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!

If It's September, It Must Be Bear Season!

It's huntin' season! Our season's first bear hunters arrived on August 30...Bob Watkins (MA), Steve Mudgett (MA), George Skolfield (my dad - Great Island, ME), David Labbe (Brunswick, ME), and Duane Webber (Cundy's Harbor, ME). Mom and Aunt Teri joined their husbands for this hunt and took advantage of the opportunity for their own mini-vacation. Uncle David provided dozens of lobsters, Steve brought dozens of ears of corn (and a BOX full of tomatoes from their family farm stand) and mom baked a delicious blueberry cake to add to our lobster feed - we ate until we could eat no more! Then we settled in for "orientation" - Wayne and I provide instruction and back ground information to our hunters so they will be well prepared for their hunt - we talk about what we've done and what the hunters can do to increase their chance for success.

Opening day dawned overcast and windy. Not perfect bear hunting conditions. The guys practiced their archery and firearms shots - Bob was dead-on with his stick bow, and Steve too with his compound. The others brought "big guns" and checked their sights. No excuses for missed bears! Wayne and I sharpened our knives, checked and rechecked our gear - we will be prepared for whatever the evening hunt brings. Out of camp by 2:30 while mom and Teri to Madawaska Marden's for a hunt of their own - a bargain hunt! Dropped guys off and finished bait run. The long wait began at 4:15 when Wayne pulled in for a visit before driving back to his guys for his own wait... A shot rang out at 4:30! Only an hour in to the hunt and already a shot! It could be David, or Duane, we waited for the radio call...it was David. He shot at a "nice bear". Wayne and I grabbed our fanny packs and went in to pick up his bear, or track it. No blood at the site but a good bullet hole in a root beyond the bucket. It was likely a clean miss but we checked for blood and found nothing. David was disappointed he'd missed (this was from the guy who originally wanted to only sit and hopefully SEE a bear - we had to convince him he might as well buy a bear tag and shoot a bear if the opportunity presented itself). David assured us it was a "nice" bear. We took the memory card from the camera on his site. Later, back at the lodge we can look at the chain of events captured by the camera... We sent David back up in the tree stand to finish that evening's hunt. Wayne headed back to sit near Steve and Bob, I waited until 7:30 then "rolled along" to pick up Dad, then Duane and David (who were watching moose in a clear cut). We all met back at the lodge; Steve had a nice bear come in but couldn't get a good bow shot so passed it up. We checked the camera memory chip... yup, a bear had come in - we had two pictures of it, a yearling, then more pictures of us as we searched around the bait site. Since there are definitely bigger bears coming to that site it is just as well David missed!

The hunt continued during this full moon week, which typically causes the bears to feed later in the evening, since it never is truly dark (sun sets as moon rises). We tried a morning hunt after trail cameras showed a bear on Steve's site at 9:24 a.m. on the 1st! Temps unseasonably warm, in the upper 70s; we're in a full sweat by the time we finish dropping off hunters and baiting sites. Guys were seeing lots of moose as they walked out of their sites, or at their sites - Steve had a very large bull come in one evening. "The Big 'Un" (bear) showed up at Bob's site at 6 p.m. on the 2nd. Bob "Smoke Stick" Watkins was experimenting with his raspberry smoke sticks and while the 350+ lb. boar came right in to the site he never presented a long bow shot for Bob even after 10 minutes of cruising the site, but Bob was very excited to have seen this bear! David had to leave on the 2nd, he has lobster traps to haul.

As the week wears down things get serious. Bob's smoke sticks seem to be working but he only has enough for himself and Steve, so Duane and I improvise by making pots for a honey burn. We'll try that tonight on Dad and Duane's sites... "Big 'Un" came back! He arrived at the site at 6:30 and Bob took a shot. The bear was not 15 yds. from his stand. Bob drew on the bear but was unable to make full-draw with his long bow and did his best to line up the shot - WHAP! The arrow struck the bear! The bear ran off and after looking in vain for blood, all Wayne was able to find was the broken arrow. It appears the arrow struck the bear squarely in the shoulder blade. Bob was crushed! He is an amazing archer and was so disappointed that he was unable to make a good shot. Steve had another bear come to his site but no archery shot presented. Duane and Dad saw no bear. BUT, they both loved the experience and can hardly wait to try again next year! After dinner we watched Bob's custom long bow promotional video, the one where he makes all kinds of trick shots, including shooting disks and clay targets out of the air! We sent Bob and Steve home with pictures of the bears they'd seen that were captured by our trail cameras during baiting season.

Bill and Kathy Bernier arrived in the middle of all this bear hunting stuff for their two-week vacation, and to do some fishing.

Our seond week bear hunters cancelled - this slow economy is killing all of us. Their business was down so they couldn't afford a hunt, others had lost jobs. It "trickles down" and affects us too. So, when Joel Guimond of Track Down Kennels and Lodge (Wallagrass, ME) called looking for a guide, I jumped at the opportunity to work for this legend of a bear guide! I worked with apprentice Paul Gagnon to guide Roger, Ken, Matt, Justin, and Lucas on an "ATV hunt." We would all use ATVs to commute to the sites. I don't know, but I think the guys enjoyed the ATV riding almost as much as the bear hunt! By week's end, all had seen bear. One had killed a pretty "V" necked bear, another had a similar experience with a bow to Bob's...arrowed the shoulder; some passed up smaller bears while others had large bears show up just after "legal". Often, as our hunters were out, Paul and I would wait at 1st Lake Wallagrass until it was time to pick up our hunters. We'd listen to the geese, watch the trout rise, and enjoy the sight of the changing foliage. We'd build a little fire just to pass the time and keep the bugs at bay until temps cooled with the setting sun and it was time to collect our hunters.

I was so impressed with Joel's operation, his guides, and the entire experience. Their facility is first-class, wife Rena runs a tight ship in the kitchen - the food plentiful and delicious. Guides keep busy every morning skinning bears, filling bait buckets, doing chores around the facility, repairing or washing vehicles, and getting ready for the day's hunt. After the hunt they gut bears, have some dinner, and if there's time, sit around the camp fire with their clients to swap tall tales! I hope I have another chance to work for Joel in the future - it was a real treat!

On the night of the 10th, after returning from Joel's, I found Wayne at our game pole with a beautiful 250 lb. boar with a perfect white "V". He was so excited to have killed such a pretty bear and put some nice meat in the freezer for winter. Kathy and Bill, and Grant were there to celebrate with him. Now we can look forward to bear stew and roasts!

Did I mention we had more truck troubles (along with the broken CV joint)? Yup, transmission went in the green truck, got it back, then the gas tank leaked so we had to get a new one. The gray truck also had its share of repairs. With the help of Bill Bernier (who loaned Wayne his truck the night Wayne shot the bear) and neighbor Mike Michaud (who loaned Wayne his truck the night the Greouxs shot their bears) we were able to keep our transportation schedules!

Dan Daigle delivered 6 cords of wood on the 13th. With help from Grant and Jim Jandreau we'll have it put up "early" this year (earlier than December I'm sure!)

We had two "characters" stop by for a visit on the 16th - Herve Pelletier (Topsham, ME) and his son Alvey (Norway, ME). They were camping and fishing at St. Froid Lake and wanted to find us - Herve used to work with my grandpa! It was like meeting long-lost cousins! Herve was charming and the two of them kept Wayne and I in stitches for hours! Kathy and Bill had us down for dinner that night.

We made bear stew on the 17th and shared with Kathy and Bill. Jerry and Sandy arrived for the weekend and surprised us with lobsters and some of Sandy's canned goods - yum! Wayne and I snuck away for an afternoon of ATV riding on the 20th. We rode through Dickwood trails to Carter Brook trails, and on to Herman Guimond's camp to look at the amazing view of Spaulding Pond. Larry and Joel Guimond arrived too, for the same view and while we each had snuck away for some quiet, we ended up reflecting on our love of the St. John Valley, the beauty of the vast views. Wayne and I expressed our gratefulness to the Guimond family and their generosity in sharing so much of their land with others. On the way home we stopped at Wallagrass Stream and built a fire and roasted hot dogs for dinner as the sun was setting. We got home just in time to greet Kevin and Jason Geroux (Old Town, ME). Kevin won a 1/2 week hunt we'd donated to the Penobscot Youth Conservation Association. They're up for their hunt. Kevin is quite a sportsman and shared many stories of his caribou hunts and fishing trips in Labrador and Newfoundland. Skye Sutherland (NY) is a business woman and artist who came to visit family and also "get away from it all". She was intrigued by the bear hunt. Kev and Jason's hunt started on the 21st. I stayed home to make dinner and visit with Skye and her labrador retriever, Zack. At 8 p.m., in typical fashion, Wayne's truck rolled in for dinner. But instead of parking the truck, they backed to the game pole...they had two bears! Kev shot a yearling but Jason got a nice 200 lb.+ boar, with a white "V"! We celebrated their successful hunt until Monday turned to Tuesday. Eldon Jandreau (Portage, ME) will do their taxidermy work.

We've had a couple of frosts up in the hills, but here on the lake we received our first hard frost on the 26th. It looked like a dusting of snow! Wayne and I got up early to scout moose - we saw two bulls, three cows and a calf along with a bunch of grouse. Moose season should be good! As September winds to a close, we turn another page...bear season is behind us - moose is yet to come...

...out came the sun and dried up all the rain...

The month of August turned out to be PERFECT for vacationing in northern Maine! We FINALLY got to enjoy sunny days and warm temps. The Johnston family - Steve, Diane, Hope, Noah, and Ivan - from Maryland joined us for a "Family Summer Camp Experience". The entire famlily enjoyed participating in paddling instruction, map & compass exercises, plant and tree identification, animal tracking, an "expedition" looking for fossils (with success - I think Steve carried home about 50 lbs. of fossils!), a campfire and family dinner. In the evening they went "moose hunting" and saw several cows with their calves. The week culminated with a scavenger hunt utilizing all the skills Hope, Noah, and Ivan had developed during their stay. Hope definitely received an A+ for her efforts and drew a beautiful admiral butterfly! We enjoyed watching the Johnston family work as a team while paddling as they discovered their individual strengths and developed new skills. They left Maine with increased confidence to go out and explore nature on their own! Larry Converse, his wife, and grand daughter Casey came for a brief visit too. They paddled and fished, and after breakfast on the 8th I took Casey out for a paddling lesson on Fish River. She is a confident paddler and developed new techniques while we were out, especially as the wind kicked up on the way back to the lodge! Larry's goal is to take Casey on an Allagash River canoe trip in the near future. I think she'll soon be ready!

Edgar Satterfield and his fishing buddy Mike spent their "first trip" away from home when they came up in early August. We assured Edgar's mom we would keep a watchful eye on them - although they were gentlemen and did just fine on their own! While the fishing was slow, they enjoyed some excellent adventures, especially one evening when they missed the road home from 1st Lake Wallagrass and towed their boat and trailer back to Eagle Lake via the ATV trail!

The Dubreil (CT) family returned to Fish River Lodge with their young grandsons - we certainly enjoy watching as another greneration becomes acquainted with the St. John Valley. Gloria Lebrecque's (CT) and her parents Lou and Germaine Levesque's (CT) extended stay came to a quiet close on the 15th. Gloria always looks forward to her time at Fish River Lodge to reguvinate her spirit and spend quality time with her mom and dad.

As our vacationers vacationed, Wayne and I combined our duties at the lodge and jobs with establishing this season's bear bait sites. Trail cameras sent by "Santa Bill" Beecher (TX) last Christmas made the baiting job all the more enjoyable as we got some amazing pictures of numerous bears at our sites. We'll enjoyed comparing photos (hundreds of photos!) from 2009 with photos we'll have from at the sites in years to come.

Mom and Dad Skolfield and dear freinds Ron and Mim Webber spent the week of the 10th with us. They enjoyed day excursions on their own then shared the evenings with us. It was a treat having someone cook for us for a change - many evenings we enjoyed dinner at their camps. Then one night we had a "pot luck" at the lodge to use up leftovers - Mim's "moose balls" were excellent in sub rolls topped with cheese! The weather held and we enjoyed many sunny days well in to the month. We hosted Mike and Lolita Collin's for their 49th anniversary dinner with friends who were celebrating their 43rd anniversary. All enjoyed a very relaxing evening with lively conversation.

On the 14th Norman Roy (aka Norman King) of Dunedie, FL stopped by to meet us. He is the son of Joseph King who guided here back in the 1920s. We have several photos of Joe King hanging in the lodge! Joe also helped Charlie Wiles build the lodge and log camps. Back then the property was known as Charlie Wiles Lake View Camps.

Jerry and Sandy Whitcomb moved their "ice palace" up to Eagle Lake in anticipation of ice fishing season. They parked it next to Ol' Number 9 camp. Until it goes on the ice they will use it as a camp and base of operations while transporting bear bait this fall and running their trap lines.

Throughout the last weeks of August Wayne and I continued preparing our bait sites - adding bait regularly, brushing out walking paths and shootling lanes, changing stand set-ups. We enjoy the hard work, preferring it over our "real jobs", but are equally appreciative that we have jobs during these slow times. I got stuck at the bottom of a muddy hill to one of our bait sites on the morning of the 23rd. The truck wouldn't go in to 4-wheel drive (CV joint broke) so I had to walk out, 8 miles, to Sly Brook Road to call for help from Lakeside Grocery. Wayne was downstate so I called Steve Daigle and his old Ford pulled my old Chevy up the hill which was slippery as snot! We finished the bait run, and headed home - my legs were tired!

On the 26th Steve took Lilly Tuell and I out to dinner at Swamp Buck. It was Lilly's last day of work at the print shop before she starts college at USM. The Ross family (MA) stayed the night with us on the 28th. They're up to drop their son off at UMFK.

It rained all day on the 29th but that didn't dampen our spirits - the ATV club hosted a big steak feed at the public beach pavillion. An excellent turn out assured that it was a successful fund raiser for the club. After cleaning up a few of us hearty souls stuck around for the bon fire, under drizzly skies, then retreated to the lodge for a "night cap".

August 30th, marks the official end of summer for us - vacation season is over as our bear hunters begin arriving!