AN EXTENDED STAY
When the phone rang in late June, Maine and Lakewood Camps were not even on my radar. Certainly, I had thought about someday taking a road trip to the Pine Tree State to explore both bird covers and cold-water outflows and ponds, but that was in the future, not the present. The offer to enjoy the camp's brook trout and landlocked Atlantic salmon fishery the last couple days of September when the big fish are inclined to eat flies more than piqued my interest. I asked about extending my stay to experience a couple days of the ruffed grouse and woodcock season. The resounding answer was "Certainly." The only uncertainty was my wife's views toward this "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," as she has endured me using that phrase regarding sporting trips for 30 plus years. As I told her of the call, she simply rolled her eyes, interrupting me with two simple questions: "When?" and "How long are you gone?" The next "once-in-a-lifetime sporting trip" was in the works.
A phone call with Scott Oehrlein, the head wing shooting guide at Lakewood Camps, came next. Oehrlein, a retired business executive, is a Registered Maine Guide as his second career. His passion for ruffed grouse, woodcock, English setters and the covers of Maine exudes in a comfortable manner in his dialogue, yet the overtones of a C-suite executive resonated. Not in an over-the-top fashion, only one that cares enough that he makes sure the "I's are dotted and T's crossed" to the best of his ability.
We discussed logistics and as much as I wanted this journey to be a road trip in my truck, my dogs and all my gear, time constraints and previous obligations dictated otherwise. When he graciously entrusted me the convenience of one of his 28-bores and shells, our dates were confirmed. As you cannot hunt in Maine on Sundays, and Oct. 1 was a Sunday, I would fish Sept. 29 and 30, and we would follow bird dogs on Oct. 2 and 3.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
THE BIG HURTS
my Uncle Pat once told me that both pain and disappointment were good:“The more of those you have experienced,” he explained, “the longer you have lived; suffer but a little, and you’re in an early grave.
Day's End
NEAR MISSES
Hunting Dog Hypoglycemia
The first time I ever saw a dog have a seizure from hunting dog hypoglycemia was 25 years ago while hunting pheasants in western Kansas.
Profile of an Artist: MATT DOYLE
Throughout Matt's life, there has always been an active passion for the great outdoors. As a young Pennsylvanian boy, his dad and grandfathers would take him out fishing and later hunting to share their deep-rooted respect and enjoyment for God's country. It became very clear that their passion for the outdoors would soon develop his passion for it as well.
DESERT CATHARSIS
Miles of sagebrush and grasslands slipped past during the 10-hour drive between Bozeman and Denver.
RED CAR WHITE DOG:
A Riff on Sporting Vehicles and Other Matters
UENATOR CAUE (HUNTER BEWARE) A FIELD GUIDE +O HUNTING LODGES
From ice bars to plywood shacks, in-room hot tubs to a kitchen staff uprising, the hunting lodge experience can be fascinating and frustrating.
Charles Helles & Sons, London
“Some enchanted evening ... you may see a stranger across a crowded” – gunroom.
ON POINT: Finding My Way with the Help of an English Setter
Becky came into my life in a rather unusual way. My friend Tom McGuane had just bought a home on Mobile Bay as a place to retreat from the cold winters of his Montana ranch.
Tail feathers - STANDARDS AND PRACTICES
\"An armed society is a polite society,\" the NRA says in one of its dicta, cribbed from Robert A. Heinlein, a 20th-century American science fiction writer.
