Watching a Jim Shockey show the other day and he said the north end of Vancouver Island has one of the best density of big black bears per sq mile. Ever been there?

I may be about to embark on an adventure to that part of the Island. My friend has a piece of land there with a 30 000 sq. ft. abandoned school on it. We are going to explore the possibilities of turning at least part of it into a hunting and fishing camp base. I have not been to that part of Vancouver Island since about 1970 but it is beautiful country. I have no problem believing there are big bears there. Those coastal black bears have a long growing season and bears always grow bigger when they can eat mainly fish. Stay tuned for future developments.

DDave

I thought the whole north half of the island is First Nations land? Special permissions were required to hunt there????

Camodave : That sounds like a fun project. Need any help ? I've been a carpenter, equipment operator, land surveyor, design engineer, and I've made a few bows too. Would be worth it just for the fishing around there.

My friends family owns the land I am talking about and they are certainly not First Nations folks. I know places like Quadra Island and maybe Haida Gwaii are First Nations land but there is land in between that is not. Osage I am sending you a pm.

DDave

I spent four months (Nov- Feb) working at a paper mill in that area (more on the east coast, central,-north) Norske-Elk Falls 10-12 years ago. Rained like crazy, with strong winds.

It was beautiful country, but Working 18 hour days didn't lend itself to have much time to sight see, fish or hunt.

I don,'t recall stories of black bears. I DO remember multiple stories about cougar sightings. I think there was one cougar attack on a jogger while I was there-and that prompted other stories of past cougar attacks. If they weren't talking about coming, they were talking about salmon.

Not refuting any black bear claims- just don't recall people telling hunting stories about them during my visit.

North Island Guide and Outfitters. Took me about 2 minutes on the net to find their website. And they have pics of big bears. And not Shockey but Shockey competitors. Of course I am more interested in the Roosevelt Elk which is the game my buddy mentioned in the area.

DDave

Heading there next week but not to hunt. Going to the North American long bow safari

On the island for non-res so you need to apply for you tag a year in advance. Just an FYI.

I've lived here for over 40 years. And yes there are lotsa blacks here. We even get the occasional griz making its way over but that's pretty rare. We do seem to have the highest density of cougars in north america but you rarely see them. Pretty stealthy.

Non residents need a guide in order to hunt here. You could also try these guys (Trophy West)

I bicycled across Vancouver Island with my girlfriend in summer 1976, west from Nanaimo. Never saw any bears, or signs to watch for them either.

Off topic. Saw a big Blackie at Monument lake two nights ago while I was out fishing on my pontoon boat. I called to a mom and her ten year old son fishing the shore, "There's a black bear about 100 yards north of you on the shore." "WHAT??!!" I ended up escorting them up to their lake house. The bear wandered off he could have cared less. lol

Coyote, isn't the island also where the purported white Spirit Bear lives too?

This post is actually somewhat on topic. Imagine that. lol

The first two seasons of the reality TV series 'ALONE', on the History channel, were filmed way up on the nw coast of Vancouver Island, on a large channel open to the Pacific. The series was actually filmed by the individual contestants, not by a film crew.

That part of BC is very rugged wild tidal country. The mountains are heavily forested, and filled with 'wild scary apex predatotrs like bears, mountain lions and wolves.' lol. There were bear segments in the series, of course from a balck bears are scary apex predators' pov. The producers did a good job building drama into the series by talking up 'scary ape predators' to the thoroughly citified contestants beforehand. lol

The current Alone is back on Vancouver. Except Alone means two person teams this time. Interesting, informative, and interesting show.

One participant filmed a wolf along the beach on her first day, this time.

If you're in search of a good diet plan, look into trying out to be a participant. You could lose a bunch of weight and win $500,00 if you last the longest. ;-)

LOL

Often herd land of the giants. Always wanted to go there myself. Hope it comes together for ya Dave sounds like things we all dream about.

Thanks Cat. And you know you are always welcome at my campfire if you can figure out a way to get there.

DDave

Good way to lose a third your body weight in three months for sure. Two man teams, Imma check that out.

Bob, I think the requirement for teams is the must be either married to each other or related. i.e. brothers, father-son, husband and wife. Makes it a little more interesting and difficult...... :-)

On an archer side note regarding the show, I saw a few participants that chose trad bows and arrows as one of their 10 item choices. Maybe we will see a few actually use them for successful food kills this time. :-) Get something on the plate more than fish, this time out.

7 teams - 14 participants started out this time. A brother of one of the teams tapped out within a couple of hours of landing on day one. Twisted his ankle. That forced the team out of the competition. The other brother said he'd twist more than his ankle when he got extracted. :-) LOL

twisted ankle? lol I watched 1 and 2, not 3. I think the producers scared the crap out of the contestants with the 'apex predator' talk before they were dropped off. Ankle injury aside lol the lack of toughness shown by some of the taps at two or three days is attributable to just how wimpy modern man really is. You know they would have had something to deal with hopping islands in the Pacific during WWII. But three days alone on Vancouver Island did em in. "I've had enough!!! I can't take it anymore!!" lol What a crack up.

Regarding Joey Wards side not about Alone, I had seen on History Channel website the equipment list the participants could choose from and a wooden bow was on the list. I like the show and recall only one guy in the past taking his bow. Unfortunately, he lost so much weight and strength, he could not string his bow. I always wondered why more did not choose a bow as part of their gear.

I saw that too, 76. But the fellow had chord and could've made a stringer. Or could've found the right two trees for leverage in aiding to string. But, so far, I've not seen anyone invest much time in searching for more than mice as far as obtaining red meat.

From watching the Patagonia shows, a bow would've been very useful for food. Have not seen as much opportunity along the beaches of Vancouver. But that really doesn't mean the opportunity doesn't exist.

Fun show to watch though. So far, Alan, the first winner, is my favorite. A good sense of humor, I think, is always a valuable trait. Even in survival situations. :-)

Camo? If You have a chance? Please post a photo of the abandoned building that You hope to turn into a camp? GOOD LUCK!

Wandered around on the North End for 2 weeks around 30 years ago. Here are some pictures. Never saw what I would consider a lot of huge Black bear, but there were a lot of them.

I live in Alberta which is quite a way from Vancouver Island. My buddy has already said we will make a trip there sometime this summer. I will certainly post pics. My initial inquiries tell me getting outfitter privileges in the area is not going to be easy. Maybe a minor hurdle, may stop us in our tracks on that option. Thanks for the good wishes. Nice to get an opportunity like this late in life. Kind of rejuvenating.

DDave

Some high country too. This the headwater of the Tsitika River.

Pretty big bear.

I would absolutely LOVE to go there just to SEE it.

One of the things on my bucket list is to see a cougar in the wild. I'd also toss in Black, Grizzly and Polar bears too!! :)

I have a degree in Zoology and done a research paper on cougars. Been in awe of them ever since. Of course I like all kinds of animals, but those that I named are my favorites.

I have also read that many people say that SASSY hangs out on Vancouver Island too. As if you wouldn't have enough to worry about with the cougars and bears, now you have to keep looking over your shoulder to see if a SASSY is following you and thinking about taking you back to it's lair to be a mate for one of the hard up females in the clan.

How big is this island? I've seen lots of TV shows about it, just can't recall how big it is.

If I ever do get to go and check it out, I'll certainly be packing a camera and have it at the ready. Any badgers there? Wouldn't mind seeing one of them too.

Larry

There are Wolverines there too....right?

Another very elusive critter.

Larry

The island is about three hundred miles long and sixty miles wide more or less. It's the biggest island on the west coast of the americas.

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