2007 HUNTING REVIEW 
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2007 SPRING BEAR REVIEW
July 10, 2007
Wow, what a Spring!! Bears, Bears and More Bears!!! Although it took a little later in the spring for our baits to heat up than most years, once the bears started, the action never stopped.
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From around March 15- March 31, we still had alot of cold days with -25 Celsius temps. with strong north winds. Approximately 12-14" of snow still blanketed the ground making it impossible to access baits yet with the quads. Finally by April 14, the river broke and temperatures climbed fast and stayed steady around +20 - +25 Celsius. This warm spell is what I had been waiting for as winter broke very fast and the bears started getting very aggressive. Due to the snow and colder weather that hung on a little later, findng sign at the baits while baiting was slim unlike past springs. However, this changed very quick.
By May 1, I was finding sign all over. Normally, the big boars are not at the baits yet this early, but while baiting and checking baits I noticed I had some real monsters on alot f the baits already. During the whole spring bear hunt, we only had four days of rain (May 21) which shut them down for a few days. But by the 25th, action was hot and heavy as boars started chasing sows. One of my guides (dad) was baiting a bait up at our Rustic Tan Lake outcamp when a gorgeous 300-325 lb. blonde bear chased a sow right pass him at 8 yards and then back as he checked the bait. While this happened, another big black boar came charging in and went after the blonde. Needless to say, dad refreshened and left in a hurry!! This gorgeous blonde bear, was never taken, as a few days later we had finally decided to hunt it. Andy and Val from South Dakota (husband and wife team) on a "HONEYMOON HUNT" shot a huge 400 lb. black bear, which grossed 19 15/16 B&C. Congratulations guys, what a honeymoon! They also showed great patience, as they passed up 12 other bears the previous night on another bait. Another nice blonde bear had been working another one of my remote baits now for 3 years, but we had never seen him. Good friend and hunting buddy Jeff from Minneapolis decided to sit all week and hunt this spot. Well, the first hour on the first night he showed up. This bear has a cinnamon head and legs and the rest of his body was all blonde. Jeff judged the bear and had lots of time but figured it to be arund 250-275lbs., which is still a good spring bear. However, he decided to pass on it hoping to get another chance at it one day when he is much bigger. This bear did not show up again the next 2 nights. Hopefully, this fall we get a look at him again.
To give you an example of how hard it can be to harvest a big bear at the bait with a bow. Matt a true bear hunter from Wisconsin, who has hunted long and hard for a big colour bear, saw a huge cinnamnon on 5 different occasions at this one bait, 3 different nights. One time it came in from behind the barrel not presenting a shot. Another time, chasing smaller bears away from the bait. One other time coming in but just sitting behind fallen trees watching and chasing other bears. Matt was able to see him at 10 yards, but still never had a clean shot at him. Matt estimates this bear at 350lbs. and he is right. I also had the privelage of seeing him while going in to bait. He was at the barrel when I came in with the quad and is a good 7' bear. His head would easily go over 20 inches. Maybe we will see him soon! Matt's buddies also from Wisconsin, Mike and Bob shot 2 huge chocolate bears with their bows. One bear will score 18+ B&C and the other 19 14/16 B&C, making pope & young for sure (you can see pictures of these 2 bears in our new ad in bear hunting magazine this fall and winter. Another awesome looking bear was a huge redish chocolate bear scoring 19 4/16 B&C by Leron of Florida on the first night. This was the fourth bear to walk in. This gorgeous bear has great character as both his eyes are black.
This spring also proved how lucky we are to have an over abundance of colour bears. Tons of sows and last years cubs (yearlings) were seen arund the baits and crossing trails. An awesome lookng cinamon sow with a white V still had her 3 yearling cubs with her that where all cinnamon! One hunter saw a huge cholocate sow which had 3 of her last years cubs still, that were also all chocolate. 90% of everyone who hunted saw color bears this spring which is the most since I have been guiding bear hunters. Tom, from Minninesota missed a huge blonde at 40 yards while walking in. Sorry Tom, I had to tell!!! (if you didn't shoot such a nice black and caught a Master Angler Walleye, I wouldnt of! ha, ha!!)
Seeing all the bears and colour this spring and sows that have twins and triplets, our future is very bright. With continued good management and excellent habitat our bear numbers will be healthy and magnificent for many many years.
In closing, we ended up with 4 Manitoba Trophy Book Bears scoring 19+ B&C. The biggest was 71/2 feet, 440 lbs and scored 20 3/16 B&C. Every hunter had opportunity at 200+lb bears. Most hunters saw 50+ bears a week. A few hunters didn't see as many but where hunting monsters. When we have big bears on the baits, usually you don't see alot of numbers, as these big bears dominate the area. A few timberwolves were also seen during this spring. Congratulations to everyone on your success! It was great hunting with you all and hope to see everyone real soon! Please look for us in our new ad in bear hunting magazine coming out this fall and winter. We look forward to an awesome fall bear season.
Happy Hunting,
Rick
**We are also honoured and pleased to announce Zeiss Hunting Product Specialist, Bob Kaletta and long time outdoor writer/tv host Larry Wiershum who will be hunting black bears with us next spring 2008. **
2007 Fall Black Bear Review
The fall baiting started on August 25, as a lot of the baits closer to the Lodge were done and stands hung. On August 26th & 27th all of the further and more remote baits where done and ready to go. On August 28th, my remote outcamp baits started getting prepared and filled for the season. During the week of baiting and opening up trails, we were blessed with a warm, windy and dry week. Perfect for the baits! July and August saw low precipitation so traveling from bait to bait was done mostly by quads. The Argo’s weren’t needed until a little later in September when we saw some heavy rain. Throughout the whole week baiting and hanging stands, a lot of bears and bear sign were seen, which was very encouraging and I knew we where in for a great bear hunt as long as our un-predictable and ever changing Manitoba weather would cooperate. The only down fall I could see was that it was still extremely thick in the bush as the leaves weren’t even starting to change. This makes it extremely difficult to see bears in the area and for the most part, can be right on you at the thick bait sites. Fortunately, we have a lot of good visible baits sights too which I decided to use more the first couple of weeks. Towards the end of the week, Dad and I made our rounds checking the 90 plus bait sites, new and established to see which ones we would be hunting the first week which we started on September 3. Approximately 80% were hit good already and a lot of the baits already had multiple or numerous amount of bears on them. The poor berry crop this fall told me that it was going to be a chore to keep our baits full! A lot of baits had some huge boars already and one particular bait showed evidence of a big chocolate was back that we had hunted for 4 years and never saw. This was an extremely smart bear, and always showed evidence at being at this bait every spring and fall. We had to hunt this bear and I had just the right hunter coming into camp.
Knowing he wouldn’t be with a sow or looking for sows this time of year,i knew our chances were better as long as he wasn’t nocturnal or getting wind of the hunter. The hunter I chose to put in this area was and avid bear hunter and bowhunter from Michigan. Matt showed great patience in the past and always watched his scent which is a must. The wind was perfect this day. What would happen?
Congratulations Matt on showing great patience and waiting for the perfect shot. Yes, he harvested this legendary Agassiz bruin on the first night! And what a bear he was with tremendous character. Missing half his ear on one side and the scars proved that he was a breeding boar and dominant at the bait. Being we never saw much of any other bears in the past at this bait site. All his teeth were totally rounded down to the gum line and while still weighing 350 lbs, was extremely skinny, had no fat on him. This old, dominant bear was in rough shape and odds were he wasn’t going to make the winter. This bear walked right in directly behind the barrel and laid down for over an hour not presenting a shot. Finally, stood up walked away and presented a perfect broadside shot. He was jus under 7 feet long with a skull that went 20 3/16 B&C. What a way to start off our fall!
Mean while this same night some 10 miles away at another bait, Matt’s hunting buddy Andy also from Michigan was watching bears come and go all night. Andy reports seeing 7 different bears. However, the outcome isn’t as good at this bait site. The seventh bear happened to be another huge chocolate, but a much darker brown. Unfortunately, Andy’s arrow flew over its back missing it cleanly. Andy did harvest a gorgeous black on Thursday while walking into another bait, after passing up numerous bears. If Andy would have connected on this big chocolate, the whole hunting party which consisted of 4 would have had color bears. Matt’s other 2 hunting buddies shot a huge chocolate and cinnamon. This week of September 3 – 8, still saw no frost and lots of leaves.
This same week, another bowhunter Gary from Michigan had 3 bears at his bait while walking in with dad. A smaller black above his tree stand, a bigger chocolate under his tree stand and a huge black at the barrel. The 2 bears up the tree were probably treed by this big black at the barrel which ran off as soon as it heard or saw dad and Gary. The big chocolate came down the tree quick and ran away also when the black took off. The smaller black was in no rush to come down. It remained just above Gary’s tree stand. Dad decided that they should walk out away and see if this would help. Waiting 15-20 minutes upon going back to try to get in his stand the bear was gone but another one at the barrel. Deciding that it was a really nice first bear and being on the ground only 15 yards away with a bow, Gary sent a arrow double lunging this 225 lb boar. Bear hunting with a bow can get you shaking a bit hey Gary!
On September 10th, we finally had our first front as it dipped to -2 Celsius. Strong north winds the next day slowed down the activity at the baits and the fish also stopped biting. We still shot 2 blacks on September 11 during this wicked cold front. On September 14 it finally warmed up to +17 Celsius, the fish stated biting again and bears moving. On this evening we managed to harvest our biggest fall bear that weighed 625 lbs. and scored 20 2/16 B&C. Congratulations Joe on this monster boar. Joe who lives in West Virginia has hunted with me for a long time, and missed one clearly at another bait some 60 miles away that he thinks was bigger! Wow!!! Getting one chance at a bear this big is amazing, let alone two chances back to back the same week!
On September 17, we had the wonderful opportunity to host 16 year old Dustin from Texas who was with “Hunt of a Lifetime” (please see pictures and more write-ups at “Agassiz News”). This was the second time we had the opportunity to work with “Hunt of a Lifetime” and where extremely excited. Dustin would be hunting out of his 300 lb. wheelchair, so Dad & I constructed a ground blind to fit 3 people. My dad would be guiding Dustin and his dad and all 3 had to sit at this bait site. This week saw high winds, rain and colder temperatures slowing down the bears immensely. Dustin saw 3 bears the first night and had one 3 feet away! Deciding to pass on these 3 bears and showing great patience, Dustin shot a nice black on Thursday. Congratulations Dustin as you hunted extremely hard and in some cold rainy weather. We are all very proud of you!
Another hunter this week was good friend and die hard bear hunter Paul from PA. Paul has hunted with us for a very long time and shot some huge black bears with us. But he has never been lucky enough to shoot a chocolate bear. This changed Monday night!! Paul was hunting a bait which holds huge bears year after year. The tracks and scat told me that a 600+lb bear was working it. Paul never saw this big bear as he was done early with a beautiful chocolate bear that weighed 375 lbs! Congratulations Paul!
The color bears taken and seen throughout the spring and fall made 2007 “The year of the color bear!” With the amount of color bears seen young, old, big and small, our future for bear hunting looks excellent and in good shape for many years.
Congratulations to every other bear hunter too on your success and sorry I couldn’t write about every one. Thank you all once again for hunting with us and may the memories last a lifetime! Also, a big thank you to my dad who is always a big part and full time guide through out the spring and fall bear hunting!
Rick Liske
Agassiz Outfitters
Note: The walleye fishing this fall was once again incredible and couldn’t get any better as witnessed by a lot of the bear hunters who shot their bears early. This is an added bonus and included in your hunt once you harvest your bear. Thanks to our legendary fishing guide Tony Leperre for the excellent job of guiding all fishermen.
**Please see our ad in bear hunting magazine during the fall/winter months**
2007 Waterfowl Review
Wow! What a bird season! September 1st saw cranes; geese and ducks litter the fields. Although these were mostly local birds and the non-resident season still didn’t open until September 24, it was shaping up to be another awesome fall for bird hunting.
On September 13, 5-6” of snow fell to the north of us starting the snow goose migration. Huge flocks were heard throughout the night and seen the next few weeks flying south over our lodge. The whole first week September 24-30 saw every group limit on Canada geese and mallards in the fields. The hunting this first week couldn’t have been better, so keeping my fingers crossed for the rest of the season that the birds would stick around. It was shaping up to be a later harvest as a lot of crop was still standing at this time and water levels were high. As long as no big dumps of snow hit us, we would be in great shape. By September 27, thousands of snow geese were staging on regular roosting bodies of water. The only thing missing were divers. At this time we hadn’t seen any sign of divers. It had warmed up to much to see these birds. A lot more mallards were down by the end of September which always helps when new birds move in.
The first and second week of October saw limits most days by every group. Lots of birds still down. October 12 and 13 were tough mornings and the birds didn’t fly until late as heavy fog moved in and didn’t leave till late. The birds were extremely late leaving the water and landing real short of the decoys. By the 14th, some divers were noticed in different areas, however, nothing yet compared to the 3 previous years. From October 15-25, the hunting was still excellent but birds were getting real hard to decoy. A lot of the birds had been hunted real hard and getting harder to decoy. A lot of the birds had been hunted for awhile and with the weather being relatively warm for October; a lot of birds were still up north.
Finally by October 27, huge flocks of divers were buzzing up and down the river. A lot more greater Canada geese and northern mallards started coming down too from October 22-27.
Other than the odd day here and there the waterfowl hunting in the fall of 2007 was outstanding as always. The odd mornings when we had heavy fog or frost on the decoys, will slow and turn the flight of most flocks, welcome to waterfowl hunting. However, for the most part, most groups all went home with limits of birds and witnessed waterfowl hunting at its best! Unlike past falls, the only hunting we didn’t get much of was divers. The weather was way above normal and too warm to move these birds down. During our whitetail season, divers were all over the river. The grouse hunting is another great hunt and was hit and miss this fall. Some days groups would limit out and the next day only one or two birds.
The grouse hunting and walleye fishing are two other options when limiting out on geese and ducks in the morning. As our bear hunters witnessed, most waterfowl hunters who all chose to fish, saw world class walleye fishing. On most days, keeping them off was a chore! All in all the late harvest, decent weather and windy mornings made for an awesome season as our photo gallery proves.
Thank you very much to each and every waterfowl hunter who hunted waterfowl in the central flyway with us this past fall. Thank you to my hard working guides who worked extremely hard and to all my friends the farmers for letting me hunt on your land!
Happy hunting,
Rick Liske
Agassiz Outfitters
Note: We are pleased to be able to once again host Dennis Anderson, waterfowl/outdoor writer, of the Minneapolis Star Tribune for a 2008 Waterfowl Hunt!!
2007 Whitetail Review
As the waterfowl hunting was coming to an end, I couldn’t wait to get back in the bush scouting and hanging stands for Whitetail. Guiding for whitetail is a passion of mine and something I take very serious! I also couldn’t wait to go back to a lot of the new areas I found in the previous spring to see what was happening this time of year as the rut was fast approaching.
My first day out was on October 25th. The weather actually cooperated the whole week as this day was a warm +14 Celsius. A lot of areas were looking really good, old and new. The amount of rubs and scraps told me we were in for a good season, weather pending of course. If the high winds and wet snow could hold off, as we had in 2006, we would probably hit it good!
On November 3rd, the activity and sign really started showing, as scrapes were being freshened regularly and new rubs being sighted all over. This day I also buried a quad in a swamp on the way up to one of my honey holes. Nothing to winch too and well over an hour wasted trying to get it out, I decided to walk the 2 hours out to my truck. The next morning one of my guides and i pulled it out and I decided it was time to use the Argo in this area. Thank god for Argo’s!
During the muzzle and rifle hunting, temperatures on average were around 0 Celsius for high and a low of -4/-9 Celsius for lows and very little wind. This is prime for whitetail, as the hunting was great. A lot of hunters witnessed bucks chasing does, especially smaller bucks which told me the rut was pretty much on schedule. Some hunters even witnessed small bucks fighting and chasing each other. With having mostly perfect weather for hunting whitetails, we did have wolves move into some areas and move the deer out. One hunter missed one and another saw 4 at 30 yards and couldn’t get a shot at them.
We went 65% during the muzzle season, with 3 bucks scoring 150 or better. One hunter also saw a 160+ chasing a doe on November 5th but couldn’t get a shot.
Our rifle season saw a 75% success rate with everyone having an opportunity at an 8 pointer or bigger. 100% opportunity. The biggest buck this fall grossed 170 3/8 B&C. This is a huge 9 pointer and shot by a hunter from New York State. Way to go Royal!
This buck was shot at 7:40 a.m. out of one of our ground blinds on November 13. This once again proves why it is so important to get into the blinds/tree stands early. A lot of the big deer shot this year were early morning. In total, 6 bucks grossed 150 or better! A big plus also this season is a lot of my old spots were given a rest as most were not hunted during the 2007 season and will be ready for the 2008 Season.
Congratulations to every one who took a deer and thank you all once again for hunting whitetail with us. Thank you to all of my guides for your hard work and for helping make it such an awesome fall.
Happy Hunting,
Rick Liske
Agassiz Outfitters
Note: I will post my annual spring scouting report and how the deer fared over the winter around May 2008. Right now as of December 15th, we have about 4 inches of snow and the deer are in great shape!
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Aggassiz-Waterhen River Lodge
