Bear Hunt with Moose Lake Lodge and Fawnie Mountain Outfitters British Columbia
Allen England
This past May my wife and I journeyed to Moose Lake Lodge with Fawnie Mountain Outfitters in British Columbia, Canada for Black Bear. We flew into Vancouver, Canada and spent the night at the very gracious Delta hotel near the airport. The next morning we boarded a flight on Pacific Coastal Airlines which took us to Anahim Lake where our host John Blackwell met us for a short flight in his plane to Moose Lake Lodge. One can drive to Anahim Lake, but the only way to travel to Moose Lake is by bushplane. Valerie would remain at the lodge while I hunted.
After lunch I traveled by bush plane to spike camp where I was met by my guide Dave Chamberlain. Dave would be my cook, guide, and driver for the next 5 days and nights. Spring was later arriving in this area of B.C., there wasn’t much green, but they had some recent rain and it was a pleasant 75 during the day. My guide explained that if we didn’t see many bear at first. We would see them before the end of my hunt. We drove logging roads in a four-wheel pickup glassing ad looking for bear. As the week went by the weather became warmer and the grass grew several inches a day. The bear, black and cinnamon, of all sizes began to show up. Finally, on the fifth day I killed a handsome black bear that was 6’ plus. Dave said that he had never hunted over two days without killing a bear in the eleven years he had been guiding. Usually, the hunters are back at the lodge after 2-3 days and spent the rest of their time fishing. We hunted part of the next day and still had no luck on the second bear.
The food at the lodge was great according to my wife. The meals in the lodge were prepared by an excellent chef, Bernie, who is an excellent story teller. Even the conditions and food at the spike camp were very good. The lodge is picture perfect, nestled in the mountains with the lake in view. If you are looking for a successful bear hunt with a large bear as a result this is the place to go. The next group of 3 hunters killed 4 bear, one over 7’ that will probably be Pope and Young. One can only conclude that even a late arriving spring in British Columbia can net a large bear if one is patient.