Hunting Outfitter-Relais 22

Bear hunting at Relais 22 near LaTuque Quebec, smack in the middle of La Mauricie ATV riding territory, is a great place for ATVing and hunting this spring summer or fall. This rustic auberge is also well known for successful bear hunting, fishing, and over the past few years, it has become a hot spot for ATV fanatics. Right on the Quad trails, this is a favorite to many riders. In winter of course, the place is full of snowmobilers.

Quebec black bear hunting

Quebec Black Bear Hunting: The Relais 22 Milles black bear hunting lodge – outfitter in Quebec, take pride in providing a quality hunt during which you will be exposed to the beauty and vastness of the Quebec Canadian landscape. Hunting areas consist mainly in cedar swamps, pine ridges and old growth cut-overs. Much of your hunting will be done over baited stations. The average black bear will be in the 200 – 300 pound range, with the chance of a 450 pound trophy bear. At Relais 22 you can enjoy a professionally handled hunt that gives both the bow or rifle hunter the best possible chance of success, and no one ever has been skunked! You will hunt over an active pre-baited site with the treestand and shot set up accordingly, or you can establish your own stand if you prefer.  Relais 22 

Black bears in Quebec wake up as the warmer weather arrives

It looks like the bears in Ontario and Quebec think the groundhogs got it all wrong. Groundhogs forecast an early spring on Feb. 2 but most eastern bruins are still enjoying their long winter sleep. Since Wiarton Willy, Ontario’s fabled weather-predicting rodent, failed to see his shadow on Groundhog Day, snow has blanketed Eastern Canada. It only recently started to disappear. The lengthy winter is being cited as the reason bears have chosen to roll over and snooze for a couple more weeks, both in the wilderness and at a Montreal zoo. “They’re a little behind schedule,” said Jonathan Luce, curator of mammals and birds at the Montreal Ecomuseum. “It’s interesting. It’s not scary in any way, but it’s different.” Late thaw delays Mother Nature’s wake-up call
Luce said zoo bears, like their wild counterparts, take a wake-up call from the weather to end their annual hibernation. Normally, the bears get up around March 25, give or take a few days. A spokeswoman at the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources said Tuesday that most of the bears in that province also “will be getting up later.” “Our understanding is that the late snow melt over much of Ontario will delay the bears emerging from their dens,” said Jolanta Kowalski. Alberta bears already seem to be up and around. Some have been seen ambling around Banff National Park and there have been reports of tracks near Canmore, Alta.
Bears don’t go into a deep sleep like rodents, who are completely out during the winter. Bears occasionally get up in winter. “In the middle of winter, if you get two or three nice days in a row, you could have bears walking around,” Luce said. “They’re not active, looking for food, since their food sources are virtually impossible to find. A lot of their diet is based on berries and vegetation.” The bears pig out in the summer and live off their fat in the winter. They begin to slow down in the fall and nod off in December.A black bear can go for 100 days without drinking, eating, exercising or doing much else.
Light and warmer temperatures usually wake up the bears.“This year the beginning of spring was colder than usual so I think temperature has just pushed them back, despite the longer days,” Luce said. Long winter not affecting most hibernating animals.
Other creatures, such as raccoons, amphibians and reptiles, seem to be waking up on schedule. “They’re more food-motivated,” Luce said.
Bears in the wild that have roused themselves likely woke up because they are peckish. “If they weren’t quite as well prepared, if they’re a little bit more hungry, then they’re probably going to be getting up earlier so they can start looking for food,” Luce said.
For more info on hunting Black Bears in Quebec go to:
Black Bear hunting in Quebec

Bob Foulkrod, guide,black bear hunt Quebec

The other day I watched world-renowned hunter Bob Foulkrod harvest a trophy caribou near the Arctic Circle. Just a couple hours later I saw him bag a trophy mule deer out West somewhere. Of course, it was all because I was channel surfing and saw him on the cable outdoors channels.

Frankly, I seldom watch the outdoor shows for reasons I won’t go into now, but when I see someone I know, I will stop to watch then. The fact is I’ve known Bob Foulkrod for well over 30 years. We are privileged to have him as our special guest at the Pennsylvania Outdoor Times Hunting & Fishing Show this February at the Blair County Convention Center. He really is everything you see him advertised to be, and a nice guy besides.

I knew Foulkrod before he was well known. I was among the very first outdoor writers to give him press those many years ago. He was just opening and trying to promote his deer camp in Tioga County, and that was when I lived in Bradford County and wrote for the Towanda Daily Review. He called me and invited me to come and hunt with him at the camp, which I did. He had everything scouted out and had tree stands all over his land. He took me to one, and with bow and arrow in hand, I climbed up the branches of a huge pine tree to reach the stand that was fixed in the tree at least 30 feet up.

I was fine as long as I was hugging the trunk of the tree as I climbed, but when I got out onto that small platform in the open, I began to swing and sway. “I can’t stay in this stand, I’m going to lose my balance,’’ I told Foulkrod. So back down the tree we climbed, and I took up a ground stand.

It was this experience that showed me that I couldn’t hunt from the heights. I’m not afraid of heights as such, but I cannot maintain my balance if I get more than 5 feet off the ground. I cannot even cross a creek on a log or anything similar.

I hunted at Foulkrod’s deer camp several times and attended various events and seminars he would hold there. I got to know him well and was always impressed with his marksmanship with bow and arrow.

Twenty years ago, Bob Foulkrod was my guide on a caribou and black bear hunt in northern Quebec. What a thrill that was. I truly will never forget sitting with Foulkrod on a hillside looking across the river at the mountainside across. Caribou migrated from the other side of that far mountain and would swim the river to the land on our side of the mountain. Then, we hoped that as they climbed our side of the mountain they would come near enough for a shot.

Waiting for migrating caribou to show up is about the same as waiting in a tree stand for a buck to show up in archery season. You spend a lot more time waiting than you do shooting. It can be torturous.

“There he is. That’s the one you want,’’ Bob finally whispered urgently to me. Caribou were streaming up over the top of the opposite mountain, and what a sight it was. I tried to pick out the animal Bob had pinpointed, and finally I did. But we had to wait. Wait for that animal to descend that far mountain, to ford the river and ascend our side within range. We kept out eyes on the big bull caribou, which carried wide antlers with a coveted “double shovel.’’ I had buck fever aplenty by the time the magnificent creature came into view. How I ever held my .308 Winchester steady enough for a shot, I don’t know, but somehow I did. How do you celebrate in northern Quebec when you take one of their great animals?

Today, a full head mount of that caribou hangs beside my fireplace. A little shabbier for the years, but one of my finest memories. I bagged a black bear on that same trip. And not over a bait pile.

Two fellow outdoor writers, Tom and Betty Lou Fegely, were on that hunting trip, and we would travel up and down the river in a big freighter canoe. One afternoon as we were drifting the river, I spotted a black bear on the far riverbank. It would dart into the thick brush beside the bank and then reappear in a bit a little farther down.
We couldn’t shoot from the water of course, so I was going to have to go to land and stalk him. Then Foulkrod had an idea. He gunned the motor, and we sped down the river and dived into a little cove past the spot where we had last seen the bear. I jumped out of the boat and ran onto land trying to find some spot where I could see at least a little in that thick brush while Foulkrod gunned the boat back to the middle of the river. The Fegelys and Bob kept up a running conversation, which allowed the bear to keep track of them.
Meanwhile, I searched around for an ambush point and amazingly found one. A well-defined trail led out of that brush onto the rocks beside the river. About 30 yards back, a huge rock lay in the open, and I leaned over that rock, using it to prop and steady my rifle. After a while, the bear sauntered up that trail, and I was able to bag it.
Meanwhile, Tom Fegely filmed the hunt from the middle of the river so I have a video record of it. But the crowning touch was that while I lay across that rock waiting for a bear to show up, a rainbow stretched across the river from shore to shore. What a sight. What a hunt.
Bob Foulkrod and I will have plenty to catch up on when I see my old friend at the show on Feb. 15-17. He’s the real deal, folks. Don’t miss seeing him.
For more info on Black Bear Hunting in Quebec go to Black Bear Hunting Quebec

Black Bear Hunting in Quebec

Looking for the perfect Bear Hunting Adventure in Quebec Canada?
Black bear vacations are Us! Here is a place to take your friends and family to hunt. Here in the Mauricie Region of Quebec, there are plenty of bears in the forest for you to hunt, on managed outfitter lands. Friendly people, cheap prices, clean basic accommodations with great food, a fun bar, and charming hosts. A hospitality team that will get you everything you need for your hunting holiday – maps, guides, fishing secrets, & hunting packages!