My good friend and Bergen Bowmen club member Joel Riotto is a bear hunter extraordinaire, with many northern hunts (and Many bears!) under his belt. This year's bear hunt took Joel back to Alberta, Canada, along the Athabasca River. This was a wilderness fly-in hunt with outfitter Jason Lambley, located in Fisher Branch, Manitoba, Canada.
Joel used a Dale Dye custom recurve, 600 grain arrows tipped with Wensel Woodsman heads.
Joel is recuperating & rehabing from shoulder surgery, but maybe I can entice him to join in on this thread and tell the tale of his Alberta bear.
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Congrats to Joel!!!!!
Bisch
Very cool!. Alberta is a fantastic place to bear hunt. Congrats to him
Mighty fine success...Congrats!!!
Congratulations!!!
Congratulations on a fine bear.
COOL!!
Lookin' forward to more..... :wavey:
Joel....feed the fire...you were there ... tell the tale!
:archer2:
That's a dandy of a bear! What are the specs of his Dale Dye?
Congratulations Joel, that is a very nice bear. Hope to see you in Springfield.
Jack
Congratulations Joel!
Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
Congratulations Joel! Nice Bear!!
Very nice!
Great job, Joel.
Of course he was using a Dale Dye, lol
Wow, that's a heck of an animal! Would love to hear about the hunt.
Way to go sir1 Awesome animal! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Attaboy Joel!
Tim B
Way to go!
Congrats to Joel for a fine Bear.
Also the bow of choice is a fine one!
Isn't that dandy!!!!...Nice bear!
Wow! That's a nice bear. Hope he has a quick recovery.
Very nice!
Congrats Sir on a fine bear!
Nice bear and nice photo. Congrats Joel. :clapper:
I am happy to share some details of this trip. We fly into Fort McMurray, Alberta, overnight at a hotel, and fly into the river camp the next day. this is my 4th trip into the area, my third at this particular camp. It is hunted for only two weeks, one guide and two hunters per week, then closed down until next year. Since it is true wilderness it is not unusual to see moose, deer and once an a while, a wolf. In the spring when the river thaws the ice breaks up and floats down stream. This year there was spots on the river bank where we had up to 9 feet of river ice piled up! Easy to get ice for the coolers. Hunting over bait allows selectivity and encourages holding out for mature boars only. Although I had two tags, and booked both weeks, I only harvested one bear out of the 22 I saw. I am very fussy about shot placement. I have been shooting Dale Dye recurves since 1986 and am (obviously) very happy with them. The wensel woodsman 3 bladed broadhead needs no introduction to members of trad gang. Anyone interested in more information can contact me directly at riottojn@optonline.net.
Great bear. Thanks for the recap. Sounds like a great place to hunt
What poundage are you shooting to use a 600 grain arrow? I'm at 12 grains per pound and thinking that I'm pushing it.
50 to 52 pounds, Dale dye recurve, fast flight string.
That's a big ole pumpkin head. Congratulations on a great bear and doing it your way. 👍👍
Fantastic bear Joel!!!!
Good looking bear from a remote area. Congrats!
Congratulations, Joel! That's a dandy! Hope to see you in Springfield and hear the story.