While hunting in Maine is still a popular pastime, statistics show the number of hunters continues to decline.

And several times each year, I listen as longtime hunters debate ways to get more people involved in the sport. Generally, those efforts are targeted at youngsters who will in turn pass along their hunting heritage in the future.

The assumption: If you don’t expose children to hunting early, they’ll be less likely to take up the sport.

That’s undoubtedly true. But there are plenty of adults who wouldn’t mind giving the sport a try, perhaps by tagging along with a veteran hunter to learn the ropes.

It seems to me we’ve been ignoring the potential adult hunters and have made entry into our “club” a bit more difficult than it should be.

Recently the U.S. Sportsman’s Alliance sent out a news release detailing an Ohio proposal that could be very popular in Maine.

The Ohio General Assembly is considering a bill that would create an apprentice hunting license in an effort to boost hunter recruitment.

In Maine, we have a similar program in place for youngsters: Junior hunters – those who haven’t reached their 16th birthday – can head afield with a junior license as long as an adult mentor accompanies them.

Then, before holding a full-fledged adult license, kids must successfully complete a hunter safety course.

But what if you’re an adult who wants to find out more about hunting, and wants to see if it’s something you’d enjoy?

In Maine, you’re out of luck.

You’re welcome to take the hunter safety course and receive your adult license, but there’s no program in place to let you learn the ropes and test the waters before taking those steps.

Ohio’s bill allows a licensed mentor hunter to take an apprentice into the field before that hunter safety certification process. Before becoming fully licensed, the apprentice hunter must complete the course – just like they do in Maine.

If this state is interested in exposing more people to hunting, this might be a good way to do so.

Convincing a nonhunting buddy to sit through a weekend of classes so that he can spend one afternoon in the woods with you might be difficult.

But allowing him to purchase an apprentice license so the potential hunter can learn a bit more about the sport might prove very attractive to some.

Opponents might cite safety as a concern in any apprentice program, but consider this: We already allow 10-year-olds to head afield without any state-sanctioned safety lessons. We assume that adults will take safety seriously enough to teach their children what to do … and what not to do.

It seems giving adults that same consideration in the framework of an apprentice program would work well.

Food for thought on a Tuesday.

ASC to meet in December

If you’re an Atlantic salmon angler interested in the potential reopening of the Penobscot River, you may want to set course for Augusta on Dec. 8.

That’s when the Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission – the state body tasked with conserving, regulating and restoring Atlantic salmon in these parts – will have its next regular meeting.

The meeting will run from 9:30 a.m. until noon and will be held at the new ASC office at 161 Capital Street.

Among the topics to be covered will be an update on Penobscot planning and the results of the public scoping meeting held in Brewer last week.

After the Brewer meeting, ASC Executive Director Pat Keliher said he expected to take a proposed fishery regulation to the board at its December meeting.

That means Keliher may well ask the board to begin consideration of a new Atlantic salmon fishery on the river beginning as soon as 2006.

Scientific reports to the ASC, which were also shared at the Brewer meeting, indicate some staffers think a fall catch-and-release season, held in September and October, may be the best way to go when the Penobscot is reopened.

All of Maine’s rivers have been closed to Atlantic salmon fishing since an ASC decision late in 1999.

The potential reopening of the Penobscot has plenty of anglers excited, and this meeting promises to provide more fuel for debate.

Sportsman’s Show dates set

If you’re one of those people who considers the Eastern Maine Sportsman’s Show a can’t-miss-it spring event, you can simply consider this a well-in-advance warning.

More importantly, if you think you might want to set up a table as one of the vendors at this year’s show, it’s not too soon to begin planning.

The Penobscot County Conservation Association has announced the dates of this year’s show. It’ll run from March 17-19 at the University of Maine field house in Orono.

If you’re interested in reserving space at the show, call Woody Higgins at 945-6853, Paul Colburn at 945-9850 or Nancy Hatch at 843-7270.

John Holyoke can be reached at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net or by calling 990-8214 or 1-800-310-8600.