Manitoba Bear Hunts
Welcome to Desjardins Outfitting and The Riding Mountains of Manitoba Canada.
Desjardins Outfitting started offering Guided Bear Hunts in Manitoba in 1994. Throughout the years we have had many record book bears harvested. Alexis Desjardins is a long time member of the Manitoba Lodge and Outfitters Association and is a proud sponsor on Bowsite.com. He has had many years of experience guiding & hunting black bear, deer, moose, elk and fishing throughout Manitoba. Through out the years he has gained an extensive knowledge of the bears seasonal travel patterns, living and eating habits.
The area that we hunt is located on the Northeast side Bordering Riding Mountain National Park. This area is known worldwide for its tremendous trophy potential and also for the high percentage of color phase bears that it produces. It also has one of the highest Black Bear densities in North America. Here you can hunt spring or fall with your choice of rifle, bow, or black powder. We also have fishing close by.
Desjardins Outfitting started offering Guided Bear Hunts in Manitoba in 1994. Throughout the years we have had many record book bears harvested. Alexis Desjardins is a long time member of the Manitoba Lodge and Outfitters Association and is a proud sponsor on Bowsite.com. He has had many years of experience guiding & hunting black bear, deer, moose, elk and fishing throughout Manitoba. Through out the years he has gained an extensive knowledge of the bears seasonal travel patterns, living and eating habits.
The area that we hunt is located on the Northeast side Bordering Riding Mountain National Park. This area is known worldwide for its tremendous trophy potential and also for the high percentage of color phase bears that it produces. It also has one of the highest Black Bear densities in North America. Here you can hunt spring or fall with your choice of rifle, bow, or black powder. We also have fishing close by.
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Why Manitoba
Manitoba has a reputation for producing extremely large black bears. Besides Toledo-popping fall weights, black bears in the heart of Canada have the skulls to match their weight. One look through the record books and it isn’t hard to tell that Manitoba has the genetics for producing bears that hunters usually only dream of finding.
How Big?
Areas adjacent to Riding Mountain National Park have long been known for producing big black bears. Hunters around the park have historically harvested huge bears that frequent the vast tracts of mixed forest and agriculture lands. June 25th, 1987 may seem like a long time ago, but the information gathered on that day is relevant to potential black bear hunters. A large male black bear was captured in the park, and it officially weighed in at 430 pounds. The boar was fitted with a radio collar and captured again on September 9th, 1987. The same bear was weighed again, and in just 65 days it tipped the scale to 803 pounds. The bear can only be described as an eating machine, gaining close to five pounds per day. It would be interesting to know what the bear weighed when it went into hibernation later that fall.
The big, old bear may have had the protection of a national park to grow excessively large, but most of Manitoba’s wilderness and fringe land areas offer prime black bear habitat and big bears. Black bear boars have huge home ranges and often cover up to 100 square miles in search of sows and their seasonal diet preferences. Any outfitter set up adjacent to wilderness area can have a steady supply of mature old bears that have never encountered a hunter.
Color
Although the name implies that bears are black, they do come in many color phases. It is generally noted that eastern Manitoba produces a high number of strictly black color-phase bears. The further west you go in the province the higher the percentage of color-phase bears, including blonde, brown, cinnamon, and even gray or near white bears. The Interlake Region, Parkland Region and western stretches along the Saskatchewan border are areas to target when looking for an increased opportunity to harvest a uniquely colored bruin.
Manitoba has a reputation for producing extremely large black bears. Besides Toledo-popping fall weights, black bears in the heart of Canada have the skulls to match their weight. One look through the record books and it isn’t hard to tell that Manitoba has the genetics for producing bears that hunters usually only dream of finding.
How Big?
Areas adjacent to Riding Mountain National Park have long been known for producing big black bears. Hunters around the park have historically harvested huge bears that frequent the vast tracts of mixed forest and agriculture lands. June 25th, 1987 may seem like a long time ago, but the information gathered on that day is relevant to potential black bear hunters. A large male black bear was captured in the park, and it officially weighed in at 430 pounds. The boar was fitted with a radio collar and captured again on September 9th, 1987. The same bear was weighed again, and in just 65 days it tipped the scale to 803 pounds. The bear can only be described as an eating machine, gaining close to five pounds per day. It would be interesting to know what the bear weighed when it went into hibernation later that fall.
The big, old bear may have had the protection of a national park to grow excessively large, but most of Manitoba’s wilderness and fringe land areas offer prime black bear habitat and big bears. Black bear boars have huge home ranges and often cover up to 100 square miles in search of sows and their seasonal diet preferences. Any outfitter set up adjacent to wilderness area can have a steady supply of mature old bears that have never encountered a hunter.
Color
Although the name implies that bears are black, they do come in many color phases. It is generally noted that eastern Manitoba produces a high number of strictly black color-phase bears. The further west you go in the province the higher the percentage of color-phase bears, including blonde, brown, cinnamon, and even gray or near white bears. The Interlake Region, Parkland Region and western stretches along the Saskatchewan border are areas to target when looking for an increased opportunity to harvest a uniquely colored bruin.
Hunter Reviews
..."If you're a bear hunter and want to see ALOT of bears, including many color phase, then look no further than Desjardins Outfitting. The hard working crew will get you in position to be successful. Great people, excellent accommodations, and fantastic home cooked meals. There's a reason Desjardins has so many returning clients, you certainly can't go wrong!" Gary D. from Wisconsin
..."Just spent two of the best weeks of the year. Hunted with Desjardins the week of May 30th. Then traveled seven hours northwest to hunt Saskatchewan. Truly a bear hunters dream. April and Alexis Desjardins live in a bear Hunters paradise. If you are considering a bear hunt that is truly amazing, This is the place. There are alot of references on their website. Pick any one you want and the answer will probably be the same. "You won't believe it until you hunted with them" Greg Miller from Wisconsin
..."In 2021, a friend and I decided to do a 2022 spring bear hunt in Manitoba. I have been on two prior Manitoba bear hunts and numerous other guided hunts for different animals in both Canada and the U.S. over the years. We chose to go with Alexis because I have been reading his bear hunting threads on Bowsite for the last several years and others spoke very highly of his operation. His current bear pictures he posts also helped sway our decision.
We drove up, easily crossed the border and arrived at his place in late May. The first thing we noticed when we pulled in was how clean and organized everything looked. The cabin accommodations were great and the meals put together by April in their house were outstanding. If you walked away from the table hungry, that was your own fault. You felt like you were part of their family.
The view of the mountains from the lodge was beautiful, especially as the sun was setting. For the hunt, I will say up front that I did not harvest a bear. That was due to my poor shot selection while bowhunting. I only hunted the first night....and what a night it was. The ladder stand I was in was well placed and comfortable. After I was dropped off by Alexis, I climbed into the stand and was not even set up when less than 10 minutes later the first bear came in. After that, I stopped counting the different bears that came into the bait that night at 10 bears. There were blacks, cinnamons and a chocolate bear that I saw and filmed that night. I have taken several bears before and feel I can do a fair job of estimating weights. I would estimate several of the bears were in the 250 - 300lb plus range. The one I shot at was an older scarred up boar well north of 400lbs.
Alexis does not run a lot of baits because he doesn't need to. His hunting area is next to the Riding Mountain National Park. The bears winter over there and come out of the park in the spring to his strategically placed baits. I believe all the hunters in camp that week were seeing bears every night. My friend and I enjoyed ourselves so much, we rebooked for the spring of 2023. A big thank you to April, Alexis and the guides". John L. from northern Michigan.
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..."If you're a bear hunter and want to see ALOT of bears, including many color phase, then look no further than Desjardins Outfitting. The hard working crew will get you in position to be successful. Great people, excellent accommodations, and fantastic home cooked meals. There's a reason Desjardins has so many returning clients, you certainly can't go wrong!" Gary D. from Wisconsin
..."Just spent two of the best weeks of the year. Hunted with Desjardins the week of May 30th. Then traveled seven hours northwest to hunt Saskatchewan. Truly a bear hunters dream. April and Alexis Desjardins live in a bear Hunters paradise. If you are considering a bear hunt that is truly amazing, This is the place. There are alot of references on their website. Pick any one you want and the answer will probably be the same. "You won't believe it until you hunted with them" Greg Miller from Wisconsin
..."In 2021, a friend and I decided to do a 2022 spring bear hunt in Manitoba. I have been on two prior Manitoba bear hunts and numerous other guided hunts for different animals in both Canada and the U.S. over the years. We chose to go with Alexis because I have been reading his bear hunting threads on Bowsite for the last several years and others spoke very highly of his operation. His current bear pictures he posts also helped sway our decision.
We drove up, easily crossed the border and arrived at his place in late May. The first thing we noticed when we pulled in was how clean and organized everything looked. The cabin accommodations were great and the meals put together by April in their house were outstanding. If you walked away from the table hungry, that was your own fault. You felt like you were part of their family.
The view of the mountains from the lodge was beautiful, especially as the sun was setting. For the hunt, I will say up front that I did not harvest a bear. That was due to my poor shot selection while bowhunting. I only hunted the first night....and what a night it was. The ladder stand I was in was well placed and comfortable. After I was dropped off by Alexis, I climbed into the stand and was not even set up when less than 10 minutes later the first bear came in. After that, I stopped counting the different bears that came into the bait that night at 10 bears. There were blacks, cinnamons and a chocolate bear that I saw and filmed that night. I have taken several bears before and feel I can do a fair job of estimating weights. I would estimate several of the bears were in the 250 - 300lb plus range. The one I shot at was an older scarred up boar well north of 400lbs.
Alexis does not run a lot of baits because he doesn't need to. His hunting area is next to the Riding Mountain National Park. The bears winter over there and come out of the park in the spring to his strategically placed baits. I believe all the hunters in camp that week were seeing bears every night. My friend and I enjoyed ourselves so much, we rebooked for the spring of 2023. A big thank you to April, Alexis and the guides". John L. from northern Michigan.
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Western Sportsman Magazine
Manitoba Hunting Forecast 2015
The province boasts a high proportion of bears with colour phases other than black, as well as truly big bears. This past spring, for example, a 595-pound bear just out of hibernation was killed on a highway west of Riding Mountain. In peak condition after a summer of feeding, it would have been a very large fall bear.
Bowhunter Magazine
"Manitoba claims a population of 30,000 bears, and because of the enormous
amount of precipitation the area gets, food is plentiful enough for some of the
bears to grow to become absolute behemoths. In 2006, a black bear killed by a
car was estimated by wildlife officials to have had a live weight of almost 900
pounds, making it one of the largest black bears to ever be recorded in North
America".
amount of precipitation the area gets, food is plentiful enough for some of the
bears to grow to become absolute behemoths. In 2006, a black bear killed by a
car was estimated by wildlife officials to have had a live weight of almost 900
pounds, making it one of the largest black bears to ever be recorded in North
America".
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DESJARDINS OUTFITTING Box 9 Laurier, MB ROJ 1A0 |