We drove to a secluded area Fred had hunted on many occasions, mainly for brown bears. After leaving the vehicle, we walked up a salmon stream hoping to catch a deer walking the stream banks.
The salmon run was in full swing and there was salmon by the hundreds in the shallow stream. It’s quite a sight to see. The salmon enter the streams from the ocean and are a bright silver in color. As they approach the end of their run to lay and fertilize eggs, they begin to change colors. First they are beautiful shade of red and gradually turn white as death nears.
The stream banks were covered with salmon that had been partially eaten by bears and eagles. It’s a little spooky seeing that sight as you walk along a stream bank that is covered by thick vegetation, a great hiding place for bears.
And, not to be disappointed, we eventually saw a brown bear about 75 yards ahead of us. We stopped, watched him eat salmon and then exit into the brush. After that we were on a little higher state of alert.
After walking a couple of miles and seeing no deer, we returned to the vehicle and went to a different spot. That spot was unproductive and so we called it a day.
Next: Day 3
Tomorrow we would begin the first day of our hunt.
For more also go to: Roy K. Keefer
