Steve Bartylla brings you along as he bowhunts Northern Wilderness Outfitters in Alberta, Canada

Day Two
Never having been a breakfast man, I couldn’t resist beginning the day with Peter Robert’s cooking. I was told numerous times by the guides how great the cooking was. Peter had been hired on as their full time chef. It was his one and only job, and he did it better than many chefs working at high priced restaurants. Meal in and meal out, the food was exquisite. It also took no time at all to figure out that the guides were every bit as good at their jobs. Best of all, each one of them were great guys. Somehow, after busting their tails from dawn until after midnight, they always managed to be in good moods.

With breakfast out of the way, Trevor and I went out with Dale to tend his bait line. The whole time, I was like a talking sponge, asking question after question, absorbing any bear hunting knowledge he was willing to share. Having spent a lifetime chasing bear, I knew that spending a couple hours picking his brain could teach me more than I could learn in several years on my own.

Each bait consisted of two five-gallon buckets, filled with bait and sealed with logs. To check baits from a distance, a stick tipped with flagging was stuck into the bucket. With that, a glance from a hundred yards away quickly revealed if the site needed to be rebaited. After rebaiting, Dale would scan the area around the bait, looking for clues as to the caliber of bears that were hitting. His ability to find a single hair was uncanny. I will never be able to repay all the bear hunting knowledge he willingly gave me that day.

During the run, one bait held a strong attraction. Although it was hit less than most others, the setting was perfect for filming. 

The bait was set along a picturesque pond. With open corridors being flanked by thick cover, any footage we could get promised to display incredible scenery. Dale had his heart set on putting us on a bait that held incredible sign, but he did oblige my request to sit this stand instead. After I quickly hung two Rivers Edge stands, we returned to camp for a shower.

Arriving at the bait, Dale saw from a distance that it had already been hit. Looking at us, he said that he would drive right to the bait and reset it, while we climbed into the stands. He would do everything he typically did, leading any nearby bear to believe this was just another bait run.

To say that spending a day with guide, Dale Giggie proved to be a learning experience would be a tremendous understatement.

It worked. Less than five minutes after Dale left, Trevor was poking me and pointing to a large sow, working around the other side of the pond. For the first three hours of the sit, the sow would appear on the other side of the pond, vanish into the woods and reappear again.

Finally, she worked her way down to the bait. As she did, a large boar emerged from the bush, approaching head on to the bait. Reaching it, he sat, ripped an opening in the logs and prepared to eat. Just then, a beaver slapped and scared the sow. Seeing her tearing off, the large boar followed suit.

On and off, they would emerge around the pond. Finally, with about a half hour of light remaining, they worked their way down the truck trail directly in front of our stand. With a lack of good filming trees, I had been forced to stick Trevor in a very small poplar. He was sufficiently concealed from the bait, but the angle the bears came in on made him stick out like a sore thumb.

At thirty yards, despite remaining completely motionless, they busted Trevor cold. Staring a hole through him, they retreated to the bush. Ten minutes later, they were once again slowly making there way down the truck trail, staring at Trevor with each hesitant step. 

At ten yards, the two, 250-300 lbs bears stood, staring intently at the motionless Trevor. Testing the wind again and again, they tried to pick him up. Unable, they eventually proceeded past our stands, grabbing pieces of bait and vanishing into the woods.

 Several minutes later, Dale came to bring us back to camp. Day two was in the books. Despite constant rain and cold being bad conditions for bear movement, we had two bears entertain us the entire day, as well as providing us with outstanding footage. 

Returning to camp, I informed the owner and staff that I already had more than enough bear footage for a two good shows. Smiling, they promised more. The weather was supposed to break in the morning and the bears would break with it. I just sat there amazed. I just sat an “inferior” bait, enjoyed constant bear activity and was being told that this was a slow day. 

I was floored. Crawling into the ultimate comfort of my Genesis sleeping bag, I closed my eyes hoping daylight would break swiftly on another new adventure.

To book a spectacular bear, trophy whitetail, moose, caribou or elk hunt, contact Northern Wilderness Outfitters via their web page or by phone:  Toll Free 866 204 8299 ext 0644. On the web at huntingalberta.com
  For those looking for every advantage in understanding whitetail deer, Steve Bartylla's column Becoming A Student Of Whitetail Deer is a must read.