Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: DanJohn on September 04, 2012, 06:57:28 PM
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Just wanted to let folks know. I am not sure if this is common or not (I would assume somewhat) but remember your spray and to be bear aware! Was about a block or so east of Edwards and Chilliwack Lake Road.
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Good reminder. I'm surprised I haven't seen more of them over the years.
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There are a fair number of bearsin the upper river and some good size ones .
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Mama bear and a couple of cubs have been hanging around Kilby for a week or so.
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Big deal! It's a bear. :o Learn to deal with them. It's not like they want to eat you. I live in Squamish and we have bears all the time and they don't bother anyone. Bear proof you garbage and pick your fruit and they will just move on until they find other food. If there near a salmon stream then most just move there. I would be more worried about some of the dick heads you run into on the river than about any bear.
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Saw my first bear on the Vedder 2 weeks ago for the first time. I thought they didnt exist.
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Big deal! It's a bear. :o Learn to deal with them. It's not like they want to eat you. I live in Squamish and we have bears all the time and they don't bother anyone. Bear proof you garbage and pick your fruit and they will just move on until they find other food. If there near a salmon stream then most just move there. I would be more worried about some of the dick heads you run into on the river than about any bear.
It's not the bear that worries me. Its when I come up on one eating a heap of weekend camping left overs that someone figured they would just leave in the fire pit.
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lol i work at a gas station about 4 blocks from the vedder river crossing bridge. we have had several bears and cubs wander through our carwash over the years.
While trolling there was a fairly large bear on the sumas mountain side. just piggin out on a dead soc.
the bear i seen was on sept 3rd just enjoying the sun. didnt seem to mind my boat about 20 feet from him
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lol i work at a gas station about 4 blocks from the vedder river crossing bridge. we have had several bears and cubs wander through our carwash over the years.
While trolling there was a fairly large bear on the sumas mountain side. just piggin out on a dead soc.
the bear i seen was on sept 3rd just enjoying the sun. didnt seem to mind my boat about 20 feet from him
Nothing like a clean bear, did they use the Ultra wash? ::)
Sighting of bears on the Chilliwack Vedder River watershed is nothing new, some attracted by careless campers that leave their garbage behind. ::)
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Nothing like a clean bear, did they use the Ultra wash? ::)
LOL!!!!! ;D
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they followed all the nasty fish smell that some people wash out of their trucks.
a lot of FN trucks that have hauled fish around wash up and boy oh boy those scavenging bears love a slimy mess
And the cherry smell that's added to cars ::)
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Saw a couple of tracks last fall on popular fishing holes but not an actual sighting for me so far.
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Good to know, thanks for sharing.
I'll make sure to bring my bear spray next time, just in case...
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Came across a bear cub in the upper area of the river yesterday. Did not see the mother but I am sure it was nearby.
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Came across a bear cub in the upper area of the river yesterday. Did not see the mother but I am sure it was nearby.
Came across the same today on the upper . Healthy bear cub around 70 lbs . It wanted so badly to swim over as I was almost directly across 50 foot from the bear . After yelling and trying to make my little self look big it backed out of the water and off it went . Gotta love it :D
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Came across a bear cub in the upper area of the river yesterday. Did not see the mother but I am sure it was nearby.
Was fishing the mid-river with another forum member today and saw a black bear as well.
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After yelling and trying to make my little self look big it backed out of the water and off it went .
I wouldn't reccomend yelling at bears they may get pissed. I'd rather back away quietly avoiding eye contact.
The technique you are mentioning, of making youself look big and yel, works better with cougars.
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I wouldn't reccomend yelling at bears they may get pissed. I'd rather back away quietly avoiding eye contact.
The technique you are mentioning, of making youself look big and yel, works better with cougars.
Did it looked like his one that I filmed last week from about 50 feet away, from the comfort of the Leaf Mobile? ;D
More interested in eating than bothering me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFRigNvqjDY&feature=share&list=UU_4LtEFjHj-ulBHuoq6COmQ
Also please donot ask for rain as once it starts it never stops and the fish as I have said many times before just race through the system. If you follow what Rod has posted you can catch them in the conditions you have now. First light and at day's end the best if you are fishing in a manner to make fish bite. ??? ::)
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I wouldn't reccomend yelling at bears they may get pissed. I'd rather back away quietly avoiding eye contact.
The technique you are mentioning, of making youself look big and yel, works better with cougars.
I understand what you are saying ,but once I stopped yelling , the bear would start moving closer . I believe the bear was pissed and thought I was just a hindrance and left . ;D . Looked quite a bit closer than that one on the vid Chris . All and all , it was a beautiful stretch of water on the fly .
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its always a good idea to have a can of bear mace on you at all times, especially when fishing alone (which i do frequently)
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its always a good idea to have a can of bear mace on you at all times, especially when fishing alone (which i do frequently)
I had to read this three times, as the first time I read "beer mice", which didn't quite make sense (although the beer part did), and the second time I read "beer mace" which still didn't make sense, but shows just where my mind is. My mind had subconsciously connected this post to Chris's post about picking up cans.
But seriously now, can I legally bring bear mace across the border? I remember years ago my wife had to throw away the pepper spray on her keychain as we came up to BC for some concert or other. Anyone know? Is this a policy to make sure the bears only eat Americans like myself? ;)
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useful video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTKmKPlXJug
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I had to read this three times, as the first time I read "beer mice", which didn't quite make sense (although the beer part did), and the second time I read "beer mace" which still didn't make sense, but shows just where my mind is. My mind had subconsciously connected this post to Chris's post about picking up cans.
But seriously now, can I legally bring bear mace across the border? I remember years ago my wife had to throw away the pepper spray on her keychain as we came up to BC for some concert or other. Anyone know? Is this a policy to make sure the bears only eat Americans like myself? ;)
I'm not sure about the border but you can definitely buy it locally if you come over for a few days.
Hard to sell pepper spray on keychain while heading to a concert as protection from bears ;) remember that pepper spray for self defense is illegal in Canada.
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I'm sure a quick call to the CBSA would clear things up for you
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I wouldn't reccomend yelling at bears they may get pissed. I'd rather back away quietly avoiding eye contact.
The technique you are mentioning, of making youself look big and yel, works better with cougars.
You're joking right?
Definitely yell at bears and make yourself look big. Black bears such as interior BC blacks bears are predatory, and will stalk/eat you.
A startled bear is also never a good thing so you're suppose to make noise moving through the bush. Most people don't know, but the best noise to make is actually breaking as many sticks, etc as you can. A study watching black bear response actually found that the most effective way to get a black bear to check out it's surroundings/respond/inform that you are coming is the sound of branches breaking (they set up recorders with various noises (people talking, branches breaking, etc).
Best thing to do if you see one (especially up there) is keep your eye on it and try to move it away (make yourself not look like an easy meal) especially if it's moving towards you or standing in plain sight "ignoring you" and slowly moving closer. As said before, bear spray is a very good defence once the bear is close as well, but it's always good to carry a sturdy walking stick, etc in bear country because there are a fraction of bears that are not effected. If you do get attacked (very rare), fight back and don't let it knock you down (black bears only).
To be honest, no black bear on the Vedder though will come after you, there is enough fish and the like to go around...
But saying to not make noise is just silly.
You did hit the cougar point though, same thing. Cats are very smart and will weigh the benefits of an attack vs the risk. The bigger and more aggressive you look, the more the cat with think twice about going after you because of the greater chance of injury to the cat (and a hurt cat in the bush is a dead cat or severely inhibited cat in the way of catching prey).
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I think you're lucky if you notice a cougar that is going to attack you. Usually they stalk and wait for opportunity. You'll know you're being stalked after you've been attacked. Same goes for the ones in bars.
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I think you're lucky if you notice a cougar that is going to attack you. Usually they stalk and wait for opportunity. You'll know you're being stalked after you've been attacked. Same goes for the ones in bars.
:D that depends on which watering hole ur fishin ;D
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An old saying for bears:
If it's black fight back
If it's brown lay down
If it's white say good night
Have to agree with everyday on this one. Any kind of noise will do but animals in the wild don't stumble around snapping twigs and branches
(rutting ungulates a diff story) and that would be enough to alert a blackie. I wear a necklace with tweezers and a nail knot tool dangling and clanging away plus the twigs when Im feeling sketchy.
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If a bear attacks go for a swim
But bears can swim you say?...
Yes but does it want to?
If a cougar attacks go for the eyes. Like EVERY DAY said they are smart and prey usually tries to escape and rarely will fight back making the cougar reassess the risk/benefit situation.
What do I know... never got attacked
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The problem with bears like the ones around the vedder is they are so close to humans allot of the time they become habituated by the humans presence and are not afraid ,and these bears are the more dangerous because they don't scare as easy making close encounters more frequent.
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An old saying for bears:
If it's black fight back
If it's brown lay down
If it's white say good night
Have to agree with everyday on this one. Any kind of noise will do but animals in the wild don't stumble around snapping twigs and branches
(rutting ungulates a diff story) and that would be enough to alert a blackie. I wear a necklace with tweezers and a nail knot tool dangling and clanging away plus the twigs when Im feeling sketchy.
I actually just heard a story of a fella up north, when walking to the river, straight up whistles, and yells HEEEEEEEEEERE BEARS! Which, at first glance seems like WTF ARE YOU DOING MAN, but then you remember bears dont speak English, so announcing your presence like that is actually kind of funny. Also, Ive tried it, and you feel a lot less stupid than walking around making weird noises :P
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I always like to use the buddy system when fishing the heavily wooded areas. It may not stop an attack but at least it might decrease the chances a little.
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I always take a slow fat guy fishing with me, this way the bear eats him, not me.
Best bear defense going IMO. ;D
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Maybe befriend the bear so he can show u his secret spots and be your fishing buddy and protect u from cougars. He'll have up to date river conditions too.
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A couple years ago I was walking down to the Vedder and made a wrong turn on the trail and ended up in the heavy stuff. I could hear the river close by so I just beelined it straight through the bushes and came crashing out into the clear behind three guys that had stopped fishing to see what was coming out.
They stared at me for a few seconds then started laughing as they thought I might have been a bear, and they were getting ready to get the heck out of there.
Personally I’ve never seen a bear on the Vedder though I have seen a few on the Squamish.
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Does anybody know if or when the last time anyone was attacked on the Vedder by a bear?
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Prison run definitely has a resident bear. First time out i came across fresh droppings second time out i found the trail the bear had made to get to a berry bush.
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Try fishing the lower Nitinat when the salmon are in. Bears to the left, bears to the right. Four in sight at one time is not uncommon. Mostly the bears and people are wary of each other but don't panic. A bear closer than about 10 yards is cause to take action.
A buddy was working a fish into the shallows when a bear rushed past him from behind, grabbed the fish and took off up river. This was watched by several people who split a gut laughing at his surprise.
On a serious note, I have had some bears get just too pushy and had to use a bear banger but over there they have heard the bangers so often they don't go far. Woof and around a bush to return in about 20 seconds.
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Much respect for the bears. They are big, strong, fast, and know how to kill. Cute also.
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I always take a slow fat guy fishing with me, this way the bear eats him, not me.
Best bear defense going IMO. ;D
LMAO
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Last fall while fishing one of the rivers I had a bear walk right behind me like I was not even there. He was with in 10 feet and when he realized I was there he took off running, definatly a close encounter.
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I always take a slow fat guy fishing with me, this way the bear eats him, not me.
Best bear defense going IMO. ;D
LOL that cracked me up ;D
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Not to take away from this thread but there have been some bear maulings up in the North country. The latest reported incident was at the Morice River just outside of Houston, B.C..
http://www.250news.com/blog/view/25791/1/grizzly+attack+near+houston
In those areas you really, really have to be bear aware. Picked this reported attack off of Speypages, and in some of the replies fisherman who frequent these areas not only carry bear spray but are armed and ready.
Quite a difference in how you plan your fishing trips when going to the remote areas of this province.
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whats worse, an encounter with a bear or watching those hacks ripping through pools snagging fish???
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Fishing with the Nitinat bears:
(http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu192/123VAGAbond/IMGP0512_zpsdebbc040.jpg)
(http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu192/123VAGAbond/IMGP0508_zps8181cd68.jpg)
(http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu192/123VAGAbond/IMGP0476_zps76ba24fc.jpg)
(http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu192/123VAGAbond/IMGP0477_zps9d7fd9f8.jpg)
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That is retarded. Even if you don't feel threatened you're habituating them.
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whats worse, an encounter with a bear or watching those hacks ripping through pools snagging fish???
Definatly the hacks ripping through pools snagging fish.
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Fishing with the Nitinat bears:
That's some crazy ****!
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VAGAbond your pretty ballsy my friend
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Fishing with the Nitinat bears:
Seems like a very bad idea, in multiple ways
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Definitely can say that i wouldn't be there very long.
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Mother black bear and two cubs spotted at mid-river today. Be aware of your surroundings if you decide to head into the bush.
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Thanks for your helpful input ;)
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People that fish real rivers deal with bears daily rather than urban beek rivers like the vedder
....and it's those people who you hear about on ctv news getting mauled or killed.
complacency in place of fear is more dangerous than ignorance and cautiousness combined.
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....and it's those people who you hear about on ctv news getting mauled or killed.
complacency in place of fear is more dangerous than ignorance and cautiousness combined.
I find it hilarious that I made this thread, just to let others know to be aware out there, yet some jackasses need to act all high and mighty. Sure, the bears, especially around there probably dont want a damn thing to do with any of us. But, in the past year, I have fished about 5 or 6 local rivers within an hour or so of my house, and fished another 5 or so out in the middle of no where (closest gas station about 60 km away) and this was the first time I came across a bear. My second time on the vedder.
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Up by Canim where my cabin is you either fish with bears or cougers showing up or you stay locked up in the cabin. I just bring along the spray and shut the front door sized knife. Also make lots of noise and look for those little bear tracks that could be cubs.
Bear cub BBQ would send a strong message to dem bears. ;D
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Saw a fluffy bear today in the upper river. As I was sitting on a log eating my lunch, a bear popped out of the bushes 20 feet from where I was sitting. It didnt see me at first until I reached into my jacket for the camera. It stared at me for 3-4 seconds. Then I changed my mind and went for the bear mace first. With bear mace in hand, I then reached for the camera and it darted back into the bushes before I could take a pic. It was a thrilling experience as I was surrounded by dense overgrowth and streams and there was only 1 or 2 trails that leads me back to my car and the bear took the trail that I used.
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I think it's bad to have bears around because they are getting habituated like the fellow above said.
They may not want anything to do with you but at some point something smelling like food is going to draw them closer to someone else.
They should be made to fear humans as much as possible. That keeps them wild and out of trouble.
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I bet the bears think it's bad to have you around.
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At my place at Adams Lake bears were a real daily event this year with the weird weather.Winter to summer with nothing in between.7 in total roaming daily around the 20 or so cabins.On the dock and in the yards all the time.One large sow has totally wrecked my garden shed by lying on it eating Hawthorne berries.Have cut down all our fruit trees but it is a waste of time trying to convince my some neighbours as they think it is cute to have bears eating grapes off the trellis at their front door.Oh well I guess it just goes with the territory as some years we do not see any.They love those Sockeye though.
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We have a lot of bears on the Quinsam River over here in Campbelll River.We don't bother them and they don't bother us. There is one really,really big black bear that hangs around the the playground pool in the Quinsam Campground. He usually stays on the other side of the river though.One day he decided that he wanted to fish on my side.Being a discrete type person I let him have his space.Never heard of that bear causing any trouble.