Balmertown Black Bears
By Rob and Steve Tobin
Editor’s Note: This column is Part ii of the Tobin family’s Canadian bear hunting and fishing trip to Red Lake Ontario.
Although I could write on and on about the fishing in Red Lake and how amazing it is, there is something even more special that Howey Bay Resort has to offer: big freakin’ black bears!
Bear season begins in the middle of August, but bear season for Dave McLeod starts in early July as he prepares his bait sights in the bush of Balmertown. I had the chance to bait a string of Dave’s sites when we were there, and it is grueling work. Not only does Dave personally bait all of his sites, he follows the bears’ every move with game cameras set up at each site.
The evening before our hunt we sat down with Dave and Margaret to come up with a game plan. We went over all of the sites that were being hit more regularly and put our dibs on which sites we wanted. That night I did not sleep well.
Finally, the day had come and we were as ready as we were going to be. We made our way into Balmertown and turned down a gravel road, which led us to a small path into the bush. “The ATVs are going to take us the rest of the way,” Dave said. Having sites spread out throughout 20 - 30 miles of a narrow, winding, and bumpy kind-of-a road means a long ride and a sore behind.
About a half hour into the ride we made it to our first sight. As we began to unload the ATVs and get my dad ready to get into the stand, Dave quickly came back and said, “Big bear at the site!” The bear was not fazed by the sound of the machines because he figured it was Dave bringing him his dinner. Turned out Dave was, but the other guy with him had a 30-06. Dad quietly uncased his gun and loaded it as he crept his way into the bush to get a clean shot. As we stood on the trail I watched my dad raise his gun … boom! The bear stood up as it saw motion in the brush giving my dad a clean and fatal shot. One bear down. Crazy.
We left the site to let the bear lay for a while. The next sight was mine. Although I didn’t have one licking my tree stand as I showed up, I was positive about the location. I got settled in the stand about 15 yards from the bait bucket and fired up the thermo cell. Not knowing what to expect, I sat as quiet as I could trying not to swat at too many flies. About an hour into the hunt, I heard some crunching out in front of me. Just as Dave said he would, a beautiful heavy black bear came on a beeline for the bucket. I was able to get to full draw before he got to his happy meal, which left me with only one thing left to do. Thwack! Bear number two down.
Literally 25 minutes later I heard the sound of an ATV heading my way. I figured it wasn’t Dave because he was still helping my grandpa get set up at his spot. My brother, Rob, came rolling down the trail on the Big Red, fist pumping. All I could do was laugh. He came over by my stand and said, “I shot a giant cinnamon bear!”
We got on the satellite phone to let camp know we had more bears down. We waited awhile for everyone to make their way back to us before we went on the search for a blood trail. As the sun was beginning its descent, we arrived at Rob’s stand. We knew we had limited time and needed everyone’s help including, Dave and Margaret’s son, Peter. Unfortunately, we were not able to recover Rob’s bear. Although it was a good shot, this bruin did not leave us with a blood trail or any sign to help us. We searched the next day for hours and just had to chalk it up as a loss. Any hunter knows how it feels to kill an animal and not be able to recover it. Rob felt the same way and decided that that will be his bear. Even though he was not able to bring any meat home, the memory and opportunity was just enough.
There was only one man left with a tag in his pocket and it was Gramps. He had what most hunts require you to have: patience. Although bears were not flocking to his stand, he remained positive for three days. With that patience came an eager bear looking for a snack. Since it wasn’t the biggest bear of the bunch, we later learned why it came running into the site. With so much competition between the bears, the smaller bears have to get in and get out before the bigger bruins come after them for taking their meal. Not knowing that a larger bear could be following behind, the shot presented itself and Gramps scored a beautiful black bear with a white diamond on its chest. With many pictures, high fives, and a few days left to fish, we were on cloud nine. I am confident that the next time I find myself chasing after a Balmertown black bear, I will be guided by Howey Bay Resort.
In finish, the greatest part about hunting and fishing is that some days you have to work your butt off to try to make something happen, and other days you think you are Fred Bear. That’s what brings me back every time, because you just never know what could happen on that day. Go on a Canadian adventure!