Where to hunt in Northern Maine
02-26-2005, 07:41 PM
#31
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: On an Island in Vermont
Posts: 22,645
RE: Where to hunt in Northern Maine
To Main Guide I guess you misunderstood my comment about the road. I have hunted Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont paper company lands since the early 70s. All 3 states are the same with respect to the way hunters are able to access the land. I understand that the loggers own the road and we are only able to use them when they aren't. I can't tell you how many times I have been crawling along and then looked ahead and saw a fully loaded log truck bareling down on me. I always pull as far off the road as I can with my 4 wheel drive. Kind of adds to the exitement of hunting where most people don't dare to go. To liquidorange the Jackman area is on of the first areas that the Benoits focused on. True there aren't many tracks but that works in their favor. They cover large areas of land and when they find a suitable track they dog it down. They don't catch up with all of them but it is a numbers game and sooner or later they do score. The difference between them and most other hunters is that they don't waste their time on anything less than what they consider to be a shooter. I haven't been to the mid west and don't know what that is like. I doubt that there is the type of wilderness hunting that Maine offers. The mega racks in Illinois and Iowa aren't the same as the solitary bucks of the Great North Woods of Maine. Whole different deal. Drives me crazy to see the TV shows and the way they harvest those monster bucks in the mid states so easily. Takes so much time and effort to just see their tracks in Maine. Catching up to them is only after a lot of hard work and many miles and lots of luck. Oh and I almost forgot...Moosehornhunter have a really nice day.
02-27-2005, 05:46 AM
#32
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Caribou ME USA
Posts: 298
RE: Where to hunt in Northern Maine
Seems to me you should hire moosehornhunter or whatever personality he is today to guide you. He is on the quality of deer we mere mortals can only dream about.
As DLuke said, northen Maine has a higher percentage of older deer in the population due to light hunting pressure. There are fewer deer than central Maine and it can be tough. Can you set up a camp, walk out the back, and shoot a monster, yes. But like most other places, a little common sense and hard work puts the odds in your favor. Do some map work and you can put the odds on your side. Look for ridges with green growth, old cuts, beaver ponds, and one of my favorites, that edge between the green growth and hardwoods, especially along rivers and streams.
The guide had you sitting on a road and your saw???? Sort of makes my point. Tracking/stillhunting are outstanding ways to kill a big deer in Maine. As Champlain Islander said you can be selective as to the type of track you follow. In addition those tracks WILL lead you to concentrations of deer where you can spend more time. But, it certainly isn't the only way.
Good luck.
As DLuke said, northen Maine has a higher percentage of older deer in the population due to light hunting pressure. There are fewer deer than central Maine and it can be tough. Can you set up a camp, walk out the back, and shoot a monster, yes. But like most other places, a little common sense and hard work puts the odds in your favor. Do some map work and you can put the odds on your side. Look for ridges with green growth, old cuts, beaver ponds, and one of my favorites, that edge between the green growth and hardwoods, especially along rivers and streams.
The guide had you sitting on a road and your saw???? Sort of makes my point. Tracking/stillhunting are outstanding ways to kill a big deer in Maine. As Champlain Islander said you can be selective as to the type of track you follow. In addition those tracks WILL lead you to concentrations of deer where you can spend more time. But, it certainly isn't the only way.
Good luck.
02-28-2005, 09:11 AM
#34
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Williamsburg, VA
Posts: 224
RE: Where to hunt in Northern Maine
Wow....having spent three LONG winters in the north country near Caribou, ME.....I'm thinking cabin fever is definitely settling in up there as well as in Vermont and where ever MMH calls home. The natives seem a little restless. 
Feb-April in that part of the world flat out sucked for everything other than shed hunting and icefishing. JMO
Feb-April in that part of the world flat out sucked for everything other than shed hunting and icefishing. JMO
02-28-2005, 10:46 AM
#35
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Caribou ME USA
Posts: 298
RE: Where to hunt in Northern Maine
mOOsedrool
The icefishing has been very good here in northern Maine this winter. Also, below normal snowfalls should mean an increased and healthy deer herd come this fall.
The icefishing has been very good here in northern Maine this winter. Also, below normal snowfalls should mean an increased and healthy deer herd come this fall.
03-02-2005, 06:50 PM
#40
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Williamsburg, VA
Posts: 224
RE: Where to hunt in Northern Maine
Portage....LMAO over your last post. This board is just too much fun. I didn't get into icefishing much when I lived up in Limestone, but I had some buddies who went on occasion. I usually spent this time of year snowshoeing looking for moose sheds. If my Dad and I don't get drawn to hunt in Montana this coming fall, we might plan a trip up to the Allagash (I like the Little Black area). I enjoyed hunting over there a few times while I was up that way. I couldn't find a deer track around Limestone...but the deer were around here and there and every now and then someone busted a monster. I wouldn't mind trying some tracking over in the big woods....but I definitely wouldn't feel it was fool proof by any means. It might beat sitting around frozen to the ground though! Take care.