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Maine Guide Sets State Record with Massive Female Black Bear
A guide from Howland, Maine, has set a new state record for the largest female black bear ever harvested.
On Sept. 16, 33-year-old guide and outfitter Zack LaFreniere tagged a massive sow while hunting near Corinth. The bear weighed 358 pounds dressed, with an estimated live weight of 429.6 pounds. It was verified by state biologists and weighed on a certified scale at The Village Market in Carmel.
LaFreniere, who operates Wild Ferns Guide Service, had been monitoring a bait site in Penobscot County for nearly a week before making his move. Using a cellular trail camera, he confirmed that only a single, mature bear was visiting the bait barrel. Once he was sure, he set a legal cable snare equipped with a “cub stop,” a device designed to prevent smaller bears from being caught.
“Maine allows bear harvest by bait, hounds, and snares,” LaFreniere said. “It takes a lot of effort and skill to fool an old black bear. I use the camera to make sure it’s a big one before setting a snare.”
Late on the evening of Sept. 15, his trail camera alerted him that the big bear had been caught. He and three friends made a quiet, moonlit approach to the bait site.
“The bear was laying down at the pipe snare, and when the lights came on it stood up,” LaFreniere said. “I immediately shot it with my .35 Whelen. It dropped right there.”
When the group arrived, they realized the cable loop was barely holding the bear by a claw. “If we’d gotten there a little later, the bear would have been gone,” he said.
The sow was so heavy that LaFreniere field dressed it to lighten the load before dragging it out of the woods. By the time they reached the tagging station, it was 4 a.m.
The bear’s certified weight now places it at the top of The Maine Sportsman’s official record list for female black bears, surpassing the 2022 record held by Brendan Gardner of East Bridgeport, Massachusetts. Gardner’s sow weighed 395.5 pounds whole and was taken near Andover while hunting with Dirigo Outfitters & Guide Service and Walker’s Guide Service.
LaFreniere said his bear was loaded with fat and produced plenty of roasts, burgers, and sausage. He plans to have a full-body mount made, even if it means adding more space to his already trophy-filled home.
“I don’t know where I’m gonna put it,” he said with a laugh. “We might have to build a lodge for all the mounts.”
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