# First Bear Hunt and Extended U.P. Trip



## MISTURN3

Come on. It's Michigan!! Give it 30 min and it will change. Yeah - Wednesday!!


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## jakeo

Im not a hunter anymore as my back barely allows me 2 days in a row in a boat, but love a good read where I can put myself in another mans shoe's. Looking forward to reading your posts and prayers are with you for a safe and fulfilling hunt and "vacation". While in the UP, try a few Pasties....you will be back just to enjoy those....GUARANTEED!
Watch out for "Wanda" the Native American lady from the UP. My Dad warned me over 40 years ago so I'm passing it on....GOOD LUCK!


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## WMU05

Opening day...









If the rest of the week is as emotionally and physically draining as today...I might not survive till Saturday.


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## Richard Cranium

If you get the chance, stop in the Throttle Bar in Little Lake, just east of you a hop, skip and a jump and indulge in one of their Cudidgi sandwiches. These things are absolutely amazing. There are several places in the general area the sells this stuff by bulk. Grab a few packs to take back home. The store right next door to the bar is where we got ours. Stop in and tell Jason the guy that was watching Green Bay on his TV on his camper in August said hi!


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## Callinalldeer

Good luck. It nice to watch the young bears on the bait. If it suddenly leaves get ready, a big one is coming in.


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## Luv2hunteup

Callinalldeer said:


> Good luck. It nice to watch the young bears on the bait. If it suddenly leaves get ready, a big one is coming in.


Or a wolf.


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## Forest Meister

jakeo said:


> Watch out for "Wanda" the Native American lady from the UP. My Dad warned me over 40 years ago so I'm passing it on....GOOD LUCK!


On Drummond her name is "Swamp Angel (her best bud is "Six Pack Peggy"). FM


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## Luv2hunteup

Forest Meister said:


> On Drummond her name is "Swamp Angel (her best bud is "Six Pack Peggy"). FM


Nothing wrong with a gal who serves as warmth in the winter and shade in the summer. Cooks, cleans, skins and gets five deer tags.


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## sureshot006

Updates man! We need updates!


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## WMU05

I'm about to enter the Badger state on the way back to civilization. Had an incredible week. Plan is to spend a couple days of family time before heading to Vegas for work on Monday night (talk about a contrast!). I'll take my notes with me and hopefully start the recap during the trip.

I've got a lot of material to work with!


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## WMU05

*Saturday (9/23) - And it Begins*

The drive up on Saturday was mostly uneventful. Traffic was light getting to and through Milwaukee, and I soon felt my stress levels gradually decrease with every mile north. My buddy Derek was on the road from Southern Michigan as well and we kept each other updated on progress throughout the morning. A little north of Green Bay, I made a small detour to find a bear baiting store we had located online. Derek was bringing more corn from the mill, but we wanted to get some sweets to add to the menu. I filled up what room was left in the back of the truck with some popcorn, bear mix and gummy worms (No Chocolate!) and grabbed a T-shirt for our yooper neighbor who had been baiting for us for the last month.




  








17-9-23 Bear Bait Shirt




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WMU05


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Oct 6, 2017








I was soon into Michigan. The ride up M-35 along Green Bay was beautiful. I tried to get a good picture without stopping and mostly failed. It's not easy getting good photos through the windshield while cruising at 60 mph!




  








17-9-23 Green Bay




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WMU05


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Oct 6, 2017








I arrived at the cabin around 1:30. Derek had beat me by 20-30 minutes and already had things open and airing out. It was hot!




  








17-9-23 Bear Camp




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WMU05


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Oct 6, 2017








We quickly unloaded our gear, sweating our asses off in the mid 80 degree heat! And since we were already a mess, decided to head down to the neighbors barn to check out the bait stock and quickly mix up a new batch.

It was quite the disgusting process, one that I eventually warmed to as the week went on. The gentleman had an old used electric cement mixer that we'd dump a measured amount of corn along with used oil, molasses, vanilla, liquid smoke, etc.. This then went into a bag with some old meat and was then topped with some of the popcorn and gummies I'd picked up. God did it stink!

We jumped on the 4-wheelers and headed out to the two active bait sites we had going (there were 3, but one was overrun by loggers a week before our arrival).




  








17-9-23 Bear Baiting Ride




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WMU05


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Oct 6, 2017








We found both sites (roughly 2.5 miles apart) thanks to some marking left by the neighbor (he was unfortunately gone for the week and I never got the chance to meet him) and both had been tore up since they were baited on Thursday. Promising! I was given a quick lesson on the proper way to cover a bait to ensure only the bears were able to partake. We quickly re-set the sites and got the hell out of there with a plan to come back in the morning to set stands when it was somewhat less sweltering.

After baiting the two active sites on public ground, we made a run into some private land a local farmer had given us permission to hunt. We quickly picked a spot where bears had been an issue in the past when the closest field was corn, and set another bait site. We put a camera up and left. The rest of the evening was spent unpacking all of the gear inside the cabin, taking showers to cool off, grilling up some grub and having a couple of night caps. It was tough sleeping in the heat, but the days work eventually knocked us out.


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## sureshot006

Can anyone else not see the pictures?


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## SMITTY1233

This guy right here can't....


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## sureshot006

SMITTY1233 said:


> This guy right here can't....


Fortunately or unfortunately, I'm glad its not just me. Can't see them from mobile or desktop.


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## WMU05

I don't know why I have such a problem with photos. I copied the URL's from Dropshot and they are visible when in the create thread portion. However, once posted, they go away. Help a guy out???


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## SMITTY1233

I was having all sort of problems until I got the taptalk app on my smart phone.


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## sureshot006

WMU05 said:


> I don't know why I have such a problem with photos. I copied the URL's from Dropshot and they are visible when in the create thread portion. However, once posted, they go away. Help a guy out???


I would try saving the pictures from where they are stored and adding them as attached files rather than a URL. Probably can just right click on the photo, save to a location (desktop or picture folder) then hit upload a file in your reply post.


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## sureshot006

Hey it works now in the original post! Thank you!


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## Biggbear

The pics work for me. Bummer you guys cant see em, they add a lot to the story line. I'm not gonna lie, I can't wait for the next installment.


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## WMU05

I went back and added them to the site media gallery and tagged from there. It's a pain, but they're there.


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