2026 Bear Hunt Day 8 - The Great Pike Hunt

I allowed myself some extra coffee in the morning as I got ready for the day.  With the pressure of bears off, I was able to be a bit more relaxed.

As daylight brightened, we all met at the lodge for a final breakfast.  The plan was to go upriver to fish, have a true shore lunch on the shore, then fish some more while Casey hunted.  It sounded like a very good plan to me.

I was the only one who wanted to fish for pike, so Dave took me and after a quick supply drop-off at Kendall, we went fishing.

On one of the first bays we went to, we hooked into several good pike, the largest being a 40" fish which was also very fat.  It was exciting to bring in such a big river monster (in all deference to the truth, it was a team effort).  I had never caught a pike larger than 39 inches with or without an asterisk .

Immediately after, I brought in a 35 inch pike which was equally fat.

We fished several more bays throughout the morning.  Some were more productive than others, but the morning was a ton of fun.  We met the other two boats at a lunch spot where we had a true shore lunch of potatoes 'n onions and fried fish right form the river.  Lunch ended with Allie's excellent chocolate chip cookies; I ate way too many.

While food was cooking I walked around and out to the point.  It was fun to do even if my feet got quite wet.  At least I was wearing my water shoes.

After lunch Dave and I fished several more bays, bringing in lots more fish and a few more big ones.  Dave also caught me several walleye to bring home.  It was a really good day on the water.

I had some time in camp which allowed me to clean up and pack up.

Casey came in early with a whopper of a beautiful black bear, meaning everyone in camp tagged out - and with minimal tracking (this makes the guides happy).

We had one final dinner before ending the week.  Unquestionably it has been an amazing week with a group of new friends and old.

2026 Bear Hunt Day 7 - Memory Bear

"These stories are ours, not nature’s. The natural world does not organise itself into parables." - William Cronon

I got up when the coffee maker started calling my name.  The future is getting short, but at least the weather was forecast to be splendid.

After another round of coffee in my cabin and breakfast in the lodge, Carter and I went upriver a ways to fish for big pike.  The original plan was to go to near Kendall Point, but it was raining up there, so we started just a bit downriver.  We were using Carter's huge reels and baits to push a bit harder on big pike.  This was fun, but it did start to hurt my wrist throughout the morning.  

We hooked into a decent number of fish.  I tried an assortment of Carter's lures.  Carter hooked into the biggest fish of the day and we had a team effort to bring it in - another very fat 34" pike.  So big, but not ginormous (I still need a picture of it).

There were also a few very ambitious small pike.  It never ceases to amaze me how aggressive these alligator fish can be.

Rick and Theresa had left and Pat had gone upriver to bait, but those remaining (and most of us bearless) had lunch before heading out for bears.  Carter took Kelly and I out to the Rice Lake area, dropping me off at the Gate Bait.  When we walked in, I noted the roll barrel had not been touched; this caused a bit of unease at the amounts of bears likely in this area, even if I know better.  Trust the guides...

The stand was comfortable, but everything felt backwards since I had to sit at the far left of the stand to see around a tree (on all previous sits, I was on the right).  I adjusted quickly enough.  

Temperatures were near perfect in the mid-70s with a light breeze.  It was time to sit.  The mosquitoes were quickly making their presence felt so my Thermacell was a requirement.

It felt like a long sit, even after all the time already spent on the bear stand, I do still enjoy it (maybe my butt does not quite as much).  As I often do, I spent a lot of time thinking about hunting and why I do it.  I'm not always sure why.  I don't particularly like killing - I sometimes dislike it.  But (most) people are complex.  We spring from a thicket of tangents.  I don't think being complex and contradictory is necessarily bad; it means I am able to spend at least some time thinking deliberately.

As the afternoon wore on, the wind calmed down and essentially stopped altogether.  This is preferrable to the crazy wind on two of the previous nights, but it means staying still is absolutely essential.  Every movement felt like a thunderstorm of noise in an otherwise hushed world.  It was so still, I didn't even dare eat my late-afternoon snack since opening the zipper bag would have been too loud.

I heard a shot in the far distance - was that Kelly who was also on a Rice Lake stand?

I saw movement on the right as a bear came out onto a small trail.  He took his time going the last few steps to the bait but came in on his own time.  He flopped down to eat popcorn.

Now what?  I knew he was not a monster, but he looked to be a decent bear.  Bears in this middling range are so incredibly difficult to judge.  And it is the fifth day of a six-day bear hunt.

I watched and waited and thought.  The bear just ate popcorn.  Time ticked by.  Fifteen minutes, a half an hour.  I put the crosshairs on the bear a few times, but they always shrink a bit in the scope.  At least 45 minutes were spent just watching.

My Thermacell pad stopped working at some point.  The mosquitoes came in quickly and with a vengeance.  I could not do anything about this and just had to let the little buggers eat me alive.  It was painful.

The bear stood up and took a few steps to the left.  Much like the previous year's bear, I decided I may regret letting him walk.  I shot.  The bear ran off to the left, but I was almost sure I heard him crash and make some final noise.  I waited a couple minutes and texted Carter.  After waiting a few more minutes (all I could stand), I got out of the treestand to look for him.  It took a few minutes, but I found him relatively quickly.  Shooting was the right thing to do - he was a good bear, a nice boar.

Then I looked up ... where was I?  Where is the stand?  Uh oh...  I was slightly disoriented and the brush was incredibly thick.  After a couple false starts, I found my way back to the stand with a bit of relief.  Shortly after, Carter, Chris and Carla came in.  It took a few minutes to find my bear again, but we did and got some pictures.  Carla had also got a bear as had Kelly (the shot I heard was him).

With my bear in Carter's truck, we went down the 2-track to Kelly.  Kelly had taken the head shot, which would not be my first choice, but no doubt effective.  All three of our bears were about the same size - very nice Manitoba bears.

Back in camp, the guides broke down Kelly's bear, then mine.  My shot was a near-perfect boiler room shot with almost no meat damage.  I couldn't argue with that.

I ate my pork chops quickly as they were still working on my bear.  It was in the freezer when I took my  dessert back to my cabin.

I cleaned up a bit before going to bed.  I ended the day with the same conflict that I often end hunts with:  gratitude, reverence for the animal, appreciation for the people in camp, appreciation for S/O.  And I was so glad for the ability to spend time in outdoors - allowing, however briefly, for my time to be restrained by something other than just a clock.

"Man's life cannot 'be lived' by repeating the pattern of his species; he must live. Man is the only animal that can be bored, that can be discontented, that can feel evicted from paradise. Man is the only animal for whom his own existence is a problem which he has to solve and from which he cannot escape." - Erich Fromm

2026 Bear Hunt Day 6 - Batteries and Bogs

I woke up to an even more ferocious headache than the previous day.  Ugh.  Coffee and a bit of reflection did help quite a bit.

And in a world where troubling things like to compound by happening at the worst time, S/O's car started to have issues.  At least we've had good service from the dealership.  It might be more expensive, but being over 1000 miles away makes me between helpless and useless.  The dealership will almost certainly cost more, but in this situation, it is likely the option which makes the most sense.

The situation ended up (probably) not being the battery, so hopefully no more issues.  This isn't as gratifying as it would have been if I hadn't been so far away.

After breakfast, Chris took Pat and I out for fishing once again.  Numbers of fish were good.  There were a few periods where we seemed to drift into schools of small pike.  I also brought in one decent smalley as it took a few fantastic jumps out of the water on the way into the boat.

Near the end of our fishing morning, we came across a couple eagles.  We wanted to lure one of them in close for some pictures, but fishing slowed down a bit and we couldn't even seem to be able to catch small pike by that point.  

After lunch, Lockler took Carla and me out for bears.  I was dropped off at Wall-E Bay.  Forecast for the evening was rain, but as I got settled it was quite pleasant with a light warm breeze, mostly away from the bait.  As the afternoon progressed, wind picked up and clouds thickened.

I was wearing my rain gear, which felt like the right decision even if it was claustrophobic and sticky.  I'm not sure why, but I had a very difficult time getting comfortable on the stand.  Was that the slight angle it sat at?  Or is it just me after 18+ hours in tree stands?  Maybe I'm just getting older?

It was still a nice afternoon, but I started to get a bit apprehensive as I could hear thunder in the distance.  The wind increased to where, at one point, I heard a large tree nearby crack and fall to the ground.  I grabbed my phone and dropped off Airplane Mode to get a look at the short term forecast and radar.  Rain was definitely approaching the area.

I looked up to see a bear walk into the bait.  It looked at least reasonably sized so I dropped my phone and slowly brought my gun up.  The bear was very skittish; he stuck his nose into the air and sniffed, took two steps, looked right through me and left.  I kept my gun on my shooting sticks for the next 30 minutes hoping he would come back.

It felt worse that I was looking at my phone when the bear came in, although the rational me knows that the situation would not have been any different regardless of what I was doing.  Unless I had had my gun up right when he came in, any shot would have been impossible.  But I still mercilessly beat myself up over it; I'm very good at this.  The time the bear was there wasn't even enough time to adequately size up the bear.  In my memory, it was taller but rather thin.  I'm not sure I should trust that claude-glass perception though.

It started raining around 7:00.  I had made a plan for this eventuality and was dressed for it, so it wasn't terrible.  I'm not sure what happened to the big blob of rain I saw on the radar, but after 15 minutes, the rain tapered to just intermittent spits.  With the heavy clouds it got dark early; I was more than ready to be out of the stand.  The (open) boat ride back to camp was quite unfun as rain decided to pick up again at that point.

Back in camp, Pat had got a bear.  Dinner that night started with one of Rick's donated backstraps which Carter had cooked exceedingly well.  People were going to start leaving in the morning, with four of us yet without bears.

2026 Bear Hunt Day 5 - The Brain Is A Horrible Master

I woke up with a phenomenal headache.  I knew the screwy hours were going to get me.  I fought the good fight of sleep or coffee for a while.  Eventually coffee won.  This gave me a nice couple hours in the cabin before breakfast and then fishing.

Carter took Pat and I out for pike.  Weather was great with little wind and cooler, drier air.  I brought in one decent pike and had a few other hits, but fishing was a bit slow.

Back in camp we had shore lunch for lunch.  It was exceedingly good, even if the amount of food was more appropriate for about 30 people.  Since it takes a bit of extra time for that, the guides made the decision to push back bears a bit; this allowed me to get a real nap in which was absolutely splendid.  By the time we left for bears, I felt like a million bucks.

Chris took Pat and I up in a boat overfilled with bags of bait popcorn.  I was dropped off at the Holiday Rapids stand.  I was sure I had sat at the stand previously, but I can't find when that might have been.  The stand was comfortable with my cushion and tucked back into the trees, which I like.

The mosquitoes were absolutely arrogant.  I was glad I had my Thermacell; I don't remember the last time I used it, so I was equally glad that it still worked.  It only took a few seconds before the annoying buzzing was gone.  I've already gotten a lot of bites on my hands, so I do not need anymore.

The weather was almost perfect with pleasent temperatures for sitting and a mix of sun and cloud.  The little wind there was calmed down to almost nothing early in the afternoon.  It was one of the quietest and most serene afternoons of hunting I can recall.  With no wind and in an area where there were probably less than five people within five miles of me, it was almost too quiet.  Every movement felt like it was making as much noise as a firecracker.

It was also quiet on the bear front.  It was mildly amusing watching an industrious squirrel spend most of the afternoon, taking popcorn pieces one-by-one to its midden and other hiding places behind me.

I went in to the afternoon nearly sure this was going to be the afternoon with a bear on the ground for me, but there was little movement.

One bear did come in late.  It came out by the roll barrel and flopped down next to it to eat.  In my zeal to get a bear on such an amazing afternoon, I tried to make the bear bigger, but I also had to heed the principle:  Never shoot a bear lying down.  I lost light before there was any chance to get a good clear look at it.

I was glad I paid attention, on looking at the pictures after, while it looks smaller than it is lying on the ground eating, I can't see how I didn't see it as anything but a very small bear.

After dark, some combination of me moving (it was still very calm), the boat coming in and another bear the in area scared away the small bear.  I positive I saw another black blob in the bait for a few minutes before I heard the boat actually beach, but by that point it was just too dark to be sure of anything.

The boat ride home was as pleasant as it was going on ... at least with respect to temperature.  I was feeling a bit bummed that Day 3 of hunting wasn't the day.

Back in camp Allie had taken a really nice bear.  Carla had shot a bear, but in the dark it wasn't found immediately, and Carter said they would look for it the following morning.

Dinner was ribs and wild rice; the ribs were quite good, but after oral surgery a few months ago, I'm still paranoid so they were hard to eat.  I made it work, even if it was a bit messy.

As dinner wound down, I felt myself mentally sinking.  I had such high hopes going into the afternoon, that the inevitable crash when reality triumphs over anticipation is brutal.  I was glad I had my own cabin to go to and let what little remained of the day quietly fragment into sleep.

2026 Bear Hunt Day 4 - Seagull What Island

I really wanted to sleep in, but my brain had other ideas and the coffee maker was screaming at me.  So I got up and started my day.  It was getting light by the time the coffee was gone, so I chucked the lure a little bit and caught one pike off the dock.  I've caught quite a few pike off the docks by camp this year...

After breakfast, Locklar (sp?) took Pat and I upriver a ways to go after pike.  The water was rough from the wind, but most of the bays were sheltered enough to allow better conditions.  We fished mostly around and just above the rapids.  Numbers of fish caught were pretty good.  Most were small, but the activity was fun; this included catching a walleye on a chatterbait - in three feet of water.  That was quite unusual.  I did have a very ambitious small pike break my steel leader - losing my yellow chatterbait.  I was more than a bit bummed by this since it had been doing surprisingly well for me.

After lunch Chris took Rick and I way upriver.  Rick was dropped off at Ranger, and I went to the last bait at Seagull Shit Island.  I was glad to be going upriver; there is nothing wrong with the road baits, but hunting bears from boats is special.  As we cross some mythical plane on our way, it really starts to feel like I'm leaving civilization behind.  

I had to wear Vance's boots since the low water level meant wading in quite a ways in the shallow water.  I felt a little like Frankenstein, but it was better than wet feet.

I got situated and comfortable for the afternoon.  The weather was a comfortable cool and breezy.  It felt like a very beary day.  Not much was moving at first, and it struck me how much of bear hunting - how much of hunting - is just being comfortable in my own skin ... being in touch with nature and myself.  

Around 6:30 I caught something out of the corner of my eye and looked down/behind-me and saw a bear.  It was small - bigger than a cub, but not by much.  It must have smelled me and bolted off.  About 15 minutes later a bear came out to the bait.  I think it was the same bear, but it is really hard to tell.  It was a smaller bear and stayed in the area for quite a while.  As I watched it, I was pretty sure this was the same stand where I had major ground shrinkage after shooting a small bear; the log behind the bait looked suspiciously familiar.

A second bear came in which was definitely a bit bigger.  I still didn't think it was a shooter (or at least not a day 2 shooter).  But it was great to see a couple bears back to back.

The rest of the afternoon passed with lots of activity.  I'm not really sure how many bears I saw, and some of them didn't hang around very long.  But it was a fun night.  I didn't think any bears that I saw would break six feet and I'd like to stay above that in size.  We'll see what happens later in the week.

As dusk settled in I heard something to my right and glimpsed a wolf coming in.  It was only within sight for less than 10 seconds.  It didn't hang around long enough to have to make any kind of a decision.  It was neat to see, if only briefly.

As it got dark, one final bear came in.  It was too dark to see if it was three feet or 8 feet (it was somewhere between there).  It did look quite a bit bigger, but if it is too dark to adequately size it, it is too dark to shoot.  After a few minutes the bear crashed away as the boat came in to get me.

Rick had shot a pretty nice boar.  They tend to look smaller in the bottom of the sled, but it was a nice bear.  The wind had completely dissipated over the afternoon and the ride back to camp was wonderful.

It was a late night, but was able to turn in after a too-late dinner feeling fairly confident I had made the right choice in not shooting.  I was also fairly confident that it had been a really nice day and there are still several days to see more bears.

2026 Bear Hunt Day 3 - And The Wind Blows

I woke up to heavy rain in a very humid cabin.  I couldn't get back to sleep but quickly realized I had left my computer (and bear tags) in the lodge.  It was already a challenging morning....  At least the coffee was good.

I somehow survived until daylight, when I was able to reel in two more northern pike from the docks.  They were small, but the day was already improving.

After breakfast, Dave took Pat and I out for fishing.  The rain had moved out of the area and the conditions were generally improving - it was becoming a pretty nice morning.  We stayed in the area not too far from camp and cast for pike.  I brought in a couple small pike and, somewhat oddly, a few small bass in areas where normally I haven't previously caught bass.  But I'll take it!

I had started off using a chatterbait, but at some point switched to my favorite ... a spinnerbait.  Shortly after the switch, I hooked into one fairly nice pike.  It hit hard and took off, pulling drag line with it (my drag is set a little light).  It took a few minutes to bring it towards the boat.  SNAP!  The line broke.  I swore.  Then - very oddly - the line started pulling again.  I unswore and brought in a 34" pike.

What was very odd was that the lure had actually broken, not my line.  And since the hook part of the lure was no longer attached, I'm very confused about how I was able to bring in the fish.  Maybe he just really wanted to break the monotony of watery life for a few minutes.

After a tolerable, but a bit slow fishing morning and lunch and a nap, it was time for bears.

Weather was nice, but a bit breezy.  Forecast was for warm, but all the projections were for no rain.  Dave took Pat and I out on road baits; I was set up on Bear Creek.

The wind dramatically picked up after getting dropped off.  And it was generally toward the bait.  This was an uneasy situation.  And as often happens, I was having a difficult time settling in on the first night on the bear stand.

I won't say the wind made me uncomfortable being in a treestand, but it was close to that at times.  The afternoon passed rather slowly.  With less than optimal conditions, no bears showed up.  That is a long, long time to sit in a treestand in the lonely bear woods.

As darkness approached, it started to spit rain a bit.  This increased sporatically over the final hour or so in the stand until, when Dave finally came and got me in the darkness, it was full on raining.  My mood was sour.

Back in camp, only Kelly and Carla had seen any bears.  Carla had one which just stared and wouldn't come in.  Kelly (on the Meanest Sow in the Woods stand), saw three smaller ones and a decent one which also wouldn't come in.

No doubt the wind affected all of us.

I was ready to turn in after a far-too-late salmon dinner.

2026 Bear Hunt Day 2 - In Camp

After a much better night's sleep than the previous, I was up wwwaaayyy too early.  I read the entire internet before packing up and hitting the road.  I know they don't like it when I get to camp too early, but I can only putz around my hotel room for so long.  When I briefly thought about turning on my work computer, I knew it was time to go!

Not being in any hurry, I methodically made my way toward the border.  There were almost no other cars on the road, even in Warroad.  I got to the border and had a brief conversation with the Canadian Officer, then parked and headed in for the firearm paperwork.  I always appreciate the professionalism of the Canadian Border Security Officers.  I handed over my paperwork, had another brief friendly conversation and was on my way - a guest in a foreign country.

I continued on into Canada.  Traffic stayed exceedingly light all morning.  The drive was wonderful - scenic and easy.

I stopped once for coffee when I saw a sign for a "Coffee Bar", but that was a mistake - a big one.  The coffee was terrible, little more than brown water.  It was actually worse than the hotel coffee earlier in the morning.  So it goes...

I was glad when I finished Lies My Teacher Told Me.  OK read?  Meh...  Recommend?  No...  I finished the drive with some Garrison Keillor and an older podcast before turning everything off and just thinking back to my first bear hunt all those years ago.  I do that a lot on the final stretch of road.

I got gas and made my final few km into camp.  I parked at my cabin and walked to the lodge.  Carter and I talked for a bit; Maureen also stopped by.  It felt like visiting family.

I threw a lure for a bit while waiting for the cabin to be ready.  I caught two pike - this has to be a good sign - right?  One of them was even a reasonably decent size (not a monster).

With my cabin ready, I allowed myself a brief nap.  It was going to be a good week.  Another pike at the dock and a bit more forced down time before heading into the lodge.

Dinner was chicken cordon bleu while we all started to get to know each other.  The real adventure starts in the morning.