This is how we got to our baits in most cases, using a Lund 16' semi-V with 15hp motors. Here, Jason is taking out the other fellow in camp, a Derek Dombrzinski (sp?) who runs Appalachian Archery in Maryland. He was a good partner in camp and apparently his archery shop is quite popular in and outside the Beltway. Note how this river has carved a DEEP channel among otherwise largely flat terrain up on top. It's a LONG way to the top of these bluffs, longer and harder than it looks, as I was to find out one day.
Jason goes in the dead of winter by snow machine over a partially-frozen river (he's crazy) to bait these river sites with 55 gal. drums of oats and grease. Ideally, the bears come out and find the baits and we get there just as they're about empty. Well, you can't control when the bears come out of hibernation nor when AB sets their season. By the time we got there, all the pre-baiting had been cleaned out and it looked like a riot had taken place at each site. But the bears had obviously gone elsewhere to look for new stuff. Jason contends that they "check back" on the baits, but knows this first week of hunters may have to deal with a slow week to get the bears back on the baits. Derek and I were skunked our first three days on stand, but the trail cameras on each bait showed that bears were starting to find them again and things picked up after that.
Because Jason's AB deer camps are also in the area, and mostly up on the top of the bluffs where they come in via Argos or snow machines, he also has a couple baits up on top in case some of those hunters also have fall bear permits. My brother Scott killed a good bear up on one of those baits last spring, but it is a serious hike to get to from the bottom. Serious enough that it took 45 minutes of forced march to get there, and that was with Jason carrying my gadget-laden pack. The grade in many places was maybe 60 degrees and I was using my longbow and another stick as walking sticks for stability. This was my second afternoon about 2/3rds of the way up when I paused to suck serious air. The photo does not do justice to the grade nor the beauty of the woods. Real wilderness country.
With things slow, we were going several miles upstream and about 15 miles downstream on the Athabasca freshening the baits and checking the cameras for the latest action. To try to make better time, we had two 15hp motors on the stern, here with Derek and Jason doubling up on the gas.
Derek was sold on an upstream bait that had a frequent visitor even though I tried to talk him into the big poop/mossy tree bait I'd seen (but where the Cuddeback camera failed). One of the things you guys need to understand is that when there are other unfilled tags in camp, the policy is we Lambley Bros. are obliged to sit the lesser stands until people have killed a bear. But with Derek passing on the bait that just screamed to me with the best sign, I was headed down to that bait, and a possible date with destiny, when a closer bait showed recent daytime activity by a bruiser (300 lb.?) so Jason talked me into hunting that shorter bait instead. Nothing shows (this was the third day) for either of us.
So on the fourth day, Derek finally goes for the bait I SHOULD'VE sat. But they drop me off at the same bait as the day before and 20 minutes after they left, a bear came out. I really couldn't decide, and for that reason alone I should not have taken him, but I was getting an itchy tab and let the air out of this bear. A bunch of ground shrinkage, but double lungs at 18 yards and it went maybe 25 yards before giving a series of the eerie death moans. The Woodsman broadhead had BROKEN the offside leg bone; very impressive. Dragged it to the river's edge to take pics and complete the many hours that remained before dark (you could shoot up until maybe 11 p.m. MST).
Meanwhile, Derek and Jason go to one bait further than the Mossy one to freshen it and check the camera and while walking in at about 3 p.m., run off a bear. While they're checking the camera, the bear walks back in and it's a pretty good black-phase bear (greens about 18 2/16). The bear is woofing at them (these bears don't see many people) and Derek shoots it while they're still on the ground and with Jason videoing the whole thing over his shoulder. The bear shoots up the nearest tree, gets 20-30 feet up in a matter of a second or two, and then crashes down...dead. All on video. I don't have his pictures yet, but will post them when I do.
They take pics and then head over to the Mossy bait and about 9 p.m. in walks a fat pig of a chocolate bear, well over 300 lbs. and maybe a 20" skull (BIG). It poses at about 13 yards and Derek drills him and is tagged out with two bears in one day. It's a gorgeous bear with a blondish back and I guarantee you half of us would have been asking ourselves if it was a grizzly. Again, pictures when I get them from him. And all I can think of is the old Billy Ray Cyrus song, "It Should've Been Me...". Ha. Actually, was very happy for the client and he is too...he's booked two more years.
Well, the Eagle's Nest stand had started to show some activity at all hours and it was close to camp so on day five I decided to go for a mid-day hunt and got there about 10 with Jason supposed to pick me up at 2:30 for a quick decision about what to do with the remainder of the day. Well, I can hear his motor coming down the valley when the bear walks in and bypasses the bait and is probably coming over to smell my tree when he locks up. He's at 10 yards but facing me, no shot. I try to shield my hands from the bear while attempting to communicate with Jason (who can see me from the river) and wave him off but it's too late and the bear scalds off into the brush. I wave him in then and he pretends to bait the site and I tell him to come back for me at dark (it's going to be about 13+ hours on stand).
About 4, the bear comes back in but is wired now. Moultrie cameras had shown he often stayed at the bait 20-45 minutes so I wanted to wait for a good shot. I got greedy and took some still photos, a couple of which follow.
He'd come in and grab a chunk of peanut butter and then sneak back about 25 yards and eat it and then come back. Each time, staying longer at the bait and getting more broadside. Again I got greedy waiting for the slam dunk at 13 yards, and passing up this shot that most of you would've smoked.
Topic: Alberta Bear Hunt (Read 1766 times)
