Some Maine scenery for ya!

Shep · 10-29-2008, 07:02 AM

Our south zone closed for 3 weeks so by buddy Jeff and I went a couple hours north of home and about 20 miles south of the Canada border. We hit a nice lake that had been drained down about 10 feet. They drain it to protect the dam from winter ice.
This exposes hundreds of acres of great browsing for the birds. It's the only game in town for the birds. It'll get even better when we get a good freeze and knock some of the birds off all the small waters.

Here in Maine, usually goose hunting is a one or two flock affair and then you're done for the day. A lot of work for limited opportunity. But Yesterday, we had 10 or 12 flocks! That was a real treat and we downed our limit of geese. Unfortunately we had one escape across the tundra where no man could follow. Knee deep mud was killer and though we tried to get close enough to finish it off, it ran and flapped it's way out of sight despite a treatment of 10 rounds of black cloud and a few more of Kent faststeel along the way. In the end, it will be Foxbait.

The Black ducks were on us at first light sucking hard on our mojo. We each shot our limit of one and then had to wait until we had light enough to tell the players without a program. The best of the duck action was behind us by the time we could tell the difference between a black and a mallard. We shot 6 ducks between us but should have done a little better. If it wasn't for the damn black duck 1 bird limit thing, we'd have had 6 birds each for sure. You just can't take the chance.
Layout blinds and full bodies do the trick up here and we are about the only guys hunting with this method. It's deadly.
Believe it or not, we were the only guys hunting this expansive area. Deer opens on Saturday and everyone is preoccupied getting ready for that.
We have the birds to ourselves.
The scenery is beautiful up there. You need a good GPS unit to get in on this spot due to all the sand bars and rocks. We went up to scout on Monday and set up our stuff and set the GPS track. Good thing we did. It was misting badly on Tuesday AM and you had to stay dead on your track to get in without a mishap. It was a lot of work but worth the effort.

LundLover · 10-29-2008, 07:19 AM

Beautiful pics!

flatcoats · 10-29-2008, 11:03 AM

thats awesome!

bassnbaseball · 10-29-2008, 03:00 PM

Ya, thats really cool. It's nice seeing scenery pics from other places.

tc_topshot · 10-29-2008, 06:09 PM

nice pics!

CanoeGuru · 10-29-2008, 07:21 PM

Great post! Thanks for sharing the pics with us!

DiggerDog · 10-29-2008, 07:57 PM

Maine is such a beautiful state. Portland is a great town.

DSD Fanatic · 10-29-2008, 10:19 PM

Awsome...Just one question how do you hind your laydown blinds on those mud flats. It looks harder to hind in then a cut soybean field

Kyle

cutbaitking · 10-30-2008, 12:13 PM

would you be interested in teaching my cousin from CT how to hunt birds up there? he is a novice and just getting his own dekes. he hunts around home but has a cabin in maine. i would love to hook him up with a experienced waterfowl hunter. pm me if your interested!

Shep · 10-30-2008, 02:26 PM

There are a lot of large rocks sticking up out of the mud flats, your layout looks just like another rock from a distance.
The ducks come in without even circling! Just Wham into the pocket in the decoys!!
They key hard on a mojo especially in early light.

The geese are a little more wary but will give you a close enough look if you call em right.

jimbosan · 10-30-2008, 10:28 PM

:vThumbsUp :

Wingman · 10-31-2008, 09:42 AM

Great story and pics. Thanks Shep.

**Ty Stromquist** · 10-31-2008, 12:31 PM

Shep for president!

10-29-2008, 07:02 AM	#1 (permalink)
Shep Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Maine Posts: 155 Thanks: 2 Thanked 7 Times in 4 Posts	Some Maine scenery for ya! Our south zone closed for 3 weeks so by buddy Jeff and I went a couple hours north of home and about 20 miles south of the Canada border. We hit a nice lake that had been drained down about 10 feet. They drain it to protect the dam from winter ice. This exposes hundreds of acres of great browsing for the birds. It's the only game in town for the birds. It'll get even better when we get a good freeze and knock some of the birds off all the small waters. Here in Maine, usually goose hunting is a one or two flock affair and then you're done for the day. A lot of work for limited opportunity. But Yesterday, we had 10 or 12 flocks! That was a real treat and we downed our limit of geese. Unfortunately we had one escape across the tundra where no man could follow. Knee deep mud was killer and though we tried to get close enough to finish it off, it ran and flapped it's way out of sight despite a treatment of 10 rounds of black cloud and a few more of Kent faststeel along the way. In the end, it will be Foxbait. The Black ducks were on us at first light sucking hard on our mojo. We each shot our limit of one and then had to wait until we had light enough to tell the players without a program. The best of the duck action was behind us by the time we could tell the difference between a black and a mallard. We shot 6 ducks between us but should have done a little better. If it wasn't for the damn black duck 1 bird limit thing, we'd have had 6 birds each for sure. You just can't take the chance. Layout blinds and full bodies do the trick up here and we are about the only guys hunting with this method. It's deadly. Believe it or not, we were the only guys hunting this expansive area. Deer opens on Saturday and everyone is preoccupied getting ready for that. We have the birds to ourselves. The scenery is beautiful up there. You need a good GPS unit to get in on this spot due to all the sand bars and rocks. We went up to scout on Monday and set up our stuff and set the GPS track. Good thing we did. It was misting badly on Tuesday AM and you had to stay dead on your track to get in without a mishap. It was a lot of work but worth the effort.

10-29-2008, 07:19 AM	#2 (permalink)
LundLover Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Lincoln, NE Posts: 3,872 Thanks: 32 Thanked 17 Times in 16 Posts	Beautiful pics! __________________ I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions. - Augusten Burroughs

10-29-2008, 06:09 PM	#5 (permalink)
tc_topshot Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Broken Bow/Lincoln Posts: 385 Thanks: 6 Thanked 7 Times in 4 Posts	nice pics! __________________ Whackin' Woodies Waterfowl Crew "If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid." - Murphy's Laws of Combat

10-29-2008, 07:21 PM	#6 (permalink)
CanoeGuru Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Lincoln Posts: 1,211 Thanks: 4 Thanked 20 Times in 19 Posts	Great post! Thanks for sharing the pics with us! __________________ "Survival depends on being able to suppress anxiety and replace it with calm, clear, quick and correct reasoning..." -Sheck Exley

10-29-2008, 07:57 PM	#7 (permalink)
DiggerDog Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: At home, in the field, in a blind, in a boat, at our cabin, on a plane, or in a hotel room Posts: 454 Thanks: 14 Thanked 15 Times in 12 Posts	Maine is such a beautiful state. Portland is a great town. __________________ "When you have shot one bird flying you have shot all birds flying. They are all different and they fly in different ways but the sensation is the same and the last one is as good as the first." - Ernest Hemingway

10-29-2008, 11:03 AM	#3 (permalink)
flatcoats Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: omaha Posts: 1,329 Thanks: 15 Thanked 39 Times in 29 Posts	thats awesome!

10-29-2008, 03:00 PM	#4 (permalink)
bassnbaseball 2008 Catch & Continue Champion (18 and Under) Join Date: May 2008 Location: Fremont Posts: 450 Thanks: 19 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Ya, thats really cool. It's nice seeing scenery pics from other places.

10-29-2008, 10:19 PM	#8 (permalink)
DSD Fanatic Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 58 Thanks: 1 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Awsome...Just one question how do you hind your laydown blinds on those mud flats. It looks harder to hind in then a cut soybean field Kyle __________________ Dave Smith Decoys kill geese.

10-30-2008, 12:13 PM	#9 (permalink)
cutbaitking Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: outdoors Posts: 107 Thanks: 10 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	would you be interested in teaching my cousin from CT how to hunt birds up there? he is a novice and just getting his own dekes. he hunts around home but has a cabin in maine. i would love to hook him up with a experienced waterfowl hunter. pm me if your interested!

10-30-2008, 02:26 PM	#10 (permalink)
Shep Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Maine Posts: 155 Thanks: 2 Thanked 7 Times in 4 Posts	There are a lot of large rocks sticking up out of the mud flats, your layout looks just like another rock from a distance. The ducks come in without even circling! Just Wham into the pocket in the decoys!! They key hard on a mojo especially in early light. The geese are a little more wary but will give you a close enough look if you call em right.

10-30-2008, 10:28 PM	#11 (permalink)
jimbosan Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Blair, Nebraska Posts: 1,513 Thanks: 8 Thanked 7 Times in 4 Posts	:vThumbsUp : __________________ GET EM CLOSE/happiness is a bloody arrow!

10-31-2008, 09:42 AM	#12 (permalink)
Wingman 2008 Catch and Continue Finalist Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Lincoln, NE Posts: 297 Thanks: 3 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Great story and pics. Thanks Shep.

10-31-2008, 12:31 PM	#13 (permalink)
Ty Stromquist Moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: in a treestand Posts: 4,021 Thanks: 52 Thanked 25 Times in 20 Posts	Shep for president! __________________ "Go afield with a good attitude, with respect for the wildlife you hunt and for the forest and fields you walk. Immerse yourself in the outdoor experience. It will cleanse your soul and make you a better person." - Fred Bear

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