Somebody has a story to tell....AND now the story....

[Terry Green]

[M60gunner]

We are all eyes, let’s hear it. That a big boy

[smokin joe]

The story is going to have to wait until I get home from Manitoba.

[Terry Green]

No worries Joe.... 

[charles m]

This will be worth waiting for.

[smokin joe]

I went to Stickflingers in Manitoba to hunt black bears from May 20 to May 25. I have hunted there before.

[doubleo]

 

[smokin joe]

For those who do not know, Stickflingers is a black bear outfitter in western Manitoba that is especially good at catering to bow hunters. The owner of the business, Ryan Derlago is a bowhunter who understands traditional bowhunting. He is also a fire fighter in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Stickflingers has two camps. One has a bit of a camping quality, with grain-bin enclosures serving as the lodgings. The other is located in Minitonas in a hunting lodge where there are bedrooms for the hunters, home-cooked meals, etc. --- an actual large house with all of the comforts.

My friend Bill (RI Red on trad gang) and I set up the hunt for ourselves a couple of years ago. Bill flew to Winnipeg from Maryland, and I flew in from my home in North Carolina. The next morning, May 19, we drove our rental car from Winnipeg to Minitonas. It took about 5 hours to make the drive.

[smokin joe]

Bill and I got to the lodge, got our gear unpacked, and reacquainted ourselves with the owners of the lodge, Gordon and Sherry. There was one other hunter, Jeremiah, and his father, Rich. Rich was along for the trip and intended to do some fishing rather than hunting.

The outfitter, Ryan, stopped by and had a long talk with us about his operation. He went over his philosophy about baiting. He only gives the bears quality food that will be good for their health. The reasoning behind this is that good food increases the overall health of the bears in the long run and that is an investment in the quality of the hunting. We also chatted about identifying boars versus sows and many other aspects of bear hunting.

We met our guide, Mike, a young guy who is also a fire fighter in Winnipeg. Mike is a terrific guide who puts in lots of extra effort to make sure his hunters have a great hunt.

We settled in for a great dinner, and a bit of relaxation in the trophy room in the lodge.

[Terry Green]

 

[smokin joe]

Monday -- The first hunting day.

Mike the guide put the quad and its bear carrier on the trailer and hooked the trailer to the truck. We piled in and headed int Duck Mountain Provincial Park where Stickflingers has an enormous exclusive outfitting concession. The first stop drop was a stand for Jeremiah. He and Mike got on the quad and headed into the bush on a little trail.

There were 19 baited stands for the three of us to hunt based on wind direction.

Next stop was Bill's stand for the day.

Then Mike and I headed back to my stand. There was a ladder stand and a bait barrel. Mike got the barrel ready and I got up into the stand and got secured with my safety harness and strap. At about 6:30 PM a big boar came in. He never presented a good shot angle, but he was fun to watch. He ate for about 30-40 minutes and then he left.

At 9:30 a big sow and her spunky son came in. He was about 2 to 3 years old. He was still with his mother but getting to the age that he was starting to show a lot of attitude. He was thin and gangly -- for a bear.

[smokin joe]

Let's see if I can fix the photo of the young male...

[rastaman]

 

[smokin joe]

Tuesday -- Day Two
The forecast was horrible. Rain and cold. Bill and Jeremiah went to two new stands and I stayed at the lodge. They saw a few bears, but paid for it by getting wet and cold. A bit of leaky rain gear was the problem.

[supernaut]

 

[smokin joe]

Wednesday -- Day Three.
The forecast was a little better. Scattered showers. Enough to get a little wet but a plastic bag for the arrow fletching helped. I was at a stand that overlooked a creek and faced a hill. At about 6:00 a good sized bear started walking down the hill toward my stand. Unfortunately the wind was swirling around and he caught my scent and veered off.

At about 7:00 he comes back and feeds for about 45 minutes without ever turning broadside to me. Then he walked away from the stand about 20 yards and laid down by a tree trunk for a few minutes. Then he got up, walked about another 20 yards or so and laid down under another tree and fell asleep. I watched him sleep for about 45 minutes. Then he got up, came back in to feed and never offered a decent shot angle. He finally walked off at about 9:30.

So I had one big male bear to watch for a total of over 3 hours. He never offered me a broadside shot.

[smokin joe]

Thursday -- Day Four

Thursday looked good, but the forecast for Friday and Saturday was for more rain. I had the sense that Thursday was going to be the last day of huntable weather.

As it turned out, I was right.

[Hud]

"Day 3, and a boar spends 3 hours without presenting a good shot." Is that because the bait is open from all sides and the bear was either facing away or toward you? Do they leave the bait open for a reason, rather than in a structure so they are facing to your left or right.

[STICKBENDER98]

    It's always a great time when the baits are active, despite the weather.


Jason

[smokin joe]

Hud -- The bait is in and on top of a 50 gal steel drum. The drum is chained to a tree so the bears can tip it over and roll it around, but they can'r roll it away.

The one that never offered me a shot was on the far side of the drum facing me and eating everything off of the top of the drum for quite a while. Then he tipped it over and was quartering toward me for a while. He was also laying down and eating.

The policy at Stickflingers is that a wounded bear fills your tag. My approach to dealing with that is that I am not going to shoot at a bear that is not broadside with all 4 feet on the ground. It means I have to be patient and only take a perfect or near-perfect shot.