Donated hunt winds up with giant black bear

Last winter, at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation banquet in Kalispell, local hunter and Elk Foundation supporter Archie Lorentzen won a spring bear hunt in Saskatchewan.

As a result, Lorentzen not only contributed money to preserving elk habitat, but he also ended up bagging one of the biggest black bears ever harvested in Saskatchewan. A full-size mount of that mega-bear will be on display at this Saturday's Elk Foundation banquet.

After winning this spring bear hunt, Lorentzen contacted outfitter Gerry Angell at Angell's hunting and fishing resort on Amisk Lake. Amisk Lake is a huge, sprawling lake in northeastern Saskatchewan near the Manitoba town of Flin Flon.

I've had the pleasure of fishing at Angell's Resort for the last couple of years. It's a great place to catch big northern pike and lots of tasty walleyes. During the spring, Angell provides guided bear hunts. In the fall he guides moose hunters.

Lorentzen arranged to hunt during early June. Angell hunts bears by using bait stations to lure black bears into shooting range of hunters. You can hunt with either a rifle or bow.

Hunting over bait is controversial with some people. The great aspect of hunting over bait is that hunters have a long time to evaluate bears before choosing to shoot or not shoot.

This is especially good to prevent the accidental shooting of female bears with cubs. The dense forests of northern Saskatchewan have a very good population of black bears. But due to the thick underbrush, it is virtually impossible to hunt bears without using bait.

During the 40 years Angell has been guiding hunters, he has developed a concoction of old cooking grease, meat and honey as his secret bear lure.

Lorentzen and Angell took a long boat ride to a remote corner of Amisk Lake, where Angell had set up a hunting platform and bait station. Hunting pressure here is very low, so bears have a good chance to grow to full maturity. Evening hours seem to produce the best hunting.

After arriving at the hunting site, Angell freshened the bait while Lorentzen climbed into the stand to wait. Angell headed back to camp, telling Lorentzen he'd be back at dark.

Sometimes you can sit in one of these tree stands for days while waiting for a bear to come to the bait. For the first two hours, the only wildlife Lorentzen saw were pesky mosquitoes. But then his luck changed as a big bear came in.

Lorentzen patiently waited for a clean shot at this dandy bear. As Lorentzen waited for a good shot, he saw movement to his left. Wow, another bear! This one dwarfed the first bear.

Instantly, Lorentzen knew this was a bear of a lifetime. The smaller bear backed off as the big bear cautiously approached the bait. When the big bear turned broadside, Lorentzen put a .338 Winchester bullet through its heart.

Although the bear was dead on its feet, it turned 180 degrees and raced out of sight in a split second. Lorentzen found the bear dead about 40 yards away in the brush. When Angell arrived later in the day, three men could not roll the heavy bear over for field dressing. They estimated its weight at more than 500 pounds. It was one of the biggest bears Angell has taken in 40 years of guiding.

If you want your own trophy Saskatchewan bear, Angell is donating another bear hunt in Saskatchewan for spring 2006. Call Jennifer Rankosky, 755-9111, for banquet tickets. See you Saturday for a fun evening with other hunters while raising money for wildlife habitat.