The most exciting hunt, you're not going on

I blame my friend Steve. I cautiously agreed to go with him and learn how to hunt them so that I could have some first-hand experience when I write. I would have never guessed that in agreeing to go with him, I would now look at August in a whole new way; it’s bear season!

There are roughly 10,000 of us who buy our bear permits every year. Compared to the 180,000+ deer hunters and we basically have the woods to ourselves to hunt bear. Guess what non-bear hunters? You are missing out on one of the most exciting hunts you could possibly go on! And that should change.

Why would you want to hunt bears? Easiest reason is management and keeping the population in check with the biological and social carrying capacities across our state. None of us want to see bears or any animal, reach the point where disease and over-population cause major issues. Hunting helps to put a dent in a growing bear population and with no other predators, it’s either us or disease to keep the population numbers where they need to be.

The second reason: the meat. Oh, bear meat! If you just made a face reading this, it’s because when you had it, it was not cooked properly. There are so many great dishes to cook and various ways to prepare the meat. I would be happy to share a couple easy recipes or check out my friend Robin Follette and get a bunch of great recipes from her. A well-cooked piece of bear meat will rival any cut of beef as long as you know how to cook it.

The third season: the hunt. The most exciting part. I have sat over bait, helped set up a trap (I am a licensed trapper) and hunted using hounds. The thrill of not knowing if there is a bear watching you is unlike any other hunt. Deer will watch you and then leave if they don’t like what they see or smell. A bear can and will, wait you out and when you walk out at the end of legal hunting hours that bear will walk right in to the bait site and enjoy. Thanks to trail cameras, you can figure out each bear’s habits, which direction they travel to the bait site from and if they come at a certain time. Smaller bears will come in earlier to grab-and-go before the larger ones show up. Hunting with dogs offers a completely different adrenaline rush and you’re listening and watching the dogs, guide (probably) and looking ahead at or for the bear. There is no guarantee that you will even see a bear while you are out hunting but knowing that they are around and could step out at any time, keeps you on your toes.

I encourage everyone to try bear hunting once. There are incredible guides across Maine that have the knowledge and experience to help get you started and see what it’s all about. Or, like I did, tag along with a friend who bear hunts and find out what you’ve been missing. You won’t be sorry that you did!

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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