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The
Quick Rundown
-
John
Mondello, guided by Bill Orne, 32” spread 4X4 rack, dressed
620 pounds
-
Bill
Nylic, guided by Steve Coleman, 32” spread 4X4 rack, dressed
578 pounds
-
Tony
Champagne, guided by Dana Packard, 49” spread 5X8 rack, estimated
880 pounds
-
Frank
Jones, guided by Travis Willett, 33” spread 6X6 rack, dressed
647 pounds
-
Hank
McPherson, guided by Don Lavoie, 56 ½” spread 12X9 rack, dressed
944 pounds
-
Ben
Chaston, guided by Bob Smith, 48 ½” spread 7X7 rack, dressed
987 pounds
-
Beverly
Smith, guided by Rob Prescott, 36” spread 6X6 rack, dressed 700
pounds
-
Bill
Kennedy, guided by Bob Smith, 43” spread 6X5 rack, dressed 728
pounds
-
William
Webber, guided by Don Lavoie, 39” spread 6X6 rack, dressed 596
pounds
-
Steve
Szymkowicz, guided by Bill Orne, 36” spread 5X6 rack, estimated
640 pounds
-
Brian
Goggins, guided by Bob Smith, 46” spread 6X6 rack, dressed 790
pounds
- All
trips booked ended with a tagged Bull, keeping Ross Lake
Camps at an amazing 100% success rate on all Moose Hunts
for 6 years running!!!
The
main rut for the 2007 moose season really started swinging the week
before the season opener. Night time temperatures had been dipping
down into the low 30’s, and the moose began moving around everywhere.
Pre-season scouting revealed an abundance of rutting bulls in our
area, and the whole camp was buzzing in anticipation for the hunters
to arrive. Finally Sunday came and brought a camp full of anxious
hunters into the woods. Unfortunately, the weather had taken an odd
turn. Record breaking temperatures were being set all over the state
of Maine, and all though the sun and warmth were great for being
in the woods, that changes the scene for the moose hunting drastically.
The rut was still in full swing, but the animals were moving around
less and staying in thicker cover because of the heat.
On Monday
morning the first bull of the season was taken by Bill Nylic of Cheshire,
Massachusetts. Maine Master Guide, Steve Coleman knew that the moose
were deeper in the woods to combat the hot temperatures, so he opted
to walk into a remote stream area. Sure enough, a bull was spotted
wading in the cool water and Steve and Bill got set up. After watching
this bull for several minutes, Bill made the decision that he would
take this one instead of taking his chances with some unpredictable
weather. A spectacular shot toppled this moose over backwards and
it was brought back to camp just a short time later. Final measurements
were a 32 inch wide rack with 8 points, and a dressed weight of 578
pounds.
Many moose
were both heard and seen throughout the rest of the day on Monday,
but they were hanging back in the thick brush just as suspected,
so no other shots were taken by the hunters. Tuesday however, brought
some excitement with it when both groups of our zone 1 hunters scored
on their Bulls. Ben Chaston and his father Roy, guided by Maine Master
Guide, Bob Smith were the first to score that morning. Bob had his
target area scouted out well in advance, and found this Bull hanging
on the edge of a swamp just an hour or so into the hunting day. Ben
did some marksman like shooting and toppled this monster bull after
it lunged just a few yards. This one dressed out at a massive 987
pounds and sported a 48 ½” spread rack with a total
of 14 points. It just so happened that Registered Maine Guide Travis
Willett and his hunters, Frank and Kathy Jones of Washington, ME
were in earshot of the shooting put on by Ben Chaston, and they were
prepared to do some shooting of their own. Travis had Frank and Kathy
set up in some cover and he cow called a couple bulls into their
range. One hung up in the brush edge, but Travis called the other
right into the open for Frank. After more than 15 years of lottery
applications, Frank is celebrating his first Maine moose that dressed
out at 647 pounds and had a perfectly symmetrical 32 inch rack with
6 points on either side.
Tuesdays
action continued on in Zone 4 when Registered Maine Guide and camp
owner, Don Lavoie led his hunter to a once in a lifetime trophy.
Don had his work cut out for him, as Hank had already been fortunate
enough to score on a Maine Moose with a 50 inch spread on it a few
years ago, so he was holding out for something in a 55 inch or larger
class animal. Don targeted an area on that morning’s hunt that
has produced several trophy size animals on previous years, and although
several moose were called in, none were of the caliber that Hank
was looking for. Don knew that area was holding some big animals,
so later that day he approached the area from the opposite side of
the stream that cuts through the piece and called out a true monster
for Hank. The excitement continued to mount when Hank’s gun
jammed after the initial shot and the bull made it about 250 yards
before a follow up shot could be taken. All was well though when
this 944 pound bruiser with a monstrous 56 ½ inch rack and
21 scoreable points was loaded into the truck for his victory ride
into town!
Wednesday
brought some cooler temperatures on a front, but also brought some
wind and rain as well. John Mondello of North Berwick, ME guided
by Maine Master Guide Bill Orne was that day’s only successful
hunter. An abundance of both cows and bulls were called in early
in the week, but all that appeared were young bulls. By Wednesday
afternoon, John decided that he had gambled on his permit long enough,
and so he made the decision to harvest a respectable young bull that
Bill had spotted bedded under some thick spruce trees while traveling
through the woods. This was a fine young bull that measured out at
32 inches with an 8 point rack, and dressed out at 620 pounds.
Thursday
came in with weather conditions running down hill fast, and just
one hunter left in camp without a moose. Tony Champagne of Independence,
Missouri had traveled way too far to let that tag go unfilled! Guided
by Registered Maine Guide, Dana Packard, Tony and his hunting partner
had some bad luck with a missed shot opportunity on a trophy bull
Wednesday afternoon, but more than redeemed themselves when they
brought in a beautiful animal on Thursday with a 49 inch wide rack
with 14 points, including an unusual long point growing right off
the base of the right side main beam. Weight on this bull was estimated
at 880 pounds. Tony had driven all the way from Missouri with a freezer,
large coolers, and an arsenal of other gear to cape and butcher his
moose himself. They did the work, and are to be commended for their
efforts!
The week
in between the moose hunting seasons had moose activity in the area
continuing at a fast pace. The rut was still on at week’s end,
and again, the guides were chomping at the bit for the hunters to
arrive for the late moose season. Many moose were seen by the hunters
and guides on Monday during the hunt, but only one that was in a
shooter class presented an opportunity.
Steve
Szymkowicz of Hadley, Massachusetts was following a dream of taking
a Maine Bull moose with bow and arrow. Guided by Maine Master Guide
Bill Orne, the two got into some hot and heavy action right off the
bat on Monday. Several young bulls were called in and passed on throughout
the mornings hunt, and then Bill made a move to the backside of a
cutting that they had worked earlier in the day. The guys set up
in the brush on a ditch edge of an overgrown road for cover and Bill
started calling. Just a couple minutes later a bull started grunting
back and it became obvious that the animal was coming into the calls.
Bill kept calling and the moose kept coming until it finally came
into visual range about 60 yards away. Suddenly, Bill spotted a second
bull (A much larger one!) that came out into the opening a couple
hundred yards away. This bull was one of the biggest that Northern
Maine holds. The 2 bulls actually ended up passing by each other
as the monster bull, obviously the dominant animal in the area, kept
heading into the cow calls. This giant kept coming head on to the
calls and came into within 11 yards of Steve! Unfortunately, the
moose would not turn, and would only face head on to our bow hunter
until he finally got wise and ran from the area. This moose was estimated
to have a spread nearing 65 inches and palm width and points that
could easily be mistaken for an Alaskan moose. The guys kept at it
all week, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Steve did end up
taking a respectable bull on Saturday of the week that measured out
with 11 points on a 36 inch wide rack.
We had
one of many special hunts come together for a successful end on Tuesday
afternoon. 16 year old William Webber of York, ME had been drawn
as a winner of a moose tag and he had named his 14 year old brother,
Andrew as subpermittee for his hunt. The boys were guided by Registered
Maine Guide and camp owner, Don Lavoie. A few bulls were seen on
the hunt throughout Monday and Tuesday morning, but then Don was
able to get the boys set up on one within range on Tuesday afternoon.
He made a cow call to turn the Bull broadside for the boys who then
timed their shots together and dropped that bull right in its tracks.
Older brother Jarod and father David were along on the trip to celebrate
with Will and Andrew over their 39 incher with 12 points and a dressed
weight of 596 pounds. Congratulations to the whole family!
Registered
Maine Guide Rob Prescott still had some special memories to make
for another special hunter in camp with us that week. Beverly Smith
of Brooklin, ME ventured up to the North Maine Woods by herself for
this once in a lifetime hunt. Her subpermittee was unable to join
her on the hunt because of responsibilities at home, but she was
not to be denied of the opportunity to make some dreams come true.
Guide and hunter ran into some bad luck on Monday when a group of
bird hunters running dogs stumbled into their target area. The pair
regrouped though, and on Wednesday brought it all together. They
were sitting in some mixed hardwood and softwood cover doing some
light calling when Rob spotted a bull coming their way. They waited
patiently for the bull to come into range, and when he did, Beverly
steadied her gun on the rest Rob provided and the moose fell after
making it only about 100 yards away. The whole town of Brooklin is
proud of their home town girl bringing back this 36 inch 12 pointer
that dressed out at 700 pounds on the nose.
Yet
another interesting story is about a hunter by the name of Bill Kennedy
from Bennett, Colorado. Bill’s permit was originally awarded
for the September hunting season, but his wife Cheryl, a barrel racer
on the PBR circuit qualified for the National Championship that was
the same week as the September moose hunt. Bill was not willing to
miss his wife’s lifetime event, and so the Maine Department
of IF&W made a special exception, and allowed Bill to hunt in
the October season instead of September. The stress was all worthwhile
when Maine Master Guide Bob Smith led Bill to the 43 inch 11 point
Bull Moose that dressed out at 728 pounds. This moose is species
number 25 of 27 on a quest for Bill to complete the North American
Big Game Slam. Good luck to Bill on those last 2 hunts, and congratulations
to both Bill and Cheryl on all their remarkable accomplishments!
The
2007 Moose hunt seemed to be filled with special stories about special
people, and our final hunting group of the season fit right in with
that description. Permit winner Brian Goggins of Levant, ME is one
member of a tight knit group of friends that are all Vietnam era
Disabled Veterans. They were hunting together on an unguided trip
based out of our sporting camp during the October hunt. Conditions
became tough late in that week with rain and wind coupled with the
fact that the rut had ended on Monday afternoon. We at Ross Lake
Camps were not about to see our friends leave with that tag unfilled,
so we donated all our available time and efforts for the remainder
of the week. It only took until Thursday afternoon though, before
Maine Master Guide Bob Smith was able to show the guys to an awesome
moose to top off our season. Measurements for Brian and subpermittee,
George Mathis, were a 46 inch wide 12 point rack attached to a bull
that dressed out at 790 pounds. Congratulations to the guys, and
many thanks for your sacrifices in your service to our Country.
Once
again, Moose season at
Ross Lake Camps was a remarkable success in 2007. Through hard work
and tireless efforts we have maintained a 100% success rate for our
moose hunters over the last 6 seasons running which is a remarkable
accomplishment. Congratulations to all who have enjoyed a successful
hunt with us in the past, and the best of luck to those who choose
to hunt with us in the future. We’re looking forward to it!
If you
are interested in more information check out the website at www.rosslakecamps.com or
contact Don & Andrea by phone at 603-320-3208. |
