Hunting (Orono, Caribou, Fairfield: buy, good schools, gated)

[Abbymoulton]

My husband would like to know if there is anyone on CD that hunts in the Northern part of Maine. Would you be willing to share any tips or anything that might be helpful?

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Maine has the biggest white tail deer anywhere. No brag, just fact. There is a good reason for this. If a fawn does not reach 75 pounds the first year they simply don't survive that first winter. Therefore, only the deer with genes for large size get to reproduce. When we get a winter where deer yard up and the snow is up over their bellies I feed deer in my woods. Right now the snow is up to their bellies and it's only New Year's Eve.

We have a good population of partridge, but thatyagain depends on weather. If we have a cold wet spring the survival; rate for young partridge is low. If we have a warm dry spring we have a good partridge crop.

We have no rabbits. Our snowshoe hare population runs on a 7 year cycle. We normally have good numbers.

Turkeys are over-running the place. We wondered if they would survive our winters, but they are doing very well. They are found around farms and populated areas. They don't spend much time in the deep woods. In winter they live on buds. It remains to be seen what the effect will be on Partridge because they eat the same food as partridge. It takes a whole lot more food to keep a 20 pound gobbler going than it does a 2 pound partridge.

We have between 22,000 and 25,000 black bears.

We have way too many moose. We lose a lot of Mainers and tourists every year from moose crashes.

We have red fox, grey fox, coyotes, raccoons, and more kinds of ducks than you can count. I know I missed some, but these are what come to mind most. If you have any other questions I can probably answer them.

[Submariner]

Beaver, you missed beaver

[jenkaye]

My DH wants to know do you have a good chance at getting a moose tag in the draw?

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by jenkaye

My DH wants to know do you have a good chance at getting a moose tag in the draw?

That is the million dollar question, it is pure luck from what I have seen. I know people who put in for one every single year, and have never been drawn, and I know a person who has put in for 2 drawings and has had his name pulled both times. I've never had my name drawn and quit trying years ago.

Up in the area you are coming to there is some very good hunting, fishing is dependent on where/what you are used to. I was born and raised around the Great Lakes and one of the trophy trout rivers in the US was less than 1/2 a mile from my house, so a few 10-18" brookies around here don't do much for me, but I still love getting out there.

There are some truly big deer in the Limestone area and I've seen one going toward Fort Fairfield the other day that was larger than any I have ever seen before. I had to take a second look because I thought it was a young Moose at first glance. Most people up this direction "heater hunt"for deer and never leave the comfort of their vehicle. If he likes to get out and really hunt, there are many, many places that hardly get any hunting pressure. The Partridge hunting is very good as well.

Fishing is a different animal altogether up in this area. Most of the fishing in the rivers and brooks are for Brook Trout. There are some lakes that have Lake Trout (Togue), as well as other species. In between Limestone and Caribou is the Little Madawaska river and it is one of my personal favorites to fish. Both walking/wading and floating with the canoe. Biggest Brookie I ever caught was in the Little Madawaska river, 24" and fat as could be. If nothing more than a couple of fish types are fine, with smaller sizes are fine, then the fishing is fine. If you are used to a big variety of species with some real big ones tossed in on a regular basis, it may be a bit disappointing. If you are like me, and have the mindset that fishing is just the vehicle/excuse to getting out on a beautiful lake or river, there is no place better. I like going out in the boat and having the whole lake to myself usually, I like not having every inch of shoreline developed. In that way northern Maine is far better than most other places in the country.

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by Abbymoulton

My husband would like to know if there is anyone on CD that hunts in the Northern part of Maine. Would you be willing to share any tips or anything that might be helpful?

Get a DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer and leave it in whatever vehicle you or your DH drive all the time. Staple a few sheets of lined paper in the back for notes. When ever you come across a nice deer or interesting body of water you want to remember, jot down on the lined paper where and when, along with page number and grid numbers, then make a dot, star or whatever you want right there on the page in the exact spot. (I used to use different color dots for different animals, and a little "x" in lakes and rivers to mark a hot spot) Later in the year when you are trying to remember exactly where you kept seeing that monster buck standing in the field, or that spot where you hit the good schools of fish last Spring; you just go back and you have a record. My Atlas looks like a wild monkey with an ink pen got loose on it, but it comes in handy for finding trends. I also mark every place that either myself or a friend has gotten deer in the past.

Abby, I would have him start looking and scouting between Limestone and Fort Fairfield. And if it is a bit more remote spot he is looking for, try "California Settlement" over by Stockholm. Go through Stockholm and then through where it is marked "California Settlement" on the map and it is a great place to both hunt and fish depending on which season it is. Be forewarned though, to get to the small stream way back there, a 4X4 is highly advised. Behind Loring there used to be a couple of great places to hunt and fish, but that damned game preserve took the use of that away from the people of the State. That was about as needed as another hole in your head. For fishing there is Trafton Lake close by to you and that is a nice little lake that has some Brook Trout in of of decent size. The Little Madawaska river as I have mentioned before has some good fish in it and is close to you. I find on the river the best thing for me to use are the "Panther Martin" spinners. In the lakes it varys from live bait to spoons (Little Clio), to Rapala type minnows.

Hope this gives you a starting place. Look forward to having new people come to this area, good luck.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

You can't hunt beaver, Forest. However, if the game warden is too busy to live trap a nuisance beaver on your property you can sometimes get a permit to shoot them. A compromise alternative is when the wardens put a drain pipe through the dam and put up a wire fence around the end of the pipe. They call it their "beaver deceiver" and beavers have not yet figured out how to overcome it.

[xshadowx]

If you don't own land to hunt on is it difficult to find a place to go hunting?

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Not in Maine. Once you get above the Volvo Line (above Orono) you can drive all week and never see a "No Trespassing" sign. In fact, you will see signs that say,

Welcome sports.
If your land is not posted or gated, please use mine.
If your land is posted or gated, please use yours.

You can buy these signs at Smith's Store in Springfield, Maine.

It is still polite to ask before hunting somebody's farm. The vast timberlands in Maine are open to hunt. However, if you want to bait bear you MUST ask the land owner. There have been problems with bear guides baiting the same areas for the same bears. Guided bear hunts are expensive and to avoid conflicts land owners have had to keep bear hunters separated from each other.

[Acadianlion]

Plenty of good land in Maine to enjoy and hunt for those who will. Me? I'll not go hunting until they issue semi-automatic weapons to the deer.