1-866-604-0567


Jack Thurner's "Trip of a Lifetime!"


"Trip of a LifeTime!"
by Jack Thurner
Bear Hunt at Longhaul - 2006

I retired 2 years ago at the age of 62. Work had become a torture, I have 3 discs injured from slips, falls, and lifting. Anyone who has a physical job knows how these things accumulate and catch up to you. Also, I have C.O.P.D. lung disease causing shortness of breath.


I have hunted all my life and subscribe to Bear Hunting magazine to fantasize about all the hunts I have never had the time or money to take. Last winter I decided to talk my son into going on a spring bear hung in Manitoba. He was real hard to convince to go but I finally did it (took about 2 minutes!) The year before, we had put out bait and bagged a small female bear near Palisade, MN. This got our interest up.

I went on the internet and looked up some sites advertised in "Bear Hunting' Magazine. I had to consider my health so I eliminated tent camps, also I wanted to keep the driving to a minimum because my back can be a problem on a long trip. Several answers came to my email inquiries and of these I picked www.kitchiislandoutposts.com. I liked the fact that they had nice cabins on fly in lakes. With them I got the best of both worlds, hunting and fishing! Also the drive wasn't bad because the base camp is about 2.5 hours north of Winnipeg on Matheson Island. We flew over some of the most beautiful scenery on earth, along 300 mile long Lake Winnipeg, and east along the Berens River system to the isolated outposts. The one we went to was called "Longhaul Lake" and is a spot in heaven. Canada's resources are second to none in beauty and wildlife. Our guides told us there are woodland caribou in this area as well as moose, bear, and wolves.

I'm ahead of myself. Brian Gross, our #1 bear guide, at Kitchi, told me that a person gets a kind of "bear drunk" after bagging a big one! This must be what happened to me in trying to keep my thoughts in order!

During last winter I also talked my wife into coming along as a fisher woman. She loves the peace and quiet as well as the scenery. Her biggest problem was the float plane. We talked extensively about this and finally she signed on. We found out that it was a false alarm because they had such a nice plane that all of us and all our gear fit. Six people with 100lbs of baggage each and room for additional bear bait. We had two guides, Duncan Ross, the owner, and Brian Gross, the head guide with 11 years of guiding experience. They were both excellent people. I called my brother in law Ed Swartz of Lindstrom, MN. He signed on after a few minutes of talking - not too hard to convince! We had a complete crew.

We flew in Sunday June 4th and got unpacked. Ed and John went out fishing for an hour and caught 8 walleyes and 4 northern in the mid day sun. We figured the fishing would be okay. Everyone was excited to hunt so we went out about 3 pm. We didn't need to be so early because legal shooting ends at 10:10 and it's fairly light until 10:30

The first night Brian put me on a stand that showed much promise. It had signs of a very large bear. This bear had been active on this site since ice out. They first put out bait in the winter. There was a stream coming into the lake with a huge beaver dam across the mouth. Following Brian along this stream and over the rocks was quite a challenge. It wasn't all that far but I was huffing and puffing. My physical problems were showing up. Brian was patient and I was determined so we made it. I had been working out since January to be prepared for this adventure.

No action this first night, but we learned about Canadian bugs. My lesson was the most vivid. I've lived in Minnesota all my life. I've dealt with deer flies, black flies and mosquitoes. They are pests making life miserable. However Canadian bugs are after meat! They will eat anything possible. I never wear a glove on my right hand, even in severe cold, I can put that had in my pocket. This theory held up for about an hour. Then I put my glove on but it was too late, that hand was swollen for the week! I also thought it would work to put my hat on over the netting for my face. The hat band held the net close to my skin and the black flies had a buffet bar going there. The one inch band of blisters reminded me to keep everything covered. The other guys had similar experiences only they were generally smarter then me! Put the hat under the net they said.

That first night was quiet but John saw a small long legged bear that he let go. Ed had trouble with the tree stand as the screws in the steps bent under his weight. Our guides moved him to a ladder stand the next day. They had eight stands and bait sites set up for three hunters so they were all prepared for us, no matter what.

These sites were all active but nature threw us a curve as mating season had begun and the bears were on the move and not dependable at their home sites.

We caught fish and explored the river to view several waterfalls. We had fish for supper and the guides prepared all the meals. We really ate well. I didn't expect the food to be much nicer under the conditions. We had beef steaks one night and included fresh baked biscuits, sausage, pancakes, smokies, eggs and bacon. The guides had plenty of food for all the meals, even if we didn't want fish or bear. They kept it in a propane refrigerator. They also had two freezers, one for bear, an electric one run by a generator, and one propane for food or surplus bear. "Hop-Sing" as we called Duncan, kept us well fed.

The second night was quiet, but both John and Ed heard movement around them but nothing came in. The third night Ed shot a big bear, it measured 6'3". He got it around 8 p.m. Our guide said it was the biggest sow he had seen. It was an older animal with worn and broken teeth, beautiful long thick fur, powerful body and easily mistaken for a boar. Ed waited in the stand for Brian to arrive. He called him on the radio they provided. After a while he heard another one coming in. It was a big bear, it came to the bait and started eating. Ed hollered at it because he had to clear the area for Brian to come in. The bear wouldn't leave and sat on a rock to watch Ed. Across the river there was growling and this one answered back. Slowly the second bear got up and walked away. Brian figured the sow Ed shot was in heat and had males following her. When Ed heard Brian coming he shot at the ground to discourage any more visitors, his bear lay close to his stand as it had run towards him when he shot it. That had to make his heart beat for a moment!

That was the third night and I was getting impatient. I knew what kind of critter we were looking for. They gave me a choice to go to a different stand but I had stuck with one with great promise. The bait had not been touched. I figured the big male that claimed this area must have left to find mates. Brian had another site that had been hit every day. It was about 6 miles from me and at least, I might see something. The signs weren' t as good but it was time for change. Good decision because that first site I was at wasn't hit the entire week. I began to see why they had more than one bait for each hunter.

Again I didn't' see anything, I was a little down. It was 9:30 p.m. and starting to look bleak when out of the corner of my eye I saw a movement. A big black shape stepped out of the heavy cover and stopped. He put his head high in the air to sniff. I was in a ravine cut into the Canadian Shield. It was about 150 yards long with trees covering it, about 75 yards from me it turned into a wall of thick underbrush. This was his approach. The wind was Wrong! I thought it was over when he turned and went back into the woods. I had worn scent loc clothing and taken so many scent precautions that the guys thought it was funny. They had grown up hunting in jeans and a t-shirt. Brian had told me about these bears, he said they were like little kids who couldn't resist the cookie jar. They knew it was wrong but couldn't resist! The bear turned and came out of the brush again, he knew it was too early but he couldn't resist. He took five or six steps toward the bait and stopped behind a clump of underbrush and had second thoughts. I could see the black outline take a turn sideways and start to leave. He was closer to the goodies now and it was too much for him to resist. He bolted towards the bait and grabbed a mouthful. He came around from behind the bait to face me. It was impossible for me to raise my gun without being detected. He was eating corn from the ground that Brian had placed there. CRACK, CRACK, CRACK. The noise was deafening in the total silence of the woods. Once again he got up and left, only to go three steps and return. He couldn't resist. This time he gave up on the food on the ground to start scooping the corn from inside the barrel. They have a hole cut in the barrel but his head was to big so he was reaching in like a human would to grab a paw full and crunch it up. He was BIG! I never for a moment "sized him up". This guy I knew was the one, if only I could raise my gun! It had been 15 minutes since I first saw him and I was worried about daylight. When he started reaching in, it gave me an opening. Each time he reached in I would raise my gun a little. I had to be careful because he was quick. Three scoops and my gun was positioned. The next time he reached I shot, right behind the front shoulder. This would have made a perfect bow shot. A rocket went off, the bear shot up and the solid rock incline as if I had missed. I had a difficult time climbing so I would guess it was a 45 degree angle. What an athlete he was. About 30 yards and on top, the bear stopped to turn broadside. I raised my gun just in case and he was gone. I figured he went over the top. I later found that it was right where he lay.

From my stand I called Brian. He couldn't understand me but he came right away. They were afraid we were in for a tracking session. On the first ledge we found a lot of blood. Half way up the second incline, I spotted the big black pile over the top. By the time I got up there, huffing and puffing, Brian had been there for awhile. He said "Do you know what you have here?" "This thing is huge!" He estimated the 21 inch skull category. We measured 6' 10" from nose to tail. Brian estimated about 450 lbs. It would probably push 600lbs in the fall. Pretty amazing for a skinny spring bear!

Everybody from camp came out to help. We took pictures. Brian skinned it out to be a full body mount. I made the decision to have a full mount the moment I saw him on the ground. Again when you see one like this, those decisions are automatic. We talked about my trip of a lifetime. I am so impressed with the size of his paws that we are having a walking mount made with one front paw stepping on a rock ledge and the other paw turned a little inward so we can view the paw. The mouth will be closed. I want it as realistic as possible to match my minds video. The green score will be ready in late august. Then the skull will be sent to the beetle cleaned. I wanted it right away.

Manitoba has a sport show in March. They want me to come and accept an award. Brian and Duncan will be there. We will once again get to enjoy their laughter and re-live my trip of a lifetime. This is as good as it gets!

 

Jack Thurner
Akeley MN