The Great Androscoggin River Wildlife Adventure

By A. Sayward Lamb
October 19, 2003

My friend Jody Brooks, my grandson, Nathan Morse and myself, went hunting on Columbus Day (Oct 13th), up on the Androscoggin River. We put our canoe in at the bridge in Gilead at daybreak and paddled down as far as West Bethel. It was a beautiful but very windy day, which made far from ideal hunting conditions for ducks and geese. Still, it was a very interesting trip and the foliage was at its height. The clear blue sky only added to the beauty of the mountains alongside the river.

Whenever we came to an island in the river, one of us would get out and hunt along the opposite side from where the canoe went. Those in the canoe would wait at the lower end of the island looking for ducks that might be moving up or down the river. The only duck we got was a hooded merganser although we all did get shots at flying birds. Jody even missed his shot at a Canadian goose.

The game that we saw as we walked the islands was an added bonus for us all. Nathan was hunting downstream from the head of one of the islands, so Jody and I were waiting at the lower end of the island where we had just flushed two wild turkeys. I decided to hike upstream alongside a backup of still water and only went a short distance when I saw a huge bull moose with a beautiful rack of antlers. At about the same time I saw a pair of wood ducks, so I took a shot at one of the ducks. I couldn’t believe it when the moose continued to feed when I fired the shotgun! I would estimate the giant critter was not over 75 yards from where I was standing, so the report of the shotgun must have been loud. I missed the duck so I continued to approach the moose. He looked my way and finally walked slowly away and out of sight. I had only walked about another one hundred feet when I saw a nice doe deer. She started to run so I whistled softly and she stopped in her tracks and watched me for a few moments before running off out of sight.

I returned to the lower end of the island. Nathan appeared shortly and was quite excited as he exclaimed: “Grampa!” “I just saw a black bear on the other side of the stream, only about fifty feet away! I am still shaking from excitement. I also saw five wild turkeys still roosting in the trees.” He later told us the bear ran downstream and out of sight, and the turkeys remained on their roosts and as he “clucked”” at them, they responded with “clucks” of their own.

Jody and Nathan also saw a raccoon feeding on a dead turkey, and later saw a doe deer and her “skipper”. The doe went one way and her youngster the other. Nathan and Jody saw the doe swim off the island to the mainland but the “skipper” remained out of their sight. (I might also note that every apple tree on the islands that I traversed had claw marks made by bears).
We ended the hunt just before noontime but we all agreed the trip was a wonderful experience. Jody stayed in West Bethel to visit his mother and Nathan and I headed back to my cottage on North Pond. On the way home we saw ten geese and tried to sneak up on them. They saw us and moved out of shotgun range, so we continued back to the cottage for lunch and to plan our strategy for getting at those geese. After lunch we took my little 10 ½ foot “Puddle Jumper” canoe and Nathan waited alongside the water, concealed in the bushes, while I paddled the canoe out towards the geese. Rather than approaching them directly I paddled back and forth, in a very strong wind, coming closer with every pass. The geese didn’t seem to get alarmed but they moved towards the bushes. Finally, I felt they were within shooting range of Nathan. The problem was he did not shoot! I finally decided as soon as I got with shooting range I would shoot from the canoe and I’ll be darned if I didn’t get myself the largest Canadian goose that I have ever shot. Of course, with my shot, the rest of the geese flew off and it was only then that Nathan fired at them—and missed.

Later I learned that I had miscalculated his location, and he was about forty yards away from the area where I presumed he was hiding. Still, we were happy to get the one goose. It will be served, along with the turkey, at our “Thanks-mas” party scheduled for November 9th. That is just a few days before my wife, Cynthia, and I head for our winter home in Plant City, Florida.