We are coming down the homestretch. The long wait between the close of muzzleloading season on deer and the opening of black bear over bait is nearly here. The end of this month will see hunters once again testing their mettle, trying their hardest to be invisible and scent-free while perched in their stands. And that is no easy task.
In my neck of the woods, the normal bug season kicked into overdrive this year. The blackflies showed up in force, followed by a mosquito invasion that laid bare the shelves of every retail establishment equipped with an outdoors section of Thermacell’s and bug dope. The summer visitors opening their camps descended into town like a horde of locusts, decimating insect control inventory and leaving me scratching my head – literally. I don’t usually dope up to an excessive degree but this season has been a doozy. At one point I just decided to let the bugs eat. No amount of bug dope seemed to get the job done.
We’ve had a cooler, wetter spring and early summer this year. A good stretch of sunshine and warming temperatures would do us a lot of good in knocking down the ambitions of the Maine air force – black flies, mosquitos, deer flies and horse flies. Well, maybe not the deer flies. Those rascals will take chunks out of you all summer long. Without some warmer, sunny days to discourage the insects, I fear we may be in for a buggy bear season. If that turns out to be the case, some special attention to gear and bait site selection will go a long way before the first hunter takes the stand.
The weather during bear season is unpredictable. We’ve had years when temperatures soared during the second two weeks and plummeted during the first two. I remember a season not long ago when the morning mercury read in the 40’s. I had clients reaching for gear that was usually reserved for deer camp. This year however, I believe head nets and gloves will be high priority on the gear list. There is no greater spoiler to a bear over bait hunt than the lifting of a hand to swat at a mosquito buzzing in your ear. This year, even if you typically avoid full faced head nets, I think you might want to keep one handy.
Hunters and guides both have varying opinions on the use of Thermacell devices while on stand. I’m not wading into that debate, however, if you use one and are comfortable with it at your bear site you may want to check out the new Earth Scent refill pack. I plan on putting them through the paces at a new test bait site to see how they work. I’m also considering doping up a rag at the stand location every time I bait the site to get the bears comfortable with the smell – for some hunters, head nets and gloves just don’t provide enough relief to keep them still on stand.
Lastly, I think new stand placements will be key. As hunters, we always try to use the wind to our favor in keeping human scent at a minimum. Perhaps going a step further and determining how the wind moves through the trees at the site can help tweak our stand placements and maximize the use of the wind in order to minimize insect interference with our hunt. One thing is certain, we’ll need every advantage we can gain when hunting the black ghosts of the Maine woods in early fall.