Tag Archives: Grizzly Bears

Caught one 1 of 2

Grizzlies in river estuary

Grizzly bear watching in August after the salmon have arrived can be very entertaining. As the tide rises we move up the river with the salmon and meet the grizzlies as they come down river to fish for salmon. It is important to note that not all grizzlies are not created equal when it comes to fishing. Many of the younger bears use the “dash and splash technique”, which is great for photos but not for catching salmon. On this day the one bear used the “wait and it will come to me approach” and was very successful. This catch was its third of the morning.

 

 

Grizzly Coming Our Way

Large grizzly bear

The viewing stand we use in the fall is located on the Glendale River and the grizzlies we view use the river as their highway as well as their larder. This good sized male grizzly came down the river very close to our platform and fished for salmon for the for more than half and hour before continuing down river. As I have stated before in the blog it is good to have the big bears have a short visit because they tend to scare other bears.

 

 

Successful Fishing

Bald Eagle Fishing

Whether you are on the lodge’s front deck, on a grizzly bear trip, whale watching in Johnstone Straits, or on your way to Trapper Rick’s you will see bald eagles. The likely hood of watching them catch a fish increases when whale watching because there is an abundance of herring in the area and therefore more fish to catch. However this eagle picked up a rock cod which is a bottom fish and that means that it was caught and thrown to the eagle to get the photo.

 

 

River in conflict

River walking Grizzly

This sub-adult (four or five year old) grizzly is walking down-river but if you look closely at the water pushing against its legs the water is flowing up-river. The lower part of Knight Inlet’s Glendale River is a tidal river and at certain tides it provides our flat-bottom boats enough water that we can quietly move up the river to watch the grizzlies. This river is not more than 25 meters (yards) at its widest, which means when we meet a grizzly you are able to get good photos. The bears have become accustomed to meeting small boats on the river and if you are concerned about your safety just remember that as your guide I have a family and will not be taking ANY risk that jeopardize your or my life.

 

 

Good fishing for Grizzly Bears

Salmon eating grizzly

The summer of 2014 was a good summer for the grizzlies because of the early arrival of the salmon in the river. This brought more bears to the river in early August before we were viewing the grizzlies from the viewing platforms. Once we were in the platforms the bears that were fishing close had many salmon to choose from and tended to stay longer in the area. As this photo shows there were often salmon floating around the bears so they had their pick for lunch.

 

 

Nursing Grizzly Bear

Nursing Grizzly

Not hard to tell that this is a nursing mother. The same mother in the July 1st posting and she has three cubs. This grizzly and her cubs were frequently fishing next to the viewing stands. There are three viewing times on the Glendale River set by government agencies and we are one of two lodges that has permission to use this area. Our time is between ten and noon daily. The scheduled use of the stands brings a routine for the bears and that means that many of the big males leave these times for the mothers, cubs and sub-adult bears. We do see a few large males but even though this is great for the guests if a large male is fishing most other bears remain in the bush until it leaves. As a guide I prefer ten or twelve grizzlies to one large male.

 

 

Grizzlies waiting for?

Grizzlies in River

Mid-august and we are slowly moving up the river in a 5.5 meter (yard) skiff as the tide rises. We arrived from the Lodge after an hour and fifteen minute ride up scenic Knight Inlet where, on this day, we spent time watching a black bear and several bald eagles fishing. On arrival we tied to the floating dock and transferred to the skiff and cruised the shore before entering the river as the tide rose. As you can see from the photo these grizzlies are not interested in the action behind them they are focused on the salmon in the river.

 

 

Grizzly cub staying close

Grizzly and Cub

First year grizzly bear cubs tend to stay close to their mother in most situations but this time it became an issue. We are in the viewing platform on Knight Inlet’s Glendale River, which we use after August 24th to watch grizzlies. This side of the platform overlooks the entrance to the spawning channel where salmon gather and wait before entering the spawning area. It is also one of the best areas to pick up salmon that have been killed or injured by other grizzlies. Because of all of this cubs often get in the way when mother is trying to fish and are sent to shore sometimes by a growl and others with a slap. This one got the growl and waited on the bank for a salmon to be delivered.

 

 

Grizzly Cub Trying For The Shore

Cub catching salmon

Once these first year grizzly bear cubs do catch a salmon they need to eat it on the riverbank. The pool they are fishing has many salmon that died of the heat this summer. The water level in the river and spawning channel was very low and the temperature high. This meant the oxygen level in the water was too low for the salmon and several thousand died. Bad for the salmon but good for the bears as they were able to pick up salmon from the bottom and take them to shore. The only problem for this cubs was that it’s sibling was in front and not moving out of the way.

 

 

Waiting for a rising tide

Grizzlies in the river

Prior to August 25th grizzly bears tours are in the Glendale River and its estuary. We use a flat bottom skiff to move up river with the incoming tide. Frequently the first sighting of grizzly bears is from a distance, which requires a telephoto lens for good pictures. Today’s posting is an example of that first sighting of four grizzlies which became close-up photos once the tide rose a little more. The first view of a grizzly is the most exciting and from talking with guests over the years it is often more memorable than the closer encounters. For the closer encounter just scroll through the previous postings.