WV Hunter
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- Joined
- Oct 6, 2009
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- 1,761
Awesome bear and story. Can't wait to hear about your hunt.
On the way.... (Archery Grizzly)
- Thread starter Elkwhisper
- Start date
Goldtip
New member
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2009
- Messages
- 1,142
Awesome story and great looking bear. Looking forward to "the rest of the story".
Ridge Runner
New member
Great story and pics to go with a great bear. Congrats!
Elkwhisper
Well-known member
Day 4- We woke up early to an extra nice morning. The lake ws like glass, so I took the opportunity to stap few photos of the area. Very pretty place. You will note that their is still a pretty good amount of snow up high. The north facing bowls to the south of the lodge looked like they were holding 10 feet or better up high still. It was pretty cool to glass the snow up high for tracks of bears moving down from their dens in the high country.
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Elkwhisper
Well-known member
Day-4 Continued- After breakfast Derek flew Thomas and I out to a spike camp on a small lake about 30 miles away. We landed at about 9 am, which made us legal to hunt at 3 pm. We spend the middle of the day putting up a wall tent, getting our stuff organized and chopping fire wood. Still pretty optomistic considering the fact that Tom had tagged out so quickly, I was doubley excited to find the tracks of a MONSTER bear right through our camp site. The tracks were about a week old, but Thomas was sure that they were the tracks of a monster "black" grizzly they had seen in years past.
The area we were in was about 300 feet below tree line. The mountain to the back of our camp was still covered in a good amount of snow, but we didn't see any sign of bears crossing the snow. Around 3 pm we rowed a small boat across the lake to an area that had burned about 10 years ago. It was a somewhat open area, that was absolutely covered with huckleberry plants. The plants still held some dried up remains of last falls berry crop, but we were a few months early to count on them drawing in any bears. It was very apparent by the ammount of moose sign arround, that this area would be kick ass in the fall for a moose / griz combo hunt. Our hope was that we might catch a bear moving through this area on his way from the high country to the lower elevations where the moose were starting to drop calves. There were several ridges that terminated into the little valley we were in, and it seemed like a good plan.
That first night, my guide and I posted up about 200 yards apart. We both found perches that allowed us the best view of the surrounding area. The idea was to spot a bear moving in from up high and get in front of him as he made his way down the valley. We sat until about 10:30 pm that night with no sign of any bears. I did have one heart stopping moment when heard some branches breaking a couple of yards below me, and about came out of my boots when the huge brown body of a cow moose stepped out of the brush. At first all I could see was from her shoulders back above her knees...... sure looked like a bear for a second.
Here is a view from my perch......
The area we were in was about 300 feet below tree line. The mountain to the back of our camp was still covered in a good amount of snow, but we didn't see any sign of bears crossing the snow. Around 3 pm we rowed a small boat across the lake to an area that had burned about 10 years ago. It was a somewhat open area, that was absolutely covered with huckleberry plants. The plants still held some dried up remains of last falls berry crop, but we were a few months early to count on them drawing in any bears. It was very apparent by the ammount of moose sign arround, that this area would be kick ass in the fall for a moose / griz combo hunt. Our hope was that we might catch a bear moving through this area on his way from the high country to the lower elevations where the moose were starting to drop calves. There were several ridges that terminated into the little valley we were in, and it seemed like a good plan.
That first night, my guide and I posted up about 200 yards apart. We both found perches that allowed us the best view of the surrounding area. The idea was to spot a bear moving in from up high and get in front of him as he made his way down the valley. We sat until about 10:30 pm that night with no sign of any bears. I did have one heart stopping moment when heard some branches breaking a couple of yards below me, and about came out of my boots when the huge brown body of a cow moose stepped out of the brush. At first all I could see was from her shoulders back above her knees...... sure looked like a bear for a second.
Here is a view from my perch......
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Elkwhisper
Well-known member
Day 5 (THE LONGEST DAY EVER)- As you can see from the photo from my rock perch above, visibility from this spot was ok, but the surrounding brush was so thick, it was impossible to walk through, let alone try and glass or spot a bear in. While this area seemed pretty promising, our options as far as how to hunt it were pretty limited. Pretty much our only play was to stay posted up on our vantage points and hope a bear wandered by. So the morning of Day 5 we got up, had some breakfast, packed lunches and returned to our look outs. And there I sat for 14 of the longest hours ever. The biggest thing we saw that whole day was a couple of Canada Geese. The day was pretty nice, but because we were so high and the fact that the wind was blowing right across a glacier to us, it was pretty difficult to stay comfortable. There were tims when I was so cold, I thought I would shiver right off the rock I was sitting on, and then there were times when I was stripped down to my short sleeves and still to hot. And the bugs..... holy crap, the bugs. It is a good thing I was armed, because I think they woudl have carried me away if I hadn't been.
Needless to say, this was not a real fun day. I couldn't help but reailze a bit of irony in the fact, that here I was on an archery grizzly hunt, and I was as bored as I have ever been in my life.... go figure!
Needless to say, this was not a real fun day. I couldn't help but reailze a bit of irony in the fact, that here I was on an archery grizzly hunt, and I was as bored as I have ever been in my life.... go figure!
Elkwhisper
Well-known member
Day 6- I told the guide this morning that I refused to sit on that darn rock all day again. I knew I would go crazy if I did. So we decided after breakfast to use the boat to skirt the shore of the small lake, and explore any bear trails coming down to the edge for sign. The lake had some marshy wetlands at either end where the creek entered and exitied. We spent the first have of the day, slipping thorugh these we areas. There wasn't a lot of open space, but enough that we could slowly still hunt along. We found no fresh sign on either end, and ended up climbing a small ridge where we could see for a couple hundred yards and tried some predator calling. I did my best to wail like a calf moose in distress, with the hope that old Yogi migh stop buy to investigate, or maybe even a wolf if we were lucky.
After waiting that out for a couple hours, we decided to head back to camp for some lunch and a nap. That evening we spent another 5 hours at our respective vantage points with nothing to show for it.
I was a little discouraged, but still hopefull we could find a bear. Both my guide and I decided that with the lack of fresh sign in this area, we would be better off changing locations, so we used the sat phone to arrange for picup the following day.
After waiting that out for a couple hours, we decided to head back to camp for some lunch and a nap. That evening we spent another 5 hours at our respective vantage points with nothing to show for it.
I was a little discouraged, but still hopefull we could find a bear. Both my guide and I decided that with the lack of fresh sign in this area, we would be better off changing locations, so we used the sat phone to arrange for picup the following day.
Elkwhisper
Well-known member
Day 7- The beaver landed at about 10 am the next morning to pick us up. Derek had spent the last couple of days fleshing Tom's bear, doing interviews with Tyler for the TV show, and flying Tom and Tyler out or the bush and driving them back down to Smithers. He told us that they had been keeping an eye on the hill across from the lodge, but hadn't seen a single bear since the day Tom took his.
So the decision was made to fly us back to the highway, where we would hunt out of another of their base camps. The area near the highway was full of black bears, and they figured we would be just as likely to run into a grizzly there as anywhere. In fact, on his drive into Smithers to pick us up on Day 1, Derek ran into a sow grizzly and two large cubs on the highway, and she made a run at the truck.
After unloading the plane and dealing with gear and what not for a few hours, we had time for an evening hunt. The weather was pretty crappy, and it rained hard for most of the evening, We did spot 3 small black bears, but no grizz.
That night I had a chance to call home for the first time in a week, and found out that my 7 year old daughter had been sick, and that they were taking a bunch of tests. The wife wasn't super worried, but I could tell she really wanted me home. We talked about it a bit, and I told her I would see if I couldn't make it home a few days early. I still wanted to get a grizzly, but each day the leaves on the trees and undergrowth bloomed more and more and our visibiity was becomeing severely limited. Time was slipping away, and the odds were not looking good for me.
Although I was still having a great time, this hunt was nothing like what I had expected. The brush in this area is VERY VERY thick. So thick, that there really wasn't an opportunity to hike anywhere, and glassing was a short range affair at best. If we were going to see a bear, it was count to be close and fast. For a guy from eastern Montana, it was all just a little to claustrophobic.
That said, we made plans to hit it hard again in the morning and check out an area near a stream where they have killed alot of bears in the fall, when the salmon are in.
So the decision was made to fly us back to the highway, where we would hunt out of another of their base camps. The area near the highway was full of black bears, and they figured we would be just as likely to run into a grizzly there as anywhere. In fact, on his drive into Smithers to pick us up on Day 1, Derek ran into a sow grizzly and two large cubs on the highway, and she made a run at the truck.
After unloading the plane and dealing with gear and what not for a few hours, we had time for an evening hunt. The weather was pretty crappy, and it rained hard for most of the evening, We did spot 3 small black bears, but no grizz.
That night I had a chance to call home for the first time in a week, and found out that my 7 year old daughter had been sick, and that they were taking a bunch of tests. The wife wasn't super worried, but I could tell she really wanted me home. We talked about it a bit, and I told her I would see if I couldn't make it home a few days early. I still wanted to get a grizzly, but each day the leaves on the trees and undergrowth bloomed more and more and our visibiity was becomeing severely limited. Time was slipping away, and the odds were not looking good for me.
Although I was still having a great time, this hunt was nothing like what I had expected. The brush in this area is VERY VERY thick. So thick, that there really wasn't an opportunity to hike anywhere, and glassing was a short range affair at best. If we were going to see a bear, it was count to be close and fast. For a guy from eastern Montana, it was all just a little to claustrophobic.
That said, we made plans to hit it hard again in the morning and check out an area near a stream where they have killed alot of bears in the fall, when the salmon are in.
Elkwhisper
Well-known member
Day 8- After an early breakfast, Thomas, myself and the cook hit the road to head down to the salmon stream, which was about 100 miles south of camp. The cook decided to tag along that day, because she was scared to stay at camp alone. This was the first time she had ever been out in the bush, and while she was managing just fine, she didn't like the idea of being out in the middle of nowhere by herself.
On the drive down to the salmon stream, we did see one small black bear, but nothing worth chasing. We arrived at our destination and pulled the truck off the highway into one of the few cut blocks in the area. We parked the truck, loaded our packs, and Thomas and I began or walk down to the stream, where they have a permanent tree stand built. The idea was that if we could get up above the brush, that we might be able to catch a glimpse of a bear. As we walked down the very rough logging road throught the center of the small clear cut, we came to a spot where the cut took a 90 degree turn to the right. At the corner there was a big pile of logs all stacked up. As we neared that corner, Thomas whispered "Griz, right there". Stepping out from behind the pile of logs, and walking down the same road we were on, was a young grizzly boar. He strode right out in front of us at 50 yards, and then must have caught some movement as I was ripping my rifle out of my crew cab (I was carrying my bow). Since the trip was winding down, I had brought the gun, and had decided if need be that I would use it rather than the bow. I was able to draw the rifle from my pack, jack a shel in the chamber, and find the bear in the scope in one fluid motion...... but I was just a little to slow. All I could see was his ass as he dove into the jungle of underbrush bordering the cut. It was pretty exciting to be that close, and if he had stood there long enough, he might have been in trouble..... but in all reality, he was a pretty small bear, and I wasn't too heartbroken that we missed our chance at him.
We made our way down to the tree stand, which was sittuated about 25 feet up a clump of fir trees. The view from up there was great, and we could see some tracks on the shore, that were almost certainly left their by the small bear we had run into. We sat that stand for several hours with no action. But after listening to all the stories my guide told of fall hunts in that area, there is no other place I would rather be, in the September. In fact, it seemed that the fall hunt is definitley a better time to tag a grizzly in this area. The bears are much more concentrated and easier to locate. The outfitter says that their success on grizzly is 75%, I would guess that number is skewed by higher success in the fall and lowere success in the spring.
On the drive down to the salmon stream, we did see one small black bear, but nothing worth chasing. We arrived at our destination and pulled the truck off the highway into one of the few cut blocks in the area. We parked the truck, loaded our packs, and Thomas and I began or walk down to the stream, where they have a permanent tree stand built. The idea was that if we could get up above the brush, that we might be able to catch a glimpse of a bear. As we walked down the very rough logging road throught the center of the small clear cut, we came to a spot where the cut took a 90 degree turn to the right. At the corner there was a big pile of logs all stacked up. As we neared that corner, Thomas whispered "Griz, right there". Stepping out from behind the pile of logs, and walking down the same road we were on, was a young grizzly boar. He strode right out in front of us at 50 yards, and then must have caught some movement as I was ripping my rifle out of my crew cab (I was carrying my bow). Since the trip was winding down, I had brought the gun, and had decided if need be that I would use it rather than the bow. I was able to draw the rifle from my pack, jack a shel in the chamber, and find the bear in the scope in one fluid motion...... but I was just a little to slow. All I could see was his ass as he dove into the jungle of underbrush bordering the cut. It was pretty exciting to be that close, and if he had stood there long enough, he might have been in trouble..... but in all reality, he was a pretty small bear, and I wasn't too heartbroken that we missed our chance at him.
We made our way down to the tree stand, which was sittuated about 25 feet up a clump of fir trees. The view from up there was great, and we could see some tracks on the shore, that were almost certainly left their by the small bear we had run into. We sat that stand for several hours with no action. But after listening to all the stories my guide told of fall hunts in that area, there is no other place I would rather be, in the September. In fact, it seemed that the fall hunt is definitley a better time to tag a grizzly in this area. The bears are much more concentrated and easier to locate. The outfitter says that their success on grizzly is 75%, I would guess that number is skewed by higher success in the fall and lowere success in the spring.
Elkwhisper
Well-known member
Day 8 continued- That afternoon as we left the cutblock where we had run into the little grizzly, Thomas spotted a very unique colored black bear. The bear might have only been arround 5 feet, but was really cool looking. He had really dark brown legs, with a super rich "carmel" colored back and head. He was unique looking enough, that I thought I would get a closer look. Color phase bears in this part of BC are almost non-existent from what I was told. I was able to slip into about 40 yards, but thick brush and a steep slope kept me from getting a shot, or even a picture......
Not to worry though, at the next cut block we spotted what looked to be a decent boar, filling his belly just on the edge of the thick stuff.
What do you think? With the trip winding down......... is this a taker?
Not to worry though, at the next cut block we spotted what looked to be a decent boar, filling his belly just on the edge of the thick stuff.
What do you think? With the trip winding down......... is this a taker?
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mconway951
Active member
looks like a good one to me
!!!!
ashersdad
Well-known member
Great story so far!! That looks like a nice blackie to me.
Bucnutz.wis
New member
This is a loooooong commercial dude.... did ya whack him ??
cadman59501
New member
Great story so far, cant wait to hear the rest of it
Point Creep
Well-known member
Looks like a super fun time. No naked shots of dance solo with the griz though, I'm disappointed.
IdahoBugler
Well-known member
Awesome story. Can you finish it now!!!!
noharleyyet
Well-known member
Top notch storytelling and visuals so far....
Elkwhisper
Well-known member
Ha Ha! No naked shots for me ths trip....... that said, I wasn't with Tyler when they were taking the hero shots of Tom's bear...... you never know with that guy
Ok..... I'll do my best to wrap this up. Sorry for the delay. Amazing how much catching up there is to do after returning from a long trip like this.....
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