Fish River Lodge Journal

Journal entries from Fish River Lodge, Eagle Lake, Maine. Adventures in hunting, fishing, trapping and running a sporting camp in northern Maine.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Oh Deer!


Opening day of resident firearms season for deer began November 1. After several calls from “well wishers” the night before, Wayne and I headed out while it was still dark. We drove over to Little Goddard Ridge to hunt a familiar piece of woods where we had found deer sign earlier in this fall. As the sun brightened the sky the wind picked up and blew gusts over 30 m.p.h. It was a miserable morning to hunt. Deer hunker down in the wind and the few we were hunting would have to be kicked out of bed if we were going to have any luck at all. Hunting an area of hundreds of acres when deer aren’t moving is futile so at 10:00 we met for coffee and resorted to plan B – scout other areas and maybe get a chance at a deer. We found two other promising areas off Beaver Brook Road and met Henry Jolly (Woodland, ME). Henry shot a 258 lb. 8 point buck last year in that area and we were hopeful when we found fresh sign of some does and bucks. We hunted behind the lodge the following week and found very little evidence of deer. The small herd that normally lives back there dwindled to just a few deer after last year’s tough winter. We decided to leave them be.

We put deer season on hold for a few days to re-shingle cabin 8. It took a couple of afternoons to complete since we both work through mid day. A day of rain delayed it’s completion but we had it all done before Mary Ann Bergeron and Eric Fancy (Addison, ME) arrived for a few days of late season grouse hunting. Mary Ann has been to Fish River Lodge before as an instructor for the Becoming an Outdoors Woman Fly Fishing Weekend. The rainy weekend they were here to hunt didn’t dampen their spirits. We enjoyed nightly visits with them during their stay. Mary Ann tied and brought with her some beautiful Gray Ghost streamer flies and Heather Es from and an old recipe. She presented them to Wayne to try next spring. Joe and Tony Fiala (brothers) and son-in-law Jeff Wagner (all from PA) arrived for a week of deer hunting before Mary Ann and Eric departed. Joe and Tony used to stay here when Fish River Lodge was named Camps of Acadia and Virgil and Jayne Bogard owned it. We were thrilled they returned and shared many stories of the good ol’ days of hunting deer in The County. Mike Saucier and Doug Wing (Caribou, ME) were in for a half week semi-guided hunt. By week’s end only a few deer had been seen but Mike and Doug had honed their deer hunting skills. Wayne, Mike, and Doug watched a huge buck cross the road as they were eating lunch one afternoon – with their mouths full of sandwich all they could do was watch as the buck tracked a doe Wayne had seen cross three hours earlier! The buck never looked up and ambled across the road and disappeared before they could get to their guns. Moral of the story: eat sandwiches outside the truck no matter how cold it is, with sandwich in one hand and gun in the other!

We received our first tracking snow on Veterans Day. We were all hopeful and try as we might to cut a fresh track, NONE were found in Pennington. Wayne cut a track off Beaver Brook Road but gave up after he found where two coyotes were in pursuit of the buck and had chased it all of 300 yards before Wayne quit tracking. Although there were no deer hung after two weeks of effort, we made many memories of the “one’s that got away” and shared many laughs and stories together. We had cabins to clean for our next week’s hunters on the 15th so we didn’t get out. The Jalbert family (MA) arrived first followed soon after by Charlie Sayers, Smitty, and Bob. Charlie brought us some of his apples - I'll turn them in to dessert later in the week! We got the arriving hunting parties settled in to their cabins just before the Bombara family arrived. Charlie Sayers and the Bombaras had hunted here many years ago too and have recently returned as loyal clients. The Jalberts also hunted here many years ago, this is their first year back since the Bogards turned over ownership. It seems Fish River Lodge had lost many loyal clients over the years after the name changed from Camps of Acadia. Finally, they are returning and that makes us feel very grateful, honored, and proud to have them back. The Jalberts are a family of hockey players, thus we watched the Bruins in the evening and got to know the family better (there were five generations of Jalberts staying with us passing along "the tradition"), we listened intently to their stories of the old days. The week presented tough conditions – more windy days than not with gusts of 25-35 m.p.h. for three days straight! Gloria Curtis (with her husband Nick were former owners of Crooked Tree Lodge; Gloria now cooks for Mike Brophy at Red River Camps) and Diane Chouinard (current cook at Crooked Tree) were our honored guests for dinner. Vinny, Sal, and John Bombara as well as the Sayer party used to hunt at Crooked Tree until Nick passed away and Gloria had to sell. Last year we started a tradition where Gloria and Diane join us and our hunters for dinner. It is a time to reminisce. This year Gloria and Diane brought dessert – cream puffs they’d made and they were scrumptious! They topped them with caramel and chocolate sauce. The conversation and dessert almost made up for the dismal week of hunting. Vinny and his brothers Sal and John, and nephew Matt are like family to Wayne and I. Each year it is as if “Uncle Vinny” has arrived with cousins Sal, John and Matt!

Rather than hunt, Wayne started bucking up and splitting the 5 cords of wood delivered on the 9th. Progress is slow after working all day and then coming home to bake desserts, bread, and cooking dinner before serving our guests in the evening. Not to worry though, we will pick away at it and get it cut and stacked in due time. Our hunters enjoy our efforts when they sit down to dine. Wayne cooks up delicious meals including Swiss stuffed chicken cutlets in white wine sauce, New England boiled dinner, chargrilled sirloin steak, rosemary encrusted roast pork loin, and his famous meatloaf and gravy. They enjoy my homemade desserts too! In the mean time we cut and split enough wood to keep the woodstove going and lodge toasty warm!

On the 26th it snowed about 6” before turning to sleet and freezing rain. The wind was wicked! We guessed this would be the snowfall that lasts until spring. Wayne made good progress on the wood pile Thanksgiving week. Miranda, Acadia, and friend Dave McLaughlin (Topsham, ME) joined us for the Thanksgiving holiday. Wayne hunted in the morning. Acadia and I baked pies and we all pitched in to prepare the big feast in the afternoon. We made cranberry sauce from the berries sent out from Minnesota by Ed and Julie Dallas. A funny turkey story…I didn’t have time to shop until Wednesday afternoon. All I could find were frozen turkeys – the label says 3-4 DAYS to thaw! I need mine thawed TOMORROW! I left it on the counter for an hour while I put away groceries and got Miranda, Acadia and Dave settled in "Guide Camp" then we soaked it in the sink in cold water until bed time. We stored it in the refrigerator until noon on Thursday, then ran cold water on it until 1:30 when it went in the oven in time to cook for dinner at 6:00. I hadn’t read the cranberry sauce recipe before preparing it. Another funny story…the sauce had to chill for 8 HOURS after cooking to set! We would be serving in less than 3 hours! We put the cooked berries in a large bowl in the freezer and stirred it every 15 minutes or so and, like the turkey, it was done just in time to serve! Tyler Gagnon, Grant Shook, Paula Pelletier, and Tristan joined the rest of us for dinner. Acadia had us all making snowflakes out of coffee filters. Every one who visited the lodge over Thanksgiving now has their own snowflake hanging in the dining room.

The last day of firearms season fell on the 29th. Wayne and I left our Thanksgiving guests to spend the day on their own. We were hopeful the ½ inch of fresh snow and calm air would present at least one of us an opportunity for a deer. After trying to cut a track on the branch road we were hunting, and finding none, we sat watching crossings all morning, from dawn until late afternoon. Nothing. We were surprised and disappointed to have nothing cross in front of us. Back at the lodge we made turkey stew and ploys for dinner then Miranda, Acadia, Dave, and I headed to Fort Kent for the annual tree-lighting and visit from Santa. Acadia thinks Santa lives in Fort Kent! For the past four years we have had snow on the ground for this event. It really gets us in the Christmas spirit watching children play in the snow while carols play on the PA system until the tall fir tree outside the town library is lit. Children gather around the tree and gaze wide-eyed at the colorful lights until sirens announce the arrival and Santa and Mrs. Claus on the town fire truck! Children line up for a visit with Santa and each are given a small gift. The sights and sounds fill hearts with joy!

Saturday before muzzle loader season opened Joe and Cindy Fitzpatrick returned for their second year of hunting with us. Joe hunts, Cindy loves the snow. She faithfully trudges along with him each day he hunts. They are a delightful couple and enjoyed dinner in the lodge each night of their week-long stay. We got to hunt with them Friday, the next to last day of muzzle loader season.

We woke to snow that accumulated about 2 inches. A stiff breeze blew all day and the temperature was a chilly 20 degrees. Joe and Cindy went in the woods to hunt. Wayne sat in his tree stand and I sat on my stool (built by Darren Page, Dexter, ME). I love the stool! Darren designed it for the still-hunter. It has a built-in pack for sandwiches, a drink, and miscellaneous hunting gear. It folds open and has a comfortable cushioned seat attached. It has a shoulder harness and can be worn on your back while walking and then taken off and unfolded to sit on. I set up next to a fir tree along side the road overlooking a crossing at 35 yards and another crossing at 70 yards. I’d sat about 2 hours and was nearly frozen trying to keep my fingers warm and control my shivers. I was contemplating getting up to take a walk when I heard a faint grunt which caught my attention. Moments later I hear a rustle and looked up just as a buck poked his head beyond the small firs lining the road in front of me. All I could see was his head and neck, he dared not proceed beyond the ditch. As he stepped in to the ditch he looked down wind, right at me. I didn’t move and hoped I blended in well enough behind the fir to conceal my identity. The buck was tense and continued to stare, trying to figure out the shape behind the tree he’d passed so many times. Rather than raising the gun and surely spooking him, I waited, long enough to count his points (8), admire his handsome face with the white-ringed eyes, and his tawny neck with the large, white throat patch. I tried to relax my muscles and control my breathing. I waited and watched, hoping he too would relax and step out or look away. He didn’t. He pushed himself backward out of the ditch and disappeared. I heard him wheel around and that was it. Knowing he would move down-wind of me I turned to face the opposite direction, hoping he wanted to cross the road badly enough to make a move below where I now stood. I heard him blow. I was busted! Since he busted me I figured he would work back in to the wind so I grabbed my stool and hoofed up the road about ¼ mile and set up on a knoll at the edge of the road down wind of another crossing. At 10:00 Jim Dumond, a friend from Portage, drove in. I told him what happened earlier and he graciously backed up, turned his truck around and drove out. At 11:30 I was froze again and walked back to the truck to tell Wayne my story. After eating lunch and warming up I went in the woods to track the buck, thinking he may have bedded down and my only hope would be to jump him out of his bed. He did just what I expected, including working back in to the wind. I jumped him and another deer out of a ticket. I didn’t get a shot but I learned a bit about him. I went back out to the road side and sat until dark. We met Joe and Cindy at home and quickly prepared dinner for them. After dinner we said “so long until next year” – they will leave in the morning and we will be hunting.

The last day of muzzle loader deer season was even chillier, 15 degrees, but thankfully no wind. We went right back in to hunt the same area. We saw where deer had crossed out of the piece they were in yesterday afternoon so I sat hoping to catch them coming back in. Fifteen minutes after I sat down I heard a buck grunt. The sound came from not 50 yards across the road and in to the woods from where I sat! Knowing Wayne was on foot, I wondered why he would walk in my direction but I figured the grunts were his quirky way of saying “good morning” as he passed by. I just shook my head. I sat shivering until 8:30 and looked longingly at a little mound across the road from where I sat. The sun was shining on it, it was surrounded by a few small firs and saplings…rather than shivering in the shadows behind a frosted fir I chose to move across the road to enjoy a little warmth from the sun. But before setting up I had to satisfy my curiosity from earlier. Was it Wayne, or was it a buck that had grunted? I found where a buck walked in a skidder trail toward the road, stopped, then turned and went back the way he came. I didn’t find any Wayne prints. I figure the buck heard my foot steps squeaking in the cold snow as I came up the road. He stopped, listened, then social grunted and after getting no response, turned and went away. I should have grunted or bleated back! I heard a distant shot at 10:00 but that was it. I met Wayne at the truck for lunch at 11:30 and told him of the shot I heard. We decided to drive in that direction as we warmed up to see if there was a hunter needing help hauling or loading a deer. We found no vehicles or evidence a deer had been dragged out so we headed back for our afternoon hunt. Just as we turned in the branch road Wayne spotted a deer at the crossing I sat on yesterday! I got out of the truck, tucked a cap in my muzzle loader and snuck in front of the truck, sat down, steadied the cross-hairs on the bucks shoulder and squeezed…the gun “popped” and fizzled but didn’t fire! I got up to take Wayne’s gun but the buck turned and went back in. We were dumbfounded! The powder must have had moisture in it! We drove on and there he was again! He’d run up the hill and crossed on the rise! I went in and tracked him through and over and under some hellaciously thick stuff not fit for man or beast! Off the road about 200 yards I heard a deer break and run. I didn’t see it but I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face either! I let him go. Everything happens for a reason…I had two chances on the same buck in two days. I guess the reason I was not to take that buck was he had business to attend to. He had a few more does to breed and some growing to do before next fall. I made a date to meet him at the same crossing next year!

Deer season ended yesterday. Wayne and I are completely beat. We’ve been hosting hunters since the end of August and we’ve enjoyed every minute of it. We’ve forged wonderful friendships with our clients, witnessed some beautiful moments in the woods, and created some amazing memories. As darkness and snow fall outside my window this afternoon it is like the stage lights are being dimmed. Another hunting season comes to a close, the curtain drops - the lake froze over last night. Winter is nearly upon us. The remaining month of December is a time for celebration. We’ll decorate the lodge for Christmas, host a few dinner parties, and get caught up on all that has gone undone since hunting season began. Then, like black bears, we will do our best to slow our pace, sleep more, and endure another long winter. Until I write again Wayne and I wish you and yours a very merry Christmas! May the beauty of nature and spirit of Christmas bring you joy that lasts throughout the New Year! …and may your days be merry and bright…

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