Can you find the bull in this photo? (click here for answer)
Up early and out on the boat quickly, that was our plan and we executed it with precision on this last day. However as we slowed the forward motion and began to glass, the numbers of caribou seen last night were not there. That was disappointing.
We pulled to shore and started hunting anyway. Kevin and I went high on the ridges toward the back end of the peninsula. Brian Nett and Brian Hallstead stayed on a major crossing.
We spotted a few caribou, but they were mainly bedding and feeding. They were just not moving anywhere today.
We did get some excitement around 10 AM. We watched a group of caribou swim toward Brian Nett and he put the stalk on them. They were too far and Brian was unable to get a shot within range. Kevin and I saw the bulls heading up the peninsula toward us so we ran to a ridge where there was a decent funnel and waited for them to show. They never did and we had to assume that they moved below us and out of sight.
Several hours later, another group of caribou swam the river and were on our peninsula. However these bulls were heading in our direction. Kevin and I took off running. I guessed that hey would be moving east along the peninsula and wanted to head them off. But we over shot them by 100 yards and they moved up the ridge behind us and immediately winded us.
Kevin worked the backside of a small pond, out of sight and crosswind. I stayed in the open to draw their attention while Kevin got into position. I walked in the opposite direction as the caribou watched me. But the big bull kept looking in Kevin’s direction. It did not look good. The caribou popped over the backside of the ridge and I ran far left to bump them toward him. I ran as fast as I could to try and beat them but as I topped the ridge, the big bull stepped out in front of me at 30 yards. If Kevin had only been with me!
They saw me and trotted out 80 yards. But rather than film them I started running after them to push them toward Brian Nett who was a ½ mile away. It Worked! They ran directly at Brian and slowed to a trot just before they got to his crossing. I was out of breath and my heart was pounding but I stayed glued to the scene. At any moment I expected the bull to go crashing away with blood behind his shoulder, but instead I saw them swimming back across without incident. I later learned that they crossed about 60 yards from Brian. That was close.
The boat picked us up at five. It was a great hunt. Phil, Arden and Fred were in another boat not far from ours and we saw them parked on the shore of an island. When we got there, we saw Fred standing next to his first bull. Fred was the only other person who had not tagged anything so we were pretty excited to see him with his bull. They had spotted him on the island and Fred stalked him in his bed.
The group was pretty jubilant despite the last couple of slow days. This trip was awesome and everyone knew it. We hit it good. Ten out of eleven Bowhunters tagged a bull and five of us filled both tags. We have seven definite PY bulls and two potential B&C bulls in the bunch. Not a single animal was shot with a rifle. The best part was that we all had a ball. There were no disagreements, no personality problems, and everyone was respectful to each other. We couldn’t have asked for a better Bowsite group hunt.
Caribou Taken Today |
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Great People make Great Hunts ! |
With a group this size you'd think the odds of having at least one jerk in camp would be pretty high. I can honestly say that with the exception of me :-) everyone was just terrific. There was not a single complaint about the camp, food**, guides, nothing. Everyone got a long great. We laughed every night, helped each other out, and left as friends. This was the first hunt in a long time where I've actually considered contacting them after the hunt and suggesting a reunion hunt. This was the most fun I've had on a hunt in a long time and it was due entirely to the gentlemen I shared a camp with. I'd also be remiss by not mentioning the camp staff who were terrific. Ronnie, Rodney, Jean-Marie, Jessie, and Amy our cook all pinched in to make this a hunt to remember for all of us. Greg "Boney" Bonecutter should be commended for putting together such a quality operation with Tuttulik.
Phil Potvin and Kevin Kaczmarek laughing it up
Fred Sprague Modeling his new Bowsite.com Realtree Hat
Ronnie Moss Cuts while Phil Supervises
Jean-Marie was tops again this year.
Amy was a lot of fun and a good cook too!
Our Last Supper. From Left, Arden, Ed, Steve, Brian, Brian, Phil, Kevin, Fred, Bruce and Larry.
**One complaint was lodged against one breakfast, and that was by me. I can't stand Oatmeal!!! Other than that, the food was terrific!
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Final Results of our Hunt
(scores represent a rough camp measurement)
Hunter |
Caribou 1 (DAY) |
Gross Score |
Caribou 2 (DAY) |
Gross Score |
Steve Kremp |
1 |
325 |
3 |
307 |
Brian Hallstead |
2 |
310 |
2 |
360* |
Brian Nett |
NA |
- |
NA |
- |
Phil Potvin |
3 |
358* |
3 |
280 |
Kevin Kaczmarek |
2 |
373* |
NA |
- |
Bruce Schoeneweis |
3 |
323 |
NA |
- |
Larry Rezac |
2 |
300 |
2 |
347* |
Fred Sprague |
6 |
200 |
NA |
- |
Arden Rensberry |
2 |
393** |
NA |
- |
Ed Taul |
4 |
347* |
NA |
- |
Pat Lefemine |
3 |
322 |
3 |
Not Posted** |
*Unofficial PY Bull, **Unofficial PY&BC Bull |
