Is it too late?  #12

This past week, the Governor signed two bills that were passed by the 125^th Maine legislature. The bills are L.D. 372 and L.D. 1242. Both make an effort to help with deer predation. L.D. 372 sets aside money from the general fund to help control predators harmful to deer on public and private land. L.D. 1242 does two things. It provides that there be a check off box when getting your hunting license that allows you to donate money to help fund for predator control and deer habitat enhancement. It also requires that $2.00 of each deer registration fee be credited to the Maine Deer Management Fund.

L.D. 372 although a step forward does not necessarily remedy the problem. Predators come in a number of different forms. They include, but are not limited to coyotes and the loss of winter yards.

Now, I am by far no expert on deer and the many challenges that face them. Much of what I will say is gathered from talking with people with far more information and understanding than I. In terms of predators, nothing shows the need to control coyotes any more than just being in the woods during hunting season and seeing all of the tracks. Not deer track, but coyote tracks. Generally where you find any deer tracks, you also find coyote tracks. Two years ago, I was hunting in the Rangeley area and was walking in on an old abandoned grown up road when I heard a crack behind me. I turned quickly in time to see a big coyote behind me. As it saw me turn, it jumped off to the left and in the woods out of sight. Last year while hunting in the Ashland area, I came upon a nice bunch of deer. I hunted them for a couple of days, seeing only doe’s. When I returned the following week, all the deer had moved out toward the swamps.  But, it had just snowed a bit and I could clearly see a number of different coyote tracks walking down the dirt road following where the deer were going. Although, I have spoken with several people that spend a lot of their time in the North Maine Woods that are not convinced that coyotes are the big problem that we think they are, I am not convinced.

Yards or lack thereof continues to be a problem. When there is no place to yard for the winter, the deer will move to other areas that offer better cover.  Landowners are exercising their right to cut their land and I understand that. I am just wondering if there is a happy medium that will allow certain areas to remain available for deer to yard up in during the winter.

The last issue is weather. We had two years where the amount of snow was detrimental to our deer population.  The inability to move around and feed caused a lot of animals to perish. However, I had an old wise man tell me that he finds this hard to believe. He cites the fact that in earlier years when the deer were more plentiful, they had winters that either rivaled or surpassed the ones we had and the deer seemed to handle it well.

I was talking with a warden this past winter who told me this story. He lived not far from a big deer yard and the deer had all gone into the yard for the winter. He decided to take a trip into the yard to see how they were faring. As he got there, he saw a number of deer lying dead on the snow. Clearly he could tell that they had been killed by coyotes. He contacted a well know trapper in the area and asked him if he would put out some snares to catch the coyotes. (This was back when snares were used) The trapper eventually decided to do so and set a snare in the yard. Several days later, the trapper caught a huge coyote and after that, the warden did not find any dead deer for the rest of the year.  It begs the question, had he not taken this action, how many deer would have died at the hands of this one coyote?

Clearly, having hunted for a number of years I am noticing that the deer population is down significantly in Northern Maine. I believe it is time to undertake measures that will ensure that we have a healthy deer herd for years to come.  Recently I heard that the white tail deer is not native to this area and was not supposed to survive this long. To that I say, deer are survivors if they have the right odds. Whatever we can do to help them survive should be done and done QUICKLY.

I had a reader send me some great photos that were taken in the Limestone area this past week. They are priceless. Hope you enjoy them.

I also wanted to say that I did find my way to two separate ponds over the weekend and caught some nice trout. That will be for another blog, but on my way into the North Maine Woods, I could not help but think about something that we need to keep in mind all of the time. On Friday, I had put my American flag out in front of my home as I do each year to show my support for Memorial Day weekend. But, as I was entering the North Maine Woods, I reflected upon the reason that I could and why we have so much freedom in this country. It is because of all of our veterans and their families and all the sacrifices they have made to ensure that we can all do the things we want to do with little restriction. To all the veterans and their families, I say thank you very much.  I for one will never forget what you have done for this country and for me.

I also had a reader email me and say that they have been out to their favorite pond fishing and did not catch a single fish. Thanks for telling me. It makes me feel much better about the lack of tugs on my line.

If you would like to contact or send me photos of your adventures, you can reach me at 42adjuster@gmail.com

We Finally Made It  #11

My wife, who I will call TC from here on out and I decided last week that we were going to set aside Saturday as our first fishing day in the North Maine Woods for 2012. When Friday came, we were busy getting all our gear ready and loaded our canoe on the truck. I had decided to go into a pond that I had fished once before. My best bet was to bring my 16’9” Old Town canoe with me in case I wanted to do some trolling. I also packed my Min Kota electric motor and battery for the trip. All I needed now was for Saturday to come.

I rose fairly early on Saturday morning. Not because I had planned to leave early, but because I just couldn’t sleep. I was all wound up thinking about our trip and what fun we were going to have. My plan was to leave around noon time which would put us on the pond at about 2pm. From there, we would fish until dark.  At noon, we got into the truck and headed off to Ashland. As we got to the dirt road leading into the North Maine Woods, I could feel a sense of calm. I was ready for this day and regardless of whether I caught any fish or not, I was looking forward to it.

As we got to the six mile gate, I could see that it was open for the year. See, the last time I came through that gate in 2011 was during hunting season and they had closed it up for the winter. As I got to the driveway, I saw a familiar face standing on the porch. It was Ed the gate keeper. Interestingly enough, the last time I passed through the gate in 2011 when it was open, Ed was tending it as well. Now, Ed and I have something in common. We both have the same kind of truck, a Toyota, and it is the same color, silver. Ed is always making remarks about my truck, and this day was no different. As I entered the gate house, Ed let me know that I had a real nice truck. I told him that I was glad to see him too and glad to be there. We talked a while and I bought my season passes for TC and I. Ed told me that there were quite a few people in the woods, many of them attending a memorial service for Jim Carter who owned Munsungon Hunting & Fishing Club. Jim had passed away from Cancer over the winter, but had been a legend in these parts for his years in the woods. The memorial service was being held at his sporting camps that day. Eventually, Ed and I said our goodbyes and off we went down the Pinkham Rd. We left the Pinkham Rd just after crossing the Machias River Bridge taking a right onto the Jack Mountain Rd. From there, it was a short distance to a road on the right that would take us to the pond we were fishing. We made that turn and started down the dirt road. About 2 miles in, TC spotted something just off the road on the left side. It was dark and she said that it was too small to be a deer or moose. As we got closer to where she had seen it, we stopped and got out of the truck. As we both got to that side of the road, we spotted a young black bear leaping over a tree in a small clear cut. It appeared that it was probably a 2nd year bear, but it could still move fast. We lost sight of it as it went into the trees. We ventured on and about a mile from the bear, we saw a moose just off the road on a grown up old road. We watched it a minute until it turned and walked away. It looked horrible with different colored fur. See at this time of year, the moose are losing and replacing their fur. It had some light and dark spots. Truth be known, my remarks about looking horrible was probably the same thing he was saying as he was looking at us. On we went until we reached the pond. It was beautiful, but I noticed that the wind was really blowing and the lake was anything but calm. I made up my mind that I had driven all the way here and I was going to fish that pond, wind or not.  TC and I unloaded the boat and took it down to the water’s edge. We put the motor on and loaded it with our gear. We put our life jackets on and were about to get in when we heard a truck coming. When I first saw the truck, I knew it was a Maine Game Warden. When he saw us, he stopped, got out and came down to where we were. He was nice young man, very polite indeed. He checked our licenses and then checked our boat for the proper registration. We then got into a conversation and I told him that my father had been a warden for over 36 years. He told us he had been on for 6 years and really enjoyed his job. That led to more conversation until we heard another truck coming. The warden bid us good bye, got into his truck and off he went.

It was time to attack the pond. TC and I got into the canoe and shoved off. We decided to troll due to the wind. It was really easy going down the pond with the wind, but not so easy coming back. We went up and down until about 6:30 and only got one bite. At that point, the wind had not let up so we decided to pull out and head home. We got the gear put away and the boat loaded and tied down. We were just about to leave and guess what happened? The wind died down, the pond turned to glass and the fish started jumping. TC asked if I wanted to take the boat off and go back out, but we agreed to head home. We got half way out on the pond road and came to a beaver dam that had not yet spilled over into the road. As we got to the dam, we heard a loud splat. Yup, the beaver heard us coming and let us know he was nun to happy with us being there. We shut the truck off and sat there in silence for about a minute when we saw a head pop out of the water. The beaver swam around and around the pond just a short distance from us. We took some photos of it as it got its exercise. After about 10 minutes, we decided to leave and I started the truck up. Just as I did, that beaver again let us know that he did not like our noise invading his space and he slapped his tail on the water and dove under.

We drove out until we got to the Jack Mountain Rd and then onto the Pinkham Rd. Before we got to the six mile gate, we had seen 6 moose.  Back at the gate, Ed was still on duty. As we got to the gate, he came out and met us on the porch. He took our pass and talked with us a minute. We told him we would see him again soon and drove home.

Although we had not caught any fish, we had seen 7 moose and 1 bear. We got our season pass for the North Maine Woods and got to catch up with Ed. We are already making plans for next weekend.

Each time I visit a pond, I will give you the coordinates to it. If you think you know where I went, add a comment to my blog. This week’s adventure took me to:

46degrees 36”07.65N

68degrees 47’19.49W

Elevation- 1098 FT

Good Luck.

Want to know when I post a new blog, send me an email at 42adjuster@gmail.com and I will put you on the email list.

GPS- Not Just for Hunting  #10

Global Positioning System technology has been around for a long time. It was developed for the military under the name of Navstar. The technology is paid for and operated by the Department of Defense.  Other countries like Russia and China have their own variation with both of them in their various testing and working stages.  When the Department of Defense began allowing civilians access to the system, companies began developing units that could be used for the benefit of travel, both in a car and on foot.

There are several large GPS manufacturers including Garmin, Magellan and Delorme to name a few. I have used both Garmin and Delorme and both have their own benefits and drawbacks. I was first introduced to the GPS about 12 years ago while I was hunting in Chapman, Maine. It was a beautiful day and a fresh coat of snow had fallen that morning. With my muzzle loader on my back, I was in hot pursuit of a nice buck I had just gotten a glimpse of. The deer took me down through the thickets and up to a stream where it crossed much more gracefully than I. At some point, I came across two men who were hunting the same area. We talked for a short time and one of them brought out a large black box and started pressing buttons. Now, I had heard of the GPS and all it had been cracked up to be, but I was a compass guy and had no need for one. That day, he showed me things on that GPS that I had never imagined. He showed me where we were, where his truck was and how I could get there from here. Amazing technology I thought. I must have one of those to compliment my compass. So, I went out and bought a Garmin GPS. It was pretty primitive with no maps and a black and white screen, but I had one and it worked. I eventually graduated to a more powerful Garmin Vista HC unit that had all the bells and whistles I needed. I added a map chip and I had instant area maps in color. I used that unit for several years to hunt and really enjoyed it. One day, I was talking with one of my friends who had just gotten a new GPS. It was a sleek unit made by Delorme. He showed me how it worked and I immediately saw that the maps were identical to that big Delorme map book I had carried in my truck for years.  The features seemed to be a bit better than my Garmin and I decided that I really needed one of those. So, out with the Garmin and in with the GPS I currently have, a Delorme PN-60. The maps were just what I needed and the color and features were unbelievable.  I could go into the woods with this unit and it was just like having my Delorme map book with me.

Now there are other things to use a GPS for outside of hunting. About 2 years ago, I decided that I wanted to broaden my pond and fishing horizons. I made a decision to fish as many ponds in the North Maine Woods that year as I could; I just had to find them. See, it is one thing to pull out the Delorme maps and say I want to go there. It is another to actually find them.  Many of the ponds are on roads that I had never been on, some were on walking trails and some just plain were hard to get to.  That is where Google Maps, Delorme maps and my GPS came into play. First, I went to the Delorme map book and picked out the ponds I wanted to fish that year. Then I went to Google maps, inputted the name of the pond, got the coordinates to that pond and inserted them into the GPS.  From there, I mapped out the initial directions using the Delorme map book. As I got close to where the pond was, I minimized the map on the GPS to show the pond.  Once close, the GPS would give me almost precise directions to the pond. It was a real fun exercise and a piece of cake. That year my wife and I found and fished Peaked Mountain Pond, Round Mountain Pond, Little Pillsbury Pond, Bartlett Pond, Little Pleasant Pond, The Elbows, Upper Hudson Pond and Horseshoe Pond. We probably could have found all of these without the help of our GPS, but it sure made the effort easier.

The bottom line is that a GPS can be used for a lot more than just hunting. But remember it is always smart to bring fresh batteries with you and of course a GPS is no substitute for a compass. You can and should bring both. And oh, by the way, during this past hunting season, I just had to find Weeks Pond so I could fish it this summer. I knew the roads that I needed to be on to be close to it and once I programed the coordinates in and got to where I could see it on the GPS, I just hit the go to button and it took me down through the woods directly to the pond. I added a way point of it on my GPS and plan to return to it sometime this year.  It’s as easy as that.

On another topic, the North Maine Woods has unveiled a new look on their website. I encourage you to take a look at it. It is very well done and the photos are out of this world. Great work folks!

www.northmainewoods.org     

Hey, you got me with your hook!  #9

How many times have you been fishing with friends, only to have one of them back cast their line so close to you that you hear the snap when they pull it forward.  How many times has that hook actually gotten lodged in your shirt, pants or in your skin or god forbid your eye.  It seems to happen more when you are in the rear of a boat or canoe, but can happen on the shore as well. If it happened, would you know what to do, or not to do? I did some research on this topic so that I would be prepared as we begin our season. I am by no means an expert on hook removal, just passing along what I have researched. As I said in an earlier blog, you always need to be prepared.  Here is some of the information I uncovered.

If you become impaled by a fish hook:

This can happen to even the most seasoned angler. Most superficial fish hooking accidents can be solved out in the field, however if the hook is deeply embedded in the skin, in the eye, or near a tendon or an artery, do not attempt to remove the hook. Seek emergency medical attention right away. If the hook is superficially stuck somewhere in the skin there are a few ways you can remove it.

 Before any attempts at removing the hook, cut the fishing line attached to the pole so the injured party is free and clear. Wash your hands and the injured area with soap and water before removing the hook.

First

 Make a loop about 10cm (6") long, in strong line, 10kg (20lb) plus, and pass it over the eye of the hook, and then up to the top of the bend of the hook.

Then

 Push firmly down on the eye of the hook so the eye of the hook touches the skin.

Finally

 With a sudden, strong yank on the line loop, pull up and away from the hook-eye. The hook should come out the way it went in, and because it will curve out the same way it went in the barb should not catch.

 Very Important

 It is very important to follow 'Step 1' to the letter if pain and discomfort is to be avoided. Most importantly the loop of line must be at the top of the hook bend, and the pull must be up and away.

Way too many articles on this method advise having the line at the back of the bend, and pulling straight back - this will only result in the barb catching and causing pain.

I hope this gives you some idea of how to remove a hook. We have experimented using things like an orange to embed the hook in and it really seems to work well.

I received an email the other day from a friend and one of my readers. Seems she has had a great start to the 2012 fishing season. Sheralyn Morris from Ashland, Maine caught this 4.59 lb brook trout at a lake in the north Maine woods on a mickey finn. The fish was 21” long and had a girth of 13.5”. Sheralyn tells me that she is going to have the trout mounted.  I don’t blame her.