Michigan Bear UP

[Ltfd210]

Drew a Bear tag for da UP. Looking from some advice I have the 9/6-10/26 season in Baraga. Im not opposed to hiring a guide if need be just would rather DIY if possible. This will be my first bear hunt. Im not afraid to rough it or put miles on. I wont have tons of scouting time but I should be able two get two solid weeks in the woods during the season.

I have a friend with a cabin surrounded by National Forest near Bruce Crossing. Was hoping to see about DIY'ing there. How doable is that without baiting all the time?

If having a guide up there is more of a necessity who would you recommend?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Cedarsavage]

Drew a Bear tag for da UP. Looking from some advice I have the 9/6-10/26 season in Baraga. Im not opposed to hiring a guide if need be just would rather DIY if possible. This will be my first bear hunt. Im not afraid to rough it or put miles on. I wont have tons of scouting time but I should be able two get two solid weeks in the woods during the season.

I have a friend with a cabin surrounded by National Forest near Bruce Crossing. Was hoping to see about DIY'ing there. How doable is that without baiting all the time?

If having a guide up there is more of a necessity who would you recommend?

Thank you in advance!

Depends on where you live. If you live here it’s pretty easy to get bait out but if you live in the lower it’d be tough to keep up unless you come up every weekend

 

[Mojave]

Watch every video from this guy. Then call him and ask him if he recommends a guide in the UP.

 

[Tyson]

I drew carney this year. Going on a hound hunt with this guy. They do baited hunts too. DIY is really hard unless you can get up there to get a good bait going. Good luck, hope you get it done!

Hunts - Wild Spirit Guide Service - Upper Peninsula Bear Deer Hunt

We are the premier U.P. Hunting Guide for winter bobcat and predator hunts. Also have guided turkey, bear, deer hunting in Upper Peninsula.

wildspiritguide.com

 

[Wmmichael20]

What season did you draw, first,second or third?

 

[NRA4LIFE]

You're going to have A LOT of competition baiting if on private, unless you are on a huge chuck of property. Start baiting early and hard. Can you guys still use fish? If so, I'd find some now.

 

[Ltfd210]

You're going to have A LOT of competition baiting if on private, unless you are on a huge chuck of property. Start baiting early and hard. Can you guys still use fish? If so, I'd find some now.

Its 40 Acres of private surrounded by a huge amount of NF. 20 minutes from the nearest town and theres only one other cabin in the area. I think there will be space to work and not a ton of pressure...I hope.

 

[Wmmichael20]

In that unit I doubt you will have a ton of competition, if you were in the newberry unit then it would be a different story

 

[Coveyleader]

Private is key, you can place a barrel.

 

[Cady Creek]

I wouldn’t hesitate to DIY. Especially with a first season tag. You have the advantage of starting a week ahead of the dogs. If you can get up here Labor Day weekend and get as many bait sites going as you can, you should be in good shape. Utilize cameras if possible and once you have a worthy candidate picked out, start your hunt. I have the same tag, (different unit) and don’t plan to start baiting until close to then. And I am local. I’ve found baiting too early turns them nocturnal by opener. I’d rather capitalize on the first few days they find the bait. Good luck!

 

[Usi05]

I am from Baraga/L’Anse area. My brothers brother in law is a guide. When I drew my tag last time I hunted with him.

They bait and set stands and will run hounds as well.

I know a bunch of guys that would probably help u if you are interested. I run a food plant in lower so I supply a lot of their bait lol.


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[archeryrus]

Any updates to how this worked out?

 

[mgray]

On average, how many years/points does it take to get a UP bear tag? It can be up to 10 years for us in WI.

 

[MallardMaster]

Varies with the unit and season. I am looking at first season Gwinn for 2024 and I think it is going to take 5-6pts to draw that tag (those were the stats from last year).

 

[Coveyleader]

Crazy, used to be pick one up at local license vender “back in the day” Very few bear hunters in the UP in the 80s and 90s.

 

[Wmmichael20]

5 to 6 points for most areas for first hunt, second is a point or 2 less and 3rd is usually 1 or 2 points with some having leftovers every year for 3rd and those can be bought online or otc when they are available.

 

[Agross]

I was shooting for Baldwin but the points it took actually dropped to several less than I have, so now I’m holding out for the Drummond island tag. Think it’ll be pretty cool in a few years to do. Took 19 points last year.

 

[Cady Creek]

Varies with the unit and season. I am looking at first season Gwinn for 2024 and I think it is going to take 5-6pts to draw that tag (those were the stats from last year).

Took me 7 years to finally draw a first season tag in the Gwinn Unit last year. Ridiculous

 

[archeryrus]

I was curious if the OP went with guide or diy? I'm a Indiana hunter with 8 points trying to figure out the guide no guide question. Thanks

 

[Ltfd210]

I really thought I updated this thread. We put a camera out in a place I thought would be good. The very next day I had a bear in camera. I received occasional pics over the next month or so until the season started. About 5 days prior to the season the pics stopped.

I got up 36hrs prior to the opener. The way life worked out I knew this was going to be my only trip up. I had to reopen the trail to get back which took me a few hours. I hunted about 1.5 miles from the nearest trail head. I hauled bait back most of the way in the SXS and then humped it back the last bit in a pack. I used Northwoods bear products spray then backed out.

Long story short I was up for 10 days with no more bear on camera and no bear sightings. I enjoyed the time up there. I hunted a few different areas in the morning and went out a few times over the course of the hunt to freshen up the oil and northwoods spray.

I did find a few drop camps within a couple miles and we found some fresh 4 wheeler trails not too far from where I was hunting as we did some exploring on the last day. It was a great time in the up for my first hunt trying to figure out something new, and a totally different type of hunting from what Im used to. Im excited to try again.