Much the same as the rest of our crew, French's 2023 moose hunt began weeks before the season opened. Thorough pre-season prep started with putting out some cellular game cameras. This is our second season using Spypoint Flex cameras, this year French added a few Solar Panel equipped models to his inventory. He equipped most of his cameras with these dandy optional screw in fully adjustable mounts. Ordinarily you have to shim the top of the camera against the tree to get the image level and not looking at the sky. With these mounts you can set the camera precisely where it needs to point.

Next up was an all important trip to the range, this season French has a license, Stroh a NFP Charity license and French's Uncle Arch a license, all either sex all for the Southern Shore.

Stroh and I had a fantastic evening at the S. John's Rod and Gun club putting quite a bit of lead down range at some paper targets and the club's new metal gongs.

Meanwhile Matt French was on supper duty for the overnight camping trip ahead of opening day in September. He prepared a feast of brisket baked beans at home to bring up for our overnight stay.

Friday evening found the whole crew down on the Southern Shore in  MMA36. We camped overnight in our sleeping quarter converted enclosed trailers to be onsite early the next morning , the opening day of Big Game hunting 2023.

French, Stroh and Matt French represented their hunting collective while Bassan and I were the only ones available this trip for ours. Bassan has an either sex license for our hunting quartet. We all collectively hunt together and help each other out, the two groups represent how our harvests are divvied up.

The evening was absolutely beautiful, perfectly clear, still and not very cold. Great camping conditions, definitely not the fall temperatures we historically hunted in.

Stroh headed up to Camp Bog at daybreak Saturday and spotted a large bull that immediately ran off, but was followed shortly thereafter by a younger bull. He connected a single shot and successfully filled his NFP Charity tags! At the same time Bassan and I successfully harvested a beautiful big cow so we had our hands full with our first ever double header in the books.

This made for a very busy morning with two crews working to field dress, split, load up and haul out both animals before the heat of the day really set in.

We got the job done and headed back to town, the boys headed to French's house to test out his brand new, state of the art, electric winch equipped moose hanging system. Meanwhile Bassan and I headed to my house to get our harvest hung, skinned and washed down.

On the last weekend of September Mark headed back down the shore and helped his uncle Arch fill his tags on just their second hunt of the season.

All in all another great hunting season on the Southern Shore.

Cheers, MIKE

Copyright © 2025 Michael Smith