Northwoods Sporting Journal, February 2022

Me & Joe Take A Beatin’ With Uncle Arnold’s 10 Gauge February 2022

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February 2022

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Deer Hunter’s Paradise

Anticosti.

Just drop this single word before any dedicated deer hunter and you immediately spark visions of a deer hunter’s paradise, a mythical place of dreams, where whitetails abound in a wild setting of dense

to this special place. The island was purchased in 1896 by French chocolate maker Henri Menier, who introduced a number of wild critters to the island, including 200 whitetail deer. The deer flourished.

Many other introductory

provides an endless supply of winter forage from the kelp piles along the miles of beaches. On the first morning of my buck hunt, 36 does and yearlings crossed a road not far from where I was posted.

Before the day ended, I glassed a number

Page 3

Outdoors In Maine

by V. Paul Reynolds, Ellsworth, ME Menier airport. LaPlante is the CEO of Sepaq, which recently acquired the other big hunting outfitter on the island, Safari. LaPlante is

This is a deer hunt of 150 years ago, a true wild deer hunting experience.

Robin LaPlante, the operations director for Anticosti SEPAQ, started out as a hunting guide on the island. He explained to us how his office maintains a data base of all deer harvested on the island by hunters. (Photo by V. Paul Reynolds) black spruce thickets, daily snow squalls, winding rivers and low-lying open bogs.

The ads and the websites for the Anticosti Island deer hunts tell you all of this. It is not mere promotional hype. For any deer hunter, novice or veteran, Anticosti Island is truly a deer hunter’s paradise. I know. I hunted there for a week in early December. The five-day hunt for me was the adventure of a lifetime, and I have had a few hunting adventures over the years.

The island, located in the middle of the St. Lawrence seaway in Quebec, is about 140 miles long and 35 miles wide. There is a rich history attached

of small bucks in my scope’s cross hairs, but took no shots.

Before the hunt was over my hunt mates all tagged out with two nice bucks apiece.

The second day an 8-pointer fell One of the maps used by t SEPAQ to track the annual deer o m y 7 m m harvest by sex and location. 08. Midweek I (Photo by V. Paul Reynolds) missed a splen-

a thoughtful, gracious guy, who started as a hunting guide and worked his way up. His enthusiasm is infectious. He shared with me some of the island hunting

CERTIFIED

(Photo by Mark Cote)

critters did not survive. Depending on winter severity, the island’s deer numbers fluctuate between 120,000 and 160,000. Today, there are an estimated 120,000 deer or 40 animals per square mile.

In late fall, as the snow depths build, the deer begin a “winter migration” toward the coast, which

did, wide-racked buck at daybreak standing in a bog at more than 200 yards.

The last day I forewent my second buck and, by choice, bagged a fat doe.

Mark Cote, a spokesman for Sepaq Anticosti and my host for the hunt, introduced me to Robin LaPlante the night we were weathered in at the Port

(Paradise cont. pg 24)

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The author with an 8- point buck bagged in a bog the second day on the island.

data, which includes an annual summary of the sex and location of every deer taken during the fall hunts.

Clearly, the island constitutes an unprecedented and, perhaps, unresolved biological experiment.

LaPlante concedes this.

Over browsing by high deer numbers over the years has had an impact on the island ecology, not all good. Bears are now ex-

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On The Cover

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Me & Joe Take A Beatin’ With Uncle Arnolds 10 Gauge - Pg 16 The Anticosti Experience! - Pg 3 Cigar-Tractor Man - Pg 37 Coyotes: Three Ways - Pg 46 Basics Of Survival - Pg 38 The Rarest Mushroom - Pg 40 Camps, Cottages and Land for Sale - Pg 67

Contents

3. Outdoors In Maine - V. Paul Reynolds 6. Muzzleloading Afield - Al Raychard 7. The Gun Cabinet - John Floyd 9. The Trail Rider - Rod Fraser 10. “A Hiker’s Life” - Carey Kish 11. The Northwoods Bow Hunter - Brian Smith 12. Marsh Island Chronicles - Matthew Dunlap 13. The Singing Maine Guide - Randy Spencer 15. Northwoods Sketchbook - Mark McCollough 16. The Adventures Of Me & Joe - Bob Cram 18. Outdoor Sporting Library - Jeremiah Wood 19. The Tyer’s Corner - Hugh Kelly 20. Aroostook Woods & Waters - Mike Maynard 22. The Bird Perch - Karen Holmes 25. Native Fish Talk - Bob Mallard 26. Ramblings From T8-R9 - Benjamin Rioux 28. “Just Fishing” - Bob Leeman 29. Women In The Woods - Erin Merrill 31. Fly Fishing - Joe Bertolaccini 32. The Buck Hunter - Hal Blood 33. Guns & Ammo: A Guide’s Perspective - Tom Kelly 34. The Maine Woods - Matt LaRoche 36. View From The River - Laurie Chandler 37. Maine Tails - Jonah Paris 38. Basics Of Survival - Joe Frazier 39. Old Tales From The Maine Woods - Steve Pinkham 40. What’s In Your Woods - Bud Utecht 42. Maine Outdoor Adventures - Rich Yvon 43. Northwoods Voyager - Gil Gilpatrick 44. Warden’s Words - Game Warden Kale O’Leary 46. On The Prowl - Justin Merrill 47. On Point - Paul Fuller 48. Kineo Currents - Suzanne AuClair 49. Question Of The Month - Bob Grewell 50. Vermont Ramblings - Dennis Jensen 51. Outdoors In Vermont - Gary W. Moore 53. Green Mountain Report - Bradley Carleton 54. South Of The Kennebec - Stu Bristol 56. Cookin’ With New England’s WildCheff - Denny Corriveau 57. SAM News - David Trahan 60. Against The Current - Bob Romano 62. New Hampshire Outdoors - Peter St. James 64. The Back Shelf - Steve Carpenteri 66. Best Bassin’ - Bill Decoteau

Other Great Stories & Information

February 2022

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 28 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 29 Issue 2 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 - V. Paul Reynolds 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, 2022. 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.

View From The River - Pg 36

By Laurie Chandler Against The Current - Pg 60

By Bob Romano

8. Editorial/Letters 14. Outdoor News 41. Trading Post 67. Real Estate

Cover Photo: Safari Photo Anticosti

René Bourque - Guide Photographe www.anticostiphotos.ca Tel: 418-571-6603

South Of Kennebec - Pg 54

By Stu Bristol

The Maine Woods - Pg 34

By Matt LaRoche

February 2022

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 5

Page 6

Northwoods Sporting Journal

February 2022

Muzzleloading Coronavirus in Deer Afield to get. Whatever the case cerned to the point they human-to-deer transfer is

by Al Raychard, Lyman, ME

I don’t know about the rest of you folks but I’m getting pretty tired of all this Coronavirus and Omicron stuff. We’ve

for over two years now, not to mention a litany of misinformation that hasn’t helped the situation. Makes me wonder when it will

Hunters in Wisconsin and Rhode Island were advised to wear masks and limit handling and cutting of the lungs, throat and mouth/nasal cavity. been dealing with vaccinations and boosters, masks and face shields and other disruptions of typical life

it makes me want to hit the woods and my favorite fishing haunts more than ever where, for a while at least, I don’t have to worry about such things.

Or maybe we do, at least just a little bit. In July of last year the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service reported detecting coronavirus anti-

advised hunters last fall to take some precautions while field-dressing and handling deer. Hunters in Wisconsin and Rhode Island were advised to wear masks and limit handling and cutting of the lungs, throat and mouth/nasal cavity. In Massachusetts it was recommended hunters to wear latex gloves and wear a field shield. The

bodies in a sampling of deer in Illinois, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania. A month later in August the agency also reported that samplings revealed the actual virus in some deer in Ohio. Closer to home the service approached the respective wildlife agencies in Vermont and New Hampshire about testing their deer populations as part of a national research on the spread of COVID in deer. I don’t know if either agency complied and if they did what the results were but apparently some federal agencies are concerned enough to do some research.

And it seems some state agencies were con-

Department of Agriculture also put out its own list of recommendations. Here in Maine the DIFW is not actively testing deer for COVID-19 antibodies, has no plans to do so at this point but will monitor testing in other states.

As a deer hunter I’m not overly concerned about all this. The corona and omicron viruses are respiratory diseases and are not transmitted through blood, and there is no evidence anyone could or has gotten sick from eating venison or even field-dressing or handing deer. Some research even seems to suggest the deer so far tested got the antibodies from humans and the threat of

end and we get back to some level of normalcy or whether life as we know it now is as good as it’s going

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far greater that deer-tohuman.

Still, it’s a changing world out there and perhaps some precautions this fall might not be a bad idea just in case until more research is conclusive. Not just for reducing the chances of any virus transfer but to help keep other diseases especially CWD at bay. Presently the fatal brain disease has not been detected in Maine but is known to be effecting and killing deer in at least 25 states as close as Pennsylvania and New York.

Although CWD is not known to be transmitted to humans it can survive outside a host for years, which is why wildlife agencies are recommending wearing gloves and other precautions when dressing and handling deer. With the corona and omicron virus now part of the possible equation until more is data absolute wearing a mask only makes sense and is no big deal.

Al and his wife Diane live on 43 +/- acres in Lyman Maine that offers good deer and turkey hunting opportunities which they both enjoy. If the property had a trout stream it would be true paradise. Al can be reached at alraychard@ sacoriver.net

Northwoods Sporting Journal

February 2022

Baiting Bobcats

This month is truly prime time for Maine predator hunters. Foxes, coyote and bobcats are all very active this time of year as the mating season is in full swing – the ‘predator rut’ if you will. Foxes are usually the first to start the mat-

reasons. Adding to their naturally shy disposition, cats have exceptional vision. And unlike coyotes, bobcats cannot be hunted at night; arguably the best time to hunt predators.

Calling is a popular form of hunting for all predators,

Fresh and unique bait can draw wary bobcats all hours of the day and night.

(Photo by John Floyd)

ing season in January and continue through March.

Coyotes follow, getting ramped up in late January into February. Finally, bobcats begin their courtship late February into late March. This timeline is a great indicator of when you should be actively pursuing predators this year with the month of February headlining the bill.

Bobcats are by far the most requested type of predator hunts I receive inquiries about. They are a beautiful but incredibly reclusive and solitary animal.

They are also the toughest predator to kill in my estimation and for many

but I have found hunting over bait is more effective in my neck of the woods.

One squeak or smooch gone awry can send a skittish cat back the way he came from in a hurry.

Most bait piles used for predator hunting consist of a mix of deer carcasses, fleshing scraps from hides and viscera saved from prior hunting seasons. Coyotes don’t tend to be picky when it comes to food sources in the height of the Maine winter so the traditional bait set up works very well. While bobcats will visit traditional bait, I have found that cats like their supper a little fresher.

And perhaps highlighting the feline nature, they are picky about what they want to eat. Changing up the bait goes a long way in getting bobcats interested and keeping them coming back. In fact, the main two reasons I take my trapping

While bobcats will visit traditional bait, I have found that cats like their supper a little fresher. And perhaps highlighting the feline nature, they are picky about what they want to eat. license every year are for bear trapping season and beaver season; bobcats cannot resist beaver car-

Page 7

The Gun Cabinet

by John Floyd, Webster Plantation, ME casses. The key when using beaver carcasses for bobcats is to stake them down.

Otherwise, the cats will drag them off and cache them – creating their own bait pile of sorts, deep in country you are not likely to find them. A piece of rebar with a welded washer on top, driven through the beaver carcass into the ground a few feet usually does the trick.

Until a couple of years ago, I would have said that beaver was a bobcat’s prime cut, the preferred entrée at the top of the menu. That was when I found out how much bobcats enjoy pork. Yes, you heard me correctly. A local pig farmer I know called

me one morning to ask for a favor. He allowed us to bait bear on his farm for years and I was eager to help. One of his sows had prolapsed the day before while delivering an early litter of piglets and was in rough shape. This morning she was lethargic and in obvious distress; he asked if I would dispatch the sick sow. He just couldn’t bear to do it himself. After the task was completed, he offered the sow as predator bait. We loaded the roughly 300 pound sow in my truck and I picked a spot on the ridge where it transitioned from wood line to field in an area I had spotted bobcat sign in the past. The (Bobcats cont. pg 51)

Page 8

Northwoods Sporting Journal

February 2022

Spring Bear Hunt

In the St. Lawrence seaway, Anticosti Island’s whitetail deer population is flourishing with upwards of 50 deer per square mile.

During the first day of my hunt there I saw 36 deer!

As a Maine deer hunter, you can’t help but ask yourself this question: what is the variable that explains this stark contrast between this island’s big woods deer numbers and Maine’s north woods deer numbers.

On Anticosti snow is a constant during the winter months. Snow depths there, as well as bitter cold, are comparable to Maine’s north woods. Granted, deer mortality through the Anticosti winter may be mitigated by the deer’s access to massive, nutritious kelp beds along the beaches on the island’s south side. Still, particularly harsh winters on the island have taken large numbers of wintering deer. However, with such deer densities to begin with, the Anticosti herd can withstand a significant winter kill.

Hateful and Divisive To the Editor: I was enjoying every page of the Journal until I got to page 45 and Homer Spit. Please tell me that nobody screened this hateful, divisive and wildly incorrect editorial. You have shamed your publication and the sportsmen who read it. When Obama was elected we heard that

The variable is this: other than man, the Anticosti deer have no natural predators!

There are no coyotes or black bears on this island.

As you know, this is not the case in Maine. We have an estimated 35,000 black bears and far too many coyotes. Unfortunately, Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIF&W) does not have a very good handle, or hard data, on the extent of predation on deer by coyotes and bears.

Here’s what we do know. Venison comprises about 80% of a coyote’s winter diet. Officially, MDIF&W contends that bears are “inefficient predators” and survive mostly on vegetation.

A New Brunswick study, however, asserts that bears kill a lot of deer fawns in the province. And career Maine bear biologist Randy Cross has said that bears kill as many fawns as coyotes. Veteran state deer research biologist Gerry Lavigne believes that predation by bears accounts for 50% of Maine’s

he was after our guns... he wasn’t. Under Trump I couldn’t find ammo or a gun to shoot it in. I’m not a Biden fan but know that when he was able he hunted ducks in the marshes of his native Delaware. He supports what we do.

The weapons we left behind for the Afghani military to defend themselves were only the weapons they were issued. We did not

leave huge stores of military weapons. That is an insult to those who served there and an outright lie.

The military had months to ship armament home after President Trump’s personnel cuts made our efforts pointless.

If it is your intent to publish more Spit please stop my subscription immediately. Before I pass my November issue along to friends I will remove page 45 because it would shame me to have my friends think that I would condone such hatred, as should you.

What the hell were you thinking? Please print this as an op-ed in a future edition.

Dan Beetz, York

fawn loss.

Perhaps it is way past time to revisit the spring bear hunt issue. If we are serious about rebuilding our big woods deer populations, we need to cull more bears, as well as maintain our public and private coyote control programs. The fall bear hunt isn’t doing the job.

The Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine supports a modified spring bear hunt that would target specific big woods areas that encompass major deer wintering areas.

According to SAM’s director, David Trahan, his organization is working on legislation to this effect.

Past opposition to a spring bear hunt in Maine has always been socio-political, not biological. SAM’s on the right track. It is time to get beyond that. The Anticosti model is compelling and logical.

Sunday Hunting Article To the Editor: While perusing the January issue, my eyebrows shot up when I read Josh Cottrell’s Question of the Month. Either major typing errors were made or Josh is woefully ignorant about that which he writes.

For starters, SWOAM changed their name to Maine Woodland Owners some time back to better reflect their mission.

Secondly (and more importantly), they are most certainly NOT “strongly against hunting” stated as if the members are all tree-hugging, PETA members too. Of the 76 parcels managed by Maine Woodland Owners, hunting is allowed on 75 of them. The remaining single parcel had a hunting restriction placed

- VPR

on it by a previous owner.

M a i n e Wo o d l a n d Owners sends questionnaires to the members and then represents those views in Augusta when it has a clear mandate. Crazy, right? Support for Sunday hunting within the membership isn’t much different than it is among the general population so that’s the view presented. As for the “threat” that the members will post their land. SOME (not all) members replied that they would consider posting their land if Sunday hunting passes.That’s a simple fact that needs to be part of the decision-making process. While some posting is a possible consequence, Maine Woodland Owners isn’t going to direct members to post their land in retaliation.

Brian Probert Hampden

February 2022

Northwoods Sporting Journal

We’ve Struck Critter!

It’s prime ice fishing season and a lot of us are combining riding and fishing. Tim Caverly called me the other night and we reminisced about great rides we have taken together over the past winters and we also swapped some ice fishing stories. I told him one of my favorite ice fishing stories and he

and Roland Voisine get set up then head out with my son to ride the trails in that area.

As we cleaned off the snow, we saw beautiful ice and quickly had cleaned off enough spots for the amount of traps we would be setting. Pat fired up the auger and went to work cutting the holes. Roland and

When the late February sun reflects off the ice, it can be a peaceful scene.

(Photo by Joe Voisine)

said” you’ve got to put that in your next column.’

One very cold February morning, a group of us rode out of Millinocket for Nollesemic Lake for a day of riding and fishing. We were to meet my cousin, Patrick Walsh, at Nollesemic. Pat has a camp on that lake so would already be there when we arrived. The ride south was very cold, but as the sun rode higher in the sky, the day warmed up and wound up with a very beautiful sunny day, albeit cold.

When we arrived at Nollesemic, Pat was already out on the ice and unpacking his gear from the moose sled. We pulled up and after a short conversation asked Pat what he needed us to do. Pat said to clean the snow off the ice so he could start cutting holes so that’s what we did.

I am not a big ice fishing fan. I would rather ride, so I figured I would help Pat

I followed behind cleaning the ice shavings out of the holes and Roland setting the traps.

After a few holes, I heard the auger slow down to idle and I heard Pat yell ”we’ve struck critter!”

I just looked at him wondering what he was talking about. Roland asked him what he said and he repeated “we’ve struck critter!”

Roland and I walked over to the hole he was drilling and saw what looked like hamburger and hair all over the ice surrounding the hole. About 18 inches, deep, embedded in the ice, was obviously a dead deer and Pat had drilled right into it. None of us had ever seen this before and I was a little amazed that in this huge lake, there was probably only one dead deer frozen in the ice and Pat had drilled right into it.

“What should I do?”

Pat asked Roland.

“Keep drilling,” Roland answered.

“If a game warden comes by, will this be considered chumming the hole?” Pat asked.

“No, you didn’t put it there. It’s a freak of nature.” so Pat drilled the rest of the way through and we put a trap in the hole.

Shortly after the traps were set, the flag went up on the dead deer hole and Pat ran over to the trap and started pulling in the

Page 9

The Trail Rider

by Rod Fraser, Hyde Park, MA

and when I got there, I saw the pickerel with the swedish pimple in its mouth, along with the 2 hooks and attached line. Pat had caught the same pickerel three times!

“I’m glad you guys are here to see this,” Pat said, otherwise nobody would believe I caught this fish three times today!’

After a few holes, I heard the auger Thank you Joe Voisine slow down to idle and I heard Pat yell for the awesome photo of ”we’ve struck critter!” the ice trap that I have infish. As he got it up to the into the pack basket and cluded in this article.

Ride safe, ride right! hole, we could see it was a decided to just pull up a large pickerel, but the line chair and fish through the Rod Fraser is an avid broke just before it could hole with his fisherman’s be pulled through the hole. buddy small pack pole and outdoorsman and twentyPat said it was on an old a swedish pimple. About 15 year Navy veteran. Origitrap with an old line so he minutes later, I heard Pat nally from Maine and livgrabbed another trap out yell that he had a fish on. ing in Massachusetts, Rod of the wooden pack basket This time, the pickerel did has written extensively and set it in the hole. It not get away and came up about snowmobiling. visit could not have been more through the hole and out on his website at www.roderthan 5 minutes and the the ice. Pat called us over ickfraser.com flag went up. I ran over to the hole with Pat and he had a large pickerel on the line. As he pulled it into the hole, we could see the other line and hook in the pickerel’s mouth. He had caught the same pickerel twice, but the line broke again!

Pat tossed that trap

Page 10

Northwoods Sporting Journal

“A Hiker’s Life”

February 2022

Hiking The Pacific Crest Trail: Spectacular Wildflowers, Challenging Trail Mark, Early Days Of The Journey

by Carey Kish, Mt. Desert Island, ME The McDonald’s off Interstate 15 just south of Victorville, Calif. is chock full of dusty, smelly hikers with big packs and huge appetites fresh in from the Pacific Crest Trail a quarter-mile away. Two Big Macs, two large fries, coffee, two apple pies and I’m considering more as I ponder the first few weeks of my journey, which began at the Mexican border.

To date, I’ve covered 342 miles of rugged and beautiful landscapes, from the desert zones to the forested high country. The major swaths of public lands the trail has traversed include the Cleveland, San Bernardino and Angeles national forests and AnzaBorrego Desert State Park.

Unusually heavy amounts of rainfall this winter have lifted California out of drought for the first time in many years, so

there are a lot more water sources than normal, a true blessing in the desert. On other dry stretches there have often been precious water caches maintained by trail angels. At Scissors Crossing, for example, volunteers maintain a stock of 100 gallons, one of two critical supplies that help hikers through a naturally bone dry 30-mile section.

The abundant winter rains have also created a super bloom of wildflowers, so almost every day offers a kaleidoscope of trailside color, from poppies and bluebonnets to fireweed and paintbrush and dozens more I can’t identify but enjoy nonetheless.

The most challenging part of the journey thus far was the 57-mile stint over 10,800-foot San Jacinto Peak and its subsidiary summits. A 20-mile stretch

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of deep snow required the use of micro-spikes to negotiate the precipitous terrain, including the notorious Fuller Ridge. One mile per hour was the best I could manage.

A close second in difficulty was the two-day grunt up the Mission Creek drainage in the San Gorgonio Wilderness. Floodwaters last year destroyed much of the trail, necessitating a good deal of route finding, creek crossings and bushwhacking through impossibly thick tangles of brush.

A good crowd of thruhikers of all ages is out here from across the country and around the globe, with trail names like Hiker Box Bandit, Breakfast Beer, Chicken Champ, Money Maker, Forget-Me-Not,

Daddy Long Legs, Mango, Nothing But Time, Out Loud and many others. My hiking companion, a friend I met on my AT thru-hike, goes by Iron Lady.

Paper maps and trail data sheets are in my pack, but I rarely refer to them, relying instead on the Guthook smartphone app for the PCT, a GPSbased navigation tool developed by Maine’s own Ryan Linn. Your real-time location plus water sources, campsites, road crossings, side trails, town info and more—this indispensable app has it all.

I’m also carrying a Garmin inReach Mini, a three-ounce GPS and satellite communications unit that I was not in favor of, but my mom and wife insisted. I’m glad they did.

Not only can they track my progress, but I can send text message updates whenever I’m out of cell phone range, which is at least half the time.

At I-10 near Cabazon, 200 miles in, my old buddy Tim from Bangor High School days grabbed us for a couple rest days at his place in Yucca Valley. While there, I bought a new Jetboil stove at the local outfitter. I’d grown tired of watching Iron Lady cook, eat and clean up before I could even get a pot of water boiling with my MSR Pocket Rocket.

Before returning us to the trail, Tim was kind enough to stash a two-pound rock in my pack, which I didn’t discover until after a full day’s walk ahead. Payback is, well, you know.

Carey Kish is editor of the AMC Maine Mountain Guide and author of the AMC’s Best Day Hikes Along the Maine Coast.

His new book, Beer Hiking New England, will be available in Spring 2022.

February 2022

Northwoods Sporting Journal

My Wife, Awesome New Hunter!

Since early childhood, my wife Joyce loved the outdoors and was outside doing something most of the time. Her older brother introduced

coached her to a 30 yd shot on a 21 lb gobbler, she remained calm and focused, making the perfect shot, while I shook like a leaf.

She has gone on to harvest

The author’s wife, Joyce, with one of her bucks. (Photo by Brian Smith) her to hunting and the re- three more big gobblers in curve bow. But, she hadn’t the last two years. considered hunting herself Her Bowhunter Safeand simply thought of it as ty Course was completed a “guy thing.” That began that summer but she felt to change after we met she needed more observain 1984 and she listened tion and practice to hunt intently to the details and with a bow. Meanwhile, excitement of my hunting she watched me arrow two adventures. bears, harvest two bucks Three years ago, af- with a rifle, and three gobter decades of prodding blers with a shotgun. She from me, she completed a was now ready to gun hunt Hunter Safety Course and for a bear. purchased a bow. UnfortuIn 2019 we had a few nately, it would be another sightings but no shot opyear before she could get portunity. She’s hooked on into a Bowhunter Safety bear hunting and was in the Course and be able to hunt stand nearly every day with with it, thus her hunting or without me for the last adventures began with a two seasons. She’s learned firearm. Her first hunt was a lot and prefers to sit alone for deer during the fall because she says I make 2018 season but she didn’t too much noise! On her see a buck she wanted to first solo hunt last fall a big shoot. dry sow came in and after The 2019 Spring Tur- fifteen minutes of shaking, key Season brought her she pulled the trigger and first big game harvest. As I click, an empty chamber.

Catch and release, valuable lesson learned!

In November she made a perfect 100 yd shot on a coyote following a deer trail and the real hunting instinct emerged.

Tw o d a y s later we caught a big 8 point chasing a doe and I whispered “shoot him” several times as I got more excited.

She calmly waited until he stopped broadside near a scent wick and took the top of his heart off at 90 yds with her Kimber Hunter.

Her first whitetail dressed at 189.6 lbs.

During the first week of the 2020 rifle season she

Page 11

The Northwoods Bowhunter

by Brian Smith, Machiasport, ME made a great 100 yd shot on a 36 lb male coyote.

She hunted alone from what she calls “her” stand almost every day for three weeks passing up several small bucks and a big one

season we awoke to snow and she headed to her stand.

She passed on a spike since muzzle loader season was ahead. It was cold with snow in her face so she eventually had to leave to

In November she made a perfect 100 yd shot on a coyote following a deer trail and the real hunting instinct emerged. in low light. November 23rd was very windy but just after dawn she caught a big 10pt chasing a doe and stopped him at 40 yds with her first doe bleat. A perfect lung shot with her 6.5 Creedmoor piled him up in only 30 yds. This one dressed at 190.4.

In November 2021, she took another coyote with a very long neck shot.

She saw smaller bucks but prayed a big one would show himself before the end of the season. On the last morning of the rifle

warm up. She forgot her glasses so she took her Kimber 6.5 and went back to get them. As she paused to survey the snowy scene in front of her a trophy buck stepped out of the woods at 150 yds. It was a Christmas card perfect scene as he began quartering toward her. She shook as she scrambled to ready her rifle and make a clean shot. She stopped him three times with a bleat before drilling him at 80 yds, just before the woods. He ran (Hunter cont. pg 24)

Page 12

Sporting Journal Northwoods

Marsh Island Chronicles

by Matthew Dunlap, Old Town, ME I remember pretty vividly, when I was a new legislator, the poster distributed by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife that promoted getting kids involved in the outdoors. A young girl,

piece of legislation and the floor debate that surrounded it from my third term in the Maine House of Representatives, I stumbled across a vexing House Order from the end of March in 2001. Presented by the

She was dialed in from that second, and in short order, a fat brook trout came arcing out of the hole, and her eyes were riveted in amazement as it danced on the ice. resting on the gunwale of a small boat and smiling into the camera; with the legend “Take me fishing…” a statement completed with the list of milestones that, for a young parent, come quicker than we sense at the time. Those little kids grow up. They get friends, join teams, graduate from school, and get married and start families of their own.

In looking up some

Chair of the Committee on Leaves of Absence, my name appeared prominently for the first couple of weeks of that month. I always took pride in my assiduous attendance to the people’s business, and momentarily was puzzled why I would have missed so many session days. Then it occurred to me. That’s when Emily was born.

It was a startling real-

February 2022

Take Me Fishing

ization. She’s all grown up now, on the back side of her college experience; she pretty much only comes home for school breaks. We still hunt and fish together, but now those dates have to be planned around her other obligations, including work, well in advance.

In those early days, she loved to fish. We went every chance we got, and when she was little, I underestimated how awesome it was just to pick up and go. One memorable day she would not be denied; she wanted to go ice fishing. Conditions were awful. It was bright and sunny, to be sure, but the mercury was buried deeply below zero, and the wind called for double-reefed mainsails. But after being hectored all morning about going fishing, I got everything together, we loaded up the truck, got some bait, and headed to the pond.

Despite the conditions and the fact that the fish really weren’t coopera-

tive, it was fun. We set our traps, found a shallow hill out of the wind, and did some sledding. When we hadn’t gotten a flag for a couple of hours, she made the leadership decision that it was time for hot chocolate, and we pulled up and headed home.

And then—blink! I

A kid’s first fish only hooks up once, and if you’re there, no one ever can be separated from that treasure.

found myself dropping her off for the pre-season marching band camp her first year at the University of Maine. Just like that— she was gone.

I was reminded of that day recently when one of my coworkers, Kristin Guerette, sent me some pictures and a couple of videos from a morning of ice fishing with her dad Jim Laflamme and her kids Emily, Ryan, and Isabel, hosted by the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine. Emmi had a flag, but at three years old, getting her focused took some encouragement from her siblings and grandfather. But then, there was the moment— when she felt that pull on the line.

She was dialed in from that second, and in short order, a fat brook trout came arcing out of the hole, and her eyes were riveted in amazement as it danced on the ice.

You can’t plan special moments; they just happen.

If you forsake them, you never get them back. For my own part, I always emphasize to my friends and associates with young kids in their orbit to grab those opportunities and hold them close. A kid’s first fish only hooks up once, and if you’re there, no one ever can be separated from that treasure.

Take me fishing. The gifts you receive in return will fill your heart.

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.

February 2022

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Take the Cure Think of it as the perfect prescription for the pandemic. Ice Fishing!

Almost everything about it adheres to CDC guidelines: It rarely occurs among large groups of people, it is

on their way to the Grand Lake Stream area about Rick Carter’s bait shack at the foot of Chick Hill on Route 9 in Clifton, and also about Diffin’s Bait on the Eastern Cutoff Road,

of escape plans!) But many have discovered for the first time, the unblemished beauty of a snow-covered lake in the Maine wilderness. On a clear day, you have a stark, altogether different kind of natural beauty, a world, which in winter, is reduced to three colors: white, green, and blue. You’re fishing on the white, under a dome of blue, surrounded by green. If the liquid silver of a landlocked salmon, or the rusty spots of a togue should be offered up by the lake, what a nice addition to the spectrum!

Some sports have asked me if they need to be way out in the deepest parts of the lake to be successful ice fishing. They often are asking this question because it makes them Ice fishing adheres to all of the Covid a little nervous to be out guidelines. And it’s fun, too. there where the last open outdoors, it is socially dis- once they’re in Princeton. water could be seen not tanced (unless you crowd If you’d like to wait until a large group into a small you’re in town, or the fishice shack, and who wants ing has been so good you to do that?) need to restock, stop in We’re also learning at Canal Side Cabins on now about the long-term Water St. in Grand Lake affects of having been in Stream for an excellent a global pandemic for two selection. If you’re in need years. Anxiety, depression, of lodging, they are the lethargy. Perfect antidote? only sporting lodge open Ice fishing! It began in ear- year round in Grand Lake nest last month with many Stream. You’ll find cozy, of our most productive comfortable cabins there, lakes opening January 1st. and you’ll have quick acThere were the usual cau- cess to West Grand Lake, tionary warnings about un- or any one of the many safe ice, but the stretch of surrounding lakes in Repolar weather from Christ- gion C. mas to New Years helped We saw an uptick in firm up ice safe enough to ice fishing during the first walk (and fish) on. winter of the pandemic, and Local bait shops are it seems to have been growbustling. Smelts, shiners, ing ever since. Some folks suckers, and sometimes escape to Key West. Others tommy-cod and golden, or to Cancun. Still more book red-fin shiners are available a cruise (surely the most there. I tell anglers who are un-CDC compliant choice

Page 13

The Singing Maine Guide

by Randy Spencer, Grand Lake Stream, ME long before opening day.

The answer is a loud NO! Two years ago, I watched a fellow from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia auger some holes so close to shore, I wondered if he was going to blunt the blades of his auger on the bottom. Turned out, that’s

it several times since with more than decent luck.

Trying new things just adds a measure of excitement to the outing. One bait dealer suggested threading a dead shiner or smelt onto the hook first, then a live one afterward to swim the dead one around, making it

Sick of the pandemic? Layer up, put on some creepers, grab a few tip-ups and a jigging stick and head for the hardwater. It works every time.

what he was doing: finding just the right depth, which, for him, was where there was only about eight inches of water under the ice. Once he found it, he dropped a shiner down there. That same morning, he pulled a 5 lb togue out of that hole, a togue that was engorged with pin smelts.

Full disclosure: I’ve done

look alive. When that first flag went up after trying this, we ran like hell for it.

It worked! A 2 lb whitefish had fallen for it, and if you’ve never fried whitefish fillets the same evening after catching them that day, it’s time you started ice fishing.

For the not-faint-of(Cure cont. pg 24)

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 14

February 2022

Outdoor News - February 2022

Edited by V. Paul Reynolds

February. Not a bad month for outdoor types.

If you look closely, you’ll notice longer days. Cabin fever sufferers take heart.

There are sportsman shows and ice fishing derbies that make a relatively short winter month go even faster. On late afternoons toward the end of February, when the sun’s rays begin to hold promise and the wind stays down, it can be downright pleasant near those ice fishing holes.

If you’re shopping for winter diversions beyond the bunny hunts or tying bench, don’t forget to check out the many sportsman shows, ice fishing derbies and bait dealers whose ads appear this month in the Sportin’ Journal.

As we said in this space last year at this time, the best part of the month is the perennial promise that helps Mainers endure the abbreviated days and prolonged nights: the coming of March, then the April thing, and then spring!

award $45,000.00 worth of cash and prizes! For more information and details on derby registration go to www.longlakeicefishingderby.com

The 60th annual Schoodic Lake Ice Fishing Derby is scheduled for Feb 19 and 20. The derby also includes nearby Ebeemee Lake and Seboeis Lake. Last year, the derby awarded $4,000 worth of cash and prizes. For more information or registration details, contact the Milo Fire Department.

A Bonanza for Tuna Research

The Casco Bay Bluefin Bonanza tuna tournaMaine Ice Fishing ment has announced an Derbies exciting new collaboration Billed as Maine’s with The University of largest annual ice fishing Maine Pelagic Fisheries derby, the Long lake Ice Lab (UMaine) at the Gulf Fishing Derby in northof Maine Research Institute ern Aroostook County is (GMRI) to provide internearmarked for Jan. 29 and ships and fund important 30. The derby includes a research on western Atlannumber of County lakes tic bluefin tuna that will and ponds and plans to ultimately be used to help TIME TO SELL SOME OF THAT SPORTING EQUIPMENT OR ANYTHING THAT YOU’VE GOT COLLECTING DUST! ONE MANS GARBAGE IS ANOTHER MANS TREASURE! SEND US YOUR CLASSIFIEDS! LET US HELP YOU SELL YOUR STUFF!

ensure sustainability of the resource and the fishery.

Dr. Walt Golet, a UMaine assistant professor based at GMRI has developed a close working relationship with the Bluefin Bonanza since its inauguration in 2019. At the tournament, held annually in South Portland, Maine, Golet and his team of interns collect samples from landed fish that can be used to answer questions about specific aspects of bluefin biology including longevity, age structure, stock structure, foraging ecology, age of reproduction, migration/habitat use and more. This information is then used to develop and enhance management programs including quotas, seasons and limits.

“This new collaboration will allow the Pelagic Fisheries Lab to increase the scope of their work.

Furthermore, it will also provide financial support of internships for students, giving them an opportunity for hands-on field experience,” said Golet.

“The recovery of western Atlantic bluefin stocks has been an incredible success story, but we’re now at a critical point in the management of those stocks,” said Bluefin Bonanza president Bob Humphrey, who also serves on the National Marine Fisheries Highly Migratory Species Advisory Panel.

“Highly migratory species like bluefin cross international boundaries and are managed by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). There’s a lot of politics involved and

it’s critical that we have good science to drive sound management decisions. It’s also important that we, as fishermen, are giving back to the resource.”

At a recent ceremony, Humphrey presented a $25,000 check to the Umaine Foundation to support Golet’s work. “The College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture is grateful for the generous donation from the Casco Bay Bluefin Bonanza organization. Their gift will support critical research and education associated with highly migratory species important to coastal Maine communities, specifically Atlantic bluefin tuna. Through this donation, UMaine undergraduate internships, electronic tagging, and biological monitoring programs for Atlantic bluefin tuna will help ensure the long-term viability of this species through development of effective conservation and management approaches,” said Diane Rowland, Dean of the UMaine College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture, which oversees the School of Marine Sciences at the University of Maine.

The Casco Bay Bluefin Bonanza is a 501 (c) (3) is an independent, nonprofit organization committed to the purpose of raising and expending funds in support of educational scholarships to deserving individuals, giving charitable donations to those in need and building a better community. For more information, visit: www.bluefinbonanza.org or email bluefinbonanza@

gmail.com

Nominations Sought for Wilmot “Wiggie” Robinson Legendary Guide Award.

Criteria are: • Must have been a Registered Maine Guide for 20 years and active guide for 10 years.

• Must pass a criminal background check and be a law-abiding citizen with no arrests for committing a crime related to human injury, gun laws or major hunting or fishing violations for 20 years.

• Must be a community service volunteer, with a focus on providing education about safety and survival in the Maine woods, introducing and educating youth about the importance of the Maine ecosystem, or other such efforts.

• Must be active on boards or committees that enhance and promote the importance of Maine’s outdoor resources, in things like youth programs, Scout leader, conservation education, safety instructor, search and rescue volunteer, active in Fish and Game club, guide license examiner.

The award will be presented to the recipient (News cont. pg 30)

February 2022

Northwoods Sporting Journal

The Canada Jay’s Hoard

“Where did I put my reading glasses?” “Honey, have you seen the keys to the truck?” “Where did I put my fly tying vice after I used it last winter?” As smart as we claim to be, the human brain has it foibles.

We can remember the formula for Pythagoras’ theorem, but sometimes can’t remember where we last put our wallet. However, for the gregarious Canada Jay memory is a matter of life and death and essential to its surviving the frigid, dark northern winter.

No bird has so many common names. Gray Jay, Whiskey Jack (or John), Corberie, Gorbey, Camp Robber, Moosebird, Meat Bird, and Venison Hawk are all names for this bird heard in the North Maine Woods. The origins of some of these names is fascinating. Gorbey is derived from the Scots-Irish gorb, meaning glutton or greedy animal in Gaelic. Whiskey Jack is an anglicized derivation of Wisakedjak, a mythological trouble maker in the Cree culture.

Several of the names come from the jay’s habit of visiting hunters after they kill a moose or deer. Canada Jays dart fearlessly inches away from a hunter’s knife gobbling chunks of fat and meat as the carcass is prepared to be packed out.

In recent years, Canada Jays have learned to pluck blood-filled winter ticks from the back of a moose.

In the old days, Maine and New Brunswick woodsmen called them the Ghost Bird because they were believed to contain the soul of a long-dead comrade.

In 2017, the Royal Canadian Geographic Society sponsored a popular

vote for the national bird of Canada. The Gray Jay (or is it “Grey”?) lost out to the common loon. This didn’t matter because the Canadian government made it abundantly clear that

the beaver would retain its crown as the only national symbol. The Canadian contest prompted the American Ornithological Union to officially change the common name from

Page 15

Northwoods Sketchbook

by Mark McCollough, Hampden, ME

Gray Jay to Canada Jay. This is what John James Audubon called the bird in his painting in the 1840s, and the name stuck for over a century. Confusing? That is why we have one, and only one, scientific name for each living organism.

Perisoreus canadensis is the beautiful bird that will

from tree to tree on owllike, silent wings. If food is visible, the inquisitive jays will sometimes land on your hat, lap, or even your hand. There is not a campsite in the Northwoods without a resident pair of Gorbies who have learned all the tricks of how to snatch sizzling bacon

How does a Canada Jay in February remember where your doughnut from a June camping trip is hidden? Like a Las Vegas card shark, Canada Jays have remarkable memories.

No bird has so many common names. Gray Jay, Whiskey Jack (or John), Corberie, Gorbey, Camp Robber, Moosebird, Meat Bird, and Venison Hawk are all names for this bird heard in the North Maine Woods. The origins of some of these names is fascinating.

(Illustration by Mark McCollough)

alight on your hand to eat peanuts and raisins.

Much to their delight, visitors to the Northwoods are often rewarded with an unexpected visit from a Canada Jay. Our human activities in a Canada Jay’s territory don’t go without notice. They are more often heard before they are seen.

A soft, mewing sound belies their ghostly presence.

Out of the corner of our eye, a gray shadow glides

from a hot frying pan, eat a bite of pancakes and syrup when you are distracted, or beg for a morsel of doughnut. They hop over the rough-cut picnic tables and cart away food up to half of their body weight.

They carry heavier foods like bagels and sliced bread in their feet – an unusual behavior for a songbird.

How could they possibly consume all this camp (Hoard cont. pg 27)

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 16

The Adventures of Me and Joe If we hadn’t stopped at Uncle Arnold’s house on the way home from school, things probably would have worked out better. It was an unusually cold October day in 1965 and we stopped at the small farmhouse above the road as much to get out of the harsh wind as to visit with Uncle Arnold.

We found him sitting at the small table in the kitchen, sipping tea and gazing out the window that faced the road. He was a small, pot-bellied man, clad in a dark flannel shirt and green pants, held up with colorful red suspenders. The big black wood cookstove threw off a welcome heat and we immediately unbuttoned coats and shed hats to keep from sweating.

“How yer doin’, Uncle Arnold?” Joe said, stretching his hands over the stove lids.

“Poorly,” he sighed, still looking out the window. “Lumbago got me in its clutches, is what it is.

by Bob Cram, (Alias T.J. Coongate) Medway, ME Can’t hardly stand without whimperin.”

Me and Joe looked at each other. Uncle Arnold was cursed with multiple ailments that seemed to manifest themselves the strongest when a chore had to be done, or an obligation fulfilled. I thought about edging quietly out the door before we got caught up in some task or other.

“What I’d like to have is a goose,” Uncle Arnold said absently, running a hand through his thick gray hair.

“A goose?” Joe asked uncertainly. “You mean, like, for a pet?”

Uncle Arnold scowled. “No, not fer a pet!

Fer eatin’!” He looked out the window again, peering at the gray sky, perhaps looking for a stray flock of geese heading south.

“I’d admire to have me a goose, maybe two or three. I could eat on one now an’ put the rest in the freezer for Christmas dinner an’ sech.” He turned

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.

PLEASE MAIL THIS FORM TO: Northwoods Sporting Journal P.O. Box 195, West Enfield, ME 04493

The Goose Hunters

Joe cleared his throat. “Heck,” he croaked, “we could kill geese at a hunnert yards with this thing.” A worried look came across his features. toward us, warming to his subject. “You take an’ clean a goose right, then skin him so’s you git rid of some of the fat. Then you slice the breast in thin slices an’ fry it in hot bacon fat…” A look of pure bliss came over his vastly lined face. “I kin jest feel the juice runnin’ down my chin!”

“My dad says that a goose isn’t all that good.

He says…”

“All in how yer cook it,” Uncle Arnold interrupted with an airy wave of his hand. “I kin roast a goose so’s it’s fit for a king.

Got me the right spices an’

a stuffin’ recipe that will make yer knees all trembly, jest smellin’ it.” He peered at us thoughtfully.

“You boys ever hunt goose?”

“I shot a duck once,” Joe said “But it was a merganser an’ it tasted like fish.

If I want to eat fish, I want it to at least look like a fish, an’..”

“Got jest the gun fer it,” Uncle Arnold interrupted, pushing himself painfully up from the chair.

He hobbled over to a corner of the kitchen and pulled a long gun from behind some coats hanging on wall pegs.

He handed the gun to Joe

and I peered at it over his shoulder.

“Shoot ‘er all yer want. Got plenty o’ shells.

She’s a killer. Kill all the ducks an’ geese yer want, too. Jest bring me a couple of geese. Three’s better.”

The shotgun seemed to be all barrel. It butt stock was a narrow carbine style with a brass butt plate. The fore stock seemed almost non-existent, just a slender sliver of walnut slung under the barrel ahead of the action.

“What the heck is it?”

Joe said.

(Me & Joe cont. pg 17)

Marty

Shown actual size

Marty fooled our readers!

He was not found!

Name Address City

February 2022

State

Phone I found Marty on page

Zip

(Marty was on pg 61)

Entries must be postmarked by 2/15/22 to be eligible for this issue.

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.

Northwoods Sporting Journal

February 2022

Me & Joe

(Cont. from pg 16) “She’s a 10 gauge Doolan, made in Masserchewsits. Belonged to my brother Ross, who died. Throws a whole buncher shot. Kill any goose out there.” He pointed a fat finger.

“See that lever on the side, what’s part of the trigger guard? Push down on that.”

Joe did so, and the action opened, the barrel dropping down to expose the breech. The chamber hole looked big enough to push a fist into.

“A 10 gauge?” Joe said with a worried look.

“Ain’t that kind of big? You ever shot it?”

Uncle Arnold looked uneasy. “Oh, yeah…I’ve shot it. Long time ago.”

He rubbed his shoulder absently. “She’s a killer,” he repeated emphatically.

“Here, I’ll git the shells.”

He went into the other room and we could hear drawers being pulled out and slammed shut.

He came back carrying two boxes of paper shotgun shells. The cartridges looked big enough to fit a field gun. On the side of each was printed the legend ‘No. 4 shot. Nitro Smokeless Powder.”

“Abraham Cultivator tolt me theys bunches of Canada geese landin’ every evenin’ in his back field, where he already harvested the corn but they’s stray kernels layin’ about on the ground. You sneak up there an’ you’d orta be able to dump a few with one shot.

Now don’t fergit,” he said, pushing the boxes into my hands. “Shoot all yer want. Jist git me a couple of geese, or three. Four’s not too many.”

We walked down the road, Joe carrying the light single barrel gun; me carrying the boxes of shells.

Joe looked down at the gun, cautiously.

“We prob’ly orta shoot this thing…you know, to see how it patterns, an’ all.”

“Yeah,” I agreed reluctantly. “There’s an old roll of brown wrapping paper in our back shed. We can cut off some big pieces to shoot at.” I looked down at the cigar-sized cartridges. “Bet it kicks some.”

It was a serious understatement. We took the 10 gauge to the town dump, where we tacked a big piece of brown paper to a scrap skid leaning against a gravel bank. Joe slid one of the fat shells into the breech and closed the action with a loud ‘snick’.

He held out he gun toward

me, but I shook my head.

He sighed in resignation.

At the last minute, a streak of sanity overcame him and Joe pressed the butt of the gun against an old storage shed rather than holding it to his shoulder.

Pointing the long barrel in the general direction of the target some 40 yards away, he pulled the trigger.

It reminded me of old black and white film of howitzers firing in World War II. The roar was deafening. Smoke and flame belched from the muzzle and the sounds of splintering wood and clattering metal could faintly be heard.

Joe looked down, seemingly amazed that the gun he held was still in one piece. Where the brass butt plate had pressed against the shack the shiplap boards were splintered and broken. We glanced inside the door. Shovels and rakes that had hung from pegs on the wall lay scattered in a heap on the floor.

I glanced over at the target. “Look!” I said, pointing a shaky finger.

We walked over to the skid. Nearly every square inch of the paper had birdshot holes in it and six inches of the center was completely blown away.

And this at 40 yards.

Page 17

Joe cleared his throat.

“Heck,” he croaked, “we could kill geese at a hunnert yards with this thing.”

A worried look came across his features.

“I suppose,” he said nervously, “that we’d ort to at least shoot it from the shoulder once…” I stared at him, horrified.

“Yeah, I guess,” I agreed, staring at the target.

“Who’s gonna shoot it?”

He sighed. “I will.

Gimmee yer coat.”

I stripped out of my jacket and he pulled it on over his own, giving an extra layer of protection to his shoulder. Opening the 10 gauge, he replaced the fired round with a live one, closing the breech. I walked a few steps off and plugged my ears. He looked at me worriedly, then eared back the hammer, closed his eyes, and pulled the trigger.

The muzzle shot skyward with the loud ‘boom’.

Joe staggered backward three steps and then fell on his butt. As I walked over, he lurched to his feet.

“Bleep!” he said bitterly.

“That thing kicks like a bleepin’ mule.” He shed the jackets and pulled his shirt away from his shoulder.

The imprint of the brass butt plate was plain to see among broken blood vessels and bruised skin.

Rubbing the sore muscles, he looked up at me.

“It might gonna be huntin’, but it ain’t gonna be fun!”

Late that afternoon we crept through the woods bordering Abraham Cultivator’s back field. We made sure to set up down wind and hid in a small clump of winter beech that still had brown leaves attached.

Nothing stirred amid the stubble of the field and Joe scanned the skies worriedly.

“Hope them birds come this evenin’. I’d like to git Uncle Arnold his geese an’ be done with it.”

“What? You don’t want to make a season of it?” I asked, smiling slightly. “Looks like you’re all rigged out for it.”

Joe had taken a small, thick cushion from the couch at home and had tied it against his shoulder with clothesline rope. It was a strange looking contrivance but I had to admit it would probably tame the vicious recoil of the 10 gauge.

“You start tellin’ anybody at school about me bein’ a sissy and I’ll pound ya!” he said in a hoarse whisper. I stopped smiling.

“If it ever comes to that, just make me shoot the (Me & Joe cont. pg 23)

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Page 18 Northwoods Sporting Journal

Outdoor Sporting Library

by Jeremiah Wood, Ashland, ME

This side of buffalo on the plains, there probably hasn’t been an animal as important to the survival of a people than the caribou of northern Canada and Alaska. Vast herds, numbering in the tens of thousands or more, roam freely across immeasurable territory between calving grounds and feeding areas.

Always on the move along unpredictable routes, relying on caribou to survive can mean feast or famine.

The presence or absence of caribou is more important than anything else.

Seth Kantner lived among caribou his entire childhood. His parents raised him and his brother in a sod igloo along the Kobuk River, where his

father, who found this place while conducting caribou research, decided to live here among the caribou, the

Caribou were everything to the Kantners. Meat from the animals provided the bulk of their winter food supply. Their skins were made into sleeping bags, blankets, mukluks, mitts and more... wind, the frigid tundra and the ghosts of past cultures drawn to Onion Portage, perhaps the most storied caribou crossing in the world, in their back yard.

Caribou were every-

Living with Caribou

thing to the Kantners. Meat from the animals provided the bulk of their winter food supply. Their skins were made into sleeping bags, blankets, mukluks, mitts and more. As soon as the weather cooled enough keep meat, they were either looking for caribou, waiting for caribou, shooting caribou, hauling caribou, or butchering caribou.

Onion Portage was an old standby, where Seth’s family could count on plenty of caribou to feed them every year. But in years past, that wasn’t always the case. Journals from trappers, miners and explorers from the late 1800’s note a complete lack of caribou in the area. That’s the thing about large groups of migratory animals. If they’re there, they’re there in large numbers. But if they’re not, well, they’re not. And

sometimes the caribou just don’t show up for long periods of time. Lack of caribou meant starvation for many of the native people who lived in small bands and roamed the country in search of food in those old days. Where had the caribou gone? Scientific research has expanded our understanding of caribou over the years, but a great

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deal of questions still remain.

K a n t n e r ’s book “Shopping for Porcupine” described his early life on Kobuk, where he and his family lived “more Eskimo than the Eskimos”. “Swallowed by the Great Land” is a collection of stories from Seth’s experiences later in life, his somewhat civilized balance between living in the village of Kotzebue and spending time at the sod igloo on the Kobuk.

“A Thousand Trails Home: Living with Caribou” is Seth Kantner’s most recent book. It ties together the past and present, childhood and modern life, all within the lens of caribou and their importance to his family and the people of western Alaska. Like the many trails caribou make as they travel across the land, Seth’s book explores the many facets of humans and caribou, and how the two have evolved together in this special place. It also examines the future, and what change might mean for these vast herds of animals that have meant so much to so many.

“A Thousand Trails Home” is available in hardcover, ebook and audiobook. In addition to information packed and thought provoking prose, the book includes stunning full color photography from Seth’s home country.

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February 2022

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 19

West Branch Caddis

This month’s fly is the in a hackle feather (usually West Branch Caddis, origi- brown) and wind on 2-3 nated over 40 years ago wraps. The hackle should

by Eddie Reif of Bangor.

Eddie used it as a searching fly on the West Branch of the Penobscot, and once the pattern became known, you’ll see it everywhere there are caddis flies. This is one of the more effective caddis imitations out there and quite simple to tie.

Recipe for the West Branch Caddis Hook – Dry, 12-18 Thread – Black or brown Body – Brown or tan dubbing Wing – Chocolate brown mallard Hackle – Shades of brown Start the thread on the hook and dub on a body; I use brown but caddis in your area may be tan or other colors. There is no tail. Peel away the fluff from a brown throat feather of a drake mallard duck.

Tie in the feather on top of the body with a few loose wraps. The feather will be lying back along the body and sticking out a bit at the bend of the hook. Then gently pull the feather forward until the rest of the feather wraps itself around the body a bit and then finish tying it off.

You should now have a body and wing on the hook shank and the wing should extend past the hook bend but not by much. Tie Let us know your opinion send letters to the Editor to: NWSJ P.O. Box 195 W. Enfield, ME 04493

The Tyer’s Corner

be sparse. Finish the head with a whip finish and the fly is done. There is

by Hugh Kelly, Detroit, ME

another version of this fly called Nancy’s Prayer that uses wood duck instead of mallard. Some folks tie in a dubbed head but the original does not have that. You can use hen hackle to make a wet version if you like.

Very simple, very effective.

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 he writes a fly tying blog at puckerbrushflies. com

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Aroostook Woods & Water

by Mike Maynard, Perham, ME The weather remains evil. Quit shoveling and come back inside; make a pot of coffee, crack a good book, and settle in. I’ve got a head on my shoulders, I’ve seen it, but it never seems to retain much useful information; mostly, it’s a storehouse of irrelevant and useless 70’s rock n’ roll trivia. On a good day, my recall will give up the particulars on a small handful of patterns that float around in the calcifying gray matter. Unfortunately, adding any new patterns to this cognitive soup is simply a waste of information.

The instructions will be conveyed down a synaptic pathway to nowhere. Think of my brain like the neverto-be-finished Presque Isle bypass: a good idea in theory, but as currently configured, not much of a going concern.

To echo Blanche Du-

Bois: “I rely on the kindness of strangers.” Same here. I have to rely on tyers I’ve never met to bestow upon me their infinite wisdom and the epipha-

Best of Fly Tying Books

it occurred to me just how influential some of these authors were. Truly, giants walked among us. For a time, they were deemed visionaries, and they left an indelible mark upon our sport. Sadly, some of those authors, and their words, have begun to slip from our collective memories;

shoulders of past masters and fails to make the appropriate homage to their heritage, to the men who literally taught them how to fish (end of rant).

Let’s reacquaint ourselves with their thinking.

This isn’t an all-encompassing list; in fact, it’s a very short list; sunk fly gu-

we’ve thrown aside much of their sweat and toil for a cheap expediency and a YouTube channel of our own. We find ourselves watching videos of people who tie articulated nightmares and give their flies ridiculous names. This new guard stands on the

rus. The authors here are, in my humble opinion, some of the most innovative and creative people who ever graced a tying bench. In no particular order…

“The Art of Tying the Wet Fly and Fishing the Flymph” -James Leisenring & Vernon Hidy.

The authors here are, in my humble opinion, some of the most innovative and creative people who ever graced a tying bench. In no particular order… nies behind their favorite feathery confections. In my next life, I want to come back with Carrie Stevens sense of beauty and proportion, Davie McPhail’s deft touch, and Jim Leisenring’s zen-like underwater vision.

I was wandering through my book shelves the other day, looking for a long-forgotten pattern, and

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While this book may be small in stature and short on pages, it stands as one of the cornerstones of flyfishing literature. This little book is a monster. The information disseminated in these pages was startling when it was released, and the weight of that knowledge still reverberates today. If you fish below the surface, and could only have one of these books; buy this one.

“The Soft Hackled Fly” -Sylvester Nemes. The man who brought the soft hackled fly back from the dead and into our consciousness again, Nemes released this book in 1975 and along with his later books on soft hackle flies, began a reawakening that continues today.

“Trout Hunting: The Pursuit of Happiness” -Bob Wyatt. Most of us are familiar with Wyatt’s seminal fly, the DHE (deer hair emerger). What is less known about Wyatt is that he is an author with a lot to say on any number of fly-fishing topics. This book is an eye opener on many levels and whether or not you agree with all of his views, a most worthwhile read.

(Books cont. pg 21) NEW HOLLAND MASSEY FERGUSON TRACTORS

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

February 2022

Books (Cont. from pg 20) “Caddis Flies” -Garry LaFontaine. There are a couple of biblical-worthy comparisons in fly fishing literature; LaFontaine’s book is one of them. At the time he wrote his magnum opus, his underwater methods of observation were remarkable. Those observations have stood the test of time and cemented LaFontaine’s place in the Pantheon.

“The Fly and the Fish” -John Atherton. As well as being a drinking buddy of Norman Rockwell, Atherton was a wonderful artist in his own right. He was also a writer and an avid fly fisherman.

This book was a significantly ‘different’ look at fishing when it was written. The illustrations are beautiful, the text very well written. Oddly enough, like the next name on the list, Atherton died while fly fishing.

“What the Trout Said” -Datus Proper. A unique individual. Proper was a career political analyst for the state department, all the while digging deep into the mysteries of what makes a good trout fly. Proper’s book is a must read for anybody who wants to go beyond the paint-by-numbers recipes, and actually design flies through observation and attention to detail. Proper, too, died while fly fishing.

“Nymph Fishing in Practice” -Oliver Kite.

An adventurous and welltraveled British army officer who went on to become a television personality with a popular nature show called ‘Kite’s Country”.

Kite was a soldier, fly fish-

erman, naturalist, and a writer. This is required reading. I’m serious, you are all required to read this book, it’s that good.

“Nymphs” -Ernest Schwiebert. What can you say? -It’s Schwiebert. And while this book(s) may actually outweigh your grandfather’s encyclopedia set, it’s worth all the hours it will take you to work through both volumes.

Audacious is a good word for Schwiebert’s writing.

Exhausting is another.

“Wet Flies” -Dave

Page 21

Hughes. Again, more required reading. It’s as good as any of the books listed before it.

“Emergers” -Swisher & Richards. Not a lot of emotion in these boys, but they wrote one helluva’ book.

So many good reads..., and this is just the beginning.

Mike Maynard lives in the woods of Perham, Maine and can be reached at perhamtrout@gmail. com

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 22

February 2022

Common Eiders

The Bird Perch

sociable in large flocks.

But among them could

by Karen Holmes, be a King Eider, Somateri Cooper, ME spectablis. Both species are February is when I ary mouths provide fish, adapted to life in frigid walook for many species of mollusks, starfish, sea ur- ters. Their feet have arterwaterfowl that can be seen chins, and crustaceans they ies and veins passing close off the DownEast Maine can eat. to each other. This allows coastlines. They are birds I always bring along blood flowing into the feet of the northern seas and my Waterfowl ID Guide to stay warm while going

We encountered rough seas and I lost my footing and pitched into a cabin wall, busting one jacket seam. There was eider down floating everywhere, which did not endear me to my fellow seamen!

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because the eider species are often tricky to identify.

The Common Eider, Somatria mollissima, are the most abundant and very

Aroostook County

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down floating everywhere, which did not endear me to my fellow seamen!

Common Eiders are the largest duck species in the northern hemisphere.

King Eiders are smaller, but not enough to easily identify one swimming among a large flock of Eiders. I have to set up my spotting scope to examine all the birds carefully. A male Common Eider is bulkier, larger and thicker necked. They are all black underneath with very white backs. Mature males have Roman-nosed profiles formed by long bills sloping to rather high crowns.

Their heads are white with (Eider cont. pg 24)

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Me & Joe (Cont. from pg 17)

gun. That’d be punishment enough.”

“Maybe I will,” Joe agreed with some satisfaction. Then he stiffened and grabbed my arm. “Look!

Here they come!”

Over the treetops to the west, in the direction of the river a huge number of Canada geese came wheeling in, wings flaring, to touch down amid the stubble of the cornfield.

Immediately they began waddling about, pecking at the ground, and the air was filled with a subdued honking.

I stared in fascination at the large flock of big, heavy birds. Joe nudged me.

“We’ll try for them ones on this edge of the flock,” he whispered.

“Looks to be a family

Northwoods Sporting Journal

group. We got to get a little closer.”

I saw the birds he was talking about. It appeared to be a male and female and about a half dozen of their offspring, the younger birds nearly the size of their elders. The big gander seemed extremely suspicious, staring in our direction and grumbling under his breath.

Joe began sneaking slowly through the brush and I followed close on his heels. He finally settled to his knees at the very edge of the brush and eased the shotgun forward. Placing the butt against the cushion on his shoulder he raised the gun awkwardly and sighted down the long barrel. Then he lifted his head suddenly.

“Where’d that big gander go?”

I was about to say that I had no idea, when a faint crackling of leaves sound-

ed to our left and I caught a rapid movement from the corner of my eye. The irate gander was running right at Joe, its long neck stretched low to the ground, curved and sinuous like a snake.

Joe tried to swing the shotgun toward the oncoming bird, but it was already

inside the radius of the long gun’s muzzle. With a loud hiss, the goose clamped its beak on Joe’s arm.

“Ow! Leggo! Leggo, you fool bird!” He tried to use the shotgun as a club, but the gander instantly released its hold on the (Me & Joe cont. pg 35)

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Paradise

Hunter

(Cont. from pg 3)

(Cont. from pg 11)

tinct for lack of wild berries and other forage. Balsam fir, once plentiful on the island, has been replaced by a forest monoculture of black spruce all attributable to over browsing by whitetails. The Anticosti deer have no natural predators, except for man. Even domestic dogs are not allowed on the island.

For me this hunt measured up and, in most cases, exceeded my vision of a serious deer hunter’s dream hunt: deer density like no other, a wild scenic setting with utter solitude, seasoned professional guides who help when needed, but never hinder, and comfortable accommodations in coastal camps.

This is a deer hunt of 150 years ago, a true wild deer hunting experience.

From a deer management standpoint, I suspect that the Anticosti experiment remains an open, unfinished narrative. Meantime, it will continue to attract hunters, who will almost always bring home wild meat and priceless memories.

For more information, check out the website at www.sepaq.com

100 yds before crashing and tipped the scales at 190.8 lbs dressed with a 20” inside spread. She’s now harvested three bucks in a row that weighed within a pound of each other but the racks keep getting bigger!

Only God knows what’s in store for us in 2022 but I know Joyce will be focused and prepared!

Maybe she’ll take her first game animal with her bow, her first bear or a fourth 190 lb buck?

The author is editor of the “Northwoods Sporting Journal.” He is also a Maine guide and host of a weekly radio program — “Maine Outdoors” — heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on “The Voice of Maine News - Talk Network.” He has authored three books; online purchase information is available at www. maineoutdoorpublications. com. or www.sportingjournal.com. Contact email — vpaulr@tds.net

Brian is a Retired Maine State Police Detective and NRA Field Representative. He is a Life Member of the Maine Bowhunters Asscoiation and 1st Director at Large. He was chosen MBA Bowhunter of the Year in 2005 and 2008.

He is a life member of the NRA and longtime member of SAM and local Fish and Game Clubs. He currently serves on the SAM-ILA Board and can be reached at bowhunter@mgemiane. com

Eider

(Cont. pg 22) black crowns. Male King Eiders have black backs with narrow white wing patches. Their heads are pale blue with pearl-gray tops and are rectangular shaped with bulging foreheads and orange frontal shields.

The mature males of both species are therefore easy to identify. But what is a challenge is differentiating between the juveniles and female eiders. The juvenile males of both species have brown heads.

February 2022

Cure

(Cont. from pg 13) heart, the cusk lines go out at dusk. Just leave the baits on bottom, but check them after dark, whether the flag is up or not. A cusk can eat and partially digest a bait without putting the flag up.

True connoisseurs of this species will tell you they make a superb chowder. So will a togue, and legendary Passamaquoddy guide, Lola Sockabasin, used to make them right out on the ice. Nothing stokes the inner furnace like that does.

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Layer up, put on some creepers, grab a few tip-ups and a jigging stick and head for the hardwater. It works every time.

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You have to closely examine the head shapes and structures. The females of both species are brown. But the King Eider females are a more rusty brown with fine crescent -shaped side markings on their sides.

Common Eider females are a more sooty-brown with fine black barring on their sides. I like to be challenged when I go birding!

The Holmes live in Cooper, Maine and enjoy their over 70 wooded acres and all the wild creatures that inhabit them.

February 2022

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Trouble by the Truckful

When it comes to Maine’s wild native fish, nothing threatens them to the degree that nonnative fish introductions do.

These invaders alter the aquatic landscape considerably, and in most cases permanently. And once introduced, nonnative fish can spread throughout the watershed, often taking years, or even decades to fully play out.

they just don’t care. Informational signage can help make some reconsider their actions, as can the threat of serious fines and a loss of fishing and hunting privileges for life. But bucket biology can never be completely stopped.

There is another form of nonnative fish introductions that is as ecologically harmful as bucket-biology, yet it barely gets any at-

stocking has basically the same effect as a self-sustaining population, at least as long as it’s being done and the previously stocked fish remain.

To put this in perspective, landlocked salmon were native to just four waters in Maine. Today there are over 100 waters where salmon are “present,” and approximately 200 where they provide a “principal fishery.” Smelt can now be found in over 500 waters,

Page 25

Native Fish Talk

by Bob Mallard, Skowhegan, ME nonnative fish, the impact is more than ecological, it has social implications as well. Specifically, it makes it harder to promote the message that moving fish around is a bad thing. If the state can do it, why can’t we? While it is “legal” and government-controlled, is there really any difference?

introducing what and where, and whether it’s illegal, legal, accidental, or incidental, when it comes to nonnative fish introductions the result is almost always the same – we end up compromising the native fish, exchanging one species of fish for another, or worse, destroying the

Nonnative lake trout introduced by IFW are imperiling the salmon of Sebago Lake, Maine’s official state fish and the namesake population. Naturalized nonnative salmon from Nahmakanta Lake are threatening rare Arctic charr in Rainbow Lake.

The most talked about form of nonnative fish introductions is so-called “bucket biology,” or the deliberate stocking of fish by anglers. Selfish and careless anglers introduce what they want to fish for, and regardless of what is already there or who is utilizing it. As sportsman go, and I use the term lightly, no one does more harm to the resource...

Most bucket biology in Maine has involved bass (smallmouth and largemouth), pike, crappie and white perch. In other cases, it’s been baitfish such as smelt, golden shiners, and rudd (a large Eurasian shiner-like minnow), which are often introduced to provide forage for previously introduced gamefish.

Bucket biology is illegal. Those doing it know they are breaking the law;

tention. In the history of Maine, it has accounted for hundreds of nonnative fish introductions, most of which were at the expense of wild native fish. What I am talking about is the state-sponsored stocking of nonnative fish.

Like bucket-biology, while indirectly, we sportsmen are very much responsible for the proliferation of nonnative fish through state-sponsored stocking.

Rather than take matters into our own hands, we use IFW as a means to get what we want where we want it. If we didn’t accept it, it would be much harder for IFW to continue doing it.

In many cases, the state-sponsored stocking of nonnative fish has resulted in the establishment of selfsustaining populations. In other cases, while the fish fail to naturalize, ongoing

roughly 100 of which are classified as “Legal Transfer” by IFW. Brown trout, a European species, are said to occur in over 150 waters in Maine.

Nonnative lake trout introduced by IFW are imperiling the salmon of Sebago Lake, Maine’s official state fish and the namesake population.

Naturalized nonnative salmon from Nahmakanta Lake are threatening rare Arctic charr in Rainbow Lake. Introduced salmon are stressing brook trout in Mooselookmeguntic Lake, Maine’s largest State Heritage Fish water.

Nonnative fish are being actively stocked over wild native fish in Moosehead Lake, Rangely Lake and the Richardson Lakes, the latter of which is leaking stocked fish into the fabled Rapid River, Pierce Pond, and most troubling, Green Lake, one of just twelve wild native Arctic charr waters left in the contiguous United States.

When it comes to the state-sponsored stocking of

It is quite possible that you could encounter a state-sponsored “Troubled by the Bucketful” sign while a state-owned stocking truck was dumping nonnative fish into the same water. It’s the old “do as we say, not as we do.” That so few see this contradiction is part of the problem.

Regardless of who’s

fishery altogether.

When it comes to moving fish around, we need to lead by example.

And this means IFW as well as the sporting community, as you cannot expect the general public not to do what you are doing or enabling. It’s time to walk-the-walk, not just talk-the-talk, as the cur(Truckful cont. pg 39)

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 26

Ramblings From T8-R9

by Benjamin Rioux, Millinocket Lake Editor’s note: Jeff Labree is filling in this month for Ben Rioux.

By Jeff Labree Yesterday’s temperatures in Maine dropped to an unpleasant -19 degrees, so I naturally started daydreaming of warm spring days casting a fly to rising trout. Winter months usually find me cooking at Libby’s and tying flies for the upcoming season. For some reason, many of you struggle keeping them out of the bushes and trees!

As always, we are looking for new water and different fishing opportunities for the guests new and returning that continue to visit our lodge. I am happy to report we have placed boats and canoes on three

new bodies of water since many of you have last visited - all three of which can be easily accessed by the float plane. One of the

Workout number two is to gradually increase the ice in your drink of choice. The added weight will soon have your arms ready for a long day of casting to rising trout and hungry salmon. ponds offers brook trout and Arctic char, and the rare opportunity to catch trophy specimens of each!

This past season once again saw us struggling with very

February 2022

Cabin Fever Reliever

dry conditions – something that seems to be a trend going back to 2019. The three new waters are much better suited for quality fishing when the temps rise and cold water gets tougher to find.

For those of you look-

friend or life partner to help you get up. Repeat this simple exercise until they throw a blanket over you and storm off in an angry fashion. Workout number two is to gradually increase the ice in your drink of choice. The added weight will soon have your arms ready for a long day of casting to rising trout and hungry salmon. A third and more intense workout is a good leg stretching routine that can be accomplished by stepping over the chain closing the road to the fish hatchery. This workout is one of my personal favorites, as it has the added bonus of the hurried run back to your vehicle. Last but certainly not least, simply The author with a handsome brookie walk around your vehicle ing for moving water, the suggestions to help each of four times before getting streams and rivers have you prepare for the rigors in. This will help with returned to satisfactory of fishing with me. Work- cardio, which you need if levels for now. To help our out number one is to lay you are going to follow cause, the forecast also is on the floor and get your me down the trail of tears.

I live in a very rural area, so this is achieved without having to hand my wallet to some shady sort.

I hope these simple yet time-proven methods work as well for you as they have for me these past few years. looking like it promises more than ample amounts of snow and ice through the winter months. Let us pray this holds true! In the meantime, it is best to book early and get prepared for your upcoming trip!

I have a few work out

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February 2022

Hoard (Cont. from pg 15) food? If you watch closely, the birds fill up a large pouch in their throat with as much food as they can hold before flying to the woods to cache it. Then they come back for more, and more, and.. Canada Jays scatter their hoards at thousands of locations throughout the forest to make it more difficult for pilferers, like red squirrels, to steal their food. Hoarding food is critical to the jay’s ability to survive the winter. Canada Jays don’t migrate and remain on their territory year-round. Your gorp, bologna, and bread crust just may get them through a frigid February night.

Cached food is hidden in accessible nooks and crannies high in spruce and fir trees and above the snow. The jays bind the food in bolus bound together with their sticky saliva.

They hide the glob under flaky bark, among tree lichens, in clumps of spruce needles, or in the crotch of a branch. They are busy storing food all summer, and will hide thousands of food items before the first snow. Antimicrobial resins in the spruce trees and winter-cold temperatures help preserve the food.

How does a Canada Jay in February remember where your doughnut from a June camping trip is hidden? Like a Las Vegas card shark, Canada Jays have remarkable memories. Studies show that they remember and recover up to 80 percent of the food they hide. All corvids (crows, ravens, jays) have excellent spatial memories, and all have evolved the

Northwoods Sporting Journal ability to find most of the cached food.

Last October, a pair of Canada Jays arrived within minutes of me harvesting a fine bull moose. They flitted from tine to tine on the antlers examining my every movement with head-tilted curiosity. I sensed some deep intelligence in those hungry, obsidian eyes.

They landed on my shoulder and darted between the cleaned ribs to snatch every morsel I dropped. I had the same experience cleaning deer in northern Maine and caribou in Quebec. These weren’t campsite Gorbeys,

Page 27

but were wild jays that probably had no previous contact with humans.

Something in their evolutionary past gave them the courage and intelligence to ignore their natural fear of humans. Or as I rationalized it, I’d like to think that they were simply the reincarnated soul of a hungry, bygone Maine woodsmen.

Mark McCollough is a retired wildlife biologist that lives in Hamden, Maine. He can be reached at markmccollough25@ gmail.com

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 28

The Power of Prayer

“Just Fishing”

by Bob Leeman, Bangor, ME I feel compelled to tell this true story of four fishing pals spending three days at Grand Lake Stream, Maine, and their fishing success.

We had spent the first couple days fish casting

boys would lay out a flycast of unbelievable length and unimaginable distance, causing yelps and cheers and amazement from the liar’s bench at beachside.

However, none of these monumental efforts or fly-

salmon plaque that had their esteemed words written in bold letters: “LORD, GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY SALMON”.

With that, we all joined hands and said a little prayer of our own on what a fine engagement of

With that, we all joined hands and said a little prayer of our own on what a fine engagement of cribbage, fine food, and fellowship we had enjoyed anyway. ‘til our arms ached over water we knew held more landlocked salmon than you could count. Well, that’s an exaggeration, maybe. Anyhow, this “fantastic four” of imitation fly twitchers were quite good at this avocation, but far from experts. Although, occasionally, one of the

February 2022

casting skills seemed to impress the fish.

Then, on the morning of the third day, after a rather hearty breakfast was consumed at the log cabin, and after dispirited tales were exchanged over battles for lost fish, someone glanced over the cabin door where hung a carved

cribbage, fine food, and fellowship we had enjoyed anyway. Then we all put on our fishing regalia and headed out for the last fling of the uneventful trip, for success of catching fish, that is.

only a cast or two, and promptly landed it amid the astonishment of onlookers.

Amen to that!

Then, Norm Plourde, some have labeled “the scourge of Grand Lake Stream”, stepped up to the plate and reeled in another fish of even larger proportions! Holy samolions!

Within minutes, it seemed, Jeremy Rollins would up the foray with a smashing, leaping, reelscreaming trophy landlocked, at least the size of the others taken---and all within record time, if you were mindful.

Thereupon, the ofa crowd-pleasing cheering fensive was abruptly over! sound from on-lookers, We each got a strike, a skirlanded and released a beau- mish, netted and released a ty of a “specimen of the prime landlocked salmon of abundant proportions. species”.

After our accomplishNext in line was Pastor Mark Fowler, who ment, we had to believe nailed another beaut after that just maybe that little prayer said among good friends, might possibly had something to do with our success. You suppose?

Those few hours that morning of fishing? Then let us pray…

Then, would you believe, this writer was the first to flycast the inviting, sprawling pool of slowmoving waters with at least two elegant, fly cast displays, when “WHAM” – “a strike”—“a nice one” had taken hold. And, after

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February 2022

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 29

Remembering George Smith

I was trying to think about what to write about for this February article.

Something that would be timely and start a conversation. As the topics came and went, something made me think of George Smith.

It has been one year since he has passed and I starting thinking about the topics that would have him riled up and what I have accomplished in the past twelve months.

There are two topics that I would love to have heard George’s take on.

The first bring the Right to Food, which was passed into the Maine Constitution when we voted in November. It is the first of its kind in the United States and reads “that all individuals have a natural, inherent and unalienable right to grow, raise, harvest, produce and consume the food of their own choosing for their own nourishment, sustenance, bodily health and well-being.” It is a big win for hunters but it doesn’t prevent anti-hunting organizations from coming back to attack our hunting methods. Would George have used it as a stepping stone to fully protect hunting and our current hunting methods? Or would he have pushed backed and Free Fishing Days!

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aimed for more restrictions on what kind of food and where?

The second is the issue with PFAS (Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) found in venison in the

debate with George if he thinks the PFAS contamination is more catastrophic to our deer herd than CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) could be and what hunters (and Inland Fisheries &

Women In The Woods

by Erin Merrill, Portland, ME a lot for the Journal, my Blog and Drury Outdoors.

(Someday, George. Someday!)

I didn’t hunt as much as I would have liked, but

Would George have used it as a stepping stone to fully protect hunting and our current hunting methods? Or would he have pushed backed and aimed for more restrictions on what kind of food and where? greater Fairfield area. As more testing takes place, we will see how far reaching this is. Currently, we know the chemicals have been found in milk, wells/ groundwater, venison and eggs. It is a safe bet to think that as testing expands, so will the area of contamination and the list of items that are found to be ‘unsafe” I would love to be able to

Wildlife) should be doing to deal with the issue.

I keep a note from George on a bulletin board by my desk. In true George fashion, he answered the question I had originally asked him but then asks how my book is coming or when will I sit down to write a book. I did not get a book written in the past 12 months, but I did write

Central Maine

I hunted enough to fill the freezers and come out of the woods with some amazing stories and a decent taxidermy bill. Ha! It was a pretty good year for me and for the hunters across Maine (we shot more deer than we ever have in my lifetime!)

I am sure George would have a lot to say about the current state of the Maine Outdoors and offer his thoughts on how to improve things. It is a voice – and opinion – that is missed.

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.

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 30

Camps on Lake Aziscohos for years and operated a longtime school for students interested in becoming Maine guides.

News (Cont. from pg 14) at the annual Maine Professional Guides Association banquet in the spring.

Nomination forms must be submitted by Jan. 10. For a form, visit maine.gov/IFW. Carroll Ware, a longtime guide from Skowhegan, was the 2020 Wiggie Robinson Legendary Maine Guide winner. Ware became a Registered Maine Guide in 1989, and he has been busy in the Maine outdoors nearly every moment since.

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Those deer will provide approximately 3.1 million servings of local, nutritious venison.

The buck harvest will

February 2022

be close to 9,000, which will be down slightly from 2020 (9,255) but near the 10-year average of 8,938.

The final antlerless deer harvest will be around 6,600, down considerably from 9,735 in 2020, but similar to antlerless harvests prior to 2020. Some of that decrease was due to the department issuing fewer muzzleloader antlerless permits this year.

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Warm weather and abundant fall foods limited deer movement and made it difficult for hunters to locate them. Changes in hunting participation and effort related to the pandemic likely affected this year’s harvest as well.”

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

February 2022

Use of Synthetic Hair

Referring back to last dard and fluorescent colors month’s column, where we as well as silver, gold, focused on types of hair copper and pearlescent. that can be used for tails, I am adding synthetic hairs, which are now in common use. They include materi-

Chenille fibers can be trimmed top and bottom to simulate flat bodied nymphs, tapered back along the sides for dragon fly nymphs or left as is for streamers.

Chenille is manufactured in several thicknesses from fine to extra large making it suitable for a wide range of fly sizes from 18 up to size 5/0 or larger.

Before tying on, strip als that are marketed as Fly Fur, Craft Fur, Crystal off about ½ inch of fibers Flash and many others. to expose the thread core, Because synthetics are binding it down at the base artificially processed, they of the tail with the core can be made in a wide pointing forward and the variety of fluorescent colors and glitter. Most are uniform in thickness and don’t have tapered tips like the naturals. To have a pleasing look, hair tips should be sightly staggered as pictured below.

Concerning body materials, chenille is popular for many effective fly patterns including the Maple Syrup, Wooly Worm, Wooly Bugger, Warden’s Worry, Wood Special as well as crayfish, dragon fly nymphs and caddis larvae.

It can be purchased from fly shops and craft stores in a variety of stan-

appropriate length of loose chenille extending back past the bend of the hook.

The tying thread is then wound forward to about two eye widths behind the hook eye to further bind down the core and provide a smooth base for the body material. Begin winding the chenille forward at the base of the tail in close tight turns, away from you over the top of the hook, sweeping the fibers back so they won’t be trapped under succeeding wraps.

Sufficient room should be left for a neat finishing knot and any throat or wing materials to be added.

Chenille fibers can be trimmed top and bottom to simulate flat bodied nymphs, tapered back along the sides for dragon

Page 31

Fly Fishing

by Joe Bertolaccini, Orrington, ME fly nymphs or left as is for streamers. Other variations can be obtained by alternating two or more colors to produce a striped body, or twisting them together prior to winding which would provide a mottled effect.

Practice makes perfect.

Next month we will be focusing on other synthetic body materials such as yarn, floss, processed wool, tinsel and tubing that are used on many standard fly patterns.

Joe has enjoyed fly fishing for over 65 years.

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

February 2022

I had been waiting to hunt on snow all season. Not finding a track, I headed for another place that I hadn’t hunted all season.

I walked a stream where there are some signpost rubs in hopes of finding a big toe dragging buck track. After two miles, all I had found tracks were

but the good news was that the track was fresh. It had been spitting snow and blowing and there were only a few flakes of snow in the track. I started on the track the buck only to find that he was wandering and feeding. I thought to myself that this buck was a dead man walking! He

some does and a couple of young bucks chasing them around.

I decided to head towards a cedar bog, thinking maybe an old buck might be hanging out there.

I swung away from the stream in the direction of the cedars. I hadn’t gone three hundred yards, when I cut the track that I had been looking for. It was 3”x3 ½” and squared off in the front. By now it was 1:30,

was heading back toward the stream that I was walking up. As he got closer to the stream, I thought he must have crossed my track. He began feeding on moss from a blown down spruce and from there his track disappeared. When I circled the blowdown to pick up the track, I came to my own track coming up the stream. I immediately knew what had happened.

I had spooked the buck as I

was hurrying up the stream looking for a track. Talk about bad luck. Now I had gone from a casual feeding buck to a spooked one.

Since I spooked him from a different direction, I didn’t think he would be too bothered. He only ran about a hundred yards before slowing to a walk, but he went into an alder swamp. I figured I was about a half hour behind him, so I went right along.

I could see by the way he walked through the alder, that he must have a pretty good set of antlers. He would walk around tight spots like he was steering his antlers through them. It wasn’t long before I spotted a calf moose in front of me. The calf had spotted me so I stood still hoping it would just move off. It moved over to its mother and they both spooked and bolted off through the alders. Toward where the buck had gone. Bucks will often bed down after they go by moose and use them as a warning signal for danger. I moved along on the track and the moose criss- crossed his track several times, the last time was just before the buck left the alders. Just inside

Last Day Track

The Buck Hunter

by Hal Blood, Moose River, ME Winter is in full swing in the north country. So far it has been on the mild side and is favoring the deer. As of late December, the temperature has barely hit the below zero mark and daytime temperatures have been in the teens and above. The lack of snow

late. Most of the deer in that country have to travel long distances to a yard, so they usually move towards them early. The less time they have to spend in a yard, the better off they are.

Last month, I left off going into Thanksgiving week. We did get a nice

I pulled my 7600 ahead as he disappeared behind a spruce, in hopes that he would appear again… He was a big, old, dark buck with heavy dark horns. The kind of buck dreams are made of.

during the deer season has carried through December as well, with less than a foot on the ground all over the north woods.

This is great for the deer, especially the bucks which are run down from the rut and need to get fattened up to make it through the long winter. I took a ride up around zone 4 in late December. I saw a doe with her two lambs wandering around no where near a deer yard. I saw other random deer tracks in places you rarely see them that

snowstorm on Friday after Thanksgiving. I had been waiting on not only snow, but my cameraman to follow me on the track. He couldn’t make it up until Sunday and would be able to film for muzzle loader season. The last two days of rifle season, I grabbed my camera and self-filmed in case I found a track I wanted to follow. Friday during the storm, I couldn’t find a track which is normal during a storm. On the last day of rifle season, I looked for a track in a spot

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February 2022

Northwoods Sporting Journal Guns & Ammo:

Getting Started

At this time of year and in our current societal situation, it’s maybe time to contemplate what is happening in our beloved sport.

In my Hunter Ed classes and at Outdoor shows, the conversation sometimes comes to “How do I get started?” and “What will it cost?” I am confident many of you have been asked the same questions. I hope we are all being positive and encouraging to the new sports. Here is a brief description of what I suggest to the new prospects.

First and foremost, I encourage them to attend a Hunter Education Class.

This helps lay a solid foundation of safety and ethics.

This is especially important in today’s society, as many new hunters were raised in a non-hunting household.

As a result, they have had no exposure to the way of life. I like to think of it as basic training for the hunter. Next, I encourage them to join a sportsman’s club and participate in the club activities. This gives them a place to shoot and exposes them to experienced shooters and hunters.

If you are one of those experienced folks, I hope you consider taking one of these new folks under your wing. Please become a mentor. It is very reward-

ing. This brings me to my next suggestion for the new hunter. Find a mentor to show you the ropes.

I also try to encourage many types of hunting and locations. I have met many people in class who are only there so they can deer hunt in their home state.

That’s great, but maybe try rabbit hunting with your neighbor and his beagles.

ing journey. In general, I feel it’s best to start with quality flexible equipment.

In time, you may choose to invest in more specialized equipment. For most new hunters, white tail deer and black bear are the first big game animals to be pursued. In my opinion, a new hunter should learn to handle a big game rifle in a caliber like .308 or

A Guide’s Perspective

by Tom Kelly, Orient, ME

These items are the bare minimum, but some of these items may be available to borrow from relatives or mentors. The rifle may be available as a used gun at your local dealer.

Items like the day pack may be available at a sur-

First and foremost, I encourage them to attend a Hunter Education Class. This helps lay a solid foundation of safety and ethics. This is especially important in today’s society, as many new hunters were raised in a non-hunting household.

Perhaps join that group going to Maine on a bear hunt or join a guy in your club that has an English setter and has invited you to go bird hunting.

Approach it all with an open mind. You may be surprised that you like more than one type of hunting. If you find an aspect of the sport you love, then support it. Join some of the support organizations.

There are varied and many.

Some of the most proactive are, The Wild Turkey Federation, Ducks Unlimited, The Ruffed Grouse Society and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to name a few.

There are also questions about equipment and what it costs. This question is very dependent on where you want to start your hunt-

Page 33

.30/06. These calibers are plus store. Please rememvery versatile and useful ber the old adage, “keep it for a wide range of game simple”. Don’t get sucked animals. So, with that in into the technology race mind, here is a suggested that this sport has become. list of equipment to start Wait until you have a little and some price estimates: experience before you start -.308 or .30/06 bolt action the tech wars. Work on your woodsman skills, you rifle: -Ruger American with will be better for it. Good scope $759 -Insulated Hunting Boots $150 -Wool Hunting Coat $250 -Wool Hunting Pants $150 -Canvas Day Pack $30 -(2) Compasses $35 -(2) Interchangeable Blade Knifes $50 -Quality Gloves $75

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luck and welcome to a wonderful way of life.

Tom is a Registered Maine Guide. He is the owner/operator of Shamrock Outfitters in Orient Maine with his wife Ellie.

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

February 2022

Gray jays are a member of the corvid family that includes crows, ravens and jays. They are monogamous and they refuse to migrate when the weather turns cold. They are smart enough to store up food to last the winter and are known to seek out people for sustenance. They eat

usually located about 15 feet off the ground, close to the trunk of a thick conifer tree. Two to Five pale gray eggs that are dotted with brown are incubated by the female only for about three weeks. Males will sometimes bring food to the female while she is on the nest. Young birds will

The Maine Woods Matt LaRoche, Shirley, ME

One of the pleasures of working and playing in Maine’s Northwoods is having encounters with the Canada jay. These graceful birds will actively seek you out when you’re recreating in the boreal forests of northern New England and

The Canada jay, alias gray jay, whiskey jack, gorby and camp robber will eat right out of your hand with a little encouragement.

Canada. I have enjoyed the antics and soft whistles of these birds as they fluttered around me while I sit on a stand waiting for a deer to show-up.

The Canada jay is one of the iconic symbols of Maine’s Northwoods that is every bit as significant as the moose or black bear.

When we built our home on the outskirts of Shirley,

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tats include black spruce bogs in the northeastern United States and Canada, the aspen and Engelman spruce forests in the Rockies and sitka spruce/Douglas fir timberlands along the northwest coast of North America.

Their range is from Maine and the maritime

we were delighted to find that these charismatic birds came to our feeder almost every morning looking for their daily rations of bread, seeds or leftovers. Sipping on a fresh cup of coffee and watching the Canada jays is truly one the highlights of our morning.

The Canada jay, alias gray jay, whiskey jack, gorby and camp robber will eat right out of your hand with a little encouragement.

The author’s grandson Sterling feeding a You can see Canada Jay. (Photo by Leah Eastland) my grandson, Sterling feeding one from a variety of foods includ- provinces to A Canada Jay range map, his hand included with this ing: insects, spiders, seeds, Washington courtesy of All About Birds. article. On one of our trips fungi, small birds, mam- State to the to the Allagash, we stopped mals and will take meat arctic tree line. Also in- leave the nest about three for lunch at the Chamber- left behind by hunters and cluded are the high eleva- weeks after hatching. They tions of the rocky mountain remain with the parents lain Bridge boat launch. It trappers.

Their primary habitat states all the way south for at least another month. didn’t take the gray jays long to find us eating at is the spruce and fir for- into New Mexico. See map Juvenile birds are slate gray the picnic table – Sterling ests but they will inhabit included with this article. with a few white feathers Nesting begins re- around the beak. For more thought it was a great show various kinds of coniferous until one swooped down and mixed woodlands but markably early - during late information on the Canada rarely occur where there winter when snow is still jay go to: www.audubon. and stole his chip. are no spruce trees. Habi- on the ground. Nests are org If you are out recreating this winter in the north country take a break and MAINE WOODS GUIDE SERVICE have a snack. You might just get a visit from one of my favorite birds - the iconic Canada Jay. Bed & Breakfast - Since 1816 -

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February 2022

Me & Joe

(Cont. from pg 23) arm and immediately transferred the bite to the left thigh. Joe howled in pain.

Out in the field, the other geese stared nervously, all thoughts of feeding gone. Several began flapping their wings.

Joe managed to swing the butt of the shotgun at the gander, but the big bird again released its hold and, leaping into the air with a beat of broad wings, clamped down on his enemy’s left ear, hissing like a python. Joe roared in pain and dropped the shotgun The geese in the field began taking wing. For a moment it seemed that all the air above the cornfield was filled with beating wings and the big bodies of rising birds. Joe was still fighting the big gander. I couldn’t let the birds get

Northwoods Sporting Journal

away.

Snatching the shotgun from the ground, I eared back the hammer and pointed the muzzle in the general direction of the flushing geese. Just before the brass butt plate hit my shoulder, I yanked the trigger.

The next thing I knew, I lay sprawled on my back on the ground, my ears ringing loudly. Horrible pain lanced through me. It felt like Cassius Clay had punched me all out in the right shoulder. I knew I must be bleeding. I knew my shoulder must be broken. Through it all came the annoying sound of someone whimpering and it took a moment to realize that the whimperer was me.

Joe lurched into the narrow gray circle of my vision. Blood streamed from his ear and had one hand clutching his thigh while the other clamped

onto his left arm.

“You all right?” he croaked.

“No!” I rasped.

“Where’d the gander go?”

“Took off when you fired the gun.”

“Are we gonna live?”

“I dunno…” He gave a crooked grin. “But some of them ain’t!”

I raised onto my left elbow, though it very nearly killed me to do so. Out on the field, a half dozen geese lay dead among the corn rows.

I slumped back down.

“I guess,” I muttered, “that we won’t die in vain…”

The next day we took the geese over to Uncle Arnold’s place. We dumped the birds on the floor and laid the shotgun on the table. Joe’s ear was heavily bandaged and the welts on his arm and thigh had turned a brutal dark blue, mixed with yellow.

My arm was in a sling,

a cautionary support while the bad sprain healed. The whole front of the shoulder and well out into the chest and down my arm was a network of broken blood vessels and bruised flesh.

Uncle Arnold smiled at the birds. “My, my… you boys done good!” He looked up at us. “But you both look a little the worse for wear. Ain’t been getting into fights at school, have yer?”

Joe shook his head slowly. “Nope. We got to tanglin’ with somethin’ a lot more dangerous than schoolyard bullies.”

Uncle Arnold’s smile turned a little uncertain.

“Well, you’d at least orta take a couple o’ these birds fer yer trouble. I don’t really need all six of ‘um.”

“Nope,” Joe replied as we turned toward the door. “you keep ‘um, an’ welcome. We’ll jest be gittin’ along…”

Page 35

“Well, why don’t you take the shotgun along with yer, anyway,” he said, holding up the lethal firearm. “you might could shoot some more birds with it.”

Me and Joe both blanched to the hair roots.

“Never!” I said in a quavering voice.

“Not in this lifetime!”

Joe agreed as we beat a hasty retreat out the door, leaving Uncle Arnold with a stunned look on his face.

As we hobble off down the road Joe looked once back over his shoulder.

“I know one thing,” he said gravely.

“What’s that?”

“We’re taking the river road walkin’ home from school after this. I don’t know if I’ll ever walk

by Uncle Arnold’s house agin!”

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Page 36

Northwoods Sporting Journal

View From The River

by Laurie Chandler Bremen, ME

The temperature was stuck in the low 40s that July morning. Better get moving. After two nights on Harrington Lake, new waters were calling. The prior evening, I’d gone exploring. There was a campsite in the atlas, near a tiny 21-acre dot of blue called Duck Pond. From the upper end of Harrington, a brook

birdhouse, and two medieval angels—painted the picture of a couple, gone now, whom I would have liked to know. I felt welcomed. This would be a good place to finish out my trip.

Carrying my canoe down the one-tenth-mile portage trail the next morning warmed me, at least

The top of something large and dark rose above the pickerel weed. It looked like a moose—and also like the countless stumps and shadows that always make my heart beat faster. flowed a mere quarter mile to the pond, then out the far side.

I’d bumped down a gravel road to an impassible row of boulders. Beyond, holes gaped in the wooden bridge that crossed Duck Brook to three grassy campsites. Someone loves this place, I thought. Here was none of the trash that often ruins the beauty and serenity of the backcountry. Instead, there were homemade benches and a memorial tucked into the woods. A collection of mementos—a comical bear riding a scooter, an American flag, a country

until I had to wade across an icy part of the brook.

Shivering, I slipped the boat into the water and maneuvered through a maze of rocks into the sun. A merganser, with two young in tow, retreated, her fuzzy red-brown head surging back and forth with the effort.

Much of the pond was shallow and weedy, but the view made up for that. To the north, Soubunge Mt. rose to a respectable elevation of 2,104 feet. Beneath that dramatic backdrop was a solid bank of pickerel weed in full purple splendor. Nothing could

February 2022

Summer Wanderings Part II (Duck Pond)

Northern river otter on Duck Brook. (Photo by Laurie Chandler) look more moosey. If a bull the landscape in perpetual lengthened, a snowshoe hare visited camp. He came, he would favor the motion. shadows, ever careful.

I left my shoreline hopped and nibbled along, Circumnavigating— nook. The wind was a way- clumps of grass magicalif such a lofty word can ward child, stronger now. ly disappearing into his apply to such a miniscule It hurtled me rudely down mouth. Later, the rushing body of water— I found the shallow pond, and I melody of the brook lulled where Duck Brook flowed surrendered, finding shelter me to sleep. It had been a in. I meandered up the qui- in the Duck Brook inlet. A grand day in a small place.

You understand this, et brook until it narrowed heron winged away, and I abruptly, about two tenths imagined I heard a strange I’m sure. I did not write this of a mile in, and I could go sound. On the way back, to bring you to Duck Pond. no further. the mystery was solved There are other lakes and After lunch back in when an otter stretched up ponds for you to discover. camp, I slipped quietly well out of the water. He Mountains to climb or back to the pond. Slowly, was a rich brown, big and woods and waters to hunt I moved into sight of the sleek. He snorted, an explo- and fish. Moose and hidden water. The top of some- sive sneeze, and protested trails, and the cedar waxthing large and dark rose my presence with a barrage wing aglow in the sun of above the pickerel weed. of grunts and hisses. Curi- late afternoon. The heron, It looked like a moose— ous, he popped up several a crouching silhouette in and also like the countless times closer to the boat to the misty pink of morning.

Your journeys, too, will stumps and shadows that check me out. always make my heart That evening, I wan- build upon each other. Your beat faster. Then the moose dered down to the bridge. knowing of a place, and the shape moved, and I quickly Downstream, a strong belonging, will be earned ducked down. It was a ledge poured water into a with time, and the knowing cow, feeding steadily along mysterious pool. Feathery will be a priceless gift. through the field of purple. tamarack reached skyward, I watched until she drifted their needles an otherLaurie Apgar Chanout of sight. worldly silver-green. Many The racket I made wildflowers bloomed there. dler is the author of weaving through and over With my field guide, I gave Through Woods & Waters, rocks into navigable water them their proper names: which provides an advensurely scared away any bladder campion, pearly turous look at Maine’s Kaother wildlife. I settled in everlasting, fireweed, com- tahdin Woods and Waters to watch and wait. The mon St.-John’s-Wort, red National Monument, and wind was up, rippling the and white clover, oxeye Upwards, the story of her water, and a pattern of daisy, cow vetch, yarrow, 2015 solo self-propelled diamonds moved endlessly daisy fleabane, and black- thru-paddle of the Northwith it. The diamonds, berry. A day or two later, ern Forest Canoe Trail. colored blue and white and the goldenrod would be in For more information or to purchase the books, visit greenish-brown, held bits bloom. of sky and cloud and tree, A s t h e s h a d o w s www.laurieachandler.com

February 2022

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 37

The Cigar-Tractor Man

During my UMaine days, a small group of us obsessed over panfish throughout the winter months. While many students drained their savings

to mooch a Saturday night fish fry.

Always on the lookout for new honey holes, my buddy and I had located a pond in the Central Maine

When the salmon are slurping caddis flies with reckless abandon, you’ll realize that you left your dry fly box on the tailgate of your truck sometime, somewhere the day prior. And so, when we arrived at the pond, we were only mildly surprised when an army of

Maine Tails

By Jonah Paris, Scarborough, ME As we drove out, we remembered the CigarTractor Man, and slowed as we approached his lot.

From the road, if you looked through the maples,

front of a log cabin, and wood smoke was pouring from the chimney. An assortment of conibears and foothold traps hung outside. As we knocked on the

The door opened, a wave of warmth escaped, and an older man stood in the doorway. To my eyes, the man resembled a cross between Willie Nelson and Hulk Hogan.

He wore only a pair of shorts.

“POSTED” (Photo courtesy of Jonah Paris.) on smelts and raced off to Cold Stream, Schoodic, and Moosehead every weekend in search of salmon and trout, we usually opted to stay closer to Orono. For a couple of frugal college students, this was a winwin situation; by fishing closer to school, we could save our gas money for chicken wings and pitchers of beer in town, and more often than not, jig up a mess of tasty perch and crappie.

The house my friends and I rented became a usual hang-out for those looking

farm country that looked promising. Neither of us had fished this particular pond before, though we had spent plenty of time duck hunting in the vicinity. Studying a depth map, we found the deep hole, and devised a plan.

Any outdoorsman knows that when something seems too good to be true - it often is. When you stumble upon a beaten deer run or a fresh rub-line, look up and you will undoubtedly find someone’s treestand above your head.

crisp, yellow “POSTED” signs greeted us. These were reinforced with a row of “No Parking” and “No Trespassing” signs.

We began driving down any side road that appeared to approach the pond. On one of these drive-bys, we noticed a man plowing his lot clear of the recent snowfall. With a cigar lodged in the corner of his mouth, the man rode atop an ancient John Deere tractor. Black smoke billowed menacingly from its vertical exhaust pipe and the rusty plow bucked under the strain of snow. It was evident that this guy was thoroughly enjoying his task. We continued our search for access to the pond for the next halfhour, before finally turning around disappointed.

his property appeared to reach the pond. We decided to stop and ask if he knew anywhere that we could legally access the water.

When we pulled into the man’s driveway, he had finished plowing his lot.

The tractor was parked out

door, a dog howled from within. The door opened, a wave of warmth escaped, and an older man stood in the doorway. To my eyes, the man resembled a cross between Willie Nelson and Hulk Hogan. He wore only (Man cont. pg 41)

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 38

Basics of Survival #12.

Survival Mindset.

Basics Of Survival

by Joe Frazier, Bangor, ME The most important survival tool doesn’t weigh anything, doesn’t cost anything, and you can never lose it. With it, you can overcome almost anything; without it, you are lost. It is your attitude, your mindset.

When you first realize

February 2022

self time to calm down you can make more rational decisions. Take stock of your supplies and decide what your first step should be.

Break out your survival kit and read over the checklist of what needs to be done. Be sure you have

gear and figure out what you have and how you can use it. Don’t focus on what you wish you had, focus on what you do have. Gear is good to have, but skills are more important. This is where practical practice and training pays off.

You need to break down major projects into

with you. This will help make you feel less alone and scared. It will also help remind you that, no matter what happens, someone needs you to make it home.

Set short as well as long term goals. “I’m go-

or rageful, deal with that too. Yell, scream, holler, bark at the moon, whatever helps you deal with the feeling. Just don’t lash out physically. You can’t afford to hurt yourself or break or lose gear because you

ing to get a fire going in the next half hour” is a realistic goal. Then go step by step to reach that goal.

Try to stay positive, deal with things when they go wrong but focus on when they go right. Your mind is a powerful tool, use it.

When you do start to feel panic or overwhelmed, sit down. Relax for a few minute s an d r e f o c u s .

Breathe slowly for a four count in your nose, then a four count out your mouth.

It will calm you down. Do this as often as you need to.

Dealing with your emotions correctly is critical. When you get angry

started thrashing around, kicking and throwing stuff.

Look at your survival situation as a challenge instead of a threat. Just that small mental shift can help you use your fear as energy to help you get through the situation. Feeling your fear is normal, just don’t let it make you freeze and become paralyzed by it.

The will to live will get you through incredible hardships. You have to believe that whatever happens you will get through it and get back home.

Here in Maine; the winter night can be long,

Keep your focus on who you are going back home to.

Talk to your spouse or kids out loud, have conversations with them as if they were there with you. This will help make you feel less alone and scared. you are lost, you need to make a quick and honest assessment. If you are safe and nothing will kill you in the next half hour, sit down.

The most important thing to do in the first ten minutes is do nothing.

Sit down, relax, drink water. Feel your heart race, feel the panic, feel the fear, just don’t act on the feelings. Once you give your-

note cards or a notebook to tell you what to do for a while. Plan for your mind to go blank and not remember anything you have learned.

When you have calmed yourself down, start doing something positive such as signaling for help.

This will help you focus on positive, productive actions. Look over all your

small, practical steps. If you need a shelter, what is your first step. “Build a shelter” can be overwhelming, but breaking a task down step by step makes it easier to accomplish.

Keep your focus on who you are going back home to. Talk to your spouse or kids out loud, have conversations with them as if they were there

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February 2022

Northwoods Sporting Journal

More Stories about Rube Dexter

Lexington Maine is my hometown, and back in my younger years I went around the Lexington area and interviewed about half a dozen old men, gathering stories about and by Rube Dexter. Adding to Bob Leeman’s wonderful article in the June 2020 issue, here are a few tales and information I collected.

Rube would often bring a bouquet of flowers or a handsome string of trout over to my Grandmother Eunice Pinkham’s store on the main road, and the accompanying photo of Rube was taken in front of the store. She in turn would give him supper and a treat from the store.

During the Depression, Rube moved onto the side of Spruce Pond Mountain. Here on land owned by his brother, he built him-

self a camp next to Pease Brook. The camp was more of a shack than a camp, but it was his home, decorated with antlers and skulls on the outside. The inside was simple - a bed, table, chair and stove rounded out the furniture. On his bed was a great thick bear hide that he slept on all year-round and he always declared there

his supper.” He also raised both a vegetable and flower garden and had a few apple trees.

Rube often carried a revolver, a Colt 45, with bullhorns etched in the handle, that he called his “Sacred Bull.” He was a crack shot and could take the head off a partridge at a fair distance. One night

were pet snakes living in the rafters, mostly to keep strangers away. He had a spring just below the camp where he kept milk and other cold items and occasionally he would also keep trout alive in the spring, so that when bad weather set in, he could still “fish for

he heard a commotion, a raccoon had gotten into the camp. He shot the critter, but would always tell folks that his “Sacred Bull leapt to its feet and let out a lariat.”

One time Rube and Anson Skillings went down to Dr. Hutchins’ of-

Track

down the aisleway, the buck was jumping across it. I pulled my 7600 ahead as he disappeared behind a spruce, in hopes that he would appear again, but he never did. He was a big old dark buck with heavy dark horns. The kind of buck dreams are made of.

With little time left in the day, I went right along on his track. he didn’t seem too spooked, probably thinking I was a moose.

I caught one more quick glimpse of him before he crossed a tote road at 4:00 o’clock. I bid him farewell and started out on the long walk back to the truck in the dark.

Next month, I’ll recap muzzle loader season. No buck on the pole, but a lot of memories Until then, good luck on the trail!

guide and author. He lives in Moose River Maine with his wife Deb. He can be contacted at hal@bigwoodsbucks.com

(Cont. from pg 32) the wood-line I came to the buck’s bed with a jumping track leaving it. I thought to myself, that I should have seen the buck and thought that the moose must have spooked him. It was now 3:00 o’clock and I had only an hour to dark. I eased slowly down his track and realized that he only took a half dozen bound before walking again. Now I knew I hadn’t spooked him, so I continued slowly down the track. snow was hanging from every twig and limb in the woods, making the visibility limited.

I had only gone about a hundred yards when I came to where he went down an aisleway about 40 yards long. I stopped to scan everywhere that I could see, and when I scanned back

During the Depression, Rube moved onto the side of Spruce Pond Mountain. Here on land owned by his brother, he built himself a camp next to Pease Brook.

Hal is a master Maine

Truckful (Cont. from pg 25) rent strategy is clearly not working.

BOB MALLARD has fly fished for forty years.

He is the former owner of Kennebec River Outfitters, a Registered Maine Fishing Guide, and a commercial fly designer. Bob is a blogger, writer, and author. He is also a native fish advocate and founding member, Executive Director, and Maine Board Member for Native Fish Coalition.

Look for his books. Bob can be reached at www.

BobMallard.com or info@ bobmallard.com

Page 39

Old Tales from the Maine Woods

by Steve Pinkham Quincy, MA

fice in New Portland to have their teeth out. They sat and drank a full bottle of whiskey and knocked themselves out cold. When they awoke, they found that their teeth had been pulled out.

Another story Rube loved to tell was about the time he and Mose Durrell went up on Peaked Hill hunting late one autumn, but there was no game to be found. Rube said he saw some spruce gum so went off in search of it. Mose, who weighed about 300 pounds, said, “I’m going up to a cave to see what is inside.” Mose fell into the cave, then a bear came in after him. Rube took the bear by the tail and called for Mose. But getting no answer, Rube let go of the bear and hightailed home.

Later he got a message that an old woman called from Pleasant Ridge that a big man was in her cellar drinking all her cider,

would someone please come and get him?

After Ralph died, Rube moved to his upper camp at the north end of Spruce Pond, near where Norm Nichols, another hermit had resided and remained living there for many years.

Later, when Rube got sick and could no longer take care of himself, Bob Taylor, Chesley Pinkham and Lester Hewett found him and brought him down off the mountain on a toboggan. Rube went to live for a few years with John and Hazel Hall over on the Bog Road that leads to Kingfield, but later resided in a nursing home in Livermore where he died in 1972.

Steve is an avid hiker, paddler and historian, having collected over 26,000 Maine Woods articles to date.

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Page 40

Northwoods Sporting Journal

What's In Your Woods

by Bud Utecht, T4 Indian Purchase Township When people stay at Buckhorn Camps they come for many reasons; relax, explore nature, fish, hunt, and North Maine Woods adventure. One such adventurous guest requested a father/son kayak trip around Jo Mary Island

length seeing many ducks and geese but unfortunately no moose. We stopped to check some games cameras, which were loaded with moose images. This place is incredible as it feels as though you are the only people in the region

A Rare Mushroom

room, nonetheless a beautiful blue one. I walked over to see it and became amazed at the vibrant color.

Many photos were captured so we could identify later. Little did we realize what we had stumbled upon.

On the way back we fished as planned and caught many smallmouth bass to top off a great journey. However, this trip

During one of these breaks the father notices a mushroom, not just an ordinary mushroom, nonetheless a beautiful blue one. I walked over to see it and became amazed at the vibrant color. Many photos were captured so we could identify later. Little did we realize what we had stumbled upon.

and that’s just what we set out to do. Right away we saw four otters playing in the mouth of Cooper Brook, what a great start.

During the early part of the trip I suggested a detour to Mud Pond and explained this would be a challenging journey. The father and son jumped at the opportunity to trek up Mud Brook dragging the Old Town Vapor kayaks over half the way.

At many points, I thought we would have to turn back, but there was never a complaint. We pushed on. Once at Mud Pond, we paddled the entire

for miles upon miles. From here the goal was to drag the kayaks a half mile to Lower Jo Mary and kayak the four miles back to Buckhorn. Upon reaching Lower Jo Mary, we would break out the fishing gear.

We started dragging the kayaks down a well worn moose path that I have travelled many times before. As we dragged the kayaks there became a bit of separation and stopping for breaks and catch up became a necessity. During one of these breaks the father notices a mushroom, not just an ordinary mush-

would not end without the mushroom being identified.

I briefly looked for a match with no luck at all, so I sent it to my daughter.

Tara searched the usual places with no luck and even went to Facebook where insults for not knowing the identity were freely dished out. Though the mushroom got lots of attention it was not identified. Through insults and accusations (that we even placed it in the middle of the woods) we pressed on with assistance of some real pros on social media.

Finally, I stumbled onto a

GIVE US YOUR BEST SHOT!

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.

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. www.sportingjournal.com

February 2022

This rarest of wild mushrooms has ever been found in Maine before. picture of the mushroom.

Once sent to the experts, the buzz became a fury with the fungi followers and research methods were expanding.

I started to read about Entoloma Indigoferum and quickly found out why such interest. This is one of the Twenty rarest mushrooms in the country and never been found in Maine. This mushroom was discovered in the 1870’s and not recorded again until 2013 where it was located mostly in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. All my time in the Maine woods searching for wildlife and a mushroom is one of the biggest discoveries, who would of

thunk! With cautious consideration, the mushroom was removed and sent to the University of Maine in Orono where it resides in their herbarium. When I went to retrieve the sample, another was discovered and remained untouched in the North Maine Woods herbarium.

I want to thank Alex and his son Adrianne for a great adventure and discovering the mushroom.

Another thanks to my daughter Tara for all the leg work and coordination in getting this mushroom identified. And of course, Katy, for her understanding the importance of trans(Mushroom cont. pg 41)

Bud Utecht Registered Maine Guide

Trail Camera Consultant (207) 404-1442

bud@whatsinyourwoods.com

Northwoods Sporting Journal

February 2022

Page 41

ice fishing on the gold mine, and I haven’t gle, Aurora. Jonah can be tual survival situations.

Mushroom dopond,some and we were wonder- returned since, what stands reached at jonaheparis@ Learn from other people’s (Cont. from pg 40) porting a mushroom to the University of Maine during the height of our summer season. I encourage you all to venture off the beaten path and find out what’s in your woods.

Bud Utecht is a Register Maine Guide, owner of Buckhorn Camps, Browning trail camera dealer, and 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@whatsinyourwoods.com

Man (Cont. from pg 37) a pair of shorts. His torso and arms were covered in a myriad of tattoos. An intricate portrait of a woman stared back at me from the man’s large chest.

“Hi,” we croaked.

“What can I do for you boys?”, the man questioned in a thick Maine accent.

“We are looking to

ing if you knew anywhere that we could park? We saw the signs.”

The man grinned.

“Sure, I do. You boys can park here. Go park up on the hill over there.” He motioned over his right shoulder. “Park there any time this winter. My son often stops by with the grandkids. I’ll let him know that if he sees some trucks up there, there’s no need to worry. Just don’t mess up the kids’ snowmobile jumps.” We thanked the man and fished for the rest of the afternoon.

From the pond, we could make out the belching of the man’s tractor on the hill. Arriving back at the truck with a small pile of crappie, we discovered that the man had plowed out a footpath for us. When we returned to the pond the following weekend after another snowstorm, the gentleman was not home - but he had plowed us out several parking spots on the hill, along with the footpath.

Though the little pond in the farm country never proved to be a panfish

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out about this experience really has nothing to do with the fishing. What I recall is the generosity and willingness of the CigarTractor Man (the name which I have given him since I regrettably didn’t ask his name) to go out of his way to make someone else’s outdoor experience more positive. If that is not the hallmark characteristic of a true New England outdoorsman, then I don’t know what is. Let the Cigar-Tractor Man be a model for the rest of us this season.

gmail.com.

Mindset

mistakes. What should have been done differently? What would you have done?

You must be able to adapt to changing conditions without them throwing you off. Fear and panic are your two worst enemies. They can make a bad situation worse very rapidly. Be sure to get rest when you can. Being over tired will make it hard to think straight.

Keeping a positive attitude can help you get through just about anything, and help you get home.

(Cont. from pg 38) cold and dark. Having a fire to focus on not only gives you warmth, but also something to work on. Keep feeding it and keep it going.

During daylight hours you should be always trying to improve your situation. At night you should never wander far from your fire. Find ways to keep your mind occupied. Think about what you need to do the next day. Think about past vacations and what Jonah Paris teaches you plan to do next year.

English at a small high Daydream, make up stoJoe is a Husband, Faschool in Southwestern ries, make plans for WHEN ther, Author, and Marine.

Maine. A four-season out- not IF you get home.

Study reports of ac- Joefrazier193@gmail.com doorsman, Jonah lives in Gorham, ME with his girlfriend, Ashley, and bea-

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 42

Maine Outdoor Adventure

by Rich Yvon, Bradford, ME

Spending time outside all year round has its challenges, especially here in Maine. The weather here in New England can have extreme cold and extreme heat, which in turn dictates lots of gear. Picking out the best equipment and getting the best bang for your buck is critical, especially in to-

our disrupted supply chain has and continues to create challenges for everyone down the line. Let’s all hope that in 2022, supplies can get on track and we all can get what we need.

Even us guides have had a hard time getting restocked with gear and consumables.

I’ve narrowed down my top

February 2022

Top Four Gear Picks for 2022

from Sheels. The omnitrax keeps me always prepared to take on any surface condition I may encounter guiding in the wilds of Maine. After years of trekking trails, ice and mud, I feel I have finally found the perfect outdoor adventure footwear.

Features: • Rated to -60 degrees Fahrenheit • 8mm of Warm neoprene with cozy fleece lining

Working and using outdoor products every day, does certainly reveal a product’s quality and worthiness in the field. Reflecting back this year, I was fortunate to have tried some new products for 2022. day’s economic climate.

It has never before been so important to do your research, before investing your hard earned dollars.

As always, the number one must have is a subscription to Northwoods Sporting Journal It’s a great resource of entertainment and helpful information of the outdoors.

Working and using outdoor products every day, does certainly reveal a product’s quality and worthiness in the field.

Reflecting back this year, I was fortunate to have tried some new products for 2022. Unfortunately,

four gear picks based on how beneficial, practical they perform in addition to quality and dependability.

I personally have found the following products to be critically important in doing my guide and outfitting work.

Number One...

New for 2021 is The Korker Neo Arctic Boot.

This boot has proven to be a great all around solution for people on the job site, hunting, open water fishing and of course ice fishing.

They are extremely easy on and easy off and can be purchased now exclusively

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New for 2022 is The Eskimo Outbreak 850XD 7-9 person ice fishing shelter. The Outbreak line of Eskimo shelters is certainly a game changer.

This line features an exclusive door entry with no bottom to trip on. This means when having several friends go in and out all day long, there is no tripping and more fishing! If

“Setting up Decoys!” by Rich Yvon your into winter camping, this shelter will fit the bill!

The 850 XD is Eskimo’s largest insulated premium StormShield shelter to date.

It boast 114 square feet of fishable area! I have not found any dislikes for this shelter. The only improvement I would appreciate would be a zippered storage bag. Due to size of this shelter, it would be much easier to load with a zippered entry versus an end load bag.

ensure huge savings from avoiding freezer burn on your favorite food. This unit brought to the market in 2020, features a pitched sealing bar. Any liquid that’s in your bag will now be diverted away from the air pump and will extend the operation of your sealer. In addition, the pulse vac feature will vacuum around product such as chips, muffins or any other delicate foods without crushing the food.

Not only is the 360 pro Number Three... good for food but so much The VacMaster 360 more including ammo, pro vacuum sealer. This important documents, and piece of equipment is such then list is endless! a great value that it has made it to my all-time Number Four...The favorite gear list. If I think BOG Deathgrip Alumiof how much I spend on a num tripod is an absolute hunt and what the value is game changer for my stand on that excellent organic hunting experience. This venison, this machine is past fall I was fortunate worth its weight in gold! to have hunted Tennessee A very affordable, easy (Picks cont. pg 43) to use machine that will

February 2022

Northwoods Sporting Journal

PFAs and Deer

Not too long ago I got the distressing news about PFAS in Maine. It is scary hearing it called the forever chemical. Hitting even closer to home for me was the news that the chemical has been found in deer meat in the Fairfield area.This is the area where I did a lot of my deer hunt-

In the 1980s Dot decided it was time for her to finish her college education and get her long awaited degree. I agreed to this all the while knowing we were in for some hard times money-wise. We had three children in school and this meant we would all have to survive on one paycheck

remember which I chose, but it must have worked out OK because neither was ever shut off.

I depended heavily on deer meat to keep the grocery bill down. At the time I did it all. I skinned it, cut and wrapped it and froze it. I couldn’t afford to hire it done. I knew absolutely nothing about meat cuts.

I just used common sense and used the meat accord-

Northwoods Voyager

Page 43

by Gil Gilpatrick, Brunswick, ME I realized that I could buy a lot more meat if I worked at a part-time job like bagging groceries, or whatever. But deer hunting was a lot more fun!! And, I was pretty good at it. As yet I am not sure who to blame for this. I think the

anything about dairy farming, but I know there cannot be any money in dumping their main product.

Gil Gilpatrick is a Master Maine Guide, and is the first living recipient of the Legendary Maine

I realized that I could buy a lot more meat if I worked at a part-time job like bagging groceries, or whatever. But deer hunting was a lot more fun!! And, I was pretty good at it.

ing for over 50 years. I just cannot imagine the toll this news must take on the folks living in that area now.

Deer meat was an important part of our life in our early days in the area.

for the next year or year and a half. We went ahead with it and it was hard going. I remember one month when I had to decide whether to pay the electricity bill or the telephone bill. I don’t

Picks

with binoculars. It and also makes shooting for youngsters as well as long range precision shooting much more stable and easier to shoot. Check out this BOG in person to make sure this units height will fit properly. I’m 5’11” and have no issues.

I hope these favorite gear pics help you in making your outdoor adventure more enjoyable and

(Cont. from pg 42) for whitetail deer. Due to the number of deer, that is said to number 100 deer per square mile, still hunting was not an option. Getting winded is not so difficult with so many noses in the air! The tripod weighs in about eight and half pounds and folds down for easy transport. The leg angle, tilt and pan adjustments make this tripod versatile.

A quick collapse and retention strap secured you are ready to transport for another quick and easy set up! The deathgrip is where this pod shines. The grip allows a firm mount on gun for hands free glassing

ingly. It worked out all right and nothing went to waste. The only thing I had to hire done was grinding the hamburger because I didn’t have a meat grinder.

I must add, that as soon as I could afford to hire a meat cutter, I did so and was very glad to have it done for me. I hated this part of the hunt! I never fooled myself that game was the only way I could put meat on the table.

farmers that spread the stuff did it innocently thinking it was an economical way to fertilize their fields. Certainly they wouldn’t agree to poison the ground that was so important in the farm operation. Now, what can they do with the fields?

I don’t have the answer to that.

In fact I have heard that some of them have to dump their milk because of this poison. I don’t know

ation adventures. When Rich is not on adventures, Rich is a Registered he serves as a board memMaine Master Guide. He ber for the Native Fish Coowns and operates Twin alition, Maine chapter. He Maple Outdoors guide service and sporting lodge located in Bradford. He runs fly and spin fishing trips with a G3 Jet boat and Stealthcraft drift boat. Rich also guides Maine partridge, turkey, moose, and deer hunting and recrerewarding.

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 outdoor-related books. is also an outdoor writer, tree farmer, fly-fishing instructor and certified NRA firearms instructor.

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 44

A Rookie’s Mentor

Warden’s Words

ers. I watched and learned many times as Dave caught brook fishermen overlimit, bird hunters shooting out of their motor vehicle, or deer hunters caught red handed killing extra deer. Dave always treated everyone with respect and professionalism. He never made anyone feel less than, even though many times my inexperienced brain wanted to rub one in on someone I felt deserved it! Dave was the real deal when it came

by Game Warden Kale O’Leary, Ashland, ME We all have people who come into our lives that make significant impacts on who we become as human beings. Some people in our lives, like our family are around from birth and contribute throughout your life to the person you are.

Other people come into the picture along the road

February 2022

years along with his wife Linda. Dave had attended Unity College and dreamed of being a Warden. He was eventually hired after several years on the Allagash River and assigned first to the Estcourt Station district. Dave eventually transferred to the Ashland district, where he and Lin-

promoted to the role of Warden Pilot, where he spent many years before being again promoted to Chief Pilot. His career then took him back into the field, where he eventually was promoted to the role of Sergeant for Section 14 in Aroostook County.

Durward was a special supervisor to work for.

many major cases where I got to watch Durward in action. His impact on my career cannot be understated. Durward made the job fun, competitive, and always pushed each of his Wardens to be the best they could be.

As a brand-new Warden, you are impressionable, wide-eyed and recep-

Dave took me under his wing from day one and showed me so many things that he had learned in his 25-year career. This type of knowledge is priceless, especially for a young Warden. to catching intentional violators, or those intent on doing harm to a particular resource. Dave took me under his wing from day one and showed me so many things that he had learned in his 25-year career. This type of knowledge is priceless, especially for a young Warden.

Retired Game Warden Sergeant Durward Humphrey began his career with the Warden Service the same year I was born, 1993. Durward began his distinguished career in the central Maine area, working for Sergeant Chris Simmons. Durward then

da settled, raising two boys, Henry, and Malcolm. Dave spent the remainder of his career in this area, covering the Ashland and Portage Lake areas.

I first met Dave when I arrived as a wide-eyed rookie Warden in the Masardis district. The thing that first impressed me with Dave was his hospitality and welcoming nature.

Both Dave and Linda made my wife and I feel welcome in this town and helped us get settled in the area.

Anyone who knows or has met Dave can attest that he is someone who genuinely cares about oth-

of life and can also shape and mold who you become as a person. I could devote several articles to each of the two Game Wardens you will read about next. I met both men as I began my career as a Maine Warden, and both of them made significant impacts on my career.

Game Warden David “Dave” Milligan has been retired for over a year now.

Dave Milligan started his life-long career of protecting the resources and people of Aroostook County as an Allagash Park Ranger covering the Michaud Farm area for several

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The photo attached is from my first moose investigation in 2016 where a hunter was found to have killed this moose in the wrong zone. Wardens Humphrey and Milligan both assisted on this case.

First and foremost, Dur- tive to all things regarding ward was always involved the job and role of Warden. with each of his Wardens To land in a location where and the cases and informa- I had the opportunity to tion that they were working learn all the institutionon. Durward was a phe- alized knowledge that I nomenal Warden who had was able to gain in five a keen eye and ear for in- plus years of working with vestigations and was one of Warden Milligan and Serthe best interviewers I have geant Humphrey cannot be ever seen. He brought a understated. They are two straightforward and honest Wardens who have left a approach to everything he lasting impact on my career did and for a new Warden and without a doubt both this made things very easy. shaped me into the Warden You always knew where I am today. you stood! I was fortunate to have been involved in “Kale O’Leary is a Maine Game Warden who patrols the Oxbow District in Central Aroostook County. He can be reached via email at kale.oleary@ maine.gov (SEE PAGE 49)

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

February 2022

News

(Cont. from pg 30) deer on the landscape ensures deer and the habitats that support them remain in good condition and productive,” said Fortin.

The 2021 White-tailed Deer Harvest Report with final numbers will be on Fish and Wildlife’s website in early March. Beginning in late March, the department will be holding informational hearings to share biological information and to listen to any information people wish to share.

Vermont’s New Fishing Regs

Vermont’s fishing regulations will look different on January 1, 2022. But don’t worry, most of the new regulations have been simplified and provide additional fishing opportunities. If you fish like you have in the past you will be legal, with a few exceptions.

“We’ve worked with our biologists, warden service staff, fish and wildlife board, and the public to develop regulations that are easier to understand while still providing protection for fish populations across Vermont,” said Director of the Fish Division Eric Palmer. “These new

Northwoods Sporting Journal changes allow anyone to fish nearly all waterbodies in the state year-round as long as they practice catch and release.”

Some additional highlights include: In certain lakes and ponds, the winter harvest season for trout will start on January 1.

You can keep 8 trout from streams and rivers.

This means 8 total fish of any combination of Brook, Brown or Rainbow Trout.

Many waters that were previously seasonally closed are now managed under general regulations.

All of these changes mean that the number of tables in the Fishing Guide is reduced from 10 to 3.

To get all the details, visit Vermont Fish and Wildlife’s website at www. vtfishandwildlife.com where you can download a copy of the 2022 FISHING GUIDE & REGULATIONS or grab a hard copy at one of many license agent locations across the state.

Page 45

Cracker Barrel

by Homer Spit

Sleepless in the Rockies For some people, sleep is just something you do to recharge and keep life on an even keel. For others, sleep is Divine, one of the creature evolutions that bring sheer pleasure. I belong to the latter category. For me, a good, well-crafted mattress and a night of extended REM sleep is a special gift.

But I have never had one good night’s sleep during more than 25 years of elk hunting in the Colorado Rockies.

This fall was no different. Bedded down among the aspens in my one-man pup tent and snuggled in my expensive L.L.Bean zero degree down mummy bag atop my high-end Therm-a Rest NeoAir Xlite Ultralight Backpacking Air Mattress, sleep would just not come.

Toss and turn. Sigh...Toss and turn..sigh. Oh, maybe a few winks were caught during the long, cold night, but nothing that would really recharge a tired old hunter.

So what’s going on here? Why would I, a person who revels in sleep and is very good at it at home, go six nights sleepless in the Rockies?

In an effort to solve this sleep issue over the years, I confess to having pursued the popular solution: I threw money at it! Lots of money. In my plastic storage tubs in the garage, there are enough different brands of backpacker air mattresses to open up my own sporting goods store. Ditto one-man mountain tents, the purchases of which followed the march of backpacking technology as manufacturers over the years make one-man tents that are lighter and lighter. (There actually is a one-man tent that is lighter than a six-pack of Bud Lite.)

Advice givers suggest that it is either my age or the altitude, or maybe both. This past trip, which is probably my last time sleeping on the ground, I gave this stubborn problem some careful thought and self-examination. Getting down into the weeds, a conclusion surfaced- an inescapable inductively- reasoned explanation for my years of Colorado sleeplessness.

Aha! The ground just isn’t a comfortable place to sleep!

New Hampshire Trout Stocking

Winter anglers in New Hampshire had some trout stocked especially for them during 2021. The New Hampshire Fish and Game (News cont. pg 65)

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A number of years ago, one of our newbie elk hunting partners arose from his pup tent on opening day after a restless night. “Where’s the coffee pot?” he queried, with a furrowed brow.

“Ain’t no community coffee pot. Every man for himself, Lad,” we insisted. “Don’t you remember? We told you that last month at the hunt briefing.”

He scuffed the ground.

By lunch time the newbie was gone, lock, stock and barrel. He picked up his gear and walked 10 miles down the mountain to his Denver rental car, leaving behind a $400 bull elk permit and some hunt buddies with fallen jaws.

Wouldn’t you think that one of these high-tech, space-age outdoor gear makers could come up with an air mattress that really works? Somebody get the word to Mike Lindell, the My Pillow Guy! Homer Spit lives on a lake in Maine. He likes to keep a low profile.

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 46

On The Prowl

Here’s a Story from my Earlier Days: Having nearly reached the crest of the hill a large gray coyote ran across the dirt road in front of my truck. The area I was scouting for a future coyote hunt was deep within the Blueberry Barrens of Down East Maine. Not too far up ahead lay a small

Coyote: Three Ways

by Justin Merrill, Cherryfield, ME to lay in ambush watching closely for approaching coyotes.

Having at least six hours before dark and a coyote night hunting permit in my wallet I got myself in position nearly one hundred yards from that dead deer laying on the ice. I enjoyed watching

The sunlight started to trickle through the trees illuminating my rosy cheeks.

The air felt much colder than from two hours earlier. I began to shiver slightly.

My deer rifle lay across my frozen legs. pond frozen over from the previous cold weather. A large Bald Eagle caught my attention. There laying on the ice was a bait pile, either from a fresh coyote kill or put there by a hunter.

Closer examination revealed that it was the latter.

A light bulb went on in my head. You bet I made plans

February 2022

a couple bald eagles for approximately two hours before the first predator appeared. The coyote stood at the edge of the frozen pond scanning its surroundings.

The shot distance would have been over 300 yards.

My Winchester Model 7 in .243 caliber was not sighted in for that distance. Obvi-

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ously I was not comfortable with that shot. I waited hoping the coyote would approach the self inflicted bait. Oh I’m certain that large coyote looking on had something to do with that deer being mauled by those Bald Eagles. I don’t really know if it was the Eagles or myself that prevented that coyote from closing the distance. I’ll never know.

The information I gathered this day, so long ago, was that coyotes are not easy to hunt. Also having a strategically placed bait pile will increase my chances of shooting a coyote. To this day I gather my bait from the local butchers, and I store carcasses from animals I’ve harvested throughout earlier hunting seasons in barrels.

It’s a definite gag-mestinky business but placing bait in locations you know coyotes frequently travel will exponentially increase your odds of shooting a coyote. Be sure to look up the hunting laws on baiting coyotes to know when you can start. Here in Maine the first Saturday after the last day of deer hunting season is usually opening day for

baiting coyotes along with night hunting.

A Second Way to Hunt Coyotes: I stumbled upon this tactic by chance long ago while sitting in the woods trying to call in a whitetail buck using a closed reed mouth call. The occurrences I’m about to share happened to me twice this particular year and then many times thereafter in recent years.

The sunlight started to trickle through the trees illuminating my rosy cheeks.

The air felt much colder than from two hours earlier.

I began to shiver slightly.

My deer rifle lay across my frozen legs. I slowly brought my deer call to my chapped lips. I began to blow hot air through the tube sounding off doe estrus bleats. The calling included about four estrus bleats. Oh it couldn’t have been more than ten minutes after the second calling sequence that a coyote came trotting into my location.

I vaguely remember time frames and detail since this happened long ago.

I had my rifle shouldered trying to find this coyote in my scope. Since the

coyote walked by ten to twelve yards in front of me I struggled finding it in my scope. Suddenly I became very upset that day.

During this hunt, many years ago, I learned coyotes listen for these deer calls while hunting.

Don’t only use hare or rabbit distress calls when on your coyote calling adventures. On some sits, especially where deer are around, try using doe estrus bleats. When an estrus bleat is drawn out longer and louder it suddenly becomes a deer in distress call. To a coyote it sounds like another predator is trying to take down a deer. A great calling tactic for both coyote and bobcat hunting.

The Third Coyote Hunting Tactic: This is a non-traditional method of going after coyotes.

Thorough scouting by foot and trail cameras is a must for this tactic. It actually took several years of learning my hunting areas and studying what coyotes do in those areas before I was willing to try this. You can probably guess that (Coyote cont. pg 59)

February 2022

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Upland Guns: Pros and Cons In the past couple of years, there has been a large influx of new hunters joining the upland community.

One of the questions I often get is what shotgun should I buy? Although there are many choices, the shotguns

I most often see in the uplands are double barrel guns…either over/under or side by side.

My father had all side x side shotguns. Without even thinking about an over/under, we always referred to our guns as double barrel shotguns. I didn’t see my first over/under until the 1960s. It belonged to our neighbor who often joined us for a pheasant hunt. With the popularity of the over/under, pump and semi-auto growing in the 1960s and 70s, the side by side declined in popularity. In the past 20 years, it’s made a strong comeback.

There has been a growing interest in tradition and the beautiful lines of a side x side.

So, which should a new hunter choose…a side x side or over/under. Advocates of both have strong reasons for liking their choice of gun. Let’s go over those reasons.

For the side x side

advocate, it’s felt that the gun has better balance. It simply feels more natural when bringing it to the shoulder. If brought firmly to the shoulder, it has less tendency to wobble. Over/ under advocates feel the

sight plane of a side by side is too wide. If you shoot your shotgun like a rifle, sighting straight down the barrel and using the sights on the gun to aim, the over/under advocate wins the argument. However, that’s not the way to shoot a shotgun at a moving target. Your eyes and brain become the sights and that has nothing to do with the shotgun. In fact, many shooting instructors will tell an upland hunter to remove the sights on their shotgun. The wide expanse of the double barrels has no effect on shooting ability.

Another feature that might be favorable for the side x side advocate is the gun opens with a smaller arc than the over/under.

This, for me, makes reloading easier and quicker.

With the wider arc, the over/under is more difficult to empty and reload in heavy cover.

In my mind, there is one strong advantage for

the over/under shotgun.

Due to the construction, the side by side has barrel flex when firing the gun.

With the over/under, you can swing the gun just under the bird and connect.

However, with a side x side barrel flex, you should c o v e r your target.

The o v e r / under is very popular with clay bird shooters.

The barrel flex is less and t h e b a rrels are often ventilated.

The ventilated barrels help keep the gun cooler when shooting multiple rounds and also helps with windy conditions. These are positive features.

No matter which barrel configuration you choose, there are several other options to consider. One is single trigger versus double trigger. If you’re choosing your first shotgun, then it probably doesn’t matter which you choose. I grew up shooting double trigger shotguns.

After 40 years shooting double triggers, I visited a gun shop and fell in love with a Merkel 20 gauge with a single trigger. After ten years shooting that single trigger gun, my brain still tells my trigger finger to fall back to the rear trigger…but there is no trigger there. No matter which trigger configuration you choose, stay with it the rest of your hunting career.

Page 47

On Point

by Paul Fuller, Durham, N.H.

Another option you should look for is a barrel selection button. Each barrel, whether side x side or over/under will have different chokes. Your author has the more open choke selected when approach-

like a 28” barrel. If you’re strictly a ruffed grouse and woodcock hunter, a 26” barrel is fine. However, if you’re going to travel the country to hunt multiple species and types of cover, a 28” barrel is

So, which should a new hunter choose…a side x side or over/under.

Advocates of both have strong reasons for liking their choice of gun. Let’s go over those reasons. ing his dog on point. The theory, of course, is that the initial flush will be a close shot. If that’s not the case, and you’re quick and nimble, you can change chokes in a hurry.

For a stock, I prefer the pistol grip rather than the straight stock.

The straight stock is pretty, however, the pistol grip gives you a more stable mount.

For barrel length, I

a good choice. Although what gauge could be a whole separate article, I like the 20 gauge for upland shooting.

For the new hunter, welcome to the fraternity.

Paul and his wife, Susan, host the Bird Dogs Afield TV show. All past episodes can be seen on their website which is www. birddogsafield.com

Page 48

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Kineo Currents

by Suzanne AuClair, Rockwood, ME

For years all I used was old gear. Most everything was made of wood: wooden pack baskets, canoes, storage boxes for longer trips. Much of it was hand made by my husband.

Very sturdy, and heavy, but very practical. We have two long wooden storage boxes with locks that were

bindings to work the best over some of the newer materials that are, at first, easier to handle, but don’t seem to hold up as well in extreme weather, either splitting or slipping in the long run.

Standard was a large, bulky canvas and pole tent, tarps and cotton-type ropes,

The old tent has been replaced with a small nylon pop-up. Very good for short trips. Again, trade-offs. It is not as sturdy as the old standby, and there is no place to store things. custom-made to fit in the 20-ft. canoe, one for food, one for cooking utensils.

These work well for organizing and for keeping animals from free meals.

Even the utensils are oldschool, including a heavyweight all-purpose iron skillet, long cooking forks and spatulas, made to last.

I built my own wood and gut snowshoes, fitted with leather bindings. Over the years, I have found these

which tied well and did not stretch as readily as some sort of nylon. This reminds me of a funny story. One time, one of the guys here at Moosehead was going to be flown into a remote pond. Bungee cords were just coming out and all the rage, so it was decided to tie the canoe to the pontoon of the plane with bungee cords instead of the standard rope. While airborne, somehow a bungee cord

February 2022

Old vs. New Gear

got loose and one end of the canoe swung out into the propeller. The prop broke the canoe in half, the canoe bent the prop, and the plane went down.

Luckily, Malcom Maheu was an excellent pilot under pressure and was able to put the plane down safely in a nearby pond. They pushed the plane into shore and, with a big rock, beat the prop back into some sort of shape. The scheme worked. The prop worked well enough. Malcolm flew out alone to get help. Bungee cords were relegated to other uses, but the old standby rope was put back into action.

Now that I’m older, some of the old gear is hard to use. A few years ago, I bought a pair of new-fangled snowshoes.

After trying out a friend’s, I found the new ones to be much lighter, so easier on my legs. The spikes underneath help to keep me from slipping on hills.

There’s always a tradeoff.

I doubt the plastic fittings will last over time, but then again, for the use I give them, they probably won’t need to. At this stage of the game, lightness overrides longevity.

The old tent has been replaced with a small nylon pop-up. Very good for short trips. Again, trade-offs. It is not as sturdy as the old standby, and there is no place to store things. But, the little pop-up is light to carry and easy to use.

I have not yet replaced my old sleeping bag, but am going to, foregoing the weight and bulk of the comforting old bag for the new, warm, but ultra-thin bag.

Some gear I’ll still use. Last summer I loaded all my belongings into a single wooden pack basket.

Some in our group had waterproof, fold and seal bags. Nice! But, my pack basket fits well on my back and seemed more practical to lug around. This was for a canoe trip, not for

carrying a long distance into the woods. On a different trip, one of the new ones with a light frame and pack would probably work better. While I’m repairing one of the old wooden and canvas canoes, a go-to one is plastic and most often used now.

On a canoe trip, moving by water allows much creature comfort. I still want to load in the strong boxes for food, iron skillet and utensils. MREs don’t cut it. I like knowing there’s a good, hot meal, and a smokey drink by the fire at the end of the day.

Suzanne AuClair lives near Rockwood. She has been writing about the Moosehead Lake region for 27 years and produced “The Origins, Formation & History of Maine’s Inland Fisheries Division.”

She is an award-winning member of the New England Outdoor Writers Assn.

Greenville

Joyce Smith of Machiasport with her 19 lb. gobbler.

12 year old Jackson Richard Lavertu of Gorham bags 2 with 1 shot on Youth Day!

February 2022

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 49

Question Of The Month

Your Next Buck: How Does It Begin?

By Bob Grewell Every living entity is molded by survival strategies. Thus, as deer begin their birthing creation, this cycle changes very little as they traverse the reality of birth-to-death. Why is this important to hunters

for does and their offspring.

It accelerates during May and throughout June. And, if you are afield, you might see your future buck in juvenile form if you walk and search throughout rural landscapes. If you’re observant, here’s what you might

briers as she nosed air currents for alarming odors.

It’s May 19th at 8:30 a.m.

The landscape light is accelerating into a beautiful morning. A lone doe is on a mission to create new life. She lays down on her right side and spreads her hind legs. Instantly she

them to avoid predators.

The fawns are on their feet in a shaky posture before they begin to instinctively nurse from the does teats.

As doe and fawns nuzzle face-to-face, their interaction forms a protective bond that is vital for the fawn’s survival. Right now,

Of all the physical features bucks possess, their racks instill hunter excitement. Every hunter is curious about the annual shed and re-growth of buck racks.

A buck’s rack size, and shape are believed to be based upon food intake, age and heredity. now? We should embrace the beauty of the whitetail birth because very few humans are lucky enough to observe deer fawns being born. This extraordinarily private moment is reserved

observe because May and June are peak months to observe fawns.

I can still envision a barrel-bellied doe twisting her way into a secluded tangle of vicious green

begins to eject her twin fawns onto a damp grassy depression. Hunching her back as if someone kicked her belly, she rhythmically strains profusely. Instantly, a male and doe fawn slides from her hind quarters.

The buck fawn lays still for only seconds before its instincts inspire it into life.

The doe fawn wriggles, as well. The temporarily helpless fawns take their life-giving breathes. Instantly, the doe stands on all fours, turns around and tends to her fawns, licking her offspring and eating her afterbirth membrane. She does so hurriedly to clean

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these fawns are fragile.

But, within three to five years the buck just might become your trophy buck?

The creation of your next buck begins after it takes its first breath. Unfortunately, the process from its birth until it becomes an elusive stag has ups and downs.

Life has just begun for this buck fawn during a warm spring morning.

Now, what happens to him?

Life will probably become complex for both fawn and doe because they are meat sources for many predators, especially hunters. They will remain within a known habitat area. But each will

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Renewal

pursue their own roles in life. The buck might eventually rule his territory?

He might also become a trophy?

Spring is a learning time. Summer is a time deer relax. These are their body building months.

Consequently, fall is the prelude to their breeding intentions.

Every living species learns survival strategies.

This cycle doesn’t change much. Eventually most species encounter the intimacies of birth and/or death.

G e o g r a p h i c a l l y, Whitetail birth weeks are May through late June, after a doe‘s estimated 180 day gestation period. There can be variables, especially from doe estrus cycle timing because each doe can be uniquely different. Fortunately, does are protective mothers and raise their fawns with zeal. Whereas, bucks play little to no part with a fawn’s upbringing.

Why should these facts interest you? I doubt you’re thinking about deer right now? But, planning ahead will improve your (Question cont. pg 52)

One year

Two year

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 50

Vermont Ramblings

by Dennis Jensen, Vermont Now that we are really into the New Year, let us try to imagine what the next 11 months might bring. Without going into any great detail, let’s just say that, for the most part, our outdoor experiences during 2021were anything but rewarding.

After an inexplicable

again. We’ll get some ice fishing in, no doubt. Those Lake Bomoseen perch, taken with a jig rod and delicious when deep fried, rank right up there with the best fresh fish you ever tasted.

We’ll slow it down in March, clean and oil all seven of our fishing reels

The New Year

February 2022

three sons, who have become pretty good turkey hunters in their own right.

In June, we’ll take the canoe out to one of our favorite ponds in western Rutland County for our first venture into bass fishing. I have been somewhat remiss in my bass-fishing duties over the past few years and, frankly, I look forward to a bit more of casting my favorite plugs along the edges of cover.

Then, oh, the sweet month of May is here and we will be climbing the big ridges in Pawlet and Castleton, hunting for a long beard or two. back injury in November 2020, one that traveled from my lower spine to my upper left leg, we went through four injections (three in the back, and we are talking painful here), physical therapy, etc., and still the pain, somethings excruciating, continues.

So now we are in February and hope springs eternal. We are confident that the damage will be repaired and we will be back, out there on the water and in the big woods, once

pick up the mess in the basement and get some chores down around the house. But when April arrives we’ll set out for the opening day of the trout season on April 9, just to say we were out there.

Then, oh, the sweet month of May is here and we will be climbing the big ridges in Pawlet and Castleton, hunting for a long beard or two. The best part of our spring turkey season is how I get to hunt with two of my

Come July, my longtime friend Bob will meet me for our annual canoefishing trip down the Connecticut River. Both of us are getting better at finding and hooking into the smallmouth bass as we drift down the big river. But we still have plenty to learn about these great-fighting, jump-into-the-air smallies.

Later in July, and again in August, we will return to the coast of Maine for striper fishing in Ocean Park and Saco. Yes, surf fishing

Vermont

Matthew Jensen carries a gobbler across a green field during a hunt early in the Vermont spring turkey season. (Photo by Dennis Jensen) for striped bass is a true point about striper fishing challenge but, after more is to get out there whenever than 25 years of fishing for you can. The more time you what I consider the fish of spend on the beach, the betfish, I have learned a thing ter your chances are. or two about their behavior.

September is yet anMostly, I have learned that other down month and a night fishing — which was great time to finish putting my passion for more than the fire wood you’ll need to 20 years — can yield great get through the next winter. results but fishing low tide We don’t burn the seven with overcast skies can also cords or more we used to be very productive. but still have to haul in The most important (Year cont. pg 59)

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February 2022

Northwoods Sporting Journal

February Outdoor Opportunities

I enjoy ice fishing and a meal of freshly caught fish. Ice fishing is a solution to the winter doldrums that is inexpensive, fun and a source of fresh fish. What more could one ask? Why be a couch potato glued to the tv screen when you could be enjoying the camaraderie and fresh air that ice fishing provides?

Winter need not be a season to dread. It is not necessary to confine one’s self to the living room chair. With proper dress and a positive attitude, winter can be a delightful season for outdoor activity.

There were several changes made to the fishing regs that took effect January 1.

Bobcats (Cont. from pg 7)

ravens showed first, then the eagle. Shortly after, foxes and coyote showed up at the site and finally the cats. Once the bobcats got a taste, they dominated the bait – no coyote or fox ever came back. The cats however, kept coming day and night. It was quite a lesson for me. If you are after bobcats this month, keep it fresh and unique and hopefully you’ll put eyes, and your rifle scope, on one of Maine’s most elusive predators.

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 an outdoors writer and can be reached at john@ tuckerridge.me or on Face-

book @writerjohnfloyd

In certain lakes and ponds, trout fishing started on January 1, three weeks earlier than in the past.

Also, many waters that were previously seasonally closed are now managed under general regulations.

We are able to keep 8 trout from streams and rivers. This means 8 total fish of any combination of Brook, Brown or Rainbow Trout.

lease it regardless of size.

When a fish is brought up quickly from the depths, its air bladder may inflate due to pressure changes and be unable to survive.

Leave the fish in the water as much as possible and avoid handling it with dry hands or mittens. Allowing a fish to flop around in the snow or to freeze-dry in an icy wind will seriously lower it’s chances for

Page 51

Outdoors In Vermont

by Gary W. Moore, Bradford, VT

in D & E in the northeast corner of the state.

Many hunters, myself included, enjoy brisk February days snowshoeing in the woods or swamps with a shotgun. Listening to a good hound pursuing a bunny through a swamp is a real joy.

I do not own any hunt-

ers devote their winters to hunting the elusive animal both with hounds and by calling. Either way, coyote hunting is a challenge.

Syndicated columnist Gary W. Moore is a life long resident of Vermont and a former Commissioner of Fish and Game. He has “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if been a magazine freelancer we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would and syndicated newspaper columnist for 45 years. He not be so welcome.” - Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672) may be reached by e-mail ing dogs and my St. BerThe changes allow survival. at gwmoore1946@icloud.

When releasing a fish nard would never be misanyone to fish nearly all com or at Box 454, Bradwaterbodies in the state it usually is best to leave taken for a hunting dog. A ford, VT 05033. year-round as long as they the hook in it. Use a fin- brother does have a beagle practice catch and release. gernail clipper or some that loves to pursue snowThe changes mean other cutting tool to cut shoe hare as do several of that the number of tables the leader as close to the my friends. Thus I need in the Fishing Guide is re- hook as possible. If a fish only ask and I get to join Market & Restaurant duced from 10 to 3, some- is hooked in the jaw or them on nice winter days.

7 Pinecrest Drive Snowshoe hare can be thing I welcome. Over the mouth, you may be able Essex Junction, VT 05452 years so many regulations to remove the hook gently found in much of Vermont have been added that it is without seriously injuring but my favorite places to (802) 879-3611 often difficult to find out the fish, using wet hands or hunt are in the Northeast www.raysseafoodmarket.com what is legal on a given needle nose pliers while the Kingdom counties of Es“Where the catch is fish remains in the water. sex, Orleans and Caledobody of water. always the best” Far too many fish that If the fish you are going nia. That is an area of big will not be kept whether to release is hooked deep, woods with very little postby choice or regulation die cut the fish free, rather ing and much public land.

A day spent on snowbecause of the way they than trying to recover your shoes in pursuit of snowwere handled. That means hook. shoe hare is a good way to they will not be available at Hunters Enjoy Winget some exercise and fresh another time. air and some good eating if Pull your fish in slow- ter As Well Hunters can pursue you are quick and accurate ly, especially if you are DON’T FORGET: bringing it up from deep snowshoe hare through all with your shotgun.

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Page 52

Question (Cont. from pg 49) future hunting results because the more we learn about whitetails now, the more successes we achieve later. The reproductive process of deer is an annual, often untimely event.

Fortunately, the eventual results are fawns born and dropped to the ground usually between May and June.

Thankfully, a whitetails’ diet is extremely diverse. This is one reason deer are so prolific. They are very adaptable at survival. Also, genetic purity is an avenue of prolific

Northwoods Sporting Journal

February 2022

are crucial for his survival.

He has much to learn if he becomes a trophy buck. At birth he instantly imprints on his mother doe, as well as other resident deer, so he can learn predator avoidance, food sources and prime habitat locations.

For now, throughout most of any year, bucks have no reason to battle with other bucks. Although they will physically intimidate each other with body postures, vocals and bodybumping; herd interactions establish every deer‘s social pecking order. Hard core fighting doesn’t play a role until mating is on the menu. Social dominance

Aside from all this chemical jargon, genetics are an impact. Studies indicate shape of buck racks probably depend upon heredity.

But rack size is probably influenced by diet, it’s believed?

One other reminder.

Some hunters have long labeled a buck’s age in single digits. Consider that deer are born during the spring months. If they live to hunting season, they are at six months. Therefore, as they eventually become more shootable, they are actually aged at 2 ½, 3 ½ years, and so forth. This is simply just another fallacy hunter have long described. Fortunately, trophy hunters learn to self-manage deer and do not shoot small bucks, allowing any buck to grow into a 3 ½ to 5 ½ year old trophy. This decision, beyond all else, is where trophy bucks come from, if hunters help with concern and control? If a buck has aged to the point where his body can’t stand the weather, sometimes limited nourishment and hungry predators, he might survive on plain “luck”. Perhaps this is why consistent hunters focus upon trophies by intimately studying deer and their habitats. From a fragile fawn to a trophy buck, begin now to examine deer more intensely to understand your future buck‘s lifestyle.

life. Another factor in the development of a trophy buck. Aside from food intake, reduced stresses and adequate habitats; bucks eventually reach trophy status from genetics.

There are so many unobserved things humans seldom view within the whitetail’s private world.

We’ve seen bucks walking across open fields, or laying down in a soy bean field, seemingly unafraid of anything. But, the majority of the time deer are secretive and hide.

What’s a living itinerary for a whitetail buck before he becomes your objective? His first six months

is always an issue between buck/bucks and does/does.

Physical confrontations are a threat that establishes a dominance position between both sexes. Does, especially, force themselves upon lower level does so they can develop a hierarchy within their breeding status. And, bucks spar to ensure they are the “top dog” when it comes to securing estrus does.

How does a buck become so exceptional with body and rack mass? Of all the physical features bucks possess, their racks instill hunter excitement. Every hunter is curious about the annual shed and re-growth of buck racks. Genetics are the science of the hereditary and evolutionary similarities and differences of related organisms. Major contributors are their genetic background, avoidance of diseases, outwitting predators, learning how to use concealing cover, and capitalizing on every available food source. Rack size, and shape are believed to be based upon food intake, age and heredity.

A diet composed of high proteins, the proper amount of fats and carbohydrates, as well as adequate calcium and phosphorous helps produce exceptional racks.

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February 2022

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Trust the Dog

I love the cold. I am happy sitting in my shanty and jigging like a fool. Beside me sits one of my closest outdoor companions, Steve (Ozzie) Osborne from Williston. We’re rehashing the deer season – highlights, observations, errors, and successes. I’m still ruminating on the last day of archery season. I had been reluctant to relocate my stand, even though it was clear that the deer had changed their patterns. On the last day of the archery season, December 15, I was glaring at my watch as the time to quit was approaching. I turned to my left one last time and five deer came wandering down the trail with only 30 minutes left in the season. Note: The forthcoming story has been radically shortened to fit into a reasonable format for our beloved Journal.

I took a shot at a doe from 25 yards and did not think I hit her. She walked by my stand unfazed. Then another deer walked toward me down the hill on my left. It stood quartering toward me at 15 yards. I looked through the scope of my crossbow and leveled the top horizontal reticle on the shoulder. On the release I heard a resounding “Thump!”. The deer ran uphill and took a sharp right. I called my friend, Jason Galipeau, of Charlotte, who is an accom-

plished hunter, and we tried to follow the blood trail, but it had begun to snow, and the trail was quickly disappearing. When we could not find the deer, I called a dog tracker that I’d worked with before, Matt Anderson, from Orwell and his associate, Eric Laroche from Bridport. Matt arrived at 8:30. As we began to

buck down the hill and loaded it into the bed of my truck. As the end of the season wound down, I had learned several lessons. One: If deer change their patterns, you change yours. Second: The last 30 minutes of the very last day hold as much promise as the first 30 minutes of the very first day. And third:

Never doubt a canine. Especially one as talented as Mila. walk up the trail to where I’d left my stand, his dog, which he guesses is a Jack Russel x German Shepard mix, named “Mila,” picked up a blood trail. I bent down to ask Mila if she was sure about this. She looked up, her eyes glaring back at me with a look of disdain.

Mila is pure business. Do not question this lady’s abilities. Matt showed Mila the arrow, and she beelined to the left and up the hill.

From my angle in the stand, it looked like the wrong line. But never question a professional. She led us straight to the deer and when Eric held up its head he said “Hey, this is a button buck! Look at these nubs!” I was surprised.

These two gentlemen have the finest Customer Service skills I’ve ever seen. They saw me limping from a bad back and arthritic hip, and they dragged that little

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Never doubt a canine. Especially one as talented as Mila.

In case you are not aware, the regulations for fishing in VT have some changes. Frankly, they are a lot simpler to follow. One big positive I noticed was that the 12 brookie limit has been reduced so that in rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes that allow it, you may only keep up to eight trout species total. This means eight total fish of any combination of Brook, Brown, or Rainbow Trout.

That said, a few other significant changes were made. One of them is that most waters are now open year-round to catch and release fishing with artificial flies or lures. Many

Page 53

Green Mountain Report

by Bradley Carleton, Charlotte, VT waters that were previously seasonally closed are now managed under general regulations. The best improvement was to reduce the number of indexes on lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams from ten pages to three. You might want to take the time to review them yourself. I suggest uploading the VT Outdoors app on your phone. You can also access the full regulations online at www.vtfishandwildlife.com or pick up a copy of the printed booklet at any sporting goods store or bait shop.

The final number of deer taken in Vermont’s 2021 hunting seasons will not be available for a few more weeks, but the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department says the final tally will be around 15,600 deer.

The buck harvest will be close to 9,000, which will be down slightly from 2020 (9,255) but near the 10year average of 8,938. The final antlerless deer harvest will be around 6,600, down considerably from 9,735 in 2020, but similar to antlerless harvests prior to 2020.

Some of that decrease was due to the department issuing fewer muzzleloader antlerless permits this year.

However, the archery season harvest, which accounts for much of the total antlerless deer harvest, will also be down substantially from 2020. “Some decline in the harvest was expected this year, as we’ve been working to reduce deer numbers in some areas to keep them in balance with the available habitat,” said Nick Fortin, the department’s deer project leader. The 2021 White-tailed Deer Harvest Report with final numbers will be on Fish and Wildlife’s website in early March. Beginning in late March, the department will be holding informational hearings to share biological information and to listen to any information people wish to share.

Bradley Carleton is the founder and Executive Director of www.sacredhunter.org which teaches the public respect and empathy through hunting and fishing.

Page 54

Northwoods Sporting Journal

South Of the Kennebec

by Stu Bristol, Lyman, ME

The “Green Curtain” is that portion of the forest people see every day, on their way to work or on a trip. It’s a façade of evergreens that hides the real life dramas that play out in the lives of wildlife.

Too often we perceive deer as family units, as depicted

animals think and reason like humans.

In the real world, behind the Green Curtain, life is harsh and the weather is unforgiving, especially during the cold winter months, here in the Northeast.

It makes people feel

February 2022

The Green Curtain

and one of compassion for the lifestyle we humans have forced on creatures in the wild.

Most humans don’t realize the unique changes that most wildlife creatures undergo as the seasons change. A few species feed ravenously and either fall into a deep sleep or go into a full hibernation to escape the rigors of winter. Deer, moose and other large animals in the family of quad-

wood covers called “deer Yards” or “wintering areas” are to the survival of Maine’s deer herd, shopping malls, golf courses, housing developments and other creature comforts of human existence take precedence over the critical needs of wintering animals.

Although lawmakers have provided for the

Those wildlife creatures that venture on the human side of the green curtain are treated to misguided acts of human kindness. Deer are being fed in backyards as are wild turkeys. Raccoons and skunks, during warm breaks in the winter weather are treated to pet food left on the back deck for human pets that

A few species feed ravenously and either fall into a deep sleep or go into a full hibernation to escape the rigors of winter. Deer, moose and other large animals in the family of quadrupeds undergo a dramatic physiological change. on Christmas cards, in Disney movies and on television.

Bambi and other talking animal characters have done great harm to their real life counterparts, or should I say the creators of such animated characters have damaged our perception of real wildlife species.

Radical-minded animal rights groups constantly further those distorted perceptions to the point where the public in general is beginning to think real

good to see a group of well-meaning passers-by throw a rope over the head of a deer that has broken through the ice and haul it to safety. As it trots away on wobbly legs, people cheer, but almost always, due to the unique changes in the metabolism of the deer, it may die within hours or days.

Too often I am stuck between two ideologies; one of the hunter who enjoys the challenge of pursuing deer and wild turkeys

rupeds undergo a dramatic physiological change.

The heartbeat and respiration of deer slow to a fraction of their summertime rate. The animals take cover in large groups under the protective canopy of softwoods such as hemlock fir trees. As needless as it may seem, many deer will seldom leave the protective cover to find food and will die a slow painful death from starvation.

Not fully understanding how critical these soft-

Wintering deer herd. preservation of these areas, are allowed to roam outside crafty lawyers and local while their humans are at planners have found ways work or school. around the regulations and Despite pleas from the wintering areas are be- wildlife managers, huing diminished quickly. mans continue to feed wild In addition to the deer creatures, by choice or herd, lesser creatures of by accident and so long the wild such as raccoons, as the humans see only skunks, chipmunks upland the healthy-looking apgame birds and many more pearance of animals, the are affected by the selfish wildlife managers must be actions of humans.

(Curtain cont. pg 58)

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Cookin’ With New England’s WildCheff

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Celebrating Four Decades

by Denny Corriveau, Kennebunkport, ME

It’s hard to believe that I started this journey in the outdoors some forty years ago.

Reflecting on it, the activity of hunting has forever enriched my life in ways I would have never imagined.

I entered the unknown.

I had no direction other than common sense logic which was based on hanging around the kitchen and growing up in a large family that loved to cook and enjoy food. I had to take my base knowledge from what

chapters in my deer hunting tenure.

I have been successful hunting most of the New England states, and have been fortunate enough to occasionally venture to other states that offer a different type of hunting experience.

What was unique about this year was the an-

of Mr. Big. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to sit in my friend’s dad’s tree stand one morning. My hunting brother had lost his dad a year ago. That morning something inside me spoke to my spirit, telling me that his father was right there with us, sharing the hunt. I was thinking and

ticipation of what and how it would unfold. It surely did not disappoint!

I spent time in a literal deer factory of the Midwest. We set out every morning, hunting the edges of where the timber met the crop fields. It was nothing short of amazing to see the sheer number of deer that appeared to slip in and out of view.

In the late afternoons we hunted in the timber or on the edge of prairie grass hoping to catch a glimpse

Tuscan Venison stuffed Meatballs Ingredients 2 lbs. of ground venison 2-3 T of WildCheff Tuscan Blend seasoning 2 T of WildCheff Shallots 1 ½ T of WildCheff Roastwondering how many great ed Garlic Powder memories were created on 3 T of olive oil this stand, and I reflected 1/4 C of breadcrumbs on how blessed I was to 1 container of mozzarella have this opportunity to sit balls in a family legendary stand.

A small doe walked Directions by us working her way Mix the ground venialong the edge of the crop son with all ingredients field, and I slowly scanned except the mozzarella balls. the landscape soaking in Form the meat into the moment. As I glanced meatballs – stuffing the towards a spot where the center with a mozzarella timber met a farm fence, a ball, and then sealing it buck gracefully jumped the while rolling the meatballs fence and appeared in full (Decades cont. pg 63) stature – like a silhouette

I spent time in a literal deer factory of the Midwest. We set out every morning, hunting the edges of where the timber met the crop fields. It was nothing short of amazing to see the sheer number of deer that appeared to slip in and out of view…

I have always found an internal attraction and tranquility in nature. The sights, the sounds, and those special unexpected moments all contribute to the collection of memories that I have experienced.

One aspect of the outdoors that I have always enjoyed is its ability to be unpredictable. We all enter the outdoors with a positive expectancy, but outcomes vary, and that is the part that we need to embrace.

When I began cooking game 35+ years ago,

February 2022

I observed and apply it to cooking fish my brother and I caught, and eventually applied it to game that I was gifted or harvested.

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in the sun. He stood broadside at 70 yards with his head turned, revealing his symmetrical 8-point mature rack. Without hesitation I pulled up and gently squeezed the trigger.

Bringing that buck back to the farm and processing it with Craig, knowing that my freezer will have sustainable meat in it to enjoy over the winter, is one of the greatest ways to celebrate my four decades of hunting!

February 2022

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 57

Forever Chemicals: Pandora’s Box

The thing about opening Pandora’s Box is, once opened, you have no control over what happens next. On the day it was announced that “Forever Chemicals,” or PFAS chemicals, were found in deer meat in the Fairfield area my first words were, “that is devastating news!”

Not because I have hunted, fished and drunk the water from the same contaminated ground in and around Fairfield, but because of the massive implications of widespread PFAS contamination in our state. If PFAS are in the meat of deer in this area, it is likely in everything else we eat and drink from our farmlands, watersheds and the wild fish and game we harvest in Maine.

PFAS is a class of man-made chemicals, invented in a military lab and, since developed, in countless public applications.

Prolonged human exposure has been linked to cancer, immune system suppression, developmental disorders, and other serious health problems, https:// www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/PFAS_FactSheet.html As a self-employed logger for over 30 years, I am familiar with history of pollution created by paper mills and other manufacturing facilities like tanneries. Ironically the trout brook behind my family home was called the Tannery Brook.

In the 1970’s our Maine rivers were rightly described as open sewers treated as unregulated dumping grounds for industrial and residential

waste. In the early 1970’s, Congress, led by then Senator Muskie, passed the Clean Water Act. This landmark legislation is celebrated as the beginning of one of the world’s greatest environmental achievements and the beginning of

leaches.

How did so many well-meaning individuals miss such an obvious source of pollution?

How long have government agencies and chemical companies, responsible for making PFAS, who had

Although Maine has come a long way with cleaning up its waterways, thanks to the Clean Waters Act, the PFAS revelation poses new challenges. the waste water treatment movement that would clean up our rivers.

Looking back, the Clean Water Act achieved only part of its worthy goal.

Yes, we removed solid waste from our rivers, but we allowed this solid waste in the form of sludge to be spread on the very ground that grew our food and the same soil where PFAS now

roles in spreading hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of cubic yards of industrial sludge, know about PFAS risks to public health? Maybe they didn’t, but we must ask the question, or we will learn nothing from this catastrophic failure to protect our environment and the safety of Mainers.

Worse, the sludge that

SAM News

by David Trahan, “Executive Director” is the major source of PFAS is stored in countless and yet undisclosed landfills all around our state, many located near major rivers like the Kennebec and Penobscot. Could they also be leaching into residential and public water supplies?

This newly disclosed

aside, but I can say confidently, that it is a drop in the bucket. Hundreds of millions will be needed to mitigate this overwhelming disaster.

Recently, on behalf of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, Institute for Legislative Action, for which

Worse, the sludge that is the major source of PFAS is stored in countless and yet undisclosed landfills all around our state, many located near major rivers like the Kennebec and Penobscot. Could they also be leaching into residential and public water supplies?

PFAS environmental catastrophe and corresponding governmental response is in its infant stages, but Maine, led by the Mills’ administration, Senator Collins and the Legislature have decided to meet Pandora head on. Last legislative session and again this year a number of bills have been passed and introduced to start to identify and mitigate PFAS contamination.

Millions in Federal and State dollars have been set

I work, I asked in several media stories for the Mills’ administration to use her upcoming Supplemental Budget to invest in creating a PFAS testing lab in our state to insure adequate and timely, in-state PFAS testing. I am happy to say she will announce her plan soon.

Far more needs to be done. The Legislature and the committees having jurisdiction over natural (Chemicals cont. pg 58)

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Page 58

Curtain (Cont. from pg 54) wrong, in their minds.

As a former Game Warden I can attest from first-hand experience how many times the human attitude toward wildlife changes in a heartbeat.

Once a rabid animal appears on their doorstep, or a wild turkey pecks the leg of a school child at the bus stop looking for more free sandwiches and cookies, the animal suddenly become “the state’s problem.

How many times can outdoor writers like me and wildlife managers plead with the public not to feed wild animals. Wild animals never make good pets; ever! They shouldn’t even make good backyard attractions. Stop feeding deer, stop leaving pet food and water on the back deck.

Take your birdfeeders in at the first sign of spring (unless you want to visited by a hungry bear) and never, ever try to capture and so-called, “save” a wild animal baby or one that appears to be sick or injured.

Northwoods Sporting Journal Call a Game Warden and if one cannot be reached call the local sheriff or police and they will notify the Warden Service.

That doesn’t mean a warden will rush right over to pick up the animal. Maine has a series of local Animal Control Officers that assist in these tasks. The Maine Warden Service, due to budgetary cuts, has been pared down to a skeleton crew.

Take an active part in local planning of shopping malls and other types of development. Be sure that the wild side is given a fair hearing. Almost always the wild creatures are not even being considered in local planning issues.

While no wildlife species should be exploited for financial gain, we humans are the stewards of all species of fish and wildlife and it is our responsibility to look out for their concerns.

Deer, bear, moose and upland game species should be considered a renewable resource. We can balance the expansion of human progress and, at the same time, balance the popula-

tions of wildlife species.

What we cannot afford to do is to wipe out the living space of wildlife in favor of human creature comforts. At the same time, it is irresponsible for humans to force wildlife to suffer needlessly.

On the way to work or on a trip, glance out your window and try to imagine what is going on behind that “green curtain” you see at the roadside. In your spare time, don a pair of snowshoes or skis and take a closer look at how the other half lives.

Stu Bristol is a Master Maine Guide and Outdoor Writer. His columns and features have been published nationwide for nearly 60 years. He operated Orion Guide service in Southern Maine and makes custom game calls at www.deadlyimpostergamecalls.com

Subscribe Today!

(SEE PAGE 49)

February 2022 not know how many wells

Chemicals and drinking water supplies (Cont. from pg 57) resources need to assess not only current fiscal PFAS mitigation needs, but what the needs may be 10 years out. We cannot wait for years as a Class Action Lawsuit to hold chemical companies accountable works its way through the courts. What if it takes a decade and worse, what if it fails?

In order to make such long-term fiscal impact estimates, legislative committee members need to know how big the problem is. DEP has disclosed the sites in which they believe PFAS contaminated sludge was spread, they have not made public where this same sludge is stored in municipal and state licensed landfills; in addition, we know very little about the many military and municipal locations PFAS was used for fire suppression training and how these chemicals were disposed of as they were retired. Until we know the answer to these questions and all the sites are tested for contamination, we will

are affected.

What will it cost in order for Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the Department of Marine Resources, DEP, the CDC and our University system to coordinate long term food and wildlife testing, research and PFAS monitoring and the corresponding cost of installing expensive water filtration systems on yet to be identified, contaminated drinking water systems?

In the coming months, the Legislature will debate how to spend a projected $800 million surplus. I would argue the amount of the surplus is unknown until all of these questions are answered. Like Ed Muskie and those that pushed the Clean Water Act, we have an environmental disaster that must be faced head on, this time we must finish the job! https://maineaudubon.org/news/disgustingphotos-of-a-maine-riverbefore-the-clean-wateract/ David Trahan is the executive Director of SAM.

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

February 2022

Coyote

(Cont. from pg 46) the tactic is ambushing or merely just sitting in a prominent lookout waiting for a coyote to appear. Most certainly a non-traditional method.

In the area I hunt deer is where I’ve had success at ambushing coyotes. Many times in October, while sitting in my deer hunting blind, I’ve had a pair of coyotes that walked by.

They were so close that I could hear strange vocalizations that I’ve never heard a coyote make. Obviously I had a bow. No shots were taken. Really close to where I place this hunting blind is a major highway for deer, coyote and bobcat.

I run a couple trail cameras at both ends of this travel corridor. This spot happens to be right along the edge of a wetland with a stream running through it.

One morning, a while back, I got all set-up on an ambush watching this highway. I had both my bow and my rifle with me. I was hoping to shoot a coyote with my bow. I knew that if a coyote appeared it would be between 9:45 and 10:30 in the morning.

My trail cameras recorded the travel patterns. Like following a script a coyote came in to my location from my left side. I had my bow in ready position. The coyote closed the distance to within ten yards to my left. I lost sight of it and quickly put bow down and grabbed my rifle. At that time the coyote changed directions and trotted away from me heading back into the woods. I followed it in my scope looking for a clear shot. I blame it on the fact I chose my bow instead of my rifle as to why that

coyote got away. What can I say other than that I love a good challenge.

Don’t fall victim to the winter blues this January, February and March.

Get out for some coyote hunting in your favorite deer hunting spots. Save those bucks you’re hoping to harvest in the near future. Choose from these three coyote hunting tactics I’ve shared or your own bag of tricks. Either way remember this: you can’t shoot a coyote sitting on

your couch!

Justin is a member of the New England Outdoors Writers Association (NEOWA). He is the owner of the web based TV show called, “SPIKES and GILLS”. He authored two books so far called, “Wild Maine Outdoors – Hunting Tactics, Tricks and Secrets”, and also, “The Sit Spot – Discovering The Forest Near You”. You may learn more by visiting: www.wildmaineoutdoors.com

Year

Page 59

(Cont. from pg 50) enough wood to keep us warm on those occasions when we want the unique heat one gets from wood.

October means bow hunting, something we never got out to do (see injury) but this year I intend to hunt hard.

Then the big one arrives — the Vermont buck season. We hope to get out to some of our old hot places once more. Af-

ter that, the December muzzle loader season is here and one more chance to put some venison in the freezer.

So there it is, my “wish list” for 2022. I sincerely hope that your year is a good one, as well.

Stay safe and get out there, when you can.

Dennis Jensen is the outdoor editor for the Rutland Herald and Barre Times Argus and a freelance writer.

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 60

Against The Current

by Bob Romano, Rangeley, ME Trout are always found in special places.

In those beautiful environs, whether trekking to or from the stream, hiking along its side or wading through its waters, you’re sure to encounter an interesting character or two.

more than ten feet away, the inquisitive animal sniffed the air while standing on its hind legs, front paws in the air, seeking a better view. When I took a step, the canine yipped twice before disappearing back into the forest.

February 2022

Close Encounters Streamside

tern on every third or fourth cast. I decided to take a breather.

While seated on the trunk of a fallen spruce, I noticed a splash below a boulder in the middle of the stream. Looking closer, I watched a red squirrel bob to the surface. I thought of wading out to help the

Scanning the far bank, I spotted a large black bear, its back toward me. Seated on the trunk of a fallen tree some twenty feet away from the stream, the bruin’s massive shoulders were bent forward.

Just last August, I was wading down South Bog Brook, one of countless streams slipping unnoticed through the North Woods of Maine, when I heard the high grass rustle along the far bank. I stopped, expecting a deer or perhaps a moose to break out into the stream, but instead was surprised to spry a young coy-dog peering over a tall clump of Joe-Pye weed. No

On an afternoon in early July, I’d been wading up Wiggle Brook, another mountain rill, this one falling off western Maine’s side of the Boundary Mountains. I’d been taking native brook trout with my go-to dry fly—a pheasanttail, with a parachute wing and calf-tail post. It was an unfair contest, the palmsized fish rising to inhale the innocent-looking pat-

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poor bugger, but a moment later watched as it doggypaddled toward the limb of a tree that had fallen into the water. After climbing onto the large branch, the cheeky rodent shook from side to side, water spraying from its russet-colored fur. Now what? I thought, but then the intrepid traveler slipped back into the stream and swam the final twenty feet to the far bank.

Who knew squirrels could swim?

A similar incident occurred while I fished the West Branch of the Delaware. I’d been sight casting a #20 soft-hackled nymph with reddish-orange dubbing to large brown trout that were plucking sulpher nymphs from the fast water. I noticed movement some forty yards or so below me. Something had been attempting to cross the long, slow run that lies below the cabins.

Leaving the trout to dine on the sulpher nymphs, I reeled in and waded out of the fast water, deciding to investigate the little ball of fur that was making negligible progress

Trout streams are great places to encounter more than colorful brookies. against the sluggish current in the lower run. Drawing closer, I found that the fur ball was a tiny rabbit that must have slipped off the high bank. The cottontail was about done in, having gone under more than once as I waded down the pool.

It took a few more minutes, but I managed to work my way below the animal that now pressed against my thigh. We were still thirty or more feet from shore when I slipped my hand under the poor creature that appeared more than happy to allow me to do so.

A few moments later I was seated beside the rabbit on a grassy knoll. I’d never seen such a sorry sight, the bedraggled thing lying on its side, heart pumping wildly, lungs breathing overtime. After some time, the little guy, or gal, one never knows with rabbits, shook off the remaining water, and began preening.

When I rose to my feet, it hopped away, soon I’m sure, to slip under the wire of the lodge’s vegetable garden.

I’ll close with an afternoon some three years ago. I was wading up Devil’s Hole, a fast-moving streamlet in northeastern Pennsylvania. It was a lazy day in August, the sun high in the sky with only a slight breeze. The branches of swamp maple and those of tulip trees cast shadows over the little steam’s surface, and although the temperature had slipped into the eighties, the current was cool against my calves.

I was wearing hippers and one of those lightweight shirts made of some type of parachute-like material while teasing ten-inch, wild brown trout with a blackant pattern, the big, bushy fly making a loud splash whenever it plopped upon (Streamside cont. pg 63)

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Page 62

New Hampshire Outdoors

by Peter St. James, Warner, N.H. As any New England hunter will tell you, 50 yard to 100 yard shots are common. A 200 yard shot is rare. Well, I saw something in New Mexico in December that was truly an eyeopening experience. I was at a public shooting range dialing in the muzzleloader for my elk hunt and a few shooting benches away was a gentleman and a young man dialing in a rifle. But it wasn’t pointed downrange at the steel targets like we were doing. Instead it was aimed in the direction of a nearby hill. I grabbed my binoculars to see what he was aiming at. Sure enough, there was a hanging target on that hill… quite aways away. Finally, when he was satisfied at the setup, he took the shot.

After a few seconds, we heard the distinct sound of a steel target being hit.

I walked over and asked

Northwoods Sporting Journal

February 2022

Ballistics and Knowing Your Knots

bodies of water will open on April 1st.

I once asked legendary New Hampshire Fishing Guide Angus Boezeman, what was the most important thing that fishermen could do in the off season? His answer…learn to tie knots. How many times have you lost “the big one” because the Nail The rifle was a custom product from Gunwerks. The price Knot, Surgeon’s Knot or tag is around $10-11,000. And the distance was…1009 yards. Clinch Knot wasn’t done correctly? Now’s the time yards. They were on their pieces of the bullet out as I due to ongoing COVID to work on it. Not in the way to hunt a Coues White- was taking the hide off the concerns and lower than boat or on shore on Opentail (properly pronounced elk. My two friends used expected exhibitor reser- ing Day! “cows”, but almost every- Barnes or the Remington vations. The show is tenone pronounces it “coos”) Muzzleloader bullets that tatively re-scheduled for in the southeastern part of are loaded in the Reming- February 2023”. That show Peter St. James is a the state. It didn’t seem that ton 700 U.M.L. They had has always been a nice getting close was going to the traditional petal peel mid-Winter break. They’ll member of the New Engon their rounds with no be missed this year. land Outdoor Writers Asbe a problem for them!

But, there’s still plen- sociation, Outdoor Writers Speaking of my elk fragmentation. They may hunt (which was success- be good load for deer but ty to do to get ready for Association of America, is a ful by the way), let me when I head back this Fall, fishing season which isn’t licensed NH Fishing Guide also give my take on the it won’t be with Parkers. that far off. I mean Day- and has a daily radio show .50 cal. 275 gr. Parker Bal- I’ll bring some Barnes or light Savings Time will on WNTK-99.7/98.9 FM. listic Extreme bullets I used Hornady’s. I tried Power kick back in on March 13th Reach him at : stjames. in my muzzleloader. The Belts a few years ago and and salmon season on most peter@gmail.com what the caliber was. It was a 7mm and he was using a 180 grain bullet. His son said the shot was impressive because it was “right out of the box”. The rifle was a custom product from Gunwerks. The price tag is around $10-11,000. And the distance was…1009

word that comes to mind is “underwhelmed”. I don’t spend a lot of time pouring over ballistics charts or numbers about bullet expansion or retained kinetic energy. I like to see a spent bullet that shows expansion and not fragmentation.

Unfortunately, that’s not what I got. I was picking

found them fragmenting way too much as well so I’ve been looking for the “perfect” bullet ever since.

I’m sorry to say that the latest word out of the Merrimack Valley River Chapter of Trout Unlimited is disappointing. “The February 2022 Fly Fish NH Show has been cancelled

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February 2022

Decades (Cont. from 56) in your hand.

Drizzle a small amount of olive oil onto a sheet pan and place the meatballs on the sheet pan, leaving room between them.

Place into a pre-heated 400-degree oven and cook until meatballs are browned, and then remove from oven.

To s e r v e , p l a c e warmed red sauce (marinara or spaghetti sauce) in center of a serving plate.

Place 2-3 meatballs in center of the sauce.

Sprinkle fine ground parmesan over the meatballs. Bon appetit!

Denny Corriveau is Award-Winning Celebrity Game Chef, TenPoint Crossbow’s National Game Chef, Metis First Nation Chef, and the Founder of the Free-Range Culinary Institute, the only national wild game cooking school in the country. You can learn more @ www.wildcheff.com

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Streamside Bob’s newest book—RIVER (Cont. from pg 60) the surface.

Stooping to wet my neckerchief, I heard a strange noise coming from a grove of rhododendron.

Scanning the far bank, I spotted a large black bear, its back toward me. Seated on the trunk of a fallen tree some twenty feet away from the stream, the bruin’s massive shoulders were bent forward.

After reeling in my line, I debated whether to advance while continuing to hear the sound that first drew my attention to the bear, something akin to a handsaw cutting through wood. Although doubting the wisdom of proceeding forward, I nevertheless advanced, staying in the middle of the stream, ready to turn tail at the slightest indication of trouble. After passing, I looked back over my shoulder to find the bruin’s eyes closed, snores emanating from his long brown muzzle.

For information about

FLOWERS Check out his website: forgottentrout. com or email him at magalloway@mac.com

Page 63

Send your letters to the Editor to: NWSJ P.O. Box 195 W. Enfield ME 04493

or

info@sportingjournal.com

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 64

Last Chance Whitetails

THE BACK SHELF

From the files of the Northwoods Sporting Journal The best hunting and fishing columns going back 25 years!

By their very nature backshelf articles, resurrected from our archives, may contain information or facts that have been altered or changed by the passage of time.

By Steve Carpenteri Come December most hunters have had enough of the cold, dark woods and have moved on to things other than deer hunting. I

buck; failing that, I start out in November willing to settle for nothing smaller than a 10-pointer. Second week, an 8-pointer, and down the line till I’ll take

two weeks of muzzleloader season ahead of me, which means I get to spend more time deer hunting. Who knows? I may see a nice buck during those final days of the season. It has happened.

I began muzzleloader hunting in earnest nearly 40 years ago when a dying friend bequeathed his Ly-

Deer hunting in December is much different than it is in October or November. It’s most often cold, somber and frost-crunchy in the woods. All the leaves, acorns, apples and beech nuts are down; the rut is over and the deer spend their days tucked away in the most remote cover they can find.

usually end up hunting with a muzzleloader primarily because of my own deerhunting strategy. I start out in October looking for nothing less than a huge

any adult deer I see during Thanksgiving week. After all, for me it’s all about the meat. I figure that when all else fails I still have my antlerless deer permit and

February 2022

man Plains Rifle to me a tad early so I could hunt with it – and him – one last time.

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December is do-or-die time for Maine’s deer hunters. Hunt hard, stay out all day and shoot straight. That’s all there is to it!

(Photo by V. Paul Reynolds)

only a patched round ball and 90 grains of Pyrodex.

Granted, the 8-pointer I shot that year was only 13 steps away when he went down in a cloud of smoke, but in later years I killed several deer, a few bears and a couple of coyotes with it – same load, open sights – and never had to fire a second shot.

Although blackpowder technology has come a long way in recent decades and I have used many a modern smokepole in the interim, I still like to take my little percussion gun out during Maine’s muzzleloader season if only as a way to remember old Joe Young and the great hunts we shared back in the 1960s and ‘70s. I enjoy carrying the gun and its possibles, plus I know it’s more than adequate for the

job at hand.

Deer hunting in December is much different than it is in October or November. It’s most often cold, somber and frostcrunchy in the woods. All the leaves, acorns, apples and beech nuts are down; the rut is over and the deer spend their days tucked away in the most remote cover they can find. If there is snow there will be plenty of sign to study but nearly all of it is made at night, leaving the hunter only one option: Pick a track and follow it. An old-timer once told me that the easiest way to find deer in December is to follow the smallest track you can find. Fawns will lead to does, and sometimes a buck will be found traveling with the baldies.

(Whitetails cont. pg 65)

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February 2022

Whitetails (Cont. from pg 64) I have used this trick many times and it’s true enough, except that most often I find that the does and fawns congregate in small groups but the bucks are nowhere to be found.

December bucks are generally loners, not quite as cooperative and more difficult to follow. Many times I’ve picked up the track of a late-season buck only to have him leap headlong into a brook or river too deep for me to cross.

With the rut long over and winter coming these big bucks seem to head out on a straight line that never wavers. I’ve followed them for miles, day after day, but invariably lose them at a water crossing or in a maze of other tracks.

In the end the recipe for success in muzzleloader season is the same as it was in September: Hunt hard, stay out all day and shoot straight. That’s the advice Joe Young gave me back

Northwoods Sporting Journal in the early 1960s and now I’m passing it on to you.

Steve Carpenteri has hunted deer with muzzleloaders for over 40 years.

News

(Cont. from pg 45) Department stocks trout during the fall to bolster the winter ice fishery, translating into some exciting fishing action this winter.

Winter anglers chasing trout can find lists of

waters that remain open to the taking of trout year round on the Fish and Game website: • For lakes and ponds, visit www.fishnh. com/fishing/trout-yearround.html.

• For rivers and streams, see www.fishnh. com/fishing/trout-streams. html • Rules for waterbodies with special regulations are listed in the NH Freshwater Fishing Digest, available from license agents or on the Fish and Game website at www. fishnh.com/ fishing/publications. html T h e following is a list of New Hampshire lakes and ponds that were stocked with trout during

the fall of 2021: Akers Pond in Errol, Cedar Pond in Milan, Big Diamond Pond in Stewartstown (opens January 1, 2022), Franklin Pierce Lake in Hillsborough, Gustin Pond in Marlow, Highland Lake in Andover, Island Pond in Washington, Laurel Lake in Fitzwilliam, Manning Lake in Gilmanton, Martin Meadow Pond in Lancaster, Mascoma Lake in Enfield, Mirror Lake in Woodstock, Newell Pond in Marlow, Pearl Lake in Lisbon, Pleasant Lake in Deerfield, Streeter Pond in Sugar Hill, Tarleton Lake in Piermont, Tewksbury Pond in Grafton, Webster Lake in Franklin, and White Lake in Tamworth. Please note that there are other New Hampshire waterbodies open for year-round fishing in addition to those on this list.

“The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s hatcheries stock post-spawn brook and brown trout into selected waterbodies without a

Page 65 closed season before winter. These fish can range from 2 to 3 pounds each.

Numbers, dates, and stocking locations vary annually. I would encourage anglers of all skill levels to take advantage of this season’s stocked opportunities throughout New Hampshire when weather conditions are favorable and once the ice is safe,” said NH Fish and Game Inland Fisheries Division Chief Dianne Timmins.

“The Granite State’s rivers and streams open to fishing on January 1, and there are some quality fish to be caught in some of the tailwater fisheries such as the Newfound River,” continued Timmins. “When water levels are drawn down on larger lakes for the fall, prize-sized fish often drop down below dams creating opportunities for savvy winter anglers. This winter’s free fishing day is January 15, so why not try your luck through the ice this year.”

Northwoods Sporting Journal Offers A FREE DIGITAL COPY to All Active Duty Military Personnel Worldwide!

E CTIV A O Y ET FRE ILITAR M

In these troubled and divisive times for our country, we at the Northwoods Sporting Journal remain proud to be Americans. We still stand for the National Anthem and thank our lucky stars that we live in the land of the free.

And we still salute our military men and women, who have served and continue to serve their country, here at home and in faraway lands. To them we owe our gratitude and appreciation for what they do, and for safeguarding our American way of life, which we value deeply.

As a way of saying thank you, we make the digital versions of the Northwoods Sporting Journal past and current - available online to service people around the world. If you have a loved one or friend now serving on active duty in Iraq or Afghanistan, or anywhere else, please let them know that they have free access to our digital magazines at: www.sportingjournal.com

Page 66

Best Bassin’

by Bill Decoteau, Hampden, MA When it comes to mastering the technique of crankbaits, Major League Fishing Professional Touring Angler Mark Daniels Jr. is one of the very best!

Known for his ability to work lipless Rat-L-Trap lures through submerged trees without snagging.

Daniels took his accolades 2-steps deeper a few years ago with his crankbait design concept by developing his own signature Bill Lewis MDJ Series.

Starting with a shallow 3’-6’ Squarebill with a unique coffin shape circuit board lip. Mark Daniel’s second design concept the MR-6 incorporated internal weight transfer systems, flattened sides with tapering tail sections creating a tight wiggling action with enormous vibrations, diving to 6’ depths!

Having heard Bill Lewis Lures was launching a new Mark Daniels Jr. MR-12 signature series 12’ diving crankbait had me on the phone dialing Bill Lewis Lures direct! When my good friend Wes Higgins of Bill Lewis Lures/ Rat-L-Trap answered the phone I immediately replied, “How long has the Mark Daniels Jr. MR-12 crankbait process been in Research & Design, when is it going into production, and give me all the details...PLEASE?” (www.

Rat-L-Trap.com) When he finally stopped laughing Wes revealed his answers. “We were discussing the initial MR-12 design for over two-years. The twelve-foot diving MR-12 Series is the

Northwoods Sporting Journal

February 2022

Daniel’s New MR-12 Crankbait

to dive twice as deep as it’s little brother? Without hesitation and excitement in his voice, MDJ began to explain the anatomy of perfect expansion complihis signature series Bill ment to Mark’s six-foot Lewis Crankbaits. “It’s true diving MR-6 Series. Plus, the MR-6 and MR-12 look the MR-12 Series will be basically the same, sharing available for order mid-late January 2022.” Wes continued to enlighten my curiously, “The MR-12 crankbait utilizes the same body profile as the MR-6, weighs 3/4 oz., is 2.5 inches long and 3e49c49awill be available in twelve colors. All of which were specifically chosen by Mark Daniels Jr.” Being very familiar similar attributes such as; with the outstanding sucsame compact body profile cess of Mark Daniels Jr. with flattened sides and MR-6 crankbait series. It’s tapering tail section which ability to cast long distancimparts extreme vibration es, tight wobbling action, with a tight wiggling acincluding the fact the MDJ tion, internal weight transSeries are indeed a work of fer system for longer cast, art resembling the forage and duel Mustad size #4 they are imitating perfectly.

Triple Grip treble hooks.

I knew I needed to contact Plus, all my MDJ Series MDJ as soon as possible to crankbaits are perfectly gather additional informaweighted to rise slowly tion on his new MR-12! when paused and produce My first question a low-pitched knocking seemed simple enough? sound during the retrieve.”

“Mark, your MR-12 has Smiling, Mark Danthe same profile shape as iels Jr. continued, “With the your MR-6 which dives to exact same looking baits six-feet. What is the differin the MR-6 and MR-12, ence that allows the MR-12

the difference that allows the MR-12 to dive deeper are as follows: The MR-12 has a longer bill that runs straighter off the body allowing for quicker and deeper diving, the MR-12 weighs 3/4 oz. verses 1/2 oz. on the MR-6, the heavi-

er MR-12 can be cast further allowing the MR-12 a longer retrieval distance to reach it’s maximum diving depth.” Adding, “One of the things I love most about the MR-12 is the fact it gets down to depth very quick.

This allows the MR-12 to stay within the strike zone much longer and ultimately catching more fish!”

My second question related to balance tackle, rod-reel-line to achieve the best performance when cranking the MR-12. “I really like a graphite composite 7’ or 7’6” medium heavy action rod. This al-

At long last, revived from the archives of the once-authoritative books on New England streamer flies and how to use them: Trolling Flies for Trout & Salmon, by Dick Stewart and Bob Leeman.

Trolling Flies for Trout and Salmon was first published in 1982 and again in 1992. There were 350 signed Limited Edition hardcover copies and several thousand hard and soft cover copies sold out with the two printings. Many fly tyers view this book as an up-to-date version of new and available streamer fly patterns and crave to have it in their library. Used copies have been selling on AmazonBooks.com for the last few years with a price tag up to $300.00 for each copy! There are 125 pages with 32 color plates of more than 90 classic streamer flies and tying recipes from a Winnipesaukee Smelt to a Barney Google and a Rangeley Centennial. Leeman and Stewart also share with readers many tips and tactics for trolling streamer flies for trout and salmon throughout New England.

lows me to still be able to snap the MR-12 free from the grass while cranking, while the rod maintains a soft enough bend to where I don’t lose fish. It’s very easy to over work crankbaits, so I don’t recommend high-speed ratio reels. I suggest anglers use bait casting reels within a gear ratio of 6:1 but never over 7:1. My reel preference is a 6.8:1 gear ratio baitcasting reel, spooled with12-15 lb.

Seaguar Abrazx fluorocarbon.” (www.Seaguar.com) Mark Daniels Jr. revealed he likes to tie his line directly to a split ring connected to his MDJ Series crankbaits, and secures his line with a ‘Miller Knot’. (www.YouTube. com Mark Daniels Jr. Miller Knot) Follow MDJ throughout the 2022 MLF Season at www.majorleaguefishing.com God Bless and Best Bassin’ Billy “Hawkeye” Decoteau is an outdoor journalist with a strong passion for pursuing the (MR-12 cont. pg 67) Overhead Door Company of Bangor

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Send a check for $2 .95 SRVWDJH along with this ad, to: Bob Leeman, 22 Alan-A-Dale Rd., Brewer, ME 04412. (Price covers shipping and handling).

Maine Outdoor Publications

1-800-696-2235 56 Liberty Drive, Hermon www.overheaddoorofbangor.com

Northwoods Sporting Journal

February 2022

MR-12

Bass University weekend educational seminar pro(Cont. from pg 66) grams, as well as emceeing Black Bass. His activities benefit tournaments such include; emceeing The as Maine’s Annual May

Special Olympics Team Tournament, Fishing For Freedom, and working with the USO.

SELLERS LANE

BUYERS ROAD

Page 67

Happy Valentines Day! REAL ESTATE

SELLERS LANE

BUYERS ROAD

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Possible Owner Financing. $44,900

Lakeville- Lots of well wooded land.

This cute cabin is located at the end of a private road with no through traffic on Spaulding Pond Rd. Situated in a wonderful area for many of Northern Maine’s recreational activities. Ready for you today. $70,000

Grand Falls- This cabin was landed on this lot two years ago and ready to finish off and use.

This 41 acre lot sits high on a hill with great views on Lord Brook Rd. ATV and snowsled from this location. Take a look. $79,000

Prentiss TWPSitting on 43 acres in a nice wildlife area, the cabin has been lived in, year round, the past few years right on Rosewood Haven. Put the work into removing the mold, put down a floor & turn this into a nice, little hunting cabin. $49,900

Mattamiscontis TWP- Nice 2 plus acre lot on the Penobscot River. Driveway has been installed.

Enjoy all this water front lot has to offer. $39,900 Mattamiscontis TWP- Nice 2 plus acre lot on the Penobscot River. The lot has a driveway installed. Enjoy all this lot has to offer. $39,900 Lincoln- Nice year round waterfront lot on Folsom Pond. There is an informal road association that has maintained the road. Electricity is at the street. Take a look today. $67,500 Burlington- A nice, seasoned driveway and a 16’x24’ concrete pad. Madagascal Pond is a good warm water fishery and excellent direct access to ATV and snowmobile trails. $79,000

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 68

SELLERS LANE

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#8441-N. Anson; Beautiful riverfront property. 9.5 acres with a gorgeous, level building site overlooking a bend in the Carrabassett River. Build your home back off the road for privacy. Easy access to the snowmobile trail. $125,000.

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BUYERS ROAD

REAL ESTATE

February 2022

SELLERS LANE

BUYERS ROAD

"LOOKING FOR TOP $ DOLLAR ON YOUR CAMP IN THE NORTH MAINE WOODS CALL CHUCK TODAY, WE HAVE BUYERS READY TO PULL THE TRIGGER."

February 2022 SELLERS LANE

BUYERS ROAD

Northwoods Sporting Journal

REAL ESTATE

Page 69

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Enjoy Maine's Vacation-land!

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Wonderful rustic camp on 3+/- acres with 300' frontage on beautiful Gammon Pond just waiting for your finishing touches. The cabin is insulated and the interior walls up. Electric on road not far from structure. If you are looking to get away from it all this cabin is waiting for you. $155,000.

janet@csmrealestate.com

Houlton Office 207-532-4500 Hermon Office 207-605-0556 Scot Walker, Broker

P.O. Box 628 Main Street Machias, ME 04654

SUNRISE REALTY

WHITNEYVILLE:This is a great little camp on the Northfield Road where you can go and just relax. Camp sits surrounded by woods and has a driveway already in. There is a dug well and a privy, so this makes this a great get away. Close to Six Mile Lake and close to the Machias area.

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For all your recreational needs!

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CATHANCE TWP: This 1970's manufactured home is in poor condition. It was broken into, and they took, all the pipes, so it needs all new pipes and electric work and pump for the well. This older manufactured sits on 3.7 acres and is very close to the Cathance Lake public landing where you can go fishing or just take a nice boat ride and enjoy the views. Very reasonable price of only $45,000.

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Ashland

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Bethel

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636 Hammond Street

10 Mechanic Street

201 Northport Ave

824-2102 338-2930 786-2220 435-6940 947-3396 325 Center Street 11 Main Street Blue Hill

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38 Main Street

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374-2090 469-7903 498-2707 746-5204 645-3532 16A Access Road

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551 Maine Avenue

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323 North Street

Lewiston

Lisbon

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Mexico

Milbridge

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264 Lisbon Street

312 Dublin Street

236 Maine Street

69 N. Main Street

Oxford

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