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Turkey season is over so the wife and I headed north to Saskatchewan and East Trout Lake Outfitters is search of black bears. The trip started a little rocky as when we landed in Saskatoon we had no luggage other than our camera gear we carried on with us. The airline informed us our luggage would show sometime around midnight and it was 1 in the afternoon. The guide said not to worry as he had a friend in town we could hang out with for the day. We finally got our luggage and into camp around around 4 in the morning. The first day found us scrambling to get our camera gear and Michelle's hunting equipment ready for the first evening.
Sunset on East Trout Lake
The bear movement was not helping get our spirits up either as we had a full moon the first three days in camp and we were not seeing much movement at all. Thurs night the weather was great and the moon was getting darker so my hopes were up a little. Around 6 pm a bear showed to the west and appraoched the bait.
Michelle's bait site
He didn't stay long as he grabbed some bait, went just out of bow range, and ate. About an hour later he stood and headed back towards the barrel again, not offering a shot, and then going lay down out of range again. Hoping the third time was a charm and looking the bear over close we decided it would be a great first bear. This time he decided to stay awhile and after getting herself calmed down she came to full draw and let her Thunderhead XP tipped Beman fly.
The arrow hit it's mark and the bear expired after a short 60 yard run. (What really amazed me is she is only shooting 48 pounds and she went through this bear and stuck in a log on the other side.) My wife's reaction was priceless and fortunately I got it all on tape. It was one of my most memorable hunts ever. The bear had one of the most incredable hides I have ever seen. The day just couldn't have gotten any better, at least for us.
Michelle with her first black bear
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Another hunter in camp by the name of Mike was also having a great experience, or so he thought. Around 5 pm he shot a nice black bear and sat back to wait for the guides to show up when the unthinkable happenned. As he watched three wolves eat about a 1/4 of his bear within minutes. He yelled and screamed at the wolves with no avail. Thankfully they left but not before destroying a lot of his bear. He was able to get the wolves off his bear in time to at least get a partial mount or something out of it. If nothing else, a great story.
Mike with his bear( the picture covers up the wolf attack well)
Once you flip the bear over though you can see the real damage. What a shame but it's reality . Mother nature can be cruel.
I had a couple nights to go but the weather took a nasty turn for the worse and got very cold and windy.
 Me and the wife passing time. Doesn't she look cold? It was freezing!
I did see a couple bears but not what I was looking for.
One of the smaller bears a enjoyed watching but just not what I was looking for
It didn't really matter however as I was just happy and excited to see my wife shoot her first bear. Thanks to Warren and Peter at East Trout Lake and to Greg and Roxy for the great food. The footage from this hunt can be seen on either the Archer's Choice or The Choice Tv shows which both air on the outdoor channel. |