Northwoods Sporting Journal, May 2021

Effrett Scares Bully & Nerman With .45 While Fiddleheading May 2021 Only

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May 2021

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Arctic Char: An Underappreciated Species

Native to Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont; as well as Alaska, Canada and Europe, the only place Arctic char can still be found in the contiguous United States is Maine.

The Arctic char of New Hampshire and Vermont, known as Sunapee trout at the time, succumbed to nonnative lake trout introductions, which hybridized Only 12 Maine ponds still have Arctic char. them out of existence.

(Photo by Bob Mallard) Now extinct from Known locally as While char may have red New Hampshire and Verblueback trout, Maine’s spots like brook trout, they mont, Maine’s Arctic char rarest interior salmonid is never have blue halos. are the southernmost wild rarely caught or even seen Their tails are forked, but native populations in the by the average angler, in- not as pronounced as lake world, and said to be the cluding, and especially fly trout. In the fall, Arctic oldest strains in North fishers. Once believed to be Native to Maine, New Hampshire and a relative of the fabled Sunapee trout found in New Vermont; as well as Alaska, Canada and Europe, the only place Arctic char can Hampshire and Vermont, DNA has shown that they still be found in the contiguous United were the same species: States is Maine.

Arctic char, or Salvelinus char turn a brilliant orange America. alpinus oquassa.

Known as blueback Arctic char are closely that would make even the most colorful brook trout trout at the time, Arctic char related to brook trout and were the primary forage lake trout. They are longer look drab. lived than the former, and shorter lived than the latter. Behaviorally, they are closer to lake trout than brook trout. Aesthetically, char can resemble either, depending on where and when you encounter them.

While Arctic char average less than a foot in length, they can get larger, including the current Maine state record of just over twentyfive inches and more than five pounds.

Arctic char have orange fins tipped in white like a brook trout. They have yellowish spots on their flank like brook trout and lake trout, but lack the vermiculation found on the upper back of the former.

Page 3

Native Fish Talk

by Bob Mallard, Skowhegan, ME for the large “humpback” brook trout of Rangeley lore. They were lost in the early 1900’s to angler exploitation and the introduction of landlocked salmon and smelts, which competed with them for food and space, and preyed on them.

There are just twelve populations of wild native Artic char left in Maine: Bald Mountain Pond, Big Reed Pond, Black Pond,

Deboullie Pond, Floods Pond, Gardner Pond, Green Lake, Penobscot Lake, Pushineer Pond, Rainbow Lake, Wadleigh Pond, and Wassataquoik Lake. There are two nonnative populations as well: Enchanted Pond and Long Pond.

Floods Pond is closed to fishing. Big Reed and Wadleigh ponds were recently reclaimed due to invasive smelt introductions.

(Species cont. pg 20)

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

The Sportin’ Journal

On The Cover

Effrett Scares Bully & Nerman With .45 While Fiddleheading - Pg 6 The Early Hatch - Pg 34 Deer Hunter Survey - Pg 15 Best Trolling Flies - Pg 31 The Fabled Fisher - Pg 17 Camps, Cottages and Land for Sale - Pg 67

Contents

3. Native Fish Talk - Bob Mallard 5. Outdoors in Maine - V. Paul Reynold 6. The Adventures Of Me & Joe - Bob Cram 9. Muzzleloading Afield - Al Raychard 10. “A Hiker’s Life” - Carey Kish 12. Northwoods Sketchbook - Mark McCollough 13. Warden’s Words - Game Warden Kale O’Leary 16. The Gun Cabinet - John Floyd 17. What’s in Your Woods - Bud Utecht 18. Outdoor Sporting Library - Jeremiah Wood 19. Aroostook Woods & Water - Mike Maynard 22. The Bird Perch - Karen Holmes 24. Question Of The Month - Roman Morse 25. Maine Outdoors Adventure - Rich Yvon 26. Ramblings From T8-R9 - Benjamin Rioux 28. South Of The Kennebec - Stu Bristol 30. Basics Of Survival - Joe Frazier 31. “Just Fishing” - Bob Leeman 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 38. Fly Fishing - Joe Bertolaccini 39. Old Tales From The Maine Woods - Steve Pinkham 40. Cookin’ With New England’s WildCheff - Denny Corriveau 42. The Northwoods Bowhunter - Brian Smith 43. Maine Tails - Jonah Paris 44. Marsh Island Chronicles - Matt Dunlap 45. The Tyer’s Corner - Hugh Kelly 47. Against The Current - Bob Romano 48. New Hampshire Outdoors - Peter St. James 49. On Point - Paul Fuller 50. Vermont Ramblings - Dennis Jensen 51. Outdoors In Vermont - Gary Moore 52. Green Mountain Report - Bradley Carleton 56. On The Prowl - Justin Merrill 57. The Back Shelf - Ray Dillon 58. The Singing Maine Guide - Randy Spencer 60. The Fur Shed - Blake Dougherty 62. Women In The Woods - Erin Merrill 63. The Trail Rider - Rod Fraser 64. Mass Wanderings - David Willette 65. Kineo Currents - Suzanne AuClair 66. Post-Script From Pocasset - Josh Reynolds

Other Great Stories & Information

8. Editorial/Letters 14. Outdoor News 41. Trading Post 45. Carroll’s Corner - Carroll Ware 67. Real Estate

May 2021

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 28 Issue 5 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, 2021. 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.

Deer Survey pg 15 Question Of The Month - Pg 24

By Roman Morse

The Northwoods Bowhunter- Pg 42

By Brian Smith

Cover Photo:

Sporting Journal columnist Bob Mallard on a river in the Rangeley area. (Photo by Travis Parlin) Muzzleloading Afield - Pg 9

By Al Raychard

What’s In Your Woods - Pg 17

by Bud Utecht

May 2021

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Doe Permits: Getting It Right

For many years, Maine wildlife biologists have depended upon hunters to help manage the state’s deer population.

er, said this: “Compensating for a lower doe harvest and non-use of permits are very related issues. We’re issuing a lot of permits and

committee, his bill to address this issue, along with some others, have been sent to a working group for exploration and reconciliation.

It’s not easy to influence a deer hunter’s decision process, even with targeted policy changes.

Page 5

Outdoors In Maine

by V. Paul Reynolds, Ellsworth, ME back to basics: Give doe permit applicants just one choice for a hunt zone, not multiple choices. Last fall, for example, I drew a third choice doe permit, but in an area that I didn’t know well, and where I could not

lie in the instant harvest data that is now available to wildlife biologists from the tagging station activity.

Would this not allow doe permit regulators to “fine tune” the doe take as the season progresses? Bieber

Nathan Bieber, the current deer research leader, said this: “Compensating for a lower doe harvest and non-use of permits are very related issues. We’re issuing a lot of permits and not seeing a proportional increase in doe harvest, which can only happen if a lot of permits aren’t being used.”

As a rule, the State wildlife biologists issue 10 any-deer permits for each doe they would like removed from the herd.

(Photo by V. Paul Reynolds) The issuance of any-deer (doe) permits through a lottery system or draw has been relied upon to regulate doe harvest numbers. Each year, state biologists, using time-tested data, work out a calculus and decide how many does need to be harvested to either reduce doe numbers or allow them to increase.

According to retired deer research leader, Gerry Lavigne, who was on the ground floor for the debut of the any-deer (doe permit system), more than a quarter century ago, the Department issued four doe permits for every doe needed to be harvested. Today, that ratio is markedly different: the Department issues 10 or more doe permits in order to harvest one doe.

What’s going on here?

What is causing this doepermit inflation?

Nathan Bieber, the current deer research lead-

not seeing a proportional increase in doe harvest, which can only happen if a lot of permits aren’t being used.”

You got it. Too many deer hunters are putting in for doe permits but holding out for that dream buck!

This is making it increasingly difficult to scientifically manage Maine’s deer population. Beiber says, “Inflating permit numbers to try and reach high doe harvest objectives has been hit-or-miss lately. Issuing a then-record number of permits in 2018 led to us slightly exceeding our doe harvest objective for the first time in a long while; issuing an againrecord number for 2020 did not do this.”

So how do you fix this? There is, excuse the pun, no silver bullet. According to State Rep. Scott Landry, who chairs the legislative fish and wildlife

Some states deal with this by requiring hunters to first take a doe before they get a buck permit. This would find rough sledding in Maine. A good first step to deal with this doe-permit inflation might be to get

find any non-posted land on which to hunt. My permit was wasted. Additionally, too, bonus permits and Superpack options may be compounding the problem.

Something tells me that a partial solution may

sees problems with this inasmuch as tagging station data on sex and age has been historically flawed, which could lead to unscientific choices being made in mid-stream during the (Permits cont. pg 29)

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

The Adventures of Me and Joe

May 2021

The Fiddleheaders

by Bob Cram, (Alias T.J. Coongate) Medway, ME

“The thing about fiddleheads is…” Effrett Qualms smiled, with an almost beatific radiance on his cherubic face, “not only does they taste sooo good…they keeps yer reg’lar!”

Me and Joe looked at one another. Joe cleared his throat. “By reg’lar, you mean…”

“You know…in the outhouse,” Effrett continued. “’Course that green tingle kin be worrisome, but it’s all part of nature’s plan.”

“Effrett,” I said carefully, “how often do you eat fiddleheads in the springtime?”

“Oh, when they’s in season, I eat ‘um most ever meal!” Effrett said, nodding his small round head emphatically. “My momma allus said, ‘when the fresh greens comes up in the spring, you fill right up on ‘um, Effrett. It’ll clean yer out an’ fix what ails yer.’

An’ by golly, she’s right!

‘Course, it leaves yer quite wan…”

“I bet it does,” Joe said. “Why, if I et fiddleheads every meal, I couldn’t walk straight fer

a…”

“By the way, Eff,” I broke in. “When you plan on going picking? Bully Hudgins says they’re coming up real good on the flats upriver.”

“Well…see…that’s what I come to see yer for,” Effrett said, rubbing the wispy white hair alongside his head nervously.

“My canoe, she’s outta service right now. It was porkypines, is what it were.”

“Porkypines?” Joe said, looking thoughtful “Yessir! Them porkies come outta hibernation an’ the first thing they go fer is some wood that’s salty, you know, like where you put yer sweaty hands. Got inter my shed an’ gnawed up a paddle an’ a axe handle, an’ then they took to gnawin’ on my canoe where I puts my hands on the gunnels portagin’ and getting in an’ out an’ sech. Ate a hole right down inter the side, they did. Now, I kin fix it with fiberglass an’ some wood, but I got to wait ‘til the temperature gits higher so’s it’ll set up proper. In the mean time, I got no way to git up to the fiddlehead flats an I was wonderin’ if

As the squirming snake arced through the air toward the river, Effrett turned the big gun toward it, held back the trigger, and fanned the hammer. The repeated boom, boom, booms from the heavy cartridges echoed up and downstream.

I could bum a ride?”

The three of us sat in hand-made rockers on Joe’s cabin porch on a particularly mild afternoon in the middle of May. Effrett perched on the edge of his rocker, hands clasped together, an earnest expression on his wizened face.

He looked for all the world like a displaced garden gnome who had changed into green pants and shirt and shaved his beard.

“Don’t see why not,

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.

Eff,” Joe said agreeably.

“We was plannin’ on goin’ pickin’ tomorrow anyway.

Why don’t you meet us at the landin’ in town tomorrow mornin’ about 7:00 an’ we’ll head up the river. Bring yer pack basket along an’ we should be able to fill ‘er up in no time.”

Effrett grinned broadly and stood up, putting his old felt hat back on his head. “Thanks a heap, fellers. I’ll bring my pack an’ my gun an’ we’ll be good ter go.”

“Gun?” I said. “What you taking a gun along for, Eff? Can’t hunt much except coyotes this time of year and I doubt we’ll see any of them on the fiddlehead flats.”

“It’s fer snakes,” Effrett said, a dark look coming into pale blue eyes.

“It’s the only thing about fiddleheadin’ I hate. They’s always snakes on them

fiddlehead flats.” “ We l l , I ’ l l a d m i t there’s a garter snake or two from time to time, especially when a lot of flies come out. But often you don’t see any.”

“I allus kill ‘um! Kill ‘um all!” Effrett said in a gravelly voice, his face turning slightly pale.

“Eff, they won’t hurt you,” I continued. “They’re just garter snakes and, anyway, they eat up bugs and mice and…”

“You bring along a gun, Eff, if that makes yer feel better,” Joe said with a warning look in my direction. Effrett had turned even paler and started to sweat. “Why, they’s things that bother me too. Lions, fer instance. Ever time I think about lions, my heart starts pumpin’ an’ I start lookin’ over my shoulder.”

(Me & Joe cont. pg 7)

May 2021

Me & Joe

(Cont. from pg 6) “Ain’t no lions arount here,” Effrett said cautiously, peering about as though one of the big cats might suddenly edge around the corner.

“An’ a good thing, too!” Joe agreed emphatically. “If they was, I’d be carryin’ a gun along ever time I went outdoors! You jest bring along yer gun an’ we’ll see you at the landin’ tomorrow mornin’.”

After Effrett left I glanced over at Joe and smiled. “Lions?”

“Everybody’s got some kinda hangup,” he said shifting to a more comfortable position and reaching for his cup of tea sitting on a projection log. “For a lot of folks, it’s snakes. If it makes Eff feel more comfortable to bring along a .22 to pop a snake with, it ain’t a big thing.

We prob’ly won’t see any of the slitherin’ little devils anyway.”

The edible ferns known as fiddleheads, for the first green shoots’ resemblance to the head of a violin, are among the first potable plants to appear in a Maine spring. Sprouting in wild profusion on the flat floodplains bordering rivers and streams, fiddleheads grow into large ferns in a few days time. When they first appear, however, the green shoots are tightly curled and hard. Boiled or steamed, with butter added, they taste somewhat like asparagus, but without that vegetable’s tendency to be woody. Many Maine residents look forward to fiddleheading time each year for the chance to gather fresh greens and also to freeze or can large amounts of the fern for fall winter consumption.

Northwoods Sporting Journal

At the public landing on the Little Salt Pork River in Mooseleuk the next morning, me and Joe slid his 20-food Old Town Guide’s Model canoe into the water and turned it sideways to the shoreline.

Several other pickers were also launching boats and canoes for the trip upstream to the fiddlehead flats. As Joe mounted his 4 horsepower Johnson outboard to the side mount, I watched Effrett Qualms totter down toward the landing dragging a huge packbasket along behind. If he filled that basket, he’d have more than enough fiddleheads for the year. Then I noticed the big holster on his hip.

“What the heck you got in the holster, Eff?” I asked. “That doesn’t look like any .22. Looks more like a cannon.”

Joe looked over and his eyes widened. “It’s a .45, ain’t if Eff?” “She’s a Smiff an’ Wessing Model of 1917,” he said proudly, peering down at the big revolver.

“Chambered fer .45 Colt Automatic. My grandaddy, Ivesom, brought it back with ‘im from France after World War I. She’s a beauty!”

“King of a big bullet fer a garter snake, ain’t it Eff?” The little man scowled and his face darkened. “I don’t want none of ‘um gitten away wounded,” he muttered.

We piled our packs into the canoe and Joe positioned Effrett on a folding canoe seat just ahead of the center thwart. As I pushed us away from shore with my paddle, a 14-foot aluminum boat pulled alongside, its big outboard idling.

Bully Pickens smirked at us from the rear seat while his buddy, Nerman Mimic

smiled vacantly.

“Why, Effrett…what you doin’ in that canoe?”

Bully asked in mock surprise. “We done offered to take you along with us jist yesterday. Didn’t we, Nerman?”

“Yup, yup, we did!”

Nerman’s head bobbed enthusiastically up and down. “And he said, he said, nosiree, he wasn’t goin’ nowhere with us, ever. Yup, that’s what he said, ain’t it Bully?”

“Shut up, Nerman,” Bully said mildly.

“Headin’ up to the flats again?” Joe asked to break up the sudden tension. “Heard the fiddleheads are up real good.”

Bully continued to stare at Effrett, but he replied easily to Joe’s question. “Yup, gonna get us a few more quarts. They’re up real good an’ it don’t take long to fill a basket.”

His smirk widened at Ef-

frett’s obvious attempt to ignore him and stare out at the river.

“Eff, you sure you don’t wanna ride along with us? Be a lot faster.”

“No, I don’t wanna go with you. I tolt you that yestiddy.” Effret folded his arms across his scrawny chest and looked straight ahead. “All you do is make fun of me an’ whack me up side of the head fer sport.”

“Why Effrett,” Bully looked affronted and slapped a hand to his chest “You can’t be serious!

Them is jest friendly pats… kinda like love taps, is all.

Ain’t that right Nerman?”

Nerman began to giggle, snorting phlegm from one nostril. “Thass right, Bully,” he brayed. “Love taps! Thass a good one!”

“Won’t be any love taps today,” Joe said evenly, and I caught the hard glint in his eye.

Bully just waved a

Page 7

hand. “Aw, we’re only funnin’. We’ll see you all up on the flats. Don’t want yer ta have any ‘qualms’ about that.” Nerman laughed out loud as Bully opened the throttle and the boat gunned out into the current, leaving our canoe bobbing in its wake. As we drifted, Joe looked at Effrett in the middle of the canoe.

“Bully been givin’ you a hard time, Eff?” Effrett sighed and watched the fast-moving boat. “No more than usual.

He was a bully all through school an’ he’s still a bully to anyone smaller than him.

I guess you jest git used to it.”

“Shouldn’t have to.”

Joe turned to the motor and advanced the throttle. “You jest stick with us today, Eff. Won’t be no trouble.” He gave the cord a pull and the little outboard stuttered to life. We moved slowly out (Me & Joe cont. pg 11)

Page 8

Northwoods Sporting Journal

May 2021

New Fish and Wildlife Laws

Batten down the hatches, secure the anchor detail and dog down all doors, rig for heavy weather! The Maine State Legislature is back in session. The Legislative Documents (proposed laws) are working their way through the “democratic machinery” with a vengeance.

The unanswerable question is always on our lips: Will these new laws actually improve our lives, or simply make things more complicated and life less free?

In the narrow scope of fish and wildlife laws alone, there are enough new proposed laws to fill a book.

For example, here are a few that stand out: 1. Called the 100 yard archery bill, this one, not unlike the firearms law, would prohibit hunting with a bow within 100 yards of a dwelling. Word is that the bill as framed would exempt bow practice and bow hunters in the Expanded Archery Zone for deer.

2. Hunters 65 and older would automatically get an any-deer (doe) permit.

3. A bill that would establish a two-bear

Better Water Ahead To the Editor: I’m a former Mainer in Montana 30 years now.

Great to hear about the Atlantic salmon recovery effort. Used to fish the Bangor Salmon Pool back when the first salmon went to POTUS. The best water’s still ahead.

Kimball Leighton Livingston, Montana

Sunday Hunting To the Editor: I just read the Sunday hunting ban article .

Please, give many of us who like to hike and walk

limit for all statewide bear hunters.

4. A bill that would allow all successful turkey hunters to tag their harvest electronically online. No trips to the tagging station required.

5. A bill that would eliminate the moose permit option that allows licensed lodges to outright purchase moose hunting permits for some clients.

6. A bill that would have legalized deer baiting during the deer season.

Of course, these bills are all in various stages of the legislative process- some won’t even get out of committee, or make it to the floor for a vote. Some will become law.

Bill number six above caught my attention. Sponsored by Rep. Peter Lyford of Eddington, the supporting rationale was that it leveled the playing field for hunters who did not own land or space for deer feeding plots. Interesting issue. Of the 50 states, only 22 allow deer baiting. New Hampshire allows some deer baiting by special permits. None of the remaining

(with or without kids & day thru Friday, I looked dogs), a day not to worry, forward to the weekend, each week. same as everyone else.

There seems to be some Helga Heyck kind of hunting season all Winthrop thru the year. I am never worried about getting shot while hiking most of the Sunday Hunting year. I am not worried during deer archery week or To the Editor: V. Paul Reynolds’ ar- deer black powder week. ticle on bringing back Sun- I am, however, very conday Hunting was thought cerned during deer rifle provoking. You admit to season.

I’ll allow that the very being on the fence (kudos to you!). Just as an FYI, I vast majority of hunters very much enjoy venison, are very capable and remoose, and bear, but I am sponsible, assuring themnot a hunter. Occasionally, selves of what they are I receive some from friends shooting at and beyond.

But.... when do you see and am very grateful.

Here are my thoughts the stories of someone beon Sunday hunting. When ing accidentally shot while I was a working stiff, Mon- hunting? Is it during Tur-

New England states permit deer baiting.

Not sure where you come down on this issue. There are pros and cons. At press time, it appeared that the bill would not pass muster with the Fish and Wildlife Legislative Committee. Perhaps this is as it should be. Wildlife officials said that if it became law they would have to shorten the deer season!

There are other bills with a fish and wildlife connection. Providing public input is not as simple as it used to be before Covid, but there is an online conduit for public comment.

A good way to keep your ear to the ground is to cultivate a connection with your respective representative of the Fish and Wildlife Advisory Council. (Names and contact info is available on the state Fish and Wildlife website). The Council is not only a good source of up-to- date information, it is the final gatekeeper when it comes to state Fish and Wildlife regulations.

- VPR

key season? Squirrel season? I think we both know the answer to this question. It is deer rifle season.

I don’t know what percentage of Maine hunts and doesn’t hunt, but I like one day of the weekend available to the non hunters at this cool brisk time of year. And one day for the hunters. Sounds fair to me. Now that I am retired, I pretty much stay out of the woods Monday thru Saturday during deer rifle season, having only Sunday, one day out of 7 available to me. About now, I feel like I am not getting my fair share of the equation.

I am well aware of the odds of (being shot at)

are very low, but the odds are even so much better if I am not in the woods during deer rifle season. I take a good hard look and ask myself, do I really need to be in the woods during deer rifle season? There is always Sunday, where I can get my fill to hold me over for another week.

Anyways, just wanted to share my point of view on the mater.

Bob McQueeny, Jr

Hunting on Sunday Long Overdue To the Editor: The time has come to (Letters cont. pg 23)

May 2021

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Ah, Those Little Brooks

Many of you reading these words will be thinking about the spring turkey season and no doubt actively in the pursuit of a gobbler or two. I will be, too. Nearly every state throughout New England and the eastern U.S. holds

set up, it doesn’t take long to kills bird or two. It typically happens within a few hours of the opener. Here in this wildlife management district the spring bag limit is two bearded birds, but I rarely kill the limit.

One large tom is more

on these small runs as a boy. I eventually got away from them fly fishing for larger trout and other species in larger streams and rivers and lakes and ponds.

Casting flies in these waters became a passion that I lived for. A few years ago a friend telephoned

Page 9

Muzzleloading Afield

by Al Raychard, Lyman, ME

through a riffle or tumbled over a small drop in the landscape and emptied into a tea-colored pool. I liked the intimacy, the closeness of the surrounding landscape as it came alive

than lakes and ponds.

Since then I’ve tried to get on a brook or two every spring and I still love them. You might want to give one a try. It might make you feel like a kid

Looking back, I think one of the main reasons I got hooked on brook fishing as a kid was the sound of moving water.

There’s was just something soothing, hypnotic even as the water gently babbled through a riffle or tumbled over a small drop in the landscape and emptied into a tea-colored pool.

Al grew up fishing small brooks and trout runs, something he still enjoys and finds time for each spring. their spring season this than enough for a pot pie month. After a year of liv- and still have some for the ing with the corona virus freezer for a later date.

So, with my turkey pandemic, during which things pretty much came hunting typically over earto a standstill, my guess ly, it leaves plenty of time is more hunters than usual for other outdoor pursuits. have a hankering to get into One I enjoy most these the woods. So don’t be sur- days is trout fishing small prised to see more activity brooks and streams. Some years, depending upon late in the turkey woods.

I don’t know about winter snow conditions and other hunters who hunt spring rains, water levels elsewhere, but we have can be high and cold here tons of birds in my neck in early May. But spring of the woods. We see them arrived early this year and practically every day. by most indications water Just this morning we had conditions are lower than six long beards peck their normal. They should be way across the back lawn about perfect by the time like they owned the place. apple blossom time rolls I enjoy going out on the around later this month. If front porch around day you don’t mind beating the break with a cup of coffee bushes and fighting off deer in hand and listen to birds ticks and growing hordes making a ruckus from their of hungry mosquitoes and roost. It’s music to the ears. black flies, there’s lots of Because my friends and I joy to be had fishing these hunt my own wood lot sur- small waters, something I rounding the house, know almost forgot about. the terrain and where to I cut my angling teeth

and asked if I wanted to go brook fishing. I didn’t have much to do the next day so I said why not. It reminded me what I had been missing.

Looking back, I think one of the main reasons I got hooked on brook fishing as a kid was the sound of moving water.

There’s was just something soothing, hypnotic even as the water gently babbled

with spring. I cherished the peacefulness, the quiet except for the moving water, birds singing and a breeze in the trees. At some point, whether I caught trout or not, and even though the ones I did catch were small enough to hold in the palm of your hand, it really didn’t matter. It was the place that counted and undoubtedly is why even today I prefer fishing moving water more

again.

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

Page 10

Northwoods Sporting Journal

“A Hiker’s Life”

May 2021

Maine’s Perfect Day Hike

by Carey Kish, Mt. Desert Island, ME Route 113 weaves back and forth along the Maine–New Hampshire border between Fryeburg and Gilead for 30 miles, threading a route through some of the prettiest mountain country in New England. Between Stow and U.S. Route 2, the road

est Service. East of Evans Notch is the CaribouSpeckled Mountain Wilderness, a 14,000-acre gem encompassing Caribou, Red Rock, Butters, Durgin, Speckled, Ames and Blueberry mountains, Spruce Hill and a handful of trailless summits.

My top pick for a day hike in the Wilderness is Caribou Mountain, a trek I’ve made at least a couple dozen times over the years. slices through the White Mountain National Forest, where a bounty of foot trails leads deep into the wild and rugged country that characterizes this region.

The Maine section of the WMNF includes 49,000 acres of the sprawling 728,000-acre forest managed by the U.S. For-

Established in 1990, the Wilderness is home to a dozen trails and 25 miles of great hiking possibilities as well as a good measure of solitude. It’s one of my favorite hiking areas in Maine, especially come the cool weather and colorful foliage of autumn.

My top pick for a day hike in the Wilderness is

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The Caribou Mountain range. (Photo courtesy of Carey Kish) Caribou Mountain, a trek I’ve made at least a couple dozen times over the years.

The mountain has all the elements of a perfect day hike: two clear and cold streams, a waterfall with a swimming hole, extensive open edges and incredible summit views, all reached via a loop hike of moderate mileage. The half-day’s walk allows plenty of other time for a leisurely drive to and from the trailhead, sightseeing in the Evans Notch area, and perhaps some good chow and a cold brew after the hike.

From Route 113, start up the mountain on Caribou Trail, which follows Morrison Brook to Kees Falls, a narrow 25-foot cascade that drops into a mossy grotto. The brook is crossed a half-dozen times before the saddle between Caribou and Gammon Mountain is reached. Turn right onto Mud Brook Trail and climb to the summit ledges in another half-mile.

The 2,850-foot peak of Caribou rewards hikers with a nearly 360-degree panorama that takes in the Mahoosuc, Carter-Moriah and Presidential ranges,

Mount Royce, Baldface, Speckled Mountain, Pleasant Mountain, Mount Kearsarge, Mount Blue, Tumbledown, Bigelow and Sugarloaf, and countless more peaks and valleys. It’s an amazingly scenic perch for such modest effort, one that will have you lingering for some time.

Little-known fact: Two brothers shot the last caribou in the region on the mountain in 1854, hence the name.

While you’re celebrating the view and lamenting the demise of the woodland caribou, be sure to tip your hat to the Wilderness Act that marks its 55th anniversary this year. Signed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964, it immediately designated 9.1 million acres of national forest land as areas “where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.”

Since the Wilderness Act became law, more than 100 million acres have been preserved with this designation that protects extraordinary natural

resources, promotes opportunities for challenge and solitude, and prohibits motor equipment or mechanical transportation.

From the top of Caribou, plenty more of our Northeast wilderness with a capital “W” is within eyeball range, starting with the Wild River Wilderness just west in New Hampshire. In and around Mount Washington, the Great Gulf Wilderness protects the largest cirque in the White Mountains, while the Presidential Range–Dry River Wilderness protects Oakes Gulf and the headwaters of the Dry River. Farther southwest are the Pemigewasset and Sandwich Range wilderness areas.

Two other federal wilderness areas are found in Maine, in the Baring and Edmunds land units of the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge near Calais.

When you’re ready to move along, continue on Mud Brook Trail over more ledges before dropping down to meet Mud Brook, which is followed most of the way back to the trailhead.

Northwoods Sporting Journal

May 2021

Me & Joe

(Cont. from pg 7) into the river and headed upstream.

The fiddlehead flats stretched for miles up along the river, but some places were better than others and me and Joe had our favorite spot. Others liked the location, too, and as we pulled in to shore, I noted six or seven other people bent over and picking already. The rich area of bottomland in this spot was five or six hundred yards long and reached nearly five hundred yards back to the higher ground toward the east. Huge silver maples and red oaks grew in broadly spaced clumps and the fiddleheads showed a bright green against the dead brown grass and litter of the flats.

We grabbed our pack baskets and spread out across the open ground,

snapping off the new growth of ferns and dropping them into the baskets.

I noted to my annoyance that Bully and Nerman were picking just upstream from us.

Suddenly, Bully stood upright and stared at Effrett. “Say, Eff, What’s that you got on yer hip? Looks like a gun. Look, Nerman, ol’ Eff’s got him a gun.

Must be to fend of folks like us, huh?”

“That’s gotta be it, Bully, yup!” Nerman started snorting again. “Got ta be real skeert ta be packin’ a shootin’ iron.”

“It’s just for snakes,” I said impatiently. “Effrett doesn’t like snakes.” And immediately, I realized I’d said the wrong thing.

“Oh, little Effy don’t like them awful snakes?”

Bully asked in a crooning voice. “Them snakes prob’ly pick on him, too.

Garter snakes ain’t nothin’

to be feared of, but I guess when yore skeered of everying, snakes kin be pretty fearsome.” Nerman’s giggling grew louder and he slumped on a stump, holding his sides and then wiping his nose on a sleeve.

Joe sighed. “Come on, Eff, let’s pick down this way.” He led the way a hundred yards downstream.

An hour went by, then another. Blackflies buzzed around our heads and I stopped to apply a fresh coat of repellent. The picking was some of the best I’d ever seen and my pack basket was nearly full. I glanced over and saw that Joe’s was brimming as well. Effrett, picking more slowly and watching carefully for snakes, had less than half of his basket full.

Suddenly a shuffling sounded came from upstream and I looked over to see Bully coming toward

Page 11

us with Nerman a short distance behind. Bully had the smirk back on his face and held one hand behind his back. I knew what was coming. So did Joe and he took a step toward Bully, but he wasn’t fast enough.

“Looky here, Eff,” Bully crowed. “I fount one of yer little friends. Say hello to ol’ slither, here!” From behind his back he swung a 3-foot garter snake, it’s tail clutched in his fingers.

The fat snake writhed and squirmed, trying to escape, its forked tongue darting out to test the air.

Effrett’s face was ashen, and he started to stumble backward.

“Lose the snake, Bully,” Joe growled. But Bully was on a roll and he was enjoying the sight of his prey cowering before him.

“Jest a little bitty snake, Eff. C’mon an’ give ‘im a little kiss. Maybe jest a snaky little lick?”

He shook the snake once more toward Effrett and then I saw the little man’s eye change. A look of firm resolve crossed his white feature. With one sweeping move of his right hand he drew the big revolver, brought it to waist level, and fired.

The .45 roared in the still air, the blast assailing the ears. Bully’s eyes bulged, his jaw dropped, and a shrill little scream squeaked out of his mouth.

He hurled the snake one way and dove for cover in the opposite direction. Nerman Mimic simply turned and ran.

As the squirming snake arced through the air toward the river, Effrett turned the big gun toward it, held back the trigger, and fanned the hammer.

The repeated boom, boom, booms from the heavy cartridges echoed up and (Me & Joe cont. pg 37)

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Sporting Journal Northwoods

Northwoods Sketchbook

May 2021

Mapping Adventure

good hunting or berry pickby Mark McCollough, ing areas, how to find our way and back from lands Hampden, ME far beyond the horizon, What shape is your camping equipment. Maps and where to locate each DeLorme Atlas in? Mine are gateways to adventure other at key times of the is loved to death. It lives and a projection of our year. In prehistoric times, under the truck seat and dreams. maps were a kind of long

ing on the mountainside conjures a bubbling mountain spring to cool off and fill our canteens. Lost in map-dreaming, we follow the dotted trail symbol,

necting a chain of nameless lakes by threads of wandering streams. Once in our canoes, we learned that not all streams were navigable! Beaver dams didn’t

A map is the greatest of all epic poems. Its lines and colors show the realization of great dreams.

-Gilbert Grosvenor, National Geographic is dog-eared, tattered, and scribbled on. Tucked between the pages are aerial photos, pressed scarlet maple leaves, and lists of

Humans have been dreaming and mapping for a long time. At some point in our evolution, we found the need to communicate

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distance “seeing,” an astral projection of the map maker as if viewing the landscape from high above the earth. Map readers instantly knew how to look at a map and do the same.

Long before there was writing there were maps.

A 25,000-year-old map from the Czech Republic is scratched into a mammoth tusk. It depicts the environs of immediate area around which it was found. Cave paintings in France from the same era depict maps of the stars. Rock carvings in Spain depict maps of hunting areas. Our earlyAmerican ancestors carved maps of the local area into their powder horns.

An excellent adventure begins with a spark, a conception, a “dreaming” perhaps while gazing into the coals of the campfire.

Maps are soon procured and spread across the table (or computer screen these days). We imagine the mountain’s jagged skyline, the roar of the rapids, and awe and wonder of being in new country.

We slip into the birdseye dreaming imagined by the ancients. Tightly clustered topographic lines turn into steep mountainsides.

We feel the trickle of sweat dripping down our backs and loose rocks under our boots. A blue line originat-

So many of our outdoor adventures got their beginning with a simple map.

(Ilustration by Mark McCollough) crest a treeless ridgetop, and imagine the feel of sunshine and wind on our face. We point to a spot on the map. The sparkling water of the trout pond should be visible from here. Many years later, the old, tattered map resurfaces, stained with the coffee that spilled in your rucksack the day you hiked to the trout pond.

Memories of surprising a black bear and the clouds of black flies (that weren’t map) come flooding back.

For most of my life, dreams of a wilderness backpacking or canoe trip began with a topographic map. I once planned a canoe trip across the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland. There was no Google Earth or GPS in 1989, only topographic maps. Map and compass skills from Boy Scouts served me well.

We plotted a 4-day trip con-

show up on topographic maps. We used unmapped caribou trails for portaging our canoes. Now those old maps and placenames revive memories of the trip.

The otters frolicking on Cape Pond. Spirited caribou trotting over the ridge above Bloody Pond. Bright Atlantic salmon leaping in silver arcs over the bow of the canoe on the Three Rivers chain of ponds. A stiff northern wind raising horse’s manes on “The Old Sea.” Yes, maps are made of dreams and memories.

All groups of ancient people, no matter what their level of technology, used maps to communicate, to turn a complex threedimensional landscape into a simple two-dimensional representation. After the mystical sea monsters are stripped from Christopher (Mapping cont. pg 27)

May 2021

Northwoods Sporting Journal

A Springtime Pinch

heard Warden Pilot Jeff Spencer coming over my location. It broke up the boredom some as I spoke with Pilot Spencer for a few minutes on the radio and advised him I would be sitting here for a while longer. He continued on his flight path north and I settled back into “A River Runs Through It”, when I heard a vehicle approach-

Page 13

Warden’s Words

by Game Warden Kale O’Leary, Ashland, ME ning rod and a blue worm container as he made his way over the bank to the stream. On his second cast, with the large gob of night crawlers, he landed a beautiful 16-inch brook trout.

I immediately began

and had a 75 yard walk to reach him at the bridge.

At this time, he brought the fish back to the pickup and was showing it off to his wife, when I believe they both saw the sign at the same moment. As I

As the man crossed the bridge in his truck, he accelerated quickly and looked in my direction as I waved my hands in a futile attempt to stop him. He was gone!

Photo of springtime canoe patrol on the Aroostook River.

My favorite time of restriction is in effect here the year has arrived in the to protect these fish, which North Maine woods as the are vulnerable at certain “peepers” are peeping, times of the year due to the days are getting lon- lack of water. They are ofger, snow is melting and ten forced into large pools anglers are out in search early on in the season. of Maine’s native brook It was a gorgeous aftrout. I will share in this ternoon with bright sun and article a somewhat humor- a fresh spring breeze. After ous story which involved taking in the beauty of the one angler not checking stream for several minutes, the law book and a pursuit I sat out my folding chair, that I found myself in this opened up a book and bepast spring. The story will gan eating a few snacks I also serve the dual purpose still had left over from my of reminding anglers to lunch, all while watching check the lawbook, check the bridge crossing in this the immediate area for location for anglers who signage warning of special may stop to wet a line. regulations applying and Another important to look around for a Game detail about this location is Warden frantically waving that I have placed two large his hands for you to stop! signs, one on each end It was a picture-per- of the bridge crossing to fect May afternoon, as I warn anglers. Furthermore, had settled into my spot to someone took yellow spray begin watching a fly fishing paint and wrote in large only stream, several miles letters “FLY FISHING west of Ashland. This par- ONLY” on the decking ticular stream is a headwa- of the bridge. Ignorance ter tributary of the Aroos- or not seeing the signs is took River and provides not a great excuse in this anglers a great fly-fishing location! opportunity to catch native I had sat here for close brook trout and salmon. A to an hour, with no anglers restrictive limit and gear stopping to fish when I

ing the bridge.

I heard the vehicle slow down and before long I could see the vehicle clearly and watched as it parked. A man got out of the driver’s side door and a woman stepped out from the passenger side. They had parked directly in front of the “Special Regulations Apply” sign I had just put out. I continued watching as the man grabbed a spin-

packing up my things as I did not want the man to continue catching the vulnerable trout in this location without using the proper gear in the form of a fly, plus if he did not know it was fly fishing only, he surely did not know he could only keep one fish over 12 inches here! To not compound his issues further, I made my way down over a steep embankment

continued trying to gain the distance to announce myself to the couple, I heard the doors close quickly, the truck start and the gravel fly from beneath the tires. As the man crossed the bridge in his truck, he accelerated quickly and looked in my direction as I waved my hands in a futile attempt to stop him. He was gone!

I instantly found my(Pinch cont. pg 17)

Page 14

Edited by V. Paul Reynolds May. The sweet of the year.

For the angler who likes to get after lake landlocks early, who loves to feel the bite of the wind on his face as his Grey Ghost Streamer fly trolls smartly through a brisk “salmon chop,” the sweet of the year may be late April or early May. The trout angler, on the other hand, who waits patiently to match the hatch with a #14 Parachute Adams, may not taste the sweet of the year ‘til late May or early June. The challenge for all fishermen, of course, is the timing: being there and having a line in the water when the sweet of the year comes calling.

At press time, spring is looking like it may debut early. But over the years we have seen that, when it comes to spring in Maine, expect anything.

The sweet of the year may catch you by surprise, so get the spring chores done, and be ready to get after those fish!

Tight lines.

Too Many Salmon

I spent most of last spring/summer in the shadow of Katahdin conducting a creel survey on Chesuncook Lake. I enjoy working there. I spent the summer of 1986 working out of a small tow-behind trailer (aka “The Tuna Can”) that was parked in the Allagash Gateway Campground. The fishing was terrific back then and I met a lot of good people. Some of them are still around. I remember measuring 18 to 20-inch salmon in the 2 to 3-pound

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Outdoor News - May 2021

range and a few smashers at the 4-pound mark. The fishing in the river below Rip Dam was also pretty impressive. Imagine a 4+ pound salmon gulping in your drifting caddis pattern then screaming off into that heavy Penobscot water. A lot of great action.

As I’ve written before, the conditions have changed at Chesuncook Lake and the West Branch of the Penobscot River.

Too many salmon and not enough forage (smelts) is the problem, and we are working diligently to get that fishery turned around.

We are putting in a lot of time and effort into research and monitoring of this fishery.

During “the good ole days”, we estimated up to 8,000 total days of fishing on the lake in a year.

This includes both summer and winter. We also estimated around 2,000 – 3,000 salmon were harvested during an average year. At the time, we were concerned with increasing use and harvest. That can strip a lake of the quality fish. New stricter regulations were implemented to protect the salmon fishery.

Shortly after that, the mills began to close in Millinocket. All those anglers that would scoot up the Golden Road and fish the lake were leaving. In general, we began to see less fishing pressure statewide too. The new regulations over-protected the salmon, they stockpiled, and growth began to decline. We liberalized the regulations quickly, but we are still working to get growth back to where it could be.

In 2017, we conducted summer and winter sur-

veys at Chesuncook Lake.

We estimated around 1,200 days of fishing on the lake for the entire year with a paltry 300 salmon harvested, ten times fewer than in the 1970s and 1980s! This was a formidable problem.

In 2018, we implemented a no size or bag limit on salmon under 16 inches to thin down the population. We maintained the 1 salmon limit on fish over 16 inches in an effort to maintain a few quality fish in the lake. We knew that we had to do two things that were directly related. First, we had to attract more people to the lake. The fishing can be very fast, especially in the winter. It’s pretty good, just a lot of fish in the 13 to 15inch range. Second, we had to get that annual harvest up to historic levels, maybe even higher for a few years just to get ahead of the growth problem.

We are making some headway. In 2018, we flew

mated over 1,500 salmon were removed with the new liberal regulations. This is good news. We are trending in the right direction, but we still need to increase use and harvest. The Memorial Day weekend salmon derby organized by the Natural Resource Education Center (NREC) in Greenville helps. We hope to make the spring derby bigger and attract more anglers.

We are encouraging anglers to keep all the smaller salmon they catch while fishing Chesuncook Lake. I know it’s tough sometimes to keep a 12 or 13-inch salmon, but the only way we dig ourselves out of this, is to remove more hungry mouths from the lake. Those small fish will eat a lot of smelts over their lifetime and we need to take the pressure off the smelt population to let it rebuild. We will be working on the lake again in 2021.

Hope to see you fishing.

Submitted by: Tim Obrey, Fisheries Resource Supervisor, Moosehead Lake Region

Wardens Rescue Man Pinned Under Rocks

over the lake and counted anglers both summer and winter to determine angler use. We estimated a total of around 2,400 anglers for the year. We didn’t conduct a summer creel survey that year but the harvest of salmon in the winter was estimated over 700 fish. In 2020, total use for the year was around 1,600 angler-days and we esti-

The Maine Warden Service, teaming up with several other local emergency rescue agencies, freed a man who had fallen and was pinned between some large rocks in late March.

Clayford Cabilas, age 30 of Bangor and his friend, Precious Magallanes, age 27 of the Philippines, had just finished a hike on the Mosquito Mountain Trail in The Forks at approximately 2:45 p.m.. Before getting in their vehicle, they climbed up some large rocks that recently were moved there by

May 2021

heavy equipment in order to get a picture. Once atop the rocks, Cabilas lost his balance and fell, causing one of the rocks to shift.

Cabilas fell in between the rocks and the rock that shifted, causing his arm and leg to be pinned. Magallanes tried unsuccessfully to free Ca-

bilas and repeatedly tried to reach 911, but due to poor cell coverage, was unable to connect. At 3:50, she did successfully reach 911, and the Maine Warden Service, West Forks Fire and Rescue, Upper Kennebec Valley Ambulance, NorthStar Ambulance, Somerset County Sherriff’s Off and LifeFlight responded to the scene at approximately 4:15 p.m.

Finding Cabilas pinned, with a fractured arm and leg, head injury, and becoming increasing hypothermic, crews utilized the Jaws of Life and airbags to move and secure the large rock, and eventually free Cabilas.

Once freed, Cabilas was moved to a waiting LifeFlight helicopter and transported to Northern Lights Hospital In Bangor.

New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary

The 2020 New Hampshire Wildlife Harvest Summary is now available.

The publication presents final data on the 2020 New Hampshire hunting seasons (News cont. pg 15)

May 2021

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 15

NWSJ 2021 Quick Deer Hunter Survey

As explained in a column this month by V. Paul Reynolds, Maine wildlife biologists’ chief doe management tool - the issuance of anydeer (doe) permits to control doe population numbers in southern and coastal Maine– has been less precise because of more hunters apparently holding out for a buck and not using their doe permits. Augusta wildlife officials and policymakers are hoping to develop some solutions to this problem at the legislative level. To this end, we are conducting this informal, unscientific deer hunter survey in hopes of generating some insight into deer hunter behavior and decision making.

Those hunters wishing to participate may answer this survey and mail a copy to: Hunter Survey, % Northwoods Sporting Journal, PO Box 195, W. Enfield, ME 04493. E-mail responses should be sent to the editor, V. Paul Reynolds: vpaulr@tds.net.

1. How many years have you been deer hunting in Maine? ___________ 2. Do you apply each year for an Any-Deer (doe) Permit?__________ 3. If you draw a doe permit, do you still hold out for a buck?______If so, how long__________?

4. If deer numbers are down after a tough winter, are you more likely to use your doe permit early in the season?___________ 5. Do you consider yourself a meat hunter or trophy hunter?______________ 6. Do you believe that the any-deer permit lottery is the most effective way to manage deer numbers?______ 7. If you answered “no” to the above question, what do you think would be a better system?

8. When you apply for an any-deer permit, do you fill out the other second and third choices for hunting zones?

9. Would you continue to hunt in Maine if you were required to tag a doe before legally hunting a buck?

10. Why do you hunt?

11. Optional questions: A) What is your, name, address, telephone, email address and date of birth?

B) Would you be willing to be contacted by the Northwoods Sporting Journal for additional information about your hunting practices and views?

News (Cont. from pg 15) as summarized by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s wildlife biologists. This annual publication provides a complete analysis of hunting season statistics, including some information chronicled by town and Wildlife Management Unit (WMU).

The 2020 NH Wildlife Harvest Summary is available online at www. wildnh.com/hunting/harvest-summary.html (select 2020). A limited number of print copies will be available at New Hampshire Fish and Game Department headquarters in Concord and regional Fish and Game offices in Durham,

New Hampton, Lancaster, and Keene in the coming weeks.

The report reflects that New Hampshire’s 2020 deer season resulted in a total harvest of 13,044 deer.

This year’s adult (antlered) buck harvest of 7,986 deer was the second largest one documented in the state since recordkeeping began in 1922. Archers took 3,785 deer, the youth weekend accounted for 295 deer harvested, and muzzleloader and regular firearm hunters took 3,166 and 5,798 deer, respectively.

The Harvest Summary includes data from the NH Trophy Deer Program, run by the NH Antler and Skull Trophy Club, which (News cont. pg 69)

Page 16

The Gun Cabinet

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Preserve, Protect, Support and Defend

by John Floyd, Webster Plantation, ME Do those words sound familiar? They should, because they are the foundation of every sworn oath in most federal and state oaths of office. We hear them solemnly delivered every four years as the next President of the United States is sworn in. To be specific, we hear the newly elected or re-elected president say this: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

U.S. Senators and Representatives have a slightly easier burden to bear, needing to only to ‘support and defend’ the Constitution – “I do solemnly swear (or affirm)

that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or

but adds obeying the orders of the President and officers appointed over them.

What makes the military oath unique however is the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which can be used to impose severe penalties for breaking the oath.

Academically speaking,

notes that it “shall not be infringed”. I don’t know about you, but I see a whole lot of infringing going on.

Can you imagine the uproar across the country if elected federal officials decreed that only some forms of media are protected under the first amendment?

The second amendment to the United States Constitution clearly denotes that it “shall not be infringed”. I don’t know about you, but I see a whole lot of infringing going on. purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.” Justices seated on the Supreme Court bench must take the same oath.

Our military have the highest standard with their oath which mirrors much of Congress members’ oaths,

Federal and state offices also have mechanisms for oath breakers, but when the fox is allowed to bunk in the henhouse who will hold oath breakers accountable?

Only you.

The oath of office is a solemn vow, not to be taken lightly. Nor does it apply to only the parts of the Constitution you agree with.

It applies, steadfastly, to the entire shooting match.

Soup to nuts, the full boat, six ways to Sunday. Insert your favorite euphemism here…it is all the same. An oath is an oath, period.

The second amendment to the United States Constitution clearly de-

And that we, for the public welfare, need to enact some ‘common sense’ free speech laws? What if you are told we need to get ‘assault media’ off of our television screens? Those would be the outlets that don’t toe the line - all for the greater good of course.

We cannot, as a free society governed as a republic of laws, not men, be so willing to abdicate our responsibilities as citizens to hold those who would shred our very identity as Americans, the United States Constitution, to pieces without consequences. If you think I may be preach-

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ing to the proverbial choir, please let me explain. I wanted to speak to those on the fence about the gun control efforts snowballing in Washington. I’m trying to reach those that may not own a gun, do not hunt, or may feel that they don’t have a dog in this fight – the folks who are understandably concerned about violence in the county, but may not be informed on the issues. Because you see, if they can take away my rights to own a gun, they can take away any rights guaranteed under the Constitution – free speech, the right to vote, women and minority protections, the right to petition the government…should I keep going?

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 Facebook @writerjohnfloyd

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

May 2021

Page 17

The Terror Of The Maine Woods

A Maine Fisher on the prowl. (Photo by Bud Utecht) Mustelids, my favorite group of wild animals.

Who are these creatures?

Mink, Marten, Fisher, Otter, and Weasel. These creatures are very misunderstood and quite often misidentified. They are cute on the outside but fierce predators on the inside, and make no mistake about it if you’re a squirrel you need to be afraid.

While otter are so adorable and the weasel is considered a menace to farmers the fisher seems to bring out terms of downright hate and fear. At a whopping 12 pounds this creature causes panic when

seen in the vicinity of any populated area. Accused of causing every missing pets disappearance you would think they are a cross between a Wolverine and Tasmanian Devil.

Ok, maybe they do take a few cats. I would assume they would love a chicken coup, although I have not heard of this that would be the extent of their havoc on domestic populations.

Most pet disappearances are caused by highway accidents.

Back in the 1980’s fisher trapping was a big deal as a high quality pelt would bring as much as

$150.00. Big dollars for those days. With trapping on the decline and pelts not worth what they used to be the fisher has made quite a comeback. There has not been an area that I have not been able to get some pictures of them.

Winter and spring seem to be the best times to get pictures of fisher. This is the time they travel great distances in search of food.

They are strictly carnivores so anything from mice to squirrel, birds, and hare are the fishers main diet.

They do have one unique prey that no other animal has mastered and that is the

Pinch

It wasn’t long before Pilot Spencer had them in his view and was calling back to me “your getting closer, they are only two turns in the road ahead of you now”. Before long I had caught up to the man and wife and we discussed the importance of check-

ing the lawbook PRIOR to fishing and stopping when you see the Game Warden waving to you!

(Cont. from pg 13) self in a conundrum. I was now a considerable distance from my truck and the man and woman were headed to a major road intersection with an endless amount of roads in either direction. I knew It would be sheer luck if I ever saw him again at that point. I began running back for my truck as I got out my handheld radio and called for Warden Pilot Spencer to come back quick! I gave him the vehicle description and where they had headed and said that I would be coming up behind them.

“Kale O’Leary is a Maine Game Warden that covers the Oxbow District in Aroostook County. Kale lives in Ashland.”

What's In Your Woods

by Bud Utecht, T4 Indian Purchase Township porcupine.

I get a lot of pictures of fisher on beaver ponds and along streams. It seems that early spring they are extremely active in these places. Getting a fisher picture on snow is great because of the stark contrast of the fisher and snow. It is

the vicinity of the den. I will get pictures in that spot all summer. They are not nearly as attractive in the summer as in the fall/ winter.

One more thing, they are a fisher not a fisher cat.

Many people refer to them this way and I’m not sure

Winter and spring seem to be the best times to get pictures of fisher. This is the time they travel great distances in search of food. difficult to get great pictures of them because their color is so uniform that it’s hard to see the details unless the lighting is just right. Most people think that the fisher is nocturnal but I get more day pictures of them than night. If you are placing the camera near your home then you could expect night pictures but out on the back 40 you should get many day shots as well. On several occasions I have been able to place a camera in

where it came from but other than their diet a cat they are not.

Bud Utecht is a Register Maine Guide, sporting camp owner, 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

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

Name

Marty was found on pg 67

State

Phone

Bud Utecht Registered Maine Guide

Trail Camera Consultant (207) 404-1442

bud@whatsinyourwoods.com

Shown actual size

Tom D’Amore

Address City

Marty

I found Marty on page

Zip

Entries must be postmarked by 5/10/21 to be eligible for this issue.

Page 18 Northwoods Sporting Journal

Outdoor Sporting Library

In the Land of Wilderness

line Marty traps to this day.

For years,

by Jeremiah Wood, the Meierotto Ashland, ME brothers were Many of us have ther’s small trap line at flown into the dreamed of living on a the age of eight, Marty Alaska bush each remote wilderness trap developed a passion for fall and spent line, and believe it or not, trapping and a desire to several months a few have actually done experience wilderness that setting traps and it. Marty Meierotto is one would shape the rest of his catching fur from of those few. You might re- life. several cabins,

Spending time on his father’s small trap line at the age of eight, Marty developed a passion for trapping and a desire to experience wilderness that would shape the rest of his life. member Marty from the hit TV show “Mountain Men”, which followed his adventures trapping in the Alaska bush for eight seasons.

Marty grew up in northern Wisconsin where he began hunting and developed a love for the outdoors at a young age.

Spending time on his fa-

In his early twenties, Marty realized that “I was missing something in life that I needed to find before it was too late.” He and his brother Jeff took off for Alaska. They worked odd jobs, made contacts, and pooled enough money to buy a trap line deep in the wilderness – the same

isolated from other humans and all outside contact. A bush plane would pick them up in late winter or early spring to haul them and their fur catch back to town. The boys would then resume their town jobs,

make repairs, gather supplies, and prepare for their next winter in the bush.

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A great deal has changed over the years, but one thing is constant: Marty still traps those remote wilderness trails, and they are just as quiet and isolated as ever.

These days, he owns a bush plane and uses it to access his line. The whole ‘out of contact with the outside world’ has changed a bit too. He’s a husband and father now, and the magic of satellite phones and messengers keeps the family in contact when they aren’t all together at the cabin.

In addition to sharing his lifestyle with the rest of the world via the TV show, Marty has documented his thoughts and experiences through the stories he’s published in various outdoor magazines over the years. His new book, “In the Land of Wilderness,” published by the Alaska Trappers Association, is a collection of Marty’s stories - 30 in all - and serves as a pretty good record of his life out there in the woods. Few will make that wilderness dream come true, but we all can read the book, which may just be the next best thing.

J e re m i a h c a n b e reached at jrodwood@ gmail.com

May 2021

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 19

A Most Regrettable Cast

It was last year, right about this time, that I threw a perfectly good St.Croix ultra-lite spinning outfit into Burntland Stream. It wasn’t intentional, mind you, it just happened. I’ve tried to analyze my behavior on that morning, and the only excuse I have, is embedded muscle memory left over from a misspent youth. Either that, or my descent into early-onset oldfarthood has reached terminal velocity.

I hadn’t used a spinning rod in quite a while, and apparently, I should never be allowed to use one again. Back in the day, if I wasn’t throwing a fly line, I was throwing a softball.

Fly fishing and fast pitch softball ruled my waking hours. The winters were spent polishing my bona fides as an authentic ski bum. The ski bum thing never panned out.

So, there I was, all these years later, still fishing and throwing stuff. That day I was trying to throw a small #00 spinner into the only fishable water on the stream -a likely looking eddy protected from the current by some ledge jutting out into the water.

We were standing on an old logging bridge, liter-

ally inches above the icy flow; there was still far too much snow in the woods to get anywhere near the bank. I fingered the line and flipped the bale, brought my arm back; and I let ‘er rip. And I mean not just the line, but the whole damn kit and kaboodle. I fired that rod off like I was hitting the cutoff man from centerfield.

I stood there, watching that rod sail out over the water with a mixture

retrieved the rod. We used a gigantic #5 Mepps spinner, in a violent chartreuse color. People who argue ‘pattern nullifies color’ will always say that the color had nothing to do with it, but you’ll never convince me. We kept throwing it upstream and trying to get it to settle near where we thought the rod would be. …and it worked! I owe the gods a beer.

Bob says he’s going to buy one of those ‘Wulf

I stood there, watching that rod sail out over the water with a mixture of horror and amazement. My buddy, standing next to me, turned and yelled, “What the hell did you just do?!” of horror and amazement.

My buddy, standing next to me, turned and yelled, “What the hell did you just do?!” All I could do was throw up my hands and shake my head, I had no words. The Gods were watching that morning and sent me a gift. As we stood there, looking downstream, a beam of sunlight broke through the gloom and shone down on a little patch of water, allowing me to catch a brief wink of glittery goodness as the sun flashed briefly off the reel.

Amazingly, we actually

Wristlock’ devices for my birthday. Maybe he should, obviously, I can’t be trusted with my toys. I can’t imagine throwing one of my fly rods into the Aroostook; I would be devastated. I take heart in knowing that other people, smarter people than me, also throw their rods into various bodies of water -I’ve found them.

Just last June I found a drowned rod while paddling down the western shore of St.Froid. Then, a week later, my wife and I dredged up two rods from the bottom of Rockabema.

Aroostook Woods & Water

by Mike Maynard, Perham, ME None of the rods I found were Thomas & Thomas 9’ 5wt’s with Hardy reels hanging off of them. Why don’t people throw those in the water? Apparently, they don’t have the same cognitive issues that I do…

If you’re going out early, with snow still deep

on the banks and the water running high and cold, be careful, hang on to your bits and pieces. Rods and reels don’t come cheap these days. Hell, just losing the contents of your fly vest would set you back by a mortgage payment.

I’ve got a friend in Wisconsin who’s been (Cast cont. pg 20)

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Page 20

Cast

(Cont. from pg 19)

Northwoods Sporting Journal

utilitarian Scotch frugality. It is also deadly. The trick to any pattern calling for Starling is not breaking 6 feathers to get one good fly. I literally cannot drink coffee before tying up anything calling for Starling; any little caffeine jitter as I’m wrapping the hackle will result in feather breakage and turning the air blue with expletives.

Tying with starling requires an abundance of patience. I tend to think of starling as the drama queen of hackle.

To see a true master tie up one of Stewart’s Black Spiders, look up another famous Scottish tyer, Davie McPhail, and watch his excellent tutorial.

Get out early, get out often, fish hard.

cleaning up on early season Brown’s this spring.

He’s been using a ‘Purple and Starling’ in #12 and #14. His advice is to tie the hackle on a bit oversized, maybe a turn or two more than the wispy original calls for. I’d go the other way -less is more, but hey, he’s catching fish. The fish have been actively taking little black stoneflies, the same flies that we see here crawling all over the snow in early season.

Stewart’s ‘Black Spider’ would be my personal choice to mimic that particular insect; I just can’t bring myself to tie in purple, but that’s just me.

I wouldn’t go any larger Mike Maynard is a than #18-20, though. Tied part-time farmer, grandas Stewart tied it, it is the father of several, and an epitome of simplicity and incorrigible water-logged

Aroostook County

stream rat and briar scarred covert crawler.

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

Species (Cont. from pg 3) Green Lake and Pushineer Pond have what IFW refers to as a “low abundance” of fish. Nonnative landlocked salmon have found their way into Rainbow Lake.

And Bald Mountain Pond is now infected with nonnative smelt and lake trout, and the char will likely be lost, the first such loss in Maine in 100 years.

Maine’s remaining Arctic char are adfluvial, rarely entering moving water. Those in Rangeley however were said to have spawned in streams, likely

due more to opportunity than biology. Arctic char are a deep-water fish, entering shallow water in the spring to feed and fall to spawn. Arctic char utilize rocky shoals for spawning like lake trout, not redds as brook trout do.

As juveniles, they feed on plankton. As they mature they turn their attention to minnows, insects, and in at least one case, aquatic snails.

Maine’s Arctic char are subject to harvest in all waters open to fishing except recently reclaimed Wadleigh Pond. The C&R restriction on Big Reed Pond was repealed summer 2020 and replaced with a 2-fish limit. Bait is allowed on five waters: Deboullie Lake, Gardner Lake, Green Lake, Pushineer Pond, and Wassataquoik Lake. While four have prohibitions on the use of live minnows,

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Green Lake is also being actively stocked with lake trout. Tributaries to several other Arctic char waters are being stocked with brook trout. In 2020, IFW entered into discussions with a lake association in regard to restarting a previously suspended splake stocking program that was leaking hybrids into Floods Pond.

Arctic char are what is referred to as a bucket-list species. They are the only freshwater salmonid east of the Rocky Mountains that can truly be referred to as rare. Maine’s Arctic char are the last of their kind in the contiguous United States. They are unique to Maine, and part of what makes Maine unique.

Arctic char are worth protecting, and in fact in need of protection as they are unfortunately losing ground. A statewide catchand-release restriction on Arctic char would be prudent, as would be a statewide prohibition on all forms of bait on Arctic char waters. A certain responsibility comes with having the last of anything, and we need to accept that responsibility.

Bob Mallard has fly fished for 40 years. He owned Kennebec River Outfitters in Maine from 2001 to 2015. He is a blogger, writer, author, fly designer, sales rep and native fish advocate. Look for Bob’s books 50 Best Places Fly Fishing The Northeast and 25 Best Towns Fly Fishing For Trout (Stonefly Press). Bob can be reached at info@bobmallard.com

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

May 2021

Page 21

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

The Common Yellowthroat

The Bird Perch

by Karen Holmes, Cooper, ME The colors of May are so welcome after the colorless and drab landscape of winter. My home in Cooper, Maine always seems irradiated with my vivid yellow daffodils, pink and red tulips blue scillas.

But the arrival of the many brightly colored birds dazzles me even more.

The swallows flash green and blue metallic tints as they fly above my head. The colorful warblers in the trees boast bright colors and sharp patterns. They are tiny and fast

calls of “witchity, witchity, witchity” .This is a bird call moving birds, feathered very easy to recognize begems shining in colorfore you even see the bird ful hues of yellows, reds, itself. The males have bold greens and blue. I always black masks like bandits develop a “warbler neck”, a self inflicted sore neck, But one of shoulders and upper back my favorite from looking in the trees for them. But one of my species of favorite species of warblers warblers stays stays close to the ground close to the and under cover. It is the ground and Common Yellowthroat. under cover. It is I always easily find the Common them in brushy and tangled bushes. They never fail Yellowthroat. to voice their indignation at my intrusion with loud while the females lack this field mark. But both have yellow throats and breasts, olive backs and white bellies.

Soon they build bulky cup-like nests made from intertwined stems, branches and leaves. The female will incubate the three to six white or cream-colored eggs speckled with brown, gray or black. These nests are hard to find, even though they are built only 1-3 feet high under cover

Aroostook County

May 2021

The Common Yellowthroat of the dense leaves of a shrub. But the parent birds with their lively behavior always give their location away.

As they flit from branch to branch with black eyes sparkling with excitement, I always think they are such cute birds.

Common Yellowthroats consume lots of caterpillars which helps protect the wild and domestic flora around my home. This is also why I welcome their presence during the spring, summer and early

fall months.

Karen Holmes is a retired educator. She continues to be a naturalist and volunteers for various wildlife projects. She also enjoys hunting and fishing in DownEast Maine.

Writing for various publications, she is hoping her latest one about the mysterious disappearance of “The Oiseau Blanc/The White Bird” in 1927 will bring about a search this year.

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Letters (Cont. from pg 8) move beyond this archaic blue law that does nothing but pander to anti hunters who utilize it as a scare tactic to pull the uninformed to their side.

I am a retired Game Warden Lieutenant that spent 40 years deeply involved in all aspects of hunting in Maine and have witnessed how hunting has drastically evolved over the years. Loss of access to hunting areas has been the major catalyst effecting these changes. The result is that the vast majority of deer hunting is done right behind the hunter’s house, or on a piece of property they control or have permission to hunt on and is almost always done from a blind or stand, which is extremely safe. Hunters no longer just go out and wander around or gang up in deer drives, those days are over as there is no place to do that and it has become unacceptable behavior.

I don’t believe the current hunting bill goes far enough; we should open it up year-round on

any land where permission is granted by the owner.

These people pay the bills and provide the land, it should be their choice. Additionally, limiting working people to, usually, only having one day a week for the opportunity to hunt is totally unfair. What if the weather makes that one day impractical, or what if any one of dozens of things you like to do on Sunday became prohibited because it irritated someone else?

Thinking back over the last fifty years I can’t think of a single hiker that has ever been shot, on any day, but I can recall many people riding snowmobiles, all terrain vehicles or being out on the water and losing their lives on Sundays. The old, tired and worn out refrain of “I won’t be able to go in the woods

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(See page 49)

on Sunday for fear of being shot”, should go the way of “you shouldn’t sell alcohol on Sundays”.

I want everyone to please think about this. As far as I know there are no retired wardens who do not whole heartily agree with me on this issue, and our entire adult lives have revolved, deeply, around hunting and every opinion on outdoor activity that you can imagine.

There are many more reasons to move in the direction of Sunday hunting, including the statewide financial impact, but the bottom line is “there is absolutely no good reason not to”.

Doug Tibbetts Retired Game Warden Lieutenant Bangor

Page 23

Two Cents Worth on Sunday Hunting To the Editor: I enjoy your articles and columns by V. Paul Reynolds.

I’m 66, born in Bangor, but now live in the Augusta area, and have hunted and fished, canoed and kayaked, etc. etc. since childhood. I really enjoy God’s Great Outdoors! My wife and I toss this topic back and forth periodically, yet we always come back to the same conclusion: the Sunday hunting ban allows a “breather” [a sort of “Sabbath”?] to everyone and everything.

No spooking game away from hunters while walking with doggie in the woods on Sunday. No loud bangs to jump you or annoy you when bird-watching or

mushroom gathering. No need to remember to don fluorescent-orange clothing or worry about pup being shot for “chasing my deer”. And then all the items you mention: “a day off to split the firewood, oil the rifle, study the...maps, and just kick back until... daybreak.”

The Sunday hunting ban makes for a quieter, more peaceful, restful, relaxing stroll or hike, or picnic by the pond watching the birds and beaver and all the other sights. Not to mention the respite for the wildlife. We’d like to keep it that way in Maine.

Just our “two-cents” worth.

Keep up the good writing.

Thomas and Cheryl DeRap Augusta area

Aroostook County

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Question Of The Month May 2021

May 2021

How Often Do You See a Baby Owl Up Close?

By Roman Morse For the student at the University of WisconsinMadison, everything was business as usual up until the time to take spring break. Midway through the week of spring break UW decided to move all instruction to on-line for the remainder of the semester.

We, Kylie Callahan, an undergraduate student

ping around the yard just outside the door. We ran to the window and were ecstatic to see an adorable baby owl. We stared out the window and shared our excitement with one another. How often does a person get a chance to see a baby owl right outside their door? Not often, we thought.

The excitement shift-

We ran to the window and were ecstatic to see an adorable baby owl.

We stared out the window and shared our excitement with one another. How often does a person get a chance to see a baby owl right outside their door?

Not often, we thought.

in biological systems engineering, and Roman Morse, a graduate student in mechanical engineering, were fortunate enough to have a place outside of the city to stay while we finished the semester.

Once the semester was completed, we decided to move to the North Woods of Wisconsin, along with our black cat Nero. Here we would weather the incoming COVID-19 storm in a lovely family cabin in Iron River, WI. We arrived midway through May, and got settled in by jumping in the brisk lake water and enjoying a good local fish fry.

The pine infused air, the crystal clear lake water, and the endless seas of green trees were all sources of rejuvenation that we greatly appreciated. On a particularly sunny and breezy day, while getting ready to leave the cabin for weekly dinner with grandparents in Lake Nebagamon, we spotted a little ball of feathers hop-

ed to concern as we realized there is a reason this kind of thing doesn’t happen often. We came to the conclusion that something must not be right and decided to investigate. The owl was spooked by the opening of the door but rather than flying away it hopped. It wasn’t able to go very far and once it had exhausted itself, it turned and watched us just as closely as we were watching it. We discussed for several minutes what to do and decided we would start first by calling the local veterinarian, who provided contact information for wildlife centers. We called the first number, which belonged to the Northwoods Wildlife Center. After explaining the situation we emailed photos of the owl. We could hear the woman on the phone open the emails and then call out to her fellow workers to come look at the pictures.

Excitement between them could easily be heard

over the phone, and even more so when she began to speak. She informed us what we had encountered, the owl was a northern saw-whet owl and is one of the smallest owl species in North America. She said we were incredibly lucky to come in contact with one.

We didn’t really feel lucky.

The owl was undoubtedly adorable, but we could see there was something wrong with it. The woman at the wildlife center instructed us to put on gardening gloves, pick the owl up and see if we could get a better look at the wings.

Kylie, now armed with gardening gloves, approached the owl in an attempt to pick it up. Bending down with open arms, we were both shocked and jumped back at the loud clicking sound that was coming from this little creature. At this point, the owl outstretched its wings for the first time and attempted to take off. However, one of the owl wings was unable to fully extend and the owl again resorted to hopping and clicking away from us. We chased it down and picked it up, all the while it clicked away.

We took many more pictures of the owl and shared them with the wildlife center. They could see no obvious injury. They told us to leave the owl outside for the day, and periodically check in. If the situation had not progressed over the course of 24 hours, they would send a member of their team out to pick the owl up. We reluctantly agreed to their plan, curious about how to babysit an owl for the day.

The baby Northern Saw-Whet owl. The eyes have it. (Photo by Roman Morse).

Kylie Callahan administers to the baby owl.

(Photo by Roman Morse) Not long after agree- that there was no skin that ing to the babysitting gig, would be cut. Finally, we we decided to take another crossed our fingers and look and see if we could made a single cut with find out what was prevent- the scissors. We let go ing the owl from flying. of the owl who slowly Now that we had become outstretched his wings. familiar to the sound that The owl sat and looked was coming from the owl, at us for a few moments, it was easier to focus on seemingly trying to figure finding the problem. By out what we had done to lifting the wing, we could aid in its endeavor. After finally see what the prob- those few moments, the lem was: the soft furry-like owl opened its wings and feathers on the underside of flew to a branch in a nearby the owl’s wing had become pine tree. For a few minutes wrapped around a talon on the owl remained in the the owl’s foot. Attempts to branch watching us, almost pull the feathers over the as if it was acknowledging talon were in vain. Finally, our efforts. Then our fully one of us ran inside and functional saw-whet owl grabbed a small nose hair flew away. trimmer with a blunt tip so that it would not hurt the owl.

Roman Morse is a We made one last graduate student from inspection, making sure Madison, WI.

May 2021

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Fishing Skinny Water

For many, it all starts when we are kids, tubing down our favorite river. For me, it’s been an addiction that haunts me still today.

Every spring, as I jet up a river exploring new cuts and fishing holes, I seem to embellish my childhood adventures. I somehow relate to those adventures growing up on the Scandic

the adventure is mostly the same for everyone. Around every corner lies possibilities and the opportunity for a great memory.

Fishing rivers has its challenges and advantages.

Starting out you may find yourself unsure and even a little intimidated, especially if you are accustomed to fishing lakes or ponds.

behavior during the season will help you locate the best places to target as well as the best fly, lure or bait to use. As I always typically say, “find the food and find the fish”. This is true most of the time except when fish spawn, then it’s all about territory and protection from predators. Most big, fat fish are that way for a reason. For example, when targeting big 20”

Page 25

Maine Outdoor Adventure

will learn from each other.

Friends made on the water last forever!

As a Maine fishing guide, learning a stretch of water that runs 63 miles of river like the Penobscot, our G3 jet boat does a wonderful job running skinny

by Rich Yvon, Bradford, ME anchor with a break-away system has by far been the best way for me to keep anchored on that seem.

Keeping safe is priority 1, so having a first aid kit, throw bag and a nebulus on the boat, gives me assurance I’m ready for most situations that may arise on the water.

Fishing skinny water is often times overlooked by some sports but as many know, the timing of being at the Rich is a Maine Guide. right place at the right time is critical. In He owns and operates Twin Maine, we are fortunate to have many Maple Outdoors guide serfishing opportunities. vice and sporting lodge lo“Fishing Skinny Water” by Rich Yvon River that keeps me young at heart and willing to push the envelope.

Whether I am going up or down a river it really doesn’t matter. What lies ahead is the unknown challenges in navigating and fishing that keeps me non complacent and interested.

Sharing my passion, either on a guided trip or writing this article, is certainly a privilege that I am thankful for everyday!

Fishing skinny water is often times overlooked by some sports but as many know, the timing of being at the right place at the right time is critical. In Maine, we are fortunate to have many fishing opportunities.

Our lands here are filled with all kinds of inland water that hold native fish, as well as invasive fish such as bass and pike. To me, doing some homework and learning the water you plan to fish is almost as fun as fishing itself. The best part, whether in a float tube, canoe or boat, is the fact that

What really entices me about moving water is the dynamic environment of it all. Fishing multi-species adds even more excitement with so much more to learn. Every day is always a learning experience and adds even more joy, passion and adventure.

Let’s break it all down in simple terms and techniques. It all starts in the species you target and the timing of your fishing. This is where your homework starts. Knowing the fish

smallmouth bass, looking for undercuts and colliding currents can yield big fish. Bigger fish typically means a smart fish that will often be out of the current but sitting close to moving current. This is a typical ambush point either in the middle, side or bank of a river. Islands, cribs and other structure like old fallen trees are also points of interest and can yield excellent results. The most important thing is to get out there and experiment keeping this overview in mind.

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water. Combined with a spot lock trolling motor, it can enable a fisherman to hone in on fishy water! It also makes learning much more efficient, not to mention enjoyable. Anchoring in fast or skinny water can always be challenging.

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 26

Ramblings From T8-R9

by Benjamin Rioux, Millinocket Lake

By Ellen Libby 2020 marked the fourth season of Matt and I serving with Samaritan’s Purse at Mystic Lake Lodge in Alaska. What started with me as a volunteer kitchen helper (read ‘washing lots of dishes’ and I loved it!) has turned into our semi-retirement vocation, using the skills we honed over the many years at Libby Camps.

MLL is a small lodge – our capacity is 8 guests – and is used as a couple’s retreat; it’s a retreat of sorts for us, too. Over the course of the week our guests are with us we are able to develop strong bonds, and we have made many new friends from all over the country, just like when we were at Libby’s! While I

still use many of the tried and true recipes from the cookbooks we’ve published, I have tried some new recipes in the last couple of years, and they

May 2021

Mystic Lake Recipes

2 teaspoons lemon juice 2 Tablespoons Italian seasoning Crock pot for several hours on low, or you can do this in the oven, covered.

The chicken should be tender and moist. Serve with mashed potatoes, noodles or rice. Any leftover ‘goodness’ (the liquid), use as

While I still use many of the tried and true recipes from the cookbooks we’ve published, I have tried some new recipes in the last couple of years, and they quickly became my new favorite dishes. quickly became my new a soup base for the best favorite dishes. Try them chicken soup you’ve ever had! Add carrots, onions, yourselves! celery and chicken broth (as necessary), and the OLIVE GARDEN CHICKEN rice or noodles if you have 6-8 chicken breasts I have them left over. Needs no used boneless or bone-in, additional seasonings.

CHEF and thighs JEAN-CLAUDE’S 1 bottle Olive Garden Italian salad dressing COUSCOUS 2 Tablespoons olive oil ½ cup Parmesan cheese

Mystic Lake in Alaska.

2 cups couscous) – I usually use 1 cup couscous and 1 cup of either barley or orzo 4 cups chicken broth ¼ cup chopped fresh flatleaf parsley 1 ½ Tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves 1 apple, diced 1 cup dried cranberries (Craisins) ½ cup slivered almonds, toasted ¼ cup apple cider vinegar

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2 Tablespoons maple syrup 1 Tablespoon Kosher salt ½ teaspoon pepper ¼ cup olive oil In medium saucepan, heat the 2 T. olive oil on medium-high heat. Add couscous and cook, stirring occasionally until slightly browned and aromatic – 3-5 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.

Simmer 10-12 minutes or until liquid had evaporated; transfer to a large bowl – set aside. When cooled, add the parsley, rosemary, thyme, apple, dried cranberries and almonds. For the vinaigrette, combine the vinegar, maple syrup, salt and pepper in small bowl, whisk in the ¼ cup olive oil till smooth; pour over the couscous and toss to coat evenly. Serve at room temperature. Note: to toast almonds – bake in single layer on cookie sheet at 350 for 8-10 minutes, cool completely before adding to couscous.

STRAWBERRY RHUBARB CRUNCH 2 cups flour 1 ½ cups old-fashioned oats 1 cup brown sugar 2 sticks butter, melted 2 cups chopped strawberries 3-4 cups chopped rhubarb (Recipes cont. pg 27)

May 2021

Northwoods Sporting Journal

our imaginations and lead us on journeys of discovery, imagined or real. They (Cont. from pg 12) (Cont. from pg 26) are indeed in Grosvenor’s Columbus’ maps they are words, …the greatest of all 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon indistinguishable from epic poems.

1 Tablespoon corn starch maps drawn by the Penob½ teaspoon salt Mark McCollough scot Indians on birchbark th in the 18 century. How can be contacted at mark- ¼ cup orange juice Combine flour, oats did the Indians describe to mccollough25@gmail.com a newcomer the complex canoe routes across Maine?

The human-imagined concept of hovering above the planet like a soaring eagle, observing its salient features, and recording it on 435-2202 antler, birchbark, paper is • ATM MON. - FRI. 4-10 universal. The same style SAT. 5-11 SUN. 6-9 of mapping was used by • AGENCY LIQUOR STORE 117 Main Steet Ashland, ME • 24 HOUR GAS people so widely separated in time and space that bor• HOT PIZZA & SUBS rowing this concept was • ROOMS AVAILABLE impossible. It is as if humans around the world all dreamed the same dream of floating above the earth.

Maps help us tell stories of our past and project us into the future. They help us envision our place in space and time and remind us how to bushwhack to our favorite trout pond.

Other maps show us where that trout pond is located in the state of Maine, where Maine resides in North America, where North America exists on the planet. In our imaginations, we In the heart of the Allagash project ourselves ever out- and Fish River waterways....... ward and map where our Fly Fishing planet resides in our solar and Trolling system, the location of where our star spins in the WIN THE MOOSE arm of a galaxy, and where our galaxy exists in an LOTTERY? ever-expanding universe.

CONTACT ME FOR Maps inform us how to travel to a place, how On Fish River Portage Lake, Maine long it will take, and what Email me at Specializing in Northern we may encounter along highlandingcamps@gmail.com Maine Bear Hunts the way. They take us beyond the topographic lines to imagine and plan for a voyage and the events we might experience. Maps are (603) 381-0080 or (603) 381-8376 one of our species’ greatest www.highlandingcamps.com inventions. They capture *Registered Maine Guide - David Prevost*

Mapping

Recipes

Page 27

and brown sugar, then add butter. Press ½ of the mixture into a greased 9x13 pan. Combine rest of ingredients in order listed, stir well. Pour fruit mixture over bottom crust and sprinkle rest of the crust mix on top. Bake at 400 for

30-35 minutes till golden brown. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 28

South Of the Kennebec

May 2021

Ice Out Salmon Tactics

by Stu Bristol, Lyman, ME The hand gestures go up and the boat horns sound as I make my way through the parade of boats at the mouth of the Songo River

once again congregating at the river mouth to gobble hoards of spawning smelt.

Why am I attracting all the bad attention, you

The speed at which I troll depends largely upon the bait being presented.

For springtime trolling I prefer three different types of bait.

Foremost and the most productive is the sewed smelt. where it empties into Sebago Lake. It’s early May and the ice has been gone on the big lake for a few weeks and the salmon are

ask? For years it has been the tradition of Sebago Lake anglers to drag sinking flylines and leadcore behind the boat in a pat-

Trolling a streamer fly right after ice out from a fabled big Grand Laker canoe during a good Downeast “salmon chop” is a time-tested angler tradition in Maine. (Illustration by V. Paul Reynolds). tern running parallel to the In doing so my star- ing upon their mood, wantshoreline. I, on the other board lines speed up and ing slow or fast-moving hand run in swooping “S” port lines slow down and baits. The speed at which I patterns, trying my best to vice versa. This gives trail- troll depends largely upon avoid contact with the long ing salmon the opportunity the bait being presented. lines of other anglers. to chase or attack depend- For springtime trolling I prefer three different types of bait. Foremost and the most productive is the sewed smelt.

Many of the younger generation either have not been shown how to properly sew a smelt or just take the easy way by using a sliding bait rig.

First, tie a long shank Aberdeen style hook size #4 onto a fluorocarbon leader.

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May 2021

Tactics

(Cont. from pg 28) my experience that salmon like straight running bait while lake trout (togue) like the rotaters.

My second choice of bait after ice out and into May is the tandem streamer fly. Smart anglers will follow the baitfish patterns when making fly selection. For Sebago Lake I use sparsely tied flies such as the Queen Bee or Miss Sharon, followed by Black Ghost, Gray Ghost and when the smelt run is nearly over and the bait has a greenish ting, I drag a nine-three.

I also hang a floating fly line over the stern for those salmon that sneak up into my prop wash. That brings us to early June and the period of time when the water surface temperatures begin to rise and the trout and salmon drop down into the thermocline. This is time to bring out the hardware.

It will now be necessary to use other means to get your bait down to the where the fish live and that means the use of leadcore lines and downriggers. My preference is 18 pound leadcore and generally start by dropping lines down five colors.

Depending again on

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Northwoods Sporting Journal forward speed, the line will travel with a belly; the lure riding through the water column slightly above the belly or sag in the line. In shallow areas or “humps” and rockpiles the angler will feel the belly of the line drag on bottom, warning of snags and possible loss of line and lures.

Salmon will tend to inhabit the “thermocline” or layer of water in the 55 – 65 degree range. The surface temperature rise and salmon only come to the surface during heavy mayfly hatches and cold rain and wind. Lake trout will drop to the bottom and become sluggish throughout the summer. More often than not angler will catch

lake trout by jigging rather than trolling.

If you see me or other guides trolling erratically or in slow “S” curves, don’t panic, we are watching out for your lines and very likely you will be watching us land fish.

Stu Bristol is Hall of Fame wild turkey hunter, Master Maine Guide (Orion Guide Service) and Outdoor writer. His books, newspaper and magazine articles have been published nationwide for more than 50 years. He operates a game call company in southern Maine. www. deadlyimpostergamecalls. com

Page 29

Permits

Getting it right will insure that Maine’s deer populations will be managed as (Cont. from pg 5) scientifically as possible in deer season. There is also the years ahead. a concern about whether The author is editor the bureaucracy, even with the data, could actually of the “Northwoods Sportimplement the overnight ing Journal.” He is also a decisions that would have Maine guide and host of to be made. And could a weekly radio program word be gotten to hunters — “Maine Outdoors” — heard Sundays at 7 p.m. soon enough?

If you are a hunter on “The Voice of Maine and have suggestions or News - Talk Network.” He insights on this topic, you has authored three books; might want to pass them online purchase informaalong to your state law- tion is available at www. maker or your area repre- maineoutdoorpublications. sentative to the Fish and com. or www.sportingjourWildlife Advisory Council. nal.com. Contact email This is a critical issue. — vpaulr@tds.net

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 30

Basics Of Survival

by Joe Frazier, Bangor, ME After shelter, fire is the next priority. Whether at camp, in your backyard, or in a life or death survival situation; fire making is a skill that is fairly easy to

The first step is how you will light the fire. There are many ways to practice for fun; but when it really matters, nothing works better than a butane lighter.

Basics of Survival: Fire

For me, a lighter is the way to go.

Preparation is the next and most important step. If you do not have everything ready before you light the fire, chances are you will not be successful. You should gather everything you need to start and keep the fire going and have it

Preparation is the next and most important step. If you do not have everything ready before you light the fire, chances are you will not be successful. learn but does take practice. You should think of your survival kit as more like tools to help you spend an overnight in the woods.

Not just a package of stuff you never even look at.

Matches are good but they can get wet or break. A ferrocerium, or Fero, rod is sometimes difficult to use and requires some practice.

Friction fires require a lot of experience and time.

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all within arms reach. You need to build a base, have tinder to start the fire, and kindling to grow it. You will make five piles of sticks, or kindling, of different sizes. Once lit, the fire will burn through the first pile in less than thirty seconds, and most of the piles within five minutes.

This creates a base of coals that will sustain your fire as you feed it.

You need to start with dry wood, not wet or green.

If the wood snaps and doesn’t bend it should be dry enough. Wood from off the ground is best. The bottom, dead branches from evergreen trees is good.

If you can find a small dead tree with branches on it, drag that to where you will be building your fire. Gather as much wood as you can before it gets dark, you don’t want to be roaming around the woods after dark.

You need to build a small platform. This will get your fire up off the ground if it is wet or on snow, and it will allow air to get under the fire to help feed it. You need 10 sticks about 8 to 10 inches long, about the same diameter as your thumb. Two go on the ground about 6 inches

apart, 4 go across the first 2, then 4 more across the first 4. Put one stick, slightly larger diameter, towards the back of the top layer.

You will need to break down the sticks you have collected. You should make 5 piles of sticks starting

head fluff, dried leaves all work well; but shredded birch bark works the best.

Place a large handful on top of the platform and use a couple fine sticks on top of the tinder to hold it in place.

Light the tinder and let it start to burn. As soon as the flame is established, drop half the pile of the smallest sticks on the kindling.

When they start to burn well, Starting right, with various size add the rest of dry sticks for kindling, is the key the pile on top.

Keep adding to a survival fire. new sticks to feed the fire, half a pile at a time and smaller to larger.

Once you get to the last pile the fire will be hot enough to keep going, and it will burn through the platform to establish coals.

Add larger wood as needwith the smallest size. They ed to keep the fire going. should be about pencil If you plan to keep the lead diameter and about 6 fire going all night you will inches long. You will need need a lot of wood. Make a 2 good hands full. The next pile as big as you think you pile should be sticks twice need, then make four more the diameter of the first piles the same size. That pile. Each pile should be should keep you going.

2 hands full and twice the Always be aware of diameter of the pile before. fire safety and be careful When you feed the fire you if kids are near. Have a will start with the smallest bucket of water close at sticks and work your way hand. to the larger ones.

Tinder is what you Joe is a husband, dad, need next. Tinder needs and former Marine, and to be very dry and fine writer. He can be reached so it will catch a spark or at :Joefrazier193@gmail. flame. Dried grass, cattail com

May 2021

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Famous Trolling Flies

Oquossoc, Maine for “Black Ghost” and “Welch Rabbit” streamers, Warden Joe Stickney of Saco, Maine for his “Warden’s Worry” fly, and A.W. Ballou of North Dighton, Massachusetts for the Ballou Spec.

Too, there were Charley Sprague of Grand Lake

Page 31

“Just Fishing”

by Bob Leeman, Bangor, ME

Kennebago”, Lew Oatman of Shusan, New York was recognized for his “Brook Trout” and “Golden Darter” streamers. Bob Bibeau of North Windham, Maine remembered for his fa-

Let’s not forget Chief Nehdahbee of Greenville, Maine for his contribution of the “Chief Nehdahbee” fly. The “Chief” was not only a fine fly tyer, but a writer and lecturer as well.

During those early years of streamer fly designs, there were many recognized creators of new streamer fly concoctions. Even today, the avocation of creating and fly tying continues to increase in popularity.

Right after ice out, gamefish can be found near the surface – even the deep-foraging lake trout or togue..

Most of Maine and New England’s lake and trollers and streamer fly assemblers would remember Carrie Stevens, noted creator of the famous fly she assembled called the “grey ghost”. She became famous after entering a fishing contest in 1924 by Field & Stream magazine, and won 2nd prize for her entry, after telling of using the fly to catch a huge brook trout of enormous proportions. Her prize was a famous painting.

All of her streamer fly designs were originals that numbered to nearly one hundred or more. Some of those included: Col. Bates, Gen. MacArthur, shang’s favorite, wizard, red streak, Carrie’s favorite, America, Col. Fuller, Don’s delight, green hornet, lady killer, and so many more.

During those early years of streamer fly designs, there were many

recognized creators of new streamer fly concoctions.

Even today, the avocation of creating and fly tying continues to increase in popularity.

Most would acknowledge names of those who were pioneers of the trade, such as Herb Welch of

Stream, Maine for his “Grand Laker” and “Golden Head”. The “Edson Tiger” flies were created

by Bill Edson of Portland, Maine, and Dr. Sanborn’s tried and true, the “9-3” feathered bait.

As years ensued, new and celebrated streamer flies were invented and many of those attracted fish to the strike. Some of these were: George Baughman of Bangor, Maine for the “Barred Lady”, and “Green King and Queen”, Bert Quimby of South Windham, Maine for the “Lady Ghost” and “York’s

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vorites of “Rochelle” and “Bibeau Killer” and the “Liggett Special” was a creation of Emile LeTourneau of Waterville, Maine.

Carl Sargent of East Orland, Maine assembled his “Red-Grey Ghost”, and Jim Henderson of Brewer, Maine remembered for his “Ma-Moo” and Nimrod Spec.” patterns. The “Maynard Marvel” pattern was originated by Ora Smith of Keene, New Hampshire.

His fly was tied bi-plane style.

And who can forget the contributions from Dick Frost of Rangeley, Maine for his “Frost Blue Smelt” and Joe Serling of Danforth, Maine for his “Wood Special” and “Joe’s Smelt”.

In the more modern day years, we would be remise if we didn’t acknowledge Eddie Reif of Bangor, (Flies cont. pg 35)

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 32

Early Spring Scouting

The Buck Hunter

by Hal Blood, Moose River, ME Spring came to the north country early this year as I had hoped it would. Temperatures rose into the 60’s by the third week in March and the snow settled in half. Since the snow in the Moose River valley was never more than two feet deep, with the exception of the mountains, dropping by half enabled the deer to move around freely. By the end of the month, the southern facing slopes the ground was mostly bare. Most of the deer that had come to town to yard, had headed for the hills before the first of April. This is only the third time in the past thirty years that they have been able to leave the yards in March. Getting out of the yards that early on top of have an easy winter, is a blessing for the deer. The fawn crop should be good this year and the bucks will get an early start on growing their antlers. It is also good for the moose and will help them fight of the ravages of the winter tick.

Spring scouting for

deer can happen a lot earlier as well. By the time you read this, the woods will be free of snow. You might want to plan a trip to check out some new areas this falls hunts. I took my grandson (Rylan) out on April 2nd to see if we could find a moose antler. Rylan

is crazy about anything going on in the woods. At 11 years old he already remembers anything he sees or learns in the woods. He had already found a nice deer antler with 5 points on it, and he has been bugging me to look for moose antlers. We tried a spot that usually holds a few bulls in the winter, but for some reason they weren’t there this winter. Our antler hunt quickly turned into a deer scouting mission after we found a brown ash rub in wet ravine.

I told Rylan that we would still look for antlers but that we should follow

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all the wet runs and look for brown ash, because we might find a signpost rub.

Most of the ravines in the area had brown ash in them and we finally found a nice signpost rub on the edge of an open ravine between two ridges seventy-five yards apart. It was obvious that the ridges created a funnel that the bucks were traveling. We continued up the ravine a few hundred yards through some thick

We had found one of those spots where whether you were a stand hunter, still hunter or tracker, it is a great place to know about. I asked Rylan, if he’d like to have a blind

deer tracks in that area, so it’s going to be worth getting back into this fall. Who knows maybe Rylan can shoot his first buck there?

Spring is here, get out in the woods, do some

hear and he looked at me kind of funny. I figured that I would get that response as I knew even at his age, that he would rather roam the woods than he would sit. I could relate to that! It was a good day just to out exploring the woods after the winter. It had snowed about an inch the night before and there were quite a few fresh

scouting, chase some turkeys and get some exercise.

Don’t forget to get the kids out there as well. They are the future of hunting.

This was the spot where bucks were not only traveling up and down the ravine but were crossing from side to side.

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spruce and alders before it opened up again. Once it opened up there were brown ash scattered about everywhere and almost every one of them had been rubbed at one time or another. It didn’t take long to find a nice signpost in the middle of all those rubs. It was easy to see why this was a good place for a signpost. It was up near the head of the ravine where the water started.

The ridges along both sides had leveled off making a great place for deer to get from one side to the other.

This was the spot where bucks were not only traveling up and down the ravine but were crossing from side to side.

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

May 2021

Northwoods Sporting Journal Guns & Ammo:

Classic Deer Rifles

First, I would like to clarify some information.

I recently wrote a column about the 16 gauge resurgence. In the article, I mentioned that some major manufacturers are offering new models in 16 gauge. I have received a couple of phone calls from folks trying to find these models at their local gun shops with

of my favorite classics is the Savage mod 99 in .300 Savage. A couple of my fathers’ friends had them back in the 40’s. I have a couple of 99’s in my safe, one of them in .300 savage. I also have at least one hunter every year that comes to bear camp with one. I say, great choice.

What’s not to love about

One of my favorite classics is the Savage mod 99 in .300 Savage. A couple of my fathers’ friends had them back in the 40’s. I have a couple of 99’s in my safe, one of them in .300 Savage. no luck. The information I published came from the virtual SHOT show in February. This is where the manufacturers introduce their new products. Frequently, it takes a while for these new products to reach your gun shop. We can only hope the manufacturers keep their promises.

Moving on, there are some rifles that always show up in northwoods deer and bear camps. Most old timers, me included, have their favorites. One

this combo?

The rifle is unique in that it is a lever action rifle with no external hammer. It also has an internal rotary magazine with a round counter. The top of the receiver has a pin that sticks up to indicate the gun is cocked. The safety is a lever or switch on the lever. Newer models have a detachable box mag and a tong safety. The .300 savage cartridge is a capable hunting round. I prefer the 180 gr. round 2350 fps and

Best Shot May 21 Arlo Pike’s lab Maggie cuddles up to her favorite outdoor read after a great day of partridge hunting at Big Machias Lake in Northern Maine.

2207 ft lbs of energy, but there is also a 150 gr version at 2600 fps and 2252 ft lbs of energy. As you can see, this puts the caliber a significant distance ahead of the very popular .30/30 and a bit behind the tried and true .308 Winchester.

That’s a useful place to be.

I have first hand experience observing its effectiveness on both whitetails and black bears. Those animals never knew what hit them. This beautiful rifle is no longer made by Savage Arms and it is not likely to come back. It was last manufactured in 1998. The gun was very expensive to manufacture and would not fair very well trying to fit into a modern production process. It is, however, a frequent visitor to used gun racks. The .300 Savage was the most common caliber in this rifle, so the price tags tend to be a bit less than some of the other calibers.

The .300 Savage also has a very moderate recoil in the 7 ¼ lb rifle, making it very pleasant to shoot. This is an ideal starter gun for a young hunter or someone a bit recoil shy without sacrificing terminal ballistics. Most of these rifles sport a 22 inch

Page 33

A Guide’s Perspective

by Tom Kelly, Orient, ME

barrel making them very well balanced and easy to handle. The trigger pull on these guns tends to be a bit heavier and have some creep when compared to a bolt action. The trigger configuration does, however, help mitigate this by its pivoting action. These rifles were revolutionary in their time, and still offer unique features for today’s shooter. The Savage mod 99 has been offered in a wide range of calibers from .22 high power to .375 Win. There are people who collect all of the various calibers and variations, but for me, its place as a classic hunting rifle in .300 Savage is undisputed.

The weather is getting better, the days are getting longer, let’s get those

kids outside shooting and fishing. We have all been locked down a while. It’s time to breath some fresh air. Come see us at the lake.

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

He is a retired police officer as well as a retired manager from two major firearms manufacturers.

He is an NRA Certified Instructor as well as a Hunter Safety Instructor in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. You can reach Tom at Shamrock Outfitters (207) 694-2473. Please visit our Facebook Page: Shamrock Outfitters and Properties and come visit us on East Grand Lake.

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

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 34

May 2021

The Maine The Hendrickson Hatch Deadwater on same location time after call spent wings. This is the Woods sowdahunk a beautiful calm evening time. As a fisherman, all same fly except their wings Matt LaRoche, Shirley, ME

I worked on the West Branch of the Penobscot as Park Manager of the Penobscot River Corridor for over 20-years. During those years, I had the opportunity to fish many evenings on the lower section of the West Branch.

Not every evening was a perfect evening of fishing, but when everything came together for a superb night of fishing - that is what makes a lifelong memory!

I came to work on the West Branch from the Allagash Wilderness Waterway and considered myself to be a good fisherman. I found that I could catch plenty of smaller landlocked salmon, but those big fish are very selective and hard to catch.

Lucky for me, a few fishermen took me under their wing and showed me what flies they were using and how to fish those flies.

One fisherman, named Stan Peterson explained what the fish were seeing and keyed in on. He talked

when fish started to rise and I did not have the right fly.

That was very frustrating!

I went to talked with Mr. Peterson about the fish rising and not being able to catch any. He explained what the fish were feeding on and that the fish were seeing little tiny sailboatshaped flies drifting down the river with their wings

you need to do is drift the right fly over that feeding fish and wham- that fish will take your fly! That is what keeps us fishing.

At the end of the Hendrickson hatch, you might notice that the fish are com-

are spread out flat on the water. If you see this happening, just switch to the spent wing version of the Hendrickson and you’re in business again. This usually happens just before dark and signals an end to

The Hendrickson hatch is the first hatch of the season on the river.

It usually occurs on or about Memorial Day weekend.

about duplicating the famous West Branch Caddis and Hendrickson hatches.

The Hendrickson hatch is the first hatch of the season on the river. It usually occurs on or about Memorial Day weekend.

I can remember fishing off Salmon Point on Ne-

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standing straight up. He also showed me how to tie the Comparadun fly, which simulates the Hendrickson mayfly.

When the salmon are feeding on the Hendrickson, you can see them come up and slowly slurp the flies off the surface of the river. If you are too quick to set the hook, you can actually pull the fly away from a feeding fish.

It is very exciting to see a big salmon come up in the

Big Eddy Rapid (By Matt LaRoche) ing up to hit your fly, but they are not really taking it- this is called a refusal.

When this happens, something has changed, usually the fish have stopped feeding on the flies with their wings straight up and have switched to feeding on the dead version of the Hendrickson, or what we

the fishing for that night.

The Comparadun is tied with the hair from the forehead of a whitetail deer and stiff tail fibers that help hold the fly straight up.

Once I tied a few of these flies, the results were amazing! On the first evening that I fished with my newly tied Comparadun creations, I caught over ten salmon one over 20 inches long.

Even though that was over 25 years ago, I can still remember that evening like it was yesterday.

You can watch a YouTube video showing how to tie the Comparadun at: https://midcurrent.com/ videos/tying-a-hendrickson-comparadun/ Matt LaRoche is the owner of Maine Woods Guide Service, a registered Maine Guide, an avid outdoorsman and the retired Superintendent of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. He can be reached at 207-695-2877 or at matt. laroche2877@gmail.com

May 2021

Flies (Cont. from pg 31) Maine for his “Rip” smelt, or “Ripogeneous Smelt”.

Ty Coates, formerly of Waterville, Maine should be remembered for his “Castle Island King”. Ty was a personal friend and certainly a perfectionist in fly tying. Bill Bovee of Brewer, Maine created the “Lucky Lady” and “Colburn Special” streamers, among so many others.

From Tom Mutch of West Grand Lake, Maine, a Master Maine Guide and fly tyer, came the “T.M. Special” and “A.A. Special, named after Aaron Alderman, a frequent visitor to the fishing grounds.

My old and dear friend, outdoor writer, Bill Geagan, had a fly tying friend who invented “The

Northwoods Sporting Journal Grizzly Geagan” streamer with grizzly feathers. Bill once said, “It was well named.”

My dear old fishing buddy, Roger Wakefield of Machias, Maine created “The Barnsie” casting streamer from the “Barnes Special” original by C. Lowell Barnes.

More modern day imitation fly designs by Theriaults Fly Shop in Stacyville, Maine is the “Maple Syrup” The original design came from two old gentlemen from Old Town, Maine, who fished with it at Nesowadnehunk Lake with much success.

The “Sneeka” and “Close Nuf” streamer flys were fashioned by Fern Bosse of Norway, Maine.

The “Footer Spec.” by Dave Footer, master painter and taxidermist from Waterville, Maine. Bob

Leeman, Jr. for “new versions” of “Rochelle” and “Maxwell” streamers that “take” fish.

A good word for friend, Woody Woodman, “classic” fly tyer from Holden, Maine.

Woody is a gifted fly tyer as well as a retired musician and band leader, who also designs and creates wooden plaques with original streamer fly patterns mounted and beautifully preserved under a glazed finish.

Let us not forget “Muzzy” Muzzarole of Sidney, Maine for his frameable, stunning masterpieces of artful imitation fly designs.

To be sure, we must mention Sharon Wright from Lisbon, Maine, for her prominent fly designs beautifully displayed in her book, “Tying Heritage

Featherwing Streamers”.

We are forever grateful to the late H.W. Folkins of Tamworth, New Hampshire, who mastered the art of creating Carrie Steven’s sundry of streamer fly presentations after acquiring her business. Also, we should not forget Dick Surette’s contribution in fly tying and who originated the Fly Tyer magazine and several books to the industry.

Most of these streamer fly patterns may be found in the book, “Trolling Flies for Trout and Salmon” by Dick Stewart and Bob Leeman. See ad in this NWSJ or call 207-573-1468.

And last, but certainly not least, Bob Leeman, Sr. of Brewer, Maine for the “Leeman Special” streamer, tied sparse to take fish. Suggestions: Tie ‘em sparse. Overly decorated

Page 35 flies are for framed mantle decorations, but they do seem to sell better.

To close---a word from my dear, departed friend, Fran Montville from Old Town Maine, who was a superb fly tyer who once said, “a streamer fly is a lot like a woman---it must have “form, flash, and action!”

Bob Leeman is a Master Maine Guide, outdoor writer, naturalist, book author, and a co-host of the MAINE OUTDOORS radio program on Sunday evenings from 7-8 p.m. His three books are all available, in soft cover only, at several bookstores and fly shops, or directly from him.

For information, see ad in this publication or call 207-573-1468.

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Page 36

Northwoods Sporting Journal

View From The River

May 2021

Close to Home and Heart

Buffleheads, ruddy ducks, white throughout the hooded mergansers, and woods. Bursts of lavengoldeneye — a treasure der, low along the shore,

by Laurie Chandler trove of species — join the are the blossoms of the Bremen, ME usual mallards and black shy rhodora. Poet Ralph Ice clings tenaciously I watch a painted turtle ducks. Osprey, great blue Waldo Emerson knew to shore where the sun does meander slowly across heron, and swooping swal- this shrub, whose delicate not reach. Drift close, and the muddy, leaf-strewn lows are there as well. azalea-like blooms apcurrents of cold air will rise river bottom. Beside the The crowning gift pear before the leaves. His to meet you. Life is stir- turtle, the wavery reflection is a pair of wood ducks poem “Rhodora” begins, ring, light is gathering. It of a clump of birch is an who glide quietly by. Calm “In May, when sea-winds is spring by the calendar, at last, and the water calls me.

For the paddler, spring is a time of resurrection. In it is a bit of the exuberance of discovering the canoe for the very first time. Precious freedom, and a renewal of the bond with your boat. It may not be alive, but sometimes it sure seems as if it is.

I need no big adven- Photos show shadbush, rhodora, and Webber Pond just after ice out.

The Purple is Rhodora and the white is Shadbush. tures this time of year.

Treasured spots, close to almost-perfect white. swimmers, they seem not pierced our solitudes, I home and heart, are more Canada geese are our to move, and yet their prog- found the fresh Rhodora than enough. There is a earliest nesting waterfowl. ress can be marked along in the woods, spreading its simple joy in pulling the Already, a pair of geese the shore. The male’s vi- leafless blooms in a damp canoe from its winter rest- guard a knot of fluffy, yel- brant colors are impossi- nook.” ing place. Up it goes, just low-brown babies. These bly bright against the dull Emerson concludes as it always has, onto the are not shy parents. They brown backdrop. with the words, “Why thou top of my vehicle. Gear is honk an indignant protest Later, when the ice wert there, O rival of the resurrected, tossed in the until I am well past. Far has gone, there are ponds rose! I never thought to back, and I am off. downriver, ducks erupt to explore. Near home, I ask; I never knew; But in Some years, I go to in great swirling flocks, have four to choose among, my simple ignorance supthe river while the ponds gone long before I reach where generous friends pose the self-same poware still frozen. Putting them. They have left a share their launching spots. er that brought me there, in on the slow-moving gift, though. A cluster of Out on open water, I pull brought you.”

Pemaquid River in Bristol delicate, downy feathers and the boat surges forThe loons, too, have Mills, it is two and a half floats gently upon the wa- ward. A tiny whirlpool returned. At the first hauntquiet miles up to the bar- ter. The river is theirs in drifts back from my paddle ing call, I turn to look with rier of ice on Biscay Pond. this season of migration. and melts into the lake. a thrill in my heart. When I crave color. Moss the loon pops up, he is on a rocky slope shines a darker than he will be in brilliant green, bringing summer. hope and the promise of A mighty struggle new growth and new ad- is underway. The loon is venture. The early bloom- fighting to swallow a hefty ing shadbush is sprinkled fish, perhaps a bass, the

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largest I have ever seen a loon tackle. He seems to have achieved a solid grip, and lines the fish up. Stretching his neck upward, he wiggles his entire body. Slowly, the fish slides down, down, down, until even the tail is gone.

I marvel that the loon can either breathe or float, but

I need no big adventures this time of year.

Treasured spots, close to home and heart, are more than enough.

There is a simple joy in pulling the canoe from its winter resting place.

with his task accomplished, he looks unfazed.

Still later in spring, newborn leaves appear.

The mist of delicate pinks and greens is ephemeral, the hues and textures everchanging. In fact, change is the theme of the season. In the northern forest, spring flows quickly into summer.

If you would be a part of this miraculous transformation, go. Gather your gear, load your boat, and go to the lake. You will not be sorry.

Laurie Apgar Chandler is the author of the new release Through Woods & Waters, which provides an adventurous look at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, and Upwards, the story of her 2015 solo thru-paddle of the 740-mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail. For more information or to purchase the books, visit www.laurieachandler.com

Northwoods Sporting Journal

May 2021

Me & Joe

(Cont. from pg11) downstream. People stood up from where they were picking and stared in amazement. Birds flushed out of trees. Broken limbs and shredded leaves drifted down in the hazy sunshine.

Then it was quiet again.

With shaking hands, Effrett swung out the cylinder on the revolver and ejected the empty shells.

He dug frantically in a

pocket for another fullmoon clip of six rounds to stuff into the gun. Joe laid a hand on his arm.

“Snake’s gone, Eff. An’ I think Bully an’ Nerman got the message.” The sudden scream of a full throttle outboard motor came from the shoreline.

We watched as Bully’s boat tore out into the river and went roaring off downstream.

The other pickers, used to the firing of guns

Katahdin

and the sound of boats on the river, turned and resumed picking. Effrett watched them for a minute, drawing a trembling forearm across his lips.

“I think I’m done pickin’,” he said quietly.

“I ain’t up for it no more.

I’ll jest take what I got an’ call it good.”

“Oh, no need for that,” Joe said, grinning.

He walked over to where Bully’s big pack basket lay tilted to one side. He

brought it over and dumped most of the fiddleheads it contained into Effrett’s basket, until they overflowed the top. “No sense lettin’ these ones go to waste.”

A few minutes later we had the canoe loaded and, with the little outboard purring contentedly, moved slowly downstream.

I turned back toward where Effrett sat in the middle.

“You know, Eff, it turned out all right, but you’ve really got to be

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Page 37

careful with that gun.

Somebody could have been hurt.”

Effrett stared at the passing shoreline, a faint grin curving his lips. “I shoot expert with that gun in competition around the state. They was two big maples and an oak for backstop in the direction I was shootin’. Nobody was gonna git hurt.

I know my mouth fell open. Joe started to laugh, his chest heaving. “Now I like that, Eff. I like that a lot.” Still chuckling, he reached over and opened the throttle wide. The bow picked up slightly and we moved more quickly downstream.

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 38

May 2021

Good Caddis Recipes

Fly Fishing

by Joe Bertolaccini, Orrington, ME With trout beginning to provide some surface action this month, let’s take a look at several adult caddis patterns that have been productive over the years.

Caddis (also commonly referred to as sedges) are more plentiful and exist in a broader range of stream and lake environments than many other aquatic forms making them a very significant food source for many kinds of fish.

In addition, adult caddis can live a month or more while mayflies and stoneflies generally survive for only up to a week. Caddis can be readily distinguished from other emerging insects by their very active fluttering type motion much like a moth as they leave the water surface. This often results in very spectacular splashy rises as compared to the gentler sipping of mayflies by trout or salmon.

There can be three and sometimes four different adult caddis patterns

to simulate their various phases including emerging adults, females that land on the water surface to deposit their eggs, those that dive down through the water column to drop their eggs directly on the bottom, and the spent adults that expire after their egg laying activities are completed. Most of the caddis action that I’ve seen however has resulted from emerging or egg laying adults.

With that in mind, perhaps the best-known and most widely used pattern today in Maine and the northeast is the Elk Hair Caddis. This was created back in the 1950’s by well-known fly fisherman and author, Al Troth from southwestern Montana, who incidentally also originated one of my other favorites, the Pheasant Tail Nymph.

Dressing: Elk Hair Caddis Hook – Standard dry fly, sizes 10 to 20.

Thread – Brown or tan 6/0,

8/0 for size 16 to 20.

Body – Hare’s ear dubbing.

Ribbing – Brown or furnace hackle spiraled over the body with fine gold wire spiraled over the hackle. Hackle may be clipped short underneath.

Wing – Light elk hair.

When tying on hair wings that are slippery like elk hair, I like to wind a base of thread under where the wings will be attached to keep them from rolling around the hook shank.

It may also be helpful to apply a light coat of head cement on the windings prior to adding the wings.

Head – Clipped wing butts.

A variation of the Elk Hair Caddis can be tied parachute style that allows the fly to set down in the surface film as well as creating a realistic impression of the legs when viewed from below.

Dressing: Elk Hair Parachute Caddis Hook – Standard dry fly,

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sizes 10 to 16.

Thread – Brown or tan 6/0.

Body – Hare’s ear dubbing.

Wing – Light elk hair.

Wing post – Butts of wing.

Hackle – Brown dry fly hackle wound horizontally around the base of wing post.

Head – Clipped wing butts.

Another adult caddis pattern that sets low in the water and is easy to tie is the Woodchuck Caddis that was developed by Eric Leiser. It is suitable for calm or rough water, floats well and when properly tied is extremely durable.

Dressing: Woodchuck Caddis Hook – Standard dry fly, sizes 10 to 16.

Thread – Brown or tan 6/0.

Body – Brown or tan dubbing.

Wing – Woodchuck guard hairs. (Other wing materials can be substituted such as floating yarn, calftail or folded goose or turkey quill) Hackle – Brown and/ or grizzly dry fly hackle wound as a collar and clipped on the bottom to

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about the width of the hook gap or a little less.

Head – Standard thread head.

The Caddis Emerger represents the emerging insect as it leaves the lake bottom or streambed and swims to the surface to become a winged adult.

Dressing: Caddis Emerger Hook – Standard dry fly, sizes 10 to 20.

Thread – Brown or tan, 6/0 to 8/0.

Body – Clear nylon ribbing.

Legs/throat – Partridge hackle fibers.

Wing – Tan floating yarn fibers.

Head – Clipped wing butts.

Being extremely buoyant, caddis dry flies function very well as a strike indicator with a smaller tail fly such as a weighted Prince or Pheasant Tail nymph tied on a 24 or 30-inch tippet attached directly to the hook bend of the dry fly.

Joe has enjoyed fly fishing for over 65 years.

His book, Fundamentals of Fly Fishing, is now available. He can be reached at: brewerberts@aol.com

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May 2021

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 39

Bruin in the Buttery

This story, by William A. Brooks was published in Forest and Steam magazine on July 15, 1893. They had been camping and paddling for many days on a river in northern Maine, and finally reached a very welcome house. Here is the bear story the old proprietor related.

“There was an In-

“He had knocked down two pans of milk and a mess of corned beef and pork and had made a dretful muss of it. dian here that night named Mitch, and he and the boy sat here by the fire talkin’ and smokin’, when they heard a sound of somethin’ or other movin’ round in the butt’ry. Then some tin pans tumbled down, making a terrible din, and they jumped up and opened the butt’ry door and slammed it a good deal quicker ‘cause there was a big black bear in there, and they didn’t have no idee of tacklin’ him bare-handed, and their guns wa’n’t loaded.

“I dressed myself as soon as I could and we loaded our rifles. I told Sam, the boy, to open the door quick after we were ready, and Mitch and I took different positions in the room here, so that one or t’other of us could send a bit of lead where it might do the most good. You see, the butt’ry is a pretty big one, but with Mitch over there, and I about where I be now, we could cover the whole of it.

“Well, when we got all ready, Sam he slipped up to the door, yanked it wide open and jumped

Old Tales from the Maine Woods

by Steve Pinkham Quincy, MA

“After a while we heard him, but he was pretty wary, and we could tell that he wasn’t climbin’ in but was sniffin’ round outside.” back. But by that time and Mitch to slip out the the bear had gone. The door and each go round butt’ry winder had been the house. left open and he climbed “So we sat there, keeout the same way he got pin’ quiet and not saying in. I guess the things he a word, and after a while knocked down frightened sure enough we heard him him, for they made noise climbin’ in again. Sam enough, and the butt’ry was and Mitch went out and a sight to see.

I opened the door jest in “He had knocked time to see him disappear down two pans of milk through the winder. and a mess of corned beef “I yelled to them to and pork and had made a look out for him, but it was dretful muss of it. He didn’t an awful dark night and seem to have eaten much, they couldn’t see him. As so we thought perhaps he he ran round the corner of might come back if we the house he went plump kept quiet, and I told Sam into the Indian, who was

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going round from the other way. He nearly knocked the wind out of Mitch and I don’t know which was the more frightened. The bear got off with a whole hide that time, however, and disappeared into the darkness.

“Mitch came in puffin’ and we sat down again to wait. After a while we heard him, but he was pretty wary, and we could tell that he wasn’t climbin’ in but was sniffin’ round outside. Then he seemed to move away and Sam got up to peak out the winder in this room. The winder was down, but all of a sud-

den Sam got up with his rifle and blazed away right through the glass.

“The bear had run right by the wood pile out there, where the ground was all white with the chips that were strewn about, and as his black hide showed up again’ ‘em Sam drew a bead on him. We rushed out and when we got there the old feller was kickin’ his last. Sam got the bounty and sold the hide.

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

Wild Turkey Preparation

Cookin’ With New England’s WildCheff

by Denny Corriveau, Kennebunkport, ME

For the past forty years, the outdoors has played a major role in my spiritual journey.

I have found it to be one of the most significant places to find God and commune with Him. Par-

May 2021

This type of adventure comes in a variety of ways when it involves wild turkey. Like any wild animal, they have a pattern, but its always variable based on conditions that we have no control over.

a dilemma in their minds about being able to enjoy the entire bird. It’s a shame that anyone would walk away from full use of their bird.

A close friend of mine, who is a Maine Warden, shared the same issue with me. He was honestly amazed when I told him that I could share with him a way to cook his legs or thighs in a way that would

inch or so) 1 small carrot, chopped 1 small sweet onion, chopped 1 celery stalk, chopped 1 sprig of fresh rosemary 2 sprigs of fresh thyme

until vegetables are soft and golden brown, about 7 minutes. Add rosemary, thyme, bay leaf and tomato paste and cook for about 30 more seconds, to bring out the aromatics. Add the to-

Although wild turkeys can fly, much of their life is spent hoofing it through the woods and fields. This is just one reason why hunters many times ignore the legs and thighs. taking in nature’s beauty is pure, untainted by man’s hand, and comes without distractions or outside influences. This is where God speaks to my spirit man and gives me inspiration and purpose.

God has always faithfully provided, and there is something to be said about doing your food shopping at God’s grocery store!

Fortunately, when you bring these delicious birds to the kitchen, you do have full control of the direction you take with preparing them.

Although wild turkeys can fly, much of their life is spent hoofing it through the woods and fields. This is just one reason why hunters many times ignore the legs and thighs. There is

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excite him.

The common thought I hear from people is that if they were to use the legs and thighs, they would place them into a crockpot. While they are on the right track, there is an efficient method I will share with you, that will yield tasty results. I can tell you that after following this method, my Warden friend stated that he will never waste another leg and thigh again. His response was that he had to fight his kids off to even get a bite as they scarfed it down!

When dressing out your wild turkey, remove breasts from the carcass.

Now carve off your legs and thighs. Using a hack saw, saw off the top 2-3 inches of the leg bone. You are now ready to have a new make the most of your wild turkey!

WildCheff’s Wild Turkey Osso Buco Braising turkey in this osso buco style gives it that red meat, falling-off-thebone tenderness.

Ingredients 4 turkey thighs or legs (bony ends trimmed by an

With proper preparation, a wild turkey is excellent table fare.

1 bay leaf matoes, chicken stock and 1 T of tomato paste wine and bring to a boil.

1 small can of peeled whole Place turkey back into tomatoes pan and make sure they are 2 C of turkey or chicken submerged at least halfway stock (if not, add more stock).

2 C of dry white wine Cover the pan with 1/2 C all-purpose organic tight-fitting lid or alumiflour, for dredging num foil. Place in oven for olive oil about 1 1/2 - 2 hours until sea salt meat is nearly falling off freshly ground pepper the bone. Remove from Directions the oven and let stand 10 Preheat oven to 375°F minutes. degrees.

Serve over osso buco Season legs or thighs before serving. with salt and pepper.

Dredge in flour to coat.

WildCheff - Denny In a Dutch oven or Corriveau is Award-Winheavy-bottomed pan, heat ning Celebrity Game Chef, olive oil over high heat un- Iron Chef, TenPoint Crosstil smoking. Place thighs in bow’s National Game Chef, pan and cook until brown and the Founder of the all over (about 5 minutes Free Range Culinary Instion each side). Transfer to tute, the only national wild a plate and set aside. game cooking school in Reduce heat to me- the country. You can learn dium and add carrot, onion more @ www.wildcheff. and celery and a pinch com or visit him on Instaof salt and pepper. Cook gram @ thewildcheff

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Across

1 --- Oak 3 --- Public Reserved Land, W Maine 7 German rough-haired pointer 8 The Black-Legged ---,

Northwoods Sporting Journal Fire 15 Maine --- Glove, with three fingers 16 Piscataquis lake, smallmouth bass source

coastal visitor 10 Toller, from --- Scotia 12 This spruce smells like one, particularly when burned 13 Large aggressive seabird 14 Small cherry tree, a k a

Down 1 Long-time Maine summer resident family 2 Northern Wild ---, Adirondack shrub 4 Hummingbird-attracting plant, sounds compliant 5 State bird is this, up aloft 6 --- Harbor, Mount Desert Island 9 Stoat relative with a long or short tail 11 Maine’s rarest swallow nests in one 12 --- May Warbler (Answers on pg 43)

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Page 41

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 42

The Northwoods Bowhunter

by Brian Smith, Machiasport, ME My wife Joyce whispered, “Here comes a bear”! It was June 12 th, 2019 and we were in a double ladder stand north of Boisetown in Central New Brunswick hunting with Taxis River Outfitters, Tel: (506-369-7105) It was my first spring bear hunt and Joyce’s first time in a bear stand.

Black Bear are the perfect big game to hunt with a bow and arrow.

Your traditional whitetail set up will work fine for bear with razor sharp tough broad heads that will punch through bone if needed.

Lighted or fiber optic sight pins are a must due to the low light opportunities at thick woods bear bait sites.

Baiting is the preferred method to lure the mostly nocturnal and wily bruins within bow range. You or your guide can set up your bait at a known range and

angle to maximize the potential for a broadside shot.

Bears typically sleep in cool areas during the heat of the day and feed late in the day until morning.

That can change during the rut in May and June when you might see a nice boar any time of the day. Spring is the perfect time of year to

May 2021

First Spring Bear Bowhunt

continue spring bear hunting decades ago. However you can still hire a Passamaquoddy or Penobscot Nation guide to hunt spring bears on Tribal lands in Maine from mid-May until the end of June. In talking with Wabanaki Wilderness Tel: (207-853-0949), who guide spring hunts in Washington County, the spring hunt success is close to 100% versus fall hunts averaging 50%. Currently

When he did, I drew and placed the 20 yd pin just behind the foreleg, halfway up the body. My Muzzy tipped Easton arrow zipped through the chest and clanged off the metal bait drum.

hunt bears as they are hungry after their long winter sleep. The coats are long and thick and you have a greater chance of seeing bigger boars searching for a mate or food.

Two of my friends arrowed their first bears on New Brunswick spring hunts, both weighing over 400 lbs. The Maine State Legislature voted to dis-

8 Western states and 8 Canadian Provinces allow spring bear hunting and most allow the use of baits.

Back at Taxis River, we ate delicious meals prepared by Larry’s wife Bonnie and crew. Joyce and I fly fished two mornings and she caught more and bigger fish than I. Around 4 p.m. each day, our guide “Manny” drove us 30 miles deep into privately leased woodlands behind locked gates with no cell signal.

It was strange to be able to legally hunt until almost 10 p.m. Atlantic Time and then eating huge home

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The author and his wife Joyce with his first New Brunswick spring bear. cooked meals after 11 p.m.

On the third evening, a bear came down the trail about 9 p.m. and warily approached the bait. Joyce was observing but not hunting and I glimpsed her cell phone shaking as she started her video. She was excited to see her first live bear the woods. At 20 yds, I could tell it wasn’t a big bear as so I never raised my bow. After putting on a good show, the bear looked back on the trail he had come from then bolted.

Joyce whispered, “Why didn’t you shoot, he looked huge?” I whispered back “There is a bigger bear

coming”, then stood and raised my Mathews HeliM bow set at 60 lbs. This bear had a swagger and I could tell it was a mature long haired boar that I wanted to take. Joyce was videoing again and it took some time for the bear to present a perfect broadside shot. When he did, I drew and placed the 20 yd pin just behind the foreleg, halfway up the body. My Muzzy tipped Easton arrow zipped through the chest and clanged off the metal bait drum. The boar woofed and ran full speed into the thick firs behind (Bear cont,. pg 67)

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 43

Maine Tails

By Jonah Paris, Scarborough, ME

Top Lures for Spring Stripers As I stood along the bank, blades of grass frozen underfoot, a waxing crescent kept vigil overhead. Zipping my coat closer to my chin, I casted again into the darkness.

The pungent breath of the salt marsh was muted by the chill, and I would soon

Annually, the first wave of migratory striped bass trickle into Southern Maine river systems during the first or second week of May. The dark, muddy bottoms of estuaries warm quickly, providing both comfortable water and a plethora of bait to the new arrivals. discover that the temperature had dropped to twentynine degrees. A raccoon emerged from behind a rock, a clam in his mouth, froze momentarily in the beam of my headlamp, and sulked off to enjoy a late supper. Suddenly, a violent splash erupted on my lure.

I felt a familiar jolt, then solid pressure as I set the hook into the striper’s hard jaw. After releasing the healthy mid-twenty inch fish, my seventh “schoolie” of the evening, I checked my watch. Just shy of midnight, it was now time to call it a night.

Annually, the first wave of migratory striped bass trickle into Southern

Maine river systems during the first or second week of May. The dark, muddy bottoms of estuaries warm quickly, providing both comfortable water and a plethora of bait to the new arrivals. While the beaches and ledges will hold fish June through October, May stripers will swarm the rivers, marshes, creeks, and backwaters. Below are the

gliding action of this lure imitates a dying baitfish and draws attention. Additionally, a pink Hogy twitched slowly in the current appears to resemble a drifting sea worm. Bloodworms, sandworms, and ribbon worms are a favorite food source of springtime bass. During the dropping tide at a certain river in Southern Maine, I have of-

Two of the author’s “seasoned” nighttime favorites: Mambo Minnow (top) and Mag Darter (bottom).

(Photo courtesy of Jonah Paris.) first lures, often the only, that I tie on to fool earlyseason stripers.

1. Hogy Original (7inch, “Bubble Gum”) I don’t often fish for stripers during the daylight hours, but when I do, I reach for a “Bubble Gum” (pink) 7-inch Hogy Original with confidence. I rig the Hogy weightless with a sturdy 5/0 swimbait hook.

High tide, especially following a heavy spring rainfall, quickly turns brackish water the color of chocolate milk. When fishing stained water, a bright pink soft plastic proves itself an essential tool in the striperman’s arsenal. The erratic

ten watched stripers, some rather large, burst savagely from deep holes to snatch a pink Hogy.

2. Gag’s Grabbers Mambo Minnow (5-inch, “Black”) The 5-inch Mambo Minnow in black has quickly become a favorite when fishing shallow backwaters at night. The slim, cigar-shaped profile effectively mimics earlyseason bait and what this little swimming plug lacks in terms of castability, it more than makes up for with results. The wake produced by this lure on a dark, windless night is truly (Lures cont. pg 55)

Crossword Answers from pg 41

Across: 1 Bur, 3 Holeb, 7 Stichelhaar, 8 Kittiwake, 10 Nova,

12 Cat, 13 Skua, 14 Pin, 15 Line, 16 Boyd.

Down: 1 Bush, 2 Raisin, 4 Obedient, 5 Black-Capped, 6 Bar, 9 Weasel, 11 Bank, 12 Cape.

Page 44

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Marsh Island Chronicles

The Darned Government

conservation was now a factor, too.

Different methods

by Matthew Dunlap, were outlawed, too, like Old Town, ME the time-honored tool of Here we are, dear not always the case. Long using dogs to hunt deer readers. The winter is over; before we were united in with, the use of bait, or the snowmelt swells our our resolve to separate hunting at night with lights favorite trout streams, the from the King of England, (okay, this wasn’t exactly black flies swarm, telling and for a long time after, ‘time-honored’, but hey, it us it’s time to fish. When hunting, fishing and trap- worked). It became sometired of casting nymphs ping were things people thing of a pattern that every and dry flies into current did, like walk to the post time sportsmen found a riffles, we move away from office or carry an armload way to make up for closed the brook and climb up in of firewood. You just did seasons and bag limits, the the woods, where the gob- it, mostly because you darned government would outflank resourceful and least of whom were the bling of tom turkeys fill our needed to. lawmakers themselves.

As we grew in number in the several cities, towns and plantations of Maine, though, the more people that hunted or “A member of the House stopped me the other day,” depended on the game from hunting, the greater the thundered Rep. Hinkley pressure on our game population. of South Portland during As we grew in number thoughtful hunters at the the debate of March 20th, early-morning hours with patience, as we dress like in the several cities, towns next pass.

1919, “And he said this: “I Finally, not only did have three boys in France. bushes, and coax them in and plantations of Maine, though, the more people the darned government They have been fighting for as we wait in ambush.

But first—we have to that hunted or depended make hunting more chal- freedom. I do not want to on the game from hunting, lenging than ever, they tell them when they return get our licenses.

I’ve been paying for the greater the pressure on decided we had to pay for that we have taken away licenses and permits for as our game population. In it ourselves! That’s where that right and heritage of long as I can remember, a series of controversial the licenses came from. the people of this State which is about as long as moves, the darned govern- Unthinkable. And all of to go into the pasture and I’ve been trapping, fishing, ment established unheard- this, fellow sportsmen, shoot a rabbit.” I tell you and hunting in the State of of ‘closed times’ when you took place years before men it is not right; it is unMaine. I don’t remember couldn’t hunt, and went Lenin was yelling at the American….” not needing a license to even further, setting limits proletariat from atop a Despite the furor, the do any of it, although I on how many deer a hunter tomato crate in downtown bill passed, and over time now know I didn’t need a could take. Imagine! Sud- Moscow. buying a license became Not that the new li- a ritual of sorts to sportsfishing license until I was denly, it wasn’t just about feeding families or selling censing laws weren’t met men—to go to the town sixteen.

Such, of course, was a little game on the side— with resistance, not the office and get their licenses for the year. While no one likes sending money to the darned government, the moment did give us a chance to catch up with the folks at the town office and pick up a new lawbook.

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May 2021

government with the pride that we, with our dollars, actually do something for conservation.

Just before I sat down to write this, I filled out a survey about soft plastic fishing lures put out by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, which has some loose affiliation with the darned government. Anyway, it’s an important survey—I was on a working group to study the impact of soft plastic lures, which was the result of a compromise in legislation to study the problem rather than have a legislative fight over banning rubber worms.

Come to think of it, unlike simply sending in our tax check, where we have to follow the every move of the Legislature to understand what they do with all that money, when we buy a license we not only secure the privilege of our forebears and heritage in the outdoors, we know the money goes to support that heritage. Maybe the darned government was on to something back in 1919.

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.

May 2021

Northwoods Sporting Journal

The Wickham’s Fancy

This month’s fly is an old English wet fly dating from the late 1800’s. Like a lot of these old flies, there’s some debate about who originated it and what the fly is trying to imitate. The trout don’t care and neither do I; it’s a very good fly.

Recipe for Wickham’s Fancy Hook – Standard wet fly hook, size 8-14 Thread – Black or brown Tail – Red or brown hackle fibers Body – Gold Mylar Hackle – Brown rooster, palmered Wing – Paired mallard quill I use a standard wet fly hook because it sinks better than a dry fly hook.

Tie in a tail as long as the hook shank, then tie in a brown rooster hackle at the tail end of the shank. You

will be winding this hackle feather forward to the eye after you wind on a Mylar body. This method, or style, of tying on a hackle is called “palmer” and you’ll see it from time to time.

For the body, the recipe calls for gold Mylar but it is

commonly tied with holographic tinsel these days. I have to admit, I use a lot of holographic tinsel in several colors myself. Tie the Mylar in behind the hook eye and wind back to the tail and then forward to the tie in point. This will cover any gaps between wraps you made on the first pass.

Tie off the Mylar and trim.

Leave your thread at the hook eye and wind the hackle feather forward, five or six turns and tie off a short distance from the hook eye, leaving enough room to tie in a set of wings.

The wings are two slips of

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opposing mallard quills.

You can buy a matched set of quills for a few dollars and when you learn to tie quill wings, you’ll like the results. The wings should be as long as the hook shank, eye to bend.

You can tie them with the tips flaring out or cupped together; each method has its followers.

That’s it, wrap a head and tie off. The original recipe calls for a gold wire to be tied in at the tail and wound over the hackle as

Page 45

The Tyer’s Corner

by Hugh Kelly, Detroit, ME

a wire rib. I’ve used this method in the past but it’s not required. This is a very buggy wet fly that will get strikes on moving or still water and it imitates a variety of food sources. And better yet; it’s old school.

There’s nothing wrong with that.

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

Hugh Kelly has fly

Carroll’s Corner Ticks…Here We Go Again

Thankfully, spring has sprung, at least for some of Maine. Apple blossoms, fiddleheads, trout and unfortunately, ticks are here again. Ticks and Lyme disease are such a critical problem here in Maine, and so taking the proper care to repel them is extremely important. A couple of years ago, I made mention of a product that is manufactured right here in central Maine. We tested it repeatedly and had good results with it. The base of this lotion is cedar oil, and the big point for us is that we can put it directly on our skin and of equal importance to us; we can spray it directly on our faithful hunting companion, Riffle. There are an endless number of other products that one can use, and one that gets a great deal of attention is a product named Permethrin. This product is very effective but has some serious limitations about how it is used. The instructions for using this product are very specific. You cannot put this on your skin; instead you spray it on your outer clothing ONLY, shirt, trousers and socks. You do not use it to treat underwear, caps or inner clothing. It is applied as a spray, liberally covering your clothing and then allowing the cloths to dry for at least two hours. Properly applied, it provides protection for at least fortytwo days and can be washed several times. While this is apparently very effective in repelling ticks, I am very reluctant to use a product that is accompanied by such severe warnings about possible side effects.

Here is another repellant that has been suggested by the USDA Forest Service. You mix 2 cups white vinegar, 1 cup Avon Skin So Soft bath oil, 1 Cup water and 1 tablespoon Eucalyptus oil. I have not tried this product personally, but have a friend who has used it and swears by it. In the event that you are in the woods and find that a tick has decided to join you, you need to be careful if you try to remove them. The University of Maine Cooperative Extension (I worked for them several years ago, great organization) can provide a tick removal tool that looks like a small measuring spoon. You can contact ticks.umaine.edu to obtain these.

Removal instruction is included.

Lastly, any trips into the fields or woods should be preceded by applying your repellant of choice and using elastic bands or tape around cuffs and wrists. Don’t forget to protect your collar and neck.

Hang in there, stay safe and take care of each other.

Next month…..Worms & nightcrawlers (honest!)

Carroll M. Ware is a Master Maine Guide, holder of forty-eight world fly-fishing records and a two-time Maine Professional fly-casting champion.

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 46

May 2021

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

May 2021

Grant’s Camps And The Kennebago

Against The Current

by Bob Romano, Rangeley, ME baitfish. In the evenings, the fish will also rise to the occasional hatch.

A mile or so below Little Kennebago Lake, the stream enters the Logans, a boggy backwater adjacent to Big Kennebago Lake.

The carry road down to the

Day on the fabled Kennebago River.

My wife and I have owned a camp in the Rangeley Lakes Region of western Maine for nearly forty years. When we first arrived, there were no mile markers or signs to help navigate the many logging roads that wind through the conifer forest like a riverspider’s web. GPS were only letters in the alphabet and the guys in those flyfishing chat rooms had yet to be born.

Thankfully, the Kennebago River has not changed since we first fished it. Slipping out from a number of ponds found north of the Boundary Mountains, the river flows for approximately twenty-five miles, before it crosses under Route 16, the two-lane macadam road that leads to the towns of Oquossoc and Rangeley.

Soon thereafter, the river flows into Cupsuptic Lake, an arm of Mooselookmeguntic Lake.

The stream’s headwaters begin as a tanninstained brook where brook trout can be found behind fallen spruce, around boulders, and in nearly every riffle and plunge pool.

With few hatches to bring them to the surface,

these native char will rise to any well-placed dry fly or snap at a wet fly drifted past their nose. I’ve spent many afternoons working upstream, casting a #16 Pheasant-tail with a parachute wing or swinging a Gold-ribbed Hare’s ear downstream. This is classic small-stream fishing—the reward a flash of scarlet and gold through the teacolored current, and on occasion the silver-and-black surprise of a landlocked parr.

To be sure the fish are smaller this high up, but you’ll be alone if you don’t count the eagle flying overhead or the mink slinking along the bank.

The current slows a mile or so above Little Kennebago Lake as the river twists lazily through a number of S curves. Although quite narrow, this stretch of stream is deep

enough to fish from a canoe. The trout here are bit larger, fitting nicely in a palm, but just as eager to take a fly. Approaching the entrance to the lake, the river widens a bit, still moving in a slow, serpentine manner. The trout in the little lake are not as innocent as those in the upper waters and must be approached with stealth.

In late September, if there’s rain, larger brook trout and salmon will move out of Little Kennebago Lake on their spawning run. It is then that you’ll find many local anglers lining the sandy shoal beside the stream’s entrance while others swing their streamers from canoes.

Only non-motorized watercraft is permitted on the small lake, where pods of brook trout and landlocked salmon cruise for smelt, the principal

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Page 47

throughout June and into the early part of July.

Big Kennebago Lake is the largest fly-fishingonly lake in the State of Maine. Landlocked salmon measuring in excess of 16” can be fooled early in the season by casting tradi-

The trout here are bit larger, fitting nicely in a palm, but just as eager to take a fly. Approaching the entrance to the lake, the river widens a bit, still moving in a slow, serpentine manner. big lake is gated, as is the river below the lake to a point not far above Route 16.

The current quickens as the river winds down from the bridge below Little Kennebago. In early spring, deeper runs hold fish measuring up to fourteen inches. Similar size trout are not uncommon in the Logans from late May,

tional streamers, such as a Black Ghost or Kennebago Smelt at the entrance of the lake’s tributaries.

As the season progresses, there will be dryfly opportunities over successive hatches of Hendricksons, Blue-winged Olives and Green Drakes.

Caddis appear on the water throughout the summer as (Camps cont. pg 53)

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 48

The Winni Fishing Derby

New Hampshire Outdoors

by Peter St. James, Warner, N.H. October for me is the best month to be out in the woods or on the water. But May is a real close second.

This month fishing for all species really takes off and, of course, there’s the spring turkey season. Lots of choices everywhere you turn. The Outdoor Foundation, the philanthropic wing of the Outdoor Industry Association reported that 3.4 million more participated in freshwater fishing last year. Of course, the pandemic was a big motivator in those increased numbers.

But, I’ve been out quite a bit since salmon fishing opened on April 1st and I’m

May 2021

still seeing a bunch of folks on the big lakes trolling for salmon and lakers. Glad to see that they liked the experience last year and are back at this year. I’ve

offerings.

The Winni Derby will be back on May 14th-16th.

Only Landlocked Salmon and Lake Trout taken from Lake Winnipesaukee are eligible for prizes. The entry fee is $55.00 for Adults and $40.00 for Juniors. Junior participants

source! We’ll see how that plan works? Then there’s always the question…the .20 gauge pump or the Ithaca 12 gauge side-byside? Sure, the 20 can reach out a bit further but even though the 12 barks and kicks, the message it delivers is pretty final. They’re

The Winni Derby will be back on May 14th-16th. Only Landlocked Salmon and Lake Trout taken from Lake Winnipesaukee are eligible for prizes. had some nice catch and release action on salmon and rainbows using some streamers tied by Scott Biron and Fish On Streamers.

I prefer the locally-tied flies as opposed to the nationally tied flies. They seem to be better tied and more closely resemble our local

New Hampshire (Birds cont.LLC pg ??)

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must be under the age of 16 upon completion of the Derby. Participating locations have entry forms until the close of business on Thursday, May 13th while online registration will be available until 11 pm on May 13th. For tickets, rules and information, go to : winniderby.org As usual, turkey season runs the entire month of May. This year I’m using a blind for hunting. Usually I hunker down by a stump or a stonewall. And, that’s worked. But, I think the ticks and black flies have taken their toll on me, so I’m waving a small white surrender flag. I’ll still be out there just not making myself an obvious food

both patterned so we’ll see what kind of mood I’m in on Opening Day. Of course, there’s always the chance that no matter which I choose, I’ll end up saying, “I should have brought the other gun”. Oh well, fortunately the season is thirty-one days long.

While some ammo is slowly making its way to the shelves, be prepared to pay a pretty penny for it. I received notification from a national supplier that a shipment of .280 AI had been delivered and they’d be happy to ship it to me….at $81.99 a box. And that was before shipping charges were tacked on. At $4.09 a round, I decided to take a pass. One downside

of the ammo shortage is that many folks won’t have a good supply of their favorite load in the gun case.

But, to me, the bigger issue is that because there isn’t ammo on hand or on the shelves then people won’t be at the range sighting in and becoming comfortable with their chosen firearm.

That lack of familiarity or comfort could result in missed shots or wounding come hunting season.

While many of us have a “go to” rifle that we know by heart, there are many folks, new to hunting, that don’t have that symbiotic relationship. In that case, the ammo shortage is worse for them than it is for many of us.

Well, the fly rod, trolling rod, square stern canoe, trolling motor, shotguns and camo are all in the truck. Time to go play!

Peter St. James is a member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association, Outdoor Writers Association of America and a licensed NH Fishing Guide. Find him at : stjames.peter@gmail.com

Northwoods Sporting Journal

May 2021

Page 49

Most Elusive Game Birds?

Many of my columns are the result of an email or text message from a fellow hunter. Recently, I was asked which upland birds are the hardest to hunt and which are the easiest to hunt. The question didn’t delineate from difficult for

pointing dog will pin many of their birds they encounter which will provide the hunter with a flush and shot. However, the bird will run on most dogs. That means a flush far ahead of the dog and no shot. If the hunter is lucky to be close

placed step can easily end up with a medical emergency. The chukar has good pointing scent, however, getting to your on-point dog could be a problem.

For difficulty, hunting chukar is a close second to the ruffed grouse.

My next bird in terms of hunting difficult would be the Hungarian partridge.

Hunting the prairies requires a great deal of stamina for both the hunter and the dog. You will often

On Point

by Paul Fuller, Durham, N.H.

they’re hardly ever there.

We’re slowly getting easier now. My next bird would be the sharptail grouse. As with Huns, you can walk many miles before your dog encounters scent. However, if hunted early in the season, sharptail hunting, for the dog, becomes much easier. Un-

necked pheasant. I grew up hunting wild ring necked pheasants. From the age of nine until I left for college. My father had English setters for pheasant and beagles for cottontail rabbits. And, our neighbor had a German shorthaired pointer. I hunted pheasants, at different times, with all

The ruffed grouse would rather run than flush. An outstanding pointing dog will pin many of their birds they encounter, which will provide the hunter with a flush and shot. However, the bird will run on most dogs.

Author rates the ruffed grouse as the most difficult bird to hunt. (Photo by Paul Fuller) the dog or difficult for the shooter. So, I’ll lump it all together with comments about both. I’m only going to include species I’ve either hunted or have friends that have hunted and provided me with details. Here we go.

Personally, the most difficult bird I’ve hunted is the ruffed grouse. And, it’s a very difficult bird for the pointing dog. The ruffed grouse would rather run than flush. An outstanding

to the bird, the bird will almost always flush with a tree or heavy cover between the shooter and the bird. For both the dog and the hunter, and using fair chase, the ruffed grouse is the hardest bird to hunt.

Although I’ve never hunted chukar, the tales I’ve heard from friends force me to put this bird high on the list. First, the terrain is usually meant more for mountain goats than human beings. A mis-

walk miles to find birds.

Also, in the prairies, your dog covers about four times the distance that you do. A Hun covey won’t tolerate a dog getting too close. If your dog does pin a covey, just an eyelid blink by your dog and the covey will be airborne. A rookie Hun hunter will tend to flock shoot with their first covey flush. A seasoned Hun hunter will have much better success by picking one bird in the covey. And, do you think you know where the covey landed? Try following up the covey…

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less the birds have been pressured, they hold well for the point. This is one reason my wife and I head west for the September 1 opener. We love the dog work we get on sharptails. Also, in my mind, the sharptail flies slightly slower than the Hun. That makes it an easier target.

Also, sharptails seldom flush as a covey. Their flush is staggered. Two birds may initially flush followed by three then followed by two more and on and on.

Okay, you’ve been wondering about the ring-

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these dogs. After years of hunting and killing hundreds of birds, I decided a lushing dog was the best tool for hunting the beloved ring-neck. They get the bird in the air and once in the air they’re not a hard bird to hit.

Bobwhite quail. My only experience with bobwhites was a week in Kansas hunting wild birds.

They held well for the point…they get an A + for that. The covey flush is fast so the hunter needs to be fast also. A thoroughly (Birds cont. pg 55)

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 50

Vermont Ramblings

by Dennis Jensen, Vermont While I would love to tell those who are reading these words that I once hunted with Ben Rodgers Lee, the greatest turkey who ever lived, it never happened. The fact is, I

ern drawl, “Where’s your shotgun?”

I told Lee that both of my tags were filled but he looked at me as if I was full of … you know.

By that time, in May

By that time, in May 1991, Lee was already a living legend, giving seminars around the country and hunting for the great birds in states all over the country, including my home state of Vermont. was scheduled to hunt with the legend himself but, by the time Lee pulled up into my driveway about 10 days into May, I had already tagged two mature toms.

I was not about to break the law, regardless of who was to visit with me that day, 30 years ago.

So when I came out of the house, fully dressed in camouflage, he asked, in his signature deep south-

1991, Lee was already a living legend, giving seminars around the country and hunting for the great birds in states all over the country, including my home state of Vermont.

This was not my first one-on-one encounter with the man from Cofffeeville, Ala., who more than anyone else shaped the world of hunting wild turkeys as we know it today.

May 2021

A Day With the Legend

I first interviewed Lee a year earlier at hotel, a day before he was to go before a large audience in Albany, N.Y. Lee was a dynamic speaker who drew large crowds because he combined humor, backwoods turkey hunting experience and an affection for common sense language when he talked turkey. He also never forgot, and this is critical in understanding Lee the man, where he came from: His roots were both of poverty and country life.

But on this day Lee was sick with a flu-like illness, looked dreadful and was bedridden during our entire conversation. Nevertheless, Lee was enough of a showman to not even turn down an interview with an obscure outdoor writer from the little state of Vermont. I was impressed, not so much by the legend but by the man.

On the day that I was supposed to hunt with Lee, I learned, once again, that

Famous turkey calling champion Ben Rodgers Lee was killed in a car accident in 1991. things almost never turn out the way I expected. I envisioned moving into fertile turkey country — and I had some excellent places for Lee to come to and perform his magic — and fully expected to see the legend put a tag around the leg of

a good, mature Vermont gobbler. And wouldn’t it be nice to tell turkey hunters, years later, about the day I hooked up a nice, fat tom with none other than Ben Rodgers Lee? (Legend cont. pg 54)

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

May 2021

Supreme Court Upholds Magazine Restrictions

The Vermont Supreme Court announced in February it had rejected a bid by white nationalist Max Misch to throw out two misdemeanor charges against him of illegally possessing high-capacity magazines in violation of the law.

“We conclude that the magazine ban is a reasonable regulation of the right of the people to bear arms for self-defense,” the court wrote in a ruling.

It is the first case to be decided by the state’s highest court over the measure passed by lawmakers and signed into law by Gov. Phil Scott in 2018, two months after an alleged school shooting plot was uncovered in Fair Haven.

The law limits the sale of magazines to 15 rounds for handguns and 10 rounds for long guns. It specifically allowed those of us who possessed larger capacity magazines on or before April 11, 2018 to keep them.

Vermont law also prohibits bump stocks. Under the law, a bump-fire stock is defined to mean “a butt stock designed to be attached to a semiautomatic firearm and intended to

Outdoors In Vermont

by Gary W. Moore, Bradford, VT I have known Peter since 1980 when he was a founding partner of Northern Cartographic and cowrote and published nu-

“We conclude that the magazine ban is a reasonable regulation of the right of the people to bear arms for self-defense,” the court wrote in a ruling. increase the rate of fire achievable with the firearm to that of a fully automatic firearm by using the energy from the recoil of the firearm to generate a reciprocating action that facilitates the repeated activation of the trigger.”

Take A Hike for Trout I love to fish for brook trout and prefer to not see anyone else while I am fishing. It is solitude that makes the fishing so enjoyable as I cast, hoping to entice a trout to take my offering.

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Page 51

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about in his latest book are so accurate. Add to that the fact that he is a cartographer and “angling geographer” as he describes himself, and you understand why each of the maps and depth charts are such an important part of the book.

merous books and maps on trout fishing, Vermont travel, and geography.

Vermont Trout Hikes is 116 pages of descriptions of, directions and maps to two dozen waters just waiting for the reader to fish.

Getting to some require

hikes of miles while others are but a few hundred feet from a road.

Vermont Trout Hikes will serve as a reference book that includes information on wild trout populations, stocking, depth charts, and more that an angler will want to know when visiting for the first time.

Covered waters range from Yaw Pond in Woodward near the Massachusetts border to Unknown Pond in Averys Gore in (Court cont. pg 54)

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 52

May 2021

Gobblers Galore

Green Mountain Report

by Bradley Carleton, Charlotte, VT May always seems to start off a bit chilly in the mornings, but after climbing to the top of the hill behind the old barn in the pitch black, my 62-yearold body is dripping with sweat. I stop to catch my breath at the top of the hill and look up at the stars. Anyone who thinks that we are masters of the universe hasn’t got a clue

how actually insignificant we are among the heavens.

As confident as I am about

nicate with turkeys a few decades ago from a master turkey hunter, Matt Norris, of Starksboro. Matt is as humble a guy as you would ever want to know but let me tell you, what that guy can do without a call is

As I am lulled into a state of conscious presence it is suddenly interrupted by a thundering gobble just over the hilltop. hearing a gobble from an oak on the other side of the hilltop, I realize that this is all just a big exercise in humility. I learned to commu-

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nothing short of astonishing. As I position myself in a small depression on the hillside, I cut some early forsythia branches and some shrubbery and place the sticks around me in a halfmoon pattern, my ears listening closely to the silence of pre-dawn. As I sit back against the old maple, I wriggle myself into the bark, positioning my back against the trunk

Come See What's New

Danielle and an early bird.

(Photo by Bradley Carleton) to be comfortably still for woods. I close my eyes and a long period. The peep- breathe through my nose ers have stopped peeping relaxing into the cool night and the aroma of ramps is air. As I sit, I feel the first all around me. Small tril- thermal air of the morning liums catch the last rays of begin to ascend from below moonlight. I am entranced and with it the sweet smell with the beauty of the silent of decaying hickory nuts.

As I am lulled into a state of conscious presence it is suddenly interrupted by a thundering gobble just over the hilltop. The game is on!

All hail the mighty King!

Turkey season in Vermont begins May 1 and runs through the last greenwashed day of May, every (Gobblers cont. pg 59)

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Camps (Cont. from pg 47) well as periodic swarms of ants. Swinging a wet fly just under the surface can be deadly, a simple twitch or two provoking a strike.

Most of the river below the big lake lies behind locked gates that exclude vehicular traffic except for private camp owners, their guests, and sports staying at Grant’s Kennebago Camps located on the big lake that has remained much as it did in the 1800s when Ed (Ned) Grant and his sons began construction on the

Northwoods Sporting Journal lodge that would be the precursor to the sporting camps owned and operated

by John and Carolyn Blunt since the 1970s.

It’s the gates that allow an angler to cast his or her flies to an excellent fishery in relative isolation. Landlocked salmon, measuring 16” or more, can be found fishing down from Big Kennebago Lake through a number of wellmarked runs with iconic names such as Pine Stump, Island Pool and Devil’s Elbow. Brook trout, some measured in pounds rather than inches, can also be found in the river.

John Blunt not only manages the camps, he’s also a registered Maine guide, who takes great pride in the history surrounding his sporting lodge.

While at Grant’s Kennebago Camps, you can motor a Rangeley boat over to the Logans or Big Sag to try your luck on the lake. In the evening, you’ll retire to the main lodge where John might tell a tall tale in much the same manner as Ned Grant once done.

Food served at the camp is no longer simple fair. For the last few years Grant’s has employed a gourmet chief to the delight of its

clientele. Although this traditional sporting lodge serves the needs of anglers and hunters, it’s familyfriendly, catering to both young and old. Reservations should be made well in advance, as availability is limited.

Fishing the river can be very productive from late May through July. It heats up again in September if the rains bring the water up and the big fish back out of the lake. Beside the lake and river there are ponds chuck full of palmsize brookies.

Fish may be taken on dry flies throughout the

Page 53 season, especially caddis patterns. In September, colorful streamers can be cast to catch the attention of spawning fish as well as wet flies and tiny bead head nymphs.

If you’ve always dreamed of watching a salmon tail dance across the surface of a sun dappled pool or feel the pull of a brook trout as it strains your line to the breaking point; if you’d like to cast a fly from a classic Rangeley boat or to be able to recount a tall tale like Ned Grant, why not spend a few days at Grant’s Camps where you can fish lake, river or ponds.

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Page 54

Legend

(Cont. from pg 50) First thing that morning, I instructed Ben’s driver to take a logging road up a steep ridge in western Rutland County.

Once there, my plan was to set out in search of a vocal tom. Lee would have none of it.

When we got out of the vehicle, Lee pulled out a diaphragm call and cut loose with a series of gorgeous, loud yelps. There was no response.

“Hey Ben, we can work our way up to the top

Northwoods Sporting Journal from here,” I said. “There’s a clear cut up there. I think we can get something going up there.”

Lee ignored me, hit another series of loud yelps, once more got no response, then turned to me and asked me to take him to the next “hot spot.”

This went on through the morning and, despite working in places where I had killed toms in the past, in Castleton, Hubbardton and Ira, Lee would stop his vehicle, get out, call a few times and then move on.

I was stunned. Later that morning, we went back to my place for lunch where Lee entertained a

small group with stories of deer and bear hunting and, of course, with great tales of turkey hunts throughout the United States.

In October of that year, Ben Rodgers Lee, the five-time world turkey calling champion, was killed in a car crash. The world of turkey hunting had lost the greatest spokesman ever for the wild turkey.

So the next time you’re feeling a little low because you spent a full morning trying to get a gobbler to answer your calls, ponder this: The man once considered the greatest turkey hunter ever went the entire stretch of

an early May morning, calling his heart out, and never once got a gobbler to respond.

Dennis Jensen is the outdoor editor of the Rutland Herald and Barre Times Argus and a freelance writer. Contact him at d.jensen62@yahoo.com

Court

(Cont. from pg 51) the north.

Vermont Trout Hikes is available at all Vermont bookstores, and at many sporting goods and tackle shops around the state where it retails for $15.95.

May 2021 Check it out at https:// windknotpublishing.com.

May Is Turkey Season in Vermont The regular spring turkey season is May 1-31.

Youth spring turkey hunting weekend is April 24 and 25 this year.

Landowner permission is required to hunt on private land during youth turkey hunting weekend.

To participate, a youth must be age 15 or under and must have completed a hunter education course and possess a hunting license, a turkey hunting license and a free youth turkey hunting tag.

Large turkey flocks can be seen all over the state so I predict we will have a good spring season.

Syndicated columnist Gary W. Moore is a life long resident of Vermont and a former Commissioner of Fish and Game.

He may be reached by email at gwmoore1946@ icloud.com or at Box 454, Bradford, VT 05033. copyright 2021 Gary W. Moore

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Waters are grouped by county, listed by town, and include the date of stocking as well as the species, quantity, and size of fish released. Find the report online at www.mefishwildlife.com. Just click on stocking report.

May 2021

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Birds

Lures

(Cont. from pg 49) enjoyable bird to hunt.

American woodcock.

This little guy is a joy for both the pointing dog and the hunter. Yes, the bird is running more than it did 20 years ago, however; most of the time, it still holds nicely for the point.

And, woodcock covers are typically found adjacent to logging roads which makes for easy access. If you hunt after most of the leaves have fallen, you’ll get a decent shot most of the time.

So, that’s my rating system for hardest to easiest upland birds to hunt.

However, I love them all.

(Cont. from pg 43) impressive. The “Mambo” wobbles near the surface, and when fished with a slow retrieve and sudden pauses, triggers fantastic topwater strikes. Fish the “Mambo” for stripers in the tidal backwaters similar to how you would work a Jitterbug for largemouth at the pond; cast at likely structure or along undercut banks, and retrieve slowly with frequent pauses. With

Paul Fuller and Susan, his wife, host Bird Dogs Afield TV. Episodes for the past ten years can be seen on their website… www.birddogsafield.com.

Contact: paul@birddogsafield.com

this lure, I have learned the hard way to switch out the stock hardware for stronger components...big fish love the “Mambo.”

3 . Yo - Z u r i M a g Darter (5 inch, “Ghost Black”) Like the blooming lilacs and the singing woodcock, the annual arrival of river herring is a hallmark sign of spring. Beginning in early May, alewives and blueback herring migrate up Maine’s rivers to spawn - often with hungry

stripers, quite literally, on their tails. The 5-inch Mag Darter in “Ghost Black,” weighing 1 ounce, offers an excellent imitation of a river herring. Fished during the herring run, the Mag Darter has become a top nighttime producer in the local rivers. An extended pause during a slow retrieve will cause the plug to suddenly stop its erratic zig-zagging motion and float to the surface, resembling an wounded herring.

Once floating, a sudden

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Page 55 sharp twitch will often trigger a strike.

As hungry stripers return to our waters this month, give these three early-season lures a try.

Jonah Paris teaches English at a small high school in Southwestern Maine. A four-season outdoorsman, Jonah lives in Gorham, ME with his girlfriend, Ashley, and beagle, Aurora. Jonah can be reached at ​jonaheparis@ gmail.com

Page 56

Northwoods Sporting Journal

On The Prowl

May 2021

Summer Coyote Action

by Justin Merrill, Cherryfield, ME Although most coyote pups are born in late March, predator hunters would do well to pursue the coyote in late May through August. Code of ethics tug on the brains of some hunters telling them to hold off until the pups are all grown up, even when the state law says it’s legal to hunt them. After some suckling on mamma’s teats, a couple weeks of regurgitated feeding and about one month of

tions could possibly mean non-stop action from summer to early winter in some areas you hunt. It’s the time of year to learn about and become proficient with those new predator mouth or electronic calls you got for Christmas. Head out to place a decoy, sound off a few distress notes, get in ready position, sit motionless and stay on high alert.

Coyotes are notorious for catching the hunter off

In Maine, you can hunt coyotes all year! (Photo by Bud Utecht) Lacy closed reed predator calls. In only two weeks total of actual hunting, these calls brought in six coyotes, all during daylight hours. Out of six, I only shot two, blood trailed one for a mile until the bleed-

Coyote season remains open year round in Maine allowing an ambitious hunter plenty of time to shoot a “V” back. Not every state has year round coyote hunting; however, the tactics mentioned in this column will work anytime of year. emulating papa coyote, the teenage coyotes become fair game. Coyote season remains open year round in Maine allowing an ambitious hunter plenty of time to shoot a “V” back. Not every state has year round coyote hunting; however, the tactics mentioned in this column will work anytime of year.

Spring births causing a climb in coyote popula-

guard.

I’ve used just about all makes and models of calls except the Made For Killing (MFK) predator calls.

It wasn’t until I was introduced to the Buck Expert and Mick Lacy predator calls, that I became satisfied. Until I force myself to try MFK calls I’m sticking to my trusty Buck Expert X-Treme 3 in 1 Predator Mouth Call and the Mick

ing became tiny specks and eventually I determined it was a marginal hit that could quite possibly not be life threatening. I hunt coyotes during the day since I love the challenge and the sportiness of it. Plus I try to film it all. Occasionally I resort to night hunting if my daylight sightings dwindle and sometimes shut off altogether. Enough story telling, you’re read-

ing this to be informed and motivated to go coyote hunting.

All you need to get the job done would be some sort of distress type call that sounds good and most importantly, that you trust can call in a coyote. Top off your ambush with the right wind direction, some attractant lure and a decoy - if you have one - to better fool those wary summer coyotes.

After a long winter of being chased by dogs, called to, and shot at, any older coyotes that survived to see another summer might be extremely difficult to outsmart. You will need to be on top of your game by choosing an ambush spot carefully, approaching your sit spots ever so cautiously, staying motionless longer and only

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scanning your surroundings with your eyes. Definitely easier said than done, I can assure you.

The pesky business subsides and now you sit tight hoping a ghost dog pops up someplace out in front to make your shot easier. Almost always these dogs first appear downwind of the hunters location.

Strive to make yourself and gear scent free. Give the scent eliminator sprays, like Scent-Killer a try if you don’t already have something to help control your odor. Use sprays liberally and let dry.

I have written the script in my mind, done everything right down to the “T” and seven minutes later there he is staring me down. Moving slower than death I eventually ease the (Coyote cont. pg 59)

May 2021

Northwoods Sporting Journal

First Spring Bear

Editor’s note: This Backshelf column by Ray Dillon first appeared in the Sporting Journal in 2015.

Our longtime columnist and friend, Ray, no longer writes for the Journal, unfortunately. The New Brunswick guide and outfitter has had some health issues that have taken up his time. We talked with him a few months ago. He is fighting the good fight.

We miss his monthly woods tales, as we know you do.

We wish him and his family Godspeed and a full recovery.

By Ray Dillon It was Tuesday morning, the first week of June

the hunters as they ate and talked. Our breakfasts are pretty hardy events as are all our meals but issues of high cholesterol and the need to eat lean never come up. Copious amounts of scrambled eggs, pork sausage and mounds of “butchers” Dutch smoked bacon disappear quickly and along with deep buttered toast and home- made raspberry and strawberry jam, all get washed down with tea, coffee and juice.

Such a spread would probably give a dietician fits but these were hunters who had just spent several hours the afternoon and evening before on spring

Hunters in photo are on left: Sam Nicolas from Boston, Mass. and on right his son, Mike Nicolas, with Mike’s first bear, a 350 lb bruiser!

(Photo by Ray Dillon) and as we sat at breakfast in our big dining hall with moose and deer and black bear mounts staring down from the walls, I surveyed

black bear stand and they were hungry. As they ate, they shared accounts of their individual hunts the previous night and al-

though no one had taken a bear, several had been seen or heard around the bait sites. There are times when our hunters take a bear on the first evening but introducing something foreign to a site, whether hunting for bear or white tails often causes the animals to be extra cautious. Actually I was a bit surprised that most of our hunters even heard or saw bruins on that first night but looking around the table, I could easily see

Page 57

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.

and he was excited. He and his dad shared the same stand so Sam could teach him some of the tricks of bear hunting.

At first, I was a bit concerned but the pair of hunters sat quietly through their first afternoon and

the big meal of the day, which takes place at 1p.m., the hunters dressed and dispatched to their individual bait sites for the afternoon and evening hunt. It would prove to be a good bear night. Sam had told Mike that he could take the first

Sam had told Mike that he could take the first bear that showed up if it was a good -sized bear and Mike could feel the excitement building as 3 p.m. drifted on to 5 and 6 p.m. and the late afternoon shadows lengthened. that I had a group of hunters here and they would do what was necessary to bag their animal.

Today’s story is about a father and son team from the Boston area in Woburn…Sam and Michael Nicolas. Sam has been hunting black bear with us for several years and has proven over and over again that he is a very capable and skilled hunter and he and his family have become our Boston family.

Mike is Sam’s son and a fine young man, a chip off the old block, currently pursuing his post --secondary education but he took the time to come north with his dad to hunt black bear

evening and heard several bears in the woods around them so I knew they were doing things right. The biggest temptation for a couple of hunters sharing a stand is talking to each other and it can spook a critter fast. This didn’t happen on Sam’s stand.

The morning was warm and sunny and after

bear that showed up if it was a good -sized bear and Mike could feel the excitement building as 3 p.m. drifted on to 5 and 6 p.m. and the late afternoon shadows lengthened.

The black flies and mosquitoes swarmed but Sam, as always, had come prepared with bug suits (Bear cont. pg 67)

Page 58

Northwoods Sporting Journal

The Singing Maine Guide

May 2021

The Rhythms of Spring

yourself be seduced by kids and grandkids aren’t the first sounds and smells going to be hoodwinked

by Randy Spencer, of spring and you’re only like we were. Don’t let the setting yourself up for win- Easter Bunny fool you.

Grand Lake Stream, ME ter’s next ambush. That’s Spring is a fraud. And like “April is the cruelest Sure enough, there, because somewhere, hid- all frauds, she lies. month,” is the quote from beside the wet ditch at the den in the subconscious To take my mind off T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste end of the second week in is the notion that spring this annual sham, I busy Land.” You’d almost have March is a stand of pussy to be from New England or willows swelling up. Right at least a northern state to after that, one morning on be able to really know the your routine walk with the truth of that. Though he dogs, you hear that annual was born in St. Louis, his and reliable harbinger of family was from Boston so spring, the Black-capped he presumably spent a fair Chickadee switching songs amount of time there. to its mating call. How far The rhythms of spring away can spring be now? begin in slow tempo with And this is where the heartache, heartbreak, and heartbreak comes in. It disappointment. After the can be really, REALLY long ordeal of winter and far away. It’s as if this one the slow breakdown of its sadistic season sends out fortress, the promise of decoys to advertise its imWhen the bears come out of hibernation, they spring leaks out only one minent arrival, and then, head for my bird feeders. hint at a time. There’s that like a rude guest, shows stretch of three days in a up late or not at all. Some- SHOULD be warmer. Who myself with spring-like row in March when the times, when that arrival put that there? Disney? chores just for spite. Like tuning up my Shaw & temperature tops 50. Then, finally occurs, summer Hollywood?

This year, the Satur- Tenney paddle, which was there’s the sudden return has already stolen most of day morning before Eas- custom-made to suit my of the robins, and that kick spring’s thunder. starts you. Now, in earnest, Just try it: next April, ter Sunday, it was 17 de- height and paddling prefyou start looking for more put your parka away right grees at my house. The egg erences. Since our paddles evidence–things to believe after April Fool’s Day and hunt the next day was car- are often used to pole our in. see who the fool is. Let ried out with Mad Bomber Grand Laker canoes, this hats, parkas, scarves, and one has a kevlar tip. I sand gloves. I’m hoping these and then oil this prize until

it looks like new again.

When those three warm days came in March, I hauled out the canoe, flipped it, sanded it, filled in the wounds and scars with West System, sanded it again, and finally, wiped it down with acetone, which brought me right up to winter’s next ambush. I’m now waiting for the next warm snap to apply a coat of Petit Easypoxy Jade Green and call it quits on the hull.

Don’t let the Easter Bunny fool you. Spring is a fraud. And like all frauds, she lies.

The warm spell after that will have me sanding the inside, readying it for a coat of spar varnish.

Another ploy of mine to counter April’s cruelty is a game I play with the black bears in my area.

They are currently ahead in this game, with a solid lead of Bears: 3, Me: 0. for the last three years, I’ve tried to guess when they’d be out of their dens and in cir(Spring cont. 68)

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

May 2021

Gobblers (Cont. from pg 52) day until noon. Two bearded birds may be taken with the proper tags. Weekend and Novice season opens the weekend before May 1, which is April 24 & 25.

The weekend prior to the opening day of the Spring Turkey Season is reserved for youth—15 years old or younger who have successfully completed a hunter education course— to hunt turkeys. Hunting for turkeys during the youth turkey weekend is statewide.

You must have a valid hunting license and turkey hunting license and be accompanied by an unarmed adult who holds a valid Vermont hunting license and is over 18 years of age.

The youth must also have a free youth turkey hunting tag. The bag limit for Youth and Novice Weekend is one bearded bird and shooting hours for the weekend are one half hour before sunrise to 5 p.m. Landowner permission is required to hunt on private land, even if it is not posted. The accompanying adult must have direct control and supervision, including the ability to see and communicate with the youth hunter without the aid of artificial devices such as radios or binoculars. Remember, ONLY TURKEYS STALK TURKEYS! Natural reproduction of Lake Champlain’s lake trout has increased enough to allow a reduction in the number that are annually stocked according to a recommendation from the Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Management Cooperative – a working group of fisheries professionals from the VT F&W,

NY DEC, and the U.S. F&W Service. A stocking program was established in the 1950’s to restore lake trout to Lake Champlain following the loss of the native population from water quality and habitat changes. Currently, 82,000 fin-clipped yearling lake trout are stocked annually, and while surveys indicated good survival of the stocked fish in the early years, there was little evidence of natural reproduction occurring. In the last 10 years, however, University of Vermont researchers have documented an increasing number of unclipped juvenile lake trout, a potential indication of successful natural repro-

duction resulting in wild fish. As a result, the Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Management Cooperative is proposing to reduce lake trout stocking by 33 percent (~27,060 fish) to maintain quality lake trout populations while avoiding overstocking. Current Lake Champlain stocking levels of landlocked Atlantic salmon, brown trout and steelhead will remain the same.

Bradley Carleton is the founder and Executive Director of www.sacredhunter.org which teaches the public respect and empathy through hunting and fishing.

Page 59

Coyote (Cont. from pg 56) rifle stalk to my shoulder.

After careful aim and a gentle squeeze a coyote lay stone dead. This scene plays over and over in my mind.

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 60

Making Waxed Dirt

The Fur Shed

by Blake Dougherty, Suffield, CT For those who trap in freeze/thaw conditions there is no more aggravating experience than walking upon a well-made set only to find the trap frozen in. Well, there may be one more aggravating experience and that is if there are paw prints all over the pan of the trap as well. As trappers, fighting the weather is expected and as such we do whatever we can to minimize its impact on our sets.

To take freeze/thaw conditions out of the equation trappers’ use various methods like peat moss, buckwheat hulls, salt, antifreeze, glycol and even Ziploc baggies to freeze proof their sets. I’ve tried a few different methods and landed on waxed dirt or sand as my preference.

Waxed dirt is just that, dirt that has absorbed flake wax to become waterproof.

The instructions below are borrowed from Minnesota Trapline Products: NOTE: 1 cup of Flake Wax = approximately 1/4 pound For drying your soil, spreading it on a sheet of

May 2021

black plastic in a spot that receives full sun works great. A day or two is all it takes to completely dry.

About dark each night, cover up the soil to protect it from dew that might collect. Uncover it each morning around sunrise.

After the dirt is dry, sift it to remove any rocks, leaves, roots, etc. You want the dirt completely pulverized so the wax can coat each grain.

The finer the dirt is pulverized, the better it will work. Now mix 3 cups (3/4 pound) of flake wax with each gallon of dry, shifted and pulverized dirt. The mixture is now ready to be heated so the wax can be absorbed by the dirt to waterproof it.

SOLAR HEATING METHOD: Set up the plywood in the full sun and cover it with a sheet of heavy black plastic.

Spread a layer of your dirt-wax mixture about two inches thick on the black plastic. Cover the dirt-wax mixture with a sheet of clear plastic and

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prop it up about a foot or two above the mixture and let the sun heat the mixture until the wax is absorbed by the dirt (usually around 2-4 hours). The dirt is now completely weatherproof it won‘t rust your traps and is waterproof, freeze proof, and free of contamination.

Store the dirt in plastic bags or clean garbage cans until you need it when the weather gets nasty, and the rest of the trappers are

H E AT L A M P HEATING METHOD: In a protected spot like a basement, shop, or garage, spread a sheet of heavy black plastic on your working service and then spread two inches of your dirt-wax mixture on the plastic. Now suspend a large heat lamp about 2 feet over each 4x4 section of dirt. (If using a 4x8 sheet of plywood, 2 heat lamps will be required.) Surrounded the

turns. As a heat source use either 1) Use a kerosene fueled brush and fence row torch, heat the tumbling dirt until warm; 2) Use a propane “rose bud” for heating. Once the dirt is warm -- Not Hot -- slowly add the wax, and make sure that it mixes well as it is added. If you are getting a good mix, you can turn off the heat and let the mixture tumble. Or you can continue to heat as neces-

Waxed dirt is just that, dirt that has absorbed flake wax to become waterproof. The instructions below are borrowed from Minnesota Trapline Products: forced to quit.

whole setup with plastic or plywood to help hold in the OVEN HEATING heat and the heat the dirtMETHOD: Caution: Only wax mixture until you can use an oven that is self- no longer see any wax in cleaning or the dirt will the dirt. Stirring will speed probably be saturated with up the process. Cool and food odors that will render store and use. it worthless as a trap bedding material. First, set WA X E D D I R T your oven on clean and WITH A CONCRETE turn it on. After the clean MIXER: Start with the cycle is completed, place basics, outlined above, an uncovered pan(s) of the i.e.: dry, cleaned and sifted dirt-wax in the oven and set dirt, 3 cups (or 3/4 pound) it on 300 degrees. It will of flake wax to one gallon go faster if you don’t have of prepared dirt. Pour the the dirt more than two or measured dirt in to the three inches thick. Stirring concrete mixer, and turn every 30 minutes or so will the mixer on. You can add also speed up the heating wax at this point, BUT you time. When the mixture is will get a better result by thoroughly heated it can warming the dirt before be removed, cooled, and adding the wax. Heat the stored. dirt as the concrete mixer

sary. Don’t get the mix any hotter than it would be in any of the other methods.

Don’t risk scorching the wax by heating it smoking hot. When the mixture suits you, and there is no visible wax, turn off the heat, if you are still applying heat, and tumble until cool.

Blake Dougherty is owner of Dougherty & Sons Fur Stretchers and Trapping Supplies located in Suffield, CT. A small family owned business that prides itself on quality products and great service. When he isn’t writing articles or selling trapping supplies he is out in the wilds teaching his kids to hunt, fish and trap and enjoying what nature has to offer.

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

May 2021

Page 61

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 62

Women In The Woods

by Erin Merrill, Portland, ME There are a few less turkeys in Maine to hunt this year. A few months ago, Maine Inland Fisheries & Wildlife in partnership with the National Wild Turkey Federation, captured and released more than 50 birds into East

see if we could get them moved in. We didn’t want to violate The Lacey Act so we had to come up with a way to compensate the states that were giving up a resource either by trading other wildlife or paying them monetarily,” said

May 2021

Taking Turkeys to Texas

can release at once, the better the efforts can be,” Roberts continued, “Texas Parks & Wildlife identified areas that would work, but it has to be land owner driven because we have a lot of privately owned land. The minimum land requirement is 1,000 acres of continuous acres of habitat. We spent 4-5 years working with landowners to put this section of land

be a 30/70 split. From there, the land has to go through a habitat suitability index study where biologists come on to the land with their criteria and they independently rank it and then average their scores

another as well as the birds themselves. “We pay $525 per bird,” said Roberts.

The money from this project goes into a NWTF large super foundation account.

“It is earmarked to be used to support habitat and re-

"This is the first year that we have been a part of this project," said Kelsey Sullivan, Maine's turkey biologist, "We started trapping them in February in Zones 23 and 17. Texas has asked us for 50 turkeys a year over the next 3 years so we are just starting this program.”

Texas with the hope of rebuilding their population.

“Eastern turkeys are where the restocking efforts originally began,” explained Shawn Roberts, Director of Field Operations for the National Wild Turkey Federation, “We tried in the 1920’s but it didn’t work. We tried penraised birds and that didn’t work either. The only thing that was successful was to trap birds and relocate them to good habitat.”

“We started this current effort in the early ‘80s and we had to begin looking outside the state to

Roberts.

Texas is on the very edge of the Eastern Turkey’s natural habitat. “We live in the fringe habitat.

I35 is a good marker… everything west is Rio Grande and everything east is Eastern Wild Turkey habitat,” explained Roberts, ”In the 1800s we deforested the land and destroyed the populations of turkeys and whitetails.

So far, we have been able to bring back other populations and now, we are trying to get the turkeys back.”

“The more birds we

together to ensure we have the number of acres that we needed. There are now more than 60 landowners in this initial co-operative and we ended up with 63,000 acres.” But getting the landowners on board and the land is not the only thing that needs to be in place for the reintroduction to happen.

“We segmented the land into four different co-ops to be evaluated.

They have to go through a GIS survey with the result showing no less than a 50/50 split of woods and fields and ideally, it would

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.

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Maine got its first wild turkeys from Vermont.

Today, Maine is able to share some of its plentiful turkey population with East Texas. and if it’s 70 or higher, then you can move ahead with the restocking,” said Roberts.

“This is the first year that we have been a part of this project,” said Kelsey Sullivan, Maine’s turkey biologist, “We started trapping them in February in Zones 23 and 17. Texas has asked us for 50 turkeys a year over the next 3 years so we are just starting this program.”

It takes about 48 hours from the time the turkeys are captured until they land in Texas. “We take blood from each bird and test them so they we know they don’t have any diseases. Those tests get to the folks in Texas about 24 hours before the birds do so that we know all of the birds are clean and ready to be released when they get there,” explained Sullivan.

The National Wild Turkey Foundation pays for the boxes and getting the birds from one place to

search. The money goes in there and then we can use it for projects that we are doing for turkeys here in Maine,” said Sullivan.

It is a great project that demonstrates how successful these types of programs can be. Maine itself had to reintroduce turkeys and now, the state is in a position to help other states rebuild their populations.

“Hopefully in the next 5-10 years, we will have a huntable population here in Eastern Texas” said Roberts. We shall see!

Erin is a member of the OWAA and the New England Outdoor Writers Association. She is a senior writer for Drury Outdoors’ DeerCast and is the President and co-Founder of the non-profit group Women of the Maine Outdoors.

You can read about Erin’s adventures and contact her at www.andastrongcupofcoffee.com

May 2021

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 63

Ready to Ride

ATV season is now beginning and I hope that everyone is happy and excited to get back out on the trails. This is also a good time to discuss safe operations with your family. As I have written in past ATV columns, safety should be foremost in your thoughts for the summer ATV season. We hope and pray that we will have a safe and fatality-free ATV season, but safety starts with all of us.

Recent data released by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) shows that ATV-related fatalities dropped in 2017 and again in 2018 (the last year they have completed data) but they are still gathering data. Serious injuries and deaths of children have also decreased in those same years. In 2018, the last year that they have completed compiled data, 27 children younger than 16 lost their lives in ATV accidents nationwide and 48% of those were younger than 12.

Nationwide, over 81,000 people sustained injuries from ATV accidents that required emergency room visits, another decrease from the previous years.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOP) have adopted formal policies recommending that children under age 16 not drive ATVs. They contend that children under 16 lack the judgment, strength, and skills to safely and effectively operate an ATV. So at a time when we are seeing an increase in people riding ATVs, according to the current data, we are seeking a decrease

in injuries and deaths, however, any fatality is one too many. When we review the accidents in our region, speed is one of the leading factors, with riders losing control of their machine and going off-trail, alliding with trees.

ATVs are complex machines that are rider active. That means we have

The Trail Rider

kills.

We all need to be more safety conscious and we need to take a leadership role in making the sport safer for ourselves, family, and friends. We can set a good example by NEVER operating our ATV under the influence of alcohol. I think this is the number one example that we can set

by Rod Fraser, Hyde Park, MA

be on ATVs that they can handle.

Since ATVs are rider active, if the ATV is too heavy for a youngster to affect any dynamic when shifting his/her weight, they will have difficulty We hope and pray that we will have a safe and fatality-free operating the ATV in a safe ATV season, but safety starts with all of us. manner. Enjoy your rides! necessity of driving at a Ride safe, ride right! to be constantly vigilant for for our family and friends. changes in trail conditions If your friends insist on safe speed by first setting and shifting our weight to drinking while out on the an example and driving at Rod Fraser is an avid assist the machine in its trail, explain to them that a safe speed ourselves. We maneuvering. Improper you do not want to set that must enforce these safety outdoorsman and twentyoperation, excessive speeds kind of example for your rules with our children and year Navy veteran. Origiand riding under the in- children. There is always also make sure they do not nally from Maine and livfluence of alcohol are all time for adult beverages ride on paved roads. Make ing in Rhode Island, Rod factors that contribute to after the riding is over and sure that your children are has written extensively accidents each year. We can you are back home for the riding ATVs that are ap- about snowmobiling. visit propriately sized for them. his website at www.roderall take a huge step towards evening.

Always wear a DOT- Younger children should ickfraser.com safer fun by just slowing down. Enjoy nature, speed a p p r o v e d h e l m e t a n d

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 64

Mass Wanderings

by David Willette, N. Adams, MA It’s going to cost more money to hunt and fish in Massachusetts next year, a lot more money. Currently, to do the things that I do costs under $75. This includes a sporting license, ($40), combined with a turkey, bear, archery, muzzle-loader stamps and an antler less deer permit, all are $5 a piece. As of 2021 the proposed increases will cost me $100 more, with the biggest increase in the stamps and fees going from $5 to $20 each. Next year it will be cheaper for me to do the same things in some neighboring states as a non-resident. And that’s just wrong.

In comparison to other New England states, to hunt in Massachusetts with all the stamps costs $47, the next closest state in cost is RI $86 followed by VT

$109, ME $148, NH $154 and CT $181. Now that’s a sweet deal for Bay State hunters as Mass Wildlife does a fantastic job with its trout and pheasant stocking program, and our deer herd is very balanced. On top of that Mass Wildlife has added 172 more days to hunt game including

The Beginning of the End

sales have dropped by 50% since 1996, but fishing licenses have stayed the same. Massachusetts handed out 27,000 free licenses and 15,000 reduced fee licenses last year totaling nearly a million dollars in lost revenue. And those numbers will only increase as more baby boomers hit the qualifying ages. Mass Wildlife gets nearly 40% of its income from license sales, so the forecast isn’t good on that front. By 2025

To be fair, Mass Wildlife hasn’t increased its fees since 1996, so an increase was long overdue, but this is way out of whack. deer, (48), turkey, (42), bear, (35), geese, (32), and woodcock, (15).

To be fair, Mass Wildlife hasn’t increased its fees since 1996, so an increase was long overdue, but this is way out of whack. But there’s more to this proposal than meets the eye.

First of all, hunting license

May 2021

the state is looking at a 24% budget gap, ($2.8 million).

Of course expenses are increasing at roughly ¾ of a million every year and that number will increase when the state hands out more free and discounted licenses. Within the budget, fisheries and wildlife management take up 32%

of the budget followed by state mandated costs, 20%, (payroll taxes, health insurance, etc.). Followed by hatcheries, (14%), land acquisition, (11%), and administration, (10%). The hunter education program, pheasant and quail program and information and education program make up the rest of the budget.

Aside from the outrageous increase in stamp and permit fees, the biggest complaint that I’ve heard or read on social media is the seemingly lack of acknowledgement that the sportsmen are getting in some of the proposals that they have brought forth, including the crossbow bill, Sunday hunting and reducing the legal setback for archery season from 500’ to 250’ from an occupied dwelling. It is my understanding that all of these proposals, all of which have been brought to the state house floor by elected officials, haven’t been given the time of day by other representatives. And sportsmen also feel that the state Fish and Wildlife Board hasn’t been pushing enough on these issues as well. As far as I’m concerned, the crossbow bill and the setback law are no-brainers.

As baby-boomers age, they

will still want to bow hunt and crossbows is the only way to extend their time in the woods. The setback law should also change. As the Executive Director of MassWildlife, Mark Tisa said in the zoom meeting that I sat in on, “reducing the setback to 250’ would give bowhunters 40% MORE state land to hunt inside Rt. 495.” The Sunday hunting proposal is a pretty complicated deal on many fronts and it’s a long way off in my opinion.

Guys are mad as hell at this and some are saying that next year they won’t hunt or fish in Massachusetts at all or they’ll go without a license, (bad idea), but you never know.

It will be interesting to see if license sales drop dramatically in 2022. As for me, I think that the huge proposed increase in the fee/permit structure is just a negotiating ploy, (I so hope so), where the state gets us riled up with a huge increase but comes back with something more tolerable and we all calm down.

David Willette is the author of, “Coyote Wars”.

He can be contacted at coyotewars@gmail.com

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Glad To Keep Kennebec Dams

I just read that the state is dropping a plan that would force the removal of four dams in the Kennebec River because Maine marine officials found that it lacked the authority to amend the plan under state law. The removal of the dams has been being pushed by many environmental groups and Atlantic salmon supporters

ern world that they didn’t have three hundred years ago. Today, they help keep non-native fish out of our remote places. This helps protect our still healthy, highly valued freshwater fish, like the wild, native brook trout. Why chase bad with bad? The Atlantic salmon have so many manmade problems to deal with in their ocean homeland,

spring in the north woods has some spectacular gifts all of its own. The brook trout in Moosehead Lake are phenomenal. Absolutely spectacular. Yes, spectacular can’t be said enough times. But my favorite are the back meadow, smaller brookies. To my eye, they are prettier, and tasty fried over an open fire. And the little jewels

At some point, when – and if – the complicated policies of oceanic management provide a real possibility for the comeback of the Atlantic salmon, then it makes sense to look at the dams. as absolutely essential in order to restore the nearly extinct Atlantic salmon.

If only it were that simple. Before we tear down dams deep in the interior of Maine, where they are highly regulated and serve good purpose for a multiple of important uses, why don’t we do the Atlantic salmon a real favor right now where it really counts: in the ocean. At some point, when – and if – the complicated policies of oceanic management provide a real possibility for the comeback of the Atlantic salmon, then it makes sense to look at the dams.

Sometimes dams have a place in the mod-

why would we turn around and do the same to our inland beauties? Why not first work out the gauntlet they must run to survive there? I read that even if the dams came down, the Atlantic salmon have been so diminished that it would still take another 75 years before you might call restoration of this species a success. While removing some dams has shown to help some runs of sea fishes, like shad, it is shameful to use the poor, once mighty Atlantic salmon as the poster-child against inland dams. They are not really getting up to them in any significant numbers.

On a lighter note,

found in the thousands of crystal clear spring holes.

My uncles put me on to this many years ago.

We were up on the Little Black. Uncle Quette took me into a heavy forest.

The trees were so thick the daylight blacked out. It did relieve us from swarms of mosquitoes and minges. It was rough walking because of the roots and limbs snagging at our feet, so we had to move slow and focussed.

The ground had a layer of spongy green moss across

it.

Page 65

Kineo Currents

by Suzanne AuClair, Rockwood, ME

Uncle wanted to show me a prize. With a quiet smile, he crouched down and peeled back a piece of moss. Underneath was a whole world, alive, bright, and teeming. Hundreds of little trout were swimming frantically in the sudden exposure. The trout were no bigger than a pinky.

Springs covered acres of land under these dark trees.

The moss covered water was so frigid that in seconds your hands ached, even in the heat of summer, and had to be pulled out fast. The black forest, difficult, seemingly void, was sweet with life teeming in the underground. After a while, uncle covered the watery world back up with the moss. We made our way back into the light of the day.

These are great, lasting gifts. They are great because of the dip into the peace and the awe found in some backwater place, in the underbelly of a dark

Greenville

forest, or in a swift moving stream. Like the experience of Atlantic salmon, once running by the thousands, these carry the soul for a long, long time. It’s an unspeakable mystery that is hard to put into words, yet most everyone recognizes it. In the hush of these places, we know it. The pressure of the daily grind subsides. The breathing eases. The peace comes.

There, now, is where the dance is.

Suzanne AuClair lives near Rockwood. She has been writing about the Moosehead Lake region for 26 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.

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 66

Post-Script From Pocasset

by Josh Reynolds, Wayne, ME The long wait to get out on open water, is over!

Given how early the ice and snow has exited the state this spring, I’m confident that all water in the State of Maine will be ice free by the time the May issue of the Journal arrives.

If the spring continues to progress as it has so far, expect earlier then normal angling action. To hit it right, plan accordingly.

According to recent reports, there is a lot of pent up demand for lodging and fishing guide services this year. With more vaccinations happening every day and the relaxing of travel limitations, if you

want to find a place to fish and stay this spring/ early summer, you’ve got to get on it today!

You may find that some of the most popular spots are already booked.

Chewonki’s Big Eddy

Headed to Maine to Fish for Trout?

problem for them as 2020 was a brutal year for these businesses, but it presents a challenge for those of us trying to find a place to stay. If your planning is late, there are other options, but you’ll need a tent, popup or truck camper and a thirst for an off-the-beatenpath adventure.

With more vaccinations happening every day and the relaxing of travel limitations, if you want to find a place to fish and stay this spring/ early summer, you’ve got to get on it today! (bigeddy.chewonki.org) campground is almost fully booked all through June and into July. The same can be said for a couple of other sporting camps that I checked with. This a great

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May 2021

Debouille Public Lands (www.maine.gov/ dacf/parksearch/PropertyGuides/PDF_GUIDE/deboullie-guide.pdf) , located in far northern Maine, is loaded with some fantastic native, wild brook trout opportunities. The camping spots are first come first served, but if you are prepared and flexible you can usually find a spot to camp and the ponds are clustered together and accessible, bring a float tube and be prepared to hike a bit for the best fishing.

These waters, and many others are managed by an

organization called North Maine Woods, Inc (www. northmainewoods.org/information/camping.html) and includes land further south in what is known as the Katahdin Iron Works/ Jo-Mary Area, another hot bed of native trout fishing spots. All of the websites I’ve shared have the information you need to plan a trip north; trail maps, campsites, restrictions, ponds…

As far as places to fish within the North Maine Woods territories, if you have never ventured near, let the following resource be a guide (www. maine.gov/ifw/docs/20MDIFW-30-Fishing-Lawbook-2021.pdf). First, locate the areas where you may want to camp, next look for the names of the ponds nearby, look up the names on the maine.gov website I shared, be sure you know which county your “target ponds” are located in to see the correct laws for that pond. You’ll want to target ponds that are listed as “FFO” which stands for fly fishing only.

Also pay attention to the

“S” codes. These will be your guide. S-16 through S-21 are all codes directly related to brook trout. A close examination of each will help tell you what to expect. The most restrictive, or slot limit ponds are managed for trophy fish, which can be slow fishing but tend to have bigger fish.

Other ponds are loaded with small brookies which translates into fast fishing but small fish, these will have less restrictive bag limits.

Having fished waters in Debouille, KI/Joe Mary, as well as the Mooshead region, Baxter State Park, The Golden Road/Telos area I will say that most any place has good trout fishing if its FFO water. The rest is up to you, but if you are patient, persistent and are able to get some good local intel...and you time it right, you can have an amazing experience up here fishing and camping in the great Northwoods.

Josh Reynolds is the Assistant Editor of The Journal. He can be reached at jreyn207@gmail.com

This big-racked buck was taken last fall by Steve Carey of Bangor in Mt. Chase. The buck weighed 193 lbs and was judged unofficially to be a 17 pointer. Carey contacted the Journal this spring after the deer’s antlers were officially scored. Here is his report: “Deer scored gross 202 and netted out at 187.2 getting by the Boone & Crockett minimum of 185. He must have been something in early years. Pictures from 2018 were unreal with additional drop tines.

I think this may have been his last year as he was estimated to be 10 1/2 years old.”

May 2021

Bear

Northwoods Sporting Journal

turer and owns/operates Malarkey Cabin Guiding (Cont. from pg 57) Service in New Brunswick, and Therma Cells. The Canada. He can be reached father and son team siat (506)363-2839 or visit lently scanned the clearing www.malarkeycabin.com perimeter and the backand email him at rdillon@ drop of trees and bushes. rogers.com Around seven o’clock, Sam heard a bear call and snort briefly, and then pop his teeth, a warning to (Cont. from pg 57) other bears often heard as they approach a bait site. the bait, then the woods fell He lightly touched Mike’s silent. We didn’t hear the arm but Mike had heard the usual death moan but could noises too so he was ready. tell it was a lethal shot from Now Sam has taken replaying the video. I radia monster bear and some oed Manny who was waitother big ones during his ing a mile away and then hunts with us but even he we blood trailed the bear was surprised at the big into a swampy spot about bruin that strutted out into 80 yds from the bait. He the clearing so brazenly. had expired quickly from He watched Mike shoulder a lung/liver shot and we the rifle slowly and zero the snapped photos in the fadscope. Ka-Bang! The shot ing light. After processing echoed across the wood- at camp, Larry registered lands to a point where I the bear and provided all was sitting in my truck. I paperwork for me to transwaited for a second shot port back across the border. before driving over to the Spring Bear Hunting in ME bait site but no second shot or NB is nearby, affordable and an unforgettable was needed, The big bruin spun adventure! around with the impact Brian Smith is a Life of the 180 grain bullet Member & 1st Director at from Mike’s 30.06 and dropped in his tracks…a Large of the Maine Bowperfect shoulder shot. Sam hunters Association. He hugged and congratulated was awarded the MBA his son. I almost felt like I Maine Bowhunter of the was intruding on a special Year in 2005 & 2008 and moment when I arrived but the MBA Largest Maine it was a gorgeous bear… Archery Bear Award in Mike’s first New Bruns- 2008 & 2018. He has been wick Black bear and it bear hunting for 40 years was huge. The following harvesting 21 bears, 17 evening, Sam would bag a of them with a bow and beautiful bruin with a white has several bear entries V from the same stand site in the Pope & Young and and before the week was MASTC Record Books. He over all the hunters had can reached at bowhuntopportunities on bear and er@mgemaine.com most took them. Thanks Sam and Mike for your story and the memories...

Bowhunt

Ray Dillon is an Outdoor Writer, book Author and Public Speaker/Lec-

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Page 67

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 68

Spring (Cont. from pg 58) culation looking for food.

This always leads them to my bird feeders which are mounted on a squirrelproof stanchion with limbs

for hanging various kinds of feeders. I’ve misjudged three years running. I find the feeders a couple hundred yards away, full of bear teeth perforations, unfit for further use. This year, I’m taking them in at night, except on the nights

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T5R7 WELS- Views of Mt. Katahdin from the shore, this new & beautiful cabin has 247’ of waterfront on Lower Shin Pond.

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Mattawamkeag- On the river ’s edge, Mattawamkeag River, view across is something to see.

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when I forget…

Starting seeds indoors, running the dogs for woodcock as they migrate northward–I’ve found these to be good antidotes to spring’s fickleness too.

This year, one sunny, warm day during the first week of

April, the dogs put up four woodcock. Right after that, an inch and a half of snow fell. It was just another ambush.

Of all the ways to take revenge on April, that rudest of guests, probably the best is to sit by the fire,

May 2021 read T.S. Eliot, and dream of May. Randy Spencer is a working guide and author.

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News (Cont. from pg 15) annually recognizes hunters who harvest deer with a weight of 200 pounds or more by each of the three hunting methods: archery, muzzleloader, and regular firearms. 2020’s heaviest deer, weighing 270 pounds, was taken by Mark Evans of Wentworth, NH, using a muzzleloader. Evans’ harvest ranked among the top ten heaviest deer ever taken in the Granite State.

The 2020 bear take to-

taled 1,183 and is the largest harvest on record. The spring 2020 turkey harvest was 5,718, an increase from 5,092 turkeys in 2019.

This was also the largest spring turkey harvest on record. This increase may be attributable to the 2019 rule that allows hunters to take a second spring bird in certain Wildlife Management Units and an increase in hunter participation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020 fall turkey harvest of 584 was an increase from 352 birds in 2019.

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

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