kakko

Any one gearing up for fall bear season? we have been out just driving the area to see where the activety is and have sighted more than 10 bears already

DARKSIDE55

Over a 100 here.

99 jeep

I sure wish to bear hunt this august but seems where i want to go you have to pay outta the ying yang and its sick that now theres a problem with the bears in the north and people want to make money sad that fellow canadians do that to each other i wish yous all luck this fall. Im in southern ontario now and we dont have bears, but on the island we have them but not where our camp is but yr after yr i try. So my count down is on for the first oct bow hunt. Cant wait. Later all.

Dan O.

99 jeep; seasons don't cover the whole year but the bills keep coming in. After investing in lodges and equipment I don't begrudge northerners from charging well to hunt bear. Look at the people who just plunked down $500 for a nonexistent Hamilton NHL team.

Dan O.

OntElk

I am moving north in 2 weeks. As much as I am looking forward to the bear hunt I am dredding the gas costs and time associated with it. I have a friend who owns a local restaurant in town for scraps. Driving into get them, driving to the hunting area, out to bait station, cost of stands and time, Man and that is just for me! I can't imagine having to do that for mutliple stand locations and hunters and still try and make a profit. I mean they aren't doing it for your pleasure. Business is business.

DARKSIDE55

Well let me explain it to you this way. As an outfitter, I pay $0.30 a pound for bear bait. It takes me 7 hours round trip to go get it and bring it back. That's time and gas out of my pocket. I also spend 6 to 8 hours a day running bear baits and stands, which again includes time and gas. I also pay on an average of $300.00for each treestand. Then I also have to pay the Province of Ontario $1800.00 per year for my BMA (Bear Management Area). And I charge $900.00 US for my bear hunt, including tax, but not the license. Most years I am lucky to break even my friend. Well that's probably why you are paying out the ying yang. As an Ontario resident, you can come up north, rent a cottage for $400.00 and go bear hunting anywhere you want. Sorry...I can't give you the cottage for free. Or as an Ontario resident you can come up here and camp out in a tent and hunt anywhere you want. And the only money you will be out is what you paid for the tent and the license.

99 jeep

Well dark side if you do that for a living i wont knock it thats what you do i just have a problem with people charging a arm and leg for a lame bear that is greasy or for a hide i will eat anything i shoot or harvest but when i want to hunt and people are charging 1000. bucks for a bear no thanks then extra cost for skinning freezing butchering etc come on as for baits i can go to my local tim hortons get stuff from there free any restaurant for there slop and set it out and hope for the best i know everyone is out for the mighty buck but not me i bet ill save those people disposal fees for a few days as for Dan O well since i live near toronto ill go to hamilton to see thePREDATORS take out the leafs and i bet the tickets will bereal cheap as well and i hope they are so the fans will see there being ripped lol. So you know what boys pay do it do what ever i will not pay out the ying yang like i said thats what im expressing we can sit here and debate on prices etc but nah ill just wait for deer season to come.

kakko

hey darkside where is your bma?

The BMA that I work is east of kirkland lake

DARKSIDE55

My closest Tim Horton is 280 miles round trip and I don't know what's different between Toronto and here, but they will not give you 'day old' or anything from Tim Hortons up here. I know...I've tried. I don't get slop from restaurants, which there are none of around here either. I get my bait from bakeries and butcher shops. And they charge an arm and a leg for it because everyone is wanting it. For one guy like you to go out and go bear hunting...shouldn't cost you more than $200.00 for everything to do it yourself. And you're right...we could debate this forever.



Kakko...

I'm about 200 miles northwest of you, in the Gogama general area.

kakko

Ok back from camp for a few days, generaly good for bears lots of sightings, soon time to start baiting,