Normally I wouldn’t be so early in talking about a fall hunting season, but it has already started, sort of. Let me back up a little. Bear season is one of the first hunting opportunities of the fall, but it really started back on April 15, which is when bear baiting season officially started.  

Let me back up even further. It’s been a few years, but I did harvest a bear. The hunt took place up north and with the aid of dogs. It was a terrific experience. One of the neatest things about that hunt was watching the dogs work. I was so impressed with how well trained they were as well as how determined they were once the chase started. Pulling a dog off the trail of a bear is like trying to stop a running back from getting a first down: it can be done but, in both cases, you might have some battle wounds for your effort.

Last year in Wisconsin hunters took over 3,700 bears which was slightly less than the harvest goal of just over 4,000 bears. If you want to really put the odds in your favor to harvest a bear, Zone A is the place to do that. In that northern hunting zone hunters have the highest success rate in the state at 69%. The catch to that is it takes years to draw a harvest tag. Here in Pierce County, which is Zone D, the success rate is around 25% and you might draw a tag every other year.

Having passed on that information, I can now tell you my game plan for this season. I am going to try and harvest a bear over bait and I am in the middle of my bear baiting apprenticeship. The hollowed-out stump with a giant slab rock cover is loaded with all of the things that bears like from nuts to granola. I can see why they like all that stuff because I’m tempted to try it myself. The bait took a while to attract a bear, but when the really hot weather rolled in the bait station heated up as well. A lone bear has been hitting the site almost daily and it seems like the hotter the temperatures, the more often it comes in. A trail camera at the bait location documents every visit and I’ve seen enough photos to guesstimate the bear at around 250 pounds.

The whole baiting process and getting the photos of the bear coming in is sort of a fun separate sport in itself. Even though the bear has been coming in to eat frequently, it’s impossible to predict its movements. From morning, noon and night, the bear seems to come in whenever it feels like it.  

As for right now, I’m content to bait as needed. I look forward to more photos but I’m starting to have some mixed feelings about the hunt itself. When the time comes, I would be thrilled to be able to sit out in the woods and watch the bear come in and do bears things. As for anything else, TBD.

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