A group of friends and I hunted black bear with Moose Country Guide Service in Stockholm, Maine last week.
Just like the majority of my hunts last year, it rained every single day of our hunt! Northern Maine hadn’t seen any measurable rain in nearly two months, but they received about 4 inches of rain during our bear hunting days last week. Out 0f seven hunters, only one harvested a bear. What’s worse, I and several others, didn’t even see a bear.
Although I didn’t harvest a bear, I enjoyed the hunt. I saw two moose, multiple red squirrels, a fisher, and several species of birds I hadn’t seen before. I saw bear tracks, scratches, and droppings, and I learned a bit about black bear biology and habits.
I spoke with several bear guides in the area. They all were having a tough time due to the rain. I also spoke with a local taxidermist who said relatively few bears were dropped off last week. The poor harvest numbers are definitely out of the ordinary for the area. For the past two seasons, the group of guys I hunted with had 80%+ success rates on bears. Last year 7 out of 8 hunters had shots at bears. I plan to head back up to Maine next year.
For information about bear or moose hunting in extreme northern Maine, contact:
Gary Sweeney
Moose Country Guide Service
gary.sweeney@yahoo.com