It is that time again to put in for your annual bear hunting permit for Michigan hunters.

Putting in for my Michigan bear hunting permit has been a tradition most of my adult life.

Over the years how you get a permit has changed but the last few years it has stayed pretty steady with the point system.

Each year from May 1 to June 1 is when you go to your local hunting license dealer and pay $5 to apply for your bear hunting permit.

It really pays to go over the bear hunting digest the Department of Natural Resources put together each year. This way you know the new rules, you can pick out what area you want to choose for your first choice and second choice hunt. This all really makes getting the permit really quick when applying and doing your home work you have better odds of getting picked.

I put in for my bear hunting permit yesterday. What I did was is get my permit application in but I requested and hunting party number. By having a hunting party number, my friends and I can all go in together on the choice of hunt and location but the sweet thing is, if one of gets picked, we all get to go bear hunting.

Now I am lucky by one of my best friends who I consider a brother lives in Iron River, Michigan, located in the Upper Peninsula. He lives where we hunt so he knows the area and has lived there a long time so needless to say, he has spots.

What we do is, he has the areas and then the few of us down state get with donut shops on bringing up donuts for bait. Plus I have been saving bacon grease for years and this a good little trick that I use.

We try to bait for months in advance in areas where people aren't hunting with dogs for bears. We set up places to hunt that are miles a part from one another because if you put bait piles to close to one another, the bears will just go to the pile that no one is hunting at.

You have to remember, a bear always knows you're there. Their nose is better than a blood hound and wind stuff as far as 10 miles away. The bear decides if eating those donuts is more important and is will to deal with you being there.

When you set your spots up, it is vital for your hunting safety that you put a trail camera at each location. I say this because if a mother bear is coming in with cubs, you are not going to want to hunt there. This is exactly when bears get dangerous and unpredictable. The mom will keep coming back with those cubs until that food is gone. It is always best to shut down a hunting spot when this occurs. Mother bears are highly unpredictable and put you in a very dangerous situation.

So get your application for your bear hunt in, and take the necessary steps to have a successful hunt if you get picked. Whether you get a bear or not, there is nothing like seeing a black bear in the wild. It will get your heart pumping and you will never feel more alive.

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