On the board!!!

Living in a small coastal community certainly isn't for everybody. I however, wouldn't have it any other way. Our island school has a rich tradition in terms of basketball and my family has been a huge part of this honored past.

My father held the Eastern Maine tournament scoring record of 90 points in 3 games for 15 years until it was broken by another local.

My sister is considered one of Maine's elite with her accolades; two state championships, all-Maine first team, and a Division I scholarship to the University of New Hampshire.

And well, I did well also... but that's for someone else to talk about, not me.

Today, I'm very pleased to share the beginning of a new era. My oldest at 8 years of age, began her basketball career. With too few ladies in the 6th, 5th, and 4th grade, our three 3rd graders were asked to join.

After a lot of discussion and balancing the sides, my wife and I agreed to let our beauty participate. With an emphasis on rest, study, and commitment; she has become the newest Honey Bee.

Big eyed and green to the game, the rookie stormed out onto the court and began absorbing the immensity of the process. She motored up and down the court, anchored her spots as dictated by the coach, nabbed a rebound, earned an assist, and then with less than a minute left to go in the third period she made it happen.




Tonight we go across the bridge to play the very strong Falconettes who make up the other half of our two town school district. Here's to tradition, and those who keep it going.

Enjoy your weekend

The Downeast Duck Hunter

Shotgun Joe Biden knows his stuff...

The big 37... birthday bass..

I was asked if I feel older and honestly I do...

I'm like an older bulldozer, still plowing and piling just not quite as pretty and coming up with an occasional hydraulic leak.  Other than that, I figure I'm smarter and better than ever although I don't run as fast.  Anyways, with the 21st of Febauchery being my birthday I opted to spend the "I can do whatever I want day" on the hardwater with one of my staunch buddies, Craig.

To sum up  the morning, I'll keep it simple.  29 flags, 11 bass, 3 pickerel, and one perch.  I averaged a flag every 10 minutes and used two dozen large shiners.  I was even able to catch three bass on one large golden which after the last catch just couldn't make the descent down for another sortie.

As my Febauchery vacation nears an end, I'll say that although my ice fishing has not yielded yesteryear's numerical and qualitative value, my Febauchery vacation provided yet another month full of opportunities with family and friends.

Although the month isn't over, I intend to lower the plow and move some more dirt.

Until next time,

The Downeast Duck Hunter

Snow... bring it on!!!

Living on the east shoreline during a winter Nor'easter...

With coastal southern Maine well over two feet and Downeast Maine varying between a foot or two, I would like to complain about the devastating snow and wind.  So much wind that any potential danger of being snowbound resulted in not even needing a snow plow, snow blower, or shovel. 

It's been interesting watching the blizzard blow the snow right on through.  I however, have been bouncing around helping out some elderly citizens of my neighborhood who weren't so lucky.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, the family ice fishing vacation starts in seven days!!!

The Downeast Duck Hunter

Blah!!!

Travis talking smack, Erin winning the ice derby without setting a trap, and Rabid trying to Tweet incognito...

January wasn't exactly a great month to get excited about other than a few good brook trout and plenty of cold with strong winds that basically negated any possibility of one last sea duck venture.  Anyways, Febauchery should look promising with an early trip to West Grand Lake this Sunday, a family vacation ice fishing along with the Vose family over school break, and another stab at Northern pike as vacation winds down.  After that, who knows...

Try having a conversation with the Rabid Outdoorsman, who'd rather Tweet all day...

No one won the ice fishing derby last weekend, but no one lost either.  The meeting of the Maine outdoor bloggers went well and Erin reigned supreme simply by supplying me with a variety of GF items including a monster bottle of high octane apple cider.   It was great to find out that Erin and her husband, Brent, will in fact be naming their son after the Duckman.  Tony will be a great name for the future outdoorsman.

Other than that, I've been damn near throwing up watching the oil barrel these past few weeks and honestly have not wanted to pound some keys about life. Hopefully, I will get some renewed enthusiasm.  But then again, it's my website and I'm not getting paid by the article...

Take care,

The Downeast Duck Hunter