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The
Quick Rundown for 2008
- Charles
Monte, guided by Travis Willette, 42” spread 4X4 rack, estimated
weight 715 pounds
- Bob
Kane, guided by Tom Greenlaw, 40 ½” spread 7X7 rack,
dressed weight 756 pounds
- Brian
Beckman, guided by Bill Orne, 36” spread 4X4 rack, dressed
weight 733 pounds
- Bob
Burns, guided by Dana Packard, 40” spread 6X5 rack, dressed
weight 920 pounds
- Mark
Fanning, guided by Bob Smith, passed 6 opportunities on shooter
bulls trophy hunting
- Jim
Mackay, guided by Bill Orne, 45” spread 8X9 rack, dressed
weight 793 pounds
- Tony
Russo, guided by Don Lavoie, 47” spread 9X7 rack, dressed
weight 851 pounds
- Mike
Manca, un-guided cow tag, short spike bull dressed weight of 497
pounds
- Joe
Pelleteir, guided by Bob Smith, 31” spread 4X3 rack, estimated
weight of 675 pounds
- Arthur
Cheer, guided by Bill Orne, 43” spread 9X7 rack, dressed
weight 751 pounds
- Chris
Patnode, guided by Don Lavoie, 49 ½” spread 8X7 rack,
dressed weight 792 pounds
What a great moose season we had at Ross Lake Camps this year! Coming back
into the late spring and early summer seasons was worrisome for both the
deer and moose populations in Northern Maine after the record setting snowfalls
that just kept dumping out of the sky last winter. State Biologists, Game
Wardens, Camp Owners, and Guides were all worried about what effects the
deep and prolonged snow pack had made on the populations. The Moose in
some areas were hit hard, but our fears out here in the North Maine Woods
where we hunt, were quickly put to rest. By the end of June we were regularly
seeing cows with calves out feeding in the late afternoons and evenings.
In July we were viewing many bulls along the road sides while traveling
back and forth to our favorite fishing spots. When bear season was in full
swing we were seeing an abundance of moose near last light while picking
up the hunters every evening. Happily, things were looking just as normal
as ever for all parts of the moose population from the cows to the young
bulls to those giant racked old dominant bulls. As usual, we couldn’t
wait for the hunt to begin!
Opening
day of season was a very cold 25 degrees, a nice contrast to the
record setting heat we had for the opener in 2007. The rut was in
full swing, and to mix that in with the cool temperature was a sure
combination for success. Bob Burns and his son Bob Jr. didn’t
waste any time taking a huge trophy bull after spending more than
20 years waiting for one of their names to get drawn in the permit
lottery. Registered Maine Guide Dana Packard had a prime spot all
scouted out, and he had Bob and Bob set up in a blind early on Monday
morning. Dana cow called and bull grunted for about an hour until
his guys got cold and wanted to make a move. They walked back to
the truck and started to drive. When they made it around the first
curve Dana spotted a big bull coming out of the brush and heading
right to where they had been calling from. He got the guys out of
the truck and set up for an offhand shot. Bob Jr. let his rifle do
the rest of the work, and he laid the monster right down. Not only
was this the first bull of the season for us at Ross Lake Camps,
but it turned out to be the heaviest one taken out of camp this year
as well. The trophy measured up with a 40 inch wide 6X5 rack on top
of a massive 920 pound dressed out body.
Maine
Master Guide Bob Smith and his hunter, Mark Fanning of Bar Mills,
ME had a close encounter of the huge kind on Monday afternoon. Mark
was hunting in zone 1 and looking for only one of the biggest bulls
that Maine has to offer on a trophy hunt. The guys were doing a lot
of walking and calling using a spot and stalk approach, and several
moose that didn’t live up to Marks standards were seen throughout
the day. Late in the afternoon Bob spotted a huge set of antlers
ahead of them on an old overgrown road they were walking. They got
within 115 yards, but there was a thick screen of brush between Mark
and the Bull and no clear shot was ever presented. Bob was able to
count 22 points on the massive wide palmed rack and estimated it
at a minimum of 55 inches of spread. After throwing every call in
the book at the monster, the guys were finally winded, and that moose
moved on to greener pastures. Mark did have shooting opportunities
at 5 other bulls of varying size throughout the week, including one
with an estimated spread of 48” – 50” on Friday
morning, but it had an antler deformity on one side. Mark stuck to
his guns and stayed the trophy hunter to the bitter end, taking his
tag back home with him on Sunday morning. A risk that any tried and
true trophy hunter will tell you must be faced on any given hunt.
Every
hunter in camp had action from the moose on Monday although not everyone
encountered a shooter bull that was willing to present a shot opportunity.
The bulls were talking a lot, but many seemed to be hung up with
groups of cows that they were unwilling to leave. Persistence pays,
so the guides and hunters went right back to work early Tuesday morning!
The moose
are so great at Ross Lake Camps that even our cows have horns! Mike
Manca of Templeton, MA was the first to score on Tuesday morning.
He was here hunting on a cow tag in zone 1, and wanted the satisfaction
of completing his hunt on his own without a guide. His dream was
realized when he shot a moose that he spotted in the edge of the
woods from about 140 yards away. When he walked up to his cow, it
actually turned out to be a young bull with short spike horns. That
counts as a perfectly legal antlerless moose in Maine as long as
the horns do not stick out longer than the ear tips. Mike left camp
with what will probably be some of the best table fare of the season,
a spike horned bull that dressed out at 497 pounds. Congratulations
Mike!
Just a
short time after Mike was shooting, Jim Mackay of Tewksbury, MA was
having some heart pounding action down in zone 4. Maine Master Guide
Bill Orne had Jim set up in a blind along an old green road and he
had a bull coming in to them with a series of cow calls. After a
short time Bill was able to determine that there were actually 2
separate bulls coming in to the set up through the woods. One Bull
came out of the woods a few hundred yards away and Bill was able
to see that it was a good Moose, but he was unable to give an accurate
size estimate from that distance. The moose circled back into the
edge of the woods out of sight, and the guys were able to run in
the brush edge to close about half the distance. They set back up
at about 150 yards from where the moose was standing and Bill called
again. The moose stepped back out into the open and Jim saw clearly
that this was a moose that he wanted to take. He made a spectacular
shot dropping that moose in its tracks. Jims trophy measured up with
a 45 inch wide 8X9 rack and a dressed body weight of 793 pounds.
After Jim delivered his moose to a processor out in town, he returned
to camp and used an electronic call to kill a 39 pound old male coyote.
Congratulations to Jim on an outstanding week of hunting.
Two more
hunters were able to seal the deal on Wednesday. Bob Kane of Williamsburg,
VA had seen plenty of moose on the first 2 ½ days of the hunt
with his Guide, Tom Greenlaw. They just hadn’t found one quite
big enough for Bob, until they were having a lunch break on Wednesday
afternoon. Tom had set them up with their truck parked on an edge
of an old cut and hooked up the electronic call to play while they
had a picnic lunch from the tailgate of the truck. When Bob walked
around the side of the truck to get something out of the cab he spotted
a Bull stepping out of the woods into the open cutting. He grabbed
his rifle and made a great shot on this old bull that ended up going
40 ½ inches wide with a 7X7 rack and hitting the scales at
756 pounds. Charles Monte from Lyme, CT also got the job done that
day when his Guide, Travis Willette, spotted a bull crossing a skidder
trail while they were traveling to a new hunting spot. Travis was
able to get Chuck set up for a 60 yard offhand shot and he made a
cow call to turn the bull broadside for the shot. This bull had a
very unique set of antlers lacking palmation, but having absolutely
huge mass on the main beams and all of the points. It measured out
at a width of 42 inches, had 8 points and an estimated dressed weight
of 725 pounds.
Thursday
belonged to a hunter by the name of Tony Russo from Westbrook, ME.
He was led by Registered Maine Guide and camp owner, Don Lavoie.
Tony had some hard luck with some gun issues when he arrived at camp.
His gun and scope may have been knocked out of alignment during his
trip up to camp, and were not performing at long distances, so Don
had the added challenge of bringing the moose in closer to compensate.
Several different bulls were seen by the guys throughout the week
including a shooter on Wednesday that had to be passed up because
it winded the guys from about 200 yards away. That didn’t matter
though on Thursday when Don spotted 2 nice bulls fighting while the
guys were making their way into a blind to do some calling. The stalk
was on, and Don was able to get Tony into a 50 yard shot. After sizing
the 2 animals up, Don let Tony know which one to shoot, and he took
home a beautiful Bull with a 47 inch wide rack that had 9 points
on one side, 7 points on the other, and dressed out at 851 pounds.
That was sure an exciting hunt!
The last group of hunters for the early season was with tag winner Brian Beckman
from Bath, ME. Brian and his crew decided to go it alone for the hunt without
a guide since they were not trophy hunting on their bull tag, but they had
some trouble getting into the right spots at the right times. They had seen
plenty of cows, but just couldn’t seem to spot a bull, so at the end
of the week they asked for some help. Maine Master Guide Bill Orne was available
after having successfully completed his hunt earlier in the week and so Bill
went back to work. On Thursday afternoon he took the guys into a spot to do
some calling and Bill brought out a very pretty young moose for the guys to
shoot. The September moose season was finished off with this moose that sported
a 36 inch wide 4X4 rack and dressed out at 733 pounds.
We had
a long wait in between the September and October Moose seasons this
year because of the way the dates happened to fall. The October season
fell a little late this year, and the rut was O-V-E-R….over.
We kept a close watch on moose in the area and kept returning to
the rubs and scrapes that we had scouted and hunted during the September
hunt. Over 30 different scrapes were checked prior to the arrival
of the hunters, and every one of them had gone cold. This hunt was
going to be a spot ‘em and shoot ‘em in the feeding areas
for sure. Just to add to the challenge, the full moon fell right
in the middle of that week as well. No worries at Ross Lake Camps
though! We have extensive knowledge of our hunting area here, and
the experience to make things happen even in the toughest conditions.
The first
moose of the late season was not a giant one, but it was very special
to us here. Joe Pelleteir, a 100% disabled Vietnam Veteran had drawn
his first moose tag ever. Joe’s health forces him to be on
oxygen at all times, so long walks into hidden hunting spots are
not an option. Maine Master Guide Bob Smith was up to the challenge
of helping Joe remember this hunt for all his days to come when he
spotted a bull feeding on some leaves in an old woodyard. Joe and
his buddies loaded up a 31 inch wide 4X3 bull with an estimated weight
of 640 pounds to proudly take into town. Congratulations to Joe just
for coming on this hunt, his perseverance and tenacity are an inspiration
for others to look up to.
Chris Patnode from East Hampton, MA was next. Registered Maine Guide and camp
owner Don Lavoie was in the lead on this hunt, and he was finding some
moose for Chris. Many cows were spotted early in the week in the feeding
areas, as well as a couple of small bulls. There was some great excitement
Tuesday morning when the guys saw a huge bull estimated to be in the neighborhood
of 52 – 53 inches wide with great palmation and a lot of points.
The problem was that the moose was on a road edge 30 minutes before legal
shooting while the guys were on their way to their target hunting area.
The rut was over and the bull was not interested in cow calls to make him
stay put. The animal grew cautious and ran off into the timber well before
it would have been legal to shoot. On Wednesday evening Don spotted a large
bull near a green road that they were travelling down. He was able to get
Chris (using a .50 cal muzzleloader) and his subpermittee set up for a
shot. The bull whirled just as Chris was pulling his trigger and his shot
hit the moose in its flank. After jumping the bull once while following
the blood trail, Don made a great call to back off for a few hours, and
the guys did catch up with that moose about 500 yards deep in the woods.
Our work was cut out for us, but we are prepared here for all situations,
and at 4:00 am we returned to camp with an awesome bull in one piece that
carried headgear measuring 49 ½ inches wide with an 8X7 point rack,
and a dressed weight of 791 pounds.
The last
man standing for the season was Arthur Cheer from Stockholm, NJ and
he was being guided by Maine Master Guide Bill Orne. 5 different
shooter bulls were seen throughout the week, but they weren’t
hanging around long enough for Artie to get into a good set up to
take a well placed shot. On Thursday morning a young 4 point bull
stood stock still in a skidder trail, and Artie set up on a pair
of shooting sticks and watched him for about 5 minutes before deciding
to let the bull walk in hopes of an opportunity at something bigger.
On Friday morning at first light Artie got his wish when Bill spotted
a good bull on the road edge just after departing from camp for the
morning hunt. They were able to get set up on the bull from about
80 yards away and the moose never went any farther! This bull finished
out our 2008 season with a 9X7 point 43 inch rack and a dressed weight
of 750 pounds on the nose.
What a
spectacular season 2008 turned out to be for our annual moose hunt!
In a year with such grave concerns about the health of the animals,
and also difficulties for hunter opportunities because of the skyrocketing
costs of fuel, equipment, and supplies this was outstanding. We did
send our first client in 7 years out of camp with an empty tag, but
it’s hard not to count that hunt as a success with the action
that was seen. This one is officially in the books, and we’re
already looking ahead to the action in 2009!
If you
are interested in more information check out the website at www.rosslakecamps.com or
contact Don & Andrea by phone at 603-320-3208. |
