Mark and I suffered another long night in deepfreeze-like temperatures, but our spirits were high as we climbed out of our sleeping bags and joined “Monty and Company” for breakfast.  Knowing that later in the day we would be hunting for the first time since arriving in camp, we were quite eager to get to our respective bait sites and wait for Mr. Big to show himself.  As a result, breakfast was a blur. 

After a lightening-fast meal I headed down to the shoreline with my bow.  I set up a target at 20 yards and took a few shots.  I then moved out to 30 yards and pitched a few more arrows at the bullseye.  My bow was dead on.  It was time to hunt!

Around noon, Mark and I gathered our gear and got ready to try our luck at hunting a big Prairie Province black bear.  This was my third time chasing Manitoba black bear and Mark’s first.  Hopefully, at the end of it all, we would have a story or two to tell our friends and relatives -- Talk Forum Members also -- and a strong desire to visit Monty’s operation sometime in the very near future.

Monty took one boat and dropped Mark off at The Marina.  Tim and I took the other boat and headed toward The Isthmus.  Tim quietly maneuvered the craft into the bay and pulled up to the shore.   I got out of the boat, threw a thumbs-up sign to Tim and then slowly made my way down the footpath to my stand. 

As I walked around a slight bend in the trail I noticed that the bait barrel