Maine Whitetail Adventures

01/10/2025

January 2025 ~ MWA Newsletter 🦌
-Booking 2025 Deer & Bear Hunts!
-2025 Great American Outdoor Show

-Booking 2025 Deer & Bear Hunts! -2025 Great American Outdoor Show

01/01/2025

11/30/2024

Yesterday was a special day I’ll never forget!

It was the day after Thanksgiving and the first day of good tracking snow in my area. I had so many ideas how I should spend the day, wanting to make the most of the perfect tracking conditions. I knew deep inside what I wanted to do even though it might not be the highest odds I could give myself, and would require burning a great deal of energy just to find a track. I wanted to go after “The Mullet Buck”! I named him that because of his unique character on the right side with 6 points and a split G2. His left side antler was that of a standard 8 pointer. Business on the left, party on the right!

This buck had been showing up regularly on a camera I had close to 2 miles from a road. He mostly showed up during daylight hours and I said early in the season if he keeps this up we’re going to get him. I had a return treestand hunter hunt him who’s always willing to hike far and do whatever it takes. After his week was over I checked the camera and discovered they had just missed each other by 15 minutes one day!

After a long guiding season and finally my turn to hunt I couldn’t get excited about hunting any other area than where The Mullet Buck seemed to be living. I spent most of the week in his area and passed on a 6 pointer that gave me an easy shot opportunity on Monday. I knew if I didn’t donate yesterday’s snowy conditions towards hunting him I would regret it. I passed a lot of tracks driving to his area and actually refused to stop and look at some of them. “Keep your eyes on the prize Jayson” I would say to myself.

It had stopped snowing halfway through the night and then started again when I was leaving camp. I left the truck and started the long hike not seeing a single track the whole way in. I was starting to really question my game plan for the day. Then I finally found several doe tracks traveling together. They were heading towards the treestand I had in the area so I figured I’d follow them and see what happens. They brought me right by the stand and camera and continued on. Then I got into an area with tracks going everywhere. With the snow ending 6 hours earlier and then getting dusted over it was really difficult to decipher what was going on. I circled the mess of tracks and found where the deer had started to go. That’s when I noticed a different track traveling off to the side with a much bigger stride.

The tracks started going everywhere again and I had a feeling I knew where they were eventually going to go so I left the tracks and started hiking that direction. I only went a couple hundred yards when I found a very fresh buck track. The tracks looked as fresh as the tracks I was making. I also noticed a large bed with feeding tracks leaving it. I said to myself “I don’t know if this is The Mullet Buck but I’m going to see this buck soon and he’s probably gonna get it!” I started going slow and after only 100 yards there he was! He was still feeding and was facing me. All I could see were antlers and auto pilot took over. I pulled up and shot and he dropped in his tracks. I ran over and realized it was him! The emotions hit me, not because of his size but because of it being the specific deer I was after. I had thought about him all season and it was surreal to see him in person. It was even more gratifying to get him tracking, my favorite style of hunting. He had all the advantages but it was my day!

I’m usually targeting big heavy bucks when I spend the day tracking. This hunt was all about an individual deer with a unique rack. I knew from the pictures he wasn’t overly heavy bodied but I wanted him anyways. After a long rut he dressed out late season at 164 pounds with a beautiful 10 point rack. ~The Mullet Buck~

Hope everybody has had a great season so far, good luck to those still plugging away. Don’t forget it’s more about the time in the woods in pursuit than the part that ends it all!

Jayson 🦌

11/30/2024

I had an amazing morning tracking today! I’ll let the video tell you all about it. It’s been a long tiring day, more pics to come tomorrow! 🦌

11/09/2024

November 2024 ~ MWA Newsletter 🦌
-Moose Season Summary
-Booking 2025 Deer & Bear Hunts

-2024 Moose Season Summary -Booking 2025 Deer & Bear Hunts!

10/24/2024

Congratulations John McCassin!!
John and his buddy Christian got it done first thing in the morning on day 3. We hiked many miles and hunted hard all day Monday and Tuesday. We saw a bunch of deer and grouse but no moose. We heard a bull milling around early Tuesday morning as we got started but then things quieted down. The temps were warm this week but we didn’t let that bother us.
Wednesday morning felt different and just seemed like “the day”. We got an early start and after only an hour, out of nowhere, John’s adaptive cow appeared. The guys took action and everything unfolded nicely. Short pack out and tenderloins for dinner! 🌲

10/05/2024

October 2024 ~ MWA Newsletter 🦌
-Bear Season Recap
-2024 Guided Deer Hunt Availability

-Remaining 2024 Guided Deer Hunt Availability! -2024 Bear Season Summary -Moose Season Summary Next Month

10/02/2024

Shout out to Mike Szczepanek on his big 2021 MWA buck!
Mike recently had his buck scored after the long wait for the finished taxidermy; 158” gross, 148” net.
Mike shot his 200 lb “patch buck” on Thanksgiving morning that year, which has always been a lucky day for me. It’s amazing to see the caliber of game that comes out of these north woods.
Join us for a Big-woods Treestand Trophy Deer Hunt!
We have 2024 Availability during Weeks 1 & 2 🦌
https://mainewhitetailadventures.com/

09/24/2024

Congratulations Nick Lentine!
Nick’s 18 year wait for a Maine moose permit turned into a 30 minute opening day hunt for a 51” bull!
Our first calling sequence had an instant response and the bull was on his way. He appeared facing us 75 yards out and hung up not offering a shot. My heart was racing during the stare down. The bull eventually retreated back into the thick cover, he knew better. However this allowed me to reposition for a better calling set up. The bull couldn’t resist this time, barging out into the opening giving Nick a 50 yard broadside shot.
Most impressive from this bull are the brow palms on both sides and all the brow tines!
Nick and Adam, even though it was a brief hunt it was a pleasure hunting with you and having you at camp. Enjoy your bull, he’s a dandy! 🌲

09/19/2024

Congratulations Matt & Elizabeth Weller!!
On the third evening of their Week 4 - Bear Snaring trip they doubled up within a half hour of each other!
Matt, Lisa and 12 year old Elizabeth came to Maine for a family bear trapping trip. The week started off with some raccoon issues and a problematic bear Elizabeth named “Digger”. After they made some adjustments to their sets everything came together. Both of their bear arrived during daylight and were caught before dark. Elizabeth really showed us how it’s done. From setting the snare to dragging the bear, she does it all!
It was a pleasure trapping with you guys!

09/14/2024

Congratulations Jason Houser & Sophia King!!
Jason returned for his 2nd MWA bear trapping trip and brought his daughter along this time. After the equipment was set it didn’t take long to get some visitors. About 12 hours after setting Sophia had already snared her first bear! The look on her face as she approached her 164 lb boar was priceless!
It only took until the 2nd day for Jason to connect with his snare, a little different than last time when he caught his bear on the last night. Seems like you brought your lucky charm this time Jason!
Congratulations you two!!

09/14/2024

Congratulations Brett Eaton!
Day 5 of Brett’s hunt landed in Friday the 13th, a perfect day to punch your bear tag. Brett did just that. After a few hours on stand he caught movement to his right and watched this bear sneak in. After hunting hard the last two seasons and all this week Brett decided it was go time and made a perfect shot.
Well deserved! Great hunting with you Brett and thank you for returning!

09/12/2024

The man.. the myth.. the legend.. Steve Kaczynski!!
The first person to ever complete the MWA Trifecta!

Steve shot his MWA whitetail buck in 2016, his 53” bull moose in 2017, and on Monday night he made a great shot on a beautiful boar that dressed out at 216 lbs!

The adventures and stories that have come from the hunts with Steve and his brother Bob run deep for me. These guys have stuck with us through it all from the beginning. It’s like seeing family roll into camp each time, and we always look forward to the next time!

Cheers guys! Congratulations Steve!!! 🌲

09/06/2024

*Big Bear Alert*
Congratulations Mike Noll!
On the 4th day of the hunt Mike returned to the same blind he had hunted all week. On Monday he was entertained by a sow with 3 cubs until dark, while his buddy Shane punched his tag opening day. Tuesday and Wednesday were slow with no sightings. I suggested he returned to the same blind at least one more night and that finishing the week there was a good idea too. Mike went along with the plan and with only 15 minutes to spare before dark his patience was rewarded. Out of nowhere this beautiful boar appeared. Mike made a perfect shot and put him down in his tracks!
273 lbs dressed weight

09/04/2024

Congratulations Shane Abrams!
Shane got the 2nd Week started off right with a first night bear. After demonstrating his first bullseye at the range wasn’t a mistake with a follow up bullseye he was ready for the woods. Later on he hit the bullseye on the bear too! 🎯

08/30/2024

Congratulations John Graeff!
…Right after we loaded Matthew’s bear in the truck I remembered telling John & Matt I thought they were going to double down today so I reminded Matt as we started to drive off. A couple minutes later I got a message from John saying “Bear Shot”! We headed his direction and found an excited John, an amazing blood trail and our biggest bear of the week so far. Great job John & Matthew!