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Northwoods Sporting Journal > Articles > Featured Articles

Featured Articles

Warden Pilots: A Special Breed

Backshelfjan w jpeg Warden Pilots: A Special Breed Dufault didn’t have to fly. Conditions were almost impossible with poor visibility and a low overcast. In cases like this, it is the warden pilot’s call. He knows the risks and nobody, including his bosses, ever second guesses a warden pilot’s decision to stay on the ground … Continued

Suit to Ban FFO waters

By V. Paul Reynolds Plaintiffs supported by the International Order of Theodore Roosevelt have sued the Maine Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in Augusta’s superior court to open all of Maine’s public waters to everyone and end the State’s practice of reserving Maine’s best fishing spots for fly fisherman only. The plaintiffs, represented by … Continued

Wintertime Perchin’

BY Jonah Paris Just as the sport of fly fishing has its internal cohorts, like the “dry-or-die” purists, the “it’s not a bobber – it’s an indicator” crew, and the dedicated “meat-only” streamer-chuckers, ice fishermen in Maine organize themselves into exclusive groups. Hardcore cuskers and muskie-junkies are a strange and secretive bunch, often keeping to … Continued

Dreams of Slobberknockers

By Mike Maynard So, I learned a new word the other day. Slobberknocker. As in, “Boys! There’s some jeezly big slobberknockers out there!” Does colloquial County-speak get any better than that? I don’t think so. I was introduced to the word while trying to nail down the story of the biggest buck ever killed in … Continued

Buck of A Lifetime

By V. Paul Reynolds “I am over the moon about this buck.” said avid deer hunter Robbie Flint. And well he should be. His buck, which was tagged in early November at the Four Corner Store in Union, sported an incredible 27 points and tipped the scales dressed at 252 lbs! Flint is a 28- … Continued

Maine Record Sow Bear

Snared Sow: A New State Record Editor’s note: This sow bear taken this fall is a new Maine state record tipping the scales at a dressed weight of 358 lbs. The bear was harvested by Howland guide Zach LaFreniere from Wild Fern Guide Service. The big female bruin was estimated to have a live weight … Continued

Why We Hunt

By Homer Spit Day dreaming about what has been my favorite week of the year for more than 50 years – a week at deer camp- I got to thinking again about the somewhat cerebral aspect of the deer hunt. Why do we hunt? Why, specifically, do I hunt? If you have ever spent a … Continued

Women at Deer Camp?

“The deer camp is where old men tell stories, and boys grow to be men.” – Tom Heberlein By V. Paul Reynolds By tradition, American deer hunting camps have been a place exclusively for men. Robert Wegner, in his superb book Legendary Deer Camps, writes, “ Yet despite the longstanding involvement of women at Ten … Continued

Great Pond: Lost Access?

BY V. Paul Reynolds Great Pond in Aurora off the airline road is a scenic, medium- sized body of water that forms the headwaters of the Union River watershed. As the crow flies, it is not that far from the Stud Mill Road. The pond is habitat for pickerel, bass, perch and stocked Brown Trout. … Continued

Benoit the Legacy

BY Lee Schanz Larry Benoit was born in the mountains of Vermont in 1924. I’m sure growing up in the Depression made a lasting impression on him the rest of his life. Most people in Maine lived on deer meat and biscuits in those lean years, and I’m sure the citizens of Vermont did likewise. … Continued

Reader Feedback

The Northwoods Sporting Journal is the largest hunting & fishing magazine in the Northeast.

"Just want to complement all of you on an excellent magazine. I have my subscription sent to my office and have found that clients grab the Northwoods Sporting Journal first over the dozen or so other magazines in our waiting area.
I have enclosed subscriptions for myself and five friends that I think will enjoy your magazine. I especially like the Outdoor News sections for keeping up to date with statistics and changes going on in the state."

Jay Deane

"I used to subscribe to several outdoor magazines in the past until one day I picked up a copy of the NWSJ at LL Bean in Freeport, Maine. After reading the journal I have to say I never subscribed to any other outdoor magazine. The journal had it all and the thing is it only gets better every month! The articles are informative and very well written by what I consider experts in the field. I have to say if one does not subscribe to the journal or picks up a copy of the journal “they do not know what they are missing!” Unfortunately, I am not a resident of Maine but after reading the journal I feel I know more about your great state than my own regarding the opportunities of hunting and fishing, very good writers."

Tony Ostrowski

"Good morning, I have to write this…because your magazine deserves it.  Every couple last winters my family has gone up to Maine after Christmas for a couple days.  This always coincides with a stop at KTP, where I buy a copy of your magazine. Well, this Christmas I asked my kids for one gift, a subscription to NWSJ. I’m 57 years old, I grew up cutting and chopping cords of wood every year for my family’s two vermont castings stoves, and fishing and hunting extensively. especially loved tying my own flies and selling them in my local Connecticut hardware store when I was 12.  When not doing those things I was salivating over field and stream, outdoor life, fin and feather, you understand…those were great mags, but I don’t like how they’ve changed over the years…they’re selling to the masses now, not to who I think is their core audience. You guys are different, and good different.  You’re old school.  You actually do not care what people think of what you’re writing, and that reeks of important values like HONESTY, COMMON SENSE, PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY, AND KNOWLEDGE. Your articles are SO good that I refuse to read more than one at a time.  no joke; I leave each issue open on my kitchen table, and read one article a day.  Why? Because every single article is fantastic!  I don’t want to ruin the digestion of the last one by reading the next one too quickly…yes, you guys are that good. So here it is, my first feedback; you have the best outdoor magazine I have ever read..and will continue to read it till I can’t read. "

Alexander Pflomm

"I enjoyed reading Ms. AuClair’s article on Mount Katahdin. 
I had also enjoyed the mountain and knife-edge trail twice when I was in my late 40s - early 50s. It’s an unbelievably beautiful environment. The quiet is God-like. Thanks very much. Keep up the great reading. I look forward every month to the Sporting Journal."

Warren Seddon