Youngster, guide have developed close bond

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On Friday afternoon, Kenneth Casey Dubay-Baker and guide Dean Smith worked their way through the aisles of Dick’s Sporting Goods, picking out the proper pieces of camouflage gear for a first-time turkey-hunter.

Dubay-Baker, an 18-year-old from Bangor, wasn’t too particular about most things (though, he’d surely admit, he did like the looks of a certain pair of black boots).

The jacket fit fine. The shirt would too. And the pants.

But the boots? They might be a problem.

Especially when the good-natured Smith found out his young cohort had arrived at the store without socks, and would have to borrow some in order to try on his new boots.

Dubay-Baker, “Casey” to his friends, didn’t allow that fact to mess up a perfectly good shopping spree. Instead, he absorbed Smith’s ribbing and returned a salvo of his own.

“I don’t use socks because I never need my feet,” Casey said, smiling up at Smith from his wheelchair.

Then the two unlikely friends – one old enough to be the grandfather, the other confined to (but certainly not defined by) a chair because of spina bifida – looked at each other and laughed.

Dubay-Baker, you must understand, has quite a sense of humor. Doubt it? Just look at the bumper sticker plastered to his chair.

“I used to have superhuman powers,” the sticker reads, “but my therapist took them away.”

Over the past two years, the two men have become close friends as Smith has taught Dubay-Baker some of the lessons he’s learned in a life spent outdoors. And on Monday morning, for the first time, they’ll head into the woods together.

Finally.

“I was pretty much bored a couple of years ago because there was nothing out there to do,” Dubay-Baker said. “My mom found [an air rifle course] at the YMCA, and I went.”

One of the instructors that day was Smith, who was volunteering as a member of the Penobscot County Conservation Association.

Dubay-Baker and Smith quickly bonded. While some instructors seemed a bit unsure of how to act around him, Dubay-Baker said Smith began joking with him immediately.

And Dubay-Baker appreciated that.

“He was so nice to me. He kidded around with me a lot,” Dubay-Baker said. “I have a couple of nicknames [thanks to Smith], like ‘Zip’ or ‘Wheels.’ He’d call me that. The other instructors wouldn’t. They’d be like, ‘That’s not right. That’s not proper.'”

For Dubay-Baker, it was just what he was looking for.

And over the ensuing months, the duo kept in touch.

“I met him there and took a liking to him and he’s sort of been around me ever since,” Smith said.

On May 1, wild turkey season begins for half the state’s hunters. Those with certain disabilities get a week’s head start.

And on Monday, thanks to the efforts of plenty of folks, Dubay-Baker and Smith will be in Thorndike trying to lure a gobbler within shotgun range.

The National Wild Turkey Federation stages several “Wheeled Hunts” each year, and the Penobscot Valley chapter has helped facilitate this one and provided turkey calls to the young hunter.

The Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife issued Dubay-Baker a lifetime hunting and fishing license, and Smith paid for his turkey tag.

Wal-Mart gave him a gift certificate. Jay Munson will help get Dubay-Baker into the woods and will film the hunt.

And Dick’s Sporting Goods did the rest, providing those snappy new boots, along with every piece of camouflage gear Dubay-Baker figured he’d need.

Now, a couple days before a hunt the duo began talking about a couple years back – before last year’s spinal surgery and the subsequent therapy put everything on hold – both are eager to get into the woods.

“I can’t wait, you know?” Dubay-Baker said. “A couple of weeks ago I was telling my girlfriend that I was excited and she was like, ‘Yup.’ Most other people don’t get how exciting this is.”

Smith, however, does. The veteran hunter, who also owns Cemetery Ridge Guide Service in Dixmont, loves watching young people enjoy their first turkey hunt.

And this hunt, he admits, is even more special than most.

“[Dubay-Baker receiving a hunting and fishing license from the state] actually opens up two new avenues for him,” Smith said. “Hunting forever. Fishing forever.

“To provide this type of opportunity for him, to do this with him, it’s got to open up some new worlds for him,” Smith said.

And for Smith, as well.

Dubay-Baker gets to go hunting. Finally.

And his friend gets to share a love for the outdoors with someone he’s sure will appreciate it.

“If we can do something like this, we need to volunteer time to do it,” Smith said. “It’s a good thing. It’s the right thing to do.”

Given time to think about the deeper meaning of the hunt, Dubay-Baker would surely agree. But on Friday, his thoughts were elsewhere.

He was shopping. He was getting ready to hunt. He was imagining what it would be like when a big tom turkey began answering calls, just like they do on the hunting shows on TV.

“I love that sound,” Dubay-Smith said, shaking his head, perhaps hearing the gobble of the bird he’ll encounter on Monday.

“I love that sound.”

Moosehead region de-icing

Anglers in the Bangor area have been able to find plenty of open water since opening day, but many of those who prefer to fish up around Moosehead Lake have been forced to wait.

That wait will soon be over, according to Dan Legere, owner of the Maine Guide Fly Shop in Greenville.

A week ago Legere – the gracious provider of our popular yearly “Win a Drift Boat Trip”contest – sent an e-mail dispatch from his corner of the world.

Here’s some of what Legere had to say:

“The small trout ponds are going out daily. Prong and Mountain View ponds are open. Others are half out. Some of the smaller ponds tucked in holes are still iced in but my guess is most everything will be open by next weekend,” he wrote.

Since Legere sent his message last Sunday, that means that plenty more fishing options have likely shed their winter coats.

“Fish have been showing at the East Outlet as well as at Brassua Dam on the Moose River in Rockwood,” Legere continued. “The smelt should start running in all the right places as soon as the sun comes back out and the temperature rises again.”

And bright sun and warm weather can’t come soon enough for Legere.

“Life is beginning once again in the north country and frankly I can’t wait,” he wrote. “It’s been a long winter. It’s time once again to make some early season fishing plans.”

Speaking of Dan Legere …

Over the years, Legere has built up a reputation as one of his region’s most knowledgeable and friendly guides.

What some folks may not realize is that at one point, Legere was a commercial fly tier.

If you’re a tier who’s always wanted to learn some more advanced methods from one of the best, you can do so next week … and Legere will be your personal guide.

Legere, along with the Penobscot Fly Fishers, will offer a one-day intermediate/advanced fly tying class on April 30 at Wagner Middle School in Winterport.

The class will be limited to the first 20 students, and according to my sources at the Penobscot Fly Fishers, there are only seven spots still open. The class is not for beginners, and students should be proficient in the basic fly-tying-skills.

All materials will be provided, but students should bring their own vise and tools, and a light and a cord if needed. Cost for the course is $20.

If you’re interested, call Don Corey at 843-5634 or e-mail him at don@annikarodandfly.com.

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