I answered a similar thread in T.R.' s forum, but I' ll share my strategies here as well.
Maine can be a real challenge to hunt, especially up north where I am. The deer population is low when compared to most places, and the deer are spread out within millions of acres of wilderness. Hunting food sources for the most part is a crap shoot because with all that woods deer just browse wherever they happen to be at the time. Even when the beechnuts are dropping it is hard to pinpoint where or when the deer will be feeding. This is perhaps why tracking has been the traditional way to hunt, and arguably the best way to take trophy bucks consistently.
The first part of my hunting strategy invloves finding an area with a good population of relatively unpressured deer. If I find such an area, and also signs of a big buck or two in the vicinity, this is a good place to hunt. I will lightly scout the area during the October grouse season to determine the main deer travel routes, and any places that a big buck might like to hide out to avoid hunting pressure.
In the early part of the firearms season, sometimes there will be no snow. Instead of tracking on bare ground (very difficult), I usually concentrate on still-hunting or sitting in a blind along the edges of thick security cover.
When the snow flies, things get interesting
. Good tracking snow allows for - well, tracking! I won' t get into the many tricks and techniques of tracking, that would take too long, but I will share a few things that help my odds.
In the early hours before first light, I like to drive the logging roads looking for the tracks of a big buck. Usually by now I will have a certain deer in mind, and his tracks are the ones I search for, although sometimes I will run across tracks of an even bigger buck, and concentrate on him instead. When I locate fresh tracks, I either start following them at first light, or circle the perimeter of the area to determine his approximate whereabouts. If the track is smoking fresh, I will get on it, if not, I (usually) use the other method. If I find he is still within the area after checking the perimeter, I will either still-hunt or set up in a likely ambush spot.
It is important to me to stay flexible in my hunting methods, and take each situation as it comes. Calling is also an important part of my strategy, as well as scent control.