who is ready for bear camp?
Bears
Contributors to this thread:
I love bear camp every May
Bill, Spring bear in canada makes me feel like I'am a kid again.
Yep, Western Canadian bears are great fun!
I am ready to get home and get ready for bear camp. Best part about our bear camp is that it lasts about 2 months! Really looking forward to it as well. Good luck everyone!
Can't wait to get back to ID with the boys and get those baits up and running. Still winter in Bozeman......
Totally can’t wait. Seems like Bowsite has been a little slow this spring. Good to see a thread like this started.
No baiting here in BC, so bear camp is lots of fun and very little work. Just show up and start hunting! A ton of snow this year and so far a cold spring, so it should be one of those years where the bears are out before much food is available. And that means big bears camped on the only salad bars. If you blow the stalk and run them off, they will be back soon and sometimes they will even challenge you for possession.
Good times with good friends and saving a few calves at the same time. Spring is fun!
A month from today Mr. Watkins and I will be embarking on a spring bear adventure. Good times...Hopefully the temperature improves or the bears will still be in bed! Woke up today to MINUS 1 temps with a 30 mph wind (that "feels" like 27 below zero)! Zackman and JTreeman are probably seeing warmer temps on their musk ox hunt in Nunavut!
Introducing my son to spring bear hunting this year. We are going with Skinner Creek in June. Not sure which one of us is the most anxious.
Lady Bowhunter and I are starting to count days until June when we head back to Belleisle Creek with TSI.
"Zackman and JTreeman are probably seeing warmer temps on their musk ox hunt in Nunavut!"
I hope its warm up there for them, Treeman not having any clothes and all!
Having clothes in the Arctic is over rated. :) They'll hook him up. Hopefully he can accurately shoot Zack's bow!
Getting excited, I love the spring bear hunt, Warm temps coming, time to dust of the bowtech soon, last arrow fired killed my whitetail!
Bear Track's Link
Yup, I have 3 tons of oats, 3 tons of special bait, 16 barrels of fryer grease, 120 pails of won't tell crumb bait in the grainery up north already, and a ton of secret bait all ready for the trip north in 2 weeks.
Bear Track's Link
See you in a few weeks Zebrakiller!
Had several jumbos hitting last year that proved to be too smart for me. Can’t wait for the rematches to start! Good luck everybody, shoot straight.
Headed to Armstrong , Ontario last Friday in May . Talked to outfitter yesterday , said Lake Superior has 47 inches ice. Inland lakes 36 inches. Said late ice out and opening week of walleye season ice. Said we should be good and bears should be moving . Last year ,same weekend , no leaves on trees and grass green in side ditches. We saw at least 30 years in the 155 miles from Thunder Bay to Armstrong . Saw bears every time out . Cant Wait
P
Really looking forward to June with TSI!
Our bear hunters are not coming in till the 15th of May. Lots of time to get ready. No need to deal with early May snows. Right now in W. Ontario we have 2 feet of snow and windchill was -27C last night. But the bears will be moving just fine when we need them to be. Good luck to all this Spring Bear Season.
Looking forward to your spring thread Spike.
Thanks Ibow. Just want winter to end. Cold is however allowing us to get all of the prep work done right now. Such as getting bait mixed and popcorn popped. Putting new double and single man ladder stands together to set up in our "NEW" baiting areas. Can't wait!!
Ill be to pine acres may 15th to chase some color phase bears!!! 4th trip to pine acres wouldn’t go anywhere else for bear, deer, or wolf!!!!
We are going to dig the bars out of their dens on May 1!
Mike Ukrianetz, you always seem to get it done early in the season!!
2000 bushels of oats
2000 bushels of oats
We are getting ready. Load of oats should up today. As soon as the snow is almost gone we’ll be out baiting.
I'm thinking about buying an Idaho southern spring bear tag and trying spot'n stalk hunting. I have never bear hunted before. When do they start to come out? According to the regs, the season starts April 15th.
YZF-88. Our season starts end of April but we don’t start our hunt till May 18. We pushed our hunts back one week because of the long winters we’ve been having. If your interested in a baited hunt we have a couple spots open. We guarantee you’ll have a shot at a bear. Lots of opportunity in our camp.
Saturday brought the first 10 hour round trip to drop off the load of bait barrels, treestands, and an outhouse I built for the property and needed out of my driveway lol. Few more weeks now and bears are in trouble!
Our first guests arrive on the 19th. 16 years with our camp and 25 years in the business I can tell you, the bears never change their schedule. Ice out will be late for sure. I've been able to get baits on the river and lake near the end of April and have shot bears 3 days after baits were out. There's no secret.
We moved our hunts back a couple years ago because we had a few minor winter storms that we're shutting the bears down for a few days. This way the baits will be active for a week longer before the hunters arrive and they are seeing more bears and it's closer to the rut. The hunters also enjoy it as it is a little warmer for when they are on stand. Down side is we do go through a bit more bait.
Not ready yet doing some of this before the snow goes.
Have only seen bear activity drop 5-10% with unexpected snow. Wind bothers them more with my 25 years in the bush I've learned. I've tracked pretty much a bear a year in snow on or around May 15th. Visibility is up that's for sure.
Even if success goes down jus 10% with snows, no one wants to hunt with snow on the ground or the middle of a snow storm!! Although, the wind that comes with fronts also make bear hunting in snow even more unbearable. Might as well book a later May prime time date rather than take a chance with foul weather.
2009 snow snow snow MIKe lol
Let's hope that the ground won't be white when you arrive. But then again the ground will still have frost so should be easier to get around.
Shooting daily... trophy outfitters New Brunswick...
In northern BC, lots of snow and a late spring really concentrates the bears . Several years ago, we had similar conditions to this spring and we had fantastic hunting. We hunted one very steep mountain river valley and there were bears laying on the deep snow, trying to wait it out. Semi sleepy and not traveling much. They’re already near the soonest to green, so no need to wander.
It was a great spring hunt and this year is shaping up the same, for us!!
I can't wait to get back up to New Brunswick. 6 weeks!
Not lucky enough to go to Canada but come August I’ll be at Allagash wilderness camps in Maine. They are the best guides in Maine that I know of. 2.8 million acres...they won’t stop trying until they get you a bear, plus if you are unhappy with your experience they will reimburse you 50%. And I don’t know if anyone that wasn’t happy with their experience. If you guys are a first time bear hunter or seasone bear hunter check them out. 5 star meals, and when I say 5 star I mean it’s like thanksgiving every day. In fact on the Thursday when they make turkey we try and go out early so we don’t fall asleep in the stand and miss any action. If anyone can’t find their website I’d be happy to link the site or answer any questions. Not affiliated with them there just good people and good friends of mine.
2000# of donuts in the driveway...another 500# and a trip to the town recycling center for used fryer grease and I’ll be ready.
Hopefully this guy makes a daylight appearance this year... any size guesses?
" any size guesses?"
Well that's a good size bear beside it, so I'm going to guess it's a forty five gallon drum.
Crap! I just can't field judge barrels.
But that is one very, very big bear.
May 11 up here in Manitoba Canada can't wait
I am headed in this year. Gonna try to improve upon this guy.
I am headed in this year. Gonna try to improve upon this guy.
Saskatchewan, End of May beginning of June for me! Cant wait.
Manitoba last week in May.....Saskatchewan first week in June....Ontario August.. Exciting times coming.
Ned...Are they easier to get when the guide clubs them over the head first? :) That looks like a great bear.
He was nice but not a booner. Fatty lipoma on his head. Was kinda near lookin old bear and walked like a gorilla.
neat lookin. no guide on that hunt.
Heading back up to hunt with TSI first week of June, always fun being in the bear woods!
Just got 20 new cuddeback blue series cams and bear protection boxes. Crapload of bait ready to be gobbled. Love this time of year!
I’ll be up with Kyle at Eagle Eye on May 7
Does anyone have a contact for TSI? Their website is shut down for some reason
8000lbs of oats mixed up and ready to be hauled out to the bait stations. First of three batches
Hell yea I'm ready! Oh... wait, we don't have bears where I hunt. Good luck everyone. :)
May28-June 1 Churchill lake Saskatchewan 3rd trip doing bait stands ,something I didn't think I would like! but I sure do its nice being able to judge them good luck everyone B safe MikeC
Can't wait for Outland Outfitting last week of May.
Slim Jim, call Dave Cole @ TSI 506-434-3818
Looking forward to an Ontario hunt in one month. Time for a little R&R
If you read his previous posts on this thread Les, you would see hes all ready to go for the setting up for the 2018 spring bear season. Usually rumors are just that.....rumors.
Lots of work going on now before the scenes.
One one our repeat guests who's bringing 5 of his friends this year just emailed me about this. Les you were at our camp last year with your son. Why don't you email me with this and give me a chance to respond, rather that start a rumor on here. You got the biggest discount of the year for your son and you.
[email protected]
Is this he guy who left early and complained he did not see bear.
No Grant. This guy took advantage of a cancellation hunt then I discounted his son's hunt to a crazy low price so he could afford to come. Then on the Sunday first day in camp, he asks if his son could hunt on a day we usually don't hunt, it's our socializing day with the guests in camp and fill out tags etc. He thought if his son shot early, he'd have more days to hunt himself since he wanted to video. I caved and took him out. So he gets more days hunting since his son shot on the first night, for less than regular rate. This is not fair.
A complete lack of integrity using social media to start rumors.
Can't even bother to reply here or privately.
Good luck boys have a blast 15 years we outfitted bears here in Alberta and raised our kids in them camps, enjoy every minute of it,
Heading to Copper Center Alaska in June.
Good luck boys have a blast 15 years we outfitted bears here in Alberta and raised our kids in them camps, enjoy every minute of it,
Best of luck to all of camps and hunters this spring. Videoed an encounter with a small bear on Saturday morning during a turkey hunt here. Still lots of snow, so he stood out like a sore thumb.
Lets just enjoy the 2018 Spring hunt Les!!! No need to post your grievence here..... where bowsiters are coming to enjoy the beginning of a "NEW" season. Good luck this Spring Les and hope you enjoy what 2018 has to bring us!!!
Spike buck X2! You guys can take this argument to email.
Lets keep it positive, this post was started as a primer for bear camp. Good luck to everyone and hope its a great season.
Bou- will you be doing the annual thread with the meat pole and total counts like usual? Hope so, always like to see the comparisons from year to year.
Agreed.
Saw a young black bear around 80# on Saturday morning during turkey season. Still got some snow, but it's going fast now.
Secured permission, picking up bait next Monday, hoping to bait on the Sunday may 6th
I'll be home from Europe in a few days and I'm ready to rock n roll with spring bear. Can hardly wait!
As I said, open a discussion email, with your rumor and the accuser, or just plain leave us alone. I do question though, where got the audacity to come on here and start or spread something? What business is it of yours what we do up here in a business you have no connections to. Are your sponsorships with some of the sponsors of Bowsite.com worth loosing? You're sinking your own boat son.
As for our business, I have 4 tons of bait to pick up tomorrow and near 40 bait sites to attend to and have no time for your sandbox silliness, but will make the time if needed.
About a month until I head for Alaska! I can’t wait, good luck to all!
Our snow is almost all gone now. Spring is right on schedule here in W. Ontario. Cant wait!!!
Ice fishing gear is put away, secured permission, dipped a few pails of old fryer grease, bought 1/2 dozen arrows, and shot my bow. Yup, ready to get the process rolling!
Placing baits a bit early this year with good buddies. Can’t wait to get this train rolling again for 2018!
I called someone in the area in Quebec where I hunt last week. They told me that there is still three feet of snow on the ground. It’s gonna be a couple of weeks till I put the baits out.. lol
Second load went up yesterday. Here's what 4 tons looks like. All this was scooped into barrels for storage. 800 gallons of fryer oil and another 2 tons of bait going up Monday when we start baiting.
Heading up to Bear Masters in Manitoba Second week of May can’t wait Albert seems like the real deal with some nice bears.
Hauling bait 50 miles with bikes because of very poor road conditions. Hope it dries up soon.
Looking forward to hunting with Ryan Derlago of stickflingers! First week of June in Manitoba. My second trip with his outfit and I’m very excited!
Just got another foot of snow, cannot get out to bait for our bears, they are going to be real hungry.
What part of Ontario are you from Bluehunter?? We have no snow in NW Ontario and warm temps.
Guide Josh Harb with a lucky moose shed found on our first bait site! Guides Cody Colbourne and Gerard Van Den Boogaard up for another season too. Bit late getting the baits in compared to the last several years but about average compared to the last 30 years. Should be great!!