Maine Outdoor Tales and Trails, as told by a Master Maine Guide

Summer Adventures

2011-08-14T23:51:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe it has been a few months since I have reported to the blog world. Well let's say Judy and I have been exploring Maine, from Wilson Falls to the summer at Third Machias and GLS. There is much to report and I have been busy making notes to report on our sightings and adventures. The biggest report will be about the changes at Third Lake Machias and the lack or should I say closing of the boat ramp and campsites.

At the time of this writing we are getting ready for another bear season, we have been baiting and enjoying the overgrowth of old woods roads, amazing how much can happen in a few short months.

Expect a few page of entertaining reading in the coming weeks.

EASTERN COUGAR DECLARED EXTINCT

2011-03-02T18:41:00.002-05:00

Eastern cougar declared extinct, confirming decades of suspicion

The last eastern puma, seen here with biologist Bruce Wright, was trapped and mounted in Somerset County, Maine, in 1938.
March 2nd, 2011
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The eastern cougar has been declared extinct by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, confirming decades of suspicion that the elusive subspecies was no more.

The large, solitary predatory cat once lived in every Eastern U.S. state in a variety of habitats, including coastal marshes, mountains and forests, said Dr. Mark McCollough, the agency's lead scientist for the eastern cougar. But you've probably never seen an eastern cougar - the last confirmed identification was in 1938 in Maine.

Other subspecies of the cougar, also known commonly as mountain lions, wildcats, panthers and pumas, still exist in the United States, including the Florida panther.

Scientists have held out hope, based on scattered reports, that a few eastern cougars remained. Those sightings turned out to be other subspecies from the Western United States - where the cougar population is growing and expanding its range eastward - or captive animals that were freed or escaped.

"We still have cougars and mountain lions in the United States that look identical to what we had in eastern North America, and that's probably what people are still seeing," McCollough said. "But the scientific and historical evidence point to the conclusion that the eastern cougar subspecies has not existed for a while."

It typically takes the agency a long time - and a lot of field work - to officially declare an animal extinct. People often confuse cougars with white-tailed deer, bobcats, even yellow labs, said Martin Miller, the service's Northeast Region chief of endangered species.

But near the sites of reported spottings, scientists have been unable to find the physical marks commonly associated with cougars in the wild, such as scratching posts and cached animal remains.

"We recognize that many people have seen cougars in the wild within the historical range of the eastern cougar," Miller said. "However, we believe those cougars are not the eastern cougar subspecies. We found no information to support the existence of the eastern cougar."

The Coyote

2011-02-25T18:22:00.003-05:00

The Coyote

A study showed that of 100 coyotes collected in Maine, 22 had half or more wolf ancestry, and one was 89 percent wolf. A theory has been proposed that the large eastern coyotes in Canada are actually hybrids of the smaller western coyotes and wolves that met and mated decades ago as the coyotes moved toward New England from their earlier western ranges.[23] Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources research scientist Brent Patterson has revealed findings that most coyotes in Eastern Ontario are wolf-coyote hybrids and that the Eastern wolves in Algonquin Park are, in general, not inter-breeding with coyotes.[29

CoyoteFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see Coyote (disambiguation).

Coyote

Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Eutheria
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: Canis
Species: C. latrans
Binomial name
Canis latrans
Say, 1823

Coyote range

The coyote (pronounced /kaɪˈoʊtiː/ or /ˈkaɪ.oʊt/[2]) (Canis latrans), also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf,[3] is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada. It occurs as far north as Alaska and all but the northernmost portions of Canada.[4] There are currently 19 recognized subspecies, with 16 in Canada, Mexico and the United States, and 3 in Central America.[5] Unlike its cousin the Gray Wolf, which is Eurasian in origin, evolutionary theory suggests the coyote evolved in North America during the Pleistocene epoch 1.81 million years ago[6] alongside the Dire Wolf.[7] Unlike the wolf, the coyote's range has expanded in the wake of human civilization, and coyotes readily reproduce in metropolitan areas.[8][9]

Contents [hide]
1 Name
2 Description
3 Behavior
3.1 Reproduction
3.1.1 Interspecific hybridization
3.2 Communication
4 Ecology
4.1 Diet and hunting
4.2 Interspecific predatory relationships
5 Relationship with humans
5.1 Adaptation to human environment
5.2 Attacks on humans
5.3 Livestock and pet predation
5.4 Pelts
6 Character in mythology
7 Contemporary cultural references
8 Taxonomy
8.1 Subspecies
8.2 Genus controversy
9 Notes
10 References
11 External links

[edit] NameThe name coyote is borrowed from Mexican Spanish, ultimately derived from the Nahuatl word cóyotl.[10] Its scientific name, Canis latrans, means "barking dog" in Latin.[11] Preliminary genetic evidence, however, has shown that "coyotes" in some areas are, genetically speaking, 85-90 percent Canis latrans, and from ten to fifteen percent Canis lupus, along with some domestic dog DNA; this prompted one researcher to suggest, jokingly, that they be called "Canis soupus," as they are a "soup" (mixture) of canid species.[12]

[edit] Description
Coyote profile
SkullThe color of the coyote's pelt varies from grayish brown to yellowish gray on the upper parts, while the throat and belly tend to have a buff or white color. The forelegs, sides of the head, muzzle and paws are reddish brown. The back has tawny-colored underfur and long, black-tipped guard hairs that form a black dorsal stripe and a dark cross on the shoulder area. The black-tipped tail has a scent gland located on its dorsal base. Coyotes shed once a year, beginning in May with light hair loss, ending in July after heavy shedding. The ears are proportionately large in relation to the head, while the feet are relatively small in relation to the rest of the body.[4] Certain experts have noted that the shape of a domestic dog's brain case is closer to the coyote's in shape than the wolf's. Mountain dwelling coyotes tend to be dark furred while desert coyotes tend to be more bright greenish in color.[5]

Coyotes typically grow to up to 30–34 in (76–86 cm) in length, not counting a tail of 12–16 in (30–41 cm), stand about 23–26 in (58–66 cm) at the shoulder and, on average, weigh from 15–46 lb (6.8–21 kg) .[4][13] Northern coyotes are typically larger than southern subspecies, with the largest coyotes on record weighing 74¾ pounds (33.7 kg) and measuring over five feet in total length.[14]

The coyote's dental formula is I 3/3, C 1/1, Pm 4/4, M usually 2/2, occasionally 3/3, 3/2, or 2/3 × 2 = 40, 42, or 44.[15] Normal spacing between the upper canine teeth is 1⅛–1⅜ inches (29–35 mm) and 1–1¼ inches (25–32 mm) between the lower canine teeth.[16]

Dentition
3,1,4,2
3,1,4,2

The upper frequency limit of hearing for coyotes is 80 KHz, compared to the 60 kHz of domestic dogs.[17] Compared to wolves, and similarly to domestic dogs, coyotes have a higher density of sweat glands on their paw pads. This trait, however, is absent in the large New England coyotes, which are thought to have some wolf ancestry.[18]

During pursuit, a coyote may reach speeds up to 43 mph (69 km/h),[19] and can jump a distance of over 13 ft (4 m).[4]

[edit] BehaviorThough coyotes have been observed to travel in large groups, they primarily hunt in pairs. Typical packs consist of six closely related adults, yearlings and young. Coyote packs are generally smaller than wolf packs and associations between individuals are less stable,[20] thus making their social behavior more in line with that of the dingo.[21] It has been theorized that this is due to an earlier expression of aggression, and the fact that coyotes reach their full growth in their first year, unlike wolves, which reach it in their second.[20] Common names of coyote groups are a band, a pack, or a rout.[22] Coyotes are primarily nocturnal, but can often be seen during daylight hours.[4] Coyotes were once essentially diurnal, but have adapted to more nocturnal behavior with pressure from humans (McClennen et al., 2001).

Coyotes are capable of digging their own burrows, though they often prefer the burrows of groundhogs or American badgers. Coyote territorial ranges can be as much as 19 kilometers in diameter around the den, and travel occurs along fixed trails.[4]

In areas where wolves have been exterminated, coyotes usually flourish. For example, as New England became increasingly settled and the resident wolves were eliminated, the coyote population increased, filling the empty biological niche. Coyotes appear better able than wolves to live among people.[23]

Coyotes have been known to live a maximum of 10 years in the wild and 18 years in captivity.[4] They seem to be better than dogs at observational learning.[18]

[edit] Reproduction
Newborn coyote pup
Seven coyote pupsFemale coyotes are monoestrous, and remain in heat for 2–5 days between late January and late March, during which mating occurs. Once the female chooses a partner, the mated pair may remain temporarily monogamous for a number of years. Depending on geographic location, spermatogenesis in males takes around 54 days, and occurs between January and February. The gestation period lasts from 60 to 63 days. Litter size ranges from 1 to 19 pups; the average is 6.[4] These large litters act as compensatory measures against the high juvenile mortality rate, with approximately 50-70% of pups not surviving to adulthood.[24] The pups weigh approximately 250 grams at birth, and are initially blind and limp-eared.[4] Coyote growth rate is faster than that of wolves, being similar in length to that of the dhole.[25] The eyes open and ears become erect after 10 days. Around 21–28 days after birth, the young begin to emerge from the den, and by 35 days they are fully weaned. Both parents feed the weaned pups with regurgitated food. Male pups will disperse from their dens between months 6 and 9, while females usually remain with the parents and form the basis of the pack. The pups attain full growth between 9 and 12 months. Sexual maturity is reached by 12 months.[4] Unlike wolves, mother coyotes will tolerate other lactating females in their pack.[26]

[edit] Interspecific hybridization
A Coyote-German Shepherd hybridCoyotes will sometimes mate with domestic dogs, usually in areas like Texas and Oklahoma, where the coyotes are plentiful and the breeding season is extended because of the warm weather. The resulting hybrids, called coydogs, maintain the coyote's predatory nature, along with the dog's lack of timidity toward humans, making them a more serious threat to livestock than pure-blooded animals. This cross-breeding has the added effect of confusing the breeding cycle. Coyotes usually breed only once a year, while coydogs will breed year-round, producing many more pups than a wild coyote. Differences in the ears and tail are generally what can be used to distinguish coydogs from domestic/feral dogs or pure coyotes.[27] Breeding experiments in Germany with poodles, coyotes, and later on with the resulting dog-coyote hybrids showed that unlike wolfdogs, coydogs show a decrease in fertility, significant communication problems as well as an increase of genetic diseases after three generations of interbreeding.[28]

Coyotes have also been known on occasion to mate with wolves, though this is less common than with dogs, due to the wolf's hostility to the coyote. The offspring, known as a coywolf, is generally intermediate in size to both parents, being larger than a pure coyote, but smaller than a pure wolf.

A study showed that of 100 coyotes collected in Maine, 22 had half or more wolf ancestry, and one was 89 percent wolf. A theory has been proposed that the large eastern coyotes in Canada are actually hybrids of the smaller western coyotes and wolves that met and mated decades ago as the coyotes moved toward New England from their earlier western ranges.[23] Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources research scientist Brent Patterson has revealed findings that most coyotes in Eastern Ontario are wolf-coyote hybrids and that the Eastern wolves in Algonquin Park are, in general, not inter-breeding with coyotes.[29]

The Red Wolf is thought by certain scientists to be in fact a wolf/coyote hybrid rather than a unique species. Strong evidence for hybridization was found through genetic testing, which showed that red wolves have only 5% of their alleles unique from either gray wolves or coyotes. Genetic distance calculations have indicated that red wolves are intermediate between coyotes and gray wolves, and that they bear great similarity to wolf/coyote hybrids in southern Quebec and Minnesota. Analyses of mitochondrial DNA showed that existing red wolf populations are predominantly coyote in origin.[30]

[edit] CommunicationThe calls a coyote makes are high-pitched and variously described as howls, yips, yelps, and barks. These calls may be a long rising and falling note (a howl) or a series of short notes (yips). These calls are most often heard at dusk or night, but may sometimes be heard in the day or in the middle of the day. Although these calls are made throughout the year, they are most common during the spring mating season and in the fall when the pups leave their families to establish new territories. When a coyote calls his pack together, he howls at one high note. When the pack is together, he howls higher and higher, and then they yip and yelp and also do a yi-yi sound very shrill with the howl.

[edit] Ecology[edit] Diet and hunting
Coyote on elk carcass in winter in Lamar ValleyCoyotes are opportunistic, versatile carnivores with a 90% mammalian diet, depending on the season. They primarily eat small mammals, such as voles, prairie dogs, eastern cottontails, ground squirrels, and mice, though they will eat birds, snakes, lizards, deer, javelina, and livestock, as well as large insects and other large invertebrates. The coyote will also target any species of bird that nests on the ground. Though they will consume large amounts of carrion, they tend to prefer fresh meat. Fruits and vegetables are a significant part of the coyote's diet in the autumn and winter months. Part of the coyote's success as a species is its dietary adaptability. As such, coyotes have been known to eat human rubbish and domestic pets. They catch cats and dogs when they come too close to the pack. Urban populations of coyotes have been known to actively hunt cats, and to leap shorter fences to take small dogs. In particularly bold urban packs, coyotes have also been reported to shadow human joggers or larger dogs, and even to take small dogs while the dog is still on a leash. However, this behavior is often reported when normal urban prey, such as rabbits, have become scarce. Yet, confirmed reports of coyotes killing a human have been documented.[31] [4]

Though the coyote is the basis for the character of Wile E. Coyote in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated cartoons, especially about the Road Runner, coyotes have not been known as yet to attack Greater Roadrunners for prey.

Coyotes shift their hunting techniques in accordance with their prey. When hunting small animals such as mice, they slowly stalk through the grass, and use their acute sense of smell to track down the prey. When the prey is located, the coyotes stiffen and pounce on the prey in a cat-like manner. Coyotes will commonly work in teams when hunting large ungulates such as deer, which is more common in winter (when large prey is likely weakened) and in larger-bodied Northern coyotes. Coyotes may take turns in baiting and pursuing the deer to exhaustion, or they may drive it towards a hidden member of the pack.[4] When attacking large prey, coyotes attack from the rear and the flanks of their prey. Occasionally they also grab the neck and head, pulling the animal down to the ground. Coyotes are persistent hunters, with successful attacks sometimes lasting as much as 21 hours; even unsuccessful ones can continue more than 8 hours before the coyotes give up. Depth of snow can affect the likelihood of a successful kill.[32] Packs of coyotes can bring down prey as large as adult elk, which usually weigh over 250 kg (550 lbs).[33]

The average distance covered in a night's hunting is 4 km (2½ mi).[4]

[edit] Interspecific predatory relationships
Rolf Peterson investigating the carcass of a coyote killed by a wolf in Yellowstone National Park, January 1996The gray wolf is a significant predator of coyotes wherever their ranges overlap. Since the Yellowstone Gray Wolf Reintroduction in 1995 and 1996, the local coyote population went through a dramatic restructuring. Until the wolves returned, Yellowstone National Park had one of the densest and most stable coyote populations in America due to a lack of human impacts. Two years after the wolf reintroductions, the pre-wolf population of coyotes had been reduced 50% through both competitive exclusion and intraguild predation. In Grand Teton, coyote densities were 33% lower than normal in the areas where they coexisted with wolves, and 39% lower in the areas of Yellowstone where wolves were reintroduced. In one study, about 16% of radio-collared coyotes were preyed upon by wolves. Yellowstone coyotes have had to shift their territories as a result, moving from open meadows to steep terrain. Carcasses in the open no longer attract coyotes; when a coyote is chased on flat terrain, it is often killed. They feel more secure on steep terrain where they will often lead a pursuing wolf downhill. As the wolf comes after it, the coyote will turn around and run uphill. Wolves, being heavier, cannot stop and the coyote gains a large lead. Though physical confrontations between the two species are usually dominated by the larger wolves, coyotes have been known to attack wolves if they outnumber them. Both species will kill each other's pups given the opportunity.[34][35] Wolf urine has been marketed and claimed to be an organic coyote deterrent, such as for deterring attacks on sheep.[36]

Cougars sometimes kill coyotes. The coyote's instinctive fear of cougars has led to the development of anti-coyote sound systems which repel coyotes from public places by replicating the sounds of a cougar.[37] Bears can also rarely kill coyotes, more likely in competitive rather than predatory attacks. However, both cougars and bears have been displaced from carcasses by coyote packs.[38]

In sympatric populations of coyotes and red foxes, fox territories tend to be located largely outside of coyote territories. The principal cause of this separation is believed to be active avoidance of coyotes by the foxes. Interactions between the two species vary in nature, ranging from active antagonism to indifference. The majority of aggressive encounters are initiated by coyotes, and there are few reports of red foxes acting aggressively toward coyotes except when attacked or when their pups were approached. Conversely, foxes and coyotes have sometimes been seen feeding together.[39] In southern California, coyotes frequently kill gray foxes, and these smaller canids tend to avoid areas with high coyote densities.[40]

Coyotes will sometimes form a symbiotic relationship with American badgers. Because coyotes are not very effective at digging rodents out of their burrows, they will chase the animals while they are above ground. Badgers on the other hand are not fast runners, but are well-adapted to digging. When hunting together, they effectively leave little escape for prey in the area.[4]

In some areas, coyotes share their ranges with bobcats. It is rare for these two similarly sized species to physically confront one another, though bobcat populations tend to diminish in areas with high coyote densities.[41] However, several studies have demonstrated interference competition between coyotes and bobcats, and in all cases coyotes dominated the interaction.[42] Multiple researchers[43][44][45][46][47][48] all reported instances of coyotes killing bobcats, whereas bobcats killing coyotes is more rare.[49] Coyotes attack bobcats using a bite and shake method similar to that used on medium sized prey.[50] Coyotes (both single individuals and groups) have been known to occasionally kill bobcats - in most cases, the bobcats were relatively small specimens, such as adult females and juveniles.[51] However, coyote attacks (by an unknown number of coyote or coyotes) on adult male bobcats have occurred.[52] In California, coyote and bobcat populations are not negatively correlated across different habitat types, but predation by coyotes is an important source of mortality in bobcats.[53]

Coyotes have also competed with and occasionally eaten Canadian lynxes in areas where both species overlap.[54][55]

[edit] Relationship with humans[edit] Adaptation to human environment
A coyote standing by a road in ArizonaDespite being extensively hunted, the coyote is one of the few medium-to-large-sized animals that has enlarged its range since human encroachment began. It originally ranged primarily in the western half of North America, but it has adapted readily to the changes caused by human presence and, since the early 19th century, has been steadily and dramatically extending its range.[56] Sightings now commonly occur in a majority of the United States and Canada.[57] Coyotes inhabit nearly every contiguous U.S. state and Alaska. Coyotes have moved into most of the areas of North America formerly occupied by wolves, and are often observed foraging in suburban garbage bins.

Coyotes thrive in suburban settings and even some urban ones. A study by wildlife ecologists at The Ohio State University yielded some surprising findings in this regard. Researchers studied coyote populations in Chicago over a seven-year period (2000–2007), proposing that coyotes have adapted well to living in densely populated urban environments while avoiding contact with humans. They found, among other things, that urban coyotes tend to live longer than their rural counterparts, kill rodents and small pets, and live anywhere from parks to industrial areas. The researchers estimate that there are up to 2,000 coyotes living in "the greater Chicago area" and that this circumstance may well apply to many other urban landscapes in North America.[58] In Washington, D.C.'s Rock Creek Park, coyotes den and raise their young, scavenge roadkill, and hunt rodents. "I don't see it as a bad thing for a park," the assigned National Park Service biologist told a reporter for Smithsonian Magazine (March 2006). "I see it as good for keeping animal populations in control, like the squirrels and the mice."

In another testament to the coyote's habitat adaptability, a coyote nicknamed "Hal" made his way to New York City's Central Park in March 2006, wandering about the park for at least two days before being captured by officials. New York's parks commissioner Adrian Benepe noted this coyote had to be very "adventurous" and "curious" to get so far into the city.[59] An incident also occurred in April 2007 in the Chicago Loop district, where a coyote, later nicknamed "Adrian", quietly entered a Quizno's restaurant during the lunch hours; it was later captured and released at a wildlife rehab center near Barrington, Illinois.[60][61] In February 2010, up to three coyotes were spotted on the Columbia University campus, and another coyote sighting occurred in Central Park [4].

[edit] Attacks on humans
A sign discouraging people from feeding coyotes, which can lead to them habituating themselves to human presence, thus increasing the likelihood of attackCoyote attacks on humans are uncommon and rarely cause serious injuries, due to the relatively small size of the coyote. However, coyote attacks on humans have increased since 1998 in the state of California. Data from USDA Wildlife Services, the California Department of Fish & Game, and other sources show that while 41 attacks occurred during the period of 1988-1997, 48 attacks were verified from 1998 through 2003. The majority of these incidents occurred in Southern California near the suburban-wildland interface.[62]

Due to an absence of harassment by residents, urban coyotes lose their natural fear of humans, which is further worsened by people intentionally feeding coyotes. In such situations, some coyotes have begun to act aggressively toward humans, chasing joggers and bicyclists, confronting people walking their dogs, and stalking small children.[62] Non-rabid coyotes in these areas will sometimes target small children, mostly under the age of 10, though some adults have been bitten. In June 2010 a 3-year-old girl and a 6-year-old girl were attacked and seriously injured in separate attacks by coyotes in Rye, New York, a suburb of New York City. The 6-year-old was attacked by two coyotes on June 25 and the 3-year-old was attacked by one coyote on June 29. There was no indication the animals were rabid, but the girls were given treatment as a precaution.[63][64]

There are only two recorded fatalities in North America from coyote attacks.[65] In 1981 in Glendale, California, a coyote attacked toddler Kelly Keen, who was rescued by her father, but died in surgery due to blood loss and a broken neck.[62][66] In October 2009, Taylor Mitchell, a 19-year-old folk singer on tour, died from injuries sustained in an attack by a pair of coyotes while hiking in the Skyline Trail of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia, Canada.[67] Recent studies have shown, however, that the large northeastern coyotes responsible for this attack may in fact be coyote-wolf hybrids (or coywolves) due to absorption of wolves when coyotes moved into eastern North America.[68]

[edit] Livestock and pet predationCoyotes are presently the most abundant livestock predators in western North America, causing the majority of sheep, goat and cattle losses.[16] For example, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, coyotes were responsible for 60.5% of the 224,000 sheep deaths that were attributed to predation in 2004.[69] However, the total number of sheep deaths in 2004 comprised only 2.22% of the total sheep and lamb population in the United States.[70] According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA report, "All sheep and lamb inventory in the United States on July 1, 2005, totaled 7.80 million head, 2 percent above July 1, 2004. Breeding sheep inventory at 4.66 million head on July 1, 2005 was 2 percent above July 1, 2004."[71] By virtue of the fact that coyote populations are typically many times greater and more widely distributed than those of wolves, coyotes cause more overall predation losses. However, an Idaho census taken in 2005 showed that individual coyotes were one-twentieth as likely to attack livestock than individual wolves.[72]

Coyotes will typically bite the throat just behind the jaw and below the ear when attacking adult sheep or goats, with death commonly resulting from suffocation. Blood loss is usually a secondary cause of death. Calves and heavily-fleeced sheep are killed by attacking the flanks or hind-quarters, causing shock and blood loss. When attacking smaller prey, such as young lambs, the kill is made by biting the skull and spinal regions, causing massive tissue and ossular damage. Small or young prey may be completely carried off, leaving only blood as evidence of a kill. Coyotes will usually leave the hide and most of the skeleton of larger animals relatively intact, unless food is scarce, in which case they may leave only the largest bones. Scattered bits of wool, skin and other parts are characteristic where coyotes feed extensively on larger carcasses.[16]

Coyote with a typical throat hold on domestic sheepCoyote predation can usually be distinguished from dog or coydog predation by the fact that coyotes partially consume their victims. Tracks are also an important factor in distinguishing coyote from dog predation. Coyote tracks tend to be more oval-shaped and compact than those of domestic dogs, plus, claw marks are less prominent and the tracks tend to follow a straight line more closely than those of dogs. With the exception of sighthounds, most dogs of similar weight to coyotes have a slightly shorter stride.[16] Coyote kills can be distinguished from wolf kills by the fact that there is less damage to the underlying tissues. Also, coyote scats tend to be smaller than wolf scats.[73]

The U.S. government routinely shoots, poisons, traps and kills 90,000 coyotes each year to protect livestock.[74]

Coyotes are often attracted to dog food and animals that are small enough to appear as prey. Items like garbage, pet food, and sometimes feeding stations for birds and squirrels will attract coyotes into backyards. Approximately 3 to 5 pets attacked by coyotes are brought into the Animal Urgent Care hospital of south Orange County (California) each week, the majority of which are dogs, since cats typically do not survive the attacks.[75] Scat analysis collected near Claremont, California revealed that coyotes relied heavily on pets as a food source in winter and spring.[62] At one location in Southern California, coyotes began relying on a colony of feral cats as a food source. Over time, the coyotes killed most of the cats, and then continued to eat the cat food placed daily at the colony site by citizens who were maintaining the cat colony.[62] Coyotes usually attack smaller sized dogs, but they have been known to attack even large, powerful breeds like the Rottweiler in exceptional cases.[76] Dogs larger than coyotes are generally able to drive them off, and have been known to kill coyotes. Smaller breeds are more likely to suffer injury or death.

[edit] PeltsIn the early days of European settlement in North Dakota, American Beavers were the most valued and sought after furbearers, though other species were also taken, including coyotes.[77] Coyotes are an important furbearer in the region. During the 1983-86 seasons, North Dakota buyers purchased an average of 7,913 pelts annually, for an average annual combined return to takers of $255,458. In 1986-87, South Dakota buyers purchased 8,149 pelts for a total of $349,674 to takers.[78]

The harvest of coyote pelts in Texas has varied over the past few decades, but has generally followed a downward trend. A study from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, however, found that there was no indication of population decline, and suggested that, as pelt prices were not increasing, the decrease in harvest was likely due to decreasing demand, and not increasing scarcity (where pelt prices would go up.) It suggested that fashion, and the changing custom of wearing fur garments, may be significant among these factors.[79]

Today, coyote fur is still used for full coats and trim and is particularly popular for men’s coats.[80]

[edit] Character in mythology
Coyote tries to persuade Opossum to let him have some persimmons, in a Caddo story.Main article: Coyote (mythology)
Traditional stories from many Native American, First Nations, and Aboriginal cultures include a deity whose name is translated into English as Coyote. Although especially common in stories told by southwestern Native American nations, such as the Diné and Apache, stories about Coyote appear in dozens of Native American nations from Canada to Mexico.

Usually appearing as a trickster, a culture hero or both, Coyote also often appears in creation myths and etiological myths. Although often appearing in stories as male, Coyote can be female, hermaphrodite, or gender changing, in traditional Aboriginal stories.

[edit] Contemporary cultural referencesMain article: Coyotes in popular culture
The coyote is a popular figure in folklore and popular culture. References may invoke either the animal or the mythological figure. Traits commonly described in pop culture appearances include inventiveness, mischievousness, and evasiveness. By far the best known representation is the animated Wile E. Coyote, whose popularity has spread the three-syllable Spanish pronunciation of the word coyote throughout English-speaking North America.

Coyote is also a slang term for a person who smuggles illegal immigrants over the border from Mexico to the United States.

The Phoenix Coyotes are a National Hockey League franchise based in Arizona.

The mascot of the University of South Dakota is the coyote.

[edit] Taxonomy[edit] SubspeciesThere are 19 recognized subspecies of coyote:[81]

C. l. cagottis (Hamilton-Smith): Mexican Coyote - states of Oaxaca, San Luis Potosi, Puebla, and Veracruz in Mexico[82]
C. l. clepticus (Elliot): San Pedro Martir Coyote - northern Baja California and southwestern California[82]
C. l. dickeyi: Salvador Coyote
C. l. frustor (Woodhouse): Southeastern Coyote - southeastern and extreme eastern Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, and Arkansas[82]
C. l. goldmani: Belize Coyote
C. l. hondurensis: Honduras Coyote
C. l. impavidus (Allen): Durango Coyote - southern Sonora, extreme southwestern Chihuahua, western Durango, western Zacatecas, and Sinaloa[82]
C. l. incolatus (Hall): Northern Coyote - Yukon, Northwest Territories, northern British Columbia, and northern Alberta, and Alaska[82]
C. l. jamesi (Townsend): Tiburón Island Coyote - Tiburón Island[82]
C. l. latrans: Plains Coyote - Great Plains from Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan south to New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle[82]
C. l. lestes (Merriam): Mountain Coyote - British Columbia and southeastern Alberta south to Utah and Nevada[82]
C. l. mearnsi (Merriam): Mearns Coyote - southwestern Colorado and southern Utah south to northern Sonora and Chihuahua[82]
C. l. microdon (Merriam): Lower Rio Grande Coyote - southern Texas and northern Tamaulipas[82]
C. l. ochropus (Eschscholtz): California Valley Coyote - California west of the Sierra Nevada[82]
C. l. peninsulae (Merriam): Peninsula Coyote - Baja California[82]
C. l. texensis (Bailey): Texas Plains Coyote - most of Texas, eastern New Mexico, and northeastern Mexico[82]
C. l. thamnos (Jackson): Northeastern Coyote - range extends from north-central Saskatchewan east to southern Ontario south to northern Indiana and west to Missouri[82]
C. l. umpquensis (Jackson): Northwest Coast Coyote - coast of Washington and Oregon[82]
C. l. vigilis (Merriam): Colima Coyote - Pacific coast of Mexico from Jalisco south to Guerrero[82]
[edit] Genus controversyIn 1816, in the third volume of Lorenz Oken's Lehrbuch der Naturgeschichte, the author found sufficient similarities in the dentition of coyotesgenus from Canis called Thos after the classical Greek word θώς (jackal). Oken's idiosyncratic nomenclatorial ways, however, aroused the scorn of a number of zoological systematists. Nearly all the descriptive words used to justify the genus division were relative terms without a reference measure, and the argument did not take into account the size differences between the species, which can be considerable. Angel Cabrera, in his 1932 monograph on the mammals of Morocco, briefly touched upon the question of whether or not the presence of a cingulum on the upper molars of the jackals and its corresponding absence in the rest of Canis could justify a subdivision of the genus Canis. In practice, he chose the undivided-genus alternative and referred to the jackals as Canis.[83] A few authors, however, Ernest Thompson Seton being among them, accepted Oken's nomenclature, and went as far as referring to the coyote as American jackal.[84]

The Oken/Heller proposal of the new genus Thos did not affect the classification of the coyote. Gerrit S. Miller still had in his 1924 edition of List of North American Recent Mammals in the section “Genus Canis Linnaeas,” the subordinate heading “Subgenus Thos Oken” and backed it up with a reference to Heller. In the reworked version of the book in 1955, Philip Hershkovitz and Hartley Jackson led him to drop Thos both as an available scientific term and as a viable subgenus of Canis. In his definitive study of the taxonomy of the coyote, Jackson had, in response to Miller, queried whether Heller had seriously looked at specimens of coyotes prior to his 1914 article and thought the characters to be “not sufficiently important or stable to warrant subgeneric recognition for the group”.[83]

[edit] Notes1.^ Sillero-Zubiri & Hoffmann (2008). Canis latrans. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on May 5, 2008. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
2.^ coyote - Definitions from Dictionary.com
3.^ prairie wolf. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07
4.^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Canis latrans". Animal Diversity Web. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Canis_latrans.html. Retrieved August 15, 2007.
5.^ a b "Coyote". Lioncrusher's Domain. http://www.lioncrusher.com/animal.asp?animal=11. Retrieved August 15, 2007.
6.^ PaleoBiology Database: Canis latrans
7.^ "Statement by Valerius Geist pertaining to the death of Kenton Carnegie" (PDF). Wolf Crossing. http://wolfcrossing.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/carnegie-no1.pdf. Retrieved September 17, 2008. [dead link]
8.^ Koler-Matznick, Janice (2002). "The Origin of the Dog Revisited". Anthrozoös 15 (2): 98–118.
9.^ Fedriani J. M., T.K. Fuller and R. Sauvajot. 2001. Does availability of anthropogenic foods enhace densities of omnivorous mammals? An example with coyotes in southern California. Ecography, 24: 325-331.
10.^ coyote
11.^ "Coyote (Canis latrans)". Western Wildlife Conservancy. http://www.westwildcon.org/library_coyotes.html. Retrieved November 29, 2009.
12.^ http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/The-yowl-of-the-suburbs-612669.php#page-2
13.^ http://www.onrc.washington.edu/gis/trail/coyote.ppt
14.^ Coyote
15.^ Coyote (Canis latrans)
16.^ a b c d "Coyote Predation - Description". A. Wade, Dale & E. Bowns, James. Procedures for Evaluating Predation on Livestock and Wildlife. Archived from the original on August 6, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070806144513/http://texnat.tamu.edu/ranchref/predator/coyote/t-coyote.htm. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
17.^ David L. Mech & Luigi Boitani (2003). Wolves: Behavior, ecology and conservation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 448. ISBN 0226516962.
18.^ a b Coppinger, Ray (2001). Dogs: a Startling New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior and Evolution. New York: Scribner. pp. p352. ISBN 0684855305.
19.^ Speed of Animals, Infoplease.com, sourced from Natural History Magazine, March 1974; The American Museum of Natural History
20.^ a b Macdonald, David (1984). The Encyclopedia of Mammals: 1. London: Allen & Unwin. p. 446. ISBN 0-04-500028-x. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0871968711.
21.^ Domestication: the decline of environmental appreciation by Helmut Hemmer, translated by Neil Beckhaus, Edition: 2, illustrated. Published by Cambridge University Press, 1990. ISBN 0-521-34178-7, 9780521341783. 208 pages
22.^ Collective Nouns: Java Glossary
23.^ a b "Eastern Coyotes Are Becoming Coywolves". David Zimmerman. Caledonian record. http://www.caledonianrecord.com/pages/local_news/story/fef373e9d. Retrieved August 17, 2007. [dead link]
24.^ "Coyote (Canis latrans)". Michigan Department of Natural Resources. http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12145_12205-60378--,00.html. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
25.^ Fox, Michael W. (1984). The Whistling Hunters: Field Studies of the Asiatic Wild Dog (Cuon Alpinus). Albany: State University of New York Press. p. 150. ISBN 0873958438. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0873958438.
26.^ "The Evolution & History of Wolves". Rioghal Kennels. Rioghal Kennels. http://hal_macgregor.tripod.com/kennel/Kennel.htm. Retrieved November 4, 2008.
27.^ CoyoteClub.org: Photos of deceased coydogs
28.^ Doris Feddersen-Petersen, Hundepsychologie, 4. Auflage, 2004, Franck-Kosmos-Verlag 2004
29.^ Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society - Eastern Wolf
30.^ "The red wolf (Canis rufus) – hybrid or not?". Montana State University. http://www.montana.edu/~wwwbi/staff/creel/bio480/The%20red%20wolf.pdf. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
31.^ [1]
32.^ "Yellowstone National Park- Coyotes". nps.gov. http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/coyotes.htm. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
33.^ http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/coyotes.htm
34.^ "Weaving A New Web: Wolves Change An Ecosystem", Zoogoer magazine, May/June 1998, Smithsonian National Zoo
35.^ "Coyotes Cower in Wolf Territory". Livescience. http://www.livescience.com/animals/070911_wolves_coyotes.html. Retrieved March 20, 2008.
36.^ "Preventing Predation of Your Sheep Flock: Predators and Prey", student project at Purdue University
37.^ "Coyote In the Suburbs". Q&A websites. http://www.qawebsites.com/coyote.htm. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
38.^ http://www.yellowstonenationalpark.com/coyote.htm
39.^ "Observed Interactions Between Coyotes and Red Foxes", Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, United States Geological Survey
40.^ Fedriani, J . M., T. K. Fuller, R . M. Sauvajot, and E. C. York. 2000. Competition and intraguild predation among three sympatric carnivores. Oecologia 125:258-270.
41.^ Litvaitis, J . A., and D. J. Harrison.1 989. Bobcat-coyote niche relationships during a period of coyote population increase. Canadian Journal of Zoology 67:1180-1188
42.^ "Potential Impacts of Coyotes and Snowmobiles on Lynx Conservation in the Intermountain West". Kevin D. Bunnell, Jerran T. Flinders, Michael L. Wolfe Source: Wildlife Society Bulletin, Vol. 34, No. 3 (Oct. 1, 2006), pp. 835.
43.^ Anderson, E. M. 1986. Bobcat behavioral ecology in relation to resource use in southeastern Colorado. Dissertation, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA.
44.^ Jackson, D. H. 1986. Ecology of bobcats in east-central Colorado. Dissertation, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA.
45.^ Toweill, D. E. 1986. Resource partitioning by bobcats and coyotes in a coniferous forest. Thesis, Oregon State University, Corvallis, USA
46.^ Fedriani, J . M., T. K. Fuller, R . M. Sauvajot, and E. C. York. 2000.
47.^ Gipson, P. S., and J. F Kamler. 2002. Bobcat killed by coyote. Southwestern Naturalist4 7:511-514.
48.^ KNICK, S. T. 1990. Ecology of bobcats relative to exploitation and a prey decline in southeastern Idaho. Wildlife Monographs 108:1-42.
49.^ "Potential Impacts of Coyotes and Snowmobiles on Lynx Conservation in the Intermountain West". Kevin D. Bunnell, Jerran T. Flinders, Michael L. Wolfe. Wildlife Society Bulletin. Vol. 34, No. 3 (Oct. 1, 2006), pp. 835.
50.^ Gipson, P. S., and J. F Kamler. 2002. Bobcat killed by coyote. Southwestern Naturalist4 7. p514.
51.^ Philip S. Gipson and Jan F. Kamler, "Bobcat Killed by a Coyote"The Southwestern Naturalist, Vol. 47, No. 3 (Sep. 2002), pp. 511-513
52.^ "Competition and Intraguild Predation among Three Sympatric Carnivores." Jose M. Fedriani, Todd K. Fuller, Raymond M. Sauvajot, Eric C. York. Oecologia, Vol. 125, No. 2 (2000), p262.
53.^ "Competition and Intraguild Predation among Three Sympatric Carnivores." Jose M. Fedriani, Todd K. Fuller, Raymond M. Sauvajot, Eric C. York. Oecologia, Vol. 125, No. 2 (2000), p267,258.
54.^ "Canada Lynx — Wild cat of the Loomis–and more", Conservation Northwest
55.^ UNNELL KD, FLINDERS JT, WOLFE ML (2006) Potential Impacts of Coyotes and Snowmobiles on Lynx Conservation in the Intermountain West. Wildlife Society Bulletin: Vol. 34, No. 3 pp. 828–838
56.^ Gompper, M. 2002. Top Carnivores in the Suburbs? Ecological and conservation issues raised by colonization of North-eastern North America by coyotes. BioScience 52:185-190.
57.^ Feldhamer GA, Thompson BC, Chapman JA. Wild Mammals of North America:Biology, Management and Conservation. JHU Press, 2003, ISBN 0801874165, p. 467
58.^ "Thriving under our noses, stealthily: coyotes" URL accessed on January 9, 2006.
59.^ Newman, Maria, and Janon Fisher. "Elusive Coyote Is Captured in Central Park." New York Times March 22, 2006. 7 November 2009.
60.^ "And the coyote shall lie down with the SoBes ...". Associated Press. April 4, 2007. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17950832/. Retrieved April 4, 2007.
61.^ Meincke, Paul (April 4, 2007). "Coyote captured in Loop to be set free". WLS-TV. http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=5179979. Retrieved April 4, 2007.
62.^ a b c d e "Coyote Attacks: An Increasing Suburban Problem". Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070926044522/http://www.co.san-diego.ca.us/awm/docs/coyoteattacks.pdf. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
63.^ http://www.myrye.com/my_weblog/2010/06/coyote-attack-rye-pd-press-conference-and-statement.html
64.^ [2] Associated Press, via ABC News/U.S., June 30, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010
65.^ Biologists baffled by attack (link expired)
66.^ Coyote Attacks on Children
67.^ "Coyotes kill woman in Cape Breton". CBC News. October 29, 2009. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2009/10/28/ns-coyote-attack-died.html. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
68.^ [3]
69.^ Sheep and Goats Death Loss. National Agricultural Statistics Service. May 6, 2005. http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do?documentID=1628. Retrieved December 27, 2007
70.^ National Agricultural Statistics Service
71.^ "Sheep and lamb inventory". usda.mannlib.cornell.edu. http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/Shee/Shee-07-22-2005.txt. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
72.^ Relative risks of predation on livestock posed by individual wolves, black bears, mountain lions and coyotes in Idaho, Mark Collinge, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, Boise, Idaho
73.^ Ranchers' Guide to Wolf Depredation, Montana State University
74.^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31880990/ns/us_news-environment/
75.^ "For coyotes, pets are prey". Greg Hardesty. Orange County Register. http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/sections/news/focus_in_depth/article_508026.php. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
76.^ "A coyote attacks in Weymouth and kills a dog", WHDH-TV - New England News
77.^ History of the Fur Trade, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, USGS
78.^ Dakotas Prairie Basin Wetlands, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, USGS
79.^ Coyotes As Part Of Texas' Fur Trade, Symposium Proceedings, Coyotes in the Southwest: A Compendium of Our Knowledge December 13–14, 1995, Angelo, Texas
80.^ International Fur Trade Federation
81.^ Wozencraft, W. Christopher (16 November 2005). "Order Carnivora (pp. 532-628)". In Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14000718.
82.^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Canis latrans". Fire Effects Information System. USDA Forest Service. http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/animals/mammal/cala/all.html. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
83.^ a b "Thos vs Canis". Holger Homann’s Home Page. http://www.holgerhomann.us/Thos_vs%20%20Canis.htm. Retrieved March 29, 2008.
84.^ Seton, Ernest Thompson (2006). Art Anatomy of Animals. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. p. 160. ISBN 0486447472. http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0486447472?qisbn=1206802027.
[edit] References"Canis latrans". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180599. Retrieved March 23, 2006.
Robert M. Timm, Hopland Research & Extension Center, University of California, Hopland, California; Rex O. Baker, California State Polytechnic University-Pomona (retired), Corona, California; Joe R. Bennett, USDA APHIS Wildlife Services, Taft, California; and Craig C. Coolahan, USDA APHIS Wildlife Services, Sacramento, California, "Coyote Attacks: An Increasing Suburban Problem" (March 3, 2004). Hopland Research & Extension Center. Paper timm_baker_P047.
http://repositories.cdlib.org/anrrec/hrec/timm_baker_P047
Bekoff, Marc. 1977. Canis Latrans, Species Account. American Society of Mammalogists.
McClennen, N., R. Wigglesworth, and S. H. Anderson. 2001. "The effect of suburban and agricultural development on the activity patterns of coyotes (Canis latrans), American Midland Naturalist, vol. 146: 27-36.
Moehlman, P., and H. Hofer. 1997. "Cooperative breeding, reproductive suppression, and body mass in canids", chapter in Cooperative Breeding in Canids, ed. N. G. Solomon and J. A. French. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Morey, Paul. 2004. "Landscape use and diet of coyotes, Canis latrans, in the Chicago metropolitan area", Masters Thesis, Utah State University.
Parker, Gerry. 1995. "Eastern Coyote: Story of Its Success", Nimbus Publishing, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Voigt, D. R., and W. E. Berg. 1999. "Coyote", chapter 28 in Wild Furbearer Management and Conservation in North America, Section IV: Species Biology, Management, and Conservation. Queen's Printer for Ontario, Ontario, Canada.

Game and Fish Records

2011-02-25T17:51:00.004-05:00

In doing research, in answer to your question, these are best records I can find. I would suggest if you have any information on a different record to contact the Maine Sportsman - keeper of offical records. Biologists will mention that bigger game and fish are out in the wilds of Maine, some trapped and released, others that have not been verified or certified. My suggestion is that if you have a game or fish that you think is a record - you get it properly tagged, weighed and certified!

Game Records:

Whitetailed Buck (Firearms): 355 Ibs., field dressed, Horace Hinckley, Augusta,
ME, 1955, Concord

Whitetailed Buck (Bowhunting): 259 Ibs., field dressed, Darryl Flagg, Jefferson,
10/20/1988, Waldoboro

Whitetailed Doe (Firearms): 185 Ibs., field dressed, Luke Arsenault, Lisbon
Falls, ME, 11/1/92, Seboomook Township

Whitetailed Doe (Firearms): 185 Ibs., field dressed, Steve Letourneau, Turner,
ME, 11/11/04, Lower Enchanted Township

Whitetailed Doe (Bowhunting): 166 Ibs., field dressed, Joseph Kennedy,
Litchfield, ME, 9/13/05, Cape Elizabeth

Whitetailed Doe (Antlered): 210 Ibs., eight-points, Jack Cross, Bethel, ME,
11/15/80, Bethel

Black Bear (Firearms): 680 Ibs. (live weight), Richard Moore, Allentown,
PA, 9/13/93, Patten - understand Thousand Acre Bog, with hounds.

Black Bear (Archery): 501 Ibs., field dressed, Pete Shippee, Winthrop, ME,
8/29/90, Strong

Black Bear (Sow): 334.5 Ibs., field dressed, Tom Sullivan, Portland, Conn., August 28, 2006, Mapleton 10/31/87, Canton

Black Bear (Sow – Archery) 328 pounds, Kyle Stokes, Annville, PA, 8/29/2007, St. Agatha.

Moose (Bull) 1,330 Ibs., 1982 field dressed, Willard & Sterling, Waterman, New Gloucester, ME, 1982, Marsardis.

Moose (Bull-Archery) 1,040 Ibs., Craig Warren, New Gloucester, ME, 9/30/2009, Allagash.

Moose, cow: 774 Ibs., Mark McKenna, Jay, ME, 10/13/05, Dyer Brook.

Turkey: 27 Ibs. 12 oz., Sarah Levangie, Belfast, ME, 4/28/03, Waldo County.

Turkey (Bow): 25 Ibs., Chris Nadeau, Wells, ME, 5/1/07, Wells Falls

Coyote NEED THE COYOTE RECORD - Verified Please

Note: If you know of a verifiable fish or game record larger than those listed here, or for a species not listed here, please send the information to: Harry Vanderweide, The Maine Sportsman, PO Box 351, Augusta, Maine 04332 Email: harry.vanderweide@verizon.net

Fishing Records

Atlantic Salmon 28 lbs 1 oz Undisclosed Howard Clifford 10/9/1980
Black Crappie 3 lbs 4 oz Sibley Pond Wayne S. Morey Sr. 9/12/1986
Blueback Trout 4 lbs 4 oz Basin Pond Merton Wyman 1958
5.24 8/2008 Pushineer Pond Craig McLaughlin, Mapleton
Brook Trout 9 lbs 0 oz Square Pond Mark Collins 5/15/1997
Brown Trout 23 lbs 5 oz Square Pond Robert Hodson 3/6/1996
Chain Pickerel 6 lbs 8 oz Androscoggin Lake Joseph Arsenault 2/11/1992
7.02 3/07 Balch Lake
Cusk 33 lbs 4 oz Perkins Cove, Ogunquit Kenton Geer 10/11/2002
Fallfish 3 lbs 12 oz Sibley Pond Wayne S. Morey 9/12/1986
Lake Trout 31 lbs 8 oz Beech Hill Pond Hollis Grindle 1958
Landlocked Salmon 22 lbs 8 oz Sebago Lake Edward Balkely 1907
Largemouth Bass 11 lbs 10 oz Moose Pond Robert Kamp 1968
Muskellunge 26 lbs 8 oz Glazier Lake Allen Dufour 3/22/2001
31.02 3/07 Glazier Lake, Jeff Albert
Northern Pike 31 lbs 2 oz North Pond Lance Bolduc 3/1998
Smallmouth Bass 8 lbs 0 oz Thompson Lake George Dyer 1970
Splake 10 lbs 3 oz Mount Vernon Daniel R. Paquette 5/8/1993
Sunapee Trout 4 lbs 10 oz Lower South Branch Pond Wayne Dillon 6/1989
White Perch 4 lbs 10 oz Messalonskee Mrs. Earl Small 1959 (? bass/altered)
3.2 2008 Little Parker Pond, Chris Barbier
Whitefish 7 lbs 8 oz Sebago Lake Neil Sullivan 1958
Yellow Perch 1 lbs 10 oz Worthley Pond Chad Mostats 8/1989
Striped Bass 67. 9/78 Sheepscot River, Doug Dodge

"Hungry Month"

2011-02-19T17:20:00.002-05:00

According to native folklore...the recent full moon is called the "hungry moon" as natural food is scarce this month for both man and wildlife. It is also a month that cats and coyotes are getting ready to den and give birth.

Over the last week or so snow conditions have been poor for deer, shoeing the deer yard in the back yard, holding seven deer finds them just plain trapped. They sneak to the road and just stand on the edge as you drive by slow. The dogs and coyotes however are running on the crust. In the pasture the fox is trucking along, now the coyotes have appeared and are hunting the house cats and grain.

Every night he watch the shadows and listen to them for hours...running in the deer yard hoping to find and cause a cruel death to the deer. I have not check the last few days on the conditions of the deer, but I am sure that we have lost a few...as there is just no defense for the deer, no ability to fight back and no place to run.

With the appearance of the four or five coyotes everynight, and permits in hand the crew decided to make an attempt at controling the coyote population and protecting the farm critters, deer and house pets.

As we know from trapping and hunting, coyotes are the most diffcult creature to hunt and call....they are not stupid. We have been hunting three days...seeing the shadows, getting them with a 100 yards only to have them walk behind us and not allowing any shots.

If anyone has hunted at night can attest, it is diffcult to walk, hold the light and get a good sight with a rifle, must less with a shotgun.

Lynx

2011-01-14T08:35:00.000-05:00

BANGOR — A federal judge on Wednesday wondered aloud if trappers and hunters were getting the message that the Canada lynx is an endangered species and it’s a federal crime to kill it, move or possess its carcass or own its pelt.

“I don’t know how long my patience will last with these kinds of cases,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk said after sentencing a fourth man in U.S. District Court in four years to jail time for a violation of the Endangered Species Act that involved a lynx. “At some point, I may have to impose longer sentences. Seven days of incarceration hasn’t stopped this.”

Kravchuk sentenced William McCoy, 41, of Fayetteville, Pa., to seven days in federal prison for trying to cover up the fact that a Canada lynx, an endangered species, was caught in one of his traps two years ago. McCoy was sentenced immediately after he pleaded guilty to violating the act.

By pleading guilty, McCoy admitted that in December 2008 he removed a lynx’s body from his trap set in the town of Stacyville and carried it about 50 yards away so wardens would not know he had unintentionally trapped the animal.

A charge that he killed a gray jay, a protected migratory bird, in a separate trap that had been set illegally was dropped in a plea agreement with federal prosecutors.

“I’ve based my whole life on [trapping],” McCoy told the judge just before she imposed the sentence. “I’m a good person. I do what states tell me to do, and I trap in a lot of states.”

McCoy, who has no criminal history, told Kravchuk that he did not trap the lynx intentionally but panicked when he found the dead animal in one of his traps and attempted to discard its body.

Assistant U.S. Attorney James McCarthy advocated for a sentence of seven days. Defense attorney Terence Harrigan of Bangor urged Kravchuk to impose a fine rather than jail time.

The judge said McCoy’s sentence of seven days was the same as for two other men previously sentenced on a similar charge involving the same species. She noted that other defendants had intentionally obtained the bodies of lynx or the animal’s pelt.

Last year, Kravchuk sentenced Alan B. Clark Jr., 38, of South Hero, Vt., to seven days in jail for having a lynx carcass. The judge imposed the same sentence on Kevin L. Fortin, 59, of Van Buren in December 2006 and ordered him to pay a $1,500 fine for having a lynx pelt. She sentenced Ricky Learnard, 43, of Van Buren in January 2007 to 21 days in jail for shooting the lynx whose pelt Fortin was found to possess.

A temporary resident of Maine during trapping season, McCoy was warned earlier in the 2008 trapping season that his trap settings did not comply with Maine rules intended to deter the accidental capture of lynx, bald eagles and other protected species, according to the prosecution version of the events to which he pleaded guilty.

Maine game wardens checking on McCoy’s traps discovered boot tracks in the snow on Dec. 4, 2008, leading from a tree where he had set traps before to the dead lynx, discarded about 50 yards away. The tree where the trap had been set had claw marks, fur and other signs that the lynx had been caught and died.

During a subsequent interview with wardens, McCoy confessed to finding the dead lynx in his trap and attempting to hide its carcass in a panic, according to the prosecution version of events. He also admitted to burning the boots he had been wearing at the time after learning that investigators were spotted at the site.

In imposing the sentence, Kravchuk told McCoy that it was the cover-up of the lynx's death that brought the trapper before her.

The judge stayed the execution of McCoy’s sentence 30 days and requested that the Federal Bureau of Prisons allow him to serve his sentence as close to his home residence as possible.

McCoy has not trapped in Maine since the incident with the lynx, Harrigan said after the sentencing. The trapper paid fines for violations of Maine fish and wildlife regulations in Millinocket District Court before leaving the state for good. The lawyer said that Wednesday’s conviction would not affect McCoy’s ability to obtain licenses to trap and earn a living.

A violation of the Endangered Species Act, which is a federal misdemeanor, carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison and a maximum fine of $25,000.

The death of the lynx in December 2008 as well as other deaths that season became part of a legal battle between two groups — the Wildlife Alliance of Maine and the Animal Welfare Institute — and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The two organizations had charged that DIF&W was violating the Endangered Species Act by allowing trapping activities that occasionally injured or killed lynx. U.S. District Judge John Woodcock later rejected the groups’ claims that Maine’s trapping policies could cause irreparable harm to the state’s lynx population.

Coyotes Kill Fawns and Pets

2010-12-04T23:06:00.001-05:00

Coyote’s Kill Deer

Another deer season is coming to a close, only a few more days of muzzleloader season remain. For us in Maine, that north of Augusta, the search for deer continues. There are just no deer, especially downeast. Oh yes there are a few pockets here and there, but overall deer have disappeared.

Camp talk goes from spraying to loss of winter yards to coyotes. In the daily travels we find plenty of food and bud tips, but no deer.

In the few days we had snow the crew hunted hard around Chick, Jellison Mountain and Molly Road. What we tracks we did find, within a few steps we also found coyote tracks running or following the deer. Snow makes things quiet and reduces the deer’s ability to smell, especially during the storm with whirling winds.

I’ve often thought that coyotes are a major cause of our deer problem or lack of fawn survival which is critical to our deer herd recovery.

Do bounties and award programs work, while they may not eliminate coyotes they certainly would reduce or hold their numbers in balance and allow recovery of the deer? According to tagging reports only about 2,000 coyotes are harvested annually in Maine.

Fawn survival is the critical part of the equation. So beside’s the wolf, what else is reducing our fawn survival? Bear and bobcat? Studies have shown that while bear and cat may have impact on fawns in May and June, it is not near the level as the coyote. It should also be noted that bear and cat were roaming the woods when downeast was the deer capital of Maine.

Then I picked up this month’s issue of the American Hunter and there was an article by Patrick Durkin on how Coyotes Affect Deer Herds. The article was talking about studies in Eastern and Southern States, states including South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama to name a few. Reports are showing that more that 74% of fawns may die before they are six weeks old, with coyotes likely responsible. Have coyotes learned to identify doe behavior when fawns are nearby, enough to learn to pack up and search out the fawn? Has our fawn survival done from 2 fawns to say 3 does to more like one fawn to twenty eight does? If so where does this leave the State of Maine and our deer herd?

The time has come for a reward and bounty system, at least enough to cover the cost of gasoline for hunters and trappers. We need more hounds man running the coyote and more guides performing predator calling. I’ve heard calls that bear are the problem, I just don’t see the evidence that a few bears have destroyed region after region of deer.

It is also time to take some of the Lynx funds and collar deer and study the impact of coyote on fawn mortality. IFW has not in any fashion been proactive in protecting and preserving our deer herd from the threat of coyotes! Why? The issue always comes back to funding, our license costs are up and sales are down – why, no deer, no hunters. But we continue to spend thousands to allow wardens to perform duties not related to their mission or purpose. The calls are coming for consolidation and budget cuts – heck if wardens want to be a state trooper, swat member or local law officer then maybe it is time for consolidation.

SAM might want to explore the labor work records and see how many hours a year the warden spends in a deer yard reducing coyote numbers or perform animal control to reduce their numbers. It is also reported that as part of the Lynx study coyotes are captured, collared and released!

The coyote is a killer and top of the predator line that is now established in Maine. Wolf’s once roamed the Eastern range, having a large territory and harvesting a variety of foods. But without the wolf, coyotes spread east quickly in the early 1900’s and established themselves as the leader.

Studies also show another chain reaction. Wolf’s won’t tolerate a coyote; the coyote won’t tolerate fox, fisher, marten or bobcat. In fact coyote compete with the fisher, cat, fox, lynx and marten for the same small game such as rabbit, squirrel, frogs and deer.

Being so concerned about Lynx, which have been in Maine since early time, we should be concerned about how the coyote is affecting the Lynx recovery but removing the food so critical to the Lynx survival! Maybe a federal grant is available to help recover the Lynx by removing the coyote.

Cold Weather - Beaver Trappers in High Gear

2010-12-04T21:57:00.002-05:00

The cold weather puts beaver trappers into high gear. While open water trapping provides many opportunities, the ice makes remote bogs and pond more accessible when searching for Maine’s largest rodent.

IFW works to ensure a balance between the ecological role of beaver in wetlands, the desire of landowners to limit damage to crops and roads, fisheries in rearing of trout and allowing recreational opportunities for trappers. The number of beaver state wide is increasing and the need for removal of nuisance beavers continues to increase as the department has cut back its animal damage control program because of funding shortfalls. Thus landowners are taking on more responsibility and costs in removing nuisance beaver.

I live in an area with a number of trappers, including myself. Yet on the state route we have resident population of beaver that seems never ending. I am pretty sure they work their way from Bradley via Blackman Stream to Chemo Pond to Sibley and Trout brook. These waterways flow through a number of backyards and public roads. A resident on Route 180 enjoins the services of animal control on a regular basis to keep the road, pasture and drive open. It seems that this family of critters likes to construct its dam under the signal lane bridge, weaving mud and sticks into the top decking. On a number of occasions, as live trap removal of the colony, Zach and I will assist the owner and remove the dam. Yet within weeks another group arrives and starts the process again.

The average price of Beaver over the last ten years has been running $14 - $25 per pelt. The harvest data for the same period has ranged from 7809 to around 12,000 annually, with a season of harvest from November to April.

There are a number of facts in limited harvest, low prices, high gasoline costs, poor ice conditions and weather conditions.

IFW has been working hard to encourage more trapping of beaver to lower damage and nuisance issues, while some of these measures have provided more interest, it hasn’t been enough to reduce nuisance complaints. It wasn’t long ago that wardens were called to “blow” the dam and remove the problem beaver. Again those days are done, because of time and money…I might buy the money issue, but not the time issue of the warden, but back on track to trapping.

Fisheries science and trout rearing also play into the trapping and removal of beaver. We have all fished a beaver flowage for a few nice trout and that is just about what happens, a few nice trout. Trout require a gravel bottom in running cool water to spawn and hatch eggs. Once the dam is built and creates the impoundment, trout do grow because of the increased feed, but they can’t sustain the population in future years due to the loss of spawning redds. Thus fisheries in most cases like to see brooks and streams remain free of obstructions.

Large beaver dams also create a threat to towns from dam wash out in heavy spring rains. Historical data has shown a number of cases with damage from the eight foot dam wash out.

Beaver create channels in the mud/gravel from the house or bank home the “feed bed” and fed areas. The backed up water may on be a few inches deep, but the beaver cut a channel a few feet deep in the bottom to sneak in to the feed areas. This allows the beaver to remain under water and protected from attack. Beaver is a favorite meal to bear, wolf, cougar and coyote (wonder if we have wolf and cougar in Maine?) in the state. However most of taking by bear is incidental or in the spring when bear are out of den and beaver kits are just starting to explore the nursery.
The use of beaver is not just for the use of the fur; in fact beaver is one of the most utilized animals in the country. The tails are considered a delicacy for food; the meat is utilized as general food which is high in protein or for dog supplement. The teeth, claws and skull is sought for medicines and crafts, overall the beaver is completely utilized.

Most common method of trapping beaver is by use of the conibear instant kill trap called a 330. The conibear is like a large mouse trap that is either baited or placed in a run, again much like a mouse trap. Other method includes using underwater snares and pole traps. The average price of a 330 conibear is $18-20 per trap.

IFW, paper companies and towns maintain lists of nuisance beaver locations and encourage local trappers to remove problem beavers. While this is a great place to start we need to scout areas beyond the local waters and move to the headwaters. Many of the nuisance beavers are juvenile’s that have dispersed from the main colony.

There are special laws pertaining to beaver trapping, some of which regulate trap size, must be 10 feet from the house or den, five feet from a dam and four feet from another trap, traps must be labeled and tended.

So we have found our flowage that we wish to trap and a channel that runs away from the house. We need to set the trap at least ten feet from the house (there is a special method for measuring distance from the house on ice – go figure) and at least four feet from another trapper. Thus we should set a trap at ten feet and fourteen feet. This pushes the next trapper back to at least eighteen feet from the house. Notice this puts trappers on a first come first serve when trapping.

I prefer to use conibear, placed in fence style. This means cutting a trench in the ice across the brook or channel and putting sticks to create a guide toward the trap area. The trap is wired onto two poles with cross braces. I not only label the trap, but write my name on the top of the pole and wire a tag. This saves another inspector or warden from having to chisel the ice and remove the trap to inspect the tag.

The trap is lowered into the channel, using care to insure no accidental spring, just like setting the mouse trap.

Setting a 330 trap is no easy chore, nor do you want to have it snap back on your arm. There are safety built into the trap to avoid this but on occasion snaps happen.

I recall venturing out on thin ice at Buzzy Brook in search of a few beaver. In tending the trap, I cut the inspection hole. The inspection hole is cut to check the trap and saves opening a full trench if not needed. I water was dark and murky and I couldn’t clearly see, so like a fool I reached into the water thinking I was feeling in front of the trap for fur, when SNAP, now my arm was locked in the 330. Ever tried to chisel ice one handed, with your other hand underwater. The next step was attempting to remove the trap one handed, which failed so I had to drive into Old Town and have a friend open the trap so I could get my arm back. I wasn’t dumb enough to inspect 330’s with my hands again.

My beaver trapping extends now for the kids who have junior trapping licenses and enjoy working the ice holes and building the fences, they also enjoy the extra spending dollars for the holidays.

Traps are checked on a regular basis and fur removed. Once out of the water the beaver are rolled in snow to soak up the water and protect the pelt. The removal of a trapped beaver is like taking a mouse out of the glue trap. The trench must be opened by chisel or chain saw (no bar oil) and the fence removed. However as winter progress and ice thickens, the saw bar will not reach and the hole is opened by hand.

Once you have gathered your fur, there are two choices, put the fur up yourself (preferred method) or sell the beaver in the round. Most trappers work their own fur, skinning and fleshing the pelt. Pelts are sold individually to a fur buyer or at auction. I remember selling fur to the likes of Pomery, Gould and Mowatt Fur. In fact one of the oldest and wisest fur buyers in Maine is Mr. Stevens who once worked for the famed Mowatt Fur Company. His prices are fair and stories priceless.

Trapping supplies are available at Cronks, Maine Military and a few local dealers.

Wolf Case

2010-12-01T22:14:00.002-05:00

I received a request to find the article and offical report on the last wolf harvested in Maine. As I mentioned we had watched this animal and one other for over a year prior to it being taken. I am having the offical IFW report that I obtained under the freedom of informatin act scanned. But below is one of the articles published by the BDN regarding the 81 pound confirmed wolf.

Signs Suggest a Return Of Timber Wolf to Maine
Published: December 22, 1996 BDN
ELLSWORTH, Me., Dec. 21 — The caller told the game warden, Debbie Palman, that he had killed a very large coyote, but when Mrs. Palman saw the animal she knew right away that it was something else.

The big chest, long body, large head and the weight -- almost 82 pounds, more than twice that of the average coyote -- and other markings appeared to identify the animal as a timber wolf or a wolf hybrid.

Its presence on remote timber land several miles north of here in a sparsely populated part of northeastern Maine has fueled speculation about whether timber wolves are migrating down from Canada, more than a century after they disappeared from the state.

If genetic tests under way at the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's forensic laboratory in Oregon determine that the animal is a timber wolf, generally known as the gray wolf, it will be the second one killed in Maine in recent years. In 1993, a bear hunter in northwestern Maine shot what tests later identified as a female wolf.
Wildlife biologists plan to conduct tracking surveys this winter to look for more signs of the animals.

Game wardens have also asked hunters to look carefully before shooting anything that appears to be a coyote. ''If our department had suspected there might be wolves in Hancock County,'' Mrs. Palman said, ''we could have done a better job educating hunters and trappers.''

Gray wolves are on the Federal endangered species list in the 48 contiguous states except in Minnesota, where they are listed as threatened. Killing an endangered wolf is punishable by a year in jail and a fine of up to $100,000.

About 75 miles, including farmland and the St. Lawrence River, separate Maine from the nearest wolf packs in the Laurentian Highlands of Quebec, said Craig McLaughlin, a biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Although icebreakers keep the St. Lawrence open in the winter, it can freeze over at times, which would allow a small group of wolves to cross.

Wolves feed on moose, deer and beavers -- all of which Maine has in abundance, said Daniel Harrison, an associate professor of wildlife economy at the University of Maine in Orono, who has studied both wolves and coyotes.

Private groups are already actively promoting the restoration of the wolf's population. One of them is Defenders of Wildlife, an organization based in Washington that spearheaded the successful campaign to reintroduce gray wolves into Yellowstone National Park, has advocated their reintroduction into New York's Adirondacks and parts of New Hampshire and Maine.

While the program in the West has angered ranchers who fear for their livestock, the idea of bringing wolves back to Maine has been opposed by hunters who do not want more competition for game. Some hunters seem to feel differently about wolves that arrive on their own.

Phil Phillips, a gunsmith at Willy's Gun Shop in Ellsworth, where the wolflike animal was killed, said he had never seen a wolf but would not be surprised to learn that the elusive creatures were here. ''It wouldn't be so bad to have a few around,'' he said. ''It might be kind of neat.''

Thin Ice

2010-11-30T23:52:00.003-05:00

This is a wonerful time of year, where one can fall asleep with the pond wide open, only to awake and find the winter lock of ice in. Amazing!!! Then a slight dusting of snow covers the lake adding more beauty. Adults want to fish and trap, kids want to skate and play on the ice. I have always felt that through the various season special alert eduction should be provided in our schools to kids on the dangers and hazards of various seasons. Thin ice is the first, the thin ice and freezing water is not like spring bee's, poison ivy, wet rocks and glass on the beach. One crack and the adventure can turn to disaster. I would ask that each of you take a moment and educate the young about checking the pond ice out at this time of year. A common mistake is following the dog running across the ice with its weight spread out on four feet and weighing much less or attempting to "go" rescue the dog that went through the ice. Education is the key...knowing what to do in case one goes through and how to call for help are keys to winter safety.

Duck Again

2010-11-30T23:39:00.002-05:00

After thirty some odd years of ice fishing Duck Lake, progessing from winter camping in trash bags to tents to the luxury of an ice shack I thought the old man finally had outgrown this lake and trip. But at young age of 68, Hayward or as most of you know him, PeeWee awoke a week ago with the strongest desire to retire for the winter to Duck once again.

As we hunted the ridges around Jellison Meadow I could tell his mind was elsewhere. As the turkey roasted, the skill saw was running, for five non stop days work has been underway on the "new shack". Complete once again with bunkbeds, portapotty, counter, LP gas light/heat, sink, counter, stove, radio and this time $400 custom sliding windows. In addition it looks like shelves, mirror, mini ref and storage...and all this packed into a 7x12 building.

The annual event involves moving the shack to the landing at Duck late in December, usually he wants to get going Christmas afternoon and never fail by the 28th he wants to at least get her into the cove on whatever ice there be.

Because of the lack of movement with the state to purchase an easement or right to the 32-00-0 access at Gassabiss Stream it is a long haul to Enfield and Nicatous, that or sled from Route 9 or ride an ATV. But if the snow flies, the ATV trail is now a sled trail, so no ATV. If you trust leaving your vehicle on the 32-00-0 and riding in, hope it doesn't snow while you are fishing or again your are locked until spring. The hike to Duck is now a chore, but those chores create memories for years to come, abeit a hard trip for kids who want to go fishing.

So as you wander in the true remote woods of Maine, those bounded by Route 9 to Route 6, come join us for a cup of coffee and good story swapping.

Memories - John Hammond

2010-11-30T23:21:00.002-05:00

It was a typical cool November night, 26 degrees, crystal clear, star bright and still. Zach, "blue" and I were slowly working our waay down a frosty old woods road in search of a few raccoons. Watching a dog work in this fashion is part of the joy, her nose searching the air for scent when suddenly the tails starts moving, then her rear is twitching and the paws are needing my leg....within moments her brawling voice is openning and screaming, let me down I need to run....and off in bounding leaps she gone, almost running on her hind feet as she reaches for the stars and more scent. This was a scene for years gone by and last night. Another bluetick with the same name as one from over twenty years ago....and the memories came flooding back. My partner tonight was my son of thirteen years....but years ago it was one of the most dedicated houndsman and avid outdoors I knew...John Hammond and his Redbones....I would hammer my blue against those dam redbones anyday now or then, at least that was the way John and I bantered back and forth. John passed years ago from a rare skin disease, way too young. But to this day, I carry his memory and his picture with that dam redbone isn't far away. In those few short years John's tales could fill volumes, especially the day the dog followed the cat down in the ledges, then jumped out leaving the down far underground with no way out. John spent days feeding and sleeping with the dog until he could chisel a hole by hand in rock to get his beloved redbone free....I know my search tonight is guided by both hound and houndsman...

Moose Puddle

2010-10-07T21:34:00.003-04:00

MOOSE PUDDLE
1980 – Moose Hunt Starts
1982 – Lorin's Permit
1996 – Snookey’s Permit
The adventure actually started in 1980 when it was legal once again to hunt Moose in Maine. This is a lottery draw permit system, Lorin and I have put in for a permit every year since 1980. Finally in 1982, Lorin and a friend of ours Joey DeRosche, which was Lorin’s subpermittee, got their permit to hunt Moose. Their zone was northeast. So we packed up all our gear, Lorin’s great list and my Dad’s old stripped out Scout to haul the big game. I went along for the trip to help out and do the women thing of taking care of camp. We ended up in Hersey, hunting the big fierce Moose. If memory serves me correctly, it was a warm week with lots of rain. We hunted every day, seeing a few moose from long distances and a big old Black Bear that just happened to cross our path, he got away. We got a little worried come Thursday and no Moose yet, all the pre season Moose had disappeared. Joey spotted what appeared to be fresh Moose tracks crossing the road. Eagerness and anticipation renewed we parked the truck and walked in. Their “he” was standing in the middle of a beaver bog. Lorin fired his 308 without a moment’s hesitation and took the Moose down with one shot where it had stood – in the middle of the pond. Here comes Joey on a dead run over to Lorin, when Lorin looked over and saw a huge bull standing looking at him a few yards away, probably wondering what all the commotion was about. Boy what temptation can do to a man. This bull was at least twice the size of the one down in the pond. Luckily Lorin was good at controlling his or we would have had a dilemmia on our hands trying to explain two Moose to our friendly wardens.
Well, we shot the Moose in the middle of the bog and the only thing sticking out of the water was one horn. No one wanted to get wet and fight the blood suckers. We tried throwing a rope to no avail. So I volunteered, but the guys didn’t want me to show them up so Lorin waded to the moose and dragged it or floated it to shore. Now the fun begins, after dressing out the Moose, we had to get it out to the truck! So Lorin, Joey and I all had rope harness and three beers that we sat every ten feet, we could have a beer when we got the moose dragged to the next can. I had the middle harness, and gave pull, I slipped with my new jeans and the boys pulled the moose over the top of me….nice cavity. Boy was that a treat and a lot of work. Well anyway we got the moose home. Lorin lived in Bangor in a much respected neighborhood across from the Eastern Maine Hospital. No one was real pleased with a moose hanging in the Willow tree in the front yard.
As you all know there was a lot of controversy over having a moose hunt and Lorin got his permit the year before the big vote in 1983. We gave away a lot of moose meat to persuade some of those votes. Being the radical Lorin can sometimes be, he couldn’t resist putting on his trucks tailgate “Eat Moose 10,000 coyotes can’t be wrong.
So it turns out we got to keep our moose hunting rights.
We continued to put in for our permits and after fourteen years it was my turn. I got my permit and Lorin was the subpermittee. I was so excited and couldn’t wait for October 7th that year to arrive. The zone I picked was southeast for the reason that we lived on Alligator Lake and own the sporting camp and do guiding. It was close to home and I have been watching a nice bull who had been handing around our home. Well the day finally came and so our true adventure begins, Lorin and I left the house bright and early Monday morning, the weather was great and we had high hopes and lots of determination, parked and called, drove a lot of roads and managed to see one bird, but no moose. All that pre season scouting and all the bulls were once again gone. We had to go to Bangor to replace a shock we had broken bouncing down roads. Tuesday we were doing a little bit better, we drove down one road and stopped by Alligator Stream and Lorin walked down to take a look while I waited in the truck, the next I know he is running up the bank, “get your gun quick” he said, well I am out of that truck like a shot, down over the bank I go and there is a huge cow with a calf. I just watched her walk out of my scope; I wanted to hold out for that bull I had been watching, so we continued traveling all the side roads and magin – no moose. It was getting late so we decided to head home, by way of the Stud Mill Road from somewhere down by Sabeo and down the road runs another cow with a calf, not really legal game since legal shooting had ended. Then we are 27-00-0 almost home and there is another cow and calf standing in the road. They saw us and the calf takes a left side of the road, and the cow heads down the road and turns in our driveway. I couldn’t believe it – maybe it would run into the cooler. So we were skunked for Tuesday. Here comes a new day and hopefully better hunting as we drove roads were there were none and walked bogs – brooks and hardwood ridges and to no avail. No moose, but we did see three birds and one doe in a clear cut. We got a few pictures of her, as deer are few and far between now out this way. I was getting discouraged because I really didn’t want to be one of the few that didn’t get a moose. Being a woman and all, I felt I had something to prove. We decided come Thursday morning to drive first thing and if we didn’t see anything we would take a canoe down Seven Mile Brook in Aurora. The weather wasn’t all that great, but what the hell we weren’t getting anywhere road hunting. So we load the canoe and drove down to Seven Mile. Arriving at the brook, we unloaded the canoe and packed the gear. Down Seven Mill Lorin paddled while I scouted for my moose. See I was lucky I had a Master Guide and he assured me we couldn’t miss by canoeing, there would be moose all down the brook. Down the brook we went over beaver dam after beaver dam and twisting water, there is a camp down the brook with an access bridge over the water, we had to portage as the bridge is just off the water. Then there were more beaver dams, an old rip logging dam and shallow water with rocky bottom and we had to drag the canoe. It was a gorgeous place to stop because of the huge rocks and hardwood ridge, perfect fall color, absolutely beautiful. We rested for a few minutes taking out and enjoying the rip, even though it was on the damp dreary side. All of sudden I heard this crashing noise along the right shore, so Lorin swings the canoe so that I am facing the shore, we see the shape thru the dense brush by shore and at first I thought it was a moose. So I am standing up in the canoe trying to get a better look and Lorin is telling me to sit down and not to shoot yet. Well as I got to looking I turned and said BEAR. Lorin never heard me say Bear, he thought I was still looking at what I thought at first was a small moose getting a drink a few feet in front of us. So I couldn’t fire and then the bear crashed off, I turned and asked Lorin why he didn’t want me to shoot the bear, he says what bear? I didn’t hear you say bear and since when do you listen to me anyways, you should have shot. Well whether I shot or not, it was exciting to see a bear that close. Well after that bit of excitement we continued on down to the old foot bridge which is fallen apart (this once was the way to an early village). It must have been about a four mile trip from the 29-00-0 road. Anyway by this time because I wasn’t paddling as I was cold and frustrated at not seeing my moose and it looked like spitting snow. So we decided to head back up stream, Lorin put my gun under his seat in a case so I could help paddle to warm up. We were talking and paddling along for about a couple of miles. And we came around a corner of the brook where it spread out wider and behold there was my moose my Master Guide had promised. Excitement that is felt hardly explains the feelings. I am screaming at Lorin to give me my gun that this moose wasn’t getting away. Boy they look a lot bigger than they are at a distance. Anyway Lorin passes me my gun and he's trying to tell me to wait until he puts the canoe to shore so we don’t tip over but I never heard him. I fired the first shot, never felt the gun kick as it usually hurts my shoulder when I practice with it. It’s only a 7mm 08 Remington bolt action, great little gun. Back to the story, so the moose faltered in the water and headed for shore, I went to shoot again but forgot to eject the empty shell. Lorin was telling me to shoot again, but I just so use to shooting a semi auto. The 2nd shot he was on the shore, I thought he was heading for the hardwood ridge and didn’t want to loose him. So I handed my gun to Lorin go make sure the moose stayed put. Lorin put the 3rd shot thru the neck and down he went. After I calmed down the work began. We field dressed the moose and finally got the moose rolled into the canoe, we had a radio with us and tried to get some help to get this moose out, but no one answered on the company repeater. Funny how your friends disappear when there’s work at hand. So with moose loaded, I am setting on the moose’s neck, antlers between my legs and I am trying to paddle. The canoe is off kilter because most of the moose’s weight is on the left side of the canoe. We had to get the moose out in a brook that ending having eleven beaver dams, a rift dam, a bridge and shallow water. It was the longest two miles of Seven Mile Brook I have had to paddle, we made it after dragging, pulling, straining muscles we never thought you had, but that bull came out whole. Not quartered and it never fell out of the canoe. After finally getting back to the road we hooked on to the canoe with the pickup and pulled it up the bank and down the road to a turn around so we could figure out how to load the dam thing since rigor had set in and the moose was now modeled to the canoe shape and wedged tight. We come-a-longed the canoe with moose still in it into the truck, breaking the rack off the truck in the process. All loaded we headed for Wesley and Cloud Nine Dinner to tag our well deserved moose. At the tagging station they had a map of where all the moose had been taken, every road we had been on showed three or four moose taken. People look at you kind of funny; like why did you go to all that trouble to shoot a moose, I guess it is a story of a life time and fun, we were looking for a story with a little more of a twist to it and we got one with pictures to prove it. The ironic thing about this that I also shot my moose on Thursday at 1pm, which was the same time and day Lorin got his fourteen years ago. One last not that nice bull moose we had been watching pre season is alive and well as we saw him in the door yard on the way home from town Saturday the last day of moose season, standing with a cow and calf. He knew he was safe legal shooting had just ended, wonder what deer season will bring.

Bluejay the Bluetick Hound

2010-10-04T11:43:00.002-04:00

Well another coon season is here as of midnight the 31st. Bluejay is house bound hound was ready to travel the roads and orchards to hunt, as was young Zach. Flashlights, gear, coffee, .22 and hound were loaded in the truck at 10:30pm for a joyous night of hearing the voice of the hound running the ridge on a cool fall night. I turned onto the Molly road and Blue was hanging hard out the window, usually she likes to hunt out of the defroster vents placed on cool with fresh air. As we slowly moved down the road hoping to get a scent drifting by I heard a bang on Zach side of the truck, then again. I moved Blue so I could see what was going on, thinking Zach was doing something. Then I noticed he was fast asleep and his head was bouncing off the window every time I hit a rut....that was quick only a mile from the house. I stopped the truck and Zach asked what I was stopping for...your asleep was my response, I was! We continued a few more miles and Blue started prancing and digging her toes into my legs, try driving old loggin roads with an 80 pound excited dog on your lap. Then she struck and let loose, I openned the door and out she went baying...Zach woke up again and said lets go home I am cold and then asked where Blue was, hearing her voice charging off directly toward a rather large bog. She is a good dog and I was able to holler and break her off the track, I got her leashed and headed back to the truck. By the time I turned around and headed home, Zach and dog were stretched out across the back seat under a few coats, both seemed exhausted and were sound asleep. So much for the fist night out.

If you really want to spend quality time with a person, you need to get yourself a coon hound and hunt. Pack the rig with snadwichs, snacks, treats for the dog, and cofee. Dogs can hunt from inside the truck, a rack on the front or box on the bak, when not walking the dog along trails or fields. Spending hours with a friend or loved one traveling back roads at 5 mph all night is really a trill. Tons of wildlife, no one else around and there is nothing like the sound of a hound trailing a coon on a cool fall night across the ridge and into the wet bogs of Maine

Days Gone By!

2010-09-23T08:31:00.003-04:00

Crossing the Union River from Great Pond Road or coming down the 23-00-0 from the Stud Mill was always a treat. Traveling and crossing Hinckley Brook, Dead Stream produced a bird, deer and maybe a bear. This once was a well traveled road used by logging and recreation. The old boiler tubes made a heck of a base for the bridge. Those days are now gone as the bridge as been washed out and the remains pulled. Now we must loop around to 01-18, maybe the River Road can once again be openned.

Turkey and Deer

2010-09-23T08:27:00.002-04:00

While I am only an armchair biologist, I would offer that there is not enough food in most of Maine for both Turkey and Deer. My property has a large number of Oak trees'. The mast crop is falling hard, especially when it hits the barn roof. Usually there are six or so deer working the acorns through out the day and night. The turkeys however live in the tree's and clean up the mast crop, at times I think before it hits the ground. There is no question in my mind that the turkey directly competes for the same mast crop as the deer.

Moose Season

2010-09-22T22:12:00.004-04:00

Only hours until another Moose Hunt in Maine gets underway, scouting the area and having the ability to get in the outback and retrieve your game is important. The old scout tractor is ready for action.

Is it Really Fall!

2010-09-22T22:02:00.002-04:00

Tripping from Vanceboro to Loon Bay on the St. Croix River System. The veiws are unreal, maybe a bird or duck, fall colors, and few folks working the water. Time for one last trip before ice.

Chimney Fire

2010-09-09T23:10:00.002-04:00

This is a picture of what us Mainers call a "chimney fire". One takes an old hollowed out log, beech, cedar or other, as long as its dry. I suggest starting out with a two or three footer for the average camp fire. Get your fire going, then stand the hollow log up in the coals, you can place a few rocks or bracing of logs to help support if need be. This chimney effect will last for hours, burning at the rate of about an inch an hour...and give enough light to read by. Kids really enjoy the method and warmth, you can also put the grill for hamburgers on the top.

Maine Day's

2010-09-09T23:02:00.000-04:00

This is a future Maine Guide, well it seems Chris is off to his usual self of attempting to help me. Lets see fish for togue at Hopkins during the day, then hunt bear in the evening. What a great season

Moose Shades

2010-09-09T22:58:00.001-04:00

Take a close look, notice the antlers, like a shovel or shade. Actually very sad the other side was the same, except into the eye and on the side you can see it blinded the moose so it kept running into trees.

The Old Man

2010-09-09T22:52:00.001-04:00

Click the picture to enlarge and read cover

ATV Registrations

2010-09-09T22:50:00.002-04:00

ATV registrations need to go calendar year just like boats! We registered the darn thing in late May, forgetting that the registration runs July 1 to June 30, so they get ya twice a year for costs. Guess what happens if you forget?

MOMO

2010-09-09T22:49:00.000-04:00

MOMO
I am pretty sure this is a Clifton term, as I have never heard it anywhere else. I also think Manny started the term. So what is a “MOMO”? Well a momo is just a word or term I would think, like look at that MOMO, or what a MOMO you are. You can also say hi MOMO. I have family members I call MOMO 1, MOMO2 and MOMO3, something’s depending on the action, your number changes. So I guess MOMO means doing something good, stupid, acting like an idiot, spilling your drink (your such a MOMO), goofing off (mud truck stuck in water) – what a MOMO. Or if you get all the fish – you’re such a momo. MOMO is not a swear word or a negative word per say, it’s just a word to describe something, a feeling or someone, so take it in stride you MOMO.

Fear of the Dark

2010-09-09T22:48:00.001-04:00

Maine Professional Guide Manual – Fear of Dark

This manual and its opinions are directed toward anyone interested in Maine outdoor recreation. You could be studying to be a Maine Guide, a hunter, trapper, fisherman, hiker, camper, bird watcher, snowmobiler or just out for a day in the woods. I have written his book to help you understand the Maine woods and how to survive our weather and conditions.

One of the chapters is in the manual is titled “You and the Dark”. With over thirty years hunting, guiding and traveling Maine, I have found a common thread with a lot of folk. It is universal to all; from about age nine to ninety.

Folks are scared of the dark! To this day I am still attempting to find the answer as to why folks are scared of the dark? Did a parent scare the kids, is it too much Monster Quest, are we scared of some strange creature – maybe Bigfoot? How often do you hear of anyone being attacked by a creature in Maine, let alone at night? Never!

Why is it that if we are with someone else our level of fear and rush of adrenaline disappears walking a camp trail? Companionship removes just about all fear of the dark, as does a campfire. We continue to hear stories of hikers, hunters and other confused recreationalist running madly through the woods, searching for a way out. Lost is only a state of mind. You are only lost if you have a planned point of arrival scheduled, otherwise you are just touring or wandering around, much like window shopping at the mall. There is not a creature in Maine that will go out of its way to hurt you, except for two, the black fly and mosquito. Now you might have a coon, fisher or bear investigate the smell of your cooking bacon or food, but not in search of you personally.

How to overcome the fear of the dark: try lawn sitting and looking at the stars, listen to the noise, cracking of branches, walking, snorting, yelling, crying, splashing and chirping. Sit the edge of the woods near a field on a cool crisp night, the sounds are amazing. The mouse and night squirrel going across the leaves sounds like a herd of elephants in the jungle. Work slowly more into the wood line listening. To improve your vision, close your eyes and hold them closed while you slowly count to ten, now open them.

The picture didn't come out well - it was dark

Seboeis Mud Run

2010-09-09T22:25:00.003-04:00

The last Mud Run of the year is scheduled for this Sunday at Seboeis! Located just outside of Lincoln and Howland. Over a 1,000 folks show up for the event last month and camping is allowed Saturday free of charge. It's $10 to enter and $15 a run per class and winners win cash. There is also the pig run, like a 50-50 put in a "pig bank" and thrown in the mud, then there is the girl scramble to win the money.

The events are fun, safe, lots of food and consessions. Basicly there is a 100 yard mud pit, who can go the longest in the shorest amount of time wins. There is no backing or driving out for safety. Your vehicle must have a tow hook and when done you are pulled back by the loader.

We are loading the grill, gear and tents, the entire tribe will be arriving with our Toyota's and Scouts, like eighteen of us.

Seboeis Stream
Sunday, September 12 2010
Location: Howland
Contact: Andy Cummings 732-3512

Seboeis Stream. Sun, Sep 12th, 2010. MMBA - Pittston (S). Sun, Sep 19th, 2010 GoDeepMud: Dirty Dawg Deep Mud (*). Sat, Sep 25th, 2010. Rt 4 Mud Runs (Deep) ...
mainemudruns.com

And We Think We Have It Rough

2010-09-09T22:23:00.001-04:00

Remember the winter in Allagash two years ago

Does David O'Connor Still Fish

2010-09-09T22:19:00.001-04:00

I had someone ask me the other day if brother in law, David O'Connor still fished. This picture of Dave at Telos with Togue should answer that question. In Fact he has a new book out.

Tent

2010-09-09T22:15:00.002-04:00

Here we go again with another product, being a long time Coleman Weathermaster 12x14 cabin tent user I found it was time to replace the pipe tent for something newer. The Kelsyus OGO7 at 10x10 fit the bill and its instant set up. And I do mean instant set up, stake it, open the door step inside push the center up and done! Seconds it up, the fly hooks take the most time. It is billed as a 3 season tent and has straight walls...wow room like the coleman, but instant. It's like taking a bedroom with you on the trip and great from late night set ups.

Old Town Pack Canoe

2010-09-09T22:01:00.003-04:00

Wow its small and light weight at 33 pounds. This boat has become Zach's and my favorite. It has handled many streams, ponds, lakes and rivers this summer, replacing the tripper, otter and loon. It is designed for a single person with a cane seat. I found it tippy and did a modification, installing a sliding kayak seat. So basicly I have a light weight open kayak. Last week the boys enjoyed the Machias, with young Jon Ledger sitting on the floor in the front as Zach paddled using a kayak paddle. I attempted to keep up with a loon and then an otter kayak, I couldn't.

I quickly tried loading the front of the boat with gear and set off up stream. I now have my new trapping and deer hunting boat. I tried using a kayak, but couldn't get the gear stored. Problem is now solved.

Fall Trapping

2010-09-09T21:53:00.003-04:00

During this bear season I have been scouting hard for trapping spots, my sister in law has found summer fun, but taking the kids and adults out two - three times a week and calling coyotes around the county. It amazing how close they come out to the car! They don't dare to get out yet and call. But anyways beaver are everywhere, now if only we could find some pricing to make it worth the effort. Seeing a good group of turkeys, but few deer, partridge (be it very hot). The loons (floating coyotes) seem well at hand on the pond, at least in front of camp and they are getting alot more fish than I am.

I am wondering with the low water how the rats, mink and otter are doing, fish must be pooled, but clams at high and dry for the most part. I noticed the eagle and osprey at the same time perched over the Machias watching a pool for signs of fish or other meals.

Its hard in our local area since Mowatt Fur went out to get a great selection of trapping supplies and books. I did visit the Maine Military Store (Frank and Ryan) in Brewer the other day and they had a reasonable selection of material and traps. Ryan said lure, scents and more Duke's are on the way from Cronks. G. Brailey of Kenduskeag also sports a nice collection.

As for local fur buyers about the only one remaining around Bangor at least is Stevens Fur. This man has been around long before the days of Mowatt and knows his fur, be it he could raise his prices a little. Steven's also does Pow Wow's and has a number of damaged tanned hides at great pricing. I purchase tan fur for school projects and to give as gifts to sports that wish to hang something around camp.

I miss the days of Dave Gould and Pomery, boy I am getting old.

Solar Lighting

2010-09-09T21:30:00.005-04:00

While I am not going "green", I have found a nice solution to some age old problems. Like no lighting in the outhouse or wood shed, no lighting in the run in at the pasture and most important no lighting around the tent at night so the kids don't trip on the tent ropes.

Solar lighting - you get a panel and three lights with pegs and mounts. You just drive them in the ground camping or mount on the outhouse. In fact I mounted two panels, size of a sheet of paper and six lights at camp. At 90 degrees outside, it was so nice not to run the gas lights and the extra heat generated by them. These lights are LED and very very bright, enough to read and cook by.

Then I purchased a single Westinghouse spot solar with built in panel. I leave it out during the day and have been using during bear season to get clients and track. Ready for this it goes all night and is as bright as a flashlight for tracking or seeing in the woods. It keeps going and going.

These lights are available at most all stores, like Lowes, Home Depot, Aubuchons, Wal Mart, but the best pricing by far has been at K Mart and the good thing, if not in the store you can have shipped to store from their web site. The bad news is they are not made in America.

I have done a little testing with the LED's, they store the sun power with three, 1.5 volt rechargeable batteries. So I cut and spliced a few wire, installed them with a six volt battery and switches to rooms in the camp....wonderful and no power or maintenance costs. They also work great with RV's or outdoor functions.

The pricing is great $17 buck for panel and three lights, they also have 50 string white LED for about the same price to decorate the truck, camp site or bear bait. Know how the shadows and such creep in on the bait, it is legal to use a light during legal shooting hours, install a solar spot on a tree and the bait becomes alive in low lighting conditions.

Only wish I had a portable solar charger for the truck last week at the Machias, it was a long walk out to get phone service. This is better than JC Whitney

PMR-30

2010-09-09T21:14:00.002-04:00

PMR-30

I don't know if I have found anything magical or not, but here is a brand new .22 mag pistol holding 30 rounds. A great gun for not only teaching youth shooting, but for trapping and outdoor uses. It is solid and priced right. Released in the 2nd quarter of 2010 they are a little hard to find at the moment, especially made in USA, but check with Crosby Gun or Rick at Van Raymonds.

The PMR-30 is a light weight, full size pistol chambered for the flat-shooting .22Magnum cartridge (.22WMR). The PMR-30 operates on a unique hybrid blowback/locked-breech system. This operation system allows for the use of a wide variety of ammunition as it seamlessly adjusts between locked breach and blowback operation, depending on the pressure of the cartridge. It uses a double stack magazine of a new design that holds 30 rounds and fits completely in the grip of the pistol. The trigger is a crisp single action with an over-travel stop. The manual safety is a thumb activated ambidextrous safety lever (up for SAFE, down for FIRE). The slide locks back after the last shot and a manual slide lock lever is also provided. The light, crisp trigger pull and fiber optic sights make the PMR-30 ideal for target shooting and hunting small game.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Calibers: .22 Magnum (.22WMR)
Weight unloaded: 13.6oz. 385.6g
Loaded Magazine: 6oz. 170.1g
Length: 7.9" 200.7mm
Height: 5.8" 147.3mm
Width: 1.3" 33.0mm
Barrel length: 4.3" 109.2mm
Sight radius: 6.9" 175.3mm
Energy (40gr): 138ft-lbs 187J
Capacity: 30 rounds
Trigger pull: 4-6 lbs 17.8-26.7N

Slide and barrel are 4140 steel, frame is 7075 aluminum. Grip, slide cover, trigger, mag release, and safety levers are glass reinforced Nylon (Zytel), much like other Kel-Tec Pistols. Magazine is Also Zytel and holds 30 rounds, with round count ports. Other features include: dual opposing extractors for reliability, heel magazine release to aid in magazine retention, dovetailed aluminum front sight, Picatinny accessory rail under the barrel, Urethane recoil buffer, captive coaxial recoil springs. The barrel is fluted for light weight and effective heat dissipation. PMR30 disassembles for cleaning by removal of a single pin.

Machias Trip

2010-09-09T21:02:00.002-04:00

The waters of the Machias are running low, so low that we could not even kayak the last two weeks. So low that just above the West Branch beavers have built a dam completely across the river, about three feet high, which I am sure will not last during high water.

Over the past month of camping at Airline Rips, lower and upper West Branch and Number 10 (wonderland) I am pleased to report limited use and great folks. While now under the direction of PL (public lands) it is hard to use an ATV the area is still great.

The time has come to get a Machias River Group together, one that cares for the sites, raking, cutting brush back, trimming, cutting grass, outhouse care, adding a few lean too's, installing sign boards with maps and history of the river. You can go to any site in Canada and they look exceptional, but our sites rate low. We want to attract vistors and allow users to enjoy a Maine camping experience, but we do little to boost this effort.

We all talk about Restore Maine and the same of the paper companies, I think just the opposite, it was wonderful when land ownership was in the hands of the paper company. The lands were open and free to use, camping and ATV use was allowed, woodsman always gave direction and insight to hunting and fishing holes. Roads were maintained and again it was all on the backs of the paper companies like St. Regis and Great Northern.

Now we are so restricted and the rules continue to grow, yet site improvements lack for attracting visitors and locals. The Machias is Maines longest free flowing river providing excellent camping and views.

As for the fishing - poor, lots of bass and river chub's. From spring to now, few trout, in fact bass are above the bridge at the west branch now. There are no salmon and doutbfull there will be again, yet we are spending millions to improve stream conditions for fish that don't exist.

Recently, a few weeks ago, an fire broke out at #10 on the island, so new lush green growth will be starting over the next few years.

From Third Machias to the Wigwams to Holmes Falls we can do much with site improvements. I so much would like to apply for grants to make the sites attractive and useable, but with all the paperwork, studies and regulations I would never see it completed.

Game Warden's Job

2010-09-09T20:44:00.002-04:00

The subject of a job description is usually left to union contracts and bargaining, especially when it comes to state employees. In some cases the legislator or Augusta directs what state employees can or can not do within the scope of their work. An example is the fifty or so Forest Rangers covering Maine, with some of the best working radio communications and field, wood wise, common sense employees. Yet even tho the statutes are clear on their law enforcement authority they are restricted by Augusta on enforcement. Even tho allowed, they don't have firearms, do arrests, do stops, check boats on waters or fish and game violations. Why? Sharing of resources between agencies such as Forest Rangers and Warden Service like helicopters and stations is tough, turf issues I suppose, even General Libby who worked so hard to break down the sharing of equipment couldn't help.

So here we have some of the best trained field state employees, covering all the woods and waters of Maine, yet restricted in enforcement. What a great asset to assist with milfoil and such.

Now lets look at a Game Warden, with the same powers and triple the manpower of the rangers and with more toys, gagets and goodies than you can shake a stick at. The statutes are very clear on why fish and game wardens were created and what their purpose is - fish and wildlife protector, they ARE NOT state troopers, DEA, border patrol officers or local police. Yet time and time again they are spending time enforcing or doing agency assists (so called) and more and more getting involved with the stand off shooting and the taking of life. Fish and Game has lost total sight of the mission of a Maine Game Warden. The blame for this rest clearly with the head of the warden service and has for years. One only need read the internal review or material offered by Sportsman Allinance of Maine. We need our fish and game wardens doing the mission they are regulated to do - the commissioner of fish and game should do the same as commissioner of conservation and write the policy on what warden can and can not do - what is the mission objectives. If you have ever had a dealing with a warden and a forest ranger - did you notice the difference in the approach and demeanor, is this because they don't carry a firearm? Forest Rangers developed and trained most all state employees in ICS - Incident Command System, GPS and tatics when dealing with people, so why are we restricting. I may not agree with our governor on various issues, but on this one, both should be mergered to create a Department of Natural Resource and Protection Officers. License's and such should be moved to the Bureau of Professional Licensing and hatcheries should go private (avoid the DEP fines). I listened to a warden recently comment that he couldn't do the job in the time alotted. I remember when a warden without a new 4 wheel drive, without GPS, snowmobile, ATV and aircraft, snowshoed into a pond to check camps and leave a business card. Or the days when a warden knew the best fishing hole or helped stock fish in ponds. These days need to return and the direct of a warden should be that of wildlife protector and educator.

Hunting book on line

2010-08-01T09:13:00.002-04:00

You will notice a new link on the page to my book Maine Black Bear Hunting.

New State Discharge Law

2010-07-29T17:21:00.002-04:00

Getting ready for the season I was target shooting the other day at my range as I and the family has done for years when a state trooper showed up. It seems a neighbor complained and that I was to be informed of the new law on discharge of firearms. Previous law allowed you to target shoot on your own land, and yes I have a back stop. The new law requires you to 100 yards, 300 feet from any type of building or storage area. Well yes there is a building on my neighbors that was within the 100 yard rule. So the range is shut down until the farm tractor can plow another pile of dirt 20 yards out. Make sure you know the new rule, 100 yards regardless of property ownership

Amherst Mountain Plan

2010-07-29T17:16:00.002-04:00

Outline below is the information regarding the 5,000 acres of property the state is now holding. As expected things are changing from "the way Maine was". The company has blocked 22-00-00 so no access and now it is blocked from Fletcher Bluff and PC lands. So if you are out fishing, hunting, traveling and such to Bald Bluff or camp to fish, there is only one way to enter the property now and if coming cross country you can not exit out to route 9 anymore. So if driving from Old Town, you have driven 45 miles only to dead end block feet from route 9.

Dear Interested Person:

The Maine Department of Conservation, Bureau of Parks and Lands invites you to attend a Public Meeting on the Amherst Mountains Community Forest Management Plan on July 13th at 6:00 p.m. at the Bangor Motor Inn & Conference Center located at 701 Hogan Road in Bangor.

The Amherst Mountains Community Forest (AMCF) is a unique state-municipal partnership involving 4,974 acres of forestland surrounding six ponds in the town of Amherst. The parcel was acquired by the Maine Department of Conservation with assistance from the Forest Society of Maine in June of 2009, with funds from the Forest Legacy Program, the Lands for Maine’s Future program and numerous charitable foundations and individuals.

This Amherst Mountains Community Forest Management Plan will append the Bureau’s Eastern Interior Region Management Plan, providing resource protection and management guidance for this property over the next 14-year period. The Plan has been six months in the making and has included a public scoping meting, two Advisory Committee meetings and a focus group meeting with the Town of Amherst’s Community Forest Committee.

The purpose of this final Public Meeting is to receive feedback on a Final Draft Management Plan. BPL staff will present an overview of the proposed plan, followed by an opportunity for members of the public to offer comments.

More information on the management planning process is available at http://www.maine.gov/doc/parks/programs/planning/amherstmountains/index.shtml. The Final Draft Plan will be downloadable from this website by July 6th – one week before the Public Meeting. Written comments will be accepted until July 27th – two weeks after the Public Meeting. After this comment period, the Final Plan will be prepared for review and adoption by the Commissioner.

Please contact me directly with questions, requests for paper copies of the Final Draft Plan, or written comments.

Thank you,

Misha Mytar, Senior Planner
Maine Bureau of Parks & Lands
P.O. Box 343
Sullivan, ME 04664
(207) 460-4818
misha.mytar@maine.gov

Downeast Brooks

2010-07-29T17:13:00.003-04:00

Wow I had a nice feed of brook trout last night. The boys had been down route 9 on a brook near the Machias and found some nice fourteen inch fish in the fast water. The brook was off the 52-00-00 road near the West Branch. Talk about another wonderful campsite, both Airline and West Branch are not used much time of year, nor during deer or trapping season in the fall and they are free to use.

Allagash and Chamberlain

2010-07-29T16:57:00.004-04:00

Well back for another trip to Chamberlain and Telos Lake. Water level was fishable, but the temperature was over 90 degrees and unbearable. I love the area so much I had applied for a ranger position on the waterway, so the kids and I decided to make a week of fishing, while also doing the interview. The other campers and gate folks must have thought I was nuts changing into a suit and walking around the campground getting ready for the interview. My good friend the Fire Chief in Bangor once told me that if you can't dress up one day in your life for an interview, something was wrong. So in the pouring rain, I cleaned up, shaved and put the suit and tie together, along with black loffers.

After the interview we fished Harrington Lake, there is brand new boat ramp to Harringon, on a shale road base (another flat). At the outlet of Harrington Katahdin Forest has a wonderful campground with lots of sites - in three days no other parties were present. The road to the dam has been gated this year, but the gates are down and the water level is back up to the way it was a few years ago, adding about six feet more water around the lake. Harrington is a deep lake at the south end with wonderful views of our big mountain, trout, togue and white fish roam the lake, along with cray fish. We saw no other boats or fisherman.

Since it was so hot, I tried to keep the tent cool and did not install the rain fly. Remember Murphys Law, while it rained and rained starting at 2am, enough to fill the tub of the tent and all the sleeping bags before we could get a fly up - we had a tough time finding the fly at 2am, so a trip to Millinocket to dry gear and eat at Pelletiers Log House.

Chamberlain and Telos are our prime fishing holes, at the south end of Telos out in front of High Bank and up the lake across from Lock Dam. As we hit the big lake in our 19 foot boat I openned the motor up, seeing a few canoers paddling the shore I went to throttle down - no luck the boat was wide open and roaring. So I pulled the emergency switch to kill it. It appears that the rotted throttle cable I meant to replace last year had let go. So in standing on the rear platform I cut the cable and went to work with a pair of vicegrips. I had Zach start the boat as I attempted to smoothly operate the power - no luck, back wide open again - the live bait being trolled at 30 mph was not happy, nor was I as I was standing on the platform holding on for the ride. Next thought was using a string to pull the throttle forward as it spring loaded to return. I was hoping to troll at 2mph, this didn't work either, so we limped back to the campsite, loaded and headed home.

Bear Baiting

2010-07-29T16:38:00.002-04:00

Well here we are on the eve of another bait season. Thirty days until season opens. If you haven't had a chance to read my book "Black Bear Hunting and Baiting" there are a few still on sale at Blue Seal Feeds or you can read it for free online at the home page (in word).

I would like to offer a few suggestions to the sportsman in search of a black bear. First bait sites are hard to come by, if you are on land other than yours, you must have permission. Most large landowners, especially paper companies charge a fee per bait site of $100 and bait sites are leased on a square mile basis. Baiters can get pretty terrorial to say the least, especially when paying hundreds of dollars to lease a site and are responsible for all liter and tresspass laws. So please take care and make sure you have proper permission and labeling of your site in accordance with the law. Having bait sites, closer than a mile apart result in overlapping of the bear to multiple baits and in fact reduces chances as the bear can get all the bait it wants.

This is a berry year, meaning there is a lot of natural food for bear. That is both good and bad for the baiter. It may take a little extra to get your bear coming, but once it finds you then it is important to keep the bait coming.

Type of bait and lures to use is as wide open as the size of the bear. How the site looks and the clean up is important to me. I perferr to use natural baits and ground cubbles with logs. This results in no mess and no litter issues. A lot of folks use barrells/drums and all sorts of products. This creates a huge mess and lots of work, when all you need a 3 lb coffee can of bait a day or so. Remember the black bear stomach is relatively small, not much bigger than a few donuts. Bears are not meat eaters, in fact they perferr grains, nuts and grass over carrion. Not to say the beaver doesn't work well.

Thought should be given to the amount of bait you will need and how you plan to tend the site once started. I go through about (2) drums per bait per year, or 5 gallons a day at a hard working site, this is pasteries. Natual bait can be done with a coffee can a day. So really think this through, do you really want to get pasteries that are wrapped and the work that goes into that. If you elect to do this, I would suggest moving the television outside, get a board three feet long, rest the board on your chair or stool and drive a nail in between your legs. You can slice a package open on the nail, bend and dump to a pail on the right side of the chair and put the wrapper in a pail on the left side of the chair. This is redneck baiting.

Location of site is the next step and takes a while to learn, I can all but bet when you find an area, someone else already has permission or is nearby. Study topo maps looking for wet holes/swamps and ridges of beech nuts. Think that is you were 300 pounds with a fur coat where you would want to be in 70-80 degree weather. The law requires that bait sites be at least 50 yards off a trail or road and there are other restrictions on dumps and such.

Next we will talk locations and tending the site. You can get all this and more in the book for free. Remember Know The Law!

Deer Permits

2010-07-29T16:37:00.001-04:00

Reminder that you have only one day remaining to send in for your any deer permit, or if done on line until August 16th. If you can read this you can do the on line permit request and its free!

Hopkins and other waters

2010-04-07T22:07:00.001-04:00

Well ice is out and we put have put the boat in a few times at Hopkins, now listen we are hard core fisherman and not one to be skunked at Hopkins, but twice now, no fish, no strikes and ZERO on the finder. Water temp is 45 degrees and high. We hit bottom, top, middle and even hugged shore - ...brooks have a produced a few small trout.

Night Fishing

2010-04-07T22:05:00.003-04:00

As we searched for smelts, I stopped at every brook, even non smelt ones just to check things out. And once again we forgot a fishing pole. Every brook we stopped at had trout holding in its waters, nice trout. Mike was shocked "I didn't know they swam at night!" What the hell do you think they do, sink or float, actually trout and salmon prefer to eat and swim at night.

The Smelt Trip

2010-04-07T21:57:00.001-04:00

Well we made the trip down Route 9, Mike, Gramp, Zach and me in search of "smelts". We found trout and splake in every brook, a few pickeral, moose and moose, but no smelt - only gated roads.

The Conditions

2010-03-28T23:47:00.003-04:00

The weather again - proposed heavy rain for the next few days, but at 11:45 pm Sunday its snowing and staying! Into Jellison to see if we could fish, now consider that every pond and lake checked so far is clear of ice. Nope not the camp pond, iced in solid, enough we can walk on it and drill holes - amazing. But being in the valley and protected from any sun, I can understand such.

I hear the salt water smelts are running on the Penobscot, loved fishing Brewer, but now with the new rip rap they have destroyed the fishing spots.

Beaware you can only keep 2 trout from lakes and ponds in Hancock County, new regulation.

Gear List

2010-03-27T21:55:00.000-04:00

Recently I have received a couple of emails asking me to reprint my gear list. So here it is, do with as you wish. This is my gear list and how I store them in totes and dry boxes. You may see a few items listed more than once, that is because they are common items and I can reach for them in any box. Good trails!!!
ON PERSON – VEST/JACKET
0 Handkerchief 0 Cell Phone 0 Compass
0 Water 0 GPS 0 Firearm/Ammo
0 Glasses 0 Leather man 0 Lighter
0 Money 0 License 0 LED Light

DAY/GUIDE PACK – GENERAL USE (camo)
0 Knifes 0 Cylume 0 Survival Kit
0 Fire Starter 0 Water 0 Rope
0 GPS/Spare 0 Towel 0 Flashlight
0 Cup/drink 0 Maps 0 Marker
0 Toilet Paper 0 Cat Eyes 0 BU Compass
0 Chap Stick 0 Foil 0 Flagging
0 Aid Kit 0 Lighter/candle0 Bug Dope
0 Trash Bag 0 Trail Mix 0 Mirror
0 Zip Lock 0 Sharpener 0 Spare Glasses
0 Binoculars 0 Wipes 0 Batteries
0 Paper/Pencil 0 Head Lamp BU 0 EPI Pen
0 Peroxide 0 String Line 0 Fold Saw
0 Strobe 0 Candy 0 EM Blanket
0 Whistle 0 0

CHUCK - UTILITY BOX – MASTER TOTE (gray)
0 Notepad 0 LP Tree 0 LP hose (2)
0 LP Tank 1lb 0 Fish Maps 0 Lighter Fluid
0 (2) Lanterns 0 EM Radio 0 Flask JD
0 Hotdog Sticks 0 Hand Saw 0 Grill Regulator
0 Paper Towels 0 Zip Ties 0 Cook Oil
Box 1 – Inside Master
0 Flagging 0 Toilet Paper 0 Shampoo
0 Bug Dope 0 Vinegar 0 Soaps
0 Bleach 0 Trash Bags 0 Table Cloth
Box 2 – Inside Master
0 Zip Lock 0 Water Filter 0 Cribbage
0 Scrubber 0 Matches 0 Mirror
0 Candles 0 Nylons 0 Nails/Kit
0 Duct Tape 0 Fire Starters 0 Mantles (tub)
0 Rope 0 Lighters 0 AA Batteries
0 Cylumes 0 Solar Lights 0 Stove Hose

KITCHEN KIT – York Box (green)
0 Pots 0 Skillet 0 Silverware Kit
0 Utensils 0 2 Red Bowls 0 Bowls
0 Strainer 0 Aid kit 0 Cups
0 Cut board 0 Matches 0 Plates
0 Creamer 0 Sugar 0 Tea

KITCHEN KIT 2 – York Box (green)
0 Plates 0 Cups 0 Silverware
0 Bowls 0 Hang organizer0 Dish pans
0 Salt/Pepper 0 Hammer 0 Tub of bags
0 Napkins 0 Flashlights 0 Rope

***all totes taped or bungee corded, not needed on York Boxes

TENT PACK – Rubber Maid (gray)
0 Rain Fly 0 Air Mattress 0 Air Pump
0 Tie Downs 0 Tarp 0 Power Convert

0 Dust pan 0 Door Mat 0 Repair kit
0 Tents 0 Tent Poles 0 Tarp poles
PERSONAL KIT – Big Blue Dry Bag
0 Socks (4) 0 Pants (2) 0 Shorts
0 Long Johns 0 t-shirt 0 Underwear
0 Slippers 0 Towel 0 Reading Book
0 Shave kit 0 Hat 0 Jacket
0 Gloves 0 Flannel Shirt 0 Turtle Neck
0 Rain Gear 0 Swim Trunks 0 Spare Glasses

SPECIAL ITEMS – AS NEEDED
0 Chain Saw 0 Axe 0 Boat gas
0 ATV 0 Throw Rope 0 Spare Gas
0 Boat/Motor 0 Paddles 0 PFD
0 Kayak 0 Cooler/Ice 0 Sleeping Bags
0 Waders 0 Jump Start 0 Booster Cable
0 Hand Saw 0 Sleep Mach 0 Sun Block
0 Spare Plugs 0 Siphon Hose 0 Tarp Bucket
0 Cameras/video 0 Batteries 12v 0 Power Convert
0 Plaster Equip 0 Meds/Viatims 0 Port Radios
0 Tackle Box 0 Maps 0 Fish Poles
0 Net 0 Crayfish trap 0 Worms/Bait
0 Fish Vest 0 Gallon Water 0 Radios FRS
0 Boat Oil 0 Auger 0 Tote/Sled
0 Snowshoes 0 Snowmobile 0 Climb Gear
0 Come a Long 0 Skinning Kit 0 20lb LP
0 Aid Box 0 License Box 0 Straps/Rope
0 Moose Kit 0 Spare Tires 0 Plastic Roll
0 Clothes Pin 0 Shovel 0 Folding table
0 Flares

IN TRUCK – When Guiding or Tripping
0 Binoculars 0 Radio 0 Ear Protection
0 Leather man 0 Knife 0 Rope
0 GPS Tom/Tom 0 Maps 0 Toilet Paper
0 Aid Kit 0 Throw Rope 0 Gallon Water
0 Flashlights 0 Vest 0 Rain Gear
0 Sock 0 Gloves 0 Flagging
0 Wipes 0 Cylumes 0 Day Pack
0 Trail Mix 0 Paper 0 Tool Kit
0 Stand Box 0 Stand Harness 0 Tag Box

FORESTRY PACK – Yellow Box
0 Adaptor 0 Spanner 0 Flagging
0 Headlamp 0 Water 0 Cylumes
0 Trail Mix 0 Gloves 0 Aid Kit
0 Hardhat 0 Goggles 0 Ear Protection
0 Shirt(2) 0 Pants 0 Radio FRS
0 Handkerchief 0 Boots 0 Chap Stick

Things you need to bring on the trip

0 Air Mattress 0 Sun Block 0 Camera
0 Snacks 0 Sleeping Bag 0 Socks (4)
0 Pants (2) 0 Shorts 0 Sweat Pants
0 T-shirt(2) 0 Underwear 0 Croc/water
0 Shoes 0 Games DS 0 Tooth Brush
0 Towel 0 Reading Book 0 Hat
0 Jacket/rain 0 Flannel Shirt 0 Turtle Neck
0 Meds/Vitamins 0 Chap Stick 0 Fish Gear
0 Girl Stuff 0 Medications 0 Razor
0 Deodorant 0 Cell Phone

My First Aid Kit
0 Medications 0Tri Bandages 0 Roll Bandage
0 Tape 0 Wipes 0 Gauze pads
0 Napkins 0 Swabs 0 Tweezers
0 Safety pins 0 Scissors 0 Bee Sting kit
0 Sinus Meds 0 Compresses 0 Splinting Material
0 Ipecac 0 Band Aids 0 Antibiotic Cream
0 Calamine lotio0 Peroxide 0 Eye Wash
0 Stethoscope 0 CPR mask 0 Gloves
0 N95 mask 0 Hot/cold pack 0 Soap
0 Aspirin 0 Thermometer 0 Mole skin
0 Motrin 0 Cold Med 0 Tylenol
0 Vicks Vapor 0 Micro Shield 0 Witch Hazel
0 Q tips 0 Tums/Rolaids 0 Super Glue
0 Ace bandage 0 Epi Pen 0
MEAL PLAN – GROCERY LIST
BREAKFAST Cereal, Oatmeal, Pancakes, Egg/Ham-Bacon, OJ, Toast, Soft Boiled Egg
LUNCH Ham, Tuna, Peanut Butter, Jelly, Hotdogs or Pressed Meat with Chips, Noodles
Chop Suey
Steak
Hamburger
Ham Steak
Chicken Legs
Mac Cheese
Hotdogs
Chili
Pasta - Spaghetti Rice
Asparagus
Beans
Corn Cob
Noodles

SUPPERS
Rolls, Potato Salad, Potatoes, Beans, Noodles, Brownies, Hard/Soft boiled eggs, apples, cheese, snacks, candy

0 Bacon 0 Beans 0 Chips
0 Eggs 0 Bread /Buns 0 Cereal
0 Cheese 0 Crackers 0 Coffee
0 Steak 0 Bisquick 0 Fruit
0 Hamburger 0 Creamer 0 Honey
0 Corn on Cob 0 Marshmallows 0 Noodles
0 Chicken 0 Juice 0 Pop Tarts
0 Sandwich Meat 0 Hot Coco 0 Tuna
0 Butter 0 Mac Cheese 0 Sauce
0 Hot Dogs 0 Oatmeal 0 Macaroni
0 Milk 0 Peanut butter 0 Potatoes
0 Ham Steak 0 Rice 0 Cup Soup
0 Sausage 0 Crystal Ice 0 Can Soup
0 Salads 0 Syrup 0 Vinegar
0 Sunny D 0 Crisco 0 Cukes
0 Pancake Mix 0 Spaghetti 0 Rolls
0 Onions 0 Drinks 0 Tomato
0 Condiments 0 Smores Stuff 0 Sugar
0 Bars 0 Snacks/Candy 0 Jelly
0 Mustard 0 Relish 0 Mayo
(BOLD) items require ice/frozen cooler.
Suggest that meals be prepared at home and frozen.

Mud Season - Respect Landowners

2010-03-26T23:05:00.002-04:00

Well congratulations to our IFW and Governor, they have openned fishing a week early, this was done to allow fisherman a few fish. See the Lake Buzzard is already back "the loon", they get about 8 pounds of fish a day, more than you and I will.

But I am writing to remind you that mud season is here and many of the places we fish we must cross private lands and or paper company lands. GMO has closed, gated and locked all roads until May 15th so early fishing will do little for us. Crashing these gates or finding a way around them only makes things worst. The roads get rutted and destroyed and landowners get very pissed off.

So you mud truck boys and fisherman, please find some hot top fishing spots for a few weeks until things dry out.

FISHING OPEN EARLY - GOV SIGNS EM LAW

2010-03-25T20:43:00.001-04:00

Open Water Fishing Season Opens Early
March 25, 2010

MAINE DEPARTMENT OF INLAND FISHERIES & WILDLIFE 284 State St., SHS 41, Augusta, ME 04333 www.mefishwildlife.com Main Number: 287-8000

MEDIA: For more information, call IF&W Spokeswoman Deborah Turcotte at (207) 592-1164

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MARCH 25, 2010

Open Water Fishing Season Now Open

AUGUSTA – Open water fishing season is now open under an emergency law signed by Gov. John E. Baldacci today, Thursday, March 25, 2010.

All lakes, ponds and brooks are open except those with specific opening-day regulations that start after April 1 as listed in the 2008-2009 Open Water Fishing Law Book.

Bag and size limit rules contained in the 2008-2009 Open Water Fishing Law Book also apply.

The emergency law is in effect until April 1, 2010.

A new fishing law book that combines ice fishing and open water fishing rules, including several new regulations, will become effective on April 1, 2010. Distribution of this law book began a couple of weeks ago and is available where fishing licenses are sold.

“People have been anxious to drop their lines given that ice fishing season ended too soon in some parts of the state, with many lakes and ponds experiencing early ice out conditions,” Commissioner Roland “Danny” Martin said. “We’re happy to provide this opportunity to anglers, and remind them to be mindful of early spring cold-water conditions by being safe.”

Open water fishing season historically begins on April 1 on most waters of the state. Because of unseasonably warm weather opening up waterways in many counties and strong public interest in wanting to fish, Maine Sen. Bruce Bryant, D-Oxford County, sponsored emergency legislation to start the season early.

“Let’s go fishing!” exclaimed Sen. Bryant, upon the Governor’s signature of the bill.

Emergency law opens season today (March 25), but 2008-2009 rules apply until April 1

Emotional Distrubed Fishing Laws, New April 1

2010-03-16T23:39:00.003-04:00

People, kids, family and friends want to fish, most of the time they could care what they catch. There is a new 2 year law book out, the rules take effect April 1st and are designed to create revenue for the Green Monsters – called the Warden Service.

This is the most confusing 104 law book ever written and it will keep lawyers and courts busy for years to come. We call it “emotional disturbed” laws, written by a college educated fool, with the help of SAM. We’ve got CI, CO, B, A, Eastern, Southern, Northern, open water, ice fishing and more (S) regulations than any sane person could understand.

We want to fish year round, all waters, including brooks and streams. What would happen if we didn’t ever have any ice for ice fishing? People writing regulations should sit down and think from the mindset that we don’t have any ice and go from there. It could be very simple, does anyone in Disgusta look to other states that get ice and allow fishing year round, both through the ice or open water?

Fishing would be permitted year round, by either trap or rod. A fisherman is allowed three rods or traps. (no longer two rods, or two or five traps - three period). You can stand on shore, or ice, on your head for that matter, fish in a boat, canoe, kayak, sit on the ice or drill a hole, but only three rods or traps or combination of, but no more than three. The current special lakes just force people to get a big party together to put out more traps and rotate fishing holes.

The limit on salmon, togue and trout state wide from lakes and ponds is two, unless special regulations allow the taking of a higher limit. A person may have four trout from brooks, streams and rivers, unless special regulations allow a higher limit. All trout and salmon caught from October 1 to December 31 must be released immediately.

Night fishing is allowed year round.

Trout must be 6 inches, salmon 14 inches, and togue 18 inches.

Slot laws don’t work – the loons get the bigger fish anyways and fish caught in the slot, especially through the ice have a high mortality rate, so just keep two fish. That or dead fish are stuffed down the hole or packed away and taken home. If stopped oops, ahh I caught these at…just come up with a lake that is open without a slot law.

Amherst Mountain Plan

2010-03-11T19:55:00.000-05:00

The Maine Department of Conservation, Bureau of Parks and Lands invites
you to attend a Public Meeting on the Amherst Mountains Community Forest
Management Plan on March 17th at 6:30 p.m. at the Bangor Motor Inn &
Conference Center located at 701 Hogan Road in Bangor.

The Amherst Mountains Community Forest (AMCF) is a unique
state-municipal partnership involving 4,974 acres of forestland
surrounding six ponds in the town of Amherst. The parcel was acquired
by the Maine Department of Conservation with assistance from the Forest
Society of Maine in June of 2009, with funds from the Forest Legacy
Program, the Lands for Maine's Future program and numerous charitable
foundations and individuals.

The purpose of the Public Meeting is to collect information and to hear
comments from the general public regarding the management of this
parcel. Public knowledge of the region will help shape the plan, which
will provide resource protection and management guidance for this
property over the next 15-year period.

An Advisory Committee has been formed to provide additional input and to
review drafts of the plan. A second public meeting will be scheduled in
June to receive feedback on a final draft. Comments are invited
throughout the planning process.

More information on the management planning process is available at
http://www.maine.gov/doc/parks/programs/planning/amherstmountains/index.
shtml. Please feel free to contact me with questions or to submit
written comments.

Please circulate this invitation to interested parties.

Thank you.

Misha Mytar
Senior Planner
Maine Bureau of Parks & Lands
P.O. Box 343
Sullivan, ME 04664
(207) 460-4818
misha.mytar@maine.gov
www.parksandlands.com

Vacation Plans

2010-03-10T20:10:00.002-05:00

Well the ice is getting weaker. Pre planning was held this evening for the spring and summer season. Memorial Day Week will find the crew at, where else, Duck Lake. Some will be at the campground and others at the Beach. Between the three familys, looks to be a good group. Next is Fathers Day Weekend, continuing in the 47th year with many generations - Telos at High Bank. Then there is the Machias River and Airline Rips - if only the state would build a few more log lean too's - so much warmth and memories. The trip to Debscogeag will not happen this year, nor are we heading to Musquicook. However Haymock and Eagle will see a trip. The kids really want to do another St. Croix run for 3 days, but I really enjoy camping in the nice sites on the Canandian side, but have been told with proper paperwork and passports we could get in a lot of trouble. At least they invest in recreation on the river, our side leaves much to be desired. I was aksing about Tunk Lake the other day and still hear fishing is slow and not any real big fish. I would really love to give it a two or three day push, but there doesn't seem to be much interest. Lee is selling the camp on Moosehead, taxes are very high and purchased a 36' foot to partol the lake with this year, no taxes. But on the way to Duck, boy I wish GMO would let the state put the bridge back in on the 32-00-0 at Gassiabiass so the southern folk could get there easier and safer.

Huntin and Fishing with the Old Man

2010-03-08T09:51:00.002-05:00

Well O'Connor has his newest book out, Huntin and Fishing with the Old Man, I love the section on how we call fishing - farmin.

Short Stories

2010-03-07T22:14:00.002-05:00

After the first book on Bear Hunting in Maine I have been working on a few others. One on how to serve in local rural politics, another Maine Professional Guide Manual, then Life on Alligator and a secret special one. However I have started posting short stories at www.registeredguide.blogspot.com, a link on this page. Hope you enjoy the reads. Lorin

MOMO

2010-03-07T22:07:00.000-05:00

MOMO
I am pretty sure this is a Clifton term, as I have never heard it anywhere else. I also think Manny started the term. So what is a “MOMO”? Well a momo is just a word or term I would think, like look at that MOMO, or what a MOMO you are. You can also say hi MOMO. I have family members I call MOMO 1, MOMO2 and MOMO3, something’s depending on the action, your number changes. So I guess MOMO means doing something stupid, acting like an idiot, spilling your drink (your such a MOMO), goofing off (mud truck stuck in water) – what a MOMO. Or if you get all the fish – you’re such a momo. MOMO is not a swear word or a negative word per say, it’s just a word to describe something or someone, so take it in stride you MOMO.

The Results

2010-03-06T23:49:00.001-05:00

The gang made it to camp, although we had to pull the old man back on the road four times, its mud season. Four trout were taken 8-12 inches long. The boy decided to check out the road and four hours later as darkness fell, jacks were still being deployed to get the truck back on to solid ground. The old man was not happy. Just another day in Maine

Jellison Hill and Alligator Lake

2010-03-06T09:12:00.002-05:00

The Boys are Fishing! Dillion and group hit Alligator yesterday fishing off Bamfords Island. Weather was nice and pulled a few salmon through the ice, all within the slot limit however, so no keepers. Today the Old Man and Red has struck off to Jellison with the tracked rig. Hoping to get within them after Zach's Saturday School. Ice conditions along the shore are sketchy, but there was about a foot of ice off shore - just do regular checks before venturing out. Another good friend returned from Millinocket Lake yesterday, the ice was poor so all they got was a few perch, the old ice holes had openned up the size of cars. Lets be Careful out there folks.

Black Bear Info

2010-03-04T21:08:00.002-05:00

Black Bear
by Craig McLaughlin
Wildlife Biologist

Physical Characteristics
The black bear is the smallest of the three species of bears inhabiting North America (black, brown/grizzly, and polar), has the widest distribution on the continent, and is the only bear living in the eastern United States. Black bears are found in most forested areas from Mexico north to the edge of the tree line in Canada and Alaska. Although most black bears are not much larger than humans, their weight can vary tremendously with the season of the year. Bears store body fat during the fall months to supply energy during their long winter denning period, and are heaviest in late fall.

Adult males average 250 - 600 pounds, and measure 5-6 feet from tip of nose to the tip of their tail. Females are smaller, weighing 100-400 pounds, and measuring 4-5 feet in length. Males stand about 40 inches tall at the shoulder; females seldom exceed 30 inches in height. Bears are compact, with stocky legs, small eyes, short, rounded ears, short curved claws, and a short, inconspicuous tail. The black bear has a straight facial profile and a massive skull. Black bears in Maine are normally black , but they are often various shades of brown to cream colored in western populations, and are even white, and blue-gray in color in coastal British Columbia and Alaska. They have a brown muzzle, and occasionally a white throat or chest patch or "blaze". Bears walk flat-footed, and their broad feet leave 5-toed tracks that sometimes resemble human footprints. Tracks of female bears rarely exceed 4.5 inches in width; males leave tracks up to 6 inches wide.

Natural History
Habitat.
Black bears require forests for protection and food. They are amazingly adaptable to human presence, and are able to survive in close proximity to housing developments and suburban areas wherever cover to escape cover exists.

Food habits.
Bears are opportunists, and feed on a wide range of vegetation and animal matter. They eat a variety of plant matter throughout the growing season, including early greening grasses, clover, and the buds of hardwood trees in the spring, fruits and berries in summer, and beechnuts, acorns, and hazelnuts in the fall. This diet is supplemented with insects, including ants and bees (their larvae, adults, and honey), and occasional mammals and birds. Bears are not considered efficient predators, but they are known to prey on young deer and moose in late spring, and will consume carrion. Bears are intelligent, and adapt rapidly to new food sources, including agricultural crops and food placed to attract other wildlife, such as bird feeders, and untended garbage. Therefore, they occasionally cause problems for farmers, beekeepers and orchardists, and rural residents in the State.

Reproduction.
Black bears breed from May through August, with most activity peaking in June and July. Adults are solitary, and during the summer months males travel over large areas to enhance their chances for encountering mates. Although males become sexually mature at 1-2 years of age, most do not participate in breeding until they have reached full adult size, at about 4-6 years in Maine.

Females in Maine become sexually mature at 3-5 years of age. Individual females have a 2-year reproductive cycle, which is related to their long period of parental care for cubs. Bears have a long gestation period, but most fetal development is delayed until the final 6-8 weeks. Breeding occurs in the summer, prior to the fall feeding period that provides the female with stored body fat to supply demands for fetal development and her survival during the winter. If a female is unable to store sufficient body fat, the pregnancy is terminated. Most fetal development occurs in early winter, after the female has entered a den, and 1-4 cubs are born inside the winter den during January - February. Cubs weight about 12 ounces at birth, and depend on their mother for warmth and nutrition during the remainder of the winter. They grow to 4-10 pounds by mid-late April, when the mother leads them away from the den. The family group remains together for 16-18 months, until the female reenters estrus and disperses her yearlings as another breeding season begins. In northern Maine, fluctuating beechnut crops have produced alternating years of high and low cub production, with most cubs being born on odd-numbered years. Cub production is more consistent in central Maine, where more stable fall food supplies result in nearly half of adult females giving birth each year.

Longevity.
Bears are long-lived animals, capable of surviving 30 years in the wild. Their survival increases as they mature. Nearly half of newborn cubs may die before reaching their first birthday, with starvation being a major cause of death. By the time bears in Maine reach 2 years of age their survival exceeds 90%, and nearly all deaths of adult bears are due to hunting or other man-related causes.

Movements.
Black bears lead solitary lives, except for breeding pairs,family groups comprised of adult females and their offspring, and occasional aggregations at concentrated food sources. Females use areas of 6-9 mi2 in Maine. They are sedentary and remain within or near the range of their mother for the duration of their lives. Males disperse long distances (often up to 100 miles) as subadults (1-4 years of age) prior to settling into adult ranges that may exceed 100 mi2. Bears often make trips up to 40 miles outside of their ranges to feed on berries or nuts (or occasionally to an orchard or field of oats or corn) in late summer or fall. When feeding on a concentrated food source, bears may use areas as small as several acres; when searching for dispersed food or mates, they can cover several miles in a day. Bears are active in late fall as long as food is plentiful. In years of abundant beechnut crops, they will feed until snow makes travel difficult, and normally enter dens in late November. If late fall food is scarce, bears usually enter dens by mid-October.

Hunting Tips
•Successful hunters know that the best places to locate bears are at food sources. Pre-season scouting increases your success rate. Look for tracks, droppings, broken stems or branches near seasonal food supplies.
•Always ask landowner permission before setting baits or starting hounds.
•Hunt near food sources that are "in season". Early in the fall, bears are found near clear cuts that produce berries; late in the fall, hunt near sources of beechnuts or acorns.
•Scent control is a must for successful hunting over bait. Wear rubber footwear, keep hunting clothing clean, and avoid wearing it in camp where foreign odors can be picked up. Do not smoke on stand. Use cover scent.
•Tree stands are dangerous. Secure yourself with a safety strap. Do not climb with a firearm or bow in your hand; instead, use a haul line after safely strapping yourself in.
•Practice with your weapon continuously to maintain proficiency. Bears must be hit solidly in the lungs or heart, rather small targets compared to a bear's large body size.
•Hunting with hounds is physically demanding. An exercise program will put you in shape to complete a hunt safely.

Historical Management in Maine
Population and Distribution Trends.
Historically, bears were found throughout the State. Following European settlement, bears were extirpated from the south-coastal section of Maine, from Portland north to Penobscot Bay as forests were cleared for farming. Soils were depleted and agriculture declined since the turn of the century, and forests have re-grown and are once again able to support bears. However, bears are slow to recolonize vacant habitat, and are still rare visitors to south-coastal Maine. Most of the State has remained a stronghold for black bears. Historical accounts suggest that population density fluctuated over the last century, but the State has always supported an abundant bear population. Interest in bear hunting increased in the 1970s, and the Department's Bear Study was established in 1975 to monitor population trends. The statewide population was estimated at 6,000-9,000 in 1979, and season restrictions were implemented to guard against over harvests. By 1984, improved information on bear densities yielded a revised statewide estimate of 18,000 bears. The 1985 population was estimated at 21,000 bears, but renewed interest in hunting and escalating harvests during the late 1980s reduced the population to 18,000 bears by 1989. Additional restrictions on hunting season length have increased bear survival during the 1990s, and the population increased to 22,000-23,000 bears in 1998.

Management Goals and Objectives
Wildlife Management Districts 1-23 and 25-281.
Goal: Provide hunting, trapping, and viewing opportunity for bears.

Objective 1: Stabilize the bear population by 2005 at no less than current (1999) levels, through annual hunting and trapping harvests.

Objective 2: Create information and education programs by 2002 that target specific audiences and promote traditional hunting and trapping methods as valid and preferred tools to manage black bear populations in Maine.

Objective 3: Create information and education programs by 2002 that target specific audiences and promote public tolerance of bears in Maine.

Wildlife Management District 29.
Goal: Provide hunting, trapping, and viewing opportunity for bears.

Objective 1: Increase the traditional hunting and trapping effort on bears within the existing season framework to reduce fawn mortality by 15% by (date - to be determined by IF&W).

Objective 2: Create information and education programs by 2002 that target specific audiences, and promote traditional hunting and trapping methods as valid and preferred tools to manage black bear populations in Maine.

Objective 3: Create information and education programs by 2002 that target specific audiences and promote public tolerance of bears in Maine.

1 Wildlife Management Districts 24 and 30 have high human populations and fragmented forests that are largely unsuitable as bear habitat. Consequently, the public working group did not develop goals and objectives for these districts.

Did you know...
Although they appear slow and lumbering, bears can run at speeds up to 35 miles per hours?

Bear cubs have blue eyes, which turn brown during their first summer?

Bears may remain in their dens for 5-6 months each year in Maine. During this time they do not eat, drink, urinate or defecate?

Union River

2010-03-03T11:45:00.001-05:00

Will a trip to Tannery Loop Road in Amherst was in order yesterday. Water level is high and relatively ice free which would allow for some playing with canoe or kayak if you are brave enough to stand the cold, a dry suit might be in order. Also at teh site of the falls and old dam one should be careful of the few old rods remaining. Running the falls is a little tricky and there are some dips.

Roaming Dogs

2010-03-02T14:12:00.003-05:00

Over the past few weeks we have had a problem with roaming dogs chasing the livestock, horses and calf. It started out as coyotes in the back pasture doing the chasing, but no shots were taken. Then I looked out last week and saw the coyote coming out of the woods in pursuit of the calf. The .308 with special varmit load (.55gr) was put into action. Just as I was about to dispatch the coyote, with pressure on the trigger I thought something wasn't right. I took the tension off the trigger and clapped my hands. With that the animal stopped and looked directly at me. Using the scope I could see this was a dog with coloring like a coyote. I fired a shot near the creature and it took off running. However that night and the next day they were back chasing the critters. By now there were several calls to the Animal Control and local Game Warden. Then I got a call from the ACO that two dogs matching my discription had attacke a lady in her driveway on the next road over. Then an hour later there was a report of two dead dogs on another road. Upon investigation by the ACO, it appears the dogs were at the end of a driveway. The ACO knocked on the door and the person claimed responsibiilty for the dogs - this person had been warned on at least two occasions regarding the dogs. In fact a few months earlier they had bitten another resident.

So I thought all was taken care of, that is until Sunday when the two dogs were back chasing the livestock. Monday morning they were back again, this time on fresh snow. More calls to the ACO. I put the gear together, including a shotgun, and started a track. I finaly caught up with the dogs, an older dog that had all it could to to walk and a mixed shepard. They would stop, but would not let me near them. I went door to door on Rt 180, Clewely Rd, Route 9, Mill Lane and Molly Road attempting to locate the owner. I had several folks tell me the dogs had been around for a while and were chasing deer and pets. I got back home upset that I could not find the owners, no collars on the dogs could be seen. Then the phone rang, it was a person on Rt 9 about a mile away reporting that she was out with her dog on a leash when suddenly these two dogs came out of the woods and started chasing her. They followed her back home, her husband went after the dogs, but they took off. Are these dropped off dogs or a person that goes to work and lets them run free. What ever is the case it is sad that they will get hit by a car or destroyed for something that the owners are responsible for. But damage to people or to livestock can not be allowed to continue. In fact it is clear from the tracks the dogs have been visiting the local deer yard, however I could not find any blood or injured deer at this time.

Road Conditions

2010-03-02T09:55:00.002-05:00

Depending on your location you got between 4 to 8 inches of snow yesterday. Driving the back roads this morning, or at least attempting to drive said, one finds that frost is coming out and we are coming into mud season. Trout streams are looking good and many are ice free. Most beaver sets are pulled by now, but the smart trapper knows pelts are prime and water is open for channel sets and a good chance to get a few beaver, especially the big ones searching for fresh twigs. Most of the roads we travel in search of trout or coyotes belong to other landowners, extereme caution should be used when traveling, no landowner likes find deep ruts across their roads. Please be respectful

What Ice Will Hold

2010-02-28T15:56:00.000-05:00

Last Day of February

2010-02-28T15:49:00.002-05:00

Is this really the last day of February, I thought it was April! Parts of Maine were hit with 91 mph winds and Jackman and mountains I hear got like 40 inches of snow. Guess what, I shut the horse tank heaters off (200 gallon heaters). Temperature in the 40's, rain and mud season. No more snow, gets get the boats ready for some spring fishing. Mike retrieved his ice shack, which blew down lake, but ice conditions are poor around the shore. The middle pack is fair and usable, but the cut holes act like drains with this rain and have become huge. So be careful. On my spring list is a Scott Hudson Bay Canoe in case anyone wants to know.

Bears and Cabin Fever Reliever

2010-02-28T15:39:00.002-05:00

Well Dr. Krause has been here and gone, doing some filming with the biologist that study bear. There are three study areas for black bear in Maine, one in Bradford, Beddington and Ashland. Each study area has several adult females that have radio collars placed on them. They are caught in live traps and tagged. This time of year the biologists use planes to locate the denning bears signal then snowshoe to the den. At which point they crawl in with mom in the den. The cubs are weighed, measured and general health is charted. This allows for a long term progress report to be conducted on the size and health of our bears in Maine. The good Doc is undertaking a video project that will be used in education and research. As we all know the weather this week was poor. But several still and videos were taken.

A great place to visit is the Cabin Fever Reliever held at the Brewer Auditorium this weekend. Ready for this....its FREE. A mini sportsman show designed mostly for kids, with archery and fly tying. If your out stop by

Parks Pond Ride In

2010-02-22T15:46:00.000-05:00

Parks Ride In
Wow what a great day, weather wise, hard to believe it is February. Today was the great ride in at gramps on Parks Pond. Actually it was a chem free celebration for a close friend. The event included all the food you could eat, pies, trash can turkey, chilli, chop suey, rolls, cakes, deserts, juice, coffee and so much more. What a time it was, all that heard were invited. The lake saw a dozen or more sleds, atv’s and even a dirt bike. Kids had a blast being towed and fishing. Traps covered the lake, yet only one fish was taken. Story, there were more stories than one could shake a stick at today. Not only did family attend, neighbors and friends from roads away stopped by to have a bite and say hi. Mikes ice house was the talk of the lake. Mike purchased a great little camper, not very big, but with table that makes into a bed, a bed, frig, stove, gas lights and closet. The thing is weighs very little. Dennis put his skills to work and an old set of skis had a basket welded on them in which the tires fit. You tow the camper or shack to your favorite hole, jack it up and drop the tire into the basket on the skis. Connect it to the sled and off you go, it tows wicked easy. In todays case of no snow, we just hooked it to the four wheeler and out we went. Needless to say I finding me an old camper, no more struggling with the heavy shacks, frozen skis and such and heck its already insulated and can be used year round. Today was one of the best events I have seen in a long time. On the flip side, according to the news, the Sabago Derby was canceled because of poor ice conditions, with a number of cars, sleds and atv’s visiting the water. It is also reported that a warden and his atv went in. No one was injured and at least one day of the event was held. At the time of this writing, the temperature has dropped and it is snowing. Snow is expected all week off and on, but since temperatures during the day will be forty, I am not sure we expect much snow.

Wind Swept Alligator

2010-02-22T15:45:00.000-05:00

Wind Swept Alligator
Zach and I headed to Alligator for a few hours of fishing today. Conditions to the landing were good, road getting a little soft. There were nine vehicle of various sorts. The lake is glare ice and the wind was like whipping straight down the lake at us, like at forty knots or so. There are four shacks on the ice today. As we started out, first the hat went, then the cover to the trap box, then the ATV was blown down lake. Seriously it was blowing. As usual the coves on the east shore have no ice and the rock point coming out of the landing is open. We checked on the old homestead and then traveled north toward Turtle Rock, where we set our traps. The wind was so bad you had to hold the traps or they would be blown away. The shore was great, we layed back in t shirts, on ice was like -20 or so. Soon we saw a couple walking or attempting to walk. I thought it was Chris and Rachel, so we went out to meet them. It was a guy name John and girl name Heather coming out to check on friends. They were walking…one step forward, two back. I carry slip on cleats which I gave to them and off they went. Fishing was slow, with only two flags. As we picked up to leave late in day, we saw John and Heather walking, so we gave them a ride back to landing. It was a real nice day, but the wind was just plain raw. Talked with a few other groups on the ice and none reported getting any fish today. As a side note, our bait guy is running low, price is now $5 a doz for shiners and $1 a smelt. I am thinking I can get a lot of salmon at shop and save for the cost of just bait. But where is the fun in that! The other part of the crew headed to Hopkins and reported no fish and just a few fishing. The old man did manage to flip his ATV backwards on himself. The cause, just being a MOMO. Sunday gang is heading back to Parks for perch.

Love Duck Lake

2010-02-22T15:41:00.000-05:00

God Love Duck Lake
Mike, Chris and Dillon were excited about the trip to Duck in search of a few salmon and maybe the rare trout held in its cold clear waters. The trip depends on the depth of snow each week and year. Without snow the truck can make it into the landing at shores edge. With snow it becomes more of a chore, anywhere from fourteen to twenty miles by snowsled, depending on what roads the paper company is plowing.
At 3a.m. the boys had the truck running, I was more for like six or so, but not them, they had to have traps in by sunrise. We arrive at the Old Man’s at four o’clock, just as he requested. This trip was his idea to begin with anyways. He was still in bed resting his eyes when we pulled in.
But he is headed, up the Alligator Road to the Stud Mill, then to the 32-00-00 road where we would park and unload the sleds. All was going as planned.
Sleds were unloaded and the tub was attached to the old man’s four stroke, long track, Bearcat. Dillon was to ride with the old man and Chris and Mike would share the other sled. Up the 32-00-00 (Duck Lake Rd) we went for a day of fishing. The trail or road was in great shape, hard packed and groomed. The old man really liked that four stroke and the way it rode with his two hundred and eighty pound frame. I called him one-eyed Willy, as the old man only had one eye, so he really had no vision. Hell most of the time we were looking around anyway. He scared the hell out of everyone. Before long the old man, who was leading, was really cruising on the straight always. I am leaning toward sixty mph in places, while towing the tub of gear and grub.
We have done this trip hundreds and hundreds of times over the last thirty years, every Friday night for close to thirty years. He knew the trail and road better than anyone. I think he even helped lay the base for the road back when it was a mud run. Cause every time we got stuck he would be the one fetching rocks to fill the holes.
As we came near the Red Rock, about the half waypoint, where the road goes down to Sabao and Nicatous Lake, there is always a YesMa in the trail. By now the old man was putting distance between the sleds.
As we rounded the corner it looked like a bomb went off. There was food everywhere, bait buckets in the woods and two poor Jiffy Augers in pieces; the tub was twisted around a Maple tree, but no old man. Pretty soon we see the headlights of his sled coming back down the trail.
There is pain and suffering to be explained, see the old man didn’t own anything but the food. Damage so far on this trip, six dozen smelts at $8 a dozen, two augers, traps, the tub and grub.
The old man was quick “dam pin let go on the tub”, he gruffed. Dillon chimed in as he picked up the parts of his Jiffy, “don’t think speed had anything to do with it, especially be air borne over the yesma, do ya”? The answer was quick and sharp from the old man “nope”.
We gathered our goods and repacked. Upon reaching the lake, it was nice to see an old friend at an icehouse who was kind enough to let us borrow his auger for a few holes.
This is a typical trip to Duck and Murphy’s Law is always with us. The old man’s brother, Joe, vowed many years ago never to go to Duck Lake again, it was just too costly.
Our trips involved countless flats, blown transmissions, shocks, trailers coming unhooked and passing us, motors falling off boats, transoms ripped off, lower units destroyed on rocks, atv’s and boats bounced off the trailers, close calls with loggin trucks, broken springs, motors and at least two front pumpkins while pushing mud. Not to mention the times we have been stuck or struck by lighting. God we love Duck Lake.

Moose Antler - Blind

2010-02-16T15:23:00.000-05:00

Look at the picture very closely! Notice the antler, it is just a shovel the size of your hand and it is a blinder to the moose's eye. Three hunters were moose hunting when they came upon this moose laying in the road. The moose stagged into the woods where it fell and got lodged in between two rocks. The hunters thinking it was a cow, worked for hours to free the moose. When freed the moose ran into a tree. It was at this point they realized it was a "bull". The hunter with the permit promptly decided this was the size moose he was looking for and shot it. Upon inspection it was found that one shovel antler was into the eye of the moose and it was blind. The other was covering the other eye. This is a true story, we have video and pictures of freeing the moose with block and tackle before realizing it was a bull. The in any case would not have survived.

Coyote Reduction Needed Fast

2010-02-16T13:17:00.000-05:00

A Maine Coyote
Hunters looking for a challenge and true sport only need to look to winter coyote hunting in Maine. Without question the coyote is one crafty and smart animal. At this time of year the deer are having a hard time walking the crusty snow, but not the coyote - he is able to give chase until exhausting the deer. Think about the doe deer, in just a few years that one deer would produce over a 100 off spring, thousands over the years. So by saving one deer you can bounce the herd in your area. Spring is another time of killing but coyote, as the fawn drops, the coyote is hunting. Callers, camo, gun are all that is needed to improve our deer herd and save a few domestic pets at the same time. If would like some information on coyote hunting let me know, you can even night hunt coyotes. Fish and Game just released a 187 page report on the predation of our deer herd, which you can find at IFW web site.
The link is listed below

http://www.maine.gov/ifw/wildlife/surveys_reports/pdfs/deerpredationreport.pdf

AUGUSTA, Maine – Preliminary deer harvest numbers show a decrease of 14% from the 2008 harvest with an initial tally of 18,045 deer taken by hunters.

“To put this into perspective, we must consider that the 2008 and 2009 winters represent the most severe back-to-back winters since 1971-72,” according to IF&W Deer Biologist Lee Kantar.

Long winters with deep snows have a tremendous impact on the overwinter survival of deer. Both expected regional declines in deer abundance and adverse hunting conditions -- two weeks of poor hunting conditions during the firearms season -- played a role in the fall 2009 harvest decline. Decreases in the deer harvest from 2008 also were expected given the 16% decrease in any-deer permits for Maine’s hunters (reducing overall success rates). The reductions in any-deer permits for 2009were necessary to allow the deer herd to begin to recover.

Relative to adjacent provincial and state jurisdictions, the decline in Maine’s deer harvest was less in comparison to our Canadian neighbors in Quebec and New Brunswick whose deer harvests declined greater than 30% during the same time period, but was greater than the decline in New Hampshire’s deer harvest (decrease of approximately 5%).

For 2009, Department biologists projected a statewide harvest of approximately 19,289deer. The annual deer harvest projections by department biologists in the late spring result from an analysis of mortality and reproductive rates, harvest trends, and any deer permit allocations to meet Wildlife Management District (WMD) goals and objectives. Thus our initial number for statewide harvest was 6% less than projected.

Over the next few weeks, department biologists will complete a more detailed analysis of the 2009 harvest and will release the final deer harvest number and further details about how the harvest looked by season, WMD, sex and age.

Beaver Trapping

2010-02-16T13:13:00.000-05:00

Ice conditions have improved somewhat for beaver trapping, but fur prices have not! Beaver trapping starts in November and runs into the following March. There is a high demand for trappers to remove problem beavers each year. In fact biologists encourage trapping as a way to open streams for trout management and to reduce spring flooding. Pricing this year however has caused a serious decline in the number of trappers. As of today prices range from $5-$20 per pelt, that is cured, fleshed, stretched and ready to sell, this not in the round. Early season found rain and very poor ice conditions, now with the season coming to a close conditions have improved.

Warm Day

2010-02-16T11:51:00.000-05:00

Wow 43 degree's, yet they are saying snow. Hayward, Mike, Dillon, Manny and Amanda have reached the shores of Duck Lake. Me I've got the kids, who are in the process of building a large bonfire for this evening. Hopefully some skating on the pond will be in order. By the looks of the pallets it is not going to be a small fire.

Resting

2010-02-16T00:00:00.000-05:00

A nice picture of a cub resting while the mother is being checked. Cub returned to mom without harm.

New Bear Sites

2010-02-15T23:56:00.000-05:00

Well a month ago, one of the large paper companies that I lease sites from advised us that a new plan was under development. Under the previous plan, sites were leasted at the rate of $100 per site. Sites were spaced, between baiters of about a mile. The new plan released this week is to lease entire township to one operator. This solves jumped baits, spacing and other issues. The big problem is that you lost baits in one town and gained some in another. I did loose a township that I really like, but gained access to a very large new area, that can handle 10 sites, so I lost 4, but gained 10. I love to explore new area...can't wait. I might even have to sled the area to see what it looks like without leaves on the trees.

Thinking Snow

2010-02-15T23:53:00.001-05:00

Well I just watched the weather forecast - 4-7 inches of snow. The gear is packed and we are ready to venture to Duck Lake at 4am. The plan is to go up the Alligator Rd to the Stud Mill, then to Deer Lake and sled 14 miles into Duck and be on the ice at 6 am or so....at least that is the plan.

Parks Pond

2010-02-15T16:44:00.000-05:00

Wow what a day, back from Hopkins, had a hot turkey sandwich from the stripped bird of Sunday and now off to Parks Pond with the kids. Oops, just ran out of gas in both ATV's.

Deer Sheds

2010-02-15T14:52:00.001-05:00

Well Lorin is out on the sled and traveling by snowshoe in search of Moose and Deer sheds. As you see the Moose and Deer drop or shed their antlers in January. Usually they drop one here and then a few days later another there, so finding a matched pair is hard, but not impossible in the winter yard. Getting to the shed before the rodents and other nawing wildlife is the trick. Sheds are very popular and can be a source of excerise, fresh air, hide and seek for kids, a skill game and then at the end of the day a source or revenue. See sheds are sellable! Yes there is a market for those new and old antlers. Ads can be found in several of Maine's outdoor news publications. Remember there are various pricing and markets, are the antlers green or dry? Do you have a matched pair? What is the score or size? Some large match pair of either moose or deer can command a large pay off, much more than $6 a pound.

I have noticed several snowmobile's parked on the trails, with the owners on snowshoes searching the thickets. Zach recently found a matched 6 point shed, in all places the drive way, as the deer are eating the cedars.

There are Deer

2010-02-15T14:47:00.001-05:00

As most of you know this part of Penobscot County going into Hancock and Washington have very few deer. However in recent days I am driving them off my cedar hedge and mending fence, as they seem to enjoy being with the cows. Traveling Route 46, by Peggy's place, we counted 22 deer feeding on the grass in the pasture. On Route 9 in Amherst, just before the Union River there is a large large group of deer, by Tannery Loop Road. Last year there were a number of road kills as the deer travel Route 9. Locals have placed signs up to warn drivers - wonder, is anyone feeding the deer? Could this be the cause of the problem? In any case use caution on this stretch of road as close to fifty deer are working the area in search of? buds or grain

Hopkins

2010-02-15T14:42:00.001-05:00

Mike and Veron headed to Hopkins Pond in Clifton/Amherst early this morning and were able to get the Toyota on the ice and across to their favorite fishing hole. They reported a few other fisherman. They fished hard tending their two traps, but only one flag and a slight line out - wind flag, as the bait was still going strong with no sign of wear or tear. Oh well what a beautiful day to be on the water, and a little snow squal gave a dusting or so. We would like to try smelts, but the cost per dozen does not allow that this year.

We are packing in hopes of a Duck attempt early in the morning.

I think I will check and see how O'Connor is doing down in Flordia on Saddlebag Lake. Then a call to Three Rivers Canoe to check pricing on that Scott Canoe - just a dream.

The Cat is Down

2010-02-15T10:19:00.000-05:00

Well the four stoke Bear Cat is down and heading to Bangor for parts. It seems we got some ice in the front wheels, so when we took off, the power of the engine forced the system and snapped the wheel shaft. So LP heater to melt the ice from underneath, a few bolts later and we should be back in business.

Mike's New Truck

2010-02-15T10:17:00.001-05:00

Without a doubt the best 4 wheel drive truck is a 85-89 Toyota pickup. You just can't kill these things. I have used these for years for guiding and my 85 plow truck does 10 driveways and 4 acres of pasture for the last 10 years. I am happy to report that Mike just found an 87 in great shape with metal rack body and head board for $600. All stickered and ready for the road. I love these trucks, if we could only find a few more.

Ice Fishing

2010-02-15T09:42:00.002-05:00

It is now February 15 with light snow falling. Snowmobiling has slowed a bit as the rain created quite a melt. Temperatures are staying below freezing so trails with snow are hard packed and overall ice conditions are good. Fishing in the last few weeks has been at Alligator, Jellison, Hopkins, Parks, Half Mile, Georges and attempts at Middle Branch Bog. Hopkins, even with it two trap limit and special restrictions is very busy. The lack of snow has allowed drivable conditions to the landing and as of yesterday various vehicles were on the ice itself (I am not a big fan of allowing motor vehicles on the ice).

Fishing to say the least has been slow. With four people fishing yesterday at Hopkins, (9yr) Hunter was the only one to get a fish a 13" brook trout.

We were hoping for some perch at Parks, but with the entire family and close to thirty traps - two fish, one pickeral and one perch.

I am not sure if the weather has played a part in the slow fishing, but I am not hearing of any fast action. While two new records were set this year, that of a brook trout and another from brown trout. Activity is slow.

We have tried to save a few buck by trapping our own bait and this is working well.
Depending on the weather a trip to Duck is scheduled.

Mud Trucks

2009-07-20T08:43:00.001-04:00

Long before we had ATV's folks had the old jeep for hunting, trapping, fishing or just exploring. The roads were rough and untamed. Then came snow sleds and ATV's. There is much dicussion on the use of ATV's and damage they might cause. This all goes back to the operator. I have a lease site that in order to get to, I must cross private lands. The owner of my lease site doesn't allow ATV's, the private landowner I cross wants no trucks, just ATV. Each states just the opposite. ATV cause damge, ATV cause less damage than a truck. With the new ATV law one is almost better to invest in a nice registered off road jeep or toyota pickup truck. The terms used today are "muddin" and "rammin". There also seems to a swing by folks, mostly under the age of forty back toward mud trucks. I think this is mostly because ATV trails are very limited, cost more than a mud truck and can't be driven on the roads. I can buy a great mud truck for a lot less than the $8,000 it costs for a new ATV and I can use the truck on the farm to do chores like harrowing field, moving manure, towing the boat or canoe. Up north - Northern Maine Woods you can have a mud truck, but no ATV - whats the choice? I recently attended a DOC planning meeting on the Lower Penobscot Area to Machias - concerns were voiced about ATV's and damage. Within seconds a voice came forward about the people with mud trucks rammin. It seems that when we are younger we like to go forward and explore with our friends, mudin and getting stuck were part of the fun of life. Did it keep me off drugs and from drinking I don't know, but I am sure it helped. Kids will tell you (mostly boys/men) there isn't much to do and we put a lot of attention to NASCAR and Speedways or things with motors on them. So I guess mud trucks are here to stay. However damage to others property is not acceptable and folks with the toys need to understand that. That Maine way of thinking, that all that timber land belongs to the people is not correct - just look at gates and road fee's. Many owners will tell you gates are a result of litter on their lands, camp break ins and road damage. We need to police ourselves to insure these lands remain open and yes I own both an ATV and Mud Truck.

Pond v. Lake

2009-07-20T08:15:00.003-04:00

One of the most common questions to the DEP or IFW biologist is what makes a Pond or Lake. Here are some comments from ME DEP/IFW - sunlight goes to the bottom of ponds; its the area or size; is it a kettle pond; truly some ponds are lakes and in Maine there is no Technical difference between the two. In fact some have the word lake before the name and some after.

In England they are called Lochs; out west everything is a lake, but in New England there is no standard.

Some thoughts across the country to decide - oh by the way no one I can find has a definition. Pond man or beaver made; lake made by creator; pond is filled by rain or stream - lake has stream and springs; its size; its depth; is the current in the body of water; its how clear it is; there is no standard; inlet v outlet; water temp on surface is difference than bottom; desolved oxygen at bottom; ph level; plants in the middle or a lot of alage; waves more than 12 inches; made by a glacier. These are just a few offered by biologists around the country. I say it should be depth, over 20 feet and greater than 10 acres is a lake. What do you think.

Hopkins Boat Launch

2009-07-20T08:13:00.001-04:00

Just a word of thanks to the Hopkins Pond Camp owners. Thank you for letting the public put our boats in and be able to enjoy the waters of Hopkins. Its sad that the lot is not big enough for the state DOC to manage and the fact that the Town of Otis is taxing the Association for a building lot, when it is open to the general public and is not really buildable. I also encourage all users to leave a buck or two in the box to help pay for the taxes and maintenance of the launch. As always carry out what you bring in. Thanks again

Busy Pond - Beech Hill

2009-07-20T07:50:00.000-04:00

It has been some time since I fished Beech Hill Pond, even tho it is in the so called back yard. But remember the state record togue was taken here years ago. So off we went. Since I bear hunt the area I was not surprised by the number of camps, large homes arund the pond. However the road traffic was high, the beech was packed, the landing was packed and the pond was full of water travelers from jet ski's to power boats to water skiers. We didn't even slow to a stop, instead we headed to Hopkins. The water had a chop to it, but that was ok as we knew the wind would shift and drop later in the day. Loons were out in force, about 6 looking for trout. A locals were working the party boats and as always waved. We saw a boat drifting with a family aboard and just as we dropped the down riggers they hollered our name. It was the Fickett Family out for a day of trout fishing. Nothing but sunfish yet. After talking a few mintues we hit the water, trolling 50 feet down and at 2.2 mph. Within 1/2 an hour we had landed two togue, one was a female with transmitter and was 23" long. The water calmed about 2 hours before dark and the fish continued to hold in 50 feet of water, but the loons seem to like our boat, as I noticed they followed us and not the kayakers or drift fisherman.

Brook Fishing

2009-07-18T08:33:00.000-04:00

Listen, it sounds late in year to be fishing brook trout in streams, but it is like spring fishing still. Water is high, bugs are out and fish are fat. We are kayaking, with otters, streams that should be high and dry this time of year. And yes we are getting fish. One thing is for sure, trout have been dispersed well this year. The fry are growing and the water is pushing them back into beaver ponds or out of ponds, down brooks to new holes and expanding their range. Bad news, good news. Salmon stocking in alligator is off - fish are not reaching the size they thought for food in lake. Hopkins brook trout remain a mystery in the summer, but this fall rumor has it 14 inch will be stocked.

The Beach

2009-07-18T08:28:00.000-04:00

7/15/09 the sun is out somewhat and it is expected to be nice, so off to Lamoine Beach with kids in tow. Wow, no sun, windy and the ocean is so cold we can't even wade in it to swim or fish. There are about forty people, no one in water. So we decide to visit the dock at Lamoine State Park. I didn't take a lot of money with me, as I didn't have it, we packed a lunch and drink before leaving home. Did you know to drive in the state park and just visit or walk on the dock costs $3 per person - even for 10 minutes. So with canoe on, I mentioned we were launching the boat and paid $5. We drove to dock, watched people fishing for mackeral. No fish and decided it was cold, raw and rough. We left - less than 10 minutes - cost $5 dollars, no refunds.

On Alligator

2009-07-18T08:21:00.000-04:00

7/12/09 well we are back on Alligator for another day of fishing, cloudy, fairly calm and once again more loons. All fish are holding near the bottom in deep water. Zach has the trap set for crayfish - a wonderful meal if you can get a few. Stopped by to see if the Butters were at camp or if Mr Peters was on the island at Bamfords. But no one home. We caught yellow perch, a salmon 16, a trout 15 and a 7 inch rainbow smelt (huge smelt). In fact it is the largest fresh water smelt I have seen. Bait trap produced some healthy shinners and crayfish. The crayfish returned home with us, a pleasent evening meal of trout and crayfish. We just got off the water before it started pounding rain and lighting - enough to blow out fence charger and direct hit to direct tv. Otherwise had a great trip on Gator - no other boats or perople seen.

Smallest Togue

2009-07-18T08:19:00.003-04:00

7/10/09 on Hopkins today, fish are hanging in 50-60 feet of water and once again the loons are giving chase to the boat. See we troll at 2 mph so the birds flock to us. The downrigger flips and we have fish on...oh what a great fish, a 6 1/2 inch togue, the smallest togue I have ever seen. It flips again, this time a sunfish. Then later one togue about 19 inches which was returned. A few folks with party boats and kayakers enjoying the lake but no fisherman.

Docks Flooded

2009-07-18T08:17:00.000-04:00

7/9/09 the water is still high at Parks and no perch can be found.

Mariville Falls

2009-07-18T08:13:00.000-04:00

The water is still boiling like a spring run off, so the boys decided to try fishing the Union from Tannery Loop Falls to the bridge on 181 where it meets Graham Lake. The water is as high as winter melt, but warmer. Fishing was fair with a few trout taken above Route 9 and at a feeder brook. Then things got fun, at Mariville Falls, a place the crew usually takes out as the water is only inches deep and the drop is about nine feet over a small grade, the high water had flooded out most of the falls. Now these little Otters are great for fishing small beaver ponds and streams, they are not intended for fast boiling water. But the crew shot the rapids, yes with life jackets and a person on shore with rope. What a great ride, that allowed for lots of playing, that is until it started to rain and thunder.

Chemo

2009-07-02T12:01:00.002-04:00

Hunter, Zach and I took to Chemo on the only sunny day so far (July 1). The landing (private) off the Getchell Road is closed, so we went to the private landing on the Scott Point Road. The water is really high, above docks and covering islands. No perch, the smallest bass known (6 inches) and one pickeral 21 inches which was given to our neighbor for a chowder. Fish were hitting Vibrax and gold mepps #3.

King and Rift

2009-07-02T11:57:00.002-04:00

The famous thropy trout waters of King and Rift in Great Pond are not really producing any fish. These waters are restricted to one trout over 18 inches in length. I don't think anyone told the Loons about this law. We fished hard, just to get away from the Loons, who were swallowing all the fish they could find. We did meet Mike, tending a bait trap, preparing to fish Alligator later this week. I am sorry, but I still feel that kids under 16 should be allowed to fish by whatever method they choose. Hard to take kids fishing for the day and tell them they must troll or fly fish.

Hopkins

2009-07-02T11:55:00.001-04:00

After the return from Chamberlain we set out to fish Hopkins. Us and the Loons, seems they liked to follow us everywhere - whats that new word. Floating Coyotes. Togue we found in 45' of water. Zach kept a 23 inch fish which he promptly gave to the old fella next door. Zach as always had to check the fish to see what it was feasting on, only to find a piece of line and #8 grown into its stomach for most likely last winter.

Hopkins

2009-07-02T11:55:00.000-04:00

Chamberlain

2009-07-02T11:51:00.000-04:00

Well the family trip of 57 straight years (O'connor) has come to a close for another year. A week at High Bank on Telos with family and friends. It rained for the week solid, but we still had a great time and the kids stayed busy with some kayaking around the lake. Fishing was slow, with many short togue. I did get the chance to talk with folks staying on Chamberlain near Crows Nest. They had some nice trout. So for another year the fist will have a rest. This years crew included the old man O'Connor, Sean, Mya, Brent, Eric, Cory, Zach, Brooke and myself

Cougar

2009-06-07T23:26:00.000-04:00

Mountain Lions in Maine, hogwash is what most folks report. Well Mike, Snook and I will tell you different. Over the years we have seen these large cats, from Burlington to Alligator. In fact on my web site, I have a place for folks to report seeing a large cat. There are reports of wardens seeing the cats. This time of year, what few lions we mostly likely have in Maine are either tending kittens or breeding. I doubt we have more than a hand full of cats roaming the state, but is nice to know they are here.

Gold Panning

2009-06-07T23:11:00.002-04:00

It is time to bring out the gold equipment again. I have a sluice, pans, pots and gear ready to go. One thing is certain Zach and crew love panning for gold. While we haven't found any yet, they get to play in water and what kid doesn't want to play in water all day long. From time to time to do find special rocks or tid bits that are always lugged home for show. It is suggested to make sure you find a fast moving stream, some bedrock, quartz, black sand and then go in search of those few specks that might exist. It is highly unlikely you will find the mother lode, but who knows. Just think, back a 100 years, all the payroll monies that were sent up St. Croix, Machias, Penobscot and Union to name a few. This was done by foot, and then paid to the men at camp. As they came down stream, be sure a few pockets had holes or packs were lost. Who would tell you that the bottles those men drank from could now be worth thousands of dollars. There is so much history out there in our great state, that a day of exploring always pays off with something.

The Boys

2009-06-07T23:10:00.000-04:00

What a crew cleaning the mess at camp, Chris, Brooke, Hunter, Zach and KK. Besides swimming a lot of time was spent fishing for walter (the monster trout). However it was not to happen this weekend no fish were taken at Jellison Hill.

Machias Issues

2009-06-06T22:41:00.002-04:00

The Machias River is really the longest free flowing river in Maine. It travels through a wonderful semi wilderness setting and offers much to the traveler. From a class 3 section, to falls to great fishing. It is truly a jewel of Maine. The problem comes in the amount of funding that is directed toward maintaining campsites along the river and their care. The RIPS at Route 9 for example are in need of serious repair and upgrade. Everyone love the lean too's, but the one remaining is old and getting rough. It is time to do some serious fund raising, bring the issues forward and put funding into recreation and tourist who visit these waters.