Last year, things didn’t turn out so well. The year before that, the deer seemed particularly intelligent and wary. And the year before that? Don’t even ask.

This morning, all those missed opportunities are history, and a new season awaits.

Finally, it’s opening day of deer season for those of us who bear the noble label of “Maine resident” … and we’re ready. Aren’t we?

Of course we are.

Or, more accurately, of course we think we are.

We deer hunters are a lot like Red Sox fans in that regard, I figure. Each year promises another sure-fire, no-doubt-about-it, banner season.

And at the end of that season … well … we’re left wondering what happened.

Lately, that hasn’t been entirely true. At least, it hasn’t been entirely true as far as the Sox are concerned.

They finally won a World Series and are threatening to do the same again this year (or make us all cry … again … not that I’m a cynic or anything).

All of us never-got-our-deer hunters could relate to those old Sox. The new ones? Well, they’re acting a bit like that cousin who always seems to happen upon a big buck after just an hour or two in the woods.

Not that I’m complaining (about the Sox or that mythical cousin).

Nope. There’s no crying in baseball, and there’s no complaining in deer hunting. Not from me. Not ever.

The reason is simple: I have high goals but low expectations. Confused? Read on.

A year ago (or maybe it was two) I guaranteed you that this was the year I’d finally get my deer.

You laughed.

I cried.

You were right.

This year, no guarantees. Instead, I’m taking a page out of the Manny Ramirez Self-Help Guide, shrugging my shoulders, growing out some cool dreadlocks and grinning.

Repeat after Manny: It’s not the end of the world. It’s not the end of the world. It’s not the end of the world.

Even if I don’t shoot a deer. Even if I never see a deer. Even if everyone I know shoots a deer, and they all refuse to toss a package of venison my way.

It’s not the end of the world.

I have done all I can, after all. Just like Manny told me. I have tromped the woods with abandon, scouting high and low, and have found what may be the perfect tree-stand location.

It may be.

But it may not.

Perhaps the deer don’t like my stand location after all. Perhaps I arrive there this morning and Jeff Francis is sitting in it, trying to forget his horrible Wednesday outing at Fenway Park.

Perhaps the deer walk by and I swing … oops … shoot … and miss.

It’s not the end of the world.

That’s not to say I won’t try as hard as I can to fill my tag. Manny taught me that, too.

I will climb into my tree stand (I’ve begun thinking of it as my own private Monster Seat), and wait, patiently.

I will sit there for hours, silently, not twitching a bit. I will not eat, nor drink, nor scratch. I will see the woods. I will be the woods.

I will silently recite the Manny Mantra, over and over and over.

It’s not the end of the world. It’s not the end of the world. It’s not the end of the world.

Have a great opening day, and a safe season.

Another eating option …

Over the past several days, I’ve told you about numerous hunters breakfasts that are on tap today (and throughout the season).

According to one late-arriving e-mail, there are a couple of hunters suppers you might be interested in.

As the e-mailer pointed out, “Hunters want to eat more than once a day!”

Here, then, are two more options to consider:

. In Troy, at the Troy Grange Hall on Route 9/202, a supper of ham and harvest vegetables will be held tonight from 5-7. The cost is $6 for adults and $2.50 for kids, and the meal is being put on by the Troy Union Church.

. In Unity, at the Post 50 American Legion Hall on Windemere Lane, a supper will be held on Nov. 3 from 5-7 p.m. The menu will include baked beans, casseroles, salads, rolls and desserts. The cost is $6 for adults and $3 for children.

Muskellunge migration tracked

Back in September, biologist Dave Basley of the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife offered up an interesting piece in the weekly DIF&W fisheries report.

Basley explained that he and his staffers routinely field questions about muskellunge, the voracious feeders that have worked their way through the St. John River system.

Basley provided some detailed background information on muskies in the St. John, and his data showed how quickly and completely the species became the top-end feeder in the St. John ecosystem.

Nowadays, muskies are common in the St. John and its tributaries, and can be caught in Glazier Lake, the St. Francis River and the Allagash River, among other spots.

The town of Fort Kent has capitalized on the introduction of the species by staging a successful muskie tournament, but biologists and muskie anglers alike generally agree that the introduction was unfortunate, in that it has negatively impacted pre-existing fish like brook trout in those waters.

Here are a few of the tidbits that Basley provided in his informative piece:

Muskellunge were introduced into Lac Frontier, a 260-acre headwater lake of the northwest branch of the St. John River, by Quebec fishery personnel in 1970.

The assumption, Basley pointed out, was that muskies were sedentary and territorial, and since they were bred in the lake and did not migrate, they would not endanger the St. John River system.

Basley reported that DIF&W authorities weren’t consulted prior to the stocking and didn’t find out about the muskie introduction until a district game warden passed the information along to the DIF&W commissioner.

In all, 6,250 muskellunge were stocked between 1970 and 1979, at which point the project was discontinued because the species had become self-sustaining.

And then some.

In 1973, Basley reported, a game warden received a report of a pike being caught in the St. John, but the fish was not observed by the warden.

In 1984, DIF&W biologists confirmed that there were, indeed, muskies in the St. John River. A 25-inch fish was among those seen by biologists. It was 40 miles below Lac Frontier.

In June of 1988, Basley reported, the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources reported the first capture of a muskie from the Mactaquac fishway trap, just upstream from Fredericton.

That trap is more than 400 miles from Lac Frontier.

In the ensuing years, the muskies continued to work their way down the St. John, and between 1998 and 2000, 97 more muskies were caught in the Mactaquac trap.

There’s plenty more information available in Basley’s report, and it makes for some interesting reading.

The complete report is available by checking the DIF&W Web site at http://www.maine.gov/ifw/fishing/reports/weeklybiologist/9-11-07.htm

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