Texas Holdem - Alberta
The Texas Holdem stand!
Vicki waiting on a bear.
Ralph with his bear!
Hunter – Ralph Cianciarulo
Cameraman – Vicki Cianciarulo
5-18-08—Vicki & I arrived in Ft. McMurray, Alberta, we stayed at the Bed and Breakfast. Bob the owner picked us up at the airport.
5-19-08—Dave picked us up and took us into the main camp. A few bears were shot on Monday. A lot of the camp was filled by our viewers. We ate lunch, and Tim Donnelly, Todd, Vicki & I headed to the spike camp across the river. We hunted ““Bears Den”” and saw a big heavy black bear right at dark—no camera light, ended up waiting at the intersection for Todd & Mike until 1:30 am. Todd shot a 19” black bear. We made a fire to stay warm and got back to camp by 2:30 am.
5-20-08—Today is a little windy and heavy cloud cover. We are heading back to “Bears Den”. At about 8:00 am we spotted the big heavy bear coming in and got some good footage and realized it was that same big-ole dry sow from last year. Vicki & I enjoyed watching her and she came in a few times. At about 10:00 pm, we spotted a white wolf to our south—that was cool!! We got out of the stand and walked until Mike picked us up in the Argo. So far, Todd has filled out, but Tim has not gotten a shooter yet—Vicki & I, zero…
5-21-08—Last night and this morning, it rained. Temp is cooler this morning, heavy cloud cover, but the wind is down. We went back to “Bears Den” and low & behold, it was a big fat old sow from last year again. She has no cubs, and she is looking skinny on her front shoulders. Her back is really swayed. She is a bear that would be very good for someone to take out. She is no longer breeding and she will probably not make another winter. That was all that came in. We saw the white wolf again—that was so cool!
5-22-08—We had some problems with the Argo. Went and checked a lot of baits, things are slow—we didn’t sit tonight. Tim shot the big ole sow at “Bears Den”. He got a good bear.
5-23-08—We sat the Texas Holdem new stand. At 6:00 pm, had a real good bear come out, smell the back of the bait, and left—nothing else. We packed up the Argo and Vicki, Phil, & I took off for the other spike camp. It took us over 2 hours crossing a stream—lots of bogs & swamps. We checked a couple of baits and all were pounded. Got into camp after 2:00 am—great sleep coming on!
5-24-08—We got a late start. The Argo’s brakes are almost out of fluid and we don’t have extra. We checked out a couple of stands with very little activity. We sat on Line D and had a sow with 2 small cubs, and then a small boar came in. All-in-all, a good sit. We are starting to spot more fresh scat on the roads. Grass is getting greener, temp is rising!
5-25-08—Went left and checked some more baits and, NOT GOOD! We set up the ground blind by a bait that was hit, but after over 6 hours in the blind, nothing came in.
5-26-08—We quickly knew he was a shooter—we didn’t give him a whole lot of time and I took him—he ran about 80 yards and down! We waited and trailed him—very good blood trail—we were done by 7:00 pm. So Vicki & I packed up and headed down the road. At 10:00 pm, Phil noticed us and we loaded the bear up and headed back to camp. The ride back was cold. The temp is dropping fast! Got back to camp by 12:00 pm, sat up and had a snack, and went to bed.
5-27-08—Got up, ate oatmeal and skinned my bear. The other Argo is broke, so we are heading back to the other spike camp. We will hunt lucky 7 for the last night. Hopefully Vicki can score! When we got to lucky 7, there was a sow with 2 cubs and they came right in. A little later, a medium bear came in but not what Vicki or I were looking for. Then another sow & 2 cubs came in and they fed for over an hour, then the other sow came back with her cubs and the others took off. That was it—all-in-all, it was slow.