Bait-less black bear hunting in the North woods of MN

[Elliot1987]

Has anyone on here tried this? I am in the midst of planning a trip of backpacking into the northern part of MN for a "bait-less" black bear hunt. I wont be making the trip until next year as I am thankfully all booked up on hunts this year. For those that dont know baiting is legal in MN and that is the route 99% of the bear hunters take. I am okay with baiting bears, but it's just not my style of hunting. However I do love the north woods and dont really need much of a reason to make the 2 hour drive north of me. I am looking to try to take some western hunting practices to the northern parts of my beautiful place, but there are some obstacles I need to overcome. The big problem is glassing. The areas in northern Minnesota are very thick and stay relatively flat. Where it isnt thick it's either a flood plain or recently logged. I plan to hunt around recently logged areas, creeks/rivers and flood plains, all of which would provide me with some amount of visable distance. I have onx which allows me to see recently logged areas as well as contact info for the DNR officers in the area. I am obviously not new to hunting these areas, but would really value anyone's opinions on tactics. I would love to hear if anyone has tried this in similar terrain. Keep in mind it isn't a patch of thick timber though, this is miles and miles of conifers. I may try cranking on a predator call as well.

 

[AZbywayofWI]

I have done a couple Black Bear hunts in Minnesota, all over bait. While baiting might not be your "style" of hunting, I think you are gonna have a pretty tough time without that method....unless you run dogs. I am not saying it can't be done though, people get lucky all the time! Is your plain to use a rifle or a bow? If it's a bow don't forget about their nose, heck even it's a rifle, don't forget about their nose! They have a fantastic sense of smell and couple that with being actually quite skittish, they will bolt at the faintest whiff of something they don't like. I once watched a boar bolt of the bait pile in front of me for no reason, the wind wasn't taking my scent to it, I didn't make noise; it wasn't until two minutes later that I saw three Whitetail Doe's come into that bait that I realized the bear was spooked off by the deer! Also, bears roam huge distances, in some cases 1,000 sq miles or more, you just never know where they are gonna be. However, people hiking stumble upon them all the time, so maybe you will get lucky. If you want to do this, I say go for it and let us know how it goes! Some recommendations, if I were you I would try to find an area that has an abundance of food that they like to eat, a high point or small ridge that they use to as a travel corridor (I have hunted bait stands on ridges and been successful at seeing bears), or maybe the remnants of a bait pile from a previous year and hunt the surrounding area. Your predator call idea could work to, shoot the coyotes that come in also! Good luck and happy hunting!

 

[NoWiser]

How many preference points do you have? Bear is getting to be tougher to draw in MN for most areas outside of the BWCA.

Baiting isn't my style of hunting, either, but it's the route I'm going this year. I've spent thousands of hours wandering the northern part of the state and I've seen exactly zero bears other than while driving. That said, I can think of worse ways to spend my time than hiking around the woods hoping to stumble into a bear. Best of luck to you.

 

[Elliot1987]

How many preference points do you have? Bear is getting to be tougher to draw in MN for most areas outside of the BWCA.

Baiting isn't my style of hunting, either, but it's the route I'm going this year. I've spent thousands of hours wandering the northern part of the state and I've seen exactly zero bears other than while driving. That said, I can think of worse ways to spend my time than hiking around the woods hoping to stumble into a bear. Best of luck to you.

I can't remember my point count... I should check that! I have a few spots in no quota to go, but there isnt as much area to cover and it is very swampy... not my ideal choice.
Ive seen 2 while grouse hunting. One of which my brittany went on point at cub that was about 6 feet up a tree... mama bear was not happy with him. I was able to get him off point while mama was coming. I carried him out of there, so we didnt have another incident. I really wish I had a go pro him him or me when that happened.

 

[Elliot1987]

I have done a couple Black Bear hunts in Minnesota, all over bait. While baiting might not be your "style" of hunting, I think you are gonna have a pretty tough time without that method....unless you run dogs. I am not saying it can't be done though, people get lucky all the time! Is your plain to use a rifle or a bow? If it's a bow don't forget about their nose, heck even it's a rifle, don't forget about their nose! They have a fantastic sense of smell and couple that with being actually quite skittish, they will bolt at the faintest whiff of something they don't like. I once watched a boar bolt of the bait pile in front of me for no reason, the wind wasn't taking my scent to it, I didn't make noise; it wasn't until two minutes later that I saw three Whitetail Doe's come into that bait that I realized the bear was spooked off by the deer! Also, bears roam huge distances, in some cases 1,000 sq miles or more, you just never know where they are gonna be. However, people hiking stumble upon them all the time, so maybe you will get lucky. If you want to do this, I say go for it and let us know how it goes! Some recommendations, if I were you I would try to find an area that has an abundance of food that they like to eat, a high point or small ridge that they use to as a travel corridor (I have hunted bait stands on ridges and been successful at seeing bears), or maybe the remnants of a bait pile from a previous year and hunt the surrounding area. Your predator call idea could work to, shoot the coyotes that come in also! Good luck and happy hunting!

Thanks for the info and advice! I am not expecting a slam dunk hunt that's for sure. I am pretty familiar with my areas up there, so Ive got that going for me.... and against me lol. I was thinking of using the call over existing areas with food, raspberry stands, acorns and such.

 

[dgc1963]

Well heres my 2 cents
Never hunted in Minnesota but I hunt bears in Pa in fact im an archery bear hunting nut only been doing it about 12 yrs first 3 or 4 not very serious just going out and wishing to see a bear that didnt work well then got a but educated about bears in general started doing serious scouting got my first due to light snow for 3 days so I knew every track
and was hooked
now I get one about every 3 yrs and see them all the time but scout to an extreme level ,I run 12 to 15 cams checking every 3 weeks all summer and watch well over a dozen bear all summer
its a lot of work to get a bear without bait or use of scents

 

[Elliot1987]

Well heres my 2 cents
Never hunted in Minnesota but I hunt bears in Pa in fact im an archery bear hunting nut only been doing it about 12 yrs first 3 or 4 not very serious just going out and wishing to see a bear that didnt work well then got a but educated about bears in general started doing serious scouting got my first due to light snow for 3 days so I knew every track
and was hooked
now I get one about every 3 yrs and see them all the time but scout to an extreme level ,I run 12 to 15 cams checking every 3 weeks all summer and watch well over a dozen bear all summer
its a lot of work to get a bear without bait or use of scents

Thanks for the valuable input! I've already started my scouting, but I dont think I am going to be running cams. The hunting budget for the year was exceeded by march this year lol. I am hoping it is a lot of work and I will admit I like the ups and downs of a hunt, granted not in the moment. After it is all done whether I was successful in tagging my animal or not the highs and lows make the hunt worth doing.

 

[westbranch]

I think I have seen two bears while deer/grouse hunting in area 51 of MN over the years. But most of that hunting was later in the fall. When we had bear tags and were baiting we would end up with 10+ different bears, including cubs coming into some of the best spots. So fairly high density area. While living in the area we would see bears in the summer occasionally in fields or cow pastures. Crazy how often you don't see them.

I would say work on your tree and shrub ID skills. If you can find patches of northern red oak or bur oak in the big woods areas with water or streams nearby that should help. We had a ton of hazelnuts in our area as well. Some areas further north seem to have less of the natural foods. I remember an article several years ago that said they tracked bears in NE MN travelling 50+ miles to red oaks they learned about as cubs.

 

[dgc1963]

Thanks for the valuable input! I've already started my scouting, but I dont think I am going to be running cams. The hunting budget for the year was exceeded by march this year lol. I am hoping it is a lot of work and I will admit I like the ups and downs of a hunt, granted not in the moment. After it is all done whether I was successful in tagging my animal or not the highs and lows make the hunt worth doing.

In the fall its all about the food bears need something like 20,000 calories a day find the food and you will find bears

 

[Pucky Freak]

Not impossible, but...

I’ve likewise spent hundreds if hours outdoors in MN bear country and very rarely seen any sign, and 0 bears except road kill. If the leaves are still up you can’t see squat most places - that’s a severe handicap.

 

[Twolftg]

Talk about a hunt with low odds, especially if your all on public land. If I was going to try and tackle that mission I would spend alot of time looking for info online on past wildlife fires and logging areas. Getting a tag in the right zone will be a hurdle. Boundary waters would be your best bet, I think you can draw there with 2 points. Then unless you just doing it just to say you did, its going to be alot of boots on ground scouting. Find the food sources and look for sign. To have a realistic chance I feel like its kind of a two year project. Almost need a fall to find the areas they use heavily so your not just bird watching. It's going to be tough most Minnesota bears spend the majority of their time in areas so thick you cant even stand up. Good luck to you.

 

[Elliot1987]

Talk about a hunt with low odds, especially if your all on public land. If I was going to try and tackle that mission I would spend alot of time looking for info online on past wildlife fires and logging areas. Getting a tag in the right zone will be a hurdle. Boundary waters would be your best bet, I think you can draw there with 2 points. Then unless you just doing it just to say you did, its going to be alot of boots on ground scouting. Find the food sources and look for sign. To have a realistic chance I feel like its kind of a two year project. Almost need a fall to find the areas they use heavily so your not just bird watching. It's going to be tough most Minnesota bears spend the majority of their time in areas so thick you cant even stand up. Good luck to you.

Way ahead of you on the online scouting! The odds are going to definitely be low, but it helps that I know that going in. One advantage I have with the north woods is that there isnt really much movement to the terrain compared to other states. So, hills, clearings burns and anything else that can give me a sight advantage will stick out like a sore thumb. However, like what you said, some of that stuff is so thick you cant stand up in it. I would have to go when the raspberries are just starting as they dont typically grow in dense cover. They do create dense cover themselves, but they need to be out in the sunshine. I agree it is a two year project. I plan to do a test run this coming august and I will do another next year and hopefully get drawn next year with 3 points, but point creep for bear tags in Minnesota is fast right now. According to the stats by the MNDNR there is only 1 unit you can draw with two points and 3 gets you the good odds at most, but if you look at the same stats I did creep is like a point a year right now! My plan is Ill get dropped off on one side of a large section I have been e scouting and have spent some time in and picked up on the other side about 9 miles away after about 3-5 days. If I decide to go back to the same side I was dropped off at I will use my inreach to let them know. At the very least I will have a good time. One thing none of you have mentioned is that the fishing will be good on some of the MN back woods puddles lol! The bugs and ticks will also be terrible and that is another thing I need to take into account. Thanks for the comment it is appreciated!

 

[Gellar]

If I were looking to do a baitless bear hunt in Mn I would go to the BWCA. I would read past trip reports on Bwca.com from the time of year I was Planning on going. Those canoers love to post every time, exactly where they see a warm cuddly bear ! If there was an entry point or a few lakes that I noticed being mentioned for bears I would look at maps and think hard about going there. I would hunt like they do in SEAlaska. Pull into the mouths of long narrow bays quietly in my canoe and glass to the end of it.

 

[Northwoods]

Elliot- I'm going to do a bear hunt in the BWCA this fall. Feel free to reach out to me in October and I'll at least be able to tell you what doesn't work.

 

[Northwoods]

If I were looking to do a baitless bear hunt in Mn I would go to the BWCA. I would read past trip reports on Bwca.com from the time of year I was Planning on going. Those canoers love to post every time, exactly where they see a warm cuddly bear ! If there was an entry point or a few lakes that I noticed being mentioned for bears I would look at maps and think hard about going there. I would hunt like they do in SEAlaska. Pull into the mouths of long narrow bays quietly in my canoe and glass to the end of it.

Did you ever shoot a bear this way? I'm doing a BWCA bear hunt this fall.

 

[Gellar]

Did you ever shoot a bear this way? I'm doing a BWCA bear hunt this fall.

No, I have not.

 

[Elliot1987]

If I were looking to do a baitless bear hunt in Mn I would go to the BWCA. I would read past trip reports on Bwca.com from the time of year I was Planning on going. Those canoers love to post every time, exactly where they see a warm cuddly bear ! If there was an entry point or a few lakes that I noticed being mentioned for bears I would look at maps and think hard about going there. I would hunt like they do in SEAlaska. Pull into the mouths of long narrow bays quietly in my canoe and glass to the end of it.

I have considered this, but honestly I have never really liked portaging or canoeing. I feel like this would restrict me rather than giving me access in the area I want to hunt, but I am probably wrong. I will still keep this in mind however because it is a solid idea. Thank you

 

[Elliot1987]

Elliot- I'm going to do a bear hunt in the BWCA this fall. Feel free to reach out to me in October and I'll at least be able to tell you what doesn't work.

Awesome thank you! I’d love to hear it! You should post a hunt story as well! I’d love to read it. Mn doesn’t get enough credit for it’s opportunities. Will you be going baited or baitless? (No judgement, just curious)

 

[NoWiser]

Awesome thank you! I’d love to hear it! You should post a hunt story as well! I’d love to read it. Mn doesn’t get enough credit for it’s opportunities. Will you be going baited or baitless? (No judgement, just curious)

No baiting in BWCA.

 

[thusby]

Paddling around the b-dub with a can of aerosol scent, sounds like a terrible hunt, but a great canoe and camping trip.