Tom Hamilton posted on May 17, 2011 11:50
Well here we are half way through turkey season. I am hearing reports all over that the toms are all hened up. I am also hearing that the turkeys took a beating this winter not just here in Maine but in Vermont and New York. Some are reporting a 50 % winter kill! I can’t confirm that in my area. I have seen a lot of birds. I also have seen a lot of hunters! Two years ago you might have seen one or two hunters in a week but this year I saw seven the first day. The sport is growing in popularity and that is great if everyone is safe and hunts in a safe manner. I have had three incidents this year where a person or persons have tried to jump shoot the birds I was set up on. One group of guys talked to me, knew I was setting up on a flock of five birds and waited until I got out of sight and tried to jump shoot them. In doing so, they shot over me and my camera guys heads and never touched a bird! I guess what I am getting at is turkey hunting is great fun when done right but can be scary if people don’t pay attention and use some commonsense. A turkey is not worth injuring a fellow hunter or worse. These incidents just make all of us hunters look bad and give the anti’s more ammo to fight us with. I know most of you would never do such a thing but there are some out there that just have to kill something or they are not satisfied. Please, when you are hunting anything, if you see another person or a vehicle that is obviously someone hunting so give them some space to do so! Think about it as if you were there first, would you want someone else to walk in and ruin your hunt? I know I wouldn’t so when this happens to me I go somewhere else.
The fishing season is heating up. The bass in central Maine are just starting to come in to the shallows. I went the other day and we caught six fish, all males three smalies and three large mouths. The females should be in soon. I can’t wait! There is just something about catching five and six pounders one right after another that is magical to me. The trout fishing has been slow so far as the water is still high and cold. My friend and camera man Chris caught a real nice brookie about a week ago. It was 23 inches and probably weighed three and a half pounds out of a pond in central Maine on a gold spinner. The rivers and streams in central Maine are way too high at the moment. I have heard that the western rivers were doing well but I just don’t have the time to get over there. Most of northern Maine is still frozen or just lost their ice. It will be awhile up there yet.
Well Ladies and Gentlemen, that is all I have for now. Good luck in the field and on the water, and may all your adventures be fun and safe.
Tom Hamilton
BWB Pro-Staff