By Steve Wall
Growing up in Southwest Wisconsin, not much thought was given to hunting black bears. Granted there are a few bears roaming around in that part of the state, but where would we hunt? How would we bait? After moving to Green Bay in 2005 and meeting more people who had actually hunted black bears in Wisconsin, I told my dad we should start applying for tags. Considering the logistics of where to hunt and how we would bait, we both said this would be a one-time hunt for us.
After checking the draw results from 2013 on the Wisconsin DNR website, I told my dad I thought we both would have enough preference points to draw a tag in Bear Management Unit A. Now I had to start working on finding us a place to hunt. From my conversations with other bear hunters, I knew how difficult, costly and time-consuming it would be to bait multiple sites for my dad and me. I started doing some research on the computer and came across Snowbelt Custom Outfitters in Iron Belt, Wisconsin. 
After checking out their website and Facebook page, I contacted John to check rates and see if they had any openings. A few email exchanges later, our deposits were sent in and our hunt was booked. Lets just say that the rates were very reasonable! I also learned that they are affiliated with Outfitters 4 Patriots, a non-profit organization that gives wounded or injured veterans and disabled children, hunting and fishing opportunities. I was happy to hear that part of our payment would go to help this great organization. 
John and his partner Jim took care of all the baiting and setting up stands. As if we needed any more reason to be excited, they sent us trail camera pictures of some big bears coming into the baits! Continue reading “Father and Son: Our first Black Bears” →
