 What better to do than go on a spring bear hunt? This year I decided to do a road trip into Quebec to see what the wilderness had to offer there. Being that I now live in Vermont it puts me in a very good position to see the Quebec Province. My destination was 500 miles north, almost to James Bay. Quebec has a lot to offer hunters, not only are there bears but moose, wolf, whitetail deer and if you go far enough north, caribou. Quebec is a huge province with sparse population in the north.
I would be hunting with an outfit in their first year of bear hunting. They are already experienced with moose hunting but the bear population has grown and is very lightly hunted by the local residents. I was looking for another outfit to offer to my clients as an option to hunt.
My trip started early on a Sunday the last week of June. I am an hour from the border so I knew crossing over would be simple and it was, after a few questions by the border agent I was on my way. I packed for a self-catering hunt, took my own bedding and also packed some food items. Hunting gear was archery items and I also brought my fishing equipment. Spring bear usually means plenty of time for fishing.
My route took me through Montreal and north of the city are the picturesque Laurentien Mountains which made for a lovely drive. I stopped in Mont Laurier for gas and bought a road map. From this point I would be passing through the huge Reserve Faunique La Verendrye, a popular park filled with lakes and streams. There were many people with boats along the roadside accessing the waterways. About half way through the park I saw my first bear. At 12:30 in the afternoon I saw something black on the side of the road coming out of the brush. I stopped the car and turned back to take a look. It was a large bear that was feeding on the grasses and wildflowers.
Even with the rub on his side he was a shooter, this bear was in the 250 to 275 pound range. He wasn’t happy with me watching him but tolerated me enough so I could get some photos. I motored on and arrived at my destination at 2:30 in the afternoon. I met my guide Steve and the outfitter, Mike, who owns the lodge. I was staying in a small apartment, which they called a bachelor, it was comfortable with a bedroom and bath and a separate kitchen area with a sitting area. I quickly unpacked and then went to town with Mike to pick up some additional groceries.
Town was just over 14 miles away and for somewhere so far north you would not imagine it being so modern, but it was. There was a good grocery, small airport, hospital, and all manor of shops. I also obtained my bear and fishing licenses.
I had a chance to see some of the local scenery; the rivers were engorged by rain.
The multitudes of beaver ponds were also brimming over, many were spilling onto the various old logging roads that traversed the forest. Few people travel these roads anymore.
Back at the lodge I dressed for hunting and got my bow ready. It was a warm night so I dressed lightly. Steve took me to my assigned stand site and baited and dropped me off. I settled in and sometime later a small bear came in. As is with the little guys the little bear was very nervous the whole time he was there, always looking for bigger bears that were surly in the area. The small bear looked to be about 70 pounds wet. I sat back and watched it for an hour and then it left. That was the only bear I saw that evening.
Day two dawned even warmer. By the time it was time to go hunting it was 85 degrees. I went with Steve to bait a few other sites and brought my bow to stalk into the sites before we baited them. Steve said often there are bears on the baits and it would be a good way to hunt them. We didn’t see any bears at the other baits but it was evident these were active areas. Earlier in the day Steve hung another stand above the one I was hunting at so he could video any action. He did not bait it until we arrived to hunt.
On the way to the stand I saw a large black feather on the ground. I picked it up, such ‘signs’ never failed to produce. At that moment I remembered back to my leopard hunt in Zimbabwe where on the carefully swept trail leading into our blind laid some large porcupine quills. I collected the quills and I killed a big tom that afternoon. I stuck the feather in the shoulder strap of my pack and we continued down the trail.
Once we were both situated in the tree we settled in as best we could. It was oppressively hot and having to wear fly netting over our faces made the heat even more intense as the nets block any cooling breezes.
Squirrels and chipmunks scurried about below and in the distance large hammerhead cloud formations were coming our way. That meant rain along with lightning and thunder. Soon enough the storm approached and we waited it out, we only got the edge of it so it wasn’t severe. I slipped on my rain jacket and looked up at Steve who did not bring rain gear. Well at least it was a very warm day. Once the rain stopped, I stood up to stretch, I looked at my watch, which was attached to my pack. It was 8:30 and still hot but a bit of a breeze was now blowing. I couldn’t take the bug net anymore and took it off.
Before I sat back down, I saw a clump of trees move off to the side of the bait. Ha, here comes the bear! But no, some squirrels just sauntered out. Confused, I sat back down and became lost in thought and was looking down at the ground and was flicking mosquitoes off my face. Something caused me to look up a few minutes later and there on the ground was a good-sized bear. I froze to size him up and he looked up at Steve and I in the tree. The bear was standing there with his hackles raised and had a very black face. His jaws were open and it appeared that he was foaming at the mouth too. Once the bear looked away, I decided he was a shooter and I leaned over to grab my bow. I looked up and saw that Steve had the camera running.
The bear moved around a bit seeming very confident and began to take interest in the bait. I saw he was going to present a quartering away shot. He backed off the bait twice but as he came back the second time I was drawn and waiting for him. My arrow passed through the bear’s body diagonally and stopped in his off side shoulder, I could hear a loud cracking sound meaning that bone was breaking. For a split second the bear seemed stunned and then ran off, smashing into trees as he went, we could see the direction he ran by watching the trees. Each time he hit one the top swayed. Soon it was clear he stopped and I guessed he went 50-yards. We didn’t move and listened intently, thunder boomed in the distance and then we heard the death moan. I looked up at Steve and said it was time to go fishing. He gave me a thumbs up and had a huge grin on his face.
 We waited 15 minutes and got down from the stand and reviewed the video, everything looked good. Steve told me he saw the bear come in, he explained how it had appeared suddenly, it ran into the bait site also hunting for another bear. This one was obviously the dominant bear at this site. That explained why his hackles were raised and his bold actions.
It was only day two, I have never tagged out so early on a bear hunt. In a way I was glad, the heat and humidity was nearly unbearable. With only 40 minutes of light left we began our track. My broken arrow lay off to the side, the broadhead was still in the bear.
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| Another photo of my bear showing the Bell River in the background. |
Steve led the way as we tracked the bear, some blood was eventually found and though light, we knew there was a dead bear ahead. Sure enough, 50-yards out under a spruce tree lay the boar. There was no ground shrinkage, in fact he looked larger than the 200 pounds I thought he was. We took a little more video and Steve went to get the four-wheeler.
After considerable struggle we got the bear loaded and made our way back to the truck, another storm cloud was coming in and rain was eminent once again. Just as Steve began to drive the ATV onto the trailer a bolt of lightning streamed horizontally across the sky seemingly above him. As the bolt stopped a large spark erupted overhead. That was one of the most interesting things I had ever seen. We got in the truck and the rain came down.
That night we got the bear on the scale; he weighed 245 pounds and sported a beautiful thick coat of fur. The reason we thought he was foaming at the mouth was due to the light-colored fur ringing his mouth. In skinning the bear we found that my broadhead had completely broken the humerus bone in the off side shoulder. The blade showed no damage even though it hit the bone dead center. The same broadhead killed a 61¾-inch kudu bull and a 25-inch impala ram two years ago.
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| This hen ruffed grouse had several chicks. |
I spent the rest of my week fishing and checking out the scenery. The weather cooled off and became unsettled with periods of rain and sun. Fishing species include walleye, northern pike and sturgeon. I landed a few northerns and took one home for the table.
Small game is abundant, hares were thicker than black flies and grouse were everywhere. The outfit finished its spring bear season at 100% success with me. The largest bear taken by hunters prior to my arrival was 288 pounds; the bear was so old its teeth were worn to nubs. There are no deer this far north however the area is very well known for moose so I have a future trip already rescheduled. Quebec seems to have it all for the outdoors person and is unbeatable for spring bear.
Equipment used:
- Parker Bow
- Easton Redline arrows
- Steelforce broadhead
Cost of hunt: $1000 including gasoline, licenses, food.
For more information or to book a hunt with this outfit contact me at aspenhills@verizon.net
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