Just got back from a 5 day fishing trip on Sag. Went down to the boat on Sat and my buddy said his tackle box was gone, I said you must have left it up in the tent but he swore up and down he didn't. A quick check left us baffled, no way it was a human theif as they would have grabbed mine as well plus the 2k in rods and reels. So we start searching the island and happen to find it about 100yds from the boat.



It was then clear we were not alone on our little island campsite in the middle of Sag. A few hours later I poped out of the tent for some water and came face to face with our friend, about 20 yards from the door. Oddly he couldn't have cared less, snapped a pic and gave him a hit from the emergency air horn from the boat (no pots and pans to bang as it was a no cook trip). Surprisingly he barely moved, just slowly walked off. Stayed 2 more nights without seeing him again, kind of a cool experience in a way, could have done without the tackle bag search and rescue.



Just goes to prove even a sterile island campsite can lead to an encounter with Yogi.

where was your food?

Memories William!

quote kanoes: "where was your food?"

Food was freeze dried stuff inside 5gal/gamma seal rigs, as far as we could tell he never found the stash, camp was as clean as a camp can get, he was eating some round red berries near the tent. Have stayed here before and found what appeared to be leftovers from less tidy campers, thinking this guy must bounce around on those islands a bit.

On my very first BWCA trip back in the 1960's we had a bear in our little island camp site on Sag. I wonder if you were at the same site.

quote OBX2Kayak: "On my very first BWCA trip back in the 1960's we had a bear in our little island camp site on Sag. I wonder if you were at the same site."

It was the site on the south shore of Horseshoe just north west of the narrows, 372

Bet that was interesting time to see this?
Thanks for sharing, makes for interesting reading.

SunCatcher

that is a rather large bruin!!!

Did your friend have any scented plastics in his box?

quote eOar: "Did your friend have any scented plastics in his box?"

I don't think so, might explain why he just relocated it and didn't bother tearing into it, just chomped it a few times and left it.

Maybe some residual fish scent...?

quote boonie: "Maybe some residual fish scent...?"

I really don't think so, brand new, I think it came down to it being the only thing on the ground that he found, I guess it was that or the axe and saw.

I don't think there was any real reason he was there other than they happen to coexist in the woods. The fact that he never came back tells me he found no reason to, I'm sure if he knew there was food he would have stuck around.

The bear has probably now associated food with packs from past encounters with campers and so he saw the pack/tackle bag of yours and took it thinking there might be food in it.

Some bears are just real curious...Food or no.. they like to play with stuff.

Do not think because you are on an island you are safe! Bears swim like a dog!

quote Miketheflyguy1: "Do not think because you are on an island you are safe! Bears swim like a dog! "

Well aware of this, we once stopped on a tiny island way out in the middle of west Seagull, bear scat everywhere.

Quite an experience! Thanks for sharing the story and pictures.

Last bear I saw was on Bibon lake in 1971.. Gut shot him with my Ruger Super Single Six twice as he ran away with bacon fresh off the griddle as I was clearing out my system from the night before. Big ol boar.. Dont go anywhere without the Six..

Ruh-Roh. Not kosher.

Good thing he did not bite into a few Rapala's, that would be very bad for Yogi.

I stayed at that site in '05. After we got all settled in, was exploring around the area and discovered a bear's paw print. Looked for others and found what might have been another print but we weren't sure. The footprints got the teens I was guiding all worked up and I'll admit that I too was concerned we might have to deal with a nuisance. It made an otherwise nice site just a little less enjoyable. Never did see any bears so all was well in that regard.

What I also remember from this site is that one of my charges ignored what he had been taught and pulled out a bar of soap he had smuggled along, dropping it in an impossible-to-get-at crack between two rocks at the water's edge. He certainly got an earful from me and as we watched suds from this soap bar wash out into the lake, I explained to him that whoever came to this site the rest of the summer would probably have to watch suds too and that this would probably damage the good bass fishing we had enjoyed from that very spot. He did feel bad about and I think learned his lesson. Hopefully, no more suds at that spot anymore!

quote mooseliver: "Last bear I saw was on Bibon lake in 1971.. Gut shot him with my Ruger Super Single Six twice as he ran away with bacon fresh off the griddle as I was clearing out my system from the night before. Big ol boar.. Dont go anywhere without the Six.."

Exciting times in the woods, eh? Enjoyed the report Raggs.

Cool story, and nice pics too. Thanks for sharing!

Brandon

"

That's awesome, Andy!

quote Goldenbadger: " "

That's awesome, Andy!"+1

I used to be concerned about Bear encounters until we had one come in late at night. We had to stay up all night and sit with him by the fire because he was hungry and wouldn't leave. He was an average/smaller sized bear. Their fur makes them appear larger than they actually are. It was probably only 3 years old or less.

I look back on it now and realize it was a cool experience and I don't worry a bit about Bears now. If you think of them as large squirrels then you'll know what to expect.

You can tell the big bears easily - their ears look small and their legs look short. That might seem counterintuitive, but it's because a big bear's large head dwarfs its ears. And his large belly makes his legs look short. And if he's fluffy, a small bear might also look large. My golden retriever looks like she "eats really well", but when she's wet, you can actually see she's not overweight at all.

Cool story and nice picture!!

Yes, bears will grab anything if they are disappointed not to find food. I had a bear drag my 2 gallon fabric WATER bag a ways down a trail, puncturing it with his teeth. All that work for LAKE WATER, ha.