It’s been a bittersweet ride. I can’t believe
the Wisconsin bear hunt is already
upon us with the season opener first
for hunters over bait like me Wednesday,
September 9. With an alternating system of
hunting first, hound hunters this year begin
a week later.
I’ve been out of the game of guiding bear
hunters for a decade. Over 16 years guiding
20 to 29 hunters each fall, I’ve watched
literally hundreds of bears tagged from
my camps. The satisfaction I found from
strategically placing hunters on stands and
bringing bears to the shot could not have
been greater if I had been the one holding
a tag.
2026 is different. This year, I’m the
hunter. Surprising to many, I’ve never shot
a Wisconsin bear, donating tags I did draw
when I was a guide to youth hunters. After
applying for 11 years, I finally drew that
precious tag.
This will be my final Wisconsin bear tag.
It takes too long to draw a tag in the zone I
hunt. By the time I could potentially draw
another one, I’ll be well into my 70s. When
I think about the energy, time, preparation,
and stamina required over these last three
months, I know it would simply be too
hard on me to do it all again. It’s been an
emotional last ride, but also motivational.
When I think back over all the years of
guiding, remember all the bait stations
opened, long days, sleepless nights,
excitement, anticipation, friendships, and
memories, it’s hard to believe how quickly it
all went by. Now, I’m putting everything I’ve
learned over the years to the test. And what
a test it has already been.
My quest began more than three months
ago in June. From the first week of baiting,
I’m facing a recurring and escalating
problem that we rarely saw during my days
of guiding. Wolves are on every one of my
six Bayfield County bait stations stretching
over 26 miles from the south shore of Lake
Superior to the north shore near Washburn
and Ashland. In the past, wolf sightings
were more memorable. Now, they’re
routine.
Near the end of those guiding years, a
friend and his wife who had a tag came
north and I put her on stand over bait. She
called us, very uncomfortable, as darkness
came on, because wolves were around her
stand and we had to go in and escort her
back out. During the walk out, wolves
followed, circling in the distance to try and
wind us all the way back to the truck.
Baiting that same stand two years later
at first light, I walked in on a fight between
wolves over food. I couldn’t see a thing
because of the low light. It was one of the
scariest encounters I have ever had, or
heard, in the field. I turned around to head
out with the hair standing up on my neck
but made myself slowly walk back in. At
about 25 yards, I tapped my bait bucket a on
a tree. They were gone in a heartbeat.
I have always carried bear spray when
baiting for protection, but those encounters
that used to be rare made me start carrying
a handgun when I go in. It’s not because of
bears. It’s because of the wolves.
Wolves are on the baits almost daily now.
Included on my trail camera photos, I’ve
captured a female with five pups repeatedly
and a pack of at least six adult wolves
repeatedly. Three minutes later, there were
four bears on a bait station three minutes
before three came into the same bait. And
on.
This is not nature in balance, nor
responsible management. I firmly believe
that wolves here in the north country have
largely exhausted their main food staple of
whitetail deer. Many wolves are migrating
south where more deer still are. The many
wolves that remain here are turning more
and more to livestock, domestic pets,
hunting dogs and even the bait of bear
hunters.
Because wolves are federally protected
and listed as endangered, they cannot be
hunted. Without hunting, they have no
reason to fear. They have adapted. Throw
out everything you’ve ever heard or learned
about wolves being elusive. They are
unafraid.
I don’t know how this story will end. But
I do know after all these years, I’m going to
cherish every moment in the woods. I’m
grateful for one final Wisconsin bear hunt. I
couldn’t care less if on the last day I have not
tagged a bear. It has to be the right, mature
bear that comes in if I am to raise my bow.
And I’ll know him when he does
