First hunt seasons open Sept. 1

Summer’s still here, but the cooler temperatures this week are a wakeup call that fall hunts are coming fast.

Monday is opening day of the early teal, early Canada goose, mourning dove, snipe, rail and common gallinule hunts, followed by the black bear opener Sept. 3 for those using hounds in Zones A, B and D, or bait in Zones C, E and F. The early teal season (Sept. 1-9) and early Canada goose hunt (Sept. 1-15) are designed to take advantage of populations of locally-raised birds.

Bear hunters using hounds get the first week up north this year, running from next Wednesday through Sept. 30. Bait hunters in Zones A, B and D can start sitting Sept. 10. They’ll also get Oct. 1-7 with no dogs allowed. In the remaining three zones (C, E and F), hunting bear over bait is legal Sept. 3 through Oct. 7.
In many cases, the early bird gets the bear. Last year, more than 1,000 of the nearly 4,300 harvested were taken opening day alone, and more than 60 percent of the bears were killed the first week. The numbers don’t include another 51 bear taken via agriculture damage tags, and 48 during Learn To Hunt programs.

With more than 11,000 licenses awarded in the regular season, the overall success rate was about 37 percent. However, it’s much better in the Northwoods. Zone A’s hunter success rate was 71.5 percent, and more than 1,200 bear were registered. Zone B saw a nearly 60 percent success rate, and had about 900 taken. Zone D produced nearly 1,200 bear, with a success rate of just under 40 percent. About one in four hunters gets a bear in Zone C, and fewer than one in 10 are successful in Zones E and F.

Last year’s total was a big rebound from a below-average kill of 2,922 in 2023, a year with an incredible amount of acorns and other natural foods available.
Bear harvest targets are readjusted each year with the intention of increasing, decreasing or stabilizing populations. The statewide population is estimated at roughly 23,000 bears.

Nearly 135,000 people applied for a bear hunting license or preference point for the 2024 season. Anyone wishing to try for the 2026 hunt needs to apply before the Dec. 10 deadline.

In 2024, it took a minimum of 10 preference points to draw a Zone A tag, 11 for Zone B, 3 for C, 2 for D and 1 for both E and F.

Meanwhile, the archery and crossbow deer opener is Sept. 13. That day is also the first for wild turkey, gray and fox squirrel, Zone A ruffed grouse and northern zone cottontail rabbit hunting. The Northern Zone goose hunt begins Sept. 16 and the Northern Zone duck hunt Sept. 27. This year’s youth waterfowl weekend is Sept. 17-18.

Roadkill hotline

Drivers who hit deer (or others who may be interested) can legally salvage what they can from the carcass once they report it.

A phone line — 608-267-7691 — is staffed daily 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. After hours, leave a voice message with your name, call-back number with area code, deer location (road name, township, county) and whether the deer was a buck, doe or fawn.

By leaving a message, you are authorized to take possession of the whole carcass. A DNR dispatcher will call you the next morning for additional information.

Alternatively, you can register a vehicle-killed deer or turkey online at https://gowild.wi.gov/wildlife/harvest/carkill.

Water levels update

Lake Michigan’s water levels had dropped about two inches in the past month, and were down eight inches in the past year. Levels had fallen 38 inches since the record high in 2020, but were still 27 inches above the record monthly low, set in 1964.

Meanwhile, Superior’s water levels rose two inches since late July, and are up an inch from this time last year. As of Aug. 22, levels were only about two inches below the 100-year average, but had declined 14 inches since the record high in 2019. Lake levels were about 19 inches above the record monthly low, set in 2007.

Bonus deer permits

Whitetail hunters in farm units have no shortage of free antlerless tags available, but if you’re looking to purchase an antlerless permit in the northern or central forest regions, act quickly. Check the list by unit — and by public or private land — at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/permits/bonusavailability.html.