Maine Predator Hunt - Maine
Jeremy and his dog.
Eric with his & Jeremy's coyotes
Hunters: Jeremy Lengle & Eric Minichbach
Cameramen: Eric Minichbach & Jeremy Lengle
As we all know, even when you plan and coordinate for months, sometimes the hunt just isn’t what you expected. So to say that I was a little apprehensive about this trip would be an understatement. My stepfather and I were leaving for a 4-day coyote hunt in Maine. It was the first time either of us had gone on a predator hunt. My stepfather never had the opportunity to take a coyote, so it was decided ahead of time that he would have the first shot. It turned out to be one of the more exciting hunts that I’ve been on with many ups and downs.
Day 1: Sunday Jan. 4, 2009
We left Pennsylvania a little after midnight so we could arrive at our destination during daylight hours. It was important to us that we get acquainted with our hunting area before we went stomping in there on Monday morning. After spending around 11 hours on the road, with the usual pit stops for gas and food, we finally made it to camp. Our guide promptly met us and we decided we should go see the area we would be hunting the next day. Upon our arrival at the bait site, I noticed that the bait pile was further away from our hunting shack than I would have liked. I wouldn’t be able to film as I had planned because of the distance. Our setup was situated on a snow-covered logging road with the bait approximately 150 yards away. We had the capability to shoot beyond the bait to around 300 yards. I figured we would give it a shot and see how the next day went. We headed back to camp for dinner and tried to catch up on some sleep in preparation for the long sit that awaited us the next day.
Day 2: Monday Jan. 5
The thermometer read 10 degrees outside! After having a quick breakfast, we made the short drive to our parking area in the pre-dawn hours. After around a half mile walk, we settled into our shack for a nice 12 hour sit. We weren’t into daylight hours yet when I could see movement at the bait. It was our first coyote! It was just a little too dark to be able to make a good shot, so Eric decided to pass on this one. We figured that we’d see many more since this first one showed up so quickly. WRONG! We didn’t see another one until just before it was dark again, which made for a long day. This time the coyote came from beyond the bait pile walking toward us. Eric said that he would let him keep coming, in hopes of getting a closer shot. We both figured it was making its way to the bait pile. WRONG AGAIN! It quickly turned into the woods and disappeared. We learned a few hard lessons on the first day, but we were very optimistic about the following morning.
Day 3: Tuesday Jan. 6
After seeing our first coyote so early the previous morning, we were both excited about our chances on this morning. As it turned out, we didn’t see but a couple flashes darting across the road beyond the bait. It was a very slow day with nothing appearing at the bait to offer a shot.
Day 4: Wednesday Jan. 7
We were once again optimistic about today. A cold front was to be moving in which usually gets the animals moving about. It seemed like out of nowhere, out from the briars, walks a beauty of a coyote around 8 a.m. I’m watching through my scope as Eric touches off the shot. The dog turns and runs away! We decided to wait awhile before we would go check the shot. It got the better of us after a short while. Since the snow started to fall, I figured we should get out and have a look. We searched for quite sometime to no avail. No blood or hair and with all the tracks in the area, it was impossible to tell which were made by the dog Eric shot at. It looked to us like a clean miss, which we were thankful for. Eric was really bummed to say the least. We made that long walk back to our blind and rode out the snow storm until dark. Unfortunately nothing else showed up the rest of that day—another long day.
Day 5: Thursday Jan. 8
The snow had let up to just a few flurries by the morning and when it did, the action picked up! Since Eric had his opportunity, it was now my turn to shoot. It was mid morning when all of a sudden this coyote sprang like a cat on all fours onto the logging road. She was right at the bait which was around 150 yards out. I carefully took aim and touched off the shot. She spun in a circle and down she went in the middle of the road. We had our first coyote on the ground...it all happened so fast! We walked out to retrieve what would turn out to be a 32 lb female with a nice reddish tint. We took some hero shots and quickly climbed back into our blind hoping that Eric would get another chance. Only a few hours went by, and out came another. This time the coyote was right around 100 yards away. Eric was caught off guard with coffee in hand at the time. I was chomping at the bit and ready, but let him get into position to make the shot. He was rushed and took a shot as the coyote was making a quick exit back into the thick cover. Another miss! At this time the spirits went from high to low. We sat quietly for some time; second guessing what could or should have been done differently. A few hours passed and I wondered if Eric would have another chance as this was our last day of hunting. We would be leaving for home in the morning. As luck would have it, around 3 hours later another one stepped out near the spot I shot mine. This coyote tried to pull the entire beef hide into the cover, which slowed him down just long enough for Eric to make the shot. He was down on the spot. We congratulated each other and went to retrieve our second dog, which turned out to be a 29 lb male. We waited until dark hoping that just maybe something else might make an appearance. One thing I will remember to bring along next time is a plastic sled for dragging. I was surprised how tiring it was walking through 16 inches of snow dragging a coyote.
All in all it was a great experience with many lessons learned for next time. I did get to see my first moose and bald eagle in the wild which was an awesome sight to behold. I’m looking forward to going back north next year! Happy Hunting!
Jeremy