“I Hear That Train A Comin’”….Or Maybe Not!

by Mainard True

I have a series of 17 photographs that arrived in my inbox the other day. The title said it was a Canadian National Railroad train stuck in the snow in Northern Maine. I think it looks like Northern Maine, I believe it looks like a CN train and I know that white stuff is snow.

For obvious reasons I didn’t post all the pictures on this page. Click this link and view the entire gallery of 17 photos.

Mainard True

Low income assistance for Stimulus Package

by Steve Remington

Just Click    Help

This will take you to a source for information on the IRS helping Non-filers like Vets and Social Security receivers get filed. You have to file to get the cash!!!!

Below are the schedules for economic stimulus payments related to tax returns processed by April 15, 2008.

Stimulus Payment Schedule for Tax Returns
Received and Processed by April 15

Direct Deposit Payments
If the last two digits of your Social Security number are:	Your economic stimulus payment deposit should be sent to your bank account by:
00 – 20	May 2
21 – 75	May 9
76 – 99	May 16
Paper Check
If the last two digits of your Social Security number are:	Your check should be in the mail by:
00 – 09	May 16
10 – 18	May 23
19 – 25	May 30
26 – 38	June 6
39 – 51	June 13
52 – 63	June 20
64 – 75	June 27
76 – 87	July 4
88 – 99	July 11

This was copied and pasted directly from the IRS site!!!!!  BNR 3/28/08

They are all Dead!!!!

by Steve Remington

Awhile ago I showed all of you a picture of a doe and a trail the deer were using to move in that area.

                                   

I am saddened to report that the doe and the other 8 to 12 deer in the group are gone.  A pack of Coyotes moved into the area in late January and systematically killed off each and every one.  Leaving behind nothing more than some hair and bone from each kill site.  The pack has been seen and documented to be about 28 in all. I am not being “dramatic’ by stating an inflated number. They have been observed and documented.

These ‘yotes are the Aroostook variety. Big, fast and ferocious. My buddy Pete took that picture..and alot more. I only used the one for the contest. He has more pics for me…..of the ‘yotes. I will post some later on when he sends them over.

We have got to kill these beasts before we run out of deer! This winter has been very harsh. Record snow falls and all. The deer are so desperate to get away from them they have abandoned the yards and are getting hit by cars all over the state. Between the ‘yotes and starvation the deer have had to make hard choices.   In fact the state has decided to trim some trees along I95. The deer became aware of this boon and are now a traffic hazard. The signs warning of the danger are up……….so the state knows it too. 

                                      

Being In Business Can Become Extremely Stressful

by Mainard True

Otis and Gabby decided several years ago to start up a business together. They called their new enterprise Otis and Gabby, LTD. You see several years ago Otis created the ultimate in gadgets. He called it the “SCATS”. It was a gimmick made completely out of alder bushes that was a Seat, a Cane, a Table and a Stool all in one - ala SCATS.

There was only one problem. They had about 300 of these things on hand and had yet to sell any of them. Otis of course was the “brains” behind the business and Gabby was the manual labor but in order to get the business up and running, both Otis and Gabby had to take out a loan at the Andover Savings and Loan, at the time managed by “Cash” Crumsley. Otis and Gabby were near defaulting on their loan.

One day a man from China appeared on Otis’ doorstep looking to do some business. Mr. Chow said he had heard about Otis’ SCATS product and was interested in buying out everything in stock along with the patent rights to the SCATS.

There was much wheeling and dealing until finally Otis, Gabby and Mr. Chow had reached an agreement. All the papers were signed and what seemed a sure thing began to turn south in a hurry. As Mr. Chow was getting ready to leave, he said to Otis, “This is a very big deal and I must get final approval from my boss back in Bejing. If you don’t hear from me in four days, you will know that the deal is approved.”

For four days Otis and Gabby paced, worried to death not daring to answer the phone thinking it might be “Cash” Crumsley wanting to collect his money. The hours, minutes and seconds ticked by and Otis was just about as nervous as a clam at low tide. Right then, a knock came on the door with a yell out, “Western Union”.

Otis fell out of his chair knowing it was bad news from China. Gabby, not really being a full deck of cards upstairs, ran to the door to answer it. He whirled around and yelled to Otis, “Good news! Your mother is dead!”

Mainard True

Allen Bliven Calls on Moose Droppings Radio Show

by Steve Remington

This episode Moose features part one of a two part series, featuring Allen Bliven and his pro staff. Moose recorded this at the Dixie Deer Classic. You’ll also get the opportunity to hear a young lady, Candace who just won the NC Jr. Goose Calling Competition. Listen now….

Welcome Class and Bass Blog

by Steve Remington

Skinny Moose Media is happy to release our newest blog. Max, who is friends with Nate and Chris of the Northwoods Adventures TV blog, will be blogging at Class and Bass. Read more

I’m Back And With A Gross Story!

by Mainard True

Saturday, as most of you know, I went with Milt on a photo shoot outing, etc. Lasted part of the morning and then it poured buckets the rest of the day. In short, it was a wash out.

Sunday, I got up early and drove to the Ft. Myers area and met up with a hometown buddy and we took in a spring training baseball game between the Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles. Before you read on, I want to warn you that what I tell happens is gross and disgusting but somewhere in my sick sense of humor, I can only help but laugh. You may choose to read something else.

We got settled in to the game and seated to my right, perhaps a half dozen seats away, was the Fat family from Cellulite City. There was Mr. and Mrs. Fat and their two fat sons - one perhaps 6 and the other 8 or 9. Combined, the family could have tipped the scales at well over a half ton.

We arrived about 30 minutes before the scheduled first pitch of 1:05 p.m. and as we sat talking and laughing (no we weren’t drinking beer), it didn’t take long to realize that the Fat family had a groove worn into the steel bleachers leading directly to the snack stand. First it was hot dogs, then slushies, a round of Cokes, some popcorn and couple more hot dogs. Every time someone selling concessions moved anywhere in the stadium, up went a yell from someone in the Fat family.

At one point, I glanced over to see if these people were actually human and that’s when I noticed the Dad looked like he had a baseball for a head balancing on top of a huge pile of molten lava. If you were to look close enough, you would have noticed two Nike sneakers sticking out of the bottom of the lava rock.

Just when I didn’t think it possible for any normal person to ingest anything else, Momma Fat broke out the peanut butter and fluff sandwiches, bottles of pink Gatorade and passed each member a huge bag of Cracker Jacks, I suppose to add some variety to their Easter Sunday dinner.

The crowd had began to gather and there were few vacant seats around us. The presentation of the colors and the singing of the National Anthem followed and it was impossible to tell if any of them stood. They were as tall seated as standing but they did continue eating. Nothing was going to interfere with that.

Before we got through the first inning, the older of the two boys began coughing. I’m not sure which came first - the uncontrolled projectile vomiting all over the crowd which led to the coughing or the coughing started the event. Bright pink puke trickled down his chin, spattering and blending in with the assorted partly digested remnants of his stomach on the walkway between his feet.

What then to me became an unexplained phenomenon, nobody in the family seemed all that concerned. The younger bog was looking on as if to say, “Look at all the good food wasted.” Dad was busy trying to find the bottom of his bag of Cracker Jacks and Momma Fats was licking the fluff and peanut butter from her fingers.

Most people around them were appalled at the actions and lack of response. A lady sitting directly in front of them now had pink puke and assorted other goodies looking like an abstract work of art stuck to the back of her Baltimore Orioles commemorative t-shirt.

The coughing persisted and the boy became angry that he couldn’t eat more in between his puking and so looked at his mother in needy way. Finally, Momma Fats got up leading her two boys directly toward me. I scattered in panic and ran for the high ground seeking shelter behind the television cameraman perched in the highest location up behind us. I just knew that kid was going to paint some more art on hundreds of unsuspecting baseball fans.

I wondered aloud if they were headed for the snack bar to get a refund.

I returned to my seat looking around from drippings or any other signs a walking ball of vomit had bounced through my seating area. Once I determined the coast was clear, I moved to sit down and that’s when I noticed Daddy Fats had just finished his giant bag of Cracker Jacks and was slip-sliding through the pile of puke trying to get his hands on the three other bags abandoned by the runaway vomit machine, his brother and Momma Fats. It was at this point I began having visions of what the inside of their home must look like. I abandoned any more thoughts like that.

It was one of the most disgusting things I had seen in a long time. Now it looked a bit odd as this very fat man sat alone in the middle of the stands shoving food into his mouth without a care in the world.

I continued to make jokes with my friends as we waited to see what they would bring back with them from the snack bar. Oddly enough, they didn’t return and once Daddy Fats had finished all the food, he took a nap.

I guess he slept for 3 or 4 innings and when he awoke, he glanced around to see if there was any food he might have missed and seeing none, he left.

Needless to say, the thoughts I had prior to the game about a bowl of nachos and an ice cold drink, no longer existed. I watched the game.

Home now needing to sort through way too many emails and get back to work. While you wait for my next important news event to get posted, why don’t you go get something to eat.

Mainard True

Deer herd ?2008 forecasts

by Steve Remington

The following is a direct transcript of the IFW posting on said date. I quote this source in order to share with you my concern for the coming deer season. Read between the lines, but understand the magnitude of this heightened Winter Kill. It will take years to get deer numbers back up to the highs we saw over the last few years. This season is going to test your hunting skills.

March 10, 2008

2007 Deer Harvest Nears Expectations; Winter Conditions Affect Population

For more information, please contact State Deer Biologist Lee Kantar at 207-941-4477

Augusta, Maine – Another fall Opening Day, another fall opening with unpredictable weather. Welcome to deer hunting in Maine!

Despite another turbulent and wet day in parts of the state, Mainers were able to harvest 1,859 deer on Opening Day, an increase of 37 percent from 2006. This led to a total fall harvest of 28,884 deer (although at the time of this release a few registration books remain outstanding). This is slightly lower – about 2 percent – that the preseason predictions and higher than the 20-year average of 28,700.

Colder weather and tracking conditions in many parts of the state made this season a pleasant and productive one. 

Maine’s deer season stretches from September through December, and is broken into several segments that include the Regular Firearms Season, the October Archery Season, the Expanded Archery Season, the Muzzleloading Season, and Youth Deer Hunting Day.

The total deer kill for each of the past 10 deer seasons:

2007 – 28,884;
2006 – 29,918;
2005 – 28,148;
2004 – 30,926;
2003 – 30,313;
2002 — 38,153;
2001 — 27,769;
2000 – 36,885;
1999 – 31,473;
1998 – 28,241.

Youth hunters had their second best day ever (1,065 deer) and proved that neither warm temperatures nor rain could keep them out of the woods.

Together expanded and special archers had a slight downward trend of about 6 percent from 2006 and in total harvested 2,236 deer. Expanded archery continues to play a critical role in keeping deer numbers in check in areas with firearm restriction ordinances.

Blackpowder enthusiasts came up strong in 2007 with a harvest of 1,964 deer, which is a 50 percent increase from 2006 and by far is the highest muzzleloader harvest that Maine has seen – the first season was in 1981!  Colder weather and tracking conditions in many parts of the state made this season a pleasant and productive one. 

Again this year more deer were killed in Penobscot county (3,283) than any other county this past year. Other counties where more than 2,000 deer were killed include Somerset (3,131), Kennebec (2,822), Oxford (2,584), York (2,531), and Cumberland (2,391).

Hunters this year killed 16,103 adult bucks and 12,781 antlerless deer. The antlerless kill of 12,781 was down 7 percent from the predicted antlerless kill of 13,640. The decrease was mostly a product of a reduced fawn harvest.

This year, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife issued 66,375 Any Deer permits. An Any Deer permit allows a hunter to harvest a deer of either sex. By controlling the number of female deer in a population, the department can manage deer population trends. Any Deer permits are issued through a lottery system.

Harsh Winter for Deer Populations

To those people who have spent time in the outdoors this winter, it will come as no surprise that this year is on track to be one of the most severe winters for deer in the last 57 years, according to IF&W State Deer Biologist Lee Kantar, based in Bangor.
        
“If winter conditions persist we will need to brace ourselves for a large decrease in Any Deer permits as well as a reduced harvest in 2008 in order to compensate for an expected increase in winter mortality,” Kantar said.

IF&W has been monitoring the effects of this year’s winter on the deer population by completing weekly checks at weather collecting stations at 28 locations throughout the state. The data are compiled and compared to past years to determine the severity of the winter and what its impacts are on the deer population in different parts of the state.

IF&W’s winter severity index is based on a calculation of snow depth, deer sinking depth and ambient temperatures, according to Kantar.

“The biggest driving factor is snow depth,” Kantar said. “The deeper the snow the more it restricts mobility and taxes a deer’s energy budget.”

Deer that are yarded up mostly rely on fast reserves from the previous fall to survive a winter. Good deer yards help slow the downhill slide of fat reserve use by providing thermal protection and some limited food sources.

“The longer that winter stays, and the later it takes for spring to arrive and green up, the harder it will be for deer to hang on,” Kantar said. “Fawns are very susceptible this time of year because they have not had time in their young lives to maximize body condition and size. They are still growing so they do not have the benefit of putting on much fat for the winter. It will be a brutal year for them.”

IFW wildlife biologists will be meeting in the next few weeks to determine the preliminary number of any deer permits that will be available for next year.

As quoted from MDIFW (Click link to read the information on their site.)

As an avid hunter and a reasonably successful one. I am concerned with what this means to all of us. At a time when we have finally gotten the state to acknowledge that Aroostook County needs them to resurvey and study our deer herds, to better regulate it. It appears that Augusta is first looking to shift the recovery burden over to the does and fawns. Yes we need to reduce permits to get more to last over. But letting the Bucks face the gun alone. Means that buck kills could be too high for proper rebuilding of the herd. If we are to recover from this catastrophe we must all face the reductions. This is a perfect time to enact a three year moratorium on our “bucks only” seasons. Prefering instead to create a slot limit. No buck less than a 3 point and over a six. We need to enact rules right now to sustain our herds or see them disappear. Leaving a few bucks in the woods makes sense.

(I sponsored a Deer Management Poll over on Maine Hunting Today in 2007…… here is the poll Link…Aroostook Deer Management … this poll is now closed. But through this poll I learned alot about what people wanted. Here are the key points:

1. Bucks Only…to stay….no moratorium desired

2. Deer ratios not accurate: 5 does to 1 buck more likely than 2.5 to 1 as stated by MDIFW

3. Slot Limit; Most hunters indicated that rather than ban bucks for three years. A slot limit would work better. Leaving the young in place and the old studs still out there too. )

Early Season Patterns

by Aroostookbasser

My Go To Fly For Spring……PT NYMPH

At the start of each season every angler must plan for the first day of the season. As a fly angler, that leads to the flybench. What to tye?

Well for me I fall back to the tried and true. I tye nymphs and streamers and wets to get me started. Here are a few of the flies I rely on to get me going each spring.

Nymphs:
1. Pt Nymph
(Natural coloration makes it a killer fly for early season.

2. Prince Nymph
( I think the trout see that white wing thing)

3. Gold Ribbed Hares Ear
( the shine and contrast of a good buggy nymph)

4.Copper John
(Standard red/copper or green, love the shine in muddy or off colored water

5. Muskrat Nymph
(Backup to the PT and Hares Ear.)

6.Stonefly “raffia” nymph
(Several names are attached to this style..all work. Prefer Black and Brown.)

Streamers:
7. BT Slayer
(See Previoius posts for pattern)

8. Joes Smelt
( Sleek design looks good to all trout, and looks very smelt like in the water.)

9. Kennebago Smelt
(The darker smelt pattern of the Kennebago makes it more visible under certain circumstances. the white and yellow add attraction as does the silver shine of the body.)

10. Black Ghost
(Same idea as the Kennebago, darker can be seen better at specific times. This pattern uses more white and less silver shine.)
11. Ripogenus smelt
(In stark contrast the Rip is lighter than most would choose and catches alot of “local” fish)
Wets:
12. Carey Special

(Westfly Photo)
HOOK:sizes 4-10
THREAD: Black
TAIL: Pheasant tail
RIB: Copper wire
BODY: Olive chenile or peacock herl
HACKLE: Pheasant tail

13. Muddler Minnow
The classic hopper minnow, I prefer in gold and browns over other variants.

14. Bergman

(Flikr Photo)

15. Picket Pin
(A Classic wetfly of the old school. Basicly some peacock on a hook, ribbed with a hen hackle, a squirrel tail wing. Monster brookie fly early in the season as the bugs first start surfacing.)

16. Partridge and Yellow
( Standard and neon, a classic mayfly pattern.)

Now your list may vary from these few patterns I have listed, but that is an individual thing. These are just some of the 200+ flies that grace my flybox each spring. Variety is the spice of life, even in flyfishing.

Slow times

by Steve Remington

Sorry for the delay in posting folks. After surgery I fell victim to a pretty serious cold. This kept me behind schedule at work, and after a few weeks away from work it seems a few months to “catch up” isn’t quite enough. You folks be sure to check out some of the other bloggers at SkinnyMoose these folks areposting some great articles to keep everyone up to date in the hunting and fishing industry. Thanks for your consideration.

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