# Baraga 1st Season Success



## Lakavea2 (Jul 7, 2016)




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## Stubee (May 26, 2010)

Congrats!


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## Lakavea2 (Jul 7, 2016)

Here a few pics from the cameras.


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## Dixiedog (Aug 9, 2006)

Congradulations


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## mjohnson1979 (Mar 3, 2017)

congrats


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## BucksandDucks (May 25, 2010)

Nice, where's the story? 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Michigan Sportsman mobile app


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## pike man (Feb 21, 2006)

Who shot the Bear ? Story ? Great Pics !


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## NancyJ (Sep 2, 2008)

nice!! a great size and fur quality for a rug !


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## Lakavea2 (Jul 7, 2016)

BucksandDucks said:


> Nice, where's the story?
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Michigan Sportsman mobile app


Maybe later today...along with a few more pics


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## Lakavea2 (Jul 7, 2016)

NancyJ said:


> nice!! a great size and fur quality for a rug !


It is coming to you Nancy. I live in GR and just need to find the right day to bring it out to your shop.


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## Lakavea2 (Jul 7, 2016)

So the story...part 1

It was an awesome adventure.

I hadn't hunted them in about 20 years. My dad is 80 years old and can't get out in the woods anymore.. My son in 9 years old and can't get enough time in the woods and on the water. So I thought that this could be a trip we could do together. It was great!

I had been applying for several years for points only. I chose to draw the Baraga, 1st period. I hunted the same general area I had 20 years ago.

My son and I made the 900 mile round trip over the extended Labor day weekend to scout for sites and bait. We camped at the local State Park. That weekend was very warm and wet. One of the baits did get hit before we left on Monday, 09/03. During that initial scouting/baiting trip we got caught in a terrible thunderstorm (with hail and lightning while in the woods!), caught a lot of brook trout, explored some the true wilderness areas in the state on our Ranger, and saw a wolf! (see pic of track....I doubt it was from the same wolf we saw because the track wasn't that fresh, but we saw the wolf 5 minutes after we took the picture and only 0.5 mile away).

We were already satisfied with our adventure trip and the hunt hadn't even really started.

Part 2 to follow


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## LTH (Nov 14, 2017)

Congrats, I myself was Baraga 1st season hunt successful, My boy passed up a nice bear opening night waiting on a very large boar coming in only to have the weather turn very hot, headed back up Friday for the weekend hoping to close the deal. Can't wait to hear the story!


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## old graybeard (Jan 19, 2006)

Congrats!


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## slimpickins (Oct 6, 2016)

Awesome


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## Sprytle (Jan 8, 2005)

Congrats to all!


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## eino (Jun 19, 2003)

No way does that ever become one of those trips that get lost in the back of your mind. It will be hard to top. 

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## eino (Jun 19, 2003)

Oh yeah. I love the picture where you're son is laying on the bear. 

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## chuckinduck (May 28, 2003)

Nice job. A trip you’ll never forget.


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## GrizzlyHunter (Jun 17, 2005)

Congratulations!


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## Lakavea2 (Jul 7, 2016)

Lakavea2 said:


> So the story...part 1
> 
> It was an awesome adventure.
> 
> ...


So the hunt........

We drove back up in time to re-bait on Friday, Sept. 7th. All three baits were getting hit routinely. All had multiple bears visiting them. We continued to re-bait daily through the weekend in the late morning and early afternoon. We tried to have all of the baits re-baited no later than 2:00 p.m. each day.

We were baiting with corn, cherries, molasses, marshmellows and a small amount of meat each time. We were only putting out 2 gallons each day. We did try adding fish guts from some of the pan fish we were catching. They really didn't like them. At the "cub bait" they even picked them out of the rest of the bait and flipped them 15 feet from the bait.

The "cub bait" was named because it was claimed by 3 different sows. Each sow had, 1, 2 and 3 cubs each! There was a boar visiting this bait...but only every 2-3 days and never during day light. We never did hunt the "cub bait". However, we kept it baited in case the other two went dead. It wasn't needed! The "cub bait" was also being visited by a fisher. We got to see it close up one day...very interesting animal. It didn't seem very scared by us...it ran up the tree at the base of the bait and watched us re-bait the site.

The "cub bait" was set up for a predominately north-nw wind.

All baits were located within close proximity to streams, thick cover and away from others. During our initial scouting/baiting trip we painfully tried to avoid areas that were possibly being baited by others. This caused our sites to be 7.5-12 miles apart. A round trip of baiting was 43 miles and approximately 2.5 hours each day.

An interesting observation...maybe it was just coincidence, but the "cub" bait was located to an active logging section. That bait seemed to have the least amount of day time visits, but had the most bruins coming to it. Even with competition amongst the bears they didn't want to come to it routinely in shooting hours.

Our other two baits were named "the lake bait" and the "ridge bait". The "lake bait" was being visited by two boars. One was small, 125-175 lbs and the other, maybe 200 lbs. The "lake bait" was set up for East-NE wind. It was within 150 yards of a small, remote lake. The area had been logged probably 10 years ago and was a tangle mess. The "ridge bait" had four different bears visiting it. It had three boars, 250-350 lbs and a sow of about 225 lbs. The "ridge bait" was set up for a south-SW-SE wind. The ridge bait was located on top of a long ridge that very quickly dropped off to a small stream and extensive swamp.

More to follow.........


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## Callinalldeer (Jun 25, 2009)

Congrats,I can’t wait to hear the rest.


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## Sprytle (Jan 8, 2005)

Update...Update....


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## Lakavea2 (Jul 7, 2016)

Sprytle said:


> Update...Update....


It is coming...just very busy at work and hunting!


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## BoonDog (Feb 21, 2006)

That's how ya do that!! Congrats!


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## TURKEYBILL (May 14, 2008)

Congrats on a awesome trip. The smiles say it all. Can't wait to here the rest of the story


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## AKhunter (Jan 15, 2017)

Ok, it's now 2019. Still waiting for the rest of the story!


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## sprink669 (Jan 20, 2015)

Gonna do a diy trip out of my deer camp in Carney this year. 5 POINTS OUGHT TO GET ME THE FIRST SEASON TAG


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## Callinalldeer (Jun 25, 2009)

Congrats,l like the write up on the baits,and the pics..I cut down on the bait when the hunters are here. A bait on every river,their highways. I use beavers and moose scraps.the bandits are hit and run artist.their fun to watch though. waiting for the up date.Popcorn is light and they like it.


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