Anyone planning on getting out?

I'm planning on going in 10/4-10/9 and can't wait to try for a few grouse and ducks. Bought 4 inflatable mallard decoys recently to pack in. Hope they work at drawing a few birds in!

Do not confuse the absence of details for the lack of planning. ;-)

gravelroad: "Do not confuse the absence of details for the lack of planning. ;-)
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I hear you! But as a hunter/fisherman I can't give away my spot and all of the details! Just hoping to get the conversation going and maybe share a few more details. Do you plan on hunting this fall? What for? Really just curious to see if anyone is getting excited to hunt the bwca this fall and what they might be going for.

I’ve been out and I’ll hunt all fall when I’m not working. Most of the time I’ll be outside of the Bdub but I’ll hunt inside too. Grouse, Deer, and maybe ducks.

I travel and hunt pheasants or other game birds every year.

I get excited every year.

Finnboy: "I’ve been out and I’ll hunt all fall when I’m not working. Most of the time I’ll be outside of the Bdub but I’ll hunt inside too. Grouse, Deer, and maybe ducks.


I travel and hunt pheasants or other game birds every year.


I get excited every year."

Last year on the way from Ely to our entry point we saw 4-5 grouse and 2 grouse hunters. We had a few grouse around camp, but we were never able to get one. If our number one goal was to kill birds, focusing our efforts outside the bwca would probably be the best option. We have also seen several deer and a few nice bucks around Ely, but I never see any deer or deer sign within the bwca. On portages I see way more moose, wolf, and bear tracks than deer.

We had never seen many ducks up there, but last year we were on our way to scout a wild rice filled creek when we saw a bay that had 600-800 ducks(mostly dabblers) and around 200-300 geese. We only had one shotgun so we parked on one side of a peninsula and snuck through to the other shore and were able to get one green winged teal. We're bringing 2 guns and a few inflatable decoys along with my calls this year. I'm really hoping they're still in the same spot when we return next week!

Heading up later this month for some grouse hunting. Hopefully it goes as well as last year.

straighthairedcurly: "Heading up later this month for some grouse hunting. Hopefully it goes as well as last year."

Glad you did well last year! That's good for morale!

Is there anything in particular you look for when you're hunting grouse in the bwca? I usually just do a little walk away from camp and mayyyybe try to focus on south facing hills. For the most part i'm just wandering around hoping to flush a bird or two.

For ducks I'm looking for rice in shallow bays, small ponds, and creeks. Most spots won't have ducks, but when you find the right area there can be a lot of action.

I plan to get out this Thursday through Sunday to hunt grouse and scout an area to possibly go back to rifle hunt. I have had to work the past 9 rifle openers and finally might get to do my dream whitetail hunt!

Returned a day early on Oct. 14 after eight days on Seagull looking to stick an arrow into a bear with a recurve. No bear meat this year. :-(
I had a like-minded partner on the hunt. We each paddled tandem canoes as solos. Our campsite was our preferred choice, a site I refer to as "Church Camp" because of its characteristics and obvious frequent use.

We saw headwinds, dead calm, raging cross wind and a bit o'snow at the end. An obnoxious snowshoe hare mocked us by casually hopping through camp past our unstrung bows. Saw some grouse but ate no grouse meat. Saw a fair bit of moose poop. Saw only old bear sign. Watched a Northern Goshawk scare the living shit out of a gull in flight.

Partner wants to try again in September rather than October. It will take a minimum of eleven months to change my mind on that point.

View of the campsite:





View from the campsite:






View from my treestand:

Treestand


The cross wind that had us feeling cross:

G-D South Wind!

gravelroad: "Returned a day early on Oct. 14 after eight days on Seagull looking to stick an arrow into a bear with a recurve. No bear meat this year. :-(
I had a like-minded partner on the hunt. We each paddled tandem canoes as solos. Our campsite was our preferred choice, a site I refer to as "Church Camp" because of its characteristics and obvious frequent use.


We saw headwinds, dead calm, raging cross wind and a bit o'snow at the end. An obnoxious snowshoe hare mocked us by casually hopping through camp past our unstrung bows. Saw some grouse but ate no grouse meat. Saw a fair bit of moose poop. Saw only old bear sign. Watched a Northern Goshawk scare the living shit out of a gull in flight.


Partner wants to try again in September rather than October. It will take a minimum of eleven months to change my mind on that point.


View of the campsite:






View from the campsite:






View from my treestand:

Treestand



The cross wind that had us feeling cross:

G-D South Wind!
"

The earlier you try for bears the better. I’ve lived in Ely 30 years and I’ve never seen a bear in October. I’m out somewhere everyday for work or pleasure.

Finnboy: ”The earlier you try for bears the better. I’ve lived in Ely 30 years and I’ve never seen a bear in October. I’m out somewhere everyday for work or pleasure."

October 20, 2021:








” As far as duration of denning, the shortest and longest denning periods Rogers has recorded in northeastern Minnesota are 155 and 225 days (5.1 to 7.4 months), both of which involved the same bear.
’In the shortest denning period,’ Rogers wrote in an unpublished manuscript, ’female A and her 9-month-old female cub entered a den on October 22, 2011 and left it on March 24, 2012 after a week of unseasonably warm temperatures caused an early snow melt. In the longest denning period, female A denned on September 10, 2012, gave birth on January 12, 2013 and left the den on April 23, 2013 after being delayed by a week of unusually cold temperatures and a blizzard that added 22 inches of snow.’”

Black bear expert speaks at DNR forum

A Hovland-based CO issued a possession permit for a road-killed bear earlier this month.

Bears are no doubt still out and about. I don’t know if it’s their food sources or travel patterns are such that we don’t see them. I see quite a few bears in the spring and summer.

Mr. Roger’s study bears are not like most wild bears. They are VERY conditioned to humans and are fed by him and many of the residents in his study area. I’m not saying anymore on this front.

Quite common to see bear tracks during November deer season and they love deer gut piles.

Just saw bear tracks in the snow, Bemidji area on Nov. 12th under the deer stand :)
Cool to see but think chased the deer out of my little area.

Yes in the Brainerd area bear still running around