Wet Stands, Sows and Cubs
Repeat, repeat, repeat. To begin the first stand set up of the morning I ventured onto a private property area where beavers have flooded deep woods. I had to wear knee high rubber boots to stay dry.
It’s a very cool set up; the bait station is on dry land but the hunter’s tree stand is located in the water. In order for a bear to possibly circle the bait station down- wind he will have to walk into almost two feet of water. Because the hunter is backed up against an open beaver pond and his silhouette could bust him, we had to lower the stand to only 8 feet off the ground.
While finishing trimming a shooting lane I put my hand held saw in my back pocket only to realize some time later it fell out while I was in water. I could not find it. If someone could have watched me search for it you would have thought I was planting rice in a rice patty. Could not set stands for the rest of the day without a saw so I did some more scouting.
Checked cameras. In the three weeks that I have had my trail cameras out I have not viewed one bait station with a Sow with this year’s cubs, Sows with yearlings but no cubs. I have to wonder if this past long hard winter has anything to do with a survival rate.
Talk next week
Mike Foss
Northern Wisconsin Outfitters