Largemouth Bass, Moose Lottery, Strange Saltwater Stories,
Why Kids Love Pickerel, and Groundhogs in the County!
by Will Lund, managing editor
Will@MaineSportsman.com
[dropcap]E[/dropcap]arly summer hits full stride in our June issue. Largemouth bass head for the shallows to spawn, making for great top-water action. King Montgomery provides an outstanding cover photo of a bucket-mouth bass being released after being hauled in with a lightweight fly rod. And in his regular “Sportsman’s Journal” column, Montgomery describes two vintage books that changed the way sportsmen looked at black bass – James Henshall’s 1881 Book of the Black Bass, and the 1889 sequel, More About the Black Bass.
Maine’s moose lottery will be held Saturday, June 11 at Kittery Trading Post. In addition, on June 17, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department will hold its annual moose lottery drawing in Concord. In this issue of The Sportsman, Steve Vose tells how he’s had success in past Maine moose hunts, by selecting the prime weeks and hunting in the most productive Wildlife Management Districts (WMDs). And in his “New Hampshire” column, Ethan Emerson describes how the reduced moose population in his state caused biologists to limit permits issued in NH to about one-tenth the number issued in Maine.
Capt. Barry Gibson entertains this month with strange-but-true stories from his many years on coastal waters. The title of his “Saltwater Fishing in Maine” special section (“A Bat in the Stove; a Demented Shag, a Seal Filleting a Striper, and a “Bucket Fish!”) provides the reader with a preview of some of the stories he recounts.
And speaking of true tales, story-teller extraordinaire Alan Haley weighs in with two contributions – the first being Part 1 of a two-part story from his childhood about how exciting it is for kids to casting lures into a pond in search of monster pickerel; and the second, “Wayne of the Long Tongue,” offers scenes you’ll be retelling at hunting camp this fall. Get your copy of the June issue, and look for it!
Bill Graves sends down another winning column from The County, covering everything from brook trout and fiddleheads to brown trout and woodchucks. We don’t know whom to thank more for these consistently-good articles – Bill, for describing the beauty and variety of Aroostook County’s wild places, or his wife, who types up Bill’s columns for him each month and sends them to our offices.
Other columnists continue their usual outstanding offerings for the June issue:
- Chris Johnson tells us all about the curiously-named “flu-flu” arrows that are designed to fly only a short distance (needed, for example, when archery hunting for birds);
- Col. Allard explains that he can find functional beauty in the A5, Browning’s new semiautomatic shotgun featuring styling reminiscent of the venerable Auto-5 “humpback”;
- Bill Sheldon celebrates the Cold Stream conservation purchase, a theme echoed in one of our two editorials this month;
- William Clunie, Tom Seymour, Jim Andrews, Val Marquez and other excellent writers tell readers how to find trout in their regions; and
- Luke Giampetruzzi describes how young fans can build their own wood duck boxes, to help increase the populations of these birds that, according to Luke, taste better than mallards or other waterfowl because of Woodies’ healthier eating habits.
So spray on some bug dope, toss the worm and bobber out into the slow-moving water, sit back in your folding chair by the cooler and enjoy the latest issue of The Maine Sportsman. If you see something you like, or if you have a comment on our magazine, send us an e-mail and we’ll print your opinions in a future issue. It’s great to continue receiving your feedback as we head into summer together.
