Bear Hunting in the Land of Little Sticks
I've been hunting black bears all over North America for most of my life. I've even had the good fortune to put a tag on a few big bruisers over the years. But on this bear hunting trip, my objective was to help another hunter, Charlotte Lee, harvest her first ever black bear with her Knight Revolution Muzzleloader.
Spring in Northern Manitoba, Canada, is when the bears emerge from hibernation, and the birds return from their southern journey. The forests explode with life as the country seems to come alive. It's the perfect time for nature lovers, hunters and fisherman to be in the outdoors. This rugged, untouched wilderness is home to abundant black bears and offers some of the best Northern Pike fishing in North America.
This is the Land of Little Sticks, named for the evergreens stunted by the harsh elements of nature. There the spruce trees look as though they were made for little children. The enchanting beauty of a loon's call across a tranquil lake on a cool spring night will take away all your stresses.
At night, you've got a perfect view of the canopy of stars overhead. In Lynn Lake it's a different kind of getaway for a hunting trip, one you will never forget.
Lynn Lake began life as a town called Sherridon, 150 miles south of where Lynn Lake is now. After the ore bodies at Sherridon were depleted, nickel was discovered in the Lynn Lake area in the 1950's. So Sherritt Gordon Mines literally moved the homes in the community over the period of a couple of winters. Lynn Lake became Manitoba's first nickel mining community. The townspeople had to move their homes over lake ice, frozen muskeg, bush and ravines. The road was only useable between freeze up and spring thaw. All other times of the year, the land overflowed with water causing anything crossing it to sink deep into the muskeg, unable to move.
Today, all the mines are closed, and there are just over 500 residents in the community.
We arrived at our final destination, Grey Owl Outfitters, owned by Ross Sawyer and Lyle MacMillian, a day after all the other bear hunters in camp due to our busy schedules and coordinating flights. The main lodge overlooks a beautiful pristine lake that makes you want to grab your rod and wet a line. Sawyer and MacMillian run a small operation. They pride themselves on quality rather than quantity when it comes to bear hunting and fishing. They have a vast amount of land to hunt; their bear hunting area encompasses over 1800 square miles in Northern Manitoba. However, they only take on a few bear hunters every year to ensure that quality trophy bears are taken every spring.
Our host for this adventure, Ross, was a real gentleman. He knew his way around this country because he has guided and outfitted there for the last 50 years. We seemed to hit it off right from the start, swapping bear hunting stories.
Charlotte was really excited about hunting black bears for the first time with her Knight Revolution muzzleloader rifle. She kept asking Ross and me all kinds of questions about how the bears would react in different situations. This showed us she really wanted to learn as much as possible before her actual bear hunt. Charlotte had never even seen a bear in the wild, and also had a very bad cold. So, rather than just put her up in a tree stand the first night without and instruction or understanding of bears habits, Ross and I decided to spent a few days familiarizing her with reading bear signs, baiting techniques, set-up locations and shot placement.
We spent the next few days riding around the area checking some of the 30 established baits and several new ones. We showed Charlotte how to tell if the bait had been hit by a single bear or multiple bears. There was one piece of bait that had been visited several times by timber wolves, and we showed her the difference in the signs around the bait site. We also showed Charlotte how to determine if it would be a bait that we would put a bear hunter on for a night sit. She learned what to look for in the size of a bear track to determine the bear's age, even if the track was in the deep moss. She also learned how the diameter of the scat could be a good indicator to the actual size of the bear and what it had been feeding on recently. Ross and I were very impressed with her enthusiasm. She took notes on everything she saw so she would be able to review it later. This was turning into an intense course in bear hunting because our student had so enthusiastic and wanted to learn as much as she could before her actual bear hunt.
We let her get into the tree sands at several of the baits to see how it would feel being up there. We then showed her what to look for on the incoming trails to the bait site. I told her that almost 90 percent of the bear hunters who use bait never actually see the bear before it gets to the bait because they are so quiet and cautious upon entry. I also showed her how she could use the bait barrel to determine the size of the bear by using the height of the barrel vs. the height of the bear. If the bear's back is even with or over the top of the barrel it is always a good bear. You want to take it if possible. We went through shot placement and how critical it was to wait for the perfect shot, especially on a bear hunt. Never get impatient and rush the shot because this could cause the hunter to miss or even worse wound the animal and have to track it. I explained to her that Ross and I were getting too old to track wounded bears in the heavy swamp or cover, especially at low light or in the dark.
Finally, we let her fire her muzzleloader rifle a few times to make sure the scope had not moved because of handling at the airports. She shot her .50 caliber Knight Revolution muzzleloader rifle loaded with 150 grains of Hodgdon Triple Seven pellets and a 250 grain Red Hot bullet very well. She put a one-inch group of three shots just off the center bull's-eye. We told her that she would be on her actual bear hunt tomorrow afternoon. Ross suggested that we take the morning off and get a late breakfast then go over to his secret little hot spot and wet a line to see if we could hook into a good Northern Pike. Then we could take Charlotte out to where she would be bear hunting, and I would sit next to her in another tree stand for support.
We call the lake with no name "Ross's secret little hot spot." It is about a mile and a half off of an old mining road though heavy cover and muskeg. About a week before we arrived, Ross and a few helpers from the lodge cut a path to the lake so he could drive an ATV and a boat down to the lake. According to Ross, the lake had never been fished as far as he knew, and he lived in town for almost 50 years. What a thrill it would be to wet a line in such untouched pristine waters.
After loading all our gear in the boat we started fishing right away, trying different lures and flies to entice a big northern to strike. We worked our way around the lake ever so slowly trying to locate the fish, catching a few fish but nothing of size. Finally, I got a hard bite and could tell instantly this was a good fish, burning line off my Abel reel. Our battle lasted almost 20 minutes before I was able to get him on the side of the boat for Ross to net. Just as Ross touched the net on the water, the big fish rolled, making a big splash. Charlotte jumped up from her seat in the boat, screamed and said that the fish looked like an alligator. After he went under and around the boat several times, we finally we got him into the net. Ross said we should measure that one because he was sure he would be over the 41 inch minimum required for a Manitoba Master Angler Award. Sure enough, he was 42 inches. After taking a few quick pictures we released the fish back into the cold water.
Immediately I had another good hit. It was a 37 inch fish, then another 39 inch, a few 36 inchers, and finally the monster of the day: a 43 incher. We had found the fish and made the proper presentation to them for a strike. When all was said and done we caught 8 fish, over 36 inches, in about an hour and a half. Two of these were Master Angler fish, and that is unheard of anywhere. I'd go back again just to have the opportunity to fish the little secret hot spot.
It was time to pack up and get moving so we could get Charlotte out to the bait early enough for the area to settle down. On the way, I reviewed the game plan if a bear did come in. We also discussed how we would only communicate using sign language and whispering once we were in the treestands so we woudn't spook the bear. We could see the excitement in her face and maybe just a touch of fear, which was totally understandable. Let's face it, a bear is one powerful animal and they have can attack us at any time. Without a weapon we do not have a chance of winning the battle.
Before getting all our gear into the tree stand and securing our FallGuy Tree Stand Safety System, I sprayed our hands, hair, boots, and all our gear with Scent Killer spray to eliminate any human odors. We both wore Scent-Lok Savanna outfits, including the gloves and head cover. We both also wore their new BaseSlayers as an under layer for added protection. Once settled in, I gave Charlotte a few last-minute tips to build up her confidence, and assured her I would be right there with her all the way. She gave me the thumbs up sign, and we both settled in for the long sit. It was very calm and quiet in the bush. The time seemed to just drag by for me, and it was only about 3 hours since we arrived at the bait. Finally, directly behind us I heard something coming out of the swamp and turned ever so slowly to look in that direction. Just 20 yards behind us to the right there was a beautiful shiny-coated bear slowly and cautiously approaching us. Then suddenly he stopped for no reason, turned, and disappeared like a ghost into the swamp again. There was something he didn't like about entering the bait from that direction.
Slowly I leaned over to whisper to Charlotte that there was big bear behind us, and he want back into the swamp. There was complete silence for a few minutes. Then she leaned over and asked if we would go now that he is gone. I waited several minutes as I scanned landscape around the bait, trying to see if the bear was coming in from another direction. Then I bumped her shoulder to get her attention, and whispered that he would be back. Within a few minutes, I noticed Charlotte pin her head back against the tree and open her eyes wide to the size of golf balls. She pointed straight in front of her. The bear had returned and was right in front of us, about 20 yards from the bait scent, checking and listening for danger with his powerful nose and ears while he surveyed the site with his eyes. Like a black ghost, he reappeared just as he had disappeared about a half hour earlier, out of nowhere and as silent as a mouse.
He then went straight to the bait. I knew then he was the dominant bear on this bait. A subordinate bear would have circled the bait several times, scent checking to see if the big boy was there or had been there. He probably would not have come in for fear of getting his butt whipped.
When the black bear walked past the barrel, his back was just over the top of the barrel. I bumped Charlotte and gave her the thumbs up that it was a good bear, a shooter. We watched him for several minutes. He never had a clue we were there in ambush in all this time because of our total Scent-Lok systems. Suddenly he turned and moved into a perfect position for a shot. I leaned over and very softly whispered, "Now, right behind the front shoulder." Charlotte slowly raised the Knight Revolution muzzleloader rifle to her shoulder and took careful aim on the big bruin. It seemed like an eternity before I heard the blast and saw the smoke cloud in front of us, but when it cleared her bear was down. He never took a step. She had a look of amazement on her face as she looked down at the fallen bear. I shouted out, Perfect shot; you got 'im." Charlotte snapped out of her daze and thanked me for helping her through this bear hunt.
We both descended the tree to look at her trophy bear. And what a beautiful bear he was with his thick deep shiny black coat. I told her that it was a really nice bear, at least a six footer, and he will make a beautiful rug for your living room. She was so excited, lifting up the front paws and touching the claws then running her fingers through his deep fur of her first bear. She stood up and gave me a great big hug and thanked me again. We went back to the ladders of our stands and sat down to wait for Ross to pick us up, and reviewed the entire event of her first bear hunt. It was a bear and a woman in the land of little sticks. That's what it's all about for us bear hunters, creating lasting memories of our great bear hunting events.
For an autographed copy of Dick's latest ground breaking book Radical Bear Hunter go to www.radicalbowhunter.com or visit your local bookstore.