I drew Wisconsin bear tag...

[strutnrut716]

Same as the whole state. They start getting itchy at the end of May and by June & July its going good. I find by the 3rd week of July its about done. FYI, Mother Nature is awesome. Sows don't get pregnant right away, they will wait and hold the eggs, sperm etc until they know they have enough fat reserves to get them threw hibernation, and raising the cubs threw the Winter. If they know they don't have the fat reserves to sustain them all the good stuff is absorbed back in the body

Thanks Mike !

[BassBoysLLP]

OK. What would be the rut times for Northern Wisconsin ? And thanks for all this info !!

Same as the whole state. They start getting itchy at the end of May and by June & July its going good. I find by the 3rd week of July its about done. FYI, Mother Nature is awesome. Sows don't get pregnant right away, they will wait and hold the eggs, sperm etc until they know they have enough fat reserves to get them threw hibernation, and raising the cubs threw the Winter. If they know they don't have the fat reserves to sustain them all the good stuff is absorbed back in the body

I don't have a lot of experience in far northern WI but it seems like breeding activity in central WI starts a couple weeks earlier than that. Perhaps this is caused by different denning behavior?

As for sows, the female holds the blastocyst not the ingredients. Once the blastocyst implants on the walls of the uterus, the clock starts on embryotic development. It isn't purely a nutritional threshold. All sows will undergo a pseudopregnancy regardless of whether pregnant or not based on photoperiod. This triggers hormone changes and the decision for those pregnant based on the nutritional theshold. It's pretty fascinating stuff.

[Mike Foss]

With out looking up all the fancy smancy words, Just like I said, lol "As for sows, the female holds the blastocyst not the ingredients. Once the blastocyst implants on the walls of the uterus, the clock starts on embryotic development. It isn't purely a nutritional threshold. All sows will undergo a pseudopregnancy regardless of whether pregnant or not based on photoperiod. This triggers hormone changes and the decision for those pregnant based on the nutritional theshold. It's pretty fascinating stuff"

Breeding season? Don't get confused with deer vs bear, the breeding is much the same time frame for the whole State which the majority of bears live in the Northern half .

[BassBoysLLP]

Just noting what I've seen based on trail camera observations in Zone C in central WI. Don't know how much truth there is to it but the pictures tell a good story. Regardless, I'm set up in April to capture it all. Is it April 15th yet?

[Mike Foss]

https://youtu.be/PiwkHU8XSBk The Courtship of the Wisconsin Black Bear by Mike Foss

[stash59]

[gutone4me]

I drew a Zone C tag with 1 point. It will be my first experience hunting bear. I've got a couple of invites already but would also like to run a bait or 2 closer to home. To say I'm excited is an understatement. I wasn't going to run baits until mid to late July but you guys have my thinking I need to run them earlier for rut pics :)

[Mike Foss]

I drew a Zone C tag with 1 point. It will be my first experience hunting bear. I've got a couple of invites already but would also like to run a bait or 2 closer to home. To say I'm excited is an understatement. I wasn't going to run baits until mid to late July but you guys have my thinking I need to run them earlier for rut pics :)

There is so much satisfaction in a DIY hunt, but like I said in my post, prepare yourself mentally. When you start baiting early you will get the impression that this is going to be a walk in the park, you will have bears, maybe lots of bears visiting your baits on a daily basis, then as the season gets nearer those daily visits will slow down, some baits will die off completely, its not anything you have done wrong but there will be great competition out there along with the natural food sources. If you can get on private property with a few 100 acres that is a huge plus. Bait with good fresh bait and use a good scent attractant that will keep attracting and hold there interest when you cant bait for a few days. Have fun and keep us posted with updates, pics, videos etc

[BassBoysLLP]

I drew a Zone C tag with 1 point. It will be my first experience hunting bear. I've got a couple of invites already but would also like to run a bait or 2 closer to home. To say I'm excited is an understatement. I wasn't going to run baits until mid to late July but you guys have my thinking I need to run them earlier for rut pics :)

Awesome. Can't wait for massive amounts of trail cam pics!

[gutone4me]

I drew a Zone C tag with 1 point. It will be my first experience hunting bear. I've got a couple of invites already but would also like to run a bait or 2 closer to home. To say I'm excited is an understatement. I wasn't going to run baits until mid to late July but you guys have my thinking I need to run them earlier for rut pics :)

There is so much satisfaction in a DIY hunt, but like I said in my post, prepare yourself mentally. When you start baiting early you will get the impression that this is going to be a walk in the park, you will have bears, maybe lots of bears visiting your baits on a daily basis, then as the season gets nearer those daily visits will slow down, some baits will die off completely, its not anything you have done wrong but there will be great competition out there along with the natural food sources. If you can get on private property with a few 100 acres that is a huge plus. Bait with good fresh bait and use a good scent attractant that will keep attracting and hold there interest when you cant bait for a few days. Have fun and keep us posted with updates, pics, videos etc

I do have permission on a 500 acre cranberry bog near Millston which also butts up to fort McCoy so I should be in good shape

[gutone4me]

I drew a Zone C tag with 1 point. It will be my first experience hunting bear. I've got a couple of invites already but would also like to run a bait or 2 closer to home. To say I'm excited is an understatement. I wasn't going to run baits until mid to late July but you guys have my thinking I need to run them earlier for rut pics :)

Awesome. Can't wait for massive amounts of trail cam pics!

You know there will be pics .... Thousands .....

[BassBoysLLP]

I can't wait. I'm already in preparation mode. I don't necessarily have a size goal this year. I plan on a trad harvest regardless. Hopefully from the ground this time. The later appears the most challenging. I'm picking my spots wisely.

[Freelance Bowhunter]

Still collecting points here.

[Jonny]

I drew a Zone C tag with 1 point. It will be my first experience hunting bear. I've got a couple of invites already but would also like to run a bait or 2 closer to home. To say I'm excited is an understatement. I wasn't going to run baits until mid to late July but you guys have my thinking I need to run them earlier for rut pics :)

Awesome. Can't wait for massive amounts of trail cam pics!

You know there will be pics .... Thousands .....

[Ruff]

My wife drew her tag in B for this fall. Son had his tag last fall and filled it in B over bait. Good luck to all that drew!