Three Lakes Bears

In October 2004 I climbed aboard an eastbound jet and left my home and the mountains of Oregon behind me. My brother Mike Gaskins lives only a few miles from where we were raised near Chillicothe, Illinois. He and his friends are accomplished whitetail deer archers and shot gunners, and I’ve “been going to” join them on a hunt in Illinois for years. For me, however, the most appealing part of this long overdue visit would be our trip to Three Lakes, Michigan to the home of Al and Gladys Hodges. Al and Gladys are owners of the Edgewater Motel in Three Lakes, and Al has been guiding clients to bears for the past ten years. I heard tales of Al’s patrons taking over two hundred bears, with weights averaging well over two hundred pounds. I wanted to investigate this bear bonanza for myself.

The drive from Central Illinois, through Wisconsin and ultimately into deep northwestern Michigan was beautiful. Three Lakes is located on the U.P. (Upper Peninsula) and certainly qualifies as prime wildlife habitat.
When winter arrives at Three Lakes, it stays more than half the year, and man does it snow. Long months of freezing weather and several feet of stubborn snow keep the U.P. population growth at a trickle, and that is just the way the locals like it. Yoopers are proud of their cold slice of America and never want it to change.

My brother is a snowmobile junkie, and has ridden in many states. Although his snowmobile has followed him to Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, Wisconsin, Minnesota and New York, the U.P. is by far his favorite place to ride. Mike says it’s the people, the Yoopers, every bit as much as the premiere location. Life on the U.P. is slower and its residents are cut from hard working honest folk.

Oddly enough, Mike stumbled onto the Edgewater Motel in the middle of a hot summer. A few years ago Mike and his wife, Carla, drove north out of an Illinois heat wave, not only to beat the heat, but also to look into some possible snow riding locations for the upcoming winter. Driving east from Bergland with an eventual destination of Marquette, Michigan, they came upon Three Lakes. When rolling through this wide spot in the road, Mike said he was taken aback by the beauty and isolation of the surrounding countryside. Seeing a man pushing a lawn mower in the front yard of a motel, Mike did a u-turn to inquire about snowmobiling opportunities. This all-but-accidental meeting resulted in the formation of what will undoubtedly be a lifelong friendship with Al and Gladys Hodges.

When I met Al and Gladys, I found them to be warm, honest and straightforward. Neither of them has met a person who remained a stranger for any length of time. Within minutes of my walking through their door, I was drinking coffee and looking at mountains of bear hunting photos. My in-person investigation hadn’t taken long. Al’s bear hunting prowess was far beyond what I had envisioned. But, what struck me the most was the way the Hodges spoke about their clients.

Leafing through photographs, they referred to hunters by name and spoke as if each and every one of them had become a part of their life’s memories. Viewing stacks of photos from various years, I noticed the same faces over and over. Gladys told me their clients come to see them even when they haven’t drawn a bear tag. They just come to visit. I stayed on the U.P. for three days and spent a lot of time with the Hodges. When Mike and I departed Three Lakes for Illinois, I felt as if I were leaving the home of a family member, maybe the home of an aunt and uncle, or that of a cousin I hadn’t seen for years. I can’t wait to go back.

The U.P. is home to 90% of Michigan’s 14,000 black bears. The remaining bear population is spread across the Lower Peninsula, with bears primarily located in the northern regions. Nearly all of Michigan rests within the waters of the Great Lakes. Its two sections of landmass are divided by water, creating the Upper and Lower peninsulas. Detroit, Lansing and the majority of the state’s population reside on the Lower Peninsula. The western boundaries of the U.P. share a border with northeastern Wisconsin. The Upper and Lower Peninsulas are connected by the world’s longest suspension bridge. Stretching across the Straights of Mackinac, the five-mile span of the Mackinac Bridge extends between Mackinac City in the U.P. and St. Ignace on the L.P. Michigan encompasses approximately 96,685 square miles, but only 58,110 square miles are actually solid ground, the remainder of the state’s boundaries rest within the waters of the Great Lakes.

The U.P. is truly a land of outdoor wonders. It boasts 150 waters falls, 4,300 inland lakes and over 12,000 miles of trout streams. Unbelievably, the U.P. has 1,700 miles of shoreline, making contact with Lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron. Lying as far west as St. Louis and further north than Montreal, Canada, the U.P. is larger than Connecticut, Massachusetts, Delaware and Rhode Island combined. Ninety percent of the U.P. is forested. Mostly wilderness area, the forests are home to bear, whitetail deer, moose, wolves, weasels, and any other north woods critter you can think of. From my limited wonderings in the timbered ground, I can tell you firsthand; if there isn’t a tree growing on a specific square-foot of dirt, it is utilized by wild blue berries, raspberries or black berries. Along with green vegetation, insects, nuts and acorns, this creates a veritable smorgasbord for resident bears.

Michigan’s preference point system for black bear hunting began in the year 2000. In 2003, 41,667 hunters applied for 10,900 bear licenses. All would-be bear hunters must obtain a Michigan Sportsman Identification Card from Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources (http://www.michigan.gov/dnr), and pay a $4.00 application fee. Successful residents pay $14.00 for their bear license and non-residents pay $150.00. Additionally, if you were born after January 1, 1960, you must present a valid Hunter Safety Certificate when purchasing your license. Although it may take four to five years for an applicant to build his/her required preference points, a portion of all licenses are provided via a lottery system. So, with the “luck of the draw,” you could be hunting the first time you apply.

Michigan’s DNR divides bear hunting areas into several management units, with three hunting periods in each. Most hunters vie for the first or second hunting periods, hoping for the largest number of unmolested bears.
The Edgewater Motel and most of Al Hodges guiding efforts are within the Baraga management unit. If my math is correct, in 2004 the Department of Natural Resources provided 2,174 bear licenses for the Baraga unit. For you trivia buffs, Baraga, Michigan is named after a 19th century Catholic priest, Bishop Frederick Baraga. He created five missions along the southern shore of Lake Superior, and utilized snowshoes to tread across the frozen U.P. landscape throughout its terrible winters. Father Baraga became known as the “Snowshoe Priest”.

Starting in mid-August, Al Hodges and his two staff members tend to over one hundred individual bait sites. Al told me they had 110 baiting locations in 2004, and said marauding bears visited every one of them. I’ll keep Al’s secret concoction of baits to myself, but to have 110 active baits is a testament to Mr. Hodges expertise, and to the incredible density of the bear population. I asked Al if he kept a journal of bait locations and their level of productivity. He has no written record of bait sites, saying he just keeps track of them in his head. And he added, “There is no need to worry about whether or not the sites are productive, all my baits are actively used by bears.” Al told me it is not unusual for his clients to see several bears each evening, at a single bait location.

Al’s clients use ground blinds at his bait sites, with shooting distances ranging from twenty to forty yards. Although his clients utilize modern rifles and pistols, and black powder guns as well, the majority are archers.
Al and his staff go out of their way to accommodate hunters who are handicapped, elderly or very young. Everyone is treated with respect and on average, each year 85% percent of his clients successfully take a bear. Al told me that generally speaking the only hunters, who do not see or take a bear, are those who can’t sit quietly at a bait site. He said the biggest taboos are smoking and fidgeting (moving) while sitting in a blind. He summed it up as, “If a hunter will sit still, move only when absolutely necessary and not smoke, he or she will see a bear. I can’t make the shot for them, but if the client is serious about taking a bear, they probably will.”

Every bear is field dressed in the timber and transported to the motel. Once there, the bruin is weighed before being skinned. Coming from the west coast, I was astounded at the size of these U.P. bears. In the past ten years Al and Gladys’ clients have taken 242 black bears. Although I can’t report the exact average of their weights, the majority tip the scale between 200 and 300 pounds – field dressed! Many of these field dressed bears have weighed over 400 pounds.

In 1996 Gladys harvested a 230-pound bear with a huge head. On the opening day of season on September 10th, 2000, Ken Wiley of Grand Rapids, Michigan acquired a bear weighing 330 pounds. Mike Woodward and Larry Weaver, both from Muskegon, Michigan have taken Three Lakes bears weighing 410 and 420 pounds respectively. Of the great bears harvested by Al and Gladys clients, the largest was a monstrous 530-pound trophy taken by Jim Andrew of Muskegon. Don’t forget, each of the above weights was measured after the bear had been field dressed. No matter where you hunt in North America, these are big bears.

Edgewater’s fees are extremely reasonable. Hunts are booked in one of two ways. If hunters elect to stay at the motel, Gladys will provide a delicious breakfast and supper, throughout their six-day stay. Or, hunters can stay and eat elsewhere, and simply meet Al at the motel before the days’ hunt. I told Al that considering the large size of their bears and the high success rate for clients, I was surprised at their economical price for hunts. He and Gladys told me they know they could easily charge more, but they are afraid of pricing their hunts beyond the reach of the common workingman.

They purchased the motel and began their guide service when Al retired from a long career in highway construction. This couple told me they know they will never be financially wealthy, but said they live a rich and full life, spending “almost” everyday doing something they love to do.

The Hodges keep busy at the Edgewater Motel throughout the year. In winter their clients are snowmobile enthusiasts and ice fishermen. In the spring and summer months, many guests travel to Three Lakes for fishing, hiking and to ride their ATV’s on the hundreds of miles of local trails. Early fall brings bear hunters, who are immediately followed by whitetail deer hunters. Deer hunters can utilize the scale and skinning poles at the motel. Al said he would like to help out his deer hunters, but he is just way too tired after ten or eleven weeks of tending to baits and bears.

My brother and I have acquired one bear license preference point, and are anxiously looking forward to hunting with Al and Gladys. With any luck, each of us will return home with a huge bear from the timbered forests of Three Lakes, Michigan. But, I’ve got to tell you, after meeting Al and Gladys; I may just go back for a visit.

(You can reach Al and Gladys Hodges in one of three ways: Telephone 906-323-6315, E-mail ghodges@up.net, or via their website at: www.edgewatermotelthreelakes.com)