When speaking of late season several things instantly come to mind. Hyperphagia is of course the first and foremost challenge for any late season bear hunter. This is the period when the bears start the transition to hibernation. This basically means aggressively eating, and it often time begins around the full moon in September here in Wisconsin. I saw a dramatic slow down this year at the full moon as in many of the years past. This is very hard to overcome. You are on borrowed time and the sand is about to run out on the season. Here are few late season tips that might just help.
# 1 Stay the course it sounds simple but when a slow down comes the easiest thing to do is freak out and toss a bunch of items at the bait. This rarely works and in fact it might confuse you even more.
#2 Reduce the amount of bait offered, this may trigger them to come eat faster. “Get it before it’s gone”
#3 Decrease the amounts of sweets
#4 Increase the calorie counts, Bears need between 18,000 and 23,000 calorie per day during this time
#5 Prepare to sit even if you have not had action on the camera. You can’t shoot one from the couch and bears are moving looking for food.
#6 Remember they are animals, we get hundreds of calls about this when the slow down comes. It is thousands of years of genetics telling them what they need to do to survive winter. If they are a bred sow they have even more demands and preparation to do.
You have done the work all season and now it all comes down to this. A few short weeks(check local listings) and it is all over. Take the time and reward yourself with a few more relaxing and peaceful hunts. It is good for the mind to just connect and enjoy nature. 