Help - 6 day guided bear hunt = skunk
 

I took my son and my dad to an outfitter in Quebec for a little get away. I got a bear license and my 9 (almost 10) year old son and I went bear hunting. We spent 6 days in the stand and saw nothing. 5:00-10:00pm each night.

I've been taking my boy deer hunting with me since he was 6 so he knows how to be quiet and still. And this time he was as good as I could expect.

The outfitter has 90% kill and 97% sighting. The other 6 hunters shot their bears by Tuesday.

What did we do wrong? I've been hunting for 30 years. Bow-killed good bucks. Even shot PA bear with no bait or hound. How could a slam dunk turn into a complete bust?

Was my kid more fidgety than I thought. The visibility was about 2 inches and bears have poor eyesight. I would say hearing was a possibility but, the flies and mosquitos made quite the cover-sound.

I'm just wondering if this was a once in a billion fluke or whether me and the kid aren't stealthy enough to hunt baited bears.

Anyone have any insight?

Thanks

Same bait or different baits? Was/were the bait/s being hit before you arrived and were they being hit at night when you weren't there?

Day 1 & 2 = one bait

Day 3 & 4 = another bait

Day 5 = a third bait

Day 6 = a fourth bait


Baits were empty each day. I assume they got hit at night.

But, other hunters got bear. Some at 6:30, 7:00 and 8:00. Shooting ended at 9:45.

At home, bears are not timid. They juat lay down and eat.

I went on a bear hunt like this years ago where my bait was getting hit at night and nothing while I was sitting there. The baiter told me it was because I was a chewer which I did spit in a bottle for sent control. So on the night he told me that I got out of the stand walked over to the pile of bait and spit my chew out on the pile. I turned to the bait guy and said if he wants that food he'll get used to chewing. Sounds silly but the next day I showed up to the stand with the bait guy to re bait it and stayed from 10am to 3pm which was the time I shot my bear. At 3pm most guys weren't even getting dressed to go to their stands. I also sprayed my boots so heavy with anise that is all I could smell all day. I say your hunt was a fluke. Bad timing if you will.

Stand hunting for bear is much more finicky than for deer. I think their eyesight is underrated. They frequently know where the stands are, and watch them from out of site. I have discovered this firsthand several times. Of course, two hunters are twice as noticeable, and what passes for minimal fidgeting on a deer stand equals alot on a bear stand.
I have learned that sitting a stand out usually pays off. Over the last five years, I shot my bear the last night (usuallly last light). I at first disagreed, but now agree with my guides that they do pick up on that little bit of new scent, and get more used to it in time. I also vastly prefer a ground blind. They give you much more freedom to move around. I have had a bobcat and bears within a few feet without knowing I was there. I think with a youngster, it would be the ideal way to go.

We did spend two days on the ground. On top of a 20 foot cliff and behind some trees and brush. I thought that was the ideal ambush spot. But, nothing but snowshoe hares showed up.

Sounds like the two of us together will never see bear unless we happen upon a stupid one :D

I'm use to the bears that come to a corn feeder here in PA. You can go out and yell at them and they just lay there and eat.

their smell is incredible.

had an outfitter say they'd put a bear's nose over a deer's.


sounds like just unlucky... less you were swatting those mosquitoes like crazy?

Had a Thermacell so we weren't doing too bad with the bugs.

Hi Barnes. I think, like the other guys here. Switching bait stations may have been your downfall. Otherwise, like the others said. scent, and movement are the usual culprits.

Good hunting.

Sounds like it just didn't come together for you. Kudos to your little guy for sticking it out though. Those are long hours, day after day, for a youngster.

I am proud of the little dude for sticking it out that long in the stand. Especially the times that we had to wait in the dark woods while we waited for the guide to pick us up. That was pretty spooky for me and I'm a grown-up :D

I'm just to bummed that we couldn't get a bear together. Espcially when talking to every other hunter who has done a hunt like this. They all say you'll be tagged out on the first or 2nd day. They all tell me that you'll see bears all the time, it's just how picky you are that determines whether you tag out in the first hour, day or wait a couple days to get a bigger one.

The guides were shocked that we saw nothing. All my buddies can't believe it. My boy isn't that bummed but I really wanted to have success with him. I have no idea when we'll ever be doing another trip like this. It was suppose to be one of those once-in-a-lifetime deals. Especially since my dad is 81. He won't be able to go with us indefinitely.

I'd love to try again as early as this Fall. But I don't know about vacation, school, money, etc..... I wish they had 3 day hunts in Maine. I'd never be able to swing a week and would hate to pay a week's fare and stay for three days. Oh well. Everyone's probably booked anyway. And I doubt my wife would go for it anyway. :D

Just curious, what outfitter did you use?

The only reason I ask, I was thinking of taking my youngest boy in a couple years, I'd like to find a camp in Quebec that has both decent fishing & bear hunting. Any recommendations from other posters would be appreciated.:)

"My boy isn't that bummed but I really wanted to have success with him...It was suppose to be one of those once-in-a-lifetime deals."

His perspective may be different than yours relative to the success of that hunt. Several days traveling and hanging out with dad. The whole deal was probably a real adventure to him including the travel, lodging, sitting with his dad over the bait, the time you spent interacting and talking over the whole week... Did he talk about his hunt with dad with his mom, siblings, others? I bet he talked about more than not seeing a bear.

Yeah, he had a great time. The road trip was fun. Crossing the border was fun. Seeing Niagra Falls on the way up and The Thousand Islands on the way down was fun. Catching his first pike was fun. Hanging out with other hunters in camp was fun. Seeing everyone else's bears hanging each night was fun :D . Going to the general store where everything was in French was fun. Getting to drink more soda than mommy allows was fun.

Yep, he had fun. But our expectations were sky-high.

The outfitter was Taggart Bay Lodge. The only reason I am mentioning the name is because everyone else got a bear so there's no way I can give them a bad review. They worked hard for us and even let us hunt an extra day. Just wasn't meant to be, I guess.

Hey guys, as a bear outfitter in northern ontario I have come to realize the importance of human scent. I have noticed if I bait all my baits let's say for a week straight then my wife baits, I have found that a couple of my regularly hit baits will change or not be hit at all for a couple of days. Also I have learned from a older outfitter to bait consistently with the same bait. He recommended to me to use donuts, oats soaked in grease, and some meat I use beaver, and to never change the bait after you get them on a certain diet or you might loose the bears you have had coming. My biggest thing about bear hunting now is the use of trail cameras, the pattern is right there infront of you after a couple weeks of baiting. Last yr was my first yr outfitting, patterned the bears and shot the first 4 bears in the first three mornings. Yup mornings!! the first 2 where shot a little after 6 a.m opening day because that's when they where patterned which goes against all bear hunting norm. It could have been bad luck you didn't get a bear but maybe some of this may help you out next time.

Forgot to mention that the cameras also help identify the baits being hit during the late hours of the night, and helps when tryn to get them off of this routin by either over baiting or under baiting so that they have to come back at different time than normal.

Cantrap - we could have been dealing with nocturnal bears. Or, the bears who were hitting the baits were close and just waited us out before hitting the baits.

I talked to the guide about trail cameras. He said that they get destroyed and they'd go through a hundred a year which would not be cost-effective :D

I no exactly what he's talking about. I've had a few trail cameras destroyed by bears here at home. The last few pictures are always interesting, though :D

I would say the switching of baits was the problem. I went on a guided hunt over bait and we stayed on one bait for at least 3 days before moving. Glad your son isn't down about not killing cause theres more to it than the killing part. good luck in the future.

BRUSE - after the 6th day of sitting and seeing nothing, this is what he said to me:

"hey dad. after this, sitting in the deer blind will be a piece of cake".


If noting else, this trip taught him patience.

Trail cams r the ticket!! I put my cameras in the little steal boxes you can get for them. Then they r bear proof. I haven't had one damaged and I Use them For my whole bear season. Just tryn to help.....

I sounds like your hunt was a success, without harvesting a bear anyhow!! Nice to see stories like these.

Well, we have deer season around the corner and I'll also take him out with me one day for the PA bear season.

I will be booking another bear hunt. We have unfinished business.

thats what I'm talking about always positive..mine would have said dad this is boring!! I guess girls are a little harder to get hooked..

Cantrap - we'll be shopping for another bear hunt next year and I was checking out your site.

If you have any question barnes feel free to call or email. Send me a line and I could send you back some pics from this season.

Another skunked bear hunt - help here too.
 

BarnesX,
sorry to hear about your hunt but I can relate. I just got home today from a 6 day hunt in Ontario in which we saw absolutely nothing. I thought I asked all of the right questions of this outfitter but apparently what I thought was the obvious (actual stands over the bait sites) and the actual use of trail cams when they say they're using them AND a call indicating they had 2 REALLY nice bears coming in meant that they saw them on one of the cameras and not just from a paw print. After I asked to use trail cameras (one that I brought up myself) we finally got to see the bear but it was at night. All the hits on the baits came at night. I got the exact same response regarding the use of trail cameras (they get destroyed). None of ours got wrecked while we had them up. Anyway, this was my first bear hunt and it didn't turn out like I expected. Based on the extent of scent control we used I don't think that was an issue.
If anyone out there can recommend an outfitter in Canada or maybe the states, please let me know. I want to go again after this experience but will be extremely thorough in my search. I'd prefer an Ontario hunt or hunt in which i can drive to from Wisconsin. That's why I chose Ontario this year.
Thanks for any help.
Dan

The guy you need to go with is Cantrap! Took my wife and little girl last year and both of us were done in the first two days. I was done hunting the first evening with a big bear that Mike had e-mailed me pics of prior to the hunt. Mike will go above and beyond to get you a bear, as a fishing guide myself here in NY I know what it takes to keep clients happy and the Cantrap crew does the same. I am going back for the 2013 season, I should of went back this year I got the itch they are a blast to hunt. Sean

Cantrap is on my list of places I'm looking at. Thanks for the recommendation.

Wow nice bear :wave:

I am on my way home from Canada to Australia, I just participated in my first guided hunt, a bear hunt over baits. I've got to say it is an awesome way to hunt, very exciting.

There were 5 hunters in our group, but only 3 were successful:

Day 1 two bear sighted, 1 shot at but missed, the other passed up
Day 2 3 bears sighted, 2 taken (mine included), 1 missed
Day 3 no sightings
Day 4 no sightings
Day 5 no sightings
Day 6 1 bear sighted and taken

I was lucky enough to travel halfway around the world, and tag a nice boar over 500lbs on my first ever hunt :barmy:

When I land home I'll post some pics