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Alaskan Black Bear Hunt
On June 4th, a.k.a "The Crush Crew" headed to Alaska to hunt the big
beauts of Black Bears that Alaska can be known for. We were all super
stoked to be back in the woods hunting after a short break from turkey
season and the long hard days of planting the row crop food plots! With
Producer Nathan DeLong, Field-Producer "Big George" Novosel, and Lee
and Tiffany all having tags...we were all ready to speak the words of
BBD! This wasn't just any ordinary trip by guide, but with newly found
friends Payton Merideth and Bob Montgomery who have some smokin' spots
for the big ones. After flying into Fairbanks and a short drive to the
camp in a little town known as "You'll never know" and at the end of
the road in an area called "You wish" we found a cabin where we'd spend
the next 7 days.
Our Crew soon found that this hunt wasn't going to be a "picnic" for two reasons. 1. The light lasted 24/7, and when you give he-man Lakosky the chance to hunt legally night and day he'll utilize it. 2. The mosquitoes weren't just any ordinary mosquitoes...they had to be some type of hybrid, super steroidal type mosquitoes and those modern day vampires weren't going to let up until they got a dose of our red-neck DNA. (Thank you ThermaCELL for inventing a product in which we will never travel into the woods without!)
After three days of hunting hard in the blind at 12-14 hours a sit...we were seeing a ton of bears, just not the goliath we were all after. Lee had actually walked in on a giant bear with a sow already on the bait before he got there a couple of times in a row (which convinced him to sit in the blinds even longer). With Cuddeback pictures of several giant bears on each bait we knew they were in the area, but wondering why they weren't showing up at the baits. We all soon realized those bigger boars were in what we in the Whitetail world would call "The Lockdown" phase, at least that's what it seemed like. Any time a big boar was spotted...it was either tending a sow or cruising through the baits looking for a sow so fast you'd blink and he'd be gone.
Finally, on what we believe was the fourth day of the hunt (the 24 hour days messed with us a bit) the Crush team screamed BBD when a beautiful cinnamon sow snuck into the bait followed by a shooter boar and Producer Nathan DeLong took first blood on his very first Black Bear with a smokin' shot right behind the shoulder. The excitement didn't end there, exactly 25 hours later Field-Producer "Big George" Novosel was in the hot seat when a bear equal to his name stepped in, and ol' George stacked number two. No words could express more excitement and surprise than the look on Big G's face when he grabbed onto the giant paw of a ginormous bear!
The Crush train was now rolling full steam ahead, Lee was still sitting the days in the same spot, waiting for the brute he'd walked in on a few times before to show up. Tiffany on the other hand chose a special spot only known as "Tiffany's Bait" (named after Bob's daughter, not a Tiffany Lakosky stalker). It turns out the ol' Tiffany bait now has a duel meaning, because that "good feeling" about the night turned into a GREAT feeling when Tiffany smoked her bear at 1:00 a.m! We were all surprised to see that not only did "Big" George's bear match him in size, but Tiffany's bear matched her in blonde highlights!
With three tags filled and the departure day present, it left lucky Lee not so lucky. The giant bear won the battle but Lee swears that big ol' boar has not won the war. Lee could have taken a lot of different bears, but like a lot of our other hunts, it wouldn't be right to not have a giant of a nemesis to chase the next year.
The Crush Crew saying peace out!
P.S. Make sure you go to the Huntin' Club and check out the Trophy Room for the pics!
Our Crew soon found that this hunt wasn't going to be a "picnic" for two reasons. 1. The light lasted 24/7, and when you give he-man Lakosky the chance to hunt legally night and day he'll utilize it. 2. The mosquitoes weren't just any ordinary mosquitoes...they had to be some type of hybrid, super steroidal type mosquitoes and those modern day vampires weren't going to let up until they got a dose of our red-neck DNA. (Thank you ThermaCELL for inventing a product in which we will never travel into the woods without!)
After three days of hunting hard in the blind at 12-14 hours a sit...we were seeing a ton of bears, just not the goliath we were all after. Lee had actually walked in on a giant bear with a sow already on the bait before he got there a couple of times in a row (which convinced him to sit in the blinds even longer). With Cuddeback pictures of several giant bears on each bait we knew they were in the area, but wondering why they weren't showing up at the baits. We all soon realized those bigger boars were in what we in the Whitetail world would call "The Lockdown" phase, at least that's what it seemed like. Any time a big boar was spotted...it was either tending a sow or cruising through the baits looking for a sow so fast you'd blink and he'd be gone.
Finally, on what we believe was the fourth day of the hunt (the 24 hour days messed with us a bit) the Crush team screamed BBD when a beautiful cinnamon sow snuck into the bait followed by a shooter boar and Producer Nathan DeLong took first blood on his very first Black Bear with a smokin' shot right behind the shoulder. The excitement didn't end there, exactly 25 hours later Field-Producer "Big George" Novosel was in the hot seat when a bear equal to his name stepped in, and ol' George stacked number two. No words could express more excitement and surprise than the look on Big G's face when he grabbed onto the giant paw of a ginormous bear!
The Crush train was now rolling full steam ahead, Lee was still sitting the days in the same spot, waiting for the brute he'd walked in on a few times before to show up. Tiffany on the other hand chose a special spot only known as "Tiffany's Bait" (named after Bob's daughter, not a Tiffany Lakosky stalker). It turns out the ol' Tiffany bait now has a duel meaning, because that "good feeling" about the night turned into a GREAT feeling when Tiffany smoked her bear at 1:00 a.m! We were all surprised to see that not only did "Big" George's bear match him in size, but Tiffany's bear matched her in blonde highlights!
With three tags filled and the departure day present, it left lucky Lee not so lucky. The giant bear won the battle but Lee swears that big ol' boar has not won the war. Lee could have taken a lot of different bears, but like a lot of our other hunts, it wouldn't be right to not have a giant of a nemesis to chase the next year.
The Crush Crew saying peace out!
P.S. Make sure you go to the Huntin' Club and check out the Trophy Room for the pics!
