Bear hunt 2018 (with pics now !!!)

[AlexisQc]

I have been hunting bears for 4 years now, all DIY on public land here in Quebec,Canada. This year I started baiting in mid may and did a total of 3 trips to go and refill my two bait locations. This year I chose a spot that is about 5 hours from Montreal and about 100 miles from the nearest town. I chose this spot for the fact that it is really remote, yet relatively easy to get to (30 miles of dirt road only) and there is some really good walleye fishing . Luckily I was able to fish and camp on the three baiting trips I did, making them a lot more enjoyable. This year I baited with popcorn and dog food and choose two baiting locations located in funnels of dry land (mature mixted forest) between lake and marshes where I tought the bears were going to travel during the rut in late june.
One of the barrels (accessible by canoe only) got hit the first week but the other one wasn't hit at all when I showed up on the last baiting trip (It had been there 3 weeks already).

So I took a week of vaction to go and do the killing after all the hard work and miles put into baiting those bears.
I showed up on june 24, one week before the end of bear season and set up my camp for my week of solo hunting and fishing ahead. At 6h30 in the afternoon I decided to dress up and go visit the barrel (bait site) that hadn't been hit yet. I drove to about a 1/4 mile of the bait and then started walking with my bow in hand towards the bait located on and old logging road inaccessible by any type of vehicle. after 100 yards I started seeing bear tracks in the sand and about 40 yards from the barrel I saw a few bear scats on the trail. It's only when I got to about 20 yards of the bait that I saw a small bear (100 pounds) laying on the ground feeding on popcorn. The bear immediately saw me and took of running, but as it did that I saw another bear (bigger one) move from behind the barrel and look at me. It was a bit quartering to, but I took the shot, heard him run a little bit and then stop and kinda moan a little... Adrenaline rush for sure ! I backed out and went back to camp to get all I needed for dragging and/quartering the bear.


Sorry, not the nicest picture... was in a hurry to get that thing cooled down !


I found the bear about 30 yards from where I had shot him and started the heavy lifting... took me two hours to get it in the truck and I had to detach the rear legs from the body to be able to lift it in the trunk. I was up until one o'clock butchering and making sure the meat was cooled properly...
I was a little disapointed my hunt was over so fast but still really happy with the end reseult


A solid 60 pounds of delicious bear meat


Popcorn making in a 45 gallons drum, not the fastest way to get bait, but really cheap and easy !!


Walleye diner with my father on one of the baiting trips !!


Some nice walleyes as a bonus !

[john1984]

It don't get much better than that. Congrats

[Mike Foss]

Congrats on your solo DIY hunt...well done

[Jonny]

Nice!!!

Don’t know anybody who wouldn’t love to do a trip like that

[Dewey]

Congrats. Looks like fun.

[NEbowman]

That is the definition of living the dream! Work has been a struggle recently as I'm constantly day dreaming about bear hunting in September.

[Jackson Marsh]

Awesome!

[vtbuck]

Great story! Good bear and some good eatin Walters! Congrats!

[AlexisQc]

Thanks alot guys ! For those of you who might not know, the place where I hunt is called a (ZEC)... there are many huge territories (400 square miles and more) like that in Quebec and non-residents can hunt without a guide for moose and black bear. You just have to pay a little more than the residents to be able to hunt these places, but you can do it all diy, camping and everything.

[Freelance Bowhunter]

Man that looks like fun. I would like to know more about the DIY moose hunting too!

[AlexisQc]

Man that looks like fun. I would like to know more about the DIY moose hunting too!

Big fan of your work Bernie !
Here you have the link to the regulations of the province of Quebec :
https://mffp.gouv.qc.ca/english/publica ... idents.asp

Here is a map of all the (ZEC) we have in Quebec, unfortunately the info is only in french, but you might be able to get google to do the translation.... I believe it is because it is only in french that nobody knows about this incrediable opportunity in my opinion !

https://www.reseauzec.com/carte

You simply pic a ZEC (check the harvest statistics to pic one in a good game unit (not to much pressure), and have to buy the right to hunt and fish there (around 400$/year) for a non-resident plus the tag... It is all over the counter, no draw whatsoever so you can hunt there year after year...
The only (downside) is that here in Quebec you have to be two hunters(two tags)/moose. So you get 1/2 a moose wich is plenty of food anyways...
But this is a tough hunt all the time... there are no easy moose hunts on public land... you have to put in the time, the hunting is all in thick forest so you can't glass... calling during archery season is probably the best way to get it done without too much pressure from other hunters.

Hope this helps... I believe it is just a unknown hunting opportunity. People in eastern us wait years to get a Maine tag, but you can do it every year for around 1000$ per hunter here in Quebec... But it is not an easy hunt at all in terms of animal sightings...

[NEbowman]

Man that looks like fun. I would like to know more about the DIY moose hunting too!

Big fan of your work Bernie !
Here you have the link to the regulations of the province of Quebec :
https://mffp.gouv.qc.ca/english/publica ... idents.asp

Here is a map of all the (ZEC) we have in Quebec, unfortunately the info is only in french, but you might be able to get google to do the translation.... I believe it is because it is only in french that nobody knows about this incrediable opportunity in my opinion !

https://www.reseauzec.com/carte

You simply pic a ZEC (check the harvest statistics to pic one in a good game unit (not to much pressure), and have to buy the right to hunt and fish there (around 400$/year) for a non-resident plus the tag... It is all over the counter, no draw whatsoever so you can hunt there year after year...
The only (downside) is that here in Quebec you have to be two hunters(two tags)/moose. So you get 1/2 a moose wich is plenty of food anyways...
But this is a tough hunt all the time... there are no easy moose hunts on public land... you have to put in the time, the hunting is all in thick forest so you can't glass... calling during archery season is probably the best way to get it done without too much pressure from other hunters.

Hope this helps... I believe it is just a unknown hunting opportunity. People in eastern us wait years to get a Maine tag, but you can do it every year for around 1000$ per hunter here in Quebec... But it is not an easy hunt at all in terms of animal sightings...

Thanks for the info! My ears perked up right when you mentioned diy moose hunt and was going to ask the same question Bernie asked. I had no idea that was a possibility.


And what do you mean you need 2 hunters? The only option is to bring a buddy and you both need tags to share one moose?

[AlexisQc]

Exactly... Its the same rule for us residents, two hunters and two tags per moose.

[Rich M]

I enjoyed your story. Popcorn and dog food seem easy enough - we run corn feeders here in FL for deer & hogs and the bears get into them but we can't hunt the bears. They like the corn.

I also applaud your willingness to take the first good opportunity that presented itself.

[AlexisQc]

Thanks Rich !