Early April fishing has never held much appeal for me. Oh, I have done it. Opening day recollections are of casting a fly line against a snow squall, of frozen fingers and ice-covered rod guides. Of fishless days amid razor-edged winds pushing up whitecaps on frigid lakes whose shorelines were still shrouded with naked, gray […]
outdoors in maine
Posted inLocal Sports
Outdoors in Maine: Dealing with dangerous dogs
Let’s get one thing straight from the start: I love dogs. Sally, probably the last dog I will ever have, needed to be put down a few years back, after she was mauled by my neighbor’s unleashed Saint Bernard. I wrote about it at the time. It was a dreadful experience. An aging English Setter […]
advertisement
Posted inLocal Sports
Outdoors in Maine: The wild turkey outlook
When it comes to Maine sportsmen and wild turkeys, there are two distinct groups: those who hunt ’em and those who hate ’em. Count me among the former. Having hunted them with a shotgun and a bow, it’s beyond me why anyone who loves to hunt is not enjoying this spring opportunity. There is a […]
Posted inLocal Sports
Outdoors in Maine: Protecting the deer yards
Deer yards, or deer wintering areas, are a critical component of deer survival in Maine. Nearly 15 years ago, in an article about the status of Maine’s deer yards, I wrote this: As state biologists prepare Maine’s next 15-year plan for deer management, which is due to be approved early this year, deer wintering habitat […]
Posted inLocal Sports
Outdoors in Maine: Changing of the guard positive for hunters
Back in the 90s, when I worked as information officer for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted a Northeast Conference for state information officers like myself. It was booked as an opportunity to share information and promote working relationships between state and federal fish and wildlife […]
Posted inUncategorized
Outdoors in Maine: A gatherer's dilemma
The gathering of wild things for home consumption has always been regarded by my family as one of life’s most basic pleasures. Whether it’s picking fiddlehead greens along a stream bed in late April, picking fall mushrooms to accompany the anticipated November venison back straps, or plucking big, fat juicy black raspberries in late August, […]
Posted inLocal Sports, sj-web, Uncategorized
Outdoors in Maine: Fishing for mackerel with Capt'n Neat
My tackle box is a neat person’s nightmare. It is a tangle of treble hooks, rusted lures and rat’s nests of used monofilament. My wife says that my tackle box is disgusting. Each year about this time, at least three of our fishing writers for the Northwoods Sporting Journal write an article about how important […]
Posted inLocal Sports, sj-web, Uncategorized
Outdoors in Maine: Hunting? Leave the drones at home, please.
There was a day in the life of a deer hunter when his technological aids were limited to a functional deer rifle, a hunting knife, a good compass, and, perhaps, a topo map. That all changed with the dawning of satellite technology and all of the gizmo spinoffs that have followed. Hunter’s today have choices […]
Posted inLocal Sports, sj-web
Outdoors in Maine: New tick removal system
It may seem early to be discussing ticks. After all, what self-respecting parasite would be caught flitting about amid ice-covered fields and sub-zero temperatures, right? But the tick season in Maine will be here before you know it. And, ticks, and the Lyme disease that they can cause, is becoming an ever-increasing welfare concern for […]
Posted inLocal Sports, sj-web
Outdoors in Maine: Stay safe on the snowmobile trails
The needless, accidental death of a young, healthy person in the prime of their life is profoundly tragic. Over the years, we have all seen teenage drivers, who thought that they were immortal, die on our highways. Seat belts, mandatory driver education and stiffer age requirements have helped to stem the tide of youthful deaths […]