| My Most Unusual Bear Ever,
by Fred Lutger
To: online coverage from Fred Lutger's Bear Camp in 2001 & 2003.
We nicknamed the sight Blue Berry Hill. Last year this test bait had action right away. After several days of constant hits I decided to hunt the bait. I only had one small bear show up two days in a row and decided to move back to one of my more established baits. I killed a really nice bear the first night I moved. This year I baited Blue Berry Hill and got immediate hits. I set up a double stand, one to hunt and one for filming. The second day on stand I spotted a very strange color phase black bear. I killed an all white colored phase black bear in the early nineties. This new bait is several miles from that location but on the same ridge. My immediate thought at the first sighting was, “another white bear!” When the bear stepped into an opening I got a better look. I was amazed at the bear I was staring at. He had a mahogany brown head and front legs. Starting at the neck the bear has white hair turning to blond on its’ back and sides. The hair on the bear’s hind legs and belly is reddish brown to cinnamon colored. The bear never got closer than 100 yards. He wouldn’t come to the bait. It was the strangest colored black bear I have ever seen in 33 years of bear hunting. I had a good shooter “all black” black bear on the stand that evening. I would have taken him but the shot angle was never there. I did want the odd colored bear but a shot opportunity on a descent bear is hard to pass up. The next evenings’ hunt was a thrill. The odd colored bear was back. He passed behind my stand at a distance of 60 yards. He left and later returned. He stayed that distance looking towards the bait for several minuetes. The big black from the night before showed up. The color phased bear bolted out of sight. After a better look, I now wanted that strange colored bear. I have taken 40 bears with my bow and this bear was one of the most beautiful animals I have ever encountered. My good friend Don “Donald Duck” Beckwith was pulling camera duty and hadn’t filled his tag. I asked him if he wanted the big black now on the bait. Without hesitation Don reached for his bow. Don made a great hit and we heard the bear collapse only 50 yards into the woods. The bear’s death moan confirmed the good hit. We stayed in our stands till dark but “my” bear didn’t return. We dragged Don’s bear to the truck and went to check on our good friend Tony Dukes. Tony was hunting a few miles away. Tony flew up from Texas to hunt at my camp with friends Mark Bronson and Jim Mitchell. Mark and Jim both killed bears earlier in the week. At this time, Tony and I were the only “bearless” hunters. This was the last night Tony could hunt. So far this week he hadn’t seen a bear. Mark joined Tony to film. No one was at the road when I arrived so I walked in to find a bear on the bait and Tony and Mark in their stands. Earlier Tony had two bears on the bait but neither offered a shot. The bear eating the bait quickly ran off and we headed for camp. The next morning Tony, Mark and Jim drove to International Falls, MN for their flight home. Don and I skinned his bear and started to pack and close down camp for the winter. All day I thought of the strange colored bear and wondered if he would be back. I got my answer that night. Half an hour before dark he approached my bait pile. He was coming from the direction I had first seen him three days ago. Don started filming. I will normally let a bear get on a bait and start feeding before I try and draw for the shot. I watched as this bear approached and anticipated the right time to draw. His head disappeared behind a tree near the bait. As he emerged broadside I was at full draw and let the arrow fly. My hit was center of body vertically but a bit farther back than I like. I knew this was a killing shot, however, and decided to wait for morning to track. Don and I were there at first light. In 15 minutes of tracking, Don and I were staring at one of the most beautiful bears I have ever seen. We took pictures on the spot. I have decided to full mount this bear. It is a bear so different that I have never seen another one like him before. I love bear hunting. Life is good!
Fred Lutger
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