Early April fishing has never held much appeal for me. Oh, I have done it. Opening day recollections are of casting a fly line against a snow squall, of frozen fingers and ice-covered rod guides. Of fishless days amid razor-edged winds pushing up whitecaps on frigid lakes whose shorelines were still shrouded with naked, gray […]
paul reynolds
Posted inLocal Sports
Outdoors in Maine: Dealing with dangerous dogs
Let’s get one thing straight from the start: I love dogs. Sally, probably the last dog I will ever have, needed to be put down a few years back, after she was mauled by my neighbor’s unleashed Saint Bernard. I wrote about it at the time. It was a dreadful experience. An aging English Setter […]
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Posted inBusiness, Maine
You need a license for that — but should you?
State Sen. Eric Brakey doesn’t believe animal control officers must be certified to wrangle rabid animals, massage therapists licensed to massage, or sign language interpreters licensed to interpret. “The purpose for occupational licensing is to ensure safety,” Brakey, R-Auburn, said. “If someone is poorly interpreting sign language, I don’t think that creates an imminent risk […]
Posted inLocal Sports, sj-web, Uncategorized
Outdoors in Maine: Hunting? Leave the drones at home, please.
There was a day in the life of a deer hunter when his technological aids were limited to a functional deer rifle, a hunting knife, a good compass, and, perhaps, a topo map. That all changed with the dawning of satellite technology and all of the gizmo spinoffs that have followed. Hunter’s today have choices […]
Posted inLocal Sports, sj-web
Outdoors in Maine: Stay safe on the snowmobile trails
The needless, accidental death of a young, healthy person in the prime of their life is profoundly tragic. Over the years, we have all seen teenage drivers, who thought that they were immortal, die on our highways. Seat belts, mandatory driver education and stiffer age requirements have helped to stem the tide of youthful deaths […]
Posted inLocal Sports
Outdoors in Maine: Maine revising game management plan
For wildlife management purposes, Maine recognizes four species: deer, bear, moose and wild turkeys. In order for state wildlife biologists and Augusta policymakers to make decisions about how best to manage our important big game animals, there must be a plan. This plan directs wildlife managers on how best to do this in a way […]
Posted inLocal Sports
Outdoors in Maine: Blood Trackers track down wounded deer
Most deer hunters will sooner or later in their hunting careers wound a deer and not recover it. It happens. The causes differ. A rushed shot. Buck fever. A gun with an inadequate caliber. A bullet’s impact or trajectory compromised by a tree limb. Often, particularly with inexperienced hunters, shots at a deer are taken […]
Posted inLocal Sports
Outdoors in Maine: Question 3 would be nearly impossible to enforce
One of the best reasons to show up at the polls on election day, November 8, in Maine is the opportunity to vote against Question 3, which would require the so-called Universal Background Check (UBC) for most transfers of firearms between private individuals. There are multiple arguments advanced by proponents and opponents of this question […]
Posted inLocal Sports
Outdoors in Maine: Cool is the rule for meat to taste neat
Whether its hunting deer, bear, moose or elk, a meat hunter I have always been. And I have learned over the years that once an animal is down, taking proper care of the meat pays off at the dinner table. Early and proper cooling of wild meat is the key. Depending on the critter and […]