daverichey June 22nd, 2008

TITLE: Radical Bear Hunter
AUTHOR: Dick Scorzafava
PUBLISHER: Stackpole Books
DISTRIBUTOR: Stackpole Books

CONTACT:

Stackpole Books
5067 Ritter Road
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055

WEBSITE: Stackpole Books for more information on this and other Stackpole Books
ISBN#: 978-0-8117-3418-9, for bookstore ordering
COST: $21.95 + S/H; Paperback, color photos, 212 pages with index

The interest in black bear hunting has grown significantly in recent years. Whitetail deer, for most hunters, remain their primary focus. Bear hunting is less expensive than going after caribou, elk or moose, and bears frequently become the second big-game species to be hunted.

Black bears are relatively common in certain states, and the author features a chart that shows approximately how many bruins live in certain states and Canadian provinces. Anyone planning a spring or fall bear hunt should pick a state or province with high bear numbers.

I look at this book after being an experienced bear hunter for over 30 years. It covers all the angles a new or experienced hunter should know to be successful. Bear hunting is available in many areas, and after hunting deer for many years, sportsmen decide to tackle a game animal that has the ability to fight back if it chooses to do so. For some hunters, this faint element of danger is welcomed.

Don’t get me wrong: even though black bears can be deadly, the danger is fairly remote providing hunters do not get between a sow and her cubs. Make no mistake about it: bears can be dangerous, as the author points out in this book.

It has some great bear-hunting chapters, and the book is well illustrated by color photos. Some of my favorite chapters include:

• Reading Bear Sign
• Reading A Bear’s Body Language
• Baiting The Black Bear
• Spot And Stalk
• Hunting With Hounds
• True Trophy Black Bear
• Deciding On A Hunt Location
• Picking An Outfitter
• Live Smart In Black Bear Country

The chapter on How To Field Judge A Bear is very informative. All bears look as big as a black VW Bug to the uninitiated sportsman when they see their first up-close bruin. Judging a big bruin can be handled in many different ways, and the author outlines his methods of judging a bear’s size.

He tells how to establish the height on a bear standing with all four feet on the ground, and how to place markers on nearby trees to give a better idea of its size. Know too that the difference between a spring bear that has just come out of hibernation, and a fall bear that is fattening up prior to hibernation, can be vastly different.

Several years ago I shot a 450-pound black bear on Vancouver Island while hunting with guide Jim Shockey, and the hide squared seven feet. That spring bear weighed 450 pounds but would have tipped the scales at about 600 pounds in the fall. The author of this book explains the differences between spring and fall bruins.

I found this book to be very informative, and chockful of useful information about bruins. It offers most of the information a beginning hunter will need, and there is some data here that even some advanced bear hunters may not know.

It is a worthy book to add to any hunter’s library, and if that hunter is gearing up for a future bear hunt, this is one title he should read.

Tags: bear, bruin, dave richey, hunt, hunting, radical, scrozafava, stackpole

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daverichey June 15th, 2008

TITLE: Ask The Black Bear Guides
AUTHOR: J. Y. Jones
PUBLISHER: Safari Press
DISTRIBUTOR: Safari Press

CONTACT:
Safari Press
15621 Chemical Lane
Building B
Huntington Beach, CA 92649-1506
WEBSITE: Safari Press
eMAIL: info@safaripress.com
PHONE: Phone (714) 894-9080
COST: $24.95 + S/H; Hardcover, 186 pages, dust jacket and black-and-white photos. Safari Press books are not sole in bookstores, and must be ordered directly from the publisher.

The author claims that nearly 1 million black bears are found on the North American continent, ranging from Mexico north through most states and into Alaska and across the broad expanse of Canada and most of the states. Although deer may be more prolific, the black bear is an animal of abundance. Hunting them is heart-pounding excitement.

The author, an expert hunter, draws on the knowledge of 12 top black bear guides and he asks straight-to-the-point questions and gets the answers that bear hunters want to know. Jones offers information on which firearms and calibers make the best firearms for black bears, and based on my experiences after personally taking 28 bruins during my hunting career, this book has much to offer sportsmen.

Among the bear guides mentioned are

1. Joe Jakab of Pittsburg, PA
2. Horace Lane of Lewisporte, NL
3. Don Lind of High Prairie, AB
4. Wayne Bosowicz of Sebec, ME
5. Wade Lemon of Holden, UT
6. Jerry Nykanen of Turtle Lake, WI
7. Darren DeLuca of Port Alberni, BC
8. Mark Galla of Wrangell, AK
9. Kevin Olmstead of Fort St. John, BC
10. Jimmy Rosenbruch of Gustavus, AK

Some of the basic questions answered in this book include:

• What should a hunter look for when seeking a black bear outfitter/guide?
• What are the most important single characteristic and the worst possible deficiency in a bear guide?
• What is your favorite type of hunter based on several factors?
• What is the most dangerous thing a client can do while hunting black bears over bait?
• What is your favorite rifle caliber for black bears?
• Tell us your method of field judging black bears for size?
• What is the most reliable way to determine sex when no cubs are present?
• What is your choice as a backup weapon when guiding for black bears?

Dozens of other great questions are answered.

This book is best suited for the beginning bear hunter. Granted, some individual answers from the guides may seem elementary but when dealing with a hunter who has never hunted black bears before, everything is new to them. Having said that, there are tips of wisdom for the more advanced and experienced bear hunter.

Sizing up a bruin isn’t easy, and it requires plenty of practice or hunting with a guide that does know how to look at an animal and rapidly determine just how big it is. I found the numerous mentions, and methods of determining head size, to be very informative and on target for new or veteran hunters.

Jim Shockey, one of my favorite Victoria Island (British Columbia) bear guides, wrote the foreword for this book. He praises the book and calls it Bear Hunting 101. It is a great title and filled with solid information, and covers bear hunting from all angles. It’s a keeper!

Tags: "j.y. jones", "safari club", bear, black, book, dave richey, guides, hunting, outdoors, review

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daverichey June 7th, 2008

TITLE: A Celebration Of Salmon Rivers
AUTHOR: R. Randolph Ashton
PUBLISHER: Stackpole Books
DISTRIBUTOR: Stackpole Books

CONTACT:

Stackpole Books
5067 Ritter Road
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055-6921

WEBSITE: Stackpole Books
COST: $59.95+ postage; Hardcover, dust jacket and color photos.

Before we go any further into this book review, it’s necessary to clarify a salient point. If you must ask the price of anything associated with fishing for Atlantic salmon, you can’t afford it.

Atlantic salmon fishing is not cheap, and some of the rivers featured in this book would cost thousands of dollars to fish for one weekend. I began fishing for these game fish in 1966 in New Brunswick, and then fished several streams in Quebec. All were pricey but nothing like it is today.

But if we forget about the price, and concentrate on the lore of Atlantic salmon fishing, we find ourselves taking a great reward by just being on some of these storied streams. I’ve fished Maine’s Penobscot River, and jumping across the border, I fished for two weeks on the Miramachi, St. John, Renous, and on to Quebec’s Eagle, George, Grand Cascapedia, Koksoak, Moise and Restigouche rivers.

Many of these rivers were extremely difficult to reach in the 1960s and 1970s, and trying to fish them now is most expensive. All of these rivers, and many more, are storied streams. People who fish such places place great value on owning great reels and rods. Fly boxes are filled to overflowing with beautifully tied exquisite single and double-hook flies. The materials that go into these flies are expensive and the flies are time consuming to tie.

This is a book of rivers. Suffice it to say that only a mere handful of Maine streams have Atlantic salmon. Eastern Canada may have several dozen, but not all are mentioned in this book. In fact, some of the priciest salmon rivers like the Alta, Laerdal and Namsen rivers in Norway command huge fees to fish, and people are happy to pay for this privilege.

Atlantic salmon fishing is a happening. It is something very special to those who participate in the fishing. This is more mental than physical, and it is far from being a crowd sport. High costs keep each fishing area (a beat) free of others. For many anglers, seeing a fish turn for a fly before abandoning the chase is cause for celebration. Some rivers seems to attract mostly grilse (young salmon up to eight to 10 pounds) while other rivers are known for their big fish.

The author offers a plea for readers to endorse the North Atlantic Salmon Fund. Many threats keep pecking away at Atlantic salmon populations, and netting the high seas and the estuaries of the mighty rivers are only two of many. Some of the monies made from the sale of this book will go to raise funds to protect the fish wherever Atlantic salmon are found.

The color photos are breathtaking, and areas where these salmon are found is invariably beautiful. The fish themselves are a thing on beauty and wonder, and it’s what keeps pulling anglers back, year after year, just for the hope and faint promise of a big salmon. This book is more about the magic of salmon rivers and the fish than how to catch them, which in most cases, is invariably difficult.

This too is part of the allure of this grand game fish.

Tags: ashton, davericheyoutdoors, richey, rivers, salmon

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