Staff Writer
Hunting season got off to a good start for hunters from Maine to Connecticut taking home both bear and moose in recent weeks, as activity at Ben’s Trading Post on Main St. in Presque Isle picked up as hunters stopped in to have their animals weighed and tagged.
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
THE FIRST DAY of moose hunting season proved successful for a Presque Isle man and his buddy as they hunted near the Presque Isle-Easton town line Sept. 22. Posing with the 967-pound bull moose are, from left: Dan Bagley, sub-permittee; Daniel Henderson, the lucky hunter; and Scott Haggerty, a local guide who assisted the pair in finding the moose. After 28 years of trying for a permit, Henderson was pleased to have his name selected and pleasantly surprised to have such luck on the first day of the season.
Ron Ricciardi, through his North Maine Woods guide service, of Eagle Lake, helped three hunters get bear during the start of bear season. Bear season runs from Aug. 25 to Nov. 29. (Check 2008 rule books for more specifics.)
“One of my first trips out the first week was with a father-daughter hunting team from Virginia – John and Lindsley Shelton. She got a 150-pound bear, while her father got one weighing 402 pounds,” said Ricciardi.
Ricciardi has been hunting for years but thinks this is one of the better seasons he’s seen.
“I’ve been doing this since I was a teen. I’m 46 now. This year is shaping up as one of the better ones,” he said.
A Connecticut hunter who hired Ricciardi to guide him can attest to this being a good year, after landing a huge specimen in September.
“It was 20 yards in back of the tree stand. I got it around 6:45 p.m. on Sept. 18 up in Eagle Lake,” said Shane Dufresne, of Waterbury, Conn.
Dufresne used his .30-06 to down one of the biggest bears taken in recent years.
“It’s a male and weighed around 533 pounds. They estimated its approximate age at 15 years,” said Dufresne.
Age is determined by wildlife biologists using a tooth pulled from the animal.
Dufresne, who also deer hunts, said he’s been hunting on and off for about 10 years.
“This is my fourth year with Ron and the fourth bear I’ve shot. But this is by far the biggest,” said Dufresne. “I almost didn’t come up this year. I usually come up with a buddy, but he couldn’t make it this year. I came up kind of last minute.”
Dufresne planned to have a life-size mount done of the bear.
Moose season proved just as successful for two more hunters and their sub-permitees.
On Sept. 22, Presque Isle resident Daniel Henderson, with the help of local guide Scott Haggerty and sub-permittee Dan Bagley, got his bull moose near the Presque Isle-Easton town line on the first day of the season.
“This is my first permit in 28 years of putting in for one. I finally got the ‘golden ticket.’ I can’t believe it,” said Henderson.
Henderson said the 967-pound bull would provide meat for a while.
“A bull permit in District 6 was my first choice. That’s what I got,” said Henderson. “Now I’m hoping to have the same luck with deer season.”
Sept. 27, though a bit rainy, proved to be just as lucky for two Kittery hunters.
“This is my first time moose hunting. I’ve been trying for the drawing since 1982. It was actually my daughter, Haylie, who was picked,” said Scott Alessi, of Kittery.
“I’ve been hunting for about four years,” said 14-year-old Haylie Alessi.
“We got a bull weighing 839 pounds,” said Alessi. “We were hunting in Bridgewater – E Plantation I think they call it.”
Figures weren’t available at presstime as to totals taken for bear, moose or other game so far this year.
The Warden Service advises hunters to use caution when hunting. Wearing blaze orange can help prevent misidentification and possible injury, tell someone where you’re planning to hunt, don’t hunt alone and dress for the weather. And, as always, use proper precautions when carrying a weapon.
Photo courtesy of Ron Ricciardi
JOHN SHELTON, of Virginia, and Ron Ricciardi, a Maine guide from Eagle Lake, are pictured with the 402-pound bear Shelton got while hunting in September.
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
JOHN AND HAYLIE ALESSI, of Kittery, pose with the 839-pound bull moose John got Sept. 27 near Bridgewater.
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
SHANE DUFRESNE, of Waterbury, Conn., and Ron Ricciardi, a Maine guide from Eagle Lake, take time for a photo op while weighing the 533-pound bear Dufresne got while hunting in Eagle Lake.
