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July 2012
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Someone sent this to me in an e-mail....impressive wood stacking skills! This sign is at a summer camp in Post Mills, Vermont. Could be tight parking in that one space!
Volume 6 Issue 7
On The Cover
Olivia Allard, 4, of Haverhill New Hampshire holds up a stringer full of panfish she caught fishing with her dad (Fred Allard). Olivia and I were fishing Lake Memphramagog in Newport, Vermont.
Publisher/Editor: Fred Allard Graphic Design: Dan Millet
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July 2012
Page 3
Making Memories
I have to say, I have had more fun fishing this year than I have in a long time. I was thinking the other day, as I paddled my canoe back to shore after a fantastic evening of solo fishing (on the same set-back of Lake Memphramagog that my daughter Olivia caught all those panfish on this months cover) why fishing seemed so much more fun this year. For one I’m not taking it too seriously. I’m just out there enjoying the outdoors and catching whatever wants to bite. The evening in the canoe for instance, the pickerel were starving and I caught, and released,
Editor’s Back Porch
at least 15 of them. What a blast. That same evening, I watched a monster snapping turtle swim within a foot of my canoe. Watched countless ducks and geese swim/ fly by. Even observed a kingfisher doing what he does best, FISH! The sunset was a beauty. I tried to capture it with my camera, but the picture does not do it justice. Secondly, my children seem to be really in to it, even 4-year old Olivia. I have been out with my son Jordan and watched him land a half dozen bass in an afternoon. The smile on his face was priceless.
By Fred Allard
I spent an awesome morning with my oldest son Devin and 3-year old grandson Riley, (and Olivia too). No fish were caught, but watching the little ones run around, catching frogs, watching turtles and eating junk food…doesn’t get much better. I often wondered if taking my oldest boys out when they were little would pay off as they grew older. My son Devin enjoys hunting and fishing. Seeing him expose his son to the outdoors really pleases me. I have spent many days deer hunting with #2 son, Josh. Those memories are forever etched in my memory and I often relive those hunts by flipping thru the pictures when I’m in my office. Tannr, #3 son, told me just last week he can’t wait to go fishing again. I can’t wait to go with him. Tannr and I spent an awesome day on Lake Champlain fishing with my brother Scott and his son Garrett. Tannr often mentions how much fun that day was…I probably enjoyed it much more than he did (but maybe not :). My daughter Garcie, my girlie girl, wants to go deer hunting…WOW!
… Never thought I’d hear those words come from her! Now if I can just get her to bait a hook. Fred Allard lives in Haverhill, NH with his family. He is a Bowhunter Education Instructor, a scorer for the Northeast Big Buck Club, the New Hampshire Antler and Skull Trophy Club and the Vermont Big Game Trophy Club. He is the President of the Montshire Traditional Bowhunters. Fred can be reached by emailing fred@theoutdoorgazette.com.
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The Outdoor Gazette
Reason’s why the Vermont Bowhunter’s Association believes Vermont should increase the early archery season length
The 2010-2020 Big game management plans says. “Restoring and increasing hunting opportunities and participation is one of our foremost goals during this planning period that follows a period in which hunter participation has declined”. Extending the archery season substantially would: Regain some of the 12,500 bowhunters that have dropped out of bowhunting for whatever reason. Retain existing bowhunters, new and old and of all ages for a longer period of time. Provide increased hunting opportunities (more days) and participation (more bowhunters). Increase the harvest of antlerless deer. More bowhunters will harvest their first or second deer. (utilization of resource for food) Helps maximize the potential for effective deer population management. Recap of the comparison between bowhunting and muzzleloader hunting, see attached report that shows that archery license sales are down 12,661 and antlerless deer harvest by 1,044. During this same period, muzzleloader license sales have rebounded to their previous high average and permits for antlerless deer have maximized and the ability to fill has been a problem. An early muzzleloader season would actually reduce license sales. The muzzleloader hunter would have to make a decision. Do I want more permits and a better chance of receiving one, with less time to harvest a deer or less chance ( 25% - 33% ) and have more time to hunt. Less permits = less license sales. Harvesting more antlerless deer by bowhunters early would reduce the amount of browse consumed by those increased # of deer. More antlerless deer would be harvested before Nov. rut and Dec. archery and muzzleloader seasons when does have been breed. Bowhunting has the least impact on other hunting seasons and hunting pressure. Bowhunters do not want to be seen or heard. They hunt close to
The Outdoor Gazette
the roads and hunt from trees. Increases the department’s ability to harvest deer where firearms are not safe or permitted. Increases the department’s ability to harvest bear where firearms are not safe or permitted. More time in the woods would increase bear harvest by those bowhunters that purchased bear tags, making up for some of the bears not harvested by the bowhunter that did not purchase a tag but had the opportunity? Easier to distinguish between fawn and adult. More time to observe deer and provide when surveyed. An extended season would help to compete with neighboring states with longer seasons and more opportunities, baiting. This would help to keep bowhunters from going to other states and maybe even get some out of staters to come back to Vermont. The 22 states that have allowed crossbows in archery only seasons had an average of a 108 day archery season. They had no other choice to sell more licenses. Crossbows, according to the 10 year management plan, “should be deferred until other, more popular harvest strategies will not achieve population objectives”. Increasing the archery season substantially would regain bowhunters lost, increase participation by new bowhunters, retain all bowhunters, improve the ability to manage the deer and bear herd, have little impact on other hunting seasons, and increase revenue. No other option gives you all this. Vermont Bowhunters Association Roy Kilburn President 54 Birchwood Drive, Berlin Vt. 05602 802-223-3273
July 2012
Go to page 11 for info on the Vermont archey license sales numbers.
Page 5
Lessons from the Great Outdoors By Martha VanderWolk
July is about water
I’ve always been completely baffled by people who are afraid of water. I know in my head that there are people who don’t float, but I can’t, in my senses, imagine what it would be like not to float. I love water. I love being on it and in it; I love listening to its waves lap or even crash on the shore. I love the way sound carries so far and clearly over it and even through it. When I am in a boat, I am often assailed with an almost overwhelming desire to dive in. I would be one of those people who just disappear off a cruise ship. Tom likes water for fishing in; that’s about it. He runs boats, but for the purpose of getting to where the fish are. He says that if we were meant to swim, we would have fins and gills. But even he feels the pull of the water. Why else would he have spent most of his life living on lakes? I think all humans feel it. Why else would all the lakefront and seaside properties in most of world be so overdeveloped. We were told in school that it was because of the ease of water transport, but we all really knew better in our hearts: people just
like being by water. But, like everything else in this weird world we live in, there seems to be a campaign on to demonize water, make it seem ominous and
dangerous, so that we have to protect ourselves from it. We not only now have to have flotation devises in our boats, we have to have them on. Our children wear them even when they aren’t on or near the water. Do people not float anymore or do they no know how to swim? Now, don’t get me wrong. I have a healthy respect for water. I’ve spent too much of my life in and on it not to know exactly what it can and can-
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not do, at least to me. The son of one of my closest childhood friends, a young man who grew up on and in water, was killed by hypothermia in a canoe accident one Memorial Day weekend a number of years ago. One would not think that the water
would be cold enough at “the unofficial start of summer” to kill a strong swimmer in perfect health. It is. So when the water is cold and you are going out at a time of night when other people are not likely to see or hear you if you get into trouble, by all means, wear a PFD. Zipping around at high speeds in an overpowered watercraft without a PFD is like driving a motorcycle without a helmet. If you are unconscious, which you are more likely to be in a high-speed collision, you are far more likely to drown no matter how strong a swimmer you are, so having something that will keep your head above water until you come to is an excellent idea. My greatest fear in boats is not the water. Strangely, my fear is of getting thrown up on rocks on the shore. I know; you probably think that’s as stupid a fear as I think fear of water is. If I’m that close to shore, I should be able to just get out of the boat, walk onto dry land and be fine. Somehow, I am always more worried about the integrity of the boat than I am about my own personal safety. It never dawns on me that I can just abandon the boat and walk away. Maybe that’s the legacy of being a Navy brat, go down with the ship, and all that; I don’t know. I spend a lot of time watching the loons on our lake. They don’t have fins or gills, but they do have webbed feet and collapsible rib cages that allow them to be as totally adapted to water as just about any flying creature could be. (I didn’t say “as any bird can be” because, obviously, penguins are even more adapted to water, so much so that they can’t fly.) I like to imagine what it would be like to live in, and have to adapt to, a “waterworld,” one in which we didn’t get to set foot on, or at least spend much time on, solid ground. There have been cultures somewhat like that. The First Nations of the
July 2012
Northwest coast of North America faced the see, with the dense forest at their backs. Their livelihood came, for the most part, from the water, as did all their commerce and communication. Traditionally, the Inuit also spend most of their time on the water, whether in liquid or solid form—and their water is always so cold that none of them learn to swim. But they do not fear it. They know the dangers, just do as all traditional people who survive by deriving their living from the forests, plains, mountains, lakes, oceans and deserts, and they have a healthy respect for what could happen to them if they aren’t attentive to those dangers. But that doesn’t mean that they avoid them, any more than we avoid driving our cars, living in cities with polluted air and crazy people, or eating genetically modified foods, even though we should know the dangers of doing those things. It has been shown that human beings are extremely bad at calculating risk, despite our actual intellectual abilities to calculate it. We fear, and protect ourselves from, moderately high cost-extremely low probability dangers—and even legally mandate that people have to protect themselves from those risks whether they want to or not—while we engage in activities that involve lower (but still often high) costs and much higher probability all the time. The difference is that the actual risk or costs involved; the difference is how familiar we are with the activity and what level of control we think we have over the outcome. We feel safe driving cars because we do it all the time and we think we know what we are doing. (I won’t get into why we feel safe eating modern food while we are told not to eat the fish we catch. That’s a little too political to get into now.) Like the Earth we walk on, our bodies are made up mostly of water. Humans can survive a long time without food, but they can’t survive without water. So don’t be afraid of the water. Get out on it and in it; learn to appreciate it and work with it. If we all do that, we will not only enjoy ourselves, especially in this hottest month, but, perhaps, we will come to care about it enough to take better care of it. Martha VanderWolk owns and operates Sturtevant Pond Camps in Magalloway, Maine with her husband, Tom Rideout. A lifelong educator, she currently teaches in the Sustainable Business and Communities Program at Goddard College. She can be reached at Martha@sturtevantpondcamps.com. The Outdoor Gazette
Taxidermy Trails By Rodney Elmer
Something most taxidermists won’t take
It was a Sunday night. The phone rang. The mother, had had a rough time of it to. The beloved family's pet had died. Her request wasn't all that uncommon. We are often asked if we would mount a pet for someone and hearing the positive, the conversation usually ends there. " It is one of the custom's of my husband's country. Can we see you tonight?" "Sure, come over and let's talk" my wife gave the directions. The family of four drove in and carried their dearly loved Dalmatian in to the shop. It seemed insensitive
wedges removed in width and height to down size it evenly. The main body required fattening and broadening and 4" less length also. It's usually easier to shrink a big mold ,then widen or lengthen a small one and maintain anatomical accuracy. Wolves,coyotes and dogs may be in the same genis,but each is vastly different.--We added the photos to our facebook page, asking the question "would you?" I'm sure you can imagine the respondces and feel free to write in yours to. It is a subject that most folks feel strongly about. "NO!" is the usual answer, and they often want it to end there. I must admit myself, I felt the same way and the thought of my best friend staring back at me everyday , reminding me
she was no longer with us, was reason enough. But,, this experience has changed me,,, some. A taxidermist is often asked if an animal is "Good enough" to mount. Mechanically, it only needs to be fresh. Emotionally or financially,, it is not my call. The family cow, the lama, the watusi, the parakeet,the house cat, the iguana, the boa constrictor, the rooster and now the dog, have returned home. It is a privilege to work on a special animal, regardless of where it comes from. That special first deer is sacred and I suppose we want to spend more time with it or be in it's presence longer because our experience passed so quickly. Wanting to capture that moment . We are often left trying to pay respected to other beings
we share our world with. I kept my grandfather's hammer in my tool box. I ware my son's hat when he's away at college and I miss him. The ring on your finger reminds and connects you with your wife. The hole in the back of the Beagle jacket made by the rifle represents all those miles walked. What animal deserves fond memories? The one's we want to remember. Our minds are like time machines , bring us into our futures as we think about what to make for suppore, or back to that special moment in our passed, we want to recall. Hammers , hats , rings , photos or taxidermy , they all work. Rodney Elmer and his wife Theresa own and operate Mountain deer taxidermy in Northfield,Vermont.
to talk about the process, the difficulty of how to present him. But, we found most of the trouble was ours. Dad saw to the details, helped his children through some of the pain, made some decisions, thanked us and they left. It's far from us to judge and tastes or wants are part of what makes art or memories work on the wall and are different for everyone. The fact that the person so intimately new the pet, it's facial expressions and all those years living together make reproducing it all the harder. Animals are very expressive, eyes, lips, ears and stance all matter greatly. The responsibility of making it depict the love they new in this animal, is something most taxidermists are unwilling to take. Taxidermy mistakes are magnified. A rough looking job would seem to only add to the distress, in my view. It was a well explained risk taken by these folks and I'm reasonably happy with my work considering the huge task this was. The kinds of skills it takes to build something like this, from the parts we had to start with that weren't even close, makes us often feel like the" Me-giver's" of styrofoam and staples. The wolf mold we started with was many inches bigger in all directions. The turned up, narrow nose needed shortening and widening and larger lips. The head required 8 cuts alone , with center The Outdoor Gazette
July 2012
Page 7
8 Years in the Wilderness By Tom Rideout
Summer Doldrums
This is the time of year when most anglers hang up their fly rods and start thinking about deep lake fishing. The streams and rivers warm up, and many of the trout and salmon move back into the lakes seeking cooler water. Up here in the North Country, even the small streams seem to dry up from fish. Unbeknownst to many anglers, the trout are still there but hiding in the deeper, spring-fed pools enjoying the cold water. But that isn’t true for all the small brooks. Years ago, when mechanized logging wasn’t the in thing, there was still plenty of canopy cover in the woods. This helped all the small streams, as all the rivulets and trickles ran through shaded ravines and gullies. But today, with just about all the canopy eliminated, there is a lack of spring-fed rivlets. These once cool or cold trickles are now warmer, and as they run down into brooks, which run into larger streams and rivers, the water temperatures are higher than what they were years ago. Warmer temperatures put stress on fish, and with too much stress fish do not grow!
Several years ago, I lived on the banks of the Androscoggin River in Gilead, Maine. It was while I was
Julie Rideout with a July bass. employed by Salmon Press newspapers, working at the Berlin Reporter in Berlin, NH. My homestead was isolated from the rest of the world, with my nearest neighbor more than two miles away. It offered excellent hunting with a multitude of grown-up farms in the surrounding woodlands. It was the
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Page 6
perfect world for a sports-minded person like myself. I had hunting and excellent fishing right out my back door. It took a while and some patience to get use to the ticks. A walk to the garden would require a half hour examination of oneself, exploring every crook and cranny for those pesky critters. Another reason I liked living there was that the Maine/New Hampshire line was a stone’s throw from my back porch. I could fish and hunt both states. Across North Road, was the Androscoggin River, which was excellent fishing for both rainbows and brown trout. I experienced some of the best fishing of my life there, casting dry flies to sipping trout in the evening. I did take a few parties out on the river a few times, but most of the time it was just my son and I who enjoyed the fishing. French Brook flowed into the river by the house, and starting in mid-June the trout would stack up at the mouth of the brook like cordwood. I would fish it constantly after work, or my son would grab his rod as soon as he got off the school bus. Both of us practiced catch and release, and it tore our souls apart to see anglers from Berlin and Gorham take over their limit in trout evening after evening until all the trout were gone. Just downstream a ways was the mouth of the Wild River. This too held fish during the warmer months of summer, and as with the case upstream, anglers would clean out those fish in no time. Once, while walking back upstream to my truck, I came across two anglers who had over 40 trout on two forked branches. I laid into them with a tirade about their ignorant tactics. This caused them to get a might riled up, and I am sure if it hadn’t been for my son stepping out of the brushes, they would have tried to give me a whomping. Below the bridge in Gilead, Maine, there is a nice stretch of river that has a couple of spring holes along the south bank. I have caught more than 50 trout rising to dry flies in one evening along this
stretch during mid-summer. During my several years living and fishing the river, I noticed more and more guides finding these “hot spots.” Here on Sturtevant Pond, the bass fishing is slowing down and the bass are seeking deeper water. Martha and I will change our tactics and focus on trolling deeper water for salmon. Maybe next week we will go to one of the several trout ponds out back and catch us a meal of trout. Cranberry Pond and Little Beaver Pond usually offer some nice hatches in the coming weeks. However, there is still some fun fishing left on the pond. Using poppers and surface plugs fishing the edges of the weed beds offers exciting fishing for some nice bass and big pickerel. I am not a big fan of yellow perch, but sitting over a school of perch fishing a gob of worms can also break the boredom of the summer months. The yellow perch in the pond are larger than most places, with some reaching 15 inches. Also the yellow perch here are parasite-free and have clean meat. My hornpouting days are over. I gave up fishing for them as a teenager, but the pond also has a healthy population of these spinney fish, which make some of the best fish chowder anyone could ever eat. I know Martha is looking forward to July, as it is the time of year we usually head for Richardson Lake to troll for the big salmon that inhabit the deep water there. I can’t think of a better day spent than in a boat on that lake, with the lack of camps and people! And catching big salmon! Tom Rideout is the former editor of NH Outdoor Gazette and was the owner of Bosebuck Mountain Camps on Aszicoos Lake in western Maine for 17 years. He has held a Master Maine Guide’s license for more than 35 years (hence the 8 years in the wilderness) He and his wife Martha operate Sturtevant Pond Camps in Magalloway, Maine and operates Pakesso Guide Service, which specializes in upland bird wing shooting . You can reach Tom at tom@sturtevantpondcamps.com
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July 2012
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The Captain’s Corner By Matthew Trombley
HOT, mid-summer action!
The big weekend for every one fishing Lake Champlain is here! The Lake Champlain International Fishing Derby or LCI is the holly grail of the “Sixth Great Lake”. Hundreds , if not thousands of fisherman and fisherwomen from all over New England and New York converge on this body of water for over $50,000 of cash and prizes. I have just finished prepping the boat as we have done some pre-fishing this week and have a pretty good lock on where the Salmon and Lakers are holding at this time. This derby or tournament is unlike any other around, as it has three different divisions for many species of fish. Unlike our tournaments on Lake Ontario that mainly concentrate on cold water species such as King, Coho and Atlantic Salmon, Brown, Rainbow and Lake Trout, this derby allows everything from Catfish, Bowfin, Walleyes, Pike. Just about anything that swims in the Lake! For many this is an annual tradition of getting together, enjoying some early summer weather and testing our fishing skills at the chance for some BIG cash and prizes! The last two years have seen new derby records set with both Lake Trout and last year Landlocked Atlantic Salmon. Will this year see a third year in a row of new derby records? Time will tell, but no doubt that the increase in Lamprey control and the ever abundant clouds of Alewives have helped in seeing the increase in size in our game fish. Let’s hope this trend continues! The normal June slow down on Lake Ontario has come and gone as the thermocline has set up and the Salmon have transitioned to their normal summer patterns. Most days will find King Salmon down anywhere to 60 to 150ft deep, looking for that comfort zone of 43 to 48
degree water. Where you find bait, you will find mister King following close behind! Out of Oswego harbor this could mean finding active fish as
sets up, sliding back into shallower water will find a mix of Lakers and some Monster Football Browns! These Browns grow fat and happy from the smorgasbord of Alewives, Smelt and the new comer…Round
The author’s son with a mid-summer Vermont- Northern
close as a mile and half from shore in as little as 150ft of water. Oswego has the luxury of a decent drop off not far from the harbor, while having the shortest run to great fishing found anywhere on the East end! The down side is the ever changing winds. Throw in a hard Northwest Blow over a day or so and the lake will “turnover”, pushing the cold water inside and pushing the better water out to as much as 500 – 600 ft of water! This is where the plus of having a good Chart plotter, speed and down temp units becomes critical to find just where those hungry Kings and occasional Steelhead will be waiting for our offerings! A mix of dodgers/flashers and flies, along with some Mag spoons thrown in will be the ticket for putting some Silver in the boat! (More to come on that in our August column!) Once that nice thermocline
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Gobies. These bait fish provide high protein that allow the game fish to pack on the pounds in a relatively short period of time! These monster Browns are unlike no others in the Northeast, keeping clients coming back year after year for these dogged fighters that provide excellent table fair! Targeting these colorful fish near where the thermocline reaches the bottom, usually anywhere from 55 to 90 ft of water with a nice offering of spoons will usually keep the rods popping. With the addition of the Gobies, dark spoon patterns like Alewife, Diehard, Gator and others from companies such as Dreamweaver, Northern King, Michigan Stinger and Savant will put coolers full of Browns on the docks each day. Add these with a nice mix of Kings and Lakers and you have an East end mixed bag that can’t be beat!
Though we spend a fair amount of time during the mid-summer months out on the big boat trolling for our tasty cold water species, we also wait in anticipation for the HOT summer Bass and Pike action that can be found in so many of our smaller lakes and ponds of WestCentral Vermont. Nothing compares to a quiet evening out on a local pond, with not another boat insight. Watching an occasional beaver swimming by, ducks taking flight or a whitetail sipping at the water’s edge all make for a post card picture perfect sight. The silence is broken as a Five Pound Largemouth breaks the surface chasing your offerings from the glass calm water! Jumping two or three times before coming to the side of the boat or canoe will get your heart racing and a grin on your face! Depending on the body of water, most nights you can expect a mixed bag of Large and Smallmouth Bass, along with Northern Pike, Chain Pickerel and just maybe a Rock Bass! We normally will be tossing top water baits on spinning gear, with lures such as Heddon Torpedoes or Zara Spooks, Rebel Crazy Crawlers or Strike King Buzz Baits. We have also stepped it up a notch by adding a 6wt Fly Rod and tossing some surface offerings such as yellow & Black poppers, Mouse patterns and frog imitations. If you want excitement that will leave your forearm sore you should give this a try! Fast action with tons of hits with in a short drive of home, make a great midweek break to beat the Summer heat! Matt Trombley is a career firefighter, residing with his wife & son in Florence Vermont. He is a U.S.C.G licensed Master captain, guiding & chartering fishing trips through out Vermont & New York. His charter business, 3rd Alarm Charters can be viewed at www.3rdalarmcharters.com
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July 2012
Page 7
Traveling Outdoorsman By Glenn Dunning
Shoot Straight or Pay The Price For Wounding Game
It was hot in the blind, temperatures had been in the 90’s all week and the constant drone of the black flies and mosquitoes around our head nets challenged our concentration. Roberval Trophy Bear located on the shores of Lake Saint Jean in central Quebec can confidently boast of one of the highest success records of any outfit in the region. In the ten years leading up to the 2011 season every single client hunting with outfitter Gerald Bonneau had shots and all but 3 had harvested. A big part of that success has to do with the wooden shooting blinds where three of us now sat. The outfit maintains nearly 40 of these enclosures each strategically located in the thick bush country that surrounds the lake and all are placed less than 30 yards from a bait set-up. From inside both movement and scent are effectively masked and the small bear we currently watched seemed quite oblivious to our presence. Every hunter is accompanied in the blind by a guide, whose specific responsibility it is to identify whether a bear is a shooter or not.
Page 8
At Roberval a bear must be a minimum of 2 years old to harvest and the value of this management tactic has paid off with nearly half of the bear killed each season weighing over 300 pounds. I wanted a big bear and was excited about the prospect of my son,
Unfortunately, not every hunt ends with a perfect kill shot. All hunters have the capacity to miss and if you can miss you can wound. who sat beside me, capturing the hunt sequence on video. It was 6:30 on June first. The young bear had wandered off an hour ago and as the hot afternoon gave way to evening the temperature was slowly becoming more tolerable. Travis slowly panned the camera to the right as our guide gestured the approach of
another animal. This was a much bigger bear, its shoulder a good 18” above the 5-gallon bait bucket. Its ears appeared small in relationship to the big blocky head. I studied the animal for several minutes wanting to be sure of my decision should I choose to shoot. Upon a prearranged signal, the guide slowly opened the window. I eased the barrel through the opening and steadied the forearm against the jam. As my cheek pressed into the stock of my Winchester model 70 the bear’s big head filled my scope. It was sitting behind the bait bucket facing me. I waited for a clear shot at the neck but did not have to wait long as the bruin turned his head slightly and my cross hairs fell on its Adam’s apple. The rifle spoke with authority, the 180-grain Remington Core-lokt bullet finding its mark and instantly dropping the animal. Unfortunately not every hunt ends with a perfect kill shot. All hunters have the capacity to miss and if you can miss you can wound. A wounded and unrecovered animal represents a financial loss to an outfitter and increasingly clients are being charged penalties to continue their hunt after blowing an initial shot. At Roberval where shot opportunities carry a money-back guarantee the cost to continue your hunt after wounding is $800. Their brochure states, “We guarantee the bear, you guarantee the bullet.” Wound policies are not however, solely specific to bear hunts. Trophy whitetail hunts, particularly archery hunts often have pretty hefty fines for either wounding a big buck or shooting an animal that does not meet pre-established minimum antler scores. Are these policies fair? Certainly some hunters have a hard time with them but from the outfit-
July 2012
ters viewpoint, compensation for lost animals seems economically justified. Because of the difficulty and danger in tracking a wounded bear few are recovered and regardless they definitely aren’t going near that bait again. The outfitter has essentially lost this animal from his inventory. In the case of whitetails and other antlered game it takes years to mature to trophy quality and in any given territory there is a finite number of animals in this age class. Tuckamore Lodge, one of Newfoundland’s best-known moose outfits, has one of the business’s toughest policies. Customers who shoot and wound are done with their hunt. According to owner Barb Genge, “One thing that this rule does is it gets our customers to wait and take better shots.” Although a tough pill to swallow, an outfitter cannot take responsibility for a client’s lack of skill and proficiency and ultimately it is the hunter who decides whether or not to pull the trigger. Of course, the best way to insure that you won’t have to deal with these issues is to practice and be as comfortable with your chosen weapon as you can be. Finally, just because you paid for the hunt does not mean you should take anything less than a good shot. We all have the capacity to wound so we practice and choose to take good shots. That said, when an animal is wounded we must learn to also take responsibility for our mistakes. It’s not the outfitter’s fault, and it’s probably shortsighted to blame either your weapon or the weather. Glenn Dunning lives in Brookfield, Vermont and owns TUNDRATOUR Consultants, a travel agency specializing in North American hunting and fishing adventures. He is also a member of the New England Outdoor Writers Assoc. Glenn can be reached by phone at 802-276-3317 or via his web site at: www.tundratour.com
The Outdoor Gazette
Taxidermy Trails Vermont’s Berlin Pond finally open!
It was a long time ago, many years in fact when I agreed with Rick Sanborn. It did seem like a big waist. A 200+ acre pond close 2 two miles long, locked away for close to a hundred years from any use except drinking water. “Now they have the water treatment plant, why couldn’t we canoe or fish it”? “It’s in our back yard!” “You know people”, was my reply. “I’m not sure they can always be trusted, but it sure would be nice. I’ll see ya later”! I never thought the day would come that I would be sitting on that pond with a 17” large mouth pulling my kayak around in the early morning sunshine. A few educated sportsman/citizens have been known to changethings throughout our country’s history and are often the changer’s of heart’s and mind’s. These folks are often firm believers in our constitution, and you’ll often catch them guarding the Public Trust doctrine and many other freedoms from those that might think they could manipu-
and explained that this all seemed well and good, but it had alreadybeen decided by the Supreme Court,
By Rodney Elmer
Turnpike road and a road across the south end of the pond where a culvert and fire access hydrant is
The author’s view of Berlin Pond, Berlin Vermont. we are using the waters of this pond located. This location, though a and we are here to discuss the town legal entrance, is inadequate for susof Berlin’s small lakeshore property tain boat launching and is the crux lot that could be a future boating of the debate. As of free fishing access. The Fish & Wildlife dept. weekend, it was legal to boat the expressed their interest in helping to pond, no gas power, from this spot. Parking , road right of way blocking
and trespassing on Montpelier’s land, remain issues. On Saturday morning, the half dozen boats I saw were a far cry from the “water park “ atmosphere predicted. The fishing was good. Though I caught no “Giants” , there where many age classes and sizes of fish. I was impressed by the size of the pond. The majority of it is shallow and weedy. A great place to bird watch and relax on the kayak. Most all shores are shallow and soft, sensitive areas and I agree that the shores should remain posted. What happens in the end is to be determined. After all, it is the people’s. How we act as sportsman in the interim will have a large affect on many outcomes. It is the dishonesty of sportsman the public does not like. They say one thing ,then do another. So let’s drink the water , eat the fish, and walk the walk. Rodney Elmer and his wife Theresa own and operate Mountain deer taxidermy in Northfield,Vermont.
MOUNTAIN DEER TAXIDERMY With over 20 years of experience in taxidermy, we pride ourselves in our ability to preserve your trophy to look as it did in its natural habitat. We work annually on about 300 mountings and presentations of many varieties of wildlife; deer, bears, moose, coyotes, fox, fisher, turkeys and more. We also work on animals from other parts of the globe including Africa.
Access is an issue, as most of the shoreline is posted against trespassing.
late government to suit their personal wishes. As I walked into the Town of Berlin’s Select Board meeting to watch “the show”, my mind drifted back to Rick’s words. As expected the meeting was packed and the space inadequate. The banter was polite and educational. The reasons for and against using the pond were many and discussed broadly for close to an hour. Finally Hank Buermann piped up
install, maintain, and control an access. The select board agreed that theunimproved property should remain posted for the time being and a great deal more discussion would be necessary before any decisions could be reached. Currently, the entire property surrounding the pond is owned by the city of Montpelier and is posted to no trespassing. The town of Berlin owns one small lot down to the water’s edge on Pain
In addition to being entertaining, the stories of the hunters who are our customers provide information allowing us to suggest possible ways to present and mount the trophies that they have bagged. Our high quality work can be seen by our many repeat customers that seek out our services. The presentation of your trophy can be head wall mounts or full body depictions. We are also the State of Vermont Dept. of Fish & Wildlife Big Game Reporting Station. A specially designed outdoor scale system with tall vertical clearance is also provided for easy weigh-in of all species.
ROSCOE BLAISDELL 22 Scribner Road, Raymond, NH 03077
rblaisdell1@comcast.net
The Outdoor Gazette
at 802-485-7184
Call Rodney or Theresa Elmer
Official Measurer Boone & Crockett Club Pope & Young Club NH Antler & Skull Trophy Club Maine Antler & Skull Trophy Club
603-895-9947
1308 Loop Road - Northfield, VT 05663
WWW.MOUNTAINDEERTAXIDERMY.COM
July 2012
Page 9
Mass Meanderings The death of the Deerfield river
The Deerfield River serves many purposes to many people, and most of these “users” aren’t aware that they are ruining this beautiful waterway. The river has three major byproducts including; its enjoyment, its economic impact, and of course its electricity generating power. Most recently, the sport of rafting and kayaking has developed on the Deerfield River. Due to the daily high water flows, these folks can enjoy their sport almost year round. Crab Apple Tours and Zoar Outdoors are two Charlemont based companies that do a great business every year bringing people down the Deerfield River in either a rubber raft or a kayak. At the height of the summer season, both of these companies employ over one hundred people. This is quite an economic lift for downtown Charlemont and Shelburne Falls. It’s not cheap to take a ride down the Deerfield and most of these “outdoors people” are well-healed spenders. The kind of tourist that North Adams would love
Page 10
By David Willette
to have, all summer. Twenty years ago neither Zoar nor Crab Apple was in existence. The generating power of the Deerfield River has already been documented. Daily, thousands of kilowatts are produced there and sent somewhere else for use. For the longest time, fishermen have enjoyed the Deerfield as one of the best trout streams in New England. I can remember Curt Gowdy of the television show ‘The American Sportsman” doing a segment on the Deerfield River in the early 1970’s. That’s how famous this river is to fisherman. How these groups are linked to each other, and is it a good connection? The answer is NO, and here’s why. And it’s the fishermen that are getting the short end of the stick, (again). Water flow (flows), are measured in “cubic feet per second” (cfs), a cubic foot of water, that is. The minimal flow on the river is around 100 cfs. A good fishing flow for the fly-fishermen is between 200 and 500 cfs.
Over this level the water is too high to control a fly line. From 500 to 1000cfs, the spin fishermen can still enjoy their sport, but they must be more careful as the river gets dan-
gerously high. Fishermen have been fishing on the Deerfield before the power companies took hold, and for generations before the rafting companies landed there. We’ve gotten used to “semi-natural flows” on the river, as a result of the power companies since the 1930’s. And we’ve lived with it. It was tolerable. The high flows weren’t that high nor did they last for days like they do now. For the last five or six years the “flows” on the river are far from semi-natural, it’s more like a daily, deluge, flush of the river, and its’ very detrimental to the river and the rest of the ecosystem. The statistics from the web site “MA River Flow Charts” states that for the month of April the average flow was 1476cfs which is a very unnatural level of water, 24/7, for the whole month. In April there was a brief, five-day max flow of 10,900 cfs. When I wrote this article, the current flow was 1390cfs. For comparison, the Hoosic is already at a low water flow. Why is this happening now? Ever since the rafting companies got established, the river has been consistently “up” to support their business. Presently they are guaranteed over 100 “high flow” days a season. The fishermen get one guaranteed “low flow” day a season, and some-
July 2012
times this gets cancelled. I’m not about to take a shot at the rafting companies; the river is big enough for both of us. The rafters need high water between the hours of 10AM and 4PM. These are not prime time fishing hours. Why can’t the power companies be a little more accommodating to the fishermen? And stop the high water flow at peak fishing times, at least on the weekends. Tax dollars from all the hunting and fishing licenses pay for any and all improvements on the Deerfield River. All of the improvements for the past few years have all benefited the rafting companies, in the form of parking lots and boat ramps. Ironically fishermen can’t park in the parking lot that he paid for, it’s reserved for the rafting companies only. Maybe the rafting companies should pay their fair share too. The environment is also taking a bath here as well. Those continual flushes of this beautiful waterway are killing every bug on the river, as well as any small plant life. Nature just wasn’t meant to take this kind of unnatural abuse. The erosion on parts of the river look like a bull dozer came through and rearranged the boulders, while viscously under-cutting the river banks. What can be done? Contact the local representative, Gail-Anne Cariddi. She grew up loving the outdoors in its natural state. Let’s get the power company to reimburse the state, or the river itself with erosion control remedies, a better high water release warning system, a cross river cable safety system for fishermen caught in high water, or perhaps even more fish stocked. We should get something in return for the rape of this river David Willette is a free-lance outdoor writer who lives in Western Massachusetts. He can be contacted through www.coyotewars.com
The Outdoor Gazette
Continued from page 5
The Outdoor Gazette
July 2012
Page 11
Riverbank Tales Fred Kretchman - Master Rod Maker
The first thing you notice when you walk into Fred’s rod shop is the aroma; the sent of bamboo shavings and varnish fills the air. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of spending the morning with Fred Kretchman at his rod making shop in Kittery, Maine. What was to be an hourlong interview stretched into an entire morning as Fred and I talked about one of our favorite subjects, the art of bamboo rod building. Fred is one of the very few bamboo rod makers who is a full time professional. I asked Fred how this all came about and why someone would devote themself to what many consider an outdated art. Fred said that back in 1963, when he was in the forth grade he was given his first fly rod for Christmas. He spoke fondly of fishing this rod accompanied by his Dad. Living in Ohio at the time, most of his fishing was done on local farm ponds. In 1990 Fred was living in Nashua, New Hampshire. One afternoon Fred was fishing with a friend on the Merrymeeting River who was fishing an old bamboo fly
rod. Fred was immediately taken back to those days fishing with his father. He remembered his Dad
using a bamboo Heddon rod and he was struck with a tinge of nostalgia. Shortly after that day Fred began looking to purchase a bamboo rod. Fred acquired his first rod at a Gary Wallace auction in Ossipee; a Heddon for $72.50. It wasn’t long before Fred was hooked on bamboo and came to the conclusion that it might be fun to
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2888 White Mountain Highway North Conway, New Hampshire www.northcountryangler.com Phone: 603-356-6000
Page 12
by Bill Thompson
make his own. At the Nashua library Fred found a copy of Hoagy Carmichael’s book “A Master Guide to Building a Bamboo Fly Rod”. The book gives detailed instruction on building bamboo rods by following the construction of a rod built by Everett Garrison. Fred read the book cover to cover twice. In 1993 Fred won employee of the year at the company he was than working for. In recognition he was awarded a prize of 1000 dollars, which was the seed money, needed to begin making rods. Soon after receiving the money Fred was prowling flea markets looking for hand planes. It wasn’t long before friends were beginning to ask Fred to make them rods. For a while Fred was turning out four or five rods a year. In 1998 Fred received a call from the Smithsonian Institute asking him to represent New Hampshire in Washington D.C. at the annual Folklife Festival. In 1999, for two weeks, Fred demonstrated bamboo rod making on the National Mall, along with 175 other craftsmen from all over the country. The festival ended on July Fourth with over 1.3 million having visited the event. In 2004 Fred, along with Stan Bogdan, the famous reel maker and fellow rod maker Sam Carlson were recognized with Lifetime Achievement Awards by the State of New Hampshire. The three were given their awards at a state house reception hosted by than Governor Jeanne Shaheen. I asked Fred if there was any one famous rod maker from the past that influenced his rod building. There are two he replied: Lyle Dickerson and Jim Payne. Lyle was a one-man operation and he designed and made his own tools and Jim Payne for his superb craftsmanship and fine casting rods. Fred explained that for a while he collected all of the old masters and bought as many examples that he could afford. However, he soon narrowed his collecting to just Dickerson and Payne. Fred says that there is no substitute to having the rod in hand when it comes to duplicating the tapers used by the old masters. There is a wealth of information available on rod
tapers, but there are many variables that go into the make up of a rod that just having the taper is not enough. Things like the thickness of
the glue, how the varnish is applied, the ferrule used, and the number of guides are all important elements that make a rod work the way it does. Fred builds a great many of his rods “hollow built”. By removing the pith from the bamboo you can lighten the rod by up to 20 to 25 per cent. Hollow building also makes a crisper rod more suitable for today’s casters. I asked Fred why bamboo over graphite? Ask any Joe “fly caster” on the street and he will tell graphite is better because it is lighter. There is no denying this, as a modern graphite rod will weigh around 1 to 2 ounces versus a bamboo rod which will come is around 4 to 5 ounces. Fred will tell you that this
extra weight actually works for the caster. “Bamboo stores energy”, Fred explained “All you have to do is get it moving – it does the work”. “You work harder with graphite”, says Fred. “Bamboo is stronger than graphite too,” Fred told me. Anybody that doubts the strength of bamboo only need to look at pictures of Chinese workers building a high-rise building where bamboo is
Continued next page
Richard Tremaine Optician Quality Eyewear
Locally owned and operated
603-752-3382 M-F 9-5• Fri 9-6 Sat. am by appt.
148 Main Street • Berlin, NH 03570
July 2012
The Outdoor Gazette
Trophy Spotlight- Vermont’s Biggest Buck Ever! Napolean Verge’s 300-Pounder
This story originally was printed in the “Outdoors” magazine and with permission from the author we are happy to share it with our readers.
By Dave Verge
It was early in the first week of the 1958 Vermont deer season and the weather was mild and was keeping the rut activity down. On the day before, my father, Napolean Verge, hunted with his oldest son Edward at his favorite beech grove where he had shot several nice bucks in the years past. He saw several does that day and noticed there was very little buck sign compared to previous years. His son also reported seeing a doe but no bucks. The walking that day was a little crunchy and the wind was swirling and perhaps pushing his scent down toward the area where he expected a buck might be bedded or staged up waiting for does to wander into the beeches in search of nuts and the possibility of finding a romantic relationship. Today (Sunday) he decided his best strategy would be to hunt the ridge on the other side of the road where there was a good mix of hard and soft woods. The walking would be quieter and by staying high on the used to make the scaffolding. To prove his point Fred brought out a newly made tip section and stepped on it. Fred said the worst that can happen is that you will scruff up the varnish, but it is unlikely that you bust the rod. Six strips of bamboo glued together is not only flexible it is rugged. I asked Fred about his production level. Fred explained that there is no production; each rod is made one at a time. From the time the cane is first split up to the final coat of varnish there are over fifty hours of labor in each rod. Fred makes about 2 rods a month or 24 in a year. A Fred Kretchman rod sells for about $1800 to $2000; when you consider the time and craftsmanship involved in each one that is pretty reasonable
ridge with the wind blowing up he would have the advantage over deer walking below him. That morning the hunters split up at the car and agreed to meet back at the vehicle come evening, and set about trying to fill their tags. In the forenoon he saw several does and one small broken-horn buck which he passed on. As the day wore on he thought that he should have harvested the little buck and settled for meat on the table. Shortly after, he assured himself that he had plenty of time left in the season and only a few of seasons had he failed to fill his deer tag. It was getting toward the last two hours of hunt time and he decided to drop off the ridge and stake out an old hayfield that jutted toward the base of the ridge. He was also aware that there were a couple of wild apple trees that sat just inside the upper edge and four years ago he shot a nice 180-pound, 8-pointer near them. He found a spot that gave him the wind advantage and cover about 160 yards from the apple trees and sat
from previous page
price. Fred’s rods, like his hero’s rods, Jim Payne, are exquisite in their attention to detail. Every rod is a work of art. There are those who no doubt buy a Kretchman rod as a work of art, but these works of art, are meant to be fished.
quietly in anticipation of what might show up. After about an hour on stand as the sun began to sink over the ridge in front of him he knew
Napoleon L. Verge, Barnet,VT. (1958)with his 300 lb (clean) dressed weight Vermont monster buck!
that if anything was going to happen, it would happen soon. He called it the “kill time” and knew from years of hunting that some deer could not wait any longer and were lulled into a false sense of security as the light got dimmer.
Suddenly, to his left and about 120 yards out a nice doe drifted out into the field and began to eat the tender grass. He began thinking to himself, where there is one deer there is usually two, so where is your boyfriend? The doe was acting kind of nervous and kept looking back into the woods. He knew this was a sure sign that more deer were in the vicinity and perhaps would soon show up. Sure enough, within a couple of minutes out popped a fair-sized 6point buck that immediately began trying to court the doe. He decided this was going to be the buck for him and proceeded to take off the safety on his trusty .243 rifle. In 1955 he had read about the new .243 caliber available by Winchester and decided he would make a new bride out of the old 8mm. He fitted it up with a custom L.R. Wallack medium weight barrel and replaced the military stock with a mail order one from the Fagin Stock Co. He inlet, sanded, and finished the stock to his specifications, installed and headspaced the barrel, and drilled and tapped the receiver to accept Weaver scope bases, topping it off
Biggest Buck Continued on page 15
Originally from Maine, Bill Thompson, with his wife Janet, lives in Freedom and owns North Country Angler fly shop in North Conway. He has been fly fishing for more than 30 years and is a licensed NH Fishing Guide. He has fished all over New England, in Canada and out West, but claims the Saco as his “home river.” He also writes a column for a local paper as well as articles in national fly fishing magazines. Bill’s email is bill@northcountryangler.com.
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The Outdoor Gazette
Box 162 RR#1 Doyles, NL A0N 1J0
July 2012
Page 13
Lock, Stock and Smoking Barrel Is the .25ACP Cartridge Totally Useless?
In 1908, the world was blessed with the introduction of an entirely new pistol cartridge. This revolutionary new round was called the .25ACP; ACP standing for Automatic Colt Pistol. In this country, a new Colt automatic pistol came out chambered for the new ammunition. In Europe, where this cartridge was called the 6.35 Browning, a new Browning pistol for it was also introduced. The new .25 was billed as a small, high velocity round, ideal for self defense and available in really small, concealable pistols. In an age where the still new .38 Special was immensely popular, a small cartridge like the .25 was appealing. Introduced about the same time as the 9mm, it offered an alternative to bigger, less carry friendly firearms. It was ideal for women and those who required a back-up or secondary gun. All the big gun manufacturers soon had guns out for the new cartridge. These were high quality pieces, made by prestigious companies like
Browning, Colt, Walther, Mauser, Beretta, and Webley. The guns were reliable, accurate, and small enough to be carried in a pocket or purse. The .25 has now been around for
over 100 years, and it’s still going strong. I really don’t know why, since it is now universally described as being inadequate for any serious self defense. Most of the guns now made for it tend to be cheap, low end “Saturday Night Specials.” Guns like the Raven, Jennings, FIE Titan, and countless poor quality Spanish and South American imports have flooded the market over the years. There are still a handful of well made .25’s out there, and Beretta and a few smaller companies contin-
Northern New Hampshire’s Guns-Only Gun Shop
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Page 14
By Stan Holz
ue to market well made pistols. Why would anyone want to even own one of these little “pop guns?” The .25 does have some selling points, so the news isn’t all bad. Its biggest advantage is simple ... it works. Because of its rimless centerfire design, the .25ACP functions reliably in most semi-automatic pistols. Even the cheapest pistol will probably work well with this cartridge. Also, the .25 is loud; really loud. When you shoot a .25, based on the noise, you’ll think you’re firing a really powerful cartridge. Coming out of the short barrel of the typical pocket pistol, the report is very impressive. So, from a self defense point of view, you will likely scare away any intruder or attacker based on the noise level alone. If, however, the noise doesn’t deter an attack, we may have a problem. Now we get into the ballistics of the .25ACP cartridge. The bullet coming out of the .25 weighs in at 50 grains. That’s 10 grains more bullet weight than the average .22LR, which is 40 grains. Velocity is a relatively low 810 feet per second. A .22LR travels at over 1300 feet per second in a rifle, and over 1000 feet per second coming out of a handgun. The force a bullet hits with is measured in foot pounds of energy. A 9mm pistol cartridge generates about 350 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle; a .38 Special about 300 foot pounds, and the venerable old .45ACP around 400 pounds of energy. Our old friend the .22LR pushes out 100 to 160 pounds, depending on the barrel length tested and the particular load. So how does the .25ACP compare? The .25 manages a paltry 74 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle. To put this all in context, let’s take quick look at rifle cartridges. The 3030 cartridge was introduced in 1895 and has been one of the most popular deer cartridges ever sold. It’s not a particularly powerful hunting cartridge, but it still manages to make almost 2000 foot pounds at the muzzle. The 30-06, introduced in 1906, makes almost 3000 pounds at the muzzle. So, what can one expect from a pistol generating 74 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle? Not much. Compared to the .22LR, the .25ACP’s bullet generates less energy at a lower velocity. That, plus the fact that most .25’s use a full copper jacketed bullet versus the .22’s lead bullet, means that the .22 is much more effective when it hits something. The problem is that few .22
July 2012
pocket pistols approach the reliability level of most .25 pistols. It’s not easy to design a small semi-automatic pistol that will function 100% with the rimmed case and soft lead bullets inherent in the .22LR design. There are some very reliable .22 pistols, but they often require just the right ammo to work perfectly. Most will not work well with the cheaper, bulk ammo often found at huge discounts. Once good, copper plated, high velocity ammo is used, almost all of these little .22’s will function just fine. The .25, on the other hand, works with just about anything you put in it. By the way, a box of 50 rounds of .25 ammo costs about $25. The same amount of .22LR ammo runs about $3! While considered inadequate as a defensive cartridge, the .25 has been responsible for many deaths over the years. At close range, it can be quite lethal. Often used by organized crime and on the streets, it has a long established history of death and mayhem. There are also countless reports of the .25 being unable to stop an attacker. Too often the low powered bullet will simply bounce off bone or lodge in soft tissue. Penetration is typically negligible. There are .25ACP defense loads on the market. These loads use new technology to improve the expansion characteristics of the bullet. Some use lighter bullets to increase the velocity, others use softer hollow point projectiles; some a combination of both. If you do choose to carry a .25, I would really suggest you stay away from the regular “hard ball” ammo and try some of the newer offerings. Personally, I have a few .25’s in my own collection. I have a stainless steel Bauer, which is an American made copy of the original Browning Pocket Pistol. I also have a British Webley & Scott, and a beautifully made little Mauser Model 1910. These well made handguns are all a blast to shoot. At the range, they bark like a pit bull. At 50’, I can usually put all my shots into my target ... as long as it’s a big enough target. Many years ago, I read an article about the .25. I still remember the conclusion: “It’s better than praying.” Stan Holz lives in Whitefield, NH and, with his wife Sandy, has owned and operated Village Gun Store there since 1974. He invites everyone to stop and visit. Aside from his interest in firearms and shooting, Stan is also involved in amateur astronomy, photo-graphy, ham radio and scuba diving. He can be contacted by emailing him at saholz@myfairpoint.net. The Outdoor Gazette
with a used Lyman 4-power scope. All of this he did in his home workshop using a Shopsmith lathe/drillpress, headspace gauge, and simple hand tools. He hand-loaded his own ammo and soon developed a load that would take out a chunk at 300 yards and shoot half-inch three-shot groups at 100 yards and often spoke of how confident he was of the shot going exactly where the crosshairs were placed. He was about ready to drop the hammer on the 6-pointer when it suddenly struck out for parts unknown. He remembers thinking, “what the heck happened? The wind is toward my face and I know he did not see me. Guess this is not my day.” Suddenly the mystery was over and he could now see why the 6pointer took off. Out of the woods came the master of the forest. The big body and yellow antlers glistening in the afternoon sun, it seemed too good to be true. His gun was still at the ready and he dropped his cheek onto the stock, looked through the Lyman 4-power scope, settled the crosshairs behind the buck’s right shoulder and squeezed the trigger. The buck gave a shudder and settled to the ground. The gun and the hunter had done their job and the trophy was now lying about 120 yards in front of him.
The Outdoor Gazette
His son Ed had heard the shot and knew deep down that when the .243 went off something was on the ground. Ed chose to remain at his position hoping he would also become lucky. After shooting time they met at the vehicle, a ’49 Chevy, and the father was filled with excitement as he described what he had got. They both went up to the spot where the now tagged buck lay and proceeded to drag the monster out. About one hour later they arrived at the vehicle and realized that the deer was much heavier than originally thought because of the difficulty in loading it. It was later found that the potent .243 bullet had clipped the heart and was lodged into the hide on the opposite shoulder. He always said it’s where you shoot them not what you shoot them with; you do not need large calibers to kill deer. The buck was shot on Sunday, November 9, around 5:30 p.m. and reported on Monday the 10th sometime in the afternoon. When he went to report the buck at the local town clerk’s office he was advised to go find someplace with a certified scale because this buck was bigger than anything they had ever seen. A call was made to the local game warden, a Mr. Charles Collett, who came down and they took the huge buck to E.T. & H.K. Ide Co. where there was a new certified (Dial Head style)
Biggest Buck Continued from page 13
Fairbanks & Morse scale. The resulting weight slip was printed off and signed and dated by the owner and co-signed by the warden. It was 300 pounds. Mr. Verge was not a trophy hunter and many times would settle for a smaller but good-tasting buck. One interesting fact about this buck was the estimated age of 2 ? years, which means this guy was still growing and who knows what it would have been at four or more years. The meat was tasty and tender which was appreciated by the family in those wonderful meals that followed. The gene pool for this buck is still around in that area and his sons still try to frequent these spots looking for “one like Dad’s.” Unfortunately things change, the older family farms are gone, the once open and spacious areas have been replaced with nice country homes, posted land and “new” people who think “guns are bad” and we should “not kill animals.” I once spoke with the person who now owns the area where the record buck was taken. I told him the story of my dad’s deer and asked if I could traverse his land and would be very careful and not go anywhere near his residence, I just wanted to get up on the ridge behind his property. His reply was that he did not believe in hunting or the killing of
July 2012
animals period. Seeing I was not going to gain access I told him I respected his opinions and wished him well. I started to walk away then turned around and asked him if he was a vegetarian and he replied no. I said do you like a good steak, fresh fish and lobster and he replied yes. I then said, “Where do you think all this comes from? Beef is commercially raised and killed sometimes violently, fish are pulled from the water and die by suffocation, lobsters you boil alive in a pot of hot water and you can hear them squeak before they die. How is that any better than my wanting to hunt and shoot a deer?” There was no answer. As a young man my father learned the ways of the woods by trapping fox, weasel, mink, skunks, muskrats, and any fur that he could sell on the market. When trapping he carried a single shot .22 Stevens and learned to conserve ammo by always making his shot count. He had a unique ability to think like the game he was hunting, which resulted in his deer hunting success. He loved hunting and fishing and imparted his sense of respect for the land and animals to his three sons. Dave Verge is the son of Napolean Verge. Although he was not in the woods with his father that day, they often hunted together.
Page 15
Family Tracks Caught With Your Pants Down
I pointed the nozzle of the hose straight at Ben’s face and squeezed the handle all the way. The highpressure water, at close range, hit with tremendous force and splattered violently against the glass of the car window. Ben’s grin became blurry behind the water running down the window and I could hear his muffled scream inside the car. I finished walking all the way around the car alternating between spraying the kids’ faces against their windows and the canoe on the roof. It had to sprayed down to prevent spreading milfoil and the lady at the campground’s office where I checked in either didn’t believe me or didn’t care that I had done just that at home before we left. I didn’t mind though, it was hot out and it felt great. Before long we were all unpacked with our tent set up within sight of the lake at Stillwater State Park in Groton, VT. Being so hot out, we wasted no time packing the canoe and paddling across the lake to the beach, where we spent the afternoon
By Brian Lang
playing and swimming. It felt pretty good to be swimming in the lake on Memorial Day weekend in Vermont; it was just like the middle of the summer. The next day we went for a great hike up a nearby peak on the Owls Head Trail. We had forgotten a pack for such excursions, but luckily Ben had brought his school backpack with his toys and books. Out went the toys, in went our snacks and water, and we carried a blue and orange pack covered with pictures of trucks and trains to the top of the mountain. At first Ben was a bit scared on the trail, and we asked why. He was concerned with the “Owls Head trail” because he didn’t want to see any owls and said “They scare me because they turn their head all the way around”. We explained our chances were pretty slim of seeing one during the day and pressed on. The heat was kept at bay in the shade of the forest, and the bright sunlight filtered through the canopy spreading a shimmering, mottled layer of light onto the bright green
ferns and foliage in the hardwoods. At a few points on the trail I noticed where the brush and twigs had been browsed by deer or moose and I
Never let your guard down...or your pants!
pointed it out to Megan. We were looking closely at one area seeing where they had eaten when we spotted a single, long black strand of moose hair stuck onto a twig. Megan thought that was pretty neat and we saved it. The view at the top was stunning, with views of the nearby lakes and even a clear shot of Camels Hump in the distance. There was a neat little gazebo at the top made out of stone, and of course the kids had to run through it and jump up each and every window opening and stick their little faces out. On the way down we saw some more moose sign, some small trees where the bark was peeled off in long strips, “like peeling a banana” I explained. Megan stared, with mouth gaping, and replied simply “They’re tree killers”. I decided to answer with a small talk about the consequences of overpopulation of deer and moose and possible over browsing, and how hunting can help keep the woods and animals healthy. Our campsite was very close to the water, and a there was a nice little access area where the kids played and fished. They started having quite a fun time casting and retrieving on their own and spent hours casting off those rocks. The best luck though came when I rigged up some bait for them and set the rod up to watch.
One evening, Ben had already caught a couple of nice perch, and we were all hanging out down by the water with him. The sun had started
going down and the mosquitoes were coming out and Michelle wanted Ben to change into some pants. She went and got them, bringing them down to the water so he could change there. Ben reluctantly trudged over to his mother and dropped his shorts, and before he had time to step into his pants I noticed Ben’s pole bending with the pull of a fish! “Ben, you got one!” I yelled, laughing. Not to miss the fish, he charged over to his pole in his underwear and started reeling. The fish was hooked well, and he hauled it up onto the grass, his first bullhead, and they were just “tickled” by the whiskers. As I unhooked the fish for him, Ben finished putting on his pants and then held the fish up for a picture. We then let it go, watching it swim into the quiet water as the shrill call of the loons echoed across the lake. Brian Lang lives with his wife, Michelle and two children Megan and Ben in Reading, VT. Brian grew up in VT and started enjoying his outdoor pursuits at a very young age. He is an avid hunter, fisherman, camper, and hiker and hopes to give his kids the same wholesome upbringing he enjoyed in the New England outdoors. When he's not outside, he works as an MRI Technologist. He can be reached at Bclang78@gmail.com.
Eddie Nash & Sons Inc. NASH EQUIPMENT
Skidders, Backhoes, Dozers, Loaders & Excavators. Skidsteers, Feller-Bunchers, Forklifts, Chippers, Screeners and Forwarders. New & Used Tires & Chains for Tractors & Skidders. New & Used Parts for All Makes of Equipment, Tractors & Farm Machinery - Tandem Trailers. Culverts, Bushhogs, Finish Mowers, 3 PH. Backhoes, Woodsplitters & Gates.
Page 16
603-237-8857
July 2012
331 Rte. 26, Colebrook, NH 03567
The Outdoor Gazette
Anchor Points By Todd Mead
Estimating Yardage
When I began bow hunting I couldn’t wait for late summer. When the last few weeks of August rolled in it was time to get the bow off the rack, wipe the dust of it, and start winging arrows. It never took long to tighten groups, which in turn gave me more confidence. Although my effective range was a much shorter distance back then, I still moved back until I knew I was beyond my comfort zone. Since my effective range was around 25 yards I usually did most of my shooting from 15 yards. A few years into my bow-hunting career I quickly learned it wasn’t very easy. Not only was it necessary to make a good shot under pressure, it was essential to know the distance to the animal. Since it was before the electronic rangefinders hit the market I needed to find a way to judge distances better. After a short time I realized that my paces were about 36 inches long, which equaled a yard. With that in mind it was easy to look at different things, guess the distance to them, and pace it off to check the accuracy. This worked well until I realized how difficult it was when the objects were up or down a hill or across dips in the landscape. That’s when I realized there wasn’t any better practice than to shoot at lifelike animals in the local 3D tournaments. Although it was nerve-wracking at first, it was easy to focus on the primary goal, which was to make more accurate shots at real animals. Before long it was amazing to see how subconscious the shooting routine became. The pin automatically settled behind the front shoulder and each shot was executed using the same steps. Although it was intimidating at
The Outdoor Gazette
first, I tried to watch and learn from some of the good shooters. I quickly realized, every person had their own way to estimate the distance to the target. I tried many different
I killed this bull using a rangefinder on my second shot after underestimating the distance on the first one.
ways until I finally settled into a routine that worked well for me. When I got to the stake I would look at the target and judge it based on how large or small it looked. Then I would break down the yardage into 10-yard increments. After I completed that I tried identifying something in line with the target that was 30 yards away. This distance was easily identifiable to me because I had played 3rd base in baseball since I was a kid and 3rd base is 30 yards from home plate. If the 30-yard marker was in front of the target I would visualize myself stepping off the remaining distance to the target. If the target was in front of the marker I would imagine how many steps it would take to get to the marker from the target. After a number was achieved for each process I quickly analyzed them, took the average, and shot the target for that distance. I’ll give you an example, which should be
easy to understand. As I walk up to the target it looks 40 yards away. When I count the distance off in 10-yard increments it looks to be around 45 yards. After the 30-yard marker is found and the steps are added in, the target appears 39 yards away. Since I have two numbers within a yard and one five yards farther, I’ll shoot the target for a shade over the lower numbers. I would shoot this particular target for 42 yards. Over time I became proficient at estimating distance in the woods by using this method. When electronic rangefinders started coming out I purchased one. I dedicated about 20-30 minutes a day to judging yardage. There’s nothing more telling than using a rangefinder on a regular basis. Everyone sees yardage differently so it’s hard to compare yourself to your buddy, a competitor or another hunter. As I practiced more my shortcomings were quickly identified. When I judged across ravines I always judged too much yardage. In order to help from making the mistake I came up with a saying that I still use today, “across the ravine is not as far as it seems.” Since I know I have that problem
July 2012
whenever I estimate the distance to a target across a ravine I always subtract two to three yards from my guess. This has worked well. The more you practice estimating yardage and shoot at 3D targets you’ll pick up your own tendencies, which should be easy to see after a short time. Whenever the lighting is poor and the woods appear shaded or dark I have a tendency to see the target as being farther away than it is. I also tend to judge targets in open fields to be closer than they actually are. You should mentally note where and how you make the most mistakes. You should use the summer months to find your weaknesses and work on them. If your legs knock together and breathing becomes shallow when you draw on an animal you would probably benefit by going to a 3D tournament and shooting with people you don’t know. If you seem to have problems estimating distance and aren’t able to shoot 3D tournaments it would be a good idea to find a convenient way for you to improve this valuable part of hunting with a bow. Best of luck this summer and happy hunting in the fall.
Page 17
Results - First qualifier of the Vermont Triple Crown at Mountain Top Archery Club in Washington, Vermont
Open Class
1.Tom Thygessen 283 2.Stephen Santos 281 3.Matt Nott 279 4.Derek Eastman 277 5.John Berteau 270 6.Derek Marsin 265 7.Mark Plante 256 8.Rick Eastman 256 9.Clayton White 253 10.Susan Eastman 247 11.Tom Rowell 240 12.Karl Weber 237 13.Tim Hervieux 230 14.Matthew Holbrook 228 15.Jase Groesbeck
8x 6x 6x 7x 3x 7x 5x 3x 5x 5x 4x 5x 2x 1x EP
1.Brandon Ashford 2.Jason Clark 3.Brian Kasten 4.Corey Laughlin 5.David Kenney 6.Mike Gros 7.Don Young 8.Jeff Gould 9.Matt Stedina 10.Todd Ballentine 11.Jeff Cornish 12.Eric Holbrook 13.Kevin Kinerson 14.Dan Whooley
9x 9x 8x 8x 5x 7x 7x 7x 3x 5x 3x 4x 2x 3x
Fixed Pin’s Bow Hunter
Page 18
292 288 283 282 274 268 266 266 266 260 255 250 250 244
15.Shane Willshire 16.Jon Brown 17.Adams Salls 18.Mark Chambers 19.Josh Whooley 20.Scott Keith
241 235 232 233 211 192
Movable Pin Bow Hunter
1.Greg Stocher 292 2.Leon Garfield 290 3.Gary Washburn 285 4.Bryan Boise 284 5.Tom Crawford 280 6.David Hutchinson 278 10x 7.Matt Covey 274 8.Ron Parshley 270 9.Leo Audette 264 10.Tom Barber 263 11.Joe Palmer 263 12.Richard Armentrout 262 13.Jestin Holbrook 260 14.Art Wright 260 15.Jered Condon 258 16.Ed Sayers 255 17.Reese Savoie 255 18.Eric Chaffee 248 19.Gary Lilley 244 20.Tony Lafrombais 243 21.Shaun Corbett 141 22.Darrin Hall
3x 4x 2x 4x 2x 1x
14x 10x 9x 8x 7x 9x 3x 3x 5x 4x 2x 8x 5x 5x 6x 5x 6x 4x 4x 2x EP
Senior Bow Hunter 1.Peter Belanger 2.Bill Trybulski 13x 3.Gary Wood Sr 4.Michael Parshey 5.Rhett Savioe 6.Frank Malnati 7.Rich Spinki
292 285
275 267 254 246 223
Backyard Bow Hunter 1.Scott Prue 13x 2.Peter Belanger 3.Connor Saunders 4.Eric Schwart 5.Ethan Person
292
259 255 253
Woman’s Bow Hunter 1.Sasha Dyer 2.Cassandra Frary 3.Tammy Gerity 4.Chriss Young 5.Pat Gallent
3x 5x 7x 7x 3x 0x
5x 9x 5x EP
294 271 251 251 206
9x 5x 3x 3x 3x
1.Nicole Trombley 288 2.Sandy Trybulski 272 3.Melinda Washburn 239
12x 6x 3x
Woman’s Open
July 2012
4.Donna Barber
201
3x
1.Logan Boyer 2.Alex French 3.Colby Bushey
269 252 213
6x 5x 3x
1.Ken Boutin 2.Kevin Skinner 3.Fred Allard 4.Chris Gallaot 5.PJ Lapel 6.Brenda Bailey
232 228 224 187 179 117
4x 2x 4x 0x 2x 0x
Senior Youth
Traditional
EP- Equipment Problems
Susan Eastman, of Danville- Vermont takes aim during the first leg of the Vermont, Triple Crown...Sue’s husband Rick, awaits his turn.
The Outdoor Gazette
Carter Heath
Armand Archibald
Jacob Linley
Ron White
The New Hampshire Shed Hunter's Club is hosting a "photo contest titled "As They Lay". Each entry is a picture of a shed antler/s taken before they were disturbed or picked up. Very cool idea and some really nice pictures. Check out the rest of the entries on their Facebook page.
The Outdoor Gazette
July 2012
Page 19
Lessons from the Great Outdoors By Martha VanderWolk
July is about Water
Now that the traps are prepped, you will still need many items. The most important, a rust proof tag, to attach to every trap, with your name and address on them. I t is a state law that mandates every trap will have the owners name on them. You can buy these machine-stamped in copper, for pennies a piece. Proper clothing is also essential. Just as with hunting; you need to dress for the occasion. For water trappers, any clothing that repels water is a must. If you should, god forbid, go for the unexpected dunk in the pond, it could mean the difference between life and death. Rubber footwear and gloves are also a must. Rubber does not hold scent, which is key, when trapping. Nothing will ruin a set quicker than a hint that man has been around the area. Even when being on your knees making a set, a small rubber mat will be helpful. Other equipment you will need, a hammer, hatchet combo, a good sturdy spade, a dirt sifter, trap stakes, trap wire, lures, trap pan covers, and most
importantly, swivels. The more swivels, the better. Swivels allow the animal to twist and turn, without allowing them to twist out of the trap. Naturally, you will
need something to carry all of this in. I prefer a woven pack basket, but they are also available in hard plas-
Sturtevant Pond Camps On 580 acre Sturtevant Pond
Magalloway, Maine
Three fully equipped housekeeping cabins Boat rentals — Guide service
• Four pound smallmouth bass are not uncommon • Fly fish the Magalloway River or the Androscoggin with numerous backcountry trout ponds and trout streams for the adventurous angler • Fantastic grouse and woodcock hunting • Challenging trophy white-tailed deer hunting
Sturtevant Pond Camps PO Box 32 Errol, NH 03579
For rates and information call 207-486-9308 email: sturtevantpondcamps@hughes.net www.sturtevantpondcamps.com and on Facebook
Page 20
tic, and some folks use empty fivegallon plastic pails. Whatever works for you personally is what you should use. Once you catch fur; you will need even more equipment to process it properly. Most importantly, you will need a knife suitable for
carry all of the items you will need or can obtain them for you, give me a call at 802-355-7496 or email me at Critrgitr@msn.com or www. arrowheadtrappingsupply.com. There you are. You have your license, hopefully your equipment
Loon on Sturtevant Pond
skinning. A wrong cut will mean a destroyed pelt, and less money in the profit column. Once skinned, you will need a good fleshing beam and fleshing knife. Fur stretchers, whether wood or steel, will also be needed. Most important, is a porch, shed, garage, or barn to operate out of. Skinning, fleshing and stretching at the kitchen table will not win you kudos from the significant other. Dump a drop of pure skunk essence in your house and you will notice a considerable drop in friends and relatives who visit! The previous list is the items you need to get started. Yes, you will find that you will need more or less to suit your personal needs. As I said before, it sounds like a lot and it is. The start up cost is a little scary, but all of the equipment will last a lifetime if properly cared for. I
and now join the Vermont Trappers Association, NH Trappers Association, National Trappers Association and you will learn all you can, and lay some steel out. You will be glad you DID!! Next time, I will pick up a furbearer, and go over from setting the trap to eating what you catch! Until next time, keep your waders patched and your lures in the shed. See ya on the trap line. Take your kid outdoors!! Martha VanderWolk owns and operates Sturtevant Pond Camps in Magalloway, Maine with her husband, Tom Rideout. A lifelong educator, she currently teaches in the Sustainable Business and Communities Program at Goddard College. She can be reached at Martha@sturtevantpondcamps.com.
Can’t Seem to find us?
Not a problem, we’re on Facebook! Search for us under The New Hampshire Vermont Outdoor Gazette
July 2012
The Outdoor Gazette
A Hunter’s Best Friend Force Fetch, We must do a better job
When I began bow hunting I couldn’t wait for late summer. When the last few weeks of August rolled in it was time to get the bow off the rack, wipe the dust of it, and start winging arrows. It never took long to tighten groups, which in turn gave me more confidence. Although my effective range was a much shorter distance back then, I still moved back until I knew I was beyond my comfort zone. Since my effective range was around 25 yards I usually did most of my shooting from 15 yards. A few years into my bow-hunting career I quickly learned it wasn’t very easy. Not only was it necessary to make a good shot under pressure, it was essential to know the distance to the animal. Since it was before the electronic rangefinders hit the market I needed to find a way to judge distances better. After a short time I realized that my paces were about 36 inches long, which equaled a yard. With that in mind it was easy to look at different things, guess the distance to them, and pace it off to check the accuracy. This worked well until I realized how difficult it was when the objects were up or down a hill or across dips in the landscape. That’s when I realized there wasn’t any better practice than to shoot at lifelike animals in the local 3D tournaments. Although it was nervewracking at first, it was easy to focus on the primary goal, which was to make more accurate shots at real animals. Before long it was amazing to see how subconscious the shooting routine became. The pin automatically settled behind the front shoulder and each shot was executed using the same steps. Although it was intimidating at first, I tried to watch and learn from some of the good shooters. I quickly realized, every person had their own way to estimate the distance to the target. I tried many different ways until I finally settled into a routine that worked well for me. When I got to the stake I would
By Alec Sparks
look at the target and judge it based on how large or small it looked. Then I would break down the
rangefinders started coming out I purchased one. I dedicated about 20-30 minutes a day to judging
yardage into 10-yard increments. After I completed that I tried identifying something in line with the target that was 30 yards away. This distance was easily identifiable to me because I had played 3rd base in baseball since I was a kid and 3rd base is 30 yards from home plate. If the 30-yard marker was in front of the target I would visualize myself stepping off the remaining distance to the target. If the target was in front of the marker I would imagine how many steps it would take to get to the marker from the target. After a number was achieved for each process I quickly analyzed them, took the average, and shot the target for that distance. I’ll give you an example, which should be easy to understand. As I walk up to the target it looks 40 yards away. When I count the distance off in 10-yard increments it looks to be around 45 yards. After the 30-yard marker is found and the steps are added in, the target appears 39 yards away. Since I have two numbers within a yard and one five yards farther, I’ll shoot the target for a shade over the lower numbers. I would shoot this particular target for 42 yards. Over time I became proficient at estimating distance in the woods by using this method. When electronic
yardage. There’s nothing more telling than using a rangefinder on a regular basis. Everyone sees yardage differently
so it’s hard to compare yourself to your buddy, a competitor or another hunter. As I practiced more my shortcomings were quickly identified. When I judged across ravines I always judged too much yardage. In order to help from making the mistake I came up with a saying that I still use today, “across the ravine is not as far as it seems.” Since I know I have that problem whenever I estimate the distance to a target across a ravine I always subtract two to three yards from my guess. This has worked well. The more you practice estimating yardage and shoot at 3D targets you’ll pick up your own tendencies, which should be easy to see after a short time. Whenever the lighting is poor and the woods appear shaded or dark I have a tendency to see the target as being farther away than it is. I also tend to judge targets in open fields to be closer than they actually are. You should mentally note where and how you make the most mistakes. You should use the summer
Hunter’s Friend - Continued on page 25
Eddie Nash & Sons Inc. NASH EQUIPMENT
Skidders, Backhoes, Dozers, Loaders & Excavators. Skidsteers, Feller-Bunchers, Forklifts, Chippers, Screeners and Forwarders. New & Used Tires & Chains for Tractors & Skidders. New & Used Parts for All Makes of Equipment, Tractors & Farm Machinery - Tandem Trailers. Culverts, Bushhogs, Finish Mowers, 3 PH. Backhoes, Woodsplitters & Gates.
603-237-8857
The Outdoor Gazette
331 Rte. 26, Colebrook, NH 03567
July 2012
Page 21
The Trap Line By Randy Barrows
Trapping Equipment Part 2
Now that the traps are prepped, you will still need many items. The most important, a rust proof tag, to attach to every trap, with your name and address on them. It is a state law that mandates every trap will have the owners name on them. You can buy these machinestamped in copper, for pennies a piece. Proper clothing is also essential. Just as with hunting; you need to dress for the occasion. For water trappers, any clothing that repels water is a must. If you should, god forbid, go for the unexpected dunk in the pond, it could mean the difference between life and death. Rubber footwear and gloves are also a must. Rubber does not hold scent, which is key, when trapping. Nothing will ruin a set quicker than a hint that man has been around the area. Even when being on your knees making a set, a small rubber mat will be helpful. Other equipment you will need, a hammer, hatchet combo, a good sturdy spade, a dirt sifter, trap
Page 22
stakes, trap wire, lures, trap pan covers, and most importantly, swivels. The more swivels, the bet-
Naturally, you will need something to carry all of this in. I prefer a woven pack basket, but they are also available in hard plastic, and some folks use empty five-gallon
Rust proof tags are generally made of copper or brass ter. Swivels allow the animal to twist and turn, without allowing them to twist out of the trap.
plastic pails. Whatever works for you personally is what you should use. Once you catch fur; you will need even more equipment to process it properly. Most importantly, you will need a knife suitable for skinning. A wrong cut will mean a destroyed pelt, and less money in the profit column. Once skinned, you will need a good fleshing beam and fleshing knife. Fur stretchers, whether wood or steel, will also be needed. Most important, is a porch, shed, garage, or barn to operate out of. Skinning, fleshing and stretching at the kitchen table will not win you kudos from the significant other. Dump a drop of pure skunk essence in your house and you will notice a considerable drop in friends and relatives who visit! The previous list is the items you need
July 2012
to get started. Yes, you will find that you will need more or less to suit your personal needs. As I said before, it sounds like a lot and it is. The start up cost is a little scary, but all of the equipment will last a lifetime if properly cared for. I carry all of the items you will need or can obtain them for you, give me a call at 802355-7496 or email me at Critrgitr@msn.com or www.arrowheadtrappingsupply.com. There you are. You have your license, hopefully your equipment and now join the Vermont T r a p p e r s Association, NH T r a p p e r s Association, National Trappers Association and you will learn all you can, and lay some steel out. You will be glad you DID!! Next time, I will pick up a furbearer, and go over from setting the trap to eating what you catch! Until next time, keep your waders patched and your lures in the shed. See ya on the trap line. Take your kid outdoors!! Randy lives in Milton, Vermont, has trapped in Vermont for 43 years, is a hunter Ed Instructor and an Advanced Trapper Instructor for the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. Randy and wife, Diane & their family, own and operate Arrowhead Trapping Supply. Randy is also a Vermont State Licensed Fur Dealer. They can be reached at Critrgitr@msn.com or 802355-7496, on facebook or at www.arrowheadtrappingsupply.com.
The Outdoor Gazette
2012 LCI Father’s DayWeekend Fishing Tournament Results
Smallmouth Category Total, Alive, Weight, Length, Name, Hometown, State, Port, Date, Time 525.00 Y 5.00 21.00 Jesse J. Carrier Williamstown VT Hero's Welcome 6/17/2012 5:44:00 PM 514.50 Y 4.90 19.75 Brian D. Bashaw Peru NY Indian Bay Marina 6/18/2012 3:15:00 PM 495.60 Y 4.72 19.75 Eric J. Sicard Barton VT Bay Store 6/16/2012 9:02:00 AM 479.85 Y 4.57 19.00 Brian D. Bashaw Peru NY Indian Bay Marina 6/17/2012 2:50:00 PM 472.50 Y 4.50 20.50 Matt Fitzgerald Millville MA Plattsburgh 6/17/2012 6:00:00 PM 466.20 Y 4.44 20.00 Gregory J. Farr Bristol VT Point Bay Marina 6/18/2012 6:06:00 AM 460.95 Y 4.39 20.50 Scott Smith Essex Junction VT Bay Store 6/18/2012 3:01:00 PM 458.86 Y 4.37 20.50 Chris J. Dumas Plattsburgh NY Rouses Point 6/16/2012 10:07:00 AM 458.85 Y 4.37 19.50 Bradley W. Dattilio S Burlington VT Rouses Point 6/16/2012 3:30:00 PM 455.70 Y 4.34 19.00 Brian D. Bashaw Peru NY Plattsburgh 6/16/2012 5:45:00 PM Walleye Category Total, Alive, Weight, Length, Name, Hometown, State, Port, Date, Time 486.95 Y 7.48 28.00 Kenny E. Gaudette Shelburne VT Point Bay Marina 6/16/2012 10:00:00 AM 437.47 Y 6.72 26.00 Tyler C. King Dorset VT Honey's Bait & Tackle 6/17/2012 5:49:00 PM 432.26 Y 6.64 25.00 Ryan Badger Colchester VT South Hero 6/16/2012 9:16:00 AM 423.15 Y 6.50 25.00 Corey Hebert Fairfax VT Plattsburgh 6/18/2012 12:40:00 PM 417.88 N 6.74 25.75 Lillian J. Boyd Dorset VT Honey's Bait & Tackle 6/17/2012 12:08:00 PM 395.81 Y 6.08 25.00 Robert Brace E. Arlington VT Chipman's Point 6/16/2012 9:45:00 AM 389.36 N 6.28 25.50 Gordon R. Wetmore Franklin MA Hero's Welcome 6/16/2012 6:08:00 PM 386.69 Y 5.94 25.00 Michael V. Larrow Jr. Grand Isle VT Hero's Welcome 6/17/2012 12:20:00 PM 363.26 Y 5.58 25.00 Jason J. Gregoire St Albans VT Hero's Welcome 6/16/2012 7:59:00 PM 326.15 Y 5.01 25.00 Dale C. Peloubet Sheldon VT Hero's Welcome 6/17/2012 10:31:00 AM
Northern Pike Category Total, Alive, Weight, Length, Name, Hometown, State, Port, Date, Time 470.09 Y 12.10 37.50 Jason R. Gamelin Colchester VT South Hero 6/16/2012 7:33:00 PM 431.24 Y 11.10 37.75 Ernest W. Corey Enosburg Falls VT Bay Store 6/16/2012 9:17:00 AM 428.90 Y 11.04 37.00 Fred J. Satink East Montpelier VT Rouses Point 6/16/2012 12:05:00 PM 409.59 N 11.07 35.00 Richard J. Miller III Plattsburgh NY Rouses Point 6/16/2012 5:50:00 PM 402.10 Y 10.35 35.00 Robert B. Preseau Orwell VT Chipman's Point 6/18/2012 1:15:00 PM 395.10 Y 10.17 35.25 Christina Thomas Sharon VT Hero's Welcome 6/16/2012 1:10:00 PM 390.44 Y 10.05 36.00 Jonathan Rule Salisbury VT Honey's Bait & Tackle 6/18/2012 9:22:00 AM 390.05 Y 10.04 37.00 Richard G. Lamotte St. Albans VT Bay Store 6/16/2012 9:07:00 AM 376.66 N 10.18 34.00 Jason P. Silva Rutland VT Chipman's Point 6/17/2012 3:30:00 PM 374.13 Y 9.63 35.50 James J. Saathoff Underhill VT Hero's Welcome 6/16/2012 9:30:00 AM
Lake Trout Category Total, Alive, Weight, Length, Name, Hometown, State, Port, Date, Time 549.73 Y 14.15 31.25 Robert Briggs Danville VT Shelburne Shipyard 6/16/2012 4:20:00 PM 507.77 Y 13.07 33.25 Ryan P. Ashford Groton VT Shelburne Shipyard 6/16/2012 2:20:00 PM 499.22 Y 12.85 31.00 Wayne P. Calderara Jericho VT Point Bay Marina 6/16/2012 6:03:00 PM 480.19 Y 12.36 34.00 Rebecca Fortin Charlotte VT Point Bay Marina 6/17/2012 10:05:00 AM 478.24 Y 12.31 31.00 Merry E. Hodgkins Jacksonville VT Point Bay Marina 6/16/2012 1:35:00 PM 466.59 Y 12.01 30.50 Gavin Sicard Colchester VT Shelburne Shipyard 6/16/2012 1:30:00 PM 462.50 N 12.50 32.50 Paul L. Biggs Barre VT Point Bay Marina 6/16/2012 1:12:00 PM 460.76 Y 11.86 31.00 Richard A. Lee Belmont VT Point Bay Marina 6/16/2012 10:32:00 AM 458.82 Y 11.81 33.00 Steve Hagen Rochester VT Point Bay Marina 6/18/2012 2:15:00 PM 457.26 Y 11.77 33.00 Corey K. Barrows Colchester VT South Hero 6/17/2012 7:59:00 PM
Atlantic Salmon Category Total, Alive, Weight, Length, Name, Hometown, State, Port, Date, Time 514.21 Y Atlantic Salmon 7.42 26.25 Murray A. Seaman Colchester VT South Hero 6/17/2012 9:53 AM 501.60 N Atlantic Salmon 7.60 25.00 Sabrina Warton Palmer MA Indian Bay Marina 6/16/2012 5:00 PM 497.57 Y Atlantic Salmon 7.18 25.00 Ernie F. Stacy Whitehall Rd. MI Hero's Welcome 6/16/2012 10:03 AM 470.55 Y Atlantic Salmon 6.79 24.50 Sam Smith South Hero VT South Hero 6/17/2012 8:00 AM 450.45 Y Steelhead 6.50 25.00 Kevin Bothwell Charlotte VT Westport 6/16/2012 10:12 AM 449.06 Y Atlantic Salmon 6.48 24.50 Ethan W. Thomas Grand Isle VT Hero's Welcome 6/16/2012 1:27 PM 440.05 Y Atlantic Salmon 6.35 24.50 Vanessa Hathaway Willsboro NY Indian Bay Marina 6/18/2012 9:05 AM 415.80 Y Atlantic Salmon 6.00 23.75 Christopher R Davies Peru NY Indian Bay Marina 6/17/2012 4:10 PM 410.26 Y Atlantic Salmon 5.92 23.00 Eric F. LaPoint Craftsbury VT Point Bay Marina 6/17/2012 6:28 AM 408.18 Y Atlantic Salmon 5.89 24.00 Michael Stewart Austin TX South Hero 6/16/2012 10:38 AM Extraordinary Category Total, Alive, Weight, Length, Name, Hometown, State, Port, Date, Time 549.62 Y Sheepshead 18.05 33.75 Brian B. Thompson Swanton VT Bay Store 6/16/2012 5:23 PM 546.58 Y Sheepshead 17.95 30.50 Joshua A Ladd Hadley NY Honey's Bait & Tackle 6/16/2012 9:24 AM 537.69 Y Bowfin 12.49 30.75 Scott L. Bissonette Hinesburg VT Hero's Welcome 6/17/2012 11:53 AM 532.27 Y Sheepshead 17.48 29.00 Tom Callahan W. Rutland VT Honey's Bait & Tackle 6/18/2012 11:09 AM 528.61 Y Sheepshead 17.36 30.00 Kyle B. Doherty Essex Jct. VT South Hero 6/17/2012 10:10 AM 523.92 Y Bowfin 12.17 31.00 Jason R. Wandrei Adams MA Sportsman Cottages 6/17/2012 9:30 AM 520.91 Y Bowfin 12.10 29.50 Kenneth J. Lozell Colchester VT Hero's Welcome 6/16/2012 12:51 PM
The Outdoor Gazette
520.70 Y Sheepshead 17.10 29.00 Tom Callahan W. Rutland VT Chipman's Point 6/18/2012 6:38 AM 518.75 Y Bowfin 12.05 30.00 Jordan Ayer Hinesburg VT Hero's Welcome 6/17/2012 11:55 AM 516.17 Y Bowfin 11.99 30.00 John G. Hebert Hinesburg VT Hero's Welcome 6/16/2012 5:35 PM
Largemouth Category Total Date TimAlive Weight Length Name Hometown State Port e 512.00 Y 6.02 21.00 Devin D. Prue Newport VT Rouses Point 6/16/2012 9:25:00 AM 501.80 Y 5.90 20.00 Brett W. Patnaude Colchester VT Point Bay Marina 6/16/2012 10:57:00 PM 500.09 Y 5.88 21.00 Ghani Syed Ballston Spa NY Chipman's Point 6/18/2012 8:03:00 AM 493.29 Y 5.80 21.00 Larry Butler New Haven VT Chipman's Point 6/17/2012 10:20:00 AM 480.53 Y 5.65 21.00 Rocky J. Pollock Lake Luzerne NY Chipman's Point 6/18/2012 8:03:00 AM 478.83 Y 5.63 20.50 Scott A. Rogers Waterbury VT Hero's Welcome 6/16/2012 7:59:00 PM 478.83 Y 5.63 22.00 Ricky Lee Swartz Castleton NY Sportsman Cottages 6/17/2012 7:05:00 AM 475.43 Y 5.59 20.50 Nathan D. Merrill S Burlington VT Point Bay Marina 6/17/2012 10:52:00 AM 473.73 Y 5.57 21.00 Megan E. Ballentine Alburgh VT Hero's Welcome 6/17/2012 1:40:00 PM 463.52 Y 5.45 21.00 Craig D. Chase Barre VT Hero's Welcome 6/16/2012 4:23:00 PM Carp Category Prize awarded to 1st Place only Alive Weight Length Name Hometown State Port Date Time Y 28.21 35.00 Travis L. White Bristol VT Point Bay Marina 6/17/2012 7:00:00 PM Y 20.52 33.00 Bill A. Butler W. Rutland VT Chipman's Point 6/16/2012 9:00:00 AM Y 15.03 32.00 Patrick T. Keith Pittsford VT Chipman's Point 6/17/2012 8:02:00 AM Y 11.55 27.50 Jeffrey W. Reed Bennington VT Sportsman Cottages 6/16/2012 10:05:00 AM Y 4.05 20.00 Antonio Candido Bridport VT Sportsman Cottages 6/16/2012 10:45:00 AM
Jolley Angler of the Year: Coldwater Division Angler Paul L. Biggs 1236.3Angler Total: 9 Total Live Weight Date Species 462.50 No 12.50 6/16/2012 Lake Trout 440.95 Yes 11.35 6/17/2012 Lake Trout 332.94 Yes 8.57 6/18/2012 Lake Trout Angler Wayne P. Calderara Angler Total: 1231.16 Total Live Weight Date Species 499.22 Yes 12.85 6/16/2012 Lake Trout 384.61 Yes 9.90 6/17/2012 Lake Trout 347.32 Yes 8.94 6/18/2012 Lake Trout Angler Jennipher C. Burnor Angler Total: 1156.47 Total Live Weight Date Species 346.54 Yes 8.92 6/16/2012 Lake Trout 384.43 No 10.39 6/17/2012 Lake Trout 425.50 No 11.50 6/18/2012 Lake Trout Jolley Angler of the Year: Coolwater Division Angler Brian D. Bashaw Angler Total: 1450.05 Total Live Weight Date Species 455.70 Yes 4.34 6/16/2012 Smallmouth Bass 479.85 Yes 4.57 6/17/2012 Smallmouth Bass 514.50 Yes 4.90 6/18/2012 Smallmouth Bass Angler Matt Fitzgerald Angler Total: 1210.70 Total Live Weight Date Species 377.00 No 3.77 6/16/2012 Smallmouth Bass 472.50 Yes 4.50 6/17/2012 Smallmouth Bass 361.20 Yes 3.44 6/18/2012 Smallmouth Bass Angler Corey Harrington Angler Total: 1188.61 Total Live Weight Date Species 421.05 Yes 4.01 6/16/2012 Smallmouth Bass 443.11 Yes 4.22 6/17/2012 Smallmouth Bass 324.45 Yes 3.09 6/18/2012 Smallmouth Bass
Jolley Angler of the Year: Warmwater Division Angler John G. Hebert 1464.6Angler Total: 4 Total Live Weight Date Species 516.17 Yes 11.99 6/16/2012 Bowfin 502.39 Yes 11.67 6/17/2012 Bowfin 446.08 No 10.88 6/18/2012 Bowfin Angler Megan E. Ballentine Angler Total: 1312.77 Total Live Weight Date Species 449.01 Yes 10.43 6/16/2012 Bowfin 473.73 Yes 5.57 6/17/2012 Largemouth Bass 390.03 Yes 9.06 6/18/2012 Bowfin Angler David Munger Angler Total: 1284.34 Total Live Weight Date Species 438.06 Yes 20.86 6/16/2012 Catfish 431.55 Yes 20.55 6/17/2012 Catfish 414.73 Yes 13.62 6/18/2012 Sheepshead Super Bonus Grand Prize Division: Coldwater Total Alive Species Weight Length Name Hometown State Port 549.73 Y Lake Trout 14.15 31.25 Robert Briggs Danville VT Shelburne Shipyard Division: Coolwater Total Alive Species Weight Length Name Hometown State Port 525.00 Y Smallmouth Bass 5.00 21.00 Jesse Carrier Williamstown VT Hero's Welcome Division: Warmwater Total Alive Species Weight Length Name Hometown State Port 546.58 Y Sheepshead 17.95 30.50 Joshua Ladd Hadley NY Honey's Bait & Tackle Ladies of the Lake Division: Cold Water Total Alive Species Weight Length Name Hometown State Port 501.60 N Atlantic Salmon 7.60 25.00 Sabrina Warton Palmer MA Indian Bay Marina Division: Cool Water Total Alive Species Weight Length Name Hometown State Port 417.88 N Walleye 6.74 25.75 Lillian J. Boyd Dorset VT Honey's Bait & Tackle
July 2012
Continued on page 24
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2012 LCI Father’s DayWeekend Fishing Tournament Results Continued from previous page
Division: Warm Water Total Alive Species Weight Length Name Hometown State Port 473.73 Y Largemouth Bass 5.57 21.00 Megan E. Ballentine Alburgh VT Hero's Welcome Team Standings: Coldwater Division Team: Liquor Lords 961.7Team Total: 2 Total Live Weight Name Species 462.50 N 12.50 Paul Biggs Lake Trout 499.22 Y 12.85 Wayne Calderara Lake Trout Team: M & M Team Total: 957.65 Total Live Weight Name Species 407.93 Y 10.50 Roland Poulin Lake Trout 549.73 Y 14.15 Robert Briggs Lake Trout Team: Cloud Nine Charters Team Total: 902.10 Total Live Weight Name Species 458.82 Y 11.81 Steve Hagen Lake Trout 443.28 Y 11.41 Daniel White Lake Trout Team Standings: Coolwater Division Team: Cool Water Casters Team Total: 994.35 Total Live Weight Name Species 479.85 Y 4.57 Brian Bashaw Smallmouth Bass 514.50 Y 4.90 Brian Bashaw Smallmouth Bass Team: Bite Me Lure Co. Team Total: 890.42 Total Live Weight Name Species 458.86 Y 4.37 Chris Dumas Smallmouth Bass 431.56 Y 4.11 Robert Darrah Smallmouth Bass Team: Rebels With a Cause Team Total: 889.35 Total Live Weight Name Species 458.85 Y 4.37 Bradley Dattilio Smallmouth Bass 430.50 Y 4.10 Kenneth Dattilio Smallmouth Bass Team Standings: Warmwater Division Team: Swamp Donkeys Team Total: 1052.96 Total Live Weight Name Species 520.70 Y 17.10 Tom Callahan Sheepshead 532.27 Y 17.48 Tom Callahan Sheepshead Team: Dockside Bait Is What They At Team Total: 1029.33 Total Live Weight Name Species 516.17 Y 11.99 John Hebert Bowfin 513.16 Y 11.92 John Hebert Bowfin Team: Bluefish Team Total: 990.58 Total Live Weight Name Species 523.92 Y 12.17 Jason Wandrei Bowfin 466.66 Y 10.84 Derek Wells Bowfin
Junior Cold Water Division 501.60 N Atlantic Salmon 7.60 25.00 Sabrina Warton Palmer MA Indian Bay Marina 6/16/2012 5:00 PM 470.55 Y Atlantic Salmon 6.79 24.50 Sam Smith South Hero VT South Hero 6/17/2012 8:00 AM 466.59 Y Lake Trout 12.01 30.50 Gavin Sicard Colchester VT Shelburne Shipyard 6/16/2012 1:30 PM 435.12 Y Lake Trout 11.20 33.00 Josh J. Derouchie Jericho VT Point Bay Marina 6/17/2012 9:13 AM 425.41 Y Lake Trout 10.95 31.50 Deanna Stearn Hudson Falls NY Westport 6/18/2012 9:56 AM 388.50 N Lake Trout 10.50 30.25 Alex Mason Peru NY Plattsburgh 6/16/2012 9:07 AM 382.67 Y Lake Trout 9.85 30.00 Ira White Ferrisburgh VT Point Bay Marina 6/18/2012 3:12 PM 362.44 Y Atlantic Salmon 5.23 23.00 Hunter Baker Colchester VT South Hero 6/16/2012 12:29 PM 338.55 N Lake Trout 9.15 30.50 Logan J. Stevenson Ellenburg NY Westport 6/16/2012 5:48 PM 330.23 Y Lake Trout 8.50 28.00 Abby Larock Whiting VT Point Bay Marina 6/18/2012 3:57 PM
Junior Cool Water Division 432.26 Y Walleye 6.64 25.00 Ryan Badger Colchester VT South Hero 6/16/2012 9:16 AM 420.00 Y Smallmouth Bass 4.00 18.00 Hunter Chase Barre VT Hero's Welcome 6/18/2012 1:26 PM 397.95 Y Smallmouth Bass 3.79 19.75 Bryant D. Rowe Willsboro NY Sportsman Cottages 6/16/2012 9:55 AM 388.50 Y Smallmouth Bass 3.70 19.50 Jacob W. Benoit Hyde Park VT Hero's Welcome 6/17/2012 12:00 PM 367.50 Y Smallmouth Bass 3.50 18.25 Megan Fregeau Franklin VT Bay Store 6/18/2012 2:46 PM 365.40 Y Smallmouth Bass 3.48 18.50 Dylan Trepanier Barre VT Hero's Welcome 6/17/2012 7:56 PM 364.35 Y Smallmouth Bass 3.47 18.50 Brian A Harwell Mooers NY Rouses Point 6/17/2012 4:00 PM 362.25 Y Smallmouth Bass 3.45 19.00 Cody D. Brownfield Westfield VT Bay Store 6/16/2012 5:07 PM 362.00 N Smallmouth Bass 3.62 18.75 Trevor Laughlin St Albans VT Bay Store 6/18/2012 12:03 PM 358.05 Y Smallmouth Bass 3.41 20.00 Paul Hood Colchester VT South Hero 6/18/2012 12:42 PM Junior Warm Water Division 518.75 Y Bowfin 12.05 30.00 Jordan Ayer Hinesburg VT Hero's Welcome 6/17/2012 11:55 AM 489.91 Y Bowfin 11.38 30.00 Tanner Benoit Fairfax VT Plattsburgh 6/16/2012 10:09 PM 459.48 Y Catfish 21.88 36.00 Tanner Whalen Witherbee NY Sportsman Cottages 6/16/2012 10:11 AM 446.90 N Bowfin 10.90 30.00 Hailey La France N Ferrisburg VT Sportsman Cottages 6/18/2012 4:00 AM 436.31 Y Largemouth Bass 5.13 20.00 Justin Dattilio Colchester VT Hero's Welcome 6/16/2012 9:38 AM 434.37 Y Bowfin 10.09 29.25 Shyann Hinckley Williamstown VT Hero's Welcome 6/17/2012 10:03 AM 426.19 Y Bowfin 9.90 29.00 Jackson C. Jeffries Martinsburg PA Hero's Welcome 6/17/2012 12:49 PM 425.76 Y Bowfin 9.89 29.50 Sam Dattilio Couture Essex Jct. VT Hero's Welcome 6/16/2012 3:07 PM 419.79 Y Catfish 19.99 34.50 Garrett Denton Moriah NY Sportsman Cottages 6/17/2012 12:30 PM 411.60 Y Catfish 19.60 32.00 Calvin W. Farnsworth BurMkein eville NY Sportsman Cottages 6/16/2012 9:40 AM
Pop’s Kitchen
Fish Tacos Rancher's Rave Barbecue 1 cup all-purpose flour
Jr Yellow Perch Category Date TimWeight Length Name Hometown State Port e 0.81 12.50 Melanie Dostie Milton VT South Hero 6/17/2012 6:05:00 PM 0.80 12.50 Paul Hood Colchester VT South Hero 6/18/2012 9:50:00 AM 0.65 12.00 Garrett Denton Moriah NY Sportsman Cottages 6/16/2012 1:07:00 PM
2 tablespoons cornstarch 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 egg barbecue recipe, cooked in the crockpot. A ranch style 1 cup beer 1/2 cup plain yogurt 1 1/2 lbs. stew venison/bear/moose cubes 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1 1/2 lbs. pork cubes 1 lime, juiced 2 cups chopped onions 1 jalapeno pepper, minced 3 small greenminced bell peppers, 1 teaspoon capers seeded and chopped 1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 cup packedground browncumin sugar 1/2 teaspoon 1/4 cup cider vinegar 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 1 tsp chili powder 1 quart oil for 2 teaspoons saltfrying 1 pound cod cut into 2 to 3 ounce portions 1 teaspoon dryfillets, mustard 1 (12 ounce) package corn tortillas 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 1/2 medium head cabbage, finely shredded
Top 31 Atlantic Salmon 293.83 4.24 24.00 Sportsman CottageSteelhead Bradley Sawyer Bennington VT s Extraordinary 476.70 Catfish 22.70 34.00 Jason Roberts Rutland VT Chipman's Point Lake Trout 409.87 Lake Trout 10.55 33.00 Travis Bugbee St. Johnsbury VT Point Bay Marina Largemouth Bass 430.35 Largemouth Bass 5.06 21.00 Ghani Syed Ballston Spa NY Chipman's Point Northern Pike 317.79 Northern Pike 8.18 35.00 Donald Buell Troy NY Hero's Welcome Smallmouth Bass 422.00 Smallmouth Bass 4.22 20.25 Jay Irish Bakersfield VT Bay Store
• To make beer batter: In a large bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, and
Combine ingredients slow Cover and baking powder. Blend eggin and beer, cooker. then quickly stir into thecook flour mixture (don't worry about a few lumps). on high for 6 to 8 hours, or until very tender. Shred • To make white sauce: In a medium bowl, mix together yogurt and maymeat with a potato masher or forks; serve over buns, onnaise. Gradually stir in fresh lime juice until consistency is slightly potatoes, rice,with or jalapeno, any pasta. runny. Season capers, oregano, cumin, dill, and cayenne. • Heat oil in deep-fryer to 375 degrees. • Dust fish pieces lightly with flour. Dip into beer batter, and fry until crisp and golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Lightly fry tortillas; not too crisp. To serve, place fried fish in a tortilla, and top with shredded cabbage, and white sauce.
Bill "Pop" "Pop" Burke, Burke, resides resides in in Claremont, Claremont, New New Bill Hampshire. If If you you would would like like to to contact contact Pop Pop Hampshire. send an an email email to: to: pops-kitchen@hotmail.com pops-kitchen@hotmail.com send
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July 2012
The Outdoor Gazette
months to find your weaknesses and work on them. If your legs knock together and breathing becomes shallow when you draw on an animal you would probably benefit by going to a 3D tournament and shooting with people you don’t know. If you seem to have problems estimating distance and aren’t able to shoot 3D tournaments it would be a good idea to find a convenient way for you to improve this valuable part of hunting with a bow.Let’s talk about force fetch/forcing breaking or, in this more PC world, ‘the conditioned retrieve’. In fact get comfortable as a lot of what I’m going to write will be uncomfortable. Uncomfortable in some of you discovering facets of dog training that seem harsh and unnecessary and uncomfortable for those of you that will not like hearing what I’m going to say about current accepted force fetch doctrine many of you live by. Seeing as this is going to be a very one sided discussion, I’ll define the parameters of the discussion. Force fetch [FF], as I’ll write about here, is the process where a dog learns to fetch and hold an item in very close proximity to them; i.e. no more than a few feet away. The act of using FF as a foundation to further training where the dog is sent on a journey to retrieve an object is a further step in my opinion and a topic for another month. FF, as I’m discussing it, is not used to make a dog retrieve. We want to dog to retrieve naturally and of its own volition with eager style and enthusiasm. What the FF process I’m discussing will accomplish will be to ensure reliable delivery to hand and set the foundation for more advanced training. Commonly people ask “why FF a dog if it already seems to deliver to hand?” Go online and ask that question at one of the many training forums and you’ll get many responses telling you how important FF is. How it will change your ‘relationship’ with your dog establishing you as “pack leader” and if you don’t FF you’ll never have a proper relationship with your dog.
Maybe even it’s our only hope for the impending Zombie invasions. For many people it seems, FF is what dog training is all about. It’s their Holy Grail. In my reality, FF is a step in training. An important step, but they are all important in my book. Yes, it can change your relationship, for the better or worse [they didn’t mention the worse did they?] but so can many other aspects of training and dog management on a day to day basis. FF is only necessary for one reason; you have a desire for reliable DtH for whatever reason, period! That’s it, your personal desire. Sure you can claim it’s mandatory for certain types of competition or testing. It’ll help prevent the loss of a strong cripple or it is a finishing part of the picture that is your hunt, but the bottom line is your personal desire to fulfill those requirements. For those not familiar with the FF process, here is standard doctrine in a nut shell. Using some form of “pressure”, usually involving the ear or a toe, apply enough discomfort [pinching the ear and a half hitch with a string around a toe are the most common] to that area so the dog opens its mouth to protest. At this time the trainer places an object [dummy/buck/hand/etc.] in the dog’s mouth and ceases applying pressure. Starting with placing the object in the dogs mouth, the trainer then hopes to progress to the dog reaching further and further away to take the object. Finally, fetching off the ground and reliably holding 100% of the time when delivering an object including a bird. Now commonly many people FF their dogs on a purpose made table or bench, many go so far as to hitch the dog to a vertical post or wall while some attach the dog to an over-head zip line. Many trainers will demand the dog fetches the object being placed at increasing distance from it down the length of an 8 or 16 foot table. I’d guess many thousands of dog have been FF on tables using the above process. There is no question that the table and current FF doc-
trine is “successful” in getting a dog FF’d. To say I don’t believe it’s the optimal method to FF a dog is a gross understatement! When I first learned my formal training techniques from two professional trainers back in the stone age, one point they made clear: “Don’t teach with pressure”. The meaning of this was clear, teach first using little or no pressure, show the schooled dog how what you’ve taught will be enforced and then enforce at a level that’s dictated to you by the dog. All right, that made sense to me but then I watched FF and thought what could be further from teaching with pressure than that!!!! I mean from day one [in many programs] the trainer is using pressure [read pain] to get the dog to open its mouth so they can place the object in it. I, like every other trainer for the last who knows how many years, was told by our skilled mentors that “this is how it’s done and has to be done”. End of discussion. Like many before me and since I said “Ok” and went along with it. Lord knows I didn’t want to look like some namby pamby wuss that was worried about using a little pressure on a dog. [Peer pressure is an interesting thing] . Actually, done adeptly, that doctrine and methods are used successfully and in a decent and humane fashion by
Continued from page 21
skilled trainers today. Others, I’m very disturbed to report, subject thousands of dogs to needless levels of pressure. While I feel fairly comfortable that only a small percentage suffer long lasting ill effect from this less than ideal training, there is no reason every dog should not be trained in the most humane fashion. That requires methods to evolve and advance and this requires trainers to think intellectually about what they are doing not just blindly follow the doctrine of a friend, book/DVD or a successful trainer. Next month I’ll be telling you step by step how I have FF hundreds of dog while greatly reducing FF pressure and making the process easier for both the trainer and the dog. We must always be looking for the better and lower pressure way to train, I believe it’s a moral responsibility we should not avoid. Good luck this summer and happy hunting in the fall. Alec Sparks has been training hunting dogs since he got his first retriever when he was 13 years old and has been training professionally for over 19 years. He operates Snowbound Kennels in Addison VT training retrievers, pointing and flushing dog from around the country and Canada and travels south each winter for uninterrupted training. www.snowboundkennelsvt.com (802) 759 2965
Attention Attention New New Hampshire Hunters Hunters
The New Hampshire Antler & Skull Trophy Club 7th Edition NH Big Game Record Book is now available!
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The Outdoor Gazette
July 2012
Enclosed please find my check for $
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Please allow 2 - 4 weeks for delivery. Mail or photocopy this form and send to: NHASTC Record Book Roscoe Blaisdell, President 22 Schribner Road Raymond, NH 03077
Page 25
Forest Forward By Chris Mazzarella
Photography from a Kayak
There are a lot of ways to experience wildlife firsthand in the northeast, but the most preferable method for me has to be from a kayak. Wetlands are rich with biodiversity and offer beautiful backdrops for photography. The open water also offers plenty of natural light as compared with shooting in the woods. This often means you’ll have the ability to shoot at fast shutter speeds to capture those fly-by subjects. I’ve achieved some of my favorite wildlife images while paddling, including this blue heron in Pittsburg, New Hampshire’s East Inlet. I got an early start and spent the morning watching this guy fishing the shoreline. While it was great to spend a day in the company of herons, cedar waxwings, and belted king fishers, the kayaking alone would have made for a worthwhile experience. The best part about paddling for wildlife, is that the wildlife is just an added bonus. Sitting in a blind may result in a trophy photo, but generally requires a hefty expenditure of time and patience. On the other hand, snapping photos while floating around on a beaver pond is so easy and fun that it almost feels like cheating. There are other ways to navigate wetlands but a kayak is arguably the most versatile. A canoe could do the job in a lot of scenarios, but will be more difficult to launch in those bogs that do not have easy access. Since I’m looking for more remote waterways, I often load up
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the kayak with gear and pull it like a sled to my destination. This works best with a rope, rather
I generally take my Canon 60D on board these days, as it would be a little less heartbreaking to say goodbye to than a full frame camera, should an accident occur.
than just pulling on the handles at the end of the boat. Also, I often find myself confronted with an obstruction while paddling a narrow creek, and don’t mind stepping out of the vessel to pull it over the damn or shallow spot. The key here is wearing tall mud boots, or at least keeping them on board. This approach to photography has one very obvious risk associated with it…water damage. Keeping your gear dry is absolutely critical, and any warranties you’ve purchased will be voided should you drop your camera overboard. Even many insurance policies (such as those you purchase from rental companies) do not cover water damage or theft. For me, this is a risk worth taking, but you’ll have to decide for yourself if you can afford to gamble with your gear.
I’ve managed to keep all my gear operational after many trips out on the water, and have developed a routine that helps keep everything dry. I start by packing light. I used to bring along speed flashes, filters, and multiple lenses, but have discovered that less is more when you’re floating on the water. My setup of choice is a single lens, a camera, and possibly a tele-converter. Anyone who’s read previous posts knows that I love the 70200mm f2.8 IS. Pair this with a 2X tele-converter and you’ve got a 140-400mm f5.6. Others have recommended the 100-400mm f5.6 to me and I’m looking forward to trying this lens out. The important thing is that you’ve got something you can shoot with handheld. I’ve seen kayaks equipped with tripods and heavy glass, but this looks a little precar-
July 2012
ious to me. The reason I’ve had success with modest focal ranges in the water, is due to the stealthy nature of the kayak. Drifting towards a subject slowly and silently has proven to produce nice photo-ops at point blank range. I always pack up my gear in a dry sack before I launch. Once I’ve got my bearings on the water, I unpack my camera and dial in the appropriate exposure settings. When my Canon is ready to fire I position it in front of me and cover it with a towel. This helps protect it from the inevitable drop of water brought onboard from paddling. Having decent splashguards on your paddle will help with this as well. Lastly, you’ll want to be sure you’ve got your lens hood on. A single drop of water may not be an issue on your weather-sealed lens, but can ruin a shot if it lands on the glass. I can spend an entire day on the water without so much as a pass-
ing thought of calling it quits. It’s a joy just to paddle, even in the absence of migratory birds during the autumn and spring. I paddled around Long Pond in the Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge just after ice out this spring not expecting to see much action. Then, just before heading back in, an osprey came hurdling towards the water after its lunch. It swiftly emerged from the water with a hornpout in tow and took off soaking wet. While I didn’t get a very good shot of the wet raptor, the experience was an unforgettable way to kick off the paddling season. Forest Forward is an online wildlife photo digest focusing on northern New England. Check us out at www.forestforward.com to view our latest wildlife sightings and informative commentary. You’ll also find our new interview series, featuring guests such as environmentalist Bill McKibben, world-renowned photographer Scott Bourne, and Vermont Edition’s Jane Lindholm, just to name a few. The Outdoor Gazette
Fish & Wildlife Management By Wayne A. Laroche
Cormorant Control Showing Results on Lake Champlain
The Lake Champlain and Wildlife Management Cooperative made up of Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, New York DEC and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced in early June that work was underway to manage the double crested cormorant population on Lake Champlain. Assisted in the field by staff from U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services and through federal funding facilitated by Vermont’s Senator Patrick Leahy, the Cooperative is leading a coordinated effort to reduce and control a cormorant population that has grown explosively in recent years. Large numbers of nesting cormorants have threatened the nesting habitat of other colonial nesting birds such as egrets, herons and terns, killing trees and other vegetation on islands in the lake. Feeding primarily on alewives and yellow perch, there is concern that excessive numbers of cormorants will negatively impact the lake’s fisheries. Former University of Vermont professor Dr. David Capen estimated that between 48,000 and 61,000 cormorants were feeding on Lake Champlain in 2011. Cormorants eat about one pound of fish per day. This means that cormorants were eating 24 to 30 tons of fish per day or 720 to 900 tons of fish per month. That certainly is enough fish to raise eyebrows among fisheries biologists as well as anglers. Dr. Capen is leading a research project to test the effectiveness of egg oiling to prevent cormorant nesting on the most sensitive islands and to control reproduction in the large rookeries on the Four Brothers Islands. Vegetable oil sprayed on eggs at the right time prevents the eggs from hatching while the adults
The Outdoor Gazette
continue to sit on the nest. Breaking or removing the eggs doesn’t solve the problem because the birds simply produce another clutch of eggs. In addition to egg oiling, close to
on Missisquoi National Waterfowl Refuge in West Swanton, Vermont. This year there have been no reports of cormorants nesting on the refuge according to state biologists. It is
6,000 cormorants were killed on Lake Champlain in 2011. This spring nesting cormorants have been found only on the Four Brothers Islands on the New York side of the lake. The Four Brothers Islands are owned by the Nature Conservancy, which is providing access to wildlife officials for research and control purposes. Removal of nesting colonies from critical island nesting habitat is expected to significantly benefit other species of colonial nesting birds. A significant decline in the number of cormorant nests counted this spring on Four Brothers Islands is good news. It suggests that egg oiling along with culling of cormorants is working. The restoration of a nesting population of bald eagles to Vermont and Lake Champlain may also be benefiting cormorant control. In recent years, cormorants had begun nesting
believed that a newly established pair of nesting bald eagles may be responsible. Bald eagles are known to harass and feed on cormorants. According to Vermont Fish and
July 2012
Wildlife biologist John Gobielle, only 1,292 cormorant nests were counted on the Four Brothers Islands in early June 2012. This compares to a peak count of 3,732 nests in 2011. This certainly is good news. Hopefully, this great cooperative effort can continue so that a population trend towards lower numbers and eventually a stable cormorant population level can be achieved. I have not yet heard whether or not a desired population target has yet been identified for the cormorant population on Lake Champlain. I expect that a target level will be set. For those of you who would like to see zero cormorants, don’t get your hopes up. First, it probably is not possible in the long run. Second, most biologists will agree that a greater diversity of species has many interwoven benefits that typically makes the whole greater than the some of the parts. And finally, there are some people that do like to see cormorants on the lake. It is only excessive numbers that make cormorants a nuisance.
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Tails from the Trail By Allan Tschorn
On Adopting Sled Dogs
We will probably never be a competitive kennel. When people see us with sled dogs, it is a common misconception and assumption that we race. I go on to explain that we are philosophically and emotionally a “forever kennel”. When we take on a dog, it is for the life of the dogs, for better or for worse. And this forever philosophy is not congruent with building and establishing a competitive kennel because, just like managing any other sports team, if you have a player that is not performing, a difficult management decision needs to be made with reference to that team member. A dog that is either too slow, not strong enough or lacks in stamina, or is just simply getting on in age will lower the bar for the entire team, and most kennels have a finite amount of resources, both time and finances, which dictate just how many dogs they can realistically keep. I am not saying here that the philosophy of a racing kennel is any better or any worse, or that competitive kennels lack emotion or compassion for their dogs. The philoso-
phies are just different, and in fact differing philosophies in kennel management can actually be mutually beneficial situation. Our main man, our kennel alpha and lead dog, Anthem, was a wonderful gift from a racing kennel. At seven years old, he was starting to show signs of his age, he didn’t fit the long range racing plans of the kennel due to his age, and he was being actively challenged for his alpha role by younger stronger males in the pack. In an act of compassion, that I would dare say trumps that of a “forever” kennel, the previous owner sold him to a novice mushing kennel so the “newbies” would learn and understand what a great lead dog should be like, but more importantly, Anthem would be happy in a smaller kennel where he could maintain his alpha role and continue to run without the demands of training that a race team requires. Anthem’s previous owner cares very deeply for him, and it was important to find a kennel with a philosophy like ours so there was no concern of Anthem spending his retirement
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hop scotching from kennel to kennel. By many accounts, a great fit for both kennels. Mitch Seavey does a whole chapter in his book Lead,Follow or Get Out of The Way on acquiring sled dogs. One key point he makes is
Anthem posing for the camera.
that if a kennel, especially a competitive kennel, is getting rid of a dog, there is likely a reason. This is not to imply that something is wrong with the dog, it is just to say that for some reason or another that particular dog is not fitting the profile of a perfect dog for that competitive kennel. Of course, being an accomplished breeder and Iditarod champion, Mitch Seavey will have a very different perspective on what he is looking for in a dog than a recreational musher or even a pet home. And as I mentioned above, the reason a competitive kennel is placing a particular dog, may be the very reason why that may be a desirable dog for you, and compliment your vision perfectly. It is important to note that not all dogs that are placed out of a competitive or working kennel are necessarily fit to continue working. My daughter has adopted a wonderful five-year-old female from a working kennel who just lacked the desire to work. The previous owners were not actively looking to place her, but the situation seemed to be a mutually beneficial arrangement, and made room in the working kennel for another dog that would be productive. It is important to ask the owner who is getting rid of or placing a dog exactly why they are placing the dog. And this is a time for honesty, on both sides of the equation. As a recipient of the dog, you need to also be clear and honest about your intentions and expecta-
July 2012
tions of the situation. Don’t be afraid to ask questions directly about any acts of aggression, towards humans or other dogs, and consider carefully. Prior to our plunge into our addiction, we did a fair amount of research on the breed, though admittedly, not an exhaustive amount of research. We either didn’t find or failed to heed the warning of the addictive nature of this breed. Some of the information we found included: The Siberians are a strong willed dog, smart to a fault. They require a lot of exercise and are very social dogs requiring the companionship of other dogs or a committed owner who can spend lots of time with them. They don’t have a good recall, and should never be trusted off leash. They aren’t car savvy and have a strong prey drive so they must be securely confined at all times. They are voracious diggers and chewers so don’t choose a well-manicured section of your prized lawn to put the kennel up. There is a comprehensive listing of characteristics online at the Siberian Husky Club of America website, www.shca.org. Interesting enough, one of the topics we found discouraged rescuing a Siberian of questionable background unless one had previous experience with the breed. The breed can be challenging enough, but one with a questionable background may compound issues to the point that it is not enjoyable for the owner, nor beneficial to the dog. Adopting or acquiring a dog from a working kennel with a known background is different than rescuing a dog with a questionable or unknown background. For this very reason, all breeders of the Siberian Husky we have dealt with are very adamant that if we no longer want or are able to care for the dog, the breeder must get the dog back or retain the right of first refusal. First, this keep the dog out of the local shelter, where Siberians are one of the more challenging breeds to place; and, secondly, it allows the breeder to re-gain a working knowledge of the dog, and greatly increases the knowledge necessary to address behavioral nuances and at least have a discussion with a potential owner about the expectations of the union. If you find that you are really taken with the idea of owning a Siberian or the thought of exploring dog powered sports but aren’t sure if you are up for the work that you may be in for in raising a puppy, don’t give up just yet. There are
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The Outdoor Gazette
The Coastal Zone Captian John Curry By Captain
The Inshore Slam
Many of us have read articles or have watched television shows that talk about catching the grand slam of big game fishing. While most of these focus on the highly coveted billfish grand slam of catching a blue, black and striped marlin the term grand slam in fishing means one thing, you have to catch the listed species in one day on the water. Now let’s not confuse the inshore slam with an in-the-park homerun by Jacoby Ellsbury, but they are both equally impressive and rare. According to the IGFA, for our New England waters the general inshore slam is referring to catching three of the four popular light tackle species; striped bass, bluefish, false albacore and atlantic bonito. Like many charter captains here on Cape Cod we beg to differ when it comes to the Inshore Grand Slam in our waters. On my boat if an angler lands a keeper striper, a keeper summer flounder (fluke as they are called) and a decent sized bluefish then they have completed the inshore slam. I too subscribe to the notion that a false albacore or an atlantic bonito would be a substitute for a fluke, but they come into our waters later in the summer when the fluke start to leave so it evolves as the season progresses. While the larger big game grand slams are mainly interested in landing or “leadering” each species at the boat side, the inshore slam is a little more complicated if you ask me. When you play by my rules it gets a little more difficult. It would be a simple task on most days to catch all three species, but add a size restriction and things get interesting. On day one of a two-day charter last September one of my clients had numerous reasons why buying or adopting an older or retiring working sled dog might be viable for you. Siberians, like many breeds, can become mellower with age, so they are more likely to be content to lay on the couch or the dog bed in the house and keep you company. Yes, they still need exercise and depending on the age of the dog and what physical condition they are in they can still lead a fairly active lifestyle of hiking or biking or running or skijoring with their owners. Additionally, working dogs will generally have a healthy history of exercise and diet, and you can expect reasonable longevity depending upon the age of transition. I have been very impressed and blessed with the support and netThe Outdoor Gazette
one of those magical days on the water when he couldn’t keep the fish of the business end of his fly rod.
Blues, stripers and albies (false albacore) where right on schedule. The outgoing morning tide brought birds and stripers on the surface. Around 10:00 am the bay was full of albies chasing rain bait and they were willing takers for a simple clouser pattern. The incoming afternoon tide brought decent size blues up on Mashnee flats and it was just a blast. So of course the next morning I mentioned that he should try for the inshore slam and the bet was on. Dinner of course was the wager and although I like a good bet as much as the next guy, I was hoping it would be my treat. By noon we had over two dozen stripers to the boat with a few being a keeper size of at least 28” inches. As we headed out to the open bay the albies were in the same place chasing the same bait. This looked like landing the inshore slam might be fairly easy. One problem,
they wouldn’t take anything at first. After repeated fly changes we finally found one that worked and the second part of the slam was in the boat. If you have ever caught a false alba-
green Surf Candy® striper fly he let out a perfect cast. Boom, a large boil and the fight was on. Problem was it didn’t jump or shake its head in the typical bluefish manner. A rather large scup came in the boat and we both got a big laugh on that one. A scup is a great eating fish, but not considered a game fish. More like a panfish if there ever was one in the ocean. Well maybe it was the inshore slam jinx in full swing. I’m not sure but what a difference a day makes. Don’t get me wrong by my count 27 fish came in the boat that day, but we never caught that one bluefish to celebrate one of the coveted inshore slam’s of Cape Cod. By the way I bought the beers and he bought the dinner. It was fantastic day on the waters of Buzzards Bay so I guess we both came out winners that day.
core you will understand when I say we stayed a little too long with that school. Nothing peels line of your reel like a big albie. Now it was getting towards the end of the charter when we finally found some birds working the incoming tide. Switching up to a bite guard and a
Capt. John Curry grew up in Rehobeth, MA and summered on the Cape mainly in the Bass River area. He has over 30 years of fishing and boating on Cape Cod and Rhode Island waters. Currently living in W. Yarmouth and summers in Bourne. He runs a sportfishing business on tha Cape, visit his website www.capefishing.net.
from previous page
work of kennels and people we have obtained dogs from. It almost seems like a bumper-to-bumper lifetime of support should any questions or issues come up. I can honestly say I have a relationship with each and every kennel we have obtained dogs from, and from time to time will be in contact with them about how their puppy is doing. We have a strong mantra in the mushing community – It’s all about the dogs. Allan & Suzanne Tschorn have a kennel of 16 purebred Siberians in Sandgate, Vermont. They have acquired, adopted or bought 4 adult dogs as “no longer racing” racing dogs or mild rescue dogs. Those lucky dogs have found a home forever, and are valuable part of the fabric of Tsan Tsulan Siberians.
July 2012
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Southern Side Up By Alex Cote
The Porcupine Buck
I parked the truck in a spot where I thought it would be far enough away from the hidden green field. I grabbed my front stuffer, possible bag, threw on my jacket and headed for the secluded field. It was late in the afternoon, and I knew that if I hurried home from work, I could catch the last 45 minutes of the afternoon hunt. To get into the field, I had to cross a planting of pine trees maybe 50 feet wide and then go through a smaller long maybe 30 yard wide opening of sorts. Then there was a stonewall with a mature stand of oaks before entering the field that I had planned to sit on. As I came through the pine stand, I was trying to see through to the big field. For reasons unknown to me, I looked down. Probably it was a good thing, there sat a fair sized porcupine directly under my feet! I jumped and so did the porky! I never saw him and I guess he didn’t see me ether! We scared the daylights out of each other apparently. My heart was in my throat. I was
having a hard time catching my breath he startled my so. I watched him waddle off and I made my way to the stonewall. As I approached
the wall seeking a spot to perch, I was startled by hoof beats on solid ground. As I gathered my senses, I watched three deer exit the field to my left. Thinking that they were
gone for the evening, or at least until after dark, I rearranged some rocks to create a comfortable seating arrangement for future use. Having a meeting the next afternoon, it would be a couple of days before I
could return. Two days later, parked in the same spot. Went the same way into the field. Who do I run into again, but none other Mr. Prickly pants himself. I wasn’t really expecting to see him again but oh well, he was almost in the same spot where he had been before. Get up to my rock seat and there were deer already in the field like the time before. I saw them, they saw me, and away they went waving bye bye! I thought I detected antlers but couldn’t swear to it. Poured buckets the next two days, didn’t bother to even try to get out. Two evenings later, back to the field. Same routine, even the porcupine knew the drill! He was right where he was supposed to be, waiting for me to show my ugly face! Yep, even the deer were there too! And this time, one of them most definitely had antlers. They weren’t
huge but he was a definite shooter. Before I was able to get the gun up, there were gone, vanished into thin air, Ghosts, figments of my imagination I guess! I hung out until dark anyway but the deer never returned. A house project kept me away for the next afternoon but I was there the one after that. Like the times before the porky was waiting to pay his respects. After a brief greeting, I cautiously made my way towards the field. There on the far edge, stood the buck I had seen before. I needed to get closer. I inched my way along the wall to the lower edge of the field trying to stay out of sight from the big guy. When I came to the field’s end, I tried to see the deer in the field but he was nowhere to be found. I was a little dejected to say the least. Compounding the issue, there was another truck parked in the area, I thought the dance was over! Next night, same as the night before, even the other truck! Something told me that this was it, this was the night. Mr. Pork was waiting, chewing away and just giving me a LOOK! But as I approached the edge of the field, there was NO DEER! Now what? Do I sit where I was or do I go to the end of the field where the deer had been twice now? I heard a slight rustling in the leaves behind me. There was my answer! The porcupine had followed me and was almost instant that I was on his rock pile so get the hell out! I went to the end of the field. I hadn’t sat but ten minutes and out strolled the buck! It was the night! Alex Cote resides in Deerfield New Hampshire. He is on the Pro Staff for Northwood's Common Scents! He is also a scorer for the NHASTC. Alex and his son spend as much time outdoors as possible and he only works when he has to.
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Dean Vanier • PO Box 1327 • Lebanon, NH 03766 • 603 523-9206
July 2012
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The Gazette’s Book Review THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO WATERFOWLING IN MAINE By Bob Newman Silver Quill Press, 1995 137 pages, $13.95 ISBN: 0-89272-366-1 (pbk.) Reviewed by Colonel J.C. Allard Deer hunting takes precedence in New England. Ruffed g rouse, locally called “partridge,” is another hunter’s favorite. The annual moose hunt garners a lot of media attention, but only a fortunate few win the yearly permit lottery. Unlike the rice fields of Arkansas or the great Chesapeake Bay region, or even the lake country of the upper mid-west, waterfowling remains much less well known than deer, grouse, moose or even turkey hunting here in New England. Yet New England offers some prime waterfowling, both in terms of habitat to hunt and
the diversity of ducks and geese that either inhabit the region or pass through along fall migration routes. The many islets of Lake Champlain in Ver mont and New York are fine spots to hunt. Merrymeeting Bay at the confluence of the Androscoggin and Kennebec Rivers in Maine
may hold the greatest number of ducks and geese north of Chesapeake Bay. Great Bay in southeast New Hampshire is another rival for the Chesapeake or the barrier islands of North Carolina. Add to all of the above sea duck hunting off the coast and great fowling opportunities on the thousands of ordinary lakes, ponds, marshes and upcountry bogs, and New England offers some brilliant potential for anyone seeking some very exciting hunting prospects. Back in 1995, Bob Newman captured part of the New England Waterfowling scene with his outstanding guidebook, The Complete Guide to Waterfowling in Maine. In just 137 pages, Bob Newman’s words and Susan Newman’s illustrations capture everything from Maine’s g reat shooting locations, proven techniques and equipment, as well as
TOG Hunting and Fishing Solunar Tables
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July 2012
insights into common waterfowl descriptions and behaviors. Newman also discusses what to look for in a retrieving dog, shotguns and ammunition, and even offers some recipes for preparing duck entrées. In the straight forward, uncluttered prose of a man who has spent his personal and professional life outdoors, Waterfowling in Maine captures what the novice or old hand needs to know. Displaying a total lack of an author’s proprietary nature, Newman devotes one chapter to the opinions of fellow Maine writers and duck hunters Tom Seymour and Wilmot “Wiggie” Robinson. At its heart, this is a book about sharing: the sharing of a lifetime’s worth of hunting experience, including the details of place and map references; the sharing of good times with the best of friends – dogs included; and sharing this fine writing project between the husband and wife creators. The result captivates and inspires without overt sentimentality. Newman allows his practical advice and the benefit of his considerable experience to f low through with just enough story telling to snag and hold the reader’s interest. Waterfowling in Maine is a guidebook that reads easily, its facts, figures and advice connected by the larger story of duck hunting in Maine. Fortunately for the wider audience, the tactics, techniques and procedures outlined in Waterfowling in Maine apply elsewhere, especially across the reaches of New England. Any hunter trying to lear n or improve their fowling abilities will benefit from this book. In fact, they ought to buy two copies – one for reading at home by the fire, and the other to carry in the pocket of a favorite parka for a ready reference in the blind or boat. Though small and now over 15 years old, it remains a powerful, little source book.
Col. J.C. Allard lives in Pittsfield, NH about 20 miles north by east of Concord. “We're in the shadow of the Belknap mountains here, but we can see Mt. Washington on a clear day”. Page 31
From the back of a canoe Flows and small flies
Rivers flows can be an obsession with river guides and a lot of anglers who follow flow conditions on rivers. Checking email and the United States Geological Service USGS flow conditions are the first and last things I do everyday. Here’s the link for NH and Vermont: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nh/nwis/current/?t ype=flow. If we don’t have access to a PC there’s phone numbers. Unfortunately my guiding partner Gerry leapfrogged me with an app on his Smartphone that displays the flows; RiverF lows it is from Subalpine technologies. I don’t carry a cell phone but usually have it in the Jeep and sometimes on the river if there’s cell coverage. In an emergency a cell phone can come in handy. I’ve only had one instance when a cell phone would have been useful; there was no coverage where we were. Things turned out OK but I added another item to my checklist for clients. Flows, like the weather, are usually underestimated by inexperienced people using rivers to canoe, kayak, boat and fish. Experienced people can get in just as much trouble and often more. Recreationalists using rivers for extreme sports are no different than hikers, rock and ice climbers. They are aware of the dangers; usually well prepared, experienced and confident in their ability. Accidents happen; I’ve pulled people out of the water from canoes, kayaks and boats and seen a lot of anglers take the plunge wading. Anything can be life threatening; I pulled two anglers out when their boat capsized; they came close to not making it. When you’re on a river and unexpected weather occurs you need to be prepared for the con-
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By Jim Norton
sequences. Whenever there’s a thunderstorm I get off the river and wait it out. Usually storms
took the bridge out on the Wild River on Route 113, a bridge on Route 2 and another near Sunday River. That’s not a day I would have wanted to be on the
roll through in 30-60 minutes or less. Sometimes there can be several storms in a day. On one trip on the Androscoggin below
Androscoggin below the Wild River. The missing bridge was a reminder for over a year detouring traffic miles around Route
Shelburne; we were under a tarp in a torrential downpour and one of the clients asked if I have ever been forced off the river by a flash flood; the answer was no. A few weeks later a quick hitting storm dumped several inches of rain in the same area, The Wild River went from 50 CFS (Cubic Feet per Second) to 10,000. It
113 to the Androscoggin from our camp in Brownfield Maine. There are lots of factors to consider on any river. One is the source; is the river dam controlled or free flowing. I’ve been on the Androscoggin below Errol when a dam release has raised the river a few feet almost instantaneously. Once I had anchored
July 2012
below a small island; two clients were wading about ten or fifteen feet from the boat. When I realized the river was rising it was a struggle to get the anglers into the boat. When anchored there has to be enough anchor line out so the boat will not lift and drift down river. A tight line and the boat would have been gone. When a river rises a foot or two getting anglers back in the boat is not easy. Gerry was wading two anglers several miles down river. The increase was not as noticeable but he realized the river was rising and it was a struggle to get the anglers to the bank. Memorial Day evening we were wading the Androscoggin; thunder was rumbling in the distance and we fished until dark. A series of thunderstorms started when we got off the water and were almost continuous until 10am the next morning. Heavy rain was not forecasted but it poured all night. The next day the flow at the dam had not changed and we put in at Mollidgewock Campground. The flow was a little above normal when we put in. Clear Stream running high and discoloring the river. Tributaries were flooded and pumping water into the river. We only fished a mile or so and I hitched a ride to the Jeep to pull the boat out around 3:30; by 4 the storms returned and continued all night. The next day we were able to fish the river between the dam and Clear Stream; the flow remained steady until late in the afternoon when the flow increased. Sometimes you can fish below a dam to the next large tributary when the rest of the river is flooded. Sometimes they hold water back to keep from flooding down river. There’s a time when they have to release water; that’s not the time to be fishing the section below a dam. Some dams have sirens but
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The Outdoor Gazette
Behind the Sights By Charlie Chalk
The Golden Era
To form a foundation of the study of muzzle loading, we will take a brief tour of the history of rifles in America. From this; we can see the evolution that has brought the muzzleloading rifle through the centuries, view its limited technological advances and perhaps understand its modern revival. The American rifle was a product of European development. Those who were firearm makers in Central Europe moved to Pennsylvania in the early 1700’s, and continued their craft, with some changes to meet a growing nation. Our game was different and so were the forests they lived in. The need for a smaller caliber that was capable of killing at longer ranges became the criteria for what would be called the Pennsylvania longrifle. Their style evolved from the European hunting rifle and early models were called “transitional”. By the middle to late 1700’s we were in what was called the “Golden Era”. This is the most common of all styles, and is most often referred to as Pennsylvania or ‘Kentucky’ longrifle. These style changes are often the only clue as to the age of a longrifle, because early makers did not sign their works. The typical slender, brass mounted rifle with carved maple stock is the best example of an arm made sometime in the golden era. It should also be noted that this new rifle was not created by one man, in one place. While there are common features to most longrifles, individual makers made subtle changes in things like patch boxes, sights and even woodcarving. It must have been common to share their new ideas with other local makers, because styles were attributed to specific counties in Pennsylvania. Common styles were Lancaster,
if you’re in rapids it can be hard to hear. There was one pool where fish were rising and taking something just under the surface. There didn’t appear to be any flies on the surface but there were a lot of small black caddis; about size 16 on the rocks. We tried a caddis emerger as a dropper with a caddis as an indicator; most of the fish took the emerger. Sometimes large fish will take small flies. The largest rainbow this year was on a size #18 emerger. By looking at the charts it’s easy to see the effect on a river below
The Outdoor Gazette
Bucks, Reading and so forth. From these general styles, some individual
work of art, with intricate carvings and floral motifs. All of this artwork was done in backwoods gun shops, with primitive hand tools. Such
makes may stand out for their unique work. For example; Lancaster County had my personal favorite maker, Isaac Haines. Other known Lancaster gunsmiths would be Dickert, Miller and Henry. Returning to our original discussion of what made up the Pennsylvania rifle, we must focus first on the barrel. Early guns had been octagon at the breech with a transition to round. These new guns were octagon throughout. Often they tapered toward the muzzle and some finished with a slight flair. This look provided not only style but aided in reducing weight of these lone barreled guns. Tapers were from 1 inch at the breech to 7/8 at the muzzle, with a few exceptions. Calibers were from .35 to .60, with 6 to 8 grooves and one turn in forty to one in seventy inches. These barrels were set in highly figured maple, often carved and inlaid with brass that was engraved. The patch box became a
work is a marvel, even in our modern world. The artwork was short lived, because by the 1830’s our industrialized nation began to produce factory guns. Leman Rifle Works of Lancaster and Henry Rifle of Bolton, Pennsylvania are early pioneers of this production. Such companies would force individual makers out of the business and into these factories. In the thirty years before the Civil War, most small makers would disappear from the trade. This was also the beginning of the uniform look of rifles. The barrels were still octagon, but not flared or tapered, the stocks became a plain maple, often half-stocks, with iron butt plates and trigger guard. In the era of mass production, the quality existed but the artistry faded. This era also saw a rise in popularity of the new percussion lock. Perfected in London in the year of 1807, the percussion was common by 1830. Gunsmiths were able to
convert existing flint locks to percussion by changing the hammer and removing the pan, which was replaced by a percussion drum and nipple. This seems to have been a big part of the old gunsmiths work in the early percussion era. Many would even advertise their ability to perform such conversions. While the frontier was expanding westward, the gunsmiths were going the same way. Shops appeared in Ohio, Indiana, Missouri and all of the other areas where civilization existed. They were producing a new heavy barreled gun of large caliber, able to take the large game animals of the West. Very few Pennsylvania gunsmiths are known to have produced this type of gun, but it is assumed that many master gun makers would have apprenticed in the early Pennsylvania shops. Taking a leap forward to today, we see factories still producing simple, utilitarian rifles to meet the needs of modern sportsmen. Thompson/Center, Lyman and CVA are the replacements for Leman Rifle Works. Our steels are better, our locks are different, and our stocks very plain, but like factories of old, they produce a functional rifle that everyone can afford. The custom gunsmiths still exist. Producing a few guns a year, they hold on to tradition and keep it alive. They copy the originals of Isaac Haynes and J.P. Beck. Their work is considered art. I would like to think that if an old gunsmith could come back, he would say “thank you” to those who keep alive the muzzleloading rifle. Charlie Chalk is an outdoor writer and has a background as a professional Firefighter and is a member of the American Mountain Men, an organization that emulates the life of the fur trappers of the 1800's and their survival on the land.
from previous page
a dam like the Androscoggin and a free flowing river like the Saco. Both can fluctuate several feet with flash flooding, which can occur several times a year. The end result of the flooding was four-canceled trip. As Special Agent OSO would say; it’s all part of the plan more or less. In the end it all balances out. Jim a native of New Hampshire enjoys fly-fishing & tying, bird hunting and a variety of other outdoor activities and is a registered NH fishing Guide www.nhriversguide.com and author of the book Granite Lines. July 2012
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A Waterfowler's Perspective Tailgating your hunt
You just had a successful hunt and you & your buddies are back to the truck. Instead of just piling in and heading to a local restaurant for breakfast maybe
this time you cook your harvest right there. It can’t get any fresher than breasting out your ducks & geese and cooking them on the tailgate after the hunt in the field. Here’s an easy recipe for crispy
By Brian Bouchard
duck & goose nuggets that your fellow hunters will enjoy. Like the hunt, proper preparation is important. Make sure you are equipped with a portable propane stove that sits nicely on the tailgate. You will need a sturdy skillet to cook the duck & geese in. Having a lid is nice to cut down on splatter. Key is to have everything ready to go so there is no fumbling and stumbling. Not a bad idea to try the whole process before hand at home once. Like shooting, practice makes perfect. Well maybe not perfect but makes you better. You can get creative and change up your ingredients to your liking. Hence, the reason to try it at home a few times first. Once you make this a few times it gets even easier and more fun. This will make for a quick snack after the hunt that doesn’t take long and gets everyone involved. Include the kids if you want and they are wiling. You can let them
Here is what you will need:
Ingredients: ( will be enough for 8 breasts or so ) 2 Cups of Flour 2 Cups of Milk 1 Tablespoon of Paprika 1 Teaspoon of Nutmeg 1 Tablespoon of Black Pepper 1 Tablespoon of Salt 1 Teaspoon of Allspice 2 - 4 cups Vegetable or Peanut Oil (enough to cook with to cover meat ) The process:
1. While cleaning the birds heat up the oil in skillet. Start on low then turn up. 2. Breast out enough birds to eat, be sure to rinse off & clean with fresh water. 3. Cube up the breasts into 1 inch chunks. Having a cutting board handy helps. 4. Mix the flour and the spices together into a 1 gallon zip lock bag prior to the hunt. 5. Pour the milk into another 1 gallon zip lock bag prior to hunt or leave in quart jug. 6. Put the meat chunks in the bag of milk, zip up tight and mix it up. 7. Remove chunks from milk, let drip off and then put in flour mix bag and shake up. 8. Mix up the breasts in the flour mix again if needed to ensure it has a good coating. 9. Carefully add duck & goose chunks to the oil to avoid a painful splash. 10. Cook for 3 minutes or so. You will be able to tell if cooked enough. 11. Remove from oil and place on a paper towel to drain. Season with salt if desired. shake up the meat chunks in the flour or have them help rinse off the birds before you put into milk. This will really bring the whole experience together for them. You can make this recipe anytime of year that you want some fried waterfowl nuggets. If your going to make it at home as recommended above. Take the chunks and soak them in the milk over night. It helps to tenderize the meat even more and will be ready for the flour mix. Just make sure to pat down the meat with a paper towel before you mix in the flour so it’s not to wet. For a tasty dipping sauce you can use sweet & sour sauce or any dipping sauce you prefer
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that you can buy in store. Or make your own. Simply pour sauce onto a few plates for dipping. Multiple plates keep the guys from double dipping you. Key for those who didn’t wash their hands after the hunt. I can assure you that if you whip out a stove and make your hunting buddies a post hunt meal you will never get left at home. I have been hunting deer and predators for over 30 years. Turkey for 15 years. Waterfowl for the past 10 years. Owner of Fields Bay Outfitters. I Live in St Albans VT with my wife Michele and our 2 sons Dillon & Kyle and our 2 labs Tyson & Remi.
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July 2012
Page 35
Twin State Bassin’ 2012 Moore Dam Tournament
This year like all others had me pumped and ready to go. I didn’t prefish or have any pre-conceived notions other than a game plan, which I thought, was solid. I would start each day up river around the grass and few points looking for aggressive feeding bass and northerns and then I move back down river and spend late morning into afternoon fishing main lake points and humps. I said I thought it was a solid game plane because the water was low again this year, the grass and weed beds I was going to fish were hay fields and the points and humps didn’t have nearly as much water on them as I had hoped. Day 1: Today was more of a search day than anything considering my game plane went out the window right from the start. I found a group of smallmouth early busting tiny minnows or some kind in the back of a cove and I boated 3 keepers right off quick on a crankbait. All 3 were less than 16 inches and even on a tough day I knew they wouldn’t make it so all were released. The minnows how
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By Danny Webster
ever should have been a clue and because I am so stubborn I didn’t go to it until the third day. The zoom tiny fluke in an albino color turned out to be a perfect match and rigged with a nose hook on a drop shot was a deadly combo. But, like I said I waited to the last day to do this. I spend the first day pretty much covering water with a crankbait and when I would find bass I soaked the area with a shaky head jig and a 4-inch finesse worm. Usually the shaky head is deadly on this place but this year I couldn’t buy a bite, at least nothing worth catching would eat it. It did how ever put a hurtin on the rock bass population, which gave me false hope that a bass would at some point eat it. I tried every point I could find and there wasn’t much activity on them, it didn’t seem to matter if it was up river or on the main lake the points didn’t have the numbers or size they often do. By the end of day 1 I think we boated around 20 bass or so, I think I boated somewhere in the area of 7 northerns none were longer than 18
inches. I didn’t see a big smallmouth or pike all day. I think my biggest mistake this year was falling in love with the crankbait bite, it’s hard to put that rod down for because they hit a crankbait so hard. It triggers strike and they’re violent. Although I didn’t
This young eagle enjoyed the Moore Dam tournamnet as well. You can’t see it but he has a nice trout in his grasp.
find what I was looking for on day one I did eliminate some water, which cut the river down a little. The plan for day two was starting to take form and I would start on the main lake and then move up river after fishing one of my favorite spots on the reservoir. Day 2: Dad was going with me on day two, he couldn’t fish the first day because of work and he would miss the third because he wasn’t feeling well. We were on the water by 4 and on our spot by 4:15. Dad was starting out with a top water bait and I was throwing a crankbait. Neither of us started out good, dad ended up wrapping his line around my running light rod giving him one of the worst back lashes either of us had ever seen. Even though I felt bad it happened I will admit I was laying on the floor of the boat crying I was laughing so hard!! Once I got my composure back and could see again I spun the boat and started working some of the deeper rock that was there. I think it was between my third-fifth cast and I hooked up with something solid. It smashed the crankbait and I had a good feeling it was a smallmouth. I got it within 10 feet of the boat and my line went slack, I lost another good one on a crankbait. Counting day one that was the 6th or 7th bass I lost on a crankbait, and of the ones I got a look at only one wasn’t a keeper. This one felt like a 2 1/2 to 3 pounder, I never got a look at it and it could have been a small northern but it acted like a smallmouth. I reeled the crankbait in as fast as I could and changed out the hooks. There was nothing with the hooks as far as rust or sharpness but the rear hook was
July 2012
one designed for crankbaits that I usually change out on these baits because I’ve never had good luck. For some reason I cant figure out I decided to try it during the tournament and it cost me, no matter how big it was it still wouldn’t have ended up placing but losing bass isn’t something I like. I changed out that hook and put a triple grip on, I never lost another bass all weekend on that bait. Dad and I fished this spot and boated quite a few bass and saw a few busting bait up shallow. We couldn’t get them to eat anything so I told about the bass I found the day before and we decided to head back up river. When we got there a friend of mine was putting one in his live well. It was about a 16 incher and he didn’t think it would place but he weren’t taking any chances with it being so tough. We chatted for a few minutes and then went back to fishing. Again this area was getting pounded by bass chasing minnows, and dad put on a clinic with a senko. He boated 4 keepers in 6 cast and boated 8 bass in about 15 cast. I boated a solid 14 1/2 on a crankbait and then all of a sudden my bass bait turned into a perch bait. This did not impress me, so I started throwing a swimbait which got some incredible strikes but nothing hooked up. We stayed on these bass as long as we could and then they moved on or stopped feeding. We made a short move and found another group of bass feeding on these little white minnows. These ones were in a foot of water and it was much clearer. All the bass looked to be between 2 and 3 pounds and there were 12 to 15 of them. We threw everything but the sink at them, these bass were locked on these minnows and I think that’s all they were going to eat. We made another short move, which didn’t amount to much but we saw something that was amazing. We saw a juvenile eagle with what looked like about a 15-inch trout sitting on a tree and 3 branches above him was an osprey that was squawking and squealing at the eagle. The eagle held his ground and after five to ten minutes the osprey flew away. Its not very often you have a bird this size this close to you and to have two of them was amazing. A great memory dad I will remember for a long time. After we had watched the birds for a while we made a move back down river and dad continued to crush bass on a senko and a drop shot. I was stubborn as usual and waited until about the last hour before I gave in and grabbed the drop shot rod. I started catching bass almost immediately, but they were small. I think some of the perch I caught on a The Outdoor Gazette
Trail Camera Photo Contest Sponsored by Chadwick’s Trail Cams
ets rattle snake John Stull of PA- deer me
John Stull of PA with a few pics of a Northern NH sow and her 4 cub
s
e, Vermont -his turkey Tom Hathorne, West Fairle
crankbait were bigger than most of the bass I caught on the drop shot. I have no idea how bass dad boated the second day, I know it was a lot and he caught 6 or 7 that were keepers. Day two came to an end and I decided that I wasn’t going to stick with the crankbait the last day. I would use it to search, but if it didn’t get bit quick, I was putting it down. Day 3: Like I mentioned in the beginning dad wasn’t feeling well and didn’t think he would fish the third day. Samantha would fish it with me the last day and today I thought I might be able to get a keeper on the drop shot. We started on dads and my spot and we boated several 14 inchers quick. Mine were on a crankbait and hers were on a drop shot. This was her first weekend using it and she picked up fast, she boated about 10 bass by the end of the day and at least that many rock bass. I had to keep reminding that this place is full of small fish you have to work to find the good ones, don’t give up just keep plugging away. Samantha too is stubborn, she refuses to throw a wacky rigged senko. Myself, I hate fishing wacky style, it’s way to effective and bass can’t help but eat it. I burned myself out on it when I first used learned it, it was all I threw and I got sick of it. One thing is for sure though, it has to be the best method ever for catching bass. Anyone can use it and everyone catches bass on it no matter what your skill level is. Samantha and I covered water all The Outdoor Gazette
ll
decoys work for bear as we
John Stull of PA - all four cubs in one picture.
..pretty cool
day looking for feeding bass, the problem this year for me doing this was the bass weren’t grouped up like normal. They were in small wolf packs or just scattered around. I spent the afternoon fishing a drop shot with a tiny fluke, this should have been what I was throwing all weekend because the bass just biting they were eating this the way you want them too. I definitely found the bait and presentation for the weekend, to bad it was at the end because I know on the first day I was around the right size bass. Fishing this tournament is a challenge and that’s why I keep coming back, I struggle there sometimes to find them and put the pieces together but that’s what fishing is and how you get better. I’m going to start spending a lot more time on the river and try to learn how they move and relate to water level changes. I try to learn something knew every year and it seems I’m over looking something, every year I do the best the last day because I down size my presentations and put down the big baits. I guess what I learned most this year is the same thing I learn every year there, feed them what they want not what you want to throw! Danny Webster of Groton, Vermont -You won’t find a guys who loves to bass fish more than he does. Look for the Outdoor Gazette shirts on the bass waters of the twin states and when you see him , stop and swap a few fishing stories.
July 2012
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The Maine Hunter By Steve Beckwith
Lessons in the Woods of the Maine Hunter
The lessons in the woods in my life prepared me for the future Maine Hunter I have become. I remember back when I was in my early twenties and hunting deer in southern Maine was quite a challenge. Deer were not as plentiful and working Monday through Friday with only weekends and holidays to hunt was the case for many hunters! With about 5-7 days off per deer season, I used to be a weekend warrior just like most folks forced to work the 9-5 job. This added to the challenge of being successful at putting venison in the freezer. Prescouting was the key for opening day success. It always gave me better odds at harvesting my deer during the opening days of the season. Years that I could not scout pre-season, I hoped and prayed for snow, often times I was not successful until I had tracking snow on the ground. But, because I was a weekend warrior if I had a tag that allowed “any deer”, that’s just what I shot each year; any deer! Of course I would shoot the biggest buck when I raised my rifle, but if a fat doe was all there was in the bunch down she went, I never found a good recipe for antlers and I love to cook and eat big game In Maine the rifle season typically ends Thanksgiving weekend and on this year the first snow came for Thanksgiving day and I had Thursday – Saturday off from work! I knew I had to get on a track until either a deer was on the ground or I died trying! The Saturday before my gun had fallen off the truck seat next to me onto the floor banging down through the stick shifts, I saw no physical damage to the gun and shrugged it off.
My rifle this year was a .308 Winchester model 100 it was sporting a Bushnell 1.5 x 4.5 variable scope, I simply picked it up off the floor and put it back on the seat
The Maine Hunter with one more for the freezer!
next to me and headed for home that day. I hunted hard all Thursday and Friday on the track of many a good buck, each giving me the slip. But after two days of tracking deer across swamps, thickets and mountains, it was all being recorded into the back of my mind and ready for the last days hunt. It was the last day and I had a good idea where to find the group of deer that the big buck had been chasing during the previous nights. I was setting out now to take any deer, it was the last day! Of course I got on a fresh buck track first thing in the morning and he danced me around the piece of woods all day long, weaving me in and out of the tracks of the two prior days in this area. This made staying on this particular big buck quite difficult. At noon I went back to the truck and had lunch on the tailgate, the sun
was out hot and the melting snow was falling off the trees and down my neck, but the noise from falling snow was now working to my advantage. My walking was now masked and the snow was softening making my walking undetectable to even the ears of the oldest buck in the woods. I knew that this afternoon was creating the perfect conditions for walking up on an unsuspecting deer. After lunch I headed back into the area where I knew the deer would head. It wasn’t long before the new fallen snow from the trees was showing me fresh tracks leading me to a known oak ridge feeding area. The deer were using the wind to navigate the wispy sapling edges and I knew that there was about a two-acre hemlock bog the deer will hang out in before entering the open hardwood ridge in the late afternoon. The wind was blowing perfect and I needed to beat them there. So I circled the oak stand on the opposite side using the hemlocks and swamp edges to move to the hemlock stand. Just as I had expected there was no sign of recent deer activity at all in the hemlocks. This was my cue and I knew I would be seeing deer before dark. I hadn’t been standing in the hemlocks long, when I saw the antlers of a real nice 10 point buck cresting a small knoll at about 60 yards away, the rifle snapped to my shoulder. This buck came to the top of the knoll and turned broadside presenting me the perfect shot at 3:30 PM on the last day of the season! I fired and the deer just stood there, I assumed he was hit and going to fall over but something triggered me to fire another round into him, when I did, I then noticed my .308 bullet clipping off hemlock branches two feet over the back of the deer and the big buck took off. As I was standing there in total disbelief that I had missed a huge buck broadside, twice, and with only about thirty minutes of hunting left for the season, I was to say the least discouraged! I had just popped out my clip to reload, when I heard a shot in the direction the buck had taken off toward, my
heart sank once again. But I again was on alert from a close by gunshot. Just about that time, on the same knoll the buck was on, a large doe appeared, but she was coming down over the knoll straight at me in a trot, I raised my gun aimed at her brisket and fired, she went down in a heap. She was kicking around more then usual so I quickly made my way over to her to see that she had been hit two feet high, dead center down her back with the bullet lodged below her tail bone. The bullet had traveled down her spine taking out about 10 inches of her backbone. This deer was very much alive and I quickly dispatched her with a final shot at point blank range. Still in disbelief that I had missed and shot so high I headed for the range the next day to find my guns scope was knocked off two feet high at 100 yards. The fall off my truck seat evidently caused my scope to get out of whack. It was dead on, left and right, but shooting two feet high! This explained the miss of the big buck that got away from me and fell to the sights of another hunter. I met the lucky hunter at the tagging station and we joked how we shot and pushed deer to each other that day, the buck weighed 190 lbs with a very nice 10 point rack and the doe I shot weighed 138 lbs, these two deer made for a great end to both these Maine hunter’s seasons and although I was disappointed the buck was not wearing my tag, I was thankful I was The Maine Hunter; one that appreciates meat in the freezer that feeds my family! Steve Beckwith is a Registered Maine Guide, ThermaCELL Pro Staff, and owns these owns these websites: • MaineGuideCourse.com • MaineHunters.com • CoyoteCrosshairs.com • MoosePermit.com • MaineGuidedHunts.com He is a life member, editor and webmaster of the North Berwick Rod and Gun Club. A videographer, website designer and internet entrepreneur with his online portfolio located at MultitaskWebsites.com, Steve can be reached through any of his websites.
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Pictures Gone Wild Our reader submitted photos
Norman Couture checked this big tom in at the Bakersfield General store in Bakersfield, Vermont. The Big Bird tipped the scales at 21 lbs, had a 9 1/4 inch beard and 1 1/8 inch spurs.
Quincy Decker with his 2012 Vermont longbeard. Quincy's tom weighed 18 lbs 5 oz, has a 10 inch beard and one inch spurs....Photo courtesy of the Bakersfield General Store (Bakersfield VT )
Allison Grevais, also checked her turkey in at the Bakersfield General Store. Allison's bird was 18 lbs 2 oz. , had an 8 1/4 inch beard and 3/4 inch spurs.
Left - Jacob Tyler of Grantham, New Hampshire, 13, and (above) brother Noah, 10, enjoy some bass fishng success.
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July 2012
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July 2012
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