MIKE’S OUTFITTING 2021 Alberta Bear Hunt
Contributors to this thread:Bears
From: Mike Ukrainetz
10-May-21
First bear of the year!
First bear of the year!
Mike Ukrainetz's Link
Hey Bowsiters, we are back at it again! Feeding our bears and helping a few Canadians out. Hope you follow along. Thanks!
From: Altitude Sickness
10-May-21
What the?
From: milnrick
10-May-21
Holy Moly...
That's an awesome bear.
From: Bou'bound
10-May-21
Cruel and unusual punishment!!!!
From: midwest
10-May-21
G-g-g-g-giant!
From: Dino
10-May-21
One of the best threads of the spring! Thx for posting Mike! Looking forward to the journey through your season!
From: wkochevar
10-May-21
Nice bear! I have seen a few monsters ( 20-21") taken up there so far this year. Amazing what a year off (sort of) will do for the crop, eh?
From: t-roy
10-May-21
Holy smokes!!
From: rattling_junkie
10-May-21
Jumbo!
From: MQQSE
10-May-21
Nice job!
If the dang border was open we would be there in a week or so!! Hope to see you soon.
From: TREESTANDWOLF
10-May-21
What a great pic to start a thread like this!
That bear is unbelievable.
From: RK
10-May-21
Great job awesome bear
From: mooseslayer
10-May-21
What a nice melon on him!!
From: JL
10-May-21
Gotta love these bear threads from across the border!!
From: Bowboy
11-May-21
That's a pig of a bear!
From: Altitude Sickness
11-May-21
That’s got to be at least a 21” skull looks well over 21”
From: Zebrakiller
11-May-21
always love this thread
From: carcus
11-May-21
Giant, hopefully I see something like that this evening for my first sit of the spring
From: petedrummond
11-May-21
Already missed our hunt starting this week. Feed them good!
From: APauls
11-May-21
OOOOF!!!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
11-May-21
Big ole beast!
Big ole beast!
Cam Foss from Alberta with his big bear! It was a tank of a bear. Sooo fat for the spring, I estimated him at 440 lbs just before weighing but he had a relatively short body and short nose. 390 lbs. 7 ft 4 in, 20 0/16 green head. From the night time field pic he looks like a 600 lb, 22 incher!
In this pic he is sitting right tight behind the bear.
From: Altitude Sickness
11-May-21
One heck of a bear. Congrats to you and the Hunter.
From: Potro
11-May-21
Nice bear!!!! Congrats
From: tkjwonta
11-May-21
Wow, what a bear! That's going to be difficult to top, but if anyone can get it done it will be Mike's crew.
From: buckfevered
11-May-21
Mike, that is a great bear. Congrats to you and Cam. As Bou eluded to, this is killing us guys that can't get across the boarder to do it ourselves. Keep posting pics and stories, it's "therapeutic".
From: GhostBird
11-May-21
Great bear... what a beast!!!
Oh, to be in Canada hunting some bears... will it ever happen in this crazy world???
From: ki-ke
11-May-21
Tanks....
From: Rackmastr
11-May-21
What an amazing bear for Cam!!
I have been looking forward to this thread!! Cant wait to see how your spring goes!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
12-May-21
We helped a father and daughter duo make some great memories with her taking a 260 lb boar with an 18 6/16 skull, squared out at 6 ft 6 in. We thought it was a sow, but it was a short legged, fat for his age boar. They were very happy!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
12-May-21
For this spring we are running all 30 of our baits, keeping the bears fat and happy. And then we are taking several Alberta resident hunters in pursuit of the oldest, biggest boars and dry sows. Both of them can be a problem on the baits where they become too dominant and try to keep other bears off of it. The big, old boars especially don’t like to have other younger boars around. We need them around as our future crop when we finally get to host American hunters again! We love connecting with fellow Canadians but we miss having you American hunters!!
We are also avoiding killing our colored bears this year and last year.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
12-May-21
Old boar
Old boar
Hanging belly, little ears, huge body
Hanging belly, little ears, huge body
Here’s one of our target bears. He’s been around for 5 years and he was big 5 years ago! He’s been slowly gaining size. He’s got the hanging belly now, small ears, fat and long head. Smart bugger though. He’ll peak his head around trees staring into the wooden box blinds we use trying to see if there is a hunter in it. The ozonics machines we also use mess with his sense of smell but they still don’t 100% fool him.
A BIG THANKS to everyone who posted positive comments to keep me going during these very difficult times! I wasn’t going to do a thread on bowsite this year. I’m busier than ever, working harder for way less money and didn’t really need more to do. But bowsite and it’s loyal hunter followers have done lots for me so I had to do it!! Hope you enjoy it. Thanks again
From: Dino
12-May-21
Wow. That last bear is a toad. Is he pushing 10 yrs old? Must be a smart old crafty bugger to have eluded you this long. Let's hope some lucky Canadian gets a chance at him this spring! :)
From: JL
12-May-21
Wow....that last old boar looks cool. His face looks like a brownie or grizz face with that real wide head. It looks like someone trimmed his ears down. IMO...a great example of small ears vs mickey mouse ears.
From: Matt Rehor
12-May-21
Thanks for posting your thread Mike! One of my most memorable hunts was with you and Jen many years ago. I hope things turn around for you guys up there soon! Hang in there!!!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
12-May-21
Thanks Matt! And everyone else!!
From: Ambush
13-May-21
Man, I wish we could grow bears like that in northern BC!! Great way to start the season!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
13-May-21
Cam’s buddy Dave got his bear on the last evening. One kind of misplaced arrow, but only went 20 yds, piled right up, 20 2/16 skull, 380 lbs, also 7ft 4in hide. So Cam beat Dave on weight by 10 lbs but Dave won for skull by 2/16. Just kidding, they were both thrilled. Great guys!
Ambush, you can’t have everything! Haha, you already have too much great hunting up there!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
14-May-21
Small bear herd...
From: JL
14-May-21
That's a bunch of them.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
14-May-21
Some color...
From: Shug
14-May-21
Let me just respond with the first thing I said... Holy F&@k
From: rattling_junkie
14-May-21
Great bears Mike, and I'm sure they'll all get shot in the shiddle!
From: JL
14-May-21
That last color one is a beauty!
From: Trophy8
14-May-21
Great bears Mike! Congrats to the hunters as well. If I recall, you had several pics a few years ago of several blonde cubs...saying give them a few years....obviously you were spot on!
From: t-roy
14-May-21
Thanks again for posting this thread this year, Mike! Sure hope they get the dang border opened, soon, for our sake, and for all you northern outfitter’s sake even more!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
14-May-21
Thanks, really appreciate the encouragement!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
14-May-21
Raven trying to steal the show...
From: LWood
14-May-21
Giant bears!
From: milnrick
15-May-21
Mike,
You're killing us with those pics. All I can say is WOW!
From: Bowfinatic
15-May-21
Some awesome bear! Thanks for posting
From: Mike Ukrainetz
15-May-21
We decided to try using live bears for bait. Not going so good. Haha
From: Mike Ukrainetz
17-May-21
The Mark Johnson family came on a hunt with us to see what baiting bears was all about and maybe even get one. They sure had fun with close up bear action! And 13 yr old Evan took a nice bear.
From: Bou'bound
18-May-21
Cruel and unusual punishment!!!!
From: Ace
18-May-21
For the life of me I cannot figure out how every single year Mike gets all these tiny little hunters in camp. They make those bears look huge in the hero pics!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
18-May-21
Hahahaha, Chris you can’t be over 5 ft tall to hunt with us!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
18-May-21
Target bear
Target bear
Better pic of him covering the 36” tall white topped post. Bit of a hanging belly, heavy thick legs but on the short side. To get a 400+ lb bear you usually need long legs.
Better pic of him covering the 36” tall white topped post. Bit of a hanging belly, heavy thick legs but on the short side. To get a 400+ lb bear you usually need long legs.
Here’s a big boar we will be after for a week, starting Friday. He looks bigger at night, not sure why but he’s big enough in either pic! (We got all the hunters this week tagged out with good boars a few days early. I need to get some pics posted of them, my guides have the pics on their phone.)
We are thinking this guy is 370-400 lbs with a 20+ inch head. What do you think...?
From: Dino
18-May-21
I think 395 lbs. 20 6/16. Just a little bigger pumpkin than Brendon’s bear from last year. :)
From: JL
18-May-21
I think 370-400 is fair.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
19-May-21
Albertans Shane and Chad with a couple of big ones!
Albertans Shane and Chad with a couple of big ones!
Shane on the left got a big 18 13/16 skull boar weighing 260 lbs and with a hide squaring out at 6 ft 11 in. Chad’s bear was even bigger at 340 lbs, 19 10/16 skull and 7 ft 2 in hide. These were the biggest bears they had taken by far, very happy guys!
From: JL
19-May-21
Mike......is there a maximum number of folks you can offer hunts too? That is...are you limited by a quota allotment for res and/or NR's for each year?
From: Ace
19-May-21
Mike must have some very cooperative hunters in camp, I can hear those conversations from here: "Listen up guys! see that 400 pound blonde boar with the pumpkin head?, can't shoot him", "and that chocolate monster with the perfect hide? can't shoot him either". "Go ahead and wait for the black one with one eye, and a limp, his name is lucky. that's your target bear!"
I love reading this thread every year. If they ever let me back into Canada (I'm sure I'm on some list someplace), I have to get there to hunt with Mike.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
19-May-21
Haha Ace. No, if a big colored one walks in it may get shot. We have an extra fee on it right now for Canadians and we are avoiding hunting the baits with them. Big boars roam though and as the breeding season comes on it could happen anywhere. Big colored bears are rare though, we only have 3 of them around and none of them are reliable hitters.
We are just trying to kill our biggest, oldest black boars but it can be hard to pass up or tell the difference between a high 18 inch skull, 260 lb boar and a 340 pounder. Sometimes the biggest ones survive for next weeks hunters or the next year.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
19-May-21
JL, we get 30 non resident bear tags per year in our zone. They normally expire each year, so it’s a use them or lose them type of thing. They did allow us to defer our 2020 tags to future years but you can only kill so many big bears per year without hurting the trophy quality, even with a 1200 sq miles hunting area like ours. We only killed 7 big ones last year. (Alberta resident hunters and farmers kill quite a few each year too, usually in the fall but very few big ones. They become very nocturnal after June 15 or so. Fall bear hunting in our farmland zone is not so great.)
From: JL
19-May-21
Thanks for the reply Mike. Do the res's have tag quotas in your area? Just curious what the pressure was like.
From: Pat Lefemine
19-May-21
Wow those bears are giants! Thanks for posting this thread Mike. When this stupid situation is over and the US guys are able to hunt with you again it’s gonna be epic.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
19-May-21
Thanks Pat!
JL, residents can kill two bears each per year on unlimited tags but very few of them bait bears or even shoot bears in the fall.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
19-May-21
Fatso
Fatso
We are after this guy this evening. He looks fat to me?!
The bear, not the raven, but he looks fat too.
From: bowhunter24
19-May-21
Thanks for posting Mike sure looks like some great bears this year your place is definitely on my bucket list!
From: t-roy
19-May-21
Any videos of you guys baiting the barrels with the live bears??!! ;-)
Any idea on how big that beautiful blond bear is? The one with his back to camera.
From: uteangler
19-May-21
Awesome bears Mike!
From: Skippy
20-May-21
Awesome bears Mike, can’t wait to get up there to hunt. Thanks for sharing the spring hunting with us.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
20-May-21
Hey T-Roy. The blonde is a 300 lb, 4 yr old I think. He’s getting a pass and he lives in a somewhat isolated area, away from other baits. With good feed he should be in the high 300’s next year, mid to upper 19 inch skull. Great bear! Plus beautiful.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
20-May-21
Christian Mungo
Christian Mungo
19 yr old Christian Mungo got his first bear! A big headed boar, 20 9/16!! I have no track record on this bear that I can figure out unless he was just an under 300 lb four yr old last year that I wasn’t noticing and he blew up this year? 360 lbs, 7 ft 4 in hide.
He was taken on a bait site where we took a 380 pounder and a 425 pounder last year. And I bet we will take another big bear or two off it next year. It’s so rewarding to manage the bears and get to crop off the biggest boars and let the young ones grow up. If we get too many sows or a grumpy dry one then we will take that bear too. QDBS, Quality Bear Management System. Kinda stole the term from something else.
From: Mad Trapper
20-May-21
Outstanding bears!! Makes me want to hunt one again. Thanks for posting.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
21-May-21
Tony Mungo
Tony Mungo
Tony Mungo with his big bear. 19 10/16 skull, 340 lbs, 7 ft 2 in hide. This was Tony’s first Pope and Young qualifying bear. He was after the giant bear I posted above on May 12 and then this plenty big enough one walked in, how could you resist?!
Thanks mad trapper, love to have you come up!
From: >>>--arrow1-->
22-May-21
Yesterday was the expiration of the Canada ???? boarder closure.. anyone have any news whats happening?
From: SteveB
22-May-21
Extended to 6/21
From: >>>--arrow1-->
22-May-21
thanks
From: Mike Ukrainetz
23-May-21
Glow in the dark bear.
Glow in the dark bear.
It’s always great to have an up and coming colored bear. I think he’s a chubby 3 yr old. Probably 250 lbs, will probably be in the upper 300 lbs in 2 more years.
We also killed another 20 incher yesterday for another lucky Albertan, pics coming soon!
From: midwest
23-May-21
I'm with Mad Trapper. Givin me a hankerin...
Great bears, Mike....keep it comin!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
24-May-21
A big, old beast that is hopefully in trouble this evening?!
The rut has begun and the boars are cruising looking for the first hot sows. We’ve seen some breeding already. Exciting time of the season when the giant nocturnal boars become vulnerable!
From: JL
24-May-21
Hopefully there will be a follow-up tonight.....
From: MA-PAdeerslayer
24-May-21
Hopefully JL! Mike that bears a tank. I’m not bear judge but I’m saying definately P&Y skull and 400lb (+) for sure!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
25-May-21
He got shot...
From: JL
25-May-21
^....and there you have it. This should be good.....
From: MA-PAdeerslayer
25-May-21
Come on story!!!!!!!!
From: GhostBird
25-May-21
Great stuff Mike, but you are killing us Yankees with all the nice bears.
… wait, I'm from Alabama... am I still a Yankee in Canada???
From: Mike Ukrainetz
25-May-21
Whoohoo! Sorry for the bit of gruesome pic but it looked so big on the quad, had to post it.
And yes Ghostbird, Canadians call all Americans Yankees with no idea some southerners don’t like that.
From: Dino
25-May-21
That’s a giant. Young Mark R. 6’7”. First bear...ever. And he made a text book shot. Do u think it will make Pope and Young?
From: MA-PAdeerslayer
25-May-21
Holy crap that things big. Congrats!
From: midwest
25-May-21
WOWZER
From: TREESTANDWOLF
25-May-21
The crib works once again!
Good stuff Mike!
From: Buckeye
25-May-21
those are some incredible animals. Thanks for sharing
From: Helgermite
25-May-21
I was going to say what a pumpkin head, but this guy's head looks a big as the quad tire!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
25-May-21
Mark Rodehutskors
Mark Rodehutskors
Here’s Mark with his giant boar! Just missed the 21” Booner mark at 20 13/16, 385 lbs, 7 ft 3 inch hide. The bear had a massive front end, big thick shoulders, neck and head but kind of a sloped off, smaller rear end. Looked a bit odd. Turns out he had an infected hole in the top of his butt. It must have caused the shrinking, probably would have topped 400 lbs without that injury? Don’t know what caused it.
And the bear was hooked up with a sow, followed her right in to the bait. Hunting the breeding season can be a really frustrating time to hunt when your bear on camera just won’t show up but so rewarding when he does! Mark was really thrilled to take the bear and he made a perfect broadside shot, all on video. So cool!
From: Dino
25-May-21
What a bear! Congrats Mark! Monster sized Mike’s grown bear. Rumour has it some other bears were also killed last night and recovered this am?
From: JL
25-May-21
Mike, are you able to post up the vid??
From: Mike Ukrainetz
25-May-21
JL, I’m too dumb to know how?
From: Mike Ukrainetz
26-May-21
Big bear lineup
Big bear lineup
The one on the right is Mark’s 20 13/16, 385 lb bear. Couple other big ones were taken that day too!
From: MA-PAdeerslayer
26-May-21
Still can’t get over the size of the head on Mark’s bear. Had a similar scenario on a friends buck this year...dressed 135 had hole in shoulder from first week of archery, disappeared for a few weeks then came limping out to him. Pics we had of the deer he should have been pushing 200-215 dressed if he wasn’t so shriveled up. Awesome bear none the less!
From: JL
26-May-21
JL's Link
Mike....try this.
From: Mark Rodo
26-May-21
He didn’t go too far
He didn’t go too far
Thanks everyone! And especially thanks Mike and his guides for putting us on some great bears! The entire trip was awesome from start to finish and shooting that Giant bear was just the cherry on top. We are going to try to put together a video of the whole trip including the footage of my bear, and once it is up on YouTube I will post up a link on here... Unless there is an easier way to do it right away for you guys? Here’s a screen shot of the video for you guys at least
From: Mike Ukrainetz
26-May-21
Thanks Mark! Such a perfect shot!!
From: Mark Rodo
27-May-21
Mark Rodo's Link
Just uploaded the original clip to YouTube for you guys, hope you enjoy it! Here’s a link hopefully that works...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YrN1j81yMxM
From: MA-PAdeerslayer
27-May-21
Beautiful shot mark!!! Awesome bear again, congratulations!
From: Yellowjacket
27-May-21
Cool comparison of a big bear with a smaller bear. Thanks for posting! Congrats!
From: JL
27-May-21
Dandy shot.
From: Charlie Rehor
27-May-21
Mike: Was that a sow with that big boy??
From: midwest
27-May-21
From: Dino
27-May-21
Charlie. Indeed that was a big sow. :)
From: Mike Ukrainetz
27-May-21
Awesome video Mark! Thanks!! Boy you can really tell the difference between him and the sow and she was a big sow.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
28-May-21
We got bears...
We got bears...
From: SteveB
28-May-21
Pure sweetness!
From: Dino
28-May-21
Man. Great photo Mike. Three Pope and Young bears in one night! WOW! 2 First time bear hunters as well. Lucky Mark R. with a giant on his first ever bear. Great result from a great management program and a superlative outfitting business!
From: woodguy65
28-May-21
My heart sunk when then bruiser walked awayin the video (and I already knew the outcome LOL), cant imagine what the hunter was thinking - then he reappeared. Good job keeping it together! Good stuff as usual Mike!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
28-May-21
Thanks guys! All three of those bears went over 19 inches.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
28-May-21
Killer, Dale Degner with his son Justin and some random dude doing a photobomb!
Killer, Dale Degner with his son Justin and some random dude doing a photobomb!
Dale Degner with his big 20 6/16 boar, 370 lbs. First evening sit kill from last week. My guides were withholding pics from me.
And Haha, the random dude is Dino, Dean Degner. He spent his hunt going after an old legend of a bear. I was really hoping Dean would get him and top the 20 inch green score bear he killed with us the year before. But it wasn’t meant to be I guess. Dean did pass up a solid 19 inch 300 pounder. It was a great time with an awesome family!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
31-May-21
Isabel Rattai
Isabel Rattai
Isabel or Bella got her first bear with us and a big one! 19 2/16 skull, with a hide that squared just under 7 ft at 6 ft 10 inches. Body weight of 280 lbs. The weight was a bit lower than normal for us because the bear came off a brand new bait. The bait covers a remote area that we hadn’t gotten into and he may not have been getting fat on any of our baits or on farmland feed. He might have been more of a wilderness bear. But Bella got him so the name of the new bait is Bella’s Bait!
Bella is just getting going on bowhunting with the help of the Degner clan and she was doing some incredible shooting at the lodge dropping 100 yd bombs into a paper plate! Not needed for a 15 yd baited bear hunt but impressive nonetheless. More important is keeping your nerves in check and making a perfect, adrenaline filled shot and she did that too! Congrats!!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
31-May-21
A legendary bear has fallen...
From: JL
31-May-21
Uh oh!......
From: MA-PAdeerslayer
31-May-21
Pics and story Mike! Sounds like this double whites could be special!!! And sweet bear Isabel! Awesome!!!!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
31-May-21
MA-PAdeerslayer, sounds like you’ve got an inside track going on! Haha
Three arrows shot this evening. One of them was at a bear passed up by Dino in his quest for a legend. And I think a legend may have died too. Texts coming in fast and furious at headquarters here!!
From: Dino
01-Jun-21
Oh man! Awesome work Mike! Looking forward to the pics!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
01-Jun-21
Brent and Graham
Brent and Graham
Brent from southern Alberta with the legendary Powerline bear! Just getting the stats on him now but a beautiful, perfect coat on a big framed bear. Brent has spent well over 100 hrs on stand on 4 different bear hunts in a quest for a big one, usually with his son Graham by his side. He finally got it done! Congrats!
From: ca
02-Jun-21
Very nice Bears. Wow
From: Mike Ukrainetz
03-Jun-21
Gerard Van Den Boogaard
Gerard Van Den Boogaard
My guide Gerard with his absolute giant bear from this spring. My guides get to run one bait each where it causes the least impact to our guiding operation and they can shoot whatever they want. We have a huge 1200 square mile exclusive guiding territory and it’s a valued perk of working for us and helps us get and keep the best guides in the business.
Gerard had been watching this bear grow up for the last 3 years and he noticed that he had a huge body frame and a distinct J shaped white blaze so he named him “Jack”. He passed him up last year as a probable 4 yr old, maybe 5 yrs, to try to grow him up for this year and hopefully get a crack at him as a big 5 yr old, 6 years old tops.
Gerard doesn’t get many days off to hunt, usually only one evening a week. (You legally can’t guide and hunt in the same day.) He got his day off and Jack came in and one shot later Jack was all Gerard’s! All 7 foot 8 inches of him and a Boone and Crockett qualifying score of 21 5/16! We’ve killed bears with these two stats before but never the weight of 515 lbs!! 455 was our previous record, then 450 and 440 so it really shows how huge 515 is! I didn’t think a 500+ lb spring weight Alberta bear existed. Well, monsters do exist and Gerard got one of them. Congrats buddy!!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
03-Jun-21
From: KyleSS
03-Jun-21
Mike, do you guys have any trail cam picts of the 515 lb bear? I've love to see what he looked like next to a barrel walking around.
Congrats on a great bear
From: midwest
03-Jun-21
holy moly!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
03-Jun-21
KyleSS, yea we have trail cam pics but he didn’t look crazy big. Looked 400+ is all. I’ll see if I can get them off Gerard and post a couple.
From: carcus
03-Jun-21
Massive! Congrats Gerard
From: JL
03-Jun-21
That is a true biggun.
From: woodguy65
03-Jun-21
Wowser that has every impressive stat you could ever want - congrats Gerard!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
03-Jun-21
515 lbs, new camp record by 60 lbs!
515 lbs, new camp record by 60 lbs!
Here’s a better pic of Gerard and the scale.
From: wildwilderness
03-Jun-21
What are the natural food sources for your bears? They sure do grow huge! is it genetics? the bears around where I live rarely get over 18" skulls, and that's a super old bear.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
03-Jun-21
Wildwilderness, I don’t even know what the natural feed is but there is lots of it. We grow 20+”, 400 pounders in the pure wilderness areas too, or at least 350 lb 19 1/2 inchers. Genetics plays a part as far as hitting the 20+ mark but almost all old bears in Alberta will be 19+ at least, very rarely does an old bear not break it. (We laboratory aged over 50 bears a year from a complete wilderness area and in a farmland area for 3 years when I was a young guide.)
From: Bou'bound
03-Jun-21
Is he 650 in the fall mike. More? 700?
From: Mike Ukrainetz
03-Jun-21
Bou’bound, I honestly have no idea what he would have weighed in the fall? We’ve never killed a fall bear over 360 lbs, obviously they are around, but we don’t see them while hiking hundreds of miles in the fall hunting elk, moose and muleys or even when we have tried to run fall baited hunts. The giants are like ghosts up here anytime after about June 20. Super rare to hear of anyone killing a big fall bear. Bit of a mystery to me? Anyone have a clue?
From: JL
03-Jun-21
^....hiding where it's cool and people are few??
From: John Kissella
03-Jun-21
Congratulations Gerard!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
04-Jun-21
Alec Zabel
Alec Zabel
My other main guide Alec Zabel with his 19 0/16 inch bear. His first Pope and Young qualifying bear! A great bear for a hard working, talented guy. Both Alec and Gerard could be making better money doing something else and certainly not having to work half as hard as a bear guide, but they love what they do. I really appreciate having both of them stick with me through this “pandemic”. They been my solid rocks to keep things going. Thanks guys!!
From: JL
04-Jun-21
^....alot of truth in that Mike. It's often the guys and gals behind the scene who keep the wheels turning. Hats off to them.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
04-Jun-21
For sure JL, Alec is only 23 yrs old. Started guiding for me when he was 20, been an excellent hard worker! The physical labour in baiting bears is pretty brutal, young mans game to do it right with lots of volume and variety. All of our baits get rebaited every 3 days with about 250 lbs of 7 different food choices. We outcompete most of the natural food, and when dandelions come on or moose calves drop we don’t see any slowdown in activity. My guides keep the wheels turning! Cook too keeps everyone fat and happy. I just make sure the wheels don’t fall off...
From: Mike Ukrainetz
06-Jun-21
Tyler Ukrainetz
Tyler Ukrainetz
Our 12 year old son Tyler got his first bear with a bow! It didn’t go too far after one shot, more vertical feet than horizontal. We were trying to get a sow with a good coat but finally got a chance at this boar and Tyler made it happen, his first bow kill. Very exciting stuff!!
From: hdaman
06-Jun-21
Congrats Tyler!!!!
From: milnrick
06-Jun-21
Congratulations Tyler, that's an awesome 1st bear!
From: woodguy65
06-Jun-21
That’s Awesome - congrats Tyler!
From: MQQSE
06-Jun-21
Way to go Tyler!
From: Dino
06-Jun-21
Excellent work! Father son team Ukrainetz! Congratulations!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
06-Jun-21
Thanks everyone! It really was a big deal for me and him to get it with a bow, not a crossbow. His sister got her first bear with a crossbow and he needed to one-up her, haha
From: Mike Ukrainetz
06-Jun-21
Nice 290 pound boar, probable 4 yr old, around a 19 inch head I’m guessing.
Nice 290 pound boar, probable 4 yr old, around a 19 inch head I’m guessing.
Beautiful sow with a perfect coat
Beautiful sow with a perfect coat
Big Boar! Over 7 ft hide, upper 19 head, maybe 20, about 370 lbs is my guess. He’s standing in the same spot as the cinnamon sow. Well over the 36” white post, more like 38”. Big, big frame. I bet he is a 5 yr old and will fill out huge for next year
Big Boar! Over 7 ft hide, upper 19 head, maybe 20, about 370 lbs is my guess. He’s standing in the same spot as the cinnamon sow. Well over the 36” white post, more like 38”. Big, big frame. I bet he is a 5 yr old and will fill out huge for next year
Here’s a few of the bears Tyler had to pass up. He was mad at me and arguing in the blind that he wanted to shoot one of them. I told him he hadn’t earned the privilege to take one of them yet. He has to participate in all the baiting work to move up the ladder of success! I figure some delayed gratification will do him good. He was thrilled to get his young boar one so it seems to be working.
(Two yr old boars like Tyler’s bear disperse widely from their birth location so it’s not a big deal to shoot the odd one of them. Once a boar is 3 yrs old and steady on the bait we do our best to grow him to 5 yrs old before targeting him. He’ll have 80-90% of his size at this point with the abundant farmland feed.)
From: Dino
06-Jun-21
“Delayed gratification “ classic! And lessons well learned!
From: MA-PAdeerslayer
06-Jun-21
Well said Dino! And right on Mike!!! I scouted a place hard last year out of state for deer. Hunted my tail off during archery never saw my shooter buck. Rifle opens, I take my sister in law to sit the blind. Who steps out first day 1/2 hour before dark. The shooter. She’d never shot a buck. Gave her the blessing and she dropped him where he stood…..I’m going to your method this year mike!! No more easy bucks for her!! Lol
From: Mike Ukrainetz
06-Jun-21
Waiting for the big one!
Waiting for the big one!
Almost all of our hunters have gone home now so I’ve decided to get out hunting for myself. I’m after an old legendary bear that has been around for 8-10 years as a big bear. He was wounded high in the back, 6 years ago and he disappeared for 2 years after that. He’s been back around the last few years but he has shrank in body size and is very smart and elusive or just very lucky. Only a couple of our hunters have ever seen him in the flesh even though we’ve pursued him with many, many hunters. He has a distinct bald spot on his forehead. He will disappear off camera for 2-3 weeks at a time. He’s been back around now on one particular bait looking like he might be hooked up with a sow? It’s hard to tell with only one picture per minute on our trail cams. He might be in trouble or not...
I’m hoping with his age he might be a big skull bear? Hopefully we get to find out. It’s so great just to be able to sit and hunt after such a hectic season.
From: Kurt
06-Jun-21
Mike, Awesome photos of some great bears....dead and alive. More monsters than I'll see in my life spot and stalk over here in BC! Thanks for posting again this year! Kurt
From: Mike Ukrainetz
06-Jun-21
Young cinnamon sow
Young cinnamon sow
Thanks Kurt! We are fortunate to have the big bears here.
Here’s pics of a few of the other ones I passed on, the standing on all fours is a big black, a solid 300 pound, 19 incher. Eats like a pig, should be huge next year. The big black sow is licking out of the honey pot.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
08-Jun-21
I just passed on this big guy. I think he’s about a 350 lb boar, upper 19 inch head, 7 footer. He’ll be for next year!
From: JL
08-Jun-21
I take it there is a bigger one lurking around?
From: t-roy
08-Jun-21
Way to go, Tyler! Congrats on your first bear! Great thread again this year, Mike!
Who had the biggest grin on their face, after Tyler shot his bear…..you or him??!!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
08-Jun-21
JL, yeah I’m hoping for an old legend. He’s gone downhill in size, should have a big head!
Thanks too T-Roy! It was a hoot. We had a couple of missed shots and then Tyler made a perfect shot on the boar. He scrambled to the very top of a big spruce tree, got a bit gruesome with the lung blood and then an epic fall. Not something I wanted to video but very exciting for both of us. He’s a competitive guy and at first he really wanted to get one bigger than his sister and his girl cousins but then he just wanted to get one. The fact that it wasn’t the biggest bear didn’t bother him one bit. I really want him to move slowly up the ladder of success with his own work put in. I don’t want to spoil him as an outfitter’s son and just hand him big critters.
From: MA-PAdeerslayer
09-Jun-21
I think that’s the perfect way to do it Mike! Earn his keep for the bears he shoots
From: GhostBird
09-Jun-21
CONGRATULATIONS TYLER... a first of many I'm sure. Good work Mike.
From: Pop-r
10-Jun-21
Jc Mike, if these 20 13/16 & 20 6/16 bears were left another year would they not most likely be Booners next year?
From: Mike Ukrainetz
10-Jun-21
Pop-r, the vast majority of 20 inch bears will never hit 21 inches. Boone and Crockett knew this when they made the all time minimums for almost every species. You need feed and genetics to hit 21+. I learned it too when we began baiting in Alberta back in 1988 killing hundreds of bears over the next 5 years of guiding for big outfitters in huge untouched areas, a 21 inch Booner was still super rare.
And I would love to have been able to just save all of my big bears for my American hunters when the border opens but I would be broke if I didn’t run some Canadians to stay afloat.
From: JL
10-Jun-21
Mike...ya do what ya gotta do to keep the lights on. Hopefully you guys get more customers soon.
From: Dino
10-Jun-21
The beauty of Mike’s program is that the way in which he feeds and then harvests his bears, insures that big mature boars continually use his baits, and the succession plan for the 3-4 yr olds works perfectly! The only dang thing I couldn’t figure out while I was up there…was where the big mature coloured bears were. :)Certainly they r common there, but I never saw one at my bait…coincidence? :)
From: bowhuntercam
14-Jun-21
Can't recommend and thank Mike enough. Mike's a pro in every aspect. Guides Gerard and Alec are the hardest working guys around. Thanks Mike, I hope you're able to get a full fall in this year. Cam
From: MA-PAdeerslayer
14-Jun-21
Holy bear
From: Dino
14-Jun-21
Cam. That’s a big old bear! Congratulations! What were its measurements?
From: Mike Ukrainetz
14-Jun-21
Thanks Cam and Dino! You were great guys to have in camp!!
Here’s one of those elusive big colored bears saved up for next year. Big frame just waiting to be filled out!
From: Mike Ukrainetz
16-Jan-22
Hi Bowsiters, we’ve got just ONE spot open for one hunter for this spring bear hunts, May 30 to June 4. Great week to get a crack at one of the big colored bears we’ve been saving for the last two years. Call or text Mike anytime for more info at 780 864 7736
From: Leo17
16-Jan-22
Hey Mike. Anything for 2023?
From: Mike Ukrainetz
16-Jan-22
Hey Leo17, we have a few spots open for 2023 but not too many. 3 spots open May 8 to 13, 2 more May 15 to 20 and 2 more May 29 to June 3.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
26-Jan-22
From: Mike Ukrainetz
26-Jan-22
From: Mike Ukrainetz
26-Jan-22
We still have a spot open May 30 to June 4 for one hunter for this spring. Here's another few pics of another big colored we didn't kill in 2021. (Sorry for empty posts, couldn't get pics to load)
From: Mike Ukrainetz
26-Jan-22
Well over the post!
Well over the post!
Floppy eared bear!
Floppy eared bear!
To judge whether it's a big bear or not we use the 36 inch tall white topped post. If his shoulders are as tall as the post, shoot!
To judge whether it's a big bear or not we use the 36 inch tall white topped post. If his shoulders are as tall as the post, shoot!
From: Longbow42
28-Apr-22
I'll finally be headed to Alberta to hunt with Kyle of Eagle Eye Outfitting, which I believe is connected to Mikes?? I saw yesterday while on Mikes website, that Eagle Eye pricing was also listed, so assume it's connected. Booked this hunt pre-covid, and obviously it's been postponed 2 years now. Should make for some good hunting in my quest for another 20"+ bears.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
30-Apr-22
Good luck with Kyle!
From: MQQSE
30-Apr-22
See you in about two weeks Mike!
From: MQQSE
30-Apr-22
From: Bearman
30-Apr-22
Hi fellas. Just found this site and joined. Spent some time reading this incredible thread about Mike's bear camp. Wow! You seem to do one hell of a good job Mike. I'm from nw mn and have been bearhunting for about 37 years. They can get big here in farm country. What kind of ag crops do the bear up there have access too. Again, super job you're doing.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
30-Apr-22
Thanks Dave, we have canola, peas, wheat, barley, oats. The bears eat all of it, makes for some big bears!
From: Bearman
30-Apr-22
Oil sunflowers and corn are what they key in on here. They can really destroy a field.
I didn't know they eat canola? At what stage of growth?
From: Hancock West
01-May-22
Mike, didnt you post a pic of you unloading a truckoad of twizzlers with a tractor a couple years back? Ill never forget that pic.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
01-May-22
Bearman, canola isn’t a main food for them, they prefer oats but whatever crop they can get their paws on they will eat, out in the fields or by breaking into wooden grain bins, or grain bags. If it’s canola they’ll eat it, high in fat. Farmers here really dislike bears and shoot them whenever possible, they can shoot as many as they want on private land year round.
For our baits we use, meat scraps, beaver carcasses, oats, used cooking grease, popcorn, honey and yes twizzlers! Or any kind of liquorice bricks. I think variety and volume is king when it comes to bear baiting. We feed about 400-500 bears and kill about 40 of them each year, completely sustainable harvest, have been doing it for over 30 years!
From: Longbow42
02-May-22
In my hunting bears experience, beaver seems to be the best for the largest bears. I've got a great video of one medium bear hanging on the carcass, then pulling out the intestines and sucking down about 15' of it like spaghetti. Kind of gross, but very cool to watch.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
30-Jan-24
