End of One Season - Begins Another

The firewood is done!  With many thanks to all those who have helped me this year, my mother and father in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, my parents and my grandmother, the last piece of wood was placed on the top of the stack that fills the room in my basement.  

Last week found me in the Allagash River country and with the foliage around it's peak the views were amazing.  Below is a shot of the valley that contains the famed Round Pond.  The water isn't visible from this vantage point, but the contrast of the leaves with the stark green of the softwood really looked nice.

Last week was also the end of the fishing for most species and in typical fall fashion, I was down on the Fish River casting at my familiar haunts.  While I was not able to land any fish for pictures, I did see several nice fish, with a couple being over a foot long and a nice salmon that I lost which was over two pounds.  The location is beautiful and also attracted several other anglers, which meant pressured fish for an added challenge.  I had the privilege of fishing with my grandfathers favorite fly rod, stirring many emotions and raising lots of memories, as my finger slid into the worn groove in the cork handle formed from hundreds of hours of casting.

The foggiest of mornings last week found me rising well before the sunrise to navigate the twisting road west along the St. John River until I reached a predetermined meeting location with Peter Gagne.  He generously offered to allow me to tag along on his outing for ducks.  He had an empty blind and I had a shotgun, so it worked out perfectly.  I think the fog caused the ducks to sleep in and the sightings were down.  We did have three ducks decoy in perfectly, but while their decoying was perfect, my shooting was far from perfect and they continued on their merry way.  It was an enjoyable morning and we even had a bald eagle fooled as it swept in to grab a "duck", only to realize at the last minute, we were watching and the decoys would make a tough meal!  Stay tuned as I have some moose hunt updates and a bear on the horizon and "bird season" opened today, so there should be more of our feathered friends in the future!