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      The second week of bear season found Tom & Julie Nagy returning for their second trip and bringing their son Eric along for his first Maine bear hunt.  Meeting them in camp were a group of hunters from Virginia, Mike Healy, Bill Arnold, and two brothers Matt and Craig Bourne.  The group from Virginia were in Maine hunting bear for the first time.  After the traditional Maine lobster feed we had orientation followed by some range time.  We then returned back to the lodge for some desert.

     Monday found me returning to the lodge to meet the guys for lunch before we headed out to the hunting area for an afternoon of bear hunting.  I got all the fellows into their stands then settled in to wait for the cell phone to ring.  The afternoon passed with no cell phone calls.  Once shooting hours had expired I picked up the guys and learned that Eric Nagy had watched a sow with 2-3 cubs on his bait right towards dark.  Bill Arnold also had seen a couple of bears, with a large bear coming in around 5 pm and a smaller bear around 7 pm.  Unfortunately neither bear had presented a good broad side shot for Bill.   We returned to the lodge for some food, stories and rest.

     Tuesday began much the same as Monday, and we returned to the same stands.  The day passed just as Monday had with no phone calls.  After shooting hours I gathered up the guys and learned the Tom Nagy had seen 2-3 different bears with a large one presenting a nice broadside shot, but Tom elected to pass hoping for a larger bear.  Eric Nagy had also seen 2 more bears at his site and passed on each of those.  None of the other hunters saw any bears, so we returned for more of Nancy's great cooking and hunting stories.

     Wednesday began much the same as the first two days, the only difference being what we had for lunch.  The guys settled into their stands for the afternoon, and I waited.  Once again no one called.  I gathered up the guys and learned that Matt had seen a bear that did not present a good shot, and his brother Craig had spooked a bear off the bait as he prepared to leave after shooting hours.  He had diligently watched the bait for 3 days, and the bear was there right at dark.  We returned to the lodge for more great food, stories and some rest.

     On Thursday we all had a great lunch and then headed to a different area to try and see if a new stand might lead to a change in the luck.  I got everyone settled in, and began my long wait.  Once again no one had called before shooting hours expired.  I gathered up the guys and learned that Bill had seen 3 different bears at his stand, each not presenting a shot, Tom Nagy briefly saw a bear at his new site as did his son Eric.  Mike Healy awoke from an afternoon nap to be startled by a bear approaching the bait and sort of got excited.  None of the bears seen were taken.  So far this week we had seen 17 bears, and had killed none.  Well we drove back to the lodge for more great food and hopes that a night of rest would be needed as we prepared for Friday's hunt.

     Well we had a good lunch and gathered up our gear and headed off to hunt on Friday afternoon.  I got everyone tucked in to their site and settled in to wait for the phone to ring.  The afternoon passed and I headed off to gather everyone up.  I learned that Bill had seen another bear and Eric had been visited by a truly large bear right at dark, and he did not have a good shot.  Eric was thrilled to have seen such a large bear, and I was happy he had seen it as well.  We drove back to the lodge for a great steak dinner.  The week ended with 6 hunters seeing 19 bears.  No bears were taken, but we all enjoyed a week of great bear hunting.