Wilderness Escape Outfitters…Waining Moments Bear - Larry Weishuhn

Maine had beckoned. I had yielded. The North Woods and black bear have long been a personal

professed “weakness” of mine. Both had lured, then reeled me in. That is how I happened to

be sitting watching a bear bait near the Canadian border. I had hunted nearby years ago and

had seen a monstrous black bear, which thanks to a faulty flintlock muzzleloader I had failed to

put my tag on. No doubt that behemoth of a bear would have easily have surpassed 600-

pounds, heavier and larger than a monstrous bear I shot earlier on the White Mountain Apache

Reservation in Arizona, and far larger than of the grizzlies I had taken. However, not as large as

my biggest Alaskan brown bear, but at the time he seemed that big! Several of my bear hunts in

the past had come down to the very last moment of the hunt. I hoped this one would be

different!

But that was then. I was three sittings into a six afternoon early September black bear hunt! I

had seen three squirrels, two whiskey jacks and one blue jay. Nary a black bear had put in an

appearance. After being picked up by our outfitter and my long-time friend Randy Flannery,

Abe Nayfa and I were enjoying a late evening meal with Abe’s wife, Tori, and my wife, Mary

Anne. Said Randy, “This is the most unusual week I have seen during 40-years of guiding in

Maine. Normally our hunters see at least three or more bears per sitting and we take three or

more bears every afternoon. While that may sound like a lot of bears, it’s not. We take a very

limited number of bears each fall from the several million-acre area, mostly wilderness, we

hunt.” Randy continued, “So far this fall, our hunters have seen very few bears, and, we have

not taken a single mature boar, only sows without cubs. Normally we take numerous big

mature boars and very few sows. Not sure what’s happening.”

Later that night Abe, Randy and I were having a wee dram, telling hunting stories but also

discussing the current bear situation. “While y’all were on your bear baits this afternoon I called

several outfitters, guides and butcher shops across the State. Very few bears are being

harvested anywhere in Maine! What bears are being taken are almost all sows.” Randy

continued, “As you heard me say earlier, several times, we’re in a horrible drought. It started

during the spring. There is very little water in the woods. Streams we would have been fishing

for brook trout while you’re here are dried-up, as are most beaver ponds. Lakes are down at

least four-feet below our normal level this time of the year. Because of no rain there is very

little, if any, natural food, which bears depend on, in the woods. Mast crops both hard and soft

are practically non-existent. As you’ve seen in going to your baits, what should be normal-sized

apples are no bigger than cherries. We’ve never seen our part of Maine this dry or in this bad a

shape.”

“I called a couple of Game Warden and wildlife biologist friends. They told me older bears,

especially boars, have already gone into their winter dens because there’s nothing to eat and

they want to preserve and conserve what fat and energy reserves they currently have. Were it a

normal year, bears would be out feeding at least another month.” I listened intently. “The good

thing according to the biologists is the bears will be just fine and make it through the winter

with what fat reserves they have.” He hesitated, “That will make for great hunting next fall for

big boars, but doesn’t help us this year!”

What Randy had said made sense, both from a biologist’s and a hunter’s perspective. “Walking

into baits, I’s always looking for tracks and scat. What little sign I’ve found was made or left left

by either sows or really young boars. I have not seen any tracks or dung left by big bears.” I

paused, then added “I’ve hunted Maine for bear several times in the past. I know what bear

hunting in September should and can be like. And it’s nothing like what I remember. The

biologist and warden must be exactly right about what’s currently happening!”

Abe sat quietly listening. Although having hunted all his life, he had never truly hunted black

bear. He had bought the Wilderness Escape Lodge (www.wildernessescape.com) black bear

hunt, which Randy and Sharon had graciously donated to the 2025 DSC Foundation Gala and

Fundraiser (www.dscf.org). The hunt package included a Rossi R95 .45-70 lever action rifle

(www.rossiusa.com), and a black bear rug mount from Double Nickle Taxidermy

(www.doublenickletaxidermy.com). I truly hoped and wanted Abe to take a bear!

Abe and Tori’s trip to Maine had been “interesting, equating to a nightmare” starting from

trying to depart the DFW airport. At every turn they had airline delay, flight cancellation and

baggage problems, including finally having to change their tickets to fly to Portland, Maine

rather than Bangor, as initial flight plans called for. They finally arrived in camp two days late.

Said Randy as the evening was coming to a close. “In the past we have very few days where

hunters do not see several bears each sit. I’ve never seen it this slow. There must be much to

what the wardens and biologists are saying, otherwise you should have been seeing lots of

bears each day. Our guides and I are doing all we can, but unfortunately we have no control

over what Mother Nature sends our way.”

Next morning early, Abe, Randy and I drove to a nearby lake for a guided smallmouth bass

fishing trip with ace guides Mike Congelosi and Dennis Perry. Both also guide for Randy,

especially moose hunters.

Before getting into the boats Mike said, “We regularly catch a hundred or more smallmouth

each outing. Usually those average three-plus pounds. But, that’s in the spring and early

summer. Fall fishing is a lot different, fewer fish and much smaller! Need to tell you as well,

we’ve never seen the lake level so low. Numerous of the rocks over which we usually fish are

now high and dry. Too we share this lake with New Brunswick. The shoreline you see to your

right is Canada.”

On the water, I was having a blast catching fish, questioning Mike’s “fishing is slow” comments.

Within the first hour I had caught and released over thirty smallmouth bass, all less than 10-

inches in length. Abe fished with Dennis and I with Mike and Randy. Frankly, had I done nothing

more but sat with rod in hand and never caught a fish or made a cast, I would still have

considered the morning’s fishing trip hugely successful. Randy and Mike kept me laughing

continually and were the reason I missed catching several fish because I was laughing too hard.

We left the lake just before noon, after I had caught so many smallmouth I lost count. One of

these days I hope to return when the bigger fish are biting, with the way the smaller bass were

fighting, I could only imagine what a 4-pounder would do.

My two next evening “sits” resulted in two more squirrels and another whiskey jack sightings.

Even so, the anticipation of seeing a bear kept me enthused, on point, and enjoying the hunt

even when I did not see hardly another living creature. Mornings and late nights were filled

visiting with the Hirsch Family, Jim and his two sons and grandson. Jim, a retired detective and

his family have been hunting with Randy and Sharon for several years. Their stories of hunting

the North Woods were nothing short of fascinating!

Have I mentioned I dearly love hunting bear? Over the years I have hunted black bear many

places, many times. Frankly I had to admit, I had never quite seen bear movement so minimal

or non-existent as what we were currently experiencing. I felt hugely sorry for Randy and his

guides. They had worked so hard to prepare for the bear hunting season and had done

everything they could control. Unfortunately, Mother Nature was throwing all of us an erratic

sinking curve!

Interestingly, during our stay, the hardwood leaves started turning toward fall colors,

something that normally happened a month later. Again, this was likely because of the extreme

drought.

Abe and Tori unfortunately had to leave camp the last morning of our hunt. Mary Anne and I

stayed. We would start heading back to Texas in a couple of days. As the last afternoon’s hunt

approached I still felt confident. I had occasionally taken my bear in the waning moments of the

hunt, and was optimistic about the evening’s sit. After days of virtually not even so much as

whisper of a breeze, finally…a steady cooling wind blew out of the Northwest. It actually felt

like fall bear hunting season.

Driving toward my baited blind, I reminded Randy I had taken three grizzlies in Alaska in years

past. All three were taken with less than 30-minutes remaining in my hunts. I was confident I

would take a bear this last evening. I explained the same to Heath Howe, my assigned guide

when he dropped me to walk the short distance into my blind.

The afternoon passed quickly, even though I had not even seen so much as a bird or squirrel.

With fifteen minutes of legal shooting time remaining I was thought about gathering my gear

for the walk out to the pick up point. That is when I spotted black movement behind the bait,

no doubt a bear. I watched it through my 10x Stealth Vision (www.stealthvision.com) binoculars

to make certain there were no cubs, although normally cubs are the first to show at the bait

when a sow with cubs comes in. I scanned the area thoroughly. No cubs!

Initially I planned on shooting a bear with my .454 Casull Taurus Raging Hunter revolver topped

with 3 MOA Stealth Vision Red Dot sight, shooting Hornady’s Handgun Hunter ammo. But this

bear was continually moving and I felt uncomfortable taking a shot with my handgun. I quickly

switched to my Rossi R95 .45-70 lever-action rifle topped with a red dot sight and loaded with

Hornady LEVERevolution.

The bear hesitated momentarily, broadside. I had thumbed back the hammer waiting for a shot,

settled the red dot behind the bear’s shoulder half way from top to bottom of bear, then pulled

the trigger. At the shot the bear disappeared into the underbrush.

Hoping to hear it crash or a death moan, I listened intently. Neither!

I walked to the road and called Heath and Randy to tell them I had shot a bear and would wait

for them at my drop-off place. They arrived, in the dark, a short time later.

Randy and Heath immediately found blood. They found it bear dead less than twenty steps

from where I had shot it, perfect performance by Hornady’s 325-grain FTX bullet. After properly

tagging my bear, congratulations were extended. Randy and Heath skidded my bear to the

vehicle and loaded it. Though not a huge bear I was extremely proud of it. I had sat over 40

hours for a chance at a bear. It happened in the truly waning moments of my hunt reminding

me once again, do not ever give up on a hunt until it is truly over.

While we were taking care of me meat and hide back at camp, I was approached by the one of

the ladies who cooks for Randy’s camp. She asked if she might be able to procure some of my

bear meat for she and members of their local Penobscot Nation to utilize in their ceremonies.

She explained what they did with bear meat, bones, claws and skins, utilizing the entire bear to

pass on their traditional ways of doing things to their younger members. All sounded great to

me! I ended up donating both hide and carcass to the Penobscot Nation. I had photos and

memories that would last as long as I’m on this earth and possibly beyond.

Before leaving, I made arrangement with Randy to hunt with him again September 2026. With

so many of the older, mature boars having gone to den very early this year, I can only imagine

the many monster bears that will be roaming the Wilderness Escape Lodge’s lands next fall.