I would not give up on Maine either as I still feel quite confident that we are going to win this battle.. They looked like fools in the debate last night and are hollering foul and that they were set up on this?? They were hit quite hard with the facts and non of them liked it at all. Also from what I am hearing is that New York is debating a new baiting law as well and may allow baiting as early as next year..

Im not giving up on Maine, just covering the bases. Those pics are some impressive bears. Ive got a year to wait and i'm excited.

So far this is the worst outfitter I've seen in my hunting days. Very unorganized . None of the paying hunters have tagged out yet. We haven't seen anything over 150lbs. Still 2 more days of hunting but I may be leaving empty handed

Hope things change for you Bikerman in the next couple of days. Thanks for the info. Im thinking I will go with Matagamon wilderness, or Oxbow Outfitters. I have to put in for my time off soon.

I sure hope that things change for you as well Bikerman !! I am sorry to hear about your guide service as surely not all are like that.. But, it does show that baiting bears is not at all like going to the candy store.. I hope you get to fill your tag with at least a decent bear..

So here is my full review on maine trophy outfitters.

I may have let my emotions get the best of me in the beginning of the week when I made that last post. We were having hard hunting and I really felt some of it was my expectations set up by the guide. First off we didn't see any bait hit on day one at all. Not one bear. So it started off slow. Second day we saw a smaller bear at around 175. I had already set in my mind 300 or better or go home . This bear was shot buy another hunter and was 153 dressed. Next day the dogs got an even smaller bear even though we started out on a big track. Guess those things happen. This bear was shot buy another hunter and weighed in the 150s live weight. It rained the next day and started off good with a trail cam pic of a bear close to 300. With the hounds on the track we went to the next crossing hoping to get a shot or a look at the bear and out pops a small sow and cubs. Cirtainly not the bear we expected. I was frustrated at that point but knew the dogs can change tracks at anytime. It's never a given. We found another cam shot of a decent bear around 225 later on in the morning and I decided I'd lower my standards and possibly shoot this one. After starting the run the rain hit hard and the dogs really hard a hard time. They finally lost the track as we had to pick up the dogs. Next day we stated on a track but a 100 lb bear treed and we picked up the dogs again. All of this is building hard on me but I also had to realize that this was hunting .

The owner and guide of maine trophy outfitters is cirtainly not a lazy guy. I've never seen someone work so hard . During the rain storm he was in the woods almost 700 yards deep in the most discusting country you could imagin trying to get his dogs on track. He really is a class A guy and I really have to say I feel bad for having doubts during the week on his ability . He is not just a guy trying to sell you a hunt and move on like the larger outfitters ( like oxbow) he will fight to get you a bigger animal and takes pride if people pass up smaller game.

Well with the week the way it was, we all had hope that the last day was going to be an amazing day and it was no doubt. We got on this massive bruin and the dogs performed perfectly. Only took one shot to get him down and I have to say I couldn't be happier with such an amazing animal. 340 lbs and a beautiful coat. Couldn't have done it without all of the hard work from everyone at maine trophy outfitters.

Another one

A word of caution with a big outfitter like oxbow. The look really nice online and boast premium accommodations but the hunting may not match up. You can't have both excellent accommodations and excellent hunting. It's hard to be competitive and still make money. I have heard less then 50% tag at oxbow.

Bikerman Congrats on the nice bear. It looks like a beauty. Thanks for the review. I have not yet made any arrangements for an outfitter, sounds like your guy made every effort to do what he could to insure a successful hunt. I also haven't made up my mind on bait vs hounds. Im 65 and not in bad physical condition. Not sure how challenging hounds would be. Did those who hunted bait have any success?

This was one of the hardest weeks anyone in the area I was hunting in saw. Every outfitter had issues. The bear switched to natural food when the frost hit and stopped hitting bait. Nothing you can do about it. There was an older gentalmen hunting hounds with me and asked of he could sit on bait a few nights. The last night he hunted he saw a few small ones in te 150s . Hound hunting is very exciting but can be very physical. The best scenario is if you get ahead of the dogs and shoot the bear crossing the road. Unfortunately the big bears will try to shake the dogs in thick bogs. I had to go into one and chase dogs and let's say I was wiped after. Hounds does give you a better chance at bigger bears because you can start on a camera picture or big track . I probably wouldn't have tagged this monster without hounds.

My outfitter did express desire to help handicapped hunters with hounds so if he can do that I'm sure he can accommodate any type of hunter