tundra@1 wrote:I hunted Northern Bayfield county and Ashland county, from 1976 to 1994,,,,, shot some great bucks, but those days of hunting are done, because back then, we had good Federal forest mgt , no baiting, little ATV traffic, if any, and NO WOLVES..... You have to appreciate your hunting now, and competing with them wolves, so you have to adjust.
I hunt the western UP, as I have a home there. I scout a lot, and always key in on the drainage systems. This is how the deer move in my area, by following, crossing, and keeping tight to all the streams, for the most part.......
I am on all the log jobs, and those completed, and those that have been completed within the last 3 years,,,,,
Federal Forest mgt, is back on track, but baiting is heavy in the UP, and that also affects movement. When the wolves move in I move out,,,, they move a lot all the time, so you just have to deal with them
Better bucks will bed early in wolf country, since the veteran bucks know, that as the early evening comes, the wolves are out on the prowl,,,,, they are truly killing machines,,,,,
also do not hesitate, to hunt close to towns, close to roads, etc. Predator pressure in some areas, keep them out of the deep woods and closer to town and activity.
In the deep woods, it is tough, but you will see few if any hunters, and I know areas, that deer see no one, really so you do not have much to compete with except the wolf
do not expect to see huge numbers of deer, until late season,,,,,,,,,,,
I could write a lot about hunting the big woods, but I just wanted to add a little bit of info that I knew about, otherwise this would go on too long,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Thanks for the response tundra. Wolves are a problem where I'm at too, and its only getting worse. Not only are they out in the bigger forests, but they've started to adapt to the deer moving closer to the city and towns, and even the houses. Multiple people have had their dogs attacked while walking the hiking trails inside the city limits, and we see them regularly around my family's homestead.