My favorite location is the Grand Portage Indian Reservation for a couple of reasons.
1) Few whites hunt the res and non of the locals that I dealt with the 5 or 6 times I was up there hunt them.
So lots of bear with no pressure.
2) You can stay at the casino in relative comfort or camp out in the sticks.
3) The area is simply breathless and shows what real Northern MN has to offer.
4) You can bring womenfolk along and they will find tons of activity on the Res such as tour the old French Fort, take the ferry out to Isle Royale (20 miles out in Lake Superior) play the slots at the Casino, hook up with the guided tours that leave from the Main Lodge, shop in the gift shop for Native American stuff, walk the beach, hike the trails, take a run up the shoreline to a State Park about 5 miles away and see the waterfalls, stop at the Canadian border and buy more trinkets there, see the spectacular view of the Susie Islands just up the road as you head to the Canadian border just minutes away.
5) There are two fair to good shape roads that circle inland from the main indian village (casino). One is approx 16 miles long and the other is approx 12 miles. Many logging road go off from these two main roads. Few locals live out there. It is wild rugged land. If you really want to get lost you could take one of the logging roads in a mile or so. We never bothered putting a bait station more than 200 yard in off the main roads. There was no need. It is one of the few places in MN I have regularly had bear dart out in front of my vehicle like rabbits.
6) The locals like to have hunters shoot bear because of the problems they cause in the village.
7) The hunt always opens September 1st regardless what day it falls on. 2007 bear hunting will open on Saturday. The Grand Portage Res will be having their Annual Lousiania Bayou days or something they call it with real Bayou musicians (They actually drive up in a bus) and Kajun cooking in a giant circus tent they put up that weekend. They've been having this event for about 20 years now so if you do want a room at the Casino Lodge you must make reservation soon or you won't get a room.
http://www.grandportage.com/lodgecasino/lodgemain.html
Walked up on this one in the bait station one year at Grand Portage.
Actually a nice size bear now that I look at it again.
The front desk at the Main Lodge has radio contact with the Res Game Warden and it is where we have purchased our bear hunting permits in the past, although that has proven a couple of times to be a headache because the tribal counsel waits until the last minute to decide what they are going to charge non-residents. Usually around 20 dollars to hunt bear. So we got up there the night before the opener and they couldn't sell us our Res permit because they didn't know what to charge us. We ended up calling the tribal chief at home to get squared away.
Anyway best to deal with someone at the actual tribal counsel Monday through Friday regarding the permits. Talk with the game warden beforehand too regarding where your putting your bait. I have gone up there literally 3 days before the season opened, dropped my bait, fooled around at the casino, snooped around inland for other potential bait sites, and went home with 2 bear in the cooler. They have fantastic fishing inland too but I'm not into it.
If you look to the left under my bear picture avatar is a little world icon. It goes to my web site and you'll see plenty of bear hunting and information about baiting. Obviously this site (Graybeard Outdoors) has tons of info too and that's why I'm here looking and learning.
You pretty much must go past the midline part of the state to get a bear. Hinckley MN is as far south as I would go. Yes I hunt them at my cabin but the success rate is not as good as Grand Portage for reasons stated above. You could stay at many State Parks in Northern MN with a camper, tent. etcetera...(they have hot showers!) and drive not even a mile away to most State Forest or County land and hunt bear.
You'll have lots of options 45Super. I hope others respond to you too.
Big butt donut blob taken 9/1/06 100 miles south of Grand Portage at my cabin
