TradGang Bear Quest # 4 2010' Unpacking & Wheels are Turnin for BQ # 5 JUNE 2011'

[Whip]

Originally posted by Marty:
 I figured this was gonna be a piece of cake- afterall every night( remember less than 2 miles away) Berry ( Barry) would say- passed 5-passed 6 - while I passed gas.
I saw the good boar Sunday eveninng at 6 yards behind the stand-no shot there and NEVER saw another bear til Friday night. Not one!

Umm, do we really need to explain this Marty?  
You pass gas and the bait goes stone cold?  

Smart bears they got up there!  

[Gary Logsdon]

You guys are KILLING ME!  I spent 20 years (14 in row) "guiding" spring bear hunts in Canada before Ontario finally ended the spring hunts.  I love this stuff, but due to too many irons in the fire haven't been in the Canadian bush for several years. All of your stories sound so familiar . . . except the one I'm hearing about Barry's bear.  I've blood trailed over 200 bears in my time but have NEVER heard of a bruin like that!?!  Good pucker pix Barry. My wife and I sat at on that deck overlooking the fishing boats when we ate at Barnacle Billys a few years ago. . . didn't know that chair belonged to George.

[d. ward]

Tom no way that gnome is way better looking then UB bd

[Marty]

Whip- NOTHING- I mean NOTHING smells worse than rotten meat and fish entrails that Phillips was sending out with us. Nope- couldn't be me!

They finally felt sorry for me on Wednesday and I moved in to the Beaver Pond where Tidbit killed the big one- seemed odd to me until I saw pics of the other ones coming to his baits. So I sat there knowing that part of his Dad's ashes were nearby. I figured I had nothing to lose-so I started talking to the guy. He was quiet at first, but eventually he told me the bait was shot out and that I should move. I listened. I did like the name of the stand though-it was a long week away from home. I wasn't sure where I was gonna sit, but some events unfolded and I ended up where Gatekeeper had sat and not seen anything. I wasn't worried though- Tidbit's Dad was pullin for me! (Before anybody gets upset about talkin to his Dad- I got permission to do so. In fact Jeff kinda liked the idea!)

 

Here's Barry and Tom at my new bait-stand is in tree to the left. I think it was called Long Trail- I was fixin to rename it!

[Biggie Hoffman]

Marty...........tell the truth.

Did they have to walk in and out with you all week?

[Marty]

My tracks going in were real close together and going out- faaaar apart- you tell me?

[Herdbull]

Biggie- I didn't hunt much with Marty, but all of his pictures show his escorts.  I know he isn't a very good fisherman. I put him on all kinds of fish, but all he caught was a seven inch Walleye and a 9-inch Cisco that he tried to pass off as another Walleye!  :>)

[Marty]

This from the guy who dropped me off a half mile from my stand and picked me up a mile and a half away after dark thirty! How many fish did you catch?

[Biggie Hoffman]

OK let me ask you this;

Did you look back on your way out?

[birddog75]

Mike, not sure how well your math is so if you need assistance counting fish that YOU caught let me know. One thing I do know is you suck as a fishing guide.

[Marty]

Biggie- so much so that I have a stiff neck this week!

Birddog has been unleashed!!!!

[Herdbull]

One thing is for sure, you have to have skin as thick as a bear's hide to go on a trip like this... AND it aint because of the black flies! :>)

All of the guys that went fishhing were full of good intentions!

I bet the guy that walked so far and carries such a "heavy burden", likes bowlegged women!

[Marty]

Sometime last century, I went to Alberta with the Wensel's and Biggie. I ended up shooting 2 bears with a combined weight of maybe 225 lb.-emphasis on maybe. You can imagine the grief I took from that! NEVER look at bears thru binoculars at 10 yds- they ALL look big. I didn't even bring em this trip. For years I was called "Small Bears" McMahon. So my goal this week was at least a 200 lb'er. Well now we have lots of bear on my Florida lease and I've gotten better at judgin them. Here is a trail camera of one from South Florida. He goes at least 200 lbs I'd say - wouldn't you?


 

Anyway, Paul the bowdoc replacement cook had moved into Long Trail with a ground blind and saw 2 good bears on the bait thursday evening. He was hunting a pop-up blind to the right of the tree stand. He immediately offered the stand to me for the last evening sit- what a guy!! Thanks again Paul! How nice was that!!!!!! It was gettin dark up there at about 9:15, needless to say I was getting anxious at 8pm as it had been 24 hours of stand sitting with not a sighting. I heard a bear grunting noise up the hill and thought-finally. Well this bear that I judged to be about 180 came grunting down the hill with every step. It's noises gave me the opportunity to stand up and get ready. The minute I saw it- I decided to shoot- nice coat and looked big. He went right to where Paul had sat the night before in the blind and sniffed every tree religiously- then even followed the trail out to make sure Paul had left!!! (Paul had come in with me to get his tripod that he had left on the ground)Obviously he couldn't count (like Mike on the fish) and came walkin back towards the barrel. He stopped short and looked dirctly into my eyes like oooops. He turned and started back up over the ridge but not before the Swamp Rooter sent one of Joey's trial Alaskan Broadheads thru his ribcage and out his shoulder! He ran behind the barrel and I heard him flopping like a mullet in the brush and moaning like -well use your imagination. The death run lasted about 4 seconds tops. It was 8:15. I got down at 8:30 walked over to the barrel and could see him lying in the brush 30 yds away- now that's a good feeling! Last hour-Last day. He weighed 201!Now Mike Mitten swears he filmed and passed this bear the night before and that it was grunting the whole time- he referred to it as the friendly bear. I'm glad he's more into filming than tag filling! So if he hadn't passed and Paul hadn't been gracious, and Tidbits Dad hadn't told me to leave- I wouldn't have gotten the bear- But I did. The End. For him.

 

 

[Herdbull]

Marty - You have to be the nicest human I ever met!

[Bill Turner]

Just curious, how many bears were taken during this first week hunt? Sounds as if there were plenty of sightings and more than a little shooting going on. Figured bears would be easier to count than fish.  

[Biggie Hoffman]

No he's not...I am.

[Herdbull]

Bill, I think they took 9 bears.

[Don Batten]

Nice going Marty. Don

[birddog75]

Bill, unfortunately we had a hard time finding the fish although we really didn't go out of our way.  I can't speak for the Langer crew when they went fishing but I can speak for the people I fished with.  Marty 2, me 3, and Mike 0. I only fished with Mike and Marty once but I went out several times by myself without not much luck so it appears I'm no better than Mike when it comes to finding fish.  One day just Mike and I went a couple hours. I'd hate to even guestimate how many cast he made but it was a lot. We came back to camp that time skunked. There were some fella's outside our group fishing and they gave us the remains for bear bait so there are fish to be caught, just not where we were. Although we didn't catch much to speak of, Marty kept me busy laughing while busting Mike's chops. For me, that was bitter sweet since I'm usually on the receiving end. Thanks Marty.  
Bears, I count 10. Tom L, Jeff, Ricky, George, Marty, Tom P., Fred, Bill L, Donovan, and me. Hope I didn't forget anyone.

[Pennsyltuckey pete]

congrats to all.

especially ...

pete