Castle Creek Outfitters

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2011-07-26T06:59:00.001-07:00

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Once upon a time...

2011-07-26T06:57:00.000-07:00

Night bears got you down? You ask: "What can I do to get them to come in during light hours?". My first response would be to take the food away each night when you leave the hunting site. Leave some molasses sprayed in a high location for the wind to waft around or at least make the bait appear to have been freshened, but eaten. You want this bear to think he has to get there earlier to get his meal before someone else takes it. Also note the temperature. If it is extremely hot out - the bears are not likely to come in the heat of the day. Try hunting in the morning getting to the stand a good deal of time before sunrise. Let things settle. It is cooler then and it only takes him that one time to slip up to make your day. If you just brought the bait in and he is around to smell it in the cool morning – that might be the golden ticket. Another tactic would be being consistent in the timing of your baiting and then changing it one time. That might trigger a response you want. You can also agitate him by collecting some droppings possibly from another bait sight and placing them at the sight you are hunting. He might come in hot headed, but at least he's there! Of course trail cameras are going to tell the real story of when to hunt. Even though you have the data - that doesn't mean you have the whole story. A new bear can come in anytime to change the ending.

Big Brown Hairy Beavers

2011-07-19T08:11:00.000-07:00

In Minnesota the success rate of a black bear hunter is 25%. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MN DNR) does not say anything further about that. That is just whether the tag was filled out and reported or not. In 2008 the odds of being drawn were 11 out of 16 (68.7%) and the year before it was 12 out of 16 (75%). That is just how the MN DNR does it. A total of 7,050 licenses are available in 11 permit areas for 2011. In 2010, bear hunters purchased 7,086 of the 9,500 licenses available and harvested 2,699 bears. That was a 38.1% success rate. That is really good. The MN DNR decreased the number of available tags this year. That should help keep the pressure off your bait sites from other hunters. I believe this to be the intention. I have spoken with the National Forest Service and DNR a number of times about guides with high number of bait sites. Hopefully they will restrict the number of baits a hunter or guide will be able to put out very soon. There are still a number of other variables that may affect your baits: food availability, heat, dryness, activity in your area, etc. This year is turning out to be very wet and this summer is very hot. Food should be growing like crazy in the woods. Some spots will not be accessible to bait. Those bears have it made this year. I suggest bringing out the big guns and present them with your best baits. Black bears like big brown hairy beavers. I have seen them used by stringing them on a line near bait sites in Canada. Sure seems to turn them on.

News Feed from FeedBurner

2011-07-14T09:19:00.000-07:00

You can now subscribe to the Castle Creek Outfitters blog via News Feed from FeedBurner. You can have it delivered right to your email as well.

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Hope you enjoy the articles - Thank you!

The Dinner Bell

2011-07-13T14:17:00.000-07:00

When you are baiting your sites - try to make some noise. First of all so you don't startle the bear(s) and find yourself in a situation. Secondly - so they get trained to the dinner bell. I personally whistle as I walk down the trails and always with the same stride. Some bears tend to stay nearby in bedding areas or just beyond the bait sight waiting for their next meal. I have seen a number of them come in on camera just a few minutes after I finish resetting the sight and leave. Some have even given me a hard time to get out of there so they can come in to eat. I find it safer to have a routine – so we both know what to expect.

Like most manmade creations - I find it unethical to utilize them to trigger a reaction in the bears much like Pavlov’s dogs. Baiting with your ATV makes sense in rural areas, but at least turn off the machine and walk in a significant distance with the bait. Taking the muffler off your old truck and driving through the woods is just plain lazy and you should get nailed to the wall by the DNR.

Back Trackers

2011-07-08T06:26:00.000-07:00

Bears can smell anything and everything. I have seen a grizzly bear find a chicken wing across a valley two miles away. What does that say about you at the bait sight? You are basically you know what. There are however a few things you can do and be aware of. First of all - whoever is doing the baiting has an upper leg on anyone else in your hunting party. The baiters scent is familiar to the bear by the time hunting starts. You might actually want to do some hard work and get off your fat ass if you want to be more successful. Depending on the wind - the baiter’s scent is always there. The bear just doesn't know if he is there now, just left or was there hours ago. He will have to figure out if it is safe to enter the sight. It is nice that he has been acclimated to your scent.

Another tactic I like to use are scents. I like to place skunk scent between me and the bait. Maybe a little closer to me. Be warned I have been charged by bears a few times thinking I was a skunk eating his food. They do not tolerate skunks in their food and chase them out. It is funny to watch them try to get out from under the bait with a huge bear hanging over them.

Get as much food scent up in the air as possible. Bring a water bottle of molasses and fling the molasses out of the bottle up into the tree leaves or needles. The higher the better. You can get 5 gallon buckets of it from your local feed mill. You can also bring your own buckets for them to fill. Don’t bring the molasses up into the stand with you for obvious reasons.

Putting bar grease (that’s right – the stuff they cook your food in) in the bottom of your bait for the first few times baiting and over the logs - you can even mix it into your corn / bread mixture. The bears like the taste, but most of all they get it on their paws from moving the logs or digging in the bait. This is important because when they leave they are leaving a scent trail into the woods for other bears to come across to follow back to the bait. The more back tracking bears to the bait the better!

Scent is going to be your biggest ally and also your biggest foe. Try to reduce your scent. Use scent killer, wash your clothes in scent products, don't smoke, try to mask your breath and don't touch evey single thing you come across in the woods.

Trail Timers and Cams

2011-06-28T07:09:00.000-07:00

Great aids in bear hunting are trail timers or trail cameras. You can collect data on the date and time, temperature, moon phase and photo of the animal that passed through or stopped at the bait site. The trail timer works by a string line pulling the plastic disconnect (zip-strip) out to turn off the clock - trip it. However, I have had jays land on the line and get tangled-up right in front of me numerous times to send false readings. Coons and skunks are notorious trippers as well. When you place the plastic back between the contacts the clock will show the time and date it was turned off for you to take note of. It will continue running again from that moment on. Bring a watch or cell phone for reference to reset the date and time. I carried a notebook or a smart phone to take stats of the sites activity when I use to use trail timers. This was before the age of trail cameras. Rabbits and badgers are too low to trip the line, but you notice them at the bait with trail cameras. If you leave any scent on the trail timers you will more than likely pay for it. The cubs and the ever inquisitive adult bears will chew on them and there goes your liquid crystal display. It seemed as though all of my cases had at least one nice puncture in them. Bears always brake the lines and obviously get tangled up in the string. I always carried two full spools of sewing string with me in brown. I borrowed them from my wife. These were great aids in knowing when bears were coming in for the first time or if one was there at all along with the obvious sign. There were a few times where I had to fight to get a reading from a smart bear. I once put out three lines cause he kept circumventing the trip. The biggest problem with trip timers is that it is a onetime event. Did other bears come in and who was first? The little print or the big one?

Film trail cameras were ok and the digital ones were expensive. Then IR (infrared) came out. That is when I decided to go all out and buy a bunch of digital infrared trail cameras with bear cages and locks. It was like night and day. My biggest concern was theft. The bear cage can be mounted with a screw(s) and then pad-locked with a cable around the tree. The trail timers were under $20 each. Now we were talking $250 for the camera, $50 for the bear cage, 6 D batteries and $20 for a 2 GB memory card. To have a bunch of these units at every bait was a little unnerving. They have come down a lot in price, but still not disposable. Funny thing - no one has ever touched one. Mostly due to no one ever finding them. It pays to put extra effort into your setups and get away from the humans. I carry an extra memory card for every camera. Once I reset or check a bait I swap out the card and make note of which bait it came from. It is worth the investment until you can one day just pull the pictures from your cell phone with blue tooth…hint hint to other EE’s (Electrical Engineers) out there! Another tip is to bring a laptop with you and leave it at your home base or secured in your vehicle. It is always nice to put the photos in the proper folder right away however you decide to organize them. One last tip is beware of the red light emitted from the LEDs at night from the IR. I know deer don’t like them too much. Bears tend to be indifferent. But still try to do something to make it less noticeable at the bait sight. There is also a slight click from the shutter when the photo or video is being taken. I never found the laser to be all that useful. I usually just use a line of sight and that has been good enough.

The Hard Way

2011-06-28T07:08:00.000-07:00

Technology is great tool in bear hunting. It can obviously be abused. Tred Barta is not an advocate of technology in hunting. I think he is right in doing it the hard way. As for myself I believe in going the extra mile, being a man, a true warrior and doing it all yourself from start to finish. From the field to the freezer. I see no problem in using these tools with the proper intent as long as it is done cleanly and humanely. Most of us don't have days or weeks to spend in our hunting. That is why we pay guides for thier knowledge. We are lucky if we have hours. Coming from a background in technology - it is hard not to try to utilize it. Sure I could design a bear bait with an infrared crossbow with a digital web cam that can turn 360 degrees and sends an email or text when a bear comes in, login and click the shoot button on the iphone app and thats it. Just cause I can do it doesn't mean it should be done.

Spits or Swallows

2011-06-24T06:36:00.000-07:00

Bears that are acclimated to humans in their woods such as ATVs, grouse hunters and their dogs, deer hunters, hikers and the like are a lot more reclusive than the bears you might see on a sportsmen's channel of a hunt in Canada. Those bears may have never encountered a human before and have no real fear of us. There tends to be a lot of activity in the areas I bait - so it requires a bit more thought to get these bears to come into the bait in the daylight. What it is all going to boil down to is risk vs. reward. Is the risk to get the food worth the reward for the bear to get a free meal. All bears have different tastes much like ourselves. I have had bears come in and take one item and none of the rest. The next bear takes something else. Another bear eats everything. Try to make a little variety or simply the best that you can to make it absolutely tantalizing. The more food scent you can get into the air the better.

Try to pick a site that allows the bear to comfortably come and go in heavy cover. Utilize a natural corridor if you can. Try to get off the beaten path. The deeper you go the better. Beware that you are going to have to come out of there in the dark. Try to make it safe for yourself too.

Reduce your scent the best you can. They are going to smell you. That is just a fact. Use scent killer every time out. Wash your clothes if you can with the scent products. Chew some sort of earth gum or Copenhagen snuff - you are going to have to swallow. You can also place scent bombs / wicks between you and the bait. Beware that some scents can induce a charge like a skunk scent. Some scents may make hunters sick. So be sure if you or the hunter can handle warm dead fish cooking in the sun all day in 98 degree weather with a bad wind.

I have also heard of sticking a dead cat in a big jar in water over the summer and then shooting it at the bait sight. I don’t think that is a good idea.

I Love College

2011-06-17T12:30:00.000-07:00

Since my group and I were not drawn for this years 2011 Minnesota Black Bear Lottery, I am making plans to try to get an unpurchased tag in one of the lottery zones, as are my friends August 3rd. If there are no tags available we do have a backup plan - No-Quota. I am familiar with a few No-Quota spots and plan to start setting them up whether we find tags or not. I hate to sit around doing nothing since September 1st will be here before I know it. I need to decide exactly where the bait sites are going to be. Since my No-Quota bait sites are going to be vast distances apart - I am going to have to visit them sooner than later to make sure they are as I would like them to be before baiting begins in mid-August. The reasoning for them being far apart is that there are a lot fewer bears in the No-Quota areas we intend to hunt. I don't want to be hunting the same bear(s) as my buddies. Plus some areas are closer to home for me as they are for them. We still get to go out and set everything up as we normally would. We just don't get to hunt together. We will be staying at our own homes each night. The potential of taking two bears is still pretty fun. Setting up the sites is not a waste of time. We might not be drawn again next year and we might find something we really like outside the lottery zone. Hopefully we find our way to a couple of lottery tags; otherwise, as today's college kids would put it "Time isn't wasted when your getting wasted" and same goes for setting up these sites.

KHAAAAAAN!

2011-06-08T06:41:00.000-07:00

I just found out my group was not drawn for bear hunting like many of you. What a disappointment. My first reaction was to tell my friends the bad news. My second reaction was how am I still going to go bear hunting this year in Minnesota? The good news in all of this is that I still can go. There is the possibility that some hunters will not buy their tag and there is still No-Quota. The first goes like this...

Unsold Permits
New for 2011, bear lottery winners must purchase their license by July 29, 2011. Unsold licenses will then become available for one week to those that applied but were not selected in the lottery starting August 3, 2011 at 12:00PM. August 10, 2011 at 12:00PM any remaining unsold license will become available to anyone. Please look for a DNR news release or check the DNR Web Site (www.dnr.state.mn.us) in late July, for further information.

The second option if unsuccessful August 3rd is to buy a No-Quota tag. A No-Quota tag is a tag that you can buy over the counter to hunt two bears outside the lottery Quota zones. There are a few guides that offer No-Quota hunts. There are fewer bears in no-quota. The upside is that if you know of a good area - you can take two bears. I would suggest hunting on the fridge of the Quota zones if you are unfamiliar with a No-Quota area. Public land is a great option for bear hunting for No-Quota or for that matter - Quota.

Still - it is hard to get over the fact that we were not drawn...KHAAAAAAN!!!

Patience is a Virtue

2011-06-01T06:14:00.000-07:00

It is almost time to check to see if you or your group have been drawn for the Minnesota (MN) bear hunt. The MN Department of Natural Resources (DNR) says that they will notify you in the mail around mid June. A paper copy of the regulations and rules will arrive for successful applicants in the drawing notifying you as a winner. If you are too impatient to wait you can check for yourself on the MN DNR website with your driver’s license number or hunt id.

However, there was an error with their process this year. Here is the press release from the MN Department of Natural Resources...

Bear hunt lottery to be rerun
(Released May 27, 2011)

Hunters who applied for a 2011 Minnesota bear hunting permit will have to wait a little longer to determine if they were successful in this year’s lottery.
That’s because the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is rerunning the bear lottery due to a computer-related error.

Though no bear hunting licenses have been issued, the DNR reports some hunters may be under the mistaken impression they have been selected as a winner because they viewed incorrect content on the agency’s website before the error was detected.

“The message to bear hunters is that we’ll get the word out when correct lottery results are available,” said Dennis Simon, DNR wildlife section chief. “We regret any inconvenience this misinformation has caused.”

Simon said older data from 2009 rather than the most current data from 2010 was used by the computer to determine hunter preference level. As a result, many bear hunting permit winners were erroneously selected based on incorrect preference information.

“Our job is to conduct a fair and accurate lottery and that’s what we will do,” said Simon.

New lottery results will be posted on the DNR website in early June and successful hunters will also be notified by mail later in June.

Also new this year are the following rules...

Unsold Permits
New for 2011, bear lottery winners must purchase their license by July 29, 2011. Unsold licenses will then become available for one week to those that applied but were not selected in the lottery starting August 3, 2011 at 12:00PM. August 10, 2011 at 12:00PM any remaining unsold license will become available to anyone. Please look for a DNR news release or check the DNR Web Site (www.dnr.state.mn.us) in late July, for further information.

I know “Patience is a Virtue”, but I can never wait to see if I am drawn. I guess I am just like a kid at Christmas and have to take a peek.

SOURCE: MN DNR

Twittling Your Thumbs

2011-05-24T07:14:00.000-07:00

Waiting to see if you or your group were drawn for the Minnesota bear lottery can drive you crazy. Waiting until the middle of June can be trying. What to do? Should I be planning, scouting, saving the leftovers in the family freezer while the wife yells at me to get that stuff out of there?! The key is not to wait until the last minute before baiting starts to figure out the bait situation. So in the meantime you can sit around twittling your thumbs, start looking for bait retailers, bars to get grease from or stores that will give you their expired goods. There is no rush to get your bait together now, but you can start saving scraps now if you want to. Just get a plan together. You will be surprised how many stores will have their expired goods claimed by a hunter long before baiting starts.

Bear Market

2011-05-20T09:30:00.001-07:00

The flesh of the [black] bear is savoury, but rather luscious, and tastes not unlike pork. It was once so common an article of food in New-York as to have given the name of Bear Market to one of the principal markets of the city.

—Frank Forester's field sports of the United States, and British provinces, of North America p. 186

Cool Bears

2011-05-18T06:57:00.000-07:00

Almost everyone believes that bears come in at dusk and that is it. Go sit on the stand for the evening hunt. In doing so you could be missing out on that bear of a lifetime. Trail cameras tell the real story. Bears are most active during the Minnesota black bear season when it is coolest out. Some of the bears are most active in the early morning and at or after dusk. That does not mean they will not come in at noon. They do. The driving force for the bears is to put on as much weight as possible before it is time to rest for the year. The bigger bears like to play it cool simply because they are more apt to overheat than a smaller bear.

Anyone For Leftovers

2011-05-10T06:31:00.000-07:00

You forgot to apply to the lottery or you just now realized that you want to go bear hunting this year. You are in luck! There may still be a chance for you to go hunting.

Bear lottery winners must purchase their license by July 29, 2011. Unsold and any surplus licenses will then become available for one week to those that applied but were not selected in the lottery starting August 3, 2011 at 12:00PM. August 10, 2011 at 12:00PM any remaining unsold license will become available to anyone.

Back in the day I remember a lot of bear hunters just bought their license over the counter on their way up north. In the last few years - I would say since 2006 - bear hunting has sky rocketed as far as interest. It has become more difficult to buy a tag over the counter. They have even reduced the number of tags this year to promote higher success rate.

Remember that if you are planning to go with a guide you might be out of luck for the good ones. They might be full and you might be baiting for yourself. This is not such a bad deal. You might even enjoy the fruits of your labor a lot more.

Scouting for Guides

2011-05-09T06:59:00.000-07:00

You have applied to the Minnesota State Black Bear Lottery with the zone of your choice. You are waiting to see if you have been drawn for a tag. You know you want to go with a Guide / Outfitter. How do you go about looking for one? My suggestion is word of mouth. That is your best bet. If you don't know someone who has gone on a guided hunt ask someone if they know of anyone who has and talk to them.

My second suggestion is the Minnesota DNR's website. They compile a list of licensed bear guides (they bought a license no different than you buying your fishing license). The list has contact information for you.
http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/recreation/hunting/bear/outfitters.pdf
Call them or checkout their websites if they have one.

Another suggestion is to just Google a few variations of "Black Bear Hunting Minnesota" or "Minnesota Black Bear Guide" or "MN Bear Outfitter". You get the jest of it.

My last suggestion is to look on Craigslist in Minnesota or sometimes Ebay.com. Again, try to search for "Bear Guide" or "Black Bear" or "Bear Hunt".

So you think you have your search narrowed down to a few guides. Make your list of questions up prior to calling. Talk it over with your buddies. Pickup the phone and start calling. Almost every guide is willing to sit and talk with you at length about all your questions.

Here are a couple of questions to get your started that I would ask.
• How long have you been guiding?
• Licensed?
• Insured?
• CPR & First Aid certified?
• Is the hunt on public or private land?
o If public - is it state / national / reservation lands
 National land has more stringent rules, licensing and regulations than other lands.
• What is your success rate?
o MN’s average success rate for hunters is 25%.
 I would be cautious of a guide that says they are 100%.
 I would feel more comfortable with a guide that is less than 90%.
• What is your definition of success?
o Bears harvested or seen?
o Cubs / Sows / Bores?
 The numbers can be skewed to up their percent success rate.
 I would want to know the success of bears down and back at camp each year.
• How many hunters did you have last year and the year before?
o Eight is a lot for a one man service.
o 15+ is a lot for a guide service with helpers. Make sure they are well established and a have a good reputation.
o 20+ is just not a good idea. Sure they have a lot of bears on their website, but they probably took 8 bears for 60 people if that!
o What did they shoot last year / see?
• Do you help aid in tracking and getting the bear out?
• Do you have any guarantees?
o Pictures of bears in the daylight
o Trip timers
o Second bait sights
• Do you allow hunters to shoot bears with cubs?
o I think this is absolutely horrible!!!
• Could I have at least three references?
o If they can’t even give you this – then why bother.
...and the fun one...
• What is your biggest bear taken?!

Lottery Application Process

2011-05-05T10:46:00.000-07:00

You can apply to the 2011 Minnesota Black Bear Lottery three ways.

First: You can apply online for free.
https://jc.activeoutdoorsolutions.com/mn_customer/app/goHome.do
Select the PURCHASE button at the bottom of the screen and follow the instructions.

Second: You can apply by phone:
There is a $3.50 convenience fee when applying by telephone.
1-888-665-4236

Third: Apply at an ELS Agent (Ex.Holiday Gas Station Stores).
BEAR LOTTERY APPLICATION (662)
RESIDENT? YES
INDIVIDUAL/NEW GROUP/EXISTING GROUP? NEW GROUP
ZONE? 44
ALTERNATE ZONE? 41

After you receive your lottery tag - pass along the information to the others in your party (if you have one). They will have to answer the EXISTING GROUP question and supply the 9 digit group number. Hold on to this number as you would any other group numbers (Ex. MN Moose Lottery, Elk, etc.) for future applications to gain preference points each year.

If you do not want to hunt this year I suggest applying anyways and selecting ZONE 99 for preference points. You just never know when you are going to get the itch to go bear hunting. I am sure you would like it to be as simple as applying.

The application deadline first Friday in May.

The lottery results are available mid-June.

License are available for purchase June 1.

The Blues

2011-05-02T10:41:00.000-07:00

Did you know that there are 16 sub-species of black bear in North Ameraica? Did you know that 8 of those species live in Britsh-Columbia?
One of the rarest is the Glacier Bear otherwise known as the Blue Bear. They can be found in southeastern Alaska, northwestern British Columbia and the southwest Yukon. The Glacier Bear is a rare color phase of the Coastal Black Bear. This color ranges from a slightly frosted black, to a steel blue-gray, with some being light gray, usually with a darker face. The undercoat of the glacier bears is a rich blue-black, while the outer guard hairs are long and white (or light yellow) with silver tips. This color variation probably evolved during the last ice age when populations were isolated along the unfrozen sections of the coastline, due to the biological process of genetic drift (random fluctuations in the genetic composition of a small population). The blue-gray color is ideal camouflage against the backdrop of frozen ice - the bears are nearly impossible to spot unless they are moving. Unfortunately, this color phase is on the decline. Immigration of non-glacier black bears and emigration of glacier bears across the now unfrozen landscape, are causing the gene frequency to be eliminated in the face of more dominant color phases, as the two mingle and mate.

Here are all the sub-species:
Kermode or Spirit bear (Western Canada)
Vancouver black bear
Queen Charlotte black bear
Newfoundland black bear
Glacier bear or blue bear (Alaska & British Columbia)
Kenai black bear (Alaska)
Dall black bear (Alaska)
Cinnamon bear (central U.S. and Canada)
Olympic black bear (western coast of Canada & U.S.)
Florida black bear
New Mexico black bear
East Mexico black bear
West Mexico black bear
Louisiana black bear
Minnesota black bear
Eastern black bear

Sources:
http://www.kidzone.ws/lw/bears/facts-blackbear.htm
http://www.americanbear.org/FUR.htm
http://www.alsekriverlodge.com/glacier_bear.html

Site Selection

2011-04-26T10:16:00.000-07:00

When planning for a bear bait site there are a few criteria you should consider: cover, water and stand positioning. The first and foremost is a lot of cover. The animal needs to feel safe coming to and from the bait site. Especially in broad day light. The cover should allow for the animal to cool off if possible. One such place is a nice cedar swamp or tall grass in some low laying poplars. The lower the land the better. If the cover is good enough they might even wait there for their next meal. Water is the second most important for a bait site. It is hot in September and a big game animals need to cool themselves. Any sort of water source is a plus. It does not have to be right on top of the bait site. Just as long as it is in the general area. Who wouldn't want a nice drink of water after a salty or sugary meal. The final and least important of the three is stand positioning. The reason I say least important is because there are a variety of stands available and positioning the stand should be relatively easy because of it. A few examples are ladder stands, ladder stand blinds, climber stands, hanger stands, climbing sticks, ground blinds and even a natural ground blind with a stool. Just be careful to try to get the wind right.

Blank Canvas

2011-04-19T07:54:00.000-07:00

April is a very good time in Minnesota to get out and scout for future bear hunting sites. The grass and light brush are all flat to the ground from the winter’s heavy snow. The trees are just starting to bud in the central part of the state. The wood ticks and other insects are dormant. All the deer and other trails are completely visible. Plus you can get a really good feel for the lay of the land. It is easy to figure out where all the evergreens and low land are for cool cover and where the water is without the leafs blocking the view. Taking all of this in before you make that shot with your bow or rifle this fall is going to help out a great deal. Not to mention it is going to make tracking your trophy a lot easier. One other benefit is to plan on how you intend to retrieve your trophy and not damage the land or without too much hardship on your part. If the stand is setup in August the hunter will have no idea what is back in that heavy cover, what are the possible directions the animals are going to be coming in to the bait, wind direction, and stand placement may not be correct. Having this mental picture of the blank canvas in your head is surprisingly helpful come fall. Don’t hesitate to bring a camera with to snap a few photos for reference.

Draw Length

2011-04-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

You can determine your draw length by dividing your wing span by two and a half. Spread your arms out perpendicular to your body and measure from finger tip to finger tip. Do not stretch. Have someone help you measure. This will give you an accurate draw length for your size.

Inventions

2011-04-04T06:51:00.000-07:00

I am interested in developing an invention for the outdoor sports. What is the process to protect your idea(s) and what fees are associated with patenting the idea?

Que of Silence

2011-03-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

Have you ever noticed what is going on when your game comes into range other than visually? Do you notice that before your quarry is within sight that the woods go silent? The birds stop chirping happily over the seeds, the squirrels stop bickering over the nuts, the rabbit is suddenly gone that was eating some bread - everything seems to have disappeared from the bear bait. This is your que to be absolutely still and start looking for what you are after. This que of silence is something I remind myself to listen for when I am hunting for any species and that it is time to get ready. You might even say - get a little birdie.

2011 Minnesota Black Bear Hunting

2011-03-21T09:21:00.000-07:00

To be eligible for Black Bear hunting in Minnesota - all hunters will need to apply by May 6th, 2011.

Minnesota has two types of bear hunting. Quota and No-Quota. No-Quota allows you to purchase a tag over the counter and harvest two bears. Quota is a lottery system and only one bear is allowed. You have the opportunity to harvest three bears between Quota and No-Quota. Be aware that No-Quota bear hunting may be more difficult because there are typically less bears in these areas. These are two separate hunting licenses and two separate areas to hunt in.

Quota is broken up into Zones. The Zones are a lot like county boundaries laid out by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MN DNR). The boundaries are subject to change each year by the MN DNR. The Zones have different harvest limits. The Quota Zones are in the northern portion of Minnesota. The remainder of the state is No-Quota.

You may apply as an individual or up to a group of four.

You will have a first and second choice of Zone to hunt in.

Bear hunting in Minnesota for the Quota Zone is based on Preference Points. You gain preference point by applying each year. It is a good idea to apply each year even if you do not intend to hunt to gain preference points. This is done by applying to Zone 99 (a non-existent Zone).

One example of applying would be there are two in your group who have contacted a guide/outfitter in a particular zone. You would only like to hunt with this guide, so you apply to that zone as your first choice. You make your second choice Zone 99 for preference points because you would rather wait for next year to hunt with that guide if not drawn for the guide’s zone this year. Next year you will have better odds of being drawn.