Alaska Black Bear Hunts Success

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Alaska Private Guide Service

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Smokey Don Duncan,
Master Guide #136

Spring Black Bear 2011

The first hunter came way early. We chased the ice down the river. What is normally a 4 hour boat ride to camp took 3 days due to ice jams in the river. The water temperature was 35 degrees and night time temps were below 20. We called in a pack of wolves and got one shot but missed. He got a 6-1/2 foot cinnamon boar. The next 2 hunters got 2 boars just over 6 foot on the same night at the same bait. The last 2 hunters on the river only had 3 days. They got a six foot sow and 2 seven foot boars. All the bears had beautiful thick hides. The water temp was up to 60 and we had 3 record breaking hot days in the 80 degree range. We did not fish but one afternoon. The river was very high and choked with debris on the ride back. After the river hunt was over; we took 2 hunters out to the cabin. This was the last 10 days in June. The first hunter shot a 7 foot bear with in 10 minutes of getting in the stand. He turned the first one down and saw a bear chase and fight. The second hunter was at the same bait and pretty much the same thing happened only it took a little longer. Also a 7 footer. Both had good thick hides, which was somewhat unusal for that late in the season.

Spring Black Bear 2010

We got 3 bears 7 foot or better. We found pout the extent of the 2009 fire damage. Most of it was on the south side of the main river where we had several good productive baits in years past. While the fire only burned right to the waters edge in a few places it was close enough most every where to screwed up all of our bait sites on that side. We made a couple of new ones that we got a bear or 2 off of but the area will be done for a while. Some of the bears from the burned up side may have moved to the other side but not in the numbers we had hope for. We did alright on the river with everyone taking bears except for one guy and he saw about 5. Ironically the bait he hunted most was one we knew from scat had a monster black bear at it when we first started hunting. No one ever saw the bear until we went to pull the bait. Brad got there first and walked towards the bait and was pushed back into the boat. From a mile down river I could see the bear standing on the bank and I could see the silver Honda outboard motor. The bear was coming into the boat when Brad fired a warning shot and I saw the bear run off. 25 yards then stopped and watched my big boat approach. I parked and Brad said that was what made him finally leave. Then when we were at the baite untieing the barrels, Don finally came up river and parked and walked in from the river. Half way in he spotted the stalking us at the bait and gave us a warning. The bear followed us back to the boats and was standing near the bank when we left. I have filed a formal complaint with the organization of baited bears.

The cabin hunt area was a bit of dissapointment. In 2009 we had identified 3 bears over 7 foot that we did not harrass. During the first unt an explosive fire erupted just north of the cabin area. Smoke inundated the area and many bears were dispolaced into the cabin hunting area. This is not good for bears or bear baiting. The bears frequenting a bait know each other. They usually work out times to avoid one another and take turns at the bait. New bears in the area thros everything out of kilter. 10 bears one night and none the next. The first 2 hunters were 7 foot or better hunters. They left having only fired one shot. We gave the area a 1 week rest and then opted for only one more hunter instead of the planned 2 hunters. I went on that hunt. The first night we saw 10 bears +/-. The next night was a sow with 3 cubs at the same bait. She was commanding the bait and running everything else off. Every bait we hunted had different bears every night we hunted it. We kept looking for the big one to no avail. Turning down bear after bear. The last night we were preparing to go out early and kill 2 bears of avearge 6+ size and we saw one run in front of the cabin. On the way to the first bait we saw on walking the trail towards a bait. Shot and found it. Then off to the bait we had seen the biggest bear but could not shoot,,, nothing. At 1 am we moved again and walked into another bait and shot one of the 2 bears there. All in all we had seen about 17 different bears. We had them standing in the 4 wheeler trailer underneath the treestand because we had to move the 4 wheeler underneath the stand to protect it. We had bears up trees next to us... bears all over but no big ones. We could not buy one. We saw their tracks but no fur. When we left riding out we saw fresh tracks of one big one leaving the stand where we had sewen 10 bears the first night. We had built a new treestand and ground blind to outsmart him but the big bastard must have busted us or stumbled in one lucky night when we were not there. Not sure.

2009 Alaska Black Bear Hunt Results

It was the worst year in 19 years for client recruitment. All we had were 2 hunters. A husband and wife team from TX. During the month of April w had record high temperatures that made spring river break up last 4 days and early to boot. It happened all over Alaska and destroyed many peoples livelihood and caused massive destruction particularly along the Yukon River. Then May turned record cold and so was early June. The Phillips arrived near the first of June and froze. Terry got an interesting color phase bear. Not really black and not fully cinnamon. The under fur was more of a silver. He is having it full mounted. No mosquitoes this year. Hell the bears still had on their long johns. They shot 2 bears in 2 nights, fished the third day and called in the plane for the fourth day.

In April with snow still deep, we drove out the road 130 miles and put baits out by snow machine off the road system to re-establish an old baiting area. One of my guides has a cabin and a big airstrip at the end of the main trail. Plus he has trails going out from there. We established 4 baits and all were hammered. Now get this. The one closest to the road was commanded by a rather large grizzly. And while black bear tracks walked the main trail, they would not go into the bait site. The other three baits had at least 3 bears over 7 foot and many smaller ones. The baits got hit earlier than the river baits (which took their sweet time getting going this year). This hilly area had always produced good bears hunting for us about 2 weeks earlier than the river area. I am sure it is because the sunny hillsides thaw and green up a little earlier than the river bottoms. Plus some of the bears start out there emerging from the dens. We are offering a limited number of hunts based out of the cabin and other nearby areas. Access will be by truck and 4 wheeler early on and then by plane once the ground hardens up on the runway.

I will be offering some proposals to the Board of Game that will benefit non-resident hunters if they pass. Also of note is that on the rivers where we hunt, there was a big fire that burned most of the summer covering over _ million acres. F&G thinks it will concentrate the bears along that side of the river or it moved them to the other side in which hunting there will be better than ever. And it was great already. 2010 will tell.

2008 Alaska Black Bear Hunt Results

6 hunters shot 8 bears including one by a 13 year old young lady . The last 3 day hunter saw 4 bears the first night and shot one. 4 bears the second night including a big one travelling by. And 8 bears the last night and shot one but didn't shoot the monster of the year.

2008 Alaska Black Bear Hunt Narrative

The weather was cool all spring. We even had a frost June 6. June 1 is suppose to be the last possible frost day. The first hunter, Joe White of LA, and he got 3 bears. The next was a father, Lyndon, and daughter, Avery hunt. She killed one the first night on video camera and he wounded one they couldn't find. The third week was Terry and Margaret Phillips of TX. She shot one and Terry turned down everything looking for one over 7 foot. Terry was the second hunter in 18 years who went home with nothing even though he saw lots of bears. I have been saying the following for years, and they are still true. On any given night at any bait, the monster may walk in; or not. If you turn down everything you see, you will go home with nothing. Terry and Margaret have re-booked for 2009 if that tells you anything. The last hunter, Reverand Sammy Gilbreath only had 3 days to hunt. He saw 4 bears the first night and shot one. 4 bears the second night including a big one travelling by. And 8 bears the last night and shot one but didn't shoot the monster, a cinnimon boar at least 7 1/2 foot with a skull pushing 20". He saw at least 4 different cinnimon bears.

2007 Alaska Black Bear Hunt Results

First hunter - 3 black bears. 2nd hunters (father and son) 2 black bears each . 3rd hunter 2 black bears with a bow in 2 days . Biggest Alaska black bear 7 foot 6 inch with 19 1/2 inch skull .

2007 Alaska Black Bear Hunt Narrative

The first hunter, Richard Miller of TN took 3 bears with pistols, with the last one just hours before the plane came to pick him up. The second week was Jeff and Son Brandon from PA. They killed 2 bears each with the bigest being 7 1/2 foot with a 19 1/2 inch skull. We had to do some tracking on that one. We found him dead asleep so to speak but still breathing. We figured he was dieing and no use to shoot again as we stood close by waiting. He got shot again when all of a sudden he stood up next to us. The last hunters were Frank Stukel and son Nate from SD. Frank had just had surgery and opted to allow Nate to shoot 2 bears with his bow instead of shooting one each. Nate got one, bought another tag and got another. Good stick flinger, that young man. They run a quality pheasant hunting operation back home.

2006 Alaska Black Bear Hunt Results

10 hunters took 12 black bears. One of the first hunters had a 30+ black bear count on the first night. They figured about 10 different bears. The weather was cool and we had a hard frost during the first week of June. By the end, the baits were getting hammered and we left plenty bear including some big ones for 2007. For the first time, I got to fly over the area. What I saw convinced me that we need to be offering moose hunts in this area in Sept. SO... All black bear hunters are eligible for a discounted outfitted (camp, boat, etc) unguided moose hunt for 2-4 hunters. Sept 5-15. Any size bull + bear, wolf + fowl. -- top

2005 Alaska Black Bear Hunt Results

The weather was beautiful as is typical for spring black bear. We had 11 hunters shoot 22 bears. 2 hunters shot 2 bears each in one night. All but one hunter was done with 2 bears in 3 nights. The biggest was 7 foot nine inches square with a 19 1/2 inch skull. We found some more pike fishing spots and some bigger pike. -- top

2004 Alaska Black Bear Hunt Results

Who knows why but we didn't book many hunters. We had 2 father and sons hunts. All got bears. Chester Plesz and son Rich Warren hunted first. This was to be their last hunt together. Chester got a decent black bear and then a beautiful big cinnamon phase. Rich saw plenty of bears but held out until the last night and bagged a big black. Next were John and John (Jr.) Crangle. They shot two bears in one night. We had some afternoon time to kill this year so we went pike fish scouting. Near our camp we found some pike sloughs and were rewarded with some decent fishing with the pike averaging 18-24 inches. Not big like the trophy pike trip but good enough to pass the time. The weather was record highs temps. Smoke from the early fires drifted in and out. Eventually something like 5+ million acres burned during the course of the summer. The hot weather and smoke seemed to slow the bear activity down somewhat but it didn't matter with the few hunters we had. Chester and Rich had wanted to hunt elk in the fall but the doctors weren't sure he would be able. Chester passed on in the fall. -- top

2003 Alaska Black Bear Hunt Results

The war with Iraq depressed the bookings but not the hunting. During a short time 7 hunters took 13 bears. 6 of the bears were over 7 foot! Several were just under 7 foot. The average hunt lasted less than 2 nights. Bruce Trapp and son Brian were the last hunters to arrive and they took 4 bears (3+1 respectively) in two nights. Then we took half the camp and went down river to the trophy Pike fishing camp. It wasn't long before they both had landed pike 45+ inches. Our biggest problem this year was keeping the baits baited in between hunters. We had more baits and bears than hunters. We used a record amount of bait to keep everything going. -- top

2002 Alaska Black Bear Hunt Results

13 hunters took 19 bears. We added new baits on another river and did great! The largest bear was taken by Mike Hawkins of Houston TX. It squared 8 foot 2 inches and had a skull size of 20 3/16 inches. We had 2 bears taken with a cross bow, 2 with a pistol, 2 with compound bows, 2 with cross bows and 1 with a spear! The rest were taken with a rifle. We expect 2003 to be even better, both in the number of bears available and an increase in the average size of the bears taken. The black bears' attitude in 2002 was similar to 2001. -- top

2001 Alaska Black Bear Results

10 hunters took 14 bears. One took three bears, three hunters took two bears and the others took 1 bear. The average shot was less than twenty yards. We used portable tree stands trees more than we have in recent years. The portability factor was much more effective than the permanent tree stands we had used in the past. Although the ground blinds still took more bears than any other method. The fur was exceptionally thick and long and no hides were rubbed. One bear bluff charged the boat three times and wouldn't let the 2 guides and 1 tagged out hunter re-supply a bait. Bears blatantly stalked the ground blinds with hunters and guides standing in the open. Every hunter left with a new appreciation and understanding of hunting bears over bait. We also saw an increase in the number of sows and sows with yearlings commandeering the bait sites. The rut was late probably due to their general poor condition (lack of fat) on the sows and a late green up. We ended up taking more sows than normal simply because they wouldn't let the boars and sometimes even other sows come in to the baits they were camped on. The big boars were their but weren't always allowed to get in range. One bait was abandoned because of three extremely aggressive sows; one black sow with 2 yearlings and one cinnamon sow with 3 yearlings (2 cinnamon and one black); that kept fighting and running up the trees around the tree stands 3-5 feet away and generally spooking everybody. One bow hunter at the bait, inspecting an arrow from missed bow shot 20 minutes before, stood up to face a large black bear less than 10 feet away staring at him.

He drew his pistol and fired one shot below the chin dropping the bear dead in his tracks. We established some new baits this year and they really paid off. After all the hunters were gone, we figured we still had 1 or more 7 foot plus boar(s) at almost every bait site. I received a 5-year camp permit and if the hunt continues to sell good; a cabin may not be far behind. -- top

Previous Years Results

15 bears were taken in both 1995 and 1996! The two largest measured 7ft 10 in., 450+ lbs. and 7ft 6 in., 400+ lbs. with 20 in. and 19 1/2 in. skulls respectively in 1995. The biggest of 1996 measured 8 foot across the front claws. In 1997, 5 of 11 bears were over 7 foot. In 1998, three hunters took 3 bears in 2 nights and all squared over 7 foot with skulls over 19." In 1999, we hunted a new area and 4 hunters took 6 bears with bows, a muzzle-loader and a pistol. In 2000, again 100% success. Again, SINCE 1991! -- top

Smokey Don Duncan, Owner, Master Guide #136 and P.H.
Tom O'Connor Registered Guide #1204 and Pilot
Wayne Gregory A.G., Fishing and Waterfowl Guide
299 Alvin St. Fairbanks AK 99712
Phone: 907-457-8318 Email: apgs@gci.net

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