Weeks of May 11th, 18th and May 25 are available. *** Weeks of June 1-7- 2025 and June 8th-14- 2025 are booked.
This picture is of our earliest Bow Hunter at Pine Acres camp... taken sometime in late 70's or so.
Picture taken of a beaver pond along our baiting run.
After strike dog sounds off, we would take another Plott and check out the track. The Plott would tell us if the track was worth letting the box of hounds loose on. If the dog told us what we wanted to know, the chase was on!!
Hunting bears with a pack of Plotts was a Blast!!
Everything I have learned pertaining to clients and bears, was taught to me from our camps "American Hunters". I had to grow up fast.... My dad was too busy working a full time job at the local saw mill to teach me.
Before Pine Acres, the only Bow I ever knew was the ones I made from Birch saplings while growing up in Winnipeg.
I also learned from my dads mistakes. I actually wonder if he knew I watched his every move.
Prelude...grew up as a kid in Winnipeg. I loved the outdoors and snow. Made extra money shoveling side walks and drive ways. My dad gave me enough money to buy 2 shovels to get the job done. Said to pay him back when I made enough money. Was about .75 cents a side walk and 1.50 a driveway. I always wished for snow. When I made enough money I went to pay my dad back, he said don't worry keep it. He just waned to make sure I was responsible for repayment. Never had to borrow money from him in the winter again. Always had cash for movies bowling and swimming at the Y.
After we moved to Vermilion Bay Ontario in 1974, I got a paper route, 2 actually. Winnipeg Free Press and Tribune. Had a bag of papers on each shoulder, walking around town delivering them. I worked at camp but never got paid, wanted extra cash. Had to collect payment for papers every 2 weeks. Won a couple of 10 speeds for subscriber drive.
Anyways, when we bought the camp, the old owner told me to never go across the tracks. Said was many old wells that I could fall in. Being 12 it just went over my head. During the first winter, I went where he told me not to. I set a snare line for rabbits. I would get off the school bus. Go check my snare lines then go grab the bundles of papers and then deliver them. I had my snow shoes hidden in the bush towards the tracks.
One spot I chose for a snare had a rabbit trail running over a mound of snow. I snow shoed up on the mound and set a snare. Next day same routine. Off bus, grab snow shoes check snares. Well, the snare on the mound had a rabbit. All excited I snow shoed up on mound squatted down to get the rabbit. All of a sudden the ground underneath me disappeared and I fell fast down an old well. There was a crossbeam about 15 feet down made of old rotted wood that stopped my fall. The well was cribbed with wood. All rotted.
When I stopped falling, my snowshoes on one side of the wall of well and my back on the other. Every time I moved rotted pieces of cribbing fell and I listened to how long it took to hit any water below. I knew I was in trouble!!
After I calmed down and recovered my energy back, I started to shimmy my way up to the top. It was like a hammock. Shimmied my back up a few inches on one side then my snowshoes up a few inches on the other. After about an hour I got to the top, but not out.
I spent alot of energy getting to the top so I needed a bit to recover. Finally I figured out how to get out of the opening of well. I had to thrust my body up in the air and roll at the same time to get out. Well my plan worked.... I was never so scared and gratefull to survive.
After, I saw that they just capped the old well with regular plywood. Which rotted through the years. No one knew where I was so I would have had a rough time at the bottom of the well if my plan on shimmying up the well did not work. I decided from then on to listen to any adult.
It took me a few years to get my nerve back to venture to the old wells again. I never told my parents as they would have whipped me. BUT it was a lesson I learned for my self.
I am sure I wasn't the first to fall in as he would not have warned me.
So, from age of 12 on, I started thinking of dangers my actions could cause. From that day on I think before I step.
There were hundreds of miles of logging roads to drive and catch a Bear track. No radio collars then. Just relied on hunters ears to hear the movement of the hounds in their pursuit of the bear they chased.
Bears always took the hounds into the most remote Territory in NW Ontario. Hunting with hound was very demanding on a hunter following the hounds. Skinned Bears on the spot. Carried hide and meat out in Burlap sacs.
I skipped school often during the Spring and Fall. I always said I learned more from the American Bear Hunter than in class. I wonder if the American Bear Hunters I was following ever realized they were raising me to be a lifelong Bear Guide?? They taught me how to field dress, Skin a Bar, quarter and debone. I quit school in about 78. Then in 1994 and 95 went to night school to become an educated Bear Guide. Graduated grade 12 in 1995!!
The only book I remember reading was " The Education of a Bear Hunter". Written by Ralph Flowers. A Bear Hunter who was hired by State of Washington to lower the bear population. They were killing the trees in the rain forest. Trapped and shot his Bears. AWESOME read. Was eventually mauled by a bear he was pursuing and was almost killed. Mostly read during my boring Math and French Class.
Old Large house was in a remote farmers field near Mutrie Outpost.
Because the loggers lived in the bush they built this small cabin for sleeping and eating and the barn was for the horses. Back in the 70's, we would sit a hun ter in the shack and have a hanging bait on the edge of the field. Quite a few of our hunters shot bears from inside. The inside of the shack had hundreds of names scraped into the walls of venturers and hunters who found this site. Now everything has fallen to the ground and you would never know these buildings were here unless you saw this picture.
My dads first job after he moved to Vermilion Bay was at this Colenso Saw mill.
*** We are in Indiana for the Indiana Deer, Turkey and waterfowl Expo this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. At the Indiana State Fairgrounds!! Come see the show and visit Pine Acres Bear Camp at our Booth. Booking Bear Spring and Fall 2025. 1-807-221-9793
Love the old pics from back in the day!
Back in the early 90's I did a selective harvest of mature jackpine trees. Was time to replant. After setting a hunter on stand I ran over to my own land to get a few seedlings in the ground. Was the last week of Spring Bear so did not have to run bait for following week. Road was soft so walked in about 1 km so I didn't rut road up. Carried seedling's in in a bucket. Enough to keep me busy for a couple of hours.
After planting for about 20 minutes I heard a crack of a twig. Looked and there was a bearstanding about 20 yards from me. He had a nice white patch on his chest. I stood straight up and moved a few steps towards him. He walked off reluctantly. I instantly thought the situation was not normal as since I was there first it meant he came to where I was making noise with my spade on rocks etc.
After he was out of sight I went back to work. Had another 2 hours before dark. Had to pick a hunter up at dark. Half hour later I heard a snap again, was the same bear with the whit patch. Looked to weigh only about 160 lbs or so. This time I started to worry, as he came back to me when he should have just vacated the area. I again stood straight up, stood on a freshly cut stump and held my arms straight out to both my side to make myself look bigger to him. Thought it would scare him off. Instead the bear stood on his hind legs and woofed at me. He was now about 15 yards from me. I at this time knew I had a problem.
I looked behind me, in the fresh cut we left a few smaller trees about three times the size of a large coffee cup. Small branches all the way up. I picked the closest biggest tree near me and backed up slowly to it. Every step I took he took one. Again my adrenaline was flowing but did not move fast. As soon as I hit the tree I started to climb up. Was a challenge as branches were no thicker than my thumb. I broke all the branches as I climbed right to the top. When I got to the top, tree was kinda bowing from my weight.
I had a can of off in my back pocket. Was about 20 feet up this thin Black spruce, wrapping my legs around the tree in order not to slip. Bear walked up to the base of the tree and sat on his butt, front paws on either side of the tree, almost like he was getting ready to climb... But I think the tree was too small for him.
He would try shaking the tree to dislodge me, but I was holding on for dear life. After he stopped his shaking of the tree I took my can off "Off" and emptied it right into his face below.... Just made him mad. Started slapping the ground and tree I was in. I was then fearing I did it now, I was going to die LOL.
After about 5 minutes he calmed down, as did I and he started to browse on Fiddle heads around the base of the tree. Started to browse away from the tree I was in and I had this dumb idea that if I yelled loudly he would run. I yelled and he did run, but back to the tree I was in. Again my actions were not working so I just stayed quiet, did not move and eventually he wandered about 35 yards. Up in the tree I can see farther than if I was on the ground. I decided he was far enough for me to climb fast down. Branches broken from climbing up so I jumped about last 10 feet. When I hit the ground I looked, he turned and saw me... I grabbed the bucket that the tree saplings were in and ran full tilt. Took a large branch and constantly banged the bottom of the bucket making a huge noise. I never looked back and 1 km later I was at my truck. In 5 decades of playing with bears, this bear was the one and only bear I had ever needed evasive actions against. Now off to pick up my hunter!!
This area was logged over early nineties and has since regrown to trees being nearly 25 ft tall.
Taken during a Late 80's Spring Bear Hunt. Back then you just needed a Small Game tag which only cost something like $20.00. No limit and season year round less July and August. NOW... almost almost $430.00 for 1 wolf. Small game and Wolf seal.
Highlife not sure. Is a nice Boar for sure!!
