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In This Issue...
Bowkaddy Bear Hunt 2007: The
Quest for a Color Phase
The Bowkaddy Kronicles Unveiled
Kool Websites
Dealer Update
Bowkaddy Bear Hunt 2007: The
Quest for a Color Phase
I set two main objectives for our spring bear hunt this year - to
get some good video footage and to make a clean shot
 on
a thick-coated cinnamon. I know there's one in the area because I saw him last
spring.
On April 29, I drove up with my long time hunting buddies, Carman and Mark,
F-150 full 'o bait and flat deck full o' quads and trailer. After two hours of
pavement, we hit the gravel and finally our destination. The chorus of frogs
greeted us as we opened the doors and stretched in the warmth of a beautiful
spring day. "Good to be back," I said, "shall we git 'r done?" The area
was drier than we expected, and by 2:30 pm, we had 3 baits loaded for bear.
  The
calendar flipped to May and finally on the long weekend I got an opportunity to
hunt with Jon and Peter, some buddies from work. Nothing had on Night #1,
but Peter managed to double lung a decent black on Night #2.
Unfortunately, all the action unfolded at the stand
without the video
camera! By the time I arrived back at camp, it was already skinned and prepped
for the taxidermist! We measured it out at 5'4". The bear was one of three that
they had seen that night, including a nice cinnamon! There just might be hope
for a colour phase yet!
I had finished a less eventful evening sit with Marko at a different bait. No
bears came in for us, but I got some
humorous footage of a curious squirrel...
 Less
than a week later, my brother, Bryce and I left Wainwright shortly after lunch
and arrived at camp in time to tune up the bows and head to the stand for an
evening sit. We had one 3 year old black come in. I had the camera rolling, but
Bryce opted to pass on this night. I didn't blame him...we had lots of time
left. Carman and Mark sat a different bait with about the same amount of
success. Saw bear, but no shots taken.
 Day#2
of this trip found us in the boat kickin' jackfish butt all over the lake. We
managed to catch four keeper pike for a midnight supper. The sit Friday evening
was a bit slower. Bryce and I sat the same bait but didn't see any bear, let
alone a colour phase.
Day #3 we changed things up a bit. Mark and I went out at 11:00 am to sit for a
few hours on the bait where Peter had taken his black one week prior. We had a very
big sow and 2 yearlings come in to dine for about 10 minutes right underneath
our stand. That was a little unnerving. I think next year we'll reposition the
bait so the stand is not right above the dining room. They eventually took off,
and so did we. Bite to eat and back to the original stand with Bryce for the
evening vigil. I am an eternal optimist, and with 6 guys watching all 3 baits, I
figured there would be a few stories to tell around the campfire when we
returned.
Bryce and I were visited by 2 black 3-yr olds. I knew Bryce wanted to take one
of them, so I kept the camera rolling as he drew and let down TWICE on the
better-coated black as they walked out of the bait, not stopping for a release.
With darkness closing in and my batteries winding down fast, it didn't look
good. But just as we were preparing to climb out of the stands, we heard one of
the blacks coming back in. This was it. I waited until I saw Bryce draw before I
flipped the switch on the camera - 1 minute of battery left! The arrow found its
mark behind the right shoulder and the bear took off - and the red record light
was still on!.....Sweet!!! That'll make the
Kronicles, I thought to myself (see
Last Chance Black Bear). It was too dark to track, so we picked up the bent
and bloodied arrow and returned to camp with our story.
Surprisingly, Albey and Dalan had not yet returned from their bait (now 11:00
pm). Mark and Carman saw nothing at their bait so were anxious to get all the
details from our sit. We were teasing them with a few sketchy details when a
cell phone rang. It was Dalan, calling from the stand. "Can you come and get
us?" he asked. "We can't see to get out of the stand and there's a sow and cubs
at the bait that won't leave." That was a first. Twenty minutes later, Bryce and
I were walking into their bait site, flashlights and rifle in tow. We got
everyone back to the safety of the campfire and the stories unfolded. They had
seen 6 bear all together including one small black, a sow with twin cubs, a Pope
and Young black bruin which never came in for a shot AND ... ... ... a cinnamon!
With only one day to hunt, Dalan wasted no time in passing an arrow through the
coloured bear, but with all the other bear at the site, they were unable to
track it down.
We woke up Sunday morning with camp to pack up, a boat to load, 2 bear to track
and some video to shoot. Fortunately, we recovered both bear, putting a superb
finish on our 2007 Bowkaddy Bear Hunt and Quest for a Colour Phase. Can't wait
until next year!
Click to hear Dalan tell the story behind his cinnamon.
  
The Bowkaddy Kronicles - Unveiled!
If you clicked on any of the video links in the
story above, you will already know about the "Bowkaddy Kronicles". It used
to be called Bonus Videos, but because of all the web traffic it has generated,
I decided to give it a facelift. I totally reformatted the page to give it
a new look and better functionality. The latter I accomplished mostly by
changing the video format from Windows Media to Macromedia Flash. Because
flash files are much smaller than conventional video file formats, I was able to
increase the screen size and resolution without sacrificing precious download
time. And if you are using dial-up, well...I've created a low-res version
of each video and put a link on the main Kronicles page so you won't fall asleep
waiting for the larger-size video file to load.
Check
out the Bowkaddy Kronicles
Keep an eye on the Kronicles as I plan to post new video
clips as often as possible! Our next big adventure will be pronghorn
antelope hunting on the plains of southeastern Alberta in mid-September!
KOOL Websites!
It's nice from time to time to find websites that
offer more than a collage of banner ads and less-than-to-the-point information.
If you're an outdoors nut like me who regular surfs the web in search of new and
interesting sites, then you may want to check these out. Cool stuff
- especially the "page-flip" technology built into the online GCS magazine.
You'll have to enter your email address to view it, but go ahead...you won't be
disappointed.
The
Great Canadian Sportsman - online hunting and fishing magazine (totally
free!)
Xtreme Outdoor Network
- streaming hunting and fishing network (again - totally free for viewers!)
Dealer
Update
Alaris Concepts welcomes the following companies
to its expanding list of Bowkaddy retailers. If you're in the area, stop
and check them out!...
The Bow Shop
631 Colby Dr
Waterloo, ON N2V 1B4
519-746-8139
www.bow-shop.com
Ramakko's
125 Loach's Rd
Sudbury, ON P3E 2P8
705-522-8889
www.ramakkos.com
If you'd like to see Bowkaddy in your local archery
shop, stop by and let them know. I would appreciate it, and so would they.
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