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.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

A Bird (or Moose) in the Hand



September came to a quick end. Only five days remained in the fall fishing season and the first week of moose hunting stared us square in the face. We shifted in to overdrive! Ray Dunning dragged his feet packing, enjoyed a coffee on the deck, and grudgingly headed south to Bangor to catch his flight back to Georgia. We’d enjoyed a week with Ray, caught some amazing brook trout, and relaxed a bit between the end of bear season and start of moose. Even before Ray drove out of The County on the 25th, our moose hunters began arriving…Bill Frye and his dad Joe were scheduled to hunt a cow moose in WMD3, guided by Wayne. Denny Roberston and his son moved in for a WMD2 cow hunt, followed by Allen Fuller, his dad Roy, and family friend the legendary bear guide Sonny Wade for a WMD3 bull. Allen’s sub-permitee, Tom Richmond, was unable to make the trip due to a family emergency at home – unfortunately the annual Maine moose hunt waits for no one. Matt Farrington and his party got settled before scouting for a WMD2 cow and Tate Stevens and his son got right to scouting WMD2 for a bull. Mike Duni arrived “in camp” to help where needed and do some fishing – Mike took me on a successful whitetail hunt last year at his farm in Unity – I owe him some fantastic fishing! It was a beautiful, sunny and mild day so Wayne took advantage of the weather to cut the grass, one last time for the season, we hoped! Bill, being a commercial lobsterman, treated us to a feed of lobsters for dinner. With so many lobsters to eat we invited the Stevens to join us at the lodge for dinner.

Opening day of September moose season and all were out of camp early well before sunrise. With no hunter to guide I was left behind to take care of things at the lodge. Mike and I made breakfast for “dad” (Joe Frye). It was a beautiful morning so Mike and I took advantage by relaxing with our coffee on the deck after breakfast. The lodge deck is my favorite place to start each morning. I often plan my whole day around “my time” on the deck savoring the warmth of the rising sun and drinking in coffee along with the serenity of the lake, its loons, eagles, and mountains. After that I can take on anything the day throws my way! Around 9:30 I told Mike that if anyone had early-morning success, they’d be returning soon…moments later we heard a pick up in the driveway - Wayne and Bill pulled in with a beautiful cow! Bill shot her at 6:05 a.m., minutes in to the hunt and just as he dreamed. We hung the 722 lb. cow on the game pole, and gave her a shower – she was caked in mud! It had been a bit of an adventure just getting her loaded – Bill shot her in a cutting that was a soupy mess after this year’s rain. While Wayne was setting up the rigging to haul Bill’s cow out, Bill went in to help, lost his balance, and lost his leg! Wayne found him trying to regain his footing while his leg was afloat in the ditch! It was at that moment, much to Wayne’s surprise, that he learned Bill had a prosthetic leg. We noticed Bill’s limp but lots of people limp and Bill, being an able-bodied fisherman, had learned to function quite well – he didn’t find the leg to be a hindrance so never mentioned it to us. If it had not been for that instance we might never have known of Bill’s prosthetic leg. Bill was a good sport and laughed right alongside Wayne as the story was told back at the lodge!

After prepping dinner I took Mike to a “secret” fishing spot. It was calm and as the sun began to set behind the trees we started catching fish. Mike landed a beautifully colored, hook-jawed brook trout that weighed nearly 2 lbs.

Matt Farrington got us out of bed on the 27th. He had a cow down and needed help getting her out of the woods. We loaded our ATV, drove in the Wallagrass Road and there, about 2 ½ miles in, he’d shot a cow that ran through the water-filled gravel pit and went down in the woods on the other side. Our CanAm had no trouble pulling her down off the gravel embankment, through the mud and water, and out to the awaiting pick ups. That afternoon Allen Fuller called in a bull but it never presented a shot, and the Stevens got a handsome, 53” bull 10 miles in on the Wallagrass Road.

Moose week weather was unseasonably warm and sunny. We all enjoyed story-telling on the deck in the afternoon. It was there that we learned of the many connections we all have to each other – Joe used to work with Sonny, Tom booked the hunt for Allen and Allen was the best-man in Shane Savage’s wedding – I went to guide school with Shane. Mike and Roy are neighbors but neither knew the other would be at Fish River Lodge! Tate Stevens owns a gun shop in central Maine that all are familiar with. Mike and I fished every night of his stay and every night we caught beautiful brook trout. Some we kept, some we let go to grow another year. Matt shared the heart from his cow – Wayne sautéed it for all to try on the 28th then we watched the stunning defeat of the Red Sox while Tampa Bay beat the Yankees to clinch the wild card.

Mike, Bill, and Joe left on the 29th. Wayne and I packed a lunch and took a ride, enjoying a beautiful fall day. There, in a small clear-cut, stood a beautiful bull as we drove by! Being the middle of the day it was unlikely anyone would see the bull as most hunters were on “lunch break”. We hurried back to the lodge, knowing Allen was at camp for lunch. We devised a plan: Wayne would take Allen back out to where the bull was last seen and try to call him in. I would later take Roy and Sonny out to participate in the gutting and hauling process if all went according to plan. Wayne and Allen left…then we drove in. On the way in we caught up to a pick up. Worrying the truck may travel the same road and area Wayne was working and mess up “the plan”, I got right on the tail of the truck, hoping it would let me by. The closer I got, the faster the truck in front of me went. We were careening down the gravel roads, dust and rocks flying but the truck wouldn’t pull over! I was cussing at the SOB, with a kayak on his truck that had to be in such a darned hurry to get “no where” (there’s no water to kayak back there!). Roy and Sonny thought it was all pretty amusing, but I was serious, I didn’t want that truck to screw up Allen’s chance on that bull. I just had to get in front of that truck, or get him to pull over so I could pass…but we raced on. By then we assumed he may have been scouting for another party of moose hunters and would surely understand – but he wouldn’t stop. The road I wanted was coming up fast to my right. I kept on his tail and at the last second, turned. He went straight… Ahhh…all would be well and at least for the time being we could “protect” the road. We parked at the bottom of the hill to listen for a shot or for Wayne to call on the radio. The truck returned and spent some time talking with others in a red pick up – just as we thought – they must be working together. That’s cool, but we couldn’t block the road so I was relieved when they left. Then we heard a shot! Allen must have shot! We waited at the bottom of the hill for instructions from Wayne. In the mean time the truck came back and pulled in behind us. I would let him by if he insisted, especially since we heard the shot – hopefully a bull was down. I got out of the truck to go introduce myself, apologize for the tailgating, and explain “the plan”. As I rounded the open door of his pick up and glanced inside, all that came out of my mouth was, “Oh, you’re a game warden. Sorry for tailgating you but I was” and then I was immediately cut off for a lengthy line of questioning by Warden Stone. Once he was comfortable that we weren’t breaking any game laws we all proceeded up the hill to meet Wayne. It wasn’t Allen who’d shot. It was the hunter from the red pick up – he’d shot and missed a cow traveling with the bull Wayne was calling. The hunt was blown and as usually happens with quickly laid plans – they don’t pan out.

Allen had a couple “close calls” on bulls as the week progressed but his hunt had to end on October 1st, the last day of the first week of moose. Wayne went out with Allen one last time while Roy and Sonny packed to head home. They would meet Allen in the woods, pick him up, and then head south. Of course, if they killed a bull Saturday morning that plan would change…and it did! At 7 a.m. Wayne called – Allen had a bull down! I collected Roy and Sonny and we drove out to meet the guys as they were gutting and loading the moose. Allen was so relieved that he’d filled his tag, even if it was the last day of the hunt. We were relieved too because it is a shame to see hunters leave Fish River Lodge with unfilled moose tags. Our motto “Don’t Ever Quit” saved the day, again!

On the 2nd I traveled to Augusta to attend a meeting at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Our group is examining why non-resident hunting license sales are down and to develop proposals to increase sales. There are some obvious reasons, some reasons beyond our control and solutions that we can recommend. We must have a final report prepared by December 1. You can follow our progress on the department’s web site if you’re interested…

Upland bird season opened October 1st so we had a group of hunters in the first week: Lon Ruddock (RI), Boyd, Kevin Harris, Vicky Foster, Mike and Sue. The first two days of their hunt were rainy, the next two windy making for a challenging hunt for humans and hounds. My daughter Miranda, son-in-law Tyler, and grand daughters Acadia and Nellie; and their friends Jen, Mike, Kayne, Maddison, and Seth arrived to celebrate Nellie’s 2nd birthday on the 6th. The birthday party arrived just in time for a spaghetti dinner, cake, and ice cream. Nellie opened presents and the kids enjoyed their party surprises: silly-string; monster teeth; and chocolate eyeballs, noses, ears and fingers!

We woke to a heavy frost on the 7th. I loaded all the kids in my pick up and we headed to Hedgehog Mountain for a hike. We took compass readings of the lakes and mountains visible from the summit. Later we identified them on a map using the readings we took. Tyler and Mike went bird hunting with Cedar (one of Gracie’s puppies – now 18 mos. old). After our hike I took the kids target shooting with Acadia’s Red Rider BB gun. They first shot at paper targets, perfecting their shooting form and developing their sight pictures. Then we had a “Top Shots” contest – we set up plastic bottles and cans and each kid had one shot to knock over a target. The first round each one of my “Top Shots” hit his or her target in one shot! I had four shooters and four hits! I promised them we would go grouse hunting the next day. That night we all attended a bon fire at the neighbor’s. It was warm and sunny again on the 8th. I enjoyed coffee on the deck with Lon Ruddock before he left for home. I learned Vicky Foster shot a “double” on grouse – these are very difficult wing-shots to make and few hunters ever accomplish a double on grouse in a lifetime! That afternoon I took the girls (Miranda, Nellie, Acadia, and Maddison) and Wayne took the boys (Kayne and Seth) and we went huntin’. Our goal was for the kids to experience an Aroostook County grouse hunt and to bring home a few grouse for dinner. After shooting the first grouse I asked the girls if the second grouse we found should be passed up. “NO!” they exclaimed and then Acadia reminded me that I’d said to never let a good grouse get away. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush – we would have grouse for dinner!

We met the boys back at the lodge and among us we had 8 grouse for dinner. Everyone pitched in the “processing line” to breast the grouse and save their tail fans. Wayne made a delicious garlic white sauce to which we added sautéed grouse and served it over spaghetti. We all loved it – I declared the kids were “official” hunters having participated in the hunt, prepared and eaten what we’d killed.

All our bird hunters left on the 9th while our moose hunters moved in. We had only two parties: Richard “Knute” Knuteson (ME) guided by Wayne, and Tom O’Hearn (MA) who hunted on his own. That night we hosted a dinner party for Tom Roy and 16 of his guests. We started the meal off with smoked brook trout, cream cheese, and crackers while guests enjoyed a warm evening on the deck. The Knutesons and John Medina joined the party. We served char-grilled steak, rosemary roast pork loin, herb roast potatoes, candied carrots, and Maine blueberry crisp. Tristen Ripley and a friend attending UMFK along with the Rebels (AZ) were “in camp” for the long Columbus Day weekend.

The Rebels took a canoe out for a sunset paddle as the moon rose on the 10th. The silvery moon and golden foliage was gorgeous as it reflected on the lake.

With no clients of my own to guide I was designated chief cook and dish washer. The Knutesons hunted hard with Wayne all week. They had some chances but just couldn’t capitalize on the opportunities. For everything there is a reason – we all agreed the chance would come in due time…but as the week wore on it seemed less and less likely their tag would be filled. Being ones to “never quit”, Wayne remained positive and encouraging, reminding the Knutesons to stick with it despite early mornings, long days, and late dinners. On the 14th I borrowed neighbor Mike Michaud’s truck to help look for bulls (my truck was in the shop and we needed radio communication). No moose Friday either but we enjoyed meeting up with Pat and Lee, guides from Fort Fairfield who were trying to get their client a cow. He’d shot at two already but had not yet killed one.

Finally, late in the afternoon on Saturday, a beautiful 41” bull presented himself for a perfect broadside shot! Everyone was SO relieved the hunt was over, even if it took until 4:45 p.m. on Saturday – the latest we’d ever had hunters out. Tom O’Hearn went back to Massachusetts on Wednesday with no moose – he had quit. We will always wonder, had he hunted all week would his tag been filled? Sunday morning, after breakfast, we loaded the Knuteson’s bull on our pick up. They followed us to Ashland to tag it, and then we dropped it off at SPW Meat Cutting in Mapleton. We waved good-bye to the Knutesons as they headed east out of Mapleton and we headed west. We stopped in Portage to drop off Lisa Marner’s and my bears for tanning at Eldon Jandreau’s Custom Taxidermy. We missed Eldon but met trapper and guide, Phil Allen. He’d just trapped a handsome boar with a prime coat. We had a great visit before heading home where we stoked the woodstove and settled in to watch football all afternoon. After weeks of guiding and entertaining non-stop, we’d earned an afternoon off…

We’re between seasons until the 5th. No grouse hunters this week and we must wait for the arrival of our deer and November moose hunters. We’re adjusting to what most would consider “normal”: real jobs, with real hours, and days off. It’s kind of nice I suppose, to eat dinner together - Wayne and me - at a reasonable hour; but I’d rather we were guiding hunters!

October continues to be mild. We’ve had only a couple of hard frosts and daytime highs have been in the 50s. The leaves are mostly gone from the trees now so it looks like “deer season” but looking back, where did our favorite season go? It seems like we just got started!

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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…

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