day. Looking Forward to Making New Memories Open water trout anglers get really antsy by the end of March, often casting on the lawn and dreaming of opening day. This year that occurs on Saturday, April 11. Like so many others, I will be plying the waters of local streams hoping to entice a trout to hit. As I write this two months earlier, there is no way to know what open(Memories cont. pg 58)
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Northwoods Sporting Journal
April 2020
Canoe Trip with Penobscot Guides
The weekend of July 25-28, we’re planning a canoe trip with guides from the Penobscot Nation. This will be an unforgettable outdoor adventure. It’s
last leg of Thoreau’s trip with Penobscot guide Joe Polis in 1857, only brought to date. Those looking for adventure can register through me.
Indian Island, where we’ll be treated to lunch and a visit to the Penobscot Nation Museum before saying goodbyes. This is all part of a cultural tourism package offered by the Penobscots, who have been guiding in the Maine Woods for hundreds of years.
Page 53
Kineo Currents by Suzanne AuClair, Rockwood, ME found in the Indian way of life. He brought to the rest of the world the ties to the land he found in his guides. His interest in Native life last throughout his own life.
The trip includes cultural activities, like basketmaking, flintknapping, wood carving, plant walks, paddling a birch bark canoe, and nightly talks around the campfire. opened to paddlers as part of the 14th Annual Thoreau Wabanaki Trail Festival, which is usually held in Greenville. This year, part of it will still be held here at Moosehead Lake, which is where writer Henry David Thoreau, guided by Penobscots who knew these woods and waters, launched two of his three trips, then made famous in his book “The Maine Woods.” So this year, we decided to commemorate it all directly on the Penobscot River, embarking on a trip that follows the
Load-in takes place on the Penobscot River early Saturday morning for a two-and-a-half-day immersion into the Penobscot way of life. The trip includes cultural activities, like basketmaking, flintknapping, wood carving, plant walks, paddling a birch bark canoe, and nightly talks around the campfire. Personal time is built into the stay to enjoy the island on your own too. Load-out from camp is after breakfast on Monday morning. From the Penobscot campsite on Sugar Island, we’ll canoe down to
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The Wabanaki Trail consists of traditional canoe routes and portages in the Kennebec, Penobscot, and Allagash river drainages. Thoreau was one of the earliest travelers to successfully introduce the world to wilds of the North Woods and to document tribal geographic names, and he learned much of his way through Penobscot guides Chief Joseph Attean and, in his final trip to the woods, Joe Polis. In his book, Thoreau was most fascinated by the cultural continuities he
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The Thoreau Wabanaki Trail Festival runs Wednesday - Monday, July 22-27. Wednesday through Friday evening programs take place at The Center for Moosehead History in Greenville. They include “All About Moose” with Maine’s DIF&W Moose Expert Lee Kantar; “Penobscot Sense of Place”
with Penobscot Historian and Cultural Director James E. Francis; and “Islands of Moosehead Lake” with Outdoor Expert and Moosehead Resident Eric Ward. Saturday through Monday is “Last Leg of Thoreau’s Trip” with the Penobscot guides on the river. Suzanne AuClair lives in Rockwood. She has been writing about the outdoors of the Moosehead Lake Region for 25 years and produced “The Origins, Formation & History of Maine’s Inland Fisheries Division.” She is an awardwinning member of the New England Outdoor Writers Assn. She may be reached days at 207-6952909.
Northwoods Sporting Journal
Page 54
April 2020
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April 2020
Northwoods Sporting Journal
Flat Wing Flies
With ice-out just a few short days ahead of us, let’s take a look at several flat wing baitfish patterns that can be effective in early season trolling. It’s common knowledge that the preferred baitfish at this time of year is smelt, and in my opinion, nothing can imitate smelt better than a pattern with a single feather wing tied flat over the body of the fly. The single feather gives a slimmer, more natural smelt-like profile and seems to provide a very tantalizing action when trolled. I’ve found that if too long a throat is used, the fly will have a tendency to spin, so for that reason, I don’t tie in a throat, or if I do, it will consist only of several short hackle barbs. Flat wing streamers are generally quick and easy to tie and can be readily adapted to many standard patterns. When trolling in the fall, I have had better success with these streamers tied on larger #4, 8x long hooks. If I had only one fly to troll with it would be the Joe’s Smelt, originated by the late Joe Sterling of Danforth, ME. Many variations have evolved over the years, but following is my dressing. Hook: Size 6, 6x long.
Thread: Red. Tail: Red hackle fibers. Body: Silver or pearlescent mylar tubing with the core removed and tied down back and front with red thread Throat: Red thread. Wing: Symmetrical natural gray pintail or mallard flank feather tied flat over the body. Head: White thread with black painted eyes. When attaching the wing, many references recommend folding the edges of the feather under and tying it tent style over the top of the body. I have found it easier to lay the feather flat on top of the body, take three loose turns of thread around the bare stem or quill and slowly pull the stem forward while at the same time guiding the wing fibers around the hook shank under the turns of thread. This allows the front of the wing to slightly curl around the body of the fly, which presents a more realistic profile than lying flat on top. The rear tip of
Page 55
Fly Fishing by Joe Bertolaccini, Orrington
the wing should extend to about the end of the tail. The Wood Special is another very effective pattern for those who use it, but unfortunately is not as well known as other trolling streamers. I have also had good success casting this fly for smallmouth bass when they are on the beds. Hook: Size 4 to 10, 4x to 6x long. Thread: Black. Tail: Golden pheasant tippet. Body: Fluorescent orange chenille ribbed with medium flat silver tinsel. Throat: Several short brown hackle barbs tied in as a beard. Wing: Natural mallard or wood duck flank feather Luther Vigneault, a snowsledder from Salisbury, MA, decided to take a Sporting Journal break off the trail. For his loyalty and creativity, he wins a Sporting Journal cap!
tied flat over body as above. Cheeks (optional): Jungle cock eyes. Collar: Three turns of soft grizzly hackle. Head: Black thread. I would be remiss not to mention the flat wing version of the Hornberg Special. This fly has been so successful that it challenges the effectiveness of the original Hornberg. It can be trolled as a streamer as well as fished dry in the smaller sizes, however the intent here is to dress and fish this fly as a trolling streamer. It has been known locally in the Bangor area as the Haleberg, named after one of it’s most enthusiastic proponents, the late Marcus Hale of Holden, ME. Hook: Size 4 to 8, 6x long.
Thread: Black. Body: Flat silver mylar tinsel. Wing: Sparse yellow calf tail or soft hackle barbs over which is a natural mallard flank feather tied flat as above. Bronze or yellow mallard may be substituted. Cheeks (optional): Jungle cock eyes. Collar: Four turns of soft grizzly hackle. (Collar should match color of wing). Head: Black thread. There you have it, three proven flat wing patterns to try on your favorite fishing waters this spring. Joe has enjoyed fly fishing for over 65 years. His book, Fundamentals of Fly Fishing, is now available. He can be reached at: brewerberts@aol.com
Fish Stocking Report www.mefishwildlife.com Fish Stocking Report Now Available from Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife With Daily Updates
The fish stocking report now features daily updates from hatchery staff. Instead of hearing when and where the hatcheries have stocked well after the season has ended, anglers now will be able to easily locate waters freshly stocked with catchable trout.
Waters are grouped by county, listed by town, and include the date of stocking as well as the species, quantity, and size of fish released. Find the report online at www.mefishwildlife.com. Just click on stocking report.
Northwoods Sporting Journal
Page 56
Blaine’s Outdoor Journal
Blaine Cardilli, Winthrop, ME Wi t h M a r c h n o w in our rear-view, we can embrace April as the real month that finally gives birth to a much anticipated spring, and there is a lot going on in the natural world this month! As one who greatly enjoys watching birds, I can expect a lot of early spring migrants. April has always marked the return of birds such as robins, sparrows, blackbirds, and phoebes, as well as several members of the swallow family. There’s nothing I like better than grabbing my binoculars and hitting the wooded trails, especially those that wind down close to the
swampy marshes and cattails that surround small ponds. Early, quiet mornings are the absolute best times to sneak around and catch all kinds of our beautiful feathered friends at work building nests. And speaking of
April Brings New Life
Spring, too, because it’s in April that they emerge and often migrate back into their breeding grounds by crossing roads at night. This migration can be seen over a period of nights primarily when the roads are wet. How many times have we been driving on a spring night, only to see dozens of frogs jumping across the tar in our headlights? Almost all of our
continue this month while working on November stand sets because early April is still a good time to take them down and move them. Foliage won’t be a big issue until later in the month so you can still set up in new areas and see what your shooting lanes will look like now. In my area, (Winthrop), the male turkeys have been working out
Almost all of our mammals will be giving birth and/or be raising young this month as well. Everything from squirrels, chipmunks, muskrats and otters, to beaver, bobcats, fisher cats, and woodchucks will all be busy tending new families.
ponds, this is the month the spring peepers, wood frogs, and pickerel frogs come out of hibernation in droves, in all their singing and croaking glory. You’ve probably noticed their migrations during
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mammals will be giving birth and/or be raising young this month as well. Everything from squirrels, chipmunks, muskrats and otters, to beaver, bobcats, fisher cats, and woodchucks will all be busy tending new families. Smelts will be running, grouse will be drumming, and buck bass will begin clearing beds among the shallows. Deer hunters will have started hunting for sheds back in March but will eagerly be able to
their hierarchies with much aggression for the past couple weeks, and are continuing to do so now as the breeding season gets underway. If you’re out scouting and glassing flocks, you might get lucky enough to see some actual breeding! And now is the time I enjoy getting up before dawn, listening for gobbles and planning my strategies. Though I do occasionally use a ground blind, I prefer to sit with my back to a tree, so I’ll spend some time locating spots within a
St John Valley
hundred to 125 yards from roosts, and will build some brushy natural blinds. Spring in April is such an incredibly sensory month. How relaxing it is to just get up and hit the porch, coffee in hand, as the sun is just beginning to peek through the trees! Oh how I’ve longed for the sights, smells, and sounds of spring. Whether early morning or twilight, there’s always something for the outdoorsman to appreciate so hopefully you got enough rest over the winter. You’re going to need it. Blaine Cardilli is an outdoor writer and columnist from Maine; He has spent the last 50 years hunting & fishing New England and has served with a number of deer and turkey call manufacturing companies including ‘Hunters Specialties’, ‘PRIMOS’ and ‘Knight & Hale’. Blaine has given dozens of seminars over the past 18 years on deer & turkey hunting and can be reached at indianwd@ gmail.com Bouchard’s Country Store
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Plan (Cont. from pg 46) were collected to investigate wild turkey diseases. Some quick results show that the average date of nest initiation was May 6, lending support to wildlife managers that the spring hunting season is timed appropriately. The odds that a hen would successfully incubate the average clutch of 11 eggs was 26 percent, indicating that most turkey nests fail but the number is similar to that of other ground nesting gamebirds. The researchers are currently in year three of their investigation and future reports will contain additional date, updated analyses, and additional conclusions to inform wild turkey management in Maine. Hunters reporting tak-
Northwoods Sporting Journal ing banded birds during the past two spring hunting seasons allowed the researchers to calculate harvest rates and estimate the size of the spring population of male turkeys. The results indicate an adult male (longbeard) harvest rate of 0.24 compared to a harvest rate of 0.10 for juvenile male turkeys. This 0.24 harvest rate suggests that one out of every four (approximately 25%) longbeards are shot during the spring hunting season. And ten percent for jakes. Using their harvest rates and the total harvest numbers provided through the mandatory registration process, they estimated Maine’s total male turkey population to be 32,700 in the spring of 2018 and 33,600 prior to the 2019 season. It’s reasonable to assume there are as many
female wild turkeys on the landscape as males, so the male population estimate can be doubled to get a total wild turkey population estimate of about 65,000 birds. This is an impressive number when you think that this 2019 population is the result of just 111 birds brought to Maine from Vermont and Connecticut to establish this population. It’s imperative that I add that this research is dependent on maintaining our current system of requiring hunters to tag turkeys at registration stations. An accurate estimate of the harvest is essential to our management program. Further, it’s also imperative that hunters report all the banded turkeys they shoot. Some readers may be interested in the results of last fall’s hunting season. You may remember that
the season was extended to include the last two weeks in September to the regular season. IFW added a youth day on the Saturday before this extended season, allowed .410 shotguns when used with Tungsten Super Shot (TSS) and increased the bag limit from 2 to 5 turkeys in 9 Wildlife Management Districts, from 1 to 3 in 1 Wildlife Management District. Despite these liberalizations, the total harvest of 1,980 was low compared to 2018 but remained on par with the seven-year average of about 2,000 fall turkeys. This lower harvest was attributed to the influence of abundant natural foods (acorns and beechnuts) on fall hunting success and harvests. Also of interest was that 29 hunters managed to shoot and tag the maximum limit of 5 birds
Page 57 last fall. The spring 2020 hunting season will be here before you know it (May 4). Current populations remain abundant and because 2018 was a good production year for turkeys in Maine, I predict a strong cohort of two-year-old longbeards on the landscape. I also think it is safe to assume that this mild and warmer than usual winter has been kind to Maine’s wintering wildlife, including wild turkeys. Good luck hunting and be safe this spring.
Brad Allen is a wildlife biologist with MDIF&W. He is also an avid bird hunter and gun dog man. He would be pleased to receive feedback on his articles. E-mail him at brad. allen@maine.gov
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Survival’s 10 Essentials
Flight Of The Arrow by Jerome Richard, Clinton, ME I’ve been involved on a search for a retired Army “Lifer” who became lost who entered a Maine hiking trail for a one-day hike with friends, and by that evening he became separated and lost for four days until searchers found him. It was late summer with no rain during those four days, but if it had rained the outcome could have been much different. He had only the light drab color clothing he started his hike with, a few candy bars, a day pack, a small flashlight, but no method to start a fire, no compass, no map, no first aid kit, and nothing to fashion a shelter. On the fourth day he was finally spotted by a helicopter, even though the planes, helicopters, and ground searches had been looking for any sign of life and he had nothing to draw attention to searchers like a
April 2020
signal fire, whistle, signal mirror, or any bright color clothing. I don’t care if it is 90 degrees and sunny outside – start a fire and tend to it night and day with a supply of evergreen boughs to make the fire smoke for a signal! The above case is similar to so many cases that occur every year in this country. This article list the “10 Essentials” that all outdoorsmen should be carrying in any of the four seasons. It’s great to have these “10 Essentials”, but if you don’t know how to use them before you enter the wilderness it will only be a false sense of security that could lead to a tragedy. As some of you may remember from the Maine Hunter Safety Class that hypothermia is the number one killer of outdoorsmen and most often occurs within the first 24-hours of
becoming lost or injured in outdoors. The “10 Essentials” include sufficient food for more than your planned trip, water with a method to filter or purify more water, fire starter (metal match or lighter) with fire starter material (cotton ball and Vaseline), compass and the knowledge on how to use it, whistle, small first aid kit, knife with an emphasis on a multi-tool, shelter
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location and get them back to town. Lastly, no matter what you are doing hunting, hiking, trail running, mountain biking, whitewater kayaking, or ATV riding you should leave a note with loved ones when you plan to return. On my long distance backpacking trips I leave a daily schedule of where I plan to camp that night and at the end of the day I turn on my Garmin
This past winter I read many articles from all over the United States about people going on one-day hikes or out trail running that lead to unplanned emergencies or fatalities. I’m sure many of them had the same thought as others - “but I am only going to……”. Nobody ever starts an outing into the woods planning to get lost or hurt. material like a coated nylon tarp, large contractor bag, military poncho or complete rain suit, flashlight or headlamp with spare batteries, and extra clothing like a 3-season jacket or sweater and stocking hat. Of course, you can add other items such as insect repellent, sunscreen, sunglasses, and in the winter in Maine I make sure I carry plenty of “Hot Hands” chemical hand and feet warmers. Having the tools and not having the skills to
while I was backpacking on the Appalachian Trail in the 100-Mile Wilderness, I encountered two ladies that owned a Garmin InReach, but left it at home (in Oregon). Due to a past injury that one of the ladies had, they needed to be picked up on a nearby dirt road but were unable to communicate by cell phone. Luckily, I was carrying my Garmin InReach and easily contacted someone in Monson that was able to make the drive out to their
InReach to send a preprogrammed message that my family knows the exact location for that night.
Memories
covered but often there is a little open water at inlets and outlets that can produce some action. While we are pursuing trout, especially along streams, is a good time to scout for turkeys. The spring turkey season opens May 1 statewide. We can take two bearded turkeys and there should be plenty of birds when the season opens if the large flocks being reported around the
state are an indication of the population. I know I am seeing good numbers of bearded birds in my travels.
(Cont. from pg 52)
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use them such as compass skills and how to build a fire can be fatal. It’s very important to keep a cell phone with you too, but remember many lost or injured people were not in range of a cell phone tower, so recent developments in GPS technology like the Garmin InReach or the SPOT X are great twoway communication devices that don’t rely on cell phone towers. Last year
ing day will bring. Often the water is high and cold and the fish lethargic. Fishing slowly and deep often works best. It all depends on how fast the snow melts and that depends on the temperature over many days. Small ponds and many lakes are still ice
Jerome Richard is past president of the Maine Bowhunters Association, Master Outdoor Safety Education Instructor for MDIF&W, Registered Maine Guide, member of Franklin Search and Rescue, and a Licensed Professional Engineer. He can be reached at jerome. richard7@gmail.com
Syndicated columnist Gary W. Moore is a life long resident of Vermont and a former Commissioner of Fish and Game. He may be reached by email at gwmoore1946@ myfairpoint.net or at Box 454, Bradford, VT 05033.
Northwoods Sporting Journal
April 2020
Eagle (Cont. from pg 44) in ceremonies is a long held tradition for nearly all North American tribes. Eagle feathers are revered, and some are passed down through many generations. Some tribes use eagle wings to bless newborns and guide the souls of those that have recently died. For many tribes, eagles possess great power to help with healing and to give people strength, courage, wisdom, and generosity. Eagle feathers are highly esteemed and are kept in a sacred manner until used at a time or prayer or cer-
Friend (Cont. from pg 49) Branch Lake in Ellsworth, Maine. Hanson’s was typical of many, with fishing boat launch sites, providing gas, fish weigh-ins, and other services. There was even a Hanson’s Trophy given for the largest brown trout landed for each season. A chalkboard in front of the little business office displayed daily fish catches and the current leader in the largest fish category. It all is just a memory now – at least at Hanson’s Landing every springtime. Bob Leeman is a Mater Maine Guide, outdoor writer, naturalist, book author, and a co-host of the “MAINE OUTDOORS” radio program on Sunday Evenings from 7-8 p.m. His three books are all available at several bookstores and fly shops, or directly from him. For information on his books, please call 207-989-7696.
emony. Accepting an eagle feather is one of the highest honors a Native American can receive. Any tribal member over the age of 18 can apply to receive up to one whole golden or bald eagle, or pieces that are equivalent to what one single eagle would contain, such as a pair of wings, a tail, and a pair of talons. Each year the repository receives about 3,500 eagles and fulfills about 4,500 orders. Demand is high, and there is up to a two-year waiting list for tribal requests to be fulfilled. Eagle carcasses come
to the repository in all conditions. Long decomposed carcasses found on remote Maine islands have been carefully gathered and sent to the repository. Eagles hit while feeding on a roadkilled deer on Interstate 95 may not be fully salvageable, but are sent to Colorado. Sometimes, not all parts of these damaged eagles can be distributed. This year, staff at the National Eagle Repository worked with tribal leaders to determine what to do with the incinerated the unusable remains of hundreds of eagles. Colorado tribal leaders organized an
Welcome to Rangeley & Oquossoc Region
Page 59
interment ceremony, and the ashes of eagles from across the country were fed to the breeze in a remote mountain setting. First, one eagle appeared soaring overhead. Then two. Eventually, five eagles cavorted and wheeled above the Native Americans welcoming their brethren back into the gossamer Rocky Mountain sky. We don’t know where Maine’s oldest eagle now resides. It could be incorporated into regalia by a members of the Aroostook Band of Micmac or the Zuni Tribe of New Mex-
ico. Wherever it exists, it is a revered possession, and will soar among the hopes and dreams of Native Americans for generations to come.
Mark McCollough is a wildlife biologist in Maine and spent much of his career helping Maine’s eagle population to recover. He saw eagle 629-12255 many times at winter feeding stations in eastern Maine in the mid-1980s. He can be reached at ellmcc25@ yahoo.com
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Northwoods Sporting Journal
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Marsh Island Chronicles by Matthew Dunlap, Old Town, ME I’ve never had a ton of luck fishing early in the season, which isn’t to say the fish aren’t where I cast my line, I just have a hard time catching them. Most casual anglers like myself are happy to lay siege to the season at hand, and later, when the bass rouse themselves to the surface, we blithely fling those plugs and poppers. As they tear through the surface in a spray of vengeful spite, thrashing back and forth, we congratulate ourselves on being Expert Anglers. Then, I remember that there’s a reason why we take kids bass fishing on warm summer afternoons. It’s really their best chance to catch a fish; I think about that, and feel a little less smug after tallying up
my totals of bronzebacks hooked and released on a given July evening, even if it is a ton of fun. Coldwater fishing in Maine is real fishing. Real coldwater fishing for coldwater species happens most effectively in cold water, just after ice-out. This time of year, truly devoted anglers study the collection of flies they’ve spent the winter tying, or tie on a smelt for trolling, or even dig a can of wriggly worms and make their way for miles through miserably snowy, wet, and knee-deep terrain to find the Honey Hole, where they can troll for a medium-sized salmon at a big lake or worm-dunk for a feisty brook trout in a lonely, winding brook far into the woods.
PETS/VETS
The First Cast
Every year, I give it a try, and I’m glad I do. Frankly, though, if my family depended on the trout and salmon I brought home for food, we’d finish up the spring fishing season looking like survivors of a deep, historic famine. I’m ready this year, just like every other. The lines are dressed, flies are tied (although I should spend some time stocking up on more Royal Wulffs, and a neighbor has been drumming his fingers for some tandem Grey Ghosts from me for a while), and all my rods and reels are right where I can put my hands on them at short notice. Of course, I know what will happen. I’ll find
April 2020
will greet me; “Where are we going out for dinner?”, with her usual, good-natured laugh. “The water’s high,” I’ll say in excuse. “Lots of feed for the fish.” Hopefully, I won’t be completely unprepared for that sudden shocking jerk of the line, and the quivering tip of the rod; and after bringing in that seventeeninch landlocked salmon as he tears back and forth in the shallows of the outlet, I’ll have that one moment, the one we work all winter for, to marvel at that miracle a foolproof array of weap- in my landing net; and if ons, look at a map, and get it all works, I’ll pop the hook out of the corner of out there. Then, after that one, his mouth from the fly I last cast, I’ll haul it all in, tied and dreamt would and go home. My wife be the one, and slide that majestic king of the deep back into the copper-green waters; and he will flip his tail at me, and when I get home, I’ll take my wife out to dinner, and raise a toast to my great luck. No, I don’t have a ton of luck fishing in the early season. But every once in a while, I have that moment, and that’s enough to keep me going back to trudge through the early spring woods, year after year. I bet it does for you, too. a spare afternoon some weekend when I’m caught short—all the chores are done, everyone is off doing other things—and, finding myself free, I’ll assemble
Eustis
Matt Dunlap is a sportsman from Old Town and is a periodic co-host on Maine Outdoors, heard statewide every Sunday night at 7:00 pm on WVOM 103.9 FM, WVQM 101.3 FM, and 1450 AM in Rockland.
April 2020
Northwoods Sporting Journal
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Fresh Kill
The reaction never changes. Disgust is probably the best word to describe it, but when you first come upon it, there’s a great sadness there, too. The signs of a fresh coyote kill are heart-breaking when it’s up close and personal. That Sunday morning in camp just a few weeks ago now was the dawn of a beautiful day. The weather roller coaster that had been typical all winter was happening again. It had been zero on the outdoor thermometer the morning before. But today, the forecasters all agreed, it would reach 40 in Downeast, Maine. The only problem was, I didn’t really mean to be awake. And, given the choice, I certainly wouldn’t have been awakened in this way. Blood-curdling screeches at relatively close range raised the hair on the back of my neck. For all I knew, I came off the bed and landed on my feet before fully coming to. If there had been a rifle handy, I would’ve had that in my hands too. I waited. There! It came again. One scream. I was awake enough now to know that sound. It was a coyote uncomfortably close to my camp. Then, it sounded again, only this time it was two, maybe three coyotes. Mind you, I was inside my camp! This sharp, shrill sound was penetrating its thick cedar log walls and reaching my ears loud and clear. By the time I stepped outside, there must have been four or more of them wailing. Obviously, they had just got something down and had all rushed in
for the kill. True, it could be anything: a snowshoe hare, a partridge, but on that score, I had my doubts. I think those kills tend to be quieter and require fewer animals to accomplish.
The team effort seems most often reserved for bigger game. And yet, sometimes it can take only two to trip up a deer. I’d watched it happen on the lake some years before. There was only a thin covering of snow over the ice, which made the going tough. Two coyotes had “laked” a deer by the time they came into my view. A doe ran desperately in front of them. They nipped and barked and screamed while attacking the hind quarters until she couldn’t maintain a footing any longer. Once again, the incident took place at daybreak. The silhouettes of the three animals in a death clutch was horrific, especially since it was happening out of range and so fast, I couldn’t get a snowmobile started and get out there in time. It was doubly a waste, because once I scarred them off, the mangled carcass, opened and bloody, revealed a translucent sack holding twins. The reaction never changes. That Sunday a few weeks ago, I drove
around the trails near the vicinity where the sounds came from, but came up with nothing. Sound travels between those hills and gullies in strange ways. Maybe it wasn’t coming from where I thought. Ah well, for the time being, I’d switch my attention back to fishing. The going was great in the woods and on the lake thanks to a hard-packed base under about five or six inches of new snow. You could walk on it without snowshoes and not break through. I thought about the deer I’d imagined being slaughtered by coyotes. It should have been able to run on this with no trouble. Had they ambushed it? Or, better yet, had I dreamed up the whole thing, and it was something else entirely? I wish. Crossing the main trail the next day, on the way out, there it was–
The Singing Maine Guide by Randy Spencer, Grand Lake Stream, ME
proof of my worst-casescenario worries. A deer leg, shorn of hair and meat down to its shin, lay in the snow in front of me. Only a few drops of blood were close by, giving a hint of the direction from which it came. But the strangest thing was the size of the
itself. This year, because of the near-open winter we’ve been having, our deer have not migrated to deer yards as they typically do in harder winters with more snow. They’ve remained right where they were during November when we
I waited. There! It came again. One scream. I was awake enough now to know that sound. It was a coyote uncomfortably close to my camp. animal. Turning over the hoof revealed a gigantic cloven imprint with huge dew claws behind it. Had I seen this print in mud or snow during the deer season, I’d want to track it for days to at least get a chance to see it. This was a very large deer, and most likely a buck. The tracks indicated a three to fourcoyote kill with perhaps one of them carrying this appendage off to enjoy by
were trying to find one to harvest. Unfortunately, that’s right where Maine’s most tenacious deer killers found them. And that’s why I found this. The reaction never changes. Randy Spencer is a working Maine guide. Reach him at randy31@ earthlink.netmor via www. randyspencer.com
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Northwoods Sporting Journal
April 2020
Pre-Spawn “Pockets will have a shal- pre-spawn baits. “Different even better,” insists Cobb. mant when it comes to his
Jim Young of Monson caught this old walloper brookie while fishing Moosehead Lake in late February. The brookie weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces and was 25 inches long with an 18-inch girth. (Photo courtesy Jim Young and the Bangor Daily News)
(Cont. from pg 13) often are present just sitting in the sun. And, the bass will generally be under the docks in the shade!” One additional reason why docks leading to spawning areas are so productive during this period is due to the transitional routes bass use to reach where they will end up spawning. The docks become staging areas into and then out from the spawning flats. This is turn makes docks a high percentage area. “A bonus spot along these transitional routes can be what we call a pocket or small cove. If these pockets have docks that make them
low side and a deeper side. Anglers need to be aware the shallow side will be warmer and the deeper side colder.” Another key factor to success suggested by the B.A.S.S. Elite Pro Angler is changing with the weather conditions. “Sunny days are ideal for targeting docks, but I caution anglers to keep their shadows away from the docks. Especially, during the spring transitional periods! And, don’t let rainy conditions detour you from targeting docks. This is a time for patience the bass will most likely be tight to the bottom under the docks.” Brandon Cobb is ada-
The Sebago Region
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times of the year as well as different docks call for different baits. My prespawn baits include a green pumpkin Zoom Fluke Stick wacky rigged and weightless. If the conditions call for getting this bait deeper I’ll add an ARK nail weight. My shaky head rig will be a 1/8 oz. Greenfish Tackle shaky head impelled with a Zoom green pumpkin Trick Worm. For horizontal baitfish imitations, I rig a 1/4 oz. swimbait head to a Zoom hollow belly swimbait. To crawl along the bottom bumping rocks I rig a 1/2 oz. Greenfish Tackle all-purpose jig.” Here’s a pro tip, ”When skipping your bait under a dock, feed offline allowing your bait to free-fall vertically straight to the bottom. This will eliminate your bait from the pendulum action of swinging back towards you.” Cobb warns anglers to watch their line as it falls for any movement, as bass will usually take your bait as it falls. To follow Bassmaster Elite Angler Brandon Cobb log unto his Facebook page at Brandon Cobb Fishing, or at www.Bassmaster. com. God Bless and Best Bassin’ Billy “Hawkeye” Decoteau is an outdoor journalist with a strong passion for pursuing the Black Bass. His activities include; emceeing The Bass University weekend educational seminar programs, as well as emceeing benefit tournaments such as Maine’s Annual May Special Olympics Team Tournament, Fishing For Freedom, and working with the USO.
April 2020
Northwoods Sporting Journal
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The Clouser Minnow
This month’s fly is the Clouser Minnow. This famous fly was originated by Bob Clouser for smallmouth bass in the Maryland area, but has become known as a fly takes all species of fish in both salt and fresh water. The list of ingredients is short for this fly because it is elegantly simple. Two colors of bucktail, one light and one dark is all you need. The high end Clousers are tied on straight eyed hooks, you can improvise if you don’t want to spend the money for new hooks. For salt water versions, I use Mustad 34007 stainless steel. Recipe for the Clouser Minnow Thread – Varies Eyes- Commercial dumbbell or bead chain Hook – 8-2/0 Wing – Bucktail and flash The thread color is your choice; I often use red to imitate a wounded baitfish. This fly is designed to fish with the hook point up, so you are going to start tying this fly upside down. Put the hook in the vice as
you normally would. Start your thread and tie on the dumbbell eyes. For a heavy fly, the commercial eyes are great, for a smaller Clouser that you might want to cast for trout, you can snip off two beads of a piece of key chain. Tie the eyes on top of the shank about an eighth inch or so behind the eye. Use figure eight thread wraps and put a drop of cement or super glue on
the thread to keep the eyes from sliding around on the shank. Because you tied the eyes on top of the shank, when you fish this fly it will roll over and the hook point will ride up. This is very handy when you want to bounce this fly around on
a rocky bottom. After the eyes are on, you are going to tie on some light colored bucktail for the fly’s belly. Remember, the fly is upside down in the vice, so the belly is on top. Cut a sparse bunch of light colored bucktail about as twice as long as the hook. The length is up to you, but don’t stack it. Stacking is when you try to make a clump of bucktail have even tips; you want to keep this bunch material uneven for the tapered look. Tie it on in front of the eyes and then behind the eyes. Now turn the fly over. If you have a rotary vice this is easy, if not, just remove the fly and put it back in the vice with the hook point up. The wing on this fly is usually dark bucktail, your choice of color. If you have some flash material, now
The Tyer’s Corner by Hugh Kelly, Detroit, ME
is the time to tie in a few strands. Tie the flash in just behind the eyes and move your thread in front of the eyes. Cut another sparse bunch of bucktail about as long as the belly hair. Tie this on the hook just in front of the eyes as well but not behind the eyes. If the hair flairs too much and you want to fix that, you can tie in a few, loose, wraps of thread behind the eye. Add a peacock herl topping if you like the look. Finish the head with a taper to the hook eye and you’re done. If you want an indestructible fly, you can put some epoxy on the head and around the eyes.
This fly is constantly in motion, the fly sinks quickly and when you retrieve it, the fly darts toward the surface. You can very easily create a jigging retrieve that generates hard hits. I’ve watched someone with a red and white Clouser catch landlocked salmon so don’t think this is just a bass fly. An all-black version is a huge seller online, so is all white. Try blue and white Clousers for mackerel or green and white in the Penobscot for smallies. Tie a dozen of these with heavy dumbbell eyes and put them in your luggage the next time you vacation (Minnow cont. pg 67)
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Malarkey Cabin Chronicles
Northwoods Sporting Journal
by Ray Dillon, Keswick Ridge, N.B. Black Bear hunting is a challenging sport contrary to what the “Antis” may tell you. Here at our lodge, we have guided hunters for black bears for twenty nine years and, although we have seen and experienced much of what is involved in both spring and fall bear hunting, we
Sniper Sam the Bear Man Hunters Bill “Poco” Perreault” (left) and hunter Sam Nicolas on right with the bruin.
hunters over the years, some successful in their quest for a trophy bear and some who were not. We have celebrated with those who bagged their animal and shared the disappointment with those who did not. Nonetheless, in every case we have seen firsthand that bear hunting is like all
Sam watched a nice bruin that evening and then another just before dark. They had no idea he was there although both bears had listened and sniffed and circled before coming in to the bait. most assuredly haven’t seen it all. For someone to assume that black bear hunting is an easy sport where you put some bait out and the bears come flocking to it is pure mushroom fodder and displays a lack of education and experience on the part of the speaker. We have had the privilege of meeting many bear
April 2020
hunting in that it requires my full input as a guide, your input as the hunter, good timing and lots of luck and…the cooperation of Mother Nature on weather, the bear mating season and temperatures. Bear hunting is a demanding sport. We schedule our hunts for spring time although there are pros and cons to both spring and
fall hunting. We have found that spring offers a bit of an advantage in that there little natural foods available in the woods at this time of year and the baits that we put out offer an easy snack for hungry bruins that are constantly moving about looking for food. This doesn’t mean that the bear will walk right in and start feasting on a bait once he has found it… at least not in most cases. Black bears are wary animals and if you observe them when they are coming in to a bait, you will notice that they stop and sniff the air several times and listen intently for danger before stepping out. Now this “easy” bear hunt sees hunters sit for hours in sweltering heat, swarms of biting flies, pouring rain, high
winds or freezing cold and snow. A hunter can spend countless hours on stand and not see a bear all week long. That always leaves us analyzing the hunt to see what happened. After all, it is in our interest that you get your bear. This month, I want to tell you about a hunter who has hunted faithfully with us each spring for the past ten years and has done very well honing his skills and becoming an endearing member of the week’s group of spring bear-hunting regulars. He has taken numerous bears including several monsters in camp. Sam Nicolas from Woburn in Mass. has studied the animals over the past decade and once again last spring, took a beautiful boar bear with a thick luxurious coat.
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Sam is a good marksman, sits like a stone in his stand when hunting and has earned the Bear Patrol nickname of “Sniper Sam.” He assisted in baiting and setting the other hunters up and both hunting friends, Bill Poco” Perreault and Greg Hopkins both picked up fine bruins that week as well. It was the first week of June and it was cool and wet and windy; not what we would consider as good bear hunting weather. Bears were doing their “hit and miss” routine and visiting some bait sites at night Our hunters were determined though and after Sam deployed Bill and Greg to their stands or blinds, he headed to his on a cool late afternoon. No one had been seeing bears on any of the baits except Bill who had seen a sow with two cubs. All our hunters in this group, Big Joe Houle, Eric Hutchins and Greg’s brother Peter and father Fred Hopkins have all taken some fine bears in camp and they look forward to gathering each spring as the same group in a spring bear hunt ritual. My wife and I love to see them each spring and know that we are serving a (Bear Man cont. pg 68)
Northwoods Sporting Journal
April 2020
Page 65
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Northwoods Sporting Journal
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SAM News by David Trahan, “Executive Director” To this point, gun control organizations have been able to control the message to sound, reasonable using language like, “gun safety”, instead of words like, “confiscation.” Presidential candidate and the leader of the
national gun control movement, Michael Bloomberg, recently withdrew from the Democrat primary after spending over half a billion dollars and failing to become a serious contender. Don’t be fooled and don’t feel sorry for him, he
April 2020
Bloomberg Still Bankrolling Gun Control
achieved exactly what he wanted. To understand his motives that led to his presidential candidacy, one might only look back a few short months ago, when, then Democrat presidential candidate, Beto O’Rourke, rocked the Democrat’s world, when in a televised national debate, announced that, if elected, he would confiscate AR-15’s and other types of semi-automatic firearms to a chorus of cheers and “hell yeah’s!” At the time, Democrat strategists and Bloomberg, likely recognized that in the November General Election these radical, gun confiscation moments were ready made NRA and Republican candidate
campaign ads that could jeopardize any chance the Democrats had to build on the recent takeovers of the U.S. House majority and the narrowing of the Republican majority in the Senate. Worse, for Bloomberg, Beto’s off script calls for gun confiscation could end nationwide legislative support for his “Red Flag” laws and gun control legislation spearheaded by organization he created like, Mom’s Demand Action. Do you think it is a coincidence that just a few short weeks later, Beto’s presidential campaign would spontaneously combust? It is likely leaders of the gun control movement, like Michael Bloomberg, were losing their minds
as Beto went off script. To this point, gun control organizations have been able to control the message to sound, reasonable using language like, “gun safety”, instead of words like, “confiscation.” I believe Bloomberg and Democrat political strategists realized Beto needed to fade into history and do it quickly. What is still unknown though, is what price Bloomberg will pay within the Democrat party. How comfortable will Democrat candidates running for office be going back to business as usual taking his endless billions while aware of his role in New York City’s racial profiling stop-and-frisk policy?
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April 2020
Northwoods Sporting Journal
Early Season Patience
I’m keeping my fingers crossed, but we should be able to put the shovels away and take the plows off now and pick up the fly rods and spinning reels. I know that we’ve had some snowstorms in April before, but they are the exception rather than the rule. April 1st marks the annual opening day for salmon on all lakes in the state except Pleasant Lake in New London which is managed as a trout fishery. So that lake won’t be eligible for salmon fishing until opening day of trout season which is always the fourth Saturday in April. This year it will be April 25th opening day for trout ponds. Tr o u t f i s h i n g i n streams and rivers has been open since January 1st but unless you are a real diehard, the returns can be slow. It’s not easy to entice a trout to strike a fly early in the season, and they won’t be striking consistently until your trusty stream thermometer registers in the mid 40 degree range. If you venture out and find
Minnow
(Cont. from pg 63) in Florida. You can buy a cheap spinning rod and they are heavy enough for you to cast into the surf or off a pier. Easy to tie, easy to fish, great fly. Hugh Kelly has fly fished and tied his own flies for over 40 years. He and his family live in Detroit where he ties flies, drinks Moxie and plans fishing trips. He can be reached at hkellymaine@gmail.com and writes a fly tying blog at puckerbrushflies.com
the water around 40 degrees or lower, try heading upstream to the headwater. It’s possible that temperatures could be five or even ten degrees warmer in the small headwater streams. In that case, the fish may receptive to your offerings. The other thing I like about early season fishing is that I don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn when water temperatures may be too
to go in the early season. You won’t need a ton of flies at this time of the year because there aren’t a lot of serious hatches going on yet. A good selection of nymphs, soft hackles and small streamers should do the trick. The other thing about early-season fishing is to keep the casts short. Fifteen to twenty feet is a good range. That allows you to control the line and
The highest water temperature that correlates with the best spring trout fishing occurs between 3 and 5 p.m. cold for any serious activity. But, by late afternoon, the temperature may have risen five degrees. Someone once told me that the highest water temperature and best spring trout fishing occur between 3 and 5 p.m. The fact that happens to fit nicely into my schedule is pure coincidence! Lightweight lines (4) and fine tippets are the way
set the hook easier. It’s also a better way of detecting strikes which can be very tentative at this time of year. One of these smaller rivers has been the topic of discussion lately with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Commissioners. At a recent meeting, a Fish and Game biologist reported that the Inland Fisheries
Page 67
New Hampshire Outdoors
by Peter St. James, Warner, N.H. Division conducted a comprehensive assessment of fish and stream crossings, which are often barriers to fish, in the Ammonoosuc River watershed in 2013 and 2014. Additionally, the Upper Connecticut River Mitigation and Enhancement Fund commissioned a report to identify high priority barriers to fish in the Upper Connecticut River watershed, which includes the Ammonoosuc River watershed. Both of these assessments identified the South Branch Gale River dam in Bethlehem to be one of the highest priority dams to be removed to reconnect Brook Trout populations in small and large watersheds. Discussions are ongoing as to the cost and manner in which that dam could be removed.
The entire length of the Gale River, which is a freestone river, is contained in Grafton County. Make plans now for the 37th annual Winni Derby on Lake Winnipesaukee, May 15-17. Adult Entry Fee is $55 (Ages 16+). Junior Entry Fee is $40 (under age 16) Online registration is available until Thursday, May 14th at : winniderby.nhscouting. org/registration/ Peter St. James, host of the award-winning NH Wake-Up Show on 107.7FM in Concord, is a member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association, Outdoor Writers Association of America and is a licensed NH Fishing Guide. Reach him at : stjames.peter@gmail.com
29th ANNUAL SPRING SPORTING AUCTION Saturday, May 2, 2020, 10:00 AM Wildwood Function Center Route 113, Steep Falls, Maine
PREVIEWS: Friday, May 1, 10AM-4PM & Saturday, May 2, 8AM-10AM We are now Accepting Consignments and/or Purchasing items Single Pieces to Entire Collections for this Spring 2020 Sporting Auction Event GUNS OF ALL KINDS & HUNTING EQUIPMENT• TAXIDERMY GAME MOUNTS & TROPHIES FISHING TACKLE & EQUIPMENT • KNIVES & SWORDS OF ALL KINDS BOATS, MOTORS, TRAILERS, CANOES, KAYAKS & INFLATABLES ATVs, SNOWMOBILES, JET SKIS • CAMPING EQUIPMENT & TRAILERS TRAPS & TRAPPING ITEMS ARCHERY & BOWHUNTING EQUIPMENT SPORTING ART OF ALL KINDS & DECOYS • VINTAGE SPORTS-RELATED ADVERTISING ITEMS SPORTS-RELATED BOOKS & EPHEMERA OF ALL KINDS
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Page 68 SELLERS LANE
BUYERS ROAD
Northwoods Sporting Journal
REAL ESTATE Stephanie Fields Beaulieu Designated Broker-Owner Cell: 207-551-5835 Fax: 207-472-3084
email: fieldsrealty@maine.rr.com 72 Fort Hill Street Fort Fairfield, ME 04742
854 Lake Shore Road, Sinclair, ME Beautiful 1.35 acre lot on Long Lake with 152 feet of water frontage, very nice shoreline. 16x16 steel frame tiny house, built to last and insulated. 30x60 metal garage with 14ft walls and door. Also a small laundry shed with washer and dryer. Included in this sale are a 24 foot party boat and trailer with 75 HP motor, a 37 ft. Premier Hitchhiker camper with 3 slides, a 200 amp generator, a wharf! There is a well and septic existing on site. Septic system was designed for a 2 bedroom house if you wish to build a larger home here as well! Pristine and well located! MLS#1426329 $225,400
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Howland - Waterfront galore!! 2,000' of frontage on Merrill Brook & 1,200' of frontage on Runaround Brook. Merrill Brook flows into the Penobscot River & Runaround into the Piscataquis River. Good access. $199,000.
Milo - Recreational opoportunities abound on this well-wooded 20 acre lot. Immediate access to ITS 82 and locally maintained ATV trail. Good views. PRICE REDUCED
83 + ACRES Wilton - Diverse lot with mountain views, wildlife & stone walls. Year round stream with waterfrall. Rolling topo. good access. Small cabin, asis. Many locations for house. $119k
Bear Man
had done it again; more meat for the table and a fine trophy for his trophy room. (Cont. from pg 64) Congrats on a great hunt great bunch of guys who with some great hunters! have become friends with us over the years Sam watched a nice Ray Dillon is an Outbruin that evening and then door writer, bestselling another just before dark. book author, Professional They had no idea he was Guide and owns/operates there although both bears Malarkey Cabin Guiding had listened and sniffed Service in New Brunswick, and circled before coming Canada. To book a troin to the bait. Sam chose phy Big Game or Uplands the larger bear with the Bird hunt with him, go to thick coat and his 30.06 www.malarkeycabin.com dropped the bear right there phone 506-363-2839 or in his tracks. Sniper Sam e-mail rdillon@rogers.com
A-FRAMES - CABINS GAMBRELS - GARAGES HORSEBARNS - SALTBOXES
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April 2020
Hancock County - Over 800 acres with 5,400 sq. ft log cabin completely surrounding Fox Pond. Miles of maintained trails. Adjacent to 20k acres of conservation lands. FOXPONDESTATE. COM $4.3mm
RETAIL DEALER/ DISTRIBUTOR WANTED Qualifications: ~ Located on major road ~ Site large enough to accommodate 12 buildings ~ Representative on site ~ Investment required Email: edwardl@edssheds-cabins.com
New Sharon - 678 +/- Acres w/ abundant wildlife including deer & upland game birds. Diverse land with Bragdon Brook & Salt Marsh Creek running through the lot. Over 900' of frontage on Weeks Mills Rd. $299k or only $441 per acre. Woolwich - 148 +/- Acres Remarkable lot with small CAMP. Hunt, hike, bike, sightsee, harvest some of the large oak & pine. Great westerly distant views from Bigelow Knoll. $150,000. King & Bartlett TWP - 770 +/Acres surrounding the majority of the 538 acre 159' deep King & Bartlett lake that supports wild brook trout, salmon & togue. Remote unique parcel.
Ed's Sheds 223 Danforth Road, Carrol Plt, ME 04487
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Northwoods Sporting Journal
April 2020 SELLERS LANE
REAL ESTATE
BUYERS ROAD
207-265-4000
259 Main Street, Kingfield, ME
www.csmrealestate.com
Enjoy Maine's Vacation-land! New Portland, Bog Rd. Cabin waiting to be finished. Well and septic in place and are connected to the 24x24 poured slab, 6 inches thick slab. Great area for all 4 season recreational activities. $$49,000.
janet@csmrealestate.com SUNRISE REALTY
P.O. Box 628 Main Street Machias, ME 04654 Office Tel. & Fax: (207) 255-3039 Email: anitaj@midmaine.com Website: www.sunlist.com Anita Johnson
WHITING: What a great place to send your summer. Indian Lake is known for it's good fishing. Lot is number 2 in Indian Heights sub-division and the driveway is in. That a great place to spend your summer or even full time. There are covenants on the property to help protect your investment. Great price of $70,000.00 EAST MACHIAS: Land is on the East Machias River and there is a driveway permit but would have to be updated as it was done a few years ago. Direct water access for GOOD FISHING, KAYAKING and CANOEING from this water front parcel. Also this lot is close to several other lakes and streams for fishing. A super great price at only $29,000.00
5 Lake Street, P.O. Box 66, Lincoln, ME 207-794-2460
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Burlington- Wellb u i l t c u te ca b i n tucked away in the woods with access t o M a d a ga s c a l ’s gorgeous private sand beach. ATVing & snowmobiling and POSSIBLE OWNER FINANCING. Take a look today on W. Madagascal Pond Rd. $49,900
Lincoln-3BR with 1 full bath downstairs and both a 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 $299,000
L a ke v i l l e - S m a l l cabin, dug well, privy, electricity, and a partially developed lot make this usable day #1 and it could be temporary lodging while you build your new waterfront dream house on Pristine Junior Lake. $88,500
M a t t a w a m ke a g Private cottage with shower house, shed, p r i v y & co ve re d porch overlooking the water. Gas lights & some wiring done for generator use. Enjoy all the outdoors has to offer on Back Settlement Pond. Not many like this one! $78,500
Lincoln- Large modern lot with electricity available, ready to be shaped into your lakeside dream. Build your year round home or weekend getaway on Long Pond. $55,000
Lowell- Large lakefront lot, driveway installed & shore land area ready for your picnic table. Exposed beach in low water on Eskutassis Pond. Opportunities like this don’t come around often so you need to come look today. $85,000 Lincoln- Lakefront lot has electricity available at the road & driveway installed so you are ready to set up. Owner financing for qualified buyers means no more excuses. It is time for you to start enjoying Long Pond today. $68,900 Chester- Bass Fishing. Boating. Blue sky. Clean air. Your own little slice of “heaven”. Build a home, or camp or simply park your camper here on Medunkeunk Stream. The driveway is already in place. $23,900 T3R1- This must be one of the most inexpensive lakefront lots left in the State of Maine. Close to ATV and snowmobile trails. In the heart of outdoors with owner financing available, this one shouldn’t last long on Bill Green Pond. $24,500 Lakeville- 716’ Frontage on pristine & private lot. 13Ac in tree growth & 1A out for future development. Wonderful spot for a campsite on good seasonal gravel road! 250’ setback from Upper Pug Lake for building. $49,000
Page 69 SELLERS LANE
BUYERS ROAD
GATEWAY RECREATIONAL PROPERTIES Office 207-746-3398 gatwainn@midmaine.com www.medwaygateway.com P.O. Box 637 Medway, ME 04460 SNOWMOBILERS - CAMP LOTS AVAILABLE Along ITS-83 From Houlton to Presque Isle MATTANAWCOOK LAKE FRONT LOTS FOR SALE
ASHLAND: 10 Acres on Aroostook River. $14,000. ASHLAND: 20 Acre, river frontage. $25,000. GREENBUSH: 10 Acre camp lots, waterfrontage, large meadow, good views, hunting, fishing and snowmobiling. $25,000 - $42,000. CARMEL: 25 Acres. $42,700. TROY: Hunting camp with 30 acres $45,000. CRYSTAL: 100 Acres large deer population and other wildlife. Will divide off a piece, perfect for your needs. Large brook on property. $49,900. CAMPS LOTS AVAILABLE ON MATTASEUNK LAKE & MATTAWAMKEAG AREA WE OWN WHAT WE SELL! OWNER FINANCING AVAILABLE
Northwoods Sporting Journal
Page 70 SELLERS LANE
April 2020 SELLERS LANE
REAL ESTATE
BUYERS ROAD
BUYERS ROAD
Houlton Office 207-532-4500 Hermon Office 207-605-0556 Scot Walker, Broker
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#3390-Madison; Beautiful location overlooking Mill Pond. 1868 New England Farmhouse needs renovations. 4BR, 1 bath home with new furnace and situated on 2 acres. $29,900
#3403-Harmony; 3BR, 2 bath ranch. Partially finished basement with Hot-tub & fireplace. RV/ Tr u c k g a r a g e , shed & barn. Great place for animals, gardens and pleasant view of private pond. Home warranty and 46.74 acres. $250,000
#3394-Anson; 4BR, 2 bath doublewide home with fireplace, wood stove hookup, automatic generator and 2 oil tanks. Landscaped yard, outbuildings, small animal barn and blueberry bushes. Nice country location on 9.71 acres. $114,800
#3381-Madison; 3BR, 1.5 bath home on the Lake. Chef’s kitchen, granite counter tops, multi layer decks overlooking backyard with spectacular views of the lake. 0.43 acres, dock and private mooring. Move in ready. $339,900
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL Our Past. Your Future
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COME SEE US AT THE PRESQUE ISLE SHOW MARCH 21 & 22, 2020 $59,900 999 Fournier Road T9 R7 Wels, ME Rare offering on the shore of Aroostook River located between the Salmon Pool and the Mooseluk Stream. Prime fishing for native trout and salmon on the river and many other opportunities nearby. You can hunt, snow sled and vacation in the North Maine Woods. Well maintained 20x24 camp. $85,000 LaPomkeag Lake Authentic log craftsmanship at its best. This open concept camp includes a separate bedroom with two large beds plus sleeping loft. Commercial Garland range has four burner plus grill. Located on very private LaPomkeag lake. Camp is furnished and equipped-ready to move in. Gray water system for shower and sinks. Snowsled trail a mile away with easy access. $75,000 84 Mountain Road, Presque Isle, ME 29 acres of woods abutting 800 acres of State of Maine park land can be yours. This wooded parcel includes gated road access a good portion of the year. Recent improvements include new chimney top, roof and leveling. $82,000 999 Pingree L141 Loc F T8 R10 Wels, ME Would you like to be near the Allagash region and some of the best fishing/hunting in the North Maine Woods? This camp is very well built and maintained and has a very nice lawn and yard to allow outdoor enjoyment.
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$119,900 T11 R8 Wels, ME If you’re looking for a quiet, private camp in the woods to rest and recharge your inner batteries, this camp could be for you. Log camp located in the North Maine Woods, on leased land, sits next to McGowan Pond. You will have all the comforts of home: drilled well, indoor plumbing (hot water, shower, and toilet), propane appliances & lights, TV capable of satellite hookup and a generator for electricity when needed. Fish for partridge, deer and moose. Hunt and fish in your neighborhood.
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