Monday, September 24, 2018

Double on Muskie!!

The muskie fishing adventures this year have numbered less than anticipated, but the trips we did take were productive.  Our first outing of the year rewarded us with three toothy beauties, including the first of the year over 40", but it was the second trip which really set the stage.  A friend, Josh, was visiting from Connecticut and his heart was set on hooking into a muskie.  As we pushed the canoe off the rocky shoreline, something just felt right and we wasted no time in wetting our lines.  An hour into the trip I was second guessing myself about it feeling right when Josh let out an exclamation as the rod tip came alive and dipped hard towards the water.  Ecstatic we slipped the 36" fish into the net and headed for shore for some proper pictures.  As we finished taking pictures and watched as the released fish slipped back to the depths, I decided I would try a couple casts as well since mission was accomplished.  We had just pushed off and Brent and I both let go with long casts.  The second my lure hit the water, it was followed with an explosion as I hooked onto a fish.  I had not even had time to exclaim, "Fish On!", when I heard Brent issue the same proclamation.  Turning I saw his rod was bent over as well.  A Double on Muskie!!!!  This was something I had heard of and even saw a YouTube video or two on, but had never experienced.  Brent quickly boxed his 37" fish towards the canoe and made quick work of getting it in the net.  He generously offered to release his fish without so much as a picture to free up the net for my fish, but I was feeling like taking a risk and we decided to gamble and try to get both fish in the net.  I played the fish for a bit longer and as it passed under my seat, I couldn't help but notice the fishes' girth or what I call "shoulders".  It was an impressive fish and I was starting to regret my suggestion of trying to put two fish in the net, but with a quick swoop and some teamwork with Josh and Brent holding the net, I made one final swing of the rod and guided it beside it's comrade and it was done, a double landed.  To top the sweetness of the double, the fished stretched comfortably past the 43 1/2" mark making my personal best fish.  After some picture taking and celebration we released those two beauties for another day.  Not to be outdone, Josh produced a 43 1/2" fish after less than 10 minutes of starting to fish again.  A truly gorgeous fish that would make just about anybody happy, but throw it in as a second ever musky on your first morning of muskie fishing and I think Josh might want to retire from his musky fishing career, because I am pretty sure we won't be able to replicate that again any time soon.  After exhausting our time limits, we headed back to the landing, but we had to stop for my famous "One last cast", when Brent hooked up with the 5th fish of the morning.  A skipper compared to our prior fish that day, but on an ordinary day a fun treat.  The muskie derby was coming soon, and I'll chronicle that adventure in a separate post, so stay tuned.










Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Spring Adventure - St. John River Canoe Trip

Early spring found our vehicle pointed into the North Maine Woods with a canoe strapped to the top.  Our destination was some of the upper reaches of the St. John River.  I love the St. John River and have spent countless hours on the lower stretches before it crosses completely into Canada, but I had never been on the upper portion, so I was really looking forward to checking out some new country.  We were also fortunate enough to be going with some really great people who knew the country like the back of their hands, as well as it's very interesting history.  I won't bore everyone with my rambling musings as I don't believe the vocabulary exists to describe how cool of a trip this is, I will let the pictures do most of the talking, and I would challenge everyone to go check out the scenery and the history on this fabulous stretch of river.  I am definitely looking forward to extending our "river rat" territory to the entire length of the river, but in a slow and exploratory nature to really check out and experience the history that surrounds you in what seems like an untouched land.  The year of 2018 we covered from Red Pine to Seven Islands, with hopefully new areas in years to come!

The Launch at Red Pine



Plaque on Blanchet Bridge


The Makings of a Picnic Table


After Construction





Camille Beaulieu's Trapping Cabin


Evidence of a Long Ago Farm 


Steam Shovel Used for Major Construction Projects of the Day










Thursday, August 30, 2018

Bear Mount - Den Addition

I got last year's bear back from the taxidermist and the pictures don't do him justice, but he is a welcome addition.  Stay tuned as well as the skull will be getting officially scored very soon.




Trophy Room - Redo

For the faithful readers, you probably remember the post I had done about my tropy room/den/man cave or whatever other buzz word you want to use to call your special domain that houses a collection of items that help you relive your memories.  For those who don't remember, take a minute and check it out here:

Trophy Room ... Den ... Man Cave

Well to make a long story short, we had some drainage issues which ended up causing water/mold damage which totaled our finished basement, so after extensive ground work to correct the problem, we set forth on a journey to rebuild our den.  We started by removing absolutely everything back to the concrete and starting completely fresh. 
Here is an abbreviated photo journey through the process...









I am very happy with how it has progressed, regardless of how long and painful the process has been, and I look forward to adding to the modest accumulation of "trophies" and memories that are housed there.

Fast Forward to 2018

Posting has been minimal and for that I do apologize, but it hasn't been from lack of activities and spending our time on the ridges and the rivers that we named the blog after.  I will do a few rapid fire posts to bring everyone along our journey through the year to get everyone caught up.


Our fall was hectic and fur filled as we set steel in between our hunting outings and scratched that trapping itch.



We also visited this historic sporting camp with some really neat artwork that caught my eye!




A visit to Allagash to see the deer feeding was very productive in the deer spotting category and a giant buck fed nonchalantly at a mere 50 yards.  It is a very neat experience. 



We spent some time ice fishing and Drake really got hooked with his first solo salmon!


We also made our annual pilgrimage to Madawaska Lake for opening day and caught some nice stocked trout.  The camaraderie coupled with these "tail-less trout" is always a good time.  

As you can probably tell I am well into winter and past deer season, so you have probably already inferred the bad news, but the last item on my goals for 2017 of shooting a big buck never happened.  I did have some close encounters and put more time in the woods than I have in several years, so I hope I can use all of that time to point me in the right direction as the next season approaches!  Stay tuned for more adventures from 2018 coming soon!



Sunday, April 1, 2018

Bear Snaring 2017

Bear Trapping has been an ongoing adventure for me.  If you haven't been following along, you might want to take a minute and read the background stories of the last couple of years at the links below:

Bear Trapping 2015

Bear Trapping 2016

If you have been following along, we will jump right into it.

The 2017 bait season had me worried from the start.  I wasn't able to get bait delivered prior to the opening day of baiting and it took me almost a week past the baiting opener to get my bait sites baited.  Apparently that had given enough time for the bears to concentrate on other food sources as the first week went by without a bear visit.  Still plenty of raccoon kicking around, but a few less than last year as I had trapped several the fall before to enjoy their beautiful pelts.  Week two I was starting to get worried as there had still been no activity at the bait, but there was bear sign in the area, so I knew I was probably competing with other baiters as well as natural foods.  By week three I started panicking that I wouldn't get a bear to come in, but as the week progressed I reminded myself that it is a long season and I resigned myself to be patient.

The next week I had mixed emotions as bear showed up, but it was a sow with cubs, which for me is a scenario where I don't set my snare.  Then just as quickly as they had appeared they vanished and much to my relief two boars showed up.  One a young boar which wasn't really a target for me, but would have been an okay catch, and one beautiful boar that looked to me to be every bit of 250 pounds.  Much rejuvenated I readied my snare equipment and made sure everything was in order.  I had decided not to snare the first of the season since the weather was so warm, and the thought of processing a bear in that heat was not appealing.

The day came when I setup the snare like I had done all those many times for the last couple years before and walked away with hope.  The next day as I crept up over the ridge, I could see the bait was gone and the snare was fired, but I didn't see any black fur.  Sure enough, upon closer inspection the bear had triggered the snare but the loop had missed it's mark and hadn't gone onto it's foot.  Somewhat dejected as I had dealt with this in years past, I added some additional sticks in an attempt to guide the bears foot exactly where I wanted it.  For anyone saying it is easy, keep in mind I need to get that bear to step exactly on a spot only slightly larger than a coffee cup.  Night two I was eager with anticipation, but as I snuck up over the ridge the same scenario as the day before had played out, so I added a few more sticks and rocks to get him to step where I wanted.  As I approached the next morning to see the snare fired again, but no bear in sight, I decided I needed to step back a bit and rethink my strategy.  Looking at the trail I had so many little sticks and stones in an attempt to guide his every footstep, I decided a change was in order and I cleaned the trail back to wide open to simplify things.  I then found four sticks, two slightly bigger than the other two and placed the bigger two perpendicular to the trail and the two smaller sticks parallel to the trail to create a box of sorts and put the snare on the box.

On Friday morning I swung the rifle onto my shoulder, grabbed the bait buckets and headed up the ridge.  About 100 yards away from the bait, I thought I heard something, but pausing momentarily I chalked it up to a squirrel, seeing as how it was the third season and had to be the 100th time I had checked an empty snare, I continued in.  Then at about 50 yards out I caught a glimpse of movement and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest as I spotted black fur.  Dropping the bait pails, I finally realized I was looking at an ear and I swung the rifle off the sling to the ready position and took another step closer.  This must have caught the bear's attention, as it was laying down and abruptly stood up, as I stared in shock and disbelief that I had finally caught him, he came to realize what I was and that he didn't care for my presence.  He started making a noise, that I would put in between a growl and a bark.  Not sure what to expect, I quickly put the trusty .30-.30 into action and fired the lethal shot.  As the bear expired and I approached, I had to put my hand onto the thick, luxurious, black fur to tell myself this was real.  I had been after it so long that it seemed surreal that it could actually have happened.  I excitedly rounded up a couple of friends and coworkers to help me get the bear to the pickup and as I hefted his big melon of a head and picked up his wide paws, I knew I had gotten the bear I was after and he would be over the 200 pound mark.  I wasn't quite sure how much he was over until I got down to the local tagging station at Up North Outdoors and we lifted him onto the scale.  As his legs cleared the bed of the truck, I saw the scale break 300 and I couldn't help but let a grin pass across my lips.  When everything settled he weighed in at a respectable 319 pounds.  He had a gorgeous hide, a melon of a skull and some of the sweetest bear meat I have ever tasted, and I finally achieved a life long dream of trapping a bear.  Stay tuned for other outdoor adventures coming up soon!