Hunting Camp Expectations

As a professional hunting guide in Maine, I often expect to find myself dealing with the seasoned hunter; an individual who has hunted for many years, perhaps made a hunt or two out west or down south, and now is coming further north to hunt for species that have eluded him elsewhere. The seasoned hunter knows what firearms he needs and what equipment will be necessary – and he knows the ropes. The most noticeable thing about seasoned hunters is that they don’t seem to be lost souls. It’s obvious that they have done this before.

They generally bring one rifle in a hard case; it is sighted in, has a quality scope installed and a couple of boxes of extra ammunition are on hand. They also have a minimum of personal equipment, which is packed in two small duffels that will easily fit in camp. Proper footwear, cold weather and rain gear are in one of the duffel bags, and a super light camera is tucked in a shirt pocket. Perhaps the only items of obvious excess are the cell phone and other electronic gadgets prominent today.

Many first-time hunters are sure they know someone of the type I’m talking about. Furthermore, on their first hunt they are often positive I’ve described everyone else in camp – and not them.

The truth is very few hunters are the above-described ‘perfect hunter’.

Most hunters still bring too much gear, and they pack it in oversize gun cases and extra-large duffels or totes. New hunters to the north woods of Maine tend to pack everything but the kitchen sink and even experienced ones pack things they don’t need.

I think we (as hunters) probably come to expect this ‘perfect hunter’ persona of everyone, and all too often forget about the people who haven’t hunted in the north before. These hunters often are intimidated by what goes on around them. At last they are in Maine, Big Woods Country, and the place that hunting dreams are made of. It’s all new to them and sometimes, overwhelming. The size of the country, the remoteness, and the casual manner in which everyone treats the sprawling woods and quick changing weather is quite different from what they are used to.

They sometimes feel they do not fit in. They don’t ask questions for fear of looking ignorant, or maybe they just don’t know what to ask. It is obvious to me that many don’t book hunts, simply because they do not know what to expect. Others are willing to go, but only if they have someone along who has been here before. It is my hope that seasoned veteran hunters in camp mentor and offer advice to the younger, less experienced in camp. Similarly, novice hunters should seek the wisdom and experience of those who have “been there, done that.”

This dynamic of hunting camp is one that solidifies the hunting community and ensures that traditions pass down from generation to generation. Hunting camp is far more than a place to sleep when you aren’t on stand. It is a place of camaraderie, union of spirit and legacy building.

At Tucker Ridge Outdoors, we aim to capture the spirit of the traditional sporting camps of Maine lore. As hunters, we are all brothers (and sisters) in arms, from the astute woodsman to the greenhorn rookie. We all share the passion for the pursuit of game and all that nature reveals to us, deep in the solitude of the woods.

We hope you enjoy your time on Tucker Ridge. As you make new friends and swap tall tales, you’ll not only be participating in the richest of hunting heritage and tradition, you will be helping to build ours…

The Legendary Grand Laker

When I first started my career as a fishing guide, I was admittedly a more modern-equipped angler when I hit the lake with clients. I began with a modified vee, aluminum bass boat with raised casting decks, modern electronics, GPS and a bow mounted trolling motor. It was a bass fishing machine. As I progressed, I added a 20 foot pontoon boat, specifically retrofitted as a fishing vessel. The lounging furniture was removed, rubber non-slip decking tiles added, and a center console covered with a T-top canopy with rod holders reminiscent of off shore rigs completed the layout. It’s great for larger fishing parties and quite comfortable for long days on the water in Junior Lake. At the time, I thought I had all the bases covered – until I started working in Grand Lake Stream where the highest concentration of fishing guides in the state of Maine ply their trade.

The first time I pulled into Weatherby’s Lodge and joined the queue of guides waiting for their sports to finish breakfast and load up for our day’s excursion, I had an epiphany. Big, long, square-stern wooden canoes sat hitched to pickups all the way through the driveway to the pro shop. They were wide beamed, with big rockers and elegantly finished interiors. They were beautiful. And I wanted one.

Over the next two years, I delved into the history of the Maine Grand Laker. I learned how and why they were made; for fishing the big remote waters of northeastern Maine. I learned the names of the craftsman that built them; the Pop Moores, the Bacons, the Tobeys, the Wheatons, the Spragues. Each canoe builder had a signature style that was recognized from East Grand Lake in the north to West Grand Lake in the south. I learned how special that tradition was and is to this very day.

Last year I stumbled into an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. A friend and fellow guide decided to sell me his 1970’s era Lance Wheaton Grand Laker after my insistent badgering following his purchase of a brand new Wheaton Laker, one of the last Lance would build in his long and storied career. The Wheaton Laker is highly prized for its size and stability and I felt like I hit the lottery. Authentic Maine Grand Lakers are becoming hard to come by and to have one of the legends of the canoe building community was humbling. Quite frequently when travelling with my Laker on the hitch and headed to guide a trip, I receive thumbs up hand gestures from folks passing me by. I have people stop by when I’m fueling the truck at the gas station and want to see the canoe and take pictures of it. I certainly understand, the Grand  Laker is a part of the living history of Maine. Many tell me stories of a descendant family member who owned one and the experiences they had as children.

When I’m asked by newly minted guides that have grown up in the world of modern fishing and all of the equipment and gear it requires, why I choose to fish from an ‘old canoe’, the answer is quite simple – tradition. It seems the older I get the more I yearn for it. There is nothing more pure and invigorating than paddling into remote coves, with clients fly-casting and being deeply ingrained in a long-standing fishing heritage. In a canoe, you are part of the landscape, a part of the ecosystem. The only noise heard is the whip of the fly, the gentle dip of the paddle, the crash of the fish taking the lure. It is all magic.

Tagging Station Traditions

The field dressing is done and your quarry is loaded. The endorphins your body released are fading and your nerves are finally calming. You pack away your gear and your rifle, drop your truck into drive and head to the tagging station. Along the way, the film reel of your hunt plays in your mind. The moment the trigger breaks, the exhilaration of success and the realization of knowing the work has just begun. As you pull into the game tagging station and back up to the game pole, folks are already looking your way. The congratulations begin. Where did you get it? What rifle did you use? An eclectic group of fellow hunters, passers-by, station staff and tourists filling their tank at the pump all mingle, striking up conversations with topics ranging from the best weeks of any given season, personal experiences and stories about what they saw here and there throughout the season; all gathered around your truck as the scale tells its tale. It is a communal moment and it feels great.

Electronic Registration

A bill introduced to the Maine legislature last year, LD 1213 “An Act To Provide the Option of Online or Telephonic Tagging of Harvested Big Game Animals” made its way through the Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife resulting in a divided report. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife were tasked with providing a study of the impacts of electronic tagging of harvested big game animals. Cost, effects on biological data collection, veracity of self-reported harvests and compliance were all key issues. The full MDIFW report was issued in January.

In Maine, hunters are very fortunate to have wildlife biologists so deeply embedded in the decisions that determine bag limits and seasons, wildlife and herd health and carrying capacity. In some states, game commissions are appointed officials with little or no scientific wildlife background. Wildlife management decisions are made without the benefit of solid, verifiable data – the data our wildlife biologists count on collecting at Maine game tagging stations. When decisions are made using information solely gleaned from electronic tagging, it usually results in a more conservative approach to game management (short seasons, restrictive bag limits, and curtailment of hunting methods).

MDIFW’s report notes that in New York State, where self-reported electronic tagging is fully implemented, the compliance rate is 45 – 50%. Can you imagine the repercussions on Maine’s deer, moose and black bear populations if only half of successful hunters reported their harvest? I can and I don’t think it paints a rosy picture.

Tooth collection for aging, reproductive tract collection, antler measurements, weight, sex and location of harvest are vital to effective game management. Electronic tagging of big game animals not only opens the door to non-reporting (poaching), loss of vital tools MDIFW biologists need, it strips away another layer of Maine hunting tradition. Electronic tagging may have some benefits – ease of reporting for hunters and meat care being top in my eyes but do we really need everything to be easy? Should we not have to have skin in the game and work hard to earn our game? Isn’t that part of what makes us who we are?

Is Change Good?

A lot of times, the old statement holds true. Innovations in the firearm and ammunition industry increase our ability to shoot straighter, farther and bolster confidence in our shot. Climbing a well-made and sturdy commercial tree stand in the snow beats ascending slick wooden cleats nailed to tree. Better clothing and footwear keeps us warmer and makes our long sit in the hunting woods more comfortable. But we shouldn’t be so eager to change long-steeped traditions; especially when those traditions define the very heart and soul of who we are as sportsmen, our culture and why we hunt in the first place.

Posted: The Pandemic Effect

I first noticed it sometime in early spring of 2020. As I turned off Route 6 onto the Bottle Lake Rd in Springfield, my Grand Laker canoe on the hitch and headed to Lower Sysladobsis Lake, I saw a few fresh real estate signs in newly cleared timber lots. Further along, even more. This certainly wasn’t out of the ordinary on its own; one of the prominent logging companies in this area regularly sold off parcels after logging operations when they did not plan to continue harvesting it any longer. Most of the time, these lots, full of slag from timber operations, lay dormant and were used mostly by hunters as parking areas to get into prime territory in Dill Valley or along the many ridgelines that surround the numerous lakes in the area. I used a few myself.

What was out of the ordinary however was the amount of flagging tape and survey paint adorning the tree line. For miles on these gravel tote roads, the garish display went on. What really caused my eyebrows to wag was when I noticed lots long empty, with just the right amount of scrub brush and immature timber to make it a hunting gold mine, now suddenly littered with the most ominous of signs. You know the one. With its sinister black background and blazing orange text, it practically shouts at you; ‘Posted – No Trespassing’. Who is buying up all of these out of the way, semi-accessible lots I wondered. In the coming weeks I would have my answer.

As the weather warmed and the frost came out of the roads, so came the seasonal camp owners on the lakes. I recognized quite a few of these out-of-state vehicles as we passed each other on the back roads around the lakes. I see them every year; mostly shiny SUV’s and late model half-ton pickups bearing tags from Massachusetts and Connecticut, hauling ATV’s and fishing boats to their camp. But I noticed something else as well; an armada of vehicles with license plates from places like New York, New Jersey and Maryland. The difference was that this fleet were driving RV’s or towing pop-up campers. Care to guess where they were going? Within months, with the corona virus spreading like wildfire and the fear of it spreading faster, the multitudes flowed north, fleeing the urban sprawl and seeking the safety of the ultimate social distancing location – rural Maine, where land was cheap and plenty. Campers appeared on newly purchased lots almost weekly it seemed; drug as far into slash covered clear cuts as possible or stuffed into hastily cut niches in overgrown parcels. And as soon as the jacks came down it seemed, the ‘Posted’ signs went up. More and more of them every month. The trend continued all over my local area throughout the year and next, with long abandoned homesteads, languishing on the real estate market for years, suddenly selling for a premium. The signs followed there as well. For a time, I wondered if there any ‘Posted’ signs left to buy in town. Huge tracts of previously accessible land were now off-limits.

I certainly do not begrudge folks seeking safety for their families, but I wondered if they understand our way of life up here. I wondered if they value the natural resources and traditions we share. I hoped they wished to be neighbors, not isolators. Most importantly, I hoped to see more ‘Access by Permission’ rather than the dreaded ‘Posted’ placards. I remember thinking that the MDIFW’s Landowner Relations Program is going to have its hands full in the coming years.

But inevitably, after two Maine winters passed and the pandemic more understood, the campers and RV’s that filled previously prime hunting lands started slowly migrating back south, the only evidence left behind -tattered blue tarps and disused grills scattered among empty lots. And ‘Posted’ signs – lots of them.

Baiting Bobcats

This month is truly primetime for Maine predator hunters. Foxes, coyote and bobcats are all very active this time of year as the mating season is in full swing – the ‘predator rut’ if you will. Foxes are usually the first to start the mating season in January and continue through March. Coyotes follow, getting ramped up in late January into February. Finally, bobcats begin their courtship late February into late March. This timeline is a great indicator of when you should be actively pursuing predators this year with the month of February headlining the bill.

Bobcats are by far the most requested type of predator hunts I receive inquiries about. They are a beautiful but incredibly reclusive and solitary animal. They are also the toughest predator to kill in my estimation and for many reasons. Adding to their naturally shy disposition, cats have exceptional vision. And unlike coyotes, bobcats cannot be hunted at night; arguably the best time to hunt predators. Calling is a popular form of hunting for all predators, but I have found hunting over bait is more effective in my neck of the woods. One squeak or smooch gone awry can send a skittish cat back the way he came from in a hurry.

Most bait piles used for predator hunting consist of a mix of deer carcasses, fleshing scraps from hides and viscera saved from prior hunting seasons. Coyotes don’t tend to be picky when it comes to food sources in the height of the Maine winter so the traditional bait set up works very well. While bobcats will visit traditional bait, I have found that cats like their supper a little fresher. And perhaps highlighting the feline nature, they are picky about what they want to eat. Changing up the bait goes a long way in getting bobcats interested and keeping them coming back. In fact, the main two reasons I take my trapping license every year are for bear trapping season and beaver season; bobcats cannot resist beaver carcasses. The key when using beaver carcasses for bobcats is to stake them down. Otherwise, the cats will drag them off and cache them – creating their own bait pile of sorts, deep in country you are not likely to find them. A piece of rebar with a welded washer on top, driven through the beaver carcass into the ground a few feet usually does the trick.

Until a couple of years ago, I would have said that beaver was a bobcats prime cut, the preferred entrée at the top of the menu. That was when I found out how much bobcats enjoy pork. Yes, you heard me correctly. A local pig farmer I know called me one morning to ask for a favor. He allowed us to bait bear on his farm for years and I was eager to help. One of his sows had prolapsed the day before while delivering an early litter of piglets and was in rough shape. This morning she was lethargic and in obvious distress; he asked if I would dispatch the sick sow. He just couldn’t bear to do it himself. After the task was completed, he offered the sow as predator bait. We loaded the roughly 300 pound sow in my truck and I picked a spot on the ridge where it transitioned from wood line to field in an area I had spotted bobcat sign in the past. The ravens showed first, then the eagle. Shortly after, foxes and coyote showed up at the site and finally the cats. Once the bobcats got a taste, they dominated the bait – no coyote or fox ever came back. The cats however, kept coming day and night. It was quite a lesson for me. If you are after bobcats this month, keep it fresh and unique and hopefully you’ll put eyes, and your riflescope, on one of Maine’s most elusive predators.

Rainy Day Rifles

If you are a big game hunter and more so, a northern Maine big game hunter, you have been afield in some pretty nasty weather. I’m referring to those days when the forecast calls for gusty winds and rain, or perhaps the new climate buzzword known as the wintry mix. You know the days I’m talking about. More than once as I was drinking my first cup of coffee at 4 A.M. and peering through the kitchen window, rain or sleet pelting the glass and wind whipping through the eaves, the thought of pulling one of my finer hunting rifles from its warm and cozy slot in the cabinet and exposing it to the best (or worst) weather Maine has to offer made me cringe. Enter the rainy day rifle. I spoke with my close friend Harley, long-time hunter partner and all around gun guru about his thoughts as a former gun shop owner and FFL dealer. Here are his top three recommendations for an affordable new rainy day rifle.

Browning AB3

You may be surprised to a Browning rifle on this list; they are known for high quality, precision rifles. However, with the introduction of the AB3, Browning has entered the budget rifle market by streamlining manufacturing while drawing features from both of their most popular rifles: the A-bolt and X-bolt. In fact, X-bolt fans will be glad to see the same barrel quality in the AB3 – constructed from cold-rolled steel, free-floated and featuring button-rifling for precision. The 60 degree bolt-throw is another feature you don’t see often in budget class guns. This enables quick cycling of the action without interference from a scope. The matte blue barrel and action offer high resistance to corrosion and minimal reflection. Add the matte black composite stock with textured gripping areas and you have a serious foul weather gun. Expect to pay between $450 – $550 at retail.

Howa GAMEPRO 2.0

Howa is well known by insiders for making great rifles. You may have even owned one and didn’t realize it; Howa has been a behind the scenes manufacturer for a few more well-known firearm brands over the years. The GAMEPRO 2.0 scoped package offering may seem a little salty pricewise at first, but a closer look at the rifle makes this gun a great value. Partnering with Hogue, this Howa rifle features a pillar-bedded Overmolded stock and recoil pad – perfect for slippery hands, comfort and precision. This rifle boasts both a cold hammer-forged threaded barrel and a two lug, forged one piece bolt. The two stage trigger is adjustable from three to five pounds and a Nikko Stirling Gamepro 4-12X40 Scope sits atop the gun. This rifle package is retailing around $630 and is ready to hunt bad weather out of the box.

Ruger American

I’ve handled a lot of rifles similar to the Ruger American in price point and features. Some felt clunky, didn’t shoulder well or just felt plain cheap. The first time I shouldered the American, I let my hand slide along the synthetic forearm and brush the detachable box magazine – I was pleasantly surprised. There was no rattle from an ill-fitting magazine common in budget guns; a huge pet peeve of mine in a hunting rifle. From the free-floated barrel, an integral bedding block system, adjustable trigger and cold hammer-forged barrel, Ruger nailed it with this gun. The 70 degree bolt throw is a little more than I would like but Ruger’s decision to equip the rifle with a factory-installed, one-piece Picatinny scope base makes up for it. I love the tang safety and the three lug bolt locks in tight. For a rifle in the $400 – $460 retail price range and the features it boasts, it is a hard inclement weather gun to beat. It’s also the one, chambered in .30-06, that hangs on the rack as my personal rainy day rifle.

Black Powder Bobcats

A few years ago, I noticed a trend developing as the late firearm season for deer transitioned to muzzleloader season. The first time it happened, I thought it was just a coincidence, or maybe luck. After it occurred three seasons in a row, I recognized it was a pattern and my understanding of the woods and the wild animals in it, their interactions and the lives they lead shrouded beyond the wood line on Tucker Ridge became much clearer to me.

As an outfitter, I do not hunt in front of my clients – that is bad for business. This means until the last client has departed camp, I am on the sideline, coaching and guiding my clients in their quest. Once the last client leaves the ridge, I take to the woods for own pursuits which typically means during deer season I get to hunt Thanksgiving week and if needed, muzzleloader the following week. For the past three years late in the season while using a doe in estrous bleat call or a fawn in distress call, I have had bobcats and coyotes come in to my set on a string. The first time I didn’t think much of it; the ridge is loaded with predators. We see cats during bear season in the fall right through early April. The second time a predator came into a deer call; it caused my eyebrows to wrinkle. From that day on, whenever I headed into the woods with my muzzleloader for deer, I brought my predator gun along for the ride.

We had some weather the previous week and the ground was blanketed with snow. More was in the air, and with the idea that black powder and precipitation generally do not mix, I was in a blind with my inline halfway through the 2019 muzzleloader season. Facing west, looking down ridge and tucked up in a tangle of dead fall, I nestled in just as the snow started to fall. As dawn broke, I popped my primer in and began the wait. Through the hush of the woods that only a freshly fallen snow can provide, I heard them coming from my left. It was a train of does with a few yearlings, passing to my front about 50 yards away. I was sure Sneaky Pete would be following. No dice, that buck had eluded me again; at least for now. After another hour of dead quiet and no action to speak of, I broke out my doe in estrous bleat can and ran a sequence. No sooner had I put the can back in vest pocket, not having enough time to pick up my inline, the big cat came slinking up the skidder trail to my 2 o’ clock and perched on a fallen balsam fir across the trail, it’s eyes scanning for the doe it just heard.

I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath until the lack of breath vapor in my blind broke me out of my reverie. The bobcat was huge, easily the biggest I had laid eyes on. My mind raced – what was the date, are bobcats open yet? Yes, I remembered, I had checked last evening. Slowly, I reached for my predator rifle leaning in the corner of the blind, careful to not make any noise or disturb the blind. The gun was up, I flicked the safety off as smooth as I could and put the reticle on the big cat. Wait – identify and verify. I heard my own advice I give clients. It was a huge cat; average adult bobcats weigh around 30 pounds and this looked bigger than that. Also, no spots were visible indicating it was not a young bobcat and a coating of snow along its back made the color hard to discern – tawny like a bobcat or gray like a Canada lynx? Knowing we have both in the area I took a quick peek at telltales; the cat’s tail and ear tufts. Sure enough I caught a flash of white on the underside of the black-tipped tail. It was a bobcat for sure; lynx tails are solidly tipped in black.

The rifle barked and the big bob peeled off the tree, dropping to the ground behind it. I exhaled, waited and finally made my way to the cat. It weighed in at 48 pounds and after mounted, chasing a big ruffed grouse I had taken earlier in the season, stretched out to nearly four feet long. To this day it was one of my most memorable days in the Maine woods and by far my favorite mount.

The Legend of Sneaky Pete

It was a cold and crisp November morning, late in the firearms season when I mounted my stand. The ladder steps were frosted over and the metal slick as I ascended the fifteen feet to my perch. A hard frost had come in overnight and as I looked up through the tree canopy, the stars were afire against the black backdrop of sky. The wind was nonexistent and the woods all around me eerily quiet, dawns approach a half hour away. It was a perfect morning for deer hunting and not just any deer, but the buck I had been after for a few seasons. I had countless hours logged scouting the ridge he called home and a pile of used trail camera batteries served as evidence of his uncanny ability to evade me every step of the way. This year however, I finally caught him on camera; he was everything I had hoped for and better. My anticipation was high as the sun broke over the ridge and I prepared to start a rattling sequence.

I heard him coming from 200 yards away, snapping branches and breaking through icy puddles below my spot on the hill. My heart was pumping hard and felt like it was lodged in my throat. The big buck stepped up over the edge into a thick concentration of bramble and deadfall. All I could see was his head, neck and a short section of his back. I eased my rifle up and put the crosshairs on the neck and waited. He appeared to be looking for the young bucks he heard fighting. Not seeing them, he hung up and wouldn’t come any closer. Decision time; risk the heavy cover fouling the shot or hope for another opportunity. I fired…and missed. The buck turned slowly and made his way back down the ridge before I could cycle the bolt for a follow up.

Two days later, my hunting partner Harley was feeling under the weather and stayed in camp. His stand was roughly 600 yards north of mine. I hunted my stand until around ten, then got down and still hunted around the bottom of the ridge and back up to Harley’s stand, planning on spending the afternoon there. I popped the trail camera card on my way through to check when I got back to camp that evening. Sure enough, that buck walked right by Harley’s stand that morning, striking a pose for the camera. To this day, it was a taunt I’m sure. It was the day he earned the nickname ‘Sneaky Pete’.

Over the course of the next two seasons, I changed positions trying my best to find the best ambush spot. No matter what I did, Sneaky Pete was always one step ahead. I would hear him go by before first light and move to the other side of the trail the next day. He would switch to the opposite of the trail and elude me again. That buck found a way every day to thread the needle between multiple stands and blinds. We could hear him, but he was like a ghost. We told the story of Sneaky Pete every deer camp and I challenged my hunters to match wits with him. Many a hunter tried, but all failed. Pete would skirt on by, grunt at a hunter and be gone like the wind. One client, after not seeing a buck for three days, decided to bring his shotgun in one day and take advantage of the abundance of partridge in the area. When he reached the overgrown apple orchard he had been flushing grouse out of, who do you think was standing there, fifty yards away? Sneaky Pete – high, wide and handsome and hanging out with a few does.

After three seasons, the legend of Sneaky Pete was firmly cemented in deer hunting lore at Tucker Ridge. Even though I haven’t seen him on camera the past two years, we still talk about him to this day. Based on his size and maturity, I am sure he is gone and that saddens me. Not because I didn’t capitalize on the one and only opportunity any hunter ever had at taking him, but because I know I’ll never have the chance to dance with him again.

Tips for Bear Hunters

Black bear season in Maine is right around the corner. If the pattern holds true this year, we may be in for a tough start to the bear over bait season. Last year, the shortage of natural food sources resulted in some of the hottest bait season action we have seen in years. This year however, we may see the flip side of that. Every year as I ready for the coming season, I always take care to pay attention to the status of natural food sources and rainfall history and predictions. This not only helps to determine if I need to modify my bait selection for a particular year, it also helps in determining if some bait sites will need to be moved or modified.

It’s been my experience that when we have an abundance of natural food sources and mast crops, bears will always seek those sources first. As those sources become depleted over the fall, the bait sites usually start to heat up. I’ve been noticing the berries coming in at a healthy clip and many of the trees on a few of the beech ridges I hunt are displaying a nice crop of beechnuts. Since black bears in Maine are well-known for their appetite for berries and beechnuts, I believe hunters taking to their stands in the first couple of weeks of the season will need to be extra prudent in order to fill their tag. Here are a few of the most common mistakes I see when guiding clients who don’t connect with a bear.

In recent years, the smartphone and social media have by far saved more bears during the bait season than any other factor. No matter how much emphasis I put on this, I still have clients, season after season, getting caught banging away on their phones instead of being still, focused and quiet. It is magnified when a group of hunting buddies are all out on stand and cannot keep from texting each other about what they are or are not seeing. Trust me on this; the time for social media posts and your smartphone is after the bear is wearing your tag.

The second biggest mistake is a trifecta of bad behaviors on a bear stand – eating, drinking and tobacco use. With snacks and soft drinks, it isn’t necessarily the odor that causes trouble; the hunter is sitting 50 yards from barrel full of bait. The problem is the movement involved and the potential for noise. Even the crinkle sound of a plastic wattle bottle or the foil package of an energy bar being opened can cause a bear to hang up outside of a site. The hunter would never know how close he came to an opportunity at taking a Maine black bear. I’m well aware of the argument over tobacco use by deer hunters. I’ve heard the stories about having a cigarette in one’s mouth while taking a deer, but bear are not deer. Even the sound of a lighter snicking or the snap of a can of chewing tobacco closing can cause the same effect hanging up a bear on its way into a site.

Lastly, hunters seem to believe they need to go on stand with every piece of hunting gear they own. Daypacks full of equipment they don’t need, camera mounts for the tree stand, filming equipment, and the list goes on. Again, we are not hunting deer in November where it is possible you’ll be out all day in cold and potentially snowy weather. Most bear hunters sit on stand for an average of 6 hours. Bring the necessities like rain gear and gloves but resist the urge to pack like you are going on a back country elk hunt. When selecting gear to bring on stand, the old adage ‘Less is More’ should be your watch words.

Small Mouths, Big Action

This month will see some of the hottest smallmouth bass fishing we can usually expect for the open water fishing season. While smallmouth do not typically enjoy the status of being one of Maine’s premiere, sought-after game fish such as landlocked Atlantic salmon and brook trout, these black bass provide fantastic fishing opportunities in late spring into early summer. I have had the opportunity to guide numerous anglers hailing from all parts of the country, some unzipping high-end Orvis fly rods on the boat while others broke out traditional spinning gear. One thing they all had in common was the pursuit of June smallies on one of Maine’s many pure and rocky lakes. Here are some of the best techniques I’ve seen employed throughout the best of the smallmouth season.

Pre-Spawn

Most years, the pre-spawn occurs in my region from mid-May into the first week of June. During this time, female bass will be feeding aggressively to maintain energy levels. Their bellies start to swell with eggs and they are hungry. The most successful anglers will be casting their lure at shelves where the shallow shoreline waters transition to deeper depths. Large females will be hanging back, waiting for the males to construct and prepare the spawning beds along the shoreline. Casting lures or wet flies that sink slowly works well. Alternatively, slowly trolling a bright silver or gold spoon along the shelf can be equally as effective.

Bass on Beds

When the water temperatures reach 55 to 62 degrees, the action really picks up. The males have finished the beds and the females start depositing their eggs. During this period, you’ll start seeing more aggression strikes. Males are only interested in one thing right now – defending the beds from intruders. This the time for a lure that imitates an intruder seeking to eat recently spawned eggs. Hard stick baits such as a floating Rapala can be retrieved over a bed and made to dive towards it, leaving the guarding male no other choice than to protect his domain. Soft, Senko-style worms work well also. They can be rigged weedless style to prevent snagging rocks or brushy debris and can be a killer for females still hanging around looking to replenish after spawning. You can move the bait along the bottom and around rock piles without hanging up.

For the hottest top-water action, poppers are a favorite. Toss a popper near the edge of a spawning bed and if an aggressive smallie doesn’t hit it right off, wait for the casting rings to dissipate on the water. A twitch or two should be all it takes to force him into action. The sight of a smallmouth exploding out of the water and tail-walking towards the boat is as good as it gets for me.

Post Spawn

The bite starts to really slow down now. The trick here is to make your presentation easy for the fish to take. The males are tired and worn out from their duties on the beds and the females have become just plain lazy. The water has warmed up considerably by late June and early July and the smallies will be seeking sunken boulders, rock piles, and grasses to hang out around. A slow retrieve around structure that provides relief from warmer waters is the trick here. Look for these spots in 12-20 feet of water. Buck tail type lures with orange, black and green combinations work well. If it is very rocky, a paddle-tail swim bait rigged weedless works very well at keeping the snagging to a minimum and looks very natural to wary bass that have had all manner of lures thrown at them for a month.