When Monday arrived it was time to run a few baits then hurry back for some lunch and then hurry to get the guys in the woods.  With 8 hunters it can take a while, but it went pretty smoothly.  It wasn't too long after everyone was out when Steve called the house to report he had taken his first Maine black bear.  I grabbed my bear recovery gear and headed out to Steve's bait.  His bear only ran a short distance before it expired from a well placed arrow.  We dressed it off and headed out to meet my wife to take Steve to the tagging station as I had to go recover another bear.  While Steve and I were getting his bear, Joe had shot one as well.  Joe and I tracked his bear a good 12 yards to his first Maine black bear.  We dressed it off and loaded it in the truck.  Joe and I then slowly drove down the road to check on a couple of hunters who did not have cell phones.  It wasn't too long and we found Rick sitting beside the road.  He had shot a large bear with his T/C Encore muzzle loader.  We recovered it and then waited to pick up the remaining hunters.  When Tim got in the truck, we learned he had seen a bear, and we also learned that Jim had seen a sow with two cubs.  Dan, Mike and Paul did not see any bears that evening, but 5 hunters had seen bears and 3 hunters had taken bears.  A very good first night.

        Tuesday came with Paul and Mike running baits with me.  We hurried back to camp to eat lunch and get ready to get out for the afternoon.  After I put everyone out I headed back to the lodge to get bait ready for the next day and wait for someone to call.  After a while I headed out to check on Mike, since he did not have a cell phone.  Since he wasn't out of the woods, I slowly drove to where I would pick Tim up and waited in the truck.  As the end of shooting time was approaching, I heard Tim shoot.  I started up the truck and drove to his bait site, grabbed my knife, sidearm and headlight, then headed in on the path to find Tim and Rick coming out.  I had them drop there gear off at the truck and grab the stretcher while I looked for his bear.  It did not take long to find, since it ran about 6 feet.  I had it pretty near dressed off by the time Tim and Rick returned.  We loaded it on the stretcher and headed for the truck.  We next went to pick up an angry Dan.  It seems that a couple of locals that had no business being in the woods had shot a bear on the road and then walked in to the bait site.  This got me to call the warden to report the incident.  After picking everyone else up we learned that Jim had seen another bear.  So now we had 4 bears killed and 4 hunters still to go.

     On this day Paul, Mike and I ran baits again.  We then headed to the lodge for another great meal, and to prepare for the afternoon.  Today we headed out to the woods for the afternoon with me putting Dan out last on a hot bait near the lodge.  I then headed to the lodge to skin a bear.  It wasn't too long after I got to the lodge that the phone rang with an excited Dan Moore on the other end.  It seems that he had shot his first Maine black bear around 2 pm that afternoon.  Rick and Tim, Dan's co workers, wanted to go help get the bear.  Once again it was  a short recovery, as the well placed shot had dropped the bear just a few feet from the bait.  We loaded the bear and headed to the lodge to finish skinning Rick and Tim's bears.  Later Dan and his friends headed to the tagging station while I went to pick up the remaining hunters.  Jim shot his first bear that evening as well, so now we were down to 2 days remaining and 2 hunters who still had not seen a bear.

     On Thursday Paul, Mike and I headed out to put out some bait.  we also decided where they would hunt the next day or two.  Mike was going to hunt the "Lost In The Woods Bait", that Paul had made so famous the previous year.  Paul sat on a bait that had a good bear hitting it.  That afternoon Paul helped me skin the remaining bears.  We ended up heading out a little later than usual, but we still had plenty of time to hunt.  At the end of shooting time I picked up Paul who again had not seen a bear.  Next we picked up Mike who shared a great story.  He had seen a decent bear on his bait, when all of a sudden it just turned and ran out like a shot.  Next a MONSTER bear strode into the bait, but it kept it's vital area covered behind a tree as it feasted on some of the treats.  Mike had to break a twig to make it run off, so he could leave the tree stand.

     Today many of the hunters decided to head out for home, leaving just Paul and Mike at the lodge.  We headed out that afternoon to give it another try.  Today Mike was packing heat, as he wanted the MONSTER, if it would come in again.  Today, alas, was not a bear killing day.  Mike did not see the monster.  He saw 3 smaller bears, but he chose to wait.  Paul saw a sow with 2 cubs.  He watched them for quite awhile.  They did not want to leave the area, even after he clapped his hands.  Finally they ran off so he could climb out of the tree.  So at the end of the third week we had 6 bears taken and 20 bears seen.  We also ate lots of great food, and shared a lot of laughter.  A great week of Maine bear hunting.