# Any one hunt or has hunted Beaver Island?



## roughshot (Oct 25, 2008)

I posted this thread on another site which has obviously fallen out of favor with the "in" crowd.
I moved to NWLP a couple years ago, I've got my "go to" spots set up but I'm wondering if anyone out there has had any experience with hunting out on Beaver Island or surrounding Islands.
It's not a cheap ride over there but I'm willing to go if someone has had some past experience they can share.

Thanks in advance.
Roughshot


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## DiversWelcome (Jan 15, 2007)

It may not be the forum that you posted on but the question. Most people on this site are not going to give you hunting spots on an open forum.


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## Linda G. (Mar 28, 2002)

I've hunted Beaver three times for waterfowl. All three times we were too early. 

The island does have a few local geese, and it does get a few flight geese, but I've never seen a lot and they were all in what I believe is the only corn field on the island, about 20 acres just south of town. There's a pasture/hay field across the stree from there, they'll be in there once in a while, too. I don't know who owns the land or if you could get permission. I've never been on the island in September, so don't know if the locals get hunted or not, I'm sure they probably do. 

Most of the resident mallards are bread ducks and firmly planted in town. They are so fat they can't walk. You'll see a few in the harbor up by Sucker Point, but most of that is also private land with no cover for hunting. I've never seen migrant mallards come in to the island, again, every year I think we were early. We were always there the second or third week of October. 

There are wood ducks, decent numbers of them, if you hunt early enough in the season. 

I've also sat out on the beach looking north and watched rafts of what looked like MILLIONS of bluebills/goldeneyes/buffies moving down the pass between the islands, they pass through about a mile northeast of Beaver, right in between Beaver and High Island. Most of them are inaccessible with a north wind-too rough out there for layout boats-dangerous...which is most of the time. There may be bays and coves down on the south side of the island that they may hole up in prior to making the next leg over to North Fox and down through the Manitous, I don't know. Most of the shoreline all the way down is private, but there are lots of spots to get over to the beach...there isn't much marsh on the coastline, there's quite a bit inland, but it's real woody. Would not attract large groups of anything, I don't think. No real open water in there, either, just potholes. 

I was convinced that a lot of those divers would come over the north end of the island and land on Font Lake, which is shallow, full of wild rice and marshy, good hunting cover, but I've never seen any ducks do that. Mallards or divers. 

Perhaps the last week of October or the first week of November, but not when we were there-we were also there for grouse/woodcock, turkeys, and squirrels, so we have never come home empty handed.

As noted, Beaver is not cheap or easy to get to, or cheap to stay at once you're there. It's very expensive to take a vehicle over there, so most people rent a vehicle, and you're pretty much guaranteed that a weekend is going to cost you at least $500, when you add up the boat, the lodging, the vehicle, and the food. So, not a lot of people go over there, except for fudgies on day trips on the boat in the summer. The island welcomes visitors, and your pocketbook, but most people just can't do it more than once or twice, as you can't just run over there and back in a day. So it doesn't bother me, or anybody from the island, to give out a bit of information that probably won't help you that much anyway.


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## roughshot (Oct 25, 2008)

Linda,
Thank you very much for the insight. Me and my hunting parters are always looking for an adventure and it sounds like bringing the group (3 of us) there would make for a fun couple of days. We do have the gear to run in the larger water but since I have not packed up the family to travel there this summer for some scouting your words have provided more incentive being that I don't live far from the ferry.
Thanks again.

To Divers welcome, I understand your concern over me encroaching on your hunting spot, I realize that there are some "shooters" ( I'd call them hunters but hunting requries work of which they don't do) that are looking to do exactly what you assumed I was trying to do, poach someones hard worked precious huntin spot. I do my share of scouting and amass my fair share of birds each year. I have had hunters move in on my little secret in the past year, which sucks no matter where you hunt, and I am merely searching out information regarding the area mentioned. 

Thanks to all who can reply.


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## Linda G. (Mar 28, 2002)

that at that time of the year there's only one boat a day over to the island, and one boat back, which can really throw a monkey wrench into the time you plan on spending on the island. If you have the cash, fly, but be aware that over 25 pounds of gear you have to pay for freight charges. Hauling a trailer over to the island on the ferry will also cost you a pretty penny 

Like I said, it's not cheap, and it's not easy.


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## roughshot (Oct 25, 2008)

I noticed the ferry schedule, so thanks.
We are considering putting our tender in at the Wilderness boat ramp and motoring off the point and moving over to the Islands, hunting & camping along the way but that tactic would be very weather dependant as Michigan can get rolling good in November.


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## Spartan88 (Nov 14, 2008)

Have hunted snowshoes there many times but never waterfowl. But on occasion being there in early November I have seen flocks of snow geese.


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## Linda G. (Mar 28, 2002)

I would not take anything less than the ferry at that time of the year. It's a long ways of open water from Wilderness over to even Garden Island...and if a storm comes up you could get stuck for several days at a time...Lake Michigan is nothing short of absolutely terrifying when the November storms hit, and they sometimes hit in mid-October.


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## roughshot (Oct 25, 2008)

Thanks for the tip. I never second guess the lake after Oct 15th. I've been on the Huron is some scary conditions after a beautiful 5 am brought on a, what could have been deadly, storm by 8am.


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## Spartan88 (Nov 14, 2008)

You can make the island in 25 minutes by air from Charlevoix, the boat is 4 hours.


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## Linda G. (Mar 28, 2002)

I've flown to the island a couple of times at that time of year. Definitely the way to go if you can afford it (don't forget freight charges, they really add up fast for your gear)...but then there's this weather thing...although the airlines are now equipped with newer, more improved gear, they still don't fly by instrument-they fly by sight. Therefore, there are extreme limitations to what they can fly in. I know. I have often spent an extra night or two on the island in October or November, because the planes weren't flying, and I had already missed the ONLY boat of the day. 

The boat is often laughingly called the Beaver Belch barge...but it does go, every day, even in the worst weather, right until Christmas or a day or two beforehand.


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