Just returned yesterday from a week long successful hunt at Libby Camp on the shoreline at Millinocket Lake in upstate Maine. People attending were Stevie Hodges, Billy Janelle, Steve's good friend Bud, and myself.
We stayed in a large cabin separate from the other cabins reserved for people with the meal plan and guide service. I hear the food at the main lodge was outstanding but I think we did pretty well ourselves for the week. Each person at our cabin was responsible for a meal for each night. Bud made a delicious beef stew slowly simmered in the crock pot. Billy made a tortellini stew a recipe that had just the right amount of spice but was very good that his daughter gave him. Stevie brought a shepherd pie that satisfied everyone’s hungry appetite after a long day's hunt. I made for breakfast egg McMuffins, Finnish oven pancake (Pannukakku), French toast with Challah bread covered with Edgar Spencer’s Connecticut Maple syrup, and for dinner a lasagna all made from scratch. Friday night was “left over night” which I think was the best dinner of the whole week. After each meal that night we sat and shared hunting adventures for the day over some “amber liquid” on the rocks, cold beer, and some Grouse harvested that day. There were lots of laughs too.
Couldn’t ask for better weather for the week. Each day was sunny but a little bit on the warm side especially on Wednesday that reached temps close to mid 70’s. By the end of the week the temperatures lowered to the low 60’s. Cover was very thick with mostly all the leaves hanging on and it was a dry season in upstate Maine so we focused on finding bird cover close to wet spots, Alders, streams, and hiking old logging tote roads. Finding them is the key and with that we relied on man’s best friend, the dog, and in our case Star, Cody, Parker, and Cali.
Each day someone from our group got a bird. The dogs did very well and there where were lots of flushes. Some birds held but most they were runners that can give the dog and the hunter fits. I paired up with Billy for the week and Cali did an outstanding job working just over the shoulder of the tote road about 25 yards in. When she was on point one of us would enter woods while the other would stay on the road in case the bird flushed out on to the road. Our best day Billy got three Grouse and a Woodcock and I got two Grouse.
Billy and I both brought our Remington Model 17’s. We both brought doubles but each morning we just kept reaching again for these light and trim 20 gauges. They point beautifully and a delight to carry. Bill’s gun is a 1930 17B Special grade and I had the 1923 vintage UMC/Remington standard grade. Each has a solid rib and weighs six pounds on the nose. With the warm weather and hiking all those trails one can understand why we used the Remington Model 17.
Below are a few pictures from the week. I wish I took more though.
We give Libby Camps FIVE stars and recommend it to everyone to check them out.
If you go be cautious of double loaded logging tractor trailers barreling down fast on Pinkham Road and big bad moose……..
Enjoy
Frank
10-08-2017, 03:59 PM
As Frankie said we ate like kings at every meal, had great weather and a beautiful camp. Libby Camps I behind the North Maine Woods Oxbow Gate and as such is somewhat limited access. Bud and I deer hunted the area in the fall of '83 and '84, and boy have things changed since then. I will add a few more picks of grouse and tired dogs.
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