Hard Work Equals Big Payoff 

By Justin Blouin, ’09 Conservation Law Enforcement

     Maine summers are full of weekend barbecues, days on the boat and maybe tackling those home projects that you’ve been putting off.  For my friend Josh Johnson and me, it was work all week and the weekends were dedicated to hauling bear baits three hours north from our homes.

     As two full-time college students at Unity College, we know a little hard work goes a long way in the classroom, and would do the same in the North Maine woods.  Ninety-degree August heat and numerous bee stings didn’t stop us from hauling 300-plus pounds of bait through the thick conifer and beech stands to where our established sites were.

Justin Blouin

     Josh had been around bear baits before, and had experience getting them set up.  I was fairly green to the whole thing, and just decided to go with the flow.  Both of us were on the same page on one thing.  We were going to take these bears with archery tackle.  No exceptions.

     We were hoping our trail cams would help paint a picture of what was in the area.  Every week $100 in gasoline was well worth it to see the trail cam read in the two hundred plus pictures.  The bait sites looked like bombing zones with barrels ripped off trees and dragged through the woods, trees knocked over and claw marks on every tree in the area.  After four weeks of hard work, and nearly 1,000 trail cam pictures of over 10 different bears, it was time to hunt.

Looking for Patch

     Josh was first at bat as we hunted the first week with limited success.  Smaller bears were showing themselves regularly, but nothing Josh had wanted to shoot.  Both bait sites had bears in the 300-pound plus range including one Josh named “Patch” for the white patch on his throat.  With plenty of time left in the season, Josh took Thursday off to go back to work in Kennebunk, and we made arrangements to go back Friday morning for the extended weekend.

     Friday’s weather proved iffy.  Rain came into our area and blistered us until about a half hour before dark.  With no sightings, we packed in and drove back to camp.

     Saturday morning was pretty typical.  Get up, help around camp, get baits ready for the evening sit and make sure the bows were still in tune.  This proved vital as my pins were off and I was shooting three inches to the right and about four inches high!  With some tuning, my two-blade Rage broadheads were ready to get back into the woods.

     As noon rolled around, we made a quick lunch and headed to the baits.  Josh dropped me off and I got dressed into my Scent Blocker suit and facemask and prayed down with Scent Killer very liberally.  I threw the few pounds of bait in the barrel, rang the dinner bell and climbed up into my stand.

     It didn’t take long for action to start as the red squirrels were fighting for the baits.  A pine marten gorged himself for hours on the bear bait.  Rabbits and flying squirrels rounded out the wildlife I was seeing.

Shadow Time

At about 7 p.m., things got quiet.  Having focused on my bait for almost six hours, I turned my head to the right ever so slightly, and saw a dark shadow a mere 12 yards from me.

     Was this a blowdown?  I thought so, until it slowly made its way to the bait.  Since this was my second day ever bear hunting, I was rattled but I quickly gathered my nerves, and waited for an opportunity.   The bear was behind a cluster of beech trees, and I drew my Hoyt Protec.  I settled in and waited for an eternity for the bear to step out.  Slowly came a head, and a shoulder, and the rest of the body.

     Having a clear broadside shot, I started to squeeze my shoulders until my back tension release went off.  A loud crack sounded and the bear jumped with a quick roar and darted toward my left and through a blow down.  He never made it to the other side.

     The rest is a blur.  I remember coming out to the dirt road with my bow and almost having a serenade with it.  In the pitch black, I started to replay what happened while waiting for Josh to arrive.  I knew I had a decent bear down in the 200-pound range with archery equipment.  I couldn’t be more thrilled.

     Josh’s Jeep came around the corner.  I stood looking almost depressed (to the best of my ability) and told Josh about the golden rule of “When in Doubt Back out.”

     Josh looked at me and smiled and I smiled back and said “But, when you get a death moan, go get ‘im.”

     Josh nearly picked me off the ground and we grabbed our spotlights and headed to the bait site.  We stood at the bait and I explained everything that had happened and where the bear had run.

Trophy Time

     My blooded arrow was buried into a log.  Shining out flashlights through the woods proved there was a dead bear a mere 20 yards from where he was hit.

     Upon walking to the bear, we realized this was no 200-pound bear.  Nor 200.  We were looking at a 400-plus pound bruiser.

     We called to Josh’s father and another friend we made while bear baiting, as we couldn’t budge the monster.  With five men all pulling on the beast, we finally got him out of the woods and to camp where we got him hung on the scale.

     Looking at him in the clear light made us realize how big this bear was.  At 418 pounds, the midnight air was full of cheers, handshakes and camera flashes.

     The bear is green scoring 20 ½” and was my first bear ever.

     People have told me that I won’t want to harvest another bear after this, but, all I can say is that any harvest with a bow is a trophy … this one just happened to weigh more than average!