It rained. Rained hard and the wind blew. It was anything but ideal for finding moose in the Maine woods. But Brian, Jenn and I knew that the weather was going to be clear and with some rain gear, we were off for an adventures. Last year, I was spoiled; beautiful calm weather and moose first thing in the morning. This year, our normal 4:30am start was pushed back to 10am. About an hour after we left, we were winding down dirt roads heading further into the woods. We pulled into an old skidder road, grabbed our cameras and were off. The sun had finally come out but the wind was still whipping through the trees and causing bursts of leaves to drop from their branches. Brian calling for moose We...
Here are a few more photos that I couldn't quite get to fit into my blog. Enjoy!!! Robin and Brian Brian was able to get urine from a bull moose that one of his clients shot the week before. This is straight moose pee! Walking into the choppin's Brian with a call in his pocket and camera set up Brian racking the trees to sound like a bull My first moose seen in the woods! He was a young bull but I would have shot him Checking out another spot Moose tracks! Fall...
Three years ago, Dad and I headed into the woods to get a moose. I took a week off from work and we were rocked and ready. Zone 17. In hindsight, I can see why Rick wanted to trade permits for that zone. Throughout the week, we saw one dead moose and a spot where one was gutted. That was it. It was the second time Dad had been drawn and the first time he didn't come home with some meat. At the start of the 2012 moose season, it was projected that 75,000 moose were roaming the woods. In my interview with Commissioner Woodcock, he spoke about the changes that were taking place this season that would allow more people to get their permit who had not. This past fall, my brother in law (BIL) who is a biologist for the State of Maine was...
This year, Dad and I decided that we would sit out of the moose lotto. It made sense. In 2010, when Dad was picked, we spent a solid 8 hours a day riding the roads in his truck looking for moose, walking around in the woods calling for moose and seeing a lot of hunters and only 1 dead cow. Since we know the time commitment that we are looking at if we get picked, and with me nursing a 4 month old come October, we decided to not apply for a permit. But, with the new Maine Moose Lotto revamped from what it was in 2011, Dad and I could still get points for applying and ensure our names were not entered to be drawn for permits. For each year that you apply and you do not get a permit, you gain a point. I am up to 5 points right now. The...
Last week I sat down with Commissioner Woodcock to talk about the highlights of the 2012 hunting seasons and where he saw the Department going in 2013: Last year, the moose hunting system was reworked. Do you think it helped with the numbers this year? YES! 34% of the top tier were picked this year. Of course, we add people to that top tier every year but we are predicting that in the next five years, everyone in that top group who has been waiting for more than 30 years to get drawn, will in fact get drawn. We even had a few people, probably 1% get picked on their first try this year. Overall, we are very happy with the results this year and looking forward to a successful hunt next season. Do you see any other changes being...
I saw this bull coming at me on the skidder road. I can tell he is a good sized bull and he is following behind the cow and calf. He stepped out, I lifted my gun up, placed the cross hairs on him and squeezed the trigger. Nothing happened. Rick and his family have been hunting in Maine for more than three generations. Each year, Rick faithfully puts in his application to get a moose permit and each year, his name is not drawn. Until this year! After 32 years, Rick saw his name appear but it was not an ideal situation. He drew a cow in zone 17 for the October hunt, starting Oct 8th. Not ideal, so Rick put his permit up on a couple of websites to see about a possible swap. Within 24 hours, an email hit his inbox accepting the swap. Frank...
Last weekend, the hubby, pup and I headed to Sandy Mountain Cabins in Jackman. We were excited and eager to test out the fishing pole. It was beautiful when we arrived on Friday! The camp we were in was unlocked and ready for us. Corey, the owner had left a note in the window of the door saying welcome, where we were going to be and that we would catch up later. It was clean, welcoming and wonderful. We quickly got settled and headed out to start fishing. For some reason, I always take self portraits. I have them from my tree stand, and here when we are on the boat... Anyways, Corey usually rents out motor boats but because it had rained the night before, he said that if we wanted to pump it out, we could just take it. Yes, please! We...
(From left, John Ford, me, Paul Fournier) Thank you to all who listened, called in, tweet'd and left me questions for the show! We had a blast and you can listen to it here. I swapped some great stories with these guys and they were so gracious and kind - they even gave me a copy of their book and signed it for me. Yes - I geeked out! I have said it before and I will say it again - hunters/fishers/outdoors people are the best people...
