To Home Page For This Hunt...

Thank You Linda K. Burch!

There is no thicker woods than in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Getting to your stand and back out can be a real task, and you do not want to get lost in these huge woods. Here's how Linda K. Burch helped us get in and out. Go...

Making Arrows On The Run 

A step by step "how to" for fletching your hunting arrows while you're hunting. GO... 

"Skunk" Bear

In the morning we followed our FireTacks markers to my bear. Pics and More...

A Skunk Bear At Double Matrix

This was a remarkable bear, a chocolate brown coat with a wide tan colored stripe from his neck to his butt. And it was 12 yards away. GO...

My Hunt - A Bear On The Ground

Fred had a plan to get a bear on the ground, using two Double Bull Matrix blinds so he could video my hunt. It was kinda off the wall. Just the way we like it. Bear On The Ground...

Day 5: Continued...

To the rest of Day 5. GO...

More Field Testing: 
We use the Hang 'Em High, Limbsavers and EZY Climb Tree Steps and report on them. GO...

Day 5: It Ain't Always What You Think
"There's the bear," John said and we walked toward it. Suddenly it got up. GO...

Fred, On KIrby Knackstedt
Fred talks about why he guides and comments on Kirby. GO...

Bryant's Graduation Bear

Bryant heard limbs crunch behind his Matrix blind. 30 minutes later a large bear silently walked into view 6 yards away. GO...

Day 4 - Movin' To The Rock Road

Fred drove us to Big Rock One. The bait was creamed. Tracks from several bears were in the soft sand by the road. GO...

Equipment Field Test

Part of our job on the bear hunt was to test products. Good boots are essentiol in the rugged Canadian woods and marking the route to get hunters in and out is vital. Lets talk about Bison Wolverine boots and 4-D FireTacks. Tests...

Day 3 - Duck or the Duck's Gotcha

Donald Duck gets back in the pit with a bear at the Caution stand. And more... 

Day 2 - A Picnic With A Bear

Jim Misiukiewicz watched the tops of the bushes shake and heard twigs snap as a bear circled the bait ... and him. GO...
Plus Day 2 Field Notes: here the pics and what happened to the rest of us on Day 2...

Group 2 - Day 1

The 2nd group of bowhunters arrive in bear camp. Here's who they are and what happened on the first day. GO...

Wind Up Of The Group 1 Hunt

As the saying goes, "all good bear hunts must come to an end." The Kirby group packs up in the morning and the next hunters will arrive tonight. Here are some pictures from their hunt.

Day 5 - The Impossible Happens

Larry Jones from the Kirby group went with Don to video and take pictures. Larry had videoed two successful bear hunts so far and he said he would bring Don good luck. He was right... 

Day 4 - Logging For Bear - The big bear returns

On the 4th hunt Donald Duck hunted alone from his Double Bull Matrix blind at the Horsetail site. The bear that wouldn't give him a shot yesterday returned on the same route and this time he was more obliging, as in broadside. GO...

Setting Up For The Hunt - Part 3

Before the first group of bear hunters arrived there was lots of work to do. This year we had equipment from the hunt's sponsors that helped make some of the tasks easier. Plus we had some cool new bow gear to add to our bow setups. GO...

Donald Duck

For 3 days the Duck videoed for Chef Klaus before beginning his own hunt at the Horsetail stand. Day 1 it rained. The next day he saw a bear and took pics and got ready to shoot. GO...

Equipment - Bear Hunt 2005
Nineteen companies sent Fred Lutger, Don Beckwith, Roy Keefer and myself products to use and test during the bear hunt. We genuinely appreciate their participation. Here is the equipment lineup and comments on them as of the beginning of the hunt. To Equipment...

Group #1

Kirby Knackstedt's Group for 2005.
Kirby brings up a group of Illinois bowhunters every two years. A lot of the guys have been here before and it is always fun having them in camp. They are guys who know all about working hard, playing hard and hunting hard. 

If you don't know who Kirby Knackstedt is Click Here. And guys, here is your full size picture of everyone.

Fred's Hunt Begins...
As Kirby's group of hunters took to the double dense Ontario woods Fred and I went to the Caution stand looking for the brown phase bear. The first day we saw no bears. The next we saw rain and no bears. And ditto for the third hunt. 

Our TrailTimer event counter showed mid afternoon action but due to skinning bears and other camp obligations Fred couldn't get out that early. We brought the film in from the TrailTimer to get it developed and see what was happening when we were not here. Fred's Hunt...

Brown Black Bear Returns

The next day our Trailtimer EZ-Cam was full again. This model has an Event Counter and it logged some day time pictures. That night we got the film developed and found the brown phase bear had visited the bait in the afternoon. To Brown Black Bear Daytime Pics...

A Brown Black Bear !!!

On my first night in camp Fred and I drove to Fort Francis to get 7 rolls of Trailtimer film developed so we could see what bears were around. We saw some good stuff at the Caution stand. Now we had a place to put one of our Double Bull MATRIX 360 ground blinds. Go...

Setting Up For The Bear Hunt

Setting Up For The Hunt is half of the hunt. Come along as we continue gathering info and setting up to hunt. GO...

Ground Blind Hunt Plans

The TrailTimer pictures that changed our Ground Blind hunt plans. To Pics...

We are in Chicago tonight and will leave in the morning for home and I will resume the hunt report -- to quote Dennis Crabtree, "It's a dandy."

Notice: The satellite phone just would not stay connected and I had to stop uploading to keep the site up  Right now we are driving home. There is a lot to report and see (pics). Hang with me.

Chef Klaus Bags Number 6

Mike Ditchler (Chef Klaus) sized up the bear. Its ears were far apart and looked small. He decided to shoot if he got the chance.
Soon the bear turned broadside. MIke started to draw ... the bear looked in his direction. Mike froze at half draw. GO...

TrailTimer Pics Lead Bill To A Skunk Bear

"Skunk Bear" Pics and Bill Federer
TrailTimer pictures caught a "Skunk Bear" (a bear with a tan stripe down his back) at Bill's stand. Bill saw a big black bear Monday but didn't get it. Tuesday he zipped. Wednesday the Skunk bear changed his luck. To Skunk Bear Pics and To Bill Federer's Hunt.

Day #3 - Dave Lauer & Bear PIcs at EZY-Step

Dave Lauer & Bear Pics on EZY-Step stand

Dave Lauer: Dave's bait was "destroyed". His bacon burn wouldn't light because of the rain. He rebaited and got in his treestand. Forty-five minutes later, in the pouring rain, he saw a bear coming in his direction. Dave's Hunt...

EZY-Step Stand TrailTimer Bear Pics
Bears just caught on camera by our TrailTimer camera at the EZY-Step stand.

Day #2 -  Kirby Knackstedt Gets 'er done and the TrailTimer finds a big bear

Kirby Knackstedt with his 2005 black bear and the bear at the Power Line stand.

TrailTimer finds a mature bear at the Power Line stand area
We put a TrailTimer EZ-Cam game camera on the stand area Fred calls the Power LIne. A mature bear paid several visits to the bait site. Here are the pictures. Bear PIcs...

Kirby Knackstedt Gets 'er done
At 5:20 KIrby saw a bear 60 yards away in the trees. It stuck its nose up several times and smelled the bacon burn and stuck out his tongue. It approached the bait and the bacon burn began to pop. The bear walked back the way he came from. KIRBY...

Day #1 -  Bruce and Gary Get  Right To It

 "I got one," Bruce Lowell said as Fred and I drove up to him. We had to meet the rest of Kirby's group at a prearranged meeting place. so we all went there. After a short discussion eight of us went to recover Bruce's bear. To Bruce's Hunt...

Gary Nordhaus has wanted to bear hunt for the last 3 years and came this year. Twenty minutes after getting in his treestand his heart started beating fast. The first bear he has ever seen was 100 yards away and getting closer. To Gary's Hunt...

Donald Duck with steaks. Chef Klaus flipping dinner. Our first TrailTimer bear photos.

August 13 - Ahh, the eye opening aroma of coffee drifted through the cabin at daylight. The Duck's first pot was brewing and he was making perfectly round pancakes with Chef Klause's pancake dispenser machine. After breakfast we left to check the baits and TrailTimers. GO...

First TrailTimer Pictures: Fred and I bowhunted at Caution stand last year and when Fred established the bait this year he put a TrailTimer EZ-Cam there too. The camera recorded several bears. Here are our First TrailTimer Bear Pics... 

August 11-12 - My flight set down in Chicago at 8:20pm, 3 hours late. MIke Ditchler (Chef Klaus) picked me up. We met Mike's grrl friend "Alley Catt" at Mike's restaurant, Steak & Seafood, in Frankfort, Illinois. After a first class dinner we said good by to Alley and hit the road. We rolled into bear camp mid afternoon the next day.
Fred Lutger has 70 active baits going for the two groups of bowhunters. He and Donald Duck have been working hard getting the baits established and camp ready for this year hunters.

EQUIPMENT: Sponsors of the Bear Hunt | Trailtimer Pictures | NorthStarr Treestands |
SPECIAL PROJECT: Locating the bears
OUTFITTERS: Fred Lutger's Wilderness Hunts | Canoe Canada Outfitters
A Bear On The Ground From The Double Bull Blind: The whole story, however it happens, start to finish.