As the Crow Flies Guide Service

10/09/2024

When you go to the polls in November, this is something we can all get behind... VOTE YES ON 4.

08/09/2024

What a humbling honor bestowed on me last night while sharing an evening with my peers celebrating our hunting and fishing heritage at the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine banquet! Somehow a whole bunch of you kept this secret from me so it was an emotional moment when Tim Peabody read my name and nomination. There are so many to thank... my family for their love, support and encouragement to chase my dreams sometimes at their sacrifice - this is for you too 💖 Thank you IF&W for managing our fish and wildlife resources so we can all enjoy them, Bob and Andrea Howe who were the first lodgeowners to give me a chance to launch my guide service and the outfitters who followed by hiring me too and inspiring me to branch out into the sporting camp and outfitting business myself. Thank you clients, many who remain my friends long after entrusting me to take you into the woods or on the water. And thank you Cornelia "Flyrod" Crosby and Joann Moody, and other women like Avis Skolfield and Gladys Baker who inspired me. To the youth and novices getting started and yet to come, I hope I have helped you develop skills and build confidence to get out there on your own or inspired you to try. In my lifetime I have enjoyed watching barriers come down for women entering the hunting and fishing community and it has been a privilege to serve in various capacities the people and fish and wildlife resources of this place we love.These are just some of the thoughts I would have shared at the lectern last night when I was feeling kinda speechless! 🥰 Also, congratulations to Alexandra Conover Bennett who was also recognized and received the Flyrod Crosby Lifetime Acheivement Award last night! She is another formidable outdoors woman who has been a leader on the water and in the woods, building skills and inspiring others! 🛶

27/08/2024

Some work days are more inspiring than others. I had the privilege to spend today with Enock Glidden of Go Beyond The Fence as he guided us to see our community's trails through a different lens. Enock lives each day with the motto, "If you try, things happen". Whether it's challenging himself to "go beyond the fence" to climb Cathedral Ledge in New Hampshire and then El Capitan in Yosemite, evaluate hundreds of miles of trails in Maine, or through his consulting work to inspire others to challenge themselves, today we were reminded that the scenery is better when EVERYONE is a part of it. Our work begins as we "try to make things happen" and answer the question, "What can we do to get EVERYONE outdoors?"

21/08/2024

You know the phrase, "Tell me what you do without telling me what you do."? Well, part of what I do in my work is "beg for money", which means write for grants. I am thrilled Main Street Skowhegan was awarded a Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative grant for which I requested funding. It allowed our Skowhegan Outdoors program to offer four weeks of summer day camps, FREE to all participants: Mountain Biking, Hiking, Introduction to White Water Kayaking, and Intermediate White Water Kayaking. Read about our Introduction to White Water Kayaking camp in this article!

Six students, ranging from grades 8th to 12th, participated in an Introduction to Whitewater Kayaking Camp offered by the Main Street Skowhegan Organization. Thanks to the Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative, these students could participate in the experience at no cost to them. The Maine Outdoor Lear...

10/08/2024

What do you know about the North American Non-lead Partnership? Until today I knew nothing about it but curiosity motivated me to learn more. Thank you Ron Fournier at IF&W for scheduling this opportunity for hunter safety instructor continuing education training. It was fun to see familiar faces like Virginia P. Parker and meet other instructors at the SAM Outdoor Education Facility. My big "take away" was seeing the astonishing amount of lead fragmentation left behind after pe*******on. And THANK YOU Ron for preparing a sampling of moose, mule deer and bear sausage sliders for lunch!

02/08/2024

Skowhegan Outdoors hosting the Maine Outdoor Film Festival, beneath a stary sky, on the bank of the Kennebec, on this Penobscot land. How magical is this?

24/07/2024

17/07/2024

Walkabout, because I had to break out of the confines of four walls. Beneath a blue sky shaded by tall clouds, I sat with the whisper of the river, smell of pine, and a cool rock to rest. There my spirit was fed.

17/07/2024

Good morning friends! Look how fast these little phoebes have grown. They remind me, time passes much too quickly so remember that when you're working through the rough spots but embrace every second of the good stuff!

10/07/2024

Rivers for Change ambassadors Chris Morgan, a local Stand Up Paddle athlete, Jessica Sterling, and Stuart Hickey are working with Rivers for Change to paddle the length of the Kennebec. They started at Moosehead on July 5th and plan to finish July 12th when they reach the ocean at Popham. Today a group of us from Skowhegan Outdoors joined them on a section between Norridgewock and Skowhegan. It was a beautiful trip where my mind was often on the Wabanaki people who lived along and traveled this river that we now enjoy. Wabanaki homelands.

09/07/2024

BOLO - dragon fly hatches! Pretty amazing these beauties emerge from these little packages

20/05/2024

This one was a gift and humble reminder that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. After I misjudged the distance on a long beard Friday morning with a swing and a miss, we roosted three birds in the same field Friday night. Saturday morning Talkative One finally flew down and when he popped up over the rise I was ready but he played dodge-the-decoy and slipped away out of range. Not to be outplayed a third time, we roosted a bird last night. I changed it up this morning, setting up about 50 yards to my left nearer the corner where they've been slipping into the woods, just out of range. After Talkative One sat on the roost and gobbled for an hour, he pitched down on the far edge, gobbled once, and walked away unimpressed. We waited. When two jakes strolled in to view minutes later I had plenty of time to choose to let them walk and wait for a bigger bird, or take the gift presented. I selected the larger of the two to come into range and BOOM, down. Redemption. Thank you Little Man for reminding me how fortunate I've been to sit in the dark and listen to the woods come alive with owl hoots, turkey gobbles, hen yelps and clucks, singing song birds and ambling deer as dawn breaks. Talkative One's gobbles will echo across the fields another day and the gift of Little Man will provide sustenance and a reminder how grateful I am. Tagged out on spring turkey.

10/05/2024

This is my mom ❤️. I am asking people who love their mother, whether they are here or not, to join the challenge of posting a photo of the woman that made you. Just one photo of your mother, not a collage or video. The goal is to flood FB with positive photos. Loving our moms and being grateful.
(Hold finger down to make a copy) and post your Mom on your page. 💕 Love her so much. Happy Mother’s week.

08/04/2024

This place we call Maine: Hey look, the sun is finally shining!
Moon: Hold my beer...

22/03/2024

Just in time for your storm-day viewing pleasure - if you have power!

Mending the Line officially hits Netflix tomorrow Saturday the 23rd!

If you haven’t watched the movie yet, it’s an incredibly powerful movie on the journey of service, separation, and finding peace in the outdoors through fly fishing.

We hope that it will reach a whole new audience and bring awareness to the powers of the outdoors for our veterans and for all looking to find more peace.

Be sure to check it out tomorrow on Netflix!

21/03/2024

Who is going? I'll be presenting a seminar on Saturday at 2 about improving your trophy and outdoor adventure photos using a cell phone. Hope to see you there!

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21/03/2024

APPRENTICE HUNTER: An apprentice hunter license is available to a resident or nonresident 16 years or older who has never held a valid adult hunting license. The supervisor (mentor, guide, parent, spouse...) is responsible for ensuring that the holder of an apprentice hunter license follows safe hunting protocol as well as all hunting laws. This is super way to introduce novices to hunting before investing time and resources. FMI:

An apprentice hunter license is available to a resident or nonresident 16 years or older who has never held a valid adult hunting license. A person may not obtain an apprentice hunter license more than five times. A person holding this license may not hunt other than in the presence of an apprentice...

09/03/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/YEjaRZdCcKkmMVri/?mibextid=qi2Omg

13/02/2024

Saturday I joined Somerset Outing Club and Skowhegan Outdoors to introduce aspiring anglers to the joy of ice fishing. We hit the hard water on a foggy morning but as the temperature climbed so did the sun. We had several flags and landed three pickerel, each larger than the one before. and each youth had the opportunity to help pull in a fish, including 4 y.o. Sadie who helped land the largest at 18" but no photo - it wiggled back in to the hole!

02/02/2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiUag5rGAt0

Explore the pristine waters of Maine as Old Town Watercraft Presents: Native Brookies, a captivating journey into the world of native brook trout. We'll delv...

25/12/2023

This has GOT to be a great read, written by a friend from days gone by. If you don't follow her angling adventures on social media you should. And grab a copy of her book too! Merry Christmas to me!

21/12/2023

During our winter slumber, the sun's journey higher rewards us with light and warmth. It's the Solstice!

06/12/2023

THOUGHTS ON A HUNTER'S CONTINUUM...
A friend's post about her deer hunt triggered my thoughts about the progression we as hunters go through; it's like a continuum, starting with our first time out...
When we start as novices - with a mentor or through trial and error on our own - we just want to SEE something. Remember that first deer you saw while hunting, or the first turkey responding to your call, or grouse rocketing from the underbrush, and how your heart pounded and adrenaline soared! New hunters often become impatient and simply want to see something to shoot, and "put a tag on it" to define their success. After a few hunts, or perhaps many later, the goal will become "limiting out" - be it upland birds or big game. We'll want to fill tags, all of 'em! It is like a challenge and our success is determined if we meet the challenge. As hunters become more proficient we become more selective choosing "mature" animals over all else while being meticulous with the methods we use. The act of hunting becomes almost ritualistic - we have developed theories through our experience, have a favorite firearm or bow, the perfect combination of layers and fabrics that are worn based on weather conditions. We choose our hunting partners carefully for we have learned those people can enhance, or ruin, our time afield. Eventually - and I think especially as we age if we've hunted all our lives - our primary purpose becomes the pursuit and acceptance of our place in the circle of life and death. Our success is no longer defined by a filed game bag or tag but by the act itself.
Sitting by the glow of a fire on a cold winter's night, reflect on your hunting memories, think about where you are in the progression, and recognize that we are each somewhere on the continuum - that it is a continuum so there is no place on it with greater value than another - it's a progression and each stage should be embraced and celebrated. We can straddle a couple of stages simultaneously and not necessarily land squarely in one.
But of MOST importance, congratulations, on your attempts! Using the hunting continuum concept, we are successful with each attempt because we are given a gift of experience with each try.
As the solstice nears, may your days be merry and bright!

20/11/2023

Maine is up for Impact Friday 💥⬇
is home to 152,000 hunters that contributed $307 to the economy in 2020. Hunting activities in Maine supported over 2,700 jobs, $210 million in retail sales, and $41 million in combined taxes.
There is more information where that came from! Curious about your state, or even congressional district in compared to others? We have that info! Just head on over to our website, or follow the link in our bio.

30/05/2023

Proud "Temmy moment" this morning when my grand daughter Nellie did EVERYTHING right while we were locked down with six sets of turkey eyes, at 12 yards. Birds alert and searching for the source of my yelps and clucks, Nellie cautiously waited for them to come around from behind on her right, sort them selves out and settle in as they were on high alert. She pulled the hammer back, eased the .410 on to one of the jakes and squeezed off a perfect round for the flop! She earned that bird! Youth day they zigged when we thought they'd zag and after resetting a couple times with no luck we called it a day. Nellie asked, "Can we go again Temmy?" So, last Friday we tried again and had birds gobbling and hens clucking all around but no interest in us until we reset for the third time and had one come in silent from behind us in the woods but got busted as he "putted" away. After a five hour hunt, we called it a day in hopes of getting out again this weekend. This morning we set up, watched a doe in the field at first light but no gobbles. Had a conversation with a bossy hen and about an hour later heard our first gobble. 20 minutes later the flock arrived without making a peep. Congratulations Nellie - you are a joy to hunt with - safe, ethical, and patient... all the makings of a great turkey hunter! That's a wrap until fall turkey and deer! Stevens Model 301 in .410 with 3" Hevi-18 TSS in with a Matt Van Cise box call.

06/05/2023

Hiking with Move More Kids and Skowhegan Outdoors to Moxie Falls and lunch at Caratunk Falls on this stellar day!

29/04/2023

Congratulations to all the youth hunters who put a tag on a turkey today!
Our birds zigged when we thought they would zag this morning. Our calls were no match for that one longbeard with his harem of hens. Sooo... we reset three times, talked to the hens and heard a few more gobbles but had to measure our success in the beautiful view across the field to Wesserunsett Lake, the giant chaga we found, and the three paper turkeys Nellie nailed when we got home. Good thing that 'ol longbeard kept his distance today or he'd have ended up in our stew pot!

29/04/2023

Youth turkey opening eve. Shotgun practice, roosted birds, and pizza for dinner with my grand daughter Nellie. Wish us luck for our morning hunt!