Monty's
Story
I believe the greatest compliment one can extend
to the owner of a hunting camp is to be able to recommend his camp and guide service to other hunters even on the occasion
that you end up not taking an animal. At the conclusion of my 2008 bear hunt, as hunting trips sometimes go, I was the sole
hunter in camp who departed without having a shot opportunity present itself. Nevertheless, my wife and I had a very enjoyable
stay in camp and I left Ituksum absolutely convinced that I had met in Tim Jensen a camp owner and guide who was willing to
do everything in his power to try and put all of his hunters on a bear and also willing to put forth the extra effort necessary
to ensure that everyone in camp has an enjoyable experience.
So it was that after a year of anticipation my wife and I returned to Ituksum
for the 2009 bear season convinced that this would be the year that I would take my bear. Once in camp, my wife Natalie graciously
offered to organize our cabin and to reacquaint our Labrador Retriever Huck to Tim’s camp-dog Jade while I accompanied
Tim on his baiting route through 85 miles of absolutely pristine Canadian wilderness. When Tim says that his baits are “active”,
believe me, you can take him at his word. I will personally attest to the fact that 29 of 29 baits had been cleaned out since
Tim had last baited them just two days earlier. As an example of just how active Tim’s baits really are, on Friday afternoon
he and I finished baiting around 3:00 p.m. Around 5:30 p.m. that same afternoon Tim took three other hunters out to help them
select their baits and discovered that seven out of eight baits that we had just finished baiting had already been hit. That
night we all retired to our cabins excited for our hunt to begin the next day.
In a strange sort of way the most thrilling moment of my hunt did not occur
the evening I shot my bear. It occurred the night before when I had a bear standing directly below my tree stand for almost
five minutes. No matter how many bear hunting videos a traditional bowhunter may watch beforehand to teach himself how to
move while in close proximity to a bear, there is simply no way to mentally prepare yourself for having your first encounter
with a black bear to be so up close and personal. How close was the bear? I am absolutely certain that if I had got down on
one knee while that bear was below me, I could have scratched him between the ears with the tip of my 64” longbow. To
describe that experience as the most thrilling moment in my 25 year traditional bowhunting career would be a tremendous understatement.
Little did I know that the next most thrilling moment was to occur the very next evening.
Day two of my hunt dawned bright and clear but a non-prevailing, gusty
wind made me thankful that I had hung a second tree stand at another site to accommodate just such an occasion. With the intent
of being situated in my tree stand by 5:00 p.m. I departed camp at 4:00 p.m. that afternoon to allow for a slow ride out to
“Road 29” and an even slower 0.3 mile walk to my stand. Once at my stand, I attached my longbow to my pull-up
rope and then proceeded to bait my stand exactly as Tim had taught me (LOL- as Tim often does when he finishes baiting a site,
I even whispered to myself, “Come and get it.”). As a result of the
way Tim conditions bears to know when a bait has been recently replenished, often times a bear will come right in almost immediately
after Tim (or a hunter) has baited a site. This was not the case that afternoon as I spent the first three hours in my stand
blowing back and forth in the wind, and in general, just enjoying the sights and sounds of the wilderness solitude. There’s
a saying among bowhunters that goes something like this: “Up in a tree stand I feel 15’ closer to God.”
Well, that night I definitely felt that the good Lord was smiling down on me and I thanked him for all of the blessings in
my life and for allowing me to bowhunt another season.
At almost 8:00 pm on the nose, about 100 yards off to my right and slightly
out in front of me I noticed what appeared to be a decent size black bear walking through the conifers in my direction. If
he continued on his current course he would arrive at the bait without ever walking through my scent stream. As the wind was
in my face, I thought for sure that the bear would circle behind and downwind of me and would approach the bait with the wind
in his face. Much to my delight though, this did not occur and I watched him slowly and cautiously approach the bait from
his upwind position as I slowly and cautiously eased into shooting position. In all, it took the bear about 10-15 minutes
to come in which gave me just enough time to work through the adrenaline rush I was experiencing. “Breathe, breathe,
breathe” I had to remind myself over and over. “Breath…”
Once at the bait the bear swapped ends and then stood facing the bait,
nose to the wind with his right side toward me. I can distinctly remember thinking to myself, “Move slowly and pick
a spot- a SMALL spot.” The next thing I knew the bear was reaching forward with its right paw as I watched the white
fletching of my arrow zip through the bear’s chest, tight behind his shoulder. As the bear accelerated from zero to
out-of here, I noticed my arrow sticking in the ground on the far side of where the bear had stood, but the previously white
fletching now glowed pink in the waning, dusky light. “Oh my God. OH MY GOD.” is all I kept thinking as I trembled
while trying to note the departure route of the bear. “OH MY GOD…”
By the time I drove back to camp it was raining hard enough to convince
me that any sign of a blood trail had long since been washed away. And to quote a line by Steve Martin in the movie The Jerk,
“And then, depression set in.” Although initially four of us had piled into Tim’s truck with the intent
of going out after the bear in the rain and darkness, about half way there Tim made the call that it would be best to wait
until morning to look for my bear. In spite of my wife’s continued reassurance that we would find my bear in the morning,
that night had to be one of the longest, most anxious nights of my bowhunting career.
As this story is already way too long, suffice to say that the next morning
when I heard one of the members of our tracking party say, “There’s your bear” (Thanks again Bob!), it was
one of the happiest moments in my bowhunting career. That my wife was a member of our tracking party and right there with
me when we found my bear made the experience all that much more special. A special “thanks” also to John, Ben,
Bob, Alex, Jered, Rick, Bonnie and Denise (and Terry and Mark in ’08) all of you helped to make our stay in camp an
experience we will never forget and we sincerely hope we will see you up at Ituksum again in the future.
In all, counting the three bears that I observed while in my stands, my
wife and I saw a total of ten bears this year during our stay. Tim thanks so much for putting your all into running a top
notch hunting camp. Your extra effort shows and is greatly appreciated. See you again next year.
Best regards,
Monty and Natalie Bolis
Ray, Michigan
