Ready, Aim, Fire #97

Every year, we cherish when our boys come back to Maine to either hunt or fish. They enjoy all aspects of the woods, including fishing, hunting and camping. I do think that our youngest enjoys hunting a bit more, but his recent visits have not been that productive, until 2017.

So, Ryan and Amanda notified us that they were going to come for a visit in October. They both enjoy being in the woods and Ryan really had an itch to do some partridge hunting. As I said earlier, his timing had been off in the past because he had not seen many birds when he came. We hoped that this trip would be different.

They arrived on a Thursday evening and we made plans to strike out early Friday and then again on Saturday. TC had planned some meals that we could warm up on the old Coleman stove, so that we would be well fed.

We awoke bright and early on Friday morning to a stiff wind, but bright skies. We loaded up the truck and made our way toward Ashland and then the Six Mile gate. Once through that, we headed up the Reality Road and soon transitioned into hunting mode with Ryan holding his gun by his side. The wind blew mightily but I was soon amazed at the number of birds we saw. They were not very cooperative though. Many of them had their track shoes on and would get out of dodge before Ryan could get off a shot. We logged about 125 miles that day.  Our official bird count for the day was 25 with Ryan taking home 4 and I took home 2. I can still see Ryan’s eyes lighting up as he told me that this was the best day he had ever seen from a bird sitting standpoint. I have to mention our two point people in the back seat that kept telling us “there’s a bird.” Yup, Amanda and TC were enjoying the ride and were also doing an excellent job of sighting them and letting us know. We returned home late that afternoon, satisfied with the day’s results. That evening, we made our plans for the following day and we fried up a few partridge with our special recipe for the guests.

Saturday morning rolled around and once again, we headed out to the North Maine Woods. I was more excited than the day before because of the weather. The morning brought us calm winds and plenty of sunshine. I could feel it was going to be a great day. We passed through the Six Mile gate and headed up the Pinkham Road. The woods offered its beauty with the trees sparkling from the bright sun and the temperatures were again cooperating. We made our way to the Jack Mountain Rd and from there worked across to the Reality Road. There are several roads that connect the two and that is what we really focused on. Then for good measure, we drove over to the Chase Brook Rd which is one of my favorite bird roads. The day started much slower than the preceding one, but we were all enjoying our time together. Ryan was sitting in the front passenger seat poised for a quick pounce out of the truck if need be. He had it down packed, see a bird, jump out of the truck with the gun, load, aim and fire. If need be he would chase them up and over the bank until he had a clear shot. The sightings were a bit down that day. We only saw thirteen but Ryan did get 3 and I got 2.

We have found over the years that time goes far too fast when it comes to visits by our sons. Your instinct is to want them to stay a little bit longer, but understand when they can’t. So, Sunday morning came around and we watched them pack up to meet their plane at eight AM. Our drive to the airport was way too short and they unloaded their gear and headed to the ticket counter. Soon, they called for TSA screening and we said our goodbyes. As we walked out of the terminal, I could not help but think that this trip had been a real productive one. Not for many years had we seen so many birds on their visits. TC and I were truly thankful that they had done so well. We know that this will be the last time Ryan will come during the 2017 hunting season, but we were grateful to have had time with them both. When the plane landed in Boston, we got a text thanking us, and telling us how much they really enjoyed their trip. The pleasure was really ours!

I love a good find #96

I have always prided myself on being tenacious when it comes to finding something I really want to find. So, when I heard about a pond in Northern Maine that had big fish in it, I was all in. Now, I also have to say that I am a bit of a tight lip. I make that statement because I don’t like to share my findings until I have tried them out. There is quite a process that goes into finding a point on a map. First, you have to locate the place you want to go to, and then get the coordinates. I initially use the Delorme gazetteer to first find the place and from there can get some sort of coordinates of the location. Then I take those coordinates and load them into Google Earth. That is where I can really pinpoint the actual location and latitude and longitude that will help me get there. Once I have those, I load them into either my Delorme PN-60 or my Garmin Oregon and then it’s off to the races.

This particular target that TC and I was looking for was in Northwestern Maine accessed through the Saint Francis, North Maine Woods gate. You can also come from the other side through the Six Mile or Fish River checkpoints, but it is longer. I had gotten some good recon from a friend of mine who fished this location and Tom said it was a good bet. So, one morning during fishing season, TC and I set out to find this pond. Miraculously, we almost made it that day, however, an impediment stopped us in our tracks. We drove up the road and could see the pond on our right side down in the woods.

We came to the road that we thought was going to take us there only to find a logging operation had parked their crane smack dab in the middle of the road, effectively blocking our progress. We looked and looked but there was no way of getting around it so we abandoned our search that day. I told TC that hunting season would bring me back there and I would do some further scouting at that time.

Hunting season came and I was out doing a little bird hunting with my friend Roger. I told him about it and we decided to take a ride. As we got to the road where the crane was parked, I was happy to see it was gone and the road was open. We parked the truck, loaded our shotguns and began walking. We walked until we came to the end of the road and although I knew the pond was not far away, the trail went cold. I mentioned to Roger that I had seen a road off to the left when we were walking in and wanted to go back and see where that took us. We strolled back and found the dirt track and walked down it until blue water came into sight from behind the tree cover. We continued to walk and just as we got to what looked like a path, we were greeted with a major ruckus. In our quest to find the pond, we neglected to watch out for any partridge we might come upon. Well, one on the left side of the trail saw us before we saw him and he took off. By the time we got our guns up, he was in the next county.

So, putting that out of our minds, we followed the path that brought us to the pond I had been searching for. Immediately, I noticed two boats tied up on the shore and one of them had a motor still attached. We made our way down to the water and I could see that it was crystal clear and the pond was very long and narrow. I could see much of the pond but the remaining part was out of sight. Regardless, it was beautiful!

I had finally found it from map to water. Roger commented that he would like to try it in the spring and you can bet that TC will be there as well. For now, let’s just keep this our little secret, until of course I try it. Then maybe, just maybe, I’ll spill the beans. Remember, that’s maybe I said……..

Oh, and by the way, we ran into this guy in our travels....