Bear Hunting Pictures - Fall 2011

Tommy and 221 lb Black Bear

Father and Son w/ 180 lb (rt) and 221 lb (lt)

Father and Son w/ 341 lb Black Bear

Side View 341 lb Black Bear

Muzzle of 341 lb Black Bear

Guiding Bear Hunters With Eagle Mountain

Matt Whitegiver on Left

2011 marked my third hunting season with Eagle Mountain Guide Service. In previous years, I had volunteered my time to learn more about bear hunting, guiding clients and generally how to organize a sporting lodge. This year, however, I was fully on my own guiding clients, tracking wounded bears and ultimately guaranteeing the safety of everyone in my charge. Throughout this endeavor, I consider myself fortunate to have forged a friendship with Eagle Mountain owner/operator and guide Matt Whitegiver, as he was and continues to be an instrumental force in assisting me in becoming a better hunting guide.

Me, Tommy and 221 lb Black Bear

A large part of becoming a master guide is linked to confidence and how one carries themselves around groups of other sportsmen and the skill of maintaining a cool head under pressure and precise understanding what needs to be done in difficult situations. For guides like Matt, these skills have been finely honed through years of experiences in Maine’s woods and on its waters. For others, like myself, I have found that practice makes perfect and that becoming a great guide is ultimately about investing time guiding clients and finding a good mentor, willing to invest their time in teaching you the correct way to do things and who is not afraid to take a chance on you and be patient when you make mistakes. Throughout this learning process, I have gained considerable confidence and ultimately much more about bear hunting then would have ever been possible from any other means.

Here are a few things I learned about BEARS from this Bear Hunting season:

1.    Bears will not tolerate strange smells at a bait site
2.    Bears will tolerate strange smells at a bait site
3.    Bears LOVE strange food smells at the bait site and will run in to investigate
4.    Bears will come back to a bait site where another bear was shot
5.    Bears won’t come back to a bait site where another bear was shot
6.    Bears fear wind and heavy rain
7.    Bears love wind and heavy rain
8.    Bears still moving after shot should be shot again . . . repeat as often as necessary until bear stops moving.
9.    Bear ribs when slow cooked are freaking delicious
10.     Bears are fantastic animals to hunt. Just when you think you have them figured out they surprise you again and again. No matter what you know OR think you know about bears, sometimes when the chips are down, you just need to throw a hail Mary pass and pull a new set of tricks out of your pocket to have any chance at tagging a massive bruin!

Macro Flower Photography - Pickerelweed

Pickerelweed NOT Invasive Purple Loosestrife 

I have to admit, I am not great at identify some of the more prolific of Maine's aquatic plant species. However, the photos below are of the easy to identify Pickerelweed. The pictures were taken on a recent paddling trip on Great Pond. Pickerelweed is highly edible and the seeds taste a lot like nuts. The leaves can also be eaten raw or boiled like greens. More on properly identifying and eating Pickerelweed click HERE. For more on eating aquatics check out my post on "The Incredible Edible Cattail" 

Also in my recent trip to Great Pond another reminder to fishermen to remain vigilant in the removal of Milfoil and other invasive aquatic plants during the remaining boating season!