WEBVTT 1 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:13.519 Welcome to the Bear Hunting Magazine Hunt Cast. With me 2 00:00:13.800 --> 00:00:16.879 Koby moorehead, We're gonna nerd out on bears hunting and 3 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:21.239 the outdoors. We'll tell stories, talk biology, tactics, gear, and 4 00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:23.920 the fight to protect the pursuits that we hold dear, 5 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:26.960 So grab your bino's, lace up your boots, load up 6 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:29.679 your barrels, and gather the helnds we venture on this 7 00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:41.479 journey together. Welcome back to the Bear Hunting Magazine Hunt Cast, 8 00:00:41.679 --> 00:00:45.039 or should I say it's good to be back. It's 9 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:49.359 been a busy few weeks between designing the magazine, going 10 00:00:49.479 --> 00:00:53.399 up to a wedding in South Dakota, congrats Alex and Maria, 11 00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:56.920 and then after a few more days head it up 12 00:00:57.320 --> 00:01:01.280 on a twenty and a half hour straight solo drive 13 00:01:01.399 --> 00:01:07.799 to southeastern Saskatchewe with Eastern skyguiding. W what a mouthful, 14 00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:12.560 but I have been quite the road warrior. If you 15 00:01:12.680 --> 00:01:16.519 follow our Instagram you know it was a fruitful trip. 16 00:01:17.640 --> 00:01:21.640 But I'm back in Northwest Arkansas and tomorrow I get 17 00:01:21.719 --> 00:01:24.840 to start opening up my own baits here in Northwest 18 00:01:24.920 --> 00:01:29.120 Arkansas for our upcoming season. But while I was up 19 00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:33.000 in Saskatchewan, the day after I tasted sweet success. I 20 00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:36.040 sat down with Rich Garaz in this episode. We're talking 21 00:01:36.159 --> 00:01:40.599 about the history of their outfit and we're gonna recap 22 00:01:40.640 --> 00:01:44.599 my hunt. So hope you enjoy. Let's get into it. 23 00:01:55.920 --> 00:01:58.239 Hey, Rich, finally good to meet you. 24 00:01:58.319 --> 00:01:58.680 Colby. 25 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:00.959 Yeah, I knew the voice. 26 00:02:02.519 --> 00:02:04.319 You can finally put a face to the name. 27 00:02:04.599 --> 00:02:10.039 Yeah. Yeah, so, uh, I think I know the answer 28 00:02:10.240 --> 00:02:16.759 to this. But who kills more big bears? You were Marla? Well, 29 00:02:20.919 --> 00:02:24.000 no contest, but I'm gonna say it because you're a 30 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:25.560 busy guy and hire your wife. 31 00:02:25.719 --> 00:02:28.759 I am the hunters only as good as the guide. Yeah. 32 00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:32.080 Yeah. And all your daughters have killed really big bears 33 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:32.840 too growing up. 34 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:35.319 Yeah. They love doing it as well. They're out there 35 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:35.879 all the time. 36 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:38.680 So yeah, it's a family tradition, it is. 37 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:41.159 Yeah, we spend a lot of time in the woods. 38 00:02:41.159 --> 00:02:44.120 So give me some of the history of the outfit 39 00:02:44.199 --> 00:02:47.919 in business here real quick. You guys started out as 40 00:02:48.759 --> 00:02:52.840 Waterfile outfitters. You've been doing that for what twenty something years? 41 00:02:53.240 --> 00:02:56.080 Yeah, we've I've been in the in the Waterfall, I've 42 00:02:56.080 --> 00:02:59.800 been guiding and an old fitting I started guiding in 43 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:06.199 and then we purchased the Waterfall end. I believe it 44 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:10.759 was in two thousand and nine or twenty ten, and 45 00:03:10.800 --> 00:03:14.840 then the bear end of it we bought in twenty seventeen. 46 00:03:15.240 --> 00:03:17.879 Yeah, and you guys have been you guys have been 47 00:03:17.879 --> 00:03:21.479 getting some good ones. It's crazy. You guys should see 48 00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:24.840 and we'll post this on our Instagram, but you should 49 00:03:24.840 --> 00:03:26.680 see some of the bears they've got mounted here at 50 00:03:26.680 --> 00:03:31.039 the house or the lodge, and it's pretty crazy, like 51 00:03:31.120 --> 00:03:34.439 the size and even some of the huge colored bears 52 00:03:34.439 --> 00:03:37.439 that they have here. Well, what's been your experience, like 53 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:41.560 what was the hardest thing switching from or not switching, 54 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:45.039 but bringing bears alongside the waterfowl. 55 00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:49.680 I guess just the opportunity to do it. It's always 56 00:03:49.719 --> 00:03:54.080 something we've wanted to do, and then the only thing 57 00:03:54.120 --> 00:03:57.199 is you have to buy somebody else you can't start 58 00:03:57.319 --> 00:04:01.080 or apply for it anymore. So that was the biggest 59 00:04:01.120 --> 00:04:03.520 hurdle until we did find an area that we wanted 60 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:07.199 and you know and habit that it is for sale. 61 00:04:07.319 --> 00:04:12.800 So that was an opportunity in twenty seventeen. And yeah, 62 00:04:12.240 --> 00:04:15.080 it's been awesome, love doing it. 63 00:04:15.199 --> 00:04:19.680 Yeah, awesome. So you guys don't typically run fall hunts. 64 00:04:19.720 --> 00:04:22.879 This is just kind of like an oddity. 65 00:04:23.560 --> 00:04:26.600 Yeah, I mean the fall is a nice time. It's 66 00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:30.800 just usually this year we had a few tags left, 67 00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:34.759 so we thought we'd finish it off before before we 68 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:38.079 run into our bird season. So we run it that 69 00:04:38.759 --> 00:04:40.959 the first week in the fall season, which is the 70 00:04:41.040 --> 00:04:44.879 last week in August, and then we go into birds 71 00:04:45.319 --> 00:04:49.560 beginning of September, and I think you could run it 72 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:52.720 another couple of weeks. It gets tougher as you get 73 00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:56.800 later into fall. Yeah, once they start adapting, you know, 74 00:04:56.920 --> 00:05:00.680 to hibernation. They're training their body to slow down, so 75 00:05:00.839 --> 00:05:02.959 you'll get you'll still get bears coming in, but it 76 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:07.600 won't be as consistent. Later in the fall. You might get, 77 00:05:08.120 --> 00:05:10.639 you know, a bait bombarded for a day and then 78 00:05:10.680 --> 00:05:12.600 you might not see them for two or three days. 79 00:05:12.639 --> 00:05:16.160 So yeah, and uh, one of the things that you 80 00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:18.959 you talked about was some of these boars seem to 81 00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:22.560 travel together or in like proximity to one another, and 82 00:05:22.600 --> 00:05:25.079 so that they'll be on one bait all together and 83 00:05:25.079 --> 00:05:27.240 then they'll just disappear and then they'll show up on 84 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:29.199 another bait. Tell me a little bit about that. 85 00:05:29.800 --> 00:05:34.000 Yeah, just you're you're getting you know, all them all 86 00:05:34.040 --> 00:05:38.120 them boars are that we're fighting in the spring. Now 87 00:05:38.120 --> 00:05:42.120 they're all buddies, So you'll and what we're seeing is 88 00:05:42.120 --> 00:05:46.079 a lot of that three hundred pound bears. You'll get 89 00:05:46.120 --> 00:05:48.120 a group of them come in where you might have, 90 00:05:49.040 --> 00:05:53.600 you know, one one evening, you might get four or 91 00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:55.800 five bears that come in are all in that same 92 00:05:55.839 --> 00:05:59.519 weight range. Yeah, you know, and uh, I think we've 93 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:02.240 seen that even last night where we had a lot 94 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:05.279 of three hundred pounders and then and then we had 95 00:06:05.319 --> 00:06:08.040 a couple couple crankers walking later. 96 00:06:09.680 --> 00:06:14.879 We're gonna and now that was a foreshadowing. I see you, 97 00:06:14.959 --> 00:06:20.759 rich oh Man. Well, we wish Marla could be on here, 98 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:24.240 but she's at her day job. Well, one of the 99 00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:28.600 things that I haven't I guess I haven't thought of 100 00:06:28.720 --> 00:06:31.959 until I was up here is, you know, down in Arkansas, 101 00:06:32.199 --> 00:06:39.040 we're always battling that mass crop, mainly acorns and stuff like. 102 00:06:39.079 --> 00:06:43.000 That's typically what they're hammering around that time, competing with 103 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:47.800 our baits. I never thought about competition for baits up 104 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:53.199 here in Canada, except for you guys have agg land everywhere, 105 00:06:53.439 --> 00:06:57.360 and I mean it's just a big agricultural agriculture community. 106 00:06:57.879 --> 00:07:00.160 And so that's one of the things that we were 107 00:07:00.199 --> 00:07:04.360 battling this week is some of those bears were on 108 00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:06.879 different ad crops and then they would just come check 109 00:07:06.879 --> 00:07:09.800 the bait off and on. And you told me that, 110 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:13.240 what are some of the things that are competing with 111 00:07:13.279 --> 00:07:16.120 the baits during this time of year in this particular area. 112 00:07:17.240 --> 00:07:20.360 I guess berries, you know, your berry bushes are your 113 00:07:20.360 --> 00:07:26.079 biggest that's their go to this fall. Our berries were 114 00:07:26.279 --> 00:07:28.600 way down. We just don't have near the berries this 115 00:07:28.680 --> 00:07:33.160 fall like we normally do. Choke cherries, cranberries, you know, 116 00:07:33.240 --> 00:07:37.160 stuff like that. Oats Fields are another big drawing card 117 00:07:38.759 --> 00:07:41.360 you get into them oats fields. They love going in 118 00:07:41.399 --> 00:07:45.279 there and sitting down and filling up. But even some 119 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:47.800 of the baits we had were close to oats fields 120 00:07:47.800 --> 00:07:50.639 and you're still pulling them out of the oats and 121 00:07:50.680 --> 00:07:52.759 then they go back into the oats, so they're back 122 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:56.800 and forth trading, and it just makes it nicer when 123 00:07:56.800 --> 00:07:59.680 you don't have the options like berries are down, so 124 00:08:00.639 --> 00:08:03.600 it gathers them a little more to them to them 125 00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:06.240 feeding areas, so what they do have access to. 126 00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:10.560 Yeah, yeah, I think we really saw that on this hunt. 127 00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:16.199 And yeah, so this week it was just me and 128 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:20.839 one other hunter Bob. Bob was a nice guy, Yeah 129 00:08:20.920 --> 00:08:23.959 he was. He got out of here quick, Yeah done, 130 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:28.279 and he stayed a little longer. But no, Bob is 131 00:08:29.800 --> 00:08:32.759 turns out he's quite the bear hunter. He's a he's 132 00:08:32.799 --> 00:08:37.080 just absolutely eat up with it. And so I'll let 133 00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:39.960 you I'll let you tell the story about Bob's first hunt. 134 00:08:40.159 --> 00:08:40.679 First day. 135 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:44.480 Yeah, we went, we set them up. We had a 136 00:08:44.480 --> 00:08:48.879 couple couple of good pictures of some good bears coming, 137 00:08:49.159 --> 00:08:54.039 uh one one really good heavy bear that was showing 138 00:08:54.120 --> 00:08:57.000 up at midnight, and a couple you know in that 139 00:08:57.159 --> 00:09:00.600 three hundred pound It's just nice when you get a 140 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:05.000 bear that has a certain mark or you know, a 141 00:09:05.080 --> 00:09:08.080 scar or something that you can you can show that 142 00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:11.320 picture and get somebody to watch it, you know, watch 143 00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:15.039 for that bear. And that's what happened with Bob's is 144 00:09:15.200 --> 00:09:17.840 basically we had you know, that was one of them. 145 00:09:17.879 --> 00:09:21.279 He had a really unique mark on the chest and 146 00:09:21.279 --> 00:09:23.279 and I told him, you know, if he comes in, 147 00:09:23.639 --> 00:09:25.440 you know, he's a pretty good bear, check him out, 148 00:09:25.480 --> 00:09:30.639 see what you think. And and yeah, that was first 149 00:09:30.679 --> 00:09:32.960 first sit for Bob. And that's that was one of 150 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:37.080 the bears that did come out later and it had 151 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:39.720 that mark, and he checked him out and he was 152 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:43.159 happy with him. He wasn't going to give him another 153 00:09:43.279 --> 00:09:44.080 chance to leave. 154 00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:47.360 So, yeah, it was a it was a good looking bear. Yeah, 155 00:09:47.399 --> 00:09:49.600 if you guys want to see it, you can look 156 00:09:49.639 --> 00:09:52.279 on their post. I guess it would have been August 157 00:09:52.679 --> 00:09:56.320 twenty six that y'all posted on your Instagram. Yeah, I 158 00:09:56.440 --> 00:09:59.080 think star guiding, and it was a it was a 159 00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:02.480 really good bear, good photo. And he he shot that 160 00:10:02.519 --> 00:10:07.799 bear with a shotgun at six point thirty and dropped 161 00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:11.399 it in his tracks. Yeah, it's pretty wild. Yeah, that 162 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:14.480 he was shooting a Remington slug. 163 00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:17.440 No, I did a good job. He had laid him 164 00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:20.080 out right there, he didn't there was no tracking. 165 00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:25.720 Yeah, well, day one I saw several bears. I think 166 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:30.159 it's hard because they look so similar in that area. 167 00:10:30.200 --> 00:10:33.360 They were all black, and you're trying to pick out 168 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:36.919 different markings on their face and just trying to decide 169 00:10:37.080 --> 00:10:39.399 is that the same bear a different one? And I'm 170 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:43.000 sure most of you know that that pain. But I 171 00:10:43.039 --> 00:10:46.799 didn't have a bear that came in that. There was 172 00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:49.320 one that came in that tempted me and and I 173 00:10:49.360 --> 00:10:52.399 think it was a mid three fifty, I mean a 174 00:10:52.440 --> 00:10:55.559 mid three hundred bear. Wait wise, after talking to you 175 00:10:55.600 --> 00:10:58.360 guys and just what I was, what I was looking at, 176 00:10:58.399 --> 00:10:59.600 he had a little bit of a gut, he had 177 00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:06.159 a good But I am slow to pull the trigger 178 00:11:06.240 --> 00:11:11.000 on day one. And it's not because I'm against taking 179 00:11:11.039 --> 00:11:13.600 a bear on the first day. It's just I don't 180 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:16.320 have a good understanding of what kind of bears I'm 181 00:11:16.360 --> 00:11:20.879 dealing with. And so unless it's just a no brainer 182 00:11:21.720 --> 00:11:25.600 a bear that I would you know, typically you know, 183 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:29.159 jump on at different areas, I would let pass the 184 00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:32.919 first day, and he tempted me. I mean, he stood 185 00:11:32.919 --> 00:11:36.000 out there for how it felt like three or four minutes, 186 00:11:36.039 --> 00:11:40.159 just sitting there breathing at Broadside at like twenty one yards. 187 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:43.240 But it just didn't feel like it just didn't feel 188 00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:45.720 like the a bear I was interested in at the time. 189 00:11:46.320 --> 00:11:49.360 And uh, and it was one of those I hope 190 00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:51.519 I'm not. I don't regret passing this bear up, but 191 00:11:51.559 --> 00:11:54.879 I think it's the right call for me. And so 192 00:11:56.240 --> 00:11:58.919 day one, like you guys were ready to come in 193 00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:00.840 and get me, I didn't know that Bobby had gotten 194 00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:05.639 a bear. Yeah you need You're sneaky. You didn't even 195 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:08.039 you didn't even tell me. We got to the truck 196 00:12:08.080 --> 00:12:11.919 and it was like Koby Yaro talked to Bob there 197 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:13.240 and see what the story was. 198 00:12:15.919 --> 00:12:17.799 I didn't want to blow the excitement for Bob. 199 00:12:18.519 --> 00:12:24.200 Yeah, oh man. And then we got back to the uh. 200 00:12:24.440 --> 00:12:28.679 We got back to dress out as bear, and I 201 00:12:28.879 --> 00:12:31.440 was fading. I couldn't hang. I was out there for 202 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:33.559 a while, and I was in and out of conversation, 203 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:36.279 like I would be hot in the conversation and all 204 00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:38.600 of a sudden I would be kind of aloof. And 205 00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:42.399 I had driven twenty and a half consecutive hours from 206 00:12:42.519 --> 00:12:47.840 Arkansas to to this southeastern part of Saskatchewan. It's Lincolnberg 207 00:12:48.120 --> 00:12:51.600 or you say it different Langenburg Langenburg. Yeah. I do 208 00:12:51.720 --> 00:12:56.320 that with Canadian cities, and I do that with Oklahoma cities. 209 00:12:57.440 --> 00:13:02.440 They're always pronounced differently than I expect. But but yeah, 210 00:13:02.559 --> 00:13:05.120 I had a really I mean, it was a solid bear, 211 00:13:05.200 --> 00:13:08.039 but it was one of those those three hundreds. And 212 00:13:09.240 --> 00:13:11.639 with just knowing, I mean, we've dealt with these guys 213 00:13:11.639 --> 00:13:14.799 for several years, and seeing the photos of the quality 214 00:13:14.799 --> 00:13:18.840 of bears that are here, if he'd have more weight 215 00:13:18.919 --> 00:13:21.879 on him and been he he was a little thin 216 00:13:22.600 --> 00:13:25.720 in his front end. I like a really strong looking bear, 217 00:13:26.039 --> 00:13:30.320 like I like stove pipe legs and just blocky yeah 218 00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:34.320 and yeah, and and my goals coming into this hunt 219 00:13:34.360 --> 00:13:36.759 was I wanted to bear that had some good weight. 220 00:13:37.399 --> 00:13:39.000 I wanted to bear with a lot of fat so 221 00:13:39.039 --> 00:13:43.279 I could render it down and uh yeah, I mean 222 00:13:43.320 --> 00:13:45.879 those were my main things. And and whenever I go 223 00:13:45.960 --> 00:13:49.440 into hunt, since we're since we're doing content, I wanted 224 00:13:49.480 --> 00:13:54.279 to take a really good representation for the outfitter, so 225 00:13:54.559 --> 00:13:57.320 like that'll also that's also in my mind whenever I'm 226 00:13:57.320 --> 00:13:59.600 doing this, because I want to be able to show 227 00:13:59.639 --> 00:14:02.759 people what they can expect, and you know, and and 228 00:14:02.840 --> 00:14:04.639 the more that I hold out and the longer I 229 00:14:04.720 --> 00:14:07.320 go inside of a hunt, it's it's good for a 230 00:14:07.360 --> 00:14:12.960 few different reasons. One, it gives me a good ability 231 00:14:13.080 --> 00:14:17.279 at seeing a lot of bears and sharpening my skills 232 00:14:17.279 --> 00:14:20.559 at judging bears in the field, seeing how they act, 233 00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:24.720 seeing what they do. Like it's me sharpening my my 234 00:14:24.799 --> 00:14:27.480 skills and my understanding of bears. Just helps other people too, 235 00:14:27.480 --> 00:14:29.879 whenever they come to me and ask me questions. And 236 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:32.200 even when I was on this SNE, I had an 237 00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:35.480 email from a guy asking what he could do to 238 00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:37.919 get a bear to come in and explain the situation. 239 00:14:38.519 --> 00:14:41.720 And if I have no experience in these things, then 240 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:46.159 it's like what good am I? You know? And and 241 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:48.679 so that's one part of it. Also, I get a 242 00:14:48.679 --> 00:14:51.639 lot of imagery. I mean I get a lot of images. 243 00:14:51.720 --> 00:14:53.720 I get a lot of video where I can use 244 00:14:53.840 --> 00:14:57.080 later down the road, and I can show people what 245 00:14:57.200 --> 00:15:00.279 to expect on a on a hunt, you know of 246 00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:04.720 this of this quality. And so so day one I 247 00:15:04.759 --> 00:15:07.639 made a tough decision, but it and the at the end, 248 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:10.159 it wasn't too tough a decision. It was just more 249 00:15:10.200 --> 00:15:12.480 of a fear that I made the past might have 250 00:15:12.519 --> 00:15:14.240 passed the best bird that I might see. 251 00:15:14.360 --> 00:15:17.879 Yeah, yeah, uh that was a tough day with high 252 00:15:17.960 --> 00:15:21.080 winds that day too. Oh yeah, Bob was sitting he 253 00:15:21.080 --> 00:15:23.879 had a tree come down beside him. Oh sure did Yeah, 254 00:15:23.919 --> 00:15:26.720 I saw it. Spoiler alert. I sat in that same 255 00:15:26.759 --> 00:15:30.759 stand on day three. I think, yeah, day three, yeah, okay, but. 256 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:33.440 We were jumping the head. Let's go to day two. 257 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:39.639 So day two I ended up sitting at a different stand. 258 00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:46.799 And uh, Marla Rich's wife is she loves bear hunting. 259 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:50.679 I mean it's clear that she eat up with it 260 00:15:50.759 --> 00:15:52.639 and and I was like, you want to go sit 261 00:15:52.720 --> 00:15:55.559 with me? And she jumped at it. And so she 262 00:15:55.679 --> 00:15:59.320 jumped at the opportunity and it was fun. I it 263 00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:03.279 was a slower day, and I was in a ladder 264 00:16:03.320 --> 00:16:06.200 stand and there's a kind of a box blind with 265 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:09.600 like a three there's three or four walls there and 266 00:16:09.639 --> 00:16:14.759 there's no ceiling or anything. So she's close enough that 267 00:16:15.159 --> 00:16:17.200 I can look down and see her, and we can 268 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:21.639 even like whisper and kind of hear each other. Yeah, 269 00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:25.559 And she was able to spot bears from her position 270 00:16:26.279 --> 00:16:28.720 much faster than me, so you know how like you'll 271 00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:30.879 watch a bear on the bait and you'll watch them 272 00:16:30.919 --> 00:16:33.919 and like what are they looking at? And they getting excited? 273 00:16:34.440 --> 00:16:37.279 And she would let me know almost every single time 274 00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:39.320 when a bear was coming in before I would ever 275 00:16:39.320 --> 00:16:43.879 see it. And so we were sitting there and we 276 00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:49.200 had a bear that showed up, the first one and 277 00:16:49.240 --> 00:16:51.519 Marla was looking at it through by nose and she 278 00:16:51.679 --> 00:16:55.159 was like, good bear, and I was like, oh yeah. 279 00:16:55.240 --> 00:16:57.799 And then another bear came in and it was a 280 00:16:57.919 --> 00:17:03.240 lesser bear than the other one, and so that big 281 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:06.519 bear came in just a little and then he looked 282 00:17:06.599 --> 00:17:10.400 up and looked directly at me, and then he backed 283 00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:15.079 away a little, and he kind of skirted to the left. Well, 284 00:17:15.160 --> 00:17:18.880 the other bear left, and then he came in with 285 00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:21.359 a bear about the same size as him, from our right, 286 00:17:21.559 --> 00:17:25.480 and Marla thought that she had misjudged the big bear. Meanwhile, 287 00:17:25.559 --> 00:17:28.880 I see the big bear probably you know, fifty yards 288 00:17:29.559 --> 00:17:32.640 to our, you know, kind of our to our I 289 00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:36.839 don't know, eleven o'clock, ten o'clock, and he's just looking 290 00:17:36.839 --> 00:17:39.319 at us. He's broadside. But I can't do anything with 291 00:17:39.359 --> 00:17:42.160 the bow out there, and I probably wouldn't because it 292 00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:43.680 was so hard. It would be so hard to judge 293 00:17:43.720 --> 00:17:46.079 him anyways, But he looked like a good long bear. 294 00:17:46.599 --> 00:17:50.039 And then we never we never saw him again. And 295 00:17:50.079 --> 00:17:52.920 so those two bears were in there, and we had 296 00:17:52.920 --> 00:17:57.200 a few more come in. And then about twenty minutes 297 00:17:57.240 --> 00:18:01.039 before the end of legal shooting light, I look back 298 00:18:01.079 --> 00:18:04.400 behind me, and this would be about my you know, 299 00:18:05.400 --> 00:18:08.960 four or five o'clock. I look back and I see 300 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:13.799 just this long black mass coming through the woods. And 301 00:18:14.160 --> 00:18:17.799 when I first seen, it's just like a gap or 302 00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:19.759 a lane that I can see further out there. And 303 00:18:19.880 --> 00:18:25.319 when I first see he's probably ninety yards away and 304 00:18:26.079 --> 00:18:29.759 he keeps he's making a bee line for us, and 305 00:18:29.799 --> 00:18:31.519 then all of a sudden, I feel the wind hit 306 00:18:31.559 --> 00:18:34.079 the back of my neck, and every hunter knows it's like, 307 00:18:34.160 --> 00:18:38.279 oh no, and he just boy, he puts the brakes 308 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:42.240 on and then he sniffs the air a little and 309 00:18:42.279 --> 00:18:46.039 then he sits on his haunches and he's round and 310 00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:48.359 he's long, and he looks just like a black hole, 311 00:18:49.240 --> 00:18:52.119 you know, just like I mean, it looks like no 312 00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:57.119 light really escapes him. And he sniffs a little more 313 00:18:57.200 --> 00:19:00.039 and then he just like turns like his middle a 314 00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:06.000 swivel and just goes back from you know, which he comes. Yeah, 315 00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:09.839 and uh. And so you know, it was a slower 316 00:19:09.960 --> 00:19:13.480 day as far as bear activity, but we saw two 317 00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:17.920 good bears that I think the I think the bear 318 00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:21.279 I saw the last twenty or twenty minutes before the 319 00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:24.519 end of legal shooting light was a no brainer. Yeah. 320 00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:27.880 I mean, he just looked he I just you just 321 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:29.279 knew he was a good bear. Yea. 322 00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:31.440 And the way he acted too, it's just yeah. 323 00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:34.799 And whenever he walked away, he waddled. Yeah, you know. Yeah, 324 00:19:34.839 --> 00:19:38.759 and yeah, a no brainer. And I was betrayed by 325 00:19:38.759 --> 00:19:42.359 the wind, and the wind only blew that direction. It 326 00:19:42.440 --> 00:19:44.839 seemed like for like thirty seconds. Yeah, you know it 327 00:19:44.960 --> 00:19:48.559 was just that one instant that that kept him from coming. 328 00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:50.720 Just give him that one swirl that he could teache 329 00:19:50.720 --> 00:19:51.680 the air and he's gone. 330 00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:54.519 Yeah, And you know, it seems like with smaller bears, 331 00:19:54.519 --> 00:19:56.480 it doesn't really like your sense, not as big of 332 00:19:56.519 --> 00:19:58.759 a deal. But when you're dealing with these bigger bears, well, 333 00:19:58.759 --> 00:19:59.720 what's your experience with that? 334 00:20:00.440 --> 00:20:03.720 Yeah, I think they're definitely more cautious, you know, And 335 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:07.960 I think that's the when you compare spring hunt to 336 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:10.799 a fall hunt. You know, that's that's some of your 337 00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:14.200 pros and cons. In the spring, you've got that sow 338 00:20:14.279 --> 00:20:17.640 that you know might still lure him in even though 339 00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:21.000 he knows there's something up. Yeah, you know, that can 340 00:20:21.039 --> 00:20:23.440 be a deciding factor. In the fall, you don't have that, 341 00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:26.599 so now you're just relying on a food source that 342 00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:29.799 you're trying to draw him in. So, I mean, you 343 00:20:29.839 --> 00:20:32.720 get some of them bears, they get pretty smart, Yeah, 344 00:20:32.759 --> 00:20:35.039 you know they and if if they don't have the 345 00:20:35.079 --> 00:20:40.119 girlfriend to lure him in, and you're just trying to 346 00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:43.839 suck him in on a piece of candy, yeah, you know, 347 00:20:43.960 --> 00:20:45.279 you got to have a lot of stuff in your 348 00:20:45.319 --> 00:20:46.079 favor too. 349 00:20:45.960 --> 00:20:48.599 So yeah, yeah, but it's. 350 00:20:48.279 --> 00:20:50.240 That's what makes it hunting. I guess if you had 351 00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:51.920 everything figured out, it wouldn't. 352 00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:57.960 Be right shopping, right. Yeah. Well all right, so day 353 00:20:57.960 --> 00:21:00.359 two is done, So we jumped to date three, and 354 00:21:00.799 --> 00:21:04.920 day three we were rich was going and pulling cards 355 00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:08.079 and everything, and we were looking through things, or we 356 00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:10.039 were looking through the different cards and figuring out what 357 00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:12.599 we wanted to do and come up with a game plan. 358 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:17.319 And on day three we decided that I should go 359 00:21:17.400 --> 00:21:20.880 and sit on the stand that Bob shot his bear 360 00:21:20.920 --> 00:21:25.119 out of. And uh, there's two big bears that had 361 00:21:25.160 --> 00:21:30.039 been in there in the last week. One is probably, 362 00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:32.920 what would you say, y'all's biggest bear you'll have on camera. 363 00:21:33.119 --> 00:21:36.920 Yeah, the one he's yeah, he's well over five hundred. 364 00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:41.119 Yeah and long, and y'all call him Hugo, right, yeah, yeah, 365 00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:43.440 Hugo is huge. And then there's a new bear that 366 00:21:43.480 --> 00:21:46.480 showed up, that really big bear that had a short 367 00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:50.079 ear on his right ear. Yeah, And and either one 368 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:52.559 of those bears would be no brainers. And so we 369 00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:55.160 went and sat there, or I went and sat there, 370 00:21:55.640 --> 00:21:58.920 and I saw a lot of color I saw a 371 00:21:59.000 --> 00:22:00.359 lot of color phase, I mean, and there was a 372 00:22:00.440 --> 00:22:04.240 chocolate bear in there when we went in, and it 373 00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:07.839 and another bear were there most of the evening. And 374 00:22:07.880 --> 00:22:10.839 then I had a Sal and a solo cub, and 375 00:22:10.880 --> 00:22:14.359 then I had another Sal come in with three cubs. 376 00:22:14.400 --> 00:22:15.920 Two of them were black and one of them was 377 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:18.519 kind of a cinnamon blond like kind of on the 378 00:22:18.799 --> 00:22:19.279 edge there. 379 00:22:19.400 --> 00:22:21.799 Yeah, and uh, yeah, it's a pretty bear. 380 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:24.839 Yeah, it was beautiful, and I mean it was a 381 00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:27.920 fun hunt. I mean, anytime you get to see bear behavior, 382 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:32.559 it really it's really awesome. And watching those sALS and 383 00:22:32.599 --> 00:22:35.599 how the two different sALS acted, how they were with 384 00:22:35.640 --> 00:22:39.680 their cubs was really cool. I mean, one of them 385 00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:41.640 was a really solid sal. Both of them were good 386 00:22:41.640 --> 00:22:44.880 sALS had a really crazy blaze on her chest. Yeah 387 00:22:45.319 --> 00:22:51.799 and uh and uh So while I was on this hunt, 388 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:55.319 I looked down and I noticed that the back stabilizer 389 00:22:55.400 --> 00:23:00.599 bar was missing off of my bow. And I didn't know, 390 00:23:00.720 --> 00:23:03.640 like if I had lost it just then or if 391 00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:05.720 it had been gone the whole trip. Like it's nothing 392 00:23:05.720 --> 00:23:07.559 that I ever take off, so I never I never 393 00:23:07.680 --> 00:23:10.799 check it, and so somehow it must have rattled out 394 00:23:12.519 --> 00:23:14.359 and so I noticed that. And then the next day, 395 00:23:14.920 --> 00:23:19.880 day four, we decided to go back to Ron's. And 396 00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:23.319 one thing we didn't say is Bob stayed an extra 397 00:23:23.400 --> 00:23:25.240 day and went and sat that stand And this is 398 00:23:25.319 --> 00:23:28.480 the stand that I was on day one and day two. 399 00:23:28.599 --> 00:23:31.599 Bob sat there and saw a lot more bears than 400 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:32.960 I even saw the first night. 401 00:23:33.079 --> 00:23:34.759