6 Photos
"Hunting is alive & well in Wytheville Virginia"
Trish Walke has grown up in a hunting family and she scored big on October 10, 2015 on a youth day black bear hunt. Trish was soon to turn 16 in December of 2015 and this hunt would serve as her final opportunity to take advantage of Virginia's Black Bear Youth Weekend.
Trish's grandparents Rodney and Carol Robets are lifelong bear hunters who own 17 Walker Hounds. These dogs are bred to hunt small game particularly racoons and oppossums, but many hunters use them to chase bear, and the Roberts have lovingly trained these dogs for just that.
This youth day hunt began around 5:30am with a rather large hunting party that included Trish, her grandparents, younger sister, boyfriend and family friends as well. It wasnt long before the dogs picked up a track and the party was off and running through the Wythe County Virginia mountains.
The dogs worked hard on this trail, but after several hours they had still not encountered the bear. As is common, these hunters use tracking collars on their dogs and they noticed that one of the male dogs named "Hank" had split from the pack and had treed a bear on his own just a short distance away.
Trish and another member of the hunting party decided to follow after Hank while the others followed the rest of the pack.Within 15 minutes Trish and the other hunter arrived at the spot where Hank had a huge black bear treed in a large oak tree.
Both hunters could tell this was no typical Virginia black bear and were surprised that the big bear had managed to climb some 20 feet up into the tree. Trish used an adjacent tree to steady her rifle and when she had a decent shot she pulled the trigger. The big bear fell to the forest floor, but quickly got to his feet and took off down a ridge with Hank in tow.
The wounded bear crossed a creek at the bottom of the ridge and ran up the side of another ridge. When the bear crested the top it stopped and turned toward Hank. Trish quickly layed her gun across her friend's shoulder and fired the fatal shot. The big bear rolled all the way back down to the creekside from which it just crossed.
The hunters stood in amazement taking in what just happened and when the bear remained motionless for a few minutes they scampered down the ridge to where Hank stood proudly over the bear.
"It was huge" Trish said and that it was, the Wythe County bear tipped the scales at 561lbs and was determined to be 21 years old with the tooth extraction procedure conducted by the VDGIF.
To put this unique bear harvest in perspective, harvest data in Virginia shows that the majority of black bear kills happen before the animal reaches the age of 5. The average weight of an adult Virginia bear is around 200lbs and their life span can reach 30 years, but that is rare.
This puts Trish's bear in a category of it's own, this Wythe County bear was a true monarch of the forest having made it through many trials and tribulations over it's two decades of existence. Trish told me that her bears teeth were worn almost completely to the gum and his coat was thin in many spots.
I had the opportunity to speak to Trish's grandmother Carol for a bit as well. It was obvious that hunting is a cornerstone for this Southwest Virginia family and they have taken their grandchildren on racoon, rabbit, duck and bear hunts as well as fishing trips since they were youngsters.
Carol said "It's just a way of life for us" and she stressed the importance of getting young people outdoors and away from the all-encompassing world of technology that we all live in currently. I applaud the Roberts family and encourage everyone reading this to take a child hunting!
Trish won the Youth Division and overall top honor for Black Bear in the State competition in Fishersville Virginia on Sunday 9/25/16. Her bear scored 30 0/16.
The black bear population is at an alltime high in Virginia folks and I encourage hunters to purchase a bear tag just in case you encounter a harvest opportunity this fall, which could be very likely!
Congratulations again Trish on Virginia's #1 Black Bear for 2015.
Jeff Phillips
"Hunting is alive & well in Wytheville Virginia"
Trish Walke has grown up in a hunting family and she scored big on October 10, 2015 on a youth day black bear hunt. Trish was soon to turn 16 in December of 2015 and this hunt would serve as her final opportunity to take advantage of Virginia's Black Bear Youth Weekend.
Trish's grandparents Rodney and Carol Robets are lifelong bear hunters who own 17 Walker Hounds. These dogs are bred to hunt small game particularly racoons and oppossums, but many hunters use them to chase bear, and the Roberts have lovingly trained these dogs for just that.
This youth day hunt began around 5:30am with a rather large hunting party that included Trish, her grandparents, younger sister, boyfriend and family friends as well. It wasnt long before the dogs picked up a track and the party was off and running through the Wythe County Virginia mountains.
The dogs worked hard on this trail, but after several hours they had still not encountered the bear. As is common, these hunters use tracking collars on their dogs and they noticed that one of the male dogs named "Hank" had split from the pack and had treed a bear on his own just a short distance away.
Trish and another member of the hunting party decided to follow after Hank while the others followed the rest of the pack.Within 15 minutes Trish and the other hunter arrived at the spot where Hank had a huge black bear treed in a large oak tree.
Both hunters could tell this was no typical Virginia black bear and were surprised that the big bear had managed to climb some 20 feet up into the tree. Trish used an adjacent tree to steady her rifle and when she had a decent shot she pulled the trigger. The big bear fell to the forest floor, but quickly got to his feet and took off down a ridge with Hank in tow.
The wounded bear crossed a creek at the bottom of the ridge and ran up the side of another ridge. When the bear crested the top it stopped and turned toward Hank. Trish quickly layed her gun across her friend's shoulder and fired the fatal shot. The big bear rolled all the way back down to the creekside from which it just crossed.
The hunters stood in amazement taking in what just happened and when the bear remained motionless for a few minutes they scampered down the ridge to where Hank stood proudly over the bear.
"It was huge" Trish said and that it was, the Wythe County bear tipped the scales at 561lbs and was determined to be 21 years old with the tooth extraction procedure conducted by the VDGIF.
To put this unique bear harvest in perspective, harvest data in Virginia shows that the majority of black bear kills happen before the animal reaches the age of 5. The average weight of an adult Virginia bear is around 200lbs and their life span can reach 30 years, but that is rare.
This puts Trish's bear in a category of it's own, this Wythe County bear was a true monarch of the forest having made it through many trials and tribulations over it's two decades of existence. Trish told me that her bears teeth were worn almost completely to the gum and his coat was thin in many spots.
I had the opportunity to speak to Trish's grandmother Carol for a bit as well. It was obvious that hunting is a cornerstone for this Southwest Virginia family and they have taken their grandchildren on racoon, rabbit, duck and bear hunts as well as fishing trips since they were youngsters.
Carol said "It's just a way of life for us" and she stressed the importance of getting young people outdoors and away from the all-encompassing world of technology that we all live in currently. I applaud the Roberts family and encourage everyone reading this to take a child hunting!
Trish won the Youth Division and overall top honor for Black Bear in the State competition in Fishersville Virginia on Sunday 9/25/16. Her bear scored 30 0/16.
The black bear population is at an alltime high in Virginia folks and I encourage hunters to purchase a bear tag just in case you encounter a harvest opportunity this fall, which could be very likely!
Congratulations again Trish on Virginia's #1 Black Bear for 2015.
Jeff Phillips
"Hunting is alive & well in Wytheville Virginia"
Trish Walke has grown up in a hunting family and she scored big on October 10, 2015 on a youth day black bear hunt. Trish was soon to turn 16 in December of 2015 and this hunt would serve as her final opportunity to take advantage of Virginia's Black Bear Youth Weekend.
Trish's grandparents Rodney and Carol Robets are lifelong bear hunters who own 17 Walker Hounds. These dogs are bred to hunt small game particularly racoons and oppossums, but many hunters use them to chase bear, and the Roberts have lovingly trained these dogs for just that.
This youth day hunt began around 5:30am with a rather large hunting party that included Trish, her grandparents, younger sister, boyfriend and family friends as well. It wasnt long before the dogs picked up a track and the party was off and running through the Wythe County Virginia mountains.
The dogs worked hard on this trail, but after several hours they had still not encountered the bear. As is common, these hunters use tracking collars on their dogs and they noticed that one of the male dogs named "Hank" had split from the pack and had treed a bear on his own just a short distance away.
Trish and another member of the hunting party decided to follow after Hank while the others followed the rest of the pack.Within 15 minutes Trish and the other hunter arrived at the spot where Hank had a huge black bear treed in a large oak tree.
Both hunters could tell this was no typical Virginia black bear and were surprised that the big bear had managed to climb some 20 feet up into the tree. Trish used an adjacent tree to steady her rifle and when she had a decent shot she pulled the trigger. The big bear fell to the forest floor, but quickly got to his feet and took off down a ridge with Hank in tow.
The wounded bear crossed a creek at the bottom of the ridge and ran up the side of another ridge. When the bear crested the top it stopped and turned toward Hank. Trish quickly layed her gun across her friend's shoulder and fired the fatal shot. The big bear rolled all the way back down to the creekside from which it just crossed.
The hunters stood in amazement taking in what just happened and when the bear remained motionless for a few minutes they scampered down the ridge to where Hank stood proudly over the bear.
"It was huge" Trish said and that it was, the Wythe County bear tipped the scales at 561lbs and was determined to be 21 years old with the tooth extraction procedure conducted by the VDGIF.
To put this unique bear harvest in perspective, harvest data in Virginia shows that the majority of black bear kills happen before the animal reaches the age of 5. The average weight of an adult Virginia bear is around 200lbs and their life span can reach 30 years, but that is rare.
This puts Trish's bear in a category of it's own, this Wythe County bear was a true monarch of the forest having made it through many trials and tribulations over it's two decades of existence. Trish told me that her bears teeth were worn almost completely to the gum and his coat was thin in many spots.
I had the opportunity to speak to Trish's grandmother Carol for a bit as well. It was obvious that hunting is a cornerstone for this Southwest Virginia family and they have taken their grandchildren on racoon, rabbit, duck and bear hunts as well as fishing trips since they were youngsters.
Carol said "It's just a way of life for us" and she stressed the importance of getting young people outdoors and away from the all-encompassing world of technology that we all live in currently. I applaud the Roberts family and encourage everyone reading this to take a child hunting!
Trish won the Youth Division and overall top honor for Black Bear in the State competition in Fishersville Virginia on Sunday 9/25/16. Her bear scored 30 0/16.
The black bear population is at an alltime high in Virginia folks and I encourage hunters to purchase a bear tag just in case you encounter a harvest opportunity this fall, which could be very likely!
Congratulations again Trish on Virginia's #1 Black Bear for 2015.
Jeff Phillips
"Hunting is alive & well in Wytheville Virginia"
Trish Walke has grown up in a hunting family and she scored big on October 10, 2015 on a youth day black bear hunt. Trish was soon to turn 16 in December of 2015 and this hunt would serve as her final opportunity to take advantage of Virginia's Black Bear Youth Weekend.
Trish's grandparents Rodney and Carol Robets are lifelong bear hunters who own 17 Walker Hounds. These dogs are bred to hunt small game particularly racoons and oppossums, but many hunters use them to chase bear, and the Roberts have lovingly trained these dogs for just that.
This youth day hunt began around 5:30am with a rather large hunting party that included Trish, her grandparents, younger sister, boyfriend and family friends as well. It wasnt long before the dogs picked up a track and the party was off and running through the Wythe County Virginia mountains.
The dogs worked hard on this trail, but after several hours they had still not encountered the bear. As is common, these hunters use tracking collars on their dogs and they noticed that one of the male dogs named "Hank" had split from the pack and had treed a bear on his own just a short distance away.
Trish and another member of the hunting party decided to follow after Hank while the others followed the rest of the pack.Within 15 minutes Trish and the other hunter arrived at the spot where Hank had a huge black bear treed in a large oak tree.
Both hunters could tell this was no typical Virginia black bear and were surprised that the big bear had managed to climb some 20 feet up into the tree. Trish used an adjacent tree to steady her rifle and when she had a decent shot she pulled the trigger. The big bear fell to the forest floor, but quickly got to his feet and took off down a ridge with Hank in tow.
The wounded bear crossed a creek at the bottom of the ridge and ran up the side of another ridge. When the bear crested the top it stopped and turned toward Hank. Trish quickly layed her gun across her friend's shoulder and fired the fatal shot. The big bear rolled all the way back down to the creekside from which it just crossed.
The hunters stood in amazement taking in what just happened and when the bear remained motionless for a few minutes they scampered down the ridge to where Hank stood proudly over the bear.
"It was huge" Trish said and that it was, the Wythe County bear tipped the scales at 561lbs and was determined to be 21 years old with the tooth extraction procedure conducted by the VDGIF.
To put this unique bear harvest in perspective, harvest data in Virginia shows that the majority of black bear kills happen before the animal reaches the age of 5. The average weight of an adult Virginia bear is around 200lbs and their life span can reach 30 years, but that is rare.
This puts Trish's bear in a category of it's own, this Wythe County bear was a true monarch of the forest having made it through many trials and tribulations over it's two decades of existence. Trish told me that her bears teeth were worn almost completely to the gum and his coat was thin in many spots.
I had the opportunity to speak to Trish's grandmother Carol for a bit as well. It was obvious that hunting is a cornerstone for this Southwest Virginia family and they have taken their grandchildren on racoon, rabbit, duck and bear hunts as well as fishing trips since they were youngsters.
Carol said "It's just a way of life for us" and she stressed the importance of getting young people outdoors and away from the all-encompassing world of technology that we all live in currently. I applaud the Roberts family and encourage everyone reading this to take a child hunting!
Trish won the Youth Division and overall top honor for Black Bear in the State competition in Fishersville Virginia on Sunday 9/25/16. Her bear scored 30 0/16.
The black bear population is at an alltime high in Virginia folks and I encourage hunters to purchase a bear tag just in case you encounter a harvest opportunity this fall, which could be very likely!
Congratulations again Trish on Virginia's #1 Black Bear for 2015.
Jeff Phillips
"Hunting is alive & well in Wytheville Virginia"
Trish Walke has grown up in a hunting family and she scored big on October 10, 2015 on a youth day black bear hunt. Trish was soon to turn 16 in December of 2015 and this hunt would serve as her final opportunity to take advantage of Virginia's Black Bear Youth Weekend.
Trish's grandparents Rodney and Carol Robets are lifelong bear hunters who own 17 Walker Hounds. These dogs are bred to hunt small game particularly racoons and oppossums, but many hunters use them to chase bear, and the Roberts have lovingly trained these dogs for just that.
This youth day hunt began around 5:30am with a rather large hunting party that included Trish, her grandparents, younger sister, boyfriend and family friends as well. It wasnt long before the dogs picked up a track and the party was off and running through the Wythe County Virginia mountains.
The dogs worked hard on this trail, but after several hours they had still not encountered the bear. As is common, these hunters use tracking collars on their dogs and they noticed that one of the male dogs named "Hank" had split from the pack and had treed a bear on his own just a short distance away.
Trish and another member of the hunting party decided to follow after Hank while the others followed the rest of the pack.Within 15 minutes Trish and the other hunter arrived at the spot where Hank had a huge black bear treed in a large oak tree.
Both hunters could tell this was no typical Virginia black bear and were surprised that the big bear had managed to climb some 20 feet up into the tree. Trish used an adjacent tree to steady her rifle and when she had a decent shot she pulled the trigger. The big bear fell to the forest floor, but quickly got to his feet and took off down a ridge with Hank in tow.
The wounded bear crossed a creek at the bottom of the ridge and ran up the side of another ridge. When the bear crested the top it stopped and turned toward Hank. Trish quickly layed her gun across her friend's shoulder and fired the fatal shot. The big bear rolled all the way back down to the creekside from which it just crossed.
The hunters stood in amazement taking in what just happened and when the bear remained motionless for a few minutes they scampered down the ridge to where Hank stood proudly over the bear.
"It was huge" Trish said and that it was, the Wythe County bear tipped the scales at 561lbs and was determined to be 21 years old with the tooth extraction procedure conducted by the VDGIF.
To put this unique bear harvest in perspective, harvest data in Virginia shows that the majority of black bear kills happen before the animal reaches the age of 5. The average weight of an adult Virginia bear is around 200lbs and their life span can reach 30 years, but that is rare.
This puts Trish's bear in a category of it's own, this Wythe County bear was a true monarch of the forest having made it through many trials and tribulations over it's two decades of existence. Trish told me that her bears teeth were worn almost completely to the gum and his coat was thin in many spots.
I had the opportunity to speak to Trish's grandmother Carol for a bit as well. It was obvious that hunting is a cornerstone for this Southwest Virginia family and they have taken their grandchildren on racoon, rabbit, duck and bear hunts as well as fishing trips since they were youngsters.
Carol said "It's just a way of life for us" and she stressed the importance of getting young people outdoors and away from the all-encompassing world of technology that we all live in currently. I applaud the Roberts family and encourage everyone reading this to take a child hunting!
Trish won the Youth Division and overall top honor for Black Bear in the State competition in Fishersville Virginia on Sunday 9/25/16. Her bear scored 30 0/16.
The black bear population is at an alltime high in Virginia folks and I encourage hunters to purchase a bear tag just in case you encounter a harvest opportunity this fall, which could be very likely!
Congratulations again Trish on Virginia's #1 Black Bear for 2015.
Jeff Phillips
"Hunting is alive & well in Wytheville Virginia"
Trish Walke has grown up in a hunting family and she scored big on October 10, 2015 on a youth day black bear hunt. Trish was soon to turn 16 in December of 2015 and this hunt would serve as her final opportunity to take advantage of Virginia's Black Bear Youth Weekend.
Trish's grandparents Rodney and Carol Robets are lifelong bear hunters who own 17 Walker Hounds. These dogs are bred to hunt small game particularly racoons and oppossums, but many hunters use them to chase bear, and the Roberts have lovingly trained these dogs for just that.
This youth day hunt began around 5:30am with a rather large hunting party that included Trish, her grandparents, younger sister, boyfriend and family friends as well. It wasnt long before the dogs picked up a track and the party was off and running through the Wythe County Virginia mountains.
The dogs worked hard on this trail, but after several hours they had still not encountered the bear. As is common, these hunters use tracking collars on their dogs and they noticed that one of the male dogs named "Hank" had split from the pack and had treed a bear on his own just a short distance away.
Trish and another member of the hunting party decided to follow after Hank while the others followed the rest of the pack.Within 15 minutes Trish and the other hunter arrived at the spot where Hank had a huge black bear treed in a large oak tree.
Both hunters could tell this was no typical Virginia black bear and were surprised that the big bear had managed to climb some 20 feet up into the tree. Trish used an adjacent tree to steady her rifle and when she had a decent shot she pulled the trigger. The big bear fell to the forest floor, but quickly got to his feet and took off down a ridge with Hank in tow.
The wounded bear crossed a creek at the bottom of the ridge and ran up the side of another ridge. When the bear crested the top it stopped and turned toward Hank. Trish quickly layed her gun across her friend's shoulder and fired the fatal shot. The big bear rolled all the way back down to the creekside from which it just crossed.
The hunters stood in amazement taking in what just happened and when the bear remained motionless for a few minutes they scampered down the ridge to where Hank stood proudly over the bear.
"It was huge" Trish said and that it was, the Wythe County bear tipped the scales at 561lbs and was determined to be 21 years old with the tooth extraction procedure conducted by the VDGIF.
To put this unique bear harvest in perspective, harvest data in Virginia shows that the majority of black bear kills happen before the animal reaches the age of 5. The average weight of an adult Virginia bear is around 200lbs and their life span can reach 30 years, but that is rare.
This puts Trish's bear in a category of it's own, this Wythe County bear was a true monarch of the forest having made it through many trials and tribulations over it's two decades of existence. Trish told me that her bears teeth were worn almost completely to the gum and his coat was thin in many spots.
I had the opportunity to speak to Trish's grandmother Carol for a bit as well. It was obvious that hunting is a cornerstone for this Southwest Virginia family and they have taken their grandchildren on racoon, rabbit, duck and bear hunts as well as fishing trips since they were youngsters.
Carol said "It's just a way of life for us" and she stressed the importance of getting young people outdoors and away from the all-encompassing world of technology that we all live in currently. I applaud the Roberts family and encourage everyone reading this to take a child hunting!
Trish won the Youth Division and overall top honor for Black Bear in the State competition in Fishersville Virginia on Sunday 9/25/16. Her bear scored 30 0/16.
The black bear population is at an alltime high in Virginia folks and I encourage hunters to purchase a bear tag just in case you encounter a harvest opportunity this fall, which could be very likely!
Congratulations again Trish on Virginia's #1 Black Bear for 2015.
Jeff Phillips
"Hunting is alive & well in Wytheville Virginia"
Trish Walke has grown up in a hunting family and she scored big on October 10, 2015 on a youth day black bear hunt. Trish was soon to turn 16 in December of 2015 and this hunt would serve as her final opportunity to take advantage of Virginia's Black Bear Youth Weekend.
Trish's grandparents Rodney and Carol Robets are lifelong bear hunters who own 17 Walker Hounds. These dogs are bred to hunt small game particularly racoons and oppossums, but many hunters use them to chase bear, and the Roberts have lovingly trained these dogs for just that.
This youth day hunt began around 5:30am with a rather large hunting party that included Trish, her grandparents, younger sister, boyfriend and family friends as well. It wasnt long before the dogs picked up a track and the party was off and running through the Wythe County Virginia mountains.
The dogs worked hard on this trail, but after several hours they had still not encountered the bear. As is common, these hunters use tracking collars on their dogs and they noticed that one of the male dogs named "Hank" had split from the pack and had treed a bear on his own just a short distance away.
Trish and another member of the hunting party decided to follow after Hank while the others followed the rest of the pack.Within 15 minutes Trish and the other hunter arrived at the spot where Hank had a huge black bear treed in a large oak tree.
Both hunters could tell this was no typical Virginia black bear and were surprised that the big bear had managed to climb some 20 feet up into the tree. Trish used an adjacent tree to steady her rifle and when she had a decent shot she pulled the trigger. The big bear fell to the forest floor, but quickly got to his feet and took off down a ridge with Hank in tow.
The wounded bear crossed a creek at the bottom of the ridge and ran up the side of another ridge. When the bear crested the top it stopped and turned toward Hank. Trish quickly layed her gun across her friend's shoulder and fired the fatal shot. The big bear rolled all the way back down to the creekside from which it just crossed.
The hunters stood in amazement taking in what just happened and when the bear remained motionless for a few minutes they scampered down the ridge to where Hank stood proudly over the bear.
"It was huge" Trish said and that it was, the Wythe County bear tipped the scales at 561lbs and was determined to be 21 years old with the tooth extraction procedure conducted by the VDGIF.
To put this unique bear harvest in perspective, harvest data in Virginia shows that the majority of black bear kills happen before the animal reaches the age of 5. The average weight of an adult Virginia bear is around 200lbs and their life span can reach 30 years, but that is rare.
This puts Trish's bear in a category of it's own, this Wythe County bear was a true monarch of the forest having made it through many trials and tribulations over it's two decades of existence. Trish told me that her bears teeth were worn almost completely to the gum and his coat was thin in many spots.
I had the opportunity to speak to Trish's grandmother Carol for a bit as well. It was obvious that hunting is a cornerstone for this Southwest Virginia family and they have taken their grandchildren on racoon, rabbit, duck and bear hunts as well as fishing trips since they were youngsters.
Carol said "It's just a way of life for us" and she stressed the importance of getting young people outdoors and away from the all-encompassing world of technology that we all live in currently. I applaud the Roberts family and encourage everyone reading this to take a child hunting!
Trish won the Youth Division and overall top honor for Black Bear in the State competition in Fishersville Virginia on Sunday 9/25/16. Her bear scored 30 0/16.
The black bear population is at an alltime high in Virginia folks and I encourage hunters to purchase a bear tag just in case you encounter a harvest opportunity this fall, which could be very likely!
Congratulations again Trish on Virginia's #1 Black Bear for 2015.
Jeff Phillips
