Hereabouts, it’s no secret that the first signs of summer waning become visible as August approaches. Already, scatterings of scarlet leaves can be seen among stands of swamp maples. Within another week or two Down East blueberry barrens will be busy with rakers and, unbelievably, this year’s Bangor State Fair will be as gone as your garden’s beet greens.

Although it may seem out of place amid this spell of sodden heat and humidity, one of the surest notices that autumn is just over the hill is the sound of dogs’ bells. Last week, I received notice that the Gun Dog Club of Maine, in conjunction with the Penobscot Valley Kennel Club, will hold its first Working Certificate Program and Working Certificate Intermediate Program on Saturday, Aug. 13.

The courses for the two-program event will be located at the Tom Davis property on Route 15 in Kenduskeag and the Time Out Shooting Sports facility at 557 Hudson Road. Participants will meet at 7:30 a.m. at the PVKC’s headquarters at Bomarc Industrial Park, off Burleigh Road in Bangor.

Keep in mind, this is not a field trial. Although this particular event is restricted to retriever breeds and Irish Water Spaniels, the purpose and objectives of the Maine Gun Dog Club are, as its name implies, aimed at evaluating and developing the natural instincts and hunting skills of all sporting breeds.

Accordingly, if you’ve recently acquired a “water dog” pup that you plan to go on “blind dates” with this fall, or if you’re owned by a seasoned finder-and-fetcher that needs reminding as to who’s wearing the collar, grab your whistles and check cords and head for the Gun Dog Club of Maine’s first outing.

Specifically, the Working Certificate Program is designed to evaluate the natural retrieving instincts of retrievers and Irish Water Spaniels participating in the event. Included are water retrieves and land retrieves in moderate cover. Dogs entered should not exhibit gun shyness.

The Working Certificate Intermediate Program will evaluate marking ability and tractability. The program includes double retrieves not exceeding 100 yards on land and water. Dogs also will be judged on steadiness and delivery to hand. To simulate hunting conditions, decoys, duck calls and live mallards will be used. Now, here’s a pre-hunting season opportunity to teach a young retriever the difference between a duck and a decoy.

Entry fees are: Working Certificate, $30; Working Certificate Intermediate, $35. For further information contact the following: Nancy or Carl Brandow, 327-1322; Kim or Richard Ferguson, 382-6676; Steve or Karen Sullivan, 827-7119.

Although no confirmed cases of raccoon rabies have been reported in Maine, it’s possible the animals are carrying the disease within the state. Therefore, people, particularly campers and other outdoors addicts, should be aware of the potential danger in petting, feeding or otherwise handling wild animals.

Raccoon rabies cannot be confirmed unless someone is bitten by one of the animals. In that case, the raccoon should be shot without damaging the head and the incident reported to the Maine Warden Service or State Police.

The animal’s brain would be examined for the rabies virus at the State Health Laboratory in Augusta. The lab does not perform the expensive test unless there is a health risk to humans.

According to the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, rabies generally occurs in the environment at “base” levels and has been confirmed in bats. The raccoon strain, however, has a greater potential to affect people because of the animals’ frequent visits to campgrounds and residential areas. Dogs and cats, therefore, should be vaccinated against rabies.

Word is that many of the salmon now being checked in the fish trap at the Veazie Dam are grilse. As of Tuesday morning, the trap count at the dam was 809. Don’t think, though, that there aren’t a few big fish around. Recently, Walter Dickson of Eddington was swimming a fly through the flows of the Eddington Shore Pool when he hooked into a standoff with a heavyweight salmon.

“I knew it was a big fish when I saw it take,” said Walter. “I’d say it was one of the biggest salmon I ever hooked,” added the easy-going angler who has been hooking them all his life.

“That fish never settled like a salmon usually does after taking a fly,” he said. “Instead, it went straight across the river and dropped into a slot below the Guerin Pool on the Veazie shore. I had just a couple of turns of backing left on the reel. Pretty soon I felt the fish moving downriver slowly and I figured it was now or never. I couldn’t stop it, though, and a second later we parted ways.”

Walter visited the fish trap a day or two later to see if Atlantic salmon commission biologists had checked a big salmon with a fly in its jaw. Apparently, the fish hadn’t entered the trap because biologist Randy Spencer said the only fly found – it wasn’t Walter’s – in a salmon during this fishing season was hooked to a 10-pounder’s tail.

I’ll bet that particular contest didn’t last long, either.