Jandreau featured in PBS special
By Kathy McCarty
PORTAGE LAKE — A local man will be featured in an upcoming television special to air PBS on bear hunting in Maine.
Very few guides or outfitters can say PBS aired “a TV show about me.” That’s exactly what Portage Lake resident Eldon Jandreau can say.
“When the idea to film an all-new TV special about a Maine black bear hunt was discussed (back in 2008), ‘Long Bow’ Jandreau of Hunter’s Point Guide Service agreed. He understood all of the inconveniences affiliated with multiple persons in tree stands,” said David Despres, of Over the Cliffs Productions, Inc.
According to MPBN’s Laura Schenck, the first air date will be Saturday, Oct. 30, at 11 a.m., followed by a second airing Thursday, Nov. 4, at 10 p.m. The show is called “Stick & String: Target to Trophy.”
It was a chance encounter during an unrelated project that brought Jandreau to Despres’ attention.
“A Maine-Florida production company had been shooting the first three episodes of ‘American Sporting Camps,’ a totally unrelated 13-week lifestyle and cooking TV series,” said Despres, who commuted from Florida during the two-year filming. Despres is a former Saco resident. Over the Cliff Productions was at Moose Point Camps in the Allagash area known as Township 13, Range 8. Despres and Clifton Fletcher, founders of the production company, are both original Mainers and highly supportive of Maine’s “most exciting industry.”
It was during one of Despres’ visits to the area that he met Jandreau.
“During bear hunting season, I had ‘sports’ and their bear everywhere. Dave and his partner immediately decided there was a story to be told. That was it.”
According to Over the Cliff Productions, “This story is not so much about harvesting bear. This docu-drama reflects on a year-long effort to prepare for a black bear hunt in northern Maine.”
The process of filming took a little getting used to, according to Jandreau.
Jandreau said, “Working with four or five people who follow you around with all their equipment can be unsettling. I wasn’t accustomed to this at first, since I work alone 99 percent of the time. I agreed to the film because I want people to understand how difficult bear hunting really is. I want people to see and hear how difficult it is to bait 115 sites just about every year. And I’ve prepared thousands of bear hunts for over 30 years.”
According to Despres, “The end result is about the back stories to a successful harvest.”
“In the film, only a few seconds are dedicated to the use of a ‘stick and string.’ From a tree stand dangling 17 feet in the air, with camera people perched in different trees, angling for the best footage when the moment came, the participants waited for days. I estimate we shot over 190 hours of film,” said Despres.
Fletcher recalled one particular incident that happened on the very first day.
“I moved slightly after a stoic hour, motionless. I scratched my nose and moved the cumbersome camera an inch — and Long Bow reacted facially like a man scorned. Although 30 feet away in his own tree stand with another photographer, Eldon was visually upset. And when we finally descended the stands in darkness, Long Bow quietly advised the whole crew exactly what bear hunting etiquette represents,” said Fletcher.
The story (or treatment, as it is known in the industry, according to Despres) begins with one of many trips into Portage, followed by visits to various bait sites, with the crew learning to walk quietly into a site using the same path and touching not so much as a tree branch.
Jandreau said hunting with a long bow is entirely different than with a gun.
“The hunter is much closer to the predator, so the need for tree-stand discipline is critical. The hunter climbs up to his stand and prepares for what could be a rewarding afternoon – or a lonely four hours eventually becoming colder as the color of coal envelops the forest,” said Jandreau.
The crew also learned the true meaning of ‘roughing it.’
“There is no Porta Potty in the trees. Beginning at 2-3 p.m., all bodily functions are ‘on hold’ until 8 p.m.,” said Jandreau.
That’s where Despres said bringing along the location director (who in this case was from Washington, D.C.) paid off.
“Along with the guide, the location director checks out the best trees and assures perfect sighting of the bait area, as well as hand communication capability with the crew members perched on various trees. The outfitter trims branches to make each tree stand ‘a home away from home,’” said Despres.
According to Despres, “this TV special is about Eldon Jandreau’s Energizer Bunny approach to life.”
Despres said the location director found “shooting at varied sporting camps was a breeze compared to climbing trees every afternoon and waiting for the ‘right bear.’ He wasn’t much for showering with baking soda or slapping himself with cedar boughs.”
“Bear hunters are a very special and disciplined breed of people. Judging from the number of bear we’ve seen in the two years we’ve been filming with Long Bow, Maine’s black bear population may well approach 50,000 animals,” said Despres.
Limited edition DVDs are available prior to show launch. For readers interested in owning either DVD, feel free to e-mail Despres at Over the Cliff Productions for any questions you may have Dave@OverTheCliffProductions.com.
