Also found a dead wolf on hwy 51 near hwy S in Lincoln Co. Appeared to be car related.
2 weeks ago I tip toed up to a mom and 3 cubs preparing to attack some feeders right at dark . Took a picture and then threw a cherry bomb . It went off and the 3 cubs ran up pine trees and Mom jumped into the river never to be seen again .
So much for motherly love . The DNR needs to issue OTC tags in some counties .
I am sure there are some young hunters in the area that he could transfer the tag to.
1. Class B bear license is eliminated.
2. The Class A bear application fee increased to $4.50.
Picking up garbage is getting old. As I am sure it is for many country folks..it's to the point I have the patterned ... Prolly could just sit the back yard when I place a bag in the garbage can.. Not gonna take a lot more of it either.
Landowner permits by preference should be implemented.. Imeadiatly if not sooner.. what use to be good deer land is now so crappy for deer it actually is far better bear land..LOL.. I think I am not alone
That takes me to the next thing on tags. Now we all know what has happened to the deer population. For some reason folks just refuse to understand bear are not deer!! Deer get bred the very first year. Bear do not! Normally it is about 3yrs before a sow can be bred. Now think about that. The highest percentage of bear killed are sub adults. So what will more tags mean? More sub adults taken. Which means we will destroy the bear population much faster. Then it will take even longer for it to come back. WELCOME TO MI BOYS!!
Now MI's bear population been in the toilet for years already. But after this already happened. The deer numbers have dropped to all time lows. Now buck only in the UP as a result. Few bears left. So obviously they are not killing all the fawns. One guess is why. WOLVES!! Good friend lives in Trout Creek jsut north on Land O Lakes. Talked to him last night in fact. He helps a farmer with his hay fields. 4-5 years ago they would count 5-600 deer a night in these fields. Now it cant even break 50. 2 days ago they bumped a fawn out the field with the tractor. It took off for the woods. Put on the brakes, turned around headed back right at the tractor. Out of the woods came a wolf. Ran that fawn right down. Buddy had to put a fence around his yard for safety of kids and dogs!!
Now so many want more tags to kill, kill, kill! Destroy the population in just 1 or 2 years. Then you can explain to your kids and others. Why now it takes so much longer to get a tag as a result!!
Now it has been made well known how to avoid bear conflicts on your property. Still people refuse to listen. But cry, whine, and complain about it when they dont. Do not leave bird feeders out over night. Clean up the mess on a nightly basis. Do not leave your garbage cans outside. Put them out the morning of pick up. Then back into secure storage. DO not leave a dirty grill outside. Don not leave pet food outside. Most conflicts can easily be prevented. Took my neighbors years to listen. Guess what they finally have. No bear issues at all this year!! The bulk of these conflicts happen early in the year. When there is little food in the woods for them. You give them a source they will come. So take away the source!!
Seeing what has happened to the deer population here. Other states as well. What has happened to the bear population in other states. I just cannot understand. WHy so many are so adamant about destroying what we have hear. THE BEST DAMM BEAR POPULATION IN THE US!!!!
Jeff in MN's Link
MN did the same thing. Look at the table titled "Table 1. Bear permits, licenses, hunters, harvests, and success rates, 1992–2012." at the link in this post. (Page 5)
Note how the number of licenses available went up in 98 and the finally started to go down in 04 because hunters were screaming for better quality in size and sightings. The licenses available are still going down because hunters still want the age structure back.
In some of those years you could even buy a second license in quota areas. (no quota areas had the options of 2 licenses for quite a while)
Note how the permit application numbers started to go down in 01. Some hunters were tired of hunting every year they applied and others were starting to see what was happening to the quality of their hunts, in terms of sightings, size, and hunter conflicts.
Our group did not draw this year with 2 points because the tag allocation went down again giving us about a 50% chance. We are OK with that because we know it was the right thing to do.
We've seen it before and we'll see it again. When the population is so low that few baits are getting hit and lower kill rates will cause the closure like it did before.
I have been fortunate to experience the good, the bad and the good again.
I know that this will be hard to swallow, but just because you have a tag doesn't mean you have to fill it. Yes. it's your choice and every animal that we harvest is a gift.
Oh, Mike, that is so very true. I have ate many tags, bear and deer in my 50 years of hunting. It used to hurt a bit when I did but I always knew it was the right thing to do. Over the last 20 years or so it just seemed normal. Fortunately I have never needed to eat a Wisconsin bear tag. All my hunts were DIY and the experience learned in Minnesota sure helped to pick good bait sites, read what was happening and always had the time to invest in waiting for the size bear I wanted. When you have to wait so long for a tag that seems to be incentive to hold out for a nice one, that is, whatever nice is to you.
Unfortuneately I drew a tag this year. Intent was to give to a kid. But that fell through. Now not sure what I will do with it. Hard to find a kid I can get a good commitment out of. Something is always more or a prioity to them. Most likely I will just hold on to it. Just in case we get a nasty one. Or a wounded one that needs to be put down. Not shot a bear yet with the bow so that is a thought too. So is just eating the tag, as I really could care less to kill one. THE FUN IS OVER ONCE YOU PULL THE TRIGGER!!!
Then there is still the mean SOB GROWLY!! Sows ran him of the baits last year when I hoped to get a sitter on him. He is back and bigger then ever. Would be nice to get a sitter on him. Depends on what fall brings. Also on some of my main dog baits. SO only the right sitter might sit in the evenings there. He has almost killed dogs on me a couple of times. Had to beat him off a dog few years ago. As much as I would like to put him down. Not sure I want to loose a dog over it. Only one way with the dogs will end him. Up close and personal ON THE GROUND!! Muzzle to the ear, and let her rip. There are very few that could do this. Mostly experienced dog men. Cant say I have had many hunters that could do this type of thing. It will make the craziest of us pucker a bit. Im not one bit afraid of him, and he knows it. However, he has one hell of a lot of respect from me!! 2 yrs ago we treed him and one of my lead dogs Chief took a beating for it. Still under the tree full of holes. Harvest season looking up at a easy 300. With no tag in the woods. Now, well you can see by the pic. He is much larger!! His pic from other day at the top!!
