I heard positive things about P-B guide service from several people that hunted with him.I was going to book a hunt a few years ago but in the end,I decided that shooting a bear on a bait pile wasn't for me.I have nothing against it and realize it's the only way to manage the population in that state but it just doesn't seem like my cup of tea.I still may give it a whirl someday though after giving it more thought.It actually seems like a different way to start the season and the hunts aren't that expensive.

Don't forget to check out those that advertise on hunting.net

Here is some firsthand info. We have an outfitter we represent in Maine for Bear hunts that has been 100% on shot opportunities for several years now and has great lodging and food. http://www.sportsmansjunction.com/maine_black_bear_hunts.htm
The biggest problem is that his hunts are of such good quality that it produces tremendous rebookings from past clients, so getting a spot can sometimes be tough. If your wanting a legitimate quality bear hunt in Maine with a great success ratio call me toll free 1-877-647-9926 or email me, email is in my signature and I will see if there are any openings available.

I have hunted in Jackmen for quite a few years now, I took a biggie there in "97"362lbs. w/ a pistol. I hunted with Long Pond Camps in Jackman. I can't enough about them. Good luck w/ your search. Pete

School house guide service ,,,,Ron Stanley ,,,you can hunt withdogs for 1000 or over bait for 600....He is Kennebec ME. You hunt the West Forks area

Ron is a good guy and works hard for his clients ...nice cabins etc

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.

First of all I'm sorry about your luck. I'm not sure what part of the state you hunted in as western and southern Maine is not as heavely populated as eastern and northern Maine is. And there is no doubt that some guides maybe just in it for the money. However most guides limit how many they take in and when they are booked they are booked. As most want happy customers so that they will come back again. Also alot of us up here do not hunt bear so we are more than happy to see some get shot and taken away.At my grandmothers land she let a guide bait it and they got 8 bears of it and1 with a hound. And that was only ten acres so I guess you had
a pretty poor guide.