Mainely Outdoors: Outdoorsmen’s October odyssey

I checked over my calendar a few days ago, and sure enough, October has the maximum number of days allowed per month. Somehow these 31 days seen far too few and far too short for Aroostook’s vast array of cast and blast opportunities. It’s difficult to believe over half the month’s flown past already. I hear this complaint regularly from other sportsmen each autumn and oddly it’s not just about the quickly passing hunting seasons.
Aroostook hunters and anglers revel in the cool, crisp weather that invigorates the spirit and soul, allowing each inhalation to nourish mind and body. Anyone born and raised in The County recognizes the smell of fall; the aroma that only harvest, falling leaves, gun oil, burnt powder, and a crisp, cool breeze combine to create. Beyond the smells of October, special sights and sounds also add to Aroostook’s autumn aura. A kaleidoscope of colorful leaves are a treat for the eyes and the background melody of passing flocks of geese join the harmony of drumming partridge and the background rhythm of distant harvesters and potato trucks to confirm it’s really fall in the Crown of Maine.
Partridge season’s well under way with mixed reports of success. Road hunters report so-so results, while gunners getting 20 yards into the brush are spotting plenty of grouse. Everyone’s likely to see more birds as the leaves finish dropping and cool nights and frosty mornings bring the partridge into banks and into the woods roads. Unusually warm weather during the first week of the season proved a detriment.
My confidence that grouse season will improve comes from two incidents. While moose hunting in late September, I had the occasion to visit several wild apple orchards during my travels. Without fail we flushed birds every day and where we didn’t see grouse the partially eaten fruit proved they were visiting. Just this past week some friends of mine scouted Zone 2 for moose and every time they hiked up old skidder trails or brushy tote roads partridge were flushed. Keep at it, the last couple of weeks of October should be top rate for grouse.
Speaking of moose, the second season is currently under way and hunters assigned to Zone 6; which includes Caribou, Presque Isle, Easton, Fort Fairfield, Limestone, Mars Hill, Houlton and several other communities are filling tags quickly despite the reduced number of permits. Since many cows remain in heat, calling continues to be very effective and some big-racked, wide-bodied bulls have succumbed to a fake but lusty cow call.
The November moose season will center around locating cows, and if September sightings are any indication, they are plentiful. During my two and a half day moose excursion, my hunting buddy and I spotted twice as many female moose as males. November’s cool weather also should tend to encourage the moose to begin to group up a bit more.
Aroostook’s native goose season in September was top rate and it seems the regular Canada goose season running from early-October to early-December might be even better. More and more migratory honkers arrive throughout Aroostook every day and it’s not uncommon to see flocks of 300 to 500 geese on area roost ponds or feeding in regional agri-fields.
Potato harvest is winding down and the last of the grain is ripe and being cut quickly, so food plots abound for sportsmen who enjoy setting out decoys spreads and calling the crafty waterfowl within shotgun range. Don’t forget migratory birds (ducks and geese) require hunters purchase a state and a federal waterfowl stamp and only steel shot or a non-toxic shot substitute for lead may be used for shotgun shells.
Ducks are plentiful in every pond and puddle and it should be a stellar season. An increase to a six-ducks-per-day limit, with no more than four of any one species is going to really increase the gunning potential. Mallard numbers appear to really be up regionally and while only one black duck is allowed daily, there are plenty of this species as well. Blue and green-winged teal are often the most sporting quarry for duck gunners, and are plentiful most of this month until the first severe cold snap send them winging south. Average numbers of wood ducks and ring-necked ducks have been spotted during September,
Another migrating game bird and Maine’s smallest quarry, also promises above-average numbers this fall. Although woodcock season also opened Oct. 1, numbers are increasing since flights from Canada are picking up as temperatures decline. Within the next two weeks the top rate alder covers will be full of timberdoodle. A keen-nosed dog is a great asset to woodcock gunners, but these long-billed, twittering fowl that often take off like a helicopter can be flushed by hunters ambling helter-skelter through brushy covers.
Compared to other migratory birds woodcock have a short season, just this month, and a three-bird-per-day limit. Perseverance is essential to consistent success with the state’s tiniest gamebird since a cover may hold only two birds one day and 22 the next as flights move in and out, stopping only long enough to probe the soft earth for worms to fill up on and fly on south. Woodcock may just be the most enjoyable, challenging upland birds to hunt, especially with a 28- or 20-gauge double gun, and worth every effort.
Just in case the variety of bird seasons won’t keep you busy, whitetail deer season for bow hunters is underway all month as well. A few regional wild turkey enthusiasts are going to head south to try the special fall turkey season that runs from two to four weeks depending on which zone a sportsman chooses to hunt. Black bear hunting with dogs, over natural food plots, or by stalking also continues throughout October. While all this is going on, if you happen to stumble onto a snowshoe hare and enjoy rabbit stew, have at it, since rabbit season runs from October through March.
Just in case all the gunning seasons aren’t sufficient and you’re looking for something to do on a Sunday afternoon, There’s still some fishing to be enjoyed. Bass season is open all month on the Penobscot River below the I-95 bridge in Medway, and the fishing is still pretty good. An increasing number of Aroostook lakes and ponds have new regulations allowing open water angling not only during October but to the end of November if the ice holds off. Artificial lures only and catch and release regulations apply, but who doesn’t want to shoot birds in the morning and catch fish in the afternoon during October.
Well, there you have it, a fairly complete itinerary of this month’s cast and blast options. Now you understand why October may look as long as all the other months on a calendar, but in real time according to a sportsman’s watch there are too few days and way too many outdoor opportunities. Hunt often and hunt safe — time’s a wastin.’