Sportsmen love their toys. Of course, they prefer to consider these toys as indispensable tools for the outdoors. Sometimes the best gift one can give to an outdoorsman is a tool or device that he might not either think to buy for himself or feel comfortable buying. For example, my mother-in-law always had an uncanny […]
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Outdoors in Maine: The foliage theory
Honestly now, do you ever remember a more magnificent Maine autumn? October is always a special time in Maine, but wasn’t there something extraordinary, this time around, about the oranges of the tamaracks, the crimsons of the swamp maples and the yellows of the poplars? Or was it merely that my gray hairs have heightened […]
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Outdoors in Maine: Big buck hunters share common threads
There are deer hunters and, then, there are buck hunters. Which are you? Of course, you say, we are all buck hunters, one way or another. Any Maine deer hunter who does not have a doe tag is a buck hunter, right? True, but there are a few stalwart deer hunters in Maine who — […]
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Outdoors in Maine: Boucher boats among the best around
If you look closely, especially in the garages, barns and back workshops of Maine people, you will discover people making things with their hands, talented, creative people with the gift of true craftsmanship. Pete Boucher from Hampden is one of those people. He makes boats, drift boats for serious fishermen who want a stable craft […]
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Lovely weather for a Penobscot sleigh ride
This is a true story. Only one name has been changed to avoid a civil action of libel against this publication and the teller of this story. We’ll call him Ahab, borrowing a handle from Mr. Melville’s classic novel about the brave men who went to sea in the whaling ships. Our modern-day Ahab is […]
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Trends even affect the world of fly fishing
If there is one thing I have learned over the years is that fashion trends invariably travel full circle. There are none of those clown-like, super-wide neck ties in my clothes closet. My James Dean narrow jobbies that are still hanging around from the fabulous 50s, came back once. And they will again. Alas, fly […]
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Lucky ticket holders prepare early for moose hunt
Once again the annual Maine Moose Lottery is over. Like Power Ball or any of a dozen other games of chance, there are winners and losers. Fortunately, for the moose, there are far more of the latter than the former. This year 2,140 moose permits were drawn. This is 675 fewer tags than last year. […]
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Outdoors in Maine: Protecting shooting ranges
Unless you belong to a private rifle and pistol club, finding a place to sight in your deer rifle or simply to practice with a firearm is becoming increasingly problematic in Maine. There was a day when all you needed to do was to find an old gravel pit, set up a target and plink […]
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An enlightening look at Maine’s sporting camp legacy
Mt. Vernon outdoor writer and outdoorsman George Smith has yet another new book. It’s called Maine Sporting Camps. Published by Downeast Books, this 222-page book was one of those that has just been waiting to be done — a niche filler, and a good one at that. Although others in the past have documented Maine’s […]
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Outdoors in Maine: The perfect float
Again this year, the Olive Wooly Bugger Gang got together mid-May at Grand Lake Stream to share fellowship, eat, play cribbage and fish the Stream for hungry landlocked salmon. Upon our arrival hopes were high. Last year, fishing exceeded all expectations. Everybody got multiple hookups, including the “newbies,” who were just learning how to toss […]