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[Sandhead]

I just picked up a can and carrying case for $26 at Valhalla Pure on West Broadway near MEC.
Trail Guard Brand by Treksta Canada contains 0.857% Capsaicin

Hopefully never have to use it and if i do use it hopefully i dont spray myself!

[troutbreath]

I took this shot last week on the lower Vedder canal near the bears resting spot right beside the river. Bear probably weighed a good 400 lbs. Spray away if you like, I prefer to make noise and be aware that the beasts are around. I did use some sray on a raging biting dog, and it took a few seconds, after I soaked his face to get the message. I wouldn't have wanted to see what a bear would do to me as the dog only let go of me after I soaked him. I hear the stuff is good on trout though.

[Fish Assassin]

Anybody fishing the upper section of the Vedder be extra vigilant. I heard that 3 bears were observed in the vicinity of the Limit Hole the past few days.

[blaydRnr]

anyone ever try using an airhorn. you can pick one up at crappy tire.  it'll make any blacky sh*t itself...at least not the hungry ones
the only problem is if any old timers are fishing near by, you might cause him to have a coronary.

[Pat AV]

Great time for a bear discussion! When the rivers fill up with fish they will come after the fish just as we will. We will probably all be bumping into a few of them over the next few months.

I have lived, played and worked in the wilderness for years (BC, Alaska, Washington and the Yukon). I have survived lots of bear encounters with only 1 close call. I would like to offer a few comments on bear aware issues.

1) Make noise: as others have said surprising bears is a bad thing. If you are with buddies a good heated conversation should do if you are alone sing a song or if you are like me and don't sing well just yell "hey bear". The amount of noise I make depends on how far I can see: if I am on a trail through a dense riparian area and can't see far I will make noise almost constantly. If i am on a gravel bar or in an open forest with decent view scapes I will make noise less often.

2) Look for signs: do a google image search for bear scat if you don't know what it looks like. Always look for scat and poke it with a stick to see how fresh it is. If you are in an area with a tonne of scat make more noise and be extra carefull. Other bear signs to look for are dug up ground ripped up logs, prints and scratches on the trunks of trees. I was on a trib of the Skeena last year coho fishing and saw grizzly scratches that were 12 feet up a tree and the ground was absolutely covered in fresh scat needless to say we were loud and had the spray ready!

3) Dawn, Dusk and Dark: bears will travel and forage heavily during these times also your visibility will be limited be extra carefull and make lots of noise at these times

4) Grizzly vs Black: Learn to tell the difference check out ID characteristics. Grizzlies will usually only attack out of aggression to prove their dominance if they feel threatened this type of attack is when you should play dead. Blackies will attack with predatory intent never play dead with a balcky make yourself look big and if that doesn't work fight for your life!

5) Carry spray: I carry a bottle on my wading belt if I am going to an area where I feel I will need it. When in Skeena country, Alaska or the Yukon I will often be strapped with a canister on each hip. I have never sprayed a bear and have only talked to one person who ever has and he said it worked well.

Alwaysfishin: I would be very interested to hear stories about the times you have had to spray bears especially the time it didn't work! It would be very cool if you could share those experiences IMO.

6) If you see a bear and it sees you: back away keep your eye on it but don't look it directly in the eye make noise so it can ID you as a human not a wounded deer or something

7) If you see a bear and it hasn't seen you move away from it quietly

Climb a tree? blackies can climb trees well so can small grizzlies I do not think I would climb a tree (it would be hard to judge a small from a large grizzly as you are trying to find a tree to climb). not sure why the cool guy smilie poped up instead of an 8

9) Find more info there are some great bear awareness videos out there maybe try looking at the ministry of environmet website to see if they can be ordered

10) Stay calm: this is the best thing you can do during any bear encounter although the ability to stay calm can only come through experience.

11) Danger situations: Surprising a bear (make noise), mothers with cubs (give them alot of space and extra caution), young bears (curious and inexperienced as previously posted by alwaysfishin), protecting a kill (if you see a dead animal on the ground get away from it there could be a rightfull owner near by ready to protect dinner)

Hope that helps, good luck this fall and hopefully we all see some bears but from a safe distance.

[Fish Assassin]

A lot of good advice Pat.

[Geff_t]

I remember about 6 or 7 years ago when searun was fishing the upper veddar and he saw a bear across river. About 30 min later it had crossed the river up stream and came aroung the corner where he was fishing. I guess the bear could smell all the roe. He just back away along with the other fishermen and the bear turned around and left. Then about 4 years ago he and I where fishing the same spot and we could here a bear following us in the bush. We proceded to make noise and we thought the bear was gone. We where sitting along the bank waiting to fish and we could here the bear on the other side of the bank. The bear was close enough that we could smell a musty smell in the air. We once again proceded to make alot more noise and the bear left.

Just thought that I would share a few stories. Have more stories about bears and my encounters but not from fishing just from my mountain biking days as well from the cabin. Only had one close call and no amount of bear spray would of helped. A bear tried to get into my cabin in the middle of the night threw the front door. Sadly the only solution was to shot it as to protect the family. The sad thing was we could not find the bear the next day when we tracked it for miles. Hopfully it did not suffer to long. I have never had to shot an animal before and have never shot one since. No longer even own a gun.

[blaydRnr]

last year my brother and i were fishing just below the gun barrel.  from the corner of my eyes i saw an object (no more than 50 yds)pass my right shoulder and into the water. turned out to be a full grown blacky, wanting to cross the river. talk about stealth. that buggar must have weighed around 300 lbs., came out of the thick forage and not one twig or branch cracked.