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I spent nearly all Thanksgiving Day and all of Saturday in the woods without seeing a single deer. It didn't seem to matter where I was or how I hunted, I was completely unable to see or hear anything for both days. Now with rifle season ending I guess I have two more Saturdays to try and fill a tag. Even being able to take a doe this year I seem to be having a difficult time locating deer. Better luck muzzleloading!

Friday was a beautiful day for deer hunting in my opinion. Cold with no wind, a great morning to be able to hear them coming!

I started the morning in my treestand and was only there until 7 AM when from behind me and off to my right I was able to hear something approaching through the woods. Whatever it was it was moving with such intent that I really expected to see the orange of another hunter any moment. Then as it reached behind me the noise stopped and nothing move for a good ten nerve racking minutes. As whatever it was began to shuffle in the dense vegetation behind me I turned for a better look. I couldn't make out what it was, but I could see glimpses of white now and again. It definately wasn't another hunter, but I couldn't make out if I was seeing the belly, rump, neck, whatever. As it began to slowly move away I reached for my deer grunt, something that has worked for me from time to time..... but not this time. Each grunt was responded by blowing and stomping. The response was so loud that it echoed through the swamp around me. This made my heart skip a few beats. However it was smarter than I and moved off. I checked my watch and the whole event took a full hour, but resulted in not.

Later in the day I met with the usual hunting buddies and we moved through a few small pieces that normally hold deer. One of the hunters was able to spot two and eventually was able to take a shot at what he confirmed to be a buck but didn't connect. I moved on up ahead and saw the fleeting glimpse of a deer darting through the brush and I to took the shot that did not connect.

Later on as we moved back towards the vehicles my father in law and I decided to investigate a small piece of ground thick with young 6' pines. The previous day another hunter had taken a shot at a doe that he had claimed to hit and had moved into that area. We thought we would take one look and return the deer if we found it. As we moved through I was sure that as I had crossed over a blowdown I had seen the moving shape of a deer through the pines. I couldn't hear anything and I couldn't see any more movement. Minutes later and a single shot echoed around us. Wether it was the same deer or not, my father in law was able to tag out on this nice 120 pound doe.

We continued hunting for the day without any real action. I did see one more deer blast through the woods while I really wasn't paying attention. I was more intent on moving through a series of hunters on stand that I had encountered and it easily got away.

Saturday was a completely different day. Still cold, but the winds were strong and steady. Not one deer spotted all day long. I guess that's hunting, some days are great.... some aren't.

Horrible hunting conditions Friday and Saturday in my opinion. Too much rain and far too warm. Mentally I think I abandoned the hunt for the week and spent a total of only about 10 hours in the woods.

I have high hopes for next weekend as the weather forecasts are calling for much colder temps. Hopefully this will change the deer hunting conditions for the better.

Tough hunting as I spent all day Friday and all day Saturday in the woods around Lebanon and a little in North Berwick. The weather is very warm making moving through the woods quite an excursion. Even the mosquitos are still out, something I really can't quite ever remember happening in November.

The deer appear to be eating well as there is no end to the sign of them foraging through the woods. They appear to be feasting heavily on an abundance of mushrooms. Unfortunately if they are moving it is not in my direction as I have yet to lay eyes on a deer of any size.

With weather like this I plan to abandon my approach of still hunting and gear up to hunt from a tree stand. I have a spot in mind where deer normally cross, whether by their own device or pushed by hunting pressure. Hopefully this will increase my odds of seeing deer.

Went to North Berwick for some jump shooting action. Typically a great spot I was a little disappointed. Saw a total of six ducks, four so far away that I could not identify them and two Wood Ducks. All flushed very quickly and far out, I guess something had them spooked today! No ducks and not one shot fired. Better luck in the the second season I hope!

Hunted Resident's Day here in Maine 11/1/08. Went to a familiar spot in Lebanon where I have harvested a few deer over the years. Didn't lay eyes on one though. Little sign, but with the leaves still falling the tracks and ground scrapes can be covered pretty easily. The lack of buck scraping up trees made it a little disheartening.

I headed to Aroostook County this weekend to visit family and try for a little Partridge hunting. Along the way I noticed that the migration of ducks and geese were in full swing.

In the early hours I decided to set up in a local potato field that had already been harvested and sure enough it held what I was looking for... Canadian Geese. I was able to successfully bag my first Goose!

From there I headed into the Northen Maine Woods through Allagash. After six hours of travelling through old stompoing grounds I could not put eyes on a single Partridge!?!?!?! I hope for all hunter's sake that it was just me and not a sign of a poor year for bird numbers.

Having reviewed many arial photos and maps I decided to try a spot on Littlefield River again today. It looked like prime hunting ground and as I floated down the river the enviroment looked supreme for duck hunting... the unfortunate thing is that I did not see a single duck!!! From the amount of spent shell casings though I beleive that the area had been hit hard in the early morning hours and that my downfall was my late start.

After work this afternoon I met up with Mark from Upper Enchanted Guide Service. We took the canoe and headed for a section of river in North Berwick Maine that has usually treated us well for duck hunting in years past. Unfortunately this time we encountered only one nice flock of Teal. We were able to take one bird each and that ended our opportunity for the evening.

Having fouled up my first duck hunting trip of the season it made it very difficult to actually work today... so after work I decided to try and make the last hour of legal hunting the best of it. The small pond I had seen I was able to find on the map as a piece of the Middle Branch Mousam River and I headed right back for it.

Carefully I made my way out across the water and was a little disappointed to not find a flock waiting to bust from the surface and take into flight. Never the less I had an hour that I could wait and wait I did. Creeping to the shoreline in my float tube I backed in under some overhanging boughs and hoped that a flock would decided to land before dark.

After 20 minutes I noticed that in the still water every tiny movement I made sent ripples out across the water and that lead me to consider what effect that would have on a flock coming to make the landing..... and suddenly out ahead of me a pair of ducks emerged from the opposite shore! Amazed I took aim as the began to make ground away from me. I was sure that they did not know I was there and decided to take the shot.... and they launched and flew off into the dense trees and brush.... another miss. I kicked over just to ensure I had not wounded one and as I was looking for any tell tale signs (of which there were none) suddenly a hen Wood Duck flew into view. Quickly I raised up and was about to make a clean kill. Excited with my first bird of the season I retreived her and considered my success. As I slowly made my way back down stream I saw three more ducks break the tree line and head in for a landing. I raised and was able to take the middle one, a beautifully colored male Wood Duck. Content for an hour's hunt  I made my way home considering the event a success!

Having the opportunity to head out alone in the afternoon I decided to try something new. Instead of hunting from a canoe I decided to try hunting from a float tube. And since I was already venturing into the unknown I figured I would also do some scouting in new waterways.

I elected to float down a section of Littlefield River in Acton Maine to determine what the duck activity would be. It was very slow moving water with many reed beds and thought it looked like prime duck habitat. As I crept down river I was surprised at not being able to flush flocks of birds, until finally I heard the tell tale warning quack. I would be fooled however as I did not see the flock of five black ducks off to the left and assumed that they were actually waiting around the river bed. Needless to say I fired one hasty shot as they exploded into the air and retreived no ducks. A little ways along the river and I beleive far up ahead two mallards took flight from a small cove, but I was much too far away to attempt a shot or even really be certain what kind of duck they actually were.

 With my excursion complete I headed for home when I passed a small pond. I decided that with the last hour of the day ahead of me I would pull and and quickly scout it out ..... nothing. Nothing that is until I climbed back out of the water and headed up the bank. Then suddenly out of the gloom, ducks! I wasn't sure where they had come from but there were about six of them out there... a spot I will remember!