Matt's bear encounter at Margot Creek

Matt is a guide at Naknek River Camp. He was guiding 3 clients at the mouth of Margot Creek on the Naknek Lake in Katmai National Park, catching sockeye and having a relatively good time.

There are bears at Katmai. They like fish.

Matt's client were fish poor. It was close to the end of the week and they had few sockeye to take home. Their luck had changed, seemingly. They had 3 sockeye in a net with them. Unfortunately, they were upwind of a hungry bear.

The bear pushed Matt and his client up away from the boat, seen in this video. I thought maybe I was filming the last moments of Matt's guiding career... or life... but the rocks Matt threw backed the bear down - or was it the arctic terns diving at the bear's head? Regardless, the clients won and they got to keep their fish.

Oh yea- rules in Katmai: keep your fish in a bear-proof container at all times and stay 50 yards from all bears and... don't throw rocks at bears.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• matts
• bear
• encounter

[kgboy72]

This looks like a subadult bear - always a coin toss, his reactions are depending on what mom taught him. This one seemed mellow, though. Awesome video.

[billsyed]

Thanks Phil. Great video, the person in the black jacket holding "bear spray" is me.