This is a cumulative posting of the daily reports of my 1998 black bear bowhunt on June 6-12 in Fred Lutger’s bear camp at Holinshead Lake in Ontario, CN. It is in the "it is happening now" mode and is mostly as I posted it each day, although in some places I have added more details. JimboTX and I flew to Chicago where we were picked up by Pip Sr and Pip Jr. And we drove to the camp. We joined Fred Lutger, who runs the hunts, the camp cook and my hunting pard Don Beckwith (Donald Duck), and Rob McNeff  of Wells Creek Whitetail's bowhunting operation; as well as other hunters who will be introduced as is appropriate. 

PHOTOS: There are a couple a little further down the page.  

Day 2 
This year almost everyone in Fred Lutger’s bear camp is getting videoed. We've been watching hours of great bear footage of this years hunts.  JimboTX got to  see a little bear romance when a boar and sow spent the afternoon by his stand. The boar was protective of the sow and kept her in line with posturing and probably not so gentle cuffs to the body. The Pip team saw 3 bears and a timber wolf. Three bears visited me. The Duck videoed one and it walked all around my tree, but it's early and I'm in the catch and release mode. I'm getting a handle on the bear movement in my area and I'm moving further into the woods today to where I first saw all 3 bears as they came into the bear bait area. 

(THIS WAS NOT IN THE ORIGINAL ONLINE VERSION because at the time it didn't seem that significant, in terms of our hunt! When we got to the Truck, a pickup with a Cabover on the truck bed, a bear had broken into the back of the truck. It had clawed around and somehow broke the latch on the flip-up window. It hopped inside and ate the pastries and fresh meat We took a picture of the truck. The window is a little worse for it and the back won't lock anymore, but it's amazing more damage wasn't done.) 

There are 6 fishermen in Fred's camp and they had a good day so we had a Walleye Feast after the hunt. 

Day 3  
Pappa Pip bagged the first black bear. I asked him if he had anything to say on the internet and he said to tell everybody he got one and to tell Mrs. Pip he got one and couldn't wait to get back home. Hmmmm. Ok, moving on, JimboTX sat a new stand yesterday and zipped so he is returning to Bob's Steak Bait where he passed on the large boar Sunday. Pip Jr saw some bear cubs. I moved the Duck and my stands about 30 yards to where I've seen the bears appear. Two bears showed up right on the money and we got some cool video footage of them. Enough with the videoing! I'm ready to do some bowhunting. 

Day 4 
Yesterday, Bill Keim of Captain Bill's Flies got our groups 3rd bear. After Rob McNeff (Well's Creek Whitetials) got his monster bear he video hunted and last night he showed everyone over 20 different bears on video. But bear  hunting, even in a high population area like this, is not a level playing field. Pip Jr and JimboTX zipped. The Duck and I were more lucky. 

I was at the truck and the Duck was on the opposite side of the narrow logging road when he spotted a large bear 150 yards off, tooling down the road, headed right toward us. I yanked my bow out of the case and the Duck fished out the video camera and battery pack. We were barely ready in time. I wedged a couple steps into the tag alders, watching the bears legs get closer. The bear stopped when he saw our truck a few yards behind me parked in a small opening). The bear was very close, only 10 yards from me, head on--and no bow shot. Then the bear walked across the road (only a few steps) and disappeared in the woods. So it was close but no cigar, but still way cool. Bears, good people to bowhunt with, pan fried walleye. Life is good. 

Day 5 
Yesterday: from 3 bears to 5. JimboTX passed another bear, this one was badly rubbed. Gene Talley from Wilmington, IL had a bear in and made a perfect shot. We went back this morning and helped him drag the bear out of the woods. The bears didn't move for the Pip team, video (Sr) and bowhunter (Jr), and they drew a blank. Fred went with me to video. A couple of hours before dark a bear showed up in the distance and made it's way down to us. But I wanted to wait  It paid off. In a few minutes I spotted another bear uphill and watched it come on down, right on the first bear's trail. The big boar swaggered in, it's face was scarred from recent fighting, and it looked tough very much the king of the hill. It approached the other bear and it was obvious that they were "traveling companions". (It's the bear mating season here.) 
 
The boar messed up and walked to 10 yards of my stand and turned broadside. I drew slowly (and quietly) and placed my pin on his vital area, aiming carefully. My shot went in the ten ring and the boar bolted and ran 30 yards and expired instantly. The girlfriend bear was confused by his outburst and stood up, staring at the downed boar. My bear hunt was over. I hate to repeat myself two days in a row, but, heck, life…is…good! 
 

L-R: Me, JimboTX, and the Duck.

  
Day 6  
More bears! Yesterday John Kozlwski from Winthrop Harbor, IL went to his stand early and during mid day he harvested a nice black bear. Later in the day Kim Sutterfield (member of the Sticks N’ Limbs field testing team) had a bear come in that he decided not to pass up and made a perfect shot. He pulled the bear back to the stand area and returned to camp for help. JimboTX saw a young bear and didn't want to shoot it. 

Right now it is 1:55pm on Friday and Pip Jr just came back to camp with an exciting story. Remember the bear in the road a couple of days ago? Ok, there is something that happened the day before that I forgot to tell you. While the Duck and I were on stand a bear broke into the cabover on our truck to get at some food inside. It broke the latch on the glass window and made quite a mess inside as it gorged itself. Well that bear came back to the same spot today to get in the truck again. And as Pip Jr strapped his bow and backpack to his treestand and slung it all on his back he turned and surprised that bear–who was only a few yards away and wanting a free meal. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Tell you about it tomorrow. 

Day 7 
Pip Jr was at the truck cinching his treestand, backpack, treesteps and bow together. Slipping his arms in the backpack straps he started across the narrow forest road to the trail to the stand site. A bear stood in the trail, watching him. (Remember, a few nights before a bear broke into the Duck's truck and ate a bunch of food.) Immediately PipJr slipped behind the truck, unstrapped his bow and quietly moved to the edge of the woods about 15 yards from the trail. The bear walked into the road and turned toward him. And then took several steps closer. They were only a few yards apart. Things were not working out because a head on shot at a bear is an impossible bow shot. But the bear's real mission, getting the food in the truck, turned the course of events and the bear looked toward the back of the truck. (Which was open and loaded with sweet breads and fresh meat.) This gave PipJr a shot opportunity and he took it. The arrow popped through the bear's vitals and the bruin raced into the thick woods and went down right away. 
At 4:00 JimboTX watched a nice black bear circle his stand. Suddenly he heard a loud noise and the bear bounded off. A cub bear came from the direction of the noise. The other bear charged in and treed the cub bear. As it snapped it's jaws and growled the cub shot higher and higher in the pine tree. The larger bear turned from the tree and JimboTX arrowed the bear with a perfect shot. Then Jim returned to camp to get help taking bear out of the woods. Our hunt was over. Our hunting group of  9 went 100%. This is one  great bear area. 

• My bear was a boar, it weighed 173 pounds and was in excellent shape. It had been fighting recently and it's face had several fresh cuts and gashes which made it look very rough and ready.
• Outfitter: Fred Lutger (Black Bear & Wild Turkey Hunts and owner of Freddie Bear Sports in Tinley Park, IL) Fred Lutger’s Wilderness Bowhunts, 7030 S Oak Park Ave, 60477. Phone 708-532-4133. FAX 708-532-1141. Email fbs@bowhunting.net. web site: www.bowhunting.net/fbs
• Holinshead Lake Resort (Walleye & Northern fishing & Wilderness fly in camps), PO Box 300, Kakabeka Falls, Ontario, Canada P)T1W0, 807-982-2171, Email: holinshead@microage-tb.com
• Well's Creek Whitetails: Rob McNeff, 
• Sticks N’ Limbs camouflage, www.bowhunting.net/sticks
• Captain Bill's Flies (Hand tied to your specifications or try our fish-tested producers) Bill Keim, 9852 Pacific Ave, Franklin Park, IL 60131. Phone 847-671-3279.
• My setup: A PSE XLR 900 set at 62 pounds, 31 inch 2216 dipped arrows, Spitfire broadheads 3-blade. Camouflage: Sticks N' Limbs.