Well winter is over here, and myself and some friends were able to get out and set up our spring bear baits last weekend. It was great getting out and riding for awhile. Now just have to prep the old PSE bow and I'll be set. Hopefully I won't have to work during some of the season so I can get some hunting in. By the way, Bear hunting in Saskatchewan is great, and there's some monster sized bruins out here. Our group only archery hunts, but that only adds to the excitement. Any other archery hunters in the forum please post. I'll let you know how I/we make out. Good luck to all the other spring bear hunters out there.

 

Howdy Hunter! I myself am a BIG BAR HUNTER. I went to Manitoba 2 years ago and got me a black bear with my PSE. What an exciting hunt. I love to hunt. I've got my bear mounted in a full body mount, sow @ 220lb. Definitely not a bruin. I also have a 362lb. wild boar hog mounted. I've got a 10lb. bass mounted, a bobcat mounted, and alot of racks on plaques. I've never killed a MONSTER buck to mount. He's gotta be a big one for me to mount it.

Boy I wish you could have me up there for a whitetail hunt (or bear). I want my MOSSBACK that I've been searching for!! Maybe one day. Saskatchewan would be the dream place to take a monster MOSSBACK.

Go get'em killer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Hey there eRAPTIOD. That 362 lb boar is a whopper! You're right about the White tail here. Saskatchewan is supposed to have the biggest ones in North America. I haven't done alot of archery for white tail, but did do a bunch last fall for Mule deer. Could have filled the tag easily enough, but there were several record book class bucks that I was trying to outsmart, but they outsmarted me. Every evening ambush I would set up, they would come out to the field through a different draw from a valley. Oh well, Fall is coming again. I've been bear hunting since about 1982. I've taken quite a few over the years, but the biggest one was in 1984. It officially measured 20+10/16. One of my hunting buddy's 16 yr old son got a 21 incher for his first bear 3 years ago. Two other guys have got bears within the last 4 years that were 21+. Nothing that big has been taken for the last 2 years, so I'm hoping on seeing another bruiser. They're quite an awesome sight when you're 15 yards away from them. They look like they're the size of a bull, and make you wonder how they can keep hidden being that large. Any of the bears that are in the 20+ inch skull size all have about the same body size........HUGE! And in '84 when I got my big one, I had to fill out a form for the records, and estimated the bears weight at 500 lbs. My hunting partner (who'd hunted bear for 17 years, and taught me) said that 500 lbs. was a conservative estimate. He figured that it was close to 600 lbs! They do get to be quite big.
Where in Manitoba did you go? Manitoba and Saskatchewan are quite similar provinces in the make up. ie; farmland, forest, etc. I live about 70 miles North of the Canada-US borber, and where we go bear hunting is only a 3 hour drive from home. We hunt a forest area called the Porcupine Hills, which stretch into Manitoba.
I'm not much of a fisherman, but am very interested in hearing about your Bobcat and how you got him. Later.

 

You are right.Spring is here even in ALASKA. Still got some snow but it's going fast tho. Bears are coming out of hibernation here now. What's nice here is we have Brown/Grizzly plus Blacks. I use the new
C/P ONEIDA Black Eagle. You are right a 20+ black is big. But the browns are in the high 20's man. I have never seen any thing like it before. I am from MICHIGAN I have been here for almost 3 years now. I do miss the whitetails alot tho. I do get 3 blacks plus 1 brown plus 5 Sitka Blacktails and 5 different kinds of Salmon plus 1 Moose and 5 Caribou. Freezer stays full all year tho and that means alot. We also have Elk, Sheep and Goats. I dont hunt them with a bow tho. I am a fishing/hunting guide so I get to see alot of action all year round. When I get the big one, hopefully this year, will let you know. Seen some BIG Browns last fall, of course after I had allready filled my tag, so thats what I am after this spring. They should be hanging in the same area again so hopefully luck is on my side this time. Looking forward to hearing how it goes with you all.

 

Hi Huntfishalaska. That's my dream some day of taking a big Brown with the bow. High 20's would be an incredible sight. I don't know too much about Browns. Can they be baited in the spring like Blacks? I know that they go to the rivers when the salmon are running, so baiting likely wouldn't work too well on them then. How do you set up the spring hunt for your customers? You guys get some huge Moose there too. That'd be another hunt of a lifetime for me too, to go after Alaskan Moose. We have quite a few Moose here too, and some big ones if you can get into the right areas, but they get quite a bit of hunting pressure starting in early Fall, and then they get harder and harder to find. Good luck this spring and hopefully you'll have a story or 2 to tell us about the Browns.

 

We went to a place that was 3 hours north of Winnepeg. I remember passing by and stopping at that Garder Snake Haven. I forget the name of it but it was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen. Thousands upon millions of snakes in those dens. Hell, they were EVERYWHERE. You couldn't hardly walk without stepping on one and they were all over the roads too. I also remember that you were supposed to do everything in your power not to run over one and kill em.

Dude that is one big "black" you got yourself. My skull was like 10" - but she still made a beautiful mount. The wild boar came from the swamps of Georgia. I was born and raised in the boondocks of South Ga. I moved to Indy 10 yrs ago now. The bucketmouth bass came from there as well. They don't come that big this far north. They do but that is close to st. record size for here. The bobcat I killed last year while visiting family at Christmas time in Ga. He is a pretty good size cat. He is long and very colorful. Had him mounted standing on his hind legs with his mouth open and swatting with one paw at a quail. Got him with my .308 Win while deer hunting. They are very plentiful in Ga. So are the hogs. I love to turkey hunt as well. Haven't got one mounted tho. Didn't have the money when I got my first one.

Well good luck fellas with your endevours. Hope y'all can break your local records this year!

 

Hi Hunter, No they don't allow us to bait the Browns here. But I have my bait set for the blacks. I am hoping a Brown will stroll by and check it out, then I can track him down. I have allready seen a Brown Sow with 2 cubs, but yet to see the daddy, I know he's out there [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] In the Spring we have to do alot of scouting, local bush pilots help out alot, and the snow gives limited options sometimes. It's really in getting out there in the fall, seeing where they are hibernating, and when the thaw starts, start tracking them down when they wake up. But it's not always easy especially with the weather.

It sounds like our Moose are about the same as yours. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] When they start feeling the Rut they are everywhere, you even have to stop on the road and wait for them to cross over, but when the mating season is getting over (which always seems to coincide with the beginning of hunting season) it's like they almost disappear. Of course by then there have been so many people up and down the roads scouting the best spots to hunt that it pushes them far enough out you need a boat to track them down. Also at that time of year, they are still in their nocturnal mode because of all the daylight time we have, which is about 19 1/2 hours, so they move around the most when it is the darkest to them. That makes it hard on us, but knowing where they go when they are stressed out, makes it easier to bring home dinner. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

eRAPTOID: Thats one of things I miss most about leaving Michigan is the Turkey. Man there ain't nothing like hearing that gobbler strutting your way. If they were here I would have to say I would have everything to keep me 100% happy and I would never have to go anywhere else. I've got to visit the old stompin grounds now to satisify that urge. Besides there is nothing compares to the taste of wild turkey. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

HuntFishAlaska. I can see that it would be extremely difficult to get a Brown with a bow if they can't be baited. That would even make it tough for the rifle shooters, except that they have more range to play with. What types of licensing fees etc. is there for Canadian hunters wanting to hunt Browns in Alaska? I know here there is quite a jump for non-residents to buy hunting licenses, but it's not outrageous. There's also rules here that were brought in here about 10 years ago for non-Canadian residents that they have to be Guided. There used to be a group of American hunters that would come each spring to the same place we hunt Blacks. They were all archery hunters too, and were quite sucessful at getting their share of Bears (without being guided). When the Guiding rule came in, they quit coming. Too bad. They were really nice guys and it was nice getting together with them every spring for drinks, food and stories. They said that the guiding cost was too high, and in the end, Saskatchewan lost more tourism. I believe the pressure came from outfitters/guides to the Gov't to enact the Non-resident guideing rules. I think most of the outfitters are still doing Ok, but they're not getting rich. Oh well, we all know that rules change over time and that they don't always work for the best, so we adapt and go on.
I wish we had Wild Turkey here. I've seen a few over the last couple of years, but that's it. Not even sure where they came from cause they're probably a long way from home. Maybe in 20 or 30 years we'll have a turkey population that will allow us to hunt. It looks like alot of funfrom what I've seen on hunting programs.

 

Hunter; as it is now it cost a nonres $250 for black tag and $500 for brown. On the brown you have to have a licensed guide tho. Depending on where you go on how much they charge. As a res, black is free and brown is $25 for the tag and both are non-guided. Good luck on the Turkey population, they are awesome to stalk and hunt.

 

Glad to hear of other hunters on the board.I to shoot a bow it is a onieda strike eagle.I used to shoot every day when i was younger now it once aweek if i am lucky.Would like to get a new bow with the machined aluminum riser but i have to pay for my bike first.I have never shot anything but targets and gophers with it.I have been to the black hills 3 times in the last 4 years to hunt turkeys.I have one in full strut under glass for a end table,one flying hanging on the wall likes to collect dust,and one thats just the tail and beard on a plaque.All takin witha shot gun i take my bow with me but always chickin out when i get there.I have hunted deer for the last 10 years my biggest scored 172 b+c.The two people i hunt with are my socalled friends,but the one is a taxidermist and does my work uptill last week.I was at his house and i asked him what he has done on my big deer,he says its gone,I say what"what you mean".He tells me that my other freind who i shot the deer with come to him and told him that i didnt want the head and couldnt afford it.So my friend the taxidermist sells my head to my other friend behind my back.I never ever said anything about not wanting it or affording it.The taxi thought I new all about this.Now im in a fight with both of them trying to get it back.I guess i'll have to go to the game warden and report them for illegally selling and buying game.After all that it kinda makes you want to hang up the camo and take up another sport.