and a strong cup of coffee

I was glad that I had brought extra layers when we stepped into the 29 degree October air.  It was going to be a perfect hunting day with bright sun, cool temps and a great view that showed off Maine's fall foliage. Tim Cote of Cote & Sons Guide Service was taking me out on a guided bear hunt with his friends Al, Scott and Scott's two boys.  And Tim's six W alkers , pups Boy and Lady, Jill, Emma, Garth and Moose.  We headed for the Maine woods when it was still dark out and as the first light was breaking, we turned off the paved road and started to head deeper into the woods on some old dirt roads.  Tim let the dogs out to stretch and run around the truck as we slowly drove down the road. I was taking in the view and talking to Tim when the dog's demeanor changed and they began to bark. First one, then two, then all of them were barking and running up the mountain and into the thick forest Maine in known for.  Tim pulled out the GPS to see where the do...

After being in the audience of the townhall debate on changing the way the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW) manages our bear populations, I was determined to interview Judy Camuso.  It was Judy's knowledge, passion and drive that came through during the debate that had me and supporters in the crowd, fired up about our work helping to educate and encourage more people to Vote NO on 1 . I sat down with Judy to talk about her career, Maine's wildlife and of course, bears. Photo courtesy of J. Camuso from a Portland Press Herald article What made you want to get involved in wildlife? I grew up outside.  My mom had six kids and we were always outside.  I loved animals from the time I was young. I went to college to study veterinarian medicine and did an internship with US Fish and Wildlife my sophomore year.  I loved being able to watch birds and study their behaviors and try to figure out what makes animals do what they do.  ...

Right? While I get the blog about my last hunting adventure edited and ready to go, I wanted to share with you some photos from those same sites that show a trap that Steve has put out.  According to Maine law, you must check your trap every day and as a result of Steve doing this, we are getting some huge bears coming in. An argument that those who are in favor of banning our effective hunting methods like to make is how easy it is to get a bear.  As you have seen, we have a lot of bears coming into the sites.  And they are big bears!  Bait is helping to bring them in but (spoiler alert) I have not shot a bear.  Neither have Steve or Lorri.  The bears are there, are coming in almost daily but unless you are there at the right place and right time, no bear for you! Here are some great photos that PROVE that just because you put a trap out, it does not guarantee you a bear.  The trap is clearly seen on the ground in that perfect circle. Bear jus...

After we struck out on the first night, we planned to go out again and get us a bear.  The photos that were were seeing showed incredible bears coming in all the time.  It was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. The day before I was going to drive up to meet with Steve and Lorri, I got a text from Steve: "GET MORE BULLETS."  We had a behemoth bear coming in on a regular basis and when he compared it to his 420lb bear, he figured it was 500-600lbs. This bear is huge! 500-600lbs probably. Maybe an old Sow by the look of the back stomach area that could be worn out from nursing cubs? Big head, nice barrel like frame.  This is an incredible, healthy Maine black bear. I was more comfortable now since I knew where we would be, what the light was like and where I'd be sitting.  This time, I would be sitting with Lorri and Steve would go to site 2. It was a beautiful day with sun, a light breeze and 68 degrees.  Cool and ideal f...

I was nervous. Ridiculously so.  I was seeing the big bears that we had coming in on the cameras at each site and I knew that I had to make a damn good shot if a bear came in. I has shot three times to get my gun sighted in and knew that it was right where it needed to be - and I was comfortable making those shots. I packed all of my clothes, which were washed in anti-scent detergent and properly washed and stored with anti-scent dryer sheets. I showered with my anti-scent soap and put everything into the car.  As I sat in the driver seat of the car going through my mental checklist, I realized that my gun was still inside.  A quick run back inside and I was really ready to go this time. At Steve's, I prepped some bait for the day.  I was a pro at this point . It was hot - 86 degrees and no breeze but regardless of all of this, it was opening day of bear season!  We had lunch, put everything in the back of the truck and were off to bait sites in the wood...

BIG BEAR!  No one is scaring him off of that bait That is a normal sized milk crate! 300-400lb bear looking at you! My preferred bear: one that comes out during the daylight My shooter.  He came out at 6pm.  I would gladly shoot him and be happy.

Lance and Lorri putting some bait into an empty bucket The good smelling bait... mmm strawberry I was sure that beaver was the grossest smell ever, but I was so wrong. It is easily rotten lobster bodies - the kind that are put into black trash bags and left out in the sun and forgotten about.  I dont think any of us didn't gag, hold our breathe or pull our shirts up over our noses in an attempt to stop the smell from penetrating into our nostrils.  We added it to one of the beaver carcases and for the first time, I really had to question a black bear's eating preferences.  Of course, there is also the 'good' smelling bait that looks like it could be a bunch of $7 granola bars from Whole Foods dumped together and mixed with this great strawberry smelling stuff.  That, I don't mind being around. It was another day in the woods baiting with Steve.  We also had his girlfriend Lorri and their friend Lance with us. We headed yo a new-to-me spot where Steve ...

Here they come!  Site 1 and 2 now have bears coming in.  Steve said that they are very good looking bears and healthy, too.  These are from the trail camera memory chip that Steve puts into his camera.  He then takes these photos, of the camera screen, with his phone.  Don't worry - in a few weeks there will be a photo of the real thing ;)    

Steve went back out to the sites four days after we had and there were pictures at site 2.  Not the best pictures but there are bears around and coming in! We have a couple more weeks until the hunting season starts and then it runs for 14 weeks.  I'm trying to work my schedule to get out and help bait one more time before I head into the woods on the last week of August to try my hand at bear hunting. 

On left, unopened sweets.  On right, the goodies ready to be put out. I was lucky that it was only 73 degrees out!  I would have melted after we headed to the first bait site. I carried buckets filled with bait and some secret ingredients to keep the bears coming back again and again.  While I was glad to not be carrying the bucket with the cut up dead beaver, I was reminded of my position down wind of it after every few steps.  Making a bait barrel While I support bear hunting as it is now in Maine, I did not know a lot about it and felt that if I was going to support this fight, I should know what I was talking about.  So, I told Steve that I would try everything, including preparing bait buckets.  If you ever want to cut sweets out of your diet help out with preparing bait barrels.  For more than an hour, I opened packaged sweets that had the overall smell of a cheap bar. The smell wasn't what got to me, it was the fact that they c...

Copyright Darrold Door.  Picture found at: http://www.maine.gov/ifw/hunting_trapping/hunting/bear.htm Bear hunting. Just those two words can bring out some very strong emotion amongst hunters and non-hunters.  I would tell you to vote NO on1 and I could give you a long list of reasons why but if you are reading this, chances are I am preaching to the choir when it comes to understanding why hunting is necessary to keep animal populations healthy. I have never gone bear hunting. I have really never had an interest. My friend Robin is an incredible outdoor woman who has been bear hunting for the past three years.  I have been OK living vicariously through her with the hopes of trading my unwavering support for bear meat, however, this year I am heading into the blinds myself to get a bear. In an effort to truly understand what goes on 'behind the scenes' of bear hunting, I have gotten myself connected with folks who are going to take me out to the bait sites, s...

My 10-pointer shot on Nov 25th 2011. The closer we get to November, the more I am concerned about what life will be like for my beloved White-tailed deer.  In 2007-2008, we had a harsh winter with a lot of snow followed by massive flooding in the northern part of the State.  Since that time, the overall deer herd has been struggling to get back to the numbers we once knew.  Guides and older hunters talk about the days when you would see deer all the time and Maine was known for its 'Big Buck hunting.' While, I will always love to tell the story of shooting my 10-point buck, if we really want to rebuild our deer population and be a coveted place for deer hunters to come, we need to start looking at what impacts the deer and what we can do to help them. We have heard over and over again that there needs to be work done to create healthy and sustainable habitats for deer and I totally agree.  But -- there are other issues that could dictate how likely our deer p...