MIKE'S OUTFITTING 2020 Alberta Bear Hunt
Contributors to this thread:Bears
From: Mike Ukrainetz
10-May-20
Blondie is Back!
Blondie is Back!
Hey Bowsiters, it's that fun time of year again Spring Bear hunting in Alberta, Canada with Mike's Outfitting Ltd! Of course with the Chinese Virus and the USA/Canada border closure we have a very limited hunt going on, more feeding the bears than hunting them. But we are taking a select, few lucky Canadian hunters that have always wanted to go with us but haven't wanted to pay the US funds normal hunt cost. This is their lucky year!
We are targeting some of old, big black only boars and a few old dry sows. The colored bears are off limits this year, especially ones like the bear above. Any guesses on this guys size? Weight? Square of the hide? Skull?
From: LKH
10-May-20
Tell me that's not a 30 gal barrel????
From: Mike Ukrainetz
10-May-20
50 gal barrel, white topped stake on left is 36 inches tall
From: Bou'bound
10-May-20
Cruel and unnecessary punishment
From: 3under
10-May-20
I'm a Canadian at heart.. I can be there Tuesday!
From: 3under
10-May-20
And like the "China Virus" .. let's call it what it is.
From: bowbender77
10-May-20
Geeeee thanks. Kiss my passport.
From: woodguy65
10-May-20
Wow perfection - what a beautiful bear!
From: Zebrakiller
10-May-20
Something to look forward to keep them coming Mike
From: Mike Ukrainetz
10-May-20
Perfect position for a shot!
Perfect position for a shot!
Just to give some more cruel and unnecessary punishment, here's the perfect 15 yd shot! Think you could make it? haha
Thanks for the encouragement too guys! Hope to keep the thread Covid free and focus on the fun of bear hunting!
From: JL
10-May-20
How is it determined who gets to sit on that bait with that bear showing up? Flip a coin, highest bidder, a bottle of your favorite booze?
From: Mike Ukrainetz
10-May-20
Great question JL! He’s a big traveller and bounces around between several baits even though they are many miles apart so we can put a few different guys on him.
From: Dino
10-May-20
Loaded for bear some might say
Loaded for bear some might say
I might know one of the lucky Canadian hunters who was able to hunt Big Bear Mecca with Mike this year! Doesn’t everyone need a few fresh beavers for camp?
From: woodguy65
10-May-20
Good Luck Dino!!
From: JTreeman
10-May-20
Oklahoma is in Canada, Eh?
—Jim
From: t-roy
10-May-20
Must be a BYOB (bring your own beaver) hunt this year! Blondie is a dream bear, for sure! Good luck on your hunt, Dino. Looking forward to following along on these hunts, Mike. Good luck!
From: RK
10-May-20
Mike
Don't let those Degner boys put anything over on you!!
From: Pyrannah
10-May-20
never hunted bear but thought i would take a stab... is this correct placement?
From: Mike Ukrainetz
10-May-20
Pyrannah, very close, good height up and down but I would go a couple inches back is all.
From: Pyrannah
10-May-20
Thanks Mike are you going back a few inches because of more margin for error with bone structure?
Simply curious, bear hunting has never been much of a thing for me in PA but would love to experience it at some point...
From: Mike Ukrainetz
10-May-20
Yes, Greatest margin of error for a double lung. if you hit exactly where you have the dot you are good but a couple inches forward and you might get a single lung. I don’t remember us ever recovering a single lung hit bear.
From: Tyler
11-May-20
Mike, Dino is a pain in the ass to have in camp and is colour blind! Beware!! ; P
From: Dino
11-May-20
Hahaha! Keebs and Tyler. Don’t worry about us Degner boys. Made it half way to camp and ditched the cheap Ford, beaver smelling rental at Edmonton international!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
11-May-20
Big ole boar!
Big ole boar!
How’s this one for size? No size guesses on Blondie so I’ll be the first. 5 1/2 yr old boar, 320 lbs, hide square of 6 ft 10 inches, 19 1/4 in skull. This black one is bigger, hopefully we get to find out...
Perfect broadside shot here too! This is what we tell everyone to wait for, not quartering away. Then aim an inch below centreline, top to bottom and 2-4 inches behind the shoulder.
From: Dino
11-May-20
That’s a big big bear Mike! Has Brendon been feeding him enough? My son Brendon just finished his BSc in biology and Mike interviewed him for a guide position for bears for the spring. I’ve been following Mike for years and know what a stand up operation he has, I told Brendon to jump on it! He got the job and then Covid19 hit! Unfortunately, Mike’s American clients would not be able to come. However, Mike had a ton of bait and wanted to keep the bears familiar to the sites...and so, he made Brendon and his old man a deal too good to be true! Brendon has been up there working since May 1 and now we are traveling North to meet them for a week long hunt!
From: Dino
11-May-20
Working hard in beautiful bush country!
From: Dino
11-May-20
Even working through the rain!
Even working through the rain!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
11-May-20
The boys hard at work!
The boys hard at work!
Long time guide Gerard Van Den Boogaard is in the trailer with new guide Brendon Degner on the ground. Both guys have been busting their butts getting barrels of meat scraps to every bait site. It's a ton of work, first clearing the trails, then fixing cribs, putting box blinds together and manhandling all the meat. We collected well over 30,000 lbs of meat scraps all winter, at no small cost, and these hard working young guys are making sure it goes out to our bear herd, probably over 400 bears!
THANKS GUYS!!
Brendon is pictured above with the moose antler.
From: mooseslayer
11-May-20
I'll take a stab at the blonde. #365lbs, squares at 6'6", 19 5/8 on the skull.
From: mooseslayer
11-May-20
Of course if your not killing color phase this year we won't know for sure till 2021, then all bets are off.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
11-May-20
One more year!
One more year!
Brendon passed this beautiful bear up this evening in search of a giant black! He will be a big colored one for next year!!
From: Rackmastr
11-May-20
Awesome looking stuff Mike!! You sure do a great job of keeping Bowsiters engaged and excited about the bears in your baits each year. Love the knowledge gained as well!!
From: TREESTANDWOLF
12-May-20
Hunting vicariously through you guys.
Sigh
Go get em!
From: Shiras42
12-May-20
Thanks, Mike (said sarcastically from one of the guys whose hunt is postponed). :)
From: SBH
12-May-20
Great thread. Glad to see you're at it Mike. What a bummer for Brendon to not get the opportunity this year to help with the hunters but still looks like he's making memories and learning the ropes. Great stuff!
From: Bowboy
12-May-20
Mike, you must of got a lot rain, since it looks that bear is wading in water.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
12-May-20
Bowboy, our soil has a ton of clay and the water just sits on top. That is from all the snow melt and a recent rain, we have watery swamps everywhere, perfect for growing bear food and the occasional mosquito! Haha
From: Mike Ukrainetz
12-May-20
Killer Guides!
Killer Guides!
Here’s a shot of our two hard working guides sitting on one of our box blinds. Solid, wooden, bear proof, the perfect stealth hunting mode!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
12-May-20
Pumpkin Head!
Pumpkin Head!
This big boy has been around a few years bouncing around a couple baits. We just let the one bait run dry so he may be in trouble now with Dean on the hunt for him!
Just so no one gets the wrong impression about a baited bear hunt. These big ones are not easy to come by, out of 30 bait sites we have big bears on about 10 of them and only about 4 really big, upper 300 lb, probable 20 inchers. And they are random hitters, difficult to pattern.
From: Ambush
12-May-20
I thought mine was bear proof too with all the screws sticking out.!! Bugger just laid on his back underneath then clawed and chewed his way through the sill. My fault for storing seed and fertilizer in there over the weekend.
Man, you’ve got some beautiful bears!!!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
12-May-20
Yeah no wooden box is truly bear proof but if you were inside it screaming like a little girl while he tried to rip into it he would probably leave?! I hope...
From: altitude sick
12-May-20
That last black one looks to be easily over 20”
I don’t hunt bears anymore, but that head and the condition of his hide is quite a specimen.
From: petedrummond
12-May-20
No mike the little girl screaming doesn’t work.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
12-May-20
Hahahaha, Pete! You would know!!
From: Ambush
12-May-20
Neither does swearing or name calling in a very load voice. But sticks and stones do. Especially sticks!
From: TREESTANDWOLF
12-May-20
Hunting vicariously through you guys.
Sigh
Go get em!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
12-May-20
Terry Degner with a big boy!
Terry Degner with a big boy!
First bear of the year! Terry Degner shoots a big ole boar!! One mostly perfect shot and 100 yds later he piles up. Solid 322 pounder, 7 ft square hide, 19 11/16 skull. Shot at Sin Bin for anyone who has hunted with us who might know the bait. Happy, Happy Hunter, Whoohoo!!
From: RK
12-May-20
NICE job Terry!! That bear is awesome
From: Rackmastr
12-May-20
What a stud of a bear!!!!!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
13-May-20
322 lbs
322 lbs
Anything over 300 lbs is a big spring weight bear. Even though some Alberta bears will go over 400 lbs it’s a rarity. 322 lbs is a great bear!
From: t-roy
13-May-20
Congrats on a great bear, Terry!
What’s the story behind the naming of that stand, Mike?!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
13-May-20
Hey t roy, no good story for SinBin but it’s what they call the penalty box in hockey. Terry’s an avid hockey playing Canadian so it was fitting for him!
From: Ambush
13-May-20
What a Beauty!! Congrats!
From: TREESTANDWOLF
13-May-20
Hunting vicariously through you guys.
Sigh
Go get em!
From: altitude sick
13-May-20
What a Bear
From: Mike Ukrainetz
14-May-20
Packin’ it out!
Packin’ it out!
We might have got a big one?!
From: Rackmastr
14-May-20
Nothing like an overflowing pack of bear!!
From: Rgiesey
14-May-20
Nice photo mike. That guy carrying the bear must have a small head.
From: Rookie
14-May-20
Mike your killing me those are some awesome bears! I had my bear hunt scheduled for this spring been waiting three years to go. Oh well 2021 will be here soon I guess! Thanks for your posts Mike always informative and educational for us new guys to bear hunting!
From: Beav
14-May-20
Congrats! Looks like a great time.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
14-May-20
Brendon Degner
Brendon Degner
Brendon Degner killed a giant! 20 2/16 skull and about 7 ft 4 inch hide and about 360-370 lbs. The big boar went 250 yds after the shot and died in a river bottom so we couldn’t get an exact weight and it was partially tube skinned so no hide measure. The 20+ inch head says it all though!
It was double lunged on a quartering away shot but hit the edge of one lung which always gives a longer than normal blood trail but dead is dead! Brendon is an experienced 23 yr old Bowhunter and he was going to be a new guide for us until the Chinah Virus hit then it was changed to a trade for two weeks of hard labour to hunt for a big boar. Killed at Big Daddy bait. Brendon didn’t disappoint on both counts, worked hard and killed! Congrats Brendon!!
From: RK
14-May-20
Brendon GREAT BEAR!!
Good job!!!
From: woodguy65
14-May-20
Wow that's a Giant bear! Congrats!
From: JL
14-May-20
Thumbs up!!
From: Dale06
14-May-20
How in the hell do you get a hunter to pass up the blond bear in first pic? That’s a beauty.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
14-May-20
Dale06, we didn’t get anybody to pass up the blonde this year. He’s just off limits to our discounted cancellation hunters this year. We aren’t even hunting his area, just baiting it. Last year we did get a few hunters to pass on him to let him grow up, next year he will be incredible if he makes it!
From: deerslayer
14-May-20
Hogville!!!
Thanks for the pics Mike!
From: Rackmastr
14-May-20
Another awesome bear!! Those Degners are killin machines!!
Sounds like a good trade too for some labour to kill a big boar!
From: TREESTANDWOLF
16-May-20
Hunting vicariously through you guys.
Sigh
Go get em!
From: Dino
16-May-20
Day #1 had Terry getting ready for sin bin, the play on the penalty box in hockey was appropriate even though, Degs was a goal scorer, not a brawler. :)
From: Dino
16-May-20
Pick up and delivery for the remoteness, tranquility and eeriness of a lone sit in the Sin Bin!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
16-May-20
Dean Degner
Dean Degner
Dean Degner with his 20 inch skull giant, also over 7 ft and a whopping spring weight of 385 lbs! A big snow flake covered bear for a great guy!!
Killed at Lease bait.
From: Dino
16-May-20
While Degs(Terry) was in the SinBin, I was locked down on Lease Bait for long sits, waiting on a huge 1 eyed bear!
From: Dino
16-May-20
Guide Gerard was around a little bit to help, but the local farmers, were begging him to help with field work! The amount of work that goes into this process is simply mind boggling! Wow!
From: Dino
16-May-20
The sun sets with a bear feeding comfortably, 1 eye was away doing whatever bears do
The sun sets with a bear feeding comfortably, 1 eye was away doing whatever bears do
View from the blind box at Lease bait for many long hours!
From: Dino
16-May-20
No one likes to spend too much time in the Sin Bin. In Hockey, it’s usually 2 minutes, but when bears poke their heads into your blind, it seems like a long time!
From: Dino
16-May-20
Terry’s time in the box was rewarded and the recovery crew headed in at first light to retrieve a big burly Bear. Big Defence man style bear that Degs had to manage during his glory days in the WHL!
From: t-roy
16-May-20
Sounds like he put the biscuit in the basket! I’d probably end up putting an arrow through the 5 hole! ;-)
Good stuff, Mike! Keep it coming!
From: Dino
17-May-20
Recovery crew ready for first light recovery
Recovery crew ready for first light recovery
Getting around in this country takes a lot of effort!
Getting around in this country takes a lot of effort!
Do they always need to run straight downhill into a hole?
Do they always need to run straight downhill into a hole?
Big ole boar!
Big ole boar!
For some reason managing pictures on this site is very cumbersome!
From: Ambush
17-May-20
Great bears guys!!
I can’t get over that big blonde!! The few color phase we have don’t last long after they’re weaned.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
17-May-20
Ambush, it’s difficult to get guys to pass on the colored ones, especially as a “big enough” 3 or 4 yr old boar. It’s always funny, but not, when guys shoot a small colored bear and then say they want to come back the next year and get a big colored one! We are growing a few of them up though. We’ll have a few beauties for next year!!
From: Charlie Rehor
17-May-20
I’ve been told green up is late and the bears are extremely hungry. Have fun!
From: Dino
17-May-20
Mike is right! While waiting for 1 eye, I watched 2 up and comers, a beautiful red boar and a chocolate. Give these guys another 2 years and you have a trophy of a lifetime!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
17-May-20
Yeah Charlie green up is late for sure, late snow cover and cool weather. I’m glad I’m feeding all my bears this year even with so few hunters. Almost no mosquito’s too!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
17-May-20
Giant!
Giant!
I'm back to guiding with occasional help from Gerard while he does farming and Brendon gone home. Fortunately they got everything well set up for an old outfitter like me to still be able to get it done, filling up baits and pulling cards. Almost got the truck stuck, did get the quad stuck, think I pulled a back muscle.
But got a big ole beast of a bear on camera! Whoohooo!!
From: Dino
18-May-20
Day 2 had myself and Terry back in Sin Bin and Brendon back into Big Daddy for a white blazed giant black that was being inconsistent on the bait, but showing some day light pics. Brendon was asked not to shoot the big red one u can see higher on this thread. The big secretive black came in at last light and took about 10 min to cover the last 20 yards to get into the bait. Late shot required us to head in at first light next day again!
From: Dino
18-May-20
From: Mike Ukrainetz
18-May-20
From: Mike Ukrainetz
18-May-20
The multiple posts are all the error page coming up instead of the actual picture, bit frustrating.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
18-May-20
Same Giant as
above!
Same Giant as
above!
From: welka
18-May-20
One of the positives from Covid and your rule on no colors this year will be some nice shooters next year. Have a hunt scheduled already, but have been on the cancellation list a long time so I will be anxiously awaiting just in case I need to shoot two bears next year! Good luck the rest of this year.
From: Tyler
19-May-20
Awesome bears Mike and Degner blokes!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
19-May-20
Mario Morales
Mario Morales
And another big beast is taken down by another lucky Albertan!
From: Dino
19-May-20
Assembling gear for the blood trail. View from Big Daddy blind.
Assembling gear for the blood trail. View from Big Daddy blind.
Steep creek draws hold these big bruisers
Steep creek draws hold these big bruisers
Will try again, here are a few pics of the next day blood trailing and recovery
From: Dino
20-May-20
1 eye confirmed
1 eye confirmed
2 jokers having a great time waiting on a big bear!
2 jokers having a great time waiting on a big bear!
1 eye shows up about 15 min before the end of legal light. Here’s a still shot taken from the video. Shot look ok? :)
1 eye shows up about 15 min before the end of legal light. Here’s a still shot taken from the video. Shot look ok? :)
After the shot 1 eye ran right towards the blind and past us at less than 2 yds! He ran up the trail another 25 yds and fell, his heart was pierced! You can see Lease blind in the background.
After the shot 1 eye ran right towards the blind and past us at less than 2 yds! He ran up the trail another 25 yds and fell, his heart was pierced! You can see Lease blind in the background.
Day 3 for me, had us sitting again for 1 eye. This was day 5 of total consecutive sits on Lease bait for this specific bear. Mike had hunters on him last spring that had mistakenly passed on him. Mike knew what a great bear he was so he tried to bait him last fall. He never showed! But this year, we had daylight pics and he had definitely “blossomed”!
From: APauls
21-May-20
Yeah you did! Congrats Dean!!! Great bears on this thread. Wow. Awesome all around
From: Zebrakiller
21-May-20
This is awesome, I missing bear camp for the first time in 22 years it is killing me
From: Dino
21-May-20
Thanks Fellas. My buddy says make Lemonaid out of Lemons...Sorry about the sideways pics, I am unable to edit them. More pics coming.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
21-May-20
One for next year
One for next year
From: John Kissella
21-May-20
Beautiful bear! Wonder if his daddy was the famous Church Bear we all hoped to get a crack at?
From: Dino
22-May-20
Always bears to skin too!
Always bears to skin too!
After finishing his hunting with Mike, Brendon had a few days left of work, so I tagged along with him as we worked baits for Mike. We had a lot of meat to put out and a few blinds to put together. Enjoy the pics! What a top notch operation Mike runs, but he hasn’t got there without a ton of work.
From: Dino
22-May-20
Step by step
Step by step
Basically done BPS blind and site and ready to move on!
Basically done BPS blind and site and ready to move on!
From: Dino
22-May-20
Getting beavers and honey!
From: Dino
22-May-20
Sorry fellas, for whatever reason, I am unable to get these pics to turn, even using the edit function. The next 2 pics summarize what an awesome trip we had with Mike and his family. Great people! Great operation! Thank you Ukrainetz family for such an incredibly awesome experience!
From: Dino
22-May-20
Wouldn’t you be pumped if you just heart shot a giant black bear and watched it go down!?!?
Wouldn’t you be pumped if you just heart shot a giant black bear and watched it go down!?!?
From: Dino
22-May-20
From: Mike Ukrainetz
24-May-20
Graham and Brent Lloyd
Graham and Brent Lloyd
14 yr old Graham Lloyd got his first big game animal with us, a big ole bear! It’s always very satisfying to be able to help young hunters get their first animal or at least their first bear. We are so fortunate to be able to take advantage of our overpopulation of bears and make a dream come true. Congrats Graham!!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
28-May-20
Clay Leismeister with a true giant!
Clay Leismeister with a true giant!
425 lbs!
From: JL
28-May-20
Yikes....that looks like a real biggun! What are the numbers on that one?
From: Bowboy
28-May-20
That one is a beast of a bear!
From: T Mac
28-May-20
Great bear congrats Clay!
From: T Mac
28-May-20
Great bear congrats Clay!
From: Dino
28-May-20
Holy crap! That thing is a monster! Nice work Mike...and Clay too, of course!
From: t-roy
28-May-20
Wow! That is a toad! Any other pics of him?
From: Mike Ukrainetz
29-May-20
Bit of a muddy mess.
Bit of a muddy mess.
Here’s Clay and I with his monster bear. 15 yd shot out of a ground blind. It took 4 evenings before the beast finally showed up on BPS bait. Clay passed on another big 300 lb bear several times waiting for this guy. 20 4/16 skull, 7ft 6 inch hide nose to tail, would have squared out even bigger but we skinned it for a life size mount so we couldn’t square it. Clay is a taxidermist so he’s excited to give it the tribute it deserves!
From: Dino
29-May-20
What age class would you put him in Mike?
From: Mike Ukrainetz
29-May-20
I would say he is 9-10 yrs old. We’ve been trying to kill him for 3 years and he has stayed around the same size. He may have been wounded 2 years ago and he became very tough to kill and would dominate the bait but not come right in. Taking him out will allow another couple big boars that will be easier to kill grow up on that bait. We always like to kill the biggest oldest bears no matter who is hunting with us, American or Canadian.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
29-May-20
Another shot. Clay has killed four 19 inch skull bears on spot and stalk hunts and was really hoping to kill a 20+ incher. He knew how rare they are so he held out and it worked!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
30-May-20
Next up I hope...
Next up I hope...
From: Rackmastr
30-May-20
Some awesome pics guys keep them coming!! That bear looks like a tank!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
30-May-20
Thanks Rackmaster for the encouragement! Been pretty quiet on here...
From: Mike Turner
31-May-20
Mike, Keep them coming, always enjoy your pictures. Love seeing Big Big Bears!
From: Dino
31-May-20
Yes! Top notch operation and amazing bear habitat = GIANTS! Please keep the pics coming Mike, even if that old body of yours is getting beat down with the daily grind of baiting!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
31-May-20
Next year will be good!
Next year will be good!
Here's a great looking chocolate boar for next year. I'll say he's a 4 yr old, 280 lbs with an upper 18 inch head, maybe 19, hide will go a bit under 7 ft. Give him one more year...
From: Ambush
31-May-20
Re Clay’s bear. So much for all big bears have little round ears.
I too am on a many years long hunt for an archery 20” bear. Saw one of the top ten bears, I’ve ever seen last week, but he took off before I could get the necessary 20 yards. Looked for him again Friday night but no go. Now they’re wandering, looking for love. But the hides are still gorgeous!!
I stalked to easy bow range on a nice chocolate, but passed in the end. I give the hides to a taxidermist anyway and it was probably an 18 1/2” skull. But that extra 1 1/2” is about thousand miles from 20”.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
31-May-20
Good luck Ambush!
From: Ambush
31-May-20
Wide load!!
Wide load!!
Thanks Mike.
Some bears are like some girls at the bar. They look good sitting down. But when they stand up....... that’s a lot of booty!
From: Trophy8
31-May-20
Good stuff Mike, your hard.work and game mgt always pay off!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
02-Jun-20
Mostly nocturnal, just need to get lucky!
Mostly nocturnal, just need to get lucky!
Check out this giant! We've been trying to get him this year with about 10 evening sits so far by 3 different hunters plus lots of days last year. When he comes in daylight he normally arrives the last 10 minutes of legal light and then all of a sudden he shows up on the 28th in broad daylight at 7 pm for a 45 minute feed all by himself! Of course the hunter was sitting another bait helping his daughter kill her first bear so he missed out, then he sat it for 2 more evenings but no show. I don't know if the bear is lucky or smart?! Hunting big bears over bait can definitely be a challenge, especially when it's a 20+ inch, 7 footer like this guy!!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
02-Jun-20
The bear above also shows how a big bear can dominate a bait and make a guy think it is going dead, very little activity on it overall. If it wasn't for a trail camera I would have shut the bait down it's so slow and he's not even their that often. And no other decent boars are on it, only a couple sows and skittish 2 yr olds. It goes to show how it's important to always focus on killing the biggest, oldest boars and let the bait site open up to other younger boars and let them feed heavy and grow up on the site, and become way easier to kill than a big old boar. Often my inexperienced hunters hate to hunt a bear like this because the bait activity is so slow it's kinda boring, that is right until he walks in! Or not...
From: hdaman
02-Jun-20
As usual, you have some great bears up there Mike! Keep up the good work and please keep posting pics!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
02-Jun-20
Thanks Hearst!
From: Dino
02-Jun-20
Those are some monster bears Mike, Thanks for posting and good luck killing them! Is the first of the 2 pics the giant you had Brent on?
From: Mark Watkins
03-Jun-20
Awesome bears AGAIN this year Mike!
Congrats on your continued successes...year in and year out!!!
Mark
From: Mark Watkins
03-Jun-20
Oops..Haha
Guess I really mean it!
Mark
From: Mike Ukrainetz
03-Jun-20
Haha, Thanks Mark!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
04-Jun-20
Male or female?
Male or female?
Here’s a neat device we use to help us sex the bears and give them a treat at the same time. A steel pot filled with honey and a small slit cut in the top, works great!
This is another big boar from this spring.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
06-Jun-20
The best part about the Chinese Virus is that it’s allowed me to spend more time with family and friends taking them out for sow hunts. So much fun!
From: woodguy65
06-Jun-20
Lots of stuff to look at and judge on that beautiful bear - his junk, that prominent crease in his head, the small ears, the elongated snout...me, I'm fixated on that giant left paw! LOL
From: Mike Ukrainetz
06-Jun-20
From: Mike Ukrainetz
07-Jun-20
Graham from Calgary, Alberta took this fluffy sow on a bear population reduction hunt. It was crippled and with no offspring, a perfect bear to take! The hide went right at 6 ft, weighed 190 lbs.
It is a great to be able to take some hunters that we would never normally take and give them exposure to the enjoyment of a baited bear hunt. It’s awesome to see the bears up close, watch them interact, sort out which are sows, boars, young, old, big or small. In a lot of ways it’s much more fun than a spot and stalk hunt which I’ve done a lot of too over the last 30+ yrs of guiding. Graham loved the hunt and is taking all the meat.
From: leo17
07-Jun-20
Make room for me one of these years.
From: Dino
07-Jun-20
Nice work Mike! Any New, BIG, cruising males looking for love show up on camera?
From: JL
07-Jun-20
"It is a great to be able to take some hunters that we would never normally take..."
Mike...why would you normally never take them? Locals maybe??
From: Mike Ukrainetz
07-Jun-20
JL we normally only take hunters who will pay our regular rate for a bear hunt, $5000 USD for one bear which pretty much excludes all Canadians, especially Albertans who can just run their own baits. We made it cheap this year for Canadians with the Border closure. It helped us make a bit of money and host some great Alberta hunters! We really appreciate their support during these tough times!!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
08-Jun-20
Alberta Matt
Alberta Matt
If anyone tells you to look for little ears and a crease in a bears forehead as the best indication of a big bear show them this picture, 19 9/16 skull, 7 ft 3 in square hide, 380 lbs.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
08-Jun-20
From: GhostBird
08-Jun-20
Good stuff Mike... glad you are able to salvage the season. Hope to meet you one day in bear camp.
From: JL
08-Jun-20
Mike....that's a good deal for the locals. If the border opens I'll play local for week....eh! :-)
Would that bear be an older bear going downhill? That seems like alot of skin for a bear compared to the weight. That's why I'm wondering if it's peaked out?
From: Mike Ukrainetz
08-Jun-20
JL, it’s a youngish, probably 5 1/2 yr old, maybe 4 1/2, with a big frame that would have filled out to a well over 400 lb bear. Ideally we wouldn’t have killed him and got to see what he would have become but he was just too big already to pass up. We have quite a few big ones that are getting a pass though.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
09-Jun-20
380 lbs!
380 lbs!
Matt quickly went from a sow only hunter to a big boar hunter when he saw this beast walk in! Now he just has to get forgiveness from his wife for the extra fee involved. Won’t tell her right away what the Taxidermy bill might be too?!
Thanks for the shout out too Ghost Bird! Hope to meet you in bear camp too!!
From: John Kissella
09-Jun-20
Congratulations Matt! Great bear!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
09-Jun-20
Thanks John! It’s a huge bummer you couldn’t get here for your hunt. We are saving some big bears for you for 2023!!
From: primitve
14-Jun-20
Hey Mikey, looks like you made the best of a tough situation. I ran some Canadians as well (not many), got a lot of chores done, and gave me time to reflect on how fortunate we are to do what we do. As a fellow outfitter in the game almost 25 years I've always admired your attention to detail (that goes back to the southern AB days as well) and your science based approach to which animals you take. I'm just glad I'm doing spot and stalk in BC, that baiting y'all do is tons of work! Hope we have a fall season, gonna be a tough year if not. Best of luck Mike.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
15-Jun-20
Thanks for the kind note Jeff (primitve)! It means a lot from a fellow outfitter. I always hear good things about your guided hunts too. We had 12 paying Alberta hunters and several family and friends come up. I was working harder than ever, guiding all the hunts and my wife Jen doing all the cooking, it was the only way we could even make a bit of money. Like you say, baited bear hunts are a ton of work and expense! My main guide Gerard has also been busting his butt initially getting all the baits set, along with new guide Brendon, and now Gerard is getting everything torn down, work, work. That dang border better get open or I won’t be feeling so fortunate about being an outfitter this fall! Thanks again Jeff
From: Mike Ukrainetz
15-Jun-20
Tyler Ukrainetz with a Booner!
Tyler Ukrainetz with a Booner!
Well I think that’s the end of bear season, might get out with our son Tyler for the last day of the season this evening but he keeps turning every bear hunt into a squirrel hunt! Says it’s more fun than bears anyway.
For a season summary we basically had 18 hunters who shot 14 bears, 2 minor flesh wounds and 12 kills. 8 males, 4 females. 7 of the 12 bears had skulls over 19 inches and 3 of those scored over 20. They all weighed 320 to 425 lbs. We also had about 20 big bears on camera the first week in May so lots were left for next year. It will be exciting to see how many big ones there are next year including some awesome colored bears. Can’t wait!
Thanks for following along!!
From: GhostBird
15-Jun-20
Congratulations Mike for being able to salvage a portion of your bear season. Thanks for sharing it. Always look forward to your updates.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
15-Jun-20
Thanks ghostbird!
From: Mark Watkins
15-Jun-20
Mike, Congrats on making lemonade out of lemons and taking us along on another great Alberta adventure!
Mark
From: Dino
15-Jun-20
Awesome thread as usual Mike! What made it extra special was that I was actually a part of it with my son and cousin! Thanks for the unbelievable opportunity Mike!
From: John Kissella
16-Jun-20
Hats off to Mike and his guides for making the most out of a tough situation. In my book they are among the best of the best. Hopefully the borders open up soon and all the outfitters can have a great fall season!
From: OFFHNTN
16-Jun-20
Congrats to everyone, some great bears taken! Fantastic job as usual Mike!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
16-Jun-20
Thanks so much guys! It was great to meet some new Alberta hunters and get to spend more time with my family and friends. Was also fun to take down a few big ole bears!!
From: JL
16-Jun-20
Ya Mike....well done trying to make the best out of a bad situation and still getting it done. Hopefully your fall hunts can come together. BTW....I haven't been paying too much attention to it lately.....any word on the border opening up soon?
From: Pgribb
21-Jun-20
Always enjoy this thread, a lot of beautiful bear!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
21-Jun-20
Thanks Pat!
