Adrenaline Outfitters 2022 Wrap Up
Bears
Getting ready for the first of many trips up to camp!
Getting ready for the first of many trips up to camp!
Adrenaline Russ's Link
Morning Bowsite,
Season is done, camp is put away. Just wanted to do a quick recap of our Spring Season. Hats off to the guys that can do this during the season! And don't expect the high end trophy pics you get from Mike U. either!!
Like all Manitoba outfitters, we had a late start getting into the baits. Tons of snow and water to fight with. Even getting stuff out of storage was a challenge!
So this will be fun. Can't rotate the first pic. This may be a short thread!!
Had the bait hauled into camp early April. If you see snow on the parking lot like in the attached pic, you know there is still a LOT in the woods...it was going to be awhile before baiting would start!
Never had an issue with one photo not being editable...frustrating!!
Keep it coming Russ! Love to see the pics even if they are sideways. I get the same dang problem. And I’m only able to post during the season because I have good internet and I’m not doing any of the guiding anymore. I’ve got nothing better to do nowadays. Thanks for taking the time to post, love to see or hear how the season went!
All dressed up and nowhere to go!
All dressed up and nowhere to go!
Thanks Inshart! I'll keep going then.
First trip up and I woke up to 6 fresh inches of the white stuff. Worked like a dog for half a day and got 1/5th of a bait done. Called it quits and went home for a week!!
They're eating the corn!
They're eating the corn!
Went back up a week later and there was still a ton of snow in the woods. Got to the first bait and was excited to see the effort from the first trip was not completely wasted. Bear hunters have to be the only ones excited to see this!
After seeing the first bait hit, I was excited to move to the next one...until I saw the mess that was waiting for me. After 4 hours of winching and chainsaw work, I decided to pull the pin for another week. Just too hard on the body and equipment.
Here is what I was working through - not the coyotes in the previous post!
Here is what I was working through - not the coyotes in the previous post!
Going as fast as a winch can pull me!
Going as fast as a winch can pull me!
The water under the snow adds another level of difficulty!
The water under the snow adds another level of difficulty!
No idea where that image came from!! I'll try to attach again.
It was getting late enough I had to reach out to my first week of hunters to cancel/postpone them.
I was back out a few days later and was able to get into a few more baits...but production was so slow.
The bears were there before me!
The bears were there before me!
Wolves were moving too!
Wolves were moving too!
So there was an image of a bunch of coyote pelts, now it's gone. Wow is this frustrating!
Baiting was tough, but every site I went into had sign, so I knew the bears would be moving!
Not a lot of trees for a treestand!
Not a lot of trees for a treestand!
Once the snow started melting, it went pretty fast. One of my favourite spots had a fire go through and we weren't sure about loading it up. We had hauled the bait in a long way and figured instead of hauling it out, we'd see what would happen!
There are 4 baits on the other side of this washout!
There are 4 baits on the other side of this washout!
With the late spring and the excessive water, we lost a few baits due to washouts. They'll be some work this fall to fix some roads and re-establish those baits.
Getting ready to hang the stand in the giant spruce on the left!
Getting ready to hang the stand in the giant spruce on the left!
With a few spots lost, I was excited to find this one! Beautiful spot to sit with a large pond behind you!
Saw this fella about 400 yards away from one of our baits on the way home one evening...time for the season to start!
Decent bear with a blaze.
Decent bear with a blaze.
The week before the hunters showed up, started checking cams and this was one of the first pics we got...great start to the season!!
Yup, still a lot of snow on the ground in some spots!
Yup, still a lot of snow on the ground in some spots!
After 2 years of no hunting, I was disappointed to have a cancellation for the first week. That left us with only 2 hunters, a father-daughter team.
What was even more disappointing, was the rain that hit us on the first day of hunting. We rarely keep hunters in camp during inclement weather, but it was a downpour and hunters and guides decided to wait a day to start hunting. This wide-headed bear was one of the bears we were going after!
Awesome first bear!
Awesome first bear!
After hanging around in camp day 1, the weather broke and father/daughter were up in the stand for evening 2!
After a couple of hours in the stand, a beautiful bear came in and the young lady made no mistake, putting this bear down within 40 yards!
With the amount of activity at the bait, we told the hunters to stay in the stand in case another opportunity presented itself. Sure enough, a great bear came in about 40 minutes after the shot. Unfortunately, dad's shot did not result in a recovery :(
With a bear in the freezer on day 2, and his daughter up for some academic award at school late in the week, our hunters decided to head home. That gave us some more time to catch up on bait management in preparation for the next week!
Target acquired!!
Target acquired!!
Here is a target bear that our week 2 hunters will be going after! I love the early part of the season when the boars are on a feed pattern!!
Love it Russ - keep it coming. Working through the picture frustrations is a badge of honour on the site lol. Snow with water underneath is about one of the most difficult mediums on planet earth to move through. I could feel your pain there.
The first Monday night bear for an Illinois hunter.
The first Monday night bear for an Illinois hunter.
Bear 2 from Monday night!
Bear 2 from Monday night!
The weather turn a turn for the better at the start of the second week and hunters, guides and outfitter were in good spirits! Most baits were firing and it was difficult to not sound over confident! At the large meal before the hunt the discussion came up about how many bears would be taken the first night. There are 6 hunters and lots of 4's, 5's and even a 6 were mentioned. When it was my turn to guess, I said 2. I was very wrong...5 bears went down...all boars...and a couple of great ones!
We had 2 hunters from Illinois that said they were going to shoot the first bear they could identify as a boar. My guide talked with them all the way to their baits trying to talk them into holding off and waiting for something special, but at the end of the day it's the hunters choice. Here are their bears.
Here is bear 3 from Monday night!
Here is bear 3 from Monday night!
Bear 4 from Monday! Notice they're getting bigger!
Bear 4 from Monday! Notice they're getting bigger!
Great pic of father (bear 5) and son with 2 incredible bears!
Great pic of father (bear 5) and son with 2 incredible bears!
There was a group of 3 hunters, a father/son and a buddy. Josh (the son) won the hunt through the Pope & Young Dream Hunt Raffle. They accounted for the other 3 bears that went down that evening!
1 pic sideways, 1 pic right, 1 pic upside down! Sorry guys.
Last bear of the week taken on Day 2!
Last bear of the week taken on Day 2!
With 5 of 6 tagged out, only 1 hunter was going out Tuesday. He was hoping for a colour phase, which we don't have a lot. We set him on one that we knew of but he got tempted after seeing a bunch of black ones! Day 2 of the hunt and we were tagged out!
This was the first trail cam pic of this bear. Takes your breath away!
This was the first trail cam pic of this bear. Takes your breath away!
Week 3 started out with perfect weather! Things actually started drying out. It was also a week of regulars, with 5 of the 7 having hunted with us multiple times before.
3 shots were taken Monday night! Unfortunately, only 2 recoveries. Here is a pic of the one that got away :( It was a young hunter on his first bear hunt. I told him a lot of veteran bear hunters would have had a hard time holding it together after the bear walked within 6 feet of the ground blind!
First night, first bear hunt, first bear!
First night, first bear hunt, first bear!
The first of the 2 recovered bears belonged to this first time bear hunter! He's definitely hooked on bear hunting!!
Another Day 1 bear!
Another Day 1 bear!
The second bear recovered from Monday night went to one of our regular hunters. This is his biggest bear with us. His taxidermist green scored it high in the 18's!
Another repeat hunter with his biggest bear!
Another repeat hunter with his biggest bear!
That left 4 hunters going out Tuesday night. Action was still off the charts, and 2 more bears were taken! Both by repeat hunters.
The first bear was taken by the father of the large bear taken the night before. The same taxidermist green scored dad's bear into the 19's. His biggest bear taken with us to date!
Already looking forward to next year!
Already looking forward to next year!
The 2nd Tuesday night bear was also taken by a repeat hunter. And he'll be repeating again with us next year!
Jim's best bear so far!
Jim's best bear so far!
Our last 2 hunters were a couple on their 11th or 12th trip with us. Jim got his bear on Wednesday night, leaving Cindy the last hunter on Thursday.
Jim made a great shot and his bear only went 40 yards after the shot!
Bear displaying at the bait just before the shot.
Bear displaying at the bait just before the shot.
Only Cindy left for Thursday night and we had the perfect stand ready. Here is a trail cam pic taken just before she shot. Unfortunately, after a lengthy blood trail that included a few beds and jumping the bear the next morning, we had to call off the search and had an unrecovered bear.
Cindy has taken several bear with us and has always made excellent shots. It just happens sometimes. We feel the shot was slightly high and forward.
Fresh caught walleye on the menu!
Fresh caught walleye on the menu!
This is the week the fishing really picked up and with most hunters tagging out early, fish fries began!
Fun Times
Thanks for Sharing with us,
Robb
Jeff with is wet, first day bear!
Jeff with is wet, first day bear!
As good as the weather was during week 3, it was that bad or worse during week 4. Wind and rain are not the best for bear hunting...and it was the start of 12 straight days of the same wind. We always hunt the wind, and have a lot of baits that work for different winds, but come on!! More on those issues in week 5.
Through the weather, our hunters and guides persevered and some great bears were taken. One bear was taken on night one, another great boar and with a great hide - even though the pic shows a bear soaked with rain!
Two bears went down on Tuesday.
The first was taken by a new hunter (to us) who has already taken a spot in 2024! We were targeting a specific bear on his spot and he made a great call and took the boar we hoped he would. He wanted a Pope & Young bear and I'd say he got one!!
Dennis and another great Adrenaline boar!
Dennis and another great Adrenaline boar!
The second bear taken on Tuesday was a long time returning hunter...this dude is hard core and an outfitters dream! Does exactly what you ask, comes 100% prepared mentally and gear-wise. When he says he shot, you know there's a dead bear in the woods!
We also put him on a specific bear and after passing 20 bears, made the call to take another great boar with us!
Here is the other Dennis' great boar taken Tuesday night!
Here is the other Dennis' great boar taken Tuesday night!
Not sure why the pic didn't attach for the first bear.
Wednesday night of week 4 was the first night during the season that a bear was not taken :( Weather continued to suck, and some of the tagged out hunters didn't even bother fishing! Winds were brutal and consistent...
Cliff with his Thursday evening boar!
Cliff with his Thursday evening boar!
Thursday got us back on track and a Bowsite Christmas auction winner took a boar. Few sightings overall this week and his hunt was no different. Great attitude to fight through the weather and a tough hunt rewarded him with a Thursday night boar!
Darel with his boar that identified as a 'sow'!
Darel with his boar that identified as a 'sow'!
Our last bear taken for the week is a funny story.,,
He saw several bears throughout the week. Mostly sows and small boars. On his last night, he was sitting on one of the few sites that has cell service and was giving his guide the play by play. At one point, he asked if it was ok to take the small sow at the bait. There were no cubs present, and she had been in for awhile. He really wanted to take a bear and was looking forward to taking home some meat. From what we saw this year, we were not going to allow a hunter to knowingly take a sow - especially a young one that is still in the breeding stage.
About 20 minutes before the end of the night (and his hunt), he took the shot. The guide was getting ready to recover a bear we were not going to be overly thrilled about, but as long as the hunter is happy.
The shot was perfect and when they walked up to the bear, my guide got very confused. Not only was the bear substantially larger than he thought, but after rolling it over, it was a boar!
All the way back to camp the hunter kept referring to his bear as 'she' or 'her'. He also said it wasn't the biggest bear he'd seen all week, but he was happy with 'her'.
I still don't know if he understands he took a very respectable bear with a perfect hide. We did not scale this bear due to the rush to get it in the freezer for his trip home Saturday, but we've scaled enough to know he was well over 250!
What a great way to end a tough weather week!
Great stuff Russ! Those are some DANDY bears! Don't usually see an outfitter with such a run of big bears. What a season so far. Thanks for fighting through the picture struggles with the posting.
Lots of those bear look to have BIG heads. Love a post with lots of pics and ready for more.
Nice Russ! This is the review we where hoping to hear on Friday night. Sorry we had to leave. Thanks for every thing.
Yeah, I was hoping to hang out with you guys and hear the stories from the week!
Eran and Jarrod with Jarrod's Monday night boar!
Eran and Jarrod with Jarrod's Monday night boar!
We had 5 hunters for the last week. A group of four up for the first time, along with a single who has hunted with up multiple times.
Sometimes weather works against you in unique ways. This week the wind direction was killing us! We just finished an entire week of the same wind and there was no end in sight this week! We were going to do something we seldom do by pushing the wind limits we normally hunt for certain stands. We had a lot of bears to hunt, but just wanted to avoid hunting stands that had been pressured.
The week started off great with a bear going down the first night! We had a father/son duo hunting and Jarrod was the first of the family to tag out!
Just 4 of the many bears hitting this bait!
Just 4 of the many bears hitting this bait!
We also had a pair of hunters sit together Monday night. We had a bait fire up with multiple shooter bears on it that hadn't been hunted all season. They saw a pile, including one of the shooters, but things didn't quite work out.
Our target bear the day before we hunted him. You can see he's worth the extra work!
Our target bear the day before we hunted him. You can see he's worth the extra work!
We also pushed the wind on another stand Monday night. With a rifle hunter, we setup a natural ground blind a little further away and up the ridge, hoping our scent would be carried away from the bear we were hunting. We only saw one, but the way it was acting, you knew a big bear was in the area!
First Tuesday night bear. Adam with his first bear!
First Tuesday night bear. Adam with his first bear!
Tuesday was busy! Three bears down!! Including a beautiful colour phase!
Unfortunately, the group ended up having to leave early due to some health issues, so I never got the chance to congratulate them.
This left one hunter left in camp for the season.
Bear 2 from Tuesday was just a warrior of a boar!
Bear 2 from Tuesday was just a warrior of a boar!
Bear 3 from Tuesday! A great colour phase bear on a stand we could finally hunt!!
Bear 3 from Tuesday! A great colour phase bear on a stand we could finally hunt!!
A target bear we focused on with our last hunter!
A target bear we focused on with our last hunter!
Unfortunately, our last hunter never got a shot. He saw the target bears on 3 different evenings, but being an experienced hunter, he passed on the questionable shots that were presented. Great control knowing your hunt is coming to an end.
That was the end of our season. We had 25 hunters take 24 shots. 21 recoveries, all boars. The 3 unrecovered were also boars (from the pics or video we had). 1 hunter with no shot. Considering the start to the season, and the fact we haven't outfitted for 2 years, I considered it a huge success.
I also had a few new guides rotate through the season and they all worked out better than I hoped! The future is looking very good.
Spring 2023 is already booked up and 2024 is well over half booked. If anyone is interested in a hunt, please contact me.
Thanks for following along.
Russ - Adrenaline Outfitters
Russ,
Thank you for donating the Christmas Auction hunt. Despite the rain, wind and cold, I had a great time. It is obvious that you and team put a lot of time and effort into selecting and maintaining great bait locations. I need to come back in hope of getting some better weather.
I was so disappointed to have to cancel at the last minute. I was very ill and was just put on full insulin injections and was fighting dangerous lows. I kept telling myself I could do it, but only being a week or so on insulin and fighting deadly lows, I decided wisdom was to stay home and miss the Christmas Auction hunt. I was actually quite visibly disappointed for several weeks. Anyway, I just got a pump and it is much better managed now so maybe another time. Congratulations on a great season despite so much bad weather!
We'll be ready for your return Cliff!
Disappointing to have to cancel a hunt any time, never mind a couple of days before! I feel for you Steve. Keep watching Bowsite in December...there will probably be another Christmas Auction!
Good stuff, Russ! Lots of tuff conditions to deal with this spring. Looks like you guys did great, even with all the curveballs thrown at you! Congrats on a great season!
