Monday Sept. 2
Headed out early to a misty morning. We packed up and breezed through the border. We were asked just a few questions before being asked inside the border building where my gun paperwork was checked. Within about 5 minutes, we were into Canada, headed west.
It rained and misted on and off for the first half of the day. Traffic was absolutely non-existent for the entire day. I decided to stop in Kenora on the way. I had brought clothes, but hadn't brought a coat with water resistance for the morning fishing. Walmart had some decent camouflage jackets, but I was able to find a fleece lined jacket that was waterproof and had a hood.
It was surprising that they also had a good supply of .22 ammo. I really wanted to purchase some since it is so hard to come by right now, but apparently in Canada - or at least in Ontario - a license is needed in order to purchase ammo. Crazy gun-shy Canadians and all.
Back on the road it was a few more hours of travel to get to camp. We got in around 11:00 and quickly got fishing licenses which allowed us to pass the afternoon casting for pike. Neither of us was able to seal the deal with a fish, but we both had a couple followers.
Dinner that night was turkey with all the fixings and we met Rick, John and Cheryl, and Chris and Julie who had been hunting in the camp for well over 10-years.
We all chatted for a while before everyone separated to our cabins, anxious but looking forward to the next day of fishing and bear hunting - at least I know I was.
Tuesday Sept. 3
Woke up to a wonderful Manitoba morning. After an almost too-hardy breakfast, we headed out for fishing with the guide Bob and his golden retriever Sage. The first spot we went to in blind bay was not too productive. Dennis pulled in one small pike, but nothing else took the bait.
After a while we headed upriver to a little ways north of Lamprey Rapids. We had a few tugs on the line, but it wasn't until Bob threw a line in and caught a fish on his first cast that we got the hang of the right technique. Then Dennis and I pulled in quite a few walleye, one perch and Dennis caught two really nice smallmouth bass. None of the fish were too huge, but most were pretty respectable and within the keeper slot size.
We headed back to the lodge in early afternoon and had a lunch. After a shower to wash all the fish smell off and a quick nap, I was out with Rick and Stan to hunt bear. We headed way out past Lamprey Rapids.
On the way up, I saw a small bear in a tree right on the shore line eating acorns in a Burr Oak tree. We turned the boat around to get a look at it, but when we did it climbed down and took off into the bush. It was neat to see the bear on the way out.
I was originaly going to be fishing at "Greer lake," but when we walked in there, the bait had not been touched since the previous day. We walked back to the boat and Stan dropped Rick off at Gas Can. As we were leaving gas can, it was impossible not to notice heavy clouds forming to the west. Previous forecasts suggested very little chance of rain, but without access to any online forecasts it can be hard to keep up on these things. I went up to Ranger Station. The stand was about 20 yards from the 35 gallon bait barrel. The brush was so thick that it was nearly impossible to see anything more than a few feet away except the shooting lane.
After being on the stand for a while there were rumbles of thunder and the sky started to darken considerably. I could hear the water behind me begin to make much more noise so I knew something was likely coming. It started to sprinkle followed by light to moderate rain for around a half an hour. The rain wasn't really that bad, but more of an annoyance. I sat hunched over the action of my Ruger since I'm a bit paranoid about keeping the action dry. As the rain was letting up, one of the many squirrells that was running around ran back and forth across my back and neck. When it originally jumped on me, it was a bit disconcerting.
As it got dark, I continued to watch the bait area but nothing showed. It was a bit of a let-down that the first day didn't produce any bear sightings. Stan picked me up after dark and we went and got Rick. He had seen three bears, getting pictures of the first. All three were pretty decent size.
Back at the lodge, John and Cheryl had not seen any bears. Julie had heard one, but it never materialized. Chris had seen several and shot one right at dark that he said was very large. With the darkness and several other bears in the area, including some woofing at him he did not get it at night, but felt it was a quality shot.
After a late dinner, we turned in to get ready for the next day.
Wednesday Sept. 3
Dennis, Rick and I went out fishing with Stan after a breakfast of pancakes and sausage. We started out in blind bay and did OK on the walleye with a pike thrown in. The fish seemed to be hitting best on jigs with worms. I lost one jig on a very large pike that took the jig and instantly snapped the line as well. Dennis had one very large pike by the boat chasing a lure, but it never committed.
Later in the morning, we went up to 5 islands and fished there, doing quite a number on the walleye. Both Rick and I also brought in a mooneye. I had never seen these before and they looked more like large shad than anything else.
We had a shore lunch at the cabin before heading out for bears. I was dropped off first in Petrushney (and I have no idea if that is spelled right) bay. The stand was a small single ladder that was a bit bent so it sat at a bit of an angle. It took a little bit to get settled since it was small and I had to hang my bag off the back of the stand. Once settled, the area was so calm and quiet it was hard to even breath without making any noise. The mosquitoes weren't too bad, but were definitely in the annoying category. Rather than risk needing to make noise as it got dark, I fired up the Thermacell to drive them away. It is amazing how well those things work. I may have done it too late since I had several large mosquitoe welts on my hands; thankfully, none on my head and ears.
Wind was almost non-existant all night and I could smell the candy in the bait at times. When Bob and I walked into the bait, the barrell was on the other side of the clearing and it was completely cleaned out. I knew I was going to see bears here. Rain was predicted, but it never materialized. Given the temperature and the clouds, it felt like a nearly perfect evening.
It wasn't too be. I was in the stand a little after 3:00 and five and a half hours is a long time to sit without seeing any animals. At least the stand was relatively comfortable given that it was a smaller one. Sitting two nights in a row without seeing any bears is pretty rare.
John was the only person who saw any bears. He took a shot at a good one around 7:30 as it was running away but believed it a clean miss. Apparently he didn't get back into the stand after the shot. Rick and Julie did not see any bears either. There are definitely bears in the area, but it wasn't the day for the bears to be running around early.
Dinner that night was an excellent pot roast as we all talked about the day's events. George had taken Cheryl and Dennis fishing and they did all right on the pike. For the second time in the day, Dennis had a very large pike right by the boat, but it got off before it was landed.
Heavy rain is the prediction for Thursday. Hopefully timing works out for a good evening bear hunt.
Thursday Sept. 4
I was expecting to wake up to the pitter patter of rain, but the rain held off for the morning. It was actually a pretty nice morning and I took a quick walk down to the paved road and back. At home, I walk a few miles almost every day so I end up feeling a little slow in bear camp.
At breakfast Chris suggested we all change seats to change the bear luck for the day. After egg bake, Bob took Dennis and I fishing up near Haliday Rapids. I caught a very nice small mouth bass and a couple walleye so it was a pretty slow morning. The clear morning started to cloud up to some very pretty, if ominous looking clouds. We headed into a bay to cast for pike for a while, and had a few bites, but the pike action was a little slow too.
It started to rain as lunch time approached but only lightly. As we headed back to camp, the sky to the north looked frightening with dark clouds. Thunder and lightning could also be seen. I was hoping that most of the heavy weather would stay to the north.
It spit rain a few times as we ate lunch and got ready for bear hunting. Rain gear was definitely needed on this day. Immediately before we headed out, a brief deluge soaked the area. I was glad we weren't in the boat headed to the stands even with the rain gear.
George dropped me off at blind bay which has a double ladder stand. I had a hard time getting comfortable and wasn't sure sitting on the stand was the best idea since it was the same stand where Chris shot his bear, but we knew other decent bears were in the area so there were positives and negatives.
Weather that evening was a little bit of everything. It spit rain for a while, the was cloudy and windy. For a time, it got really sunny and started to cool down; I was hoping the bulk of the front passed, but there was about 45 minutes of fairly heavy rain. The rain gear mostly did its job and the remainder of the evening passed with spitting sprinkles. Unfortunately no bears were seen.
Back at camp, that was the scene all around. Nobody saw bears and everyone was thankful for rain gear. Both Julie and I are zero for three which in my limited experience and her much more is pretty rare.
There are bears out there. The weather was supposed to slowly improve for the second half of bear hunting.
Friday Sept. 5
What a day. It started out normal. Or as normally awsome as a day starts while bear hunting. After a breakfast of french toast with cinnamon, Dennis and I went out fishing again with Bob. The original plan was to go upriver a ways, but rather than spend half the morning in the boat, we fished a few bays south of Lamprey Rapids. Pike action was steady enough to be very interesting. We would get into a hot section and bring in several pike, followed by stretches of slow action where it was hard to keep throwing the lure. None of the pike were very large, but a few could easily have been keepers. However, everything was returned to swim another day.
At nearly the time to head back to camp for lunch, we entered a weed shallow bay. Dennis brought in a decent pike immediately. I threw a spinner bait twice past a small patch of lilly pads. On the second retrieve, a fish hit it hard. The music of drag being pulled out played as I tried to keep the rod up and reel in a fish which was intent on staying in the water. After several minutes with the lightweight rod, the fish tired and I told Bob, "Get the net, this is the fish I came up here for."
Bob grabbed the net and pulled in a very large pike. Probably not as large as my 2011 pike, but still a very respectable fish. We took a few pictures and quickly returned it to the water. Only after, did I realize I hadn't measured its length. It was probably in the 36-inch range. More impressively, it was starting to put on the winter fat. Given how little fishing I do, it was very exciting bringing in that fish.
After soup and sandwich for lunch, everyone split up to go bear hunting. I went down river with Vance to the stand at Slave Falls. These are newer stands that Vance has been hunting between the two dams. We drove down to a friend's house and got in a boat he keeps down there and headed down the river a little further and to the other side. Between the two power stations, there was a constant din of water falling.
Vance threw four buckets of bait in the barrel which was licked clean and knocked 10 yards away from where it was. He made sure I was set, then headed off. The afternoon started out perfect. Blue sky. Warm temperatures. Sun at my back. Little wind.
Around 4:00, while struggling to stay awake, a bear burst out of the brush to the barrell. It came in and whomped its big feet on the barrrell and started licking the top. I forgot how intimidating it can be to be so close to such a large animal. When it got back down on all fours, I could see that it was a really good bear. It moved around the barrell a few times, one time getting up on its hind legs; standing up like that, it was surprising how large it looked - a true giant in a black coat. But, I knew it wasn't a brute. The bear's head was still kind of pointy, I later thought it was a sow by the shape of the head.
After a few minutes she crouched down in front of the barrell, looked behind herself and bolted off almost underneath me.
A few minutes after, a second bear came in. This one was was slightly smaller, but only slightly. He had a much blockier head. He knocked the wood out of the barrel and ate for a few minutes before grabbing a big chunk of chocolate and meandering off the way he came.
It was quiet again. Lots of time to rethink the decision not to shoot.
There was a brief rain shower about 30 minutes later followed by more sunshine and some pretty significant winds.
More time to rethink not shooting.
Thunder and clouds began to build to the west again. More time to rethink not shooting.
Around 7:00 another bear walked in. When he dropped me off, vance told me that with a couple bears under my belt, he wanted me to shoot a "corker." I wasn't exactly sure what a "corker" was, but I'm pretty sure this bruin qualified. His back was over the top of bait barrel. The problem was, he was looking right through me. I knew I was busted.
He dropped his head slightly behind the barrel; maybe food was more interesting than the lump in the tree. This gave me a chance to get my gun up. He turned and stared at me again - expletives filled my mind. He put his head back down a bit and took a step forward, allowing me to get my gun on target. His front leg was pretty far back, so I put the cross hairs almost on his front shoulder, double checked my sight picture and pulled the trigger.
At the shot, the bear bolted forward, ran past the clearing and knocked down a tree in the process. I heard a few moans, each one getting quieter. Was that the death moan? Was that a gut shot bear? Was the shot good? The thunder had moved in and it was torrentially raining. I had visions of every drop of blood being washed away.
I texted Vance's wife as he told me to. She got back to me that the guides were coming. I cleaned up my stand and walked back to the shore. The rain was letting up a short time later and I looked at my watch. Screw this, daylight is burning and I wanted to find my bear.
I walked back to the bait area and started into the thick Manitoba bush. A few yards in I turned around, it was nearly impenetrable. I walked back to the shore.
After a few minutes I looked at my watch and wondered where the boat was. Screw this, I'm going to look for my bear. I walked back to the bait and went in a bit further, using the knocked down tree as a starting point. I heard three gutteral woofs in the brush. Shit, was that my bear, another bear? Back to the shore to wait for the cavalry.
After being at shore for another five minutes, the sky was clearing as the sun was setting. Screw this, I'm going to find my bear. I walked into the bush. Every dark thing in the bush looked like a bear. Carefully moving in, only one thing had fur. I snapped the safety off went through the heavy drenched trees. I touched the barrel of my gun to his head and rocked it back and forth. He was dead. He was a brute.
Back at the shore, Vance and Tyler showed up a few minutes later. I told them that was the longest half hour of my life. We got the bear into the sled and took some pictures near the bait area before lugging the beast into the boat to head back to the truck. The trip up the rock bank to the truck wasn't fun, but we got the bear loaded along with all the gear.
I was soaked in thunderstorm and sweat. I was happy.
Back at camp, we dropped the bear into the skinning shed. He was a solid 6'9" and estimate near 400 pounds. Vance, George and Bob skinned him out and froze the meat, head and hide. A small crowd of campers amassed in the area, including some really small kids. I wasn't comfortable with the attention, but there were many congratulations. Several people took pictures of the bear as it was on the skinning table and even of the butchering process. The amount of meat was impressive, especially compared to my first two smaller bears.
I told the story a few times at dinner. It was hard to get to sleep that night after all the excitement, but there were a few payers of thanks and a replaying of an amazing day as I went to sleep.
Saturday Sept. 6
After another great morning breakfast, Dennis and I headed up river with Bob for the day.
The ride up was cool, but started sunny. Things didn't stay that way as things clouded up quikly and rain spitted several times. We went up river to the fly-in area and tried for walleye. There was no activity at the first spot. We hit on a few at a second spot, just (barely) enough for a salsa walleye shore lunch.
After lunch we tried again for walleye for only a short amount of time before abandoning walleye altogether and going to Bass Island for pike. Action was steady enough to be interesting, with a few good size ones breaking up the hammer handles. Dennis switched lures a few times through the afternoon, at one point choosing a gosh-aweful bright yellow spinner bait. After a few casts, a huge fish hit the lure near the shore, making a commotion at the surface. Dennis struggled to bring it in while Bob readied the net. The bucket net wasn't enough, switching to a cradle net and helping Dennis bring in a huge 39-inch pike.
A few minutes later, I had a better than average hit and brought in a 30-inch pike. It took a bit to get into the boat since I was using a light rod. Once in the boat, it was very lively and smelled oddly terrible.
Pike action continued for a while longer until it was time to head back to camp.
There was action that night on the bear stands. Rick had shot a nice black bear. Julie had shot a big boar, but needed to wait until the morning to find it. John had seen a small bear and a mom with three cubs. I was surprised that it was the fifth night of hunting before anyone saw a sow with cubs.
Dinner that night was steak, with one day left in bear camp - now fish camp.
Sunday Sept. 7
After another great breakfast, everyone in camp split up for different objectives. Chris and Julie looked for her bear from the previous night (it wasn't recovered and there was absolutely no indication of a hit - subsequent Range firing check showed poor and varied accuracy suggesting something was no longer true). Dennis, Rick and I went with Stan for a day of fishing.
We headed north and spent most of the day for pike and small mouth bass. We all caught an assorted size of pike. Action before lunch was a little slow, but we hit some good smallies. Rick caught an 18 inch small mouth (Manitoba Master Angler).
We had a shore lunch at Kendall Point. It was interesting to see the potential in the cabins being renovated.
After lunch we tried various spots for pike and more smallies and had varying success. Dennis and I brought in a good number of eater pike, including several in the 28 - 30 inch size range. As should be expected, there were a lots of hammer handles in there as well.
My last fish in was a 29-inch pike caught off the point near Haliday Rapids. After bringing the fish in the boat, I decided to stop on a high note and end my fishing. Dennis and Rick did a few more casts before calling it a day and heading back to camp.
Back at camp, neither Julie nor John had seen bears in the stand. I felt bad for them, but they both did have opportunities on good bears.
Dinner that night was outstanding ribs, before talking and joking for quite some time into the evening.
Monday Sept. 8 (Drive Day)
Dennis and I got up early for the drive home. We finished packing and met Vance at the skinning building to get the fish, bear meat and hide. The bear meat and hide were so big, we had trouble getting them into my coolers. In the end, we were able to get the meet in the coolers and the hide was in a cooler with the lid removed; it was not likely to be hurt by thawing from a complete freeze during the drive.
We were on the road by about 6:15.
We headed south and east and talked about the trip a lot. We also listened to the book Red Sky at Night by Tami Ashcroft. It is a book about a woman who ends up stranded in the South Pacific for 41 days in a badly disabled sailing yacht after her boyfriend is blown overboard in a hurricane. For perhaps obvious reasons, we didn't listen to it on the way up with all the boats in our future.
The border had about a 15 minute wait. There were questions about the bear and the border guard lady asked for my export permit. I handed her my hunting license and said it was the permit. She was fairly new and had to ask several people for help. Within a few minutes we were on our way again. This was much better than my 2011 hunt when there were several phone calls for the US Border Security to Canada Conservation in both Ontario and Manitoba. In 2011 the border guard was exasperated as I was and eventually pushed my paperwork back to me saying, "You can go. This really isn't our schtick anyway. They (Canada) don't even know their own laws."
We continued on and decided to drive straight through. As it got later and later, we kept ourselves alert (or at least awake) on caffeine and telling stupid stories to each other, discussing movies, etc.
We were both very tired when we got home a little after 3:00 AM, but this gave us time to get stuff done before returning to work on Wednesday.
This was my third bear hunting trip. I met some great people on this trip, experiences some amazing fishing and took a very large bear. It really doesn't get any better than that.
Canada, I will be back!
