Maine Hunting Articles and Blog • Page 12 of 49 • And A Strong Cup of Coffee

Turkey, fish and bone

By Erin M | Mar 27, 2015 | 0 Comments | 3 min read

Finally, after the cold winter it is time to be back in the woods. I am eager to shake off the winter and get back into the sunshine, nicer temperatures and even play in the mud a little bit. This year spring means turkey hunting, fishing and looking for some sheds on the hunting property. This will be my third turkey hunting season and I am hoping that the third time is the charm. The first year, we called one tom and three jakes in but didn’t bring any meat home. Last year, I went out with a guide and blew my shot by sitting in a spot that prevented me from shooting to my right. I did get to see the...

T3 is standing!

By Erin M | Mar 24, 2015 | 0 Comments | 2 min read

No matter what animal I hunt, I always come back to deer. Hunting predators like bear and coyote are great and I'm eager to check off turkey and moose but I plan my vacations around deer season. After getting yelled at last season, we decided to build a permanent structure a little further into woods and close to the same property line. It was hard to visualize what it would look like and Dad had great plans for our third permanent deer stand. He built it in the barn and we tested out sizes, wall height and visibility. We were going to put it up in late January but time got away from us and February hit...

Part 2: Gimmie the bears!

By Erin M | Mar 20, 2015 | 1 Comment | 4 min read

So we made it to King's den. Now the fun starts. Once King was sedated and out, Jake and Mitch got ready to pull the cubs out. We stood closer to where they were in a semi-circle and watched. Lisa explained what was happening and the fact that this was more than likely, the first time the cubs had ever seen day light. Mitch taking the first cub out of the den. Mitch put the first cub against his chest and let go. The cub stuck to the wool jacket with it's claws, like Velcro. Jake handed him the second cub and Lisa stepped in to help. As Jake got King ready to come out of the den, Mitch tagged the...

Part 1: Getting to the Bear’s Den

By Erin M | Mar 16, 2015 | 2 Comments | 3 min read

Mount Katahdin from Route 11 in Maine. I had been awake for five hours when we pulled into the IFW office in Ashland at 8am. It was deceivingly beautiful out with the bright sun and deep blue sky but the wind kept the temperatures close to single digits. Still, we knew once we were in the woods, we wouldn't be thinking about the temps. Our group was fortunate enough to be going out with bear biologists Mitch Jackman, Jake Feener and one of the most well known biologists, Lisa Bates. It was a 17 mile truck ride into the woods from the office followed by a two mile bushwacking snowmobile ride to the den. This...

Cleaning my deer skull

By Erin M | Mar 9, 2015 | 1 Comment | 1 min read

I was cleaning up pictures and came across these two from a few years ago. The smell was horrible but after a while I got used to it. I don't know if it was the (lack of) quality pot that I used or the fact that I did this on my grill and then stove when I ran out of propane, but I had to throw it all away when I was done. At least I got a cool...

Majestic Bald Eagle

By Erin M | Mar 7, 2015 | 0 Comments | 1 min read

It is always fun to see a Bald Eagle, especially when you least expect it. I found this bird sitting in a tree, being carefully watched by two crows. It was a cold morning - around 5 degrees, so when I rolled my window down the heat from inside the car escaped and created a blurry look to the pictures. I wasn't willing to get out of the car in case the bird flew.

Turkeys in winter

By Erin M | Mar 2, 2015 | 0 Comments | 1 min read

We had just gotten back from snowmobiling when Dad said that there was a turkey outside. We watched as more and more birds flew down and started pecking at the dirt spots on the ground. At their closest, they were about 10 feet from the back steps. I kept waiting for one to land on the snowmobile, but none did. We counted 14 in all. The spent about an hour pecking at the dirt and roaming around the yard. From there, they headed onto the mountain. A few of them stayed near a water spot for the rest of the afternoon. I am not sure if they were enjoying the block from the wind or if they were...

A different kind of hard water fishing

By Erin M | Feb 23, 2015 | 0 Comments | 3 min read

There is something about fishing that creates a community on the water. I don't really fish - I am learning, but I would not consider myself a fisherman, yet. I am planning on going fishing again this spring at GLS but it's been a while since I took to the ice to try and pull a fish out of the hard water. Recently though, I tried smelt fishing with my friend Jen. The rows of shacks. Open water not very far away The wind was blowing hard but the heat in the shack was so hot that we had to rig the door to stay slightly open. We even went for a walk down on the ice. As the tide was coming in, we could watch the ice...

T3 – the new treestand

By Erin M | Feb 19, 2015 | 2 Comments | 2 min read

After my incident last season, Dad decided that it would make more sense to be hidden in the woods and have more coverage than my treeseat gives me. This will help me get a better view of the more traveled deer trails and not rely on the deer to come my way. He wanted to build a permanent structure that would allow us to hunt in all weather conditions. So, Dad has been busy building T3. He constructed it in the barn to make sure all of the dimensions were right. Our first treestand was built 16 feet off the ground using a 12 foot ladder. Not ideal and clearly not built by hunters who knew what they were...

I am snowed in!

By Erin M | Feb 13, 2015 | 1 Comment | 1 min read

The forecast calls for 20-25 inches coming my way this weekend. That storm will mean that we have seen almost 6 feet of snow in the past 3 weeks. It has snowed about every other day. I think everyone who pays attention to the deer herd is watching and hoping that the lack of snow early on in the winter allowed for the deer to store up more fat and get more food to be able to survive 6 feet of snow in such a short time. Dad and I checked on 'our deer' while our snowmobiling Last spring the turkey season was eliminated from Northern Maine because of the snow fall amounts and concern over the breeding success rates. Living...

Going rabbit hunting!

By Erin M | Jan 31, 2015 | 2 Comments | 3 min read

The first of four snowstorms was on it's way when we headed into the woods. I was pretty sure that we could get a couple hours of rabbit hunting in before I had to head home. This would be my first attempt at small game hunting so I was excited and eager to find out how it was done. I met up with my cousin Hillary and her finance, Lance to go rabbit hunting with their three beagles. We loaded up our guns, snowshoes and gear onto snowmobiles and headed out to see if we could get some meat. Our first stop was a quick trip through a grown up boggy area. It was thick and there were not a lot of animal signs. The...

An ideal outdoors woman gift…

By Erin M | Jan 29, 2015 | 1 Comment | 1 min read

...is this! Sent to me by one of the coolest people I know. Do you know what it is? It's chaga! I was going to make a concentrate during the snow storm but I made venison stew in my crockpot instead. I am eager to break it down to drink in my coffee and tea. I have had it before and loved it. I am so excited to try making it on my own - and then, I need to work on identifying it in the woods so that I can continue to get it. Do you drink...

Saving one deer at a time

By Erin M | Jan 23, 2015 | 0 Comments | 4 min read

I don't know if I should have eaten more or less but my stomach was freaking out when Steve and I sat in the blind. I kept adding layers to keep warm and to see if I could muffle the growls. I hoped that nothing would hear me and run off. Steve and Lorri (who had taken me bear hunting) had put out deer carcases from a local butcher about a week before. The pile of bones were strewn all over the field by the coyotes that had been there. We got settled into the blind and watched the crows picking away at the pile furthest away. My stomach growled and they flew away. I hoped that something else scared...

Looking for sheds

By Erin M | Jan 12, 2015 | 0 Comments | 3 min read

It was cold, but the sun was out and Dad, Hubby and I were eager to go into the woods to look at where T3 will be set up, bring in a couple of tree stands and I wanted to look for sheds. The recent dusting of snow helped to see any new deer tracks. It also helped to see the main trails and activity of the deer herd. There were a lot of spots that looked like this. The deer have been on an acorn frenzy and since there is not a lot of snow, they can still paw at the ground and leaves to find them. Deer paw for acorns buried along the leaves and snow. I tracked a couple of deer from the Sky Condo as we made our way...

Me and My Land

By Erin M | Jan 8, 2015 | 0 Comments | 4 min read

The Maine legislature begins its next session soon and while there are a bunch of wildlife bills being put forward to help keep Maine's wildlife safe and healthy, each year there is one argument that is heard over and over and over again - the desire for Sunday hunting in Maine. The law has been on the books since the 1800's and there have been bills to try and get it over turned but nothing has worked. Many people think that the law is outdated, needs to be changed and is costing Maine revenue from hunters who would come here to hunt. Here are the most common arguments heard for it: 1. People who work Monday-Friday only have...

Road trip

By Erin M | Jan 3, 2015 | 1 Comment | 1 min read

I took the family on a little road trip earlier this week to get out of the house. We ended up in the same area that I was bear baiting and were I would eventually shoot my bear. It was the first time I had been back there and it was fun to show Hubby where I had been. When we stopped for lunch, the coolest painting was in the bathroom. I know, I know but it was such a cool picture that I had to take a photo. And what were the odds that near my hunting area, in that specific restaurant and in the lady's room, there would be this painting. Pretty...

Best of 2014: My bear

By Erin M | Dec 22, 2014 | 4 Comments | 1 min read

As I was looking through photos of 2014 and printing some out, I couldnt help but get nostalgic. I had no intention of bear hunting a year ago. I had actually told my Dad (a few times) that I had no desire to shoot a bear, didn't think I could like the meat and that it was just not in my wheel house. Skip ahead a few months and with the invitation of Steve and Lorri, I learned how to prepare and set bait and went hunting. Then, given the opportunity to hunt with hounds, I took a chance to learn more about it and came home with an incredible story and some delicious meat. I may look calm but I was freaking...

A frozen selfie

By Erin M | Dec 18, 2014 | 1 Comment | 1 min read

You do "funny" things when you are a hunter. You willingly wake up at 4am. You willingly spend hours tracking, sitting and walking and you willingly sit out in 0 degree weather waiting for an animal (coyote) in my case. Some mornings, it is fun to document my questionable saneness and the last weekend of deer hunting season was one of those cases. I never did get a coyote but night hunting for them starts this week! Frozen...

My goals for 2015

By Erin M | Dec 15, 2014 | 8 Comments | 1 min read

In 2015, I have a few goals that I am hoping to finally accomplish. 1. Get a turkey! I came close last year, but I am hoping that the 3rd time is the charm. 2. Goose hunting. I had plans last year that fell through so I am hoping to try that this year. 3. Catch a 'keep-able' fish. 4. Go bear hunting again. I will never beat this year's hunt, but I can try. 5. Get that 8-pointer! 6. Go with biologists to a bear den. 7. Shoot a moose (this will be on my list each year until I do.) 8. Shoot a coyote. 9. Learn about trapping. I don't know if I will actually do it, but I want to go and see how it's done. What else should I...

Karma is…

By Erin M | Dec 10, 2014 | 1 Comment | 1 min read

...having a deer bed down next to your tree stand. This bed was about 15 feet from the bottom of my stand. When I went out to see where the deer was that Hubby jumped, I noticed this. The deer were everywhere the guys were, but they just couldn't make a connection. Maybe next year!

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