The following is a summary of the hunt I was on in June with our preferred outfitter in Manitoba for black bear.

I have to apologize as I know this is long overdue, but with a 2 year old and a 7 year old at home and then having to take care of my mothers and sisters affairs after their passing's in 2013 and 14', I've been pretty busy wrapping things up.

Dates:
June 9th - 13th, 2014
Last hunt of the season.........rut hunt.

Location:
East of Lake Winnipeg.

Hunt:
5 day baited black bear hunt along with some GREAT fishing.

Group:
4 of us in the group. Myself, fellow Hosted Hunts booking agent Jim, and 2 clients.........Ernie from Texas and John from Georgia. 2 other hunters were also in camp, but had booked with the outfitter directly.

Accommodations:
Lodging for the hunt is provided in a comfortable hotel. Nothing fancy, but comfortable.

Details of the hunt:
The hunt is a 5 day baited black bear hunt. Hunts are usually ran Mon - Fri.with the hunters arriving into camp on Sunday afternoon and then leaving on Saturday. Hunters that fly in, fly into Winnipeg, are picked up (included) and then driven approx. 2 hrs. to camp. 3 out of the 4 of us drove. For me, it was only a 4 hr. drive from home. Jim picked up John at the Fargo airport(on the way for Jim) and Ernie drove from Texas......"it's only a 22-23 hr. drive" he said !!

Close to 90% of this outfitters business is Archery hunts, but rifle hunters are welcome also. Ernie and I were hunting with rifles, while Jim and John had their bows.

Fishing is also included on this hunt as long as you buy your license. Success on the fishing depends a lot on the spring. This year was a late spring and the fishing was EXCELLENT!! We caught Walleye, Bass (Smallmouth, White and Rock),Drum, and Golden eye. The outfitter has 2 boats for his hunters to use (14 and 16 ft) that are about 200 yds. across the road from the hotel.


Pictures from the hunt..........


Photo of the hotel



Inside the rooms



One of the boats



John (top pic.) and Jim with one of their many Bass


Jim


Ernie and his 27" Walleye.


Day 1 was done and we found out that Tom took a nice 6 ft. boar. Tom had hunted previously in the U.S. on a seven day hunt bear hunt and didn't even see a bear, so needless to say, Tom was verry happy!





I also had an opportunity on day 1, but decided to pass. After getting back to camp and examining the photos better and getting some feedback from the other hunters, I probably shouldn't have. But, that's hunting......

Bear that I passed on.....






Day 2 produced no bears but the bears were at the baits. The 3 of us left in our saw 13 bear. Plenty of action in my stand too!! I had a small to medium bear come out, hit the bait and then head out, only to stop directly at the bottom of my stand. All of a sudden, the bear spooked and within a split second, he was up my tree and only an arms reach away. He looked at me and i at him. I think we both scared the crap out of each other. And, i do have to admit that a little scream came of of my mouth. With that, the bear bailed out of the tree.

Day 3 (hump day). Once again the 3 of us had plenty of action at the bait. This night found me sitting in a ground blind instead of the ladder stand due to the wind switching and me wanting to hunt this spot. I do have to admit, it was a little different sitting on the ground. With the bear coming up my tree and having a sow with a couple of cubs around, i was a little nervous.
Right before dark, i had a bear come in fast from behind the bushes. The bear came in, knocked over the barrel and immediately laid down eating the bait. 5 minutes later, the bear was up and headed directly at me.......approx. 80 yds. away. I pulled up, centered the cross hairs and pulled trigger. The bear was down!
Here's the hard part.........it was a small bear. I totally misjudged the bear. Not proud of it, but it happened.....plain and simple.

My bear


Day 4 and it was Johns turn. Right before dark a very large bear came out and John let er' fly. A true stud!
Early measurements after the hunt showed that this boar will easily make Pope and Young.





Day 5 was just Jim holding out.......Jim did have opportunities on some good bears throughout the week, but since he had taken a nice bear with this outfitter in 2013, he was holding out for a brute. Rain set in for part of the night, some bears did hit the bait, but it just didn't happen.

For anyone interested, I will be hosting a trip with this outfitter next May. We have secured the best dates and have the whole camp reserved for exclusively for Hosted Hunts and out clients. Please contact me if interested as there are only 6 spots available for this hunt. The success rate on this hunt most years is 90% shooting opportunity on 6ft. bears and 80-85% overall success........this is for the Archery hunts.

I can't say enough about Russ and the guides. We had a great hunt and look forward to it next year!!

Beauty!!