2009 Deer Season Report

After a solid 2008 season, we really took it on the chin in 09. It was our worst season in a long, long while. Statewide harvest numbers were way down, and those same results were reflected with our hunters this season. Two successive harsh winters have knocked down the whitetail population in northern Maine. Overall sightings by our hunters were down significantly this season, reflecting a lower population.

We’ve been through this before, and things have always turned around. A couple of big snow winters produced some lean years in northern Maine in the mid – 1980’s. We came out of it then, and we will again. It’s all part of the cycle. Whitetails are extremely resilient animals, and the population will rebound.

The weather during the season was mostly typical for this time of year. We did have a better 3rd week this season compared to 2008, when it was brutally cold and very windy all week. We were seeing good buck movement, but again just not the numbers we usually see.

We will continue our winter deer feeding program from our giant feeding station near the Lodge. Biologists estimate that over 50 deer regularly visit the feeder throughout the winter. Also, the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife and the Sportman’s Alliance of Maine are more actively encouraging the statewide hunting of coyotes, especially around known deer wintering areas. Locally, we have seen a marked increase in the number of hunters and trappers taking coyote. We believe our deer feeding program and increased coyote hunting will have a significant positive impact on the local herd.

We’d like to thank each and every person who hunted with Northern Outdoors this past season. Trophy buck hunting in Maine is hard, and there were some great individual efforts, and a few very nice bucks taken. As always, thanks to the sportsmen who passed up on a smaller buck . . . . they’ll be trophies in due time! We certainly could have bragged about a greater “success rate” had our hunters shot all the bucks they spotted. But that’s not what hunting at Northern Outdoors is all about.

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2009 Rack of the Year Rick Gonsalves South Dartmouth, MA RACK OF THE YEAR CONTEST Each year we award a $500 Northern Outdoors hunting gift certificate to the Northern Outdoors hunter who shoots the best Rack of the Year. The judging is done by our guides, and their decision is final. Congratulations Rick!
Frank Harding Rockaway Point, NY	Tom Witts Dracut, MA	Yves Lambert Longueuil, QC

Northern Outdoors Old Canada Road National Scenic Byway 1771 US Route 201, PO Box 100 The Forks, Maine 04985 (800) 765-7238 (US & Canada) (207) 663-4466 (all others) info@mainedeerhunting.com