Ross Lake Camps
Moose Season 2008
The
Quick Rundown
- 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!
Click
here to visit our photo gallery and see photos
of past hunting and fishing seasons at Ross Lake
Camps. |
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