GRINDING OUT A PAIR OF BEARS

2023’S COLD WEATHER, UNUSUAL BRUIN BEHAVIOR TEST HUNTERS’ WILL, DEDICATION

BY BRIAN WATKINS

Spring was exceptionally late in Alaska this year. After a late winter and cool spring, snow was still piled high throughout most of May and into June.

Typically, my favorite spring weekend to hunt is Memorial Day Weekend. Bears become extremely active and the rut starts to kick in. This year, we still had snow at half of our bait stations. It made for slow hunting, with few bears coming in and a bit of frustration.

Our baits at higher elevation seem to produce the biggest bears. I believe the big boars cruise the mountaintops while searching for sows in heat. It’s easier to get around and cover territory that way. Thus, we’ve had more success on bigger bears up high. This year, I was trudging through 3 feet of snow at my highest bait in late May. I had to hike 10 miles in because the ATV trail was not passable. Packing 80 pounds in through ice and deep snow isn’t easy on the body or mind, but I wanted to hunt!

THERE WAS ONE BRIGHT spot this spring. Our friend Zach Welch became an Alaska resident June 1, and getting “new blood” into spring bear hunting sparks contagious excitement.

Zach comes from Nebraska, where he has hunted deer, turkey, pronghorn and elk. He’s no stranger to success. It seems like every year he knocked down monster bucks and multiple turkeys throughout the country. His dream is a brown bear and sheep. Being a dedicated bowhunter increases that challenge.

The other advantage to an eager hunter is the extra help in setting up. Zach was at the baits constantly, stocking them and checking cameras. For hunting partner Trevor Embry and I, it felt like we were in our first year as well. The phone calls and texts that came through pumped us up for every weekend and were a thrill. Showing Zach the ropes and getting his feet wet in Alaska gave us a new vigor.

As May came and went, so did the bears. We had very little action, where we’d typically have multiple bears harvested already. June hadn’t even heated up yet. My baits on the Kenai were stone-cold and our baits up north had a slow arrival too. With bear baiting, the biggest thing I stress is to stick with it. Often, I hear people talk about how they haven’t had any action, leading them to give up prematurely. They get tired of working and driving to be successful. To be honest, I fight that urge every spring too, but I know what lies ahead.

Trevor, Zach and I hunted in early June, even though the baits were slower than normal. Unfortunately for me, the extra pollen from the spruce trees in the air crushed me. I had a tasty cough that lasted the first two weeks of the month. I sat with Trevor on a Friday night

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and we only saw one small chocolatephase black bear. There had been five adult brown bears on the bait during the week, but with that many bears the food had run out. Mix that with my incessant cough and no brown bears came in during our sit.

We stocked the bait back up and got some rest for the next day. Zach had seen a few small black bears, and for Saturday he and I switched spots. Trevor and Zach arrowed a giant black bear that night, while I saw the same small black bears Zach had seen.

Zach was able to squeeze a three-day weekend out of work and had Sunday night to hunt. As I said, persistence in bear baiting is key. With fresh scent out and a stockpile of new bait, Zach had a brown bear come in on his watch. He put an arrow in the perfect spot and the bear died within 50 yards of his shot.

I HEADED OUT THE following weekend to

“This was the first spring in 10 years I didn’t take a bear,” Watkins writes. “It proved that bear baiting is a real challenge. It takes hard work and perseverance.” (BRIAN WATKINS) see what I could turn up. As with the weekend prior, I hadn’t shaken off my cough and we had the same scenario of baits going dry midweek. I saw a small black bear Friday night.

On Saturday, I checked the camera on our last bait. That spot hadn’t been hit yet this year and is typically the bestproducing bait I’ve seen. The trail cam showed an absolute giant had come in at 4 a.m. that morning. Zach was a three-hour drive away, but he jumped in his truck to come sit the night. We ended up sitting for 15 hours. I have to assume that that bear had been just passing through looking for sows, as we didn’t see him the rest of the spring.

This was the first spring in 10 years I didn’t take a bear. That said, it was still a great one. It proved that bear baiting is a real challenge. It takes hard work and perseverance. Most people give up when the times are tough.

We stuck it out as a team and were able to take two great bears. I’m excited for our continued success and hope that next spring is warmer with more action. ASJ