July14/ 2010
We are just now getting a chance to add all of the Spring bear pictures to our Webpage photo gallery. Sorry for the delay. I have been busy getting geared up for the upcoming fall seasons as well sneaking in a bit of fishing here and there. We will be starting to take guests on salt water trips for the huge salmon and halibut we have here over the next bit here. Fishing has been excellent. Anyone interested in catching some big fish, give us a call!! SL
June 16/ 2010
Well another Spring season has come and gone. They seem to go by way too quick. This season will be one that I won't forget, definitely one of the best ever! Our size average was larger and age average older than ever before. I remember one night driving in to the lodge and heard of one giant bear that was harvested by one of our guests, so I was surprised to see three bears stretched out on the wall all over 7 feet and by looking at the teeth, all old mature bears with their teeth worn right down. For those of you that know of or heard of the giant bear "Goliath"...we once again did not harvest him this season,,we did see him once, but unfortunately did not hunt that particular area much at all this season. We prefer to spread our hunts out through out the entire area to manage it properly, and since we hunted that area last year we didnt hunt there this season, instead finding brand new areas we had never hunted, and it paid off with big old bears!! We will concentrate on Goliath next Spring!! We had many return guests this season as well some new that have just harvested their very first Black Bears!! We also had some some adult / youth hunts again this year that are always so exciting to be part of. We fought the rain and fog some this season, but with hard work done by all, we had one of the most successful seasons ever. Again I have to thank my crew Ryan, Oli, Dean, Bob, Lance, George, Joyce and Tracey for all their hard work and effort this past season. Also a huge thankyou to all of you that have hunted with us, I am hoping you all have left with great memories and experiences and I look very forward to hunting with you all again in the future.
Now I sit behind the desk for the next while doing my office duties, updating the website with 2010 bear pictures, catching up with new hunt requests as well guests that will be returning to hunt with us once again. Then time to fish!!! SL
June 13/ 2010
Cougar Cam update. One Tom visit...one female visit. I have now switched the cam to video mode to see if I can;t catch anything different. SL
June 12/ 2010
Well the last week of the Spring 2010 season is one I will never forget. We had Todd and Gloria from California. Todd harvested what had to be one of the largest bears of the season with Dean. This was a monster bear that measured close to 7 and a half feet, with a huge head. Also along with us was Carter who brought his 19 year old son John along to do the hunting. This was Johns first bear and man did he start off great. He harvested another giant measuring over 7 feet and definitely one of the oldest bears taken this season, which had to be close to 20 years old!!! John was hunting with Fluffy. We also had Jim from Texas who brought his 14 year old son James along to harvest his first black bear. They were hunting with Ryan. On their third day of their hunt they spotted a huge boar following a scent trail of a sow in heat. After making an awesome stalk, James made a perfect shot putting this large beast down. After pictures and as they were skinning, out came another huge boar following a sow walking straight towards them. At about 130 yards Jim harvested the second bear of the day. It is an awesome feeling to see these kids harvest such great trophies. The smiles on their faces as well their Dads are just unforgettable. Speaking of unforgettable... I was hunting with Allen and his 13 year old son Josh. Josh has the disease known as Epilepsy. Myself, Allen, Josh and Cameraman Lance hunted 4 days. During those 4 days we encountered big bears, but we always seemed to zig when they would zag, the wind would be wrong or the bear for some strange reason would just decide to change course. Nothing more than just plain bad luck. Allen and I talked during the day about how things in life happen and why...and how they seem to always happen for a reason. It was one of those hunts, that I wanted to get a big bear for Josh so darn bad...probably more than I have ever wished in my career. He so much deserved it!! Anyone who knows anything about epilepsy will know that after a seizure, your body is spent of all your energy and it normally takes hours to recover. This young boy is so strong, one of the strongest I know. He made every stalk with us and never held back. He would recover from a seizure and look at his Dad and say " I want a big bear Dad". Well the fourth day things did happen for a reason. We had Ryan and John sitting on one look out glassing for bears, also had Dean and Carter glassing from another lookout. We all saw numerous boars that day and made some very close stalks. About 3 hours before dark Ryan called on the radio and said the words "Big Bear....Big Bear with a sow!!!" After finding out where he had seen them we moved in and this time everything was perfect. The wind was hard in our face...we stalked within 60 yards...they had no idea we were there..we had time to wait for the perfect shot and that Josh did!!! One shot and another absolute giant bear down over 7 feet. I have never seen such a happy kid as well a very happy and proud father. Way to go Josh!!!! I have to say...it was a very emotional moment... one that I will never forget...definitely one of the highlights of my career as a Guide / Outfitter. What a great week to end a very successful Spring Season !!! SL
June 07/ 2010
Another Cougar Cam update... Dean was in the area and grabbed the memory stick out of the cam for me. The Tom had been back, leaving his big scratches and footprints behind. Notice the difference of size in the cat on June 03 compared to the female. He is much taller and thicker boned and muscled. Lots of activity under this rock. The white rock they keep sniffing is where the male scratches and the female urinates. SL
June 06/ 2010
A very special weekend for me. My oldest daughter Stephanie graduated from her Secondary School. I am so very proud of her. Great work Stephy!!!! SL
June 04/ 2010
The rut is still running hard here. We are fighting some wet and foggy weather, but seeing big bears every day regardless. Tilman from Nevada harvested a giant boar following a sow on his first day of hunting with Fluffy, they encountered this huge boar after going for a short walk through some old grassy clearcuts and were almost back to the truck. Kevin from Michigan took his huge bear on the second day with Oli, harvesting this big old bear at 30 yards with his inline muzzleloader as it walked towards them. On the fourth day we had some action. Myself, Scott from Nevada, Tilman (who had already tagged out and was along for some morale support) as well cameraman Lance, spotted a large bear over 2 miles away, we decided to drive into this clearcut to get a closer look. As we drive out of the timber into the clearcut, standing on the road not 50 yards away is a giant boar mating with a sow with their backs (or butts) towards us. As I shut the truck down the sow managed to look back and see us. She was scrambling and fighting this big old boar trying to get out from underneath him and after a few seconds got out of the relationship and scrambled over the low edge of the road into the clearcut towards the timber down below us. The big boar watched her and slowly followed her wondering what went wrong!! By the time we got out of the truck and ready for a shot he had just walked over the edge towards the timber. We waited a few minutes to watch and see if they would come into view on their way to the timber and they didnt. I decided I would sneak down to an edge and look over into the only piece of slash we couldnt see from the road. As i approached and peaked over, there they were...not 100 yards from me and she had accepted him back into her life. It only took Scott and crew minutes to sneak down where I was standing in order to set up for the shot as well Lance to get his video equipment rolling. We waited and filmed a very long 30 minutes while these two lovers finished their business and when we figured all was done Scott made an incredible shot putting this giant down. We can say he left some tremendous genetics behind, he was a huge bear well over 7 feet and a big wide head. The day wasnt over...before we walked down to the big boar, we decided to walk up to the truck to collect our backpacks...cameras..etc..when Tilman says "Hey...there are two more over there!!" I put my spotting scope up and indeed there was another sow with a huge boar following her. I knew Ryan was close with Dan from Michigan looking to harvest his bear still so after a call he was on his way. About 45 minutes later Ryan and Dan were stalking these two bears with Lance joining in to video. They snuck up to within 50 yards of the giant and Dan knocked him down with his inline muzzleloader. One shot and it was done!!! Another huge bear!! What a week!! SL
May 30/ 2010
Cougar Cam Update. The same female coming back every second day or so. The male hasn't been back, no new scratches. My son Matt and his buddy Curtis came out to check the cam with me at approximately 10 am on the 28th. Not long after the female left. I am sure she was close by. SL
May 29/ 2010
We just had the pleasure once again, to hunt with Christian from Norway. This is his second hunt with us and this year he brought four of his hunting buddies from Norway and Germany. Lorentz, Oyvind, Heinz and Marc. The weather has been very wet and foggy but the hunting has been amazing. All five harvested great big bears. Christian actually received a very special surprise while he was with us, the actual day he harvested his big boar, he received a call from his very expecting wife who informed him she was in labour a little early. His new little baby boy was born the same day!!! Congratulations to both of you Christian, she must be a very understanding wife!!!!! Congratulations to you all on your great trophies, we had a great time and many laughs!! SL
May 25/ 2010
This morning Ryan decided he was going to have a bit of fun and try and beat everyone out to the gravel road with some shortcuts and a bit of creative driving. As you can see it didnt work out!! We are thinking about the possibilty of changing Ryans nickname from La Fleur to "Andretti". SL
May 24/ 2010
Want to introduce to you the newest member of the team "Lance" . We dont have a nic for him yet, but I am sure it wont take long!!! Lance is our videographer and is along on as many of our hunts as we can film. We offer a service that provides the hunters with a cameraman along on their hunts to capture their experiences as well the harvest, and work it all into a fully edited DVD for great memories. Lance has worked with the best and has a pile of experience behind the camera as well an avid hunter himself. SL
May 23/ 2010
Any of you that have hunted with us have probably met our cougar / bear guide "Dean". He is a cougar hunting fanatic and spends much time not only hunting cougar, but studying their movements, checking the scratchlines and always watching for tracks, new scratches and scat, keeping track of how often they come through a certain area. Last week he showed me a spot under a big overhanging rock where he always finds new scatches made by a male cougar. Sure enough there were new scatches made overtop of the ones that Dean had covered up last time he was in there. The next day I came back and set up a trail cam in the spot. I checked the cam today and look what I found. Makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck when you check your pictures at 630 pm and you have a picture of a cougar at 537 pm the same day!! The cougar visiting on May 17 is the Tom, the other two pictures are of a female cougar. The female is smelling the ground right where the male made his scratches. I will keep updating these pics as I get more. Looks like there are visits almost every second day. For some reason the pictures are out of focus. I may need to move it slightly. SL
May19/ 2010
Darrell from Tennessee hunted with us back in April for his second season and had so much fun he decided to come back again this month, this time bringing his wife Linda. This time Linda was the hunter and was hunting her very first Black Bear. On her second day of the hunt not only did she harvest one great bear in the morning, but finished the afternoon off with an absolute giant over 7 feet!!! These were Linda's first big game animals she had harvested. What an amazing start!!! She did absolutely terrific, calm, cool and made two terrific shots. Great work Linda and as always great having you and Darrell with us. The rut is still in full swing and we are seeing many big boars with sows. SL
May 15/ 2010
What a great week!!!!! First Noreen, then Tommy from Louisville, now Jeff and Audrey from Texas... all take bears over 7 feet!!! Tommy had a close encounter at 40 yards before making the shot on his giant. Good friend Kent was also along with Ryan (La Fleur) on that hunt. Jeff and Audrey the next day had just finished making a stalk on another giant boar that gave them and guide "Ole" the slip, when not even an hour later they had another big boar on the ground. Jeff had to make a quick shot count and did it well!! Great job guys and Ladies!!!! SL
May 12/ 2010
Last week we figured the rut was just around the corner and man did the lightswitch ever turn on!!!! The rut kicked in a bit early here and WOW....the boars are wandering. Noreen harvested her first Island black Bear today and what a start taking an absolute giant measuring 7 ft 3 long and 7 ft 5 wide. We spotted this big boar while walking a cutblock in search of a sow we had seen with a boar the day before. Knowing she was coming into heat we figured we better stick around there. We snuck up to within 100 yards and with the great help of her husband Jeff, who was our "stickboy" for the week and had those shooting sticks set just perfect, Noreen made a great shot. What a bear!!! SL
May 07/ 2010
Time flies when you are having fun!!! I haven't had a chance to get to the computer lately. We finished off a good week with Roy, Ron, Todd and Ted, Taking some great bears and Roy saw an absolute giant he couldn't get on. We had some great laughs. I am looking very forward to hunting with you guys again. This is Roys second trip with us. We just finished up week 4 here with our guests from New York. We fought the weather some this week but still came out with some great bears and as we did last week, saw some other giants we just couldnt connect with. Timing is everything. Some of these big boys are feeding on the grass and clover in some tight bushy areas right now and if the wind isnt exactly right, forget it. Soon they will be slowing down on the grub and will be starting to wander looking for sows. We have seen a few sows out in the clearcuts already with their newborn little furballs. Its this time of year they have to always be on guard as the big boars wander looking for sows or a light snack, whichever comes first. Also for the first time this year, we spotted GOLIATH!!! Good to see he hasn't passed of old age yet. You can guess where I will be hanging out for a while now. Mark, Sal, Robert, Tom and Ron, it was great hunting with you guys, we all had a great time with your group. Looking forward to doing it again. Thanks. SL
April 27/ 2010
Just had an awesome hunt I have to share with you. Today was the first day of the hunt for our new group this week on Vancouver Island. My hunter Todd and guide Derrick who was along to help glass, spotted a bear down on an old grassy road I have been watching all season. This bear is a huge old boar that Barry and I last week had at 200 yards and couldnt get a shot off because the fog moved in on us. For once, the wind was blowing the right direction for us today, we packed up quickly and started our 30 minute stalk. The torrential downpour and heavy wind made it possible for us to sneak right in to 124 yards. We watched him briefly and decided to get in as close as we could. Well...as we went out of sight to move in...the bear decided to move closer as well and we met him halfway...30 yards face to face. Todd was ready and made an awesome shot!!! Being that close to a 7 foot bear is always a huge rush. More to come this week. SL
April 24/2010
The spring season is going very well. We just finished off week two with more awesome Bears!! We had the pleasure of hunting with guests Barry and Darrell from Tennessee, who hunted with us last spring season as well. As always we had tons of fun with them and some great laughs. Also Doyle and Bill from Arizona hunted with us this week for their first time, and harvested big bears!! I just recieved an email from them telling me they had the hunt of a lifetime!! Thanks guys, it was our pleasure. SL
April 17/ 2010
A great kick off to our Spring 2010 season with three big boars harvested this week. Juan travelling from Spain and Jeff from Texas both took big boars. Congratulations guys!! The big boys are all out feeding now and it should get better every day. Myself, Oli, Ryan and Dean were all out scouting today and it looks like we are going to have another great week. SL
April 9/ 2010
We are all geared up and pumped for our Spring 2010 Vancouver Island bear season!! Ryan, Ole, Dean, Bob, Fluffy and of course our incredible cook, Joyce, as well Tracy whom everyone knows as the cookie girl, because of the delicious home cooked pastries and cookies she sends us out with every day, they are all back and looking very forward to seeing our many return guests as well hunting with all the new faces this season. I will try and keep you updated. As I guide as well each week, sometimes it is tough to get the time to get on the computer, but I will do my best to try and update as many weeks as I can. SL
March 20/ 2010
Our very wet and mild winter came and went, with very little opportunity for hunting cougar in snow. Dean did manage to get some big cats in the tree on dry ground. The positive thing, all the cats we didnt get this winter will be that much larger for our guests this Spring who will be hunting combination Cougar and Bear as well our cougar hunts next winter. SL
Feb 13/ 2010
Waiting patiently for this very wet winter we have had so far to change to snow so we can get some cougars in the tree. We have guests waiting for the call to let them know we have some good conditions and as always Dean is itching to get out there and tree some of our huge cats. Cross our fingers for North West winds. SL
January 01/ 2010
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of our friends and guests from all of us at Canadian Guide Outfitters. We are looking forward to another fun and productive year of hunting with the many of you that hunt with us every year, as well all of our new guests that are hunting with us for the first time this season. SL
November 30/ 2009
A sad day for us all...the last day of deer season. We had a great season, harvested some super bucks and as always, had some great laughs with old and new friends. Largest whitetail was just shy of 172. A huge thank you to all of our guests and friends for holding out for that deer of your dreams that you harvested this year or passed up to let him reach the next level, next season. With your patience combined with our management strategy we will always have opportunities to harvest world class whitetail and mule deer. We just had 100% of our guests rebook for the next season which tells me they had another enjoyable hunt with us. Thank you. A huge thanks to Lou for his huge help this season as well Dan and Rocky!! This area is close to 3000 sq miles of exclusive guiding and every year we push into untouched areas. We are already planning new and exciting ideas for our next season up here, that I am sure are going to produce huge results. Next....The big cougar on Vancouver Island. SL
November 3/ 2009
Getting geared up for our deer season up here in the Peace area. The stands are all out and trail cams clickin away!!! We are seeing many deer running around and some good bucks, both whitetail and mule deer. I am extremely excited about this season, can't wait until our first group of guests fly in. SL
October 25/2009
We just finished up our last week of fall bear season here with a bang, and a lot of laughs!! Roy harvested an awesome big boar while the bear was filling himself full of salmon in the river. Thanks for all your help Bob!! Our runs of spawning salmon were huge this year. The bears will continue to feed until the end of these salmon runs, even into December. Thus the reason they grow so big, full of rich protein. Time to put the chest waders away and get ready for our deer season in the Peace. One of my favorite times of the year!! SL
September 23/2009
Over the last week, we have had to work harder than I can ever remember having to work for a Roosevelt Bull. The heat and dry weather is keeping these elk in the thick cover. We have been within 20 yards of King Kong at least 3 times, but never been able to see him enough to shoot. We had him so close one day we could actually hear him breathing while he demolished another fir tree. He was raging mad!! But the cover was far too thick. The season closes soon for 10 days, and if we dont have him down we will give them a rest and have a chance to wait him out until this weather cools off to a little more normal temperature. We will keep an eye on them. I have to say, my guest and friend Al, has been so very very patient this whole hunt, and hunted very hard with me. He is a true hunter and archer, and understood the reasons for the non typical behaviour these elk were displaying. He also had other opportunities to harvest lesser bulls than King Kong, bulls that would easily make Pope and Young and some possibly Boone and crockett, some as close as 15-20 yards. He had the patience and determination to pass them up and keep pushing for the big guy. Thanks Al. Also thanks to George "Fluffy" Addlington for the countless hours spent on the mountain glassing for elk. Al and I did catch him sleeping one day though...right Fluffy!!! The picture above is of a bull feeding in a little meadow we sat in one evening. Another one came out feeding with him and actually fed within 10 yards of us and never knew we were there. One of the bulls was well into Pope and Young. SL
September 15/2009
Because of the extreme heat the Bulls are staying in the very thick cover and even though they are responding to our calls, they arent coming out. They have their herds in with them and we are going to have to get a bit more agressive and go in after them. There is one bull we nicknamed "King Kong" because of the massive damage he does to the trees while making his rubs. He has heavy mass and crowned. He is the one we are targeting. SL
September 8/2009
Impatiently awaiting opening day for our archery Roosevelt Elk here on Vancouver Island. Our guest Al shows up today. We have found some real big bulls, but it has been unseasonably hot which has been keeping most of the animals in the thicker brush where it is cooler. There are a couple bulls I am hoping score as good if not better than the giant we arrowed last season!! We will get him!! SL
September 2/2009
The Rocky Mtn Elk numbers in our northern area look awesome, plus more moose than I have ever seen. We should get some big ones!! I am very excited about upcoming Elk and Moose combo hunts on both the lodge hunts and wilderness hunts!!! SL
August 25/ 2009
Summer has come and gone. We enjoyed one of the best fishing seasons ever with record size and numbers of Chinook (Kings) and Coho (silvers) caught. I had the opportunity to spend time with my family as well fishing with friends and guests. If you ever have time to come visit Vancouver Island, it will be well worth the effort to fish for salmon, halibut, prawns and crab, all caught locally right here. We can customize whatever fishing package fits your needs. Now I have to put the boats away, and get the atvs out because hunting season is next. Looking very forward to it!! SL
July 20/ 2009
I have been updating my photo galleries on my website. I only have a half dozen or so to add and it will be complete. For those that have been waiting patiently, my apologies, and thank you. I normally add the pictures weekly, as the season progresses, but my website admin was in the process of changing the website over to a brand new program. The new site shows the gallery pictures larger than before, when you click on them. There will be many new exciting features added to the site in the near future including short video clips of some hunts and I will also be starting a gallery of trailcam scouting pictures for all to enjoy. SL
July 11/ 2009
I just had the pleasure of attending the wedding ceremony of Ryan "La Fleur" Hartling and his beautiful wife Tarryl. It took place at a very nice resort nestled on the shores of the South Thompson River. The setting was absolutely gorgeous. Congratulations Ryan and Tarryl. SL
June 16/ 2009
The Vancouver Island Spring season is done. We had to fight the unusally strange weather patterns this year, a cold, wet start and the blazing heat near the end, but with the very hard work of Ryan, George, Ole, Bob and Dean, we had one of the best seasons ever. A huge, larger than ever before, number of hunters are returning again next year to hunt with us, which makes me extremely happy as this tells me everyone had an incredible experience. The largest bear taken this spring was a giant measuring right at 21 inches and squaring at 7 ft 4 inches. Definitely one of the highlights of the season as always is seeing the young kids come up on their first adventure, and harvest their first Black bear, and for some their first big game animal. It is always just as big a thrill to us, as it is to them. A big thanks to our chef Joyce, who took care of us all, and is the back bone of the Team, as well Tracey for making sure the rooms were always spotless and those unforgetable homemade cookies and scones that we all love. And most of all, a huge thanks to all our friends that hunt with us, we look very forward to hunting with you all again. SL
June 15/ 2009
The season ended with a BANG. This week we had the pleasure of hunting once again with my very good friends Bruce, Keith and Rob, from Las Vegas and Reno. All three harvested huge bears and Bruce took two giants. As always we had a ton of laughs and looking very forward to hunting with you again next season. This week we also had the pleasure of hunting with Matthew who is 13, him and his family of 5 all came out hunting. We spotted a huge boar with a sow and stalked within 70 yards of this bruiser, at the last minute the bear winded us and luckily Mathew was ready on the sticks, he had a one second window to shoot and made an awesome shot. Especially considering the pressure of his whole family watching his shot. After the shot the bear lunged into the bush. We gave the bear a bit of time before I walked into the bush to check on it...when I came out, I was shaking my head as if he missed, you should have seen the look on Mathew's face when I told him he just harvested his very first Black Bear and a big one....Priceless.. Great job Mathew, you know you earned this one.
May 03/ 2009
Lovely...Now the whole team is trying to change the rules, changing their own nics... thanks to Brett who is hunting with us this week, they came up with the idea that supposedly Film stars (Adult maybe??) use for making their screen name. Your first name is the name of your first pet...and your last name is the name of the street you grew up on. Fluffy is "Luc Trainer', Ole is "Buster Mine" and Ryan is "Champ Kelly". Nice try guys...you are still Fluffy, Ole and La Fleur!!! No Changing!!! SL
May 02/ 2009
Get this...today Ryan "La Fleur" Hartling decides on his own, that he is changing his own nickname. We informed him that people just don't change their own nickname, these are names given by others and this can't be changed especially on your own. He said he didn't like his nic(wonder why???) and he wanted one that rhymed with his name better, so he tried nicknaming himself Ryan "Hawkeye" Hartling. Not gonna stick "La Fleur" !! Nice try!! SL
May 29/ 2009
The weather has been crazy hot. We have been breaking new heat records every day. One day got close to 100 degrees. The rut is in full swing now so the bears are still moving. The largest bear of the season so far was taken this week by Fluffy and hunter Ken. This enormous bear will measure right around 21 inches and square well over 7 feet. Great job guys. Dean and his dogs treed another cougar this week and Alvaro from Spain was the lucky hunter to be at the bottom of the tree alongside his son Jacob who is 15. Jacob harvested his very first Black Bear the day before, a huge boar, Jacob was solid as a rock making a great shot, great job Jacob. We also found another absolute gigantic bear this week that we have added to the "WANTED" list. A bear we have nicknamed "Cameron". Another hunter Jennifer who was hunting with us this week came inches away from harvesting this giant...but he is still out there alive and well. SL
May 27/ 2009
Those of you that have hunted Island Bear with us in the past, you have either heard the stories or have actually been lucky enough to get a look at the absolute gigantic Black bear we call "GOLIATH". This is the largest Island Bear I know of alive today. We have had countless close encounters with this giant over the past seasons, and have never been able to close the deal. Well, some good news...he hasnt died of old age yet (although he must be getting close). Ryan and hunter Roger watched Goliath for 5 hours in the exact same spot where we have seen him at least 4 years in a row. A spot that is very tough to approach because of the wind direction. They waited patiently for an opportunity to close the distance but it never happened that day. The closest they could get was 400 + yards, these bears are so tough, they didnt want to take the chance of wounding and losing him. They watched him again today and just like clockwork he moved down the valley and walked away most likely going to find himself a girlfriend, and they did not see him again. The picture they took of him was through the spotting scope. I vow to get this bear...he is giving me gray hair!!! SL
May 22/ 2009
We are over half way through our Spring season here on the Island. We just finished another very successful week. Chris with his three sons all harvested big boars, and on top of that Chris shot a great cougar. The rut has just started now, Chris's huge boar walked down into a small tree patch and we had to wait 3 hours for him to finish his date with his girlfriend. When he walked out of the trees onto the grassy trail, Chris and George stalked within 20 yards of this giant to get a clear shot of him. Congrats guys, and yes Chris, we are watching Fluffy's carbon footprint!!! SL
May 6/ 2009
The weather has been unusually cold so far this week, cold slushy rain and gail force winds, but with the hard work of this guiding team we will get it done. Crossing my fingers the sun might show up soon. SL
May 01/ 2009
We have just finished our 3rd week of the season. The weather gods have thrown everything they can at us including snow, but we are taking some giant bears. This week one of our hunters was 13 year old Howard. He shot his very first Black Bear, making an excellent shot on this huge old boar with some great battle scars. The next day his father harvested the first cougar of our Spring season, an old tom with one missing canine tooth. Dean and his dogs put an excellent chase on this cat. SL
April 13/ 2009
Our first day of hunting today and we harvested an awesome boar, took a while to get on him but when we closed the distance to about 70 yards, Steve made an awesome shot. What a great way to start the season! SL
April 05/ 2009
Saw my first bear today, the weather has definitely put things behind a couple weeks but the big boars are coming out now and we start hunting in 8 days. Looking forward to another awesome season. SL
March 20/ 2009
Well it looks like the snow has passed. Down at sea level the grass is starting to green up. We had an excellent cougar season, took some awesome cats but its that time once again to start thing BLACK BEARS! I am looking very forward to this upcoming season to once again have some fun with the many guests that hunt with us every year as well getting a chance to make new ones. I will be spending some time over the next few weeks opening trails and clearing roads with the gang. SL
February 15/ 2009
Wow, I just got in from an awesome cougar chase we had over the last couple days. We found a huge track in the snow we thought was fresher than what it turned out to be. Dean let his dogs out on this track and they screamed out on it. 8 hours later as it was getting dark we caught up to the dogs as they were walking back on their back trail which is unusual for these dogs, they just never give up. This morning while letting the dogs out for their morning stretch Dean noticed that their droppings were full of hair. With closer investigation (by Dean) he concluded the hair was cougar hair. After some brainstorming we figured out what happened the day before. The cougar we were tracking, at some time during the chase had met up with another cougar. Obviously one of them didnt take kindly to the other one cutting through his territory and quickly took care of him. Along come the dogs after a long chase, run up on this freshly killed cougar and probably thought they ran him to his death. They had some good nibbles on him and thinking they did their job, decided to head back to the nice warm truck. We decided to head back to that spot to see if we could back this story up. On arrival we noticed the huge cat tracks coming right out on the trail the cat travelled in on. Very exciting stuff. Dean prepared the dogs and away they went again. An hour later after some steep uphill climbing we had this huge tomcat in a tree. I know one thing, I am going to have to start putting bricks in Deans pack, because he is wearing me out!!! My guest from Oregon, Kevin, did an awesome job of keeping up. After harvesting this cougar and all the pictures, we noticed that its droppings were also filled with the same hair. Our CSI work was correct. Great job Dean and congrats Kevin on your awesome cougar, you earned it buddy!! SL
January 30/ 2009
Waiting for this rain to stop. We have had some unusual warm weather from the south over the last couple weeks, but the forecast says it is supposed to start cooling off. Lets cross our fingers!!
SL
January 15/ 2009
Just returned from the Dallas Safari Club convention. I had George (Fluffy) along with me, as well my good Texan buddy Jerry was also there to help me out in the booth which he has over the last 3 years. As normal we had an awesome time. The Dallas Safari Club is a great organization that does so much for this sport, and its members are some of the finest people I know. We spent some quality time at my booth with old friends and met many new friends. I would like to thank all my friends who stopped by my booth during this show, I cant wait until next year! Now time to get back to the bush and find some more cougars.
SL
December 26/ 2008
Merry Christmas to all!! We are having another snowfall here and for the first time in a couple years, having a white Christmas. We werent able to get anyone to come up cougar hunting with us in between Christmas and New Years, but shortly after all these holiday festivities are done, we will be getting back out there chasing cougars and burning off some of the excess weight building up from all this turkey and pie!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year wishes to all. SL
December 20/ 2008
Well, we did get some snow....and lots of it!!!
The day my first cougar hunter arrived we received another foot at least overnight. The first day it snowed all day long, causing everything including the cats to slow down for the day, but still did manage to find 3 different tracks, but nothing large enough to pursue.
The second day we found 4 different tracks, including one big tom track. The tom took us for a 4 hour stroll, and eventually he made a fatal mistake...stopping to kill a 4x4 blacktail deer. He just layed down, getting ready for his gourmet meal when Deans hounds, Dot, Rosie and Butt decided to crash his party. We treed him within 400 yards of that kill sight.
Congratulations to Kelly on harvesting this awesome tomcat, it was a heck of a marathon. I saw some huge relief in Kelly's face when he saw the cat in the tree!!!
The next morning we went out to scout for more tracks, found another 4 tracks including another massive tom, as this track was smokin hot, we put the chase on him, and had it up a tree within a half hour. Another very big tom, and after some awesome pictures like the one below, we let him go for future hunts.
A big thanks to Dean and his hounds, which are the absolute best!!!
Sounds like it will be staying cold, so right after Christmas I will be calling another hunter to jump on the plane and come have some fun!!! SL
December 08/ 2008
Just got back from our deer season.
Definitely a slower season this year due to one major factor....warm weather...the stuff we all despise during our November Deer seasons. Most all the deer were moving as soon as it got dark as the day started to cool off. These giants are bundled up, ready for minus temperatures, and when it is well above freezing, they just don't move.
Largest whitetail we harvested in the Peace was 170, a beautiful 5x5 frame with 6 extra stickers. Congratulations Steve!!
Congratulations to Greg as well on his Mule Deer. An awesome buck.
One of the positive things coming out of this season, we did pass this year on some 160-165 class bucks, which I am very thankful to my guests for, they will be awesome bucks next year, as well we saw many deer on our cams that will be giants next season.
Thanks to all of our friends that hunted with us again this year and we are looking very forward to hunting with you all again.
Again thanks to Lou and Greg, for their huge help with the guiding.
Sounds like we are going to be getting snow on the Island here within the next few days, so I have to start gearing up for our cougar season.
Can't wait!!!! SL
A good buck we passed on to let grow, field scored 160-165, should be an awesome buck next season.
September 19/ 2008
We got him!!!!!
After 5 days of hunting this Big Bull, we finally closed the distance to 45 yards and my good friend Chipper from Texas had to make an awesome shot through a small window surrounded by brush. We saw this bull every day of the hunt, but always at 80+ yards and could never seem close the distance on him, especially with so many cows and calves watching for him.
The fifth morning, we found the herd moving into patch of poplars, and finally the wind was in our favor. We got ahead of the herd and waited for them in their favorite little bedding spot. Luck was on our side and the herd moved in bedding 60 yards away, with the big bull off to the side.
Another satellite bull came in behind us and started bugling a challenge to the big guy, causing quite an uproar all around us. Trying to get between the cows and the satellite bull, our big bull walked straight passed us while bugling. A quick little cow call stopped him in his tracks at 45 yards and that's all Chipper needed. The bull only walked 75 yards, before giving out his last bugle and died.
This bull should gross score around 357 and will rank very high in the Pope and Young.
Many thanks to Brad (Oli's Dad), George and Tracy for helping out. SL
September 05/ 2008
Our Roosevelt Elk season is just around the corner. We have some awesome bulls scouted out. The largest we have found so far is an 8x8, with huge crowns and has 25-30 cows with it. There are a couple dandy satellite bulls hanging behind the herd as well including one giant 7x7 with big mass and width.
It took a while to find these animals, it is un seasonally warm right now and they were tucked away in a little valley all by themselves. We are going to have to live with this Herd Bull until opening day!!! SL
August 20/ 2008
Found some time in between seasons here to get out in the boat with my family and friends. Managed to hook into a few salmon. It is an awesome sight seeing kids get so excited fighting these fish!!!! SL
June 13/ 2008
Friday the 13th turned out to be a lucky one for Darrell from Texas.
The last bear of our Spring season, Darrell took a Big Island Bear after 3 days of hunting. Guides George (Fluffy), Glenn (Oli), and Ryan (La Fleur) were all along for the ride to finish off the season, and even "Roxy" our chocolate lab snuck into the picture taking for her moment of fame. This old Boar was travelling, covering ground fast, looking for either a sow to mate with, or a cub or newborn fawn for dinner, whatever came first. We followed him up an old grade for at least a mile before we could get a shot. Darrell had to make a very quick shot count, and he did a great job at that!!
All in all, it was an excellent Spring season, took some monster bears, got to hunt with some old friends and made a lot of new ones. To all our guests, a huge thank you for choosing to hunt with us, and I look very forward to hunting with you all again.
To all the Guides, Chef Joyce, Houskeeping and "Cookie maker" Tracey, I can't thank you enough for all your hard work, and for going that extra mile to make this season a huge success. I very much appreciate it.
Next hunt....Roosevelt Elk!! SL
June 9/ 2008
Took a huge bear today!!! Should be close to 21 inches, and for sure well over 7 feet. On our first afternoon of the hunt, Marty, a good buddy of mine from Texas, and myself snuck up on this monster as it was following a sow, he had no idea we were there, letting us sneak up to within 60 yards, while he was making sure no other boars got within flirting distance. This bear was so big we struggled for a half hour, just to try and get it into a position for pictures. I look forward to our next hunt together Marty and watch out for those landslides!!! SL
June 7/ 2008
Another week I will remember for a long time. I had the pleasure of hunting with 12 year old Bart from Texas, along with his father John. Bart took a giant bear the first day of the hunt, making a perfect shot at 125 yards. Bart had to wait close to a half hour for the shot opportunity to present itself while the big boar courted a pretty little sow. We made Bart turn his head!!! Like the week before with Joey, he was amazingly calm and made the shot count. Once he got to his big boar and actually held it in his hands, I don't think John or I got a word in for at least an hour!!!! Excellent job Bart, and I am already practising to make sure I beat you in our truck music trivia next time we hunt together!!!!
Bart's father John harvested yet another giant boar the following day, an old warrior that showed major signs of age.
Also congratulations to Steve, Tony and Terry on their great bears this week as well. SL
June 01/2008
What a week!! The rut is kicking in full swing now. We are seeing big boars travelling in search of their mate and some already courting. We took some very big boars this week including a very special bear taken by a Boy named Joey from New Jersey. What made this bear so special other than its 7 ft length and 20 inch skull, was that Joey is 13 years old and this bear was the first Big Game animal he has harvested.
He was absolutely calm setting up for his shot, ( a lot more calm than myself and Fluffy!!!!), and his shot placement was perfect. His father George was with him as well and was very proud. I have never seen a smile so big when he walked up to his bear. It is quite evident in his picture. Good work Joey!!! SL
May 10/2008
Just finished off our hunt with my good friends Bruce, Keith and Rob from Las Vegas. Just like last year we combined their Spring Bear hunt with a dry ground Cougar hunt. The group all took big boars and on the fourth day of tracking and a lot of hard work and effort by Dean and his dogs, they managed to put up a very nice Tom in the tree. Congrats to Bruce on his first cougar and a nice one at that!! I look very forward to hunting with these guys again next year. SL
May 4/ 2008
Our Spring season had a bit of a slow start with some terrible weather, but we all teamed up, worked hard and hunted through it. One of the few times over the last 20 years of guiding I remember hunting bear in snow blizzard like conditions.
We have harvested some huge bears already this season, our last group of returning customers harvested 5 bears in 2 days with one skull measuring in the high 20's and another of the bears was for sure the oldest bear I have ever seen. The face was covered in grey hair, and the underside of his chin was pure grey, his belly had grey and the hair on his body was unlike any I have ever seen, short and ringlet looking? An old warrior and an amazing trophy.
A thank you, and congratulations to all our guests so far this season on their tremendous bears, we are looking forward to hunting with you all again.
A new group arrives today, can't wait to get back out there to find another bruiser!!! SL
April 2/ 2008
We are getting all set for our Spring Bear Season. Warming up, grass is getting green and already seeing a few out. Its's going to be another good one!!
January 25/ 2008
Finally snowed, Just had a couple very good friends up, Bob and Jimmy managed to take a couple monster cougars. Bob harvested his with his bow and it will record well into the P&Y. Jimmy planned on harvesting his cat with his bow as well, until his shot at 10 yds shattered his arrow and jumped the string off the cam. Three of us tried pressing the bow to get the string back on with no luck. His should still make B&C. Again an amazing job by Dean and Lloyd and their dogs!! SL
January 15/ 2008
Just got back from the Dallas Safari Club annual convention where I have a booth every year and had a great time meeting up with old friends and making new ones. SL
January 1/ 2008
Happy New Year!! Spent New Years Eve, packing a big cougar out of the bush, should be 140 to 150 pounds. SL
December 19/ 2007
Waiting for snow to get some cougar hunts in. Still too warm to snow, but the forecast looks good... SL
November 30/ 2007
Deer season is wrapped up. It goes too quick! Again just like last season we took another whitetail buck in the 180's, in fact it's Jerry's second Whitetail over 180 in three years. Wish I had his luck...We took a variety of great bucks from 150 to 170. Without the huge help from guide Lou, couldn't have achieved this!
Great work guys!! Looking forward to next year!! SL
October 31/ 2007
Finished up our last Fall bear today with Archie Nesbitt making a great shot at 40 yards with archery gear at an absolute giant of a bear!!!! Had a great Fall season, fought some tough rain but with the hard work of George, Bob, Dean and Oli we took some great bears and with the help of Dean's great dogs we managed to harvest a huge cougar on a combo hunt. Congrats to all our guests, we look forward to hunting with you again.
On my way up North for deer!!! SL
September 20/ 2007
Getting geared up for Fall Bear. The salmon are showing up in the rivers to spawn and within the next couple weeks there will be thousands of fish filling up all the bears favorite fishing holes. We'll be there!!! SL
July 28/ 2007
A bit of time off hunting, fishing with family, friends and guests. SL
June 10/2007
Well what an amazing finish to a very successful Spring Bear season. This last bear of the season will square an amazing 7 ft 7 inches, with a skull size of 21 inches green. We harvested some absolute great boars this spring, that will average around the 6ft 10 in. mark, with rifle, muzzleloader and archery. Have to thank all the guides George (Fluffy), Bob and Dean for their tremendous efforts as usual! Congrats to all our guests, lots coming back and we look forward to hunting with you again!!
Already can't wait until this fall bear season!!!!
SL
