and a strong cup of coffee

Good enough to host Major League Fishing ’s Summit Cup twice in the past five years. “The fishing was just phenomenal. Outside of Florida or Minnesota, the sheer amount and access to water is incredible.” said Mike “Ike” Iaconelli, who finished 3rd the last time that the Summit Cup was held in Central Maine. In his fishing career, Mike is the only angler to have won the Bassmaster Classic, Bassmaster Angler of the Year and B.A.S.S. Nation Championship. “We fish all over the U.S and for me, I fish all over the world and the quality of fish in Maine is incredible. It almost seems like the fish have never been caught before. The number of fish and lack of fishing pressure helps to highlight that this is amazing world-class fishing” Iaconelli commented. Major League Fishing worked with Mid-Maine Bass Fishing to keep the event quiet while the anglers were competing. “It was so much fun to have these professional anglers here,” said Mike Guarino, Maine Guide and owner of Maine Wilderness ...

Have you ever looked up at the sky and marveled at how blue it was? There was not a cloud up there when  Staci and I packed up our snowshoes and headed into the woods to look for sheds. The recent rain had made the snow unstable and we would break through the crust and sink with every step.  It wasn't the best option, but we ended up on the snowmobile trail looking for active deer crossings.   Wet holes had opened up and streams were roaring.  It was a perfect day to be out in the woods. The rain had made some spots icy and some soft and water logged.  We had to pick and chose where we walked and how fast we could go.  I was surprised when we met three snowmobilers on the trail.  They were probably surprised to see us too because they stopped to make sure that we were all set and had not broken down somewhere.  We continued on and as soon as we reached the tree line, we spotted two deer beds - ALWAYS a good sign. We followed t...

No doubt that I have dropped the ball on posting my adventures here, but I have had a lot of fun happenings this year!  Here is my quick recap: * Beaver trapping - with my uncle and friend Staci . * Honored as Sportsman of the Year from the New England Outdoor Writers Association. * Turkey hunting. * The Maine Moose lottery held in my hometown and my friend Bryan performed. * Mushroom foraging with Staci. * Going to the ribbon cutting of the Ezra Smith Wildlife Conservation area to honor my friend George . * Bear hunting with Staci and then going out with Bill Dereszewski and having Robin comes with us. * Deer hunting with Dad and Hubs. * Taking O out for his first sit in the new deer stand. * Seeing lots and lots of wildlife including a fisher and bobcat, both of which I had never seen in the wild before. * Started writing for Drury Outdoors ' DeerCast app . * Joined the board of the New England Outdoor Writers Association. It has been busy but I am excited to fi...

I didn’t see the fawn but I watched in slow motion as the doe hit the corner of the oncoming jeep and disappeared into the tall grass. I hoped that it was just a brush with the bumper and that she would be OK. The driver pulled over and began to walk along the edge of the road to see if the deer was OK. I pulled over on the opposite shoulder and asked if he was OK. We saw the doe struggling to get up and she made a horrific noise.  I assumed that she had a broken leg so I asked my mom to leave me on the side of the road with the driver and go to my house to get the gun. I placed a call to dispatch was put in touch with a warden. He asked if I was able to dispatch the deer and if I wanted to. The last thing I wanted was for this deer to suffer so I said yes and wrote down the tag number. It was dump day in town and the man had planned on making it a quick trip so he did not bring his phone with him.  We gave him a donut and my phone to make some calls; one to his wife so t...

In an effort to learn how to trap, I asked my uncle to take me out when he set his traps last winter.  He agreed and we went out to set some beaver traps and learn how it’s done. My uncle has been trapping for most of his life, so he knew which areas to check for fresh sign and he had been asked by the landowners to come onto their property to take beaver out and keep the bog from flooding and eating up more land.  Unfortunately, that was the case for a section of our trail and we had to get out and walk. We loaded up an ax, the traps, lures, gloves, a shovel and started hiking, which in waders is no easy task!  We looked for slides, caster mounds and freshly dropped trees.  It was obvious that there were beaver there, we just needed to pick the right place where they were being the most active.  My uncle slipped carefully into what looked like a shallow stream coming out of the bog and almost instantly went up to his thighs.  Waterways that lo...

A few years ago, I decided to collect skulls and furs from the animals that I killed or trapped.   It was partly selfish to be able to highlight the hunts that I have been on but it was also in an attempt to educate my kids about the animals that we eat and interact with here in Maine. My first skull was my bear’s and even though there were a lot of issues with it (cut into pieces and put back together), it was great to see what was under the fur of the animal that I killed and ate.   My son loved touching the teeth and seeing the ridge where the two halves of the skull were fused together.   The bear rug is thick and soft and it’s my son’s favorite spot for reading/listening to books on tape.   Since that bear, my collection has grown to include a coyote (my daughter’s favorite), beaver, bobcat and deer skull. Each skull is displayed on a bookshelf that my Grampa made. It helps to highlight the size variables of each skull but also different types of teeth...

While I have been away, I have been busy advancing my hunting plans for this fall.  And joining new, exciting projects.  One of those is DeerCast, an app created by the folks at Drury Outdoors to give hunters the best tools available to identify peak times to be in the woods and when the deer will be moving.  I have had the chance to interview hunters who have used the app and have taken some impressive deer! There are a handful of us writing articles, the entire Drury family contributes and instead of waiting a year for footage to come out on television, you can see the videos almost as they happen.  Some impressive deer are being taken this year and DeerCast is free! So far, more than 218,000 people have downloaded the app... of course I want you to download it to read my articles but try it out and see if it works for you.  Let me know!