Yesterday we were up early and on our way to tend the new bait sites in Webster Plantation; 15 in total. A few of the bait sites had not been worked too hard, however there was one that definitely has a huge trophy bear working. Big E is back on the job, but only as a supervisor. It is hard to keep him down but he knows what the consequences could be if he starts doing things too soon. We need to some how make these sites more efficient and less time consuming, which is very hard to do at this point in the game; trails need to be cleaned out, brush cleared for good shooting lanes, and tree stands placed. It is a lot more complicated than some may think. We don't just go out and throw down a bucket of donuts and hunt bears. Much planning comes into just choosing a good site, then many factors have to be taken into consideration; prevalent wind direction which in Maine is a wind from the Northwest, where the sun will be setting as the hunter does not want to be lit up like a Christmas tree with the sun in their eyes, another is water, a bear will want a water source, and the forest itself should be secluded for cover to make a bear feel safe to come in. Many hunters are a little intimidated with our forests here, but a bait site should not be too close to any roads or trails, but close enough that the hunter can quickly and quietly leave the stand at closing time.
This reminds me of a couple of hunters who were indeed terrified out there, but didn't want their buddies to tease them. One such hunter we called Coyote Jim, which is absolutely no relation to Peter "Coyote" Cote. To be honest, I don't even remember this boys last name! We had placed him on a bait site that was being worked well by a couple of fine bears. However, it is often that hunters will see other game on the baits; fisher, marten, rabbits, turkeys, moose, deer, partridge, fox and coyotes. This particular night, Jim had what he stated as a pack of coyotes come into the bait site. Here he sat in a tree stand, and no, coyotes can't climb trees! He has a rifle and a box of ammo with him! He jumped out of the treestand and ran approximately seven miles to the nearest light post!!! We were on our way to pick them up when we noticed a person pacing under the streetlight. When we stopped, an out of breath Jim, explained why he was there. I asked, did you ever just stop and look back? " No way!!!"" he stated. Well believe me he was the butt of all jokes and pranks for the few remaining days by his hunting partners and no, he never did get a bear. We have had over the years many characters that as we look back, make us laugh all over again. There was the true, real life Ernest T, with heel clicks and giggles. Smokey who was scared of his shadow let alone the dark woods informed us when he arrived that he had a heart condition , when he was ready to leave, he informed me he was going to fire his doctor, because what his buddies had put him through, he said he should have dropped dead several times!! Then there were those who will hold a place in our hearts forever, who are no longer with us on this life plain, and those who have become family.
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