Northwoods Sporting Journal, Nov. 2019

Omar Gambling Takes Moose Lottery In His Own Hands

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* Opening Day * Timing Of The Rut * Deer Hunting Tips * Good Deer Management

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November 2019

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Birding the Deer Woods

November is a month where I combine two ways of bird watching. I will be out in my 74 acres of woods and fields deer hunting. I am not very agile now due to arthritis, so I tend to still hunt. I am very quiet and this enables me to hear and see the birds and other creatures.

You can imagine how this also helps pass boring hours with no deer! I write this column two months ahead and this September seems to have a plentiful amount of food for wintering birds.

The spruce, balsam firs, and tamaracks are loaded with cones. If further north does not have this situation, then there could be an “irruption” of certain species. These are food specialists which

depend largely on specific food resources which have irregular abundance. The production of tree buds, seeds, and fruits will deter-

mine the extent and periodicity of winter travels.

Red and White-winged Crossbills were regularly seen late in the summer feasting in Maine on conifer seeds. The maple trees have lots of seeds and the birches and alders have lots of catkins. Crabapple trees and

berrying shrubs are heavy with fruit. The Pine Siskins, Common Redpolls, Bohemian Waxwings, Pine and Evening Grosbeaks will be able to easily find food. One thing a birder knows is that many bird species only remain as long as the food supplies last. So seeing them does not always last into the winter months.

Sometimes while quietly sitting in my woods or at the edge of my field I may see some predatory birds like Rough-legged Hawks, Snowy Owls, and Northern Shrikes.

The Shrikes are a predatory songbird and feed on small mammals and birds.

They have the nickname “the butcher birds” because they

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The Bird Perch

by Karen Holmes, Cooper, ME impale prey on long thorns and sharp spikes of barbed wire. The barbed wire left over from fencing in my fields is sometimes used by them. The flocks of “winter warblers” named Yellowrumps loudly announce their presence with “check” calls.

They are one of the few species of birds that can digest bayberry fruits. Their digestive systems have more bile salts which digests the high saturated fats. Blackcapped Chickadees, Darkeyed Juncos, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, American Tree Sparrows, Blue Jays, Pileated Woodpeckers, Red-breasted Nuthatches, American Crows, Common Ravens are always present.

If I am lucky, I might see the

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elusive Boreal Chickadees and Canada Jays or a covey of Ruffed Grouse or a flock of Wild Turkeys. A flock of Snow Buntings may drift overhead like slowly falling snow flakes.

The other way I November bird watch is using my bird feeding station. I will have stocked it with suet, nyjer, black oil and millet seeds and can look out my kitchen window and watch the bird visitors in much more comfort. As always (over 45 years!) I will send my counts of birds to Project Feeder Watch from November until April.

I urge my readers to pay the $18 to join the fun. You will receive a kit with in-

(Woods cont. pg 27)

Northwoods Sporting Journal

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On The Cover

Omar Gambling Takes Moose Lottery In His Own Hands - Pg 6 Memorable Deer Rifles - Pg 44-49 Opening Day - Pg 50 Timing Of The Rut - Pg 61 Deer Hunting Tips - Pg 14 Good Deer Management - Pg 24 Maine’s Hunting Heritage - Pg 34

Contents

3. The Bird Perch - Karen Holmes 6. The Adventures Of Me & Joe - Bob Cram 11. “A Hiker’s Life” - Carey Kish 12. Northwoods Voyager - Gil Gilpatrick 13. The Trail Rider - Rod Fraser 14. The Allagash - Matt LaRoche 15. Blaine’s Outdoor Journal - Blaine Cardilli 16. Against The Current - Bob Romano 17. On Point - Paul Fuller 18. Outdoor Sporting Library - Jeremiah Wood 19. Ramblings From T8-R9 - Ben Rioux 20. County Outdoor Adventures - Tate McPherson 22. Marsh Island Chronicles - Matthew Dunlap 23. Women In The Woods - Erin Merrill 24. Question Of The Month - Timothy C. Flanigan 25. Fly Fishing - Joe Bertolaccini 28. Open Season - Steve Carpenteri 29. Muzzleloading Afield - Al Raychard 32. The Buck Hunter - Hal Blood 33. Guns & Ammo: A Guide’s Perspective - Tom Kelly 34. Maine Outdoor Adventure - Rich Yvon 35. New Hampshire Outdoors - Peter St. James 36. “Just Fishing” - Bob Leeman 38. Anticosti - Mark Cote 39. Old Tales From The Maine Woods - Steve Pinkham 41. What’s In Your Woods - Bud Utecht 42. Fishin’ Lake Ontario - Capt. Ernie Lantiegne 43. South Of Kennebec - Stu Bristol 44. Memorable Deer Rifles - 44-48 -Josh Reynolds -Mark McCollough -Gary Moore -Dennis Jensen -John Floyd 50. Green Mountain Report - Bradley Carleton 51. Salt Corner - Doug Jowett 53. Kineo Currents - Suzanne AuClair 55. Outdoors In Maine - V. Paul Reynolds 57. The Tyer’s Corner - Hugh Kelly 58. Cookin’ With New England’s WildCheff - Denny Corriveau 61. The Singing Maine Guide - Randy Spencer 62, Malarkey Cabin Chronicles - Ray Dillon 63. New Hampshire Guide’s Journal - Tim Moore 66. On The Prowl - Justin Merrill

November 2019

The Sportin’ Journal The Outdoor Paper For “Maine Folks”

The Northwoods Sporting Journal is the Northeast’s most comprehensive and readable monthly outdoor publication. Published at the trailhead of Maine’s sprawling North Woods, the Sporting Journal prides itself on being an independent voice for the region’s outdoor community for more than 20 years.

Some of our writers are seasoned and specialized outdoors people who will share their know-how and insights; some of our contributors are simply lifelong outdoor people with interesting stories to tell.

Our aim every month is to capture the essence of Northern New England’s remarkable outdoor heritage by stirring memories, portraying outdoor humor, and sharing experiences and outdoor knowledge.

We also keep our readers up to date with late-breaking outdoor news and hard-hitting editorials about fish and wildlife issues.

Anyone who loves to hunt and fish, or simply finds the Great Outdoors a treasured place, is more than likely to find some special connections amid the pages of the Northwoods Sporting Journal.

www.sportingjournal.com

Main Office Phone: (207) 732-4880 E-mail: info@sportingjournal.com Fax: (207)732-4970 Vol 26 Issue 11 is published monthly by Northwoods Publications, 57 Old County Rd. North, W. Enfield, ME 04493 Periodical Postage Paid at W. Enfield, ME. and additional mailing offices.

The Northwoods Sporting Journal (ISSN#1548-193X) Postmaster: Send address changes to: Northwoods Sporting Journal, PO Box 195, W. Enfield, ME 04493 Northwoods Publishing Group Victor Morin - Susan Morin - Diane Reynolds - V. Paul Reynolds Publishers - Victor Morin Jr. - V. Paul Reynolds Editor - V. Paul Reynolds Director of Marketing - Victor Morin Assistant Editor - Josh Reynolds Associate Editor - Donna Veino Graphic Arts Manager - Gayleen Cummings Subscription/Distribution Manager - Alicia Cram Operations Manager - Annette Boobar Webmaster - Mike Morin General Sales Manager - Victor Morin Jr. Sales Department; Thomas Schmidt, Paul Hatin & Michael Georgia Regional Advertising Manager - Jim Thorne The Northwoods Sporting Journal invites submissions of photographs and articles about the Maine outdoors.

Manuscripts should be sent with a self-addressed envelope to: NORTHWOODS SPORTING JOURNAL P.O. BOX 195, W. ENFIELD, MAINE 04493 The Northwoods Sporting Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited photos or manuscripts. Photos submitted without a stamped, self-addressed envelope will not be returned.

All rights reserved, 2019. Written permission must be obtained from the Northwoods Sporting Journal to reprint any part of this publication. Any errors or omissions in ads or editorial matter will be corrected in the next issue of NWSJ. The views and opinions expressed by our monthly columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of this publication.

The Allagash - Pg 14

By Wayne LaRoche

Maine Outdoor Adventure - Pg 34

By Rich Yvon

Other Great Stories & Information

8. Editorial/Letters 10. Outdoor News 25. Carroll’s Corner - Carroll Ware 40. Trading Post 60. Taxidermy 66. Real Estate

Cover Photo: Photo by Timothy Flanigan of Nature Exposure

What’s In Your Woods - Pg 41

By Bud Utecht

The Trail Rider - Pg 13

By Rod Fraser

November 2019

Northwoods Sporting Journal

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Page 6

Northwoods Sporting Journal

The Adventures of Me and Joe

November 2019

The Moose Lottery

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

“Got me a good mind to head on down there to Auguster an’ clean house!”

Omar Gambling’s round face was as red as a tomato and his short-cropped gray hair stood up in a scattered thicket across the top of his skull. He pointed a fat finger at Joe across the table.

“I could take my old .35 down there an’ pop some of ‘um. Wouldn’t a one of ‘um be missed. I’d be doin’ the state a favor!”

Joe looked around uneasily at the few scattered patrons in the Five N’ Diner who were watching Gambling with rapt fascination.

He waved a downward hand. “ Yo u m i g h t w a n t to quit makin’ them idle threats, Omar. They’s folks around might take you serious.”

“I am serious!” Omar thundered.

“But, in this day and age,” I said, “word gets around when you make threats about shooting someone.”

Omar glared at me.

“Getting all political correct now, are we? I’m supposed to jist take what they done an’ forget about it?” He scowled for a minute more, then blew out a breath and seemed to deflate.

“Anyways…I weren’t plannin’ on killin’ anybody.

Jist wing ‘um a mite.” He seemed to think about it seriously for a moment. “Angle shots, mostly,” he muttered.

“Whittle ‘um down to size, like you’d do with a parrin’ knife.”

“Look, Omar,” Joe said. “I know they had the drawin’ for the mooselottery the other day an’ that you didn’t get drawn once again, but…”

“Thirty years, Joe! Thirty bleepin’ years! I was a young man when the lottery started. Now I’m old, an’ I never come within’ sniffin distance of a permit! Ain’t nobody kin tell me that’s fair! Ain’t nobody kin tell me everybody’s got an equal chance! Darrell Favor’s had two permits. Lester Gloat’s had three, an’ he ain’t even 30 years old yet! Percy Deal’s wife put in for the first time in her life last year an’ she got one!”

I knew Omar was right, but I tried to soften the blow. “But, you know Omar, they’ve changed the lottery rules now, to give more chances…” “ Ye a h , t h e y ’ v e changed the rules. Now you kin only put in one application, ‘less you’re an outerstater, an’ that’s a good thing. But them extra chances? They only add up fer folks been in it for a long

Pinch himself walked down the middle of the road toward the moose, waving his hat and shouting, trying to scare the big animal into the woods. And above the sound of the rapids and the warden’s shouts, came the heavy rumble of a truck engine. Omar’s truck lurched onto the far end of the bridge and came roaring across. time. They keep complainin’ about people not puttin’ in anymore. How’s this gonna attract people that ain’t been in it for a while? For them, they don’t git them extra chances until they’ve managed to lose for years. Ain’t much incentive!”

“But you’ve been in it for a long time.”

“Yeah, an’ I’ll git extra chances.” He ran a hand through his crewcut in exasperation. “All that means is I kin lose a few more times each season. Got me a mind to start a club. The 30 year club, fer all the folks like me been passed over fer three decades.”

“I’ll join!”

I looked across the room to where Aaron Bleak

held up a hand, a stern look on his hangdog face.

“Me too!” Jilpoke Fail glared at us from another table.

I looked at them thoughtfully. If three men in this small gathering had been putting in for 30 years without getting a permit, how many others in the general hunting population were in the same boat? Maybe there was something drastically wrong with the system.

Omar slammed a fist down on the table, jiggling coffee cups and spoons.

“Know what I’m gonna do?

I’m gonna go out an’ git me a moose! I deserve one, after all these years, an’ I’m gonna git one! An’ you kin tell that to your pal, Pinch Brody!” He got up, dropped some coins on the table, and stormed out the door. Jilpoke Fail raised his cup and took a sip.

“Luck to ‘im.” He said gravely.

As me and Joe chugged across town in Joe’s ancient Jeep with its cab removed and the warm breeze blowing in our faces, I mentioned the idea of a whole bunch of hunters never getting a permit to Joe.

“Yeah, it’s not a perfect system,” he agreed, turning the wheel negligently with one hand to avoid Eben Ramdown’s dog, lying in the middle of the street. “But it’s the only one we got. I’d like to think that if somebody keeps puttin’ in long enough, he’ll eventually git a permit.

But some folks jist aren’t gonna live that long.”

Omar Gambling and his complaints faded from our thoughts after a few days, until we were sitting on Joe’s open porch one evening, enjoying the sunset. A movement flickered out of the corner of my eye, and then the big square figure of Warden Pinch Brody came around the corner and up the steps of the porch. He sank into a pole-framed rocker with a sigh.

“Evenin’ boys,” he said, looking out over the Little Salt Pork River where it ran in front of the cabin.

“Got me a problem. I could use some help.”

And right then I wondered if Omar Gambling hadn’t actually gone out and shot himself a moose. But that wasn’t the case.

“You’ve heard how

(Me & Joe cont. pg 7)

November 2019

Me & Joe (Cont. from pg 6)

Omar Gambling’s been saying around town how he’s gonna get him a moose?

How he’s put in for thirty years an’ never got a permit, and so he figures he’s owed one?” We nodded.

“Well, I thought he might actually go out in a fit of anger an’ shoot one,” Pinch continued. “But he’s too smart for that. You know what he’s doin’? He’s take that old 1970 Ford one ton plow truck of his and had Lloyd Braze weld a great big brush guard on the front, made out of cris-crossed lengths of two inch pipe.

Calls it a ‘cow catcher’, or maybe a ‘bull catcher’.

Said he ain’t fussy. Now he’s hauntin’ the back roads, lookin’ for moose. An’ with the number of moose we’ve got around here, it won’t be long before he finds one.

He’s got Aaron Bleak an’ Jilpoke Fail ridin’ with ‘im.

The way things are goin’,

Northwoods Sporting Journal

he’ll prob’ly have a whole crowd along in a few days.”

Joe stared at the river, a frown on his face. “You know, if a guy intentionally hit a moose with a rig like that you’d be hard pressed to prove it weren’t an accident.”

“I know, I know,” Pinch agreed. “An’ even if I arrested ‘im, if he asked for a jury trial I doubt they’s a jury in this county would convict ‘im.” The way things are goin’, he’ll prob’ly have a whole crowd along in a few days.”

“My problem is, I sympathize with ‘im. Everybody knows the moose lottery is just a big money game. The legislature’s afraid if they change it much people won’t put in. They ain’t smart enough to see that about half the folks that used to apply don’t do it anymore ‘cause they don’t think they’ll ever get one. If they was some guarantee that if you put in long enough, you’ll get one, a lot more people would ap-

ply. Guess the bureaucrats don’t grasp the concept.”

“So what do you want us to do?” I asked.

“I dunno…you’re friends of his…I thought maybe you could talk to him a little more. Make him see that takin’ the law into his own hands ain’t the answer to a bad situation.”

“We’ll go talk to him again, Pinch,” Joe said. But I don’t hold out much hope we’ll change his mind.”

We waited until the following afternoon when the copperhead flies were in full cry along the woods trails and tended to push the moose out into the roads for some relief. As we drove out of town I saw Omar’s old friend Paul Secondary walking along the side of the road. Seeing us driving up, he held out a hand and flagged us down.

“Ain’t seen Omar, have you?” Secondary asked. “I got to talk to ‘im, and I heard he’s out somewhere moose truckin’.”

Page 7

“I’m afraid he is, Paul,” Joe said. “We’re headin’ out to try an’ talk some sense into ‘im. Climb in the back if you want to ride along.”

Secondary folded his gangling frame into the Jeep’s back seat and we headed out along the River Road to the north. The choice of available woods roads was virtually endless, but we figured Omar would stick near the river for a better chance at moose going to water. We were right.

As we rode around a sharp bend, an ungainly vehicle came toward us at a brisk rate of speed. A wind tangle of bent pipe twisted up from the front bumper. Joe pulled over to the side of the road and the big truck pulled to a

stop right beside us, a haze of dust settling over both vehicles. Omar Gambling grinned down from behind the wheel. Beside him, Aaron Bleak and Jilpoke Fail clutched the dashboard for support. In the body of the truck, four other local men sat on bench seats, chatting noisily.

Before either me or Joe could say anything, Paul Secondary spoke up. “Dang it, Omar! What the heck you think yore doin’?”

“Ridin’ the roads, Paul, ridin’ the roads,” Omar replied. He scrunched down and rested his chin on the bottom of the window frame.

“But it’s hard, you know.

Moose keep gettin’ in the

(Me & Joe cont. pg 52)

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

November 2019

Marketing the Maine Outdoors

For years now, from elected Augusta officials of either party, we have heard this song before: “We need to be more aggressive and creative in marketing Maine as a hunting and fishing destination.” Yes, it’s an old, familiar score.

But somehow reality always seems to fall short of promises and expectations.

Traditionally, the promote-Maine folks have focused on lobster and our scenic coast at the expense of touting other traditional inland recreational opportunities.

This was the case 25 years ago when I worked as information officer for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The funds available for marketing Maine hunting and fishing were a pittance in context of what hunting and fishing income represented to the state.

Recently in a column in the SAM News, fish and wildlife commissioner Judy Camuso outlined what hunting and fishing mean to

Waste Not, Want Not To the Editor: I’m writing regarding the article titled, Moose Extraction: The Case for Separation. Published in the August 2019 edition. I thought Mr. Reynolds made a very good case for separating the moose for numerous reasons. Notwithstanding the fact that he makes a good case for hauling the moose out in pieces, he advocates leaving the neck meat be-

Maine’s present economy. For example, hunting annually brings in $339 million while fishing brings in $208 million to the state. This economic impact also produces thousands of full time and part time jobs to the state’s rural areas, which have been hard pressed for employment opportunities.

According to Camuso, Governor Janet Mills is keenly aware of all of this and, to her credit, has budgeted some significant funds that IF&W can use to better market Maine’s rich hunting and fishing resources to potential users from Maine and beyond.

IF&W’s marketing and communication program will get $250,000 from the governor’s budget and $150,000 for IF&W’s landowner relations program. Boiled down, this means that the governor, or somebody within her staff, has seen the light: Maine can do a lot better competing on the national stage to attract hunting and fishing dollars to Maine.

Maine’s sport fishery alone, especially

hind? He states, by the time you get to this step, you’ll have had enough cutting and hacking. In the moose hunter’s guide it states (on page 6), you are required to bring out all edible meat. Now whether this is an actual law or not, I don’t know. But every ethical bone in my body tells me, it’s not okay. Once the moose is dispatched if it takes two days to bring out all the meat, who cares? I’ve seen some big moose on the ground and I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say,

there could be 100 pounds of meat in the neck area.

I’m in hopes that this was a misprint of some kind and not meant to say what it said.

Brett Patten St. Albans Author’s note: While the statement made by me in my monthly column, Moose Extraction: The Case for Separation, which refers to leaving neck meat in the woods, was probably poorly conceived, it was made with the understanding that too many hundreds of pounds of moose meat have been ruined by people trying to retrieve an entire moose out of the woods. Simply put, if you can’t get the critter out of the woods and cooled down quickly, your meat will spoil. If the alternative is leaving some meat in the woods, to “save” the bulk of the meat, then leaving

its wild trout and bass fishery, has enormous potential to attract new recreational anglers, not just from New England but worldwide!

And when you consider, hunting opportunities from Big Woods trophy bucks to black bears, moose and grouse, the sky is the limit if properly marketed.

Writes Camuso, “...the Department has embarked on an aggressive campaign to Recruit, Retain and Reactivate hunters and anglers. This R3 program is designed to to attract new hunters and anglers, retain those who currently hold licenses, and engage those who have dropped out.”

This is very good news. All of Maine stands to benefit economically if the Mills appropriation is managed well and designed to reach those who are always looking for places to hunt and fish and enjoy the great outdoors, which Maine has in spades.

- VPR

neck meat in the woods is a viable alternative. The author of the letter to the editor says “if it takes 2 days to bring out all the meat, who cares?” must assume that the temperature is pretty cold. As I write this, on the opening day of the 2019 moose season, it’s 75 degrees outside. If it takes you two days to get that meat out of the woods, it will all be spoiled.

- Josh Reynolds

Punola Piscatorial Plaudits To the Editor: Last summer, while visiting relatives in Augusta, Maine, I happened to buy your publication and was pleased to find a nicely written story about catching smallmouths in the famous Penobscot, and immediately recognized the

photo in the story as being John Punola, who is the best outdoor writer in America.

We live in Florham Park, NJ, and know John as the shad fishing expert, and he lives in North New Jersey.

He knows more about shad than anybody, and his spring shad stories are featured in the best publications.

He has talked amount the smallmouth fishing in Maine and has written articles for New Jersey outdoor publications talking about the wonders of smallmouth fishing in Maine. Of course he also has mentioned good trout fishing as well. I don’t know how you found him, but you made a good catch.

Next summer I am going to plan a trip to the Penobscot river to see where Punola catches all those nice smallmouths.

Edward W Lee Florham Park, NJ

November 2019

Northwoods Sporting Journal

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Sporting Journal Northwoods

November 2019

Outdoor News - November 2019

Edited by V. Paul Reynolds November. Dwindling daylight, frosty mornings, acorns bouncing on the camp’s tin roof, clear vistas across the hard wood ridges.

For the deer hunter, this is the best time of the year, period! Rifle season for deer is upon us. Thousands of hunters from all over New England and beyond will take to the woods in search of their prize - a whitetail deer.

Our senses, overloaded as November approaches, tell us that this is the time to fill the freezer and prepare for winter. Though the law book dictates when we can hunt, without it we would still know. Following the path laid before us, we will continue the tradition, providing food for our families and solace for our souls.

Vermont News

Muzzleloader antlerless permits will no longer be mailed to successful applicants. Permit winners will be able to print their permit, which will appear on their license, from the Fish & Wildlife website after the lottery. Alternatively, hunters can write their permit number on one of the orange big game tags available from any license agent or Fish & Wildlife office.

End of NH Director Normandeau’s Term

– The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is announcing that Executive Director Glenn Normandeau will be leaving his position at the end of his term in March 2020. Director Normandeau has been serving in his role as head of the agency since April 2008.

He is the second-longest serving Executive Director in the history of the Fish and Game Department which

was established in 1865.

It is anticipated that the New Hampshire Fish and Game Commission will begin the process of searching for a replacement for Director Normandeau in the near future. It is their mandate to put forth a candidate for the Governor’s approval.

Vermont News

Hunters play a critical role in the management of deer in Vermont. They provide the mechanism for controlling deer numbers, and they provide critical biological information from the animals they harvest.

Successful deer management depends on cooperation from hunters.

Some ways hunters can contribute valuable information include: Completing the annual rifle season hunter effort survey. This survey is mailed to 10,000 licensed hunters each year and is available to all hunters on the Fish and Wildlife website. It provides critical information on hunting effort and sighting rates of deer and other wildlife that are used to estimate population size.

Reporting their deer at a biological reporting station during youth season or the opening weekend of rifle season. Department biologists are present at select reporting stations during these weekends to collect important information on the health and physical condition of the deer herd.

This information is more reliable if more deer can be examined.

Submitting a tooth from their rifle season buck.

We are asking all successful rifle season hunters to provide a tooth from their buck when they report it. The deer’s age can be determined from the tooth, and that age information helps estimate deer populations in each WMU.

Colonel Joel Wilkinson To Retire From The Maine Warden Service.

Colonel Joel Wilkinson of the Maine Warden Service, who was appointed colonel in 2008, is retiring on September 20. Commissioner Judy Camuso has placed Lieutenant Dan Scott in the position of acting colonel.

“Colonel Wilkinson served the Department and the state for more than two decades,” said Commissioner Camuso. “I want to thank him for his service, and wish him nothing but the best as he enters his next chapter.”

Wilkinson was hired full time as a district game warden in 1995, after beginning his career in 1992 as a deputy game warden. In addition to serving as colonel, Joel has served in multiple roles in the Maine Warden Service including captain, sergeant, investigator, and district game warden. He also served as acting major (2008) and later acting commissioner during the Governor Baldacci/Governor LePage transition.

“We all work for the very best fish and wildlife agency in the country and may Maine be proud of the collective work this Department provides. I feel like I have worked with, for and beside the greatest professionals in conservation,” said Wilkinson.

Fisheries Biologists Honored

Wes Ashe of Brewer, a fisheries biologist stationed in the central region of the state, was honored as the Fisheries section employee of the year; and Derik Lee, a fish culturist who works at the Grand Lake Stream hatchery was honored as the hatcheries section employee of the year. The pair were recognized at the Department of Inland fisheries and Wildlife’s Fisheries and Hatcheries annual division meeting earlier this fall.

“Both Wes and Derik are extremely deserving of the award, not only for the accomplishments over the past year, but for consistently working above and beyond what is expected,” said Francis Brautigam, Director of Fisheries and Hatcheries at MDIFW. Wes was lauded for his work managing the departments brown trout strain evaluation project where he compiled the data from regions across the state, then analyzed performance of each strain which allowed the department to better make a decision on which strain to choose. Wes is also an excellent public speaker and praised for being a great ambassador who regularly presents fisheries projects to school groups, professional organizations and other groups.

Derik was praised for his work and dedication with the aerial stocking program throughout the state this year, putting in long hours

which necessitated multiple overnight trips, and adapting to a constantly changing work schedule. Derik also was lauded for his work with the salmon spawning egg take at the hatchery, where he completed some of the tasks that generally take two or more staff, and was recognized for his willingness to consistently go above and beyond in assisting at the hatchery.

In addition to the two individual awards, two team awards were also given out.

In the hatcheries section, a cross section of the agency that worked on the Grand Lake Stream Hatchery water intake construction project was honored.

This $4 million project upgraded the hatcherys water intake supply and involved the support of multiple people throughout the agency including the Maine Warden Service Dive Team, Director of Engineering Rick Parker and his crew, environmental program manager Bob Stratton, Superintendent of Hatcheries Todd Langevin and the Grand Lake Stream hatchery crew of Dave Marsanskis, Derik Lee, and Joshua Kuester.

The fisheries section honored the team that developed the Fishing Laws Online Angling Tool (Float), which was released last spring. FLOAT is a culmination of five years of effort spearheaded by fisheries biologist Jim Pellerin, and assisted by biologists Matt Lubejko and Nick Kalejs, fish culturist Ashley ONeal, and designer Ray Corson.

Pellerin worked with other regional staff to create a statewide regulations database that then could be combined with a GIS mapping program that would give users an intuitive, easy to use, map based regulation program that would increase understanding and compliance of MDIFWs fishing laws.

Northwoods Sporting Journal

November 2019

Walking in the Footsteps of Benedict Arnold

In early October 1775, General Benedict Arnold and a contingent of 1,100 American soldiers made the portage over the Great Carrying Place between the Kennebec River and the Dead River on their wilderness expedition to Quebec City. The lengthy and difficult portage greatly weakened Arnold’s army, which ultimately failed in its attempt to wrest control of the city from the British and thereby expand the Revolutionary War, forcing it to retreat in defeat in the dead of winter.

Hikers today can explore this incredible 13-mile segment of history thanks to the Arnold Expedition Historical Society, which opened the Great Carrying Place Portage Trail in 2014 after seven years of hard work and 239 years after

Arnold and his troops passed through.

“We wanted to recreate and reopen the route so modern people could get a sense of what the Arnold Expedition had to go through on their way to Canada,” said Stephen Clark, society member and author of a guide that describes the portage trail. “It’s a way of expressing history by allowing us to walk in their footsteps.”

The new trail begins at Carrying Place Stream on the western shore of Wyman Lake, a 15-mile stretch of the Kennebec River impounded by Wyman Dam in 1930. The trail climbs 750 feet to East Carry Pond and then proceeds to Middle Carry Pond. Just beyond at Sandy Stream, the trail joins the Appalachian Trail and follows it for some three

Page 11

“A Hiker’s Life”

by Carey Kish, Bar Harbor, ME experiences of the soldiers of the 1775 expedition.”

The portage route over the Great Carrying Place was discovered and developed by Native Americans many centuries ago as a way to travel between the Maine coast and the St. Lawrence River, allowing them to bypass the dangerous rapids and falls on the Kennebec River above Caratunk.

Heavily burdened, “Arnold’s men had to make as many as six trips between each segment of the portage,” explained Clark.

“That’s 3 ½ miles each way between the Kennebec River and East Carry Pond times six for a total of over 40 miles.”

This grueling back and forth shuttling was then repeated between each of the three ponds en route before the Dead River was finally reached. Moving tons of heavy wooden boats (some 220 in all) and countless barrels of supplies and military equipment in this manner so depleted the troops that a small field hospital was hastily constructed near East

miles, crossing Arnold Bog and then traveling over a wooded ridge to reach West Carry Pond at Arnold Point.

Ahead, the trail reaches its 1,519 foot high point just north of Roundtop Mountain before descending to cross Long Falls Dam Road on its way to Flagstaff Lake, which submerged the Dead River in 1950.

Hikers can walk the Great Carrying Place Portage Trail in short segments, make it a long day hike, or turn it into an overnight journey with a stay at the AT lean-to on West Carry Pond.

Clark recommends hiking the trail from east to west “to more closely emulate the

Carry Pond to attend to the sick and disabled soldiers. It took Arnold’s army nearly two weeks to complete the portage, an amazing feat on its own.

The AEHS finally overcame two major obstacles that allowed completion of the trail: The National Park Service granted permission to utilize a portion of the AT between Sandy Stream and West Carry Pond, and Plum Creek (now Weyerhaeuser) allowed a right-of-way around the south end of West Carry Pond. The trail was then blazed with orange paint and directional signs erected.

Hikers will want a copy of Clark’s trail booklet, available for $5. Another must-have is “Arnold’s Wilderness March,” a full-color map and guide ($6) to enjoying the 80-mile section of the expedition route between the Kennebec and Lac Megantic by car, canoe and foot. Get them both by writing to AEHS, 60 Burnham Road, Scarborough 04074.

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Northwoods Voyager

Northwoods Sporting Journal

More Advice for Young Guides

by Gil Gilpatrick, Skowhegan, ME Last month I set out some of the ways that worked for me to attract customers to my guiding business. This month I want to lay out some of the things that I think are important in running a successful guide service.

The advice I am handing out here are my own thoughts on the matter of guiding in Maine, along with some of the thoughts passed along to me by my best friend, Dick Mosher who has guided many years and had a little more diverse experience than I did.

There are guides out there who may disagree with us and that is okay. Everyone has their own way of doing things. To be successful it is important to have satisfied customers who will come back, and perhaps more importantly, recommend you to other potential customers. I hope our thoughts will get some young guide off on the right foot.

I know from observation that there are a lot of working guides out there

November 2019

who will disagree with this, but it is what I believe and what I did. I did not call my customers clients. I called them guests! This was important to me because that is how I thought of them. And, I would point out there is a good reason why hotels call

how hard can it be, right?

Perhaps they spent a couple of days in a canoe during a summer camp many years before. This situation requires tact to get the information to the guest without making him feel he is being ‘talked down to” in any way.

Every situation is different so I don’t have a cure-all,

the story of when he was a very young guide. He was guiding a fellow on a bobcat hunt. The night was coming on and Dick was anxious to get the dog and head home. The cat came within range of Dick and he shot it. When he and his guest got together, and the guest saw the cat, he said: I

To be successful, it is important to have satisfied customers who will come back, and perhaps more importantly, recommend you to other potential customers. their customers “guests”.

For me, calling them clients seemed cold, unfeeling and unfriendly. I was striving for a friendly relationship, and in fact, many of them did become friends and I still correspond with many of them.

A hunting guide should try his/her hardest to see that the customer bags the animal they are there for. A real nono is for the hunting guide to shoot an animal. This is true even though she/he is certain that the guest would have no chance to bag that particular animal. Dick tells

thought I was the hunter.

He said nothing more about it, but Dick was so abashed by those few words that he never forgot them and never did such a thing again.

The same holds for fishing guides. Supposedly, in many cases, they have the skill to out-fish their guests.

Not a good idea for the same reason as for hunting. What the fishing guide can do is try different lures to find one that works well and then pass the info on to the guest.

I found in guiding canoe trips that many guests assumed they knew how to paddle a canoe. After all,

but just advice to handle with care.

The first things I did after waking up in the morning was to start the coffee and build the fire. On one trip I had a guest that loved to start the campfire. He would come running as soon as I approached the fireplace. This was a successful, professional man, but his eagerness reminded me of a young kid. After a day or so I expected him to show up to start the fire.

One morning he must have overslept, because he didn’t show when it was time to start the fire. Because I was

aware of his eagerness in this regard I waited and in a few minutes he came running up to the fireplace. We looked at each other with no words exchanged, but I knew that he appreciated the opportunity. A small thing, but important to him.

Well, I hope in some small way this information helps some young guide get off on the right foot to have a long and successful career in guiding in the Maine woods and waters.

Gil Gilpatrick is a Master Maine Guide, and is the first living recipient of the Legendary Maine Guide award. He is a life member of the Maine Professional Guides Association, a founding member of the Maine Wilderness Guides Organization, and served as a member of the Advisory Board for the Licensing of Guides from 1996 to 2010. He is a member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association and is the author of seven outdoorrelated books. Contact him at Gil@GilGilpatrick.com

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November 2019

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 13

The Deerfield Revisited

A few years ago I wrote about my first trip flyfishing on the upper Deerfield River in western Massachusetts. On that trip, we started below Fife Brook Dam and fished down the

flyfishing. The first of these are the large group of float tubers and rafters that also ride the water release from the Fife Brook Dam. You don’t want to be trying to fish while the large float-

out there.

We were on the river less than 10 minutes and I had a rainbow in the net. I knew we were in for a good day. The fish came fairly steady as we fished down the river. We had the best luck using a brown or grey mop fly as well as a two tone stonefly pattern that Chris

The Trail Rider

by Rod Fraser, Hyde Park, MA gling them and getting them on their way. I contend that I would have caught at least three more trout if it weren’t for that crucial delay!

We were on the river less than 10 minutes and I had a rainbow in the net. I knew we were in for a good day.

The fish came fairly steady as we fished down the river.

river, ending just before the Zoar gap on the Deerfield.

On that trip, the date was November first and it was extremely cold. This summer, I made a second trip, again with Master Flyfishing Guide Chris Jackson (www.flyfishthedeerfield. com). The trip was fantastic. We started by putting in at the Zoar Picnic Area on Zoar Rd. in Charlemont and fished down the river ending in the business district of Charlemont.

In the summer, there are two obstacles you must overcome to float down the Deerfield and achieve great

ing groups come down the river. We put in after the end of the water release when most of the rafters and float tubers were already on the water and below us. The second obstacle is how fast the water level drops in the river after the dam release ends. That is one of the big advantages of fishing with Chris. He in on the Deerfield every day and understands the water flow and how fast the water level drops over time. Additionally, Chris has figured out where the fish tend to be holed up on the river, which helps you make the most of your time

had tied. I landed the largest of the fish when I dropped the two tone stone fly right on the edge of some quick water flowing by a rock and immediately got a strike.

That particular rainbow leapt out of the water twice before I was able to get him into the net. Chris actually started video taping this after the first time the rainbow leapt from the water and it became a great keepsake memory of this trip for me and shared the video with my fishing buddies.

Did I mention floaters?

Halfway through the trip two women floating down the river, who had their float tubes ties together, floated into our anchor line and got tangled up. That wasted valuable fishing time untan-

In all, I netted 12 rainbows and zero brown trout, with a few more lost on the fight into the boat. It was a great late afternoon, early evening of fishing and the Deerfield is a fantastic trout river that I highly recom-

mend. If you have not fished the Deerfield before, try booking a trip with guide Chris Jackson. In addition to his knowledge of the river, I have learned skills that improve my fishing abilities.

I have fished with Chris on four separate occasions and enjoyed great success on each trip.

Rod Fraser is an avid outdoorsman and twenty year Navy veteran. Originally from Maine and living in Massachusetts, Rod has written extensively about Outdoor sports.

HELP US FIND

The elusive Northwoods Sporting Journal’s moose Marty.

He has wandered into the northwoods.

Find Marty somewhere in the Northwoods Sporting Marty 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.

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

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Page 14

Northwoods Sporting Journal

The Allagash

November 2019

Deer Hunting Tips

AWW Superintendent, Matt LaRoche, ME

What is the difference between a successful deer hunt and the frustration of an almost connection with a big buck? Often times, it is the little things that make a big difference in deer hunting. If I would have done this or that becomes the talk of hunting camp, instead of a buck hanging on the game pole.

I have been hunting with the same bunch of guys at a camp in the North Maine Woods for more than 25 years. The deer herd has not recovered from those two severe winters in 2008 and 2009. Deer are a little scarce, so when you get a chance at a nice buck – you had better make it count.

I like to track deer when we have a fresh snow.

Tracking is actually easier when there are fewer deer around to confuse the hunter. When there are lots of tracks, it takes more than an

occasional glance to figure out where the deer you are pursuing is headed. If the deer tracks you are following get mingled in with a bunch of other tracks, it takes time to figure out where your deer went. If the tracks are fresh, I have found that it might be best to get off to the side of the tracks in a place where you can see and take a break, you might even give a couple grunts or bleats on your deer call.

When still hunting on bare ground, it takes an experienced eye to tell how old a deer track is or when a scrape was last tended.

Usually when you think to yourself - that deer was just here, then he probably was. Stop and look around carefully. You need to find a place where you can see, but if you spend too much time looking for that perfect spot, you can spook the deer without even knowing it.

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The author, brother Mark LaRoche, and nephew Gabe LaRoche hauling out a small buck at hunting camp. (Photo by Ted Wolfertz) These are all small decisions that can lead to either a big mistake or success.

If there is one theme that is consistent when tracking or still hunting, it is go slow and stop at good vantage points to take a break.

I have seen a lot of deer by just taking a break in the right spot. This is especially true if there are other hunters around that might bump deer. I like to use my deer call and have found that it makes me sit tight for an extra 15 minutes after I use it. It could be the extra time sitting still or the actual call

that makes a difference, but it has paid off for me on several occasions.

When tracking deer, you will find that they take you through miserable thickets and some nice open spots. You can learn a lot about their habits and travel routes by tracking deer. If you hunt the same area year after year, you can use this past experience to your advantage. Deer like to travel in the same areas year after year. I gravitate to places where I have seen deer or sign in the past.

You might follow a

In Maine’s Allagash Wilderness Waterway

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deer all day and not get an opportunity for a good shot or a deer spooks the minute you get up from your stand.

That’s hunting. It ends this way more often than not.

A North Maine Woods deer hunt is not easy, but if you like a vast area to hunt with few other hunters and big deer- it might be the place for you.

The Allagash Wilderness Waterway allows camping in the parking lot at Chamberlain Bridge during the months of October and November. There is a public drinking water supply, vault toilets and ranger assistance available at Chamberlain Ranger Station. By Northwoods standards, there is actually pretty good deer hunting available in the Chamberlain/Telos area.

The AWW is managed by the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Bureau of Parks and Lands.

Matt LaRoche Superintendent of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, a Registered Maine Guide, and an avid outdoorsman.

He can be reached at 207695-2169 or at matt.laroche@maine.gov

November 2019

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Be Happy With Your Deer

I’ve noticed in recent years that when someone in one of those hunting forums shares a photo of a doe, more often than not they make apologies for doing so. You’ve seen them. The posts where they say, “Did some doe management tonight”, or. “Didn’t see any bucks today but this doe came out so I decided to put some meat in the freezer.”

Now, I’m going to venture an educated guess that because so many hunters put the emphasis on taking bucks, (especially trophy bucks), shooting anything less seems, well, almost demeaning.

Because of this, many hunters find themselves making excuses for taking a doe or smallracked buck believing others might look down on them and I’d like to address this subject.

Being both a Mainer and a hunter with more than 40 years experience chasing our native deer, I can tell you first-hand that being able to kill a deer in Maine with any consistency is no easy task.

I haven’t filled all my tags and I don’t know anyone else who has either.

I can name at least four national publications that have placed New England at the bottom of the list when it comes to “best places” for deer hunting, and placed Maine among the “top ten” worst. One 2018 article I recently read mentioned that Maine had the lowest ratio of 10.4% between 181,000 hunters to 18,839 deer harvested.

Data compiled by the Quality Deer Management Association’s 2013 ‘White-

tail Report’ also claimed that Maine’s lowest antlerless-

deer-per-square-mile ranking (0.2), low average temperature (41 degrees), high annual snowfall (62 in), and large yearling buck harvest (54%) also indicated that it’s perhaps too much of challenge for hunters. This only serves to exasperate the continued struggle with the Maine deer herd and the economic impact associated with it.

My point is this: No matter the data or the arguments, the fact remains that both New England, (and Maine), offer some of the greatest deer hunting challenges in the country which begs the question, why should a hunter feel he/she needs to apologize for taking any

Blaine’s Outdoor Journal

Blaine Cardilli, Winthrop, ME

legal deer?

I grew up to a familiar saying that “if it’s brown, it’s down”, which meant that if a deer was legal to harvest, you took it. Period. For me and many of my friends, that saying still holds true today and believe me, if awarded an Any-Deer permit or a much coveted Bonus Antlerless tag, you can bet I’m going to feel no shame in pulling that trigger.

With our region already having been proven to be a difficult place to even see a deer during gun season, (let alone take one with any regularity), I think it’s time we start taking more pride in our successes, no matter what they are or what they may appear to look like to others. Consider our youth hunters who are literally the future of deer hunting; Since taking a deer, (any deer), can be such a monumental task, we should be focusing on the

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Page 15

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camaraderie and the great times spent afield with both our children and our friends!

And it’s my opinion that being able to harvest a mature doe can be just as difficult as taking a mature buck because the rut is when bucks tend to drop their guard while does, (which are more likely to be in groups, compared to bucks who tend to be more singular), offer more eyes and ears to the presence of danger.

Until Maine can come up with a more comprehensive management plan that offers us a wider range of options compared to other states, we really have no choice but to accept our lot and be happy just being able to take a deer!

For me and mine, the hunt will always be about family, friends, and the experiences we share and we will never be ashamed of

(Deer cont. pg 27)

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 16

Against The Current

by Bob Romano, Columbia, NJ I’m often asked, which books are my favorites, those books that have influenced my writing. Although I keep up with the perennial texts that provide the how, when, and where to fish, my favorites, those I pull off the shelf when at camp, facing the lake in my favorite easy chair, or during the winter while seated by the woodstove, do little to improve my cast or increase the numbers of fish I release.

In one way or another, the books I enjoy the most provide insight into why we enjoy spending time fishing for wild trout in remote streams and ponds, and why in doing so, we’re willing to suffer rain, hail, and snow, black flies and mosquitoes, dangerous rapids, frozen fingers, aching backs, and weary limbs.

Most, although not all of my favorite books, are set in northern New England. A few are listed below: WE TOOK TO THE WOODS by Louise Dickinson Rich Although not strictly a book about fly-fishing, anyone who has fished the Northwoods of Maine or New Hampshire (or wishes to do so) must include Louise Dickinson’s book on

his or her shelf. Published in 1942, it tells the story of Louise’s life, spent with her husband, Ralph, their son, Rufus, and dog, Kayak, alongside the Rapid River.

One of New England’s wildest free-flowing rivers, the Rapid begins as a whitewater torrent flowing out of Middle Dam, descending for six miles over immense boulders before entering Umbagog Lake. Brook trout and landlocked salmon as large as you can imagine lurk within the churning rapids, sweeping out from under one of the enormous boulders to strip a streamer from your line! My weathered edition of Louise’s book contains black-andwhite photos of her family and friends, as well as those of Middle Dam and Pond in the River.

DISAPPEARANCES

by Howard Frank Mosher A list of books concerning fishing in New England must include one of Howard Mosher’s novels.

As with We Took To The Woods, what Howard’s novels lack in scenes of fly fishing, they make up for in their descriptions of a New England populated by the type of outrageous characters once common in the little towns

My Favorite Books

set beside streams teaming with brook trout. Perhaps, I’ve selected Disappearances because I first read this book while spending my first season in western Maine. I began the book, seated with my legs crossed on the rocky shoreline of Aziscohos Lake, completing the three hundred and four pages by a battery-operated lantern later that night while a universe of stars glittered over the porch of our camp.

The novel’s cover describes the book as “Part gothic, part fantasy, and pure rollicking adventure.” For me, it epitomizes everything that is honest and true about the spirit of those who live in New England and the brook trout that inhabit their rivers and streams.

UNDER THE WILLOW TREE by Arthur MacDougall, Jr. I admit it. I was born in the wrong century. Maybe it’s that I’m approaching an age when I’m looking back more than forward.

Throughout the nineteen thirties and forties, Arthur MacDougall, Jr. wrote stories for Field and Stream Magazine that featured Dud Dean, a fictional Maine guide, who fished and hunted throughout the Kennebec watershed. These stories were collected in a number of books that are now out of print and quite expensive to purchase. Luckily, his son

compiled a number of MacDougall’s best stories in a volume entitled Remembering Dud Dean, now available for a reasonable price.

Each story features Dud guiding his favorite sport, Mac (the author), while dispensing backwoods

for the ride with Dud and Mac, something I strive for in my own writing.

FOR MAINE ONLY

by Edmund Ware Smith Like MacDougall, who wrote in the twenties and thirties, during the nineteen fifties and sixties,

wisdom in an accent so thick I sometimes have trouble understanding what he’s saying. The action takes place in and around Moosehead Lake. During my years fishing the Rangeley Lakes Region, I have been known to haunt the local bookstores.

Early on, I found Under The Willow Tree among cartons of used books being sold for a dollar apiece. Since then, I’ve collected most of MacDougall’s other books, reading them over and over on those raining days at our camp. The author has the ability to make the reader feel like he or she is along

Edmund Ware Smith penned fishing and hunting stories also collected in a number of books. Although one of my favorites is For Maine Only, the iconic writer is perhaps best known for his book, The One Eyed Poacher of Privilege. Whereas, MacDougall wrote about the Moosehead Region of Maine, Smith’s stories are set in the eastern region of The Pine Tree State.

Like MacDougall, Edmund Ware Smith’s stories evoke the Maine woods and all of its flora and fauna.

More so, they celebrate the

(Books cont. pg 26)

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

November 2019

Montana Revisited

Page 17

On Point

by Paul Fuller, Durham, N.H.

On August 27th, Susan, the dogs and I left our home in New Hampshire with Montana our goal. This was our sixth trip to prairie bird Mecca. For us, it’s a 39-hour drive which takes us through ten states. Although we have typically made the drive in three days, we stopped in Ohio to visit family so this trip we took four days to reach our destination, Plentywood, Montana.

Our last trip was in 2016. Bird numbers were down significantly in 2016 so we have been hesitant to make the trip again. However, after summer discussions with Montana farmer friends, bird numbers were looking better for this season so we decided to revisit the prairies.

Since we go for either opening week or the following week, by “bird numbers” we mean sharptail grouse or Hungarian partridge. Pheasants are not yet in season.

Our favorite is the sharptail

grouse. If you go early, before the sharptail has see pressure, they hold very well for the point. For Susan and me, the most important ingredient in this trip is giving our dogs an opportunity for bird work. Especially the younger dogs. There is nothing like wild birds on the prairie to strengthen the point and allow your pup to gain more bird sense.

The number one problem Montana is having in the Northeast corner of the state is loss of habitat for the sharptail grouse. Just in the past few years, thousands of acres of native prairie grasslands have been lost to the plow. The non-native birds, ring-necked pheasant and Hungarian partridge, have adapted to agriculture. The native sharptailed grouse, has not.

Montana has a program titled Block Management. The Block Management initiative allows hunters to hunt on private land.

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The private land owners are compensated, by the state, for allowing hunters access to their property. There are sign-in boxes at each Block Management property. I commend Montana for this program. It guarantees an out-of-state hunter access to good habitat. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks publishes a booklet titled Hunting Access Guide. It contains Block Management maps for each region of the state.

It gives you the species of game available in the individual block properties. At the sign-in box, the state provides a more detailed map of that individual property.

We always pick-up the new booklet (published annually) at the local sporting goods store. However, you can order directly from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Go to fwp.mt.gov and search for Block Management. Go to Frequently Ask Questions.

Under a map of the regions, you’ll see Order Access

Guide.

We had an eight-day hunt planned. We have a rule for long distance hunts.

Always hunt at least the same number of travel days.

Opening day was September 1st. We spent August 31st scouting several of the Block Management properties we’ve hunted previously. They all looked good so we selected a property we’ve had good luck in the past. Unfortunately, the dogs did not locate a single bird on opening day. Days two through eight, however, we’re much different. We had multiple sharptail finds interspersed with Hun covey finds every day. Although we could have shot more, Susan and I usually limited ourselves to only 1 or 2 birds per sharptail covey.

Sharptail grouse flush in a staggered pattern. If one or two flush, expect several more to follow. This flushing pattern is different than the Hun. Huns are much more hyper than the sharptail.

For huns, the entire covey flushes simultaneously. And, the hun flushes with just a wink from your dog. Early season sharptails are much more forgiving. After a few days of pressure, all the birds either flush quickly or run

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Here are a few tips for a trip to the prairies. Going early will give your dogs the best opportunity for good bird work. The down side of going early is the potential for warm days. If it’s warm, you’re limited to morning hunts only. That means plenty of water for both dogs and humans. For dogs, plan on three 12-oz bottles of water per hour. Two bottles for humans. Also, for early hunting, be sure to have bug repellant. In the prairies, if you walk one mile, your dogs have done five. Also, always have a telephone number for a veterinarian.

Barbed wire is plentiful in the prairies.

Every upland hunter should have a trip to the prairies on their bucket list. The prairies are beautiful and a young dog can transform to an old pro in a week of training on prairie wild birds.

Paul and his wife are hosts of Bird Dogs Afield TV. Go to www.birddogsafield. com for more information.

Paul can be reached at paul@birddogsafield.com

Let us know your opinion send letters to the Editor to: NWSJ P.O. Box 195 W. Enfield, ME 04493

Page 18

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Outdoor Sporting Library

Fly fishing, writing and art seem to go together quite well, don’t they?

There’s something about fly fishing that appeals to an artistic mind, or maybe it’s the other way around. Either way, the fly fishing world is crazy with art and literature inspired by the practice.

I enjoy reading about fishing almost as much as actually fishing - almost.

The great story tellers can put into words many of the feelings that surround the angling experience, and provide some relief for those days when you can’t make it on the water. I take it David Van Wie feels much the same. From his home trout waters in the Dartmouth College Grant to spring creeks in the Driftless region of Wisconsin, north and east to Katahdin, and every-

Storied Waters

by Jeremiah Wood, Ashland, ME where in between, he’s been haunted by fishing writers from the past.

“Storied Waters: 35 fabled fly-fishing destinations and the writers & artists who made them famous” chronicles David Van Wie’s six week road trip to walk in the footsteps of those famous anglers who went on before, and meet new ones. Van Wie journeyed from Maine to Wisconsin and back, fishing most every day and journaling along the way. He dug deep into the history of each special place he visited, met the locals, tried his hand at the fishing, and moved on.

The ultimate destination was Uncles Pond – fellow readers of fly fishing lore would remember it as Frenchman’s, the beaver pond that John Voelker

(pen name Robert Traver) made famous through his wildly popular angling stories. Voelker had a cabin on the pond, and spent a great deal of time there in his later years. His daughter and son in law take care of the

place now, and invited Van Wie to visit and cast a line.

That’s what started the trip, and if you’re going that far, why not stop and fish along the way?

Starting at Wa l d e n Pond – an urban fishery in Massachusetts where Henry David Thoreau connected with nature back in the 1800’s, Van Wie continued to Vermont, where he fished with some of the Orvis folks on the Battenkill. Not long after, he was floating in a driftboat down the Delaware River in

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New York, and eventually found himself in the spring creeks of Pennsylvania. It would seem quite a ways from there to Wisconsin, but it was worth the trip to fish the same water legendary conservationist Aldo Leopold worked to restore in the 1940’s.

Fishing in the shadow of Robert Traver in Michigan must have been quite the experience, but as DVW worked his way back east, he still had lots of storied water to visit. Experiencing Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom and the rivers of western Maine, and journeying all the way to the shadow of Mount Katahdin topped off the trip.

Henry David Thoreau, Corey Ford, Aldo Leopold, Robert Traver, Ernest Hemingway, Louise Dickinson Rich, Edmund Ware Smith, Arthur MacDougall, and many other well known anglers and conservationists brought unique perspective and color to the waters Van Wie visited, and he tells some of their stories along the way. He also mixes in modern local flavor and useful tips and tricks for fishing these storied waters. And yeah, he catches a few fish.

“Storied Waters” is a unique combination of angling history, modern day story-telling and fishing how-to, all in one easy reading package with some great photos to boot. You even get a bit of DVW’s outlook on angling, conservation and life thrown in for free. And among his many thoughts, one resonated with me above all: pond fishing is a game of Cow-Flop Bingo. I’m with you on that one Dave, and it may be an idea worthy enough to find its place among the greats in fly fishing literature!

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

Northwoods Sporting Journal

November 2019

Casting: Key to Success

November is deer hunting season in most of New England, but let us assume it’s Sunday when you are reading this, and you have fly fishing on the brain. I get asked frequently for advice on how to catch more fish, and while most people who ask this question expect a simple answer, they typically get more than they’ve bargained for. A short answer simply does not exist, and if I knew the secret to catching more or bigger fish every time out, I would probably sleep much better most nights. As a guide however, a large part of my job is observing my clients and doing what I can to help them hone their skills on the water. What I’ve found is that beyond flies, fancy gear, or specific location information, there is one thing fishermen of all skill levels can work on if they want to catch more fish – casting.

I guide people often who have in-depth knowledge of fly patterns, moon phases, or the barometer and how it influences the feeding patterns of fish. None of that knowledge is helpful if you can’t get your pattern in front of fish in a manner that entices them to eat. With that in mind, here is some casting advice that should hopefully serve you well whether you are planning on taking a guided trip, or just taking a walk down to the river on your own.

The first tip pertains more towards guided trips

in Maine, and stems from years of watching my own clients struggle with this regardless their casting abilities. Learn

Page 19

Ramblings From T8-R9

The pay off.

by Benjamin Rioux, Millinocket Lake to cast from a canoe. You can practice this without a canoe of your own simply by placing a chair on your front lawn, sitting in it, and casting to either side. Start with a short amount of line that you are comfortable with, then gradually add more as you work to improve casting from a seated position.

Try to minimize your upper body movement in an effort to avoid “rocking the boat.”

Casting great distances isn’t typically necessary when fishing from a canoe, but working to get proficient casting twenty or more feet of line from this position will greatly improve your chances of reaching fish.

For an extra challenge, practice this technique on a blustery day. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve guided a calm day out

The author on the water.

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(Casting cont. pg 31)

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You’re wading on a beautiful river when you come to a bend that features on of the fishiest pools you’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, water depth and wading conditions dictate that you have to remain close to the bank, making a traditional overhand cast impossible. In this scenario, many fishermen will completely abandon a pool and move on to an area where they can overhand cast. Don’t be that person – learn to roll cast. In my opinion, roll casting is the single most overlooked skill in fly fishing. It allows you to unroll powerful, yet deli-

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

County Outdoor Adventures

By Tate McPherson, Mapleton, ME

There are few things each year which raise more excitement or day dreaming than this hallowed month steeped in tradition. This is the month when small camps all through the County fire up and once again wispy silver smoke will raise into the heavens notifying all of the activity. My heart rate elevates just a bit sitting here thinking of this. The frost soaked mornings of early November are here finally.

This is when a medium-size squirrel foraging for the final bounty of summer is destined to get your heart

racing believing something is walking right at you, and just when you convince yourself it’s just a squirrel the snort, and white flags flicker through the stoic timber.

I anticipate this time every year, for myself after the 4 th of July holiday it begins countdown to deer season.

I have been lucky, while in my youth to be raised inside a family of hunters. My father (who at one point had tagged a deer 26 years in a row) who taught me hunting prowess,

Hunt the Scrub!

determination and focus.

My uncle “Big Dave” (who taught me patience and persistence) and my Grandfather “Gramp” who taught me to respect and enjoy the land.

(Thank you Gentlemen) These are life les-

since I was 10 yrs old. Our adventures ,which would later include my younger brother, are memories that will keep me warm long after I am not able to climb the pristine ridges of the north, or push though the thick

Most hunters who are not familiar with our deer and their habits can identify these areas relatively easy, yet make some mistakes during the hunt. sons which have carried me throughout the ups and downs of my life, which I learned in the great vastness of the North Maine Woods.

It’s funny. I don’t remember what I received for my 10th birthday, or Christmas when I was 14, but I remember every November

swamps in pursuit of a giant.

I work very hard to make certain my children are offered the opportunity for adventure as I was given.

It is not easy in today’s fastpaced world to describe and engage your kids to take in the joy of the woods. Yet we must do it, own it and

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champion it. Our kids need this more than ever, to take in real experiences in the wild, in my opinion.

If you’re headed into the North Woods looking to bag a monster buck, I will offer the following advice or suggestions. Begin by pulling out the map book and looking at your targeted region closely. I like to look at my map in depth. I am looking particularly for a region with slightly remote access and a few ridges bordered by thick conifer growth.

Great examples of this type of terrain are near the Allagash, St John, and Fish River waterways. Today this dense conifer growth can be a tree plantation ,which is becoming more frequent these days in the north, but I prefer a natural growth stand of timber.

Most hunters who are not familiar with our deer and their habits can identify these areas relatively easy, yet make some mistakes during the hunt.

Most bucks this time of year will be walking night and day looking for a girlfriend. The rut will be in full swing and scent is a critical piece of a successful equation. I personally have had success with Tink’s 69, and Foggy Mountain scents.

Recently I have switched to Cook’s fatal attractant, which you must order through the mail. However I have found this to draw larger deer in our region. I use the Peak estrous and the dominant buck scents. With this covered you will be well on your way to a trophy.

My number one tip for success is hunt the scrub.

Scrub? I am sure you ask.

What I mean is in the region I identified above there is a narrow strip of woods usually between 100 to 400 yards wide, which is the border struggle between the conifer growth and the hardwoods

(Scrub cont. pg 21)

Northwoods Sporting Journal

November 2019

Scrub (Cont. from pg 20) where deer travel in 75% of the time. This area is hard hunting for us. You must be methodical, in shape, and move quickly through this thick brush. A steady walk stopping with your back to a tree and using all senses will put you into the deer.

Deer are a prey animal.

They have a much higher success rate in surviving a

predator assault in this type of cover than an open hard wood region. While traveling this strip of woods you will come into areas where the deer have fed, bedded down, created scrape lines, sometimes fought, this is the prime place for a stand or a blind. These “honey holes” can be less than a few hundred yards from a road or 2 miles, but seek these out if you want a North Monster.

I hope to see you in the woods soon and bring

your child or grandchild, the memories you will make are every bit as much of a trophy as what comes to rest on the bed of your pick up.

Page 21

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 22

Marsh Island Chronicles

by Matthew Dunlap, Old Town, ME Last month’s Northwoods Sporting Journal Question of the Month, penned by true sportsman Joshua Reynolds, laid out a premise that’s almost an existential question for the future of hunting in Maine.

“Should hunters need permission to hunt private land?

It’s a shocking idea to readers from practically every other state and province in North America that sportsmen can access private property in Maine without permission. The legal basis for permissive trespass can be found in the original charter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which provided that an individual could “cross pastures, fields, forests and orchards on foot, to access

Great Ponds to fish and fowl in seasonable times,” or something to that effect.

We know this as the Great Ponds Act, which is a part of the organic structure of our laws that reach back as far as the Magna Carta, and which informs a big chunk of the Maine Revised Statutes Annotated, Title 12—conservation law.

Permissive trespass doesn’t give anyone permission to do whatever they want, and a landowner can tell anyone to leave their property at any time. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has always included the disclaimer while issuing hunting and fishing licenses that purchasing a license

What We Aim For

“does not give the bearer permission to trespass on private property.” Permission is always needed; but it’s up to the landowner how they want to proceed with public access to land they own. Most commonly,

comes on their property, posted or not.

The mistaken-forgame shooting of Karen Wrentzel by Robert Trundy on Residents-Only day— October 28 th , 2017—in the town of Hebron while

$50

of seven years, questions immediately emerged among the sporting community regarding what comes next.

John Holyoke, the outdoor writer for The Bangor Daily News, openly speculated that Maine’s permissive tres-

Holyoke and Reynolds may be right; and it’s a virtual certainty that legislation regarding trespass, reverse-posting, or required permission will be presented before the Legislature soon. landowners who want to be left well enough alone simply post their property. Since the work of the Trespass Commission put together by the Maine Legislature in the early 1990’s, landowners have the option to post their land in different ways—No Trespassing (on all or part of a parcel, which includes Safety Zones), Access By Permission Only, Access Allowed—or not posted at all. But they always reserve their rights to control who

Wrentzel was prospecting for gems on her own property was a jarring reminder of the power of the weapons we hunt with. Non-hunters in particular raised alarms, and observers across the country expressed disbelief that Trundy had not needed permission to be hunting on Wrentzel’s property the day he pulled the trigger on his Browning .30-’06 and killed her. After Trundy pled guilty to manslaughter and was given a suspended sentence

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pass days may be outdated, and in his Question of the Month column, Reynolds, too, intoned that “The law will change….The tragic and unnecessary death of Karen Wrentzel will usher in a new era in Maine trespassing statute and will affect every one of us who hunts on private land.”

Holyoke and Reynolds may be right; and it’s a virtual certainty that legislation regarding trespass, reverseposting, or required permission will be presented before the Legislature soon.

But I’m not so sure the Legislature will act precipitously on the proposals; and not because the death of Wrentzel isn’t a big deal.

To the contrary. But let’s remember that what is remarkable about the Wrentzel shooting is precisely how rare such shootings are.

There was a time when hunting season presented sportsmen and others in the outdoors with great danger.

Shooting incidents during deer season at one time were so common that they rarely made the front page of the newspapers. In 1954,

(Aim cont. pg 37)

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 23

Bring a New Hunter Out Now! Over the past year, I have noted the names of women who have mentioned that they want to come out and see what hunting is like.

They don’t want to pull the trigger and they are not sure that they ever could but they are curious about what this hunting thing is all about.

These November mornings might be cold (or really cold) but now is the perfect time to bring a potential hunter out into the woods.

My best friend has asked to go with me for about three years now. Babies, work and tagging out early always seem to get in the way but this year, we are ready. I have warned her about the cold and have given her a list of items that she is going to need; warm

socks and boots, good mittens and layers. Lots of layers. She is excited and I can guarantee that she will also be bored. It takes a day or two for me to get used to just sitting and looking around and I’ve been doing this for years. But, I want her to sit there and watch the woods wake up around her. Watch the world shift from black to gray to bursts of colors and hear the birds and squirrels wake up. Who knows, we may even see a deer (but unless it’s that big buck, I am not shooting!)

We are facing a crisis across the country as the number of hunters drops and there are not enough new hunters to replace them.

Yes, we need kids to become passionate about hunting,

fishing and trapping but we also face competition against sport seasons when those same kids start playing organized sports and practices occur during the week with games on Saturdays and Sundays. I didn’t start hunting until I was 20 and in college. We are at a point now where we cannot wait for those kids to get out of school to join us in the woods and fields.

The best solution: take a mom. Brittany Boddington, Co-Founder She Hunts Skills Camp says it best, “It is so critical to get kids interested in the outdoors.

We live in an age of screens and tech, which can overshadow simple pleasures like playing outside. The

Women In The Woods

by Erin Merrill, Portland, ME simple truth is that if mom hunts, then the kids will hunt too. Women are the fastest growing demographic in the hunting industry.”We love hunting. We love the woods, the excitement of hearing that snap and the rush of adrenaline. We love that first bite of steak (or heart if you are my son) that tastes so much better as you remember that moment in time and the gratefulness you feel for filling the freezer for another year. We need to share that. We need to be constantly recruiting and there is no better group

to look at than us moms! So, who are you going to invite out? And what’s your pitch to get them out there? Let me know!

Erin is a member of the OWAA and the New England Outdoor Writers Association. She is a senior writer for Drury Outdoors’ DeerCast and is the President and co-Founder of the non-profit group Women of the Maine Outdoors. You can read about Erin’s adventures and contact her at www.andastrongcupofcoffee.com

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 24

November 2019

Question Of The Month November 2019

Can Hunters Help Good Deer Management?

By: Timothy C. Flanigan Properly applied, an antlerless deer license is the most effective and efficient deer population management tool. The selective taking of antlerless deer can and will produce a healthier deer population with an enhanced buck to doe ratio and quality bucks.

In actuality, failure to utilize every antlerless deer license made available annually, negatively impacts the overall deer population. Please note the first two words of this paragraph; properly applied.

It is us, the hunters, who manage wildlife populations, not wildlife management bureaucrats. To manage whitetail deer wisely, we must be fully informed about their innate natural history and reproductive dynamics.

These facts of nature are unchangeable and particularly valuable to proper deer man-

agement. Unfortunately, and curiously, a vitally important trait of deer reproduction dynamics is rarely spoken of by wildlife management biologists. Perhaps they don’t believe that we ordinary citi-

bred at six months of age and will produce a single fawn on or near, her first birthday. Their first birth is a single fawn that will almost certainly be a male. The probability of first fawns being bucks is ultra-high; virtually a sure thing. This proven fact is true in captive and wild deer herds.

zens can grasp this concept or possess the restraint to apply it in the field.

Modern deer populations are managed via the

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immature deer with very little venison on its skeleton. Selecting a large adult antlerless deer, upon which to hang a tag is simple common sense; more meat on the table. It is also superbly wise deer management, and here’s why.

That largely unknown deer production dynamic is the natural fact that a doe fawn born this June, will be

Subsequent fawnings by adult doe deer regularly produce twins, occasionally triplets and uncommonly quadruplets. Twin fawns can include both sexes or twin does, but rarely twin bucks.

Adult doe deer are obviously larger than their small, immature offspring. That large mature doe, the antlerless deer, is the key animal to be selectively culled from

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the herd.

Taking the old doe puts more venison on the hunter’s table, help control the overall deer population by reducing the number of multiple births and permits the young of the year to survive. That permits the button buck to escape harvest and the doe fawn to produce a

It is important to remember that an adult doe may be accompanied by a single male fawn, her first-born buck.

She is the correct candidate for your antlerless deer tag. Taking a closer look at deer is fascinating and enjoyable, and there is no need to rush a shot during antlerless deer hunts.

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license-controlled harvests of antlerless deer. Please note “antlerless” does not mean female, but rather any deer without visible antlers.

The ultimate goal of a deer hunter in possession of an antlerless license is; pounds of meat on the ground.

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buck fawn in the spring. We hunters need only take a little closer look to evaluate the target before applying knowledgeable trigger-finger deer management.

It is important to remember that an adult doe may be accompanied by a single male fawn, her firstborn buck. She is the correct candidate for your antlerless deer tag. Taking a closer look at deer is fascinating and enjoyable, and there is no need to rush a shot during antlerless deer hunts.

The informed hunter will notice that fawns appear to have short, stubby noses compared to their adult parents. Button bucks have noticeably flat heads even though the actual buttons, or antler pedicels, are not visible. Does have noticeably rounded heads, and doe fawns are nearly always larger overall than their little brothers. These disparities are readily noticeable In many states, antler restrictions require the modern deer hunter to take a closer look at his intended quarry before pulling the trigger on a buck. Such regulations have proven to be highly beneficial to increasing the quality of local buck

(Question cont. pg 30)

November 2019

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Awesome Alderflies

Fly Fishing

nationally known angler and fly tyer, and described in his excellent book, “Handbook of Hatches” published in 1987.

by Joe Bertolaccini, Orrington When fishing slow moving streams and ponds, I have frequently seen a black caddis like fly hatching from the shorelines. I was not aware that there was any such thing as a black caddis but what I found in reality was that I was looking at adult alderflies. In their life cycle, the adult is perhaps the most important stage to the angler. They deposit their eggs in overhanging stream or lakeside vegetation and when hatched, the larvae fall to the water surface where they live predominantly in the bottom debris of sluggish streams and pond. Subsequently they crawl on land to burrow in silt and rotten logs where they pupate and hatch in late spring. Once hatched, the adults are very awkward fliers and land on water only by chance where they struggle and begin to sink.

This is the time when they are most susceptible to fish. Alderflies and caddis flies both have the same tentshaped wings, short bodies and long antennae, the major difference being that caddis

Page 25

flies have hairy wings as opposed to the rather smooth wings of the alderfly. The latter varies in length but can best be imitated on sizes 10 to14 standard dry fly hooks.

Coloration is dark gray to black. It is not necessary to apply dry fly flotant to this pattern because of the tendency for the natural to sink. The following dry fly version that I’ve had success with has only a black ostrich herl body and a wing of dyed black elk or deer hair. Other wing materials can include black Z-lon, Antron yarn or black CDC feather. Body materials can be dubbed black fur, peacock herl, or clipped black hackle.

Adult Alderfly (dry) Hook – Standard dry fly, size 10 to 14.

Thread – Black 6/0.

Body – Black ostrich herl wound in tight wraps around the hook shank.

Wing – Black elk hair, tied as in the elk hair caddis.

Head – Black thread.

Following is the dressing for a wet fly imitation created by Dave Hughes, a

Greenville

Adult Alder Fly (wet) Hook – Standard wet fly, size 10 to 14.

Thread – Black 6/0.

Rib – Gold wire.

Body – Peacock herl.

Collar – Sparse black hen hackle.

Wing – Dark turkey quill.

Head – Black thread.

Dave goes on to say that “the alderfly characteristic of sinking almost immediately on contact with the water makes the wet fly a

more effective dressing than the dry. Presentation is based upon the struggling of the natural, which truly results in little but internal motion, and no forward motion.

In lakes the fly should be fished on a long leader and floating line. After sinking a few inches, it should be retrieved back with short twitches of the rod tip. The retrieve should be slow, with frequent pauses to let the fly settle.”

Joe has enjoyed fly fishing for over 65 years. His first book, Fundamentals of Fly Fishing, is now available. He can be reached at: brewerberts@aol.com

Carroll’s Corner Flying to Your Hunting Destination? Travel Tips!

Traveling via air, whether via floatplane or commercial aircraft, often winds up in delays. In July of this year, I brought our annual group to the McKenzie River Lodge in Labrador, which is accessed only via float plane. Not only were we delayed by weather for a day going in, we were delayed another day coming out! Traveling via commercial airline is okay at best until you are stuck in an airport! Lila and I always take a few precautions when we travel and it has paid off more than once, so heres a few suggestions to make being marooned in an airport a bit more bearable.

Don’t be afraid to stretch out and nap! I have taken some great naps in airports, flat on the floor with a back pack for a pillow.

It might raise an eyebrow or two, but stand up and do stretching exercises. You’ll feel better and who cares what anyone else thinks?

Pamper yourself a bit by bringing a facecloth and hand towel in your carry-on bag.

Washing your face and upper body with a cool facecloth is a great refresher. ( I suggest doing this in the bathroom!!)

Bring snacks or favorite “treats” with you. Jerky, a chocolate bar, cashews, or whatever you like. Whatever you bring, it’ll be more enjoyable than airport food.

Carry a spare tee-shirt, underwear and socks with you. Disregard any odd looks from other passengers when you appear with different clothes!

Bring ear plugs. Having a quiet moment can be terrific as you sit and wait for a plane.

The “around-the-neck” pillows can make sleeping in an aircraft seat much more comfortable.

Bring clothing items that will keep you warm. Again, basic creature comforts.

Last, I am long-legged and emphatically do NOT sleep well in planes. When we are taking one of our fishing groups to Chile, I go to my physician and ask him for meds that will let me sleep and really rest. He prescribes a couple of pills that I take, with supper, as we are leaving Miami for the long overnight flight to Chile. I have a meal, take 2 of these pills, and the next thing that I know, we are landing in Santiago and I am rested.

I’m not a big fan of taking medication, but in this instance, this works. I arrive in Chile, rested and ready to fish!

December…..My Annual Christmas Wish 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 26

Books

were not much different from those of us who continue to tread the carry roads of northern New England.

Perhaps, I enjoy the many stories of Edmund Ware Smith, because like me, he was an outsider to the Maine woods, writing from the perspective of a sport, who wanted nothing more than to spend his days surrounded by balsam and

(Cont. from pg 16) men and women of that time as they fished, hunted and trapped in and around Grand Lake Stream, the East Branch of the Penobscot, and the Dobsis Lakes— those guides, lodge owners, game wardens, poachers and sports “from away,” who

spruce.

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book while Don was doing the same with Fog on the Water, his third book of stories, featuring Mac Brown, a Maine guide working out of a sporting lodge in the early nineteen fifties.

Wilson’s books clearly pay homage to Arthur MacDougall’s character. Like Dud Dean before him, Mac guides the author throughout the Moosehead Region

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VIRGIN WATER by Leighton Brewer I know very little about Leighton Brewer except that his book Virgin Water was given to me by one of my readers.

The author spent a lifetime learning everything he could about brook trout, beginning as a boy in the Adirondacks and continuing as a young man traveling to Quebec, where he spent the better part of his life, casting flies to squaretails in the Provence’s remote ponds and streams. Published in 1941, the book describes the adventures of the author and his family as they fish and hunt in the French Canadian wilderness.

Although disappointed in the author’s expressed philosophy to kill every fish he catches, I appreciate his endeavors to traverse miles through uncharted wilderness to find the perfect campsite upon which to build a cabin.

Brewer brings us with him as he hikes through forest and swamp, canoes lakes and ponds, and wades streams and rivers in pursuit of favorite fish.

There are so many more good books that capture the rich sporting history that is part of the allure of northern New England, too many to mention in a single column. I hope to add to this list as time goes on. I’m sure you have your own. Shoot me an email at magalloway@mac.com if you have any tips for my next selection.

Bob’s website: forgottentrout.com contains reviews and excerpts from his books, including the tenth anniversary edition of, Shadows in the Stream, his fly-fishing trilogy set in the Rangeley Lakes Region of western Maine, and his latest novel, The River King.

Northwoods Sporting Journal

November 2019

Woods

(Cont. from pg 3) structions as well as a bird I.D. poster, calendar,and a year end report of all feeder counts called “Winter Bird Highlights”. The address for snail mail is: Project Feeder Watch, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY 14850-1999. Or use the computer at <feederwatch. org>. Your efforts help scientists establish long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance.

Karen Holmes is a naturalist who participates in many volunteer wildlife surveys. She also enjoys hunting and fishing. Her new home with her husband Ken and dog “buddy” Dingo in the 74 acres of woods and fields of Cooper, Maine is a dream come true. She is the Washington County, Maine Loon Count Coordinator and writes about nature for various publications,

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Blaine Cardilli is a freelance outdoor writer & columnist from Maine; A former Pro-Staffer with ‘Hunters Specialties’ and ‘Knight & Hale’, Blaine has given many seminars on hunting and calling deer; He can be reached via email at ‘indianwd@gmail.com’

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 28

Open Season

by Steve Carpenteri, Lyman, ME As each new hunting season comes along I try to help my fellow Maine deer hunters by offering useful tips to help them put a nice rack on the wall and some meat in the freezer. When I killed my first deer way back in LaGrange, Maine, back in 1963 I was armed with a bolt-action shotgun, three loads of 00 buckshot, a knife and . . . that’s it. I wore blue jeans and a flannel shirt, Wal-Mart’s finest rubber boots and a wool hat. There were no “experts” back then, certainly not as many as there are now, and the greatest technological advance was Jon-E’s famous metal hand warmer that used liquid fuel and a wick to keep hunters’ digits from freezing during November’s cold weather.

Techniques for deer

hunting in those days were two-fold: Sit and wait or stillhunt. Tracking big bucks didn’t become a “thing” till the Benoits came along and trail cameras would not come to the fore until 30 years later.

Despite all the remarkable advances in hunting gear over the last 50-plus years the “secret” to killing a deer has not changed: Get into the woods early and often, stay alert and make your first shot count.

Granted, some hunters are extremely lucky and can kill a deer while doing everything wrong (I used to have that kind of luck but no more!). However, the small percentage of hunters who consistently tag a Maine whitetail depend less on luck and more on persistence – being in the

Get Your Deer!

right place at the right time requires dedication, perseverance and focus, which is why 80 percent of hunters fail in their quest for venison. Some don’t mind, some don’t care and some don’t even think about it, which is all well and good. But, if you want to become a consistently successful deer hunter in Maine you must put your time in, be ready when your opportunity arises and deliver a killing shot as soon as it is presented.

Over the years I’ve noticed distinct trends that explain why some hunters fail to score. Most common is that they don’t go hunting enough. I know it’s hard to get out of bed when there’s frost on the window, a cool wind whistling through the eaves and the threat of snow in the forecast, but the deer are not hiding under your pillow. They are in the woods, moving around at dawn and dusk, and that is where you need to be.

Hunt hard, hunt often, be alert and make your shot count. That’s all there is to it!

How you hunt deer is up to you – standing, stillhunting, driving or tracking all work, but only if you are persistent in your efforts.

You can kill a deer using any of these methods or in combination, but the key is to be in the woods early

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and stay till legal shooting time ends. If you become discouraged and leave the woods early you are only short-suiting yourself. This I know because I have killed deer at every hour of the day from a few minutes before sunrise to a few minutes after sunset. No one can say with certainty when the deer of choice will show up but you won’t see him if you are not there.

If you hunt deer at all you know that shots are fired all day long but, alas, not all of those shots connect. Otherwise, Maine’s deer kill would be far higher every year. The pity is that after all the effort it took to find a whitetail the hunter is suddenly unable to make his shot count, usually for two very simple reasons: He failed to sight in his gun or bow or he failed to take

(Deer cont. pg 40)

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

November 2019

The Bumper Years

I don’t know about where you live or hunt, but in my neck of the woods late September into October proved the fall of 2019 was going to produce a

in particular red and white oaks, dominate my woodlot so we typically see some mast production every year, but years of high yield, or a bumper crop when both are

Muzzleloading Afield

them. They blister the back lawn making it sound like a popcorn popper during late season mowing and at night when it is still warm enough to have the windows open I lay in bed and routinely hear them pin-ponging off branches to the ground and bouncing off the back porch

a better chance at success?

All acorns are important to deer. Here in Maine and the eastern states where oaks dominate, acorns constitute up to 25 and 30 per-

with a resounding thud.

We’ve all heard or read somewhere or have discovered at some point acorns are an important food source for deer. But are all acorns created equal and does a bumper crop like this year’s mean

cent of a deer’s fall and winter diet. Acorns are low in protein but high in carbohydrates and fats, 42 percent and 52 percent, respectively.

These are the minerals that develop the vital fat stores allowing deer to survive the

by Al Raychard, Lyman, ME

We’ve all heard or read somewhere or have discovered at some point acorns are an important food source for deer.

But are all acorns created equal and does a bumper crop like this year’s mean a better chance at success?

bumper acorn drop, perhaps brought on by the lack of rain and dry, high pollen count this spring and near drought conditions this fall.

Whatever the reason, oaks,

productive, like this year, occur only so often. When it does it is something special. Acorns are so heavy it is difficult to find a piece of ground without treading on

Page 29

winter months, especially on bucks following the rut and pregnant does. Acorns are also easily digested and their nutrients are easily absorbed and processed in the body. As a result, whether it happens to be a bumper crop year or a normal drop year, deer readily seek out acorns and areas that produce them.

While all acorns are important, deer do have a preference. Northern red and white are the most dominate oak varieties in Maine. Reds are the most common of the two and are found statewide while white oaks occur naturally and primarily in central and southern areas. In

(Bumper cont. pg 40)

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Page 30 Northwoods Sporting Journal

Question (Cont. from pg 24)

populations. Therefore, it is reasonable to encourage the antlerless deer hunter also to be selective. In actuality, selective doe harvest can have a more significant impact upon a deer herd than selective buck harvests.

Additionally, special seasons such as archery or muzzleloader deer hunts often begin well in advance of fall or winter rifle seasons.

During the earlier seasons, the disparity between fawn and adults, doe fawns and button bucks is highly dis-

cernible. The naïve fawns are especially vulnerable at this time, and their normally ultra-alert adult mother is less so, at the advent of the early seasons. This permits ample time for that closer look that can put more pounds of prime venison in the freezer and encourage a healthy deer herd.

If you’re skeptical, consider the following true story of deer management success that astounded a local community and was quickly adopted by successive neighbors of the farm where it was proven.

Several years ago, while working as a wild-

Central Maine Region

life professional, I had the opportunity to explain this deer harvest strategy and its deer reproduction basis to a young farmer who had taken control of the family farm due to his father’s sudden illness. Immediately upon taking the reins, he embarked upon a radical deer killing spree that knew no bounds. He killed every deer that he could put spotlight and crosshairs on, not just on the family farm, but on leased lands too.

His wanton killing all ages of deer with a particular affinity for antlered deer, no matter how small their headgear. His actions

made him highly unpopular with his neighbors who complained of poor deer hunting. Strangely enough, he too complained about the poor quality of the bucks on his farm, a property that was bordered by several thousand acres of public hunting lands.

Eventually, a confrontation occurred related to his killing spree, and we enjoyed several long talks about deer reproductive habits, the rate at which bucks mature and the best method of controlling crop damage on his farmlands.

This young man seized upon this new knowledge and ap-

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November 2019 plied it with precision. From then on, the only crop-killed deer that he turned over to authorities were adult females, does.

Also, he restricted his family and guest hunters to an eight-point or bigger buck rule and enforced it by refusing hunting privileges to anyone who violated it. Within three years, his cousin killed a record book archery buck on the farm.

The young farmer also took a trophy buck or two. Five years into his adult-doeonly, crop-kill strategy, and his privately imposed antler restrictions; he stopped me on the street to give me a videotape.

He answered my query about its content with, “Remember those talks we had?

Well, I’ve been doing what we talked about for five years now; take that home and look at it and see what I’ve got on the farm now.”

The video was astounding. The young farmer climbed atop one of the farm’s implements shed roofs and filmed the deer coming into his rich alfalfa field as daylight faded to a dark September night.

The first deer to enter the field was a very respectable 6-point. Successive bucks and a few does followed it.

At nearly full darkness three truly exceptional trophy bucks joined the group that numbered twenty two deer; seventeen of which were legal bucks according to state laws.

The following day, I requested this young farmer to accompany me in attending the local Conservation District’s Deer Damage Committee meeting that was imminent. The group is a collation of farmers, sportsmen, politicians, wildlife officials Conservation District Board members and occasional special speakers.

Its mission is to discuss and possibly agree upon deer management needs, based upon local conditions and

(Question cont. pg 41)

November 2019

Casting (Cont. from pg 19) cate casts in tight quarters when traditional overhead casting is not an option.

In simple terms, you can accomplish a roll cast by gently raising your rod to the 1 o’clock mark with the rod tip slightly behind you, then making a quick forward cast in a motion best compared to chopping wood. That slight “flick” of the wrist allows your rod to load using the resistance of your line on the water, and unload with a burst of energy similar to what you would generate in a regular forward cast.

Youtube is a great resource, and has a number of fantastic tutorials that explain the basic roll cast in greater detail. While you’re at it, watch a few videos on other casting techniques like the snake roll, snap-t, and other single handed spey casts.

With a little work, you’ll find yourself stopping to fish stretches of river that others before you walked right by.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, stop trying to impress yourself and everyone else by casting your entire fly line. While being able to cast for distance can be important, it usually isn’t necessary in most scenarios. The late Lefty Kreh famously said that most people use the double-haul to throw their casting mistakes further.

Instead, do yourself a favor

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Northwoods Sporting Journal and work within a comfortable range that allows you to concentrate more on your presentation, and less on the distance of your cast. Work the water directly in front of you first, then gradually fish that spot from the inside out.

If you are going to make a long cast, be sure that it is the last cast you make. By

fishing a pool in this manner, you cover the water more effectively by ensuring that the first thing the fish get a look at is your fly, and not your fly line landing over them as you struggle to cast to the opposite bank.

Throughout the winter, think about these tips as well as any other tiny

adjustments you can make in your casting that might pay big dividends when the season finally opens. Fly casting is not a skill that can be mastered, as there is always room for improvement. Over time, you’ll find that those improvements in your casting will pave the way to improvements in

Page 31

your catching as well.

Ben is an avid fly fisherman, registered Maine Guide, and the Marketing director for Libby Sporting Camps. When he’s not exploring T8-R9 in search of new water, he can be reached at casptionsben@ libbycamp.comphoto

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 32

Deep Snow Adventure

The Buck Hunter

by Hal Blood, Moose River, ME The long wait for another deer season to begin is finally over. It’s game time and hopefully everyone has their gear in tip-top shape.

Opening day is not a good time to realize that your boots leak, your wool socks are worn out or your gloves have holes in them. Just before the season is a bad time to try and replace these items as they are often out of stock or back ordered because many hunters wait until the last minute to get ready for the season. I’ve been guilty of it myself and had to suffer the consequences of being uncomfortable while out in the woods. I’m all set to go this year with a new pair of boots, spare socks, gloves and my wool clothes are in a trash bag with cedar boughs.

Everyone that was in the deer woods of northern New England from midNovember on last year re-

members wallowing in snow over their knees. Hunting in those conditions is about as difficult as it gets as getting around is tough and the deer are on the move to yarding areas. It’s doubtful that snow like that will fall again this season. I have only seen one

other year in the past thirty with snow like that during the season and that was back in 1990. That year we were hunting on snow by the second week of the season.

I was guiding a few deer hunters that week and planned on leaving at 10 o’clock Saturday morning.

Since it was only going to be a quick morning hunt, I

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didn’t bother to pack a lunch or even take my belt pack with me. I sent the hunters out to still hunt around the choppings at the lower part of a mountain and I went high above them thinking I might push something down to them. When I got up near the top of the mountain, I cut a monster buck track in the six inches of powdery snow.

I struck out on the track and the buck led me up into the

I had no idea where I would come out but grabbed an antler and headed down the mountain. The snow had picked up to where I couldn’t see fifty yards ahead of me.

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green growth high on the mountain. It was obvious that he was searching for does as he was zig-zagging in and out of every nook and cranny.

I was pretty sure that I was going to get a look at this buck but now I had to leave the track to meet up with the hunters at the truck.

I hurried back to the truck, bid the hunters a farewell and told them to tell Deb that I would be tracking a buck.

When I left the track, the buck was on the back side of the mountain and head-

ing east. I decided to take a chance and take a short cut in hopes of cutting his track further down the mountain.

As luck would have it, the buck had turned south, and I cut his track right on the top where he had found some

does.

By now it had started snowing and his track didn’t have any in it. I eased along slowly hoping to catch him fooling around with the does, but he soon split off from them and headed across the mountain. I kept easing along on track when it led into a thick stand of green growth. I was on my hands and knees crawling under the snow laden limbs. When I came to a small opening to my left, I saw the buck jump out of his bed, twenty feet from me. I grunted a couple of times and waited a minute before easing out of the thicket. The buck had gone down over a bluff and into a ravine. I eased ahead one step at a time, until I finally pushed through the firs and could see down into the ravine.

Just then the buck bolted out from behind a blowdown, heading down the

(Adventure cont. pg 37)

November 2019

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Royalty Comes to Bear Camp

I am writing this during bear season. The season will be over by the time you read it. So far, it has been a great season. Lots of bears, lots of happy clients. I was happy to have a friend and fellow Hunter Education Instructor come along to hunt with us this year. His name is Charlie Bluemer. Charlie is a retired sales representative from a major sporting goods distributor. Charlie is also a discriminating firearms collector. This year, Charlie showed up with a truly unique acquisition. It was a Krieghoff drilling. If you have never hunted in Europe, or with the Prince of Wales, or a Danish member of the court, you may not be familiar with this extraordinary firearm. A drilling is a break action firearm that incorporates both shotgun and rifle barrel. Charlies Krieghoff has two 16 gauge shotgun barrels side-by-side and a 7X65R rifle barrel underneath. All three barrels are aligned to shoot the same point of aim. The 7x65R cartridge is unique and was designed specifically for break action guns. The R stands for rimmed. The rimmed design

makes the round seat well in the break action mechanism.

Ballistically, it compares to a .308. Charlie was shooting 170 gr. 7x65R rounds.

These achieve 2657 ft. per sec. and generate 2666 ft. lbs. of energy. The 168 gr.

lie is an experienced bear hunter. We put him in a ladder stand overlooking a bait near a huge beaver bog.

The bear came early but was cautious. It came to the bait, but Charlie was unable to get the shot he wanted, so as

Charlie is also a discriminating firearms collector. This year, Charlie showed up with a truly unique acquisition. It was a Krieghoff drilling. is flying at 2659 ft. per sec. and generates 2670 ft. lbs. of energy. You cannot get much closer than that. This masterpiece also comes with a .22 mag insert for the barrel so you can varmint hunt should you choose. The lock up and metal work on this gun is flawless. The engraving is a work of art. There is also a written guarantee of accuracy at 100 m or 110 yds. It guarantees 6 cm or 2” from a cold barrel. The instruction manual discusses every aspect of the guns’ operation. It is also hand autographed by the President, Dieter Krieghoff. There is also a hand- written inspection and technical statement on the last page.

On to the hunt.Char-

the bear turned and headed back into the thick brush, Charlie placed a 16 gauge slug behind the last rib on a quartering away bear.

He placed the shot into the boiler room. The bear made a 30 yard dash and collapsed with a series of death moans.

Perfect placement in this situation. It is also a testament to the effectiveness of a shotgun slug for bear over bait. Charlie had scored on the first night of the second week. Being the gentleman that he is, Charlie spent the rest of the week helping out around camp, washing dishes and helping track bears shot by other hunters.

Thanks Charlie.

Shamrock Outfitters is most definitely a blue

Page 33

Guns & Ammo: A Guide’s Perspective

by Tom Kelly, Orient, ME collar operation, however, it is nice to see and shoot a gun made for royalty. The price tag on this Krieghoff is more than I paid for my first house, but works-of-art are never cheap. The privilege here is to hunt and visit with friends. Some of these friends I have known for many years. Others are first time clients who arrived as strangers and left as friends.

This week, we have a newlywed couple who have come to Maine on a bear hunt for their honeymoon. This is a first for us, but I am sure they will have stories from bear camp to tell for years.

Please remember to take a child hunting and

fishing. Oh, and by the way, come to see us at the lake...

Tom is a Registered Maine Guide. He is the owner/operator of Shamrock Outfitters in Orient Maine with his wife Ellie. He is a retired police officer as well as a retired manager from two major firearms manufacturers. He is an NRA Certified Instructor as well as a Hunter Safety Instructor in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. You can reach Tom at Shamrock Outfitters (207) 694-2473.

Please visit our Facebook Page: Shamrock Outfitters and Properties and come visit us on East Grand Lake.

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Page 34

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Maine Outdoor Adventure

From the first settlement of the Paleo people around 5200 BC to today, man has lived off of Maine’s natural resources. The history is as vast at its landscape with many changes to its environmental, social and political state. During the 1700’s English exploited Maine’s woods pushing westward until finely in 1764, an English surveyor, Joseph Chadwick became the very first white man to

November 2019

Maine’s Hunting Heritage

by Rich Yvon, Bradford, ME

lay eyes on Mt Katahdin. In time, all changes led finely to the very first Maine legislation on hunting in 1830.

Until then, game could be taken at will year-round. The first law made it illegal to hunt between January 1 and August 31, although there was no bag limit. In 1873, it legislated the first limit of no more than three deer per hunter per year. In 1879 it issued a ban on moose hunting, which was lifted

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in 1884. In 1919, it ordered mandatory deer registration.

In 1925, it set a statewide limit of one deer of either sex per hunter per year with stiffer penalties for not obeying mandatory registration.

In 1936 moose hunting was banned and the ban lasted until 1980. Today, a rather liberal amount of moose permits is allocated to both resident and non-resident hunter lottery winners.

Maine is very special indeed. Currently, the frontier still boasts over 600 self-sustaining native brook

trout ponds. In its most southerly range, Maine also has the only wild, native population of Arctic Char (Blue Back Trout) in the continental United States. A declining, estimated moose herd of 76,000 that struggles to survive despite a warmer environment, and a reputed native ruffed grouse population, which lives throughout the state, but is most profound in the northern zone.

Moose hunting from 1980 to present day has also vastly changed due to several ecological, politi-

cal and economic changes.

The changes that effect the moose herd in Maine has many concerned about the future of Moose hunting with its social and economic effects. The loss of moose hunting in Maine would certainly devastate the state revenue stream which relies on a healthy herd for both conservation and tourism dollars. For certain, our environment is changing and changing fast. The effects can’t be denied but the reasons why are argued time and time again as to why our globe is warming up changing how, when and where we hunt and fish.

Working year round in the outdoors has afforded me to take notice of our moose decline in population or at least a decline where historically found. The boreal forest animal depends on cool summers, good browse and certainly less moose ticks to stay healthy. Moose spend much of the summer eating and working on gaining fat reserves in order to survive a very cold winters ravage.

A boreal forest with cool summers, play an important role by allowing moose an appetite to eat enough food intake for valuable fat storage to survive. Fat storage is a necessity for all moose especially the young. The increase of moose ticks into

(Heritage cont. pg 37)

November 2019

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Ready to Rock

One year ago this month, I wrote, “What will make this year tricky is the mast crop, or in some places, the lack of a mast crop…. the deer and turkey will be roaming in search of mast”.

What a difference a year makes. I’ve seen a bumper crop of acorns in areas I’ve scouted. Now that’s good news for the deer, turkey, bear and squirrels and for hunters as well. That means unlike last year they won’t have to roam far and wide.

So, we can go back to trying to pattern travel routes between bedding and feeding areas. Of course, that’s frequently easier said than done. But somebody figured it out because I saw a picture of one large buck taken in mid-September in New London with the antlers still in velvet and it dressed out at 196 pounds. There are obviously some advantages to getting out early in the season with the bow.

The muzzleloader season opens Saturday, November 2 nd and runs through Tuesday, November 12 th.

And, lest you not forget, Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday, November 3rd which means that sunrise and sunset will be about an hour earlier that day than it was the day before. Wednesday, November 13th marks

month for elk. Rather than trying to dial in a 250 or 275 grain for deer and then get used to something else for out there, I’ll stick with one for both seasons. I read one review that said 100 grains of Blackhorn paired with the Parker will take anything out to two hundred yards. That’s a poke around here but an average shot out West. We’ll

We’ve talked about this month for the past eleven months. The .270, .280, .308 and muzzleloader are dialed in and ready to rock. the beginning of regular rifle season which, depending on the WMU, will close as late as Sunday, December 8th.

This year I’m trying something different with my TC Strike muzzleloader. I’m going to use the same volume of Blackhorn 209 with a 300 grain Parker Ballistic Extreme for my deer load and use that same combination in New Mexico next

see?

Many times, deer hunters encounter bear, but it seems like it’s usually after bear season has ended. But, in WMUs: A, B, C2, D1, H1, I2, the General Bear Season will end on November 12th…the last day of muzzleloader season and in WMUs: C1, D2, E, F, G, I1, J1, J2 the taking bear will end on Saturday, November

Page 35

New Hampshire Outdoors

by Peter St. James, Warner, N.H. 30th. Even with these generous dates, don’t expect to see harvest numbers anywhere near the new historical high of 1,052 set last year which surpassed the previous record harvest of 898 bears in 2016. Last year was a spike that can be attributed in a large degree to the severe lack of available mast crop.

Apparently, the anti’s have found a sponsor in the New Hampshire Senate who will introduce a bill banning Wildlife Killing Contests which they say, “primarily target coyotes”. Two things, first: every member of the New Hampshire outdoor community I’ve spoken with has said, “What hunting contests”? We have no idea what they’re talking about.

And second, the group driving this initiative is the same

group that tried (and failed) in the last legislative session, to have the coyote season reduced. So basically, it’s the same story from a different angle. Coyotes are good / hunters are bad.

But, we’ll have plenty of time to deal with politics later. This month, get out and hunt. We’ve talked about this month for the past eleven months. The .270, .280, .308 and muzzleloader are dialed in and ready to rock. Good luck to all of us!

Peter St. James, host of a daily show on WTPL 107.7FM in Concord, is a member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association, Outdoor Writers Association of America and is a licensed NH Fishing Guide.

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Page 36

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Best Way to Release Your Catch

“Just Fishing”

by Bob Leeman, Bangor, ME Fish should be plainly marked “FRAGILE! Handle with Care!” or perhaps “This Side Up!” should appear along the back, near the dorsal fin. Such warnings about the frail nature of fish, when they are handled, might be of value to fishermen who want to return their catch to the water.

Fish are, indeed, very delicate creatures. Their vulnerability to injury and disease is increased many fold when they have been caught and released. Incor-

November 2019

rect handling before replacing the fish in the water will create stress conditions that may kill it many days later.

The proper way to handle a fish is to grip it by its lower lip. If you intend to release the fish unharmed, leave it in the water so there will be support for its body and internal organs. Work the hook loose gently and let the fish go. Often times on smaller fish, like brook trout only a few inches long, you may be able to slip your fingers down the line to the hook, if exposed, then while gripping it, you just flick the fish free without touching it at all. This method has worked for me, and friends, more than a few instances.

Toothy fish, like the pickerel, which can’t be held by the lower lip, should be gripped across the gill covers with a wet hand. The hook can then be removed and the fish released with a good chance of survival.

Grabbing a fish at the middle and squeezing is like signing its death warrant.

You will bruise the muscle tissue and could collapse the rip cage. Without realizing it, you will remove the skin slime which protects the fish against harmful bacteria. Tank tests have shown that bass treated in such a manner take as long as twenty-two days to die from bacterial infection.

Now to more percentages. Studies indicate that hooking fish with the use of

artificial flies and lures keeps fish mortalities to an absolute minimum. Recent analysis show mortality rates of fish caught on barbless hooks, both flies and lures, differ only slightly from hooks with barbs by only a few percentage points-like 4.8%.

Fish hooked and fought to exhaustion didn’t appear to make the difference, studies revealed, that hooking injuries might do.

Use of live bait, such as worms and baitfish, when fishing, indicated that up to fifty percent of the fish got hooked in high mortality places such as stomach, heart, or kidney.

Release of any fish when bleeding, is a good sign of its death warrant,

almost within hours of its release. An extremely high percentage of bleeding fish released, are short of regulation size.

Handle your catch with care, and the fish you release will probably grow some more to provide better fishing in the future.

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 at several bookstores and fly shops, or directly from him. For information on his books, please call 207-9897696.

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November 2019

Aim (Cont. from pg 22) the worst year in Maine history for mistaken-for-game incidents, Maine game wardens investigated over one hundred serious incidents, including those that resulted in nineteen fatalities. That’s utterly unthinkable today.

Also, despite the concern about the percentage of people who engage in hunting being in a long-term decline, the number of hunters in Maine today is twice what it was in 1954, making the

Northwoods Sporting Journal decline in hunting incidents that much more remarkable.

Hunting hasn’t gotten safer by accident. Years of work by the Warden Service, sportsmen’s groups, and lawmakers have made accidental shootings practically unheard of. The requirements for hunter orange clothing, limiting dangerous activities like driving deer, and mandatory hunter safety education were the key elements in making hunting safer than crossing the road to check a mailbox.

But Joshua Reynolds was right to ask the question.

We should never take safety

for granted. Remember the admonition from your Hunter Safety class; the safety on a firearm is a mechanical device—and mechanical devices are subject to failure.

As sportsmen, we’re responsible for every shot. How we act now will determine what happens next.

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 WRKLD 1450 AM.

I couldn’t see fifty Adventure where yards ahead of me. I dragged ing to the deer yards just week, the deer were migrat-

(Cont. from pg 32) ravine at about fifty yards.

I swung the bead onto his shoulder and fired and then fired a second shot before he disappeared. I hurried down into the ravine and the buck was lying dead right where he had disappeared. It was one o’clock and I knew I had my work cut out for me as I was now on the back side of the mountain from the truck and I was going to have to drag him out that way. I had no idea where I would come out but grabbed an antler and headed down the mountain.

The snow had picked up to

Heritage (Cont. from pg 34) Canada has played a significant toll, especially on the young and the old moose.

Many times, the middleaged moose is left behind with a very uncertain future.

The whitetail deer in Maine is living in its most northern, natural range. This translates into the absolute necessity of wintering habitat. Caring for our deer herd and its habitat, is definitely on the minds of many folks

until four o’clock and the light was getting dim, before putting my shirt over the buck and leaving him for the night.

By morning the snow had piled up and I wasn’t sure if I could find my buck.

I got a friend to go with me and we had to take snowmobiles to get back into the area. We found my buck which I call “Thin Horns” after bucking through snow almost crotch deep. After dragging him to our snowmobiles, I tied him to my bumper and rode the two miles back to the truck at the main logging road. That

as they did this past season and hunting was difficult.

I always tell hunters to be careful what you wish for when they say, I hope we get a foot of snow! I will take two or three inches of snow over that anytime.

I hope everyone shoots the buck of their dreams this season.

especially when our kids future hunting and fishing heritage is at risk. Man-made and natural causes why fish and wildlife are affected in a positive or negative way can lead to many discussions and possible arguments. Maine is about 93% private which means much of the burden of land management falls upon Maine residents and private landowners. The hope is that our kids and their kids will enjoy the wonder, and intact natural resources of what our wild Maine frontier has to offer.

If you are interested in a Northern Maine Outdoor Adventure, please reach out to Rich!

Good luck on the trail!

Hal is a Master Maine Guide and Author. He lives in Moose River Maine with his wife Deb and can be contacted hal@bigwoodsbucks.com

About Richard Yvon…

Rich is a full time, Registered Professional Maine Guide and Luxury Sporting Lodge operator. He is a “Certified Yamaha G3 Guide” that runs fly and spin fishing trips with a G3 Jet boat and drift boat. Located in Bradford Maine, Rich guides World Class Maine hunting, fishing and recreation adventures.

Page 37

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 38

Questions About Anticosti

Anticosti

by Mark Cote, Rumford, ME Every month I receive questions from readers with similar questions. In this segment I will answer some of the most frequently asked questions.

When is the best time to hunt Anticosti?

The answer to that is whenever you can! We all know the rut is the most active time and undoubtedly the best time, but pre rut is not bad either. Honestly, it may be difficult to find an open spot in November but now that September and October hunts are six days long, that makes it more likely to get a nice buck.

How do we get our rifles across the Canadian border?

It is actually pretty easy to do. It needs to be declared to customs officials and a Firearms Declaration Form needs to be completed.

You need to list the make,

November 2019

model, serial numbers as well as all of your personal information. There are restrictions however. No pistols or rifles with short barrels are ever allowed. I have yet to hear of any lawabiding citizen denied entry.

There is a twenty five dollar registration fee.

Side note: Sepaq does provide rifles for loan during your hunt if you don’t have one. Call the reservation desk for details.

How do we get our deer meat across Canadian the border?

This question actually should have been number one. Wild game entering the USA is governed Federally by the US Fish & Wildlife.

Their website goes in to detail about it if you want all the information, but to summarize, hunter harvested wild game is allowed entry to the US provided it does

not contain bones, spinal fluids, or brain matter. So, what that means to us, is the meat needs to be de-boned. Trophy heads destined for the taxidermist must be caped and the skull removed. Ant-

that less than ten percent of hunters know how to properly butcher

lers (not velvet antlers) may be attached to the skull cap provided all the brain tissue and the membrane is removed. Velvet antlers are not allowed to come in at all.

Last year when the ruling came out, there was a mini panic on this subject.

I would venture a guess

a deer. The question of who was going to do the work was a stressful one. When I went on my hunt in December, I brought all of my butchering knives and hoped we all would tag out a day early to give me time to break down the major muscle groups at least. Much to my surprise, all of the Sepaq guides took it on themselves to do it for the hunters. I was relieved. There is nothing in their job descriptions that required them to do it, but they

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collectively decided to do it as a service to their clients.

I tipped our guides handsomely. I hope everyone else did too and continues to do so.

Is it bucks only or are we allowed to hunt does too?

The license is for two deer of either sex. Most of us are looking for bucks, but truth be told, doe meat is much better tasting. I know

(Anticosti cont. Pg 56)

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November 2019

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Jock Darling

In 1895, the U. S. Cartridge Company of Lowell, Mass. published a small booklet called “Hunting Regions and How to Reach Them.” It included biographies over several Maine guides.

In Enfield, Maine, where this famous guide and hunter was born, game was very abundant, but the means for securing these animals were scarce, steel traps and rifles being luxuries. The arm used by Mr. Darling’s father was an old flint lock, and most of his traps were wooden traps, chiefly dead falls.

Jonathan, called Jock, would accompany his father on his hunting and trapping trips; occasionally he was permitted to shoot a deer or caribou, and thus a passion for hunting was engrafted into the young man. As soon as he was able to handle the old flint lock gun, young Darling persuaded his father to allow him to go hunting on his own account. The arm was too heavy to hold off-hand, so he would rest the gun over a stump. In this way he killed his first deer.

It was not killed outright, but one of the hind legs of

the deer was shot off, and the dog which accompanied the young hunter caught the deer.

Darling acquired a knowledge of wood craft which enabled him to surpass any of the other boys in his neighborhood. He made a study of the habits of game, and being of a remarkably cool temperament, never getting excited, he generally succeeded in capturing game where others failed.

Young Darling was also very fond of a canoe, and acquired a great reputation not only in handling canoes but in building them.

He also became famous for the snow shoes and moccasins which he made.

As he grew to manhood he still followed hunting, and probably there is no one in the State of Maine who has killed more big game than Jonathan Darling. He has hunted it in all ways, by night, by day, by

water on dark nights with jacks, without any light, by getting close to his game, shooting by guess. He has a wide experience in still hunting deer on snow. In this mode of hunting it would frequently take nearly all day to overtake a moose, the time depending on the depth of the snow and stiffness of the crust. This mode of hunting was pursued on the coldest days, when icicles would hang to his hair, and his clothing would be wet with perspiration. After this violent exercise, and while in this condition, it would often be necessary to camp for the night, with only a small hatchet with which to cut wood, and sometimes with nothing to eat.

Many times while on these hunts, if successful in killing a moose, Mr. Darling would strip the pelt from the animal and crawl inside of it to keep from freezing.

When Mr. Darling hunted for hides, sportsmen did

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Page 39

Old Tales from the Maine Woods

by Steve Pinkham Quincy, MA

not visit the State of Maine to any extent, and there were few opportunities for guiding; but later Mr. Darling’s reputation as a mighty hunter made him sought for, and as public interest was awakened in making better game laws and enforcing them, he abandoned skin hunting and commenced guiding sportsmen, building camps in different parts of the State, where the best hunting was to be found.

Mr. Darling has guided some of the best known

sportsmen in the United States, from all walks in life; he has a knowledge of the big game regions, from the Rangeley lakes to the eastern coast, and it is believed that no other man in Maine can give better information on the habits of the big game and the best regions where it is to be found.

Steve is an avid hiker, paddler and historian, having collected over 25,000 Maine Woods articles to date.

Page 40

Deer (Cont. from pg 28) the best shot when it was presented. Generally speaking, any common deer rifle sighted in to hit dead on at 25 yards will be good to go out to 250 yards. This varies between calibers, of course, but if you can hit a quarter at 25 yards you can kill any deer you see in the Maine woods. If you don’t sight in you don’t know where your bullets are going and the results are predictable.

Sight in!

Finally, go with the

Northwoods Sporting Journal

money shot. Forget being creative, forget being a sniper, forget the trick shots – aim halfway up behind the shoulder and put your bullet into the heart-lung area. You may have to track your deer a short way but when you get there he will be dead, ready to tag, gut and drag out.

It really is as simple as that!

Steve Carpenteri has hunted whitetails all over North America since killing his first buck in 1963. The basic rules for success have not changed.

Bumper

(Cont. from pg 29)

general and given “normal” living conditions, Mother Nature has it planned that in any given year one species or the other will produce fruit, although the level of production may vary.

To answer the question, though, on my particular piece of ground in southern Maine at least we have found the hunting can be as productive during years of low or moderate production as during bumper years. It seems deer in this area will travel more to find a reliable food source mak-

ing them more susceptible and once found will bed close by and concentrate their feeding activities in those areas until the crop is depleted, in essence making deer easier to find. The key is to find those spotty areas that are producing fruit. On the other hand, during high yield or bumper crop years when acorns are abundant and widespread the opposite is often times true.

We have also found that while red as well as white oak acorns attract deer, there is no substitute for the white variety. The reason seems to be the higher levels of tannic acid in

November 2019 red acorns that makes them more bitter tasting. During bumper red crop years, like this fall in this area, deer certainly take advantage of them but don’t seem to feed on them exclusively. The opposite has proven true during peak years of white oak production. During those years when white oaks are producing high yields deer seem to gorge themselves until the supply is gone.

Whatever the case in your area, that old adage of finding the food, in this case acorns, and you’ll find deer holds true more times than not.

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November 2019

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Maine’s Diverse Wildlife Geography

I’m quite certain that everyone reading the journal loves Maine and all the wonderful outdoor activities it has to offer. While Maine is a large piece of real estate with boundaries set out of war, the boundaries of the wildlife have been set for very different reasons. Being one state many think the animals inhabiting Maine may be similar throughout; however that is far from the truth.

In addition to diverse wildlife geography, Maine also has two distinct seasons, winter and not winter, which plays a significant role in who lives where. In northern and western Maine, winter is far more severe while the coastal areas are

tempered by the jet stream.

A foot of snow accumulating in Baxter State Park could be freezing rain or rain in Rockland. Temperature swings can be a significant factor in driving the wildlife geography. Northern Maine can see the mercury plunge well below zero for weeks at a time while southern parts of the state sample arctic conditions for a day or two.

Why does this matter?

It matters because there are many animals not equipped to survive outside their climactic region.

The northern parts of the state are home to moose, lynx, and marten, which you would rarely find in in central and southern Maine.

Bobcat and gray fox seem

to flourish where it’s a little warmer without extremes temperature swings. Typically, Maine’s wildlife does not ‘cross climatic borders’.

We do have animals that inhabit the entire state. However they prosper where the climate and terrain fits them best. Even in densely populated areas there is wildlife that can adapt quite nicely with humans. Merely head to the back yard and you may be surprised to see what’s there.

Knowing what wildlife inhabits the area you are targeting for camera placement will assist with proper set up. When setting up for large game wildlife such as moose, the camera must be set back significantly more

Question

heck ain’t around here!

At the end of the video, the young farmer stood and said proudly; “That’s my farm, last week.” Responding to a flood of questions, he eagerly described his five-year program that had produced such a bounty of quality deer. When he explained how the selective reduction of deer numbers lessened deer-related crop damage while encouraging good numbers of top-quality bucks on his farm, his fellow farmers were skeptical, but he answered every question positively and invited the group to visit his farm and see the proof.

In short order, succes-

sive neighboring property owners followed his lead with similar success. Their success spilled over into the public lands where hunters consistently take top-quality bucks. The ultimate key to this success is keeping the doe herd young by specifically harvesting the adult does and avoiding fawn kills. Taking a closer look before tagging an antlerless deer also increases hunter safety. What a superb and fitting bonus.

(Cont. from pg 30)

presents their view to the state’s wildlife governing agency.

Nearly everyone in attendance recognized this young farmer and seemed curious why someone with his reputation for excessive deer killing had been invited to address this mostly conservative group. Before introducing him as my guest, I played his unique video. The room fell silent until one incredulous farmer questioned loudly; “Okay, where the heck is this? Out west somewhere? It sure as

Page 41

What's In Your Woods

by Bud Utecht, Dedham, ME than, say, capturing a deer photo. In northern Maine you would place cameras in dense woods to capture marten, while in southern Maine you would place cameras on field edges for fox. An issue that may arise when setting up cameras for large animals is the likelihood of smaller critters crossing through the detection range. The smaller animals will seem far away on the camera, conversely, if the camera is set up closer, you will capture only body parts of larger animals.

If you’re like me and travel to get some exciting pictures of wildlife outside of your area, check out the locations on maps and google earth before you head

in to the woods. This will lessen the time spent walking around looking for the terrain that best suits what you’re trying to capture on camera. Looking at digital maps and google earth may also help you avoid getting on the back side of a nasty swamp around dusk and having to walk through it in order to find your vehicle.

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 42

Fishin’ Lake Ontario

by Capt. Ernie Lantiegne, N.Y. Ontario browns boated. It’s the feeling you get when you fish Lake Ontario.

You just never know how big the next fish you catch will be. I have fished this 200 mile long lake since 1977, and every time an

Lake Ontario, their thoughts were on salmon. Kings and cohos migrate from all over the lake to this 20 mile wide bay where they stage before their spawning run in the Big Salmon River. Along with the salmon, prespawn

Ontario Mystique

I mentioned the brown trout we had been catching in a bit shallower depths than the kings, there was no response. Just, “How many salmon? How big?

As the sky lightened

zone. Although kings and cohos are the main target in September, on every trip I keep one rod in the water for brown trout. Browns are great eating in September, and you never know when

Henry Hitchcock boated this handsome male brown trout on September 17, 2019

When it came aboard, it took my breath away, even after seeing thousands of Lake Ontario browns boated. anglers onboard hooks up with a monster, I feel it. It’s like a chronic case of buck fever! It happened again on September 17, 2019.

Before daybreak when Mike Wales and his crew boated out with me through the mouth of the Little Salmon River into Mexico Bay at the southeast corner of

brown trout, some of them huge, also concentrate here.

As we navigated out to the area in 35 feet of water where I had been fishing the previous day, the conversation was all about salmon.

Fishing for both kings and cohos had been better than I cared to mention, hesitant to elevate expectations. When

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over the east shore, I had just set our third downrigger when the center rigger rod bent to the water. We were locked up with our first king of the trip on a J-plug.

Action was steady until the sun sun broke over Tug Hill Plateau, then slowed.

That’s when I headed for slightly shallower water toward the brown trout

you might just tangle with a big one.

As we trolled along at 2.5 mph in 30 feet of water, the port slide diver with one of my favorite brown trout flashers and flies was fishing just above bottom.

When that rod doubled over and the reel’s drag started screaming, my first thought was, “Aha, a shallow water

king.” Not so. Instead of the screaming run of a September king, the fish only ran about 50 yards, then stayed deep, refusing to come up off the bottom. “Hmm, too warm in here for a big laker.” I wondered, “A big brown?”

That’s when the buck fever started. If it is a big brown, how big?

It only took about five minutes to find out. When Henry Hitchcock eased it to the surface, all I could see was gold. When it came aboard, it took my breath away, even after seeing thousands of Lake Ontario browns boated. What a magnificent male brown trout in full spawning colors!

As big and beautiful as the brown was, I knew there were even larger ones, much larger ones, in this seemingly limitless lake we were fishing, maybe nearby, maybe our very next fish.

It’s the feeling you get when you cast or troll a line in Lake Ontario, legendary for world class trout and salmon. Would anyone have ever imagined the once 26 lb. 5 oz. NYS steelhead record would be broken by an unimaginable 31 lb. 5 oz. steelhead? What’s next?

There it is again…, Ontario mystique.

And, what about the 32 lb. 3 oz. NYS record brown trout? Is there a bigger one out there? I’m betting there is.

Capt. Ernie Lantiegne has operated Fish Doctor Charters on Lake Ontario for 37 years, and worked as a fishery biologist/manager for the NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation for 22 years.

November 2019

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Plain Sight Bucks

How many times have you heard this? You head off to northern Maine deer hunting, then get back home to hear your neighbor has shot a trophy buck right down the road. Every day you drove past that small patch of

that score in the MASTC club. Still only a handful of hunters are successful in this prime location.

Most who enter the Experimental Forest stick to the ATV trails and some have encountered big bucks

tions with similar attributes and the bucks get bigger each year because the hunters pass up the all important clues that belie their presence.

The same deer-hunting principles that apply in the big northern woodlots are important in southern and central Maine covers. So much has been written about whitetails yet hunters some-

Page 43

South Of the Kennebec

by Stu Bristol, Lyman, ME

all other worldly problems.

Don’t enter the hunt thinking about work, family, politics and other problems you will need to deal with later.

Have a plan for the woodlot you plan to hunt.

Begin with topographic

If you walk ATV trails, move off in wide loops to look for deer dropping, scrapes and rubs. Mature bucks love to stay in cover and along edges such as vegetation changes. Buck poop drops in clusters rather

The same deer-hunting principles that apply in the big northern woodlots are important in southern and central Maine covers. So much has been written about whitetails yet hunters sometimes gloss over the basics.

Rocky Littlefield with local plain sight trophy buck.

(Photo by Stu Bristol)

cover and never even saw a doe or fawn much less a big old mossback buck.

Most hunters will never admit that they miss seeing a majority of deer that were, shall we say, hiding right there, in plain sight.

Over the years I’ve hunted the big northern forests but the majority of my trophy whitetails came from local, southern Maine covers that most other hunters pass right by. The Northern tract of the Massabesic Experimental Forest in Lyman/Waterboro is a prime example.

Access to the nearly 3,000 acre U.S. Forest Service land is open to the general public. A gravel road built by the CCC runs smack through the middle. While vehicle travel is prohibited except by ATV on marked trails, great deer covers can be reached with minimal effort.

That said, I’ve hunted this tract of land since 1979 and have taken large deer and helped friends and family locate several 200-pound plus deer. Other hunters have taken even more bucks

but the majority never tap the bonanza of big bucks hiding just a few yards away, again, in plain sight.

Throughout Maine there are dozens of loca-

times gloss over the basics.

A mature whitetail buck will spend its entire life in these urban covers that measure 1,000 acres or less. It is incredible how well these deer elude humans, especially hunters. Here are a few tips on how to turn the tables on these mossbacks.

One of the greatest downfalls of hunters is their inability to clear their mind when hunting and block out

(Birds cont.LLC pg ??)

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maps. Imprint in your mind the game funnels, wooded marshes, probable food sources and bedding areas.

Take wind direction into consideration and how you look and smell. Even in urban areas deer become alerted by cigarette smoke, body odor and clothing colors and patterns. Stay ahead of the law but remember how deer see and smell.

than single jelly bean shaped dropping of the doe.

Look for beaten paths where deer are travelling and especially seek out softwoods with low hanging branches where bucks lay down scrapes and break off branches leaving preorbital scent. Scan every sapling for rubs and larger trees for signpost rubbing.

(Bucks cont. pg 59)

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 44

November 2019

By Josh Reynolds, Mark McCollough, Gary Moore, Dennis Jensen & John Floyd

My Remington 7600

My Remington 7600

By Josh Reynolds

My active duty stint in the U.S. Army ended in May of 1999. With a newly minted DD214 in hand, I left Ft. Hood Texas bound for a

deer hunting, something I had not done much of during the prior eight years of college and Army service.

I grew up hunting with

couple of nice bucks. I just never had luck with it. My brother even used the .35 while I was away at college and he would come home on leave from the Air Force.

The biggest buck of his life made a hasty escape when the .35 failed to fire on a 30 yard, broad side, standing shot. The firing pin broke.

I’m not superstitious, but this gun had a curse and this was on my mind as I re-

As far as firearms go, I’ve hunted with nothing else since.

My 7600 has never failed me. It has never jammed, never miss fired and never broken. I’ve dropped it from a tree stand, submerged it in a swamp, whacked it on rocks and buried it in the snow.

new job in the civilian world at Twin Pine Camps in Millinocket. I was excited about the new adventure working in the North Woods, and hopeful that I would find the time to rekindle my love of

a Marlin model 336 lever chambered in .35 Rem. My dad bought me this gun at the Bangor Gun Show when I turned 13. It saw service with me through my high school years. I missed a

turned to Maine as an adult.

Enter the Remington Model 7600 chambered in 30-06. While I’m no great deer tracker, I became a much better marksman while in the Army and I

wanted a gun that could shoot longer distances accurately. I also grew up bird hunting with a Remington Model 870 pump 20 gauge. I always loved the feel of that gun. It just felt natural in my hands. I could shoot it well without thinking and it never failed. It just so happens that the 7600 is basically a rifle version of the 870. It feels the same, the safety is the

same, trigger pull, same, pump action, same. It was kind of a no brainer. The fact that the 7600 was the tool of revered trackers like Hal Blood, Dick Bernier and the Benoits was also attractive to a young twenty something looking to hit the reset button as a deer hunter.

I found the 7600 on

(7600 cont. pg 45)

November 2019 My Remington 7600

By Josh Reynolds

Craigs list in the late summer of 1999, almost 20 years ago to the day. It was barely used, all shiny and pristine.

I promptly mounted an inexpensive Bushnell 1x5 scope on it and began developing a relationship with the gun.

I put many rounds through it that fall and carried it dozens of miles through the woods that first November back in Maine. I even took my very

Northwoods Sporting Journal first buck with it that same year. My luck was changing.

I missed a tremendous bull moose the following year when I was lucky enough to get a moose permit. It wasn’t the gun’s fault. I was just asking too much of the shooter and the gun trying to hit a walking bull at 350 yards across a beaver flowage while I was floating in a canoe. It was a dumb shot to take, but I was young and thought I could do what I used to do with an M-16.

Not so much, different gun, different circumstances.

As far as firearms

go, I’ve hunted with nothing else since. My 7600 has never failed me. It has never jammed, never miss fired and never broken. I’ve dropped it from a tree stand, submerged it in a swamp, whacked it on rocks and buried it in the snow. It has taken one Colorado cow elk and many deer. It shows its age. The bluing has worn off where my hands hold the receiver and the once shiny stock is bruised and battered, the way it should be on a North Woods deer gun.

While it’s not a tack driver (pumps just aren’t), it gets

This Old Gun

It was Christmas morning 1971, and I was 14. Wrapping paper was strewn knee-deep around the living room. There were new cowboy boots, a plastic ukulele, Hot Wheel cars, and the mandatory pajamas from Grandma. As my brothers and sister opened their gifts, a long, narrow box emerged from under the heap of presents.

It had my name on it.

It was my turn to open a present. The heft of the box was substantial as I slid it out from under the back of the Christmas tree. The shape of the box suggested some sort of weaponry, but it was no bb gun. I glanced at Mom. Her jaw was set,

palpable tension was to send the wrapping paper flying. I opened the box to see a new

words. I muttered veiled surprise and thanks, not knowing what words might be exchanged between Mom and Dad that evening.

What possesses a father to buy his son a gun? I suppose it is a rite of passage.

It’s Dad’s hope that his son will carry on the hunting tradition.

It’s a nod that you are growing up. You can be trusted and handle some responsibility. Maybe my father hoped that I would enjoy a lifetime of hunting and solitude in the woods, just as he had. Mothers may understand some of this, but this memorable gift had something to do with a father bonding with his son and knowing

While writing this little essay, my father slipped the bonds of this Earth in the glow of a pumpkin-orange harvest moon. He once told me that he planned to go to the “happy hunting grounds.” No eternity of singing in heavenly choirs for Dad. and she eyed my Dad in a “what-have-you-donenow-Curtis?” look. Dad had a sheepish look on his face. I was caught between a rock and a hard place and the only way to break the

Marlin lever action 30-30 carbine. I felt proud and a bit scared. Dad grinned and said, “We won’t have to borrow a gun for you to hunt next year.” Mom’s silence intonated a thousand unsaid

that it’s not going to be very many more years before his boy walks out the door for good. Maybe Dad thought it would be a memento to remember the few years hunting with him. Now, 48

Page 45

the job done. It’ll shoot four inch groups at 100 yards all day long. When that first shot isn’t the best and more lead is needed, the pump slings bullets like a semiauto, without the added heft and complexity.

Guns are really just tools. But some tools have a soul, or perhaps they become part of our souls. They connect us to momentous experiences in our lives, times of joy, triumph and failure. They tell a story of our travels and adventures, of times with family, friends and shared outdoor experi-

ences. There are times, when hunting season is barely a glint on the horizon that I will pick up my 7600, pull it to my shoulder and immediately feel the rush of November as all the moments the gun has made flood back into memory. We should love people, not objects, but what I feel for my 7600 can only be described as love.

Josh Reynolds is the Assistant Editor of The Journal. He can be reached at jreyn207@gmail.com

This Old Gun

By Mark McCollough

years later, I realize that there was more wrapped up in that Christmas gift than a rifle.

My Dad grew up on a farm and did not have a chance to hunt as a youth.

There were morning and evening barn chores or at

least that was an excuse. In the 1920s, my grandfather was accidentally shot while hunting rabbits. He carried shotgun pellets in his leg for the remainder of his life. Grandpa (and likely my grandmother) were reluctant

(Gun cont. pg 46)

HIGHLANDS

Page 46 This Old Gun

By Mark McCollough

to allow their son to hunt.

Dad bought a squirrel rifle shortly with his first paycheck from the local grocery store. Shortly after, he discovered a Harper’s Ferry flintlock musket in the attic.

That led to a lifelong passion for flintlock rifles and deer hunting.

My new gun spent its inaugural year in its box for safe keeping. Dad found some light loads to introduce me to rifle shooting.

The following summer we sighted the rifle in at the local range, and I was ready for deer season.

Nearly five decades

Northwoods Sporting Journal

and 22 deer later she is little worse for wear. I’ve had a monogamous relationship with the 30-30, and it is my constant deer hunting companion. The bluing is long gone from the receiver from years of wear. I’ve worn out several leather slings. A gouge in the walnut stock is from a long slide I took down Tom Young cliffs chasing a buck many years ago.

The rifle served me well. I never missed or wounded a deer with the 30-30. The short-barreled carbine and quick action worked well for my style of still hunting. The thicker the brush the better. It instinctively rises to my shoulder and stopped many skulking bucks in their tracks.

Like any hunting part-

Two Very Special Winchester 94's

by Gary Moore

I now own the rifle I coveted for so long. My Dad’s Winchester Model 94, 30-30 hangs in our living room along with another

under gunned! Many a late afternoon I sat on the edge of one of our fields awaiting a buck but alas none ever came in range.

Model 94, 30-30 that belonged to my uncle Wayne Johnson whose name I bear.

When I was around ten I was allowed to hunt deer on the farm with a single shot Harrington Richardson .410 using slugs. Talk about

All that time I was anxiously waiting for Dad to bag a buck with his Winchester Model 94, 30-30 so I could then use it. Once that happened, I would proudly head to the hardwood ridges beyond the fields in hopes of

Over the years he took several nice bucks with the rifle, most on the hardwood ridges behind the farm, where I learned to hunt and where I still do most of my deer hunting.

ner, the 30-30 is not without faults. It’s the misfires and misadventures that I remember the most. For many years it was one bullet, one deer, and boxes of shells purchased in college lasted me well into my middle years.

There was a Thanksgiving when our kids were young when a fat crotch horn ran up to me, stopped, and posed broadside a scant 25 yards distant. I shouldered the 30-30, squeezed, only to hear just a “click.” I jacked another shell in, but the buck waved good-by with his tail a-flagging. It must have been fate, as that afternoon I shot a 10-point a scant shy of 200 pounds. One of my favorite hunting spots I call “misfire junction.” For two years in succession bucks walked down the same trail.

November 2019

Both times the gun misfired on the first round, but I got him on the second try. Thank goodness my box of K-Mart special shells are finally depleted.

While writing this little essay, my father slipped the bonds of this Earth in the glow of a pumpkinorange harvest moon. He once told me that he planned to go to the “happy hunting grounds.” No eternity of singing in heavenly choirs for Dad. My mind drifts far from the deer stand. Why do sons insist on using their father’s old rifles, even if they misfire from time to time?

Bonds between a father and son are forged in that hand-worn steel. There’s a cherished memory for each scratch and dent in the stock.

An old deer rifle develops a patina, polished by shivering hands and falling snow.

With the passing decades it develops creaks and groans.

Like we do.

A twig snaps and rouses me from my reverie. The shuffling sound of a hoof in frosty oak leaves. A glint of antler. The flicker of an ear in the sumacs at the edge of the woods. Dad’s hand is on my shoulder, and he whispers, “Steady now son. Take your time.” The little 30-30 comes to my shoulder…

As a youth, Mark McCollough hunted deer with his father Curtis in the hills and dales of western Pennsylvania. He can be contacted at ellmcc25@yahoo.com

Two Very Special Winchester 94's

intercepting a buck on the way to the fields just before dark.

That 94 bears serial number 1230838 and was manufactured in 1940. It is one of my most treasured possessions left to me when Dad died in 1995.

The second 94 that hangs in our living room was my Uncle Bud’s (Wayne). Wayne is my middle name given me in honor of him. His 94 has serial number 952972 and was manufactured in 1924. I never dreamed I would some day own it but upon his death my aunt gave it to me. Thus I now own the two 94s I longed to use.

Whenever I carry one

The author holds the Winchester 94, 30-30's that belonged to his Dad and Uncle.

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of them they bring back memories of two men I loved so much.

There is another family connection involving the 94's. Each has an identical flip up peep sight and each has a silver name plate in the stock with their names on it. Those name plates were given them by my Uncle Huck Rogers, an engraver and jeweler.

The older 94 was actually Huck’s father’s whom I knew as Grampa Rogers although he was no relation to me. After the WWII, Huck gave it to Bud who was his wife’s and my mother’s brother.

(94's cont. pg 47)

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November 2019 Two Very Special Winchester 94s

By Gary Moore

Dad and my two uncles were WWII combat vets who returned home in 1945 to find a very small deer population. I was told it was not unusual to hunt the whole season without even seeing a buck. Thus the 94's were carried long distances made easy by their light weight and compactness but seldom fired.

The first buck I remember Dad shooting with

Northwoods Sporting Journal the 94 was a beautiful ten pointer which he had mounted. That deer head hung in our old farmhouse until it was moved to our new hunting camp while I was in Vietnam in 1967-68.

Over the years he took several nice bucks with the rifle, most on the hardwood ridges behind the farm, where I learned to hunt and where I still do most of my deer hunting.

Many of my fondest memories from my single digit years involve Dad’s bucks. Once he had killed his buck, he would walk back to the house and the

whole family would pile into one of the Willys Jeep Wagons that we owned over the years and head up to the back pasture where he would have dragged the deer. He would then load it on the hood and back home we would go. The deer would be hung from a big maple and we would all admire the buck no matter its size or number of points. That experience instilled in me and my two brothers the love of hunting and appreciation for the game we kill.

Although I no longer hunt with Dad’s 94, preferring my scoped .243 as I

My Dearest Marlin

Author with Maine deer (Photo by Stu Bristol)

I guess you could call this a love letter. I mean, we’ve been together now for more than 40 years. And, looking into the future, I cannot see what could possibly happen to tear us apart.

You have never let me down. On those cold November mornings, with you close to me, you went with me into wild places, never fearing that we might lose

Page 47

am 73 and my eyesight is not what it once was, I still take it down and bring to my shoulder. When I look through the peep I imagine Dad taking a bead on one of the many bucks he shot in the woods that my wife and I now own and which surround the home we built some 46 years ago.

There is a huge old oak back on the ridge that was one of Dad’s favorite places to sit awaiting a buck.

A few years ago I took a nice 6 pointer two years in a row while leaning against that very tree which we call Dad’s.

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 e-mail at gwmoore1946@myfairpoint. net or at Box 454, Bradford, VT 05033.

My Dearest Marlin

by Dennis Jensen,

days at Camp Swampy up in New York State. You never complained about those long adventures, even though, at the end of the day, I always

When I take you out with me deep into the wild, it is what makes me the man that I am.

our way.

And, oh the memories.

I will always remember, with great fondness, the trips we took together, to the Adirondacks, the wild Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, not to mention those long

When I die the two 94's will be given to my surviving siblings or their children to keep as family heirlooms. I just hope they appreciate the memories they represent of the two men so big a part of my life.

set you aside.

In October and again in December, I would bring another one, a different one, to replace you in the woods.

But you never complained.

You never pouted for you knew, as those other ones

did, that you brought more joy to my life than those eager pretenders.

I know. Some people already believe our relationship is strange. There are even people who believe that what we have together should be illegal. They might even want to separate us, to punish us because we are so “different” from the mainstream. But we know differently.

We will never part because what we have is real.

(Marlin cont. pg 48)

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 48 My Dearest Marlin

By Mark McCollough

When I hold you, I hold my life in my hands. When I take you out with me deep

into the wild, it is what makes me the man that I am. I have, of course, gone into wild places without you, while you waited back at home, without complaint, just for me.

Our two big trips in November draw near. Will

A Promise Kept

by John Floyd

I had just slid my coffee thermos back into my pack when I heard the branch crack to my front and left. It sounded like a cannon shot in stillness of the crisp, cool morning. The sound came from the old skidder trail just south of me and I recalled the pile of slash and wood scraps mounded at the end of it. Another crunch told me that something heavy was heading my way, now just 100 yards away or closer.

I was perched in my tree

stand, tucked into the edge of the wood line bordering an abandoned landing that

I bring you along with me?

Why would I not? Others, in those early, early years, sometimes let me down.

You? You have always been the faithful one. You have been the one I could always rely on.

So this ends with a fi-

nal note: You will always be No. 1, in that special place deep within me. You will always be at my side until the day that life slips from my grasp.

once served the network of overgrown logging trails around me. My focus was a scent wick, hanging 75 yards across the clearing, and directly between me and the last crunch.

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A Promise Kept

to control my breathing as I slowly mounted my Marlin 336 lever gun. I could feel my blood pressure elevate slightly and swore I could hear it pulsing through my ears. My heart started hammering away inside my rib cage when the eight point buck broke cover and lifted his nose to the hanging

wick. He was in a perfect broadside position with only his rear end still hidden in the opposite wood line. I thumbed the hammer back to full-cock and settled the front iron sight on the vitals. Estimating the range, I dropped the front sight between the buckhorns on the rear of the barrel and felt my finger start to ap-

“The author with his buck taken by the Marlin model 336 in .30-.30 Winchester.”

ply a steady, even pressure.

The big whitetail leapt and kicked, bounding into the wood line. I heard branches snapping and twigs cracking as he fled and then the final crash as he piled up. But the one thing I never heard was the report of my tried and true .30-30 Winchester. It

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was 30 minutes into my first deer season as a Maine resident and my hunt was over.

I took a deep breath and sat back against the tree I was lashed to, admiring not necessarily the beauty of the rifle I was holding but its history. As I thumbed the worn, walnut stock, I felt every nick and gouge in the rifle earned over its 40-year hunting career. The faded bluing around the receiver another testament to long days carried through the deer woods. I also recalled how this special rifle came to be mine and the promise I made to a hunter’s widow years ago.

Nadine worked in the florist shop I used in the small town I hail from in the mountains of north east Pennsylvania. Before every holiday and trips out west to visit with my mother-in-law, Nadine would put together the flower arrangements for me – she was my favorite of the three working at the florist, her creations were

(Promise cont. pg 49)

November 2019 A Promise Kept

By John Floyd

beautiful and always well received. Plus, I knew she was a widow from the years I patronized the flower shop and was supplementing her Social Security income with her part-time hours and tips at the florist. Her husband Ed had succumbed to a massive heart attack some years ago and Nadine found herself suddenly and unexpectedly, going it alone.

Ed was an avid sportsman, travelling across the country to hunt and fish.

Nadine knew I was also a dedicated hunter and fisherman and loved telling me

Northwoods Sporting Journal stories about Ed’s hunting exploits, both good and bad, some hilarious. I’d find myself chatting with Nadine about Ed’s trips long after I’d paid for my flowers. I enjoyed the stories and I knew talking about her late husband’s passion was a way for her to keep close to him. I was more than happy to oblige – I love talking about hunting, especially deer hunting. Remember, this was in Pennsylvania and deer hunting is king. You know they are serious when schools close for opening day of deer season. So it was during one of our last deer hunting chats before I moved to Maine that Nadine brought up the subject of Ed’s gun collection.

Nadine explained to

me that no one else in her family hunted or had any interest in Ed’s hunting guns after he passed. She never thought twice about having guns in her home when Ed was alive she said, but having them there and living alone made her uncomfortable. She told me she thought about selling them to a gun store but realized strangers becoming the new owners of his prized collection wouldn’t be what Ed would have wanted. He certainly wouldn’t want those guns forgotten in the back of some crowded gun safe either – he would want them put to use. She made me a deal on the collection I couldn’t refuse. There was one condition, however; I had to promise to take them

afield once in a while and let them see daylight during hunting season. It was the easiest promise I ever made.

As I was loading the last gun in my truck, Nadine touched my arm and told me “That one was his favorite deer rifle. Ed bought it new in 1978. He’s taken a lot of deer with it.” I looked down at the Marlin model 336 lever-action in my hands and could barely fathom the stories it could tell.

I raised my eyes from the rifle in my lap and prepared to climb down from the stand and retrieve my buck. Before I did though, I glanced towards the heavens, smiled and said aloud, “Ed, I kept my promise to both of you – the one I made to Nadine and the one she

Vermont

Page 49 didn’t know about. Your old Marlin just added another whitetail to its legacy.”

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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Page 50

Green Mountain Report

Northwoods Sporting Journal

November 2019

direction to learn of intruders in his kingdom. He steps out from behind the fallen log, exposing his vitals to the hillside where we sit. I signal to raise your gun and take advantage of this moment. The scope’s reticles settle on the thick chest just behind his right shoulder.

The echo of the 30.06 echoes

in the swamp, bagging several geese and a few puddle ducks. This is the stuff that builds boys into passionate young waterfowlers. Now that we’re in November, the flight birds are streaming down from the North on tailwinds and seeking shelter in the still unfrozen marshes.

This is peak migration and

Opening Day

by Bradley Carleton, Charlotte, VT As memories of fall fade into the bitter winds of November, we sit on stand at the base of the old rickety pine on the hillside overlooking the ravine. On the right day, the hillside funnels the big chested whitetails of the Green Mountains down to the swamp, where they pursue the hormone ravaged does. But it’s the memories of the warm autumn days that keep our hearts and spirits alive while we wait for the 10 pointer we saw in the field in late summer. Memories of the wide rack and tall tines reflecting in the autumn sun, as he turned his head downhill to monitor the shenanigans of the gang of forkhorns play-

sparring near the old logging road. He knows that these youngster’s lack of wisdom may be their undoing come November’s rifle season.

He checks the wind and waits for signs of amore’.

Now that the cold winds have blown the first layer of styrofoam-like snow on the ground, and the daylight has taken a backseat to the colder nights, his nose is keen to pick up the scent of a doe’s first estrus. He breathes in deeply, testing the wind, to see if she is ready to accept his dominant advancements.

For a moment, he lapses into a state of hormonally charged instinct. Then his senses return, and he checks the wind facing the opposite

permits available for use in the December 7-15 muzzleloader deer season. The unallocated permits are available because not enough people applied for them in the lottery. These permits can be purchased for $10 on the department’s website (www.vtfishandwildlife. com) on a first come, first

He knows that these youngster’s lack of wisdom may be their undoing come November’s rifle season. He checks the wind and waits for signs of amore’. through the mountains. It’s Opening Day. Believe it or not, there are still doe permits available for late season muzzleloader in most WMUs. The VT F&W held its annual permit lottery for muzzleloader antlerless deer permits on September 17 and says it now has several thousand unallocated antlerless deer

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this year the seasons are a little different than the past.

The Lake Champlain Zone is closed until Nov. 23, then reopens and runs until December 29, while the newly redistricted Missisquoi Refuge is still considered the Interior Zone and is open all through November and into December 8. The larger part of the Interior Zone, which includes all the state east of the LCZ to the CT River Zone is shootable from October 10 – December 8.

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

November 2019

Chronic Wasting Disease

My approach to a deer hunting day involves preparation of my scent control regimen. First, I open my storage box which holds all my clothing, footwear and other stuff. The box contains local vegetation like white pine boughs, cuttings from spruce,

prior to Thanksgiving.

Prior to entering the woods, I spray my boots with a little doe urine. Not as an attractant, but a confidence scent.

When I get to my stand, I spray little of the doe urine in every direction and on a branch or two just for added protection.

If established in Maine, CWD may have devastating impacts on the state’s deer and moose herds, our hunting heritage, and Maine’s economy.

cedar and hemlock trees, all which is replenished weekly or even more often. The box is often sprayed with a scent killer like Scent Away. You will find scentless Tampons for hanging after a scent of some kind is drenched and then hung on branches.

Mostly, I use scents as cover protection, not attractants; so I don’t use in rut products except one, doe in heat stuff in time release hanging dispensers which I use sparingly beginning two weeks

Some of my strategy is to first, spray my outside clothing with a scent killer as well as rubbing a little native scent like pine or hemlock bows to my outside clothing as well. I then spray a little doe pee or in heat scent to my boots. Depending on how far I walk, I will add a little more to the boots along the way.

Before I get all those complaints of potentially spreading CWD, I use only synthetic scents or products that come from tested product

production.

CWD. Do you know what it is? CWD is an acronym for chronic wasting decease, a condition which has the potential of destroying the whitetail deer population as we know it.

CWD is a fatal brain decease of whitetail deer and other members of the deer family. It is similar to mad cow disease which occurs in cattle and is usually 100 percent fatal and can persist in the environment outside the host for many years according the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

There are no known cases of the disease in Maine but it has been found in 24 United States and two Canadian provinces with the closest reports to Maine coming from the states of New York and Pennsylvania.

Where does CWD come from? Research shows it can be shed in saliva, blood, urine,

Salt Corner

Page 51

by Doug Jowett, Brunswick, ME feces, antler velvet and body fat and can be transferred from one animal to another.

In a public hearing, Maine’s Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Department stated, ”CWD is widely viewed as one of the most significant challenges in the history of modern wildlife conservation.

If established in Maine, CWD may have devastating impacts on the state’s deer and moose herds, our hunting heritage, and Maine’s economy.”

You can read more about CWD at: https://www.maine.gov// ifw/ and search for CWD for extensive information.

This isn’t new information, but deserves being repeated to keep deer hunters

alert to the situation. Have a safe deer hunting season.

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Me & Joe (Cont. from pg 7) way. They’re a road hazard, a menace to traffic. Why, jist down the road a piece a big bull nearly slammed right into us. I had to floor it so he’d git out of the road. Darn near hit him.” The men in the back started to laugh.

“Well, we’d like to stop an’ chat,” Omar continued, “but Wilfred Tattle jist swung by an’ told us about another big bull that’s hangin’ around the log landin’ on the other end of the Chub Falls Bridge. Got to go.” He ground the shift into first and popped the clutch. The big truck lurched off down the road, gathering speed as Omar worked through the gears.

“Sooner or later he’s going to hit one,” Joe said, easing the Jeep back into the road. “If we take the Buck Logan Bridge up ahead we can go down the other side and maybe head him off.”

Pushing the Jeep to its top speed of about 45 miles an hour, we crossed the bridge and headed down the other side of the river.

It seemed like we’d never make it in time, but as we rounded the last corner and the log landing came into sight, a startling tableau spread out before us.

At the near end of the bridge, a monster bull moose stood crosswise in the road. Pinch Brody’s warden

pickup was parked along the right hand side and a huge pile of cut logs lay on the opposite side of the road near the river. Pinch himself walked down the middle of the road toward the moose, waving his hat and shouting, trying to scare the big animal into the woods. And above the sound of the rapids and the warden’s shouts, came the heavy rumble of truck engine. Omar’s truck lurched onto the far end of the bridge and came roaring across.

As Joe slammed on the brakes, everything seemed to happen at once. The bull moose stared at the oncoming pickup, its big eyes walled out in panic. Moving with surprising speed for so large an animal, the bull lurched around the end of the log pile, headed for the woods. And, at the last minute, Omar Gambling saw the tall figure of Warden Pinch Brody, standing in the middle of the road like a deer caught in the headlights.

There was no time to stop. Omar jerked the wheel to the right and the big truck swerved off the end of the bridge toward the log pile, hanging on two wheels, the men in the back spilling out like leaves in a high wing.

The massive cow catcher on the truck plowed into the angled support beams of the log pile and sent them flying.

With an ominous rumble, the entire pile began to shift.

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into the swift-flowing river.

Half of the rest rolled down the other way and buried the cab of the truck, bringing the vehicle to an abrupt stop.

Me and Joe, together with Paul Secondary, jumped out of the Jeep and ran toward where men were picking themselves up from the ground. Pinch Brody jerked out of a seeming trance and hurried toward the truck.

Through the shattered back window of the truck, in the small open space between the bottom of the frame and the crushed top of the cab, Omar, Aaron, and Jilpoke crawled painfully out into the truck body. The other men, apparently suffering only bumps and bruises, rallied to help them down onto the ground.

Pinch Brody approached the group of hapless men, shaking a trembling finger at Omar Gambling. “Yer under arrest!” he roared.

“Fer what?” Omar groaned in pain, his face flushing red.

“Assaulting an officer!” Pinch cried, spittle flying from his lips. “Pollution!” His arm waved in the air toward the logs, bobbing merrily down the river. “Anything else I can think of, you useless twit!”

He turned, stalking back toward his truck.

“Twit?!” Omar cried.

“Who you callin’ a twit?!”

He pulled away from the

grasp of the other men, staggering toward the departing warden.

Suddenly, Paul Secondary stepped in front of him. Omar lurched to a stop.

“Outa my way, Paul,” he growled. “That Brody…”

“I been lookin’ all over for you, Omar,” Secondary said.

“Yeah but I got to see…”

“I got me a moose permit, Omar,” Paul said.

Omar stared.

“You did? Finally?

You ain’t got one in 15 years. Congratulations! But you git outa the way, Paul, I gotta straighten out that…”

“I named you as subpermittee,” Secondary said.

Omar stared, his jaw dropping. “What?”

“I put you down as sub-permittee. You kin go on the hunt. That is, you kin go if you stop this foolishness an’ start actin’ like a grownup.” He turned on his heel and walked off toward where Pinch Brody stood by the side of the road, staring at the carnage.

Omar stood openmouthed for ten long seconds before his jaw snapped shut and he staggered off after Secondary.

“Wait! Wait, Paul!

You’ll let me shoot the moose right Paul?!” He caught up and began pulling on the taller man’s arm.

“You shot a moose already!

What about it, Paul, huh?

You gonna let me shoot a

November 2019 moose?”

“I’ll think about it,” Secondary growled, shaking off the smaller man’s grasp.

“Think about it? You got to let me shoot! After all…”

As the two men came up, Brody leaned over to pick up his hat from where it had fallen in the middle of the road. “Gonna get my handcuffs from out of the truck,” he said. “Gonna lock you up, Omar.”

“Fer what?!” Omar roared.

“For tryin’ to kill a moose! For almost killin’ me! I’ll think of somethin’ else, you give me a minute.”

“You can’t arrest me!

It were an accident. Everybody saw it. Paul, you was really gonna let me shoot the moose, right?” He tottered off down the road between the two men, alternately berating the one and cajoling the other.

I rubbed my head and watched the three of them as they went off toward the warden’s truck, waving their arms wildly and shouting.

Joe shook his head.

“I shudder to think what would happen if everyone that hadn’t ever got a permit reacted like Omar.”

I stared after the retreating figures thoughtfully.

“You know,” I said. “I’ve never had a permit.”

Joe glared at me.

“Don’t start…”

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

From The Bullet to The Freezer

Millie Young of Shirley got her moose permit for the late Sept. hunt. She and husband Jim, who also guides, hunts and fishes in the Moosehead area, packed off to camp and scout in Zone 4, which covers a good section above the Golden Road in the deep north

turned into Day 2 turned into Day 3, and still no moose to be found. By Thursday, their friend had to leave. Day 4, still no moose. As the week past, the Youngs weren’t sure if it was even going to happen.

There were a number of things against them. Turns

Page 53

Kineo Currents

by Suzanne AuClair, Rockwood, ME

moving toward them, but indirectly, skirting around, and not in any big hurry. It was in the 50s that day, warm. The bull was moving, among the trees. Both Millie and Jim were thinking, if not now, then the hunt was done. Jim ended up taking the kill shot.

Then, he and Millie went to

They spent the day cutting the meat off the bones and packing it into game bags. While Jim drove some 40 minutes back to camp to pick up a little cart they used to carry the bags to the truck, Millie made many trips back and forth, dragging one bag at a time up

only 16 moose had been tagged at the Pittston station.

At home, they went to work cutting up the pure meat into manageable pieces, grinding a good bit of it for patties, and packaging it all into vacuum sealed wraps, then into the freezer.

It was a hard hunt, but it was a satisfying one. Both of a certain age, it took a lot of energy for them to hunt, take care of the animal, then move the meat and head from woods to truck.

woods of Maine.

This was Millie’s first moose hunt. Jim has been on many different hunts, from here to Newfoundland to Utah, knows what’s the what, and took his own Maine moose in 2008. This time he was to be the subpermittee to Millie, and a friend was going to accompany the couple. But the best laid plans don’t always pan out.

It’s not unusual for a moose to be taken in the first few days of the hunt.

This year was different.

After a weekend of scouting bupkus, the Youngs were still optimistic because it was still early in the week.

But then, Day 1 of the hunt

out, the weather was warm.

The bulls did not seem to be on the move or too interested in rutting. They were not responding to calls, and then mid-week, only half so.

Turns out, there was a lot of pick-up traffic along the logging roads, too, which seemed to keep the moose in the woods, out of sound and sight. Turns out, it seemed there were a lot more people than there were moose.

But, says Jim, “if you quit, you’ve lost.”

So early Friday morning, they went back into the woods. They walked along an old gated tote road, then got up on a knoll. Jim called twice, and got an answer.

They saw a young male

the hill to a place they could use for a landing. Once at the truck, they packed the bags of meat into a large cooler made of plywood, insulated by styrofoam, and packed with jugs of ice. The box worked well; it kept the ice for all those days.

It was a hard hunt, but it was a satisfying one. Both of a certain age, it took a lot of energy for them to hunt, take care of the animal, then move the meat and head from woods to truck. Both were exhausted. When they left the woods for home on Saturday, they found that it may have been equally hard for other hunters. They said

work. The moose was taken at around 8 in the morning.

They got the last of the meat out of the woods 4:30 that afternoon.

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“From the bullet to the freezer, we did it all,” said Millie. “It was quite an experience.”

Suzanne AuClair is an avid outdoorswoman. She has been writing about the Moosehead Lake region for the past 23 years. An award-winning member of the New England Outdoor Writer’s Assn., she produced Maine’s first inland fisheries management anthology, “The Origin, Formation & History of Maine’s Inland Fisheries Division.”

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 55

The Long Shot Artists

it gives them a capacity to focus with an uncommon intensity that is just not attainable to many of us.

Marksmanship is no exception. Skeet shooter Tim Bradley is arguably one of the best shots in the world. Beretta put him on

Competitive marksman Butch Randall zeroes his rifle at the Orrington gun range.

Most of us workaday, run-of-the mill commoners admire folks who are very, very good at what they do.

Tom Brady throws a football like no other. Mookie Betts hits baseballs with a skill that brings baseball fans to their feet. Most of

these people who shine and standout from the crowd were born with natural talent, but you can be sure that hard work, dedication and practice got them where they are. There is probably one other ingredient: Passion.

They love what they do and

Outdoors In Maine

by V. Paul Reynolds, Ellsworth, ME have established long range records in marksmanship.

Four or five are at the top of the heap. The long distance

few trips to the range or the gravel pit will usually suffice. Out west though long shots on elk and mule deer

While at the range, club member and nationally-active competitive shooter Butch Randall opened my eyes to just what he and other marksman like him can do with their skill and knowledge when it comes to reaching out with surgical precision to six-inch down-range targets. the payroll. Take a look at his jaw-dropping Utube demonstrations of what he can do one-handed with a skeet gun. Four or five clays at one throw! A former SEAL, Bradley is something to see.

Speaking of SEALS, a number of military snipers, Chris Kyle and others,

record was set not so long ago by a Marine in Afghanistan: 2,700 yards. Imagine!

That’s somewhere in the neighborhood of a mile and a half.

Those of us who hunt, most of us, work at our marksmanship. In the east, deer hunters rarely kill a deer at more than 50 yards, so a

COMING SOON

are not unusual at distances in excess of 300 yards.

Recently, while at a local gun range, I was once again able to poke some close-together holes in a 100-yard target. Not THAT close together, but close enough. I don’t take game shots much beyond a hun-

(Long Shot cont. pg 56)

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 56

with knobs for cial rifle, yours truly put a Long Shot festooned Anticosti dialing in windage and el- bullet hole in a bullet hole

(Cont. from pg 55)

dred yards, even out West.

While at the range, club member and nationallyactive competitive shooter Butch Randall opened my eyes to just what he and other marksman like him can do with their skill and knowledge when it comes to reaching out with surgical precision to six-inch down-range targets. Randall’s pride and joy is a .30 caliber hybrid rifle of his creation that fires a wildcat cartridge that he calls a .30 BR. It is equipped with a 55 power Night Force scope,

evation. An elaborate and expensive shooting “vice” rounds out the competitive shooting lashup. Randall clearly loves his sport and is well-versed in ballistics and the intricacies of handloading his own ammo.

An enthusiastic, gentle man obviously skilled at his craft and willing to share his knowledge, it struck me that he is one of so many millions of law abiding, gunappreciating Americans who you just never hear about in the national gun debates.

By the way, with Randall’s guidance and his spe-

at 100 yards! That never happened before in my life and I expect that it never will again.

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

(Cont. from pg 38)

some people who specifically prefer to hunt them.

The choice is yours.

Do Anticosti deer have ticks?

No. Anticosti’s isolation protects the herd from parasites and diseases commonly found on the mainland. There is no presence of CWD, Blue Tongue, or ticks.

Also, due to the remoteness, pollution is virtually nonexistent. Few places on earth are left that provide such a sterile habitat.

What is the deer population on Anticosti?

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They know how many pellets are dropped at a time on average and how many times a day deer “go”. Several large areas are cleared and marked, and after a period of time, biologists count each and every pellet in the section to determine how many were in the test area. It is far from perfect but it does give a good estimate.

I hope this answers some of your questions and you take the opportunity to discover Anticosti for yourself. If I have missed your question, feel free to contact me at AnticostiMark@ gmail.com.

For information about a hunt on Anticosti, contact my friends at the reservation desk at 1-800-463-0863. Tell them Mark sent you.

Mark Cote is a registered Maine Guide from Rumford Maine and has been hunting Anticosti Island for mort than 20 years.

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November 2019

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Arlene’s Favorite

I’m writing this month about a streamer fly that catches bass like nobody’s business. This fly started out as my own version of a smelt imitation for landlocked salmon, but the smallies grab it before the salmon see it. When I decided to come up with my own bucktail,, I referenced Smelt Fly Patterns by Donald Wilson.

His well thought out book referenced a Field & Stream article by Ben Trask in 1940.

In a controlled study, bucktail streamers with three colors out fished two color streamers almost 7 to 1.

I started with a white bucktail belly, then a silver Mylar body then a pink under wing. If you read enough about old streamers, you’ll learn that some of the old feathers were dyed red and the red would fade to a shade of pink. Those flies caught fish and the secret

was out. The Pink Lady and Pink Ghost are two famous ones; there are others. I think that when a baitfish bleeds from an injured gill, the red blood dilutes in the water to a pink trail down the side of the fish. Lastly, the Rainbow Smelt we have in Maine seems to have a pink sheen to their side. The third color I chose was blue because it seemed logical. I added gray marabou to the top of the wing for action. I wanted a tail on this fly to imitate the tail of a baitfish, so I used black feather fibers tied in a small bunch above the hook

bend.

I passed a few around and the first report came from my parents. They went camping on Sebois Lake and trolled for bass. Now, I had forgotten to tell my dad that the new streamer was designed for salmon. My mom chose my new streamer and began to out fish my dad by a wide margin. My father got his Maine guides license when Eisenhower was in office and he had a fairly full fly book to pick from. He tried streamer after streamer while my mom laughed and reeled in smallie after smallie on her new favorite fly. My dad even offered to change her fly to a more traditional streamer-nice try.

Page 57

The Tyer’s Corner

by Hugh Kelly, Detroit, ME

Since I hadn’t named it, my folks had no way to tell me to tie more for them. So, they took a picture and showed me. I was surprised to see the new bucktail in the fish’s mouth.

I named the fly after my mom, Arlene’s Favorite.

It’s simple to tie, uses inexpensive materials and it is a fine pattern for bass. I’ve decided to tell you about this one not only because it’s effective but because I want you to know that you can develop your own patterns, too. Examine flies with good track records; study the baitfish or insect that the fly is imitating, and talk to other fly fishers. Happy Birthday, Mom.

Recipe for Arlene’s Favorite Thread - Black Hook – Size 6 streamer, 8X long Tail – Black feather fibers Body – Silver Mylar Belly – White bucktail Wing –Pink bucktail, under blue bucktail topped by gray marabou Eyes – Definitely suggested Hugh Kelly has fly fished and tied his own flies for over 40 years. He and his family live in Detroit where he ties flies, drinks Moxie and plans fishing trips. He can be reached at hkellymaine@gmail.com and writes a fly tying blog at puckerbrushflies.com

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 58

Cookin’ With New England’s WildCheff

by Denny Corriveau, Kennebunkport, ME

Inevitably, food trends are ever constant, just like the latest diet.

The intent of many of us, particularly as we get older, is to be mindful of what we consume and how it affects our health.

Many factors determine why people eat certain types of food. Plant-based proteins are a growing trend, and many are riding the wave. Even Burger King is joining the band wagon by offering a plant-based Whopper.

First of all, is it not amazing, that those who seek this alternative “meat” are in essence on a quest for something that tastes just like real meat?! To me, it almost resembles being a closet carnivore.

Admittedly, the science has improved where vegans/vegetarians that have concerns about the meat

food chain now have an option beyond a veggie burger.

Labs continue research, with the hope of generating man-made meat that can parallel the taste and texture of the real thing. The World Health Organization said that eating heme - a main ingredient in the Impossible Foods burger - is linked with the formation of carcinogens in the gut.

My personal feeling is that, while there are valiant efforts to link healthy eating to food, we sometimes overlook the obvious that is right in front of us.

Consider the fact that when you consume a plantbased protein, how many ingredients does it take to make up that product you are consuming? This substitute to edible flesh is highly processed food, supported by consumers who are invested in their social missions, but

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Plant-based Wild Game Carnivore

doesn’t it leave you a bit suspicious of food that humans have fiddled with?

I have to somewhat chuckle as I see these trends emerge, as I believe I lockedin to the best plant-based protein 38 years ago when

diet. Likewise, ducks, geese, grouse, wild turkey or woodcock dine on a consistent diet of natural food from the wild. So, the food that these animals consume - grows from nature, which in turn creates the protein source

I started hunting wild game.

A wild game animal is the epitome of plantbased protein! Think about it. Large game animals we consume here in New England such as bear, deer, and moose are natural foragers that feed on a plant-based

which is truly all natural.

Bears have some exceptions to natural forage as they have a weakness for donuts.

Being a long-time wild game enthusiast, I consider myself to be a “Plant-based Wild Game Carnivore”. I

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There are a lot of factors that contribute to a person’s diet, but from a standard viewpoint, I believe that we can make a pretty compelling argument that wild game reigns supreme as one of the purest forms of protein that you can consume.

Protein intake is essential for the human body. Protein is an important building block for your bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood. It provides structure, regulates body processes, transports materials throughout your body, helps your immune system and acts as a source of energy.

Proteins are made up of amino acids. A person’s body needs a balance of all 22 types of amino acids to function correctly. The body cannot produce nine of these acids, called essential amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein.

When the body digests the proteins in food, it breaks them down into amino acids.

Most plant proteins are incomplete, which means that they are missing at least one of the essential amino acids. Wild Game helps complete that process.

Ultimately, it boils down to personal choice, but eating wild game is certainly one of the best decisions you can make for the table and your health! Carpe Diem – Seize the Game!

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(Carnivore cont. pg 59)

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

November 2019

Carnivore (Cont. from pg 58) trendsetter for wild game culinary arts - Denny is a nationally noted authority regarding his “best practice” methodology regarding the culinary side of wild game. You can learn more @ www.wildcheff.com or visit him on Instagram @ thewildcheff Try out this tasty plantbased carnivore recipe from WildCheff: Sicilian Stuffed Wild Game Meatballs Ingredients 2 lbs. of ground venison (bear, deer, moose) 1 farm fresh egg 1 T of WildCheff Sicilian Seasoning 1 T of WildCheff Roasted Garlic Powder 1 T of Olive Oil 1/2 C of 4C gluten-free bread crumbs 1-2 pints of fresh mozzarella balls 1 large jar of marinara sauce (I make homemade) Directions Place first 6 ingredients into a large mixing bowl and combine until everything is evenly distributed.

Add more bread crumbs if needed.

Grab enough of the meat mixture to form a 2 inch meat ball. Form into a patty the shape of a slider and then place one mozzarella ball in center of meat.

Form into a well-packed meatball, and then place onto a sheet pan.

Continue until all meatballs are stuffed and formed.

Pre-heat oven to 375400 degrees.

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(Page 64)

Once oven is heated, place sheet pan into oven and cook meatballs until browned on the outside – usually take approximately 15 minutes or so.

Remove cooked meatballs from oven and place into a crockpot with marinara sauce on low temp setting.

Serve over cooked pasta, on a sub roll or enjoy with a side veggie like broccoli rabe.

Bucks

(Cont. from pg 43) In the large tracts of northern Maine land the bucks may travel for miles over several days whereas the southern and central Maine bucks tend to make circular routes in 500 or so acres routes.

While many hunters go to and from work, drinking coffee listening to tunes

Page 59

or otherwise distracted that big buck could be standing along the treeline or poking his head out of a thicket.

While there is a great lure to visit the North Maine Woods and get on the track of a monster size buck, those trips are few and far between while deer of nearly the same proportions are probably living right under your noses.

Maine Hunting, Fishing and Tidewater Guide and outdoor writer. He operates Orion Guide Service out of southern Maine. His outdoor features have been published nationwide for more than 50 years. Stu was recently inducted into the Nation Wild turkey Hunting Hall of Fame. Visit his website at www.deadlyimpostergamecalls.com

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

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November 2019 Photo 1: 2015 Family Hunt, Bert Corey 75, Heidi Corey 58, Bert Jr. 52 and Troy 47.

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

November 2019

Page 61

Timing of the Rut

This month, we may or may not be staring down both barrels of winter. That’s what November feels like – it can go either way. Last year, it went to winter during the second week. The water line in hunting camp froze, and tracking snow fell to everyone’s delight. Other years we’ve pitched horseshoes and swatted flies in our tank tops during the same week.

The question that always comes up is, does any of this matter to the timing of the deer rut?

It seems to be almost universally accepted now that the rut is a photo event.

No, this doesn’t mean it’s a great time to take photos (though it might be), but instead that it has mainly to do with light. As the days shorten and darkness lengthens, there is a tipping point that, when reached, triggers the rut. It’s the same phenomenon that a bit sooner, has triggered the mineralization

of deer antlers when they go from soft and velvety to hard and calcified. Scrapes show up. Jousting begins between competing males. Often, you’ll see the resulting injuries when you harvest a buck and inspect his rack. Losing whole tines or pieces of tines is a common occurrence during the pre-rut. A few years back, the deer I was lucky enough to get was supposed to have been a six-pointer.

The sparing season had left him down two points.

Light trumps temperature every time when it comes to the whitetail mating season. We wonder and argue over how this activity can go forward when balmy November temperatures prevail. And yet, does seem to fawn around the same time every spring. Counting backward, that means that the rut had to have happened right on time, peaking (at our latitude) somewhere during the teens of November.

The differences in when the rut occurs is more a function of geography than anything else. Those small southern whitetails don’t experience the extremes of daylight and darkness that we do. Where that differential is 7 hours in our case, it is only 3 in states like Texas. That translates into a rut that is only getting up to speed around Thanksgiving or even a little later.

So it may seem odd to have a mosquito land on you in your tree stand on opening day, but increasingly, it’s something we may see more and more. On the other hand, it may be snowing and blowing sideways enough to rock that cradle in the tree top until you feel like you’re at sea.

My method for hot weather hunting is to stash layers in a backpack as the day heats up. That’s because walking below the sweat threshold is a must when hunting whitetails. It’s already difficult enough to try to stay down wind of our quarry– one whiff of our scent in his home territory and it’s going to be a very uneventful hunt.

If you’re hearty enough

The Singing Maine Guide

by Randy Spencer, Grand Lake Stream, ME to stay out all day, the backpack may also contain lunch and something to hydrate you. When nature calls and it’s time to make your bladder gladder, a stream can be a better choice than the ground, dissipating and diffusing that scent instead of imprinting it on the ground for the rest of the day. Also, the pack comes in handy when shadows lengthen and the mercury begins to drop.

Layer by layer, you may stay warm by putting them back on and then you’ll be carrying a very light pack back to camp.

If it’s wintry instead of balmy, the pack comes in just as handy. In it, I carry firestarter, lighter, reflector blanket, whistle, an extra compass, paracord and other survival necessities. An apple, chocolate, toilet paper and water are also on board.

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Grand Lake Stream

Welcome Home

although in areas I’m apt to be hunting, the cell signal is zilch. What it’s still good for is the compass app, the clock, the texting if you run across a stray bar of signal, and the camera if you should get lucky.

Oh, and did I mention scent wicks, buck lure, grunt call and plastic bag for heart and liver? Full disclosure: in my earliest days, I carried none of this stuff. A Buck knife and ammunition was it, and that was pretty much it for most of my friends. But somewhere it is written, with age comes wisdom. With age also comes forgetfulness. So don’t forget, hot or cold, keep the backpack outfitted and grab it on the way out the door!

2

Page 62

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Malarkey Cabin Chronicles

by Ray Dillon, Keswick Ridge, N.B. November in New Brunswick is a special time for resident deer hunters and for non-resident deer hunters alike. The hillsides may have lost most of their vibrant colors by this time but a hunter can still see lots of beauty in the forests and in the sky overhead.

Moose and black bears can still be encountered as they head for wintering grounds and dens and there are still flocks of honking Canada Geese heading south ahead of colder weather and snow.

On the leaf-strewn forest floor, squirrels and mice are busy gathering seeds for winter. Hawks, Barred Owls and Great Horned Owls wait for a tasty meal. A host of other ground dwelling ani-

mals can be seen preparing for the cold weather to come as well. Yes November’s landscape is truly a drab canvass full of bland blacks, rusty browns and grays and tarnished yellows but there is still lots to see out there.

Foxes, Coyotes, Pine Martin, Fishers, Bobcats, Weasels, Snowshoe Hares, Skunks and Beavers are all busy preparing for winter in their own way. Some are searching out food while others are looking for cozy dens to protect them from the harsh cold weather to come while others are looking for both. Of course, November also brings an early blanket of pure white snow to the wilderness here at times which offers its own

November 2019

November: A Special Time

special mysteries.

When I was a young hunter, I had several great mentors. My father, an uncle and a good friend who guided “sportsmen from the USA all helped me become the hunter and sportsman I am today. They taught me many valuable lessons about the sport, about morals and ethics and about the wilderness where we lived but on one thing they all agreed.

Don’t ever spend the day hunting and come back to camp saying you didn’t see a thing.

Yes, I know that you are hunting white tailed deer but please don’t miss the wilderness show happening in front of you as you hunt the critters. Bagging the deer is the icing on an otherwise fantastic cake. One day of walking through our beautiful peaceful wilderness is tonic to the soul. It should be self -administered at least once or twice a year for our

body and mind.

Today I want to tell you about a monster buck that I discovered close to home in our small community a few years ago. As I have mentioned, the big woods are shrinking art an alarming rate and the white tailed deer is being forced to take refuge on private lands and in strips of mature old growth forest plots of fifty to a hundred acres or so and believe it or not, these animals are doing very well.

They eat and breed and survive almost under our noses.

After driving through the high country for several days, I was a bit discouraged. Vast clear cuts had replaced mature forest so the deer moved close to the settlements. I came back home one afternoon and decided to take a walk out into the thick swampy area back of our home. I wasn’t in the woods very long, walking down an old Alder choked

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I stopped and examined several tracks and saw that there were hoof prints of various sizes but I also noticed some big tracks of heavy deer as well. It was an overcast afternoon and threatening to rain or possibly even snow and the lack of ambient light in that swamp made it seem even darker. As I walked slowly scanning the terrain, I came upon a big twisted Cedar tree that a big buck has rubbed quite heavily. You could see where bow tines gouged the wood under peeled bark and strips of bark dangled on both sides of the tree where main beamed had rubbed it raw. No question, with a half mile of our home there was a monster buck living.

I found fresh scrapes in the wet leaves in a more open area and in front of a spruce thicket on the moss nearby. I was seeing all the deer sign here and mentally kicking myself for not coming here sooner when he stepped out of a thicket in all his glory. I stared right into those eyes as I slowly raised my rifle…but it wasn’t to be. He knew the game was up and in a spray of dirt and leaves, bolted back into that thicket and was gone. So my friends remember, check for deer in the unexpected places. He could be living right under your nose.

Ray Dillon is an Outdoor writer, bestselling book author, Professional Guide and owns/operates Malarkey Cabin Guiding Service in New Brunswick, Canada.

To book a trophy Big Game or Uplands Bird hunt with him, go to www.malarkeycabin.com phone 506-3632839 or e-mail rdillon@ rogers.com

November 2019

Northwoods Sporting Journal

First Ice Prep?

The countdown to first ice has begun, or, maybe you have already been on the ice.

For many ice anglers, the eve of their first ice fishing trip is as exciting as Christ-

a few pre-ice tips to make your first trip more memorable and less problematic.

The first thing to check is your auger. The blades need to be sharp, really

the battery is charged and working.

If you use tip-ups, make sure they are in good working condition. I guide hundreds of clients on the

Page 63

New Hampshire Guide’s Journal

by Tim Moore, NH

My jig rods are an extension of my arm when I am on the ice. They see countless hours of use and catch literally hundreds of fish each season. The line on your jig rods should be

The line on your jig rods should be retired annually.

mas Eve to a ten-year-old.

Thoughts of crisp, quiet air with nothing but the sound of cracking ice as it thickens and their augers ripping through newly formed ice stream through their minds like a Wall Street ticker tape.

In this excitement, it’s easy to forget that the gear that also awaits first ice needs some attention. Here are

sharp. The sharper the blade, the less work the auger and you need to do. If you still use a gas auger, drain the old gas, top the tank off with fresh gas, and change the spark plug before turning the motor over. It should only take enough pulls to get fuel to the carburetor for it to start. If you’re using an electric auger, make sure

ice every season and the result are beat-up leaders, missing hooks, and twisted line. Just sitting unused can cause leaders to become brittle. It’s better to correct these problems in the comforts of your basement than on the ice when you should be fishing. Apply new grease to spools, attach fresh leaders, and tie on new hooks.

12-year old Cameron Morrill of North Berwick and 8-year old Jared Guy of Berwick pose with Cameron’s first moose.

In the months leading up to the hunt, Cameron spent many hours scouting the zone with his dad, Jesse, along with seasoned hunters Waterman and Doc. He also spent many hours practicing at the range with his dad and Papa.

Hard work paid off on the second day of the 2018 Moose Hunt when Cameron bagged his 800 lb bull in zone 8.

The smiles lasted for weeks!

He couldn’t have been happier with his bull!

retired annually. If you take your spools to a place that has a line-winding machine, such as Suds N’ Soda Sports in Greenland, you can get them spooled on a machine.

It’s not only faster to have the line machine-wound, but the machine winds tighter and with fewer twists than doing it yourself. They can also strip the line off with the machine saving you time and aggravation.

“If it isn’t easy, you won’t do it,” says Mr. Ice Fishing, Dave Genz. Having

your equipment organized and ready makes ice fishing easier once you get on the ice. Easy ice fishing is more productive ice fishing. Your line should spend more time in the water than out of it.

Get your gear ready before the ice is safe enough to fish on and you are sure to be more productive when that time comes. Above all else, be safe out there. Make sure you check the ice thickness as you go and wear icesafety picks.

Tim Moore is a fulltime professional fishing guide in New Hampshire.

He owns and operates Tim Moore Outdoors, LLC. He is a member of the New England Outdoors Writers Association and the producer of Tim Moore Outdoors TV. Visit www.TimMooreOutdoors.com for more information.

PETS/VETS

Page 64

Northwoods Sporting Journal

November 2019

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

November 2019

Susan Huff 2017 Kennebec Striper "Popham Beach" 37" long caught with "Fish n' Trips Charters".

Ivey Bickford, 16, bagged this nice 124 pound buck hunting in fresh snow with her dad Matt in Smithfield.

Page 65

Camiren Briggs, 13 shot his first buck 124 pounds in Smithfield hunting with family.

Nice job Camiren!

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 66

On The Prowl Justin Merrill, Cherryfield, ME

Barely ten feet into the woods something out of place caught my eye. An untrained eye could have seen that hunting blind. It amazes me how much all the commercially made hunting blinds stand out. The straight horizontal and perpendicular edges of these hunting blinds have that unnatural look.

Especially the roofs on these are like beacons in the night.

There is no missing one if not well hidden.

It has always baffled me how Eastern wild turkey will walk all around hunting blinds whereas a deer will keep its distance stomping its hoof, bobbing its head in confusion and sounding the alarm snort. Are turkeys really that stupid? Even a coyote will spook when seeing a hunting blind. There is a cure for this. It’s what I call “The Blind Spot”. I don’t think many hunters have learned about “The Blind Spot”. It’s

something I’ve learned by taking an advanced woods survival course at the Maine Conservation School. It’s a simple kind of tactic, but like everything else it takes a little practice. During that survival course I was learning how to hide my body in plain sight but the principle can be applied to hunting blinds.

It is so true that a person can be in the wide open but still remain hidden.

It’s known as “The Blind Spot”. No matter where in the world there are always voided areas that go unseen even by a deer, coyote, bear, moose, turkey and just about any animal. These are the types of places you need to put your hunting blind.

If you’ve been hunting long enough then you have had your fair share of encounters with deer. I’m certain, at least once, you’ve been standing someplace

The Blind Spot

in plain sight while a deer walked right past you at five to ten feet. You were in that deer’s blind spot. Quite possibly you might have been standing in a spot that those deer in the area have never been. It’s an area that has never concerned the deer.

They were never bothered in any way when walking by that location. Every hunter needs to study their hunting areas and observe where the game animals frequently travel to learn where “The Blind Spots” are.

Keep in mind there are no right or wrong answers.

The question of, “where do I begin to look?” will pop-up. When you’re scouting a hunting area look for geographical features that deer avoid that are actually brushed in and remain dark all day due to lack of sun light passing through. That is a blind spot. You could hide there with no other type of concealment and no animal would ever see you – given that you don’t fidget too much. Of course you need to remain quiet

P.O. Box 616 Long Lake, NY 12847 www.adirondackmtland.com

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290 acres Mitchell Mt. This parcel has incredible views of the Adirondack High Peaks and the Green Mts of Vt. The terrain is rolling to mountainous with very good Adirondack deer hunting. $225,000.

158 acres Flaggstaff Mt. and replace it with: 80 acres with beautiful mountain stream and waterfall. Commanding views of Lake Champlain and the Green Mts. A very unique parcel with great deer hunting. $139,000.

50 acres for Adirondack Homestead - property features a stand of mature pine and a beautiful 5 acre meadow.

Close to thousands of acres of state land for wilderness hunting. $69,000.

30 acres bordering 80,000 acre Debar Mt. Wild Forest and is close to Debar Pond.

Property has a small bunkhouse and is very private. $47,000.

and still. It wouldn’t hurt to control your odor too. Don’t overlook your entry and departure routes. Try to choose “The Blind Spot” that has the best non-spooking game routes to and from your hunting blind.

In my hunting area there is a cluster of trees on the top of a hump on the edge of a clover patch that stays dark all day. The local deer have never once walked through this. I’ve put hunting blinds in there and during hunting season deer walked within ten feet of me while nibbling on lush clover. I’ve sat right on the ground with no hunting blind in this cluster of trees and still had deer feeding on clover only fifteen to twenty feet away. I was in “The Blind Spot”. It’s the type of location that I don’t need to brush in my blind.

Even sometimes brushing in a hunting blind with branches, ferns, leaves or anything else doesn’t work. The blind still looks out of place and unnatural.

Animals will avoid it like the plague. I know you’ve had this happen to you. It didn’t matter what you did to try and hide the hunting blind it still spooked game. Quite SELLERS LANE

BUYERS ROAD

simply it wasn’t in a blind spot. I’ve been victim of this many times. I’ve gone into a new area and quickly set up my hunting blind threw some brush on it, leaned a few branches against it and two hours later got busted by a lead doe. It pays dividends to know your area and know your deer.

A quick recap: know where the game species your hunting doesn’t like to go. Identify “The Blind Spots”. Put your hunting blinds there. Always hunt the location when the wind and thermals are in your favor. Choose your entry and departure routes carefully to avoid spooking game.

Control your human odor in any way you see fit. Know your hunting areas. Know your game.

Justin is a member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association (NEOWA). He is the owner of the Digital TV show, “Spikes and Gills”. He authored two books, “Wild Maine Outdoors – Hunting tactics, tricks and secrets” and “The Sit Spot – discovering the forest near you”. Learn more at www.wildmaineoutdoors.com

REAL ESTATE

SELLERS LANE

BUYERS ROAD

207-265-4000

259 Main Street, Kingfield, ME

www.csmrealestate.com

Enjoy Maine's Vacation-land!

Opportunity! Established long time running sporting lodge in Highland Plantation. 2 Houses. Total 6+ bed, 4 baths, 2 kitchens and ample room for gatherings. 35 acres.

Stream frontage, forest, fields and even some gravel. $299,000.

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

November 2019

Page 67

Kaden Rollins, 11-years old, of Bangor.

The son of Bran and Sierra Taylor of Bangor and Jared and Michelle Rollins of Charleston had a wonderful year hunting.

Kaden was with grandfather, Dana, when he shot this spring turkey; 24.6 pounds.

Kaden shot this 703-pound moose he named Brutus, in St. Francis in northern Aroostook County. Kaden was hunting with his grandparents Dana and Tracy Gray of Sangerville, Greg Reed of Parkman and family friend Dean Emmons of Shirley. The hunting party stayed at Lugdon Lodge on Eagle Lake, and all had a wonderful experience.

The hunt was in September. Hot weather!

Kaden shot this 110 pound doe on youth day with his grandfather, Dana.

Kaden went bear hunting on youth day with no luck. He didn’t get a chance to go again, so no bear. Kaden was happy with his year of hunting. Maybe a bear next year.

Thank you, Tracy Gray PRICE REDUCED

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175 + ACRES

Dallas Plt - Timber, water, wildlife & views. Four miles of frontage on S. Branch of Dead River and four remote ponds. 1,700' of elevation. Interior roads.

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102 + ACRES Phillips - Fields, mature timber, topography, mountain views, stream, 5 acre wetland w/great views, public road frontage & power. Great location for home or camp. 82 +/- acres for $119,000.

New Sharon - 678 +/- Acres w/ abundant wildlife including deer & upland game birds. Diverse land with Bragdon Brook & Salt Marsh Creek running through the lot. Over 900' of frontage on Weeks Mills Rd. $299k or only $441 per acre.

Woolwich - 148 +/- Acres Remarkable lot with small CAMP. Hunt, hike, bike, sightsee, harvest some of the large oak & pine. Great westerly distant views from Bigelow Knoll. $150,000.

King & Bartlett TWP - 770 +/Acres surrounding the majority of the 538 acre 159' deep King & Bartlett lake that supports wild brook trout, salmon & togue.

Remote unique parcel.

$125,000.

192 + ACRES Guilford - 192 +/- acres w/views from Oak Hill (920' in elevation) & in the shadows of 1,326' Guilford Mt. overlooking First Davis Pond. Wildlife galore with evidence of moose & deer.

Cut in 2011. $129,000.

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 68

REAL ESTATE

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P.O. Box 628 Main Street Machias, ME 04654

SUNRISE REALTY

Office Tel. & Fax: (207) 255-3039 Email: anitaj@midmaine.com Website: www.sunlist.com Anita Johnson

EAST MACHIAS: This home is close to the Elementary school, Washington Academy and all the down town area of East Machias. The home has three bedrooms and 1 1/2 baths. Enclosed in sun porch and the Sunrise Trail connects onto the property. Home needs work and is sold as is. Great price of $49,900.

CHERRYFIELD: Home sits on a hill w/exc. views of the sunsets. 3-4 bdrm & 1 1/2 baths. Kitchen views of field & mountain.

There's a nice pond out back to sit and watch the wildlife come to enjoy the water. Nice lg bldg used to be used as a dog grooming place. This is one of a kind property with 38 +/- acres. Great price $275,000.

NEED A CAMP?

November 2019 SELLERS LANE

BUYERS ROAD

LAND FOR SALE

DON'T FORGET!

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• 45 acres Woodland Center Road, Perham, ME. $45,000 • 57 acres Fowler Road, Woodland , ME. $35,000 • 42 acres on High Meadow Road, Perham, ME $29,900.

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Northwoods Sporting Journal

November 2019

Stephanie Fields Beaulieu Designated Broker-Owner Cell: 207-551-5835 Fax: 207-472-3084

email: fieldsrealty@maine.rr.com 72 Fort Hill Street Fort Fairfield, ME 04742

Lavoie Lake Road, Madawaska, ME 04756

25 acres of beautiful land, 10 acre maple trees with a syrup operation, 1900 trees tapped, equipment and sugar shack included, wood burning evaporator! All ready to start your own business! $50,000 MLS#1435485

Darren McGovern, Associate Broker Cell 207-712-3325 Office 207-773-1990 53 Baxter Boulevard, Portland, ME 04101

darrenmacthemover.cbintouch.com Darren.McGovern@NEMoves.com

This custom built one-of-a-kind Red Cedar Log Cabin/Post and Beam home is where country meets luxury meets privacy! Everything about this home is High End! This great home is quality throughout! The builder designed and built this place for himself with never intending to sell. If all that isn’t enough how about 173 acres, approximately 1 mile of water frontage on the Saco River. Not to mention the four stall horse barn, shooting range, gravel pit and so much more! Unique gems like this don’t come along everyday! $1,499,000.

5 Lake Street, P.O. Box 66, Lincoln, ME 207-794-2460

Lincoln-3BR with 1 full bath downstairs and both a ¾ master bath and ½ bath u p s ta i rs . Pav e d drive, attached 2 car garage, enclosed porch, covered porch, and patio all overlooking 191’ frontage on Cold Stream Pond $299,000

Email: cwa@cwalakestreet.com Pukakon TwpBeautiful year round cottage has hardwood floors, a knotty pine interior, cathedral ceiling and a huge insulated and heated garage. End of road location for privacy. Boating, swimming, fishing, & snowmobiling right on Junior Lake. $269,000 M attawa m ke a g Private cottage with shower house, shed, privy & covered porch overlooking the water. Gas lights & some wiring done for generator use. Enjoy all the outdoors has to offer on Back Settlement Pond. Not many like this one! $78,500 SpringfieldTraditional Maine hunting camp on nicely wooded lot with easy access to all Maine’s outdoor recreational activities. Bring your big boy/girl toys and store ‘em in the shed on Old S. Springfield Rd. $29,900

Lakeville- Small cabin, dug well, privy, electricity, and a partially developed lot make this usable day #1 and it could be temporary lodging while you build your new waterfront dream house on Pristine Junior Lake. $88,500 Lincoln- Gorgeous contemporary h o m e s i t s r i g ht on the shore of Mattanawcook Lake with stunning v i e w s f ro m t h e kitchen & Master Bedroom. Beautiful landscaping, walking distance to all of Lincoln’s downtown amenities. $192,375 Carroll Plt- Private. Secluded. Beautiful. Pretty waterfront lot ready for camper or to build your getaway cabin. Large fire ring & path to a section of sandy swimming on Lowell Lake.

Come to relax, kayak and listen to the loons. $45,000 Winn- Driveway in place, offering gentle slope to a beautiful section of the Penobscot River. Build your dream home, a getaway cabin or park the camper. Only 5 minutes from downtown Lincoln. $24,500 Lowell- Large lakefront lot, driveway installed & shore land area ready for your picnic table.

Exposed beach in low water on Eskutassis Pond. Opportunities like this don’t come around often so you need to come look today. $85,000 Chester- Bass Fishing. Boating. Blue sky. Clean air. Your own little slice of “heaven”. Build a home, or camp or simply park your camper here on Medunkeunk Stream. The driveway is already in place. $23,900

GATEWAY RECREATIONAL PROPERTIES Office 207-746-3398 gatwainn@midmaine.com www.medwaygateway.com P.O. Box 637 Medway, ME 04460 SNOWMOBILERS - CAMP LOTS AVAILABLE Along ITS-83 From Houlton to Presque Isle MATTANAWCOOK LAKE FRONT LOTS FOR SALE

ASHLAND: 10 Acres on Aroostook River. $14,000.

ASHLAND: 20 Acre, river frontage. $25,000.

GREENBUSH: 10 Acre camp lots, waterfrontage, large meadow, good views, hunting, fishing and snowmobiling. $25,000 - $42,000.

CARMEL: 25 Acres. $42,700.

TROY: Hunting camp with 30 acres $45,000.

CRYSTAL: 100 Acres large deer population and other wildlife. Will divide off a piece, perfect for your needs. Large brook on property. $49,900.

CAMPS LOTS AVAILABLE ON MATTASEUNK LAKE & MATTAWAMKEAG AREA WE OWN WHAT WE SELL! OWNER FINANCING AVAILABLE

Page 69

Noyes Real Estate Agency

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

RANGELEY AREA PROPERTIES

HUNT FROM YOUR CAMP, CABIN OR HOME!!!

#595 MLS#1417975 Beautiful setting, recent construction. Private cabin in the woods in Avon. All amenities. Snowmobile and ATV from your door! NEW PRICE $99,000. #594 MLS#1418868 Chain of Ponds! Property borders on State land with a rustic, winterized camp and a new garage with living area aboved, full bath. Sled, hike, hunt, fish and enjoy the ponds. $150,000. #419 MLS#1425112 Stunning water views, 480 ft. of waterfront on Drury Pond in Temple. Completely renovated in 2018 by Maine Cabin Masters! Easy access to 4 season recreation. Minutes to Titcomb Ski Area $185,000. #425 MLS#1308856 Classic remote waterfront log casbin on Aziscohos Lake. Two bedrooms, loft, guest house, 2 1/2 bath, 2 car garage. On Raspberry Lane, off grid, all amenities. $319,000.

#557 MLS#1372557 Enjoy 20 private gated acres in Avon. Well maintained trailer, with screen house and shed. Generator ready, well, bathroom and new roof. Very clean. Hunt, fish, 4-wheel and sled. $49,900. #590 MLS#1317532 Camp in Dallas PLT. easy access to 4-wheeler/sled trails, includes bedroom and sleeping loft, nice open lot. NEW PRICE $79,000. #591 MLS#1356419 village condominium, 2 bdms, 1.5 baths, well maintained, lake views, direct access to sled trails. Walk to the village or restaurant next door! $119,900. #430 MLS#1260074 Cabin-4 bedrooms, close to ITS/ATV trails. Includes stream with brookies. Many updates in 2006 - roof, septic, heating and hot water, windows and extra insulation. $129,000. #300 MLS#1417238 Access to Quimby Pond and Quimby Wilds on Hartland Road. Noted for fishing and hunting. Four season home on a full foundation, private area with nearby trails! NEW PRICE $239,000.

Northwoods Sporting Journal

Page 70 SELLERS LANE

November 2019 SELLERS LANE

REAL ESTATE

BUYERS ROAD

BUYERS ROAD

Houlton Office 207-532-4500 Hermon Office 207-605-0556 Scot Walker, Broker

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#3391-Madison; Cute and cozy country home.

Well maintained 3BR, 2 bath log home has lots to offer. Back deck, side deck and front porch for outdoor spaces.

Large paved driveway and a 2 car garage. 1.5 acres. $159,900

#3394-Anson; 4BR, 2 bath doublewide home with fireplace, wood stove hookup, automatic generator and outside a landscaped yard, outbuildings, small animal barn and blueberry bushes. Nice country location on 9.71 acres. $129,000

#3395-Madison; Location, location, location. Long private driveway into nice private setting. 3BR, 2 bath home with nice open concept living space and deck/porch area out back. 50 acres and small brook in back of property. $189,900

#3390-Madison; Beautiful location for this 1868 New England Farmhouse.

Overlooking Mill Pond, this home is definitely in need of some renovation. 4BR, 1 bath and a new furnace in 2019. Situated on 2 acres. $45,000

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL Our Past. Your Future

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Stephanie Fields Beaulieu Designated Broker-Owner

Cell: 207-551-5835

Fax: 207-472-3084

email: fieldsrealty@maine.rr.com 72 Fort Hill Street Fort Fairfield, ME 04742

$75,000 84 Mountain Road, Presque Isle, ME 29 acres of woods abutting 800 acres of State of Maine park land can be yours. This wooded parcel includes gated road access a good portion of the year. Recent improvements include new chimney top, roof and leveling. $82,000 999 Pingree L141 Loc F T8 R10 Wels, ME 00000 Would you like to be near the Allagash region and some of the best fishing/hunting in the North Maine Woods? This camp is very well built and maintained and has a very nice lawn and yard to allow outdoor enjoyment. $199,000 72 Puckerbush Trail, T1 R8 Wels, ME This camp is located on the end of a peninsula on Millinocket Lake with a spectacular view of Mount Katahdin. Property inlcudes a fully-furnished main camp with 2 bedrooms and a sleeping loft, open floor plan for the kitchen and living area. $95,000 Fish River Aroostook 913 Location F T14 R8 Wels, ME 04757 Very tidy, solid log camp with outbuildings including a two bunk sleeping cabin. Propane stove, refrigerator, generator, beautiful hand made beds and cabinets. Gated over 1 mile.

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