Honoring our Hunting Dogs
The season in Maine for ruffed grouse and woodcock starts September 28, and it’s a date hundreds of Maine hunting dogs (and their upland-hunter owners) have waited for all year.
In recognition of our state’s fine working dogs – including pointers, setters, retrievers and hounds – the September issue of The Maine Sportsman features our first-ever center-spread, all-dog pictorial, with photos taken by Lindsay Becker, Patti Carter and Jillian Hodgin.
And long-time contributor William Clunie – whose household includes two Vizslas – shares personal dog-training experiences in his Rangeley Region column (“Bird Dog Training Begins at Home,” page 72) and his Western Maine Mountains column (“Getting your Hunting Dogs Fit and Ready for the Woods,” page 74).
What else do we have for you in the September issue? Let’s start with the true story of a dam gate that got stuck in the “open” position, draining a Windham pond that also served as a municipal park. In an account that was quickly echoed by the mainstream press, we present “Dam Failure Drains Dundee Pond,” by Lou Zambello (pp. 15 – 16).
Here’s a link to a 14-second video showing you just what it looks like when a 100-year old pond is rapidly and unexpectedly drained.
In the world of boating, nothing gets a driver’s heart beating faster than the crowd-entertaining, delicate task of backing a trailer down a public ramp, and launching a boat. Two of The Maine Sportsman’s seasoned and experienced boating writers – Bob Humphrey and Randy Randall – take a light-hearted look at the tribulations of that challenge, in “Trailer Travails” (p. 26) and “Thoughts on Backing Up Boat Trailers” (p. 29).
Here’s what else you’ll find in this late-summer issue:
- A profile of ATV dealer Wallingford Equipment, in Auburn (p. 20)
- A primer on acquiring, storing and setting out bear bait (p. 23)
- Information from John LaMarca (p. 14) and Joe Saltalamachia (p. 53) detailing how to prepare for the upcoming bowhunting season on whitetail deer, and
- Trout and togue fishing in the Jackman Region (p. 58), on Moosehead Lake (p. 60) and along Maine’s rivers (p. 64).
And there’s still more, including:
- Provocative editorial content
- A moose hunting special section
- Eight (count ’em!) letters from our prolific readers, and
- The best jokes and cartoons north of South Andover, and east of West Enfield!
Please run “Bear wearing eyeglasses” and “21-Son Galloot” cartoons here.
Questions? Contact the editor at Will@MaineSportsman.com or the office manager at Carol@MaineSportsman.com. And call (207) 622-4242 to renew your subscription, or give a gift subscription to a deserving relative or friend.
Please enjoy the month of September with family and friends. Best wishes from us all at The Sportsman.
Will Lund, editor
