A Perfect Michigan Bear Hunt Courtesy of TallTines and Abowyer...

[Yellow Dog]

Been waiting for this one            Drummond is a special place for sure.

[Steve O]

Well, that was a special dinner    :D

Anyway, the first six months of the year for me are preparation for the last four.  While small game hunting, turkey season, mushrooms, and banquets are nice...they are only a diversion for me and truth be known half the time I am involved in those other activities, I am pouring thru maps, odds, and strategies of what and where I can draw for a quality hunt out west!  

So applications are filled out, monies are given to just about every state west of the Mississippi, and the wait begins.  Then the rejection.  Lots of rejection    :(

The last piece of this years puzzle came May 30th.  I had 11 bonus points for limited entry bull elk in Utah.  I put in for a unit that drew last year with 10.  I thought I had a good chance of drawing...except a guy with 13 points had me covered.  So as I got my note of sadness from Utah, I opened the Michigan DNR webpage and got my application in before the May 31 due date!  One last chance.

[Steve O]

One thing the Michigan DNR does do well is their drawings.  Applying out west you end up with many thousands of dollars tied up for months and months.  Here, you know within two weeks of the deadline if you have drawn or not.  Obviously I drew...now the real work begins!

[Steve O]

This was to be a bait hunt.  There is nothing I want to do more than hunt behind a pack of hounds, but Michigan is not the place for that for me.  Too much private land and I just would not feel right blindly following the hounds onto someones hard earned piece of paradise.  My hound hunt will be in the wide open west for mountain lion.

Now to find a bait supply.  One of the best organizations a serious bowhunter can belong to is the Professional Bowhunters Society.  Never have I seen such a diverse group of people so willing to help their fellow PBS brothers.  Right now, I have gear being used by PBS members from Alaska to Arizona, just because I am not using it and it could make their hunt better.  Up step Mike Vines with a PRIMO free source of bait for me, Greg Darling with a CHOICE very low cost backup, and Mark Mitten with a truckload of chocolate sundae topping.  Thank you guys, that made my life just a little bit easier!

[Mike Vines]

Steve, I kept telling you that I had as much fun getting the bait set up just the same as if I was going to be hunting them myself.  The same offer is there for anyone who would like the same treatment.  

You are welcome, and absolutely correct that the PBS Is the best organization a Bowhunter could possibly belong to.  So many helpful and willing people are in the ranks that I feel dwarfed in comparison, but in the same aspect, also blessed that I can contribute something.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

PBSers are great peeps!  

[Steve O]

Now mind you, I have lived in Michigan all but 9 months of my life.  I have seen a   LOT of Michigan!  With that said, I have never set foot on Drummond Island.  I needed to get familiar with it and fast.  

When I draw a tag out west, the first two things I do are call MyTopo.com and my buddy Bryan Yorksmith at HuntScout.com--Bryan has a background in wildlife biology and has the most incredible network of contacts from biologist to guides all over the west and works up detailed scouting maps for any unit and species you draw.  And he makes ONE per unit/species--you aren't fighting 10 people with the same intel.  Just a little tidbit for the future for you all      

So with the delivery of my MyTopo map and a recent plat book, I started marking up likely looking spots.  I went so far as to scan portions of my map and send them to my favorite outfitter up in Manitoba to see if he was seeing the same thing I was!  

I also called Russ, the hunter from the previous year to set up a meeting.  He was right on my way up north and agreed to meet me on the way up to the island to go over the map and show me where he had the bait he was successful at.  With Russ' directions, I found and restablished his bait.  This was my ace in the hole--I was sure another bear would fill in the territory of the bear he had killed and I would have a good spot in that section of the Island.  That also allowed me to spend more time in detail on the other 2/3 of the island.  We are allowed 3 baits in Michigan.  I spread them equally throughout the island so as to not end up hunting the same bears on all the baits.

[Bel007]

[Steve O]

It is amazing to me how the older I get, the faster time goes by.  When I put in for that 1st preference point in 1999, my son was 3 months old and was more than likely being rocked slowly with my feet as I filled out the paperwork.

Now I have to feed this   machine

   

Daniel is 12, he is wearing my boots and has hands the size of one of his heroes...Ron LaClair       He outshoots most adults on the 3d courses with his TallTines, and is one heck of a pack mule!

I am very proud of my boy.  He was with me every step of the way; going over the maps, preparing the bait, hauling the bait.  Setting and preparing the stand sites.  The only thing he did not participate in was dropping the string and the ensuing tracking job.  Poor guy has to go to school    

[Steve O]

So every weekend either Daniel and I or the whole family would pack up and head north to bait and check the cameras.  And EVERY weekend there was some catastrophe that delayed us getting up there in a timely manner.

We were within 5 cars of getting thru   this mess before it exploded and had us sitting for 3 hours while they cleaned it up.

   

Everybody was OK

[Steve O]

Camp was situated at the Township park.  It was worth the $12/day to have a bathroom and a drinking water supply.

The view was not bad either:

 


 


 

[rastaman]

Good stuff Steve!  Thanks for taking us along!

[Steve O]

I thought this was pretty cool.  I asked Daniel to take a stick and spread the chocolate syrup on some of the trees as high as he could reach to get the scent up and out and hopefully announce to the bears a tasty treat.  I did not know he was doing it right in front of one of the cameras.

 


 


 


 


 

The first thing Daniel did was check that tree when we got to the bait and was proud to show me the claw marks.

[Over&Under]

This is Great!!!

Enjoying it Steve and looking forward to the rest!

[Steve O]

Thanks for being patient all.  I have a lot to go with the trail cams, a tour of the Abowyer factory, a little side fishing trip, and the hunt itself    

Last one for tonight.  

Bait site all ready for the bears:

 
 


Bait site after the bears!  

 

[mmisciag]

Great story!!!!

Martin

[Steelhead]

Mmmmmmm Chocalate!!!

Keep it coming!

[Guru]

This is awesome    

[Firstarrow]

Wow!

[Dirtybird]

          I like the looks of this already.