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Awesome Ontario
Bowhunting Canada's Black Bear
Twenty three years had passed since I had crossed the border into Ontario, Canada at Fort Frances. Earlier in my hunting career I was allured to Canada’s wide open expanses, beautiful terrain and of course, it’s black bears. At that time I barely (pardon the pun) knew anything about bear hunting. Education is born through experience and I was just starting my journey. My first time on stand was an eye opener…
Decades ago, sitting on the ground watching a bear bait, I heard a commotion to my left. Squinting to peer through the thick under brush there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that I would soon see the black shiny figure of my first black bear. Seconds later… much to my surprise it wasn’t the stubby legs of a bear that appeared but the tall giraffe-like legs of a moose. Looking up from my position I felt much like a kindergartener looking up the legs of a circus clown on stilts. Not wanting to alarm the moose I stayed quiet, swallowed my heart and he went along his merry way. Unfortunately, this would be all I would see while on bait during that Canadian trip. Such is the fate of many a self guided hunting trips.
So in 2006 I found myself headed back to this beautiful country. With two successful archery bear hunts now under my belt and my Mathews Switchback XT screaming to get out of its case, I felt more equipped to get the job done than I had years before. In the back of my mind, however, I couldn’t keep from remembering how few bears I had seen on my earlier visit to Ontario.
Previous conversations with Brad Hering of Bear Scents bear lures and attractants had me convinced that I was going to the right place. I trusted his word when he told me Hideaway Outfitters was the place to go. This camp held big bear and lots of them. Somehow I still needed to witness it first hand to be convinced.
Located in the sleepy town of Reddit, Ontario, Hideaway Outfitters is nestled in the third most northern town in Ontario. Not a single mapped road extends into the wilderness as you go further north making this hunt unbelievably wild. The town boasts a yearly population of 120 people and is largely outnumbered by the lightly hunted, carefully managed bear population. Although I traveled only a mere nine hours from north central Wisconsin, it seemed like a world away.
The John and Kathy Palson family have owned and operated this bear business for 27 years. At 64 years of age, John knows bear hunting inside and out. It doesn’t take long before you are quickly mesmerized by his knowledge of this mysterious black beast. Being a humble, quiet, honest man, you learn quickly to trust his judgment. A character quality that unfortunately seems hard to come by in this day and age.
Management units separate the areas in which an outfitter can hunt in Ontario. John manages several different units miles apart and keeps a constant eye on what gets taken every year from both his north and south bear camps. Treating it much like farming any other type of animal, he makes certain the bear population in his units continually produce big bear and lots of them. Sows are left to grow and produce offspring and hunters are encouraged to shoot boars only. This keeps the population unusually high and healthy.
Stating “You are what you eat!” John baits his bears only with healthy grains and vegetable oil. Every bear from little cubs to the big boars tend to be fat with beautiful glossy coats. Old fish, meat and other scraps are avoided as bait since it may taint the wonderful tasting meat that these bears are noted for. Besides, meat scraps can rot quickly and according to John and if a bear gets sick at the bait he will never be back. A truth that once again proves education comes with experience.
Excellent management skills and a great knowledge of the bear under his watchful eye have earned John a great reputation. Hideaway Outfitters boasts an unbelievable 95% hunter success rate with 95% of them being boars. Another proud statistic that John will share is that the annual harvest weight exceeds over 300 pounds on average. His business is rated (by the Canadian government) number two in Ontario. Each year several bears taken from John’s camp exceed the Pope and Young minimum requirements and tip the scales over the 400# mark. It is no wonder that portions of this operation is booked up two years in advance. Most are repeats with people just waiting for a spot to open.
There is nothing that gets a bowhunters heart pounding like a jet black coat against the green forest floor. The number of bear in John’s management units is nothing short of phenomenal. One hunter saw 23 different bear in one sitting. For someone who has spent many a night on stand watching squirrels eat, this was a jaw dropping piece of information. While John will be the first to say this is an unusual amount of bear to see at one time, I can say with all confidence that it is more unusual to NOT see anything on stand than it is to see multiples in a night. My first night on stand I saw five bears.
As an added bonus for this bow hunt, and since bear hunting takes place only in the afternoons, we were able to enjoy some incredible fishing during the morning hours. The day’s catch of fresh walleye was then cooked to perfection as dinner for all guests to enjoy by Kathy and her daughters.
A few of the hunters in camp brought their spouses along as well. While their husbands hunted, the ladies fished or just enjoyed the view from one of the quiet lakeside cabins.
This was truly a trip that black bear hunters only dream of: extraordinarily high quality hunting, great fishing, excellent accommodations and some of the finest people you could ever want to share it all with.
If you have never hunted black bear with your bow I would encourage you to try it. You, like many of the hunters we met, might also enjoy using your favorite rifle or muzzleloader.
I strongly suggest going through a reputable outfitter when considering a bear or combination hunt. While the process of doing everything yourself can be very rewarding, you need to consider that by the time you purchase bear goodies, run baits, place stands, monitor bear activity and pay for the gas and figure in the time to do it all, it can make an outfitter look awful cheap. Top that with all the world class education you’ll get, the dinners you won’t have to cook and the new friends you’ll gain, it might all begin to make sense.
However, I will provide a word of caution: Be wise when choosing an outfitter. I have heard of more hunters being burned on guided bear hunts than almost any other hunt. Check references and make sure they are not relatives or best buddies of the outfitter. Ask a lot of questions and then choose a camp with a long standing reputation.
As I drove home I retraced the memory of taking black bear number three with my bow on the second day of my hunt. I could not have been happier. Truthfully, I would not have changed a thing to make my hunt more enjoyable. Next time you bowhunt for black bear try awesome Ontario, your bear is waiting and only getting bigger by the day.
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Hideaway Outfitters have two camps; one is exclusively archery the other gun or bow. Both camps have affordable rates. You can contact John or Kathy Palson at their toll free number 888-797-2577or visit their website at www.hideawayoutfitters.com Brad Hering from Bear Scents can be reached toll free at 888-215-2327. Order a DVD of this hunt as it aired on The Hunters Journal on The Outdoors Channel at www.huntersjournal.tv or just click on the elk skull on the home page of my site. Enjoy! |
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