Hunting Season (moose and grouse)

Moose hunters began arriving on the 26th and 27th of September. Wayne's clients, Tom "Hunt the World" Hunt (MA) and Steve Hargraves (ME) were in for a week of hunting a bull in zone 3. Tom is a big game hunter who has hunted all over the world - his phylosophy this week: "go big or go home!" Wayne will do his best to call in a trophy bull of 55" or better... Opening day and it is raining, again. Wayne called in two bulls but nothing "trophy class." More rain on day 2 - Vinny and Peter Grosso (back for Peter's THIRD moose hunt) came in with a 19 point wide-racked bull taken from across the lake. Mark Morris (OH) and Jeff Billings (VT) who are with the gang in cabin 6 got their cow in zone 3. Wayne called two more bulls but nothing Tom would take. James Guerrette (Frenchville, ME) took out Wayne, Tom, and Steve. James has been photographing moose for two months and may be able to help. Again, no trophy bull, yet. Sanborns took a 1000 lb. bull, and the Norm Cloutier party brought in 700 lb. bull.

Mark Morris, from cabin 6, has been sharing his many delectible delights with us: smoked wild turkey from Ohio, smoked venison hams, lake trout dip, snapping turtle soup... All our hunters have tagged out, except Wayne's clients. While they are a bit discouraged, there is still plenty of time to call in a big bull moose and Wayne is determined! He scouted several 50" + bulls in zone 3 throughout the season but it seems they've run off to breed cows and are no where to be found! On the last day of the hunt we tried to "double team" the moose - I went out too. We saw one small bull in the morning, then the rain came. It was to be a dry week for Tom. Wayne was disappointed - he was sure he could fill Tom's tag with a nice bull, yet it wasn't to be. These are the weeks that break your heart for your client and you always wonder if they felt you did your best, even though you know you gave 100%. One thing we can say for sure, Tom was a gracious client and he and Steve we count as friends after a week of hard hunting. Tom wrote after the hunt "Owners Wayne & Tenley Bennet provided us with rustic but comfortable cabin accommodations, excellent meals and enthusiastic camaraderie all at a very fair price. They really went above and beyond our expectations and I will hunt with them again someday. Despite the lousy weather, they showed us a total of 17 Moose. Wayne called in four bulls early in the hunt which I passed on at less than 50 yards. ... I’ve had the pleasure of hunting with rock stars and presidents and have negotiated with presidents to promote and legalize bow hunting in Africa. I rarely talk about these things as all this experience does not make me a bit better than anyone else. My point is that it has given me an understanding that selective hunting benefits conservation and holding out for an exceptional trophy means you sometimes go home empty handed – that’s the reality of trophy hunting." - Thank you Tom for the kind words - you are an amazing sportsman!

Wayne pulled our docks out of the water on the 5th - winter is coming!

We enjoyed a busy second week in October - Vicky Foster (MA) and friends returned for a week of grouse hunting, along with NAVHDA friends Kevin Harris (ME), Lon Ruddock (MA), and Boyd Cooke (CT). It was Chad Wheeler's first stay at Fish River Lodge with his dad - they came to hunt the elusive ruffed grouse all the way from Virginia! Dinnis Libbey and company (central ME) hunted with us for a few days early in the week. I missed every one's mid-week tales when I got a call that my daughter Miranda had given birth to my second grand daughter, Nellie, at 7:30 a.m. on the 6th. Nellie was a month early and weighed in at just under 5 lbs. Both she and Miranda were fine but Nellie had to spend her first days at Maine Medical Center's newborn intensive care unit (NICU). I ran down for a quick visit the 7th-9th and got to meet Nellie, spend some quality time with Acadia, Miranda, mom and dad before making a quick run home to get ready for our next gang of moose hunters...

Sandy and I each set bear traps on the 11th. This is our first attempt at trapping bear. We intentionally waited until later in the season to get started expecting the sows and cubs will have begun denning up. Although the stops on our traps permit a smaller bear from escaping, we figured our timing would reduce or eliminate smaller bears from tripping the set and potentially missing an opportunity for a larger bear. We check our traps daily, which is fun because we also get out grouse hunting in the morning, looking for beaver flowages to trap later this fall, and observing the progress of the many moose hunters.

Bob Willey (classmate from Mt. Ararat, Topsham, ME) and son Cameron along with Gary Pulsifer and his son, and Bill Quimby arrived on the 9th to get an early start - they will scout moose and get a feel for the extensive road system before their zone 3 bull hunt begins on the 12th. Also in camp: Jim Potteiger party (Freeport, ME) zone 3 cow; Jack Lamb (NC) and John Bryan (Yarmouth, ME) zone 3 cow; Deanna and Steve Brown and daughters (returning after last year's hunt came to a quick end when Steve ruptured a disk in his back and never got to hunt - permit reissued) zone 3 cow; and Art and Dennis O'Connor along with Dennis's wife and son Devan and brother Patrick for a zone 3 cow. Dennis has hunted with us before - this is his second permit.

Opening day of moose and all our hunters were out of camp by 5:00 a.m. - a good sign since the best hunting occurs just after sun up. Jerry, Sandy and I got a later start - we needed only to check our traps. The phone rang at 6:40 - it was Wayne. Dennis had already passed up on one cow and killed another just 10 minutes in to the hunt! He made a perfect 248 yard shot as determined by the range finder! Ironically, we caught up to Wayne and the O'Connor party shortly after they'd loaded their moose. On the way out we also happened upon Jack and John as they were loading their moose! Back at the lodge Bob Willey and Company pulled in with a 34" bull - not a bad opening day!

I took Dustin (Jerry and Sandy's grand son) up on the hill to hunt grouse over Gracie. He missed one bird but got another, and a red squirrel. He was a happy little hunter before heading home!

Tuesday was moose skinning day! And Alli treed her first racoon, which I shot and will make a hat from it for Acadia. It now rests peacefully in our freezer. Checked traps (no bear) and beaver flowages - we have an extensive list! A tradition at the lodge is moose heart after a successful hunt, so we had a gathering of hunters down for dinner and made mashed potatoes and gravy and corn to accompany the delicacy.

Wednesday evening the Browns connected with a cow - we were all nearby that evening (Willey and Company, Wayne and I) and were able to help them drag it out, gut it, and load it. More moose heart for dinner... All our hunters were tagged out by Wednesday! NICE!

More trap checking, no bears. We're starting to think ALL the bears have denned up! Next year we'll rethink our strategy...

One of my long-time clients - Dewitt Davies (NY) - was up to hunt grouse for a few days. Dewitt first hired me as a guide when his daughter Lynn was a student at Bowdoin College. Lynn has since graduated but Dewitt still plans a grouse hunt each year. Over the three-day hunt we moved 53 birds. Dewitt got his limit on Monday and Wednesday. Tuesday proved challenging - it was breezy and the birds were flighty! Very difficult to get a shot at them, although he did bag one elusive grouse that day. I brought Dewitt along to check the bear trap each day, but...no bear.

It snowed about 6" on the 22nd. I was able to get out to scout deer on the 23rd. We did see some sign but it won't be easy hunting - they're hanging out on the beech ridges. That means hunters will be doing some strenuous HIKING to get to them!

I continued checking the trap through the 29th when I pulled it. I will DEFINITELY rethink when to set the trap next year! From the 23rd-31st we caught up on housekeeping, wood stacking, raking, office stuff, bills, paperwork, etc.; things we had put off or didn't have time for since the start of hunting season. We'd been running since the start of bear season two months ago. No complaints though - this is the work we enjoy most (the guiding and running the lodge part). We have a few days "off" from our lodge duties (although we still have our "real jobs" to go to each day) and treated ourselves to a "vacation" of sorts and went scouting deer when we could. We hunted opening day on the 31st with no luck, but we enjoyed our hike up the ridges!

The trees are naked and only beech leaves shiver in the cold wind. We've had our first snow fall. Deer season opened on the 31st. By the time it's over we will have celebrated Thanksgiving, with Christmas on its heels! Enjoy this fall season while you can - it's almost winter again!