Wisconsin Bear Hunting???

[buckmaster68]

Me and my son both drew a bear tag for this year. Do not know exactly where I am going to go. I know a few people that have some baits they keep active. One guy wanted to charge me like $1200.00 for us to hunt over his baits. He has a guide license that is why it is so much I think.

Any help on this would be appreciated. Some pointers of do's and don'ts also would be nice if there is anyone that has hunted bears in Wisconsin before. It is for zone C.
Also open for anyone that would be interested in letting me and my son hunt over their baits they keep active for a reasonable fee?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

[Bloodbro]

Let me start out by saying $1200 for baiting for two people is a pretty generous price if you ask me... Most outfitters get around that much for one person. There is a lot of work in baiting bears if its done correctly.
If money is an issue, and you would like to do it yourself, you could give it a "do it yourself" attempt.
Zone C tags are not all that rare... They are the easiest Wisc. bear tag to obtain. The last (and only) time I applied for unit C, I drew in just 3 years.
I hunted just outside of Wausau and arrowed my largest bear ever, a 500 pound public land monster. I was right next to the border of unit B. If you do a little research on some of the larger public lands in that area, you should be able to get into some good bears relitivly easy. I would concentrate on large swampy areas. I would look for remote transition lines where other hunters are baiting close to the road. They will have the bears moving in the right direction, but to kill the big bears, just like with whitetails, you need to hunt near where they bed and feel safe. If you hunt near a road in "C" you will be competeing with other hunters. I would want my bait to be where the bears stage before going to the area where the others hunt.
If you get your selves some good maps and photo's and find remote transition lines, study the transition line (swamp edge) to find points that jut out into the swamp. Being near winding rivers is often good too. Then head out scouting! If you find a good looking spot put out a small bait and rake the dirt around to make out the track. go back and see which spots got hit the next weekend and narrow your bait sights. Spray bottles full of diluted Vanilla extract can be very good for getting the bairs to find the baits quickly. Spray the etract all around the bait and up into the trees... This will also signal to the bear that you have freshened the bait, so its good to spray every time you bait and at the beginning of your hunt... Just my opinion