Bountiful Banquet for Bears

Our bear hunters were challenged with unseasonably warm temperatures and abundant natural foods this year. Although bears were consistently hitting our baits, our baits were just dessert at the end of a very full buffet table. First-week hunters braved other challenges as hurricane Irene battered the east coast delaying their arrival: Mike Farrell, Bob Watkins, Mike Stefanic, and Ronnie Jacobs dealt with flooding at home, downed trees, and closed travel routes. Al “X-Bow” Anza arrived on schedule August 28th and hunkered down with us as we expected high winds and heavy rain overnight. We set out 5 gallon buckets to collect rain water in preparation for power outages and pulled our boat out of the water – one less thing to worry about.

Opening day of bear season was a bit anticlimactic with only one hunter in camp and the anticipated hurricane drying up. Others arrived throughout the day. Darrell Dube shot a nice 200 lb. boar off Mike Michaud’s bait Monday night. Al Anza shot at a bear on Tuesday – it got away relatively unharmed but as we looked for his bear we found a “collection” of our 5 gallon buckets in a big tangle of downed trees beyond the bait site! Later in the week Al killed a young boar and so did Bob Watkins, both using crossbows. Bob used his “Ready Shot” shooting stick designed for tree stand and ground blind hunters. It rests gently on the knee and vertically adjusts with a 360 degree top swivel. Check it out at www.Ready-Shot.com .

Throughout the week our trail cameras showed bears feeding between 9 pm and 2 am. We tried some morning hunts with limited success. By week’s end our hunters had enjoyed several moose sightings, listened to moose calling, and seen a few bears at their sites. All went home with bears – either packed in coolers or printed as photos.

Roger and Karen Allard, Cliff and Ann Baker, and Arlene Cloutier were RVing over the Labor Day holiday weekend. They stopped at the lodge for daily visits and “bear reports”. Bill and Kathy Bernier were also “in camp” for their annual two-week vacation.

Our second-week hunters began arriving on September 4th. Al Gardiner arrived first and set his “trap line” for small mammals he will collect for the National Museum in Washington, D.C. Bob O’Connor, Pat Dolan, Teri and David Labbe, and George and Rachel Skolfield (mom & dad) were all in camp in time to enjoy David’s lobsters. He brought enough to feed an army – an army of Donut Guards! Duane and Tom Webber arrived Monday with the rain, and it rained all day. Not necessarily good for hunting but my guys (David, George, Duane, and Tom) agreed you can’t shoot bears at camp – they hunted and did a terrific job guarding donuts.

Ernie & Paula Smith delighted one and all with Ernie’s bag piping on the 6th. They marched in while Ernie piped, surprising the Labbes and Skolfields – friends from the days of camp ownership in Greenville. After a quick visit our hunters headed out. Dad watched a bear cruise his bait site. He patiently watched and waited, set the cross-hairs of his scope on the bear, and recited “let the bear go to the bucket”. The bear approached the bucket…and kept on walking, never to be seen again. Although we lecture our hunters on being patient, letting bears get to the bucket before shooting, we changed our strategy – if you get a chance, shoot the bear! Duane shot at a bear on Wednesday but all we found after following up his shots were tracks in the mud. Al watched a bear stroll through his site but didn’t take a shot.

On the morning of the 7th I lead a group to see the “big tree” in Wallagrass. All noted how little foliage had changed and how wet the woods were. It’s been so rainy Wayne I and don’t even take note of it anymore. It has become quite common place – rather, we rejoice when the sun shines.

We tried everything to entice bears – short baiting, smoke sticks, peanuts…If the smoke sticks don’t bring in bear they sure entertained our hunters. Duane reported some “excitement” at his site after the plastic chimney he was using caught fire and melted. He quickly climbed down from his stand, put the fire out, and buried the chimney. Of course there was plenty of raspberry incense residue on the melted plastic so while we slept a bear visited the site dug it up! I found dad’s Pringle can “chimney” chewed up a couple of times. Obviously the bears like the scent but are too far off the sites during legal shooting hours to be drawn in. “Late bears” with full bellies prove once again that hunting over bait is not as easy as most would think. Since Bob O’Connor never got a shot at a bear, Sunday morning he let me “unload” the musket he was using to hunt. That .54 cal. smokin’ thunder stick was nearly as tall as me but sweet to shoot! Sadly we said “so-long” to our hunters as they slowly departed, until we meet again…then we scrambled to get ready for the third week of bear! I set my bear trap on the 11th at the same site I tried trapping last year. This year Al Anza killed the young bear that kept firing my trap and eluding capture last year. That was all good because I was after the much larger bear we’d photographed on the site.

The Rabers (Mathias and Elias and their families), The Marners, and Brian Peters arrived on the 11th. They planned their bear hunt as a family vacation in Maine with wives and children. The lodge and grounds were joyful with the sounds of children playing and hunters anticipating their hunt. Angelina and Lisa Marner, Marcus’s teenage daughters, both hunted. We divided up our groups and as the week progressed things played out much the same as they had the previous two weeks. Bears presented only brief opportunities for hunters to take shots or visited sites only after dark.

On the 12th we tried a morning hunt and while my guys were out I checked my trap. It hadn’t been hit so I sprayed it down with anise oil to set for another day. Mathias saw a bear, Brian watched grouse strut at his site.

The Marners went fishing Tuesday morning, my guys hunted. Again, while they were on stand I checked my trap. This time it had a bear! I was surprised when I walked in to see the site tore up and a decent, but not large bear, caught! This was my first trapped bear and very exciting – I wished I’d been able to share the experience but it was also a solemn time for me alone to thank the bear for giving himself up to nourish us throughout the winter months. After loading the bear in the truck I stowed it in a stream until my hunters were all accounted for. Temps were in the 70s and had we needed to track a wounded bear, hours might have passed before I got my bear skinned and cooled down.

Mid week arrived and none of our hunters had killed bear. 12 year-old Lori Marner sat out with Brian Peters to experience the thrill of hunting bears from a ground blind and got to video tape one on her first night out!

Becky Marner celebrated her 6th birthday at Fish River Lodge on the 14th. Then, on the 15th, Lisa Marner shot a beautiful boar from a ground blind while sitting with her dad. She passed on a small bear that walked in early but later in the sit a larger boar came. Darkness fell early and the rain came down. They were unable to find Lisa’s bear in the dark. Early the next morning Lisa, Marcus, Wayne, Brian, and I headed in to search. We found the bear had run about 70 yards down in to a deep gully before dropping. Unfortunately, it appeared a fisher had beaten us to the find – a large section of rib cage had been exposed and chewed on as well as the bear’s nose.

Elias and Dave tried calling bears at week’s end. Even that didn’t work! On the 17th I made a bear stew and bread pudding. Everyone would go home with bear – stew! Since the families had arrived from Pennsylvania, Missouri, Indiana, and Ontario, after Saturday dinner they packed and started their trek – closing the distance on home. The Fish River Lodge family has grown to include the Rabers, Marners, and Brian Peters. Again, we sadly said “so long” and “God bless”, until we meet again.

Wayne fired up the woodstove for the first time of the season on the 18th. Ray Dunning arrived on the 19th for a week of fall fishing and real estate hunting. Wayne and Ray caught a mess of beautiful brook trout on the 21st, two of the fish weighing 3 lbs each! They were delicious smoked, with cream cheese and crackers!

Joe and Julie Morandi stayed with us the weekend of the 24th. John Pelletier took them muskie fishing on the St. John where they caught muskie in the 36” and larger range.

Faded fall foliage peaked while nature’s bountiful banquet provided sustenance to the animals of the forest. It caused hunting bears to be a challenge but they will hibernate with thick layers of fat to sustain them through the winter and give us renewed hope for next season. Our Fish River Lodge family continues to grow with new memories created for stories to be shared long after everyone returned home. September neared its end with bear behind and moose ahead…