Well we just returned from another successful trip to Alberta! Im not sure how many of you remember, but I gave away a free bear hunt this year on my Predator Pursuit Facebook Page. The winner was Derek Connally, and he was able to join me on the hunt as well! When we arrived we were met with the latest winter High Level has seen in over 50 years! There was still about 2 feet of snow in the trees, but it was melting pretty fast. The bears were just starting to get out and about. On the first afternoon we both sat on baits that had been hit. Derek had a small bear show up and opted to pass. I had a really nice bear come in, but I had taken bigger bears in the past, and I wanted to let Derek come the next afternoon and take that bear. Lucky for us, the bear cooperated and Derek made a great shot with his bow, and my Cameraman got some great footage for the show!
That night I had the biggest bear of the trip come in, but I was filming myself, and it just wasnt the footage I wanted. He only came in once caught my wind and high tailed it never to return!
That night we were also treated to a pretty amazing show for the Northern Lights! I had heard they were something else, but until you see them for yourself, it is hard to describe. They were dancing much faster than I had imagined, and were much brighter and vivid than I expected!
The rest of the week we got pretty picky and started passing up multiple bears. Before I knew it, I was down to my last day and still hadnt shot a bear! Well the night before, Derek was sending me texts that he had a nice Blonde bear coming in! He said he was holding off for a monster and that if I wanted to sit there on my last day I could! What a guy! This was my 5th trip to Alberta and I still hadnt gotten a color bear! So needless to say I took him up on his offer! Sure enough after sitting on stand for about 2-3 hours, I saw colored fur coming through the trees! My adrenaline was through the roof! But to my disappointment, it was a monster Wolverine!! These guys can be pretty nasty and when they claim a bait site they can run bears off. So I decided my only option was to get down and run him off.....Well it worked the first time, but about 5 min later he came back. Once again I climbed down and tried to run him off. This went on a few times and he got bolder every time. The 4th time down he decided to stand his ground, and I decided that he could have the bait! Well at this point, I was pretty down knowing that is was my last chance to get a bear! But to my surprise, about 10 min later the Blondie I had been waiting on came in from a different direction than the Wolverine! It was my lucky day. After about 5 excruciating minutes, I finally got the shot I needed and put him down!
Well Lucky for me it doesnt get dark up there until about 10:30pm, and it was only about 6pm when we wrapped up all the commentary and video we needed for the show. So we decided to bust our tails about an hour away to another bait that had been hit regular. We arrived and got everything setup about 7:30. To be honest, I wasnt expecting much, but to my surprise about 8:30 I heard my cameraman whisper BEAR! He was being very cautious circling the site and taking his time. Once I got a good look at him I immediately knew he was a shooter! At this point I couldnt believe my good fortune! Lucky for us he came in slow and we were able to get alot of footage. Finally my cameraman said he was good to go. I settled down long enough to make another good shot! He only made it about 15 yards before piling up!
Overall, it was a great week once again with Alberta Bear Busters. I have to thank Derek for passing up that great Blonde Bear for me! If any of you guys want to join us in camp next year, let me know. I have set aside an entire week for Predator Pursuit. We will be filming as much as we can. You never know, your hunt might make it on the show! If you havent done so yet, go like my Facebook page. Predator Pursuit w/Jeff Thomason. You never know, you may win an awesome hunt like Derek did! Thanks for reading!
Jeff
That night I had the biggest bear of the trip come in, but I was filming myself, and it just wasnt the footage I wanted. He only came in once caught my wind and high tailed it never to return!
That night we were also treated to a pretty amazing show for the Northern Lights! I had heard they were something else, but until you see them for yourself, it is hard to describe. They were dancing much faster than I had imagined, and were much brighter and vivid than I expected!
The rest of the week we got pretty picky and started passing up multiple bears. Before I knew it, I was down to my last day and still hadnt shot a bear! Well the night before, Derek was sending me texts that he had a nice Blonde bear coming in! He said he was holding off for a monster and that if I wanted to sit there on my last day I could! What a guy! This was my 5th trip to Alberta and I still hadnt gotten a color bear! So needless to say I took him up on his offer! Sure enough after sitting on stand for about 2-3 hours, I saw colored fur coming through the trees! My adrenaline was through the roof! But to my disappointment, it was a monster Wolverine!! These guys can be pretty nasty and when they claim a bait site they can run bears off. So I decided my only option was to get down and run him off.....Well it worked the first time, but about 5 min later he came back. Once again I climbed down and tried to run him off. This went on a few times and he got bolder every time. The 4th time down he decided to stand his ground, and I decided that he could have the bait! Well at this point, I was pretty down knowing that is was my last chance to get a bear! But to my surprise, about 10 min later the Blondie I had been waiting on came in from a different direction than the Wolverine! It was my lucky day. After about 5 excruciating minutes, I finally got the shot I needed and put him down!
Well Lucky for me it doesnt get dark up there until about 10:30pm, and it was only about 6pm when we wrapped up all the commentary and video we needed for the show. So we decided to bust our tails about an hour away to another bait that had been hit regular. We arrived and got everything setup about 7:30. To be honest, I wasnt expecting much, but to my surprise about 8:30 I heard my cameraman whisper BEAR! He was being very cautious circling the site and taking his time. Once I got a good look at him I immediately knew he was a shooter! At this point I couldnt believe my good fortune! Lucky for us he came in slow and we were able to get alot of footage. Finally my cameraman said he was good to go. I settled down long enough to make another good shot! He only made it about 15 yards before piling up!
Overall, it was a great week once again with Alberta Bear Busters. I have to thank Derek for passing up that great Blonde Bear for me! If any of you guys want to join us in camp next year, let me know. I have set aside an entire week for Predator Pursuit. We will be filming as much as we can. You never know, your hunt might make it on the show! If you havent done so yet, go like my Facebook page. Predator Pursuit w/Jeff Thomason. You never know, you may win an awesome hunt like Derek did! Thanks for reading!
Jeff
jk. Congrats again on a great last night. Can't wait to be back up there!
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