Wow, 2006 season has flown by. This was such a great year in so many respects. The weather
was fabulous throughout and it was dry. This was not so great for the forest but the bugs
were manageable. The bear hunters enjoyed this aspect of the year although there were still
some pests. Being prepared for the unwanted air assault can make or break a hunt.
Anyway, I wanted to report on our black bear hunt for 2006. This was the first season since
I have owned the camps, that a bear hunt has been offered. Kitchi Island Outpost and Embryo
Lake Outpost have been hunted in the past. Longhaul Lake Outpost has never been hunted. This
year, we hunted Embryo and Longhaul in the spring and Kitchi in the fall.
The spring hunt was outstanding with all 5 hunters having opportunity. All hunters were
successful in harvesting a quality bear except one. There was one bear lost, drawn on
and shot but unfortunately not found. Although John thought he had made a kill shot,
we had to accept that after trailing for 3 hours, the bear was not mortally wounded.
The 4 other spring hunters had taken great bears, all over 6 feet and very healthy. We had 3
bears taken with a rifle and one with a bow. The successful hunters are all pictured here.
I have to mention here that all of our bear hunters were a pleasure to work with.
One of the notable kills this spring was a huge bear taken by Jack Thurner of Akeley MN.
His bear rough scored at 19 1/2 P & Y, a trophy in anyone's book. We estimate the bear
weighed over 450 pounds. He measured 80 inches from nose to tail and 76 inches paw tip to
paw tip. Wow! Jack sent me a story that he had written after the trip. I have it posted
here and encourage all visitors to take a moment or 2 and read Jack's
Trip of a Lifetime.
He describes the moments of breathlessness as his huge bear finally decides to move into
his bait site and his rifle sight!
The fall hunt was not as productive as the spring. We do not have all
of the answers but speculate that the absence of food in the bush due to the early
spring and the warm dry weather caused the resident bear population to go elsewhere
to forage for food. They need a huge, rich diet to provide the fat stores needed for
winter survival.
The spring hunt for 2007 is almost sold out at this writing. Brian and I will be
into the camps in the winter to start the baiting process early. We expect that 2007
will be as productive as this year. We will be establishing a few new bait sites in
nearby lakes and also at Longish Lake Outpost, the new camp offered by Kitchi Island
Outposts. This camp will be hunted in 2008.
Thanks for stopping by!
Duncan
2007 Bear Hunt!
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