Our success rate this spring was 95%, however still saw a 100% opportunity success rate.  As hard as the bear hunting was this spring, we still had a great spring!  Some nights hunters saw lots of bears, then some nights little or no bears.  The month of May would see a lot of cold north winds and hard rains.   May 25, one cold and rainy system moved in and lasted until May 30.  Finally on May 31^st, the sun returned and we reached a warm high of +24c, and no wind!!  The bear really got active after this system moved out.

 

Even the fishing was behind a little with the slow melt and strong north winds.  In this area, when we get strong north winds, it can slow and/or stop the fish from biting.  This was the case, however once summer hit; the fishing was hot, right through the fall and till freeze up!  The summer of 2006 was extremely warm and dry and one of the hottest on records.

 

All in all, a lot of beautiful bears where harvested and congratulations to everyone on your successful hunts.  Three bears still went 19+ with the biggest 19 14/16.  Even my little buddy Steve Jr. from Texas who previously missed 3 times cleanly with his bow, was successful on the 4^th attempt.  Sorry Steve, still laughing!!!  Those big bruins can make your shake!!!

 

All bears went between 5½ feet to 6 ½ feet with every hide being prime.  Normally, we get a few that go 7+ feet but didn’t this spring.  In 2005, the biggest bear went 8 feet 2 inches!  Little did we know, the wacky and un-settled weather would return for our fall hunting!  A big thank-you to all of our spring bear hunters.  See you all at the Sport Shows real soon!

Happy Hunting,

Rick Liske

Outfitter/Guide

Agassiz Outfitters

 

2006 FALL BLACK BEAR REVIEW

 

Please see spring 2006 review.  Just kidding, however, the fall hunt was much the same in terms of bear sightings at the bait sites and this thing they call the “weather”.  While we just finished having one of the hottest and driest summers on record, this was about to change for the fall.  For the most part, the weather was all right but still saw some weird weather patterns, which brought in some heavy rain and strong north winds.  One thing that didn’t change was the incredible walleye fishing.  Mot bear hunters that shot bears early where lucky to witness this world class walleye fishing.  Not only where lots of fish in the 18-25 inch range caught, but “Master angler” walleye (28+inches) where also common.

 

The bait sites this fall where a lot more active compared to our spring.  My roll barrels where cleaned out every 1-2 days which made running 80 plus bait sites a challenge.

 

Since the summer was dry, all the rain in September soaked in fast, so using the quads to get to baits was still fine.  No Argos this fall which at least helped to speed up the baiting.

 

Getting back to the sightings at the baits, like mentioned above, was a carbon copy to the past spring.  Lots of bears some night and no bears or very few other nights.  This was due to the strong north winds some nights.  From September 14-September 19 we saw heavy rain and strong north winds every day. Getting across a couple of the big lakes was tricky!   Hunters still had great hunts as some night they still saw 10-15 bears!  We also had 3 huge chocolate bears harvested (1 muzzleloader) from hunters from Michigan and Maryland.  I have 2 baits for the past 3 years that have blondes on them but still no sightings.  These baits are approximately 45 miles apart and have blonde hair all over the trees and barrels every spring and fall.

 

Maybe 2007 we will have a sighting.  Both these baits are extremely hot every year and a huge black usually gets taken early on the first night at both baits.  One of our chocolates came from one this fall.

 

The fall of 2006 saw another 100% success rate.  The biggest fall bear was just under 7 feet and a skull size of 19 13/16.  Two ladies, Mother and daughter team from Austria topped off a great hunt as they both harvested their first black bears on the first night!  Way to go ladies!  Not only did they get their black bears but also managed to shoot grouse, both spruce and ruffed.  The grouse hunting was absolutely amazing this fall as it didn’t take long to get limits.  This is another great bonus to hunting bear in our area as the grouse hunting on most years is spectacular as the walleye fishing!  One bear shot at our outcamp had a huge piece of his hide peeled back by another black bear.  I had never seen this before but can only imagine how painful this would be.  About 12 inches of hide was peeled back exposing the fat underneath.  This bear wasn’t small either! Would like to see the bear that did this.

 

A big thank-you to every one who hunted with us for bear this past spring and fall.  Congratulations to everyone on your success!  Looking forward to seeing you all at the sport shows and future hunting seasons!

Best Wishes & Happy Hunting

Rick Liske

Outfitter/Guide

Agassiz Outfitters 

 

2006 WATERFOWL REVIEW

 

Snow, snow and more snow! In my 12 previous years guiding waterfowl hunters, I have never seen such a miserable, cold and wet October.  It is not un-common to have the odd day where it snows, but not like we witnessed.  However, hunting birds in the rain and/or snow can be awesome; And it was!!!.

 

The snow only made it difficult on the snow goose hunting later on as the 2 big snow blizzards that dumped 6-8 inches of snow both times pushed them south.  Most Canada geese and puddle ducks remained.  With snow geese heading for warmer weather, the divers came down by the thousands.  Red heads littered our river and limits were abundant most afternoons/evenings in a ½ hour or less!!  Excellent duck hunting, mostly mallards on stubble fields was witnessed by most and couldn’t have been better anywhere.  Most limits of ducks in the mornings on stubble fields where filled quickly!  Snow storms on October 12 & 16 still made for some unbelievable goose shoots!  Greater Canada’s arriving from the northern nesting areas decoyed with no end.  Many times picking up decoys and packing up, big greaters still wanted to land to feed by the trucks.

 

Leading up to our waterfowl season, an early harvest had us worried a bit whether the birds would stick around with the fields being worked up.  This wasn’t the case.  The heavy rains in September brought fresh green grass to most fields holding thousands of birds. As good as our bird hunting was, we have even seen it better! Hard to believe, but the early snow storms pushed most snow/blue geese south. This just proves how awesome our area is for waterfowl!  Even with an extremely early harvest and snow storms, hunters still talked about how they had never seen bird hunting like this.    The big lakes and wheat fields around us are the first stop for most migrating birds in the central flyway.

 

With the waterfowl hunting being good again this fall, most guys also got the chance to fish for monster walleye.  The fishing was unreal all fall as everyone enjoyed this mouth watering treat.  Grouse hunting the past 3 falls has been amazing too.  Hunters who chose to hunt grouse also limited out every time on ruffies.  Only one problem for most hunters on a 3 day waterfowl hunt; so much to do, so little time!   What could be better, limits of geese/ducks in the mornings then limits of mouth watering walleye/grouse in the evenings.  Doesn’t get any better!

 

Thank-you to each and every waterfowl hunter who hunted with us at our lodge in 2006.  We look forward and can’t wait to see you all in 2007!

 

 

Happy Hunting and Best Wishes,

Rick Liske

Outfitter/Guide

Agassiz Outfitters

 

P.S.  In, 2006, we were honored to host Dennis Anderson, waterfowl/outdoor writer from the Minnesota Tribune, on a waterfowl hunt at our Lodge.  Thanks again Dennis for choosing us and we look forward to your return in 2007. (Please see his article on “Agassiz News”). 

 

2006 WHITETAIL REVIEW

 

The 2006 Whitetail season summed up in one word as “strange”.  Just like the past 3 falls, the rut never swung into high gear.  Un-settled weather which saw heavy winds, some day up to 70 km/hr whip through the trees.  The cold weather and lots of snow during October while running our waterfowl hunts had some bucks moving early.  While hunting geese/ducks on fields, we saw lots of nice bucks chasing does and heads low to the ground.

 

In 2006, we witnessed a little of everything.  Warm weather, extreme cold heavy winds and wolves.  Some repeat guests passed up and video taped quality deer in the 150-160 range while 2 huge bucks where missed clean at 260+ years in fields.  Some days with the strong winds, the wind-chill was so cold; some hunters had a hard time sitting with the trees swaying.  This was the first year in five years we never took at least one buck over 160+ We all now what the heavy strong winds do for movement during the day.  Hopefully 2007, we will see a more normal rut and temperatures finally on the norm.

 

A huge thank-you to all of our whitetail hunters who hunted hard this past fall.  Congratulations to everyone who took nice deer and look forward to seeing you all real soon!

 

Happy Hunting,

Rick Liske

Outfitter/Guide

Agassiz Outfitters