All this talk about bear trapping and these groups coming at trapping makes me want to try my hand at it.  While doing some search on trapper education I came upon an upcoming clinic.  The clinic will cover a variety of aspects of trapping.

The clinic will be put on by the Carrabassett Valley  Trappers.  The clinic will run June 8,9,10.  There will be a variety of aspects covered from the actual trapping practices to keeping the hide and furs in great condition.  For the $3 admission this seems as a no brainer for anyone interested in getting involved in trapping or wants more information.  I wish I could be there for this event, but my 18 year old step son has graduation on the 9th and all kinds of family will be in town.

If you have not checked out the great ministry of Sportsmens Devotional make sure you do.  Here is today’s devotion from one of the team members.

Bible Study Verse
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (NIV)
Thoughts
So, just why did God create the heavens and the earth? There’s only one answer; it’s very simple– to glorify Himself. By doing so, God directs and draws us to Him every time we look into the sky or at the creation around us. It’s explained very well in Romans 1:20: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-His eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Excuse from what? Not accepting God as God. (CS)
Action Point
Abraham Lincoln said, “I never behold them, the heavens filled with stars, that I do not feel I am looking into the face of God. I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up into the heavens and say there is no God.” Let’s remember Mr. Lincoln’s wisdom whenever we look up at the heavens filled with stars!

I love to see free fishing days or free weekends.  This is a great chance for parents that may not have the money or time to purchase a fishing license.  This allows them to spend a day or two fishing as a family.  It’s a great time for someone who does not have a license to get out and introduce fishing to a young person.  This is a great program brought forth in order to keep fishing of interest to people.

Here is a list of states in New England that will be offering free fishing days/weekends:

•  New Hampshire–June 2nd
• Mass–June 2nd & 3rd
• Rhode Island–June 2nd & 3rd
• Maine–June 2nd & 3rd
• Vermont–June 9th
• New York–June 23rd & 24th
• Connecticut does not have a scheduled free fish day this year.

Get yourselves out there and introduce a kid to fishing.  If you have not purchased a fishing license for whatever reason, utilize this time to get out and experience the great outdoors while fishing.

Colossian 1:5 “For the hope which is laid for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel”

As outdoorsman whether in hunting or fishing we have “pursued” that trophy. Each of us have stories of those trophies. Each of them being very important to us. Maybe it’s that large buck shot or that once in a lifetime fish. Other trophies might be our elderly dad shooting his last deer or our kids first fish caught. Our trophies are not always measured in size.

As Christians we need to focus on the big “trophy”. That trophy being heaven our eternal home.

If I invited you to the best place in order for you to pursue your trophy. On top of that I would guarantee you that trophy. To even further that it will come at no cost to you. The only thing you need to do is show up and leave the rest to me. I’m pretty sure everyone would jump at that chance. This is what Christ has done for us on the cross. It costs us nothing. This goes against most of our growing up in “religious” churches. Maybe even today your vision of the church and Christianity is based upon “religious” aspects. Jesus came in order that you and I could have that “trophy” which is laid for us in heaven.

I know when I go hunting or fishing I love to have family and friends with me. It also helps to have these people along in order to help out. That big buck is no fun to drag out alone. That fresh fish that is caught and cooked over the open flame along the river bank at camp that night tastes a lot better with someone to share it with. That’s all becoming a Christian is. It’s saying God I know you sent your son to earth in order to offer heaven to me as a “trophy”. I realize that I cannot do this alone. Lord will you help me today to realize what personalized “trophies” you have in store for me.

Here we are amidst Memorial Weekend. A time where we pay tribute to those who have or are serving us in the military. As I sit here I think back to the many people that have touched my life. They have left a mark that will always remain with me, even though they have moved on.

My grandfather has to be the first on that list. He was and still is my hero. He taught me all I know about horses, animals, hunting, and many aspects of life. My grampie was an amazing man. A very hard worker, caring husband, great dad, and an awesome grampie. Many days I spent over there as a kid. Our routine would be to feed the animals, then we would chop, split, and stack up the fire wood. By the time this was done, it was time for lunch. We would pull out the tv trays and sit in front of the television eating our lunch while watching the price is right. Then it was nap time. After nap time we would play pool, go for a walk, do some fishing, whatever I wanted to do for fun. I never saw him lose his temper or raise his voice and this is what I strive for with my kids.

The other person I want to share about is a gentleman I went to Church with. Brother Drake was an amazing guy. Very faithful to his wife, kids, Church, and friends. He was one of our deacon members at the Church in Bucksport where I served as Associate Pastor as a young fella. Brother Drake was helpful, courteous, and most of all loved God. Back in those days we met in the old legion hall. It was dark, old, dirty, but a great time was had by all. Then the time came where we was ready to build a new Church. Brother Drake was also an amazing carpenter and built a great percentage of the Church on his own. One day while working on the roof of the Church, Brother Drake fell. No one was around for a while and due to the fall he died. Of course, this is the way Brother Drake would want to go, serving the Lord. I’m sure he is up in Heaven looking down at his finished work today.

Finally this memorial weekend I must take the time to celebrate the life of Jesus. Here is Jesus up in Heaven and willing to come to earth to take my sin so that I may have eternal life. The punishment he went through for me. The suffering he took on for me. All the torture, blood, and trials he went through for me. That is why he is my best friend. That is why I sit here and thank him this morning and celebrate not his death, but his life.

My friend Mike over at Outdoor Bloggers Network sent me an email explaining a new contest that he is starting up tomorrow. To enter up all you have to do is go over to his forums and register. It is a great forum with loads of great information. After you register just let Mike know that you heard about his forum and the contest from me at Outdoors with Norm.

I am not exactly sure what the contest entails, but rest assured I’ll be over there tomorrow to see what Mike has up his sleeve this time.

Take a few minutes and go over, register, it’s easy and free.

Last weekend my wife, son, and I took off Friday morning for Gilman, Vermont. Gilman is a small mill town that sits on the Connecticut River, which separates Gilman from Dalton, New Hampshire.

We followed Route 2 from Newport, Maine all the way into Lancaster, New Hampshire. Where we then took 135 to Dalton, crossed the bridge into the town of Gilman.

My wife had a baby shower on Saturday for her cousin. So that left my son, brother in law, and myself alone on Saturday. So we made plans for a “man” day. It all started early in the morning while my wife was getting ready. I took off up the mountain on the four wheeler, a polaris sportsman 500. This was a beautiful ride to the top of the mountain. Once on top there were tons of hay fields that spread out over the mountain top. All this land owned by the town. As I rode this piece of land all I could think about was the opportunities this parcel had for hunting this upcoming fall. What made the ride up the mountain interesting was the mud. It had been raining in Vermont for the previous four days. So I kicked the wheeler into four wheel drive and had some fun in the mud. Upon arriving back at the house after about an hour of riding and scouting out the area, it was time for the ladies to leave. We kissed them and wished them a great day spending time together. Then we chuckled to ourselves as if we had just won a prize. A man’s day. No ladies around, what would we do?

Shortly after the ladies left we jumped in our buggy and headed to the local fish hatchery. This hatchery was spread out with many tanks of trout and salmon ranging in sizes. The amazing coloring on the small stock size brook trout caught my eye first. As we moved out way down along the tanks, there were browns, rainbows, brookies, and landlocked salmon. Then we arrived at the breeders tank. These fish were enormous. My son thought he had hit the jackpot. He looked over in awe of the size of the fish. Of course Charlie and I were doing the same. We found food to feed the fish. We placed a couple bucks in the machine and off we went. Most of the feed we did manage to let my son, Kolten feed. However, Charlie and I couldn’t resist to feed the breeders. Watching them come up and swallow the feed pellets led our minds to dreaming of the pellets being a fly on a river somewhere far, far away.

Then we again jumped in the buggy and headed north. We were going to travel up through New Hampshire. Our plan was to go ride through the “13 mile woods” and spot some moose. We did manage to see three moose. One cow that really did not look like she was doing so well. I believe the ticks were getting the best of her. The following two moose were yearling bulls who had some nubs for antlers, completely covered in velvet. The Androscoggin River was raging. At one point it had crossed the road and we had to drive through about a foot of water. We then followed Route 16 into Errol, New Hampshire.

In Errol, we spent quite a bit of time looking around LL Cote’s. This place is amazing. If you ever get a chance to make the trip, do it. The prices cannot be beat on their items. Talk about items, you will find everything for the outdoor enthusiasts here. A huge selection of guns, atv’s, snowmobiles, fishing gear, rods, reels, and whatever else is of interest to you.

On our way out of town we grabbed some hot dogs, chips, and a soda pop. We then headed back south towards Gilman. The scenery along the way was breathtaking. To ride through the mountains and view the valleys was an experience that I will not forget.

We arrived back at the house in time to unload some shingles and kick our feet back for a bit. Then later on that evening we fished the Connecticut river down at Walkers Pit. The river was raging and the temperature cold. The only fish that we landed that day was a small yellow perch. The following day we fished the river in a few more spots and I was able to land a three pound shad. This was an experience for me, as I had no idea what a shad was.

I have some film developing and will get some pictures to you of the moose that we saw. I do have a few pictures of the area that we were in taken from the digital camera, that my wife had with her at the baby shower. I know, I should have had it…but you know how it is guys….,if momma aint happy aint nobody happy…..!!!

We had a great family trip to Vermont. We will be returning in July for a family reunion. I have been promised the fishing will be better then. So I am excited to return and do some fishing and visit with some of the outlaws…I mean inlaws.

Here are some pictures from our trip:

The past couple weekends I have been on a couple fishing trips that I will share with you in other posts.  Due to time restraints, weather, water level, and a mix of bad luck I have not been successful in my attempts at catching the kind of fish I wanted to.  I can relate to the disciples in this scripture we will look at today:

One day long ago, a master fisherman was walking by the water’s edge. Upon seeing a group of tired fisherman washing their empty nets after the fruitless efforts of a long night’s labors, he got in a small boat and put out a little from the shore. He called out to them asking if he could help them. He said, “Would you like to catch the “Big One”? Responding with a rousing chorus of “Yes!”, “You Bet!”, and “Of course we want to!”, the seasoned angler said, “Drop your net in the deep waters.” Suddenly, to their surprise the weight of their net tugged and pulled nearly bursting as it teamed with fish to overflowing. Startled and puzzled by the strange ability this man had to attract the catch to their net from another boat, the rowdy fishermen determined to hang on his every word until they discovered the secret to the irresistible lure that could hook the prized trophy from afar.
Passed on from man to man, and as effective today as on that first fishing excursion, the bait that never fails is yours for the taking.
B. Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Acts 16:31)
A. Acknowledge and repent of your sins. (1 John 1:9)
I. Invite Jesus into your heart and life (confess with your mouth).
(Romans 10:9)
T. Tell others about Jesus as Savior and Lord. (Mark 16:15)
Don’t miss the catch of your lifetime! The “big one”, eternal life, awaits you. The prize above all trophies is Jesus Christ. He is calling you into fellowship. He wants more than anything to share his secrets with you so you too can become a fisher of men. (Luke 5:1-11)

Over the past couple days I’ve been what is called meme.. in the blogging world.

The rules are I need to state 8 facts about myself and then meme 8 others.

So, here are 8 facts about myself:

•  I am a family man
• My passion is youth
• My best friend is Jesus Christ
• I was a rodeo cowboy for 8 years
• I have lived in Maine, Kansas, Colorado, and Texas
• I worked in law enforcement
• I attended Zion Bible College in Barrington, Rhode Island
• I believe every school should have outdoor ed and that it be a requirement for every student.

There is a brief run down of some facts that you may have known and others you may not have.  Now it is time to tag other people.

Black Bear Blog 

Outdoor Odyssey 

Bears N Bows 

Inside Fatherhood

Bright Idea Outdoors

Tom James, Virginia Outdoors 

Whitetail Wizard

Everyday Hunter

The House of Reps voted on Thursday to extend the existing night hunting season for coyote dogs in Maine by one month.  The season currently runs from January 1st to April 30th.  This new law would extend the season up to June 1st.

The thinking behind the extension is to help maintain the deer yards in northern Maine.  Due to the weather, the deer utilize these areas later in the season then other parts of Maine.

On Thursday morning the senate quickly sent bill LD1635 to the shredders.  This comes as no  surprise as the Joint Standing Committee and House each destroyed this bill in their sessions as well.

Those who oppose bear trapping will be back on this issue though.  They have promised to bring this before the voters of Maine.

This is good news for sportsmen.  However, we do need to stay united and show the people of Maine what the true, underlying scheme these anti-trapping (hunting) groups have in mind.

Proverbs 7:1 & 5: 1 My son, keep my word, and treasure my commands within you.
5 That they may keep you from the immoral woman, from the seductress who flatters with her words.

One moment of truth when you are focused in on your quarry and it is time to make the shot. It all comes down to that moment. Have you prepared and stayed on track? Is your rifle sighted in? Are you breathing properly? Are you squeezing the trigger slowly? Such is our preparation in life for
Gods judgment. If we don’t keep His commands and treasure them within us, we will be accountable for a missed shot.

With all of life’s temptations and things that can lead us astray, we must focus on Gods truth. If you can’t maintain accountability, get involved with some other Christian men and help keep each other accountable each week.