Allagash Guide Service Blog

April 2010 / Early spring

APRIL 2010

Our unusual winter has turned into a unusual and premature spring. Officially ice went out on the St. John and Allagash Rivers on April 2nd this year. The earliest I have recorded ice out in the last 15 years was April 10, there is less than 1 foot of snow in the woods and with a week of rain and warm weather predicted most snow will be gone soon.

Any paddlers interested in getting on the rivers early this season should go to the U.S.G.S. stream flow data site to check river flows before making plans. You can find a link to their site on our “Canoe Trips – Trip Planning” page and find the link. If you need further details and information we are glad to help by phone or email.

We are looking forward to the spring and summer canoe season and are anxious to see all of our returning customers and meeting new customers through out this year. Many returning customers have contacted us already this winter making plans for the coming paddling season.

January 2010 Updates

New Website – Well it is long overdue, after about 14 years with a website and basically under the same format for 14 years we have finally updated our site and made it more modern. I hope everyone enjoys the site, photos and it is easy to navigate.

Winter 2010 has started out like a lamb, well above normal temperatures and below normal snowfall for January has made the winter bearable so far this year. Normally we have experienced many nights in the -10, -20 or even -30 degree range, but so far we have only recorded one low temperature of -18 and only about 8 inches of snow so far this month. These weather conditions are certainly a great respite for our deer herd which so badly needs a breakmfrom the usually tough conditions, hopefully these conditions persist.
Although the weather has not given us a lot of snow there is still plenty for riding snowmobiles, we have about 2 feet on the ground and the Moosetown Riders Snowmobile Club has been out diligently grooming our many miles of ITS trails.

Shed Hunting - Due to the favorable conditions this winter moose shed hunting has been great. We did get a good deal of snow quickly around Christmas and it shut down the moose activity for a few weeks, but since then the moose have been very active and we are finding many sheds. There are still many reports of bulls sporting both antlers so the hunting is still on.

Sportsman Show season – January, February and March is the time of year many sportsman shows are scheduled throughout the country. Look for advertisements in outdoor journals for dates and times of a show near you. In 2010 you can visit us at 3 shows, we will be in Harrisburg, PA at the State Farm Show Complex, February 6 – 14, booth # 7018, Monroeville, PA, at the Monroeville Convention Center, February 17 – 21 and Springfield, MA, at the Big E Fairgrounds, February 18 – 21, booth #413, hope to see you there.

Canoe Season – It may seem early but now is the time to start planning your spring canoe trip on the St. John or Allagash rivers. I have been getting several emails each week from anxious paddlers looking forward to a spring get away in Maine’s North Woods. If you need help coordinating and planning your trip I will be glad to help. Ice out on the rivers is generally around April 15th with the first paddlers embarking on the St. John between May 1 -5.

Moose Lottery – The State made the moose lottery applications available this week so now is the time to apply for your moose tag. There are a few changes for 2010, there will be an additional week of hunting in one of the zones we guide in, zone 2, that additional hunting week is scheduled to take
place November 1 – 6. Also, there will be approximately 100 more tags available this year, the deadline for applying is May 14, don’t miss it.

Congratulations 2009 Maine Moose Permit Recipients

Congratulations to all of the winners of a 2009 Maine moose permit, over 3000 lucky hunters were selected on Thursday night in Fort Kent. I was present at the name drawing at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, there was a buzz of anticipation in the air, and everyone present was in hopes of their name being called out.

It was anticipated that over 500 would attend the drawing, and it was announced that the assembled crowed may have been the biggest gathering anywhere in State for the annual drawing. Throughout the evening there were many cheers from what appeared to be winners of the coveted permits; in fact my son was one of the lucky winners to have his name called that night. It is a dream come true for many people to draw a moose permit, but for a 14 year old to draw a tag and hear your name called out as one of the lucky winners was almost too good to be true. Many congratulatory remarks were uttered to my son, I suspect he will be on cloud 9 for a while.

Any moose hunters that were issued a moose permit for 2009 in zones 1, 2 or 4 can contact us regarding any questions for guiding, cabin rentals, cold storage or any other information you may need to help you be successful this fall. Good luck and we hope to hear from you.

Canoeing in Maine

Canoe season is in full swing, the paddling season on the St. John has gone past with spring traffic very light. Allagash water levels are at average levels for early June, with the forecast of 1” or more of rain this weekend that will extend the good water levels until the end of June. So far this spring river traffic has been light, but it is predicted to get busy the last week of June through July 4th. Reports of great trout fishing so far have been numerous, so bring your fishing gear and fly dope.

Learn More

Moose Hunting in Maine

In less than 1 week the State of Maine will be holding a special drawing for a controlled moose hunt. This moose hunt is designed to target the moose herd in areas that are a nuisance to farmers and crops as well as motorists along several busy travel corridors. This unique opportunity will give 55 landowners and 15 guides’ tags to harvest 100 moose; each guide will be issued 3 tags to allow other hunters to fill. If you would like to be put on a waiting list call us for more information.

Allagash Guide Service: (207) 398-3418

On June 18th the much anticipated and highly hyped statewide hunt will select approximately 3000 hunters to participate in the 2009 moose hunt. This year the drawing will be held in Fort Kent at the University, this is a great way for the public to witness how the lottery process works. Give us a call if you are interested in participating in this event.

Learn More

Bear Hunting in Maine

Bear hunting season is only 2 ½ months away. Most of our preparations are complete, about one more week of scouting and cleaning up bait sites will have us ready to start baiting on August 1st. The extensive bear sign that I have seen so far this spring indicates a strong 2009 hunting season. Due to the economy our bookings are below normal, if anyone is looking to book a fall bear hunt at the last minute now is the time to call. We are located in the State’s most productive bear hunting region and would be glad to discuss the details of our hunts and talk to you about open dates for 2009.

Learn More