I finally pulled a zone B bear tag and would like to find some outfitter recommendations.

What are you looking for?

Someone cheap who just assigns you a stand or a full service with meals and lodging?

For stand hunting, I'm looking for a place that has stands already in place that have been baited all summer.  I need a guide to show me the stands, assist with recovery, and take the bear to a butcher shop and taxidermy.  Dogs go first this year so I'd be open to that as well.  Lodging isn't a requirement but would be a plus depending on the extra cost.  

I've been waiting 11 years to go bear hunting so I'm not looking to save a buck.

Where is Zone B??

Sorry to lazy to google that

Vilas/Oneida/Marinette.

Far NE

Most of Vilas, Oneida, Marinette & Langlade, all of Forest & Florence, and the eastern half of Lincoln, approx. northern 1/3 of Oconto, part of n.e. Iron.

Easiest description is everything north of Hwy 64 and east of U.S. 51, north & east to 141 & the U.P. border.

http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/hunt/documents/bmz.pdf


I do exactly what he's looking for. But I'm already "claimed" by someone else (3 yrs ago), and I only do 1 per year... otherwise I just create competition for the big ones between the hunters, not fair to the 1st guy who asked (usually 3 years in advance, if not more). I already have a hunter for next year too.... then I have 2019 open, and I already have someone for 2020, 2021, and 2025 ...if I'm still at it, I'll be 75 by then.

No dogs, no lodging/meals, no set fee... as I don't do it for profit, I do it for fun, and the only cost is expenses incurred... bait, gas (lots of gas, I bait every other day for 2-3 months), batteries & SD cards for cameras, etc. I supply copies of all trail cam pictures on flash drives too. I also lead search parties for any bear that runs after shot (been hunting this area for 23 years, know it like my backyard). Immediate recovery is mandatory, or the wolves will eat it overnight or the meat will spoil, so I have thermal and a big-ass drag sled (and winches if needed).  

Success for those I've baited for has been 5 for 5 so far... smallest was 285lbs, biggest 465lbs, taken by brothers in 2015, when I made an exception and did more than one. Every hunter involved has been a good friend, or a friend of a friend. Not a testament to how good I am, but to how many bears are in my area (northern Nicolet Natl Forest).

There's  the bear man i was thinking about!!

RFB hopefully in 7 or 8 years he can guide me!

Did you see the little "wink" emoticon by the 2025? That's for you.

Did you see a judge in Wy de-listed wolves...maybe there's hope for us yet.

BTW found a lake lot put in a bid got accepted put down some earnest $ hopefully close in April if everything checks out.
Lake Tomahawk area.

Did it take that long for you to draw the tag, or have you been piling points for 11 years?

I've got property access and some nice bears in zone B, but no tags :-(

(I'm not a guide or outfitter)

Awesome. What lake?

It takes 10 points (years) to get a tag in zone B. I do know one guy who got one in 2015 with only 9.

Glad I looked at the zone map before I posted again.

East of 141 in S marinette county is Zone C. My brother in law has gotten tags in 2 out of the last 5 years there, just south of 180.

I'm 'stuck' west of 141 so I'll be waiting a while longer.

2010, 425lbs, 1st day kill

Before....





After....



2015, 465lbs, 1st day kill

Before....



After....

That right there in the last post  is an above average bear...kinda like your 12 pointer...I've been a hound hunter all my life and have been under at least 100 trees and have never seen a bear that size...biggest I bagged was 300 pounds. Your best chance at an animal that size  will IMHO be with bait IF you can find the right guide willing to put the time and effort into the hunt...it's not that you can't do it with hounds but you will need a hound guy with TOP dogs...not like the mediocre pack I had. That said maybe try the dog thing just because you can...and it's fun. Most dog guys wont care if you shoot or not and then if your bait hunt don't turn out you maybe have the chance to run with hounds again...here's one we treed for my son a few years back...she was 11 years old according to the WI DNR, and had tooth issues...killed a few dogs in the time of her life and provided a quality hunt.



If you find yourself in Marinette county this fall and would like to ride along some day let me know...I'm recently retired and intend to hound hunt with a few fellows this year.

Nice looking bears in these thanks guys...
Had an uncle who used to guide for bow hunting blackis down south...only hunted along with hound guys around Crandon
but that was 25 yrs ago...
There was some biguns back then in Forrest County...
I helped out by helping train their dogs off fishers.

That's an important thing...those fishers can flat out ruin a day...the timeframe and place you mention would have put you right in with Mel F. and their pack of Plotts... hunted with him and Leo Dollins (RIP)...great houndsmen   OP really should try the hound thing just for the experience if nothing else.

Those Plotts were something else..and the men that ran 'em were some salty fellows as well
I learned a bit about emergency dog suturing too..Atkins Lake & Hiles area.

Those bears in my photos... they were not very far from N.W. corner of Hiles township. And there are bigger ones in that area.

In 2009, a 650lb bear was taken less than a mile from my house. I have 45 minutes of video of him eating all the corn from my buddy's deer feeder that summer.

Last year, a friend of mine who runs dogs, used bait to shoot a 550lb bruin on the 1st day, on the 40 acres behind his house (less than 3 miles from Eagle River), and it wasn't the biggest one he had on camera. The biggest (over 600lbs) never came in during daylight in the 2 years he caught him on camera, so he's still out there.

Pretty wild country around there...been a few years but I sure enjoyed the hikes through the woods & high swamps...
Be good to get back there permanently to spend whatever time God leaves me to spend there.
Speaking of locksmiths hope 25 miles won't be out of your range?

It's close enough. I practically live on the Rainbow Flowage during duck season.

Nice flowage now that it has water back in it...

Ever hear about the gold train's missing gold @ Atkins Siding ?

No, never heard that one.

Actually, the hunting was better when the water was low.... and the lower the better. The exposed bottom was like a sod farm. It attracted ducks & geese by the 1000s. We had to go out and buy field decoys...30+ years of hunting, 100+ duck & goose floaters in my pole barn, and we had nothing to use on those mud flats. We bought some shells, some silohuettes, and some laydown blinds... and 2 wheel "deer" carts to haul it all out to the middle of what was once a lake. And it was fantastic hunting. Just like us, nobody else local had the "right stuff" to hunt it. But we invested, and we profited, with litte competition.

The last 3 years, there's been far too much water (full to the brim). Makes it hard to find a spot to set up with the water backed up into the bogs, and all the vegetation is too submerged for puddle ducks to get to it easily, so they go elsewhere, or go far back into the flooded bogs where we cant get to them without poling a boat in and jump shooting. Our boats are kind of too big for that.

I hadn't even thought about the low water up there other than the satellite images of the lakes...all that dried out sphagnum moss floating on the bogs...

I remember when I was a kid I went to Camp Luther for one summer near Three Lakes and there was a floating bog there and we used to walk out on it....like being on a water bed only
the lake it floated on was rumored to be quite deep...been one heck of a hole if that had dried up...

Dang I would have loved to have gotten back in around Atkins back then so many more areas to explore get some pics of...

Talk about having to change your hunting style ...

Doesn't sound like you folks got much snow up there this year...hopefully once the frost is out you'll get some nice soakers...

Well, I always wanted to try field hunting, but there's no "fields" up here that aren't spoken for. So mother nature created one for us out of lake, by not raining for awhile. Then when we'd had our fun, she took it away.

Below normal, I think. December was very snowy. It got pretty deep by mid January, was wondering about whether it was time for roof shoveling... then it warmed up and melted most of it. Since then, we'd get snow, then it melts away a few days later. Maybe 4-6" still on the ground in the shaded areas (down to November's snow ). Normally in early March, it'd be closer to 2' of snow cover. Looking like an early forest fire & tick season.

I've got 9 points now. When should I be booking a guide?

About a year ago.

I'm serious. The guy I baited for last year is a member here. He already arranged for me to bait for his wife next year (2018), she already has her 10. The guy I'm baiting for this year, requested my services back in 2014 when he had 7 points. But I'm not a professional guide. Everyone I bait for is a friend, not doing it for the money (they just cover cost of bait & gas...my "labor" is free), and only one hunter per season. There's not many "baiters for hire".... in fact, I know of none in my local area. It's a lot of work. "IF" I did it for hire, it'd be about $1,500+, not a penny less. And that puts my labor at about $8 per hour (minimum wage?), after figuring in gas money (about 40 gallons / $100) and bait costs ($200-300). I make about 40-50 trips to the bait, about 2 hours each trip (80-100 hours). And if I did it for hire, I'd need a license ($40), liability insurance ($300~), and need to file taxes (accountant - >$100). That's why 'bait for hire' is hard to find. No profit... trust me, I've considered it. You're just creating a minimum wage job for yourself.  

If you want to hunt behind dogs, that's different. Dog guys only get a tag every 10 years too, just like the rest of us. Thats a dog's lifespan. Hardly worth all that training, equipment, etc. for a once in a decade hunt. So they're always looking for tag holders to take out. I know several groups of dog hunters, one is a pretty good friend. But as has been said, it seems the bigger bears are always taken by baiters. He had a tag last year, bait went first, so he baited right behind his house (40 acres)... and he took a 500lb bear on the first afternoon.

This is very good input. And I will go out on a limb and say I'm as qualified as anybody with my been there done that resume with both bait and dogs. The baiting thing is a pain in the ass... and there is no better way to describe it. Even the dog hunters have to bait if they want to consistently find a track to run and it takes ALOT of time just like rfb says and BTW 1500 is rock bottom cheap. To do it right and start a bait line now or soon and maintain it till kill season is just plain old fashioned work. Ok enough of that..,.the problem with dogs is there are plenty of fellows around operating at close to entry level skill who would be glad to take you hunting. I know of a few with above average hounds who will do it for a fee, and one or maybe two who will take a client but it will cost a considerable fee 1k or more PLUS a kill fee under the tree. Understand if you use the top houndsmen you will see more game and have a better chance at finding your big bear...which in my book would be 400+ or a person could gamble a bit and hunt with a bunch of good guys and maybe score...even at the trophy level. If you have enough time to spend multiple days in the woods and are willing to pass on smaller bears then that may be the best way to go. I still stand by my original statement that you have a better chance at a monster with bait but it's ALL a gamble...oh wait it's hunting. I also know of NO guide or persons that will guarantee anything. If at all possible try to come and spend some time with some of us "salty" fellows, ride around a bit and maybe meet and strike a deal...please do NOT do it over the phone...that's like a crapp shoot.   this is all just my .02  

Thanks guys.  Both of you have provided a wealth of information.  This is very helpful.  I just looked and I was wrong- I'm at 8 points now and will be at 9 this year.  I'll start my search now. As you indicated, word of mouth and referrals are the best way to find any service provider. Fancy ads don't mean much if the performance isn't there to back up the claims. I'm will I get to pay for a good guide and I understand that the baiting process is hard work over a long time.

10 points is the usual number needed to get a tag. But it is remotely possible to get one at 9... especially if DNR raises the number of tags issued again (they did so this year). Season starts alternate between bait hunting and dog hunting every year. Odd number years, dog hunting starts a week ahead of bait, and ends a week earlier. Even number years, baiting goes first, and ends earlier. If you know which method you'll be using, you can time your hunt to coincide with going first by "deferring" a year, or applying for a preference point only instead of a kill tag. Dog hunters can totally upset the plans of baiters with a week head start, if they hunt in the same area you're baiting in. On public land, there's not much a baiter can do about it.

And yes, the baiting process is hard work... but it's fun too. I wouldn't do it if it was just drudgery. I've got a library now with 17,000 trail cam pictures of both bears & wolves. I get to interact with bears up close and in person on occasions. I've had them literally follow my truck down a logging road for a mile or more, like I was the Good Humor ice cream truck and they were the neighborhood kids tagging along. I've had them stand and watch me put the bait out, from a distance of less than 50 yards. I've had them lying in the road waitying where I'd normally park, if I was later than my usual time. I'd always talk softly to them when I'd see them. They'd cock their heads to listen, like my dog does. And they get to know me by my voice, or scent, I guess, because if I bring someone else with, they're very skittish. It's almost sad to see one get shot. But the dozen or so I'm feeding that don't get shot, will be assured of a nice layer of fat for hibernation.

In 2015, I baited for 2 brothers and one of their sons who all had tags (including that 465lb bear I posted earlier). Because they were related, there were no conflicts and competition for "a big one" was friendly. They supplied me with 10,000lbs of bait to use, and I used all of it. 6,000lbs of stale-dated soft shell taco shells (2 totes on pallets, 3,000lbs each), 3,000lbs of nacho chips (2 totes, 1500lbs ea), 1,000+ lbs of cooking oil as a topping - 110 gallons of used peanut oil they supplied, and I supplied 55 gallons of used deep fryer oil from local restaurants, that I had to strain to be legal (only the liquid was legal, solids had to be strained out because meat or fish is not legal...I emailed DNR in Madison to check legality, I have it in writing that straining it first, it's GTG). There were some very fat bears that winter, as I used all but about 30 gallons of the peanut oil (which I used in 2016).

I carried it all into the woods, two 5 gallon buckets at a time, going every other day from June 15th until Sept. 1st... then every day from Sept 1st until Sept. 15th. There were days in late August when I'd bring home over 500 pictures between my 3 trail cameras at the 3 bait sites, and none were blank. Season opened Sept 15th, the 335lb bear was shot at 6pm first day. 465lb bear was shot at 6:30pm first day, a mile away from the 1st. The 3rd guy had 5 bears under his stand at closing, another mile down the logging road, but heard the other shots, got the group text that the big one ran off after shot. So as we all agreed beforehand, with a wounded bear in the bush that we had to track down, all shooting ceased for the day. He could've easily filled his tag too. He came back the next afternoon, shot the 285lb bear within an hour or so. 3 months of baiting boiled down to literally one day of hunting for 3 guys, that's all that was needed to fill those 3 tags. All the hard work paid off. Two of those guys had 10 pts, but the 3rd got his tag with only 9...which we did not expect, nor did we want 3 in one year. It was supoosed to be a father/son hunt, then in 2016 the brother would hunt. So we had to bait for 3, you don't waste a tag that took 9 years to get. He screwed up by applying for a kill tag instead of just a pref point...but we dealt with it. Not something I'd ever do voluntarily.

The big bear that ran off was hit in the boiler room with a .300 win, but still went 200 yds. By the time we started the search, it was dark. Luckily I have a Seek Thermal attachment for my android, and it located his heat signature from a good 60 yards away. There were 6 of us, all with guns, we surrounded him, but he was already dead. Now the REAL work began. We had to drag a huge dead weight over 400 yards through the woods to the nearest road. But with 6 guys and a magnum sized Beavertail ice fishing sled with a 4 man "tow bar" on the front, it wasn't too bad.

It is an experience you never will forget... looking for a wounded, and possibly alive & very pissed off, 465lb critter that can behead you with a swipe of a paw... in the dark.