Bird Dogs Afield host Paul Fuller is the gun dog columnist for Northwoods Sporting Journal. The Journal has granted permission to re-print Paul’s articles. Thank you Northwoods Sporting Journal.
Finding Grouse
“Grouse are where you find them” as Frank Woolner, author of Grouse & Grouse Hunting, once said. Of course, that’s our problem as grouse hunters. And this year, they were just a little harder to find than last season…for most of us.
Grouse being more difficult to locate this season for most hunters is contrary to all the early reports from folks working in the woods and professional dog trainers who begin working their dogs around August 1st. All reports were very positive. Broods were numerous and chick counts high. Your author has witnessed many seasons that have followed the same trend. Trying to provide an answer is like trying to define the ten year grouse cycle we so often hear about. When hunting, I try to talk with as many local residents as possible. I’m always asking questions and looking for answers. Our hunting group came in contact with a road worker in the North Maine Woods (NMW) this October. He says he works in the NMW five days a week…every week. Here is his theory. Everyone knew that birds were plentiful this summer. He feels that this news brought out all the local hunters early in the season. Most of these hunters are road cruisers that ground swat their birds. The man I spoke with said he killed his limit everyday for the first two weeks of the season. He suggested if you multiply that by the number of “locals” that cruise the roads, it’s a very high kill. The results are very few birds are seen on the roads after the first two weeks.
The discussion with this road worker reminded me of another discussion I had several years ago with a logger in the NMW. He said exactly the same thing. Fewer birds were being seen on the roads due to heavy ground swatting early in the season. He also said that those birds we see on the roads are most always first-year birds and haven’t learned yet to be smart. He added that birds were still plentiful if you had good dogs and wanted to go deeper into the woods. That piece of advice has stayed with me for many years…go deeper. And, here’s how we used that advice this season.
One of our hunts this season was at Grants Kennebago Camps. Owner John Blunt offered to guide us and take us to some coverts that he was very sure no one had hunted this season. Why? Because these coverts were way back and a strenuous walk up hill. And John was right. After a very long hike, we came to a cut that was in that 10-15 year range and just right for birds. My older shorthair, Dillon, locked up rather quickly on a three bird flush. We had several other single bird finds and flushes. “Grouse are where you find them” and we found them where no one else had made the effort to hunt. And speaking of good dogs and going deep, Grants Kennebago Camps (www.grantscamps.com) has one of the top grouse guides in New England. He’s Cal Robinson and his dogs are at the top of their game. If you book into Grants for a hunt, ask for Cal as a guide. If he’s not available, not to worry. John has several other top-notch guides…including himself.
Another example of going deep was at Allagash Guide Service (www.allagashguideservice.com) in Allagash, Maine. Sean Lizotte, owner, guided us our first day in camp this season. The first thing Sean said was “we’ll be going pretty deep and a long distance from camp…no one has hunted this area I’m sure.” And, Sean was right. We had a dozen flushes that morning; a respectful morning no matter what season.
And, it doesn’t always take a guide to find those remote areas. There were some hunters from South Carolina at Allagash Guide Service that came back to camp each day with the most number of birds. They had done a great deal of pre-hunt map work looking for cuts that were deep into the woods. They also had world-class pointing dogs. Going deep and good dog work produced for these hunters.
No matter what your success level, a day in the October woods with your friends and dogs is to be cherished.
Paul Fuller is host of Bird Dogs Afield TV, which may be seen in the Greater Boston area on WBIN (Comcast Ch. 18) Fox 21 in Duluth, MN and Fox 23 in Portland beginning in November and running through December. Previous TV broadcast episodes, and dozens of training and hunting videos and Paul’s previous Sporting Journal columns may be seen or read on Paul’s website which is www.birddogsafield.com. Paul may be contacted at paul@birddogsafield.com.