Gone with the Wind

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Mike Foss
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Gone with the Wind

Unread postby Mike Foss » Tue Nov 12, 2019 11:45 pm

MIKE FOSS Hunt Smart. My latest issue story in On Wisconsin Outdoors. (Intelligent bears mean badweather tactics must change) The 2019 bear season approached showing all the characteristics of a typical hunt. Guide reports filtered in during the summer baiting season tracking consistent and perfect south-southwest winds. Temperatures were higher than normal and with the heat hunters would as expected deal with swarms of insects and excessive moisture, but conditions seemed to promise that the state harvest would again be high as August turned to September and opening week for 2019 bait sitters. Mother Nature had other plans. Temperatures dropped to the low 50s, with rain and the worst on-stand wind conditions a hunter could face; the dreaded east, northeast wind prevailed. For too many guides, harvest numbers declined drastically. For too many bear hunters who wait years for a harvest permit, the tag went unfilled and often bears were not even seen approaching bait. From my own experience, and mistakes as a guide for many years and a lifelong student of bear behavior, difficult hunts like that experienced in 2019 hold lessons. During summer you will most likely experience a welcome south, west or southwest wind, and your stand should be set accordingly so as not to be winded by the approaching bear. One of the biggest mistakes a bait sitter can make is hunting at all when the wind is wrong. This can be very difficult when you have waited eight or nine years for the permit and your chance to be in the field and hopefully viewing bears. Bears are habitual animals and will most likely find and do the same safe routine over and over again while approaching. Combine the wrong wind and a hunter on stand with that human scent drifting and blowing in the direction of the bait station, that mature bear your hunting will undoubtedly smell you long before you know he is there. You will not get away with it, period. When you’re busted, his approach will become nocturnal or worse, he will disappear for good. Scent control is not an option. Have patience. Wait out bad wind conditions. Your odds of filling that tag will increase monumentally. Remember, by mid-August your once-a day only
baiting routine is just that, routine. Those bears habitually committed to the bait now know to your bait know what time you arrive, how long it takes, every sound you make, what you smell like, your boot size and probably what type of vehicle your driving. When hunting season arrives, try and stay with that same baiting routine. A huge mistake hunters make is checking bait stations and trail cameras to determine which stand will be hunted that evening. Approaching the stand twice that you will hunt is breaking your routine and will send bears on high alert that are certainly lying low nearby. Give them credit. Bears are extremely intelligent and they know when anything is out of the ordinary.
Back to the 2019 season. During the first week, bear hunters struggled in every camp and certainly the overall kill is down. When terrible weather conditions, including prevailing winds combine with vast natural food sources available to bears, don’t help make the odds worse. Have patience, and hunt intelligently. Know when not to hunt at all. Now…you have a realistic chance to not only see bears, but to fill that tag too. Mike Foss was born and raised in Washburn, Wisconsin (Bayfield County) and spent years as a professional bear guide.


Mike Foss
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Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2010 9:40 am
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Re: Gone with the Wind

Unread postby Mike Foss » Wed Nov 13, 2019 12:35 am

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strutnrut716
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Re: Gone with the Wind

Unread postby strutnrut716 » Wed Nov 13, 2019 3:12 am

Great article Mike. You are spot on !

And again I have to thank you for the suggestions you gave me during my sons hunt. Yep, we had to wait till Sept 30, but we got it done !
Mike Foss
500 Club
Posts: 1411
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2010 9:40 am
Status: Offline

Re: Gone with the Wind

Unread postby Mike Foss » Wed Nov 13, 2019 4:37 am

strutnrut716 wrote:Great article Mike. You are spot on !

And again I have to thank you for the suggestions you gave me during my sons hunt. Yep, we had to wait till Sept 30, but we got it done !


Glad you guys stuck with it!


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