Hope these guys recover. Very tough experience to live through.

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/v ... h-columbia

Alaska Bush pilot and avid fly fisherman Gary Limage spent much of his adult life around grizzly bears in the wilds of the 49th state only to end up getting mauled by one along the Canadian road system. Friends and former co-workers over the weekend identified Limage as the Alaska angler reportedly attacked by a grizzly last week in northwestern British Columbia.

Canadian authorities are reporting the bear ripped off Limage's jaw in a horrific attack.

Friend Don Cogger, who used to operate Alaska Air Guides off of Lake Hood in Anchorage, said that since the 1970s Limage worked not only for him there but for a number of other air carriers with service to rural Alaska, including Rust Flying Service of Anchorage and Frontier Flying Service of Fairbanks, as well as various fishing lodges in Bristol Bay. Van Hartley at Branch River Air in King Salmon near the end of the Alaska Peninsula said on Monday that Limage worked there last summer, and Hartley had known Limage for years and years before that.

"We used to take him out and drop him off on camping trips" in grizzly-filled Bristol Bay, Hartley said by telephone from King Salmon. "He spent a lot of time in and around bears."

Given Limage's history, both Hartley and Cogger were shocked to hear about the pilot being attacked by a bear on a popular fishing stream along the Canadian road system. The Vancouver Sun reported the 65-year-old Limage was fishing Sept. 18 in the Morice River near Houston when the attack took place. Houston, B.C., is a community of about 3,200 people near midway along the Yellowknife Highway between Prince George in the center of the province and the coastal port of Prince Rupert just south of Ketchikan, Alaska.

The official website for the community says "Houston is known as the 'Steelhead Capital of the World' because so many anglers flock here for the mighty fish -- even though it is catch and release only."

Friends of Limage said that describes exactly the kind of place that would attract him. According to the Sun story, it appears Limage was on the creek not far from his camper van when attacked at around 7:30 p.m. Sgt. Kevin Nixon, a spokesman for the B.C. Conservation Officer Service, is reported to have speculated Limage "was crouching down to put something in a bag, and when he stood up the bear lunged at him," but it is unclear from the Sun story on what that idea is based.

After the attack, which left Limage seriously injured, he reportedly crawled about 300 yards to a road. A woman driving along the road spotted him curled in the ditch. She stopped to help and then called emergency services.

"If she hadn't stopped for him, this could have been a life-or-death situation," Nixon told the Sun. Limage was rushed to the hospital in Smithers, B.C. and later airlifted to Vancouver General Hospital. The Sun reported his jaw was bitten off in a mauling eerily similar to what happened to Wes Perkins of Nome more than a year ago. Perkins is still recovering from that attack.

Related story
Life's good for Alaskan who lost face in grizzly bear attack
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/l ... ear-attack

Our man Don C is quoted in there.

It makes you wonder how you can really effectively protect yourself from bear attacks. This guy could have been armed to the teeth but would have done him no good, as the attack was a total surprise with no warning. I read once that a common scenario is hunters that are attacked while cleaning their kill, a loaded gun sitting right beside them, again the bear on top of them before they even know it. I think that one needs a point guard when processing game. someone who stands guard with a weapon and keeps a vigilant look out, preferably in open terrain to give adequate time to react.

Here's a youtube video of a guy with steel balls.


There was a youtube video of Alaskan hunters getting charged by a grizz.But I think the poster removed it due to complaints from enviro bear hugg'in freaks It showed them trying to ward off a fast moving charge, but in seconds had to shoot it. It exemplified how fast a bear can move, scarily fast. It also showed how effective a high energy round can quickly neutralize a large animal at full speed.

exodus wrote:There was a youtube video of Alaskan hunters getting charged by a grizz.But I think the poster removed it due to complaints from enviro bear hugg'in freaks It showed them trying to ward off a fast moving charge, but in seconds had to shoot it.

There was another one that showed a group in an inflatable raft. They were filming for an outdoor show. They went around a bend and saw some grizz cubs on the bank and all of a sudden momma comes out of the brush like a train. He pulled out his pistol and shot in the water at her feet and while she was confused at the noise she apparently changed her mind and herded her cubs back into the trees. The enviro-idiots were just livid that the guy would protect himself. How dare he?!?

I like this one.

Another fellow and I chased a big blond boar grizz out of one of the hotels in Deadhorse back in about '02. The local F&G guy estimated him at about 900 pounds. The story is better told around a campfire than in print but I'll tell you one thing for sure; one's brain quits working under that kind of stress. Time slowed down to a crawl for awhile, then my nerve unravelled completely after we got him back out the door. I wanted to strangle the guys that ran past me to save themselves. Those f***kers had no sense of community at all.

That bear; he was called Obie by F&G, was shot the following season for pulling the same stunt. We can't have no bears roaming around the hotels sucking all the oxygen up. Shut the door behind you on those hot days mister!

EB

Fisherman wrote:

exodus wrote:There was a youtube video of Alaskan hunters getting charged by a grizz.But I think the poster removed it due to complaints from enviro bear hugg'in freaks It showed them trying to ward off a fast moving charge, but in seconds had to shoot it.

There was another one that showed a group in an inflatable raft. They were filming for an outdoor show. They went around a bend and saw some grizz cubs on the bank and all of a sudden momma comes out of the brush like a train. He pulled out his pistol and shot in the water at her feet and while she was confused at the noise she apparently changed her mind and herded her cubs back into the trees. The enviro-idiots were just livid that the guy would protect himself. How dare he?!?

I remember that. The guide was impressively fast from the hip. Edit: I think he was ready for it.

They even got to fly in a Maule.

Emory Bored wrote:Another fellow and I chased a big blond boar grizz out of one of the hotels in Deadhorse back in about '02. The local F&G guy estimated him at about 900 pounds. The story is better told around a campfire than in print but I'll tell you one thing for sure; one's brain quits working under that kind of stress. Time slowed down to a crawl for awhile, then my nerve unravelled completely after we got him back out the door. I wanted to strangle the guys that ran past me to save themselves. Those f***kers had no sense of community at all.

That bear; he was called Obie by F&G, was shot the following season for pulling the same stunt. We can't have no bears roaming around the hotels sucking all the oxygen up. Shut the door behind you on those hot days mister!

EB

EB, was that the one at Prudehoe Bay Hotel? I think I have pics of that on my computer some place.. I remember when it happened. We had one wandering around in the heavy equipment shop over here at Kuparuk a couple years ago. Kinda got the guys attention to crawl out from under a truck and there was a bear in the shop with him LOL

AKF

akavidflyer wrote:

Emory Bored wrote:Another fellow and I chased a big blond boar grizz out of one of the hotels in Deadhorse back in about '02. The local F&G guy estimated him at about 900 pounds. The story is better told around a campfire than in print but I'll tell you one thing for sure; one's brain quits working under that kind of stress. Time slowed down to a crawl for awhile, then my nerve unravelled completely after we got him back out the door. I wanted to strangle the guys that ran past me to save themselves. Those f***kers had no sense of community at all.

That bear; he was called Obie by F&G, was shot the following season for pulling the same stunt. We can't have no bears roaming around the hotels sucking all the oxygen up. Shut the door behind you on those hot days mister!

EB

EB, was that the one at Prudehoe Bay Hotel? I think I have pics of that on my computer some place.. I remember when it happened. We had one wandering around in the heavy equipment shop over here at Kuparuk a couple years ago. Kinda got the guys attention to crawl out from under a truck and there was a bear in the shop with him LOL

AKF

That was him. Not knowing whether to shit or go blind is an understatement.

Zzz wrote:

Fisherman wrote:

exodus wrote:There was a youtube video of Alaskan hunters getting charged by a grizz.But I think the poster removed it due to complaints from enviro bear hugg'in freaks It showed them trying to ward off a fast moving charge, but in seconds had to shoot it.

There was another one that showed a group in an inflatable raft. They were filming for an outdoor show. They went around a bend and saw some grizz cubs on the bank and all of a sudden momma comes out of the brush like a train. He pulled out his pistol and shot in the water at her feet and while she was confused at the noise she apparently changed her mind and herded her cubs back into the trees. The enviro-idiots were just livid that the guy would protect himself. How dare he?!?

I remember that. The guide was impressively fast from the hip. Edit: I think he was ready for it.

They even got to fly in a Maule.

That's the one. I saved that to my hard drive when it came out. Some of the idiots commenting make you want to shake your head. No, shake their heads. Violently.

Emory Bored wrote:..... I wanted to strangle the guys that ran past me to save themselves. Those f***kers had no sense of community at all. ....

You're lucky they didn't kick you in the kneecap on the way by. You know the old expression...."I don't have to be faster than the bear, I just have to be faster than you."

Fisherman wrote: Some of the idiots commenting make you want to shake your head. No, shake their heads. Violently.

One of the best things a person can do for themselves is to install this Chrome extension that automatically hides Youtube comments, which are widely acknowledged as one of the horsemen of the Apocalypse:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hbeblcelbmadebneggicbpkjhlppjoen

You have to be using Chrome browser, which you should be anyway.