Bass: it's what's for dinner

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to catch Don Kleiner of Maine Outdoors with some free time on his hands and convinced him to take me fishing. We could not have picked a more perfect day to be away from the world and on the water.

We set off to catch Smallmouth Bass. Having caught my first fish with Robin, I was hopeful that I could at least catch something besides grass. Don was brave enough to attempt to teach me how to fish a few years ago and I hoped, as I stepped into the boat, that I had improved my skills a little bit since then.

Our first spot was a fairly shallow spot near some overhanging trees. Don taught me that fish do not have eyelids so when it is sunny out, they usually hid in the shade so that they can keep watch over any predators that may be around - like eagles, osprey or us. My first cast was horrible but I kept reminding myself that I did just fine with Robin and needed to not over think it. The next few casts were a lot better. Don would point out a spot to cast to and I would try my best to hit that spot or as close to it as I could.

Before too long, I had a bite and reeled in my first fish of the day! We took some photos, tossed him back and continued to cast.

Me and my dinner: a smallmouth bass

We went to four different spots on the pond and second was my spot. At my best, I was catching fish on my second or third cast. Some were nice and legal, some were small. They were all smallmouth. Don caught a pickerel and a largemouth as well as a bunch of smallmouth.

Largemouth bass

Pickerel with a mouth full of teeth.

It was a lot of fun to work on my casting and learn more about fishing in Maine. Don is a Master Maine Guide and takes all kinds of people out fishing through his business Maine Outdoors.

At the end of the day and after catching maybe 15 fish on my line, I had two bass that were coming home for dinner. I was pleasantly surprised and learned a lot about how to work on my cast, side cast and what happens when you hook a nice big branch (I never lost the lure!) and need to retrieve your line. I was able to work on my casting, my comfort level and learn so it was a fantastic day outside.

Already this summer, I have fished more than I ever have before. I am still freaked out by hooks and the idea of having one piece through my skin, but the more I fish the more comfortable I will hopefully become. It is a lot of fun and maybe I can get my kiddo interested soon!

It was a great day on the water with Don and hopefully, I will get to be out a few more days before my thoughts and plans change over to bear hunting.

Where are the women?

This week, my interview with Steve at The Maine Outdoorsman went live. Steve said yesterday 200 people hit his site viewing over 500 pages. That is a lot of people reading about little ole me and hunting. Why? When I think of women who are in the general public's eye and hunt, I can think of 2 - Country singer Miranda Lambert and Sarah Palin. Why only two? Why is the female hunter such a fascinating thing? (I should probably note that I do not have cable so any and all female hunters on the hunting stations are lost to me. I'll keep it to the general public because that's what I am familiar with.) People/media were fascinated by the fact that they could get footage of Palin and her gun, shooting (and gutting) animals but I feel like the nostalgia would be lost if they had the same footage of McCain. Lambert and her hubby Blake Shelton tweet photos of their kills, and comment on what/where they are hunting. I only know this because I follow both. That's it....

So much to celebrate - let's give away stuff!

As you know from my last post, this month I am celebrating the one year anniversary of this blog, 10 years of hunting with my Dad and a milestone birthday. In honor of all three, I want to give away some great Maine stuff to all of you! Rules: 1. Leave a comment 2. On Oct 28 (my big bday), Dad will pick a number and the corresponding post will win. What will you win? A big basket of great Maine and outdoor things! Such as: fly fishing flies, blueberry something, Maine maple syrup, apple butter (to be made by me on Tuesday), something related to deer hunting and a couple of great books signed by local authors. (Pictures will be posted when I am back at a computer). So thank you for your support and for helping my celebrate such a great month!!

So much for respectable stand placement

Dad has hunted on the land that houses the Sky Condo for the better part of his life. About six years ago, we built the SC and started hunting there full time. At that time, there were no other hunters near by. A few years ago, a hunter bought a bordering piece of property, re-did the old camp that was there and brought his buddies along. We haven't had a lot of incidents with them (trespassing last year, putting pink ribbon on my tree seat and lying to us when we asked them what they shot - a search through the list at the tagging station said an 8-point buck). Two years ago, Dad bought a piece of land that is separated from the Sky Condo property by a powerline and a driveway that is privately owned by our hunting neighbor. The land was bought in May and once October came, our neighbor put a treestand up along the edge of the powerline, facing our new piece of property and right next to our traveling path. We were cautious from that point ...

and a strong cup of coffee

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