Ralph's Island Bear - British Columbia
Crabs fresh from the sea.
The SHIP....uh, I mean BOAT!
Ralph's Island Bear.
Spectacular scenery.
Hunter: Ralph Cianciarulo
Cameraperson: Vicki Cianciarulo
I never thought I would be staying on a boat in the middle of Vancouver Island glassing the shorelines watching giant black bears cruise the shorelines, eating crustaceans, and grass along the low tide shore, let alone a 72 ft. tug boat all remodeled and designed with great living quarters, setting crab and prawn traps, and then eating fresh crab, prawns, and halibut that Captain Matt caught along with his 1st mate and his wife Shelley cooked.
Yes, we were in Bear ‘n Down heaven docked in an inlet on the Nitinat Chief, with outfitter Glenn Venus of Trophy West and his guide Dave. Vicki, POSSE Tony Perillo, and I were back hunting with Trophy West in BC and this trip was already an incredible adventure.
There is something very special about this hunt and we all felt it was the ultimate bear hunt. From the great people to the numerous opportunities, spectacular scenery, and the ambience of being on the ocean cruising shorelines, searching for the right bear to put a stalk on, it just takes bear ‘n down to a whole new level.
We were getting ready to move the big boat. We called it a ship, but Glenn and everyone else told us it is a BOAT! When you are from the Midwest and a boat has more bedrooms than your house...we call it a SHIP....LOL! It was a perfect day, calm and the wind was blowing out of the bay. The night before we had a good storm move through, but in this SHIP we really didn’t feel it. That is a very good thing, for both Tony and I would have been ralphing it over the side, but the Nitinat Chief is as stable as you could ever want or need in these big waters.
As we were filming some openers up on the deck, we noticed a bear walking the opposite shore in the low tide eating along, heading up the bay. Glenn, Dave, and I quickly grabbed our Nikons and started estimating the size. It only took about 15 seconds, and we all smiled and said SHOOTER! It took all of a minute or so and Vicki, the guys, and I were loaded in the little dingy..Yes, I said dingy and we were off to the shoreline. With the way the current and the wind was, we circled out and Captain Matt brought a little inflatable boat near the shore, shut off the motor, and pulled it up. It was all up to the Big Guy upstairs to make our little rubber raft drift in the right direction.
I was in the front and Vicki was right next to me, then Glenn and Captain Matt at the helm! I think I got this sailing lingo down...or maybe I don’t! We drifted slowly down the shore as the bear continued to feed up, the wind was great. I ranged some rocks at 25 yards and the bear continued. As he got to within 35 yards he slowly just headed up the rocks like he was going back into the timber. I knew he wasn’t sure what we were, but I drew my Hoyt Alphamax and settled my 30 yard pin on his chest and released. We all know that millisecond of time as the arrow is off and it feels like forever, but watching my Beman tipped with a new NAP Braxe broadhead bury into the shoulder and just the fletching sticking out, our heart pounds even more and our adrenaline rush increases knowing WE DID IT!
The bear only went 40 yards or so and down. We all smiled and knew our crazy plan came together and to be in this awesome place spotting and stalking. One of the most famous areas for big bears, realizing that we are so small in this giant land and to be able to do all this with good people....We knew we were blessed!
I can speak for everyone from here that this hunt is the ULTIMATE for any black bear hunt we have ever gone on! Yes it is more money, but when you put this whole adventure together and have your breath taken away by all the different things that you experience on this trip, it is hard to imagine any other bear hunt that can capture your sole and take it for a ride like you never thought possible. Vancouver Island BC, living on a SHIP! Catching and eating fresh crab & prawns (they look like shrimp to us Midwesterners), seeing some of the biggest black bears we have ever seen in the wild, spotting & stalking shorelines, seeing mountain goats, porpoise swimming in front of your boat jumping along side as you motor thru this spectacular scenery, watching blacktail deer feeding on the brush line, crossing fresh grizzly tracks in the low tide mud, having seals come up to the boat while you are glassing and having numerous hunting opportunities almost every day. Now you can see why we claim this to be the ULTIMATE black bear hunt on this planet...www.trophywest.com THANKS!