Big coyote down!

My first coyote.

II finally got out hunting for a full day. I got into the woods before light with my plan being to run and gun. If I only get out this once I have to give myself the best chance to score. I was the only car at the entrance when I showed up. I passed by and saw a few more trucks come and go. I was the last one out at the end of the day.

Not too cold.

Sunrise after 6am not too bad.

I figured my best approach on a rainy, windy day would be to crash through the thickest brush I could find. The rain and wind held off for the first half of the day. Gun season has been going strong for 5 days so the deer are probably holding tight to cover and paired up for the rut. I started in a swamp that's the thickest woods in the entire area. I started following a game trail into the wind and deeper into the swamp. I was moving as slow as possible, pausing every once in a while for 5 minutes or so. I was seeing nothing but squirrels for the first 45 minutes. Suddenly, I saw something heading down the game trail I was on right at me. It was a large coyote. I raised my 20 gauge open sight brush gun and she turned just a little. I took the shot and dropped her. She probably weighed at least 40 pounds. Her hide was immaculate right down to the black tip on her tail but ticks had infested her face and ears pretty bad.

I walked a little further and came upon another hunter. Funny; I was just thinking that I was probably one of the only hunters to hike this deep into the crazy thick swamp. He probably pushed the 'yote to me since the dope was walking with the wind. He must have found a trail or came in on a road I don't know about.

I changed directions and hiked until dark only sitting to eat a couple sandwiches. I hit all the thick swamps and then made a run into the rolling oak hills but only saw a single deer off of a trail but he saw me first. I did see in a swamp what I assume was a fisher cat. It was black and probably 5 feet from nose to tail. It bounced as it ran like a mule deer and never saw me. Being that I walked up on a coyote and fisher cat and neither predators saw me I was definitely stealth enough to have at least seen a deer. I have no idea where the deer were hiding. My guess is the private property that surrounds this land. The wind was dead in the morning but picked up to a roar by 2pm which didn't help the afternoon hunting.

I found a bunch of new places to hunt next bow season. There were awesome rubs in the swamp I started in. If I get out again I will probably sit there. I wanted to sit down at a bunch of spots but was too worried I only had one day to hunt and I didn't want to put all my chips on one spot. This years acorn crop is incredible making the deer not have to move much to find food. Walking around sounds like a bowl of Rice Krispies and walking on rocks is like trying to balance on marbles. The GPS said I put on about 5 miles of hiking which doesn't take into account all the hills and swamps so I was pretty beat by the end of the day. I don't get out enough anymore. A couple times I was dragging a little and I have to remind myself " Dude, you are hunting deer in the Maine big woods." Growing up I read every outdoor magazine and watched Tom Miranda and Jackie Bushman, it was always my dream to go to awesome places like this and hunt big deer. I am an explorer at heart and Nolan probably will be too. We just have to go and see whats over the next hill.

Coming out of the swamp I had to cross the little stream that splits the area. At its deepest that I have found it might go 3' and 10' at its widest. I saw 2 small fish at the spot I crossed that I am convinced were some kind of trout. They were about 5" and shot down stream as soon as I approached. That was pretty cool.

A fresh scrape I found at first light.

Acorns were everywhere and the deer know it.

The swamp I started in.

Lunch time.

Nice rub deep in the big woods.

You know I love ancient tree stands.

Rub City right outside the swamp.

I decided I needed some lucky socks so I picked up a pair of Farm to Feet socks. They are 100% made in the USA and a lifetime warranty. They were pretty comfortable. I didn't get cold and they never slid down in my boot. They should put a pic of a coyote on the side instead of a deer though. They weren't lucky for deer. I may write a letter. 

Used a shot of the Golden Estrus.

Coming up I have a lot of work to do for Ice Fishing season. I have put together a team and we are going to fish the two biggest derbies around for big money. We are raising money for a charity at the events but we haven't chosen one yet. Should at least get me some time on the ice though.

Stripers are here!

I have finally lifted the curse! A couple weeks ago I caught my first salt water fish; a 12 inch american shad. I caught it on a sabiki rig at the Saco boat launch late one night. I took it home and froze it to use it for chunk bait for striper fishing. The next day the tide was perfect outside of work when I got out so I decided to throw a few casts along with another guy from work. A couple casts in I hooked into my first striper. I landed a 15'' schoolie and he caught a 20"+ one after me. I was using a rapala lipless shad rap. Stripers fight pretty good and when the bite is on it can be constant action. They shut off just as fast as they start up though.

American Shad. My first salt water catch!

My first striper!

Go-To Lure!

A guy came into work and told me about a good trout spot on the Little River in Lebanon Maine. I parked at a church and walked through some woods and down a dirt road to the most beautiful little river I have ever fished on. I caught fish right away and all morning. I caught 5 brook trout around 10", 3 blue gill, and 60-70 creek chubs. It was a soul cleansing morning getting out there before 7am on a weekday and having the whole place to myself. I foul hooked one trout so I ended up with some lunch to take home. I used a #8 snelled bait hook with a silver spoon and orange beads tipped with a small trout worm. It was amazing the place held blue gill since the deepest hole I fished was about 18" deep. I used a new Ugly Stick Lite 7' ultra light rod I picked up with a Shimano Sedona 750. That combo made it really fun and I could cast my super light bait better than my 5' ultra light rod.

Creek Chub

Lunch!

Very basic but effective!

Today, I went striper fishing after work for about 20 minutes since the tide looked good. I caught one 15" schoolie. At some point I have to get into some keepers. Striped bass have to be 20-26" or over 40" to keep in Maine and only one per day.

Since lipless crank baits have been the weapon of choice I picked up a Bomber Super Pogy hoping for improved casting distance and thinking the Bomber would hold up better than the fresh water Rapalas I have been using. I don't have a picture of the lure but I will post the packaging so everyone knows to be cautious using these baits. I tied it on twice and could not get it to swim right. I used the same rig as with the Shad Raps but it never would work. It casted very well due to the weight but hung up on itself a lot and refused to swim. I will not try these again.

Here are some odds and ends for pictures from my phone. A bunch of guys at work decided we should do a fishing tournament so partners were chosen and rules were made. The tournament should be a ton of fun and bragging rights are on the line. I will post my results if I ever get out to fish in the tourney.

My favorite pic right now!

Or this one.

Throwback to 2004. Chapleau Ontario; Happy Day Lodge. My grandpa's fish. Good times!

The lowest tide I have ever seen at Biddeford Pool. Found about $10 in lost lures!

Father's Day 2014.