The only outfitted hunt I have ever been on was a bear hunt in ME over bait, and it was the worse hunt I have ever been on. I hunted with Northern Wilderness Guide Service. I hunted 5 days and never seen a bear. Don't get me wrong, being unsuccessful is just part of the game when hunting and that alone does not dictate wether or not I have a good time.

The factors that made the hunt a bad hunt was that the guide seemed like all he cared about was the money. The first thing he said when we arrived was O.K lets settle up on the remainder of the hunt, not how was your 24 hour drive...you guys ready to hunt some bears..etc. That was actually the only time the guide came to our camp the entire week. He had booked so many hunters he had other guys checking on us and taking us to our stands.

Our "guides" would pick us up in an old truck that had such a exhaust leak that you knew bears would be smelling you for miles. My "guide" was so over weight he would actually throw out some bait then turn the bucket over and sit on it for about 10 minutes to catch his breath, then waddle back to his rusty old truck.

The guide had booked nearly 25 hunters for this week alone and the success rate was about 60%. The largest bear was 250 lbs. I actually did a lot of research on this guy and called numerous references, but still was disappointed. I will never go back to Maine to hunt bears over bait because this hunt just put such a bad taste in my mouth. Even the guys I went with that harvested a bear say the same thing.

I really think the area we hunted has just been overhunted and his stands were burnt out. If I ever hunt bears over bait again I would go out West or (as much as I hate to say it) Alberta/Saskatchewan. I'm sure there are many many good guide services in ME and I hope you find one, just be sure to do your homework.