ALLAGASH – One popular conception of bear-baiting is that when you put food out for black bears, the bruins will automatically show up, day after day, no matter what, and give hunters with the chance to shoot them.

The truth, hunters continue to prove, year after year, is far different.

On Thursday night in Allagash, for instance, two truckloads of hunters returned to Kelly’s Camps scratching their heads after the local bear population apparently headed south on vacation.

Of the 10 hunters in those trucks, none saw a bear. None.

Explanations varied. Some wondered if the weather had something to do with it. Others wondered if their scent was too strong, and whether the bears had smelled them. Still others wondered if the bears had moved on to other bait sites.

Guide Wade Kelly shook his head and grinned when asked for his explanation.

“If I knew what was wrong, I could fix it,” he said. “It’s just the way hunting goes some days.”

Cosimo’s Italian eatery

When hunters stay at Kelly’s Camps, one of the benefits is the fact that Two Rivers Lunch, a restaurant owned by the Kelly family, is on the premises, and meals are provided there.

The food there is good, the pancakes legendary, and the hospitality exceptional.

Still, there are some hunters who have figured out ways to take a bit of the workload off the Kellys, and to add a special flair to their party’s hunting experience.

Enter Cosimo Faella.

Faella, who owns a restaurant in Wilmington, Del., traditionally takes over the kitchen once a week and whips up an Italian feast for his fellow hunters.

His friends rib him about his lack of cooking prowess, but the plates that are returned to the kitchen invariably are scraped clean.

Tuesday’s Cosimo special: Lasagna and venison meatballs, served with garlic bread and salad.

And on Thursday, Faella sent the Kellys shopping again so that he could prepare another Italian meal for his pals. Thursday’s menu: spaghetti carbonara.

Again, good-natured ribbing was constant. And again, most of the hunters went back to the kitchen to grab seconds … and thirds of yet another Cosimo specialty.

Unfortunately, the hunting hadn’t been nearly as good for Faella; He was among the hunters whose bait site hadn’t been visited by bears at all after four days.

Notes from home

Though some hunters might claim that being away from the responsibilities of home is one of the things that makes a hunting trip attractive, spending a week in the woods, away from wives and children is truly a hardship for many.

Early in the week, as hunters sat on the porch of Two Rivers Lunch preparing to head into the woods, Elmer “Skip” Smith of Roaring Branch broke into a wide grin.

He held a pair of socks, and a slip of paper.

“Every time I pull out another pair of socks, I find one of these, he said. “My girlfriend put a note in every pair, so every time I get ready to go out in the woods, I get to read a message.”

Smith, who was enjoying his first Maine bear hunt, quickly established himself as one of the camp’s most eager and cooperative hunters.

Throughout the week, if there was a chore to be performed, a bear to be weighed, or a slap on the back to be doled out after a successful hunt, Smith was in the middle of the action. Sometimes a bit of muscle-power was needed. Other times, a word of encouragement was all it took. Each time something good happened in camp, Smith was nearby.

Smith clearly got as much enjoyment out of other hunters’ successes as he did his own, and even after he bagged his bear on Wednesday, he stuck around to help out any way he could.

That’s the kind of camp spirit that permeated Kelly’s all week.

Everyone pitches in

Many who head to the Allagash region’s bear camps leave talking about the family atmosphere and camaraderie they experience when they’re there.

At Kelly’s, that attitude was apparent all week long, thanks in large part to veterans who don’t view themselves as “sports” who need to be catered to, but as family members looking to help out.

On one night, a group of hunters sat around a large table peeling potatoes for the next day.

Each time a hunter headed to Fort Kent – 30 miles away – they’d invariably ask Leitha Kelly, the family matriarch, whether she needed any supplies.

Many hunters return to the same camps year after year, and make themselves right at home. In the Kelly’s case, several actually stay in Leitha and Tylor’s house. Others stay with their son, guide Wade Kelly. And still others bed down in a bunkhouse and a couple of other cabins on the family property.

When a refrigerator or truck breaks down, hunters are often the ones who are around, and who volunteer their expertise to help make repairs and help things run smoothly.

The result: A real community feeling, even for first-time visitors to camp.

Major leaguer in camp

Among the guests at Kellys was a name that might ring a bell with veteran baseball fans.

John Wockenfuss, who spent 10 years in the minors and 11 major league seasons with the Tigers and several other teams, made his fifth visit to Kelly’s over the past six years.

“The first year I came up I was the only one in camp who didn’t see a bear,” Wockenfuss said. “The second year I was probably on my stand about a half hour and shot a nice one.”

Wockenfuss echoed the sentiments of hunters across the region, who are fiercely loyal to the outfitters they choose to visit each season.

“[I probably am here] because of Wade, Tylor and the family,” Wockenfuss said. “Whether I see something or get an opportunity to harvest something doesn’t really matter. This is just a fun trip and great people. I’ve been out west on some guided trips and you kind of get it stuck to you and you’re stuck out there This place here is fantastic.”