We pulled into Louie's Outpost and Timber Wolf Air about 9:00, to find Louie with some new fly in hunters, some just leaving, and all drinking coffee and telling lies.  This was the beginning of the third week of bear hunting in Ontario, and Louie's hunters were 7 for 10 so far.

    After stowing our gear, and getting the paperwork out of the way, with Louie's wife, Nancy, we headed out to the baits.  We had to trailer our quads about 20 miles to get to the area that he wanted us to hunt today.

    We rode about 2 1/2 miles to the first setup, where Bob dropped off.  "I was set up in a creek bottom with a little clearing.  The bait barrel was at about 20 yard and there was fresh bear scat all around the bait.  I was facing east looking across the tag alders at the creek and up a very steep ridge, that I would guess climbed 700-800 feet."

     David, was next to set up. "My stand was in a huge crooked pine.  The bait was 15 yards east from my stand and about 30 degrees to my right.  The stand was facing northeast, and the wind was coming from the southwest."

    Finally Jim was set up, nearly an hour beyond Bob's stand.  "I was in a pine time as crooked as an old cows hind leg.  My bait was about 12 yards and straight out from my stand."

    We were set up by 3:00 and awaiting our first bear sighting.  It came at David's stand.

  "The bear wasn't worried about me at all, he knew he was going to be famous so he hung around for about 15 min.  He walked in from my right and presented me with a perfect quartering away shot.  He walked to the barrel and shoved it around with his paw.  He then went for the meat sack tied in a nearby tree.  He stood up to reach for the meat bag, offering me a great camera shot.  He then walked passed the barrel and right for my tree, where he stopped, and I was sure he could hear my heart racing from watching this majestic bear not five yards from my stand.  He went back to bait, checking it out one more time then wandered off to my left and out of sight.

    "As I watched him walk away I wondered if I had made the right choice not taking this bear.  He was definitely an above average bear.  If it wasn't for the first day of the hunt I would have stuck this bear.  Louie had  told us that a 500lb black bear had been sighted in that area so I decided to pass on this gorgeous bear in hopes of  to seeing a bigger one.  I knew that it would be tough for me to be patient, but I want the Big Bear so I will sacrifice now and hold on but closer and closer to the end of the week it won't be so easy."  

    "After we got back to camp and showed Louie the video of the bear, Louie said, 'You should have shot that bear, he is probably 300-350 lb bear.'  Thinking back, I could've been fishing now with a beautiful bear in the bag.  But no regrets, That's Why I Came Up To Louie's Outpost Camp, to hunt black bear."

    Bob and Jim, although expectant, didn't see any bears on Saturday.