The Virginia Sportsman – Spring 2016

Grouse and Woodcock  in DownEast Maine

By KING MONTGOMERY – October in Downeast Maine is a magical time of the year and certainly the most beautiful, not just for the stunning fall colors of fall, but also for the excellent upland bird hunting that accompanies the rich tapestry of color. By Oct. 20 or so, landlock salmon and brook trout season ends and the smallmouth bass fishing just about stops too. Now it’s time for the wild ruffed grouse and the migratory American woodcock to take the scene as the waders and fishing rods slowly give way to the shotgun, blaze orange and bird dogs.

More than 80 percent of Maine is covered with trees and the part of Maine centered on the village of Grand Lake Stream (GLS), about 90 minutes northeast of Bangor, probably exceeds 95 percent. Weatherby’s at GLS has been catering to sports for over a century and the list of luminaries who have fished and hunted here reads like a who’s who. “Buffalo” Bob Smith of Howdy Doody fame, baseball greats Ted Williams and Stan “The Man” Musial, Joe Brooks, Curt Gowdy, A. J. McClane, and generals Jimmy Doolittle and Matthew B. Ridgeway, as well as many others, traveled here to get away from it all.

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