Back in 2006 I killed my first bear in Sawyer county. I basically showed up the afternoon of my hunt and by closing time that day I had a bear down. It was exciting but it was over way too fast. Next time I drew a tag I wanted to have the full experience so after following Mike Foss and the NWO hunts for quite a few years I decided to book a hunt with him. I was truly impressed by his operation and couldn't wait to get my tag. Mike kept me excited for my hunt from the time I booked till the day of my hunt with many pics and videos of huge bears that were visiting his baits along with many helpful tips to prepare for killing one.
I arrived at bear camp 2 days before the season opened. Mike wanted to show me my bait for opening day and also let me bait it myself the next day. I appreciated this as I wanted to experience more this time around. As the all hunters started showing up for camp you could just feel the anticipation building for the coming hunt. It was a great camp atmosphere and everybody was talking not only bear hunting but deer hunting as well. We had a required meeting with all the hunters the day before. Mike along with lead guide Robert went over all the rules and offered tips plus answered any questions anybody may have had. Finally we were all ready to hunt the next day.
On opening day the camp cleared out pretty quickly shortly after lunch as everybody headed to their stands. Finally it was time to do some bear hunting in the famous Bayfield County I heard so much about.
I went into this hunt with intentions of holding out for a very large bear. Mike had them on camera at multiple baits so just knowing they were around was extremely exciting. I will list my days hunted and what I saw on that hunt plus other details like hours hunted and weather conditions.
Day 1 Sept 16th
Very warm day sunny humid and temps well into the 80's. I sat on stand for 7 hours and passed on a good bear because there was a huge one coming to that bait. Ended the day with two HUGE coons coming in at dark to feed on the bait.
View from stand.
Only bear I saw.
Day 2 Sept 17th
Woke up to heavy rain. Looking at radar it looked like the day was going to be a washout. I watched the radar for awhile and noticed Lake Superior seemed to be sucking up the rain where I was hunting so I headed out to my stand right after lunch. Amazingly rain was heading my way all day but magically disappeared before it reached me and I stayed dry all day. Sat on stand for 7 hours and didn't see a thing.
Day 3 Sept 18th
I woke up shortly after daylight and thought heck with it I'm going to do an all day sit today, can't kill them sitting around camp. A cold front passed and knew it would be a very comfortable day to sit. When I got to the bait I noticed it hadn't been touched from the day before but decided to go ahead with my all day sit anyway. I stay on stand for 11 hours and only saw a black squirrel and those two big coons.
Day 4 Sept 19th
Mike decided to put me on a different bait that he believed was hot. He took me a mile back on the 4 wheeler and left me at my stand while he baited and put scent out.
Shortly after I heard his 4 wheeler leaving bears started showing up. Didn't take long and the bait was gone already by 2:30 pm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F12iDXLOLnI
I texted Mike and he said it's early yet so he will be out with more bait in a 1/2 hour. Still laughing about how I had bait delivered during a hunt and how shortly after Mike left bears started coming in again.
This one of those hunts where the action is non stop all day. It was a magical day and I got to witness so much bear behavior and vocalizations that i never knew about. All of the bears were pretty small so I passed on all of them waiting for a big one close to dark like they are known for. About an hour before dark a mature doe and fawn were feeding on acorns as they circled around me. My biggest fear was she was going to get downwind and start snorting at prime time. Thankfully the veered off just a few feet from where my scent stream was flowing when I tested with milkweed. Just before closing I heard heavy footsteps off my left shoulder in the thick stuff. The bear in the bait immediately got very nervous and headed away from the bait but stopped and was looking the direction I heard the footsteps. Almost immediately I hear a roar and what sounded like a charge sending the smaller bear running and bellowing as it tried to get away. By this time it was dark and I could not see the big bear but could hear it breathing as it walked away from me. I waited a bit and walked out in the dark. As I was moving thru the woods I could hear footsteps taking off all around me. I sat on stand 7 hours and had 6 bear sightings but think two were repeat appearances. One bear that came in was walking on three legs. Seemed to have an injury to his right front paw. Since tomorrow is my last day I thought I might take him if given a chance since he was already wounded.
Day 5 Sept 20th
Today is my last day. I decided my standards would change and I would take any respectable bear. Hoping the three legged bear would show up but it never happened. I sat 7 hours and never seen a bear. After the action I had the day before I was pretty surprised by the change but goes to show just like deer hunting that first sit is usually your best. I was a little bummed out not filling my tag but also know that's hunting and there are never any guarantees even on a guided hunt.
As I headed back to camp a readied for my long drive home I honestly thought my 2015 bear season was done. Mike mentioned that I could come back up but with my work schedule and having my vacation all tied up for deer hunting thought that there was no way I could make it work. On my way home that night it clicked and I knew I had some unfinished business up there I needed to finish. When I got back to work I moved some vacation time around a talked the boss into letting me take off for 5 more days. Amazingly I got approved and immediately told Mike the good news. He was just as excited as me and I couldn't wait to get back up.
Day 6 Sept 30th
I worked late the night before and on very little sleep cruised up to Bayfield County again. As I stopped for lunch I noticed Mike put video up on the Beast of a big bear he had coming into the bait I was going to hunt that night. Great now I really excited and put the pedal to the medal. I got up there in record time and was on stand by shortly after 2 pm.
I sat about 5 hours and ended up seeing 4 different bear. The first one stood up on his hind legs and rolled the log cap off the bait like a circus bear.
I had one in the bait that I knew was a shooter but hesitated thinking about a much bigger one being around. After some thought I decided to shoot but that bear never gave me a shot because he stayed straight on the entire time which seemed to happen with every bear that day. Mike and I discussed this and he decided to put the logs in a different position so they have to turn broadside. Oh yeah...Mike thinks the bear I passed on was 300 lbs!
Day 6 Oct 1st
We spent the early morning baiting and checking cams. At 10 am we decided it was time to hunt and Mike ran me in with the 4 wheeler again to the stand I was in yesterday. It's the most remote stand and i really enjoy hunting there since it's in a really cool area and loaded with bear.
Now were getting down to the wire. Mike only has one more day and needs to get home so I want to get it done today so we can share the kill together. I had high hopes after yesterday. At 1 pm I closed my eyes for a few seconds and when I opened there was a bear coming to the bait. It's hide was still dripping with water from the nearby river it must have crossed. It didn't stick around for long and never touched the bait. As the bear walked away it stood on it's hind legs surveying the area.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwZPyCgdoUs
By this time the very gusty winds were coming off Lake Superior blowing me around in the tree like crazy. This continued all afternoon and as the day went on I thought my odds for a kill tonight were almost zero.
About 4:30 pm I look over my shoulder in the thick stuff and notice a dark stump I didn't notice before. As I watched it that stump started swaying back and forth.
It was a bear checking out the bait from a distance but didn't want to come in due to the high winds. Shortly after it faded away and I was getting more and more frustrated while cussing the wind. My only hope is that it would die down just before dark like it does most times. At about 6:20 pm the wind suddenly stopped and almost immediately a bear appeared at the bait. I didn't hesitate and decided it's time to fill my tag so I turned on my Tactacam and drew back my arrow. I aimed for a perfect double lung at 23 yards and hit the trigger. My lighted Nocturnal disappeared exactly where I aimed dead center of the lungs and stuck into the ground behind the bait. The bear took off and crashed after 30 yards followed by three death moans shortly after. Nothing like a quick clean kill. Not real good video but here is the kill shot. This is my first kill with my bow mounted cam. I need to remember to continue holding my bow vertical after the shot to get the entire video instead of dropping my bow arm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjalrqJ6MeY
I didn't need to wait around in stand since I knew it was a dead bear. I snuck out and made the 1/2 mile walk out to where my truck was parked. Mike and Robert were already waiting because they were confident I was going to shoot one tonight. I didn't show my excitement and told them I came out early because I'm afraid of the dark. My smile shortly after told them what really happened.
We headed back in to get my bear and found him a little further than I thought he was but a very easy tracking job. Finally after 50+ hours on stand over 7 days I scored.
I passed a number of bears that were larger than this one but at this point I made a decision to just fill my tag. I would rather enjoy some good bear meat now instead of eating tag soup for the next 8 years till I draw another tag.
There was some ground shrinkage but that's to be expected with bear and I still struggle to judge them. I thought he was closer to 200 lbs but was actually about 150 lbs.
I started out with high hopes to get a big bear but that doesn't diminish anything since I get so much more from the experience than the actual kill. I started out saying I wanted to get the "full experience" and boy I accomplished that more than I ever would have imagined.
Just wanted to add that NWO is a class act and Mike and Robert truly want their hunters to be successful and get the dream hunt they deserve. I couldn't be happier with how everything went. Those guys will do whatever it takes to get you on bears. Spending time with Mike I learned so much about bears it's amazing. It was a very rewarding experience I will never forget.
