However, this was about to change, as our last week of muzzleloading we lost three days to the weather (November 8-10). On the 8th hunters sat in strong wet blowing snow with no visibility. The following day it was next to impossible to see in the woods as the wet snow was stuck to everything, as the trees and shrubs were bent all over due to the weight of the wet snow. On November 10th we had bright skies and a high of +2 celcius (35 F). As it warmed up, all the snow started melting making it extremely loud in the woods as it fell off the trees. The same weather happened again the 1st week of rifle, as three days were pretty much the same except with finally some cooler weather.

All in all, it still turned out to be an excellent season as we still managed to shoot 5 deer over 160+ B&C. The remaining days where the weather cooperated were excellent hunting as most hunters were seeing lots of deer. We also had a couple of clean misses at 150+ class deer, as one was chasing two does and other one chasing one doe. During the first week of rifle (November 14-19) we saw lots of small bucks chasing does which told us the rut was approximately a week or two behind. This normally happens during the pre-rut which was happening at this time. Even on November 21st we saw highs of +8*C (45*F). Finally by the end of the week it turned cold. The last week of November saw alot of rut activity and deer movement as the cold weather stayed steady and fresh snow fell.

I think the rut was about 1-2 weeks behind and extremely drawn out as the warm and unsteady weather made for alot of movement at night.

A huge thank-you to all of our whitetail hunters who hunted hard through these 6 days of miserable weather in pursue of our monster whitetail. I know that hunting in the cold is one thing, but sitting in the rain and wet snow all day is much more trying and challenging, as eventually the best gear can even get damp. Preparing for the cold weather is much easier which makes it more comfortable to sit all day with the clothing on the market today. Congratulations to everyone on your success and look forward to seeing you all real soon!

Another huge thank-you to our hard working dedicated guides, Gerry Liske, Greg Sanderson, Rob Anderson who guide full time throughout our hunting seasons and who are another huge part of the Agassiz Team!

Happy Hunting,
Rick Liske
Outfitter/Guide
Agassiz Outfitters

Note: As I write this report it is January 11, 2006 and is an amazing 35*F! We have approximately 8 -10 inches of snow around our Lodge and outcamp deer areas. This extremely mild weather was witnessed all of December and so far all of January. The mild weather and little snow are helping our deer have a great winter! Please watch for an update on my spring scouting as it will be posted under "Agassiz News" sometime in may/06.

Fall Black Bear - 2005

The fall of 2005, once again saw Agassiz Outfitters reach our goal, which is getting every hunter seeing bears and 100% opportunity at a nice bear. This fall we ran four weeks of bear hunters starting on September 12 and ended October 8. The first three weeks saw mostly prime bear weather, however, the last week turned very cold as highs only reached 7 celcius and lows of 3 celcius during the night with very cold north winds most evenings, turning bears almost completely off. However, hunters still saw bears, just not as many like the first three weeks.

Just like the fall of 2004, managing and keeping the bait sites full was a tough and never ending task, as most of our remote wilderness bait sites, where being emptied on a daily basis. ( The bait system we use should last at least 4-5 days with 6-8 bears on them). The sign, activity and sightings was telling us once again that alot of our baits had 10-20 bears on them, if not more!

One good example of the bears working the baits was witnessed by father and son team of Terry & Tyler Shank of PA the week of September 26. On monday night, the first evening, 13 year old Tyler shot at a big boar. Wasn't long after, his dad Terry shot the second big boar that came. After this, amazingly, two more bears were seen as they had to get out of their stands to chase them away from their downed bears. Way to go Shank team, "TYLER & RUPERT SAID"!!!

On September 19th, first evening also, avid hunter Marty Hall of MD, watched bears all evening. Marty shot the 5th bear which was a nice 350 lb. boar. The first bear Marty passed up was a beautiful 350 lb. chocolate bear he video taped for 30 minutes. To make a long story short, Marty previously hunted black bear for seven years at othe places and only saw one small bear in those seven years. Upon my advice, I mentioned to Marty he was going to a very hot bait that we hadn't hunted in a couple years. Unfortunately, I told him to be patient and not shoot the first bear that came in, being the first night, unless it was an absolute monster. Needless to say Marty showed great patience and let him walk and yes, jokingly, I heard about it all week! (Just think Marty, he'll be much bigger next fall). Great footage of all bears by the way.

Another father and son team, Ed and Sean Renninger of PA, shot 2 big black bears and to top if off, 15 year old Sean shot a beautiful white wolf. He also saw a black wolf after he shot the white one. Way to go guys!!

Avid and die hard bear hunter and good friend Paul Bennett of PA who has been hunting with Agassiz Outfitters for many years now, and has shot bears over 7 feet, missed an absolute monster. Paul mentioned to me after we tracked him a far distance that he had never ever seen a bear this big! Six of us tracked this huge bruin a great distance until we determined he was fine. ( As most of you know, we shot a huge bear in the spring that went 8 feet, 2inches and at the end of December we will find out if he goes #1 for Non-Resident's in 2005. Will be posted on Agassiz News early January with official B&C score). Paul thinks this bear had potential to maybe be even bigger than this.

Also, congratulations to Kyle Peart of PA who at the age of 13, shot a big boar with a skull size of 19 12/16. Kyle and his dad Jeff showed great patience as they watched as many as 9 bears feed at their bait at the same time!

As it is to hard to put every ones success and stories, this little bit at least shows you the number of bears and how awesome the black bear hunting is in our area thanks to the great bear habitat we are blessed with. Congratulations to all of our valued bear hunters on your success as you all deserve it through your dedication, patience and listening to your guides.

As like every year, we have numerous new baits that where test baited during 2005 and will get hunted during th 2006 Seasons. Once again, Thank you to all our hunters, re-peat and first time hunters, for hunting with Agassiz Outfitters during the fall 2005 Season. We look forward to seeing you all in the very near future! As you all saw, our guides work extremly hard, and therefore thank you guys for your hard work and dedication to the Agassiz Outfitters team!

Again, record number of mouth watering walleye were being caught all through the fall bear hunt. This, along with a chance to shoot a Timberwolf are a real added bonus to our fall black bear hunts. Walleye from 28 inches to 33 are not uncommon, right Jim & Dennis!! For those interested, please inquire about our popular Black Bear/Waterfowl Combos.

Happy Hunting,
Rick Liske
Outfitter
Agassiz Outfitters

WATERFOWL REVIEW 2005

The 2005 Waterfowl Season proved to all of our hunters why the Waterhen and surrounding areas are considered some of the best waterfowl hunting in the world! Even though September and most of October were extremely warm and the migration ended up being drawn out over a long period of time, something similar to the fall of 2004, the hunting was once again absolutely amazing.

September was extremely warm which made for awesome bear hunting too, as we didn't see any frost until September 28. Then the week of October 3 the highs only reached 3-7 celcius (35-45F) This cold week pushed alot of snow and blue geese down, however, northern mallards and most divers such as canvassbacks, redheads and bluebills remained up north till early November, as I saw thousands of divers in the air as I was putting up tree stands for deer. The rest of October remained really warm. Alot of northern mallards and greater canada geese remained farther north-west around The Pas areas as they had an extermely wet fall. This meant the farmers had a hard time getting grain off the fields which held alot of birds till freeze up. At the same time we were having a dry fall which meant unlike the previous year where we limited out on the fields for ducks every day, we hunted alot over various water holes for both divers and puddle ducks. Even though alot of the hunting was done over the water we still had unbelievable hunts for pintails, gadwalls and mallards on the fields to that still had grain left on. Towards the middle and end of October, most hunters witnessed redhead hunting at its best. Some great hunting also mixed in for goldeneyes, bufflheads and ringnecks made for some great shoots.

Another great addition to this awesome bird hunting was the amazing walleye fishing again, like 2004. What could be better, limits of geese/ducks in the mornings then limits of mouth watering walleye in the evenings. Doesn't get any better! For those of you who forgot your rods this year, be sure to throw them in for next fall. not only was there lots of nice eaters caught but alot of "Master Anglers" from 28 inches - 34 inches. This awesome fishing lasted till ice up which was the end of November when the river still had thousands of canadas and mallards on it.

For some groups that wanted, had excellent jump shooting all fall. Hunters get to witness and jump shoot water that had 15-20 thousand greenheads in alot of areas.

This fall we also managed to get alot of great footage of waterfowl hunting as Alan Warren-"The Chevy Sportsman" from Texas at our lodge again. These action filled hunts will air sometime in 2006. Just keep clicking on his link on our home page or keep checking "Agassiz News" for times and dates they will air.

In closing, it was a great pleasure and great honour to have everyone stay and hunt waterfowl with us at our Lodge in 2005. We hope you all experienced world class hunting at its best and have lots of everlasting memories of the times shared out in the water blinds and fileds. A big thank you to all our friends, the farmers, who give us persmission to hunt on you land year after year. Also a big thank you to all of my guides who once again proved why Agassiz Outfitters has only the best guides in the province! Till next year.... happy hunting,

Rick Liske
Outfitter/Guide
Agassiz - Waterhen River Lodge & Outfitters

2005 SPRING BLACK BEAR REVIEW

100% Success Rate!! The 2005 Spring BLack Bear hunting was absolutely great considering we had a very fast melt and very wet May. The month of April was extremly warm and ended up being alot warmer than May, as some days the highs reached the high 70's - low 80's. This warm weather made our areas green up fast as the trees stated budding and grass started growing. Therefore the bears had lots of feed early as even the beavers and frogs where out and about. This had me worried a little knowing the bears had lots of feed, however, the high number and abundance of bears in our areas, didn't damper activity around the baits.

Like previous springs, while baiting, my guides and myself were seeing young bears at the baits in the mornings and early afternnons indicating that much bigger bears where working the baits in the evening or at night.