***OFFICIAL*** 2023 SPRING BEAR THREAD

Day 4 in New Brunswick in the books.

Different baits, same story, no bears in daylight. The new baits hadn't been out very long, not much for trails or scat. I may ask to go back to my original location for the remaining two sits.

Weather was pretty funky yesterday, 90+ degrees then a wind storm and rain blew through. Forecasted to be 25 degrees cooler today and tomorrow.

Seeing piles of moose, one of the guys had a cow just about stick her head in his ground blind.
 
Looks like former Bears QB Jay Cutler had some Montana success. Cue the online haters…

"Cutler might be in some trouble since, in Montana, Bears are protected by law due to being endangered species unless an individual is in a position of self-defense. Any individual going against this law could face a $50,000 fine and loss of hunting license."

I think this article author might be assuming that is a grizzly bear 🤔
 
"Cutler might be in some trouble since, in Montana, Bears are protected by law due to being endangered species unless an individual is in a position of self-defense. Any individual going against this law could face a $50,000 fine and loss of hunting license."

I think this article author might be assuming that is a grizzly bear 🤔
True. But never let facts get in the way of a good rant.
 
"Cutler might be in some trouble since, in Montana, Bears are protected by law due to being endangered species unless an individual is in a position of self-defense. Any individual going against this law could face a $50,000 fine and loss of hunting license."

I think this article author might be assuming that is a grizzly bear 🤔

Man Greentree got a little over excited on insta it appears
 
Spent 6 days exploring new country and looking for bears. This was only my 2nd dedicated bear hunt and I learned a ton.

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Caught a glimpse of a nice bear on day 1, put a stalk on but took too long and couldn't relocate him. Spent 12 hrs glassing from a different angle the next day only for him to emerge just before dark one slope over. Bombed down to get across the canyon from him, but he took an unexpected turn which increased the distance outside my comfort zone and it was getting dark quick.

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Spent the next day(s) looking for him to no avail, so got itchy feet and went to explore a new drainage. Saw moose, deer, a string of bulls crossing avalanche chutes, and the first elk calf of the year drop on May 31st....but no more bears.

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Spring bear has quickly vaulted into one of my favorite hunts, already thinking about next year.
 
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Just this little guy tonight. Vent alert I know I’m spoiled I have hunted bears 3 nights a week at least for three weeks and I have no issues getting beat by a big bear but the action has been so slow. Every night I see one maybe two bears. On a normal year I’ll have had several sits by now seeing 4-6 bears. Tonight for example rained yesterday, nice tonight and an inch of rain on the way for tomorrow the bears should have nicer amazing but just one little guy
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Four days of getting absolutely soaked, drying gear out and trying to glass through the fog. I loved every Gawd Damn second of it too. No shots fired passed a few up looking for Mr Right. Great weekend!

I'll officially turn the reins over for next year @BAKPAKR. Due to lack of production. Still time though....

One of my favorite trips in a long time, love exploring some new stuff!
 

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Gentleman, days 4 through 6 in New Brunswick took a turn...

Day 4: We started with some decent fish catching but hunting ended up again with no bears . Something relatively notable was one of our guys had a truck park near them with people getting in and out, talking, slamming tailgates etc. Assuming they were setting up a bait site. The hunter told the guide what happened and he said that no one should be in there as it was leased property. A few minutes later a truck came down the road with 3 hunters in it, presumably the trespassers we heard. The guide and the hunters exchanged words in French, but was translated later on that he asked them to leave and not come back.

Day 5: Temps dropped approximately 25 degrees and a mid-day thunderstorm rolled through. We hit the baits around 3pm for the evening sit. Around 6pm I heard 2 gunshots in quick succession, a break of about 10 minutes, then a third shot. I get excited that one of our guys managed to get another bear! About another hour later I hear a car horn blaring, held for 30 seconds or so. A few shorter blasts, then another 30 second hold. 20 minutes after that multiple vehicles come tearing by back and forth.

It gets quiet and dark, no bears for me. After I walked back to the guide waiting at the end of the road I asked, "Who got one tonight?". He shakes his head and says no one, some locals were messing with you guys. Turns out the vehicles I heard were the guide and locals in a high speed chase... the same trespassers from the night before.

They walked into the baits, hassled one of the hunters, drove around laying on the car horn to scare off any bears, and took all 3 of the shots I had heard. We come to find out this guy is a local hunter, works for another guide, and is participating in a local high dollar bear hunting tournament. All or one of those things apparently made him come out and ruin our hunt. Working theory is that they'd been messing with the outfitters baits, deleting pictures of cameras, stealing cameras, etc.

Day 6: We hunted a completely different area than the previous 5. A much better looking area than we had been hunting. I believe the outfitter intended to save these spots for the regulars coming in next week. One of the guys had a bear come in but couldn't get a shot with the bow.

The hunt ended 1 for 6.

I expressed my displeasure with the experience and the outfitter offered to have us back out in the fall for free. I won't be going back but some of the group may take him up on it.

Great company, adequate accommodations, excellent fishing, but terrible bear hunting.

Edit: If anyone now, or in the future, is looking for a recommendation on what outfitters to not use near Edmundston, NB send me a PM

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Me thinking I'm taking a short cut to get into a logged out drainage that I wanted to glass. Serious 🤦‍♂️ move.... nothing like running right into a 200ft wall.
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Then getting to my pickup with 45 other spots to park just me and one car in the lot.... fkn subaru people🙄
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Me thinking I'm taking a short cut to get into a logged out drainage that I wanted to glass. Serious 🤦‍♂️ move.... nothing like running right into a 200ft wall.
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Then getting to my pickup with 45 other spots to park just me and one car in the lot.... fkn subaru people🙄
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Hey hey… thats a forester, thats a different level of Subaru. Don’t lump all us subi drivers into one category ha
 

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