The stories statewide the past two years about the harsh winters of 2008 and 2009 and the toll those aberrations in weather took on the deer herd are starting to play out at tagging stations.

During the 1950s when hunters routinely wore black-and-red or black-and-green plaids, hunting fatalities took upwards to 19 lives per year in Maine alone — a terrific carnage compared to today.

Peak rut. The phrase quickens the pace of every serious deer hunter. When word goes out that “it’s on,” it’s time to drop everything and be in the woods. If we only knew what triggers it, we might be able to plan a little ahead.

SOUTH PORTLAND — Bamboo fly rods run upward of $1,500 and $2,000. That’s not the kind of cottage industry that would make it in a poor economy. Unless you’re in Maine.