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Sportsmans Pride Outfitters in Maine

Nine hours of reminiscing of hunts gone by and dreaming of many hunts to come, brought us to Grand Isle, Maine home of Keith Cote's Sportsman's Pride Outfitters. This is the first hunt with the HuntGuide.com camera in tow. Markus Muhlhauser and I were truly "loaded for bear", Black bear that is, anticipating all the action Keith has in store for us.

We arrived in camp on Wednesday morning to find 2 bears had been taken with numerous sightings--some sows with cubs, which are off limits and 1 missed opportunity.  The weather was unseasonably hot, on the coolest day the mercury dipped to 91 degrees at midday, but the night temperatures were very comfortable.

Keith took Markus and me out to our bait, a stand set-up on the outskirts of a swamp on the edge of a Hemlock grove. After quickly setting up the HuntGuide.com camera treestand we got into our stands and Keith left us for the evening-we would sit until dark. The first night on stand was uneventful.

Back at camp, the excitement level was high.  Two bowhunters, Mark from PA (booked through HuntGuide.com) and Bob from CT had bears in the large walk in cooler-A pair of 225lb. Maine Black Bears. There were also numerous sightings of bears this night. Ashley from Ohio (whose father shot a 200lb bear Monday evening) a 16 year old girl who we dubbed "The Bear Magnet" saw another sow and 2 cubs, Allen of CT passed on a shot at a 200+ pounder, A PA gal had a skittish bear come into her bait, but could not get a shot before the bear decided to disappear back into the woods.

Anticipation was high as we knew only a matter of time and we would get our chance at a bear.

Markus and I alternated between hunting and filming, and tonight was my turn with the bow while he manned the HuntGuide.com camera. Thursday evening was again unseasonably hot, 95 degrees as we left camp headed out for our stands at 1:45pm. This evening, the second evening of the hunt, proved to be a quiet one in the woods, quiet for everyone--everyone except for Ashley, our "Bear Magnet"!

Ashley and her Dad, Rick, had brought ATV’s to travel to and from the baits. Rick would bring her out to her stand and then pick her up at dark. This night, 3 bears came into Ashley's bait at dark. It was past legal shooting time so she patiently waited for her Dad show up to spook the bears off the bait. Interestingly, Keith noted that someone on foot or an ATV will spook the bear off the bait, yet it will return to that bait site again, yet if Ashley had hollered or climbed down from her stand to spook the bear, the bear learns where the hunter sat and will probably not come back to that bait again.

Friday after lunch, Markus and I armed up with bows, arrows, and camera gear headed back out to the woods on a silent vigil. The afternoon high broke 100 degrees--our Bucks N Does Human Scent Elimination would be put to the test  (for information on this great product visit the Bucks-N-Does website). We sat motionless for 5 hours--then he appeared! Markus spotted him first, a nice boar cautiously coming to the bait at 6:30pm. The HuntGuide.com camera was rolling while our hearts pumped wildly pushing adrenaline through our veins. This bear would test our patience to the end. He would steal from our bait pile and wander off to eat his snack, he kept coming back stealthfully placing each step as he silently moved through the woods, all the time protecting his kill zone. Keith had drilled into our heads, "Bowhunters, wait for a perfectly broadside shot--no quartering away shots-- the bear will give you 100 opportunities if you wait, do not take a marginal shot!!". Tough advise to follow, but the HuntGuide.com ProStaff stresses that you listen to your guide, regardless of their advise--be it stand or shot placement, technique, or tips on animal behavior--they know best and the guides that we recommend are the absolute best at what they do.

Fifteen minutes later Keith's advise rang true, the bear went perfect broadside at 17 yards, in less time than it takes to tell about it, Markus drew his Hoyt Striker II and at the perfect second launched his wasp cam-lok tipped 2315 shaft through both lungs of the bear plus buried that arrow 12" into the ground!! By the sound of it, the bear only went 40 yards and piled up hard--we heard the tell-tale "death moan" --the whole thing was awesome!! Although we wanted to recover Markus' bear ourselves, we again listened to our guide's advice, and since we could not see the downed bear, we went back to camp to get help.

Back at camp, everyone was buzzing. There was a 300+ pound bear in the cooler and in addition to Markus' bear 2 more bears were down. One evening, 4 shots, 4 bears, and 4 very happy hunters. After returning to our stand, we tracked Markus' bear just about 40 yards from the bait site.  A beautiful 200lb Black Bear with a perfect coat--Markus and I were thrilled! Our hunt was successful, the bear in the cooler and the incredible film footage (thanks to our patience) proved it. This Friday night, Black Friday, Black Bear Friday that is, will be one to remember. Not only for our experience, but for victory shared with friends, fellow hunters, and Ashley!

Ashley, her Dad, and 2 guides headed back out to the big woods of Maine, well after dark, to recover her bear. The wait back at camp was tense. We were all routing for Ashley, knowing she was a good shot, and of her patience (after all this was the eighth bear she had seen this week), but her Dad had reported that he had followed the blood trail for about 30 yards without seeing her bear, and then the two of them headed back to camp to get help, that fact put Ashley on edge as everyone else was recovering their bears after a short distance. We were confident that her shot was on the mark...and it was!Two hours later the trio of ATV’s pulled into camp as the lodge emptied to see the largest boar of the week strapped to one of the guide's ATV’s. Ashley was all smiles. High-fives were exchanged as Markus and I congratulated this very special Ohio girl. A girl who loves the woods and is lucky enough to share it with a very special man--her Dad!

Keith Cote and his guides were very accommodating to all in camp and did not give up even though there were 8 bears taken in 5 days. There were still tags to fill and 1 day left to hunt. Adjustments were made in where the remaining hunters were to sit. I would hunt a bait that had a big bear working it. This bear didn't get big by being stupid, but Markus and I hoped tonight he would err, so I could slip an arrow into his boiler room. We got into our stand even earlier than days past and sat.It was an uneventful sit until one half hour before dark. We heard a large stick snap--not a stick broken by a light animal. Our imaginations now in overdrive. We could hear walking and then silence, this bear was close, laying low and waiting for complete darkness. All we could do was hope that our shooting light outlasted this animal's patience.

Darkness crept in on us and my shooting light diminished without ever seeing that animal. We packed up quietly and headed back to the lodge. One hunter had 2 bears come into his stand but not to his bait--no shot opportunity. The next morning we went out to pull the camera stand, only to see our bait cleaned out--not a scrap left! We'll be back for this bear!

HuntGuide.com ProStaff highly recommends Keith Cote's Sportsman's Pride Outfitters in Grand Isle, Maine for Black Bears over bait (click on Keith's hotlink to check out his website).  Sportsman's Pride Lodge also offers snowmobile lodging. The knowledgeable guides, brand new (1999) lodge, beautiful area and lots of bears have the makings of memories that will last a lifetime. 

As always, 
Hunt hard,
and may yours shots be true!

Alan