Castle Creek Outfitters
Minnesota Black Bear and Whitetail Guide Service.

 

Read all of the reports I have kept over the years.  It is kind of like a research paper.  You can draw your own conclusions as I have.

 

Outdoor News

http://www.minnesotaoutdoornews.com

Statewide Report

Water temperatures drop and walleye action picks up

Thursday, September 11, 2008 8:15 AM CDT

BEMIDJI AREA
Bear hunting has been "decent" and the goose season started strong by most accounts.
Bluewater Bait and Sports
(218) 444-BAIT (2248)

BLACKDUCK AREA
Bear registrations are down and most that have been taken are small.
Timberline Sports and Tackle
(218) 835-4636  

DULUTH AREA
As of Tuesday morning, only nine bears were registered and all indications are that the bear season is poor.
Chalstrom's Bait (218) 726-0094  

GRAND MARAIS AREA
Although 40 bears have been registered, harvest totals are way down from last season during the first week.
Buck's Hardware (218) 387-2280

GRAND RAPIDS AREA
Bear reports have been limited.
Ben's Bait and Tackle (218) 326-8281

HACKENSACK AREA
Bear hunters have registered one animal - it's been poor by most accounts.
Swanson's Bait and Tackle (218) 675-6176

LAKE VERMILION
Bear hunters have been struggling due to the warm weather and huge berry crops to start the season.
Lake Vermilion Trading Company
(218) 666-6052
lakevermiliontradingco.com

PARK RAPIDS AREA
Bear registrations have been minimal.
Delaney's (218) 732-4281

 

Black bear, goose seasons open with moderate bang

By Tim Spielman
Associate Editor

Thursday, September 11, 2008 8:16 AM CDT

Aitkin, Minn. - Among those hunters first afield in fall are the ones chasing black bears and Canada geese. In many cases, both have found the going tough early on, but others found varying degrees of success, according to wildlife officials across Minnesota.

The bear season began with the traditional Sept. 1 opener, this year on a Monday, which may have affected the first week's harvest. The early goose season began last Saturday with the typical number of hunters and geese in most parts of the state. Bear season runs through Oct. 12, while the early goose hunt continues through Sept. 22.

The bear hunt

Through Sunday, Sept. 7, bear hunters in Minnesota had harvested about 1,145 black bears, according to Dave Dickey, DNR area wildlife manager in Aitkin. That's down nearly 40 percent from last year, when hunters through the first week had taken about 1,880 bears, he said.

But it's hard to compare the two seasons, given that last year's hunt began on a Saturday; it opened Monday this year. But, said Dave Garshelis, DNR bear researcher in Grand Rapids, studies have shown the day of the week the season opens doesn't have a noticeable effect on total harvest.

Also, there were changes in the rules this year, Dickey said. Prior to this year, bear hunters could bait bears, and - based on bait pile activity - decide whether or not to buy a hunting license. But this year, per the 2008 hunting and trapping regulations booklet: "A person may not place bait for bears on or after Aug. 15 unless the person has a bear license or is operating under the direction of a person with a valid bear license (in other words, an absentee baiter could be utilized)."

Dickey believes high gas prices may have influenced some individuals' decisions on bear hunting, too.

Participation was down in Area 51, near Aitkin. Dickey said 2,700 permits were available in that area, and 3,800 people had applied for those permits. As of earlier this week, however, just 1,700 licenses had been sold for Area 51.

Across the state, 11,850 permits were available this year, and thus far, according to the DNR License Bureau, 6,425 resident bear-hunting licenses have been sold; nonresidents have bought another 1,100 licenses.

Last year, when 13,200 permits were available, about 7,600 licenses were sold to residents, along with about 1,250 to nonresidents.

Dickey expects the early season results will be reflected in overall harvest. Last year's first-week total represented about 60 percent of the total harvest, and hunter participation wanes usually after the first two weeks of the season. That's because some bear hunters find it less productive to share the woods with other hunters whose seasons are getting under way, and other bear hunters also take part in those other seasons.

Garshelis said if the early part of the season isn't productive, it's likely it won't be productive overall. He said the DNR estimates the state's bear population is between 20,000 and 30,000; "I'm guessing at the lower end of that range," he said.

The black bear harvest last year was about 3,170 bears. The three previous years the harvest ranged from 3,200 to 3,300 bears. Harvests of nearly 5,000 bears occurred in 1995 and 2001.

Years of high bear harvest often coincide with years of low availability of natural foods, such as acorns and berries. It's then that bears are more apt to hit hunter baits.

Some hunters this year have commented that bears appear to be dining more nocturnally than in the past. Garshelis attributes that concept to the fact that new technology has allowed hunters to see bears hitting baits at night. Likely, bears have always hit baits at night; but trail cameras that weren't used a few years ago now have allowed hunters to see nighttime happenings at the bait pile.

Garshelis reports two collared bears have been shot this year (researchers request hunters refrain from shooting such bears). Both collared bears that were shot donned black collars, one belonging to a private researcher. The other, tagged by the DNR, wore a black collar (rather than blaze orange) because it was tagged within Voyageurs National Park.

Conservation officers around the state report a mix of bear hunter success.

In the Aurora area, CO Mark Fredin received a complaint of someone tampering with a bear-baiting station by pouring bleach in it. The scent of bleach "makes a bait pile no good," he said. The reason for the tampering? "Nothing more than competition," he said.

In the Ray area, CO Lloyd Steen is investigating a hunter harassment incident of alleged poison placed on a bear bait.

September geese

While state bear hunters were reporting mixed results, early season goose hunters were doing the same.

While there was "beautiful weather" in southern Minnesota for goose hunters, Judy Markl, DNR assistant wildlife manager, said only about half the goose blinds at Talcot Lake Waterfowl Refuge in Cottonwood County were occupied.

"We didn't have a lot of geese around," she said.

Dave Rave, DNR goose specialist in Bemidji, said goose-hunting reports were "average to a little below average" for the first weekend of the early hunt. Recent cooler weather may have inspired the migration of some geese, as officials in northwest Minnesota said it appeared migrants had begun to filter through earlier in the week.

And Dave Trauba, DNR wildlife manager at Lac qui Parle Wildlife Management Area, said he'd heard mixed reports from the first weekend of the early season.

"During the September season, it's all about scouting, all about preparation," he said.

In southeastern Minnesota, CO Joel Heyn, of Rochester, reported plenty of hunters took part in the opening of the early season. "Success was mixed, but several limits of geese were seen in some areas," he wrote.

Rave said Minnesota's September goose hunters - usually about 25,000 of them - kill anywhere from 80,000 to 100,000 birds, or about one-third of the state's overall goose harvest.