Cast and Blast, Anyone?  #27

As much as I enjoy the summer, and all the possibilities it has to offer us, I must admit that I am more partial to the fall. Now, that does require that I put my fly rod up and take out the guns, and that can be a bit traumatic for me.  However, there is a small, brief, window of time known to us die hards as “Cast & Blast” day.  Translated, that means that you fish just before the day the fishing season ends and then hunt the first day of the new season. And that, my friends is exactly what I did this year. Now, it is a wonderful thing when your wife says to you, I think you need to take a day off so we can go into the woods and fish one last time.  And so, TC and I set out last Friday for the North Maine Woods and one of our favorite ponds. Among other things, we packed the Coleman stove, some pots and our food; because it is always better this time of year to have a hot meal for lunch.  We spent the day on the pond and had some very good luck as the trout were willing to cooperate. Once we arrived at the pond, we found that we were not the only people to have the same idea. There were three men coming off the pond who had been there since early morning, and there were three people just preparing to shove off. While we were getting our equipment ready, we got a chance to talk with the folks coming off the pond. They were from the Bangor area and were staying at the Island Pond campsite. They had the same idea as we did and were doing a little fishing and then on Monday were going to do some bird hunting.  The group just going on the pond was from the Freeport, Durham area and was staying at Bradford Camps.  TC and I had a great day and brought home two trout. The woods were just beginning to show some great colors as the leaves were changing, and I knew that in a couple of days, they would be at peak color and there is no better site than that.

Now, the second part of the Cast & Blast began on Sunday when I headed up to Chandler Lake Camps to meet a group of 12 that was coming in to do some bird hunting.  All summer long, I had seen a lot of partridge and was really excited to start the new season. During the two days that we as a group hunted, we were not disappointed. The number of birds that we saw was unbelievable. After Tuesday, it was apparent that they were showing up in cycles.  You would see them early in the morning and then it would stop until late afternoon when they would come out again. We all had a great time and I even got to see a bear on the road during my travels. That coupled with a few moose, a couple of them very big, help complete a couple of wonderful days.

You know, our hunting group was comprised of folks from all over.  We had people from southern Maine, Vermont, Ohio and even one who now calls Texas home. I know I heard the same comment several times which I always keep in mind as I live and play here, and that comment was “ I can’t believe what you folks have here in Northern Maine, it is very special.”  They of course were referring to the North Maine Woods. Every time I heard that comment, I thought that I considered myself very lucky, indeed. And as Aroostook County is referred to as the Crown of Maine, I guess we could call the North Maine Woods the “Jewel of Northern Maine.”

And as I was driving out of the Jewel on Wednesday morning, looking at the woods and the brilliant colors that the trees were now sporting, I considered myself lucky and honored to be able to be just one of the many that pass through its gates and take part in what it has to offer. I will never lose sight of that fact.

Updates:

One of my readers sent my blog address to his Navy Seal friend and told him to read the blog about the Navy Seal and his dog.  Through that reader, I got an email back from the Seal who wrote the following:

Regarding your friend's post, give him a hooya from me. As you're an honorary part of the brotherhood, you understand how difficult a time that was for us. Nice to know that the spirit of the Team runs far and wide, even as far as northern Maine! I've always said that we'd all be much better off if we could emulate the selfless dedication of a dog to his master. Thanks again for sharing; it'll travel.

On another note, we traveled miles and miles in the woods this weekend in search of partridge that were not showing up well at all. When I came to work this morning, there was a spot on the window of one of our managers where something had hit it from outside. When I looked to the ground, there laid a partridge who must have died from the impact. Go figure.

Now, to Little Kearston and an update. I have been following her mother’s Facebook page and it appears that although Kearston is going through a lot right now, she is doing ok. We are keeping her in our prayers.