http://www.oxbowlodge.com/index-blog.php/site/index/ en info@oxbowlodge.com Copyright 2009 2009-08-17T11:56:00-05:00 http://www.oxbowlodge.com/index-blog.php/site/oxbow_lodge_expands_to_texas/ http://www.oxbowlodge.com/index-blog.php/site/oxbow_lodge_expands_to_texas/#When:11:56:00Z The Oxbow Lodge is now expanding hunting opportunities into Texas.  With the recent acquisition of a 2600 acre Ranch, we are now offering world class trophy whitetail deer hunting in the heart of Texas.  Our ranch is located 2 hours south of San Antonio in Dimmitt county Texas.  The ranch is just outside of the small town of Catarina.  This area of Texas is known for it’s continued record of producing a high numbers of Boone and Crocket caliber deer on a consistent basis. Our goals are simple, offer a Texas trophy hunt for deer with the same quality, integrity and values that our customers have come to know and expect.  So if you have always thought of or are considered hunting in Texas, now you can do so with a outfitter that you are familiar with. Visit our Texas deer hunting page for more details.  http://www.oxbowlodge.com/texas_deer_hunting.php 2009-08-17T11:56:00-05:00 http://www.oxbowlodge.com/index-blog.php/site/spring_bear_hunt_2010_and_beyond/ http://www.oxbowlodge.com/index-blog.php/site/spring_bear_hunt_2010_and_beyond/#When:17:40:00Z Oxbow Lodge continues to move forward with our expansion plans into Canada for 2010.  Spring of 2009 was our first year offering a limited amount of hunting spots for a spring bear hunt in Canada.  With the overwhelming success and interest we have in this hunt, we are moving forward with our business plans to expand our capabilities to offer this 2010 and beyond.  Our goal is to offer a spring hunt, Canadian style while still adhering to and following our core business values and hunting techniques that have worked so well in Maine.  For more details and full information, please visit our newly created page with details on our Candian Spring Bear Hunt 2009-07-30T17:40:00-05:00 http://www.oxbowlodge.com/index-blog.php/site/the_chess_game/ http://www.oxbowlodge.com/index-blog.php/site/the_chess_game/#When:10:41:00Z The Chess Game- This article by long time client Jeff Mangold is published in the 2009 July/August issue of bear hunting magazine The Chess Game By Jeff Mangold Shadows advanced through the dense North Maine woodland forest as daylight surrendered its grip on my final day of the bear hunt. Seven long days have passed while pursuing the Maine bruin that visited this hunting site.  It had become a game of chess, an old rivalry between two seasoned players and I was loosing.  Shooting light was fading quickly on day eight and it began to look like I would suffer a checkmate.  With less than 10 minutes of light remaining, I sat motionless, ears and eyes straining to identify anything that could be an approaching black bear.  With my bow at the ready and sitting on the edge of the ladder stand seat, I spotted what looked like movement, silent movement, black shadowy movement off to my left.  Was it one of the resident red squirrels again, hanging at the end of a pine branch casting shadowy movement beneath the canopy – it would not be the first time one of those critters has put my senses on high alert.  As darkness drew near, the endless supply of sagging tree limbs continued to cast their shadowy slideshow playing tricks on my eyes, encouraging my imagination to see things that were not there at all.  I stretched out my neck, turned an ear and glared down through the trees hoping to confirm a bruin’s movement, was fate about to unleash an opportunity to my bow and arrow or would the advancing shadows of last light deceive my senses once again? This was the way I spent the final minutes of my 2006 bear hunt in Oxbow Maine with Oxbow Lodge Outfitters but before I get to the final moments of this hunt let me walk you through my previous days on stand. It was the opener for me, this the second week of the black bear season in Maine.  Tom Aasbo, owner of the lodge, himself an exceptional woodsman and accomplished guide had once again placed me in the very capable hands of Master Maine Guide, Donald Whipple.  Donald is no stranger to these woods and is a third generation guide who grew up here in Oxbow. I have hunted four previous years with Donald, enjoyed every moment and learned much.  Donald is a wealth of knowledge about hunting and trapping the great Maine woods and always keeps us laughing on our rides to and from the hunt.  The hunting site, like so many others at Oxbow, is carefully chosen and established, well maintained by the guide, active and ready for its first and only hunter. You see, black bears are very smart animals. It is never an automatic success, as some think, to sit in waiting at a bait site that is being visited by a curious and cautious black bear.  The woods in Maine are very dense and it is nearly impossible to hunt bears without using a bait site unless you hunt with dogs.  This bear hunt, like all at Oxbow, will be at a baited site located within the heavy cover of Maine’s Northern woodlands.  Once a hunter enters the domain of the black bear anything can happen, success is as much a result of the hunter as it is the guides knowledge and hard work leading up to the hunt.  Hunter preparation is critical, scent control, sitting very still and quite an absolute must.  I have come to love the unique challenge of bear hunting and this is my ninth bear hunt with bow. I have enjoyed several successes over the years as well as my fare share of misses and miscues.  While there are always exceptions to these conditions, it is not often a mature bruin will reveal himself during daylight. The last fading minutes of daylight are often a time of great anticipation and opportunity for those who can remain vigilant on stand until the shadows rule the forest floor.  As a hunter exits the woods, it is evident that several minutes of fading daylight remain providing a testament to Maine’s heavily wooded canopy and thick undergrowth, home to the elusive black bear. The first few days on stand were uneventful as far as daylight bear visitation goes.  However, tossed logs and an empty bait offered evidence of a bear in the area and so the chess match had begun.  A visit from a large salt and pepper colored coyote as well as a Cow moose those first few days made for great excitement on stand.  The woods teamed with wildlife each day as I sat in waiting for a bruin to arrive.  The bait site was set up with logs and branches as barriers to the back side so the bear would be coming into the set up from either the left or right offering a great broadside shot opportunity.  There are no guarantees of a shot opportunity simply because of hunting over bait, a mistaken perception made by many.  This is fair chase, not unlike hunting a food plot, orchard or cornfield for deer or fishing with live bait or lures and a hunter must hunt if success is the goal, assuming otherwise could easily spoil a shot opportunity.  Of course, one should never rule out a bear silently approaching from behind, providing the hunter with a unique and up close encounter, testing both nerves and hunting ability. Four days have now passed, Tom and Donald offer to relocate me.  I thanked them for the offer but told them I would like to continue to hunt this site.  I figured the bear was a good one because of the large scat and prints left as evidence, plus the heavy logs have been easily tossed yards from the bait site.  This bruin was definitely a wise one who obviously knew something was different ever since I had arrived.  That evening the air was cool and all was quiet when suddenly from the thicket to my left came a loud huff from a bruin.  Twice more came the warning vocalizations from the bear; I knew I had been busted as the chess game continued.  How could he know I was there, I thought in frustration.  Despite my sent control regiment and silently waiting to ambush, this bruin was not going to give me an opportunity; I had to rethink my strategy.  I talked with Donald and Tom as we ate a hot meal back at the lodge that evening. Day five was a perfect evening for the hunt, very much like the day before.  As if on cue and like clockwork, with less than 30 minutes of daylight remaining, inside the canopy to my left there came two verbal warnings from the bruin.  Again, he knew I was there.  Now the bait had been hit the night before which meant he came in after I had left, the bruin had cleared another piece from my chessboard.  I had not scared this bear off but had educated him to my presents and it was obvious this burin was not leaving the area, nor was I.  It was then I decided I had no choice but to put my plan into action, a chess move I hoped would be successful.  I would leave my outer shirt, head mask and hat in the stand that night, in hopes that he would get used to any scent generated from the garments.  If the bruin was to come into to eat that night he would have to do so knowing that any scent contained on my cloths was still in the area. The following day I was very eager to get out to the stand to see if the bait site had been hit, remember I had left my cloths on stand all night.  After thoroughly spraying my gear and myself with sent eliminator, I approached slowly and quietly, arriving an hour earlier than normal to throw off any pattern the bruin may have developed on me.  For all I know that bear could be laying out there from early afternoon only to come in after light with his daylight presents nearby being enough to keep any challenging bears at bay and out of his food – that is unless they were bigger than him.  I climbed up the stand and glanced down to the bait site, it had been hit. I watched as Donald re-baited my site and gave me the thumbs up and a silent “good luck” as he slipped out of the area past my stand.  Two nights in a row I thought to myself.  Huh, what could this mean?  Could it be that my plan was going to work, could it be?  It was obvious that the remaining sent had not scared off the bear and perhaps he was now getting used to it.  I quietly put on the shirt, mask and hat and began waiting for an ambush opportunity.  As if now routine, with only minutes of light remaining, the bear sounded off.  This time it was only once and not as loud and aggressive as the two previous nights.  Was it possible the bear did not know I was there but was getting used to my sent and just sounding off a warning for good measure?  Could my plan be working, two nights in a row now the bear had visited the site with my cloths remaining behind.  That night remained a stale mate as I once again left behind my garments and silently slipped out of the area. Rain and cool temperatures brought and a damp chill to the air on the seventh day of my hunt.  As the afternoon vigil arrived, the rain began to give way to an occasional ray of sunshine.  The approach to my stand that evening was a muddy one revealing evidence of a good size bear in the area as Donald and I analyzed fresh bear tracks crossing our trail in. Excitement and anticipation filled my body; another round of chess was about to begin.  My shirt and mask were mostly dry, I had been hanging them under the platform seat from a branch just incase any rains came.  The hunt passed very slowly and without any bear activity.  The bait had not been visited the night before.  No bear, no vocalizations today, I left the woods disappointed that evening.  My shirt, mask and hat remained. The eighth day of my hunt had arrived; I had thoughts of extending the hunt but knew it was time to head home.  Work and reality were calling and after today my bear season was over.  Once again, I entered the woods earlier than normal, I pulled the shirt over my head and adjusted the mask hoping my plan would work, anticipating a visit from the elusive bear I cautiously adjusted my hat.  As I sat on stand I couldn’t help but daydream of a big bruin coming into shot range, but would it really happen.  I pondered several seasons of bear hunting, my successes, my failures, and the encounters that offered no bow shot.  I waited hours for my opponent to show his face, not many hours remained on the hunt clock.  The entire hunt had become a chess game between the bear and I, both of us down to our last few pieces and I was loosing.  A chance to claim checkmate felt right this evening. Sitting just a short time on stand, I noticed movement to the right and quickly into the bait site rambled a cub, then a second cub with the sow in tow.  Could this be what had been challenging me all week long? No, I thought to myself, no way. The bears circled the site several times while the sow held her nose high to the air as if she was sampling the buffet beneath the logs or was she simply scent checking the area for me or other bears.  Without notice, the three exited just as quickly as they came, something wasn’t right.  What was it, I thought.  Did they know I was there?  Did they detect another bear in the area?  My mind raced with images and I could only hope it was the latter.  Hours now passed as I sat on the front edge of the seat with my bow at the ready.  Hands cramping from the long motionless pose, I felt a bit drained both mentally and physically ever since the sow and cubs had left.  I was certain a big boar was in my area but as daylight faded so to did my hopes.  I slid back in the stand, placed my bow across my lap and waited out the last hour thinking of the sow and cubs that visited so briefly.  Recalling the week’s events, I realized I should not risk the last hour being caught flat-footed and that I still had a few chess moves remaining.  Once again, I eased up to the edge of the seat to settle in.  Shadows advanced through the dense North Maine woodland forest as daylight was surrendering its grip on my final day of the bear hunt. Seven long days have passed while pursuing the Maine bruin that visited this hunting site, an old rivalry between two seasoned players.  Shooting light was fading quickly on day eight and it began to look like I would be the one to suffer a checkmate.  With less than 10 minutes of light remaining, I sat motionless, ears and eyes straining to identify anything that could be an approaching black bear.  With my bow at the ready and sitting on the edge of the ladder stand seat, I spotted what looked like movement, silent movement, black shadowy movement off to my left.  Was it one of the resident red squirrels again, hanging at the end of a pine branch casting shadowy movement beneath the canopy – it would not be the first time one of those critters has put my senses on high alert.  As darkness drew near, the endless supply of sagging tree limbs continued to cast their shadowy slideshow playing tricks on my eyes, encouraging my imagination to see things that were not there at all.  I stretched out my neck, turned an ear and glared down through the trees hoping to confirm a bruin’s movement, was fate about to unleash an opportunity to my bow and arrow or would the advancing shadows of last light deceive my senses once again? Slowly a black mass weaved through the underbrush, I could identify movements of what was definitely a bear coming in.  My heart began to race uncontrollably and my breathing became rapid as I brought my bow to the ready position.  The bear reached the edge of the opening at the side of the bait and abruptly stopped standing only 15 yards from my position.  I was at full draw trying to maintain control of the adrenalin rush while the bruin looked in my direction.  Be still, I silently repeated over and over, don’t move and let him come in.  Even though I have been through face-to-face confrontations several times with black bears over the years, I still experience a thrill and exhilaration difficult to put into words.  After what seemed an eternity at full draw, feeling comfortable the bear stepped into the opening in front of me.  As I have so many times, I immediately made all the mental checks as I settled the pin on the target and released the arrow.  My Montec broadhead was on its way as my eyes remained focused on a spot just behind the bears shoulder and half way up his body - the shot looked perfect as the fletching disappeared into the black mass.  The hit was clean as the bruin exited to the right moving faster than anyone could imagine such a beast was capable of.  I cupped my ear with my hand and listened as the bear crashed through the dense underbrush plowing through everything in its path. The run was short and the forest quickly grew silent as the bear came to a stop.  An eerie death moan filled the now rapidly darkening forest, engulfing my body with a chilling but very satisfying feeling.  I knew the bruin was mine, the hunt was clean and that I had finally succeeded in this game of chess.  As I peered down at the shot sight, I could see the unmistakable gleam of the fluorescent green knock, my broadhead and arrow stuck in a log.  It was a clean pass through - checkmate. My partners for this hunt Frank Liebel, Gordon Thompson and guide Donald Whipple helped me locate and load the bear out of the woods to the truck on that moonless night.  There was much cause for celebration as we loaded the bear and headed for check-in back at the lodge.  The bear would weigh in at just under 280 lbs and upon returning home, green scored the skull at just over 18”.  My hunt had come to a successful end proving that perseverance and creative tactics worked this time around. To book a black bear hunt in Northern Maine at Oxbow Lodge you can call Tom or Tracey Aasbo at 207.435.6140 or visit their website at oxbowlodge.com for booking and up to date information. Authors equipment list for the hunt: For my deer and bear hunts the past several years I have used with great success the 100 grain Montec broadhead from G5 Outdoors, my bow for this hunt was an E-Force by Elite archery, Carbon Revolution Arrows guided by Blazer Vanes from Bohning, Whisker Biscuit arrow rest, Lore Stabilizer, Winn Archery’s Free Flight release, G5 Meta Peep Hunter ¼ and single pin fluorescent sight by Impact Archery. 2009-07-07T10:41:00-05:00 http://www.oxbowlodge.com/index-blog.php/site/2009_quebec_spring_bear_hunt/ http://www.oxbowlodge.com/index-blog.php/site/2009_quebec_spring_bear_hunt/#When:18:51:00Z 2009 QUEBEC SPRING BEAR HUNT As many of you know we have been working on running a spring bear hunt in Canada. Well it is official!!!! We will be running a spring baited black bear hunt in Quebec. The 700,000 acre area is located on the North shore of the St. Lawrence Seaway.  This is a VERY high success hunt and space is limited and going fast. If you wish to find out more do not hesitate to contact us. The details of the hunt are listed below. Available Dates; May 24-29 /12 openings June. 8-12 / 6 openings June 15-19 / 6 openings Bailout Special- 5 days hunting, 6nights lodging $1500 per person US Funds (2009 season ONLY) A non refundable deposit of 50% ($750 per person) will be required with the remaining balance due April 15th 2009. Payments can be made with check or credit card. Upon receipt of your deposit you will be sent a confirmation letter with hunt info and directions. Includes- Fully guided black bear hunt over bait. All lodging provided. Cabins are complete with full kitchen, with running water and hot showers. Fishing is available and is among the finest in North America. Species of fish available are Brook Trout (Speckled Trout), Northern Pike, Lake Trout and Red Trout (which is a cross between an Arctic Char and a Brook Trout). Fishing guides are available upon request. We hunt adjacent to power lines so many of our hunters choose to spot and stalk hunt for bear in the morning as all of our bait hunts are conducted in the evening. We encourage anyone with ATV’s to bring them for transportation to fishing lakes as well as hunting areas. We will do all baiting and care of game (skinning and quartering). Tree stands and ground blinds will be provided and in place. Camps are within easy driving to Forestville which has restaurants, bars, sporting store, hotels and grocery stores Not Included- Quebec hunting and fishing licenses ($125 CN) + $5 bear registration tag when successful, Meals. Our hunting area is on the North Shore of the St. Lawrence Seaway. From 2000 through 2008 hunter success on bears is a whopping 90% (harvested animals)and shots taken are 96%. The available camps above have been 100% success on bears on the pole for 8 years running!!!! The camp is located near Forestville Quebec on the North Shore of the St. Lawrence. (Reading, PA to Forestville is about 800 miles) One item of interest is that anyone with a criminal record, which includes DWI, will not be permitted across the border. As of June 1st 2009 Passports are required. 2009-02-12T18:51:00-05:00 http://www.oxbowlodge.com/index-blog.php/site/2008_deer_season/ http://www.oxbowlodge.com/index-blog.php/site/2008_deer_season/#When:20:11:01Z Wow! What can be said about the 2008 deer season at Oxbow Lodge except that I’m glad to have been on the guide team again this year. Last winter took its toll on our herd and predictions were that we suffered losses of 30 to 40% of the whitetail population. So expectations, for some at least,were low. Tom does not accept low expectations from his staff , however,and hard work, combined with hunting luck, resulted in the customary success rate of 20+%. While deer numbers certainly were down, we found more signs of big bucks, and enjoyed good success in the taking of several fine animals by our guests. The third week found repeat guests (Butch, Bugs, Wayne, PJ and Ray from Pennsylvania) in camp for another hunt for big woods bucks. And the Red Gods smiled on us three times! PJ took a heavy racked nine pointer that tipped the scales at 230 lbs dressed on the first morning. The buck had a scrape line located in an area where there was a profusion of sign amid the beech whips, raspberry and spruce thickets. Ray took a wide racked (21” inside spread) nine pointer on the second day that dressed out at 201. And the week finished off with Wayne scoring on a heavy racked 8 pointer that went 204. Shawn, Tom and I were more than happy to tackle the task of dragging out these heavyweights. And thanks to straight shooting on the part of our hunters. we enjoyed a week that none of us will soon forget. We began our feeding program in mid December and some good bucks are showing up at the feed sites. We have about thirty right now and hope to have some photographs of them on the website in the very near future, so be sure to revisit the site regularly. The winter as of this writing (January 3, 2009) has been much kinder than last year , at least so far. Although we have had several bone chilling nights (-34 on the Sunday before Christmas and -18 a week later), the snowfall thus far has been 49”, as compared to 76” at the same time last year. And more importantly, we have had a thaw that reduced the snowpack to about 15” and the deer are doing well. We have no control of the weather and none over what our fish and game department does to manage our deer population. But Tom does have control over how we go to work for you as the client and a top notch experience and effort is guaranteed year after year. Life is short and precious...book that hunt with Oxbow Lodge and experience a real hunt in the finest tradition of the North Woods of Maine. Jim Bernardin Registered Maine Guide Oxbow Lodge 2009-01-03T20:11:01-05:00 http://www.oxbowlodge.com/index-blog.php/site/bear_and_moose_seasons_well_behind_us_with_great_results_deer_season_is_on/ http://www.oxbowlodge.com/index-blog.php/site/bear_and_moose_seasons_well_behind_us_with_great_results_deer_season_is_on/#When:15:40:00Z Our bear season finished up this year at the end of the first week of September.  For the four weeks of our season this year we hung over 50 bears on the pole and in general had a tremendous season overall.  Number of bear sightings was high and our hunters did a good job of making good shots on game resulting in some very short recovery jobs.  We had several large bears harvested again this year with the largest one tipping the scale over the 450lb mark.  Once again the hard work and dedication of our staff, support team and hunters providing a very rewarding season this year. Moose season this year turned out to be very productive in both the first and second season (week).  Favorable weather helped our guides efforts in assisting our hunters to locating and huntingg some real trophies this year.  Although the timing for hunting was a little different this year with the first season opening earlier and a two week break between seasons, we were able to find many bulls receptive to calling.  We harvested some very large animals with several over 50+ inches and weighing in over 1,000 lbs. We will be updating our photo libraries soon to include some of the best animals harvested this year, so continue to check back for updates. Deer season is set to open on Monday November 3rd.  With the harsh winter last year some of our deer patterns have changed, but our pre-season scouting has located some real trophy animals.  The long range weather forecast is looking positive as is the timing for the rut this year.  It should shape up to be a very good year for our clients.  We will post some information on our deer season as it comes to a close at the end of November. 2008-10-31T15:40:00-05:00 http://www.oxbowlodge.com/index-blog.php/site/2008_bear_season_week_two/ http://www.oxbowlodge.com/index-blog.php/site/2008_bear_season_week_two/#When:12:37:00Z Second week of the season is now complete.  Week two the weather was good, a little warmer than usual, but no negative effects on our hunting.  Week two we had a total of 25 hunters between the lodge and our outpost camp.  There were 19 bears taken out of the 23 that were shot at during the week.  There were also a few bears taken that tipped the scale over the 250lb mark. This brings our season total up to 42 bears out of 56 hunters and 8 missed or not recovered. Baits and bear activity continues to look good for the remaining two weeks of the season. 2008-09-09T12:37:00-05:00 http://www.oxbowlodge.com/index-blog.php/site/2008_bear_season_week_one/ http://www.oxbowlodge.com/index-blog.php/site/2008_bear_season_week_one/#When:16:36:00Z Our season opened on Monday August the 25th this year.  By this point we have had four weeks of pre-season baiting and preparations at the lodge. The weather was very good, with little to no rain during the first week.  We had a total of 31 hunters between the lodge and our outpost camp.  We successfully tagged 23 bears and missed an additional 4 during the week. Two bears well over the average size in Maine were harvested by our sportsmen the first week.  One at 380lbs and the second at 461lbs.  All signs indicating that the rest of the season should hold similar results for our hunters at the lodge. Visit the photo gallery for some of the recenly updated tropies taken this year. 2008-09-05T16:36:00-05:00 http://www.oxbowlodge.com/index-blog.php/site/new_moose_video/ http://www.oxbowlodge.com/index-blog.php/site/new_moose_video/#When:15:50:00Z New Moose Video Covers 10 Hunts By Doug Gilmore Jun 29, 2008 - 7:18:41 AM Many hunting videos on the market today follow a similar theme and are very predictable in nature. One is almost always assured of watching the “hunting celebrity” harvest a big whitetail or elk, sometimes with seemingly little effort. A new video is on the market, however, and it is truly different. No big names in this product, just ordinary people and extraordinary adventures. Answer the Call is the newest release from Wildlife Interactive and Bullet Digital and features 10 moose hunts in Northern Maine. This 90 minute video includes a mix of archery, muzzleloader, and rifle hunts from the 2006 Maine Moose season. Filmed and produced professionally, the footage captures hunters guided by top Maine guides David Hentosh (Smoldering Lake Outfitters) and Tom Aasbow (Oxbow Lodge). While watching the video you will notice the terrain is not all that different than one might find in Canada or Alaska and the moose, though smaller in size than the Yukon variety, are still large with some very big, record book animals taken. The video features eight harvested bulls measuring over 50 inches and two monster bulls over 65” are also taken. As a matter of fact, overall moose success rates in Maine are nearly 90% statewide and almost 100% with these two outfitters. The moose hunts combine calling and spot and stalk and the up close footage of moose is spectacular. Bonus footage at the end of the DVD featuring additional hunts is just as amazing and helps to make Answer the Call a must have for anyone’s hunting video library. The video is sponsored in part by Crimson Talon Broadheads, Leupold, and Thompson Center Arms. A portion of each video sale goes to supporting Kicking Bear. Do yourself a favor and check out this new video. It will change the way you think about hunting in Maine and I guarantee you will find yourself applying for tags next year. For more information on Answer the Call or to purchase the video visit their website at http://www.bogdonkey.com. You can watch a promo clip on their website that will get your heart pumping. For more information on Kicking Bear visit http://www.kickingbear.org. 2008-07-01T15:50:00-05:00 http://www.oxbowlodge.com/index-blog.php/site/oxbow_lodge_buys_out_another_competitor/ http://www.oxbowlodge.com/index-blog.php/site/oxbow_lodge_buys_out_another_competitor/#When:18:43:00Z OXBOW LODGE AQUIRES MORE HUNTING AREA In our never ending quest for improving our services we were able to buy out an adjoining competitor allowing the expansion of our bear hunting area.  We were very fortunate to have been presented the opportunity to purchase one of the hunting outfitters that had currently bordered some of our bear hunting area. The acquisition of this business will effectively allow us to expand our hunting area and have the ability to further enhance the hunting experience for our clients with more hunting locations and at the same time taking some pressure off of the territory we have historically hunted for our Maine baited bear hunts as well as our moose, deer and upland hunting. This buyout will accomplish a few different goals. One will allow us to spread our hunters out with even better chance for success. Secondly, will allow us to manage our area to its fullest potential and third, keep our area in one continuous area without competition from other outfitters. This new area is expected to produce very well for it was hunted very little in the past 3 years. We expect that this will effectively increase overall success on both quantity as well as quality on our already successful bear hunt. I look forward to spending some time in this new area allowing us to expand on other hunting opportunities as well. During the spring and summer I will be actively covering every part of this hunting area and anticipate that along with new bear sites we will have plenty of new places to hunt during our Maine deer hunting, moose hunting and ruffed grouse hunting seasons. Just another step in the never ending goal to continue to be the most successful and the most respected hunting outfitter in Maine. Oxbow News 2008-03-24T18:43:00-05:00