Iron Will takes over Ontario ??
Contributors to this thread:Bears
From: LesWelch
29-May-18
3 of us packed and headed to Ontario for a combo bear hunt and fishing trip. I will post updates as I have time.
From: midwest
29-May-18
Good luck, Les!
From: Tonybear61
29-May-18
Good Luck, Ontario has worked very hard to get its spring bear season back.
However now issued the first genderless birth certificate for humans, they may get confused on whether you shoot a sow or boar.
From: LesWelch
04-Jun-18
Sorry gang, service was null up there. Back in the office today, and I'll recap the hunt in coming days.
From: APauls
04-Jun-18
Right on Les, can't wait to hear about it!
From: spike buck
06-Jun-18
So how did your hunt go Les? How about a few pics!!
From: t-roy
06-Jun-18
Looking forward to the the recap!
From: spike buck
08-Jun-18
Looking forward to your Ontario thread Les!!
From: Nick Muche
11-Jun-18
Did you guys take over Ontario or no?
From: HUNT MAN
12-Jun-18
Bad service with some iron will to update!
From: Huntcell
12-Jun-18
This isn’t like Les at all! Them Ontario bears are up to no good.
From: APauls
12-Jun-18
Les was travelling to Ireland I believe to do an Ironman, so might be tough to post his updates.
From: midwest
12-Jun-18
IronMan Ireland is next year. He was at IronMan Boulder this past weekend.
From: APauls
12-Jun-18
^^Then that's the one. I just saw something about Ironman and Ireland. Prob said 2019. I kind of black out when I read the word Ironman, thinking what a human being is capable of. Incredible.
From: midwest
12-Jun-18
Les is a machine. I think he's doing 2 more this year!
From: Bill V
12-Jun-18
I heard the bear hunt was successful and I'm looking forward to some pictures.
From: Habitat for Wildlife
12-Jun-18
I heard it was successful as well and am anxiously awaiting the details. Les did say he has been extremely busy, and now I understand why. Whew! I might win a jello-man contest:)
From: LesWelch
14-Jun-18
Super sorry guys. Life is crazy right now, and I’m not sorry to say it takes precedence over social media. Pics and story will filter in now.
From: LesWelch
14-Jun-18
Some of the gear packed in the truck and ready to head out.
From: LesWelch
14-Jun-18
Arrival
From: LesWelch
15-Jun-18
Had 20 minutes to fish on arrival night to catch supper.
From: LesWelch
15-Jun-18
So we did just that.
From: LesWelch
15-Jun-18
Fish fry with our host, Chuck.
From: LesWelch
15-Jun-18
From: APauls
15-Jun-18
Oh ya, nothing wrong with a quick walleye fry! Might have to have one tonight now that you got me salivating.
From: LesWelch
15-Jun-18
For some reason the Image Tools feature will not rotate the photo's, sorry.
With it staying light until 10, the first night was a little late, because of the fish fry and getting unpacked. We didn't get out on the water until around 8:30 the following morning. It didn't take us long to find a hole with a LOT of walleyes, perch, and Northern. I'm posting this from my phone, and didn't take many phone pics. I do have hundreds of pictures on my main camera, so once the thread is done I'll load up and post some of those.
From: LesWelch
15-Jun-18
From: LesWelch
15-Jun-18
Day 1 had us off the water after about 2 hours of fishing and boating well over 100 Walleyes, and numerous Northern and Perch. What a start. Chuck wanted us ready to head to our stands on Day 1 at noon......we were slightly (ok a lot) hesitant, because it was forecasted for upper 80's and dark at 10 pm. However off we went. The bait I was sitting only had 1 bear using it (which is rare ), but it was a big one and he was there in the daylight about 3 times per week. I was in and settled before 1 pm. Camera gear set-up, everything ready to go. Mosquitoes were there and out in full force. Sun was directly overhead, and there wasn't any canopy. I had My Sitka Apex pants rolled up like a pair of shorts, and the LS core hoodie rolled up to my armpits just trying to get as much air flow on me as I could. The Thermacell was blasting from the base of my stand keeping the bugs off me pretty well. It was torture sitting there. Gotta admit, I wasn't having much fun. Sitting there thinking about those Walleyes, a cold drink, and not sweating... ha ha.
From: Florida Mike
15-Jun-18
This looks like a fun adventure! Goodluck guys, Mike
From: hitmanatgym
15-Jun-18
Can't wait to hear more! That fish looks mighty yummy!
From: Ogoki
15-Jun-18
From: Nick Muche
19-Jun-18
Les hear some more of the iron will carnage and Les of the rapala rampage!
From: LesWelch
19-Jun-18
About 3:30 I spotted movement about 30 yards, there he come. He stopped and bored a hole right through me. I had not moved in many minutes, and still hadn't once I spotted him. He knew the treestand was there, although nobody had hunted it yet this year, he remembered past hunters. Although it sucked, it was neat to witness, for the first time, a bear that actually knew what he was looking for. It confirmed things I had wondered. Although this bear was inside of 30 yards, as close as 15, for 7 minutes I was never able to even come close to getting a shot. These areas Chuck hunts are THICK. He circled until he got my wind and then just walked off. I knew with that being the only bear on this bait, my night was done. Those next 6 hours of sitting were rough! Hot and buggy.
From: Nick Muche
20-Jun-18
Les complaining, more explaining! Lets hear how this HUNT went, please.
From: Nick Muche
23-Jun-18
Les, you boys took over the fryer bud, that's for sure! Those fish look tasty too, I miss that from back home quite a bit!
From: Bou'bound
24-Jun-18
Maybe this is a fall bear hunt
From: stick n string
24-Jun-18
Bear hunt or mountain lion hunt?
From: Nick Muche
25-Jun-18
This thread has gone cold. Was looking forward to the bear photos.
From: LesWelch
11-Jul-18
Life's been busy, for that I have no regrets :)
From: LesWelch
11-Jul-18
I crept out of the stand that night and made the trek back to camp on the wheeler. Couple of bears spotted by Brian, one nice one passed and another that didn't give an opportunity. Larry was bearless on night 1, and both of the guys had Pine Marten encounters. Did I mention it was HOT??
From: LesWelch
11-Jul-18
Fishing was great on morning 2. We were putting lots of Walleyes and Perch in the boat, and the Northerns were hungry but we did our best to avoid them. After a late breakfast of Walleye it was time to assemble the gear and get ready for the afternoon's hunt. We were all headed to new stands and anticipations were high! We didn't leave until 2 on this day and with some long 4 wheeler rides it was 3-3:30 before getting set at the baits. I was in a ground blind about 12 yards from the bait. Let me tell you it was TIGHT. Any bears would be 12 yards or less before I could see them. I was only a few yards off a small creek...this made for some amazing breeding grounds for the mosquitoes. It took about an hour for me to get them cleared out of the blind. Thank goodness for Thermacell!! It was near 10pm as shooting light began to fail. I quietly packed my gear and slipped out the back. After a half mile walk I hopped on the 4 wheeler for the 13 mile ride back to camp. Pulling in I saw that the guys' wheelers were there, but nobody was around, so I drove straight to the skinning shed. Sure enough they were working on Larry's bear. He made a great shot on a nice boar and the Iron Will made a short tracking job.
From: LesWelch
11-Jul-18
From: LesWelch
11-Jul-18
From: LesWelch
11-Jul-18
From: LesWelch
11-Jul-18
Chuck has a neat system for bears that works really well up there. He never takes a quantity of hunters. Its all about the quality. He also has a lot of freezer space. This allows for gutting of the bear and then the whole animal is put into a freezer. This brings down the temp nicely and allows for good daylight pictures early the following morning. After Larry's bear was put in the freezer there may have been a drink or two consumed. Of course now the talk was already beginning of the "secret" smallmouth and lake trout lake that now Chuck and Larry would have the opportunity to fish while Brian and I still "had" to hunt.
From: LesWelch
11-Jul-18
Morning 3 started off with early pictures and then getting Larry's bear caped and deboned. Then it all went into the freezer. I'm guessing ya'll are going to have a hard time believing this, but after that we went fishing Literally we only went a few hundred yards and fished for a very short time. Fresh Walleye was on the menu for breakfast. So back to shore we went and it was time to clean and eat. Upon finishing breakfast it was determined we still had a few hours to fish before Brian and I had to make the drive to the bear baits. So out we went again, literally boating a couple of hundred walleyes over the next 3 hours. The fishing is absolutely incredible here. Walleye sandwiches for lunch, shot our bows, and got ready. Today I would have an 18 mile 4 wheeler ride to a new bait, and Brian had a 23 mile ride back to the same bait he sat on night 2. The talk was rampant about this "secret" lake that we were missing out on fishing because we still "had" to bear hunt. Brian and I were getting itchy.
From: LesWelch
11-Jul-18
From: Bou'bound
11-Jul-18
Great bear
From: LesWelch
11-Jul-18
As we loaded up the wheelers for the evening trip Larry was debating between a nap and walleye fishing, slightly rubbing it in We said our good lucks and headed on the way. As I crawled up the climbing sticks to the stand, I got that feeling. You will know it if you have had it. I also experienced it on an out of state whitetail hunt this past fall. That feeling when you know that this is the set. It might not be this sit, but something would come from that particular location. There was VERY little, and usually no service in this area of NW Ontario, and these baits in particular Chuck said would not have service. Chuck's instructions were to ride back to camp and get help when (not if) we shot a bear. However I usually leave my phone on and in Airplane mode so I can snap quick pictures or video, check the time, what have you if need be. I swiped Airplane mode off just as I started up the tree. Chuck was setting the bait. Right after my feet hit the platform I secured my safety harness, gave Chuck the good to go thumbs up, and then started getting my gear set and arranged. By the time I heard the wheeler start up I had my bow hung, arrow nocked, and release clipped. I kept an eye open, but kept moving to get the video gear mounted, still camera ready, and all hunting stuff organized. Within a couple of minutes the woods was returning to its usual business. Pine squirrels chasing, jays cawing, and mosquito's buzzing.
From: LesWelch
11-Jul-18
I could feel it in this set. I “knew” this was it. Wind permitting I would ask to sit here every night.
From: LesWelch
11-Jul-18
In my previous sits I had yet to see a Pine Marten, although the other guys had saw them every night. It wasn't long though before I was greeted by my first visit. The time passed quickly as the Marten came and went. Hauling bear bait away like a pack rat and coming and going quite a lot. I filmed him different times and just enjoyed sit. The Marten had been gone for awhile and I had been filming some red/pine squirrels chasing one another around. They were pretty intense. Back home I had watched this scenario unfold hundreds if not thousands of times. I had often wondered what happened when they actually catch one another; I had never see that happen. I literally laughed out loud as they came tearing through the bait, at what seemed like 25mph, and the lead one just slams on the brakes. Stops on a dime. The chasing one slams head first right into the front squirrel's ass. They both go tumbling in a big ball, get up running opposite directions to different trees, and chattering like two school girls. It was all get out funny.
From: LesWelch
11-Jul-18
It didn't take long for them to get back to the routine of eating some bait, chasing one another around, chattering, and repeating. Some time had passed and two of these were again going around the bait area all out chasing one another and chattering, and then it happened. I saw the movement flashing in from behind the bait. Immediately I knew what was going to happen. I quickly reached and hit the record button and started to zoom on the bait. In perfect timing the two pine squirrels made a turn and sped between the bait and the crib, and at exactly the right time the pine marten dove through the crib from the back side pinning the rear red squirrel to the ground. There was about 15 seconds of death kicks as the pine marten held his jaws firmly around the the squirrel's neck. The pine marten then had a warm supper of squirrel heart and then walked over to the bear bait for a little dessert. It was a neat scenario to experience and video. A short while later the Pine Marten picked up the red squirrel in his mouth and hauled him off to parts unknown to me.
From: LesWelch
11-Jul-18
One of the little guys. I thought he was going to jump in my lap for a second!
From: LesWelch
11-Jul-18
It wasn't long and I heard a twig snap. It's funny how silent bears can be though, yet in this moment I instantly knew it was a bear, even with out visual. As soon as I heard it, my left hand was going to the bow, and the right hand was flipping power to the video camera, all while I was standing and pushing seat back against the tree. Cameras showed 3 bears using this bait. 190#, 220#, and 325#, all of these are ball parkish guesses. The two smaller bears had a tendency to come in to the bait together. Within a couple of seconds I could tell it was the pair, and although early in the evening and the hunt, I knew I would take the bigger of the two if given a shot on film.
From: APauls
11-Jul-18
Super cool - love to see that video!
From: LesWelch
11-Jul-18
If you followed along on last year's thread over on Rokslide you knew what was going through my mind! As the bears were moving and situating I was zooming, framing, and double/triple/quadruple checking the record button. The smaller of the two came in and went directly to the bait. The bigger one came in a few seconds later. When it hit the small opening around the bait he instantly looked up right at "me" in the stand. He marched the 9 yards right to the base of my stand and looked up and stared at "me" again. I never moved while those bears could see me, there is no way he knew I was there. Just goes to show you how they can pattern us as well. After 20 seconds or so he turned and I thought he was going to leave. However he turned and moved into and around the bait and found a spot to snack. As he was doing this I had already come to full draw. I've fought target panic for a long time. Last year I started to work through it and have become better. He continued to move around and get settled and I continued to hold and bring the sight picture together. When he finally settled in he was at a somewhat quartering to angle and 9 yards away. I was shooting a 73#, 28" draw Mathews Triax with 100grain Iron Will tipped Easton Full metal jacket arrows. As I worked through the shot process I knew I wanted to take out the leading edge of the front shoulder. When everything come together the arrow was gone amid the growl and jump of the boar as he flashed briefly through the thick underbrush. In a few seconds there was a couple of loud "breaths" and then again total silence.
From: LesWelch
11-Jul-18
As he lay 23 yards through the thick underbrush, from the bait.
From: spike buck
11-Jul-18
Nice bear...Congrats Les!!
From: LesWelch
11-Jul-18
Done for the day. Will get to some more tomorrow.
From: APauls
11-Jul-18
Congrats on a well places arrow!
From: Habitat for Wildlife
11-Jul-18
Les, congrats. This is so well written. You had me mentally back on stand.
Congrats sir!
From: LesWelch
12-Jul-18
I used to be a bear guide in WI. I've been in on over 150 bear recoveries and thoroughly enjoy it. I've been in the woods for 40 years now. I have a fairly good idea of what needs to be done in most situations, and feel I can handle anything that comes my way. I'm also a person that really likes DIY, and especially when it comes to the first moments with an animal, those can't be redone. I don't enjoy killing, I don't dislike it. It's an integral part of the process, one that I don't take lightly, yet one that I don't lose sleep over. For that reason the moments when an animal is first recovered are pretty special to me. Depending on the situation I like the recoveries to be mine. I'll gladly share that experience after a short time, but if given the opportunity on "my" hunt, I'd rather enjoy it for a few moments. It's a place of peace. Most guides want a "client" to get them involved, and totally 100% understand and respect that. I knew Chuck wanted me to wait, I also knew that bear was already stiffening and I had only sent the arrow a few minutes before. About 10 minutes after getting in my stand I pulled my phone out of the pocket; it had 20+ texts and dozens of notifications. Wow, not shabby for a place that didn't have service. I looped the rope around my bow and sent it to the ground and then descended. As I walked to the bait I could see the Iron Will was buried beyond sight into the pine tree. As I got closer I could see the blood spray on the ground, crib, and surrounding trees. Although of a different foilage type, this is what I envision Vietnam to be like. It was a complete wall of underbrush mess. There were two options. On your knees and crawl along the bear trails or cover face and bull through it. I elected the latter. My knees and hips are too worn to be down there like that. Thankfully the boar only went 23 yards. I spent a few minutes with the bear. Reflecting on this hunt, all that had happened in the year since my last bear "hunt" in Manitoba, and just being thankful for getting to live my life the way I do.
From: LesWelch
12-Jul-18
After a few moments and pictures I headed back to the stand. I only had a tiny bit of service, and I had to be in the treestand with the phone in a particular spot. I sent this text to Chuck "We're going fishing tomorrow, come give me a hand :) " Chuck's reply " OK, we'll be right there!" Ha ha, had such an excellent time on this trip. I also knew "we'll be right there" was very relative. They had to gear up, and then ride 20 miles on 4 wheeler. I was in no hurry. I did a little videoing, packed up my gear, cleaned up the area a little, and just enjoyed the time. It was really nice. I'm always a little apprehensive about filling a tag, this was no different. I got all my gear out to the wheeler and ready for the ride out. I knew I had time so I took a few photos of the landscape and did some bodyweight work. Pushups, squats, and lunges. It was a short time later when the cavalry got there. 4 guys' on 4 wheelers! I thought that was a little extreme........what I didn't know was that shortly after I messaged Chuck about fishing, Brian sent a very similar message about fishing the following day. Turns out we shot bears about 5 minutes apart. We got my bear out to the trail, and then we headed down about 5 miles towards Brian. We were able to retrieve both bears and still get back to camp right about dark!
From: Nick Muche
12-Jul-18
Very nice Les, thanks for sharing!
From: LesWelch
12-Jul-18
Lots of wolves around.
From: spike buck
12-Jul-18
Now Les, time to go get yourself a Wolf!! You can do a DIY. We need to get rid of a few. Its easy baiting them in for bow. Sept 15th next year. Wolf with a Iron Will broadhead will be your ultimate trophy. Need a valid bear license along with wolf seal.
Nice thread!!
From: Fauntleroy
12-Jul-18
Nice bear Les. Now let's see those smallies you keep teasing us about.
From: LesWelch
12-Jul-18
I ran the Tyto and gutted both Brian and my bear's that night. The following morning I caped and deboned my bear on the same blade. I switched blades and caped and deboned Brians bear and am still using that blade. Very happy with these knives.
From: LesWelch
12-Jul-18
Brian and his bear.
From: LesWelch
12-Jul-18
Chris, a wolf with my bow would be AWESOME!!
From: LesWelch
12-Jul-18
I'll finish this up the week after next. Done work for the week now and headed to Big Sky Montana next week. Will just have a few fishing pics to add is about it. Thanks and enjoy.
From: spike buck
12-Jul-18
It would...and its easier than most think!! Go up on a fishing trip and scout out a site before hand. Remember you need a valid bear license to carry a bow when wolf hunting during bear season. So next year save your bear tag. Shoot a wolf.... then a bear
From: midwest
12-Jul-18
Looks like a good time, Les!
From: BOWNBIRDHNTR
12-Jul-18
Awesome hunt Les. I believe we share the same view point, I absolutely love the hunt, I never look forward to the "kill" but I know it's part of the entire process and I embrace the rewards from it. I too lose no sleep over it or have any regrets, it's just not my favorite part of the entire hunt. Now I just wish I could go out and have some fresh walleye! Congrats!!
