2011 Fall Black Bear Review

I started baiting for this fall’s black bear hunts on August 2^nd and as usual, bear activity was abundant around most bait sites as I arrived for the first time.  By August 17, all my baits around the Waterhen area where done so on August 21^st headed to my remote outcamp Tan Lake to start baiting that area.  Arriving to Tan Lake, greese buckets that I had stored in our storage shed were found empty all over camp.  Bears had broken in by smashing the door off and had been having a hay day for sometime now on the deep fryer greese I had stored over the past month.    However, beside all the greese gone, the door smashed, the only other damage done was a tear down the screen by a big paw on our cook camp.  Not to worry, I had the screen and frame out in no time and back to the main lodge and fixed in no time!

 By August 25^th, all baits that we were going to hunt were done, the checking and re-baiting began.  Not surprised at all, all baits from both camps where getting hit hard and lots of big sign already!

 The pressure was already on the first week of the season, as first time guests, a husband and wife hunting couple, where part of a group of 6 other re-peat bear hunters.  Mike and Chris had been on two previous black bear hunts in different Provinces and never had seen a black bear!  To keep this short and too the point, they couldn’t believe how important I stressed scent control and noise around baits as they were told by past hunting guides that had smoked taking them into areas, that scent control didn’t matter!!!  (Hard to believe, but this stuff does happen!)

 Scent control paid off for Chris the first night as she shot a big 6 ½ foot black bear that scored 18 12/16.  Many bears were seen by all that night and by Wednesday; Chris’s husband Mike, shot a huge 7’ black bear that scored 19 8/16, making the all-time Manitoba Record book.  Passing on several bears that night, Mike’s patience paid off with this monster.  As happens a lot, as Mike sat in awe of this bear he had just taken, a much bigger one circled the bait and walked away quietly into the dark spruce!!

 By the end of the season once again we had a 100% opportunity and the biggest bear was a monster 7 ½ footer that scored 20 5/16 net!  This fall bear was 692 lbs and was a bear any black bear hunter would be proud of.  Congratulations Jim!

 Topping off everyone’s “World Class” black bear hunt this past fall, was once again the incredible fishing most hunters had the opportunity to take advantage off!  Some real good walleye over 28 inches were once again caught and released and a lot of good fish fry’s were enjoyed by all in the main lodge!

 Congratulations to all of our black bear hunters on you success this past fall!!

 Happy Hunting,

 Rick

Agassiz Outfitters

*Please watch for our ½ page ad in Bear Hunting Magazine out now and the next 2 issues as well.

 **Last spring, I had the honor and privilege to guide one of my all-time favorite big game hunters/outdoor writers, Mr. Mike Schoby, Editor of “Petersens Hunting Magazine”.  Watch for this story; “A Blonde Moment” out anytime now!!!

 *** Next spring, we are pleased to announce the return of Mr. Mike Schoby and our great friend and avid bear hunter, Mr. Bob Kaleta of Zeiss Optics.  Joining them on this hunt is big game hunter and outdoor writing legend, Mr. Larry Weishurn!!!

 ****Last but not least, next fall black bear season, will see another good friend, Mr. Jim Crowley of Hook and Hunt TV also pursue a big black bear in the Manitoba wilderness. Jim is combining this fall bear hunt with a waterfowl hunt too.  

2011 SPRING BLACK BEAR REVIEW

In all the years I have guided spring black bear hunters, the spring of 2011 was probably the most challenging ever, due to all the nasty weather good ol “Mother Nature” threw our way. Not only where we faced with a very late and wet spring to begin with, the snow still in the bush on April 13^th was still making it difficult to access most of my bait sites. This was the first spring ever that I was making it to a lot of the bait sites before seeing any sign of bear movement, which meant only one thing that they were still held up close to their dens. On April 20^th, I finally came across 2 bear tracks all day while out baiting and finally by April 27^th, the baits where starting slowly to get hit! Although some bears where starting to get more active around the baits, there was still no indication of any of them starting to feed yet.

Finally, when all started to fall into place and the bears starting slowly to get active, on April 29^th, Environment Canada issued a “winter storm” watch, which started with heavy rain and turning into a real heavy/wet snow. When the storm was all said and done on May 1^st, a total of two feet lay on the ground and drifts as high as the lodge and cabin roofs. Just great, snowed in!! What a great start to the season! This system that saw wind gusts up to 90 km/hr, shut down the bears for the whole first week of our spring season. A couple small blacks and a wolf where seen this week.

Our second week didn’t get much better, as the bush remained extremely wet and more rain was on the way. On May 10^th and 12^th, cold fronts with more snow and 40-50mm of rain fell making it even wetter, if that was possible!!! A gorgeous 6 ½ foot cinnamon with a blonde v and a big black bear where taken on Monday and Tuesday and a big chocolate missed on Tuesday as well. Some other good bears where seen this week also including another big cinnamon that didn’t present a good shot.

On May 15^th, finally some sun and it looked like we were in for a great week of bear hunting. Hunters on May 16^th started seeing lots of bears and another cinnamon bear with the bow was taken and a huge black bear that squared 7+ feet was also taken with the bow. Even while we were out baiting and checking baits, we were seeing bears and a lot of great sign which meant that the remainder of the season should be awesome!

On May 18^th (usually prime by now), another big black was shot and all hunters had tons of action all evening. Another wolf was seen by an archery hunter while watching 4 bears at his site at the same time. The wolf wandered through at 30 yards spooking the bears a little. The next day saw the bears get even more active and the fish started to bite real good, which was a good sign also. On May 20^th, 2 more big blacks that squared 7 ½ feet with skulls that grossed 20 6/16 and 20 3/16 respectively where taken. Two chocolate colored bears were also seen. The next day saw my good friend Bob arrow a real good black bear on the last night, after passing up several different bears throughout the week. Walleye over 28 inches where common and being caught and released daily.

The following week (May 27^th) saw my good friend, Bob Kaleta of Zeiss Optics shoot a monster black that also squared 7+ feet with a 20 inch skull. Mike Schoby of Petersen’s Hunting shot a gorgeous blondish/cinnamon bear which will make for a great story which will be in Petersen’s Hunting Magazine spring of 2012. During this week, we had 4 good bears down in one night which made for a great ride back to the lodge from our Tan Lake Lodge. Also during this week while tracking a huge black bear with a white v on his chest, another bear took my gloves off my quad and decided to chew up my seat on my older Honda quad. While tracking this big bear, which wasn’t very far, we saw lots of other good bears and the bear trails in the bush around this area, looked like “grizzly” trails in the moss, they were so worn down. This bait site is actually a new site which didn’t take long to get this active. What a week!!! Bears, bears and more bears!!!! Also, while tracking another bear this same week, we saw 3 wolves and found the den which was only a mere 100 yards from the bait. One of the wolves was a big white one and didn’t seem to like it we were in the area. I have posted pictures of this wolf den on my Agassiz News page. Pretty amazing finding a wolf den like this. The only other time I came across a wolf den to the extent of this one was up in the tundra in northern Manitoba caribou hunting.  

By the last week (week 5) a lot of new bears where starting to show up at baits. While walking in a hunter who was hunting with his muzzle loader, he shot a good black bear before even getting to his stand. I noticed this good boar walking toward us with his nose in the air and told him to get ready if he had a good shot, as I knew it was a shooter. We waited patiently as this bear decide to turn and run the other way, obviously winding us. Little did we know that he was going to try and circle us. I caught some black movement between the poplars to our right. Making sure it was the same big bear; he made a great shot dropping this black ghost in its tracks. This week also saw more heavy winds and rain but didn’t slow down the bear activity too much. The rut was not too far away (which ended up being approximately 2 weeks behind). This last week saw some more huge bears taken with 3 more going 7+ feet. This week was also the first time I guided a bear hunter from Alaska and even he couldn’t believe the quality/quantity of bears our areas have to offer. He shot a nice chocolate color bear which was the first color bear he had ever seen. On the very last night of our season, another big black was taken with the bow easily making the Manitoba record books at 19 12/16. What away to finish the season!!!

What a spring 2011 shaped up to be! With the weather so nasty most of the time and the bush extremely wet, this springs average size and weight on our bears taken was way up from our other springs in the past!! Most bears measured from 6 ½-7+ feet with excellent weight for spring bears. Although some of the bears had no fat on them (normal for spring black bears), most where in great shape and considering the winter and late spring we had, I was really shocked and impressed on how good they wintered. This can mean only one thing that they went into their dens last fall in great shape!! Most sows seen again had 3-4 cubs with them which are another indication they denned up good. Great genetics equals great black bears!!!

During this past spring, we had an enormous amount of other huge black bears seen. The late rut this year is good and a lot of these big boars/legends will spread their genes. The black bear hunting in our 3000+ square miles looks and will be “World Class black bear hunting” for many, many years to come!

Thank you to all who chose to hunt with us this past spring season and we are already looking forward to seeing all of our fall bear hunters real soon!

Rick

2010 Fall Whitetail Hunting Review

What an awesome whitetail season!!!  After our first snow fall on October 27^th, the rut was on, and what a rut it was!  The pre-rut was on time, leading to a hard peak and a great post rut too!  On October 28, I managed to sneak away from the lodge and check out some of my old spots that had been good over the years, and wow, rubs and scrapes everywhere!  That alone, was enough to get the blood pumping big time, as I knew, we were in for a great deer season, to top off a another great year of hunting at the Lodge and Outcamp.

 While out on October 29 putting up stands and looking for new areas, I was seeing a lot and I mean a lot of smaller, younger bucks chasing does hard.  Perfect, everything was on schedule.  On this same day, just before dark, coming down an old quad trail, a huge 10 or 12 pointer ran on the trail and stood broadside, and when he turned his head, I noticed double drop times on both main beams!!  This monster whitetail would easily top 190 non-typical B+C!  Easy, If not more.  What an animal and big enough to make any deer guide or hunter excited.  After a few seconds, the huge monarch carried on his way, probably checking and freshening scrapes throughout the night.

 During my day out in the bush on November 1, the greater Canada geese and northern greenheads were flying south non-stop all day.  Right up until November 7, while putting up stands, I noticed numerous “New” scrapes and rubs and the rut was really turning on.  Our first week of rifle saw a good hunter of mine shoot a 150 class, 8 pointer, and numerous other good ones taken and sighted.  Another big buck shot scoring 173 B+C was taken.  Both big bucks were looking for does with their heads to the ground.  One good hunter from Ohio saw 15 different bucks on one day figuring he passed up a big 10 pointer that might have gone 160-165 B+C.  Welcome to trophy hunting Tom!!  Very hard animal to pass, no doubt.  Another big 8 pointer was taken this week too chasing 4 does.  Our highs this week were perfect and remained around 32F.  Average lows this week were 22-25F and no full moon to top it off.  Can you say perfect week for whitetail. And it was!  Lots of deer sighted by all and great weather to sit for our hard hunting whitetail hunters.

 On November 11, we received 2 inches of fresh snow and the next day, bucks were really on the move and scrapes being freshened up all over.  This week was not only good for the hunting, but also for scouting and finding some real “New” hot spots for the fall of 2011 and 2012.  By the 14^th of November, the rut was crazy as bucks were chasing hard.  Just walking in to get hunters at dark, I had bucks walking and chasing by me grunting out of this world.  Reports that night from hunters revealed the same.  On Monday, November 15 and Tuesday, November 16, 2 big 10 pointers were missed.  Both hunters saying they had never seen bucks this big. WOW!! Wonder how big they were!  That same Tuesday morning, on my way back to the lodge after getting hunters in their stands, at approximately 7:15 a.m., a doe ran across the road and right behind it, a monster 10 or 12 right on her.  What a buck!  Another big 160-170 class!  Also, on that same day, I watched another big 10 pointer with my Zeiss binoculars make a scrape on the edge of a big swamp.  I watched him for a good 10 minutes.  What a beast!  His neck looked like a 45 gallon drum with a very light color rack which was extremely high with a lot of mass!  One hunter from Maryland saw 5 wolves this day, shoot a coyote and then a huge, 13 pointer that grossed 177 B+C.  What a day hey Travis!  Way to go!  Another big 8 pointer was also taken.  Good job Brent!  This day however, another big 10 pointer was missed as he came by chasing a doe hard at 11:30 a.m. Just think “Butch”, he will be much bigger next year!

 In closing, the 2010 Fall Whitetail hunting season was unbelievable.  Finally, a hard rut which was on time.  This past season saw us go 100% opportunity on a 135+ buck!  Congratulations to everyone, especially those that could keep it all together when watching these magnificent beasts come through the bush, lol! :)  That one was for you Decker party!! Ha, Ha!  I even got lucky again this year on a big 10 pointer grossing 165 B+C and watched both my sons make great shots on nice bucks.  Our oldest son Brendan, shooting a nice 10 pointer, with his .270 WSM fitted with a Zeiss Conquest scope, from 250 yards and our youngest son Jordan, a nice 8 pointer at 100 yards with his .243.  What a finish on another great year!!

 Happy Hunting,

 Rick

Agassiz Outfitters

Outfitter/Guide

 ** As I write this review, we have approximately 10-12 inches of snow and has been fairly warm for us this time of year.  I have 14 deer at my feeder right now, 1 a nice 8 pointer and1 a nice 10 pointer and they are all in great shape after this years intense rut. If our winter stays like this and “mother nature” gives us a nice spring, the 2011 season looks to be another banner year for whitetail!**

 **Please see our “New” ½ page Hunting/Fishing ad in the “new” Manitoba Travel Hunting and Fishing Adventures Guide. These will be distributed all across various trade shows throughout North America, including Reno, Nevada**

2010 Fall Waterfowl Hunting Review

The Manitoba Youth Waterfowl Season opened up on September 1, so on this day and September 2^nd, I had the opportunity to take my 2 sons Brendan and Jordan out both mornings.  The first morning saw us hunting a flooded barley field with our younger black lab “Tracker”.  Seems like every year, the number of local birds are greater and greater, and these 2 mornings proved to be no different.  Mallards and Canada geese filled the sky at sunrise, and in no time, both boys where limited out (16 Canada geese/16 mallards) and both muddy and wet.  What a shoot!  The next morning, we sat up in another part of the same barley field with our 11 year old black lab “Hunter” with the same results.  Watching our old “bird dog” and knowing it could be his last fall retrieving was hard, but again, what a shoot!  Both boys done and limited by 9:00 a.m.  The fall waterfowl season was shaping up to be another “World Class Waterfowl” Season!

The non-resident waterfowl season opened up on September 24.  With the extremely wet summer, the 2010 waterfowl season looked to be awesome, and that it was!  Up until, September 23, local birds littered the skies.  Snow geese finally started coming down on the 23^rd just in time for our opener.  To top if off, the walleye were very aggressive and had started their annual fall run a week earlier.  Opening morning saw the world famous “Burger Brothers” Ted & Buddy and friends, limit out on their geese and ducks.  Although due to the warm weather, no divers were down yet, the geese(Canada’s and Snows/Blues), mallards and pintails were plentiful on the flooded fields.  This first day of limits of both ducks and geese (both Canada and snow geese) was pretty much how our whole waterfowl season went, which we ran until October 31.  Like I said earlier, what a waterfowl season!  With our waterfowl hunters limiting out on everything in the mornings, most enjoyed the unbelievable grouse hunting and/or walleye fishing on the historic Waterhen River.

By September 30^th, the redheads started to arrive, as many were coming through the night.  From September 24 to September 30, all hunters had daily limits of mallards and Canada/Snow geese every morning.  To top it off, walleye from 28 to 32 inches were common and being caught and released quite often.  The smaller ones made for some delicious treats, deep fried in the main lodge.  The big walleye were really tearing up the rapalas.  Our old lab “Hunter” on September 28, did 48 retrieves on mallards, which in his prime, was a slow day for him.  The next morning was very tough on him, as he had a hard time getting up.  However, a quick Advil, and he was gone again.  The “old boy” still had it in him!  As we entered October, the bird hunting all the way through was un-real and wouldn’t have been better anywhere.  On October 13^th-16^th, it was an absolute honor to host and have hunt with us, Jim Crowley and his camera man Kirk of Hook and Hunt TV.  These 2 hunters and now very good friends of ours, are 2 of the classiest and appreciative guys you will ever meet.  They really reminded me of all of our great guests who hunt with us every year.  We really look forward to hosting Jim and Kirk once again next year and thanks to you Jim for getting me on the “Big Foot” Guide program.

By October 17, the water temp. had fallen to +7C and the walleye fishing even got better, if that was possible.  By October 14, all groups from this day until October 31, limited on greater Canada’s and the big,fat northern greenheads.  By October 22, divers were down big time, as our young lab “tracker” fought the strong current in our river doing double retrieves non-stop.  On October 27^th a winter storm watch was issued and winds topped 70 km/hr.  The next day saw the river full of divers.

All in all, what a waterfowl season!!  All guests witnessed “world class waterfowl hunting at its best”!  Both Colleen and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our hard working help during this time and especially our valued guests who keep waterfowl hunting with us every fall!  Also, last but not least, a huge thank-you to all the farmers for letting me on your land to hunt waterfowl.  We are all very grateful and appreciate it very much to be able to hunt your great land! And finally, thank you to our valued bird cleaners for your hard work during this crazy time of year.  Your hard work makes our jobs much easier!

Happy Hunting,

Rick

Agassiz Outfitters

Outfitters/Guide

**Please watch for:  Jim Crowley’s article on his waterfowl hunt with us and our brand new ad in “Midwest Outdoors Magazine” due out soon. Please check them out on Twitter, Face book, You Tube and HooknHunttv.com **

 **We are also pleased to announce that we will have a new addition to the “Agassiz” Waterfowl team for the fall 2011 waterfowl season.  We will have pick of the litter come this spring/summer on a “new” black lab puppy.  We are so excited and looking forward to his arrival to join “Hunter” and “Tracker”.**